Tucker Carlson’s opening monologue on Syria last night was absolutely amazing.
I think that part of that was basically just reading directly from my articles.
All of our talking points:
Total bipartisan support for war
No one knows what happened
Why would Assad do this?
Same story as last April – which turned out to be a hoax
Even if it was real – what does that have to do with us? Is it worth a war?
No one cares about humanitarian crisis in Libya
“Moderate rebels” are actually ISIS terrorists
Why are we funding terrorists?
Trump campaigned on being against this
He is the only person on television saying this, and he is absolutely lucid.
I’m surprised they didn’t cut his mic.
He could have dropped the mic after that bit, but instead he kept going.
After that monologue, he interviewed a Senator from Mississippi, and I kid you not, Tucker opened up with asking him how a war in Syria would make us safer and the first words out of this guy’s mouth were “well, if you care about Israel…”
Real thing. Like Daily Stormer satire. Watch it.
He then went on to make no sense at all.
When asked about why we should be fighting Assad, he just kept talking about ISIS, and when Tucker brought up the fact that Assad is fighting ISIS, he said “oh well, it’s complicated.”
He never gave any kind of coherent answer to anything.
It is absolutely insane that this is a US Senator demanding a war that will cost trillions of dollars and untold numbers of American lives and he can’t even give a basic explanation of why he wants to do it.
Because look – what does Israel even have to do with any of this? They’re saying we have to go to war because of a humanitarian crisis with chemical gas – how does that even relate to Israel?
All of this is Bush-era evangelical Christian “war to bring about the Biblical apocalypse” talking points, mixed in with Obama-era “humanitarian intervention” talking points, creating a nonsensical word-soup of confusing gibberish.
These people genuinely believe they can just roll out these emotional talking points – using every available media platform – and get us to go fight a war where the only real purpose is to create chaos in the Middle East because that ostensibly benefits Israel.
Thank God for Tucker.
At least he is getting the reality out there to the people, on the most watched news show on television.
ReadyNutrition Readers, Simply put, urban survival will be quite a bit different from survival in a remote wilderness area or even a sparsely-populated suburban area. Let’s game some options, remembering that these options are general. These actions aren’t specific to the type of breakdown of society (external by an attack from a foreign nation, or internal from economic collapse, for examples).
So, we have our collapse. Let us “X” out a nuclear war/nuclear terrorist attack, as we can deal with all the other scenarios in variables without radiation to contend with. Let’s identify the largest challenges faced for that high-rise apartment resident in Manhattan, or the family in the brownstone on the South side of Chicago. First, let’s game the scenario:
After “The Day,” the city was almost completely without power. You and your wife and two children were not able to leave town. All mass transit was halted or discontinued. It has been three days, and your family has been listening to static on the radio for the most part, with “campy” pre-recorded disaster broadcasts that have not been helpful or informative. One of your neighbors left this morning after saying goodbye: he and his family had a boat, and they were heading out of the harbor, hoping to use one of the major rivers to make an escape.
They didn’t have room to take you or yours, but you wanted to stay put and not follow your neighbor’s idea: that there were plenty of boats whose owners were not going to use them…probably dead following the rioting and civil breakdown. You’re beginning to think you should have listened to him. Now you can hear angry voices outside, and you go to the window. A mob has gathered at the top of your street! They’re armed with rifles, bats, axes, machetes…and there are about 500 of them. As you watch, they’re making a move toward the first house on the opposite side of the street. Your house is less than half a block away. There are no more cops, no more laws, no more order, and no help will be coming…on The Day After Doomsday.
Sounds pretty bleak, huh? That’s because it is unless you keep a cool head about you and stay in focus. Here are your primary tasks, and in this order:
Defense: without a clear plan and the means to execute that plan, you’re going to have problems.
Secure Domicile: in itself a part of the defense, as if you live in an easily-entered structure, you’re going to need to fortify it and have a security system and a guard/lookout schedule.
Food and Water: always critical. We touched on some of this in the last segment with water. You should have at least a one-year supply for each member of your family of nonperishable food.
Medical supplies and equipment: This entails the ability to perform first aid, to perform long-term supportive measures, and both short and long-term definitive care for special needs members of the family.
Cohesion: your family needs to function akin to a well-oiled machine, as best it can. Faith will be a key element: in God, in one another, and in what you are doing. The inner discipline for each family member and for the group as a whole are key to enabling success for you and ensuring your survival.
Now let’s talk about what you’ll be facing, keeping in mind we already did not specify what type of disaster caused the end of it all. A nuclear war will have radiation and probably foreign invaders at some point. An asteroid impact will have traumatic weather catastrophes and cataclysmic effects all over. What we are focusing on here is a city that is (for all intents and purposes) physically “intact” but is no longer functioning…its infrastructure is crippled, the social order is defunct, and chaos is the word for the day. What are you facing? Here are some of the challenges:
Complete lack of food outside of your supplies: akin to a swarm of locusts, people will descend upon the grocery stores, convenience stores, dollar and discount stores, and big box stores…until the stores are no more…looting everything and anything they can grab. Happened in New Orleans, I’m here to tell you…and it’ll happen again. Dogs, cats, birds, and anything else that crawls, walks, flies, or runs…will be eaten. All of this within the first week to two weeks.
Cannibalism: when the disaster strikes, there will be a lot of people who will actively hunt other humans for food. For those smiling naysayers, you may wish to read about the Donner Party, the Andes aircraft crash, and numerous other accounts of such things. You can take it to the bank that it will happen again…and the “Drive By” also becomes the “Drive Thru.”
Disease: it is a well-known fact that dead bodies, poor sanitary conditions, and lack of clean running water and working sewers will all contribute to diseases. Typhus, E. coli, and plague will all return…diseases that are not a threat will quickly become out of control after the SHTF.
Bad Guys: Lots and lots of bad guys (and gals, not to leave you out of the loop!) doing really bad things and trying to do more bad…to you and yours. We’re going to do a piece just on this, so I’m not going to burn out all my fire at once. Suffice to say there will be gangs and small packs of “opportunistic entrepreneurs” out roaming the streets of your town…and they’re not looking to sell you on “Amway.” They’ll take what they can…including your life.
So, what to do? Well, here’s the first step to defeating all these factors:
Have a plan, and work that plan until it takes effect, and get out of town!
You’ll need to train, game out the scenarios, and work on your preps if you must hunker down. The best thing to do is get out of the city or town. In a high-rise apartment building, you’re going to be very limited in what you can take out of there effectively if the vehicles are not working and the electricity is out. It’s hard to carry hundreds of pounds of gear and supplies down a dark staircase fifty stories and then escape a city in ruins or turmoil. The odds are against it. The key is to have a place…a safe place with supplies that you can reach…and when the time is right, get out of that city.
It will be important to form teams, within your own family, and potentially including others who live near you of a like mind. Here’s a rule to follow:
No “free rides,” any allies outside of the family must have their own supplies and be self-sustaining to be a legitimate ally.
You must trust them implicitly: A real trust, not the BS handshaking of men and the hugging of women once a week at a card party or barbeque. No, a real trust based on knowing them well, and for as long a time as possible. You don’t want to undertake an endeavor, and then end up at the rendezvous point, and having them kill you and take your supplies. Gasp! Ohh! Perish the thought, right?
Wrong: Know that human nature means in a disaster a “switch” can be flipped at any time and those you thought were your allies are now attackers.
You’re going to have to get together with your family and the other family or two who are on your “team” and figure a way to exfiltrate out of the city with as many supplies as you can carry. Most of the gangs will be looking for easy pickings, therefore if you present a unified defensive posture…everyone knowing their functions and carrying their weapons and moving as a unit…this will dissuade them. Wolves usually prey on the young, the weak, the old, and the sick first. Men are no different. They would prefer a bunch of fatsos sitting around in their living room with their supplies than a group of families that has their “S” together and can defend themselves.
This is not to give you false bravado. There are skills you need, happy family, to be able to make it through. I hope one of your family members is a veteran. If not, seek one out and pick up some training.
“Thank you for your service,” is the BS line that everyone uses on you when they haven’t served…it makes them feel good when they say it to you…as if they have checked the “patriotic block” on a form.
You’ll really thank a vet if you’re trained by one. How about this for an idea? If there’s not one in your family or on your “team,” then find one…and pay the veteran to train you. I can see the frowns now. Nobody likes to open that wallet. I guess you’ll have to weigh what is more valuable to you and determine where your priorities lie.
Thank the veteran with more than lip service in this instance, and learn valuable skills that you could have picked up if you had served. You will need some combat skills, such as how to work as a fire team, how to clear a room, and communication between members, be that vocally or with hand-and-arm signals. In the end, it will be up to you, and you will only receive in proportion to what you extend of yourself.
You’ll need to practice and drill getting out of your locale. You’ll also be wise to equip your team (your family and another family working with you) with Motorola’s and stick them in Faraday cages until it’s time to move out. There is still time to game and implement this thing; however, the more quickly you move on it the smoother you can make it for yourself and others. The time to be prepared is yesterday, and the disaster can come tomorrow. Let us know your thoughts and any suggestions you have, and stay in that good fight! JJ out!
Jeremiah Johnson is the Nom de plume of a retired Green Beret of the United States Army Special Forces (Airborne). Mr. Johnson was a Special Forces Medic, EMT and ACLS-certified, with comprehensive training in wilderness survival, rescue, and patient-extraction. He is a Certified Master Herbalist and a graduate of the Global College of Natural Medicine of Santa Ana, CA. A graduate of the U.S. Army’s survival course of SERE school (Survival Evasion Resistance Escape), Mr. Johnson also successfully completed the Montana Master Food Preserver Course for home-canning, smoking, and dehydrating foods.
Mr. Johnson dries and tinctures a wide variety of medicinal herbs taken by wild crafting and cultivation, in addition to preserving and canning his own food. An expert in land navigation, survival, mountaineering, and parachuting as trained by the United States Army, Mr. Johnson is an ardent advocate for preparedness, self-sufficiency, and long-term disaster sustainability for families. He and his wife survived Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. Cross-trained as a Special Forces Engineer, he is an expert in supply, logistics, transport, and long-term storage of perishable materials, having incorporated many of these techniques plus some unique innovations in his own homestead.
Mr. Johnson brings practical, tested experience firmly rooted in formal education to his writings and to our team. He and his wife live in a cabin in the mountains of Western Montana with their three cats.
Children are great fun to be around. At least, that is until they get tired, hungry, bored, or frustrated. Then the fun ends, and you’re in survival mode trying to get through the minutes it takes to address their needs and soothe them back to fun mode. It’s not easy to spend a long vacation with kids. It’s even harder to make it through a camping trip. Here are just a few tips to help you survive your first camping vacation with your little ones:
Survive Boredom
The things that you love are definitely not the things your kids love. It doesn’t matter how badly you want to share your passion for fishing, the thrill of reaching the peak of that mountain, or the pleasure of foraging for food. You’re not going to convince them to share those feelings until they are ready. But while you’re pursuing your interests your kids are going to succumb to boredom. That’s when it can get really tough for all of you.
Electronic devices are the mainstay for kids these days but usually rendered useless when you’re out camping. Engage your children in plenty of activities and games that are relatively simple and short. The younger they are, the shorter the attention span. To keep it fun, you have to engage in that activity at their level. You’re going to need a lot of energy for that! Try building a den, hunting for fairies, and playing pinecone bowling.
Surviving Fussy Eaters
Camping is a struggle for fussy eaters. It doesn’t feel right for grownups to take bags of chips. They want to cook sausages and bacon and beans. If your kids are fussy, chances are they’re still quite young. Why not let them have a go at helping you prepare the meal? Safety is essential, so have a second adult nearby to help you.
You might not be keen to show them how to make a fire just yet, so use something like the everstryke pro. It will be quicker to get things going and will reduce the risk of injury or dangerous fire making. Next, you can ask your child to pour the beans or soup into the pot. You might prefer to place the pot on the campfire or stove. If you hold the handle, your little one might be happy to stir with a wooden spoon (wearing oven gloves or other safety equipment.) It’s amazing how much more fun it is to eat something when you’re prepared it yourself!
Surviving Bad Weather Misery
Kids hate being cooped up. If the weather is so bad you have to stay in the tent, make sure you have plenty of things to hand to keep them occupied. A coloring book, reading books, board games, and puzzles can all be handy here. Make up a game, or write a story together. Traditional games like charades can be fun here too.
Of course, if you have plenty of wet weather gear, then this might be the perfect opportunity for splashing about in muddy puddles. Sure, you’re all going to get a bit messy and a bit damp. Just head over to the shower blocks when you’re done. Kids don’t care about getting dirty. The fact you do care makes it so much more fun to do it!
Surviving The Long Hike With Little Legs
Taking a long walk is an essential part of any camping trip. The trouble is, those with the littlest legs don’t move so fast. And they’re the ones that tire quickly and want to be carried the rest of the way. It’s important you pitch your camping trip at the right level for the participants. If you have tiny tots, you’re going to have to carry them or walk shorter distances. It can’t be helped.
There are some very good carriers if your child is still toddling. They are quite comfortable for parent and passenger alike and allow you to walk as far as you want without your child getting tired. And if they want to sleep it will make no difference to you. Be wary of tough terrain though. Your balance and your weight will be altered!
Surviving Night Time Bathroom Breaks
It’s not often you get to pitch your tent close to the facilities you need most when you have kids with you. Night time is the worst time to need to go. However, it’s pretty much guaranteed your little one will want to go during the night. Torches and easy footwear are essential. The next problem is convincing a small child to walk out of the tent in the middle of the night to go and find the bathroom. Even with you, it can be a scary thing to do for a tiny tot.
If your child is frightened, they might simply refuse. A wet sleeping bag is a disaster! Always carry a spare one, and make sure you know where laundry services are in the morning. Potties can be helpful or the portaloos you can get with camper vans. Still, it’s not pleasant for the rest of you in the tent, and hygiene could be a real problem. Try to make the excursion from the tent a fun adventure and nothing to worry about.
Surviving Insect Invasions
Kids really don’t like flies, roaches, spiders or other insects. Of course, if you’re going to sleep in their territory, there is little you can do about it. That said, it’s important to prevent bites and stings. A child-friendly insect repellent might help here. Make sure you’ve packed a full first aid kit that includes sting relief, bandages, plasters, and antibacterial creams. You might need extra tissues for the tearies too.
Camping should be fun for all the family, but you might have to give up some of the activities you would normally do on your own. Introduce new things one at a time. Little ones can become quite frightened by strange environments and noises. Bring a comforter, and get ready for the biggest adventure in parenthood so far!
I think we can all agree that the likelihood of a nuclear war was contoured very nicely on this year’s news feeds. People all over the world know that North Korea is preparing its missiles for an attack against the US, but no one knows if the threat is real or it’s just an image stunt.
Besides the scary test launches performed by North Korea’s army, there is nothing to indicate that this is a real threat. However, the idea stands and the ruler in Pyongyang fuels it with new actions such as safety drills that teach the population what to do in the case of a nuclear attack.
Now, while American senators and politicians accuse North Korea of running illegal nuclear programs, it seems to have little to no effect on the outcome of this deadly game. However, the extremely sad side is that, in the case of a nuclear attack, the entire planet will suffer not just North Korea or the US. We are in the middle of a possibly fatal confrontation that could throw us in the next Ice Age, and this is definitely a scary thought.
But could we survive such a horrible attack? According to specialists in survival and military training, survival is possible, but only if you know the steps to take. That’s why below you’ll find more information on how a nuclear attack works and the steps to take in order to make sure you survive. After all, it’s the stake is none other than the survival of the human race!
The Likelihood of War
As I already mentioned, the idea of a nuclear war is already in everyone’s minds. Still, the likelihood that North Korea would launch an attack is quite low. First of all, their weapons are not powerful enough to reach the US territory and second, their people will also suffer from such an act. Even more, everyone suspects that this is a way to force the hand of the US to recognize North Korea as a nuclear power.
However, in the event of an attack, with the technology they own, they do have the possibility of starting a very disastrous chain of events. It’s important to know that, even though most of their missiles are short-range, 49 out of 50 tests were successful. This means that the missiles are operational and they are prepared to start an attack at any given time. They didn’t yet show the intent towards an attack, but they do have the option, which is scary enough.
Nuclear Missile Ranges – Am I in danger?
The current short-range missiles can only reach up to 1000Km away, which puts both South Korea and Osaka, Japan’s second largest city, in danger. However, their middle-range missiles can go up to 2000Km away, reaching Tokyo and all of Japan.
They also have intermediary-range missiles that can go up to 4500Km away, reaching most regions in the South East Asia. There is also one US military base in range, in the island of Guam. However, these missiles are less reliable than the first two types and they are still running tests.
Sadly, the list doesn’t stop here as North Korea continues the tests. This year, they managed to test two intercontinental ballistic missiles, managing to threaten regions like Australia, most of Europe, Alaska (part of the US), parts of the northern US, part of New Zealand, and others.
For more information on North Korea’s nuclear warhead testing and the dangers they pose to the rest of the World, we strongly recommend checking out this interactive guide by ABC Australia.
While it’s not clear if these last missiles are fully operational, it’s clear that North Korea is still working on arming their offense. Soon, there won’t be a safe point on Earth because of this desire to prove their worth in military arsenal.
However, if North Korea proves they only want recognition and not to destroy the world, there is still a chance of a nuclear war. Today, in the world, there are nine nuclear powers and they possess about 15,000 weapons. Among these, the US and Russia are the most powerful and they have about 1,800 weapons on high-alert (meaning, ready to launch at any time). These are so powerful, that a single warhead could destroy an entire city, killing millions, and affecting the environment for decades.
So yes, the threat of a nuclear attack is real and it should be on your mind day and night.
How will the Nuclear Attack Happen?
Very few people know what is actually going to happen during such an attack so it’s important to have at least an idea.
The first stage is the launch and detonation of the missile. Now, according to the weather, type of missile, and level of energy, the blast radius may differ. But, for the 1MT nuclear missile (more powerful than the ones launched on Hiroshima, but less powerful than designs available today) the nuclear blast radius would be about 80 km away.
The first thing that hits someone in the blast area is the wave of thermal radiation (or heat) that can produce burns and temporary blindness. Seconds later, the blast wave will hit and this usually comes with debris which can inflict damage to anyone in the open.
The burns from thermal radiation happen in waves. Thus, if you’re anywhere in the 11Km radius (again, for a 1MT bomb), you’ll get first degree burns, but if you’re in the 8Km radius, you’ll get 3rd-degree burns and you’ll probably die.
The blast radius is about 6Km for one 1MT missile, and it will produce winds of 255Km/h, swiping anything in front. The explosion is so powerful that it will break buildings, destroy any structure within the radius and carry the debris many kilometers away.
You can get a pretty good idea of how this works from this video:
The Blast & the Fallout
Every nuclear explosion comes in two waves: the blast and the fallout.
The blast happens at the moment of explosion and consists of intense light and heat accompanied by a high-pressure wave that moves in a circular area around the point of impact. This immense force will break and pulverize everything it meets, while spreading radioactive particles that stick to objects, dust, skin, clothes, and anything they find. This way, for a large area, the air, water, and ground will be contaminated and not favorable to life.
The fallout is what comes after the blast, when radioactive particles are carried by winds and travel large distances contaminating other surfaces and living creatures. The effects of fallout are deadly in the first two weeks from the explosion, after which the radiation levels start to drop.
How to Survive the Blast
Yes, it is possible to survive a nuclear blast, but you must be well prepared for this. One the missile is detonated, everything will happen in a matter of seconds and, while our body may be equipped with the necessary force to withstand an explosion, the winds and debris moving around at extremely high speeds won’t go around.
The best way to survive a nuclear blast is to be inside, underground, in a building with concrete, think walls. Bricks are also known to help block the radiation, but at the moment of the blast the best location is inside. However, you should avoid wooden structure for as much as possible. Specialists recommend finding a basement or a blast shelter that was specially designed to keep you safe from the heat and radiation. If an underground structure is not available, you should find a concrete structure, without windows, and as close to the ground as possible.
If you are caught outside, there’s still a chance if you duck for cover or lie down flat on the ground. It’s important to keep your eyes closed (the thermal radiation can blind you if you look directly at it). Once the blast is over, find shelter and remove the clothes you were wearing during the explosion. Also, scrub yourself clean, using soap and water to remove any radioactive particles.
The clothes you had on during the explosion must be sealed in plastic bags, and you must make sure no radioactive dust falls off them while you do this operation.
Once you and your family are safe and the blast is over, you shouldn’t go outside under any circumstances (unless officials instruct you otherwise)! The radiation will be scattered by the winds and the levels will drop eventually, but the first two weeks are deadly. Keep busy and stay alert for any official communications via the emergency channels. Also, if you have the possibility, try to get in touch with other survivors and check on their status.
The main element of a successful survival is preparedness. This means that you have to prepare yourself for this situation, both emotionally and physically. Since the emotional aspect is usually different from one person to another, I think it’s best to discuss the physical preparedness first.
First, you need to make sure you have a well-designed plan that includes the following main elements:
Finding/building a good shelter.
Gathering food and water for about two weeks (this will be your emergency supply).
Putting together an emergency kit for everyone in your family.
Make sure you have access to communication.
The Shelter
The shelter is extremely important during the blast and the fallout (at least for the first two weeks) and it’s highly recommended that you plan ahead.
For the blast, the shelter it’s best to be somewhere underground like a basement or an official nuclear shelter. However, you don’t know when the explosion will happen so, as long as you can find cover and stay as far away from the impact zone, you should be able to survive it.
During fallout, the shelter doesn’t have to be underground, but it’s highly recommended that you find a building with thick walls made of concrete or bricks. Concrete is the most recommended because it has a dense structure that will absorb most of the radiations.
If you want to make sure your family is well-protected, I recommend building a special room or arranging the basement for such a situation. You can learn more about how to build a fallout shelter from this step-by-step guide.
Food & Water
Once you establish where you’ll spend the fallout, it’s time to put together your supplies. Keep in mind that it’s best to stay inside for at least 48hourse (and longer) if a nuclear attack happens. That’s why, it’s important to start stocking up on non-perishable foods such as:
Cereals (rice, wheat, oats, and so on)
Beans
Sugar
Flour
Honey
Pasta
Bread
Oils and fats
Dried fruits and vegetables
Canned foods (meats, vegetables, fruits, and combinations).
Dehydrated food – this one only needs a bit of water over a heat source and you can have a pretty nice meal.
The list can be as extensive as you need, but I recommend sticking to foods that have longer life shelves. It’s also recommended to rotate the supplies every six months – this means checking the expiration dates and the state of the foods that are non-perishable (when stored in the correct conditions). If any of the foods is close to expiring, it’s time to consume it and replace it with a new batch.
This way, when the disaster does happen, you will have fresh food available for at least a few weeks. So, you and your family already have increased chances of surviving a nuclear apocalypse scenario.
Besides foods, another important element for your survival is water. Actually, this is crucial so you must make sure to have at least 1 gallon of water for each person in your shelter, per day. Specialists recommend keeping water in food-grade plastic containers that were first cleaned with a bleach solution.
However, if it happens and you find yourself without water during fallout, you can purify the available sources using potassium iodide and household bleach.
Keep in mind: Never drink unpurified water after a nuclear blast! Sources close to the blast will be highly radioactive.
Finally, if you have pets, don’t forget to include them in the food and water planning.
The Emergency Kit
This is a kit that every person should pack for their own needs and it should include things like:
Medication (prescription and general)
A first aid kit (with elements specific for a nuclear fallout)
Flashlights
Batteries
Dust mask
Plastic bags and duct tape (plastic keeps the radioactive dust from creeping inside your shelter or settling on your clothes, in the situation when you need to get outside).
Personal sanitation items
Any other items one may need in a shelter.
Weapons for self-defense
Also, if you have pets, make sure to add the necessary items for them as well.
Besides the emergency kit, you should also prepare an EDC (or every-day-carry), in the case you will be caught outside or in a different location.
Communication
Given the fact that it’s not recommended to go outside, it’s important to have several communication devices that will keep you in touch with the authorities.
If you have access to a TV and the network is still working, you should follow the news and make sure you get all the emergency transmissions. However, in the case of an attack, and if you’re close to the point of impact, it’s very likely that all wired networks were destroyed. This means no television, internet, or cellphone and landlines.
Still, if you have an emergency radio, you can look for emergency frequencies and keep in touch with the outside world. I would also recommend getting a handheld ham radio – it will help you keep in touch with other survivor groups that are in the range.
How to survive the Nuclear Fallout
The worst has happened and now you are forced to survive one of the most dangerous situations possible. Will you be able to keep going? Well, the result only depends on your level of preparedness and knowledge.
For instance, you should know that the deadliest form of radiation in nuclear fallout is Gamma rays. Even more, this is the type of radiation that travels the farthest and can no surface is capable of completely blocking it.
However, the human body is capable of absorbing some level of Gamma rays without undergoing mutations (the main problem with this type of radiation) so, if you manage to protect yourself and your family, you will have a pretty good chance at survival.
When it comes to protection, there are three factors that matter the most:
Time
Shielding
Distance
Time is your ally in this situation as fallout radiation drops in intensity quite rapidly. So, if you can spend enough time inside, in your fallout shelter, you’ll be able to move around afterward. The most threat is in the first two weeks, when the radiation is concentrated. However, after this, the radiation level will drop to about 1% of its initial concentration which makes it safe to roam about.
Shielding makes reference to materials you can use to shield yourself from the radiation wave like think concrete walls, sheets of steel, soil, books, anything dense. That’s why, specialists recommend lining the walls of your shelter with dense materials in order to increase their thickness and power of absorption. The more space you put between yourself and the radiation outside, the better.
Also, you can use shielding as a way of keeping radiation particles away from your clothes and skin if it happens and you have to go outside. For his, you can use plastic bags, hats, gloves, goggles, rubber boots, and more in order to cover yourself from top to bottom.
Avoid getting your skin exposed for as much as possible!
The distance element is very easy to understand: the further away you are from the initial blast, the better. However, keep in mind that radiation travels with winds so you won’t be completely safe for several hundred miles around the blast.
I mention distance, because it is highly unlikely that a nuclear attack will happen all of a sudden. There will be signs and if you pay attention, you should manage to evacuate in time. For this situation, it’s best to put together a BOB (Bug Out Bag) and have it handy.
The World after a Nuclear Disaster
Imagine the following scenario: the nuclear war is over and you managed to survive. However, you are left with the damages and a world with high radiation levels, where both ground and air are contaminated. What sort of life can one have in this apocalyptical world?
Scientists already asked this question and, according to computer simulations, a nuclear war would throw us in a 20-years long winter. This will happen due to the black carbon that would be released into the atmosphere, blocking any sunrays from reaching the Earth surface. If you want to know more about this fascinating scenario, you can read the entire paper here.
So, any survivor will be met by below 0°C temperatures, a contaminated atmosphere, and worldwide famine (no crops would grow in this environment). Still, there should be plenty of food left from the ones who didn’t survive and the low temperatures will slow down the decay process.
Another negative aspect is the lack of energy such as electricity. It is safe to assume that power plants and the network used for transportation will be affected by the war. The same will happen with most electronic devices and a good part of mankind’s knowledge will be lost forever.
Without electricity, we won’t be able to heat and light up the structures that are left standing, there won’t be any more food produced, and the stations used for water purification will stop working.
But if you think that living in cold, without clean water and heat is the worst effect, you’re up for a surprise! The effects of radiation will be felt long after the world will be over as the processes put in motion will tear a hole in the ozone layer that protects us from UV radiation. So, when the weather will clear up and the Sun will shine again, we won’t be able to enjoy it because its rays will give us skin cancer.
Even more, because there is not more filtering of the UV rays, the crops won’t grow and many plants will die or suffer horrific DNA mutations that will allow them to survive. So how will we survive?
While it’s true that the conditions will be terrible, we have the necessary knowledge to survive. If we don’t allow ourselves to be thrown back into the Stone Age and use the knowledge we have today, the human race has a chance. However, this means that we need to master a wide range of skills and learn as much as possible about the world now, while we still have a chance!
Rich is a long-time survivalist, having gotten started in his youth, during the latter part of the Cold War. Yet the collapse of the Berlin Wall didn’t put an end to his survival instinct. He has since added military experience and a career as an engineer to his survival knowledge. This has allowed him to design and build his own survival equipment. He is an accomplished author, who has written over 100 books on all aspects of survival.
Last year, the results of a German study on insect populations foretold of a massive global die-off in many inspect species. Now, scientists are sounding the alarm again following a new study, and warning that we are “on course for ecological Armageddon.”
Insects make up about two-thirds of all life on Earth [but] there has been some kind of horrific decline… We appear to be making vast tracts of land inhospitable to most forms of life, and are currently on course for ecological Armageddon. If we lose the insects then everything is going to collapse.” ~Professor Dave Goulson of Sussex University, UK
Of note is the fact that in just 27 years we have seen a 75% decline in the total biomass of flying insects, as detailed in a study written up in the journal PLOS One. While careful not to assign blame for this stark reduction, the study notes that this decline is fairly uniform across many habitats, but notes that modern farmland has very little to offer flying insects. And as monoculture farmland spreads throughout the world, so does the use of agrochemicals.
It is, however, widely believed that bee colony collapse disorder is in large part a result of the widespread use and overuse of neonicotinoids, a class of insecticide popularized by corporate agrochemical giants like Monsanto, who continue to use these chemicals, even defending their use in public relations situation.
Research has shown that a variety of factors impact bee health, specifically parasitic mites and poor nutrition. Seed treatments like neonicotinoids can actually help bees by reducing topical spraying and unnecessary exposure to pesticides. When seed treatment products are used correctly, they are effective and have not been found to harm honey bees, or any other important pollinators. If you’re interested, you can read more about this in a blog post from Jerry Hayes, Monsanto’s honey bee health lead.” ~Monsanto
Monsanto admits that the chemicals are causing a problem, but suggests that more creative use of these products is a solution. This is double-speak.
As argument on this issue continues, the problem only gets worse, which is why the use of the strong phrase ‘ecological Armageddon’ is appropriate. If we lose pollinator and other flying insects, we will be facing global starvation. In this light, comments from agrochemical corporations, such as the above comment by Monsanto, only help to ensure that the worst case scenario will come to fruition.
Commenting on the release of this study and the impact of this news is Lynn Dicks from the University of East Anglia, UK:
It provides important new evidence for an alarming decline that many entomologists have suspected is occurring for some time. If total flying insect biomass is genuinely declining at this rate – about 6% per year – it is extremely concerning… Flying insects have really important ecological functions, for which their numbers matter a lot. They pollinate flowers: flies, moths and butterflies are as important as bees for many flowering plants, including some crops. They provide food for many animals – birds, bats, some mammals, fish, reptiles and amphibians. Flies, beetles and wasps are also predators and decomposers, controlling pests and cleaning up the place generally.” [Source]
The burden of changing this falls largely on the shoulders of global industry leaders, and those that set societal priorities. However, as individuals we can help to affect change by altering our buying habits, choosing to support organic food producers, and by creating healthy habitats for bees and other insects in our neighborhoods and communities.
Alex Pietrowski is an artist and writer concerned with preserving good health and the basic freedom to enjoy a healthy lifestyle. He is a staff writer forWakingTimes.com. Alex is an avid student of Yoga and life.
All day Saturday, South Korea braced for a possible new missile test by North Korea as the provocative northern neighbor marked its founding anniversary, just days after its sixth and largest nuclear test rattled global financial markets and further escalated tensions in the region. Throughout the week, South Korean officials warned the North could launch another intercontinental ballistic missile, in defiance of U.N. sanctions and to further provoke the US. As Reuters reports, Pyongyang marks its founding anniversary each year with a big display of pageantry and military hardware. Last year, North Korea conducted its fifth nuclear test on the Sept. 9 anniversary.
Ultimately, September 9 came and went, and North Korea did nothing, perhaps signalling its eagerness to de-escalate. Or perhaps not, and Kim is simply looking to surprise his adversaries with the ICBM launch date. Experts have said the rogue, isolated regime is close to its goal of developing a powerful nuclear weapon capable of reaching the United States, something Trump has vowed to prevent.
Celebrating its founding anniversary, a front-page editorial of the Saturday edition of North Korea’s official Rodong Sinmun said the country should make “more high-tech Juche weapons to continuously bring about big historical events such as a miraculous victory of July 28.”. The July date refers to the intercontinental ballistic missile test (Juche is North Korea’s homegrown ideology of self-reliance that is a mix of Marxism and extreme nationalism preached by state founder Kim Il Sung, the current leader’s grandfather).
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Meanwhile, South Korean nuclear experts, checking for contamination, said on Friday they had found minute traces of radioactive xenon gas but that it was too early to link it to Sunday’s explosion. The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC) said it had been conducting tests on land, air and water samples since shortly after the North Korean nuclear test on Sunday. There was no chance the xenon “will have an impact on South Korea’s territory or population”, the agency said.
What is more concerning, however, is a Friday report on NBC, according to which Trump is readying a package of diplomatic and military moves against North Korea, including cyberattacks and increased surveillance and intelligence operations, after the nation’s sixth and largest nuclear test.
Trump’s top national security advisers walked him through a range of options over lunch in the White House on Sunday, just hours after North Korea’s latest test, officials said.
According to NBC, Trump is also seriously considering adopting diplomatically risky sanctions on Chinese banks doing business with Pyongyang and upgrading missile defense systems in the region, administration officials said. In addition, the administration is not ruling out moving tactical nuclear weapons to South Korea should Seoul request them, a White House official said, though many consider such a move a nonstarter. It would break with nearly three decades of U.S. policy of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula.
U.S. officials have also made the case to China that if Beijing doesn’t take stronger steps against North Korea, such as cutting off oil exports, South Korea and Japan are likely to pursue their own nuclear weapons programs and the U.S. won’t stop them, the official said. “It’s more a message for China than North Korea,” the official said.
The U.S. has adopted sanctions aimed at Chinese entities that conduct business with North Korea, but has so far held back on broadly targeting China’s banking system. China has told U.S. officials it would protest such a move diplomatically and retaliate, according to the senior administration official.
So what happened on Sunday? According to NBC, Trump’s national security advisers presented him with U.S. military options, including pre-emptive strikes, and nuclear capabilities should America be called on to abide by its treaty obligations in the region, White House and defense officials said.
The president’s advisers have made the case, however, that military strikes on North Korea could have serious repercussions, senior defense officials said, and the most glaring among these is that China has told administration officials that if the U.S. strikes North Korea first, Beijing would back Pyongyang, a senior military official told NBC.
This is not the first time China has warned the US not to escalate: on August 11, Beijing, through the state-owned media, cautioned the US president on Friday that it would intervene (militarily) on North Korea’s behalf if the US and South Korea launch a preemptive strike to “overthrow the North Korean regime,” according to a statement in the influential state-run newspaper Global Times.
“If the U.S. and South Korea carry out strikes and try to overthrow the North Korean regime and change the political pattern of the Korean Peninsula, China will prevent them from doing so,” it said.
At the same time, the Chinese regime made it clear that its preferred outcome would be a continuation of the status quo, warning Kim Jong Un, or perhaps Trump, that it would “remain neutral if North Korea were to strike first.”
As we said almost one month ago:
“not surprisingly, analysts have compared the standoff between the two nuclear powers (the North is a recent, if untested, member of this club) to a modern day Cuban Missile crisis. “This situation is beginning to develop into this generation’s Cuban Missile crisis moment,” ING’s chief Asia economist Robert Carnell said in a research note. “While the U.S. president insists on ramping up the war of words, there is a decreasing chance of any diplomatic solution.“
Since then, the potential risks, mutual threats and near-hostilities have grown exponentially. China – which is by far North Korea’s biggest trading partner, accounting for 92% of two-way trade last year, and also provides hundreds of thousands of tonnes of oil and fuel to the impoverished regime – has only dug in deeper, explaining repeatedly that it wants a peaceful de-escalation and that it would not side with the US in case of a military conflict.
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What happens next? Well, on one hand, after today’s lack of launch, there is hope that things will indeed de-escalate. A headline that just hit from Yonhap may accelerate this:
SOUTH KOREA SEES NO SIGNS OF IMMINENT ADDITIONAL PROVOCATIONS BY NORTH KOREA THAT COULD LEAD TO ANOTHER MISSILE OR NUCLEAR TEST: YONHAP
On the other hand, what the US does next may be a sufficient provocation to force Kim to lob another ICBM. Earlier today, Reuters reported that the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier left its home port in Japan for a routine autumn patrol of the Western Pacific, a Navy spokeswoman said. That area included “waters between Japan and the Korean peninsula.” North Korea vehemently objects to military exercises on or near the peninsula, and China and Russia have suggested the United States and South Korea halt their exercises to lower tension.
Another imminent escalation is due on Monday.
That’s when the United States told the U.N. Security Council that it intends to call a meeting to vote on a draft resolution establishing additional sanctions. U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said last Monday that she intended to call for a vote on Sept. 11 and then the United States circulated a draft resolution to the 15-member council on Wednesday.
The United States wants the Security Council to impose an oil embargo on North Korea, ban its exports of textiles and the hiring of North Korean laborers abroad, and to subject Kim Jong Un to an asset freeze and travel ban, according to a draft resolution seen by Reuters on Wednesday.
It was not immediately clear how North Korean allies China and Russia would vote, but a senior U.S. official on Friday night expressed scepticism that either nation would accept anything more stringent than a ban on imports of North Korean textiles. Chinese officials have privately expressed fears that imposing an oil embargo could risk triggering massive instability in its neighbor.
Meanwhile, tensions are also growing between China and South Korea. The two countries have been at loggerheads over South Korea’s decision to deploy the U.S. THAAD anti-missile system, which has a powerful radar that can probe deep into China. Shares in South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor and key suppliers slid on Friday on worries over its position in China after highly critical Chinese state newspaper comments. Recently Hyundai auto sales in China have crashed as local suppliers and potential customers have shied away from the company due to nationalistic prerogatives. The military section of China’s Global Times newspaper on Thursday referred to THAAD as “a malignant tumor”.
The good news, for markets, is that this Saturday’s widely anticipated ICBM launch from North Korea did not take place; the bad news is that said launch was at best delayed, and if and when it comes, the US will have to choose: do nothing again, and appears increasingly weak on the global diplomatic arena, or retaliate, and risk dragging China into the conflict, potentially precipitating the appearance of mushroom clouds around the globe.
Paul Craig Roberts Rages At Americans “Laughing All The Way To Armageddon”
The United States shows the world such a ridiculous face that the world laughs at us.
The latest spin on “Russia stole the election” is that Russia used Facebook to influence the election. The NPR women yesterday were breathless about it.
We have been subjected to ten months of propaganda about Trump/Putin election interference and still not a scrap of evidence. It is past time to ask an unasked question:
If there were evidence, what is the big deal? All sorts of interest groups try to influence election outcomes including foreign governments.
Why is it OK for Israel to influence US elections but not for Russia to do so?
Why do you think the armament industry, the energy industry, agribusiness, Wall Street and the banks, pharmaceutical companies, etc., etc., supply the huge sum of money to finance election campaigns if their intent is not to influence the election?
Why do editorial boards write editorials endorsing one candidate and damning another if they are not influencing the election?
What is the difference between influencing the election and influencing the government?
Washington is full of lobbyists of all descriptions, including lobbyists for foreign governments, working round the clock to influence the US government. It is safe to say that the least represented in the government are the citizens themselves who don’t have any lobbyists working for them.
The orchestrated hysteria over “Russian influence” is even more absurd considering the reason Russia allegedly interfered in the election. Russia favored Trump because he was the peace candidate who promised to reduce the high tensions with Russia created by the Obama regime and its neocon nazis—Hillary Clinton, Victoria Nuland, Susan Rice, and Samantha Power. What’s wrong with Russia preferring a peace candidate over a war candidate? The American people themselves preferred the peace candidate. So Russia agreed with the electorate.
Those who don’t agree with the electorate are the warmongers—the military/security complex and the neocon nazis. These are democracy’s enemies who are trying to overturn the choice of the American people. It is not Russia that disrespects the choice of the American people; it is the utterly corrupt Democratic National Committee and its divisive Identity Politics, the military/security complex, and the presstitute media who are undermining democracy.
I believe it is time to change the subject. The important question is who is it that is trying so hard to convince Americans that Russian influence prevails over us?
Do the idiots pushing this line realize how impotent this makes an alleged “superpower” look. How can we be the hegemonic power that the Zionist neocons say we are when Russia can decide who is the president of the United States?
The US has a massive spy state that even intercepts the private cell phone conversations of the Chancellor of Germany, but his massive spy organization is unable to produce one scrap of evidence that the Russians conspired with Trump to steal the presidential election from Hillary. When will the imbeciles realize that when they make charges for which no evidence can be produced they make the United States look silly, foolish, incompetent, stupid beyond all belief?
Countries are supposed to be scared of America’s threat that “we will bomb you into the stone age,” but the President of Russia laughs at us. Putin recently described the complete absence of any competence in Washington:
“It is difficult to talk to people who confuse Austria and Australia. But there is nothing we can do about this; this is the level of political culture among the American establishment.
As for the American people, America is truly a great nation if the Americans can put up with so many politically uncivilized people in their government.”
These words from Putin were devastating, because the world understands that they are accurate.
Consider the idiot Nikki Haley, appointed by Trump in a fit of mindlessness as US Ambassador to the United Nations.
This stupid person is forever shaking her fist at the Russians while mouthing yet another improbable accusation. She might want to read Mario Puzo’s book, The Godfather. Everyone knows the movie, but if memory serves somewhere in the book Puzo reflects on the practice of the irate American motorist who shakes a fist and gives the bird to other drivers. What if the driver receiving the insult is a Mafia capo? Does the idiot shaking his fist know who he is accosting? No. Does the moron know that the result might be a brutal beating or death? No.
Does the imbecile Nikki Haley understand what can be the result of her inability to control herself? No. Every knowledgeable person I know wonders if Trump appointed the imbecile Nikki Haley US ambassador to the world for the purpose of infuriating the Russians.
Ask Napoleon and the German Wehrmacht the consequence of infuriating the Russians.
After 16 years the US “superpower” has been unable to defeat a few thousand lightly armed Taliban, who have no air force, no Panzer divisions, no worldwide intelligence service, and the crazed US government in Washington is courting war with Russia and China and North Korea and Iran.
The American people are clearly out to lunch in their insouciance. Americans are fighting among themselves over “civil war” statues, while “their’ government invites nuclear armageddon.
The United States has an ambassador to the world who shows no signs of intelligence, who behaves as if she is Mike Tyson or Bruce Lee to the 5th power, and who is the total antithesis of a diplomat. What does this tell about the United States?
It reveals that the US is in the Roman collapse stage when the emperor appoints horses to the Senate.
The United States has a horse, an uncivilized horse, as its diplomat to the world. The Congress and executive branch are also full of horses and horse excrement. The US government is completely devoid of intelligence. There is no sign of intelligence anywhere in the U.S. government. Of or morality. As Hugo Chavez said: Satan is there; you can smell the sulphur.
America is a joke with nuclear weapons, the prime danger to life on earth.
How can this danger be corralled?
The American people would have to realize that they are being led to their deaths by the Zionist neocon nazis who, together with the military/security complex and Wall Street, control US foreign policy, by the complicity of Europe and Great Britain desperate to retain their CIA subsidies, and by the harlots that comprise the Western media.
Are Americans capable of comprehending this? Only a few have escaped The Matrix.
The consequence is that America is being locked into conflict with Russia and China. There is no possibility whatsoever of Washington invading either country, much less both, so war would be nuclear.
Do the American people want Washington to bring us this result? If not, why are the American people sitting there sucking their thumbs, doing nothing? Why are Europe and Great Britain sitting there permitting the unfolding of nuclear armageddon? Who murdered the peace movement?
The World and the American people need desperately to rein in the warmonger United States, or the world will cease to exist.
An International Court To Preserve Life On Earth needs to be assembled. The US government and the war interests it serves need to be indicted and prosecuted and disarmed before their evil destroys life on earth.
