Have you ever wondered what makes a person snap? What causes a normal, quiet, everyday citizen, loving mother, or doting father to lose it all and fight like a caged animal? What can cause a small village to rise up and rebel against an oppressive police force and start killing them? What is the switch that gets flipped that causes a city to pour two million people into the streets, chanting and demanding to be heard by their government?

Lately it feels more and more as though we are on standing on the edge of some yawning precipice peering over the crest into darkness. What is more troubling to me is that we have been down this path before. The sense of unease is almost palpable to me sometimes; it is more evident if you are paying attention. If you are able to eliminate the white noise of the world for a minute; hit the pause button on the playlist of daily life for a while and look around, listen, you may start to recognize that you too are caught up in events that will soon change all our lives.

For several years I have felt an unsettling sense that we need to be prepared, that life is going to throw us a big, fat, greasy curve ball soon and we better not be caught napping. To try and proactively address that warning voice I started planning and taking steps to prepare my family to be able to weather events in the future. I am certainly not alone in this concern as you can easily see by the tremendous growth of the prepper movement. In the spectrum of probable events, there are a lot of potential scenarios. Natural disasters and emergencies occur every day all over the world, but you have to broaden your gaze and look to current events and history as well. One of the things that I think is a valid potential event to consider is a collapse of our way of life which leads to an authoritarian oppressive government.

Are we reaching a tipping point?

We have seen in recent events, by now almost too numerous to mention, the effects of a rising frustration with the way things are. It isn’t necessary to go into all of the individual reasons, but as a society there are more and more outpourings of frustration on a global scale. There are increasingly tightening restrictions against people. There is a manipulation of markets and the economy. There is a great increase in the loss of freedom and there is a more open antagonism and almost outright animosity by Government towards their people.

Governments exist either because they have come to power through force and violence or they have been elected and given power by the people. The force and violence crowd usually have their roots in the military and we like to call them Dictators. There have been a ton of them throughout history; Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Kim Jong iL and now his son, Saddam, Gaddafi, the list goes on and on. Dictators don’t care about the people and usually kill anyone who gets in their way. It is a fact that government has killed more people than any other cause, disease or reason.

The other side of the coin is what is usually called Democracies. I am lumping a lot of governments in here I know, but the democracies are usually elected and formed with the consent of the people with the noble goal of securing rights or protecting the people over whom they govern. Almost without fail however, Democratic Governments eventually do not want to answer to the people and at some point they most certainly will not be told what to do by the people to the point of ignoring the will of the people (for the people’s own good of course). Now these governments that are supposed to secure the liberties of their people are becoming more openly hostile to the same people they have sworn to defend. Funnily enough the democratically elected governments now seem to want to hang on to power with the same methods of force and violence as dictators. How else can you explain arming themselves with ammo, ignoring the constitution, purchasing assault vehicles and preparing to confiscate firearms?

When governments will steal money outright from the citizens in order to pay bills that were not incurred by the people we have a problem. When government spies on its people and uses that information against them punitively we have a problem. When Government uses the force of the military that was supposed to defend the people that was paid for by the people, for the purposes of killing the people, we have a big problem. When someone brings to light crimes by the government and is labeled as the one who is a danger, we have a problem.

The problem is that governments around the world are viewing their people as the problem and there really seems to be only one way throughout history that this is ever rectified. My fear is that we are already set on a course that won’t be changed with laws, great political leaders, or a return to the values of a golden age in time long past.

The Fine Line – The Straw that breaks the camel’s back

The fine line between someone who is a law-abiding citizen and a murderer is one that exists purely in our souls. There is nothing physical that is different from a person who follows the rules and someone who breaks them. The urge to pull the trigger isn’t something you can see and it isn’t a trait to test for, so it must be our own individual sense of right and wrong. Of good and evil.

I know that some will argue that a psychopath is definitely recognizable by character traits and maybe even brainwaves or chemistry. That may be true, but you can be a psychopath (clinically) without ever hurting anyone. By the same token, you can take a life while being perfectly “sane”.

If you hold a knife in your hand, you are just as capable of using that to stab or cut someone as the murderer in the next town, but that thought never enters the mind of an overwhelming majority of people. A baseball bat in your hands can easily be swung with great force connecting it to the back of a skull, but this thought never appears in our heads; that is unless we are forced into a corner. When a person is in desperate fear for their lives, the unspoken rules of right and wrong are broken. The processes that we follow every day are overridden in the cause of rage or self-preservation. What was unthinkable before is now very real, necessary and even righteous with the right circumstances.

When the right buttons are pushed, anyone can lose it. When the fear of dying or of losing someone you love is so overpowering, the “fine line” that has been keeping us sane, law-abiding and good is easily shattered. When this happens, all bets are off.

We as a people, a country are still rather firmly attached on the good side of this line. We have not yet completely been driven to abandon all hope and lash out. We have not yet been so harmed, have not gotten to the point that we have nothing to lose and are ready to lose it, but this may be coming in the future.

The force and violence that is being used now to quell the dissatisfaction of people globally is increasing. The methods to cease the complaining of the rabble has been relatively minor with some exceptions. Tear gas, rubber bullets, mace and batons only work up to a point though. When the time comes that people can no longer abide, there won’t be enough police to stop them using riot control techniques. The military doesn’t have enough people to stop the entire population unless those people peacefully agree to surrender, so what will they do? Do you believe any government will quietly step down and admit that they are obviously not speaking for the people anymore? No. They will resort to more force and violence and people will die. Either that or you have a coup like they had in Egypt and guess who took over to “restore order”? Yep, the Military.

What will be the inevitable response by the authorities?

The Chinese people who started to revolt against the police in their town did so because the authorities were “placing restrictions on their culture, language and religion”. China is no picnic compared to America and we clearly know they have lived through far worse oppression than we have, but this was the straw that broke the camel’s back for them?

The protests which turned into an estimated two million citizens of Brazil had started simply enough with a protest over a rise in the rates of public transportation.

In America, what will be the trigger that causes people to rise up and say we aren’t going to take this anymore and more importantly what will happen when/if we do?

What will happen if we don’t change the path we are on?

There is a quote that has always struck me as very sad and telling from Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn in his book The Gulag Archipelago. Solzhenitsyn was a Russian who was sentenced to 8 years in a Soviet prison camp for essentially writing things about Stalin that the government didn’t like. During this time in Soviet Russia, to stifle dissent, millions were killed or sent to prison camps. In this passage Solzhenitsyn is talking about regret that everyone felt because they simply went along with this tyranny and didn’t oppose it.

 “AND HOW WE BURNED IN THE CAMPS LATER, THINKING: WHAT WOULD THINGS HAVE BEEN LIKE IF EVERY SECURITY OPERATIVE, WHEN HE WENT OUT AT NIGHT TO MAKE AN ARREST, HAD BEEN UNCERTAIN WHETHER HE WOULD RETURN ALIVE AND HAD TO SAY GOOD-BYE TO HIS FAMILY? OR IF, DURING PERIODS OF MASS ARRESTS, AS FOR EXAMPLE IN LENINGRAD, WHEN THEY ARRESTED A QUARTER OF THE ENTIRE CITY, PEOPLE HAD NOT SIMPLY SAT THERE IN THEIR LAIRS, PALING WITH TERROR AT EVERY BANG OF THE DOWNSTAIRS DOOR AND AT EVERY STEP ON THE STAIRCASE, BUT HAD UNDERSTOOD THEY HAD NOTHING LEFT TO LOSE AND HAD BOLDLY SET UP IN THE DOWNSTAIRS HALL AN AMBUSH OF HALF A DOZEN PEOPLE WITH AXES, HAMMERS, POKERS, OR WHATEVER ELSE WAS AT HAND?… THE ORGANS WOULD VERY QUICKLY HAVE SUFFERED A SHORTAGE OF OFFICERS AND TRANSPORT AND, NOTWITHSTANDING ALL OF STALIN’S THIRST, THE CURSED MACHINE WOULD HAVE GROUND TO A HALT! IF…IF…WE DIDN’T LOVE FREEDOM ENOUGH. AND EVEN MORE – WE HAD NO AWARENESS OF THE REAL SITUATION…. WE PURELY AND SIMPLY DESERVED EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENED AFTERWARD.”  – ALEKSANDR SOLZHENITSYN

Will this be our fate too? Will we slowly be conditioned to accept atrocities like this and to be completely defanged so that we can be herded into camps without so much as a whimper as well? That’s crazy you say! Is it? Right now, our government is hunting down someone who simply exposed how they (government) were illegally spying on all of us. Our government is buying arms and stockpiling weapons for use domestically not in some war. Our government has the IRS actively harassing a single political/opposition party. Our government has shown that they will lock down a town and go door to door while making the citizens stay cowered inside. Our government has stated that they can imprison anyone without cause for an indefinite amount of time.

Can you seriously argue that we aren’t headed down the same path as others have in our not too distant past?

This is not a call to armed Revolution, but I do think we should all be very wary of this course we are on and the echos of history. We should not be silent in the face of increasing oppression. We should not simply go along quietly because of the fear that we may get in trouble, or worse that we believe the government is only looking out for our best interests. You only need to look at the people in Poland who quietly went into the Warsaw ghettos. You don’t have to look any further than the Holocaust to see what quietly going along will get you.

This is not a fate that I will be bringing on my family.

It has always baffled western news pundits how peace talks are carried out in the Middle East, where both sides increase their military capability against one another while drinking sweet tea and discussing peace with your enemy.

It’s hard to fathom Joe Biden’s strategy in the Middle East, when his recent actions show at best egregious ignorance of the region or at worse a lack of finesse. Perhaps he simply isn’t listening to his advisors who know the region and the myriad of complicated games which are at play. But the recent air strikes he ordered against Iranian-backed militias both in Iraq and Syria is as curious if not bewildering as his own administration’s crackdown on Iranian media outlets – many which are even staunch enemies of the regime in Tehran.

On the one hand, Biden desperately wants a deal with Iran which curtails its nuclear capability. Yet on the other, things have got so complicated with the situation which was left for him by Trump – not to mention the regime in Tehran swinging back to its hardline roots, with the emergence of a 1980s henchman, who is on the US sanctions list of hardcore international criminals, Ebrahim Raisi.

Whichever direction Biden moves, it’s as though he pulls the ropes around him even tighter, until he cannot even breath. This is where we are now with the airstrikes which he carried out in June 28. Analysts are left with their jaws wide open, wondering how he will ever make it to the Shangri la destination of getting a JCPOA Iran deal signed, once again. Of course, he is anxious to show the Iranians that US forces being hit by Iranian proxies cannot be a hidden part of the negotiations in Vienna and it’s natural that he doesn’t want to appear to be weak. But these two realities are making the Iranians laugh all the way to the bank, confident that he will succumb at some point, out of desperation, to Tehran’s wish list, which scraps all US sanctions and gives the mother of all boosts to the economy in Iran.

If he doesn’t accept the attacks on US forces as part and parcel of the negotiations, then he is lured into the trap which Tehran has prepared for him. The hardliners in Tehran will shrug their shoulders and tell their people “see… you can’t trust the Americans” redacting the bigger news story of the American soldiers being ambushed in the first place. And it will work. In Iran, many so-called reformists – the middle classes who believed in Iran being part of the western sphere – have given up on the idea heralded by modernists like Rouhani. There is fatigue now, which is being capitalised on by the Supreme Leader and his new president.

If he, however, accepts the attacks and doesn’t retaliate, then he appears even weaker than he already is believed to be; in fact, both scenarios, show him to be weak, but striking back with F-15 and F-16 jets on Hezbollah groups in Syria and Iraq is really what Iran wants. The collateral damage on the ground is minimal, but the political capital gleaned is tenfold. The strikes literally feed the regime and its objectives, politically, morally and ideologically.

It has always baffled western news pundits how peace talks are carried out in the Middle East, where both sides actually increase their military capability against one another while drinking sweet tea and discussing peace with your enemy across huge teak tables. But this is what Biden has to understand. He is not in a strong position, given that right from the beginning, Iran knew that, like Trump, his intention is not to get his hands dirty in the region. The so-called ‘soft diplomacy’ championed by Obama will also be Biden’s poisoned chalice, if he is not too careful. The difference, perhaps, between Biden and Trump is subtle; Biden is way more predictable and Iran can strategise around his cavernous policies, which can be summed up by “do as little as possible, but keep talking and threatening, as though you have 100,000 troops on the ground when in fact you have none”. The “do nothing” policy in Afghanistan, for example, is already opening the sluice of control to the Taliban who have wasted no time at all by the US pull out and have taken a number of towns in recent days.

A smarter and much braver policy would have been to have called Iran’s bluff and closed the talks in Vienna, citing the attacks on US soldiers as unacceptable. This would have taken great courage but would have also put the Iranians in a tight spot as their theatrical game in Vienna would have been exposed as a sham. It would have also given Biden some kudos right across the region, showing Tehran that he has real strength where it matters, as a stellar strategist.

In reality, Biden was pulled into a very primitive bear trap which has left him harpooned and unable to move now. Perhaps Biden needs to write a book about the ‘art of the deal’, ready to be published around 2024 as all we are seeing from him in the Middle East are strong words from a weak stomach.

The late afternoon light is shining through your window and the scene outside is quiet, just the way you like it. You are about a month into a serious collapse and thus far your preps have held up. Power has been out for 2 weeks; you don’t plan on ever having power again. You prepared for that.

As the sun sinks closer to the horizon you hear one of the most terrifying sounds of all: A knock on the door!

Your family finds their places and weapons, you leave from the backdoor and flank whoever might be on your porch. To your surprise it is your cousin! You haven’t seen him in years, but he is here. He looks rough and he has his disheveled family of three along with him.  He also doesn’t seem to have any food or supplies with him.

This is one of the prepper scenarios we all have thought about. However, it might not be as bad as you think!

People Are Power

So, what do you do when someone unexpected comes knocking? Now, that is an interesting word to use in conjunction with preppers. UNEXPECTED. The whole point of prepping is to consider the unexpected.

In a true SHTF situation people bring you power. Your community should be like a hive. Hardly worth the trouble of any small group that might wish to steal or worse. You must be able to sustain them or have them sustain themselves but there will be tremendous power in numbers. Big jobs become easier, you can make an area more secure with more people, and you have more brains to put towards a problem.

Of course, its not heaven. With people come people issues like fights, jealousy, and the like. However, good leadership and preparedness can give you the upper hand on things like that.

You must first make an honest list of “survival dependents” or people who will come to depend on you when everything goes to hell!

Trust me, your list is bigger than you think.

Survival Dependents

While it is nice to imagine that the calamity will never cross your threshold, the reality is that many more people depend on you than you think. Chances are, even if people don’t know you’re a prepper, you are the type of person who has it together. You are likely the person people go to for answers.

No matter how strong your OPSEC protocols are if you are a good and solid person, than people will look to you in times of crisis. These might be people you love or just people you know.

Now is the time to sit down and create a real list. You must take off the blinders and truly consider all the people who will depend on you in an SHTF situation. It would be perfect if your list consisted of 4 people but when you break it down you have groups of people to consider.

• Immediate Family
• Extended Family
• Friends
• Co Workers

Your group of survival dependents could include people from each of these categories. How they depend on you may vary but this list will help you understand that there are more people than just your immediate family who will turn to you in times of calamity.

Can You Support People?

Of course, the question that comes to mind after you create a list like this is: Do I have enough?

For most people, the answer is no. It can be over burdensome to assume that you can prep for all the people who might be on your list of survival dependents. When these people show up asking for food, though, you need to have something!

Unless you subscribe to the idea that you are going to turn everyone away who comes to your door. If that is your game plan than you better also prepare for some serious backlash. How many fathers with kids can you turn away before one of them says, “No, we are coming in.”

What happens next cannot be good, with lots of harmful outcomes.

This doesn’t mean you should be a pushover and let any old person into your home and feed them.

Tip: When people approach you to ask for something, if they come to your door or see you outside, simply ask them for something first! Open the door and ask for food and medicine: “Oh, I hope you brought some food, we haven’t eaten in a week!”

Put Them to Work Immediately

From that list of survival dependents, you will likely choose people who you will bring into the fold. However, don’t let them in free of charge. The best way to handle someone who comes asking for help is to immediately give them some form of work to be done.

This is also a great gauge of the depth of that person. Those who are outraged by the work that needs to be done at “their new home” are people that you can easily weed out. Just make it truly clear up front that there is plenty to do and if they cannot do what is asked, they cannot stay.

By the way, there will be plenty to do! If you manage a household of four and all the sudden it jumps to ten you will have lots of extra work. It is not so much about room but about dishes, laundry, food production, security detail in the neighborhood, general cleaning.

In an off-grid situation, it might be about things like water procurement and sanitizing, renewable energy system maintenance, gardening, canning and everything in between.

There will be a serious list of chores to be done and the last thing you want is a house full of freeloaders laying around all day while you are red in the face.

Using a basic Excel spreadsheet, you will be able to create chore lists TODAY for issues that might come tomorrow. Print a stack of them and save them. They can be filled out by hand when the time comes or if you know the system you could print them with the duties listed.

It’s high time we stop looking at neighbors and friends as threats in the downfall. Many people can see something resembling collapse just on the horizon. Its hard not to look around and wonder how the unprepared will react to a future of scarcity, uncertainty, with up close and personal violence.

If America is facing balkanization or civil war it will be particularly important that you have a secure neighborhood with plenty of able-bodied individuals. Many neighbors will leave for a safer environment and you must be aware of that. However, that might free up homes and living areas for more of your survival dependents.

Your survival dependents are not the burden you once thought. Believe me. While you know the flaws of the people around you, they have two ears, two eyes and a heart that wants to survive. If you can find it in you to lead these people they will provide you with a true survival group that will keep you and yours from being acted upon by anyone with a group larger and better trained than you and your spouse!

There have been over 300 victims of shootings in NYC in a month’s time. This is up 3-fold from the stats from the same period in 2019. People know that policing has changed drastically, and the worst elements of society are taking full advantage of this.

In our brave new America, it is hard to know where you stand. The ground underfoot is unsure, and the culture is changing rapidly. If you find yourself standing before law enforcement do you know the best course of action? Do you know when to speak and when to dummy up to protect yourself?

Cops are people. Never forget that. They show up to assess and enforce the law. There are many people who have wound up in custody when they shouldn’t have. Much of it has to do with simply saying too much or communicating the wrong information.

Fifth Amendment Protections

Now we have a world movement that is attempting usurp the constitution and its vast protections. We could stand to lose everything if we go the route of a one world government or a coalition of nations woven together by big tech and socialist ideologies.

We do not have to talk to the police at all. We can simply comply in silence. In most cases it’s just easier to go along and get along. If you were speeding than be cordial, give them what they ask for and pay your fine. You broke the law.

However, things can get more complicated in matters of false accusation or self-defense. In those moments you might choose to evoke the powers of the 5^th Amendment. Which states:

“No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.”

To further drive this home let’s look at few situations where you can effectively communicate with police and some circumstances where you are better off just shutting up and letting the law work or lawyer up to protect yourself.

DON’T SPEAK: When You Are Nervous

Police must gauge people in high stress situations, and they are trained to recognized strange behavior.

Some people get incredibly nervous when they interact with police. People who are sneaking things and doing bad things can get nervous and act strange when confronted by the police, too.

They cannot know which type of person you are in the seconds after they pull you over. If you are nervous and you are fumbling over your words, limit way you say and do your best to comply with reasonable requests.

DON’T SPEAK: If You Don’t Know Where You Stand

In a simple traffic violation, you know where you stand. Your light is out, you were speeding, or you got caught searching on your phone instead of paying attention to the road. It’s pretty cut and dry even though many people still argue with police in these moments.

What is much more alarming is when you find yourself standing before a police officer without knowing why they have shown up or what you have done.

This could happen for lots of reasons. A malicious neighbor might have called the cops to your home for a loud party you are having, you might fit the description of someone who they are looking for or you might have just strolled into a crime scene at the wrong time.

The best thing to do is dummy up and keep quiet. Don’t spend your time explaining yourself. Don’t spend time explaining your innocence. You are protected by the constitution and your calm; compliance will do you much better than arguing and resisting.

DON’T SPEAK: If You Are Called in After the Fact

If you find yourself in a police station answering questions as more than just a witness to a crime, you need a lawyer. You are on the verge of becoming a statistic.

Remember, police are interested in enforcing the law and putting cases to bed.

If you start talking and suddenly fit the bill you might already be a suspect and your words could incriminate you even further.

DON’T SPEAK: In a Self Defense Scenario

If you have just experienced a violent scenario where you were forced to protect yourself with your fists, a knife, a gun or some other kind of weapon, you need to focus on calming down, above all.

You are in no condition to start explaining why you used your firearm or how the attacker approached you.

While we like to believe that simply defending ourselves is a protection awarded to us by the law, most states have some hoops to jump through before you can physically harm another person in self-defense. Particularly if firearms and death are involved. Wait for your attorney on this one.

SPEAK: If You Are a Witness

As a witness your words hold weight with police. This one can be a little tricky depending on the situation but in many cases eyewitness reports are valuable. This can be especially true if there are limited witnesses.

In my opinion this is part of your civic duty.

SPEAK: To Announce your CCW

Always announce you CCW. Be truly clear and assure the officer understands what you are saying. In most cases the police officer will ask you to put the gun someplace safe or, if its in a bag, will move the bag to the trunk of your car.

This is for both of your safety.

SPEAK: To Be Cordial and Respectful

This was lost on people even before this current cultural revolution against law enforcement. People don’t like to be told they are wrong, even when they are wrong!

I always try to be cordial and respectful to police. I am not a big fan of authority figures and never have been. Still, I understand the struggle. I understand the risk in what they do. Most importantly, I understand that they are people just like you and me and if I pulled someone over for running a red light I would want a society that is mature enough to admit they were wrong and move on while simply being decent.

It is hard to know what the future of policing might look like. In many places where the police are needed most, they have been massively defunded. No one has really been clear about what this kind of defunding will do to police capabilities.

In all the funk and the whirlwind of this cultural revolution you will likely have an interaction with police. We are preppers. You should not be surprised by how you act in almost any situation. Interactions with police should be mostly cordial.

No matter where you fall on the police debate there will be times that you should hush up and go with the flow of the officer. There will be times when your freedom might depend on you being quiet and waiting for an attorney. For the most part, though, speaking with cops on average is just about being polite and respectful.

The late afternoon light is shining through your window and the scene outside is quiet, just the way you like it. You are about a month into a serious collapse and thus far your preps have held up. Power has been out for 2 weeks; you don’t plan on ever having power again. You prepared for that.

As the sun sinks closer to the horizon you hear one of the most terrifying sounds of all: A knock on the door!

Your family finds their places and weapons, you leave from the backdoor and flank whoever might be on your porch. To your surprise it is your cousin! You haven’t seen him in years, but he is here. He looks rough and he has his disheveled family of three along with him.  He also doesn’t seem to have any food or supplies with him.

This is one of the prepper scenarios we all have thought about. However, it might not be as bad as you think!

People Are Power

So, what do you do when someone unexpected comes knocking? Now, that is an interesting word to use in conjunction with preppers. UNEXPECTED. The whole point of prepping is to consider the unexpected.

In a true SHTF situation people bring you power. Your community should be like a hive. Hardly worth the trouble of any small group that might wish to steal or worse. You must be able to sustain them or have them sustain themselves but there will be tremendous power in numbers. Big jobs become easier, you can make an area more secure with more people, and you have more brains to put towards a problem.

Of course, its not heaven. With people come people issues like fights, jealousy, and the like. However, good leadership and preparedness can give you the upper hand on things like that.

You must first make an honest list of “survival dependents” or people who will come to depend on you when everything goes to hell!

Trust me, your list is bigger than you think.

Survival Dependents

While it is nice to imagine that the calamity will never cross your threshold, the reality is that many more people depend on you than you think. Chances are, even if people don’t know you’re a prepper, you are the type of person who has it together. You are likely the person people go to for answers.

No matter how strong your OPSEC protocols are if you are a good and solid person, than people will look to you in times of crisis. These might be people you love or just people you know.

Now is the time to sit down and create a real list. You must take off the blinders and truly consider all the people who will depend on you in an SHTF situation. It would be perfect if your list consisted of 4 people but when you break it down you have groups of people to consider.

• Immediate Family
• Extended Family
• Friends
• Co Workers

Your group of survival dependents could include people from each of these categories. How they depend on you may vary but this list will help you understand that there are more people than just your immediate family who will turn to you in times of calamity.

Can You Support People?

Of course, the question that comes to mind after you create a list like this is: Do I have enough?

For most people, the answer is no. It can be over burdensome to assume that you can prep for all the people who might be on your list of survival dependents. When these people show up asking for food, though, you need to have something!

Unless you subscribe to the idea that you are going to turn everyone away who comes to your door. If that is your game plan than you better also prepare for some serious backlash. How many fathers with kids can you turn away before one of them says, “No, we are coming in.”

What happens next cannot be good, with lots of harmful outcomes.

This doesn’t mean you should be a pushover and let any old person into your home and feed them.

Tip: When people approach you to ask for something, if they come to your door or see you outside, simply ask them for something first! Open the door and ask for food and medicine: “Oh, I hope you brought some food, we haven’t eaten in a week!”

Put Them to Work Immediately

From that list of survival dependents, you will likely choose people who you will bring into the fold. However, don’t let them in free of charge. The best way to handle someone who comes asking for help is to immediately give them some form of work to be done.

This is also a great gauge of the depth of that person. Those who are outraged by the work that needs to be done at “their new home” are people that you can easily weed out. Just make it truly clear up front that there is plenty to do and if they cannot do what is asked, they cannot stay.

By the way, there will be plenty to do! If you manage a household of four and all the sudden it jumps to ten you will have lots of extra work. It is not so much about room but about dishes, laundry, food production, security detail in the neighborhood, general cleaning.

In an off-grid situation, it might be about things like water procurement and sanitizing, renewable energy system maintenance, gardening, canning and everything in between.

There will be a serious list of chores to be done and the last thing you want is a house full of freeloaders laying around all day while you are red in the face.

Using a basic Excel spreadsheet, you will be able to create chore lists TODAY for issues that might come tomorrow. Print a stack of them and save them. They can be filled out by hand when the time comes or if you know the system you could print them with the duties listed.

It’s high time we stop looking at neighbors and friends as threats in the downfall. Many people can see something resembling collapse just on the horizon. Its hard not to look around and wonder how the unprepared will react to a future of scarcity, uncertainty, with up close and personal violence.

If America is facing balkanization or civil war it will be particularly important that you have a secure neighborhood with plenty of able-bodied individuals. Many neighbors will leave for a safer environment and you must be aware of that. However, that might free up homes and living areas for more of your survival dependents.

Your survival dependents are not the burden you once thought. Believe me. While you know the flaws of the people around you, they have two ears, two eyes and a heart that wants to survive. If you can find it in you to lead these people they will provide you with a true survival group that will keep you and yours from being acted upon by anyone with a group larger and better trained than you and your spouse!

There have been over 300 victims of shootings in NYC in a month’s time. This is up 3-fold from the stats from the same period in 2019. People know that policing has changed drastically, and the worst elements of society are taking full advantage of this.

In our brave new America, it is hard to know where you stand. The ground underfoot is unsure, and the culture is changing rapidly. If you find yourself standing before law enforcement do you know the best course of action? Do you know when to speak and when to dummy up to protect yourself?

Cops are people. Never forget that. They show up to assess and enforce the law. There are many people who have wound up in custody when they shouldn’t have. Much of it has to do with simply saying too much or communicating the wrong information.

Fifth Amendment Protections

Now we have a world movement that is attempting usurp the constitution and its vast protections. We could stand to lose everything if we go the route of a one world government or a coalition of nations woven together by big tech and socialist ideologies.

We do not have to talk to the police at all. We can simply comply in silence. In most cases it’s just easier to go along and get along. If you were speeding than be cordial, give them what they ask for and pay your fine. You broke the law.

However, things can get more complicated in matters of false accusation or self-defense. In those moments you might choose to evoke the powers of the 5^th Amendment. Which states:

“No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.”

To further drive this home let’s look at few situations where you can effectively communicate with police and some circumstances where you are better off just shutting up and letting the law work or lawyer up to protect yourself.

DON’T SPEAK: When You Are Nervous

Police must gauge people in high stress situations, and they are trained to recognized strange behavior.

Some people get incredibly nervous when they interact with police. People who are sneaking things and doing bad things can get nervous and act strange when confronted by the police, too.

They cannot know which type of person you are in the seconds after they pull you over. If you are nervous and you are fumbling over your words, limit way you say and do your best to comply with reasonable requests.

DON’T SPEAK: If You Don’t Know Where You Stand

In a simple traffic violation, you know where you stand. Your light is out, you were speeding, or you got caught searching on your phone instead of paying attention to the road. It’s pretty cut and dry even though many people still argue with police in these moments.

What is much more alarming is when you find yourself standing before a police officer without knowing why they have shown up or what you have done.

This could happen for lots of reasons. A malicious neighbor might have called the cops to your home for a loud party you are having, you might fit the description of someone who they are looking for or you might have just strolled into a crime scene at the wrong time.

The best thing to do is dummy up and keep quiet. Don’t spend your time explaining yourself. Don’t spend time explaining your innocence. You are protected by the constitution and your calm; compliance will do you much better than arguing and resisting.

Experts predict that an EMP strike that wipes out electricity across the nation would ultimately lead to the demise of up to 90% of the population. However, this figure begs an important question: if we were able to live thousands of years without even the concept of electricity, why would we suddenly all die without it?

DON’T SPEAK: If You Are Called in After the Fact

If you find yourself in a police station answering questions as more than just a witness to a crime, you need a lawyer. You are on the verge of becoming a statistic.

Remember, police are interested in enforcing the law and putting cases to bed.

If you start talking and suddenly fit the bill you might already be a suspect and your words could incriminate you even further.

DON’T SPEAK: In a Self Defense Scenario

If you have just experienced a violent scenario where you were forced to protect yourself with your fists, a knife, a gun or some other kind of weapon, you need to focus on calming down, above all.

You are in no condition to start explaining why you used your firearm or how the attacker approached you.

While we like to believe that simply defending ourselves is a protection awarded to us by the law, most states have some hoops to jump through before you can physically harm another person in self-defense. Particularly if firearms and death are involved. Wait for your attorney on this one.

SPEAK: If You Are a Witness

As a witness your words hold weight with police. This one can be a little tricky depending on the situation but in many cases eyewitness reports are valuable. This can be especially true if there are limited witnesses.

In my opinion this is part of your civic duty.

SPEAK: To Announce your CCW

Always announce you CCW. Be truly clear and assure the officer understands what you are saying. In most cases the police officer will ask you to put the gun someplace safe or, if its in a bag, will move the bag to the trunk of your car.

This is for both of your safety.

SPEAK: To Be Cordial and Respectful

This was lost on people even before this current cultural revolution against law enforcement. People don’t like to be told they are wrong, even when they are wrong!

I always try to be cordial and respectful to police. I am not a big fan of authority figures and never have been. Still, I understand the struggle. I understand the risk in what they do. Most importantly, I understand that they are people just like you and me and if I pulled someone over for running a red light I would want a society that is mature enough to admit they were wrong and move on while simply being decent.

It is hard to know what the future of policing might look like. In many places where the police are needed most, they have been massively defunded. No one has really been clear about what this kind of defunding will do to police capabilities.

In all the funk and the whirlwind of this cultural revolution you will likely have an interaction with police. We are preppers. You should not be surprised by how you act in almost any situation. Interactions with police should be mostly cordial.

No matter where you fall on the police debate there will be times that you should hush up and go with the flow of the officer. There will be times when your freedom might depend on you being quiet and waiting for an attorney. For the most part, though, speaking with cops on average is just about being polite and respectful.

There have been over 300 victims of shootings in NYC in a month’s time. This is up 3-fold from the stats from the same period in 2019. People know that policing has changed drastically, and the worst elements of society are taking full advantage of this.

In our brave new America, it is hard to know where you stand. The ground underfoot is unsure, and the culture is changing rapidly. If you find yourself standing before law enforcement do you know the best course of action? Do you know when to speak and when to dummy up to protect yourself?

Cops are people. Never forget that. They show up to assess and enforce the law. There are many people who have wound up in custody when they shouldn’t have. Much of it has to do with simply saying too much or communicating the wrong information.

Guns have been referred to as “the great equalizer,” and there’s no weapon which can come close to them in that regard.

A lot of the popularity of firearms is due to the fact that anyone can use them effectively, not only the strong and agile. The young, the old, men, women and child can take up firearms in defense of home and family and do so effectively.

But what do you do if you can’t use a gun – or if you don’t have a gun — to protect yourself?

Fifth Amendment Protections

Now we have a world movement that is attempting usurp the constitution and its vast protections. We could stand to lose everything if we go the route of a one world government or a coalition of nations woven together by big tech and socialist ideologies.

We do not have to talk to the police at all. We can simply comply in silence. In most cases it’s just easier to go along and get along. If you were speeding than be cordial, give them what they ask for and pay your fine. You broke the law.

However, things can get more complicated in matters of false accusation or self-defense. In those moments you might choose to evoke the powers of the 5^th Amendment. Which states:

“No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.”

To further drive this home let’s look at few situations where you can effectively communicate with police and some circumstances where you are better off just shutting up and letting the law work or lawyer up to protect yourself.

DON’T SPEAK: When You Are Nervous

Police must gauge people in high stress situations, and they are trained to recognized strange behavior.

Some people get incredibly nervous when they interact with police. People who are sneaking things and doing bad things can get nervous and act strange when confronted by the police, too.

They cannot know which type of person you are in the seconds after they pull you over. If you are nervous and you are fumbling over your words, limit way you say and do your best to comply with reasonable requests.

DON’T SPEAK: If You Don’t Know Where You Stand

In a simple traffic violation, you know where you stand. Your light is out, you were speeding, or you got caught searching on your phone instead of paying attention to the road. It’s pretty cut and dry even though many people still argue with police in these moments.

What is much more alarming is when you find yourself standing before a police officer without knowing why they have shown up or what you have done.

This could happen for lots of reasons. A malicious neighbor might have called the cops to your home for a loud party you are having, you might fit the description of someone who they are looking for or you might have just strolled into a crime scene at the wrong time.

The best thing to do is dummy up and keep quiet. Don’t spend your time explaining yourself. Don’t spend time explaining your innocence. You are protected by the constitution and your calm; compliance will do you much better than arguing and resisting.

Experts predict that an EMP strike that wipes out electricity across the nation would ultimately lead to the demise of up to 90% of the population. However, this figure begs an important question: if we were able to live thousands of years without even the concept of electricity, why would we suddenly all die without it?

DON’T SPEAK: If You Are Called in After the Fact

If you find yourself in a police station answering questions as more than just a witness to a crime, you need a lawyer. You are on the verge of becoming a statistic.

Remember, police are interested in enforcing the law and putting cases to bed.

If you start talking and suddenly fit the bill you might already be a suspect and your words could incriminate you even further.

DON’T SPEAK: In a Self Defense Scenario

If you have just experienced a violent scenario where you were forced to protect yourself with your fists, a knife, a gun or some other kind of weapon, you need to focus on calming down, above all.

You are in no condition to start explaining why you used your firearm or how the attacker approached you.

While we like to believe that simply defending ourselves is a protection awarded to us by the law, most states have some hoops to jump through before you can physically harm another person in self-defense. Particularly if firearms and death are involved. Wait for your attorney on this one.

SPEAK: If You Are a Witness

As a witness your words hold weight with police. This one can be a little tricky depending on the situation but in many cases eyewitness reports are valuable. This can be especially true if there are limited witnesses.

In my opinion this is part of your civic duty.

SPEAK: To Announce your CCW

Always announce you CCW. Be truly clear and assure the officer understands what you are saying. In most cases the police officer will ask you to put the gun someplace safe or, if its in a bag, will move the bag to the trunk of your car.

This is for both of your safety.

SPEAK: To Be Cordial and Respectful

This was lost on people even before this current cultural revolution against law enforcement. People don’t like to be told they are wrong, even when they are wrong!

I always try to be cordial and respectful to police. I am not a big fan of authority figures and never have been. Still, I understand the struggle. I understand the risk in what they do. Most importantly, I understand that they are people just like you and me and if I pulled someone over for running a red light I would want a society that is mature enough to admit they were wrong and move on while simply being decent.

It is hard to know what the future of policing might look like. In many places where the police are needed most, they have been massively defunded. No one has really been clear about what this kind of defunding will do to police capabilities.

In all the funk and the whirlwind of this cultural revolution you will likely have an interaction with police. We are preppers. You should not be surprised by how you act in almost any situation. Interactions with police should be mostly cordial.

No matter where you fall on the police debate there will be times that you should hush up and go with the flow of the officer. There will be times when your freedom might depend on you being quiet and waiting for an attorney. For the most part, though, speaking with cops on average is just about being polite and respectful.

You might be living in one of America’s deathzones and not have a clue about it
What if that were you? What would YOU do?

In the next few minutes, I’m going to show you the U.S. Nuclear Target map, where you’ll find out if you’re living in one of America’s Deathzones.

Hi, my name is Milan Adams and today, in this short article I’ll tell you something only a handful of powerful people have known for more than 10 years… I’ll present you crucial information that might save your life.

I’m talking about one of the best guarded secret of the 21^st century that may be a lifeline for you and your family.

Over the past year over 34,000 people have already found out how to protect their loved ones from this dark secret and it can help every American citizen get over tragic milestones such as hurricanes, snow storms or floods.

It was discovered by a stroke of luck in the archives of the Holy Country and its content predicted the turn points for mankind’s history and not only does it hold the answers to many questions already answered, but also to questions not yet asked …

I’m sure you’re already intrigued and you want to know all about this mystery so that you can also be prepared.

Honestly, it’s like nothing you’ve ever seen or heard and in a few minutes from now you’ll be outraged you never knew the danger you and your family have been living in…

So you absolutely need to watch this short presentation today, while it’s still up…

I don’t know how much longer I’ll have this free presentation online, so watch this right now, while you still can…

Before we continue, let me tell you who I am, and how it all started.

As I mentioned before, my name is John Stone, a 65 year old historian from Wichita, Kansas, and for the last 20 years I’ve been studying ancient and contemporary prophecies and I’ve witnessed countless revelations most people are unaware of…

While researching, I came across some shocking rumors from inside the White House and I decided to dig deeper into this mystery…

I was shocked to find out a big secret passed on from Bush to Obama and recently to Trump, but we’re being kept in the dark…

This secret deal is more dangerous that any present armed conflict…

It’s a sinister pact between The White House and high ranking officials of Vatican and it will reach its terms in a short while with devastating consequences…

Hidden investigations revealed that the core of this pact is one of Nostradamus’s long lost books that never reached the surface…

This book is the best guarded secret of the 21^st century and it contains crucial information on horrible events that already happened, and, more important, on America’s morbid destiny…

The events presented by this dark secret reveal that The United States will be hit by something bigger than hurricanes Michael or Florence, bigger than the great tsunami on the coast of Japan that brought over 15,000 deaths and destroyed over 1.1 billion buildings, or even the Indonesian earthquake that reached 9.1 magnitude.

But this time, the chaos will be man-made…

America as we know it will cease to exist… Mayhem, famine, diseases, death will take its place and will spread like cancer…

Don’t think for a second you’re prepared for the dark future that awaits us all…

Yet, before unraveling the much needed information, please give me the chance to tell you who Nostradamus is and why his predictions are so important for each and every one of us…

For centuries people have interpreted the words of Nostradamus and historians, even scientists have been amazed how accurate his prophecies have been…

It is a known fact that time after time Nostradamus predicted the rise of nations and fall of economies…

But his darkest prediction has yet to come true. Historians say it’s the most fearful and it means the beginning of the end. Scientist backed up the aspects with hard evidence…

Therefore, before going any further, I must warn you:

Therefore, before going any further, I must warn you:

What you are about to hear is deeply disturbing…

Because the dots that this presentation connects will send shivers down your spine and there will be no turning back once you hear this.

When you see the evidence that this great unavoidable ruination will come to reality, it will simply be impossible for you to go about your daily life like you used to… before knowing the truth…

In all human history no other prophet has so accurately predicted the great events all around the world:

Here are some of his predictions written in 1555 that have already come true:

“The blood of the just will be demanded of London,

Burnt by the fire in the year 66″

– The Great Fire of London from Sunday, 2 September to Wednesday, 5 September 1666

That’s 111 years before it happened. Historians say it’s one of the most accurate prophecies ever told. No other prophet predicted such a devastating event since then.

“From the depths of the West of Europe,

A young child will be born of poor people,

He who by his tongue will seduce a great troop;

His fame will increase towards the realm of the East.”

On April 20th, 1889 Hitler was born in Western Europe, from very poor parents. “By his tongue”, with manipulative oratory skills, Hitler led Germany to action in the years following WWI.

“Near the gates and within the cities

there will be two scourges the like of which was never seen,

famine within plague, people put out by steel,

crying to the great immortal God for relief.”

Nostradamus wrote about the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that led to death, hunger and unprecedented destruction…

And there are many others…

Yet you must understand, the visions he had could not be explained with the words of the time and he simply described them with the vocabulary he had…

Key persons around the world, who deciphered his undiscovered words, were forced to keep it under the hat…

They have hidden the true meaning of the forthcoming events that will shake us all…

These are previsions told over 5 centuries ago, carefully hidden by Nostradamus himself behind words…

His prophecies predicted Obama’s victory in 2013 as the first black president but few know Nostradamus also predicted the fall of America  by the end of this year due to a power no nation or alliance, be it military or economic, can withstand…

It will hit America at its core and will send us all into medieval times…

I will show you exactly why this knowledge is a closely guarded secret and I’ll reveal the signs that show how close we are to the fulfillment of the prophecy…

The threat comes from an enemy hidden in plain sight that has yet to show its true strength, but will not hesitate to crush anyone who stands against it, no matter how powerful or how technologically advanced it is…

My research lead me to the Vatican library where I found the writings of an Italian journalist who stumbled upon an unusual find, The Lost Book of Nostradamus, dated 1629.

Old historians talked about its existence, yet it did not surface until now…

When reading through it, I stumbled over a unique quatrain:

Earth-shaking fire from the center of the Earth.

Will cause the towers around the New City to shake,

Two great rocks for a long time will make war,

And then Arethusa will color a new river red.

– Charles Nostradamus

After months of hard work, I managed to decipher the true meaning of his words…

“The towers of the New City shake”

11.09.2001 – the darkest day in American history, YET!

Why would the great Nostradamus himself preach this historical turning point in the “New (YORK) City” as the beginning of the end of times?

It’s the day America was brought down on its knees by leader of Al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden. It was only the beginning.  A series of attacks against America have followed ever since and in the current geopolitical conditions – the war on Iraq, the war on ISIS, the Syrian and Ukrainian war, the constant terrorist attacks – it’s obvious we’re living in an unstable world that seems to teeter on the edge of complete chaos.

“Two great rocks for a long time will make war”

Besides America, the greatest power on Earth, there is another nation that has been rising for some years both economically and military and threatens our safety…

What country has recently started its violent expansion? What country has the military and economic power to spread chaos?

It’s greater than ISIS, Al-Qaeda, China, Iran, Iraq, all together. It’s the biggest country on earth ruled by the most fearful leader the history has ever seen: Russia with its dreadful leader, Vladimir Putin.

It’s Russia and all ancient prophecies are pointing in this direction.

The war we are on the verge on is foretold even by the HOLY BIBLE: “Think not that I come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword: Matthew 10:34” – Who else has sent “SWORDS” into Ukraine and Syria if not Putin himself? And, again, it’s only the beginning…

“And then Arethusa will color a new river red”

Arethusa, in Ancient Greek, means “the waterer”. The red river is the blood of our brave American soldiers who will die defending the country we all love.

But how will Putin strike using the force of water?

The world has already seen the force of nature. Countless fires, hurricanes, floods, acid rains, earthquakes etc. have struck our beloved country time after time…

It may seem that we are at the mercy of nature.

OR ARE WE?!…

“Earth-shaking fire from the center of the Earth.”

Again, to understand this apocalyptic message we need to look back into the history…

The day is 11 March, 2011. Japan – Eastern Coast. 14.46 local time.

The alarms start to ring. A huge tsunami can be seen across as it darkens the horizon. All hell unleashes over the land as the giant water block reaches the shore at heights of 133 feet.

The water falls down as a wall of bricks that smashes anything in its path.

15,893 deaths, 2,572 people missing, 1,148,067 buildings destroyed. And probably the most important damage the tsunami made – the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant…

All media stated at that time: “The force of nature”. Key persons running the media as skillful puppeteers are knee-deep in this massive cover up…

You might be tempted to believe this nonsense. Yet, in light of recent discoveries, things tend to look like SCI FI movies, but real hard evidence can back up every piece of information presented here.

Have you ever thought that not all natural disaster can be “natural”?

Over the years there have been many man-made disasters that had economical or military reasons.

Numerous sources claim that the 2011 tsunami was caused by man and the disaster and they were far from natural. [i]

They were also silenced…

This information never reached the surface because it would have meant WW III, as China would have investigated and would have declared war to whoever was responsible.

One of history’s most devastating events was created by man. And the purpose for such actions lies in the blue eyes of the former KGB agent who started his world conquer campaign from the very first day he took over Russia.[ii]

Russia’s military budget has tripled since Vladimir Putin won the elections in 2012. Hidden investigations revealed massive investments in 2 key points on Russian territory…

The first base Putin set his eyes on is Vladivostok. Besides this city, which is actually a military base, Putin has been pouring money into another secret military headquarter. The second key point of Putin’s worldwide campaign is located the Eastern part of the country, where high tech military camps were built in Khabarovsk

While media has been covering only the European and Syrian issue with Russia, Vladimir Putin has been investing in this secret operation and is planning on activating this cell to fulfill his master plan that will lead to a disaster of biblical proportions.

Listen to Brooks Agnew, earth tomographer, explaining this cutting edge technology:

This is the exact technology Putin developed to build a weapon of mass destruction in Khabarovsk.

Sources claim that Putin tested this technology on March 11, 2011 and caused a huge tsunami…[iii]

Hurricane Matthew started forming on September 28^th , 2018, when satellite footage showed the same activity in Khabarovsk on a larger scale…[iiii]

It is clear that Russia is preparing to take over the world and Japan and Matthew were mere tests…

Using this technology, he will strike America from distance and he won’t even be traced. So we won’t even know what hit us. The American government is not prepared for such events but you can be…

The consequences of such a powerful weapon will be far worse than Japan when Putin hits us with full throttle!

Anything starting from earthquakes, to hurricanes, massive fire spreads, massive and permanent power-outs!

How will the collapse start?

Firstly, the healthcare, which is already, as we all know, basically on its knees, with less and less personnel and less and less funding, will be overflowed, no matter the crisis…

Your local hospital will be overflowing and the staff probably won’t be able to help you or your loved ones…

During Florence for instance, non-threatening illnesses turned deadly because of lack of personnel, supplies and medicine…

The hospitals are barely prepared for the patients they get daily…

Next, the transport will shut down. You will not be able to travel to safe places to provide food or shelter. Medicine will not be delivered and pharmacies will be emptied in minutes.

And you may think this is the worst part. Yet, you can say goodbye to telecommunications, utilities and running water…

The diseases will spread in an instant, police won’t be able to help anyone (they barely do it now)…

As the great Nostradamus predicted, America will be covered in “rivers of blood” and we’ll all suffer…

So, when learning the truth, I gave it a good thought and decided not to sit around and wait for the disaster to strike.

I began researching every single survival technique I could find to save my family.

I made it my sole purpose because leaving my family’s wellbeing in the hands of the government clearly wasn’t an option.

Not only do they ignore the needs of the American citizens, but they keep us in the dark about the imminent danger.

So I immediately began to look at the problem from every angle because  I wanted to make sure my family never goes through such an experience. There had to be something.

Frustrated, I created a list of what I needed:

1. how to treat ourselves and others in case of an injury when doctors, pharmacies and hospitals are shut down…
2. how to protect ourselves from diseases, viruses and any illnesses…
3. what food, liquids and medicine to stock up and where to find sources of food, water and other necessary materials…
4. how to keep our appliances running, while the entire US power grid will be down…

And much other useful information…

Being a historian doesn’t really offer those kinds of skill…

So I started looking into every other solution that could bring me the security for my family.

Many sleepless nights passed and I was getting tired of surfing the Internet for a simple and efficient solution.

Yet one day, Emily, my wife, reminded me about my high school friend Rick who is a war veteran.

As a professional in the military field he had all the resources to help me.

After getting back from Iraq he dedicated his life to become an expert survivalist.

So I picked up the phone and called him.

We met up and discussed what I found out. When hearing the facts, he was very surprised. He told me that most of his army trainings consisted of similar threats.

He then explained to me the real secret to be safe in such situations is to know some basic techniques that only military men know. Because he trained in some of the toughest field conditions in the world, he knew them like the back of his hand.

That was the moment I realized I found solution to my problem.

What I didn’t realize however, is just how complex this domain is.

The true secret of it is that it so simple to learn.

And the fundamentals are so easy, yet few know it and it’s rarely used.

So, if properly taught, it can ensure anyone’s safety.

Without wasting a second, the very next day we met and we started sort of a “survival training” at his training camp.

As the training began I swore myself I wouldn’t go back home without the proper skills to survive The Strike.

After many hours of going through dozens of techniques I found what I was looking for and I realized that they held the key to protect my family.

But what I didn’t know exactly was how to apply them in extreme situations…

Rick, being an enthusiast in this field, thoroughly explained them to me.

However, I insisted to set some basic rules:

• I had to be able to easily teach them to my children .
• The materials we used had to be easy to find when everything goes South.

As a guy who trained in this domain, Rick had a pretty good idea of the methods that can help you survive under any circumstances. However, learning to apply them wasn’t that easy…

We had some heated arguments, mainly because of me being stubborn – I needed the course to be really easy to understand and teach others…

In the end, after several weeks, we finally came up with the simplest techniques that anyone can understand. Brilliant as they were, they could come in handy for anyone, anywhere.

We only used things lying around his training camp that I never thought could be of such use.

All accessories used during the course wouldn’t have cost more than 50 bucks at Home Depot.

However, I’m sure anyone could also find them around their house for free, if they weren’t in a rush.

But the most important part is that it was incredibly useful and easy to remember.

No risks of injuries or damages, so anyone will have zero worries about their family’s safety.

They simply have to follow the steps in the right order to achieve the skills…

And because of the ingenious way the course was designed…

They’ll be prepared for when Putin strikes with any weapon.

They’ll be prepared for any dangerous situation that might occur.

Even more, the techniques will provide security for anyone’s family, even if you face the most dangerous situations or you need them around the house.

So, after finishing the course, I headed home at peace, knowing that I’m prepared to protect my family from any disaster.

After a while, my family and friends noticed a change in me. They all saw me more relaxed, more confident in myself.

But the first test came shortly.

The next spring we went on our yearly family camping trip. Once a year we have a family tradition to spend a night or two in the wilderness – only us and the nature.

We packed all necessary supplies and headed out.

But this time was different.

At nightfall, as we were preparing to go to sleep, my wife, when moving the food in the trunk of the car, slipped on the wet grass and fell.

I heard a scream in the dark.

She had the bad luck of falling on a choppy rock and cut her calf.

I immediately rushed over and I realized it wasn’t a simple cut. It was deep and it was bleeding fast.

At the sight of blood she panicked and started to shiver.

I calmed her down and told her she was safe and everything would be OK.

I told her to lie on the back, I placed her legs at a higher level than her body, then I grabbed the first aid kit, cleaned the wound and bandaged her leg not to lose any more blood.

After securing the wound, I improvised some leg splints and tied them  with some rope I had in the car, just in case – exactly how Rick had taught me.

Because of the difficult road we couldn’t rush to the hospital that night but as soon as the first rays of sun came we drove off to check the wound.

After thoroughly analyzing the splinters, bandages and the cut, the doctor told me everything was OK and, to my surprise, asked me if it had been done by a healthcare professional because besides changing the bandage, nothing else was needed.

Feeling relieved, we went home. On our way, while driving, I realized how lucky we were that I had trained with Rick for Putin’s Big Strike.

I followed the steps Rick had taught me with such ease and it all came so natural to me that I didn’t even realize it at the moment.

In truth, I almost couldn’t believe how simple all of this was… and how it helped me and my family stay safe.

After a while I gave it a good thought and realized that it had been a great lesson…

In emergency situations you have to rely on yourself and not be dependent on anyone else.

And I felt so RELIEVED to know that I could offer my family the sense of safety and that they would always grow up in a warm, secure and comfortable home.

Now, that was about a year and a half ago…

And since then, my family and I have been more relaxed than I ever thought I would.

I started applying more and more of Rick’s techniques around the house and everything got easier.

Plus, using some of the information, I managed to grow a few vegetables and fruits in my small backyard.

Enough to never worry about extreme situations such as food-shortage.

Well before long my friends and family members were begging to know my secret…

And when I told them about my camp experience and how Rick’s techniques helped me then and on a daily basis…

A lot of them had a hard time believing some survival lessons could be so helpful.

But after I’d given them the simple, clear instructions… and they’d followed them, and even applied some on routine chores with ease… they became believers FAST.

Because when anyone used these amazing plans, the results were the same: sense of security, self-confidence and a safe environment for themselves and their family.

They all learned how to grow and cook their own food, produce their own water, protect their selves and their loved ones from any disaster, how to protect their homes … and more amazing such skills.

Soon my friends were telling their friends about the plans…

Until finally the number of phone calls and emails from people asking me to share them became too overwhelming…

Emily put her foot down and told me that I HAD to find a better way to share this information with the world.

So, I went to work with Rick putting on paper all the techniques, all the knowledge we had in clear simple steps.

Thirty years ago, most of the cars used carburetors, and only a few people believed that electromagnetic pulse (EMP) is a real threat.

Nowadays, even NASA admits that EMP is one of those events we could not recover from: it would stop all infrastructures that sustain modern society which rely so much on electronics. No communication, to transportation, and no escape with your fancy new car out of the crowded urban jungle.

So if you are one of those readers who wish to consider EMP-resistance as a factor in selecting a bug-out vehicle, then you should not miss this article.

I have been doing the survival thing for some time and I see precious few absolutes when it comes to survival and a whole lot of gray area. And I am not a mechanic or car salesman by trade, but I do have a solid background in technology and understanding of EMP as well what most people would term as vast experience as a self-reliant consumer.

Considering this, I will take a poke at answering some questions about EMP and how it would affect automobiles, which were asked by our readers after our recent article that described some top picks for ideal bugout vehicles.

9 EMP-Related Factors to Think Of When Buying Your Vehicle

First, there are factors to consider in choosing a post-EMP bug-out or survival vehicle:

1. Benefits of Diesel

A large and strong enough EMP could stop the extraction, refinement, distribution and sale of fossil fuels. Whatever gas you have on hand could be all the gas you get for years. The more highly a fuel is refined, the shorter its storage life. Diesel is less refined than unleaded so diesel stores longer.

You make biodiesel from crops that you grow. Diesel motors are somewhat simpler than gasoline motors in that they do not have an ignition system. This cuts down on some vulnerable parts.

Most tractors also run on diesel too, so for many homesteaders, it is worth considering.

2. Fuel Capacity

You can add oversized and/or additional fuel tanks to many vehicles, increasing the vehicle’s range. A post EMP world will likely have far fewer gas stations, if any. To get at any of remaining fuel, you will need a pump and hose like the Jackrabbit by Black & Decker.

3. Cargo or Towing Capability 

By the time you pile in what will surely be everything you own in this world, your spouse, your 2.4 kids, grandma and the golden retriever, you may be looking for ways to increase your vehicle’s carrying capacity. So cargo space, a trailer hitch, roof rack, swing outs and so forth will come in handy. For many, the vehicle will likely double as their home.

4. Off-Road Capability

Features such as 4-wheel drive, a full size spare, plenty of ground clearance, all-terrain tires, lockers, extraction or trail gear, towing points, winch and off road lighting will come in handy post-EMP because roads will no longer be maintained, disabled vehicles and vehicles that have run out of fuel will litter the roadway. Imagine the highway or even your own street after a snowstorm without any snowplows or drivers to remove the snow and 4-wheel drive and over-size tires starts to look like a pretty good idea.

5. Ease of Maintenance & Repair

Simplicity is a good thing when it comes to survival. Without computers, there is only so much to “do it yourself” on newer vehicles so older vehicles have greater appeal. A good repair manual and well-equipped toolbox are mission-critical equipment.

6. Commonality of Parts

An expensive custom vehicle might look cool online or be fun to daydream about, but after a HEMP, the first time it needs a part, you might wish you bought something a little more pedestrian (no pun intended). Better still would be 2 or 3 less-expensive vehicles as opposed to a single vehicle that strains your financial resources.

My grandfather did this and I learned it from him. He would take multiple beat-up vehicles and turn them into fewer good ones … and have a bunch of spare parts left over. A bunch of spare parts would be a good thing post-EMP.

7. Fewest Possible Microelectronics, Computers or Chips

Some newer vehicles have in excess of 100 processors that run on miniscule amounts of power. They sense and control virtually every function of the vehicle and are very sensitive to EMP.

How far are you going to get without an engine, fuel injection, transmission or 4-wheel drive system? Sure, car manufacturers take reasonable precautions to shield them, but not against such great field strengths or over the entire frequency range EMP covers. Any transistor-based technology is vulnerable.

Avoid vehicles with the following systems, rewire them or replace them with their non-electronic counterparts and/or stock replacements in a Faraday cage:

• PCM (Powertrain Control Module)
• Anti-lock Braking System
• Electronic Fuel Injection
• Electronic Ignition
• Computers Controlling Critical Systems
• Consumer Electronics
• Long Antennas
• Negative Battery Terminal Grounded to Vehicle Frame

8. Overt vs Covert

It is often best to blend in as opposed to standing out. In the city, that might mean driving a white sedan or van. In the bush, it might mean a camouflage or matte earth tone paint job.

Other times, looking like you are not worth tangling with might be the better option.

9. Conductive Metal Body

For the best EMP-resistance, choose a vehicle with conductive metal body enclosing the engine and passenger compartment or cab over a vehicle with body panels made of fiberglass, plastic or any other non-conductive material.

How to EMP-Harden Your Auto

If your vehicle already has these features or you are already doing these things, then you are already part of the way there. There are many features to look for and modifications to make to both your vehicle and your SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) regarding that vehicle.

No matter which automobile you choose, there is always more that can be done to minimize the effect of HEMP on the vehicle.

• Ground all conductive components of the vehicle to a single point on the chassis. Do not ground them to the earth.
• Park in an EMP-protected garage: I described how to build such a structure in the article How To Turn Your Q-Hut Into an EMP-shielded Home.
• Do not connect your vehicle to an unprotected engine oil warmer.
• Rewire with shielded wiring: Verify that your wiring is shielded or replace all you can with shielded wiring.
• Re-bond metal body panels: Remove body panels and make sure that you have good conductive bonds between body panels by removing paint and installing conductive gasket material or make sure you have metal on metal contact with as much overlap as possible. This will help the body conduct energy through the vehicle skin like the skin of a Faraday cage. Just do not allow yourself to be fooled into thinking that the vehicle skin is without holes that compromise its integrity. EM shielding is not all or nothing. Every little bit helps.
• Route wiring close to the vehicle frame
• Install ferrite clamps or snap on cores on cable ends
• Protect cable entry and exit points with surge suppression: This will need to be fast-clamping surge protection faster than one millisecond that will handle high voltages. (Think lightening protection.)
• Mechanical ignition (points and condenser)
• Install EMP-rated surge protection on antennas
• Mechanical fuel & water pumps
• Carburetor or mechanical fuel injection
• Keep spares of vulnerable parts you cannot replace in a Faraday cage: You may have a vehicle that is mostly good to go, but it still parts like a starter, alternator and voltage regulator that do not contain microelectronics, but could still conceivably be affected. Get some extras and store them in a Faraday cage. They do not even have to be new. Pull them off a junk vehicle and test them if you cannot afford new parts.
• Manual transmission: Some will surely disagree with me on this one, but they are easier to repair and make it possible to push start vehicles even if the battery is shot or missing. Even some diesels can be push or roll started if you wire open the fuel valve.

This is by no means a comprehensive list of vehicle modifications. Every vehicle is different. As previously stated, there is no one standard followed by manufacturers even for EMP shielding.

Keep in mind that everything you do improves your chances. Start with the easiest and least expensive and work your way through the harder ones.

10 Recommendations for EMP-resistant Transport:

There are a lot of good vehicles to choose from. There are many appealing aspects to these older vehicles. They are inexpensive to buy, inexpensive to work on as long as you provide the labor, simple to understand, inexpensive to insure and inexpensive to register.

You will have to do a little research on specific models to figure out what year the manufacturer started installing EFI (Electronic Fuel Injection) and so forth because I am supposed to be writing an article or two as opposed to a book here, but the topic is certainly worthy of a book.

1. Pre-1985 Toyota Hilux 4×4

These are tough little trucks. If you can find a 4×4 with the solid front axle and a carbureted 22R motor, you have a good starting point.

I have run one of these since the 1980’s and the worse I treat it, the better it runs. They are tough little trucks.

2. Sand Rail or Dune Buggy

The simpler the motor the better, but with larger motors, long wheel travel and skid braking, they will go faster than I want to go, that is for sure. Top a hundred mph off-road in one of these and it will either age you or make you younger. If you like to tinker and weld, they can be a great hobby. Hey, if they are good enough for the SEALs …

They are short on carrying capacity, but can sometimes fit in small planes when disassembled. Depending on where you live, a simple model of any of these may be a must have or you might keep one or more at a retreat or in a Toy Hauler trailer. There are even some diesel models out there.

3. CUCV

CUCV (Commercial Utility Cargo Vehicle) on the surplus market. They are basically a military diesel pickup or Blazer.

They started being manufactured in the 1970’s and are not armored, but some models do have some BOV-friendly features like a diesel power plant, blackout switch (to kill all lights), 4 wheel drive, dual 12v/24v voltage, Detroit lockers, dual alternators, Dana axles, brush bars, tow hooks and pintle hitches. And some are topped with shelters or ambulance beds.

You have to research each model though. Not all are 4×4’s and so on.

4. Pre-1980’s American-made Trucks and SUVs

Ford, Chevy, Dodge, these older US-made trucks are very common and are great candidates for a low profile bug out vehicles that double as daily drivers. I do not believe that any other vehicle on this list has the volume of accessories and options available to customize it.

5. Deuce and a Half Variants

There are many variants of these iconic 6×6 vehicles. Some are even bobbed to 4×4’s. They are not so great for keeping a low profile, but they are the go to choice for many preppers looking for a vehicle with plenty of cargo space and can be had starting at under $10K.

There are even some shops that will fix them up for you if you are not particularly mechanically inclined. Plan B Supply can hook you up with a Deuce and a half that is all decked out for the apocalypse for less than $40K, which is a tenth the price of a Knight, UniCat or the like, a whole lot less than an Earth Roamer and way more likely to still run after a HEMP.

6. Older Mercedes Benz Unimog (Diesel with Mechanical Fuel Injection)

Think of these as the European answer to the Deuce and a half. They were first manufactured just after WWII and were sold as the Freightliner Unimog in the US. They are popular as off-road expedition vehicles and even off road endurance events.

They are very reliable and you may find them hauling supplies in jungles, running the Dakar Rally, fighting fires or plowing snow in the North. They come in medium and heavy series.

Large diesel rigs like Unimogs and Deuce and a half’s are sometimes outfitted with marine diesel appliances and solar power and can even be fitted with a wind generator.

7. Sail Boats and Older Vessels With EMP-resistant Diesel Power Plants

If your bugout plan involves blue water, it likely involves a boat or sailboat. Space is limited on boats and must be carefully planned out, but many vessels have miniature versions of all the comforts of home.

There have been many self-reliant adaptations of boats and sailboats. They usually have one or more sails, a diesel power plant and appliances that run off diesel, use solar and sometimes wind as backup power sources.

A heavy duty desalinator and a backup desalinator are critical to make this option work.

8. Canoes, Kayaks, Sailboats, Pack Rafts and Other Small Watercraft

Maybe your bugout plan does not involve a blue water voyage, but it does involve running a stretch of river, lake or crossing a body of water. Man has used boats to solve these types of problems since prehistoric times.

A couple recently rowed across the Atlantic Ocean, but I would not recommend it and I am sure they would not either.

But if your route involves crossing a smaller body of water, a small watercraft may be an important arte of your plan.

9. Draft Horses & Wagon, Horses or Pack Animals

After a severe HEMP, they may make a comeback. As some of our troops were surprised to learn in Afghanistan, there is just no substitute for horses and pack animals in certain terrain.

My county has a mounted search and rescue team that is very effective in certain regions. Mules are an important part of maintaining many of our nation’s wilderness trails to this day and American mountain men would not have been able to travel the Western US trapping without horses and mules.

I have been grateful for them on trips that I have used them and it is plain to see why they figured so prominently into life until the advent of the automobile and how they will again if we lose are large electrical transformers due to EMP or any other reason.

10. Motoped or Bicycle with Trailer

Motoped is on my shopping list. You do not have to be a prepper to appreciate not having to deal with the Department of Motor Vehicles and being able to park in the bike rack.

Motopeds and bicycles are quiet and can be carried on the outside or on top of your rig as backup transport. If the motor is small enough or it doesn’t go faster than a certain speed motopeds are not classified as motorcycles in many states, but this varies by jurisdiction so check your local laws.

Other noteworthy options are:

• Older Toyota Landcruiser
• Pre-1980’s International Scout
• Pre-1980’s Jeep, Cherokee & Cherokee Chief
• Pre- 1980’s Land Rover
• Volkswagen Bug and Bus
• Motor Cycle, ATV, UTV or Snowmobile

In truth, there are many vehicles that would serve the function of bug out vehicle admirably, but in the end, your choice will likely be determined largely by availability, opportunity and economics. Whatever your financial situation may be, automobiles are generally a lousy investment. Invest in function as opposed to form when it comes to rolling stock, including bug out vehicles.

Similar to the prepper who is all guns and no groceries, every so often, I see someone who owns a car that is worth more than their home or someone who has invested a substantial portion of their net worth in a vehicle while living in an apartment. This never fails to cause me to pause to consider it.

Find a vehicle that will get you from point A to point B and make sure you have your food storage and other survival priorities in place.

If you get too far out of balance in any one area of preparedness, your plan is flawed.

Today, millions of Americans say that they believe that the United States is on the verge of a major economic collapse and will soon be entering another Great Depression. But only a small percentage of those same people are prepared for that to happen. The sad truth is that the vast majority of Americans would last little more than a month on what they have stored up in their homes. Most of us are so used to running out to the supermarket or to Wal-Mart for whatever we need that we never even stop to consider what would happen if suddenly we were not able to do that. Already the U.S. economy is starting to stumble about like a drunken frat boy. All it would take for the entire U.S. to resemble New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina would be for a major war, a terror attack, a deadly pandemic or a massive natural disaster to strike at just the right time and push the teetering U.S. economy over the edge. So just how would you survive if you suddenly could not rely on the huge international corporate giants to feed, clothe and supply you and your family? Do you have a plan?

Unless you already live in a cave or you are a complete and total mindless follower of the establishment media, you should be able to see very clearly that our society is more vulnerable now than it ever has been. This year there have been an unprecedented number of large earthquakes around the world and volcanoes all over the globe are awakening. You can just take a look at what has happened in Haiti and in Iceland to see how devastating a natural disaster can be. Not only that, but we have a world that is full of lunatics in positions of power, and if one of them decides to set off a nuclear, chemical or biological weapon in a major city it could paralyze an entire region. War could erupt in the Middle East at literally any moment, and if it does the price of oil will double or triple (at least) and there is the possibility that much of the entire world could be drawn into the conflict. Scientists tell us that a massive high-altitude EMP (electromagnetic pulse) blast could send large portions of the United States back to the stone age in an instant. In addition, there is the constant threat that the outbreak of a major viral pandemic (such as what happened with the 1918 Spanish Flu) could kill tens of millions of people around the globe and paralyze the economies of the world.

But even without all of that, the truth is that the U.S. economy is going to collapse. So just think of what will happen if one (or more) of those things does happen on top of all the economic problems that we are having.

Are you prepared?

The following is a list of 20 things you and your family will need to survive when the economy totally collapses and the next Great Depression begins….

#1) Storable Foo

Food is going to instantly become one of the most valuable commodities in existence in the event of an economic collapse. If you do not have food you are not going to survive. Most American families could not last much longer than a month on what they have in their house right now. So what about you? If disaster struck right now, how long could you survive on what you have? The truth is that we all need to start storing up food. If you and your family run out of food, you will suddenly find yourselves competing with the hordes of hungry people who are looting the stores and roaming the streets looking for something to eat.

Of course you can grow your own food, but that is going to take time. So you need to have enough food stored up until the food that you plant has time to grow. But if you have not stored up any seeds you might as well forget it. When the economy totally collapses, the remaining seeds will disappear very quickly. So if you think that you are going to need seeds, now is the time to get them.

#2) Clean Water

Most people can survive for a number of weeks without food, but without water you will die in just a few days. So where would you get water if the water suddenly stopped flowing out of your taps? Do you have a plan? Is there an abundant supply of clean water near your home? Would you be able to boil water if you need to?

Besides storing water and figuring out how you are going to gather water if society breaks down, another thing to consider is water purification tablets. The water you are able to gather during a time of crisis may not be suitable for drinking. So you may find that water purification tablets come in very, very handy.

#3) Shelter

You can’t sleep on the streets, can you? Well, some people will be able to get by living on the streets, but the vast majority of us will need some form of shelter to survive for long. So what would you do if you and your family lost your home or suddenly were forced from your home? Where would you go?

The best thing to do is to come up with several plans. Do you have relatives that you can bunk with in case of emergency? Do you own a tent and sleeping bags if you had to rough it? If one day everything hits the fan and you and your family have to “bug out” somewhere, where would that be? You need to have a plan.

#4) Warm Clothing

If you plan to survive for long in a nightmare economic situation, you are probably going to need some warm, functional clothing. If you live in a cold climate, this is going to mean storing up plenty of blankets and cold weather clothes. If you live in an area where it rains a lot, you will need to be sure to store up some rain gear. If you think you may have to survive outdoors in an emergency situation, make sure that you and your family have something warm to put on your heads. Someday after the economy has collapsed and people are scrambling to survive, a lot of folks are going to end up freezing to death. In fact, in the coldest areas it is actually possible to freeze to death in your own home. Don’t let that happen to you.

#5) An Axe

Staying along the theme of staying warm, you may want to consider investing in a good axe. In the event of a major emergency, gathering firewood will be a priority. Without a good tool to cut the wood with that will be much more difficult.

#6) Lighters Or Matches

You will also want something to start a fire with. If you can start a fire, you can cook food, you can boil water and you can stay warm. So in a true emergency situation, how do you plan to start a fire? By rubbing sticks together? Now is the time to put away a supply of lighters or matches so that you will be prepared when you really need them.

In addition, you may want to consider storing up a good supply of candles. Candles come in quite handy whenever the electricity goes out, and in the event of a long-term economic nightmare we will all see why our forefathers relied on candles so much.

#7) Hiking Boots Or Comfortable Shoes

When you ask most people to list things necessary for survival, this is not the first or the second thing that comes to mind. But having hiking boots or very comfortable and functional shoes will be absolutely critical. You may very well find yourself in a situation where you and your family must walk everywhere you want to go. So how far do you think you will get in high heels? You will want footwear that you would feel comfortable walking in for hours if necessary. You will also want footwear that will last a long time, because when the economy truly collapses you may not be able to run out to the shoe store and get what you need at that point.

#8) A Flashlight And/Or Lantern

When the power goes off in your home, what is the first thing that you grab? Just think about it. A flashlight or a lantern of course. In a major emergency, a flashlight or a lantern is going to be a necessity – especially if you need to go anywhere at night.

Solar powered or “crank style” flashlights or lanterns will probably be best during a long-term emergency. If you have battery-powered units you will want to begin storing up lots and lots of batteries.

#9) A Radio

If a major crisis does hit the United States, what will you and your family want? Among other things, you will all want to know what in the world is going on. A radio can be an invaluable tool for keeping up with the news.

Once again, solar powered or “crank style” radios will probably work best for the long term. A battery-powered until would work as well – but only for as long as your batteries are able to last.

#10) Communication Equipment

When things really hit the fan you are going to want to communicate with your family and friends. You will also want to be able to contact an ambulance or law enforcement if necessary. Having an emergency cell phone is great, but it may or may not work during a time of crisis. The Internet also may or may not be available. Be sure to have a plan (whether it be high-tech or low-tech) for staying in communication with others during a major emergency.

#11) A Swiss Army Knife

If you have ever owned a Swiss Army knife you probably already know how incredibly handy they can be. It can be a very valuable and versatile tool. In a true survival situation, a Swiss Army knife can literally do dozens of different things for you. Make sure that you have at least one stored up for emergencies.

#12) Personal Hygiene Items

While these may not be absolute “essentials”, the truth is that life will get very unpleasant very quickly without them. For example, what would you do without toilet paper? Just think about it. Imagine that you just finished your last roll of toilet paper and now you can’t get any more. What would you do?

The truth is that soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, toilet paper and other hygiene products are things that we completely take for granted in society today. So what would happen if we could not go out and buy them any longer?

#13) A First Aid Kit And Other Medical Supplies

One a more serious note, you may not be able to access a hospital or a doctor during a major crisis. In your survival supplies, be absolutely certain that you have a good first aid kit and any other medical supplies that you think you may need.

#14) Extra Gasoline

There may come a day when gasoline is rationed or is simply not available at all. If that happens, how will you get around? Be certain to have some extra gasoline stored away just in case you find yourself really needing to get somewhere someday.

#15) A Sewing Kit

If you were not able to run out and buy new clothes for you and your family, what would you do? Well, you would want to repair the clothes that you have and make them last as long as possible. Without a good sewing kit that will be very difficult to do.

#16) Self-Defense Equipment

Whether it is pepper spray to fend off wild animals or something more “robust” to fend off wild humans, millions of Americans will one day be thankful that they have something to defend themselves with.

#17) A Compass

In the event of a major emergency, you and your family may find yourselves having to be on the move. If you are in a wilderness area, it will be very hard to tell what direction you are heading without a compass. It is always a good idea to have at least one compass stored up.

#18) A Hiking Backpack

If you and your family suddenly have to “bug out”, what will you carry all of your survival supplies in? Having a good hiking backpack or “survival bag” for everyone in your family is extremely important. If something happened in the city where you live and you suddenly had to “go”, what would you put your most important stuff in? How would you carry it all if you had to travel by foot? These are very important things to think about.

#19) A Community

During a long-term crisis, it is those who are willing to work together that will have the best chance of making it. Whether it is your family, your friends, a church or a local group of people that you know, make sure that you have some people that you can rely on and work together with in the event that everything hits the fan. Loners are going to have a really hard time of surviving for long.

#20) A Backup Plan

Lastly, it is always, always, always important to have a backup plan for everything.

If someone comes in and steals all the food that you have stored up, what are you going to do?

If travel is restricted and your can’t get to your “bug out” location immediately do you have a Plan B?

If you have built your house into an impregnable survival fortress but circumstances force you to leave do you have an alternate plan?

The truth is that crisis situations rarely unfold just as we envision. It is important to be flexible and to be ready with backup plans when disaster strikes.

You don’t want to end up like the folks in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. You don’t want to have to rely on the government to take care of you if something really bad happens.

Right now the U.S. strategic grain reserve contains only enough wheat to make half a loaf of bread for each of the approximately 300 million people in the United States.

How long do you think that is going to last?

Now is the time to get ready.

Now is the time to prepare.

The United States economy is going to collapse and incredibly hard times are coming.

Will you be able to survive when it happens?