Man-Made Disasters
‘Doomsday Preppers’ Jay And Holly Blevins Featured On FOX Washington, D.C., News Story
“Since the year 2000, more than a million people have died in catastrophic events.”
-Jay Blevins, former law enforcement officer and “Doomsday Prepper,” in an April 29, 2013, FOX 5 (Washington, D.C.) TV news segment
Last Thursday I came across a pretty good piece on preppers by Sherri Ly over at the FOX 5 (Washington, D.C.) website. It features Jay and Holly Blevins, who appeared in season 2 episode 3 of the National Geographic Channel hit series Doomsday Preppers:
“Preppers: Ready for disaster”
FOX Washington, D.C. Video
By Christopher E. Hill, Editor
Survival And Prosperity (www.survivalandprosperity.com)
Tinley Park, Illinois, Site Of Urban Warfare Training Exercise
A little over a year ago, I blogged about Chicago hosting one of these military training exercises that since have popped up with increasing frequency in the news. From that April 16, 2012, post:
The City of Chicago’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC) released the following statement about the scheduled urban warfare training exercise today:
The City of Chicago is providing support for a routine military training exercise in and around the Chicagoland area on April 16 -19. This routine training is conducted by military personnel in cities across the country, designed to ensure the military’s ability to operate in urban environments as service members meet mandatory training certification requirements and prepare for upcoming overseas deployments.
The training sites have been carefully selected to minimize the impact on the daily routine of residents.
The training is not open to the public.
“The training is not open to the public.”
I guess downtown Chicago residents and workers were supposed to close their eyes and pretend the helicopters that buzzed them during last year’s event didn’t exist.
Anyway, last week, another one of these exercises took place in the Chicagoland area- in the southwest Chicago community of Tinley Park, Illinois. From the Chicago Tribune website today:
Department of Defense training exercises that included explosions heard miles away and helicopters flying over Tinley Park angered residents.
Residents said they heard “bomb” noises from about 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. on April 23 during what was an urban warfare training exercise at the former mental health center. Tinley Park police received about 25 calls from residents who were either fearful or angry, especially in the wake of the bombings in Boston the previous week.
Defense officials followed up with another exercise April 24 involving helicopters that flew over Tinley Park for much of the night. Residents reported hearing them from 8:30 p.m. until about 12:45 a.m…
Local police were not involved with the training, said Pat Carr, Emergency Management Agency director.
Like the Chicago urban warfare exercise last year, the public was not allowed to view the training. But that didn’t prevent a few from trying.
By Christopher E. Hill, Editor
Survival And Prosperity (www.survivalandprosperity.com)
Source:
“Urban warfare exercise rattles Tinley Park residents.” Chicago Tribune. 2 May 2013. (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/suburbs/tinley_park/ct-tl-tinley-park-dod-exercise-20130502,0,7645588.story). 2 May 2013.
Glenn Beck, Food Insurance Emphasize Preparedness In These Uncertain Times
Monday night I got the chance to watch The Glenn Beck Program on TheBlaze TV. It was a terrific episode- as usual. Glenn Beck is a big believer in preparedness these days. And Monday, in the wake of the Cyprus “bail-in” announcement, he revealed that he recently instructed his adult children to have 30 days of cash on hand in case of an emergency/currency crisis. Not a bad idea. Glenn also pointed out two more things that evening that might be of particular interest to Survival And Prosperity readers.
First, on the web site of another affiliate program I belong to- Food Insurance (company reviewed here)- the emergency food supply company is making available a free download of their list of “Top 50” must-have emergency items along with access to exclusive preparedness tips and special offers.
There’s a free sign-up (the company says the information will be kept “strictly confidential”), which I just got done completing. Now, I’m just waiting to receive an e-mail to download that “Top 50” list so I can see what their experts recommend.
(UPDATE: I just downloaded the list (.pdf file). It’s not bad, with more detail than I expected. I will study it more in the coming days.)
And speaking of experts, Glenn noted that this Thursday’s show will focus on preparedness. As such, The Glenn Beck Program will be having a number of prepper “experts” from a nearby prepping summit sponsored by Food Insurance attending the show that day. I’d expect Thursday’s programming to be quite interesting and informative. Those who have access to TheBlaze TV (I have it on DISH Network) might want to mark their calendars.
More information on that free Food Insurance download can be found on their website here. And TheBlaze TV, here.
By Christopher E. Hill, Editor
Survival And Prosperity (www.survivalandprosperity.com)
Apocalypse 101: New TV Show Premieres Tonight After Doomsday Preppers
Last night I saw on my satellite TV schedule a new show that’s going to be aired on the National Geographic Channel after Doomsday Preppers this evening:
Apocalypse 101
From the Nat Geo Channel website:
Episode: Expect the Unexpected
Next Airing: TUE MAR 12 10PM ET
Meet four former Marines who believe that they have what it takes to survive any doomsday scenario. Joel, Mark, Mike and Jimmy own Forge Survival Supply; their mission, use what they have on hand to teach and test their clients’ skills. In a remote area of Colorado, Mike and Mark meet a couple who are serious preppers. They want to step up their game, but the guys worry their open land and young children could interfere. The Marines will put them to the ultimate test with a simulation attack.
“Homestead Fortification”
National Geographic Channel Video
Looks promising. And it’s not a one-off either. According to the Nat Geo Channel site, there are four more episodes on tap for the next couple of Tuesdays.
So, after watching Doomsday Preppers tonight, remember- don’t touch that dial.
By Christopher E. Hill, Editor
Survival And Prosperity (www.survivalandprosperity.com)
North Korea Capable Of Crippling U.S. With Super-EMP Weapon?
“A furious North Korea threatened Thursday to attack America with nuclear weapons as punishment for perceived Western aggression – saber-rattling that came as the United Nations readied more sanctions against the Kim Jung-un’s rogue regime.
An unnamed spokesman in Pyongyang’s Foreign Ministry office said North Korea will launch “a preemptive nuclear attack to destroy the strongholds of the aggressors,” The Associated Press reports.
The spokesman referred to Washington as being the aggressor in a nuclear attack on North Korea, AP states.”
-The Washington Times, March 7, 2013
The last time I blogged about the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s nuclear warfare capabilities was on January 27. From that post:
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has been doing a lot of saber-rattling since I last blogged about the Communist state last month. At that time, I asked:
So what kind of timeframe are we talking about here before North Korea has an ICBM capable of reaching and hitting the continental U.S.?
Based on expert opinion, it could just be 4 short years.
And how does America know North Korea’s intentions are to target it with nuclear weapons? Ju-min Park and Choonsik Yoo reported on the Reuters’ website last Thursday:
North Korea said on Thursday it would carry out further rocket launches and a nuclear test that would target the United States, dramatically stepping up its threats against a country it called its “sworn enemy”…
“We are not disguising the fact that the various satellites and long-range rockets that we will fire and the high-level nuclear test we will carry out are targeted at the United States,” North Korea’s National Defence Commission said, according to state news agency KCNA.
(Editor’s note: Italics added for emphasis)
Park and Yoo added:
North Korea is not believed to have the technology to deliver a nuclear warhead capable of hitting the continental United States, although its December launch showed it had the capacity to deliver a rocket that could travel 10,000 km (6,200 miles), potentially putting San Francisco in range, according to an intelligence assessment by South Korea.
Now, the above discussion focused on a nuclear attack against the United States with intercontinental ballistic missiles as they’re traditionally-intended to be used.
However, earlier this week I stumbled upon material which suggests North Korea may already have the capability to cripple America via unconventional nuclear warfare.
Enter Dr. Peter Vincent Pry, Executive Director of the Task Force on National and Homeland Security and Director of the U.S. Nuclear Strategy Forum, both congressional advisory boards. Dr. Pry, a former intelligence officer with the Central Intelligence Agency, wrote on the Family Security Matters website on February 26:
The West consistently and unwittingly cooperates with North Korea and Iran by underestimating the advancement, sophistication, and strategic implications of their nuclear weapon and missile programs.
Despite North Korea’s successful long-range missile test in December 2012, and now its third successful nuclear test on February 12, 2013, the Obama administration and the press keep reassuring the American people that North Korea is not yet a fully fledged nuclear weapons state – that a North Korean nuclear missile threat to the United States is still years in the future.
The facts do not support this judgment. North Korea is already a major nuclear threat to the United States–an existential threat.
(Editor’s note: Italics added for emphasis)
Dr. Pry went on to say:
North Korea now appears to be armed with a FOBS capability to make a surprise nuclear attack against the United States–or against any and all nations on Earth–with Super-EMP.
FOBS? Super-EMP? The author of Apocalypse Unknown: The Struggle To Protect America From An Electromagnetic Pulse Catastrophe explained:
A Super-EMP warhead is a nuclear weapon specially designed to produce an enormous burst of gamma rays that generates an extraordinarily powerful electromagnetic pulse, capable of destroying even the best protected electronics, thereby paralyzing military forces and blacking out power grids and collapsing critical infrastructures everywhere–across an entire nation the size of the United States…
During the Cold War, the USSR experimented with a secret weapon, the Fractional Orbital Bombardment System (FOBS), that used an ICBM like a Space Launch Vehicle to put a nuclear warhead into orbit, like a satellite. Instead of using the ICBM to lob the warhead on a more accurate arcing ballistic trajectory, flying along the shortest range to target, like an artillery shell, the FOBS lofted the warhead into a “fractional” or partial orbit, sacrificing accuracy for limitless range.
FOBS could reach any nation or threaten any target anywhere on Earth.
A Super-EMP warhead does not weigh much, and could probably be delivered by North Korea’s Fractional Orbital Bombardment System, successfully tested in December 2012, against any nation on Earth. Thus, North Korea already possesses an ICBM and poses a mortal nuclear threat to the United States, and to all nations on Earth–right now.
(Editor’s note: Italics added for emphasis)
Real disturbing stuff. Even more so now that the U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Thursday for tougher sanctions against North Korea.
You can read Dr. Pry’s warning about the North Korean Super-EMP threat in its entirety on the Family Security Matters website here.
By Christopher E. Hill, Editor
Survival And Prosperity (www.survivalandprosperity.com)
Win 1 Of 100 Weather Alert Radios As Part Of Severe Weather Preparedness Month In Illinois
Illinois residents- it’s that time of year again:
Severe Weather Preparedness Month
From a February 28, 2013, press release from the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA):
Online Contest Launched to Raise Awareness of Weather Alert Radios
Local, State Emergency Management Officials to Encourage Severe Weather Preparedness in MarchSPRINGFIELD – On Feb. 29, 2012, a deadly tornado tore through the Southern Illinois communities of Harrisburg and Ridgway shortly before 5 a.m. With most people still sleeping, many didn’t hear the outdoor warning sirens blaring or warnings issued on radio and TV stations.
Eight people lost their lives and more than 100 others were injured as a result of the tornado. Fortunately, some residents were awakened by alarms broadcasted over their weather alert radios and were able to seek shelter before the tornado hit.
In an effort to increase public awareness of weather alert radios, local and state emergency management officials today launched a statewide contest. The Illinois Emergency Services Management Association (IESMA) and the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) are sponsoring the “Weather Alert Radios Save Lives” contest, in which participants will take an online quiz for a chance to win one of 100 weather alert radio to be awarded.
The contest will be highlighted throughout March, which is Severe Weather Preparedness Month in Illinois.
“Having a weather alert radio in your home can be a real lifesaver, much like a smoke detector or a carbon monoxide detector,” said IEMA Director Jonathon Monken. “Each of these devices can alert you to hazards, even while you’re sleeping, and give you time to get to a safe place.”
The contest is available on the Ready Illinois website (www.Ready.Illinois.gov), the IESMA website (www.iesma.org) and on many county and municipal emergency management agency websites. A total of 100 weather alert radios will be awarded to participants who register after reading information about the radios and successfully completing a five-question quiz. The contest runs from Feb. 28 through March 31. Winners will be announced in April.
“Every home and business should have a weather alert radio,” said IESMA President Russ Thomas.
IESMA purchased the weather alert radios as part of a program to increase emergency preparedness in local schools, hospitals, nursing homes, extended care facilities and government buildings throughout Illinois. During 2013 and 2014, IESMA plans to place 800 weather alert radios in local facilities.
The National Weather Service (NWS) and state and local emergency management officials strongly encourage people to have a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Weather Radio All Hazards with battery backup, a tone-alert feature and Specific Area Message Encoding (SAME) technology, which allows the radio to be programmed to receive alerts for specified counties.
When an alert is issued for the programmed area, the device will sound a warning alarm tone followed by the broadcast message.
Besides weather information, the NWS also broadcasts warnings and post-event information for all types of hazards, including natural, environmental and public safety hazards, such as earthquakes, chemical spills and AMBER alerts.
“Despite the drought last year, Illinois still had dozens of tornadoes and hundreds of severe thunderstorms that damaged property, injured 125 and tragically killed nine people,” said Chris Miller, warning coordination meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Lincoln. “This underscores how important it is for people to be prepared at all times. You should identify a place at home and work to take shelter from tornadoes and severe thunderstorms, and have multiple ways to receive hazardous weather information, such as apps for electronic devices or a weather alert radio.”
IEMA and the NWS developed a Severe Weather Preparedness Guide, which provides information about tornadoes, severe storms, lightning and flooding and recommended actions to take before, during and after each of these weather events.
The guide also includes definitions of important weather terms, including watches, warnings and advisories and a list of items needed for a family emergency supply kit. It is available on the Ready Illinois website at www.Ready.Illinois.gov or by calling (217) 785-9925.
I just got done taking the online quiz as part of the “Weather Alert Radios Save Lives” contest. The five-question quiz is easy- but be sure to read that information they provide about weather alert radios first.
I’m a big fan of weather alert radios. Even if you don’t win one through this contest, I highly-recommend going out and getting one anyway if you don’t have one already.
Good luck! And thanks to the Illinois Emergency Services Management Association (IESMA) and the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) for sponsoring the contest.
By Christopher E. Hill, Editor
Survival And Prosperity (www.survivalandprosperity.com)
Radio Appearance: Morning AMp, Vocalo Radio 90.7 FM Chicago
Last Chicago-focused post until next week- I promise.
However, this one’s not a “downer” like the other posts. In fact, I’m happy that I can share this with readers.
Back on Friday, February 8, I blogged about a terrific piece on Chicago-area preppers and guns that was done by Aurora Aguilar, a project editor over at Chicago public radio station WBEZ 91.5 FM. Published on the WBEZ website two days earlier, “Preppers: Guns are the most important tool in preparing for the end of civilization,” was the second story in a series by Aguilar entitled “Our Guns,” which are “conversations with gun owners.”
Now, later that Friday, Ms. Aguilar invited me to participate in a local show she was to be appearing on at the start of the next business week. I accepted, and on Monday, February 11, I found myself on the Morning AMp, a call-in talk show hosted by Brian Babylon and Molly Adams on Vocalo Radio 90.7 FM Chicago.
(Editor’s note: I didn’t have many details about the show beforehand, so I didn’t alert readers about the event)
From the show’s archive section on the Vocalo website:
Preppers: Preparing for the end of civilization with guns
George describes himself as “half-hillbilly, half-Viking.”
WBEZ’s Aurora Aguilar talked with George Drouillard (a pseudonym) about his preparedness plan. It maybe a devastating blizzard or a government takeover, either way George is ready with canned food, extra batteries, shovels, and lots and lots of guns. Aguilar joins hosts Molly Adams and Brian Babylon in the studio while Christopher Hill, editor of Survival and Prosperity, calls in to discuss the lifestyle choice that George has made and the community that supports it.
Brian and Molly were gracious hosts and were great to talk to. Aurora was terrific- again. As for me? I thought I could have done better, quite frankly. But I really appreciate having been given the opportunity to appear on the show and contribute what I’ve observed and learned over the last couple of years. Thank you so much Brian, Molly, and especially Aurora.
You can listen to our discussion of Chicago-area preppers and guns on Vocalo here (click on the “Play” symbol under the photo of “George” near the top-left-hand-side of the page).
By the way, before I said goodbye to the group that morning I pointed out there were still people without electricity as a result of Hurricane Sandy, which hit the East Coast last October. CNBC noted the Friday before the interview that some 2,000 people in New Jersey and and New York were still without power from the costly severe weather event.
By Christopher E. Hill, Editor
Survival And Prosperity (www.survivalandprosperity.com)
On TV: Doomsday Preppers ‘Solutions Not Problems’ Preview
Season 2 of National Geographic Channel’s Doomsday Preppers TV series continues tonight with a special Valentine’s Day episode, “Solutions Not Problems,” which airs at 9 PM ET.
I was lucky enough to be provided an advance-screening of the “Bachelor Prepper” episode. From a Nat Geo Channel press release I received at the end of last week:
Prepping for an economic collapse, Jeff is converting a decommissioned missile silo into the perfect bug-out getaway. But that’s not all Jeff is focused on. With an online dating profile, he is also searching for a special someone who can share his love for prepping. We’ll see Jeff, a bachelor on the lookout for love, not only work on his bunker, but also go on multiple dates to find his prepper mate. Will he select one to take to his secret bunker? We also meet Doug, who lives in the mountains of Tennessee. He currently runs his own stone quarry, and the locals call him “Rockman.” But what they may not know is that he is using rocks to prepare his underground bunker for the upcoming economic collapse. Will he build a safe haven out of his rock stockpiles?
Jeff Flaningam is a 37-year-old Wisconsin bachelor who owns 19-acres out in central Kansas- with a decommissioned Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) silo buried underneath it. Jeff is hard at work turning the abandoned missile base into a livable bug-out location. He told viewers:
I’m preparing for a catastrophic economic collapse.
According to the show:
The national debt currently totals more than $16 trillion. Jeff believes that if nothing is done to change this, the U.S. could go from becoming a global economic leader, to a nation struggling to provide food, water, and power. He worries that the consequences of such a collapsing economy could last indefinitely.
Flaningam added:
Transportation system falls apart, fuel costs go through the roof, people can’t get the goods that they need. The normal courtesy that we share with our fellow man is going to degrade and get thrown out of the window. Violence would be rampant. I don’t think anyone can know how long an event like that could last. I know I have to be prepared to stay off the grid for as long as it takes.
The Wisconsin-based prepper plans on bugging out 800 miles to the Kansas bunker when the first signs of a SHTF situation arise.
But before that happens, he’d like someone to share those “special times” with.
“Doug,” aka “Rockman,” owns a stone quarry in the Tennessee mountains. He told viewers:
I’m prepping for an economic collapse that will change the world forever.
Doug added later:
Our economy is in distress. And I don’t see it getting better. Can you imagine paying $17 trillion dollars back?
Along with his employee and best friend Inés, the two of them are shown building an underground shelter constructed out of a shipping container that their families will use as a bug-out location, and putting a 3-tiered defensive plan for the bunker into place.
It was a fun, informative, and not too overboard (reality TV-wise) episode to watch. And if you’re not into that lovey-dovey stuff, at least catch it for the “Rockman’s” segment, where he, with the help of a former U.S. President, shows you an easy way to make money from money.
Don’t worry. You’ll get what I’m talking about by watching tonight’s episode.
For more information about the TV series visit the Doomsday Preppers page on the National Geographic Channel website here.
By Christopher E. Hill, Editor
Survival And Prosperity (www.survivalandprosperity.com)
Chicago-Area Preppers And Their Guns
Some time ago, I received a message from Aurora Aguilar, a project editor with Chicago public radio station WBEZ 91.5 FM. Her request was one that I’ve received with increasing frequency over the last year or so. She was hoping to interview a prepper. Not just any modern survivalist- but one who is “stockpiling guns.” I gave Aurora names and contact info of more well-known and visible preppers who might be willing to talk to her, while at the same time cautioning her about the shying away from publicity that’s common among survivalists. I explained:
If you don’t know already, many preppers tend to be secretive about their activities. Not because they’re doing something illegal, but rather because of something called operational security (OPSEC).
Last night, I came across Ms. Aguilar’s piece on preppers and firearms. Published on the WBEZ website Wednesday, “Preppers: Guns are the most important tool in preparing for the end of civilization,” is the second story a in a series entitled “Our Guns,” which are “conversations with gun owners.”
Another hack-job?
Hardly. Aguilar pretty much hit this assignment right out of the park.
Now, the headline “guns are the most important tool in preparing for the end of civilization” may be a bit of a stretch. Guns are certainly a tool but the “most important” one? Debatable. Also, while some modern survivalists prepare for the “end of civilization” plenty of others prep for emergencies, man-made and natural disasters, and the end of civilization- as we know it. Firearms could have a role to play in those scenarios as well.
But Aguilar comes back strong in the body of the article. Consider the following statements:
“A growing group of Americans who believe life, as we know it, will end”
“In a family of war veterans, hunters and farmers, guns are thought of as tools, meant to provide food and protection”
“The fear that their stockpiles of food or weapons could be stolen stops preppers from talking.”
“After all, the entire family needs to be prepared.”
“Preppers go through a lot of ammo because many practice shooting at least once a week. They also see ammo as an investment. They believe people will need ammo if there’s a catastrophe.”
“The idea is to always be prepared…”
(Editor’s note: Italics added for emphasis)
Aguilar gets its. She demonstrates that she has a good handle on what the Prepper Movement is about.
Too bad the same can’t be said about many of her colleagues.
A terrific, refreshing article, which can be found on the WBEZ website here.
By Christopher E. Hill, Editor
Survival And Prosperity (www.survivalandprosperity.com)
Project Prepper: Moving Forward
So far with my “Project Prepper” series of posts, it’s been decided that:
• Due to my increased awareness of man-made and naturally-occurring threats to my life and lifestyle (and those of my loved ones), it’s probably wise to acquaint myself more with “prepping” via a sustained “hands-on” program of learning and doing
• This program will coincide with my goal of establishing a southeastern Wisconsin (perhaps not ideal, but good enough) homestead in a couple of years
• Plans are also in place to move out of Chicago for the suburbs (not ideal, but will have to do for now) in the late spring
Time to move forward.
Yesterday, I blogged about The Survival Podcast’s Jack Spirko and his new Texas homestead. But back in mid-January Spirko released two shows- “Episode 1,056- Zero to Prepared- Fast, Simple, and Low Cost- Part 1” and “Episode 1,057- Zero to Prepared- Fast, Simple, and Low Cost- Part 2” that were not only tremendously informative (as usual) but helpful in that they gave me ideas regarding the direction I wanted to take “Project Prepper” in.
Spirko pointed out that preparedness must concentrate on 6 “innate survival needs,” which includes:
• Food
• Water
• Shelter
• Energy
• Security
• Sanitation and Health
I’ve come across similar lists in the preparedness material I’ve studied. But now I’m inspired to make these “needs” the focus of my “Project Prepper” series of posts going forward.
Where to begin, where to begin? Well, time to hit the prepping/survivalism-related books and material cluttering my home office and elsewhere around my pad for ideas.
By Christopher E. Hill, Editor
Survival And Prosperity (www.survivalandprosperity.com)
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