This is an "app" I made that links directly to Freecycle.org. I made it because I couldn't find one in the app store.
I know it says it's for San Antonio, but it's not. It's the main site - I just couldn't change the name after it was saved.
15 December 2012
Freecycle App for Android phones
05 December 2012
01 December 2012
Hell in Gaza - And You're Paying For It
Washington (CNN) – A majority of Americans say that Israel's current military strikes against Gaza are justified, according to a new national survey.
A CNN/ORC International poll released Monday indicates that 57% of the public says Israel is justified in taking military action in Gaza against Hamas, with one in four saying the attacks are unjustified.
According to the survey, nearly six in ten say their sympathies are with the Israelis, with 13% saying they side more with the Palestinians and 11% saying their sympathies are with neither side in the conflict.
"That's nothing new," added Holland. "The number of Americans who sympathize more with the Palestinians has never been higher than 18% since the question was first asked in 1988. Sympathies for Israel have sometimes dipped below 50%, but have been over that mark for the past eight years."
At the risk of sounding like an asshole, I have to mention my theory on the real reason for peoples need to support Israel. It's the same reason most white people (in the US at least) watch their language around black people. They don't want to seem racist or, in this case, anti-semitic. It's been pushed so deeply into our subconscious, that we don't even realize it most of the time. It's a mixture of fear, pity, and guilt over events in history that many of us weren't alive for and have never participated in. Hitler invaded almost every country in my ancestry, and there's even a chance I have some Jewish in me, but I don't feel the need to support them for doing the same damn thing. 2000 years of persecution is not an excuse to knowingly kill innocent people - many of which are children.
(Since November 8, Israel has killed at least 93 Palestinians in the occupied and besieged Gaza Strip. At least 64 Palestinians killed were civilians, including at least 21 children. (Source: Palestinian Centre for Human Rights) In addition, three Israeli civilians were killed by a Palestinian rocket.)
1. Gaza is under siege: This is not a symmetrical fight. The 1.7 million people in Gaza are living in an open-air prison, denied many of their most basic rights, including the rights to adequate food and clean water, housing, and sanitation, by a military superpower enforcing an illegal blockade that the U.N. has deemed to be illegal. Until the Palestinian people are able to exercise their human rights, we cannot expect to see a lasting ceasefire or peace.
2. U.S. role: American tax-payers are funding Israel’s attacks on Palestinians in Gaza, in violation of the U.S. Arms Export Control Act. We are not funding Hamas. The U.S. must immediately end its complicity in Israel’s gross human rights abuses.
3. Action: Knowing is not enough. We need to do something – to raise our voices and protest U.S. complicity in these brutal attacks. This is a major opportunity to build your local (or national) efforts, as public outrage grows. Make sure to publicize your activist community and how people can get involved, by challenging the Obama administration and through boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) campaigns in response to calls for solidarity from Palestinians.
The Siege & International Law:
All countries and peoples living under military occupation have the right of self-defense. However, international law forbids the targeting of civilians in hostilities. Moreover, Israel is employing disproportionate force to injure and kill Palestinian civilians and destroy Palestinian infrastructure not in self-defense, but in furtherance of its illegal blockade and siege of the Gaza Strip. In 2011, U.N. human rights experts concluded that Israel’s policies toward the Gaza Strip constituted collective punishment and were a “flagrant contravention of international human rights and humanitarian law.” (Source: Reuters.)
Timeline:
* Israel began the violence on November 8, following a two-week period of quiet, when it invaded Gaza. During an exchange of gunfire, Israeli troops shot 13-year-old Ahmed Younis Khader Abu Daqqa in the abdomen while he was playing soccer. Ahmed died later from his wounds. (Source: Institute for Middle East Understanding and Palestinian Centre for Human Rights.)
* On November 12, Palestinian militant groups agreed to a truce if Israel ceased military operations. Israel responded to this offer by engaging in an extrajudicial assassination of Hamas leader Ahmed Jabari on November 14, sparking the current round of violence. An Israeli peace activist was negotiating with Jabari a permanent truce between Israel and Palestinian militant groups when he was assassinated. (Source: Institute for Middle East Understanding and Ha’aretz.)
* On November 18, an Israeli airstrike on the crowded residential neighborhood of Naser in Gaza City killed at least 12 people, including at least 10 members of the Al-Dalu family, many of whom were children and women. (Source: Los Angeles Times.)
Your tax dollars hard at work.......
The U.S. Role:
* The United States is complicit in and responsible for Israel’s grave human rights abuses of Palestinians. The United States provides weapons to Israel at U.S. taxpayer expense. In the 2000s, the United States gave Israel more than 670 million weapons, some of which are being employed now to injure and kill Palestinian civilians. In addition to funding offensive weapons for Israel, the United States is also funding for Israel the Iron Dome anti-missile system. By providing Israel the weapons to both attack Palestinians and shoot down Palestinian rocket fire, the United States is making it virtually cost-free for Israel to escalate its attacks on Palestinians. (Source: US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, here and here.)
* U.S. diplomacy is contributing to, rather than ending, the violence. The Obama administration is giving Israel a green light to continue its attacks on Palestinians by asserting that Israel is exercising its “right to defend itself.” Rather than arranging for an immediate ceasefire through the U.N., the Obama administration is merely calling for “de-escalating the situation,” which means in effect that Palestinians are being pressured to hold their fire while Israel continues to injure and kill Palestinians at will. (Source: White House.)
* Rather than providing Israel with the weaponry and diplomatic support to enable its vicious attacks on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the Obama administration should exert diplomatic pressure on Israel for an immediate ceasefire and initiate an investigation into Israel’s misuse of U.S. weapons in violation of U.S. law to injure and kill Palestinian civilians. (Source: US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation.)
Taking Action & Building the Movement:
While our short-term efforts are focused on getting Israel to end its attack on the Gaza Strip and achieving a ceasefire, even after this latest round of violence concludes, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip still will be living under Israel’s illegal siege and blockade, military occupation, and apartheid policies. Therefore, our medium- to long-term efforts require us to engage in campaigns of boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel, and corporations and institutions which profit from its human rights abuses of all Palestinians as a strategy to ending these policies. At the same time, we must also continue to pressure the United States to end all of its policies, including military aid and diplomatic protection at the U.N., which enable Israel’s continuing human rights abuses of Palestinians. The Obama administration must change U.S. policy toward Israel and the Palestinians to support human rights, international law and equality. Take advantage of the growing public outrage to direct people to how they can get more involved in local and national organizing efforts challenging the occupation and siege.
This post is a combination of articles found on the following sites:
http://www.endtheoccupation.org/article.php?id=3350
and
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/11/19/cnn-poll-57-of-americans-say-israeli-attacks-in-gaza-are-justified/comment-page-1/
A CNN/ORC International poll released Monday indicates that 57% of the public says Israel is justified in taking military action in Gaza against Hamas, with one in four saying the attacks are unjustified.
According to the survey, nearly six in ten say their sympathies are with the Israelis, with 13% saying they side more with the Palestinians and 11% saying their sympathies are with neither side in the conflict.
"That's nothing new," added Holland. "The number of Americans who sympathize more with the Palestinians has never been higher than 18% since the question was first asked in 1988. Sympathies for Israel have sometimes dipped below 50%, but have been over that mark for the past eight years."
At the risk of sounding like an asshole, I have to mention my theory on the real reason for peoples need to support Israel. It's the same reason most white people (in the US at least) watch their language around black people. They don't want to seem racist or, in this case, anti-semitic. It's been pushed so deeply into our subconscious, that we don't even realize it most of the time. It's a mixture of fear, pity, and guilt over events in history that many of us weren't alive for and have never participated in. Hitler invaded almost every country in my ancestry, and there's even a chance I have some Jewish in me, but I don't feel the need to support them for doing the same damn thing. 2000 years of persecution is not an excuse to knowingly kill innocent people - many of which are children.
(Since November 8, Israel has killed at least 93 Palestinians in the occupied and besieged Gaza Strip. At least 64 Palestinians killed were civilians, including at least 21 children. (Source: Palestinian Centre for Human Rights) In addition, three Israeli civilians were killed by a Palestinian rocket.)
1. Gaza is under siege: This is not a symmetrical fight. The 1.7 million people in Gaza are living in an open-air prison, denied many of their most basic rights, including the rights to adequate food and clean water, housing, and sanitation, by a military superpower enforcing an illegal blockade that the U.N. has deemed to be illegal. Until the Palestinian people are able to exercise their human rights, we cannot expect to see a lasting ceasefire or peace.
2. U.S. role: American tax-payers are funding Israel’s attacks on Palestinians in Gaza, in violation of the U.S. Arms Export Control Act. We are not funding Hamas. The U.S. must immediately end its complicity in Israel’s gross human rights abuses.
3. Action: Knowing is not enough. We need to do something – to raise our voices and protest U.S. complicity in these brutal attacks. This is a major opportunity to build your local (or national) efforts, as public outrage grows. Make sure to publicize your activist community and how people can get involved, by challenging the Obama administration and through boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) campaigns in response to calls for solidarity from Palestinians.
The Siege & International Law:
All countries and peoples living under military occupation have the right of self-defense. However, international law forbids the targeting of civilians in hostilities. Moreover, Israel is employing disproportionate force to injure and kill Palestinian civilians and destroy Palestinian infrastructure not in self-defense, but in furtherance of its illegal blockade and siege of the Gaza Strip. In 2011, U.N. human rights experts concluded that Israel’s policies toward the Gaza Strip constituted collective punishment and were a “flagrant contravention of international human rights and humanitarian law.” (Source: Reuters.)
Timeline:
* Israel began the violence on November 8, following a two-week period of quiet, when it invaded Gaza. During an exchange of gunfire, Israeli troops shot 13-year-old Ahmed Younis Khader Abu Daqqa in the abdomen while he was playing soccer. Ahmed died later from his wounds. (Source: Institute for Middle East Understanding and Palestinian Centre for Human Rights.)
* On November 12, Palestinian militant groups agreed to a truce if Israel ceased military operations. Israel responded to this offer by engaging in an extrajudicial assassination of Hamas leader Ahmed Jabari on November 14, sparking the current round of violence. An Israeli peace activist was negotiating with Jabari a permanent truce between Israel and Palestinian militant groups when he was assassinated. (Source: Institute for Middle East Understanding and Ha’aretz.)
* On November 18, an Israeli airstrike on the crowded residential neighborhood of Naser in Gaza City killed at least 12 people, including at least 10 members of the Al-Dalu family, many of whom were children and women. (Source: Los Angeles Times.)
Your tax dollars hard at work.......
The U.S. Role:
* The United States is complicit in and responsible for Israel’s grave human rights abuses of Palestinians. The United States provides weapons to Israel at U.S. taxpayer expense. In the 2000s, the United States gave Israel more than 670 million weapons, some of which are being employed now to injure and kill Palestinian civilians. In addition to funding offensive weapons for Israel, the United States is also funding for Israel the Iron Dome anti-missile system. By providing Israel the weapons to both attack Palestinians and shoot down Palestinian rocket fire, the United States is making it virtually cost-free for Israel to escalate its attacks on Palestinians. (Source: US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, here and here.)
* U.S. diplomacy is contributing to, rather than ending, the violence. The Obama administration is giving Israel a green light to continue its attacks on Palestinians by asserting that Israel is exercising its “right to defend itself.” Rather than arranging for an immediate ceasefire through the U.N., the Obama administration is merely calling for “de-escalating the situation,” which means in effect that Palestinians are being pressured to hold their fire while Israel continues to injure and kill Palestinians at will. (Source: White House.)
* Rather than providing Israel with the weaponry and diplomatic support to enable its vicious attacks on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the Obama administration should exert diplomatic pressure on Israel for an immediate ceasefire and initiate an investigation into Israel’s misuse of U.S. weapons in violation of U.S. law to injure and kill Palestinian civilians. (Source: US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation.)
Taking Action & Building the Movement:
While our short-term efforts are focused on getting Israel to end its attack on the Gaza Strip and achieving a ceasefire, even after this latest round of violence concludes, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip still will be living under Israel’s illegal siege and blockade, military occupation, and apartheid policies. Therefore, our medium- to long-term efforts require us to engage in campaigns of boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel, and corporations and institutions which profit from its human rights abuses of all Palestinians as a strategy to ending these policies. At the same time, we must also continue to pressure the United States to end all of its policies, including military aid and diplomatic protection at the U.N., which enable Israel’s continuing human rights abuses of Palestinians. The Obama administration must change U.S. policy toward Israel and the Palestinians to support human rights, international law and equality. Take advantage of the growing public outrage to direct people to how they can get more involved in local and national organizing efforts challenging the occupation and siege.
This post is a combination of articles found on the following sites:
http://www.endtheoccupation.org/article.php?id=3350
and
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/11/19/cnn-poll-57-of-americans-say-israeli-attacks-in-gaza-are-justified/comment-page-1/
30 November 2012
Make A Survival Washing Machine
U.S. government actually planned to nuke the moon as a show of force
(NaturalNews) The U.S. government has come up with some crackpot ideas before, but one of the goofiest was a plan during the 1950s, just as the Cold War was heating up, to - of all things - nuke the moon, simply as a show of force.
In what can only be described as part of the madness of the post-World War II and Korean War era, U.S. scientists and government officials actually debated over whether to detonate a nuclear weapon on the surface of the moon as a way to send a menacing message to the Soviet Union, according to Asian News International.
The secret plan, dubbed, "A Study of Lunar Research Flights," was nicknamed "Project A119." Amazingly, it was under serious consideration until it was finally scrapped by a dose of sanity among military leaders who feared the blast could wind up hurting people on earth. Obviously, it was never carried out.
Still, it was a serious plan for a time and involved some of the brighter minds of the day. Among those was noted astronomer Carl Sagan, who was at the time a young graduate student; he was tasked with figuring out what the behavior would be of dust and gas generated by the atomic blast, The Daily Mail reported.
Plan was to fire missile at the moon
Scientists and U.S. officials believed that if the Soviets could view the blast from earth, it would intimidate Moscow while boosting confidence in Washington following the launch of Sputnik, physicist Leonard Reiffel told The Associated Press in an interview in 2000.
Now 85, Reiffel says he directed the planning at the former Armour Research Foundation, which has since become part of the Illinois Institute of Technology, AP said. He went on to serve as a deputy director at NASA.
Sagan later became famous for popularizing science on television; he passed away in 1996.
The author of one of Sagan's biographies hinted that the popular scientist could have committed a security breach in 1959 by revealing details of the classified project in an academic fellowship application, a suggestion that Reiffel agreed with.
According to details of the plan, here's how it would have worked: A missile fitted with a small nuclear device would have been launched from an undisclosed location, then travel some 238,000 miles to the moon, detonating on impact.
Scientists determined it would have to have been an atom bomb, because a hydrogen explosive would have been too heavy for the missile to carry.
Reiffel said the country's space program, which was in its infancy in the 1950s, could have carried the mission out by the end of the decade, when the Air Force began to deploy intercontinental ballistic missiles carrying nuclear warheads.
In the end; however, military officials nixed the plan because they feared it would put people on earth in danger should the mission have failed.
In addition, scientists involved in the project voiced concerns about contaminating the moon with radioactive materials, said Reiffel.
Nuking the moon as a show of force was not the only hare-brained idea concocted by the government in years past. Nor the most evil.
Nuking the moon not the worst thing
From 1955 to 1975, military "researchers" at Edgewood Arsenal, located near the Army's Aberdeen Proving Ground base in Maryland, used animals and military "volunteers" to test a collection of drugs and chemicals ranging from potentially lethal nerve gases like VX and sarin, to incapacitating agents like BZ, CNN reported.
Military scientists also tested the effects of tear gas, barbiturates, narcotics, tranquilizers and hallucinogens like LSD.
This diabolical research was done under a secret Cold War program that ostensibly looked for ways to defend against a potential chemical or biological attack by the Soviets, who were, at the time, thought to be way ahead of the U.S. in "psycho-chemical" warfare, according to Army documentation at the time.
In 2009, a class-action suit filed by the Vietnam Veterans of America and individual soldiers, charged the U.S. Army and the Central Intelligence Agency, with the help of former Nazi scientists, of using at least 7,800 vets as guinea pigs to test the effects of as many as 400 different types of drugs and chemicals. They included mescaline (psychedelic alkaloid), LSD (psychedelic drug), amphetamines, barbiturates, nerve agents and mustard gas.
The suit also says the government worked to cover up the testing and the nature of its experiments, which began in the 1950s under such exotic code names as "Bluebird," "Artichoke," and MKUltra."
Sources:
http://washington.cbslocal.com
http://www.dailymail.co.uk
http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/01/health/human-test-subjects/index.html
http://www.naturalnews.com
Learn more:
http://www.naturalnews.com/038152_nuclear_bombs_moon_government.html#ixzz2DhhFMVxH
Friday, November 30, 2012 by: J. D. Heyes
In what can only be described as part of the madness of the post-World War II and Korean War era, U.S. scientists and government officials actually debated over whether to detonate a nuclear weapon on the surface of the moon as a way to send a menacing message to the Soviet Union, according to Asian News International.
The secret plan, dubbed, "A Study of Lunar Research Flights," was nicknamed "Project A119." Amazingly, it was under serious consideration until it was finally scrapped by a dose of sanity among military leaders who feared the blast could wind up hurting people on earth. Obviously, it was never carried out.
Still, it was a serious plan for a time and involved some of the brighter minds of the day. Among those was noted astronomer Carl Sagan, who was at the time a young graduate student; he was tasked with figuring out what the behavior would be of dust and gas generated by the atomic blast, The Daily Mail reported.
Plan was to fire missile at the moon
Scientists and U.S. officials believed that if the Soviets could view the blast from earth, it would intimidate Moscow while boosting confidence in Washington following the launch of Sputnik, physicist Leonard Reiffel told The Associated Press in an interview in 2000.
Now 85, Reiffel says he directed the planning at the former Armour Research Foundation, which has since become part of the Illinois Institute of Technology, AP said. He went on to serve as a deputy director at NASA.
Sagan later became famous for popularizing science on television; he passed away in 1996.
The author of one of Sagan's biographies hinted that the popular scientist could have committed a security breach in 1959 by revealing details of the classified project in an academic fellowship application, a suggestion that Reiffel agreed with.
According to details of the plan, here's how it would have worked: A missile fitted with a small nuclear device would have been launched from an undisclosed location, then travel some 238,000 miles to the moon, detonating on impact.
Scientists determined it would have to have been an atom bomb, because a hydrogen explosive would have been too heavy for the missile to carry.
Reiffel said the country's space program, which was in its infancy in the 1950s, could have carried the mission out by the end of the decade, when the Air Force began to deploy intercontinental ballistic missiles carrying nuclear warheads.
In the end; however, military officials nixed the plan because they feared it would put people on earth in danger should the mission have failed.
In addition, scientists involved in the project voiced concerns about contaminating the moon with radioactive materials, said Reiffel.
Nuking the moon as a show of force was not the only hare-brained idea concocted by the government in years past. Nor the most evil.
Nuking the moon not the worst thing
From 1955 to 1975, military "researchers" at Edgewood Arsenal, located near the Army's Aberdeen Proving Ground base in Maryland, used animals and military "volunteers" to test a collection of drugs and chemicals ranging from potentially lethal nerve gases like VX and sarin, to incapacitating agents like BZ, CNN reported.
Military scientists also tested the effects of tear gas, barbiturates, narcotics, tranquilizers and hallucinogens like LSD.
This diabolical research was done under a secret Cold War program that ostensibly looked for ways to defend against a potential chemical or biological attack by the Soviets, who were, at the time, thought to be way ahead of the U.S. in "psycho-chemical" warfare, according to Army documentation at the time.
In 2009, a class-action suit filed by the Vietnam Veterans of America and individual soldiers, charged the U.S. Army and the Central Intelligence Agency, with the help of former Nazi scientists, of using at least 7,800 vets as guinea pigs to test the effects of as many as 400 different types of drugs and chemicals. They included mescaline (psychedelic alkaloid), LSD (psychedelic drug), amphetamines, barbiturates, nerve agents and mustard gas.
The suit also says the government worked to cover up the testing and the nature of its experiments, which began in the 1950s under such exotic code names as "Bluebird," "Artichoke," and MKUltra."
Sources:
http://washington.cbslocal.com
http://www.dailymail.co.uk
http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/01/health/human-test-subjects/index.html
http://www.naturalnews.com
Learn more:
http://www.naturalnews.com/038152_nuclear_bombs_moon_government.html#ixzz2DhhFMVxH
Friday, November 30, 2012 by: J. D. Heyes
SURVIVAL: RECOGNIZE GRIZZLY BEHAVIOR
As a bear biologist and wildlife filmmaker, I’ve made it my business to get close to big grizzlies in the wild. So I wasn’t worried when I took my dad backpacking to a secret spot just north of Yellowstone in 2004. He’d never seen a wild grizzly, and I was sure we’d have an encounter. We camped by a river and set out hiking before dawn. As the sun crept over the mountaintops, we found our first bears: two sub-adult grizzlies digging in a meadow. We hunkered down to watch them until, about five minutes later, an angry-looking grizzly emerged from the nearby edge of the forest. I could tell right away that this guy meant business. His legs were rigid, he kept his head low, and he was chomping his giant jaws together.
Instead of backing away before any of the bears saw us—as we should have done—Dad and I sat transfixed. Then we made an even bigger mistake. When the grumpy griz followed the younger bears, Dad and I tagged along. In a display I now know as badass grizzly bravado—and wish I’d better recognized and appreciated then—the big griz walked over every tree in his path, pissing on them as he passed.
I should have known what would happen next. Suddenly, the bear turned on us. He sniffed, whuffed, and started advancing. Instantly forgetting the first rule of bear-attack avoidance—don’t run—we sprinted for a cluster of Douglas firs. But the limbs were too high for my 65-year-old father to grab. After missing the first signs of threatening behavior, I made no mistake now: It was get high or get eaten. So I boosted Dad up, then found my own tree to climb.
The grizzly was in no hurry to leave. Instead, he wanted to show us who was boss. He didn’t try to knock us out of our perches, but he promptly began digging in the dirt below. (Black bears can scale trees, but grizzlies’ long claws aren’t great for climbing.) Dad and I prepared to spend the night; we envisioned fatigued limbs, hunger pangs, and possibly hypothermia. But then another bear charged into the meadow, forcing Mr. Big to defend his territory. While the dominant bear chased the intruder away, Dad and I took the opportunity to hightail it out of there.
I’ve spent 16 years studying grizzlies, but it took getting treed by one to make me pay closer attention to grizzly behavior toward humans—and how to react to it. I’ve learned that it’s really hard to stay calm and act smart when a 600-pound mass of muscle, claws, and fur is coming at you. So you have to prepare yourself mentally to suppress the urge to run. I take deep breaths, talk in a low voice (which calms the bear and me), and try to exude an aura of unruffled confidence. The good news? By understanding what grizzlies are communicating through their behavior—and faking serenity and being smart—you can feel more confident and comfortable on your next grizzly country adventure.
THINK LIKE A BEAR
Anderson studies grizzly behavior year-round—both in the wild and at his Montana Grizzly Encounter bear sanctuary near Bozeman. “Bears do all kinds of things to let you know what they’re thinking,” says Anderson. “But rarely, if ever, is it, ‘I’m going to eat you.’” Here, he offers four signs to recognize, plus tips for how to react.
1. Whuffing or Jaw Popping
A “whuff” is like a combination between a cough and a dog bark, and jaw popping sounds a lot like the human version, only louder and with more drool. Both are bear signals for “I’m uncomfortable,” says Anderson. Calm an irritated grizzly by identifying yourself as human. Calling “Hey bear, I’m going the other way,” as you slowly retreat should do the trick.
2. Turning Sideways
“This is the bear’s way of saying, ‘I’m annoyed that you’re here, and look how big I am,’” says Anderson. If it turns and looks at you out of the corners of its eyes, it’s sizing you up. Wearing a pack? Turn sideways as well, to make yourself look bigger. Either way, slowly raise your hands overhead. Now slowly back away, speaking confidently, while exuding calm.
3. Shoulders Squared, Ears Pinned
“Watch out if a bear faces you and pins his ears to his head,” Anderson says. “He’s saying, ‘I’m going to handle this aggressively.’” Take the safety off your (EPA-registered) bear spray as you back away slowly. “I’ve used bear spray more than a dozen times. If the bear gets to within 60 feet, aim the nozzle toward the animal, slightly downward at its feet. Give a half-second blast. If the bear is moving toward you, this will create a pepper cloud that it’ll run into. If the bear continues, unleash more short blasts as needed to deter it.” (It typically doesn’t take much.) Note: If it’s raining or there’s wind in your face, don’t spray until the bear is much closer.
4. Sows With Cubs Always Mean Business
Fifty percent of bear cubs are killed in their first year by adult male grizzlies, says Anderson, which explains why sows are so protective. If you know a sow and cubs are nearby, immediately ready your bear spray. “If a cub approaches you, resist the urge to panic,” warns Anderson. “If you back away too quickly, it’ll freak out the cubs, who’ll alert their mom to danger. Slowly retreat, but be ready to defend yourself at any moment.”
MAKE FIRE
Magnesium Block
Need convincing to pack this failsafe firestarter, which combines spark and tinder in one ultralight package? Magnesium burns as hot as 5,400°F, which is almost three times hotter than a standard flame. It even burns under water. The technique: Scrape a small pile of magnesium shavings (Cody Lundin packs the end of a hacksaw blade to avoid damaging his knife), and ignite them using matches, lighter, or the striker included with the magnesium block. To create a spark using the striker embedded in the magnesium, scrape it with your knife (if that’s all you have) or hacksaw blade. Tip: Pull back on the magnesium block, holding the blade in place, to prevent your hand from accidentally slipping forward and disturbing the tinder. Magnesium blocks cost less than $10, and practice makes a huge difference in performance, so buy two, one to train with and the other to pack.
Thou Shalt Not: Waste a good fire. Make gourmet s’mores: marshmallow + peanut butter cup + graham cracker. Plus scotch.
20 November 2012
Pemmican: The Original MRE
Invented by the natives of North America, pemmican is the original MRE.
Pemmican was used by indian scouts as well as early western explorers as an instant, ready-to-eat, high-energy food. It was light, compact and high in protein, good carbohydrates, and sustaining fats.
Given the incredible amount of concentrated nutrients and calories, pemmican would be a fantastic addition to any bug-out bag.
Traditional pemmican is very simple to make:
What you’ll need:
lean meat (beef, venison etc)
raw beef fat (I get this for free from my local grocer’s butcher)
(optional) berries (blueberries, cherries (no pits), cranberries etc)
Making pemmican step by step:
Pemmican is a combination of rendered animal fat, pulverized dehydrated meats, and if desired some dried fruits. Here’s the process:
Step 1: Dehydrate the meat and berries
Cut up the meat into thin slices and place the meat and berries on drying racks
Dehydrate until the meat and berries are brittle and break when bent (not rubbery)
In the photo above I used my home dehydrator. In college, since I didn’t have one, we would simply sandwich the meat and berries between two window screens and set them out in the sun to dry for a day or two. It was just as effective.
Step 2: Render the fat
For the fat portion of pemmican, you can use tallow (rendered beef or mutton fat) or lard (rendered pork fat). There are multiple methods of rendering your fat. Here’s the three most common (with my favorite being the Crockpot method) (I’ll be rendering beef fat in this example):
Method 1: How to render fat in a Crockpot
Cut up your fat in small pieces and place the fat into the crockpot.
Set the crock pot on low heat.
Cook until you’re left with mostly clear or golden liquid (they’ll be bits of hardened stuff on top).
Remove from heat and strain into a mason jar through a metal strainer lined with a coffee filter, paper towel or cheesecloth.
Method 2: How to render fat on the stovetop
Grind or chop up fat in a blender/food-processor/meat-grinder
Place a pan on the stove and add the ground fat.
Set the heat on the lowest possible setting. Cover and let cook, stirring occasionally.
Cook until you’re left with mostly clear or golden liquid with bits of hardened stuff on top.
Remove from heat and strain into a mason jar through a metal strainer lined with a coffee filter, paper towel or cheesecloth.
Method 3: How to Render fat in the oven
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.
Cut up your fat in small pieces and place the fat onto a pan into the oven
Cook until you’re left with mostly clear or golden liquid with bits of hardened stuff on top.
Remove from heat and strain into a mason jar through a metal strainer lined with a coffee filter, paper towel or cheesecloth.
Step 3: Combine the ingredients
After dehydrating the berries and meat and rendering the fat you’ll be left with the following:
Before you can combine the ingredients though, you’ll need to shred the berries and the meat. In the old days they’d pound it with a rock to turn it into a “powder”. In our days a blender is a lot easier:
Blending the meat and berries:
Throw the meat into a blender or food processor and blend until it turns to a fluffy consistency
Repeat with the berries
Now look at the ingredients:
After you’ve dried/shredded your meat and fruit and rendered your fat, simply combine the ingredients as follow:
Pour the liquid rendered fat over the meat/berries until it becomes somewhat saturated (if your fat has already turned to a solid, be sure to slowly heat it until it turns back to liquid before doing this step).
You’ll want to combine enough of the liquid fat over the meat/berry combination until it is saturated
You’ll know when it is saturated enough when you can easily form a ball and it doesn’t crumble apart:
If you dislike the idea of using animal fat as a binder you can replace it with honey instead. It will keep for a long, long time just as normal pemmican will.
Just keep adding honey to the dried, shredded meat and berries until it binds enough to form it into a ball shape.
http://www.tacticalintelligence.net/blog/how-to-make-pemmican.htm
Pemmican was used by indian scouts as well as early western explorers as an instant, ready-to-eat, high-energy food. It was light, compact and high in protein, good carbohydrates, and sustaining fats.
Given the incredible amount of concentrated nutrients and calories, pemmican would be a fantastic addition to any bug-out bag.
Traditional pemmican is very simple to make:
What you’ll need:
lean meat (beef, venison etc)
raw beef fat (I get this for free from my local grocer’s butcher)
(optional) berries (blueberries, cherries (no pits), cranberries etc)
Pemmican is a combination of rendered animal fat, pulverized dehydrated meats, and if desired some dried fruits. Here’s the process:
Step 1: Dehydrate the meat and berries
In the photo above I used my home dehydrator. In college, since I didn’t have one, we would simply sandwich the meat and berries between two window screens and set them out in the sun to dry for a day or two. It was just as effective.
Step 2: Render the fat
For the fat portion of pemmican, you can use tallow (rendered beef or mutton fat) or lard (rendered pork fat). There are multiple methods of rendering your fat. Here’s the three most common (with my favorite being the Crockpot method) (I’ll be rendering beef fat in this example):
Method 1: How to render fat in a Crockpot
Cut up your fat in small pieces and place the fat into the crockpot.
Set the crock pot on low heat.
Cook until you’re left with mostly clear or golden liquid (they’ll be bits of hardened stuff on top).
Remove from heat and strain into a mason jar through a metal strainer lined with a coffee filter, paper towel or cheesecloth.
Method 2: How to render fat on the stovetop
Grind or chop up fat in a blender/food-processor/meat-grinder
Place a pan on the stove and add the ground fat.
Set the heat on the lowest possible setting. Cover and let cook, stirring occasionally.
Cook until you’re left with mostly clear or golden liquid with bits of hardened stuff on top.
Remove from heat and strain into a mason jar through a metal strainer lined with a coffee filter, paper towel or cheesecloth.
Method 3: How to Render fat in the oven
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.
Cut up your fat in small pieces and place the fat onto a pan into the oven
Cook until you’re left with mostly clear or golden liquid with bits of hardened stuff on top.
Remove from heat and strain into a mason jar through a metal strainer lined with a coffee filter, paper towel or cheesecloth.
Step 3: Combine the ingredients
After dehydrating the berries and meat and rendering the fat you’ll be left with the following:
Blending the meat and berries:
Throw the meat into a blender or food processor and blend until it turns to a fluffy consistency
Repeat with the berries
Now look at the ingredients:
You’ll know when it is saturated enough when you can easily form a ball and it doesn’t crumble apart:
Just keep adding honey to the dried, shredded meat and berries until it binds enough to form it into a ball shape.
http://www.tacticalintelligence.net/blog/how-to-make-pemmican.htm
Updates and Toys
My usually boring schedule has suddenly become busy lately, causing me to fall behind on "blogging". Sorry but I still consider it a strange verb. But I suppose that's common with any evolving language / vocabulary.
It may seem rediculous to some people, but with the rising uncertainty of what kind of future we are facing, I've been putting more energy into making sure my car is in decent running condition and stocked with emergency necessities, as well as updating my bug out bags. I keep more than one to be sure I'm prepared to sustain not only myself, but my wife and our dog as well.
My biggest additions to the bags have been a variety of homemade jerkies (beef, chicken, & venison), a new hatchet to replace one I lost, and more ammo for my pellet gun. I know that last item might seem odd to some people, so ill explain my reasoning real quick. I have a simple Powerline 201 by Daisy that shoots BBs and pellets. Its small and lightweight but does the job on small game. The pellets I use are the destroyers. They are basically the pellet version of a hollow point bullet. In a situation where you don't want to give away your location, a quiet weapon seems to me to be a better choice. Personally i'd rather be safe and eat squirrel and rabbits. Small game also doesn't require preservation like larger amounts of meat would; leaving us capable of staying mobile if need be. It's also helpful when you dont have electricity or solar/wind/water generated power.
This is just my opinion of course. Each person should do what they feel is best for themselves and their family. Cheers.
07 November 2012
Make Your Own Hard Cider
One of the easiest alcohols to produce is apple cider, or "hard cider" here in the states. Really it is just fermented apple juice, and comes in around 6% alcohol by volume. Apple cider is so easy to make, nature actually does it on its own. In fresh milled apple cider there are enough yeast particles found to ferment under its own control, as long as you contain it properly. To make a natural batch just put some fresh apple cider into a glass jug (this is your primary fermentation vessel), attach an airlock and rubber stopper(or a balloon with a small hole if you are wanting to MacGyver this shit prison style), add a quarter cup of brown sugar (molasses, sorghum, or some other natural sugar) and allow it to sit at room temperature for a few weeks. You'll soon notice some bubbling action, and gas being released as the wild yeasts come to life and start pissing out alcohol into your apple juice (called must at this point).
After a few weeks of bubbling and gurgling, you'll notice this action slowing and coming to a halt. This occurs once the yeast has eaten all of the sugars in your must, and alcohol production slows to a halt. Now you'll want to switch your must into a freshly cleaned glass jug. Use a small hose to siphon the top 90% of the liquid from inside your fermentation vessel, leaving behind particulates, yeast and the rest of the unwanted crap (called lees) at the bottom of the jug. Now, you cannot leave head-space (open area) inside the jug above the surface of your fresh brew, because it will oxidize and begin to turn to vinegar. Top it off with some sterilized water, so that your jug is full while you let it age to perfection (also referred to as secondary fermentation).
For around 21 days (or even up to three months) you can leave your brew in secondary fermentation to allow your cider to mellow and age properly before you bottle it (if you plan to go that far, I'd just leave it in the jug and cap that shit). You don't want your brew to slosh around during this time, as you want it to clarify and all the leftovers to settle out once again. I mean, you could have drink your brew before now, but it wouldn't have tasted all too great. So, since you've waited this long, have your buddy post guard, and kick back with a tall glass of brew!
Most of us here in the States have heard of Johnny Appleseed and how he roamed the country planting apple orchards. Many of our greatest cities sprang up right along side these orchards, but many of us never learned that he didn't plant the apples for us kids to eat. He planted them for us to make cider. Don't make a waste of his efforts!
As a quick side note, since i failed to mention this before. This is for making still cider, not sparkling. Sparkling cider has dangers of exploding bottles if you arent careful, so I wont teach you how to carbonate your cider.
Sage as a Mosquito Repellant
Throw a stick of sage or powdered sage into your fire. The sage scented smoke that the fire will emit keeps mosquitoes and other annoying bugs at bay for the entire area.
31 October 2012
28 October 2012
10 Ordinary Objects Repurposed Into Extraordinary Furniture
1. Shopping Cart to Chair and Side Table
2. Old Chair To Swing
3. Church Pew to Headboard
4. Wooden Ladder To Bookshelf
5. Trolley to Chair
6. Suitcase to Chair
7. Folding Chair to Shelf/Closet Unit
8. Bike to Bathroom Counter
9. Wood Pallet to Bed
10. Leather Belts to Chair
For more ideas go to: http://www.buzzfeed.com/stacylambe/26-ordinary-objects-repurposed-into-extraordinary
2. Old Chair To Swing
3. Church Pew to Headboard
4. Wooden Ladder To Bookshelf
5. Trolley to Chair
6. Suitcase to Chair
7. Folding Chair to Shelf/Closet Unit
8. Bike to Bathroom Counter
9. Wood Pallet to Bed
10. Leather Belts to Chair
For more ideas go to: http://www.buzzfeed.com/stacylambe/26-ordinary-objects-repurposed-into-extraordinary
20 October 2012
19 October 2012
16 Foods That’ll Re-Grow from Kitchen Scraps
By Andy Whiteley
Co- Founder of Wake Up World
Looking for a healthy way to get more from your garden? Like to know your food is free of the pesticides and other nasties that are often sprayed on commercial crops? Re-growing food from your kitchen scraps is a good way to do it!
There’s nothing like eating your own home- grown vegies, and there are heaps of different foods that will re- grow from the scrap pieces that you’d normally throw out or put into your compost bin.
It’s fun. And very simple … if you know how to do it.
Just remember … the quality of the “parent” vegetable scrap will help to determine the quality of the re-growth. So, wherever possible, I recommend buying local organic produce, so you know your re-grown plants are fresh, healthy and free of chemical and genetic meddling.
Leeks, Scallions, Spring Onions and Fennel
You can either use the white root end of a vegetable that you have already cut, or buy a handful of new vegetables to use specifically for growing.
Simply place the white root end in a glass jar with a little water, and leave it in a sunny position. I keep mine in the kitchen window. The green leafy part of the plant will continue to shoot. When it’s time to cook, just snip off what you need from the green growth and leave the white root end in water to keep growing. Freshen up the water each week or so, and you’ll never have to buy them again.
Lemongrass
Lemongrass grows just like any other grass. To propagate it, place the root end (after you’ve cut the rest off) in a glass jar with a little water, and leave it in a sunny position.
Within a week or so, new growth will start to appear. Transplant your lemongrass into a pot and leave it in a sunny outdoor position. You can harvest your lemongrass when the stalks reach around a foot tall – just cut off what you need and leave the plant to keep growing.
Celery, Bok Choi, Romaine Lettuce & Cabbage
Similar to leeks, these vegetables will re-grow from the white root end. Cut the stalks off as you normally would, and place the root end in a shallow bowl of water – enough to cover the roots but not the top of your cutting. Place it in a sunny window position, occasionally spraying your cutting with water to keep the top moist.
After a few days, you should start to see roots and new leaves appear. After a week or so, transplant it into soil with just the leaves showing above the level of the soil. The plant will continue to grow, and within a few weeks it will sprout a whole new head.
Alternatively you can plant your cutting directly into soil (without starting the process in water) but you will need to keep the soil very moist for the first week until the new shoots start to appear.
Ginger
Ginger is very easy to re-grow. Simply plant a spare piece of ginger rhizome (the thick knobbly bit you cook with) in potting soil with the newest (ie. smallest) buds facing upward. Ginger enjoys filtered, not direct, sunlight in a warm moist environment.
Before long it will start to grow new shoots and roots. Once the plant is established and you’re ready to harvest, pull up the whole plant, roots and all. Remove a piece of the rhizome, and re-plant it to repeat the process.
Ginger also makes a very attractive house-plant, so if you don’t use a lot of ginger in your cooking you can still enjoy the lovely plant between harvests.
Potatoes
Re-growing potatoes is a great way to avoid waste, as you can re-grow potatoes from any old potato that has ‘eyes’ growing on it. Pick a potato that has robust eyes, and cut it into pieces around 2 inches square, ensuring each piece has at least one or two eyes. Leave the cut pieces to sit at room temperature for a day or two, which allows the cut areas to dry and callous over. This prevents the potato piece from rotting after you plant it, ensuring that the new shoots get the maximum nutrition from each potato piece.
Potato plants enjoy a high-nutrient environment, so it is best to turn compost through your soil before you plant them. Plant your potato pieces around 8 inches deep with the eye facing upward, and cover it with around 4 inches of soil, leaving the other 4 inches empty. As your plant begins to grow and more roots appear, add more soil. If your plant really takes off, mound more soil around the base of the plant to help support its growth.
Garlic
You can re-grow a plant from just a single clove – just plant it, root-end down, in a warm position with plenty of direct sunlight. The garlic will root itself and produce new shoots. Once established, cut back the shoots and the plant will put all its energy into producing a tasty big garlic bulb. And like ginger, you can repeat the process with your new bulb.
Onions
Onions are one of the easiest vegetables to propagate. Just cut off the root end of your onion, leaving a ½ inch of onion on the roots. Place it in a sunny position in your garden and cover the top with soil. Ensure the soil is kept moist. Onions prefer a warm sunny environment, so if you live in a colder climate, keep them in pots and move them indoors during frostier months.
As you use your home-grown onions, keep re-planting the root ends you cut off, and you’ll never need to buy onions again.
Sweet Potatoes
When planted, sweet potato will produce eye-shoots much like a potato. Bury all or part of a sweet potato under a thin layer of soil in a moist sunny location. New shoots will start to appear through the soil in a week or so. Once the shoots reach around four inches in height, remove them and re-plant them, allowing about 12 inches space between each plant. It will take around 4 months for your sweet potatoes to be ready. In the meantime, keep an eye out for slugs… they love sweet potatoes.
To propagate sweet potatoes, it is essential to use an organic source since most commercial growers spray their sweet potatoes to prevent them from shooting.
Mushroom
Mushrooms can be propagated from cuttings, but they’re one of the more difficult vegies to re-grow. They enjoy warm humidity and nutrient-rich soil, but have to compete with other fungus for survival in that environment. Although it is not their preferred climate, cooler environments give mushrooms a better chance of winning the race against other fungi.
Prepare a mix of soil and compost in a pot (not in the ground) so your re-growth is portable and you can control the temperature of your mushroom. I have found most success with a warm filtered light during the day and a cool temperature at night. Just remove the head of the mushroom and plant the stalk in the soil, leaving just the top exposed. In the right conditions, the base will grow a whole new head. (In my experience, you’ll know fairly quickly if your mushroom has taken to the soil as it will either start to grow or start to rot in the first few days).
Pineapple
To re-grow pineapples, you need to remove the green leafy piece at the top and ensure that no fruit remains attached. Either hold the crown firmly by the leaves and twist the stalk out, or you can cut the top off the pineapple and remove the remaining fruit flesh with a knife (otherwise it will rot after planting and may kill your plant). Carefully slice small, horizontal sections from the bottom of the crown until you see root buds (the small circles on the flat base of the stalk). Remove the bottom few layers of leaves leaving about an inch base at the bottom of the stalk. Plant your pineapple crown in a warm and well drained environment. Water your plant regularly at first, reducing to weekly watering once the plant is established. You will see growth in the first few months but it will take around 2-3 years before you are eating your own home-grown pineapples.
And one for the kids….. ‘Pet’ Carrot Tops!!
I call this a ‘pet’ because the plant that re-grows from planting a carrot top will NOT produce edible carrots, only a new carrot plant. The vegetable itself is a taproot which can’t re-grow once it has been removed from the plant. But it makes an attractive flowering plant for the kitchen, and they’re
easy and lots of fun to grow…. for kids of all ages!
Cut the top off your carrot, leaving about an inch of vegetable at the root. Stick toothpicks into the sides of the carrot stump and balance it in a glass or jar. Fill the glass with water so that the level reaches the bottom of the cutting. Leave the glass in filtered, not direct, sunlight and ensure water is topped up to keep the bottom of your cutting wet. You’ll see roots sprout in a few days, and you can transplant your ‘pet’ carrot into soil after a week or so.
Your success re-growing lovely fresh vegies from scrap may vary, depending on your climate, the season, soil quality and sunlight available in your home or garden. And some vegies just propagate easier than others do. In my experience, a bit of trial and error is required, so don’t be afraid to do some experimenting. Get your hands dirty. It’s lots of fun! And there’s nothing like eating your own home-grown vegies.
Co- Founder of Wake Up World
Looking for a healthy way to get more from your garden? Like to know your food is free of the pesticides and other nasties that are often sprayed on commercial crops? Re-growing food from your kitchen scraps is a good way to do it!
There’s nothing like eating your own home- grown vegies, and there are heaps of different foods that will re- grow from the scrap pieces that you’d normally throw out or put into your compost bin.
It’s fun. And very simple … if you know how to do it.
Just remember … the quality of the “parent” vegetable scrap will help to determine the quality of the re-growth. So, wherever possible, I recommend buying local organic produce, so you know your re-grown plants are fresh, healthy and free of chemical and genetic meddling.
Leeks, Scallions, Spring Onions and Fennel
You can either use the white root end of a vegetable that you have already cut, or buy a handful of new vegetables to use specifically for growing.
Simply place the white root end in a glass jar with a little water, and leave it in a sunny position. I keep mine in the kitchen window. The green leafy part of the plant will continue to shoot. When it’s time to cook, just snip off what you need from the green growth and leave the white root end in water to keep growing. Freshen up the water each week or so, and you’ll never have to buy them again.
Lemongrass
Lemongrass grows just like any other grass. To propagate it, place the root end (after you’ve cut the rest off) in a glass jar with a little water, and leave it in a sunny position.
Within a week or so, new growth will start to appear. Transplant your lemongrass into a pot and leave it in a sunny outdoor position. You can harvest your lemongrass when the stalks reach around a foot tall – just cut off what you need and leave the plant to keep growing.
Celery, Bok Choi, Romaine Lettuce & Cabbage
Similar to leeks, these vegetables will re-grow from the white root end. Cut the stalks off as you normally would, and place the root end in a shallow bowl of water – enough to cover the roots but not the top of your cutting. Place it in a sunny window position, occasionally spraying your cutting with water to keep the top moist.
After a few days, you should start to see roots and new leaves appear. After a week or so, transplant it into soil with just the leaves showing above the level of the soil. The plant will continue to grow, and within a few weeks it will sprout a whole new head.
Alternatively you can plant your cutting directly into soil (without starting the process in water) but you will need to keep the soil very moist for the first week until the new shoots start to appear.
Ginger
Ginger is very easy to re-grow. Simply plant a spare piece of ginger rhizome (the thick knobbly bit you cook with) in potting soil with the newest (ie. smallest) buds facing upward. Ginger enjoys filtered, not direct, sunlight in a warm moist environment.
Before long it will start to grow new shoots and roots. Once the plant is established and you’re ready to harvest, pull up the whole plant, roots and all. Remove a piece of the rhizome, and re-plant it to repeat the process.
Ginger also makes a very attractive house-plant, so if you don’t use a lot of ginger in your cooking you can still enjoy the lovely plant between harvests.
Potatoes
Re-growing potatoes is a great way to avoid waste, as you can re-grow potatoes from any old potato that has ‘eyes’ growing on it. Pick a potato that has robust eyes, and cut it into pieces around 2 inches square, ensuring each piece has at least one or two eyes. Leave the cut pieces to sit at room temperature for a day or two, which allows the cut areas to dry and callous over. This prevents the potato piece from rotting after you plant it, ensuring that the new shoots get the maximum nutrition from each potato piece.
Potato plants enjoy a high-nutrient environment, so it is best to turn compost through your soil before you plant them. Plant your potato pieces around 8 inches deep with the eye facing upward, and cover it with around 4 inches of soil, leaving the other 4 inches empty. As your plant begins to grow and more roots appear, add more soil. If your plant really takes off, mound more soil around the base of the plant to help support its growth.
Garlic
You can re-grow a plant from just a single clove – just plant it, root-end down, in a warm position with plenty of direct sunlight. The garlic will root itself and produce new shoots. Once established, cut back the shoots and the plant will put all its energy into producing a tasty big garlic bulb. And like ginger, you can repeat the process with your new bulb.
Onions
Onions are one of the easiest vegetables to propagate. Just cut off the root end of your onion, leaving a ½ inch of onion on the roots. Place it in a sunny position in your garden and cover the top with soil. Ensure the soil is kept moist. Onions prefer a warm sunny environment, so if you live in a colder climate, keep them in pots and move them indoors during frostier months.
As you use your home-grown onions, keep re-planting the root ends you cut off, and you’ll never need to buy onions again.
Sweet Potatoes
When planted, sweet potato will produce eye-shoots much like a potato. Bury all or part of a sweet potato under a thin layer of soil in a moist sunny location. New shoots will start to appear through the soil in a week or so. Once the shoots reach around four inches in height, remove them and re-plant them, allowing about 12 inches space between each plant. It will take around 4 months for your sweet potatoes to be ready. In the meantime, keep an eye out for slugs… they love sweet potatoes.
To propagate sweet potatoes, it is essential to use an organic source since most commercial growers spray their sweet potatoes to prevent them from shooting.
Mushroom
Mushrooms can be propagated from cuttings, but they’re one of the more difficult vegies to re-grow. They enjoy warm humidity and nutrient-rich soil, but have to compete with other fungus for survival in that environment. Although it is not their preferred climate, cooler environments give mushrooms a better chance of winning the race against other fungi.
Prepare a mix of soil and compost in a pot (not in the ground) so your re-growth is portable and you can control the temperature of your mushroom. I have found most success with a warm filtered light during the day and a cool temperature at night. Just remove the head of the mushroom and plant the stalk in the soil, leaving just the top exposed. In the right conditions, the base will grow a whole new head. (In my experience, you’ll know fairly quickly if your mushroom has taken to the soil as it will either start to grow or start to rot in the first few days).
Pineapple
To re-grow pineapples, you need to remove the green leafy piece at the top and ensure that no fruit remains attached. Either hold the crown firmly by the leaves and twist the stalk out, or you can cut the top off the pineapple and remove the remaining fruit flesh with a knife (otherwise it will rot after planting and may kill your plant). Carefully slice small, horizontal sections from the bottom of the crown until you see root buds (the small circles on the flat base of the stalk). Remove the bottom few layers of leaves leaving about an inch base at the bottom of the stalk. Plant your pineapple crown in a warm and well drained environment. Water your plant regularly at first, reducing to weekly watering once the plant is established. You will see growth in the first few months but it will take around 2-3 years before you are eating your own home-grown pineapples.
And one for the kids….. ‘Pet’ Carrot Tops!!
I call this a ‘pet’ because the plant that re-grows from planting a carrot top will NOT produce edible carrots, only a new carrot plant. The vegetable itself is a taproot which can’t re-grow once it has been removed from the plant. But it makes an attractive flowering plant for the kitchen, and they’re
easy and lots of fun to grow…. for kids of all ages!
Cut the top off your carrot, leaving about an inch of vegetable at the root. Stick toothpicks into the sides of the carrot stump and balance it in a glass or jar. Fill the glass with water so that the level reaches the bottom of the cutting. Leave the glass in filtered, not direct, sunlight and ensure water is topped up to keep the bottom of your cutting wet. You’ll see roots sprout in a few days, and you can transplant your ‘pet’ carrot into soil after a week or so.
Your success re-growing lovely fresh vegies from scrap may vary, depending on your climate, the season, soil quality and sunlight available in your home or garden. And some vegies just propagate easier than others do. In my experience, a bit of trial and error is required, so don’t be afraid to do some experimenting. Get your hands dirty. It’s lots of fun! And there’s nothing like eating your own home-grown vegies.
Making Flour From Rice Instead
Since the weather has been crummy for the past few days, I didn’t have a chance to use my Sun Oven. So, instead I decided to try something that I haven’t seen elsewhere in the preparedness community–and probably for good reason–I tried to make flour from rice in order to make a loaf of bread. As you might tell from the picture (left) it didn’t work out so well; this is normally the story of my life the first time I try something new.
Originally, I tried to follow these instructions, An Illustrated Guide to Making Rice Flour. Since the instructions included some pretty pictures, I assumed I could follow them. Strangely, the instructions said I should soak the rice, dry it off to be damp (not wet), grind it, and then heat the rice flour to evaporate any water. Unfortunately, that didn’t work AT ALL! After soaking the rice and attempting to dry it, I tried an electric grinder and the rice simply wasn’t being fed properly at all. I then tried my Back to Basics Hand Grain Mill and I got about a 1/4 teaspoon before it wouldn’t grind any rice whatsoever either. I assumed I either had the rice still too wet or I shouldn’t have followed these instructions in the first place.
So, I decided to wing it and do what felt right and I ground dry rice instead. That worked out quite a bit better and more how I expected. I ended up doing two passes through the hand grinder and got about two cups of flour from 1.5 cups of dry rice, which is equivalent to grinding wheat.
If you look at the picture to the right–click to enlarge–you can see the differences in what flour looks like (left clump) versus the first pass with rice (right clump). I’ve also got a second pass of rice (top clump) and a first pass of wheat (bottom clump) for comparison purposes shown too. It seems that the rice, even at second pass, is a bit more like salt than flour. I expected this a bit because even wheat isn’t a whole like like flour after a pass or two in my hand grinder.
Regardless, the wheat seems to work out ok when used for bread. Let’s see how the rice turned out…
As I mixed it the dough didn’t have that sticky feeling I’m accustomed to. In fact, it wanted to fall apart more than stay together. Regardless, I was committed so I covered the bowl and let sit for two hours. After checking the dough it was obvious it didn’t rise and I wasn’t expected miracles but I decided to bake it anyway. In the oven it went.
30 minutes later (at 450 degrees) I took it out and was still disappointed. The taste test didn’t do anything for me either but a few people said it didn’t taste too bad. The “bread” was cooked but tasted weird to me… and it obviously did not rise. Perhaps the yeast was bad (I didn’t test it and now I’m thinking that was my problem) or maybe the rice wasn’t ground enough, or maybe it’s because I used rice as flour instead of wheat. I don’t know what the problem was exactly, but I’m fairly positive I won’t be trying that again any time soon. I’ll stick with what I know.
[EDIT: Turns out it WAS the rice, according to Bellen's comment below: "Rice does not have gluten, the protein found in wheat, that gives the dough that stretchy quality and allows the air bubbles to form and raise the loaf." Thank you for clarifying that.]
Originally, I tried to follow these instructions, An Illustrated Guide to Making Rice Flour. Since the instructions included some pretty pictures, I assumed I could follow them. Strangely, the instructions said I should soak the rice, dry it off to be damp (not wet), grind it, and then heat the rice flour to evaporate any water. Unfortunately, that didn’t work AT ALL! After soaking the rice and attempting to dry it, I tried an electric grinder and the rice simply wasn’t being fed properly at all. I then tried my Back to Basics Hand Grain Mill and I got about a 1/4 teaspoon before it wouldn’t grind any rice whatsoever either. I assumed I either had the rice still too wet or I shouldn’t have followed these instructions in the first place.
So, I decided to wing it and do what felt right and I ground dry rice instead. That worked out quite a bit better and more how I expected. I ended up doing two passes through the hand grinder and got about two cups of flour from 1.5 cups of dry rice, which is equivalent to grinding wheat.
If you look at the picture to the right–click to enlarge–you can see the differences in what flour looks like (left clump) versus the first pass with rice (right clump). I’ve also got a second pass of rice (top clump) and a first pass of wheat (bottom clump) for comparison purposes shown too. It seems that the rice, even at second pass, is a bit more like salt than flour. I expected this a bit because even wheat isn’t a whole like like flour after a pass or two in my hand grinder.
Regardless, the wheat seems to work out ok when used for bread. Let’s see how the rice turned out…
As I mixed it the dough didn’t have that sticky feeling I’m accustomed to. In fact, it wanted to fall apart more than stay together. Regardless, I was committed so I covered the bowl and let sit for two hours. After checking the dough it was obvious it didn’t rise and I wasn’t expected miracles but I decided to bake it anyway. In the oven it went.
30 minutes later (at 450 degrees) I took it out and was still disappointed. The taste test didn’t do anything for me either but a few people said it didn’t taste too bad. The “bread” was cooked but tasted weird to me… and it obviously did not rise. Perhaps the yeast was bad (I didn’t test it and now I’m thinking that was my problem) or maybe the rice wasn’t ground enough, or maybe it’s because I used rice as flour instead of wheat. I don’t know what the problem was exactly, but I’m fairly positive I won’t be trying that again any time soon. I’ll stick with what I know.
[EDIT: Turns out it WAS the rice, according to Bellen's comment below: "Rice does not have gluten, the protein found in wheat, that gives the dough that stretchy quality and allows the air bubbles to form and raise the loaf." Thank you for clarifying that.]
A Couple Of My Favorite Pages That I think Everyone Should Follow
http://www.thesurvivaldoctor.com/
http://www.prepperwebsite.com/
http://www.doomandbloom.net/
http://rethinksurvival.com/
http://wakeup-world.com/
As I come across more, I'll be sure to add them. Or if you have a page you would like added to this list message me and I'll check it out.
http://www.prepperwebsite.com/
http://www.doomandbloom.net/
http://rethinksurvival.com/
http://wakeup-world.com/
As I come across more, I'll be sure to add them. Or if you have a page you would like added to this list message me and I'll check it out.
15 Do-It-Yourself Natural Remedies
copied from http://www.thereadystore.com/diy/5340/15-do-it-yourself-natural-remedies/
If a disaster occurred and the medical industry was strained, how would you get medicine? Or even closer to home, what if you were lost in the woods while camping this weekend and needed to relieve your pain?
There are dozens of items that you’re very familiar with that you’ve probably never used for healing. They can be found in your yard, in your food storage or flying around your home. Things like baking soda, salts, honey and ginger can be used for healing in case of an emergency.
Part of being prepared is knowing how to use items for multiple purposes. These ideas are perfect to help you stay ready for an emergency situation and be prepared while you’re enjoying the outdoors. Comment below to let us know what you’ve used to stay healthy and well!
Epsom Salt
You would have never thought that simple magnesium sulphate – also known as epsom salt – could do so much. This mineral is great for skin-softening, stress-reducing and aching sore muscles.
Splinters. Add some water to a handful of epsom salt and apply it to the skin’s surface. Let it go to work for about 10 minutes. It will help to draw out the splinter and save your from digging around.
Sprains. Epsom salt will reduce the swelling of a sprained ankle or bruised muscle. Add 2 cups Epsom salt to a warm bath and soak the sprain.
Muscle pains. Epsom salt helps draw fluid out of the body and helps shrink swollen tissues. As it draws out fluid through the skin, it draws out lactic acid – which can contribute to muscle pain. Add a cup or two of salt to a hot bath and soak the affected muscle.
Baking Soda
Entire books have been written about the benefits of baking soda. We’ve even written a whole article on what you can do with the stuff. It comes at no surprise that baking soda is a natural healer too!
Stings. You can use baking soda to soothe mosquito bites and other insect stings. Apply a little water and make a baking soda paste. Apply this to the itchy areas. The paste can also be used against poison ivy and chicken pox.
Sunburns. Add baking soda to warm water and apply to your skin. This will soften the water and make a soothing remedy.
Bladder infections. Bacteria thrives inside acidic environments inside your bladder. Make a cocktail of baking soda and water to down after dinner. This will soothe your bladder infection problems.
Ginger
Ginger is one of the most used kitchen cures. It’s closely related to other spices like turmeric and cardamom and has been used medicinally for over 5,000 years. Ginger is used to ease nausea, vomiting and other digestive problems.
Migraines. Danish researchers have found that taking a teaspoon of fresh or powdered ginger at the first sign of a migraine, may reduce symptoms by blocking prostaglandins – the chemical that causes inflamed blood vessels in the brain. Unlike aspirin, ginger blocks only prostaglandins that cause inflammation, the the beneficial ones such as ones that strengthen the stomach lining.
Menstrual cramps. The chemical compounds in ginger act as antispasmodics. They inhibit painful contractions not only in the digestive tract but also in the uterus.
Honey
Honey is great for healing because it lasts for so long. Stored in the right conditions, honey can have an indefinite storage life. It’s good for soothing allergies, coughs and ulcers. Check out other uses of honey here.
Ulcers. Honey may reduce ulcer symptoms and speed the healing time. Honey reduces inflammation, stimulates blood flow and enhances the growth of epithelial cells on the inside of the stomach. Honey also kills H. pylori – the bacteria responsible for most ulcers.
Cuts. The sweet goo is great for taking care of cuts or scrapes that could end up getting infected. Honey contains hydrogen peroxide and propolis – a compound that kills bacteria. Applying honey to cuts or scrapes locks out other contaminants and denies bacterial growth. Lavender
If you’re out in the wild and spot a lavender plant, be sure to grab some. It will probably come in handy! Lavender is great for treating headaches, insect bites, ear infections and athlete’s foot.
Skin infection. Lavender is a great way to fight infections in cuts and scrapes. Soak a clean cloth in a lavender infusion and apply and compress to the wound.
Ear infection. The same chemical compounds that fight infection in scrapes and cuts, also help sooth swimmer’s ear.
Pain reliever. Lavender has some minor pain killing properties. It appears to reduce the transmission of nerve impulses that carry pain signals. Mix a few drops of the oil in a tablespoon of carrier oil (an oil derived from nuts or fruits of a plant) and rub it in. It’s also great for relieving itching.
Goldenseal
This herb can heal just as well as man-made medicines and drugs. In studies, goldenseal has proven just as effective against certain infections as prescriptions.
Infectious diarrhea. The berberine in goldenseal helps prevent diarrhea-causing organisms from clinging to the lining of the intestines. Fighting the spread of infection during a disaster is an important preparation.
Eye infections. Goldenseal is too bitter to enjoy as a tea or drink but you can strain the beverage, let it cool and use it as an eyewash to speed the healing of eye infections such as pinkeye. You’ll have to continue to apply goldenseal to your eyes to continue to fight the infection.
Your recommendations
So, what do you think? Have you found something that works really well as medicine in the wild? Share your knowledge below and help the community!
If a disaster occurred and the medical industry was strained, how would you get medicine? Or even closer to home, what if you were lost in the woods while camping this weekend and needed to relieve your pain?
There are dozens of items that you’re very familiar with that you’ve probably never used for healing. They can be found in your yard, in your food storage or flying around your home. Things like baking soda, salts, honey and ginger can be used for healing in case of an emergency.
Part of being prepared is knowing how to use items for multiple purposes. These ideas are perfect to help you stay ready for an emergency situation and be prepared while you’re enjoying the outdoors. Comment below to let us know what you’ve used to stay healthy and well!
Epsom Salt
You would have never thought that simple magnesium sulphate – also known as epsom salt – could do so much. This mineral is great for skin-softening, stress-reducing and aching sore muscles.
Splinters. Add some water to a handful of epsom salt and apply it to the skin’s surface. Let it go to work for about 10 minutes. It will help to draw out the splinter and save your from digging around.
Sprains. Epsom salt will reduce the swelling of a sprained ankle or bruised muscle. Add 2 cups Epsom salt to a warm bath and soak the sprain.
Muscle pains. Epsom salt helps draw fluid out of the body and helps shrink swollen tissues. As it draws out fluid through the skin, it draws out lactic acid – which can contribute to muscle pain. Add a cup or two of salt to a hot bath and soak the affected muscle.
Baking Soda
Entire books have been written about the benefits of baking soda. We’ve even written a whole article on what you can do with the stuff. It comes at no surprise that baking soda is a natural healer too!
Stings. You can use baking soda to soothe mosquito bites and other insect stings. Apply a little water and make a baking soda paste. Apply this to the itchy areas. The paste can also be used against poison ivy and chicken pox.
Sunburns. Add baking soda to warm water and apply to your skin. This will soften the water and make a soothing remedy.
Bladder infections. Bacteria thrives inside acidic environments inside your bladder. Make a cocktail of baking soda and water to down after dinner. This will soothe your bladder infection problems.
Ginger
Ginger is one of the most used kitchen cures. It’s closely related to other spices like turmeric and cardamom and has been used medicinally for over 5,000 years. Ginger is used to ease nausea, vomiting and other digestive problems.
Migraines. Danish researchers have found that taking a teaspoon of fresh or powdered ginger at the first sign of a migraine, may reduce symptoms by blocking prostaglandins – the chemical that causes inflamed blood vessels in the brain. Unlike aspirin, ginger blocks only prostaglandins that cause inflammation, the the beneficial ones such as ones that strengthen the stomach lining.
Menstrual cramps. The chemical compounds in ginger act as antispasmodics. They inhibit painful contractions not only in the digestive tract but also in the uterus.
Honey
Honey is great for healing because it lasts for so long. Stored in the right conditions, honey can have an indefinite storage life. It’s good for soothing allergies, coughs and ulcers. Check out other uses of honey here.
Ulcers. Honey may reduce ulcer symptoms and speed the healing time. Honey reduces inflammation, stimulates blood flow and enhances the growth of epithelial cells on the inside of the stomach. Honey also kills H. pylori – the bacteria responsible for most ulcers.
Cuts. The sweet goo is great for taking care of cuts or scrapes that could end up getting infected. Honey contains hydrogen peroxide and propolis – a compound that kills bacteria. Applying honey to cuts or scrapes locks out other contaminants and denies bacterial growth. Lavender
If you’re out in the wild and spot a lavender plant, be sure to grab some. It will probably come in handy! Lavender is great for treating headaches, insect bites, ear infections and athlete’s foot.
Skin infection. Lavender is a great way to fight infections in cuts and scrapes. Soak a clean cloth in a lavender infusion and apply and compress to the wound.
Ear infection. The same chemical compounds that fight infection in scrapes and cuts, also help sooth swimmer’s ear.
Pain reliever. Lavender has some minor pain killing properties. It appears to reduce the transmission of nerve impulses that carry pain signals. Mix a few drops of the oil in a tablespoon of carrier oil (an oil derived from nuts or fruits of a plant) and rub it in. It’s also great for relieving itching.
Goldenseal
This herb can heal just as well as man-made medicines and drugs. In studies, goldenseal has proven just as effective against certain infections as prescriptions.
Infectious diarrhea. The berberine in goldenseal helps prevent diarrhea-causing organisms from clinging to the lining of the intestines. Fighting the spread of infection during a disaster is an important preparation.
Eye infections. Goldenseal is too bitter to enjoy as a tea or drink but you can strain the beverage, let it cool and use it as an eyewash to speed the healing of eye infections such as pinkeye. You’ll have to continue to apply goldenseal to your eyes to continue to fight the infection.
Your recommendations
So, what do you think? Have you found something that works really well as medicine in the wild? Share your knowledge below and help the community!
17 October 2012
10 Reasons to Take Your Kids Hunting
“Oooh, there are a couple of squirrels in the pecan trees. Can I go get them?”
My oldest son was sitting in the family room recliner this morning still in his pajamas. He and I were the only ones awake. When he looked out the window, his morning mental fog cleared immediately. He wanted to harvest a couple of squirrels.
“Ok.”, I said. A few minutes later he was dressed, armed, and out the door. If only I could get him to move that quickly at other times.
The Benefits of Hunting
Obviously this wasn’t his first time hunting. I have taken him squirrel hunting before. We’ve gone into the woods on our property and have sat together quietly until the squirrels made their presence known to us. We’ve turned the arbor-dwelling little creatures into delicious meals. I’ve written before about the Squirrel Extraordinaire: A Delicious Recipe that my family enjoys.
He has also harvested a deer and doves. We have a rule in our house: if you kill it, you eat it. (That even applied to a snake one time. We do, of course, have exceptions to the you-kill-it-you-eat-it rule. If a predator, such as a coyote, is threatening our animals, we may protect our animals by killing the predator without eating it.)
We are not trophy hunters. We are meat hunters. Supplementing our diet with game that we’ve harvested just makes sense.
Teaching your children to hunt is good for many reasons.
Cut down on grocery bill. As food prices continue to increase, it’s nice to be able to provide a very inexpensive dinner.
Develop hunting and processing skills. Hunting is a skill. Being able to stalk prey, knowing where to aim, and when to pull the trigger is an acquired skill.
Build confidence. Knowing that you can provide for yourself and family using a weapon is critical. If the first time you enter the woods to hunt, you have a starving family depending on you, that’s a lot of pressure. Knowing that you’ve done it before is a great comfort.
Spend time together. There are many reasons to spend time with your kids. Hunting is a good way to spend time with them doing something that is not only useful, but enjoyable.
Get kids outdoors. Many kids spend too much time playing video games and sucking down sodas and junk foods. Hunting will get them into the great outdoors where they can appreciate creation.
Teach them to quietly navigate terrain. Being able to move through the woods quietly is another skill that may come in handy one day.
Promote gun safety and familiarity. Using a weapon is a skill every child should learn. I don’t want them ignorant about weapons. That is really dangerous! Especially if they are unfamiliar with them and find one at a friend’s house.
Cross-training. If TEOTWAWKI comes, we are all going to be very, very busy trying to stay alive. Having someone else trained to hunt will improve your odds.
Get use meats that may one day be a staple in our diet. If you’ve ever eaten venison or duck, you know that it can have a very gamey taste. There are ways to help mask the taste, but even that takes some practice.
A well rounded education. We homeschool and we take it seriously. Our kids learn math, grammar, science, history, literature, and geography, among other things. But as required as those subjects are, it’s also important to teach them skills such as cooking, gardening, animal husbandry, home repairs, and hunting.
By the way, a few minutes later, my son came back with 2 squirrels in his hand. He’s outside dressing them as I write this. Looks like we’ll have squirrel dumplings for dinner.
http://preppingtosurvive.com/2012/10/15/10-reasons-to-take-your-kids-hunting/
My oldest son was sitting in the family room recliner this morning still in his pajamas. He and I were the only ones awake. When he looked out the window, his morning mental fog cleared immediately. He wanted to harvest a couple of squirrels.
“Ok.”, I said. A few minutes later he was dressed, armed, and out the door. If only I could get him to move that quickly at other times.
The Benefits of Hunting
Obviously this wasn’t his first time hunting. I have taken him squirrel hunting before. We’ve gone into the woods on our property and have sat together quietly until the squirrels made their presence known to us. We’ve turned the arbor-dwelling little creatures into delicious meals. I’ve written before about the Squirrel Extraordinaire: A Delicious Recipe that my family enjoys.
He has also harvested a deer and doves. We have a rule in our house: if you kill it, you eat it. (That even applied to a snake one time. We do, of course, have exceptions to the you-kill-it-you-eat-it rule. If a predator, such as a coyote, is threatening our animals, we may protect our animals by killing the predator without eating it.)
We are not trophy hunters. We are meat hunters. Supplementing our diet with game that we’ve harvested just makes sense.
Teaching your children to hunt is good for many reasons.
Cut down on grocery bill. As food prices continue to increase, it’s nice to be able to provide a very inexpensive dinner.
Develop hunting and processing skills. Hunting is a skill. Being able to stalk prey, knowing where to aim, and when to pull the trigger is an acquired skill.
Build confidence. Knowing that you can provide for yourself and family using a weapon is critical. If the first time you enter the woods to hunt, you have a starving family depending on you, that’s a lot of pressure. Knowing that you’ve done it before is a great comfort.
Spend time together. There are many reasons to spend time with your kids. Hunting is a good way to spend time with them doing something that is not only useful, but enjoyable.
Get kids outdoors. Many kids spend too much time playing video games and sucking down sodas and junk foods. Hunting will get them into the great outdoors where they can appreciate creation.
Teach them to quietly navigate terrain. Being able to move through the woods quietly is another skill that may come in handy one day.
Promote gun safety and familiarity. Using a weapon is a skill every child should learn. I don’t want them ignorant about weapons. That is really dangerous! Especially if they are unfamiliar with them and find one at a friend’s house.
Cross-training. If TEOTWAWKI comes, we are all going to be very, very busy trying to stay alive. Having someone else trained to hunt will improve your odds.
Get use meats that may one day be a staple in our diet. If you’ve ever eaten venison or duck, you know that it can have a very gamey taste. There are ways to help mask the taste, but even that takes some practice.
A well rounded education. We homeschool and we take it seriously. Our kids learn math, grammar, science, history, literature, and geography, among other things. But as required as those subjects are, it’s also important to teach them skills such as cooking, gardening, animal husbandry, home repairs, and hunting.
By the way, a few minutes later, my son came back with 2 squirrels in his hand. He’s outside dressing them as I write this. Looks like we’ll have squirrel dumplings for dinner.
http://preppingtosurvive.com/2012/10/15/10-reasons-to-take-your-kids-hunting/
21 Signs That The Global Economic Crisis Is About To Go To A Whole New Level
The global debt crisis has reached a dangerous new phase. Unfortunately, most Americans are not taking notice of it yet because most of the action is taking place overseas, and because U.S. financial markets are riding high. But just because the global economic crisis is unfolding at the pace of a "slow-motion train wreck" right now does not mean that it isn't incredibly dangerous. As I have written about previously, the economic collapse is not going to be a single event. Yes, there will be days when the Dow drops by more than 500 points. Yes, there will be days when the reporters on CNBC appear to be hyperventilating. But mostly there will be days of quiet despair as the global economic system slides even further toward oblivion. And right now things are clearly getting worse. Things in Greece are much worse than they were six months ago. Things in Spain are much worse than they were six months ago. The same thing could be said for Italy, France, Japan, Argentina and a whole bunch of other nations. The entire global economy is slowing down, and we are entering a time period that is going to be incredibly painful for everyone. At the moment, the U.S. is still experiencing a "sugar high" from unprecedented fiscal and monetary stimulus, but when that "sugar high" wears off the hangover will be excruciating. Reckless borrowing, spending and money printing has bought us a brief period of "economic stability", but our foolish financial decisions will also make our eventual collapse far worse than it might have been. So don't think for a second that the U.S. will somehow escape the coming global economic crisis. The truth is that before this is all over we will be seen as one of the primary causes of the crisis.
The following are 21 signs that the global economic crisis is about to go to a whole new level....
#1 Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer says that the global economy is "awfully close" to recession.
#2 It was announced last week that the unemployment rate in Greece has reached an all-time high of 25.1 percent. Unemployment among those 24 years old or younger is now more than 54 percent. Back in April 2010, the unemployment rate in Greece was only sitting at 11.8 percent.
#3 The IMF is warning that Greek debt may have to be "restructured" yet again.
#4 Swedish Finance Minister Anders Borg says that it is "probable" that Greece will leave the euro, and that it might happen within the next six months.
#5 An angry crowd of approximately 40,000 angry Greeks recently descended on Athens to protest a visit by German Chancellor Angela Merkel...
From high-school students to pensioners, tens of thousands of Greek demonstrators swarmed into Athens yesterday to show the visiting German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, their indignation at their country's continued austerity measures.
Flouting the government's ban on protests, an estimated 40,000 people – many carrying posters depicting Ms Merkel as a Nazi – descended on Syntagma Square near the parliament building. Masked youths pelted riot police with rocks as the officers responded with tear gas.
The authorities had deployed 7,000 police, water cannon and a helicopter. Snipers were placed on rooftops to ensure the German leader's safety.
#6 The debt crisis is Argentina is becoming increasingly troublesome.
#7 The government debt to GDP ratio in Italy is expected to hit 126 percent this year. In Greece, it is expected to hit 198 percent. In Japan, it is expected to hit a whopping 237 percent.
#8 Standard & Poor’s has slashed the credit rating on Spanish government debt to BBB-, which is just one level above junk status.
#9 Back in the year 2000, the ratio of total debt to GDP in Spain was 192 percent. By 2011, it had reached 363 percent.
#10 Record amounts of money are being pulled out of Spanish banks, and many large Spanish banks are rapidly heading toward insolvency.
#11 Manufacturing activity in Spain has contracted for 17 months in a row.
#12 It is being projected that home prices in Spain will fall by another 15 percent by the end of 2013.
#13 The unemployment rate in France is now above 10 percent, and it has risen for 16 months in a row.
#14 There are signs that Switzerland may be preparing for "major civil unrest" throughout Europe.
#15 The former top economist at the European Central Bank says that the ECB has fallen into a state of "panic" as it desperately tries to solve the European debt crisis.
#16 According to a recent IMF report, European banks may need to sell off 4.5 trillion dollars in assets over the next 14 months in order to meet strict new capital requirements.
#17 In August, U.S. exports dropped to the lowest level that we have seen since last February.
#18 Economics Professor Barry Eichengreen is very concerned about what is coming next for stocks in the United States...
"I’m worried that stock markets in the United States in particular have gotten ahead of economic growth"
#19 During the week ending October 3rd, investors pulled more than 10 billion dollars out of U.S. mutual funds. Overall, a total of more than 100 billion dollars has been pulled out of U.S. mutual funds so far this year.
#20 As I wrote about the other day, the IMF is warning that there is an "alarmingly high" risk of a deeper global economic slowdown.
#21 When shipping companies start laying off workers, that is one of the best signs that economic activity is slowing down. That is why it was so troubling when it was announced that FedEx is planning to get rid of "several thousand" workers over the coming months. According to AFP, "its business is being hit by the global economic slowdown".
For even more signs that the global economy is rapidly crumbling, please see my previous article entitled "The Largest Economy In The World Is Imploding Right In Front Of Our Eyes".
So is anyone doing well right now?
Yes, it turns out that QE3 is padding the profits of the big banks in the United States and making the wealthy even wealthier just like I warned that it would.
According to the Washington Post, QE3 is helping the big banks much more than it is helping consumers. Is this what the Fed intended all along?...
JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, the nation’s largest mortgage lenders, said Friday they won’t make home loans much cheaper for consumers, even as they reported booming profits from that business.
Those bottom lines have been padded by federal initiatives to stimulate the economy. The Federal Reserve is spending $40 billion a month to reduce mortgage rates to encourage Americans to buy homes. Instead, its policies may be generating more benefits for banks than borrowers.
So exactly how much has QE3 helped out the big banks? Just check out these numbers...
Revenue from mortgages was up 57 percent in the third quarter compared with the same period last year at JPMorgan and more than 50 percent up at Wells Fargo.
But should we expect anything else from the Federal Reserve?
The American people are trusting the Fed to protect our economy, and yet they cannot even protect their own shipments of money. In fact, the Fed recently lost a large shipment of new $100 bills.
Or perhaps could letting people steal money from their own trucks be another way that the Fed is trying to "stimulate the economy"?
Stranger things have happened.
In any event, the truth is that the U.S. economy and the U.S. financial system are unsustainable from any angle that you want to look at things.
We are drowning in government debt, we are drowning in consumer debt, Wall Street has been transformed into a high risk casino where our largest financial institutions are putting it all on the line on a daily basis, we are consuming far more than we are producing, there are more than 100 million Americans on welfare and we are stealing more than 100 million dollars an hour from future generations to pay for it all.
Anyone that believes that we are in "good shape" does not know the first thing about economics.
Sadly, the U.S. is not alone. Nations all over the globe are experiencing similar problems.
The global economic crisis is just beginning and it is going to get much, much worse.
I hope that you ready.
The following are 21 signs that the global economic crisis is about to go to a whole new level....
#1 Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer says that the global economy is "awfully close" to recession.
#2 It was announced last week that the unemployment rate in Greece has reached an all-time high of 25.1 percent. Unemployment among those 24 years old or younger is now more than 54 percent. Back in April 2010, the unemployment rate in Greece was only sitting at 11.8 percent.
#3 The IMF is warning that Greek debt may have to be "restructured" yet again.
#4 Swedish Finance Minister Anders Borg says that it is "probable" that Greece will leave the euro, and that it might happen within the next six months.
#5 An angry crowd of approximately 40,000 angry Greeks recently descended on Athens to protest a visit by German Chancellor Angela Merkel...
From high-school students to pensioners, tens of thousands of Greek demonstrators swarmed into Athens yesterday to show the visiting German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, their indignation at their country's continued austerity measures.
Flouting the government's ban on protests, an estimated 40,000 people – many carrying posters depicting Ms Merkel as a Nazi – descended on Syntagma Square near the parliament building. Masked youths pelted riot police with rocks as the officers responded with tear gas.
The authorities had deployed 7,000 police, water cannon and a helicopter. Snipers were placed on rooftops to ensure the German leader's safety.
#6 The debt crisis is Argentina is becoming increasingly troublesome.
#7 The government debt to GDP ratio in Italy is expected to hit 126 percent this year. In Greece, it is expected to hit 198 percent. In Japan, it is expected to hit a whopping 237 percent.
#8 Standard & Poor’s has slashed the credit rating on Spanish government debt to BBB-, which is just one level above junk status.
#9 Back in the year 2000, the ratio of total debt to GDP in Spain was 192 percent. By 2011, it had reached 363 percent.
#10 Record amounts of money are being pulled out of Spanish banks, and many large Spanish banks are rapidly heading toward insolvency.
#11 Manufacturing activity in Spain has contracted for 17 months in a row.
#12 It is being projected that home prices in Spain will fall by another 15 percent by the end of 2013.
#13 The unemployment rate in France is now above 10 percent, and it has risen for 16 months in a row.
#14 There are signs that Switzerland may be preparing for "major civil unrest" throughout Europe.
#15 The former top economist at the European Central Bank says that the ECB has fallen into a state of "panic" as it desperately tries to solve the European debt crisis.
#16 According to a recent IMF report, European banks may need to sell off 4.5 trillion dollars in assets over the next 14 months in order to meet strict new capital requirements.
#17 In August, U.S. exports dropped to the lowest level that we have seen since last February.
#18 Economics Professor Barry Eichengreen is very concerned about what is coming next for stocks in the United States...
"I’m worried that stock markets in the United States in particular have gotten ahead of economic growth"
#19 During the week ending October 3rd, investors pulled more than 10 billion dollars out of U.S. mutual funds. Overall, a total of more than 100 billion dollars has been pulled out of U.S. mutual funds so far this year.
#20 As I wrote about the other day, the IMF is warning that there is an "alarmingly high" risk of a deeper global economic slowdown.
#21 When shipping companies start laying off workers, that is one of the best signs that economic activity is slowing down. That is why it was so troubling when it was announced that FedEx is planning to get rid of "several thousand" workers over the coming months. According to AFP, "its business is being hit by the global economic slowdown".
For even more signs that the global economy is rapidly crumbling, please see my previous article entitled "The Largest Economy In The World Is Imploding Right In Front Of Our Eyes".
So is anyone doing well right now?
Yes, it turns out that QE3 is padding the profits of the big banks in the United States and making the wealthy even wealthier just like I warned that it would.
According to the Washington Post, QE3 is helping the big banks much more than it is helping consumers. Is this what the Fed intended all along?...
JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, the nation’s largest mortgage lenders, said Friday they won’t make home loans much cheaper for consumers, even as they reported booming profits from that business.
Those bottom lines have been padded by federal initiatives to stimulate the economy. The Federal Reserve is spending $40 billion a month to reduce mortgage rates to encourage Americans to buy homes. Instead, its policies may be generating more benefits for banks than borrowers.
So exactly how much has QE3 helped out the big banks? Just check out these numbers...
Revenue from mortgages was up 57 percent in the third quarter compared with the same period last year at JPMorgan and more than 50 percent up at Wells Fargo.
But should we expect anything else from the Federal Reserve?
The American people are trusting the Fed to protect our economy, and yet they cannot even protect their own shipments of money. In fact, the Fed recently lost a large shipment of new $100 bills.
Or perhaps could letting people steal money from their own trucks be another way that the Fed is trying to "stimulate the economy"?
Stranger things have happened.
In any event, the truth is that the U.S. economy and the U.S. financial system are unsustainable from any angle that you want to look at things.
We are drowning in government debt, we are drowning in consumer debt, Wall Street has been transformed into a high risk casino where our largest financial institutions are putting it all on the line on a daily basis, we are consuming far more than we are producing, there are more than 100 million Americans on welfare and we are stealing more than 100 million dollars an hour from future generations to pay for it all.
Anyone that believes that we are in "good shape" does not know the first thing about economics.
Sadly, the U.S. is not alone. Nations all over the globe are experiencing similar problems.
The global economic crisis is just beginning and it is going to get much, much worse.
I hope that you ready.
With each passing year, the difference between America's prisons and America's public schools becomes smaller and smaller. As you read the rest of this article, you will be absolutely amazed at some of the crazy things that school children in America are being arrested for. When I was growing up, I don't remember a single police officer ever coming to my school. Discipline was always handled by the teachers and by the principals. But today, there are schools all over the country that have police officers permanently stationed in the halls. Many other schools will call out police officers at the drop of a hat. In the classrooms of America today, if you burp in class, if you spray yourself with perfume or if you doodle on your desk, there is a chance that you will be arrested by the police and hauled out of your school in handcuffs. Unfortunately, we live in a country where paranoia has become standard operating procedure. The American people have become convinced that the only way that we can all be "safe" is for this country to be run like a militarized totalitarian police state. So our public schools are run like prisons and our public school students are treated like prisoners. The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world by far, and our schools are preparing the next generation to either "do time" in the prison system or to live as good little slaves in the Big Brother prison grid that is being constructed all around us. But what our schools are not doing is giving these children the critical thinking skills that they need to live as free citizens in a nation that used to be "the land of the free and the home of the brave".
Of course very few people would deny that the character of American schoolchildren has changed dramatically over the decades. Back in the 1950s, some of the biggest school discipline problems were gum chewing and hair pulling. Today, kids bring knives, guns and drugs with them to school. Gang activity is rampant in many of our schools and in some schools kids are even having sex in the school bathrooms.
So there is definitely a discipline problem in our schools.
But what is going on in many areas of the country is absolutely ridiculous. For example, in 2010 alone police down in Texas issued an astounding 300,000 tickets to school children.
Yes, if a kid pulls a knife on someone the police should get involved, but teachers and administrators should be able to use some common sense and handle the vast majority of discipline problems that happen themselves.
What you are about to read is absolutely going to amaze you. The following are 19 really crazy things that school children are being arrested for in America....
#1 At one public school down in Texas, a 12-year-old girl named Sarah Bustamantes was recently arrested for spraying herself with perfume.
#2 A 13-year-old student at a school in Albuquerque, New Mexico was recently arrested by police for burping in class.
#3 Another student down in Albuquerque was forced to strip down to his underwear while five adults watched because he had $200 in his pocket. The student was never formally charged with doing anything wrong.
#4 A security guard at one school in California broke the arm of a 16-year-old girl because she left some crumbs on the floor after cleaning up some cake that she had spilled.
#5 One teenage couple down in Houston poured milk on each other during a squabble while they were breaking up. Instead of being sent to see the principal, they were arrested and sent to court.
#6 In early 2010, a 12-year-old girl at a school in Forest Hills, New York was arrested by police and marched out of her school in handcuffs just because she doodled on her desk. "I love my friends Abby and Faith" was what she reportedly scribbled on her desk.
#7 A 6-year-old girl down in Florida was handcuffed and sent to a mental facility after throwing temper tantrums at her elementary school.
#8 One student down in Texas was reportedly arrested by police for throwing paper airplanes in class.
#9 A 17-year-old honor student in North Carolina named Ashley Smithwick accidentally took her father's lunch with her to school. It contained a small paring knife which he would use to slice up apples. So what happened to this standout student when the school discovered this? The school suspended her for the rest of the year and the police charged her with a misdemeanor.
#10 In Allentown, Pennsylvania a 14-year-old girl was tasered in the groin area by a school security officer even though she had put up her hands in the air to surrender.
#11 Down in Florida, an 11-year-old student was arrested, thrown in jail and charged with a third-degree felony for bringing a plastic butter knife to school.
#12 Back in 2009, an 8-year-old boy in Massachusetts was sent home from school and was forced to undergo a psychological evaluation because he drew a picture of Jesus on the cross.
#13 A police officer in San Mateo, California blasted a 7-year-old special education student in the face with pepper spray because he would not quit climbing on the furniture.
#14 In America today, even 5-year-old children are treated brutally by police. The following is from a recent article that described what happened to one very young student in Stockton, California a while back....
Earlier this year, a Stockton student was handcuffed with zip ties on his hands and feet, forced to go to the hospital for a psychiatric evaluation and was charged with battery on a police officer. That student was 5 years old.
#15 At one school in Connecticut, a 17-year-old boy was thrown to the floor and tasered five times because he was yelling at a cafeteria worker.
#16 A teenager in suburban Dallas was forced to take on a part-time job after being ticketed for using foul language in one high school classroom. The original ticket was for $340, but additional fees have raised the total bill to $637.
#17 A few months ago, police were called out when a little girl kissed a little boy during a physical education class at an elementary school down in Florida.
#18 A 6-year-old boy was recently charged with sexual battery for some "inappropriate touching" during a game of tag at one elementary school in the San Francisco area.
#19 In Massachusetts, police were recently sent out to collect an overdue library book from a 5-year-old girl.
Unfortunately, what is going on in our schools is a reflection of the broader society as a whole. Our schools are being turned into prisons because our entire society is being turned into a giant prison.
Our nation is rapidly heading down the toilet, and the children of this nation do not have a bright future to look forward to.
If the police really want to find some criminals, they should start investigating some of the sickos that are in charge of some of these classrooms.
It seems like almost every day now there is a news story about some public school teacher that is involved in some kind of really perverted stuff.
For example, just check out what police down in Los Angeles recently found that one teacher was hiding....
A former Los Angeles elementary school teacher has been arrested for felony molestation of nearly two dozen students, accused of gagging children and putting live cockroaches on some of their faces. Deputies say the crimes were committed on campus.
Sickos who do that kind of stuff to kids should be punished very severely.
America's schools are changing, and not for the better.
Personally, I went to public schools all my life, but I would not recommend that anyone send their kids to public schools today. There is just way too much crazy stuff that goes on.
And our kids are learning less than ever in these public schools. As I have written about previously, many of them are coming out of the system as dumb as a rock. Instead of teaching our kids how to think critically and examine all sides of an issue, these schools are indoctrinating our kids and pushing particular social and political agendas on them.
There are a few public schools out there that are still good, but the vast majority of them are horrible. They are not producing the leaders of tomorrow and they are not preparing the next generation with the tools that they need to survive in a complex world.
So is there much hope that our schools can be turned around? Feel free to leave a comment with your opinion below....
Of course very few people would deny that the character of American schoolchildren has changed dramatically over the decades. Back in the 1950s, some of the biggest school discipline problems were gum chewing and hair pulling. Today, kids bring knives, guns and drugs with them to school. Gang activity is rampant in many of our schools and in some schools kids are even having sex in the school bathrooms.
So there is definitely a discipline problem in our schools.
But what is going on in many areas of the country is absolutely ridiculous. For example, in 2010 alone police down in Texas issued an astounding 300,000 tickets to school children.
Yes, if a kid pulls a knife on someone the police should get involved, but teachers and administrators should be able to use some common sense and handle the vast majority of discipline problems that happen themselves.
What you are about to read is absolutely going to amaze you. The following are 19 really crazy things that school children are being arrested for in America....
#1 At one public school down in Texas, a 12-year-old girl named Sarah Bustamantes was recently arrested for spraying herself with perfume.
#2 A 13-year-old student at a school in Albuquerque, New Mexico was recently arrested by police for burping in class.
#3 Another student down in Albuquerque was forced to strip down to his underwear while five adults watched because he had $200 in his pocket. The student was never formally charged with doing anything wrong.
#4 A security guard at one school in California broke the arm of a 16-year-old girl because she left some crumbs on the floor after cleaning up some cake that she had spilled.
#5 One teenage couple down in Houston poured milk on each other during a squabble while they were breaking up. Instead of being sent to see the principal, they were arrested and sent to court.
#6 In early 2010, a 12-year-old girl at a school in Forest Hills, New York was arrested by police and marched out of her school in handcuffs just because she doodled on her desk. "I love my friends Abby and Faith" was what she reportedly scribbled on her desk.
#7 A 6-year-old girl down in Florida was handcuffed and sent to a mental facility after throwing temper tantrums at her elementary school.
#8 One student down in Texas was reportedly arrested by police for throwing paper airplanes in class.
#9 A 17-year-old honor student in North Carolina named Ashley Smithwick accidentally took her father's lunch with her to school. It contained a small paring knife which he would use to slice up apples. So what happened to this standout student when the school discovered this? The school suspended her for the rest of the year and the police charged her with a misdemeanor.
#10 In Allentown, Pennsylvania a 14-year-old girl was tasered in the groin area by a school security officer even though she had put up her hands in the air to surrender.
#11 Down in Florida, an 11-year-old student was arrested, thrown in jail and charged with a third-degree felony for bringing a plastic butter knife to school.
#12 Back in 2009, an 8-year-old boy in Massachusetts was sent home from school and was forced to undergo a psychological evaluation because he drew a picture of Jesus on the cross.
#13 A police officer in San Mateo, California blasted a 7-year-old special education student in the face with pepper spray because he would not quit climbing on the furniture.
#14 In America today, even 5-year-old children are treated brutally by police. The following is from a recent article that described what happened to one very young student in Stockton, California a while back....
Earlier this year, a Stockton student was handcuffed with zip ties on his hands and feet, forced to go to the hospital for a psychiatric evaluation and was charged with battery on a police officer. That student was 5 years old.
#15 At one school in Connecticut, a 17-year-old boy was thrown to the floor and tasered five times because he was yelling at a cafeteria worker.
#16 A teenager in suburban Dallas was forced to take on a part-time job after being ticketed for using foul language in one high school classroom. The original ticket was for $340, but additional fees have raised the total bill to $637.
#17 A few months ago, police were called out when a little girl kissed a little boy during a physical education class at an elementary school down in Florida.
#18 A 6-year-old boy was recently charged with sexual battery for some "inappropriate touching" during a game of tag at one elementary school in the San Francisco area.
#19 In Massachusetts, police were recently sent out to collect an overdue library book from a 5-year-old girl.
Unfortunately, what is going on in our schools is a reflection of the broader society as a whole. Our schools are being turned into prisons because our entire society is being turned into a giant prison.
Our nation is rapidly heading down the toilet, and the children of this nation do not have a bright future to look forward to.
If the police really want to find some criminals, they should start investigating some of the sickos that are in charge of some of these classrooms.
It seems like almost every day now there is a news story about some public school teacher that is involved in some kind of really perverted stuff.
For example, just check out what police down in Los Angeles recently found that one teacher was hiding....
A former Los Angeles elementary school teacher has been arrested for felony molestation of nearly two dozen students, accused of gagging children and putting live cockroaches on some of their faces. Deputies say the crimes were committed on campus.
Sickos who do that kind of stuff to kids should be punished very severely.
America's schools are changing, and not for the better.
Personally, I went to public schools all my life, but I would not recommend that anyone send their kids to public schools today. There is just way too much crazy stuff that goes on.
And our kids are learning less than ever in these public schools. As I have written about previously, many of them are coming out of the system as dumb as a rock. Instead of teaching our kids how to think critically and examine all sides of an issue, these schools are indoctrinating our kids and pushing particular social and political agendas on them.
There are a few public schools out there that are still good, but the vast majority of them are horrible. They are not producing the leaders of tomorrow and they are not preparing the next generation with the tools that they need to survive in a complex world.
So is there much hope that our schools can be turned around? Feel free to leave a comment with your opinion below....
16 October 2012
Soup Kitchen Head Slams Paul Ryan for Staged Photo Op
The head of a soup kitchen in Ohio has accused Republican vice-presidential candidate Paul Ryan and campaign staffers of ramrodding their way into the soup kitchen so that Ryan could get his picture taken washing dishes in the dining hall. According to news accounts, Ryan arrived at the soup kitchen after the food had been served, the patrons had left, and the hall had been cleaned. Photos show Ryan washing dishes that had reportedly already been cleaned. Brian Antal, president of the Mahoning County St. Vincent De Paul Society, criticized the Ryan team for using the soup kitchen for a staged photo op. Antal said: "They showed up there, and they did not have permission. They got one of the volunteers to open up the doors. The photo op they did wasn’t even accurate. He did nothing. He just came in here to get his picture taken at the dining hall."
13 October 2012
Almond Milk Benefits
Almond milk has several benefits which render it a perfect substitute for regular milk.
Almond milk is an extract of protein-rich almonds, and has proven to be extremely beneficial for those who lactose intolerant. It was extensively used as a popular beverage in Medieval Europe and the Middle East. Nutritional benefits of almonds include lowering blood sugar levels and treating constipation, and these benefits can even be obtained by drinking it. Given below are all the benefits of consuming almond milk regularly.
Benefits of Almond Milk
• Lactose-free Lactose is the sugar found in cow's milk. Many people are lactose intolerant, and consumption of milk causes abdominal discomfort, bloating, and diarrhea in such individuals. As almond milk is extracted from almonds, a nut, hence it is plant derived and does not contain lactose. Therefore, it can be easily substituted everywhere where one might use cow's milk.
• Full of Essential Nutrients Almonds are rich in proteins and full of vitamin E, magnesium, selenium, manganese, zinc, potassium, fiber, iron, phosphorus, and calcium. Since it is full of healthy flavonoids, it helps lower LDL cholesterol and protect the heart. High levels of vitamin E ensure powerful antioxidants in the body. Antioxidants inhibit the growth of free radicals that are known to cause cancer. Almond milk contains many vital nutrients, hence unlike other milk, it doesn't need to be fortified with vitamins and minerals.
• Low in Calories Fewer calories, no cholesterol and saturated fats makes this beverage very healthy and good for those trying to lose weight. Power packed with nutrients, its health benefits will keep you fit and fine.
• Healthy Choice for Diabetics Carbohydrates consumed through various foods are broken down into sugars, thereby increasing sugar content in the body. This is not desirable in diabetic individuals. Almond milk is a better alternative to cow's milk for individuals with diabetes because it has lesser amount of carbohydrates and calories. The body is able to completely digest the sugars and derive energy for better functioning due to its low glycemic nature.
• Beneficial for Eyes and Skin Including pure almond milk in the diet ensures healthy skin and eyes. It contains Vitamin E and Vitamin A in moderate quantities which are necessary for maintaining a healthy skin and keeping the eyes in a good condition so that they can easily adjust to differences in light in the surroundings.
• Homemade and Pure As one can easily extract almond milk at home without much effort, and also store it without using preservatives and additives, it would be right to say that consuming it is extremely healthy! It has already been proved that to increase milk production, cows are being injected with antibiotics and growth hormones, leading to allergic reactions and toxic side effects, some as bad as certain types of cancers. To avoid these dangers, it is better to switch to homemade almond milk which is pure and nutritious.
However, a word of caution - almond milk cannot be substituted for breast milk. Although the health benefits of almonds are many, they do not have the necessary adequate nourishment required for infant growth. For lactose intolerant babies, it's best to consult a doctor on what would be best for the child. Nuts like almonds also include goitrogens; this substance is known to suppress thyroid gland functioning by interfering with iodine uptake. The use of bitter almonds has also been cautioned against, as bitter almonds when blended with water, release cyanide; a poisonous chemical.
Almond Milk Recipe
Raw almonds - 1½ cups Filtered water - 4 cups Soak almonds in water for minimum six to eight hours. Drain the water, and blend the almonds with 4 cups of water, until it reaches a milk-like consistency. Strain it to remove almond skin and granules. One can store it in an air-tight jar in the refrigerator for four to five days. If you want it to taste sweet, then blend in a few soaked dates as well.
Buy good quality almonds to not only extract milk, but also to enjoy its many health benefits. And if you don't want to have it bland, add in some chocolate or vanilla flavor to create an instant yummy healthy drink!
By Loveleena Rajeev
Last Updated: 3/12/2012
Read more at Buzzle: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/almond-milk-benefits.html
Almond milk is an extract of protein-rich almonds, and has proven to be extremely beneficial for those who lactose intolerant. It was extensively used as a popular beverage in Medieval Europe and the Middle East. Nutritional benefits of almonds include lowering blood sugar levels and treating constipation, and these benefits can even be obtained by drinking it. Given below are all the benefits of consuming almond milk regularly.
Benefits of Almond Milk
• Lactose-free Lactose is the sugar found in cow's milk. Many people are lactose intolerant, and consumption of milk causes abdominal discomfort, bloating, and diarrhea in such individuals. As almond milk is extracted from almonds, a nut, hence it is plant derived and does not contain lactose. Therefore, it can be easily substituted everywhere where one might use cow's milk.
• Full of Essential Nutrients Almonds are rich in proteins and full of vitamin E, magnesium, selenium, manganese, zinc, potassium, fiber, iron, phosphorus, and calcium. Since it is full of healthy flavonoids, it helps lower LDL cholesterol and protect the heart. High levels of vitamin E ensure powerful antioxidants in the body. Antioxidants inhibit the growth of free radicals that are known to cause cancer. Almond milk contains many vital nutrients, hence unlike other milk, it doesn't need to be fortified with vitamins and minerals.
• Low in Calories Fewer calories, no cholesterol and saturated fats makes this beverage very healthy and good for those trying to lose weight. Power packed with nutrients, its health benefits will keep you fit and fine.
• Healthy Choice for Diabetics Carbohydrates consumed through various foods are broken down into sugars, thereby increasing sugar content in the body. This is not desirable in diabetic individuals. Almond milk is a better alternative to cow's milk for individuals with diabetes because it has lesser amount of carbohydrates and calories. The body is able to completely digest the sugars and derive energy for better functioning due to its low glycemic nature.
• Beneficial for Eyes and Skin Including pure almond milk in the diet ensures healthy skin and eyes. It contains Vitamin E and Vitamin A in moderate quantities which are necessary for maintaining a healthy skin and keeping the eyes in a good condition so that they can easily adjust to differences in light in the surroundings.
• Homemade and Pure As one can easily extract almond milk at home without much effort, and also store it without using preservatives and additives, it would be right to say that consuming it is extremely healthy! It has already been proved that to increase milk production, cows are being injected with antibiotics and growth hormones, leading to allergic reactions and toxic side effects, some as bad as certain types of cancers. To avoid these dangers, it is better to switch to homemade almond milk which is pure and nutritious.
However, a word of caution - almond milk cannot be substituted for breast milk. Although the health benefits of almonds are many, they do not have the necessary adequate nourishment required for infant growth. For lactose intolerant babies, it's best to consult a doctor on what would be best for the child. Nuts like almonds also include goitrogens; this substance is known to suppress thyroid gland functioning by interfering with iodine uptake. The use of bitter almonds has also been cautioned against, as bitter almonds when blended with water, release cyanide; a poisonous chemical.
Almond Milk Recipe
Raw almonds - 1½ cups Filtered water - 4 cups Soak almonds in water for minimum six to eight hours. Drain the water, and blend the almonds with 4 cups of water, until it reaches a milk-like consistency. Strain it to remove almond skin and granules. One can store it in an air-tight jar in the refrigerator for four to five days. If you want it to taste sweet, then blend in a few soaked dates as well.
Buy good quality almonds to not only extract milk, but also to enjoy its many health benefits. And if you don't want to have it bland, add in some chocolate or vanilla flavor to create an instant yummy healthy drink!
By Loveleena Rajeev
Last Updated: 3/12/2012
Read more at Buzzle: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/almond-milk-benefits.html
Expiration Dates on Drugs are a Myth
Being ever suspicious of big pharma, I have always doubted those one year expiration dates on prescription drugs and also the limited expiration period on over the counter drugs. For heaven’s sake, anyone in the military or emergency responder business knows that outdated drugs exist and are used on an everyday basis.
Along these lines, yesterday I received an email from my friend Joe Alton aka Dr. Bones of www.doomandbloom.net. He has just written a new article citing new evidence on the bogus nature of expiration dates on drugs. Given the implications for every prepper who is storing medical supplies, I am sharing Joe’s article below.
New Evidence on Expiration Dates
Over the years, I have expressed my opinions on the bogus nature of the expiration dates stamped on medications in pill or capsule form. I have cited the findings of the Shelf Life Extension Program, a program meant to investigate the possible usefulness of the millions of doses of various expired medications stockpiled by FEMA for use in peacetime disasters.
In my original article, “The Truth About Expiration Dates” 2 years ago, I indicated these findings were no longer available to the public. Now, a breakthrough scientific article has been published in the respected journal “The Archives of Internal Medicine”. Below is the article in its entirety, with important sections in bold type:
October 8, 2012 — An analysis of 8 medications indicates that most of the active ingredients they contain were present in adequate amounts decades after the drugs’ expiration dates, according to results from a study published online October 8 in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Lee Cantrell, PharmD, from the California Poison Control System, San Diego Division, University of California San Francisco School of Pharmacy, and colleagues used liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry to measure the amounts of the active ingredients in the medications. The medicines, which had expired 28 to 40 years ago, were found in a retail pharmacy in their original, unopened packaging.
To meet US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) standards, an active ingredient must be present in 90% to 110% of the amount indicated on the label. Drug expiration dates are set for 12 to 60 months after production, even though many compounds can persist far longer.
In the new analysis, 12 of the 14 active ingredients persisted in concentrations that were 90% or greater of the amount indicated on the label. These 12 compounds retained their full potency for 336 months (Dr. Bones 28 years) or longer. Eight of them retained potency for at least 480 months (dr. bones: 40 years). Dr. Cantrell’s team was unable to find a standard for homatropine, 1 of the 15 ingredients.
Only aspirin and amphetamine fell below the 90% cutoff. Phenacetin was present at greater than the cutoff in Fiorinal (butalbital, aspirin, caffeine, and codeine phosphate, but was considerably less in Codempiral No. 3. The authors attribute the deficit in Codempiral to conditions that led to preferential degradation of phenacetin because of its amide group, compared with codeine, which is also in Codempiral but is more chemically stable.
Three compounds persisted in greater than 110% of the labeled contents: methaqualone (in Somnafac), meprobamate (in Bamadex), and pentobarbital (in Nebralin). These relatively high amounts may reflect degradation of other components of the compounded drug, the fact that the samples were produced before FDA-instituted quality control measures in 1963, or inconsistencies of the analytical techniques between when the drugs were compounded and now. The new findings are consistent with the efforts of the Shelf-Life Extension Program, which has extended the expiration dates on 88% of 122 drugs tested so far. Extensions range from 66 to 278 months.
“Our results support the effectiveness of broadly extending expiration dates for many drugs,” the researchers conclude. They also point out that extending shelf life can significantly lower costs to consumers.
Limitations of the analysis, the investigators write, include an inability to confirm the storage conditions of the drug samples, as well as imprecise dating of the samples. The authors have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.
For the preparedness community, this information is very important, as it lends credence to what I have been telling you all along: Get your medical supplies together, and don’t throw out drugs in pill or capsule form just because they have passed their expiration dates.
We are anxiously awaiting lists of the 122 drugs that the Shelf Life Extension Program has tested, but you can expect them to be medications that will be useful in the aftermath of a catastrophe.
Along these lines, yesterday I received an email from my friend Joe Alton aka Dr. Bones of www.doomandbloom.net. He has just written a new article citing new evidence on the bogus nature of expiration dates on drugs. Given the implications for every prepper who is storing medical supplies, I am sharing Joe’s article below.
New Evidence on Expiration Dates
Over the years, I have expressed my opinions on the bogus nature of the expiration dates stamped on medications in pill or capsule form. I have cited the findings of the Shelf Life Extension Program, a program meant to investigate the possible usefulness of the millions of doses of various expired medications stockpiled by FEMA for use in peacetime disasters.
In my original article, “The Truth About Expiration Dates” 2 years ago, I indicated these findings were no longer available to the public. Now, a breakthrough scientific article has been published in the respected journal “The Archives of Internal Medicine”. Below is the article in its entirety, with important sections in bold type:
October 8, 2012 — An analysis of 8 medications indicates that most of the active ingredients they contain were present in adequate amounts decades after the drugs’ expiration dates, according to results from a study published online October 8 in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Lee Cantrell, PharmD, from the California Poison Control System, San Diego Division, University of California San Francisco School of Pharmacy, and colleagues used liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry to measure the amounts of the active ingredients in the medications. The medicines, which had expired 28 to 40 years ago, were found in a retail pharmacy in their original, unopened packaging.
To meet US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) standards, an active ingredient must be present in 90% to 110% of the amount indicated on the label. Drug expiration dates are set for 12 to 60 months after production, even though many compounds can persist far longer.
In the new analysis, 12 of the 14 active ingredients persisted in concentrations that were 90% or greater of the amount indicated on the label. These 12 compounds retained their full potency for 336 months (Dr. Bones 28 years) or longer. Eight of them retained potency for at least 480 months (dr. bones: 40 years). Dr. Cantrell’s team was unable to find a standard for homatropine, 1 of the 15 ingredients.
Only aspirin and amphetamine fell below the 90% cutoff. Phenacetin was present at greater than the cutoff in Fiorinal (butalbital, aspirin, caffeine, and codeine phosphate, but was considerably less in Codempiral No. 3. The authors attribute the deficit in Codempiral to conditions that led to preferential degradation of phenacetin because of its amide group, compared with codeine, which is also in Codempiral but is more chemically stable.
Three compounds persisted in greater than 110% of the labeled contents: methaqualone (in Somnafac), meprobamate (in Bamadex), and pentobarbital (in Nebralin). These relatively high amounts may reflect degradation of other components of the compounded drug, the fact that the samples were produced before FDA-instituted quality control measures in 1963, or inconsistencies of the analytical techniques between when the drugs were compounded and now. The new findings are consistent with the efforts of the Shelf-Life Extension Program, which has extended the expiration dates on 88% of 122 drugs tested so far. Extensions range from 66 to 278 months.
“Our results support the effectiveness of broadly extending expiration dates for many drugs,” the researchers conclude. They also point out that extending shelf life can significantly lower costs to consumers.
Limitations of the analysis, the investigators write, include an inability to confirm the storage conditions of the drug samples, as well as imprecise dating of the samples. The authors have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.
For the preparedness community, this information is very important, as it lends credence to what I have been telling you all along: Get your medical supplies together, and don’t throw out drugs in pill or capsule form just because they have passed their expiration dates.
We are anxiously awaiting lists of the 122 drugs that the Shelf Life Extension Program has tested, but you can expect them to be medications that will be useful in the aftermath of a catastrophe.
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