America wasn’t built by weak people and it most assuredly wouldn’t be the country that it is today if people had the mentality that many do today.

The bottom line is that we’ve become complacent and weak as a country. There’s nothing wrong with compassion as long as it isn’t at the expense of self but we’ve passed the point of being nice and now reside in the land of weakness.

The way that the country comes together in tragedy proves that American people still possess these traits; they’re just buried under deep layers of apathy and laziness.

Here are just a few lost survival traits that made this country what it is today: the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Thinking Independently

From the time of Native Americans, Americans have been independent thinkers.

The problem with today’s society is that a huge majority of the population wakes up in the morning and swallows the spoonfuls of crap-du-jour that news networks and social media are serving up. We’ve moved away from being the high-flying, far-seeing independent eagle and are now grounded sheep that ignorantly and trustingly bleat however our neighbors do.

Believe however you want, but be willing to back those beliefs up with facts and logic. Take the time to research the topics that affect your way of life. You can’t change the direction of the train if you don’t even know that it’s moving.

It’s your freedom that’s at stake – you’d think that would be worth at least as much of your time as you invest in finding a witty cartoon to post on Facebook.

Being Willing to Call “Bullshit”

Edmund Burke said “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

Our forefathers were willing to stand up and fight against tyranny and oppression in order to preserve (or gain) independence from any and all challengers. That sense of patriotism seems to be a dispassionate ghost of its former self in most people today.

Our rights are being slowly stripped and we’re swallowing the “logic” that accompanies the laws.

In some cases, the laws are directly against our constitutional rights yet we still sit back and say nothing.

Fellow Americans, where are your spines? Evil is most certainly prevailing.

The second amendment wasn’t written so that you can hunt; it was written so that you can defend yourself and your country from tyranny.

Work Ethic

We’ve become a people who believe that the world owes us a living. Now I’m not applying this statement to everybody, but it does apply to a large percentage of our population. Our ancestors died to have the right to live here.

The American dream was once attainable by just about anybody who was willing to work hard enough to achieve it and it still is.

The problem is that very few people are willing to stick it out and invest the blood, sweat and tears necessary to prevail. The “I will do it” attitude has been replaced by the “poor pitiful me should get stuff for free” attitude. We are a land full of asses waiting to be kicked.

Responsibility

From top politicians right on down to the bottom of the totem pole, nobody is willing to stand up and lay claim to their mistakes or take responsibility for their actions. Everything is somebody else’s fault. Remember that when you point a finger, there are 3 more pointing back at you!

It’s not always the case, but for the most part we each make the bed that we lie in. When you take responsibility for your actions, you can finally see what’s going wrong and take steps to change your path, improve your life and make yourself a better person and a better citizen. Sometimes you have to apologize and sometimes you have to make retribution, and our ancestors were willing to do that in order to preserve the rights of every citizen.

As a matter of fact, our forefathers took the time to consider their actions BEFORE they took them in order to live in a manner that didn’t encroach on others. They appreciated their rights and knew that they came with limits.

There’s an old saying that goes something along the lines of, “My right to swing my fist ends where your nose begins.” If you take a few minutes to think about that statement, it covers everything that our ancestors held near and dear, and that we now take for granted.

Basic Problem Solving

We are a country built on innovation and “making do.” Native Americans lived and thrived for centuries solely off what the land had to offer. They knew how to use what they had on hand for whatever they needed and they knew how to read the environment for signs about food, water and weather.

Immigrants and settlers learned the same skills and also applied skills learned in their native countries to “advance” their new country.

We’ve now become so technologically advanced that we’ve lost the problem solving and the survival skills that made us a strong people in the very beginning. Without our handheld devices we can’t even tell if it’s raining, let alone figure out where to find a source of water. (Googling “nearest 7-11” doesn’t count!)

That’s going to equal a world of hurt for many people when SHTF.

As a country, we’ve gotten away from both the moral and physical survival skills that built this country and made it a force to be reckoned with. For years, other countries have known that to poke us was to risk waking the sleeping giant. However, recent events and the non-action of our citizenry in the face of tyranny and adversity over the last several decades have shown us to be weak.

If we continue on our current path of dependency and apathy, it won’t be long before all of the rights that our forefathers (and foremothers!) fought so hard for are lost.

Get your pride back, America: it’s in there, so dig deep and get back on track!

It has become an almost daily event that Russian troops are seen around America in many different situations. Some are seen in Russian uniforms, some in American uniforms and others in civilian clothing. Some have been seen with military vehicles and aircraft and some with DHS vehicles. They are blending into areas in many different ways. Is there a specific reason why?

There is an old Chuck Norris movie called Invasion USA. As part of the plot mercenaries dressed as cops drive up to a local gathering spot and open fire on the youngsters there killing some before they leave. When the real cops arrive responding to the shooting they are attacked by the people thinking more cops are coming to kill again.

In any type of scenario where the government declares open warfare on the American people there is going to be a percentage of cops and troops that will not follow orders and will side with the people. Everyone already knows this especially the government. If these troops and cops are successful in coordinating with the local populations it will make things a great deal harder for the government to pacify the nation.

In this situation it is necessary for the government to prevent this coordination by any means necessary. This might take the form of federals coming into a town or neighborhood and rounding up or shooting locals. Once this happens the locals would see anyone dressed this way as the enemy and shoot first and ask questions later. This would make it difficult if not impossible for those forces loyal to the population to make contact and join forces with them.

By preventing this coordination the federals would be fighting a fractured opposition which would make winning easier. Loyal troops and cops would be taking fire from both sides. This type of plan would make the integration of foreign troops into military units and even local forces like DHS necessary.

If this type of situation did happen it would be necessary for civilians to have some means of identifying loyal troops and police when things began to unravel and the bullets started flying. It would be easier for national guard troops that are already known by the local communities they serve in but for active duty forces that are fractured it would be harder to gain the trust of local communities once things begin to unwind. It is also likely that any national guard unit that is not fully aligned with the federals would find themselves locked out of their armories in the opening hours of any hostilities preventing them from accessing their weapons and equipment.

There are many types of divide and conquer operations in progress at this time. The militarized police forces that are allowed to gun down civilians with no repercussions causing backlash against law enforcement. The protest groups and government backed instigators pushing for a race war to fracture the population. The destruction of good jobs eventually forcing desperate people to turn on each other to survive. The war against Christians, gun owners and veterans to weaken any possible resistance to future government controls. The military attempt to demonize Evangelical Christians, Tea Party groups and organizations like the American Family Association and Family Research Council. All of these actions to foment distrust between the population and military and law enforcement personnel are meant to prevent any cooperation between these groups in the future to the detriment of the federal government.

Everything we are seeing now could very well culminate with attacks on the population by federal forces seeking to maintain chaos until they have the upper hand. Initial actions would likely be to seize control of infrastructure such as power, water, food and communications systems. Then urban and suburban areas would be sealed off to contain the majority of people and prevent dispersion to the countryside where they would be harder to control. The last actions would be to seize control of the farmland to insure control of food supplies to exert further control over the population. It is likely the rural areas are where the most brutal fighting will take place as anti federal supporters fight for their very existence before everything is lost.

The U.S. is being set up to take a hard fall and anyone that fails to see that will suffer horribly for the time they have left alive. The invasion has already begun and most do not see it or believe it. Personnel are being prepositioned and when the time is right they will move in force on an unsuspecting population. Crisis followed by overwhelming force will leave the population reeling from the sudden changing environment and prevent most from doing anything substantial to save themselves. Time is short. If you have not made your peace with God and prepared for the times ahead you have nobody to blame but yourself.

The purchasing power of Americans has been unequalled for the past several decades. This has been made possible by the high paying jobs created by our manufacturing sector. These jobs insured a wealthy middle class that could buy anything they wanted.

These high paying jobs meant that some of the wealth created by making things went to the workers. Before long, corporations began working on ways to keep more of that wealth. Enter the free trade agreement. By drafting and passing a number of free trade agreements, the corporations created a way to make their goods cheaper with overseas labor and keep more of the profit for themselves and their Wall Street owners. The deep pockets of the middle class began to dry up.

A thinking person might eventually come to the conclusion that destroying middle class jobs and the purchasing power of the middle class would be shooting themselves in the foot. With less income and purchasing power, the corporations would create a shrinking American market for themselves eventually. That is what we are seeing now.

So, what do you do when your cash cow begins to dry up? You turn it into hamburger. Just like all of the other third world countries that provided raw materials for these corporations to prosper, America will now become a supplier of raw materials for the next rising power to use. That rising power will likely be China with its large untapped populace. They have the gold and the manufacturing capability now. All they need is a good supply of raw materials and they can develop their own middle class and the corporations will be in the clover once again.

America is in debt up to its eyeballs but we still have large amounts of natural resources. Multinational corporations are chomping at the bit to get their hands on these resources so they can renew their ponzi economic model with another rising economy.

Between here and there they must break the American consumer and take everything they have and then get them out of the way so the strip mining can begin in earnest. When you look at the larger picture that is taking shape, that is where we are headed. Chinese corporations are gobbling up everything they can get their hands on right now all over the world including in America.

Those who say the U.S. will be invaded are a little late. The invasion has already started and the invaders have taken the form of corporations. If anything gets in the way of this resource extraction, that is when you will see the troops arrive under some pretence to help the people. Actually their main goal will be to secure the resources.

When troops start arriving that is when Americans will start fighting back by any means at their disposal. For all intents and purposes it will be an all out war on American soil. Regardless of what people perceive the reasons for this war to be it will ultimately be for resources.

You may ask why they do not just keep America prosperous and continue the gravy train. The main reason is that entitlement programs have gotten out of control. They are now spending too much money supporting people who do not work or produce any value in society. To simply take this money away would cause the same chaos that will erupt by destroying the economy but economic destruction will enable them to secure the resources with few people realizing what is really happening. Its all about controlling the amount of blowback from the people and the best way to redirect and contain it.

In the end America will become a third world economy or something worse. The people have the means to retain control of the nation and someday rebuild some of our infrastructure but that depends on the people and how much they want to remain free and in control of their future. As long as half of the population can get paid to sit at home and do nothing we will not change the course we are on. Change will only come when it is forced on the people and they decide to set a new course. Unfortunately, many may elect to do as they are told by the government and hope the free stuff will once again start to flow. Those people will be very disappointed, at least as long as they remain alive.

I’ve never wanted to end something so bad as when I stepped into the grocery store and saw, for the first time, Marty the robot. I know, I know, property destruction is wrong. I didn’t act on it, but seeing those googly eyes peek over the mangoes filled me with a deep and primal blood lust (oil lust?) that’s been locked up in my DNA since before the flood. I saw Marty the robot and I saw that it must not be. So I left before I made a scene. I’m no freedom fighter.

There seems to be a very real and very deep repulsion inherent in humans’ feelings towards robots. We don’t like robots, as evidenced by the growing trend of people acting on that atavistic urge to murder them. But we also aren’t creeped out by all robots equally. There’s a concept called the “uncanny valley” which shows the point of maximum creepiness. A new study published in the Journal of Neuroscience  has found the part of the brain responsible for the uncanny valley effect and what’s going on in our primitive monkey brains as we meet our replacements.

The uncanny valley was first described by Japanese roboticist Masahiro Mori. It’s where something, in this case a robot, is made to look like a human but falls a bit short. People tend to like robots more as they become more humanoid, but at a certain point there is a dramatic dip in likability, the so-called valley, before becoming more likable again as they get closer to a perfect facsimile of a human.  According to a new study that has located the part of the brain responsible for the uncanny valley, different people may react to the uncanny valley with varied intensity. This may explain why a robot that’s essentially a rolling traffic cone almost landed me in jail. I blame the googly eyes.

To figure out the physical location in the brain of the uncanny valley, researchers hooked up 21 volunteers to MRI machines and gave them some tests that involved pictures of various kinds of robots and humans combined with likability decisions. In one experiment, the volunteers were shown pictures of humans, artificial humans, android robots, humanoid robots and mechanoid robots, and were asked to assign values to how likable each was. Then they were asked to pick one of these humans or robots to complete a task: selecting a gift that a hypothetical human may like. The volunteers chose either real humans or human-like robots, but they did not choose the robots in which the difference between human and robot was the hardest to make out.

According to the study, researchers found a link between the uncanny valley and both the prefrontal cortex and amygdala. The prefrontal cortex is the part of our brain that is the most different from other primates. It’s the part that makes executive decisions that go against our primal urges. It was my prefrontal cortex that weighed the risk-reward balance for murdering Marty the robot. The amygdala is a very primitive part of our brain responsible for the “fight-or-flight” response, fear, anxiety, all those fun things. It was my amygdala that made me want to do a robot murder.

The prefrontal cortex showed a dip in activity when volunteers were shown robots in the uncanny valley, and conversely the amygdala seemed to show more of a reaction to the robots in the uncanny valley.

The researchers think that understanding how humans react to the uncanny valley is key to a future where humans and robots coexist peacefully. According to Astrid Rosenthal-von der Pütten, from the RWTH Aachen University in German:

“This is the first study to show individual differences in the strength of the uncanny valley effect, meaning that some individuals react overly and others less sensitively to human-like artificial agents. This means there is no one robot design that fits – or scares – all users. In my view, smart robot behaviour is of great importance, because users will abandon robots that do not prove to be smart and useful.”

So regardless of our repulsion, they hope to be able to make robots that even stubborn cranks like myself will tolerate. To that I say: good luck.

Those that are aware of the EMP commissions report have probably also heard the statement that this type of event would suddenly transport everyone involved back to the 1800’s almost instantly. It is also possible that up to 90% of the population could die within 2 years due to the sudden lack of modern technology. It does not matter if it is an EMP, CME, cyber attack or terrorist attack on the grid, the results will be largely the same.

This is a sobering notion that you can either believe or disbelieve. If you think it is all hype you need only to go back to your daily activities and hope it never happens and leave your survival to someone who will do something if it ever happens. For those hardy souls that take responsibility for their own fate and that of their family, it falls to you to determine what this type of event will mean for you. An event of this magnitude will affect different people in different locations in different ways.

It is important to first realize what changes you will likely see following this event. To understand this you must look at what a 19th century lifestyle would look like to you. Understanding these differences will help you to determine what plans you need to make ahead of time to adjust to these changes in a way that will allow you to survive. Here are some of the things you will face with a collapse in modern technology and this does not even take into account problems you will face from the ill prepared.

19th Century support systems included the following

Sailing ships for cargo and human transport
Steamships for cargo and human transport
Steam locomotives for cargo and human transport
Horses and wagons for cargo and human transport

Horses, mules and oxen for cultivation and harvesting
Root cellars for common storage
Ice houses to store ice cut in winter
Open pollinated seeds for planting
Livestock manure for fertilizer
Local mills for processing grains
Shallow dug water wells for fresh water
Manual tools for building and repairs

Developed systems for kerosene, whale oil and candle making for lighting
Mechanical power systems for factories and machinery
Telegraph lines for communication
Local craftsmen to build and repair items
Human and animal means to produce coal

Wood stoves for cooking and heating
Outhouses for sanitation needs
Buildings designed for natural ventilation

Limited clean water systems
Limited hospitals and doctors
Limited drugs, medications and medical equipment
Limited firefighting capabilities
Limited law enforcement capabilities

Physical currency of silver and gold
Banks utilizing paper records

Many of these systems exist today only in museums or historical sites and in insufficient quantities to support the population we now have. So simply going back to 19th century living standards would be impossible for the vast majority of people even under the best of circumstances. This brings to light the conclusion that 90% of the population would not survive long term under these conditions.

Assuming this type of event did occur, what would you need in advance to insure your survival? That is a question many people need to ask but most will not simply because their belief system would be shattered if they acknowledged potential threats and that they need to be responsible for their own lives.

There is the potential for many types of catastrophic events that we may never see but the potential should be enough to cause reflection on the individuals part to at least ask the important questions for their own survival. To prepare mentally as well as physically is important to survive the worst of the potential events we could face. You may not find yourself living in the 19th Century tomorrow, but what if?

In 1859, an event unlike anything experienced before by modern man, occurred. A massive Coronal Mass Ejection occurred on the sun sending vast quantities of solar particles on a collision course with Earth. The result of this collision caused severe disruptions with the only major electrical equipment then in existence, the telegraph system. Magnetic observatories recorded disturbances in the Earths magnetic field that were literally off the scale.

Auroras were seen as far south as the Caribbean, gold miners in the Rocky Mountains were awakened by a light so bright they thought it was morning and those in the northeast could read news papers by the light.

Telegraph systems throughout Europe and North America failed and in some cases shocked telegraph operators. Telegraph lines threw sparks, paper in some telegraph offices caught fire and some lines continued to send messages even after the battery power had been removed from the line. The electrical effects were severe but the lack of electrical devices in use at this time allowed society to continue as normal and this disturbance was viewed as nothing more than a curiosity.

Scientists believe events of this size can occur every 500 years and events of a lesser but still destructive magnitude can happen several times per century. Scientists are getting better at predicting space weather but mother nature often times ignores our best forecasting and throws us a curve.

What would happen if a storm of this magnitude were to strike the Earth today? The biggest worry we have is the power grid. Satellites would be affected preventing most communications and financial transactions but if the grid goes down due to transformer blowouts, it could be a long time before we get it back up. The larger transformers 500+ KV in size cost millions of dollars and take 1 to 3 years to get even in normal times. Very few of these are kept in supply and the loss of dozens or hundreds at one time could be a disaster as only a small number are made every year and none are currently made in the U.S.

If many of these large transformers went down, it would take down our high tech society with it. Many of our cars and computers and appliances would probably still work, but how would we run them without power? How would we pump water to cities and pump fuel so trucks and trains could deliver food and medicine? How would our medical system operate without the high tech gadgets we depend on to keep people alive and diagnose them? How would we communicate and conduct financial business without our computers? Yes, we have backup generators but how long will they last before they run out of fuel that we can no longer process, pump and deliver?

This is the nightmare scenario we need to address before it happens. Currently we can detect CMEs about 20 hours before they reach Earth. The current plan is to notify power companies of the danger so they can shut down parts of the grid and protect the transformers before they get burnt out. It’s a plan but I feel the need to ask, is this really the best plan we can come up with? What happens if mother nature throws us a curve and we don’t have time to power down the transformers? A report from the EMP commission stated that it would cost about $60 to $100 million to protect the 300 largest transformers that power the grid and an additional $400 to $600 million to protect an additional 3,000 transformers but our leaders don’t think that would be the best use for our money. A NASA report indicates that within 90 seconds of a Carrington Event reaching Earth, the 300 largest transformers in the U.S. would go down and recovery would take 4 to 10 years and some estimates place the death toll in the tens of millions of people.

If the grid goes down civilized society as it is will disintegrate rapidly due to the lax moral standards we now have as a society. The pictures of Japanese citizens patiently waiting in line to get supplies after the 2011 tsunami is a stark difference from what you could expect in the U.S. As with many potential problems, if the government would only discuss it in public and offer the public some simple preparedness tips and discuss how we as a nation would repair the damage, the public knowledge would help mitigate the damage and aid in recovery operations. Unfortunately, that’s not how we do things in the 21st century.

So how do we know how bad it was in 1859 if we didn’t have electronic devices back then to measure it?

To be maximally geoeffective , ie: to drive a magnetic storm, a CME must
(1) be launched from near the center of the sun onto a trajectory that will cause it to impact Earths magnetic field,
(2) be fast (1000 km/sec + ) and massive, thus producing large kenetic energy and
(3) have a strong magnetic field where orientation is opposite that of Earth.

Solar Energetic Particle events dominated by shock-accelerated particles traveling near the speed of light are channeled along geomagnetic field lines into the upper atmosphere above the poles where they can initiate ozone depleting chemistry in the middle atmosphere. Nitrates produced by SEP bombardment settle out of the atmosphere within weeks and are preserved in polar ice, allowing the magnitude of the SEP to be estimated many years later. This is how we can estimate the magnitude of the Carrington Event and apply it to modern technology.

Some scientists fear that the solar maximum that will peak in 2020 will spawn another CME similar to the Carrington Event causing catastrophic results on Earth (SOURCE). The recent uptick in solar storms may give some credence to our newfound concerns. The problem with a solar event as opposed to a man-made event is the possibility that we could be hit multiple times over the course of months before it diminishes. This could make recovery efforts many times more difficult. It is possible for individuals to prepare for an event like this to limit the hardships but this is something that must be done well in advance. The problem is that the vast majority will not prepare and they will cause this disaster to become a catastrophe if it happens. Those that are not prepared to live through a situation like this face a life threatening situation. Those that are prepared, face the danger posed by the unprepared.

The preparations that you make for this situation are similar to many other disasters and will require similar items and planning. As I always stress, knowledge is the most important thing to have in a disaster and everyone needs to develop a plan that will work best for them. If the grid goes down besides not being able to travel or communicate, banking records could be frozen or destroyed taking your electronic money along with it. In this situation, the only money you may have access to is what you have on hand in cash and even then you may be limited as to what you will be able to buy. The only safe position is to already have supplies on hand. For this type of disaster, there is no such thing as being prepared too early or having too many supplies.

One final item that you need to plan for is the potential for a nuclear incident following a grid down event. The loss of power to maintain coolant can result in a meltdown of reactor fuel and the more serious problem of spent fuel coolant ponds going dry igniting radioactive fires. In this situation you have two choices, evacuate or shelter in place. Evacuation would be difficult at best and sheltering in place would present its own problems. An uncontrolled radioactive fire can spew radiation for decades so each person would need to evaluate the hazard to their location and plan accordingly. A modern day Carrington Event would be nothing short of Armageddon for the people of this planet

The arms race is an old one. Ever since our cavemen ancestors started using sticks and stones to attack each other, mankind has constantly sought to create more effective weapons. Some have sought this to use in attacking their enemies, while others only to defend themselves. Offensive warfare and defensive warfare are two sides of the same coin.

This arms race has also fueled technological research and development through the ages. Much of the technology that we depend on, every day of our lives, came from the Department of Defense (DOD). Many things which don’t have an obvious military application were in fact invented for the military, such as the Internet, the Global Positioning System and many modern emergency room techniques.

Much of the last century was overshadowed by this arms race, specifically involving nuclear arms. While there are still only a few countries who own these weapons, a huge amount of money has been invested in their development. That investment hasn’t stopped, as we can see from a recent announcement.

During his State of the Nation address, President Vladimir Putin of Russia announced the creation of five new, but interrelated, weapons systems. Amongst these are hypersonic, nuclear capable, cruise missiles, which are unstoppable by any current defense technology.

The idea of these missiles is obviously to defeat existing anti-missile systems, such as Israel’s Iron Dome system or the US THAAD system. It does this by operating in a different way than those systems are designed to defend against.

Current Anti-Missile Systems

In the contest between offensive and defensive systems, offensive systems always hold the upper hand, with defensive systems struggling to catch up. Such is the case with missiles as well. Current anti-missile systems are built to defend against the threat of yesterday, which might very well mean that Putin’s announcement was correct and they are totally ineffective for these new weapons.

There are two basic types of missiles we are talking about here; ballistic missiles and cruise missiles. Ballistic missiles are fired up into the upper atmosphere, just like a rocket putting a satellite into orbit. When they run out of thrust, they fall back towards the earth, their path of travel creating a huge arc and with their payload hitting the target. Amazingly enough, these missiles are highly accurate, even after crossing oceans.

Since the start of the Cold War, this was the type of nuclear missile which anti-missile systems needed to defend against. In the event of a nuclear war, ICBMs (intercontinental ballistic missiles) would be carrying nuclear warheads anywhere from a few hundred miles to the other side of the globe. The abovementioned Iron dome and THAAD systems, as well as others, are designed to defend against these kinds of missiles.

Different anti-missile systems recognize, target and attack these missiles during different parts of their flight trajectory. They can be designed to work on the boost phase, during the apogee of their flight or the terminal part of the flight. Each system only works against one part; not all three parts of the flight trajectory.

Cruise missiles could be said to be the direct opposite of ballistic missiles in that they don’t fly high up into the sky. Rather, they fly at altitudes which are typically lower than 100 meters. This allows them to defeat the radars and defensive missile systems which are designed to recognize ballistic missiles. They are also quite effective at defeating normal air traffic control radars and other short-range radar systems, as they can often fly under the radar’s minimum effective altitude.

Since there is no ballistic track and the radar visibility of these missiles is considerably shorter than that for ballistic missiles, defending against them is quite different. There are two basic types of systems used for this. One is anti-missile missiles which are also able to fly a cruise missile flight path, low to the ground. The other is point defense systems, which fire slugs (bullets) at the missiles at close range.

What’s Different About Russia’s New Missiles

There is little public information about these new missile systems, other than what Vladimir Putin said in his speech. However, the little bit that he did say is enough to show that if these missiles do exist, the Russians have made some major technological breakthroughs that the world should take note of.

First of all, these new missiles are supposed to fly at a speed of 10 times the speed of sound. That’s over 7,000 miles per hour, almost 14 times as fast as other cruise missiles out there. That speed makes for a much more difficult targeting solution, as the anti-missile systems have much less time to react. While they may still be able to hit the missile in a head-on defense, their cross-range (with the missile crossing in front of the defensive system) capability would probably be virtually nil.

Secondly, these missiles are designed for carrying nuclear warheads. While all cruise missiles are capable of that, their range is greatly reduced, due to the heavier weight of the warhead. While such warheads are generally smaller to make up for this,

Thirdly, these missiles are designed for long-range use. Typically, cruise missiles have a 1,000 km (621 mi) range. While no specific information was given about the range of these new missiles, it appears that they have intercontinental range, something that has never been possible before with cruise missiles.

The reason given for this great range was that these missiles use a nuclear powered engine, rather than a solid-fuel rocket motor. That was looked at, many years ago, by our own scientist and engineers, who concluded that it was impractical. If the Russians have managed to overcome the technical problems which were encountered then, they might have created a missile that can be launched in Russia and fly to wherever they want.

A Whole Weapon’s System

While I’ve been discussing this as if it were one type of missile, there are actually several variants of it, including a land based version, an air deployable one, and a sea-launched one. Considering the potential effectiveness of this system, such missiles would give the Russians a distinct advantage over anyone.

In addition to the missiles the Russians have supposedly developed a new type of submarine, which would carry the naval version of this missile. This submarine is supposed to have the capability of diving to much deeper depths than any other. That would allow it to escape from other countries submarines and travel to where it wanted, without being followed.

The deeper a submarine dives, the less cavitation noise the propeller produces. This noise is caused by air bubbles forming on the trailing edge of the propeller or “screw.” As they collapse from the pressure, they make noise. But the deeper the submarine dives, the faster the screw can turn, without cavitation.

What Does It All Mean?

While this weapons system gives the Russian military a distinct advantage; it only does so if it is ready for deployment. Considerable doubt has been raised as to whether or not these weapons actually exist. The only imagery that Putin used with his speech were computer generated; not actual photographs. So it is quite possible that these weapons are still under development or just plans for the future.

Even if these weapons have completed their testing and are ready to be manufactured, it could still take several years before enough of them have been built and issued to the military. In the mean time, you can be sure that other countries will be hard at work to develop an effective means of countering this new threat, whether by modifying existing weapons systems or developing new ones

The small percentage of the population that keeps extra supplies on hand in the event of a disaster have taken the necessary steps to insure their family will not suffer as most others will following an event. This is the act of intelligent people that realize we live in a dangerous world with many unknowns.

It does not matter if you are prepared for two weeks, two months or two years of societal disruptions. At some point, if the event goes on long enough, you will eventually come to the end of your supplies. When that happens, what will you do?

Having a two year store of supplies is exceptional but as we have seen, some disasters can last far beyond that. The food scarcity we see in places like Venezuela have taken years to unfold and some past wars have raged on for more than a few years. When that happens even your best efforts may fall short and leave you in want.

Those that store a certain amount of supplies for a set period of time need to think beyond that period of time and imagine what they will do when the disaster lasts longer than they had planned on.

When you plan for an event, you need to think of the worst possible scenario and have a plan to handle it. A worst possible case may entail more supplies than you have the ability to buy or store but you should consider what your actions will be if you find yourself in that situation. Thinking about it now while you have the time to find solutions and determine a course of action will help you to stay calm and prevent you from making mistakes that might harm you later.

When an event happens, your greatest asset is your own mind. You need to program it with all of the answers you will need to get you through difficult times when they appear. This is the most basic level of preparing for difficult times that you can do.

Once you think through the possible troubles you may have in the future you will hopefully have answers at the ready when they are needed. Once you do this you will also be able to come up with a list of specific items that can help you the most if you get in that situation.

It may be tools, seeds, relocation sites or friends you can turn to that will make all the difference when the time comes. It costs you nothing but your time to sit down and think about these things now so there is no reason for you not to do it. When you are in need or in danger it is the little things that can make all of the difference.

Having supplies to care for your family buys you time and peace of mind when something happens. This time allows you to assess the situation and determine what your next move needs to be. It is impossible to plan for all of the potential unknowns you could be faced with which is why you need the time to adjust your plans and determine a course of action.

What works for one person may not be possible for someone else because people and situations are so vastly different. That is why you need to determine what will work for you and have a plan that you can follow. Looking at the plans of others can give you some good ideas but simply taking the plans of someone else and depending on that with no adjustments can be disastrous. You do not want to put yourself in a situation that is outside of your knowledge base.

When the world suddenly changes overnight you need to be ready to adjust to it. You need the resources to buy you the time to adjust and a plan that allows you the ability to survive and prosper long term

As the world begins its next adventure in financial chaos and rolls over to expose its soft underbelly of lies and deceit that have been perpetrated on the public, those that see the truth have been warning the people once again. You can give people the truth but you cannot make them believe it. That is for them to come to grips with.

Trade wars are usually bad for all parties in the end but between the beginning and the end there can be some surprising developments. Human actions and delusions on the part of the public can produce strange results at times. All of our systems are based on trust. When that trust is lost, everything will come crashing down. Until then, things will go on.

If trade tariffs with China have the short term effect of creating American jobs, that could have a wealth effect by creating more disposable income in American pockets. That in turn can have a positive effect on the stock market and consumer confidence. Also, commodities are set to soar in price soon and this could carry the stock market up with it for a while.

I think you already know the answer to this, our government is preparing for a crisis – A MAJOR CRISIS. 
So make sure you watch this presentation while it’s still online…

Richard Russell once said he believed we would have a third leg in the current bull market before the bears take charge. He was right in the past and could be right again, only time will tell. This situation can not last long due to the enormous mal-investment built up in the system over many decades. A house of cards will eventually fall and the taller the house the longer and harder the fall will be.

One thing that could destroy the temporary high could be the destruction of the financial system due to loss of the reserve currency status and the replacement of the petrodollar system. If and when that happens things will not be looking good for America for a very long time. China is taking actions that could result in just that type of outcome. Their new silk road initiative and oil trading system utilizing Yuan to gold will eventually have serious consequences for Americas standard of living.

Total debts and derivatives in the world amount to 30-50 times of world GDP. The bulk of this is derivatives and when they fail they will become worthless. The 250 trillion or so in global debt will default when asset prices implode and interest rates explode. When the debt bubble explodes stocks could decline by as much as 95%. Interest rates could exceed the 20% rates we saw in the 1970’s.

In the last 100 years the value of major currencies have declined by 97-99 % relative to purchasing power in gold. The last 1-3% will follow very soon. When the financial system collapses due to losses from derivatives and stocks it will erase all of the savings, and retirement funds people were expecting to get at some future date. This will instantly impoverish the bulk of the population.

As the system collapses the banks will likely try to re-inflate assets by massive money printing which will only cause hyperinflation at some point. As hyperinflation kicks in the price of many assets like stocks, bonds, investment properties and art will likely collapse in real terms. Items like gold, silver and productive farmland will likely fare better.

Eventually deflation will carry all asset prices down as the world falls into a global depression, possibly for decades. All of these things will likely result in social unrest and wars as people become hungry and angry at a system they took for granted for so many years. The trust will be broken and people will look for something else to believe in.

One thing is for certain. People today believe anything but reality and that will catch up to them all very soon in a very painful way. Things work until they don’t. Our economy has been rolling along for decades on the stored wealth of previous generations but that is about to run out of steam very soon. When it does it will be a shock to all but a few. You can ignore reality but you cannot ignore the consequences of ignoring reality.

If you’re interested in learning more old remedies, you should read The Lost Book Of Remedies.

The physical book has 300 pages, with 3 colored pictures for every plant and for every medicine.It was written by Claude Davis, whose grandfather was one of the greatest healers in America. Claude took his grandfather’s lifelong plant journal, which he used to treat thousands of people, and adapted it into this book.

Learn More…

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