The question of the hour is… where is USS George H.W. Bush?

The current location of the Bush and its associated Carrier Strike Group 2 is a matter of intense disagreement.

The official U.S. stance, as of this writing, is that USS Bush is tied to the dock in Marseilles on a port call.

In complete contradiction, Israeli sources with heavy Mossad and military connections today agreed with the previously cited Iranian report that USS Bush is off the coast of Syria. Both Israelis and Iranians say plainly that USS Bush has arrived off of the coast of Syria and is sitting there right now. The Israelis are naming Nov. 23 as the date of arrival, and confirm it is still there, along with its accompanying strike force.

May I point out that Israelis agreeing with Iranians is rather sobering. Both sources are, quite naturally, disposed to spin the news to their own country’s benefit. For them to echo each other on any issue would normally put an end to questions. If those deadly adversaries both agree a thing is true, then one would tend to accept that it is, indeed, true.

Russian secondary sources complete the troika. They also agree with the Israelis and the Iranians… that a U.S. aircraft carrier’ has ‘been directed’ to stand off the Syrian coast (although they do not mention USS Bush by name).

Yesterday, it was vaguely possible to consider all of the reports as reasonably accurate. Perhaps USS Bush had been off Syria for a little while and then raced to Marseilles at flank speed.

Today, the reports are mutually exclusive. USS Bush is off Syria. Or it is in Marseilles.

Which is true? (more…)

First… this is a perfect example of why everyone in the U.S. should have THEIR OWN emergency supplies.
The next disaster is always just around the corner. But we never know which corner.

FEMA looks like they are preparing best they can for the event, but please realize the government, at best, can do only so much.

Okay…

You know to store water and food. Water is more important than food. Rule of thumb is to store three times as much as you think you should. You won’t be sorry.

You can look though this site for some poignant recommendations about everything else.

In this post I’m going to be thinking out loud about some things that aren’t on most lists. But could be really, really handy.

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Nothing much doing in the Middle East that is out of the ordinary.

An aid ship for Gaza was not allowed to dock in Egypt for overland transport of the supplies. Pretty much a non-event, it does show that the blockade of Gaza is still in full swing.

Israel today held another big military exercise on the border with Lebanon. It made hardly a ripple in Lebanese press. They are becoming quite used to it. I don’t know if that is a good thing or a bad thing. Depends on viewpoint, I suppose.

Israeli sources are publicly trumpeting the clandestine monkeywrenches that the Mossad has been throwing into the Iranian nuclear program. They keep saying over and over that the program is now 3 years from being able to make a Bomb. I’m sorry, but that seems a little optimistic.

Even in the news releases, the crucial qualifying phrase ‘by themselves’ is softly included. (more…)

The government of Israel has been put to shame over their woefully inadequate response to the Carmel fires.

A report has been issued already by the State Comptroller laying bare the neglect of all the MInistries to adequately plan, train and supply for a significant national emergency. It is scathing.

It lists important emergency issues that the national government had talked about doing… like creating a National Fire Service… but failed to act on. They were too focused on other things, things that seemed more important at the time but turn out to be not as important as being able to cope with a large scale emergency situation.

Israeli sources say things are so bad that if war broke out, with hundreds of missiles raining down, the government would have to decide which small portion of the population would get emergency services, and what large portion would be abandoned to their own personal resources.

That’s bad.

If you look at the emergency services in your community, you will find that it is not much different.

Where we live, a large emergency will cause instant gridlock of our highways and subsequent malfunction of all emergency services. Not that it much matters. The number of critical care facilities are woefully inadequate for even a low level emergency.

And the doctors… I’ve talked with many of them… need their electronic tools like MRI’s to function. When power goes down, they do not have the basic skills to deal with trauma. I repeat. The doctors do not know how to treat even relatively simple injuries without their technology… which will disappear as soon as the emergency generator runs out of gasoline.

Not that there are very many doctors that can do trauma medicine anyway. Few like being in the ER. It is difficult, stressful, and there is not a whole lot of money in it.

In a disaster situation, I would much rather run into someone trained in wilderness medicine.

Now the question is, are you prepared for an emergency or disaster? How much could you take care of yourself, your loved ones, and people who need help that is not coming?

A word to the wise is sufficient.

Hurricane Earl is roaring up the East Coast, and millions of people are wondering if it will hit their area hard. Forecasts for hurricanes are helpful, but far from guaranteed to be accurate. The next 24-36 hours should tell the story. Hopefully it will have a happy ending, if you are one of those threatened.

Emergency Supplies

Even now there may be time to make a little difference. I suggest you do what you can. In the areas most likely to be hit, stores have already been overshopped, and crowds have made getting things difficult. Hopefully there are some items left on the shelves. Question is… is it worth going to the store? If it is dangerous, no it isn’t. If you can get in and get some things and get out without a confrontation or being hijacked, sounds like it may be still worth a try. Use wisdom.

When disaster strikes, stay away from stores. You’ll only find trouble there at that point in time.

Let’s assume you can get to a store and they have some stock left. If it were me, I’d get things in this order:
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If you’ve read Food Expiration Dates, you know that I do not agree with the people who say do not pay attention to expiration dates for food. I pay attention very closely. I think even the Best By dates can be too long. Having stored an emergency supply of food for many years, and rotating the stock, I think I have a pretty good rubber-meets-the-road viewpoint. Some food lasts nearly forever. Some is not good to eat by the expiration date. Maybe read that post.

I’m the opposite on prescription drugs.

I believe what the FDA, Johns Hopkins Medicine, and Harvard Medical School say about them. They all say (more…)

If a person is hungry, who in their right mind would trade their food for a piece of metal. Not me. I wonder if gold will buy food if things go really south.

Guns. Most people think that having guns to defend their supplies and their families is a good idea. There are reasons I can understand for that. But remember that unless you are very, very good at killing, it is a hard thing to do when it comes down to it. And a bluff threat will not suffice. More, unless you are good at it, the ‘bad guys’ tend to be better at it. Think of the numerous times a police officer has been shot with their own gun. And then there are numbers. If you are greatly outnumbered, it would take an exceptional person to survive. Perhaps you are one of those. Then I leave it up to your conscience.

Wilderness first aid. If things go really south, there will be few things more valuable than a person who knows how to treat injuries. Even the hardest ass bad guy tends to look for help when they are seriously injured. If you have some knowledge of how to deal with, say, a stab or a gunshot wound, I believe that in many cases you have something more valuable than food. And a reason for people to keep you alive. (more…)

One of the primary sources for emergency food in the United States is Nitro-Pak

There are good reasons.

1. ‘Iron-Clad’ 120-day Guarantee

2. Free Shipping in the continental United States over $100, most items.

3. Over 50,000 products

5. Guaranteed lowest price. If you find a lower price on an in-stock item, they will match it.

6. In business over 25 years.

7. Most orders ship in 24 -72 hours, although the time can get much longer when there is a perceived crisis, and then they also run out of the most popular items.

They have MRE’s, Emergency Food Units, Freeze-Dried Food.
They have Earthquake Survival Kits, Camping Survival Supplies, and Survival Food.
They even have esoteric emergency supplies like Space Food, Potassium Iodide and Nite-Vision Equipment.

Is this beginning to sound like a commercial?

Yes. It is a commercial. I would like you to go there and see if you find yourself saying… oh… I do not want to wait until it’s too late. I want some things on hand NOW. And start being actually prepared.

Have I gone through this checklist and made sure I have nearly all of what they suggest?
Yes. And I have a lot more of some categories, like first aid supplies.

Humor me. Go to Nitro-Pak. and click on 72 Hr. Survival Kits. Then when the next window comes up, click on 72 Hr Survival Kits. At the top of the page that comes up, you will see **72 Hour Emergency Info & Checklist. Click on that.

You will be shown an extremely well-thought-out emergency checklist.

The first part is a list of reasons why you should actually do something to be prepared. It is interesting.
The second part is the checklist with links to many of the supplies themselves. It is vital.

You can print out this checklist.

It is free.

Please take a little time and consider the checklist. As I’ve said, and as they say… because it is so true… when an emergency strikes it will be too late.

It’s about time for me to go through my periodic check of supplies, so I thought I share with you what I’m going to do. (more…)

You must talk with your doctor and find out whether your use of any of the methods mentioned in this post, or indeed anywhere on this site, is appropriate for you. All statements are only personal opinion, and have not been approved by any authority or agency or anyone else whatsoever. And read our disclaimer statement.

Some people are prone to nosebleeds, and have an underlying medical condition. This post is not for those people.

This post is about the emergency situation nosebleed caused by minor trauma… something hitting my nose and causing it to bleed. It is not for major trauma, where there is profound bleeding, or internal bleeding. That is a completely different scenario. In that case, I would seek medical help immediately.

But for the common nosebleed that is minor and not life-threatening… I take a sterile gauze pad and cut it into a piece about 1 inch square. Fold it over, maybe twice. Place it between the gum and the lip of the upper mouth, all the way up. This is assuming there is no damage to that site.

My nosebleed can stop within a few seconds.

No, I don’t do anything with the nose itself. I do not stick tampons up the nostrils, as some people do.

Why does this work? Don’t know why. But it does.

But if for some reason this method did not stop the bleeding in a short time, I would assume the bleeding was more serious than it seemed, and would seek medical help.