Is the political tide turning? Can we relax?

 As I type this Donald J Trump has been President of the USA for a couple of weeks. 

Since his inauguration he has signed a number of  Executive Orders which have started to add weight to the "common sense" side of the political see-saw. You may not agree with me - and that is your prerogative - but I view most of the rules he's brought in as a positive thing for common sense and the wellbeing of the world as a whole.

Some of the major E.O.'s in my opinion were - securing the southern border - abandoning D.E.I. hires, instead selecting the most qualified person for the job based on merit and their ability to actually do the job - withdrawing from the W.H.O. which has outgrown its original purpose and has become a bureaucratic tick box nightmare with a ridiculously high budget - declaring that there are 2 genders, male and female (although technically if you are born with both sets of genitalia you would be a hermaphrodite, so the argument could be made for a 3rd gender). But it does get rid of the woke and ever expanding list of genders that some have been identifying as. - Declaring war on "imported criminal gangs" and the drug cartels to reclaim the US inner cities for US civilians - Reinstating military personnel on full back pay who were pushed out of the military for refusing to have the Covid-19 shots and reshaping the military by banning transgender troops. - Restoring Free Speech - Withdrawing from the Paris Climate Accord, which is more to do with carbon credits than saving the environment and is also wanting nations to put all their electrical needs in the hands of "alternative/green energy" when the infrastructure is either not yet in place, is not fit for purpose, or is unreliable at best. If it's cloudy (solar) or the wind isn't blowing enough to turn the turbines you need either coal/oil or nuclear to keep the power flowing. Yes there are also hydro and geo-thermal power plants - but not every nation has the option of geothermal energy and if it doesn't rain the capacity of hydro is severely affected.

BUT I didn't start this article to discuss what Trump has or hasn't done - whether it is good or a bad thing....although I do agree with him on 90% of it. He has also said that the USA needs to look carefully at which conflicts it gets involved in and where ever possible conflict should be a last resort after the failure of peace talks. He did however worry me somewhat when he said that the USA was going to take back the Panama Canal.

What I want to say, is that although the see-saw that was heavily weighted by the left wing politicians with communist leanings and the insanity of the woke and so called rainbow community and the never ending wars promoted by the military industrial complex - a gradual slide into the world of Orwell's 1984 where rules make no sense and war is peace, lies are truth and certain rushed shots in the arm are deemed "safe and effective" (even though they hadn't been tested sufficiently to come to that conclusion). Although that see-saw now has the USA moving from the left side to the right side to join a small number of European right leaning countries....there is still much uncertainty in the world and one bullet fired from a grassy knoll or the roof of a warehouse can quickly put us back to square one.

This is not the time to become complacent by thinking that Mr. Trump is going to solve all the woes of the world - although he's giving it a good go! We still need to be as prepared for future events as we can be and to make sure that we have the resources and skills to look after ourselves, our families and our communities IF a crisis comes. But, don't panic and look at things in a sensible and measured way.

We have all seen disasters both man made and natural - either in person or on TV or online. To live through one or more of these disasters is, I believe, a blessing in disguise because it helps you assess your readiness. 

Here in New Zealand we have our share of earthquakes and also storm related incidents. These can affect supply lines when it comes to the water supply, the power grid and in the case of quakes and floods the ability of trains, trucks, ships and planes being able to get through to make deliveries of food and other vital supplies.

Even if we restrict our time line to the last 5 years, we've had a global pandemic - the response to which was far worse for us than the disease. Power outages. Localized flooding due to unusual weather and a major cyclone - go back a further 10 years and that would include the 2 big quakes in Christchurch and a big one in Kaikura. Then there was the banking collapse/financial collapse of 2008/09.

In natural disasters in particular it is neither the government nor the military who are the ones to offer aid in the first instance....it's neighbours, family and the local community, which is why it's so important to be prepared - or as prepared as we can be, considering financial or physical constraints.

We as individuals also have personal disaster events - ill health, loss of job, divorce, death of a close family member etc.

So, make sure you have the basics covered.

Three weeks MINIMUM of emergency food with a medium to long shelf life. I stress this is a minimum because I have seen for myself that in localized events it takes around 2 to 3 weeks for any kind of transport/supply problems to begin to be solved. Three weeks of food for you and your family (plus extra for those who may come knocking at your door for help) is the absolute minimum that I would recommend. Ideally a 3 to 6 month supply would offer you a better breathing space, a better chance of survival especially if the event is not a localized one but is a national event. In this case the government /military assistance will be a long long time coming. Naturally, it follows that a global event would mean that we are really on our own as foreign aid would probably not be an option either. In addition to our emergency food store we have also turned most of our useless lawn into vegetable gardens and have added several fruit and nut trees, berry bushes etc. This supplements our groceries and often the only things we need to buy are cleaning products plus meat and dairy. We preserve any extra fruit and veg by freezing, drying, pickling, bottling/canning and we are looking at ways of being more self sufficient in the future.

Water - 3 litres per day minimum for every member of your family....or the means to filter/make safe to drink other water that may be available in streams, rivers, ponds and lakes. We are on town supply but also have over 4,000 litres of rainwater collection, off the roof of the house and other sheds.

Shelter - from the sun in summer and from the cold in winter can mean the difference between life and death. Most of us have a house or flat/apartment but what if it gets flooded, burned, destroyed by earthquake or is repossessed by the bank? Do you have the materials and skills to repair it, make it weatherproof when damaged? If not do you have a secondary shelter/dwelling? We have an old caravan. It's not much to look at and has a couple of leaks that we're trying to locate where the rain is coming in, but it will provide us with some sort of shelter from the elements. We also have tents and tarps as back up.

Medical/First Aid. Have at the minimum a basic first aid kit and add to it when you can to cover specific ailments or medical needs that your family may have. We have first aid kits for the vehicles, plus a more comprehensive one for the house including lotions, balms, natural remedies, basic medical equipment to check temperature, blood pressure and heart rate. We also grow and make our own herbal remedies.

IF you can tick those 4 boxes (food, water, shelter and medical) in an emergency you are well ahead of 90% of the population. Other important items are - 

Communication. Don't just rely on the cell phone network or the internet. Both went down during Cyclone Gabrielle. If you can manage the expense of buying a ham radio set and getting your licence - it's worth while. Otherwise, we have walkie talkies and a UHF home base station transceiver with a rooftop antenna so we can communicate with our local group. We also have AM/FM/Short Wave radios to gather news nationally and internationally.

Fire fighting/prevention - hosepipe, buckets, fire extinguishers (for house, garage and vehicles), fire blanket (particularly in the kitchen).

Lighting - emergency LED lights, head lamps, torches/flashlights, gas lamps, kerosene lamps, candles - the more variety you have the better.

Security / self-defence - sadly, if you have something that others need and the police are otherwise engaged, and the shit hits the fan - be prepared to defend your property, your family and your provisions. How you do that is up to you. Become familiar with the means of defence that you choose so that when a disaster happens you are at the stage where using it is second nature. Home security such as cameras, sensor lights and good locks are also handy if you can afford them....or a BIG dog!

Alternative power - if you can afford solar, hydro and or a wind turbine, go for it. A wood stove could be the way to go if your local council/government allow them. Wood either from deadfalls in the woods or scavenging old pallets is fairly plentiful right now. Get it stocked up in the summer - don't wait for the cold weather.

Transport - if you have a car or other motor vehicle make sure you have a tool kit and basic skills to keep it running. Always have at least a half a tank of fuel in case you need to evacuate. A full tank plus a couple of reserve cans would be even better. Have a bike or scooter as a back up.

Tools - particularly hand tools and battery powered tools (if you have a means of recharging the batteries).

It also helps during a long power outage to have things to pass the time - books, board games, a deck of cards and the like could stop you going crazy!

Finally - spiritual/religious preparation can also bring peace of mind.

The main message I want to get across is not to stop preparing. Do whatever you can to make yourself more self reliant tomorrow than you are today.

MORE TO COME SOON. SORRY FOR THE LONG BREAK IN POSTS.