Has anyone here changed or added to their survival preps. becauase of recent world events - new threats from alqueda , N . Korea , Iran , new Democratic majority in house and senate etc. etc.etc. I have a pretty good supply of water , food [ probably about a 6 weeks supply ] , basic med supplys , plenty of tp , a lot of hand and power tools , BOB's ,a couple of firearms and about 500 rounds of ammo and various other items that double as camping/hiking gear . I've been thinking that maybe I should spend some of my very limited funds on some Nuke survival stuff , more water and food and maybe buying a milsurp " battle " rifle or an AR before they are banned .

About the time I joined this site Y2K was going to bring the stars crashing down on the HOLLYWOOD sign. It didn't happen. Everytime a major disaster occured, one of my former surplus dealers tossed together a curious assembly of stuff, slapped a Earthquake/ Hurricane/ Invasion from Mars sticker on it and sold a bunch. That dealer didn't ( survive.) Assembling our gear should be thoughtfull and !!!! balanced by a little optimism and an equal budget outlay on living ( Beer and Pizza or equivelent.) Panck buying on any level is still panic buying. If your worried about Democrats or Al Queda suicide bombers bursting in your front door just take the wire from Doug's commercial kit, nail it @ 1' off the ground and string the fishhooks @ 4" apart. I thought I had one last night. It turned out to be a LDS missionary and I had to turn him loose. <img src="/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />

No from me. You may be thinking of stock market investors. The President stubs his toe & they all panic causing prices to take a dive.

The international situation isn't new, just some of the players are changing, and while one major political party wants to tar and feather me for reasons X, Y and Z, the other wants to burn me at the stake for A, B and C.

So for me, the same old same old.

I've been packing more cash than I normally would. Methinks it has more to do with being temporarily located in Brisbane for now. I don't reckon I'd have (or need) this much cash on hand back in NYC.

Since I'm living outta suitcases here now anyways, I didn't bring my bob and my big knives or my 45 (the latter for obvious reasons). I am feeling a little more vulnerable, but then again, this is only Australia, and who do I have to fear here? Since the apartment is only two blocks from work, I have no strategies for being stranded in the commute like I might've in Jersey, and I don't really see Brisbane as being high on the list of terror sites right now. About the only survival issue I have is remembering they all drive on the wrong side of the road here. That and they must spike the beer...

It surprizes me that on a survival forum some people have the attitude that , it can't happen here , everything is fine , don't worry, buisness as usual.
I don't think the sky is falling , don't wear a tinfoil hat , and don't panic every time there is a " hiccup " in the world , but I certainly don't think everything is fine . I'm not consumed by thoughts of doom . I don't spend all my extra money on food water and guns . I'm just an average person trying to live my life the best I can , who believes in being prepared . I don't want to get into a long post about politics and world events . I just feel that , because of all the stuff going on around the world these days , it would be a good time to add to , check , restock or rethink what items you have for just in case tshtf.
PS I never believed the y2k predictions of disaster .

"...maybe buying a milsurp " battle " rifle or an AR before they are banned..."

If you want an AR, fine, go buy one. I love shooting the AR series, and would love to have one, but can't justify the cost, plus my home is in CA, and they have taken all the fun out of buying a "black rifle" anyway. BUT, if you are worried about being nuked by North Korea, or a PHRASECENSOREDPOSTERSHOULDKNOWBETTER., what are you going to shoot at, the inbound missle? I think your money would more wisely be spent on an emergency generator or something like that. Good for a varitey of uses, perhaps the least of all emergency lighting or running your refer. You say that you have "...couple of firearms and about 500 rounds of ammo...", that should be more than enough for anything. We may be nuked, we may be blown up by a terrorist bomb, but I really doubt that we will be invaded by an army...

As for the food, etc, everyone should have several weeks worth of food and water on hand at all times, just in case...

Not a whole lot of changes here. Heck, when I stop and think about it, I'm probably not that much more prepared than anyone else in town. Sure, I've got some bins and kits, a couple of neat flashlights & knives, and camping gear -- but all in all, probably close to everyone else's stuff around their own homes.

I can't see spending my paycheck on everything preparedness. Having fun and enjoying life is part of the big picture, too.

What I do find myself doing is fine tuning my kits, rotating old medicines and perishables, and trying to have a comprehensive plan if something should go south.

Now I have to figure out what to do with those cans of Chey Boyardee that I bought two or three years ago! <img src="/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />

No on all of the above. Katrina did make me expand my food and water stores though.

As far as a new battle rifle goes, if you want one go ahead and buy it--after all, you can't take it (the $$) with you <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />. (I see that Big 5 has surplus Moisin Nagants on sale for $89. Very affordable.)

Hmm, not sure about that. I live in a big old nuclear target. This has been true pretty much my whole life (except for the years I lived overseas). Maybe I'm too adjusted to it, or am living in denial, I don't know. I do know that moving my entire family (wife, sister+brother-in-law, brother+sister-in-law, neice & nephew, parents/in-laws, 2 dogs, 9 cats, 1 snake and bunch o'parakeets) to a smaller city upstate (or out of state) is a major undertaking--although it's still the plan over the next 3 years or so. For the immediate future, we have plans to shelter in place (mostly due to limited transport out of town), food, water, medical kits for everyone, etc. Which reminds me, it's gettin on time to re-evaluate the food closet and re-pack the BOBs.