#1 Please forgive my senility in not being able to remember the names of who suggested what, that has lead to my current train of thought.

#2 Countries forge alliances to assist one another if attacked or in the event of major natural and/or man made disasters.

#3 I do not see the need for individuals to come to one another's assistance in time of war. That's what the government does with the armies that our taxes support,,so,,,

#4 Perhaps there is a need for us to establish mutual assistance agreements with those in our neighborhood and outward to a 100 - 200 miles of each other.

Someone had earlier mentioned shipping supplies to those who needed it. Forgive me for not remembering the names.

Hurricane Gustave gave me a close call but caused no damage and no loss of utilities. Those in Baton Rouge (45 minutes drive from me) did lose power. If I had already had Samhain's cell phone number, I could have found out if he needed a generator/gasoline, ice, camp stove, whatever, and I was in a position to have driven that equipment to him. The same is true now with Hurricane Ike, concerning Blast, Librarian, ClarkTx, and KMat.

I am suggesting alliances with those that you feel like you can trust and within a reasonable range to be able to transport supplies and equipment, as requested. Remember, any gear that you truck into a location will most likely require a 2nd trip later to pick it up, and bring it home.

Just some thoughts to toss around and debate !!!!