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#12862 - 02/13/03 04:23 AM Contemporary concerns
Chris Kavanaugh Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 02/09/01
Posts: 3824
The recent volley of inquiries loosely grouped around terrorist threats ( nuclear,biochemical) leaves us scrambling to reply in a usefull manner, extracting feet from mouths and reviewing our own preparations <img src="images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> A few caveats are in order.The recent Y2K fiasco made many people conscious of being prepared, and not a few more enriched selling both usefull and useless stuff, political/religous agendas and survival retreats in the great dismall swamp. We all hope none of these potentially horrific attacks occur. If they fail to, 99% of us will go about our routines. 5% will feel silly. The remaining .5% will remain alert and prepared, if not a nuclear attack then the next snowstorm. Paraphrasing the adage " measure twice and cut once," "Think,research and ask twice and spend once." <img src="images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

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#12863 - 02/13/03 10:19 PM Re: Contemporary concerns
Anonymous
Unregistered


Very well said and thank you for putting the current situation in a better context! Terrorism or Y2K - both are likely to bring out apocolyptic fears and over-reactions. Statistically, I would guess that terrorism is more likely to cause damage and death than the various Y2K scenarios ever were since none of them were maliscious and few actually came to pass. Never-the-less, preparing thoughfully is wiser than panicing and over-reacting. There are always oppotunistic capitalists who will sell anything they can to a willing buyer. Caveat Emptor!

First determine what are the threats to prepare and list them in order of statistical likelyhood

Second determine effective preparations for the most likely

Third working from the top of the list ( the most likely) and within your budget ( if nothing happens other than bankrupting yourself buying emergency supplies then you have experienced a true disaster ) start to prepare.

Don't buy a tool without first determining how useful it will be to you. For example, a snare for food gathering is, in general a useful item, but if you are confined to a wheelchair it is unlikely that you will be using one. A primitive sling can be used very effectively to gather food but only if you are willing to practice for 4 or more hours a week for some months to acquire the skill in using it. A primitive sling is easy to fabricate in the field from cord and any fabric. A wrist rocket type sling shot cannot be fabricated in the field since it requires manufactured rubber slings and steel but anyone can put a rock in the sling and pull it back and aim fairly well and be harvesting some food with much less practice. (you might not starve before becomming successful.)

Prepare for things that are likely. The likelyhood of a nuclear holocaust is still way lower than the likelyhood of a blizzard in NYC, USA. blizzards in NYC have happened within the last few decades but none of the powers who could launch an apocalyptic attack are currently at odds with each other. The possibility of a terrorist event with any WMD has certainly risen. Evaluate for yourself if these scenarios are more likely to happen to you and your family than anyother scenario for which your are not prepared. If you still haven't built a storm shelter and you live in Kansas then you shouldn't be worring about a WMD terrorist attack. Tornados are way more likely. OTOH if you are living in NYC or Washington DC which are likely targets and you have already covered the normal infrastructure disruption types of emergencies ( blackouts, traffic jams, water and sewer disruption etc...) then perhaps it is time to turn your attention to WMD terrorism.

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#12864 - 02/14/03 05:13 AM Re: Contemporary concerns
Anonymous
Unregistered


Chris:

Absolutely! These are very interesting times we live in and before we act we must understand. We won't understand without learning.


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