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Hurricane Earl exposed a potentially dangerous law in North Carolina, and may be lurking in your state as well. When North Carolina governor Beverly Perdue declared a state of emergency prior to the onset of Hurricane Earl, among other things it triggered general statute 14-288.7 which suspended the rights of lawful citizens to carry firearms outside their premises for protection of their life or property.

§ 14 288.7. Transporting dangerous weapon or substance during emergency; possessing off premises; exceptions.
(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, it is unlawful for any person to transport or possess off his own premises any dangerous weapon or substance in any area:
(1) In which a declared state of emergency exists; or
(2) Within the immediate vicinity of which a riot is occurring.
(b) This section does not apply to persons exempted from the provisions of G.S. 14 269 with respect to any activities lawfully engaged in while carrying out their duties.
(c) Any person who violates any provision of this section is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. (1969, c. 869, s. 1; 1993, c. 539, s. 192; 1994, Ex. Sess., c. 24, s. 14(c).)

Given the fact that during a disaster we nearly always witness looting and criminal activity from the bottom dwellers of society looking to take advantage of the situation, this is the precise time when lawful citizens need to be on their guard to protect themselves, family, and property. It is absolutely astounding to me how a government body would willfully and purposefully strip a citizenry from their lawful right to protect themselves in this manner.

The criminal element of any society by very definition choose to not obey laws imposed upon them. Therefore, in this particular instance within North Carolina, the citizenry is placed under increased danger in an already dangerous situation when they need protection the most.

I realize that not everyone believes in gun ownership and I know that there are those that are simply afraid of guns in general, no matter who has them (criminals or law abiding citizens). Some people are purely pacifists by nature and are willing to succumb to a violent situation if encountered. They rest their hope of rescue on the authorities of government. This is their choice, one which I do not argue because people are who they are, and I respect that fact.

However, when analyzing the sanity of such a law as this North Carolina statute 14-288.7, the illogical nature of it is simply dumbfounding. A person who has legally obtained the permission to carry a firearm, suddenly cannot carry it, because there is a state-of-emergency? This is probably the precise time when it is extra important for that person to be carrying a firearm. Yes? For those opposed to firearms, just think about the logic for a moment. A citizen, trained and licensed to carry a firearm, who is considered safe to do so by the State, suddenly cannot do so… because something changes with that person during a state of emergency making it unsafe? Sorry but, I just don’t get it.

In any event, it struck me as an important notation for the survival minded community. You might want to find out if your state has a similar law during a declared state of emergency, which will affect you (if you are a gun owner) in a time of disaster.

Disasters bring out the best in people and also the worst. There will always be a bad element of society which will try and take advantage of those around them during opportunistic situations. It is your obligation as a human being to protect yourself and your life. What gives a government the right to strip you of your ability to protect yourself. Fortunately in the U.S. we have the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, giving its citizens the right to keep and bear Arms. The current North Carolina law is being challenged in court.

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

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Being prepared for disaster or a quick bug-out should include your electronic data file storage or computer backup files.

While many preppers are rightfully focused on food and water storage, bug-out bags, 72-hour kits, long term supplies, you name it… it is easy to overlook the fact that there is likely a lot of data files and information on your computer that should also go with you or be backed up for an emergency.

Today, there is no excuse not to have backup copies of important computer files on an external USB drive or thumb drive given the fact that data storage is very inexpensive now compared to just a few years ago. Even the USB thumb drives of today can hold massive amounts of data. Pictured above, I have a 1 TB (Terabyte) USB drive and a USB thumb drive (which are readily available even up to 32 GB (Gigabyte).

There are a multitude of logical methods to treat data storage and file backup. Myself, I treat file backup in two ways. One, my main PC contains multiple hard drives, one of which is used for periodic and automatic backup of all files from the main hard drive. This will ensure an easy replacement should my main hard drive go down (which they all do eventually – they spin and therefore are mechanical). My other method for file backup is focused on a grab-and-go philosophy. On my main PC, I organize my files in a folder structure in such a way that simply copying one particular folder from my main PC to my 1TB portable USB drive will contain all of the sub-folders and files that I consider to be important. I periodically overwrite the backup copy so that it is always fairly up to date.

If you have important data that if lost, would disrupt your life, you should really have at least one backup, preferably two. I have two backups, one readily available at my desk and the other locked up in one of my fire-proof safes. This brings up another point… if you have data that is private to you (financial, etc…), as most of us do, then leaving an unsecured backup on your desk could be devastating should you be burglarized. This is why I keep certain data encrypted, along with a copy of the encryption program itself on the backup drive (so to be installed on a different PC should it become necessary). All you need to remember of course, is the encryption password phrase. There are a multitude of file encryption programs out there, be smart and use one.

What data files should you backup? That is pretty easy to figure out. Just browse the files on your PC and consider which ones, if lost, would be a personal loss for you or cause you much aggravation to overcome. Personally, I don’t consider the programs themselves to be critical since they could be downloaded or purchased again (although I do be sure to keep an Install copy of the encryption program). Consider things like your personal photos or videos, addresses and contact information, and of course your personal financial information.

Of note, I also keep hard printed copies of certain things too, some of which I keep in a fireproof safe. If in a worst case scenario (EMP  or solar-flare grid-down), your data backups will probably be useless since electronics and electricity will be down. Therefore, hard copies will be critical to have in that situation. Consider printing some of your reference information that you may have saved for one reason or another. It’s pretty easy to organize such things in 3-ring binders.

The bottom line is to give it some thought, scour your PC for files that you couldn’t do without and back them up!



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Legumes are plants which produce pods which split open naturally along a seam, revealing a row of seeds. Legumes (beans) produce their own nitrogen, and in fact they return nitrogen back into the soil when they die off.

Beans are a great crop rotation plant to help maintain soil quality by replacing nitrogen back into the soil where the nitrogen has been depleted by other crops.

Beans are rich in fiber, protein, antioxidants, and are low in fat. Beans are a very good food for the human diet and can be a healthy substitute for meat which has more fat and cholesterol.

This year I have planted pole beans, a legume, wherever I had planted tomatoes last year. The plants continue to produce new beans throughout the entire growing season.

In my opinion, beans, of which there are many varieties, are one of the best survival foods to grow in a survival garden.

Beans are easy to grow and I suggest that anyone who is experimenting with growing their own garden be sure and learn to grow, harvest, and store beans. Most dry beans can be stored for years or even decades, helping to make them one of the best survival foods to  keep in your preps.





I like the pole beans because they don’t take much square footage when you have a small garden. Instead, they grow tall and produce all the way up the vine, leaving space on the ground for other plants. I have used several trellis to assist their upward growth. I have seen pole beans growing up makeshift strings attached between a ground support and a higher support. I have also seen simple tee-pee structures built of small wood poles which nicely support the upward growth of the pole bean plants. I suspect that you could also plant them along side trees and they would follow the tree trunk upwards.

The bottom line is to strongly consider adding beans to your survival garden plans, due to their ability to add protein (and fiber and minerals) to your diet instead of meat, and their ability to restore nitrogen to the soil. I like meat just as much as the next person, but in TEOTWAWKI scenario, meat will be scarce and you will need some amount of protein in your diet.


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During the past several months (July – August) the Katla volcano region underneath the Myrdalsjokull glacier has exhibited an elevated number of earthquakes within a fairly concentrated area at a bulge (Gooabunga) on the western flank  just beyond the west edge of the caldera. Initial thoughts were that something significant had been occurring there, however I want to point out that studies have revealed that this activity may be seasonal and therefore expected behavior.

A study in 2000 by Einarsson and Brandsdo suggested that the effects of reduced ice load after the summertime melting combined with the higher pore-fluid pressure in the underlying crust may explain the seasonal earthquake activity. The water flowing from glacier rivers reaches its maximum in July and August. The resulting fluid pressure affects the highly permeable uppermost kilometers of crust near the surface and  allows the shear stress to move the fractures, causing an earthquake. The effects of the annual variations in the glacier can sometimes take months to change seismic activity.

If we are to assume that the increased earthquake activity that we are seeing at the Gooabunga bulge is seasonal and normal, then all is well. We do know that Katla has always erupted following Eyjafjallajokull (which erupted 14-April-2010). Eyjafjallajokull seismic activity was in the range of a hundred or more in just one day leading up to its eruption. This increase can occur rapidly and point to an imminent eruption, so we will keep one eye on Katla as the clock ticks towards that day.

The Katla volcano could cause significant disruption to lives, livelihoods, and commerce (particularly in Europe), which is why we are watching it for signs now that Eyjafjallajokull has started the clock.

What does this have to do with survival and preparedness? If you live anywhere near Iceland and are downwind during its eruption (United Kingdom for example), things like your respiratory health, your crops, and your travel will all be highly affected. If Katla blows high enough, the globe will be affected to some degree by reduced temperatures and its trickle-down effects.  


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Just recently, my wife and I, her parents, sister, and her two children, we all traveled down to San Diego from Northern California in a rented RV and visited some of the area attractions for the kids to enjoy (San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park). We had one particular experience that really emphasized something that could become a very serious disaster under certain circumstances.

Over the years, I have traveled numerous times to the Los Angeles area and have experienced the nightmare traffic that exists there. Although I fully expected it again during this recent road trip, the slow and stop-and-go traffic that I experienced this time took on new meaning. Being more focused during this past year on survival preparedness and related issues, my first thought as I crawled through 80 miles of very slow freeway traffic (from Burbank to Oceanside) was that these people that live in the LA basin will in NO WAY be able to bug out or get out if the need arose. Although I pretty much knew this to be true, having seen and experienced it once again really hit home.

There are approximately 15 million people that live in the LA basin area, the 14th largest urban center in the world. If you are a prepper, and live in this area, I’m sure that you know how you will need extraordinary preparedness plans and an extremely well thought out bug-out plan if you hope to survive an extreme disaster such as a complete regional power outage that extends beyond a week or two, or a terrorist nuclear or ‘dirty bomb’ explosion, or even the ‘big one’ (earthquake).

The fact that there are so so many people that live there will probably completely clog all traffic routes around and out of the city basin in a very short period of time. Most everyone will be trapped where they are and will be limited to the supplies they have at the moment.

I have not lived there, I have only traveled there and spent limited amounts of time there on business. I only know the freeway system and the surface streets around Burbank where I would frequent. However my instinct tells me that even knowing all of the surface street routes in the entire basin, there would be practically no chance whatsoever to get out in the event of an extreme disaster except to leave immediately.

What I took away from the experience is that anyone that lives in a major metropolitan area should be acutely aware of the extreme risk to their survival should the area lose electrical power for an extended period of time, and that any such person should have a ready-made evacuation plan and strategy to get out or bug out before it is too late. At the very least, a food and water storage supply will keep you alive for a short time, but you will eventually be overrun and looted due to the very large number of thirsty, starving, desperate people. This type of threat is very real and could occur under a number of very real scenarios. Think about it, consider a plan of action, and be prepared.

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Preparing for TEOTWAWKI does not necessarily mean that one needs to be prepared for survival in the stone age. Sure, there are disaster scenarios whereby we could truly be sent back to surviving and being self-sufficient in a stone-age-like environment, however these particular scenarios have a lower probability of occurring than others.

I believe that today’s ‘preppers’ range in variety from the casual (fairly high risk tolerance) to the extreme (very low risk tolerance). Surely, the extreme preppers will be far better prepared than the casual prepper if an extreme disaster strikes the world, however even the casual prepper will be far better off than the majority of the population who have not even contemplated such a life insurance policy.

The higher probability disasters will be less devastating when it comes to survival itself (at least for the general majority). If you are unfortunate enough to be caught in the bulls-eye of such a disaster, you will have the hope that others will be able to help, since the disaster will be somewhat localized. A wider ranging catastrophic disaster is statistically less probable, but far more people will be caught in it when it occurs, and far more will consequently suffer.

Everyone’s situation is unique. There are budget and time constraints that affects ones ability to develop and implement a plan of action. I do believe that a very good course of action to develop a survival preparedness plan is to first identify your existing skills. Think about how your skills could be put to work in a post-disaster scenario. Focus your survival preparedness plans to support your skill set. Having said that, really, the very first consideration is to simply store extra food – but I’m assuming you’ve already done that.

Survival, post-disaster, does not need to be entirely back woods and stone age. Who says that we cannot plan for some creature comforts, and even a thriving post-disaster community?

Apart from the very basic necessities to survive (shelter, fire, water, food), assuming one has enough supplies to make it through a number of months from basic storage, the real long term survival will come from ones skills and ability to contribute to a self sustaining community, and barter their services for consumables that are needed. This really is not much different from what we do today, except at a more basic level, and one where perhaps the paper currency will be worthless. Think of the situation as one where the worse and wider spread the disaster, the more value will be associated with practical and basic skills. For example, those who know how to successfully grow food, those who know how to leverage the tools around them to build and repair things, and the basic down-to-earth know-how skills will all be in demand.

Here is an example from a MSB reader who would leverage his current skills in a post TEOTWAWKI world.

I, being a person that enjoys his creature comforts would find living in such a manner (stone age) quite undesirable.

I much prefer my plan to buy up a parcel of land in (location xyz) complete with natural gas well(s). This is more complicated than it sounds but I have spent a good many years of my life as a petroleum landman, whose job it is to examine land title ownership on producing and non-producing properties.

With 100% ownership of a natural gas well you could divert said gas straight into your generator(s). Throw in a compressor and you could also fuel you vehicles, etc. In the event of severe climate change or lots of volcanic ash the food supply could come from hydroponics.

Depending on the output of the well you could possibly support a small community indefinitely. Much preferable than the back to basics approach, albeit a lot more expensive.

This is a good example of thinking ahead to possibly leveraging the skills and know-how that you already have, in order to place yourself in a better position than those that are simply trying to survive by getting enough food and water each day. Again, this isn’t much different than what we do today… many of us currently work jobs or have a career that is aligned with our skill set. I’m just saying to think of it in context of post-disaster, and think about how it could be put to use.

Not many people will truly posses all of the skills necessary to live self-sufficient. It will take a community of people with a range of skills and abilities. I have a feeling that some preppers may go down the wrong road (so to speak) by believing that if they purchase or acquire enough survival preparedness supplies, that they will be set. I do believe that it is wise to have at least a minimal set of broad ranging supplies (starting with food and an assured water supply), but really the most valuable long term survival asset will be what you can do, what you know how to do, your skills that would contribute to a post-disaster life while rebuilding a community. Think about that. Are there things that you could acquire now, that would help accentuate what you know how to do?

If you discover or believe that your current skill set would not be of much value in this scenario, then please do consider investing some of your time learning some basic practical hands-on skills. It really is a life insurance policy of sorts. Hopefully the insurance will never have to be called upon, but if it does, you will stand a better chance to survive and to help yourself and others rebuild.



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The nation once had a much more self-sufficient lifestyle. Local farmers produced the fruits, vegetables, dairy, and meats that were consumed. Its citizens would often grow some or much of their own food in their own gardens. Some produced even more, and would sell or trade within the local community. They knew there neighbors and many others in town. The local community was able to provide the essentials, and often more than that. There was a higher sense of pride within the community.

Nations would produce,  build, and manufacture products and goods from the sweat of their own citizen labor. As transportation systems developed, the goods were transported and sold further into the regions of the nation. The system and process of manufacture through consumption, was a loop that was often contained within the nation itself. The nation grew and developed a wide ranging skill set and strengths. They built things.

The corporations grew within the nation. Some grew very large, large enough to buy politicians, who in turn passed favorable laws enabling the manufacture of goods in other lesser developed nations with cheaper labor. These products were imported back into the nation to be sold with higher profits. For a while, this seemed to work well for the nation while their citizens were able to buy cheaper products than they could produce themselves.

The largest corporations became global entities, with little regard for the nations themselves, other than to purchase political power to use when needed.

Then one day, the nation awoke and realized that it hardly produced and manufactured anything anymore. It only consumed and serviced. The nation was now subservient to other nations, although most of its citizenry did not realize it.

The nations financial markets collapsed after having squeezed out all of the nations goodness and knowing there was no more to be had. The nation was once the largest manufacturing nation on Earth. It had become the largest consuming nation on Earth. Globalism had enabled the nations financial markets to scoop up huge sums of money.

In an effort to maintain a semblance of financial stability, the nations government borrowed massive sums of its own currency to flood into its markets, thinking that its government could create sustainable productivity. Each month, more and more was borrowed in a desperate attempt to avoid a final collapse.

The collapse came. The nation was bankrupt. Everyone saw that the Emperor wore no clothes.



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Following the introduction of the first antibiotics, bacteria began to resist their effects, and continues to do so today with new generations of antibiotics. Globalism has dramatically increased the speed of bacteria transmission, and could be the very mechanism to transmit the new NDM-1 SuperBug to the world.

NDM-1 (New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase-1) is itself not a bacteria (or virus), but an enzyme that affects and changes a bacteria to become resistant to antibiotics by destroying them. It has been found predominantly on the India continent, and is being spread from people who have traveled there for cheaper medical treatment. It has been reported in the UK, US, Canada, Netherlands and Australia.

The most powerful antibiotic class of drugs, carbapenems, are reserved as a last resort to treat only the most powerful bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). NDM-1 bacterium is apparently  resistant to carbapenems and is of very high concern because there are presently no antibiotics in development that will be effective against it.

Drug companies and the pharmaceutical industry make much of their money on high volume. Drugs that would be developed and reserved for worst case scenarios would theoretically have very little profit associated with them until and unless they became mainstream. Therefore little research money is likely spent developing such drugs. In this writers opinion, the corporate vision today is primarily focused on the next quarterly earnings report, or at best, a fiscal year.

Timothy Walsh, professor at Cardiff University School of Medicine in Great Britain, first identified NDM-1 last year in a patient at a hospital in India. When asked what might be available to treat NDM-1, he said, “there are no new antibiotics that are going to be available in 10 years’ time”.

Dr. Alexander Kallen of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta said the United States considered the infection a “very high priority”.

What can we do about it? Identifying new cases early will be crucial. Awareness, good hygiene, especially in hospitals, washing hands with antibacterial soap. The problem today is that bacteria can spread very quickly in a wold of global tourism and travel. When the H1N1 swine flu got going, it did spread very rapidly around the world, although thankfully it wasn’t the killer bug that some thought it might be. As of this writing, it is  unclear as to the mortality rate associated with NDM-1.

Could NDM-1 be the one that gets us this time? Or will it start off with all sorts of media hype and then eventually fizzle out  like the H1N1 swine flu did? Time will tell, of course.

It couldn’t hurt to be prepared for any type of outbreak or pandemic by storing an adequate supply of food and other essentials, which would in turn alleviate the need to go out in public should such an event occur. It makes good sense to think through this scenario and develop a plan of action to use as a life insurance policy for you and your family.



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(Kavkaz Center) Early in the morning of 7 August, the escape of foreign diplomats from Russia took epidemic proportions. It is possible that the diplomats, through the intelligence services of their countries, know something that is not yet known to the general public.

Unofficially, they speak about plague in Russia, but first of all, about sharply elevated radioactive background in the city, caused by destruction of atomic bombs in fires at nuclear weapons arsenals outside Moscow. According to unofficial information, warehouses of chemical and bacteriological weapons were also burnt down.



More than 500 wildfires burning in Russia as a consequence of 130 year record breaking heat are threatening (or have already) stirred up radioactive particles left over from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster which occurred during 1986 when a reactor at the nuclear power plant had exploded and released radioactive clouds over the western Soviet Union and northern Europe.

The fact that Canadian, Bulgarian, Polish, Austrian, German, and Dutch, embassies have evacuated, could indicate that the public is not being told the entire story.

Apparently, according to the Kavkaz Center report, a Hamburg newspaper, Die Welt, reported in a clear text format that the urgent flee of German diplomats from Russia was caused by radiation approaching Moscow.

As evidenced from satellite imagery, there have been fires burning in Sarov near or at an atomic research center plant, a facility that produces atomic bombs and weaponry. In addition to the danger of radiation exposure, the threat of burning bio-weapons (if they exist in the weapons facilities) may result in a toxic poison radioactive biochemical smog that could spread over population centers, causing extreme health risks.

The Austrian embassy went so far as to recommend that all Austrian citizens leave Russia immediately.

According to Moscow AFP, morgues in Moscow are overflowing with bodies as the daily mortality rate has doubled.

The question remains, is it just smoke in the air from the raging wildfires, or are the officials blowing smoke to cover up a bigger story?



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While growing up in Massachusetts, our family spent many summer vacations on Cape Cod. Reading the message from Lawrence is bitter sweet in that I have many fond memories of a once bustling center of summer fun which is now apparently suffering a fate of our current economic depression.




Message:
VACATION OBSERVATION-FROM LAWRENCE -7/21/2010

LOCATION: Centerville, MA (Cape Cod)
It had been about five years since we were last here. As we drove the two miles down on North Main Street towards an Osterville restaurant, I observed a distressing sign (or actually MANY signs).

The high-end houses and estates-NOT beach houses or bungalows- were up for sale. The number of FOR SALE signs (16 of them!) in just two miles was very unusual for this area and for its type of residents; full time residence homes with expensive lush green yards and some with wrought iron security fencing.

The preeminent high end realtor-Sotheby’s International Realty-was found amongst the majority of properties listed on this two mile street. Only one property listed for sale was a newly build house and one other was a business for sale (a financial firm office building).

But, as we explored other streets and roadways in the Hyannis, Barnstable, Centerville area, many other realtor signs or closed businesses were present.

One facility up for sale that was not far from our hotel was a time share housing complex lying just across the street from the beach.

Speaking of hotels; most that we observed on the busy Route 28 and Route 6 highways, were displaying VACANCY signs; unusual for the peak vacation season in mid-July.

These views spoke reams to me. The finances of many-upper class- to middle class- were suffering amidst this “Great Recession” (aka “Great Depression”).

The tax base and financial base were crumbling in synchrony with the financial problems experienced across the state of Massachusetts. Here, the casualties were the many hard working individuals and the related industries and businesses dependent on not merely the tourist vacation dollars, but the demand for local arts, seafood industries, and local cuisines.

Sadly, this is one report of many across our nation; but, seeing it close up makes me think that the slowing of the economy (or decent into the abyss-if you wish) is merely one aspect of this sad vacation scene. Rather, for high income and middle class residents, it is the loss of property value; the collapse of bank loans and liquidation at cut rate prices of long time family held properties and business assets; as well as the loss of value of locally produced products and goods as the consumer (or tourist) demand evaporates.

Many will suffer as the economy continues to contract and the hard earned labors and properties will evaporate into the vacuum of economic misery.

Food for thought.

Copyright 2010: Lawrence F. Roberge



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