Survival Training? or entertainment.

[f.Channell]

Thought You'd enjoy this Van. Rather chilling at times.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyZuvLo4eJA

F.

[Jason Rees]

Mostly entertainment, would be my guess... armaggedon's hit, and you haven't got a firearm? ***** to be you. But 9-volt battery and steel wool? Now that's useful.

[f.Channell]

Yes I was reading a forum and several guys mentioned the lack of a gun as being ridiculous. Possibly to avoid lawsuits if someone went postal from watching it. I suppose the need for a gun is obvious.
There would definately be a gun and a good knife somewhere on him.
The flashlight is a logical close range weapon however if strong enough.
Interesting that in that world vehicles would be a dime a dozen, we place such value on them now. It is really the fuel that matters.

I have to try the steel wool trick.

F.

[Panther]

Firsthand, the steel wool technique works.

When I first hear the opening, I thought, "where do I sign up?" hehehehe... We're heading to the stone age anyway, better to be going there ready to live there rather than just thrust into it.

While it is true that a lot of people may go with the flight response and some people will actually go so far as to put together a GOOD pack, the truth is that if you can do so now, it is far better to move/live in a place where you have the things you'll need (food, water, shelter, off-grid power, defensible position, etc.). Because of the "comfort factor", most people will stay generally near where they feel safest... which is their home. Naturally, that dynamic changes in a Katrina-like situation where people's homes have or are being destroyed. Regardless, it is far more dangerous to be on the run than hunkered down in a safe place. However, don't be so attached to any place that you are that you dig in to your own grave. If the time comes where your best survival chances are to GOOD, be prepared and do it.

I could go on and on... but I won't...

[Panther]

One other little nit to pick (the lack of firearms has already been noted as well as my previous $0.02 worth)...

If people think they're just going to go out and start jumping across bridge spans, between buildings, etc... (free-running or Parkour-style) Think again.

This guy is a trained, experienced recon marine (fercryinoutloud) and no matter how good you think you are, 1 in 10k+ will be able to do those things successfully. Even the best mess up doing that stuff and when (not if) it happens, you'll end up on-the-run, exposed, in danger and HURT. Being on-the-run, exposed and in danger is bad enough. Once you get hurt, your survival chances just diminished exponentially...

[mhosea]

I don't think that's exactly a "nit". Some of that is just him showing off, or showing some nice tricks. In a real survival situation, protecting your mobility has to be a top consideration. I would not take unnecessary risks. No way would I have crossed that bridge, for example, or scaled that elevator shaft, even if I thought I could. Maybe if I were being chased by a pack of wild dogs...

[f.Channell]

Definately aware of my tarzan limitations!

A raft could be built to get across with a couple empty drums or a bunch of five gallon pails easy enough. If you couldn't find a kayak, which is on everyones roofs these days.

The elevator shaft thing is a no brainer. Not unless you had to.
The library was interesting, a map could be handy. Funny kids today don't know how to use a card catalog, and that needed to be explained!

The situation is dire enough without needing to flash or over dramatize it. More good info needed. Or other situations like protecting family... Wound care.....
If living on those vienna sausages I would need some tums pretty quick also.
F.

[Panther]

Today I had to restart a diesel engine that had run out of fuel. Good thing I could go get some new fuel filters because sucking up that last bit of fuel really clogged up the ones that were on it. It started with them, but it ran like crap! And it wasn't just a matter of flipping a switch to get it going either. Things needed to be primed and the right kind of starting fluid was needed as well. All that and I had a good strong battery to crank it up with too! After today, I think if a hospital generator runs out of fuel, especially if it has been down for any length of time so that the batteries are drained as well, you're not going to just toss in a little fuel and throw a switch to get it fired up. So, I've decided on that score to call BS...

I'll stick to the whole house unit I run now...

oh yeah... and "ditto" on the Vienna Sausages!

[f.Channell]

I'm suspicious of the ingredients he used to create the bio-diesel. One I think he referred to as a bowl cleaner, yet it was a powder. Usually a mild liquid acid is used to clean toilets. That looked like some type of a powder or lye of some sort. way more octane than a bowl cleaner. I was under the impression that bio disesel required a bit of equipment to create it.

A bit of a disappointment because I am quite sure that guy has great skills and could teach a lot about survival.

F.

[Van Canna]

Mostly entertainment, though it does get your adrenaline flowing a bit.

Most of us won’t be able to do any of what he does, even with survival training…and chances are even he will die sooner or later in a hostile, barren landscape…so might as well die comfortably at home while defending your ground.

You will however, have to make ‘sorties’ out in the ‘wild’ to get essentials to survive one day at a time.

The more rare times you will be better off leaving your home to be ‘rescued’…will be more of a nightmare we can imagine.

Think of yourself as a ‘naked prey’ being chased by a pack of wolves.

Your ability to move and carry survival supplies will be limited as mechanized transportation will quickly evaporate…you will jump into your fully equipped Hummer/SUV etc. only to find yourself stranded very quickly if you can move at all in the chaos of the street and insanity of men.

As Panther says you do need to have a ‘grab and go’ survival bag with the necessary tools, available inside or outside your house.

A good knife and potent/intimidating firearm are a must, among other things.

For home defense, a good military, long range rifle, of a suitable caliber 30-06_ .308_ and with armor piercing rounds… is a must_ as well as hi-cap shotgun for closer work.

There is much more.

[Van Canna]

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WOMENSENEWS)--A heart-wrenching video of New Orleans singer/songwriter Charmaine Neville aired by WAFB-TV in Baton Rouge, La., shows one of the few rape reports coming out of the beleaguered area hit by Hurricane Katrina.

A distraught and disheveled Neville is caught on the video, which aired Sept. 2, telling her story to Archbishop Alfred Hughes of the Archdiocese of New Orleans.

Neville, daughter of Charles Neville of the famous Neville Brothers rock and soul band, describes how she and others from New Orleans' Ninth Ward sought shelter on the roof of a school after the waters started rising.

"I found some police officers. I told them that a lot of us women had been raped down there by guys who had come (into) . . . the neighborhood where we were, that were helping us to save people. But other men, and they came and they started raping women and . . . and they started killing them," Neville recounts.

"And I don't know who these people were. I'm not going to tell you I know who they were because I don't. But what I want people to understand is that if we had not been left down there like the animals that they were treating us like, all of those things wouldn't have happened."

WAFB News Director Vicki Zimmerman said the meeting with the archbishop was unplanned, and the video showed what happened when Neville caught sight of the archbishop, who was working with the TV station to help coordinate emergency relief for his archdiocese. As the cameras began shooting, Neville emptied her heart of the horror she had undergone in New Orleans.

Zimmerman said attention to the video is mounting, with bloggers linking to it on their sites. She said a WAFB news crew was in that area of New Orleans the same day and heard similar tales of rapes, violence and anguish. The crew did not witness any rapes firsthand, however.

"Do I believe it happened? You bet I do," Zimmerman said.

[Van Canna]

With tens of thousands of hurricane survivors moved from the Louisiana Superdome and convention center and scattered to other sites throughout the United States, advocates worry that many of their stories will be lost.

Not only will the attackers likely go unpunished, the victims will have a harder time overcoming their trauma and trying to regain a normal life, said Benitez.

She's sure the repercussions will be felt by these victims for years to come. Rape crisis counselors from her organization have been working with hurricane victims throughout the state, she said.

Rapes are to be expected in the chaos that followed the massive storm, Benitez said, especially assaults on the most vulnerable women and children.

"When you have people so desperate and good people mixed with bad, frankly, there is this level of frustration: 'I don't have power over anything, so I am going to dominate this person' and it's always the most vulnerable," Benitez said in an interview with Women's eNews.

"We're assuming the real fallout from that will happen later. Over time, I think we'll get a better idea, but I don't think we will ever have a full picture."

The 'domination factor' is the scary part...it will happen...and you will need an equalizer...people without guns and the training to use one under extreme stress...will perish first.

You can see the 'dominating factor' on the highways with all the pickup trucks and SUVs tailgating and cutting off smaller cars.

How do you handle such situations?

[Van Canna]

Your heart jumps as you see a vehicle attached to your bumper. Then your fear turns to rage and you want to do the old "brake check" maneuver. What if you needed to slam your brakes in an emergency? Can the tailgater stop in time? How do you deal with a tailgater?

Don't slam your brakes. If you do that and there is an accident, you will be accused. You can even be arrested if it results in a fatality. There may even be drivers behind the tailgater who can get involved in an accident.

The act of stopping abruptly for no reason can be regarded as road rage. The squirrel running across the road or the bird flying near your windshield story may not hold up in court.

The key to stopping tailgaters is knowing tailgater psychology. Why are they following too closely? Some are rushing to work or late. Some just want to be ahead of the pack.

Some have larger vehicles and enjoy their role as the road bully. Others are furious from an event that just happened. Yet others are intoxicated with alcohol or drugs.


The tailgater has either one of two goals. They are trying to bully you off your lane or trying to get you to drive faster by intimidation. However, driving faster rarely gets rid of them as they speed up along with you.

This creates a dangerous situation and you are more at risk than the tailgater. You can get rear-ended with only your crush-zones and head rests to protect you. The tailgater will be protected with an airbag. Before you pound your brakes, try these following maneuvers to handle a tailgater.

If you have other lanes where the tailgater can go, then your objective is to encourage them to go there. While you may want to do unspeakable things to the driver who is tailing you, your first order of business is to calm down. Take a deep breath.

After you're done with the breathing exercise, note your current speed. You now want to drive somewhat slower than that. Do it without pressing your brakes and gradually decelerate. Ever so gradually let your speedometer needle move counterclockwise( or reduce your number on the digital display).

[Van Canna]

When they make their lane change to pass you, speed up back to your original speed. A light tap on the gas should do it. The reason for this is so they don't accidentally hit the corner of your rear bumper while trying to pass you so closely. They won't expect you to speed up so you will create a nice rear space gap.

[Van Canna]

Some tailgaters at this point will try to punish you or scare you by driving close to the side of your vehicle when they pass you. Anticipate this and stay close to the opposite side of the lane away from the tailgater without going into another lane or off the road. If there are obstacles on the road or another vehicle in the opposite lane you may not be able to do this.

This is the final action taken in the maneuver. Right when the tailgater is fully in his passing lane and is abreast of you, tap your brake and slow down a little. The tailgater won't expect this second move and will pass you more quickly than they think.

There is also a second reason for that move. The tailgater may punish you by trying to cut in front of you or drive very close when they change lanes in front of you. This will give you a space gap in the front.