American Survival Blog

Survivalism is going mainstream and everyone is looking to cash in, including left leaning “learning” channels like The History Channel which has long abandoned objective and informative programs in favor of communist agi-prop like the completely disgusting Howard Zinn-led call for class warfare The People Speak.

However, I am a fan of Monster Quest so I always check in to see what’s on. This is how I came across The History Channel’s most outrageous program – a show called Apocalypse Man. It is not an exaggeration to say this show is not so much an instructional program on surviving disasters as a plot by The History Channel to murder you.

“Survival expert” Rudy Reyes begins the program by telling people that during a full on TEOTEWAWKI situation they should head into the biggest city they can find, and the show goes down hill from there. I understand that Mr. Reyes is said to be a Marine Force Recon veteran which I have seen some discussion about on the Web as being a bald-faced lie. I won’t play gotcha with someone’s service, but I will say that if Reyes is relaying his military training to audiences then we should start rethinking the training we’re giving our boys.

The key to surviving any situation is being prepared, staying cool, and using common sense. Most of all, the old adage “keep it simple, stupid” should be the motto you live by. Reyes sees things differently, as evidenced by him lighting a campfire with steel wool and a battery. Because I assume there’s no way he could have gotten hold of lighters or matches before TEOTWAWKI.

His preparation for the coming collapse of society, imagined by the producers as some sort of sudden Mad Max scenario (which ignores historical collapses, like Argentina) seems to be a bag of burglary tools, a complete lack of concern for his or any one else’s safety, and the morals of a crack addict. With pry bar in hand and criminality in his heart our “hero” takes viewers on a whirlwind tour through every nerd’s apocalypse spank fantasy where an empty world becomes their kingdom.

As I stated before, his first bit of advice for TEOTWAWKI is to tell people to head into the nearest large city because that, he says with a straight face, is where the supplies are. I guess all the stores that surround me on the outskirts of the very modest city I live by are illusions caused by my lack of “survival expertise” as is my larder of supplies I’ve collected for emergencies. Of course, heading into a city after a disaster is foolish, especially now that a small army of Reyes inspired looters, sorry I meant survivalists, will be rushing there to join the masses of people struggling to survive. The cities are dangerous now, with higher crime rates and worse unemployment/poverty than the rest of the country. After TEOTWAWKI I can only assume that most rational people will be planning on getting out of the city as quickly as possible.

But this is Rudy Reyes we’re talking about! Irrationality is his secret weapon to survive any situation. Like when his path to the shining city (full of supplies which simply can’t be found elsewhere) is blocked by a river he doesn’t want to cross because there could be poop in it. The drawbridge to cross it has been raised by police or military because martial law has been imposed, although none seemed to stick around to keep the crossing secure. What to do? Luckily Reyes has rope in his backpack along with his pry bar (what crime bloggers will immediately recognize as a rape kit) so using the pry bar as a grapnel, he swings across the river. I mean, what could go wrong? It’s not like if you get injured after this apocalypse pulling some stupid stunt it’d be hard to medical attention, right?

Then there’s Reyes’ special survival “foraging” method. Home invasion. Reyes actually tells viewers that to get supplies they should go to the suburbs, look for houses that haven’t been looted and kick in those doors, flashlight at the ready to brain anyone they run into. He never puts forward the idea that A) even in the breakdown of law and order this is wrong or B) the unlooted house is probably unlooted for a reason. The Reyes inspired home invader is going to be shot eventually.

I can only imagine the look on some Apocalypse Man fan’s face as he kicks in my front door to find an angry blogger with the new .327 Ruger Blackhawk I’m hoping to receive as an anniversary present tucked into a garish Halloween orange sash Wild Bill Hickock style. “What would Rudy do?” he’ll ask himself as I shoot him several times before Tweeting “ZOMG! Had 2 shoot looter, he had a Apocalypse man dvd in his pack! ROTFLMAO!”

It’ll be a steep price to pay for canned goods you can get on sale for $.50 a piece at any supermarket prior to TEOTWAWKI.

But that’s not Reyes’ worst advice or most asinine claim. Throughout the one hour episode we’re treated to such ludicrous scenes as Reyes lighting campfires indoors, rappelling down elevator cables (there are access ladders in most elevator shafts), risking life and limb to get fuel for generators because you “need electricity to survive” (explaining why there was no life on earth until the 20th century) and we even watched in horror as Reyes procured drinking water with the same dirty bicycle pump he had used to pump diesel out of a gas station supply tank.

“This is sustainability!” he declares while standing proudly over his three days worth of canned goods. Fuel and power, not food and water, are the things Reyes says we need after TEOTWAWKI. Most laughable is Reyes’ commandeering of a hospital which he claims is worthless except that it has a generator. You know, because one man with a pry bar should be willing to attempt to secure an entire facility alone … so he doesn’t have to sleep in the dark.

In short, Rudy Reyes advocates a survival strategy in which people who’ve spent too much time playing the Fallout games kick in your door, cave in your skull in front of your terrified family and steal whatever is in your house. Then they will retire to the block long hospital complex which they have secured with nothing more than steely determination and a total lack of morality. This is a process they will replicate every couple of days.

That’s not so much a survival strategy as a invitation to get your ticket punched. The Xbox playing pot smokers who take people like Reyes seriously don’t have what it takes to pull off home invasions now, much less when Darwinism ensues and the unlooted homes are filled with the people with the fewest compunctions about blasting some d-bag who spent all his money on drugs and video games prior to TEOTWAWKI. Reyes’ advice to viewers in the event of societal chaos is to do everything they can to make things more chaotic. In Europe that might fly, in a country where more than half the population owns firearms trouble makers are not going to be surviving at higher rates than people who put some food away and mind their business.

If I were a conspiracy theorist I’d be suspicious of The History Channel’s agenda. After all, they’ve been supporting Marxism with Zinn and strong centralized governments benefit from periods of disorder. But it’s more likely they simply want to cash in on the survival boom and looked for someone who was willing to affirm their pre-concieved notions of American immorality.

The real problem is that Reyes is not the purveyor of this sort of anything goes philosophy, but a product of the entrance into survivalism of people who are not preparing for TEOTWAWKI, but hoping for it. There are hundreds of Reyeses out there. People’s who plan on looting Wal-Mart after a disaster rather than shopping there now. People who dream of a time when they can simply smash windows and take what they want from the society and culture they despise for whatever reason. There are people who think the world owes them and they see civil disorder as a time for them to get what’s coming to them.  Reyes is telling them to attempt to take, by force if necessary, what you and I have put away for the bad times. The show is a plot to kill not only those who follow Reyes’ advice, but those of us who get in the way.

It is for this reason that I recommend people view this pilot if they get a chance, so you can see into the mind of a degenerate looter, oh I’m sorry survival expert, first hand.

It seems in an effort to keep the population from panicking the media and government agencies have only sown confusion and spread misinformation. The World Health Organization has mysteriously announced that only seven people have died due to Swine Flu not the 150+ that had been reported. I personally find this chard to believe, especially since Mexico is being economically crippled by the outbreak with European countires cancling flights there. Call me a conspiracy theorist but I think they’re trying to cover up something.

Meanwhile the W.H.O. has raised the pandemic alert level to 5. The scale only goes to six. So according to these people lowballing the numbers a pandemic is pretty much a definite. If it has such a low mortality rate, why do they care?

Probably because the situation in Mexico is much worse than it is being reported. Suburban Guerrilla has various testimonials from doctors in the area which claim people aren’t being told the truth in an effort to insulate Mexico from economic harm and hide the fact that the government an U.N. bodies are basically ineffective money wasters. Here’s one letter I found particularly enlightening:

I work as a resident doctor in one of the biggest hospitals in Mexico City and sadly, the situation is far from “under control”. As a doctor, I realise that the media does not report the truth. Authorities distributed vaccines among all the medical personnel with no results, because two of my partners who worked in this hospital (interns) were killed by this new virus in less than six days even though they were vaccinated as all of us were. The official number of deaths is 20, nevertheless, the true number of victims are more than 200. I understand that we must avoid to panic, but telling the truth it might be better now to prevent and avoid more deaths.

My point isn’t that we’re at the end of civilization, just that the helplessness of government agencies in face of this is something they are both embarrassed of and unwilling to allow the populace to see lest we begin to question their existence at all. I think that this new flu is spreading. It is not as dangerous now as it might be if this flu follows the Spanish Flu pattern of three seasonal waves, it will be in the fall and winter. Even that may mean little to healthy and relatively wealthy Americans who are not the poor and unhealthy victims of the Spanish Flu.

But this flu is going to cause significant damage to our economy and may kill a fair share of people. No matter how much cheer leading the media is doing it’s time to take precautions. The virus can mutate in to a more lethal form at anytime, so as long as the pandemic threat level remains high you need to be aware of the threat.

How about 1918 bad. That’s apparently the last time a flu virus was specifically more fatal to the young and healthy than children and the elderly and the Spanish Flu epidemic killed fifty million people world wide. Granted back then sick people didn’t have cheap over the counter medicines that could help them through an illness like Americans do now, nor the ability to maintain hygienic conditions with good quality sanitizing products, but with Mexico’s fatality rate so far looking to be at 7% or I’m finding it hard to be nonchalant about this potential pandemic.

I became aware of the epidemic in Mexico Saturday when the numbers were small but worrisome. 800 infected in Mexico with over 20 confirmed fatalities and eight suspected cases here. Now their are a confirmed 1300 infected in Mexico with over 100 fatalities and at least 30 cases all over the United States. New York, Kansas, Ohio, Texas and California have had confirmed Swine flu infections. There’s a map charting the infections here. Canada, Spain, France and London may also have cases.

I have seen unconfirmed reports that there are Swine Flu infections in Alabama.

The C.D.C has admitted that the seasonal flu vaccines people have will not be effective against this new strain. Governments around the world are beginning quarantines of anyone suspected of having the virus, as well as tightening restrictions on pork products and travel.

There isn’t a lot of information out there, the C.D.C page on the outbreak is nothing you haven’t heard on the news. Oddly the deaths have so far been limited to Mexico, although they were all young healthy people. I would theorize that although Mexico City is a as urban as any U.S. city Americans in general have more access to potentially life saving items and luxuries than the average Mexican. Cheap over the counter medicine and central air conditioning may among other things really be making a difference in the outcome of a nasty bug. On the other hand there is such a small sample of cases thus far that we won’t know how lethal this new flu is until we have infection numbers similar to Mexico.

Right now no one can tell you honestly how bad this may get, but those with a survivalist mind-set (myself included) are taking precautions. If it’s possible stay home for the next few days and get plenty of liquids in the house and stock up on fever reducing medications as well as the regular flu stuff you keep in the house. Don’t wait to pick up supplies, if more people get sick there will be runs on grocery stores and those crowds may be full of infected people. Many people are recommending you buy breathing masks, but if you don’t already have them going to stores where sick people may be congregating to get them (pharmacies and the like) isn’t a better plan than laying low. You can buy many items online if you can wait a few days for them. The only reason for you to be in a store for the next couple of days is if you don’t have necessities like food, water and toilet paper on hand.

There are already rumors circulating about the flu designed to make you panic. I have seen several comments implying that this was a bio-terror attack by the United States on Mexico and much is being made on various conspiracist forums I will never link to of the death of Felipe Solis just hours after meeting our President. Some newshounds are pointing out that this outbreak came only days after Fort Detrick began an investigation into missing viruses from their bio-warfare facility. It is an odd coincidence, but I have been told that samples turn up missing from government labs with a frequency that would alarm the public if they realized it. Depending on the amount of tin foil hattery in your area (and New York is lousy with people who believe in such nonsense) this sort of conspiracy mongering so early in the event is another reason to stay home if you can.

There’s no way to verify these statements, but readers have sent alarming stories to the BBC which imply that the situation in Mexico is worse than the media is letting on:

I’m a specialist doctor in respiratory diseases and intensive care at the Mexican National Institute of Health. There is a severe emergency over the swine flu here. More and more patients are being admitted to the intensive care unit. Despite the heroic efforts of all staff (doctors, nurses, specialists, etc) patients continue to inevitably die. The truth is that anti-viral treatments and vaccines are not expected to have any effect, even at high doses. It is a great fear among the staff. The infection risk is very high among the doctors and health staff.

There is a sense of chaos in the other hospitals and we do not know what to do. Staff are starting to leave and many are opting to retire or apply for holidays. The truth is that mortality is even higher than what is being reported by the authorities, at least in the hospital where I work it. It is killing three to four patients daily, and it has been going on for more than three weeks. It is a shame and there is great fear here. Increasingly younger patients aged 20 to 30 years are dying before our helpless eyes and there is great sadness among health professionals here.
Antonio Chavez, Mexico City

There are several more testimonies similar to this one. There is no way to know how many sicknesses and deaths slipped by the bureaucrats before the alerts were issued so the mortality rate for the flu may be higher or lower in Mexico than the 7% it’s at now.

Take the day off, buy as much food and water as you need and take a mini-vacation. I know it’s easy to say when you work at home as I do, but if you can stay off the streets do so until you’re sure this bug has mutated into a less lethal form. However there is no need to panic, yet. But it is time to get prepared. Except in Mexico most infections were no worse than the regular flu so stay cool. Water, food and toilet paper, if you don’t have enough to last you a week or more of staying home than get some now.

Cross posted at Red Alerts

Update: If you leave a comment with a link you may be put in moderation.

Here’s a link to a supposed real time infection map. Mexico has remained the epicenter with more than 1600 infected.

I have seen unconfirmed reports that there were more than 100 sick kids in the Queens prep school but only eight were tested originally. They all tested positive for Swine Flu. If true the C.D.C and DHS are playing fast and loose with the numbers in order to control the panic that will happen if people see a new virus spreading quickly. The official tally there is now 28 infected.

Gateway Pundit reports that we’re still not screening passengers arriving from Mexico.

Mexico City has been hit with an earthquake. The gods are angry down there.

The European Union is telling people not to travel to Mexico or America. Obama is not amused.

Update: A private school in South Carolina has been closed after kids coming from Mexico were found to have Flu-like symptoms. Greenville News (perhaps America’s worst newspaper)  gives bare bone details, omitting facts you may want to know like where the school is located. The Newberry Academy website has a statement about the closure.

The above is a bone dry shelve at a local Wal-Mart I went to a week ago. For the past week I’ve been stocking up on ammunition and running into the same scarcity almost everywhere. Granted, eccentric character that I am I am looking for ammo that isn’t always available but I’ve noticed that bread and butter ammo like 12ga, 9mm and .45ACP are just about gone.

Even my precious .45 LC has dried up, both here and through the Internet sources I use like the Cheaper than Dirt catalog which has a nice online feature where they tell you what’s out of stock on the web. Looking at their .45 LC section and except for snake shot and the outrageously expensive Corbon DPX which which runs almost $60 for 20 they are pretty much out.

20ga (my other eccentric favorite) fares better but they’re already out of the buckshot I was eyeing.

Cabela’s is another trustworthy site to buy ammo but as far as I know they don’t have an online availability function so there is no way to know exactly how much they still have in stock. I personally feel that many people are using ammo as a hedge against inflation for bartering or resale, so who knows?

I have visited several gun stores and pawn shops as well as the sporting goods big boxes and the situation is the same. Empty shelves and lines of people buying up what little is left. I’m ordering and buying what I can while I can, and suggest you do the same.

And since he may have been in contact with the National Socialist Movement the danger of a terror attack by someone of similar bent may not be over. James Cummings was an overweight, friendless miscreant who was fond of berating his wife Amber in front of contractors hired to work on his home. He presented himself as being so unstable that one contractor who worked for him abandoned the project and never asked for the money he was owed for fear of Cummings’ violent temperament and constant threats. Allegedly, after years of physical and sexual abuse, Amber killed the man in front of their 9-year-old daughter.

That’s when authorities found out what he’d been up to:

BELFAST, Maine — James G. Cummings, who police say was shot to death by his wife two months ago, allegedly had a cache of radioactive materials in his home suitable for building a “dirty bomb.”

According to an FBI field intelligence report from the Washington Regional Threat and Analysis Center posted online by WikiLeaks, an organization that posts leaked documents, an investigation into the case revealed that radioactive materials were removed from Cummings’ home after his shooting death on Dec. 9.

The report posted on the WikiLeaks Web site states that “On 9 December 2008, radiological dispersal device components and literature, and radioactive materials, were discovered at the Maine residence of an identified deceased [person] James Cummings.”

The section referring to Cummings can be read here.

It says that four 1-gallon containers of 35 percent hydrogen peroxide, uranium, thorium, lithium metal, thermite, aluminum powder, beryllium, boron, black iron oxide and magnesium ribbon were found in the home.

Also found was literature on how to build “dirty bombs” and information about cesium-137, strontium-90 and cobalt-60, radioactive materials. The FBI report also stated there was evidence linking James Cummings to white supremacist groups. This would seem to confirm observations by local tradesmen who worked at the Cummings home that he was an ardent admirer of Adolf Hitler and had a collection of Nazi memorabilia around the house, including a prominently displayed flag with swastika. Cummings claimed to have pieces of Hitler’s personal silverware and place settings, painter Mike Robbins said a few days after the shooting.

An application for membership in the National Socialist Movement filled out by Cummings also was found in the residence, according to the report. Cummings’ wife, Amber B. Cummings, 31, told investigators that her husband spoke of “dirty bombs,” according to the report, and mixed chemicals in her kitchen sink. She allegedly told police that Cummings subjected her to years of mental, physical and sexual abuse. She also said that Cummings was “very upset” when Barack Obama was elected president.

The fact that the government hasn’t released this information makes me suspect that they think a larger game is afoot. The fact that his wife didn’t tell anyone about his activity prior to deciding to off him makes me think she was at the very least O.K. with whatever he was planning. But for his degenerate character pushing his wife to the limit, we may have seen a major terror incident on our soil not directly connected to Islam.

I say not directly because the various neo-Nazi groups in America have been quietly aligning themselves with Marxist and Islamist groups for the past few years at least. There are confirmed reports that neo-Nazis were at many of the “pro-Palestine” marches held recently (such as this one in Toronto) and the NSM has woven leftist anti-Zionist talking points into their own platform. Their own website promotes this New York Times Op-Ed by Islamist Rashid Khalidi which is some of the vilest anti-Israel propaganda published by the MSM. Neo-Nazis are not a threat separate from the various domestic terror groups operating in America, but just the frayed edge of a tapestry of violent anti-Americanism that has festered here for too long.

The NSM doesn’t have a Maine chapter leader listed in their state contacts, which could just mean that they edited their site because of this or that Cummings was trying to start a chapter himself. Either way that would mean there are potentially more neo-Nazis out there who knew of his plan and may even be trying to further it themselves.

It might be time to start stocking up on Potassium Iodide and start brushing up on your fallout survival skills if you live in the northeast.

h/t N.T.A.