We know what’s coming and we are prepared.
With the election "concluding" next week, many "prepping" folks are putting out their wild conspiracies and marketing their paranoia. It'd be funny if they didn't have a following where people make real world decisions based on much of the nonsense out there.
No, we are not heading into a complete SHTF situation. And, as WNC demonstrates, community is what's important. Surviving requires connectedness to community and skills. Now is the time to become connected and learn. On the job training is ALWAYS subpar.
Many now understand the importance of communications after watching what happened in WNC. The Mt. Michell repeater was a lifeline for those asking for help and those just LISTENING to the communications. The flawlessness of that endeavor came from years of practice by net control operators and many of the "eyes/ears" in the community. It was those screeching out over their Baofengs (for likely the first time) that hindered operations. Don't be that guy next time around.
Thus, I push getting a GRMS and/or technicians class amateur radio license when asked about preparing for the next event. Do you know how many times I hear something like, "In SHTF, the bad guys could look up my address in the FCC database" completely missing the point that their intent to buy an arsenal is registered in NICS. They'll use credit cards to buy ammo and purchased their equipment from Amazon.
I really don't understand this paranoia. Everyone is in a database somewhere that is publicly or semi-publicly searchable. To avoid the opportunity to practice and build a skill because of a very low, no extremely low, risk is asinine. Even if you only use GRMS to communicate with family while at the park or caravanning, you will start to understand limitations and capabilities unknown before relying on it for disaster communications.
Moving forward.. focus on community building. If you haven't spoken to someone in awhile then reach out, see how they are doing. And, get licensed and use radios for communications. Remember, Andrew Grove may have been right about business, but wrong about life. In the future, only the connected will survive.
CP
Ukrainian forces have begun training and testing exoskeletons for battlefield use. Soldiers from the 147th Separate Artillery Brigade are using them in the Pokrovsk sector for both logistics and frontline operations. The goal is to reduce physical strain, especially when loading heavy artillery shells into howitzers without automatic loaders. Artillery crews can handle up to 1200 kg of ammunition per day, and early tests show that exoskeletons help them work faster and with less fatigue Above all, by improving the conditions for those soldiers on the front lines who handle such heavy loads, plus the stress of work. Seeking to reduce overall fatigue in the troops
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🇮🇷🇮🇱 - 14 wounded in Iranian missile strike in central Israel, according to Israeli media.
🇬🇧🇮🇶 - A drone struck British Castrol oil warehouses in Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan, causing extensive damage.
🇮🇷🇮🇱 - Iran launched 9 missiles towards Israel this morning alone, with at least 3 of them being cluster missiles.
🇱🇧🇮🇱 - Over the past 12 hours, Hezbollah launched counterattacks in Khiam and Qantara, in the Nabatieh direction, southeast Lebanon. Hezbollah recaptured northern Khiam, with fighting ongoing for the south of the town. Hezbollah units also re-entered Qantara; frontline sources reported clashes in the center of the town last night.
🇱🇧🇮🇱 - 48 IDF soldiers have been wounded in clashes with Hezbollah over the last 24 hours in southern Lebanon, according to the Israeli Army.
🇱🇧🇮🇱 - "The Israeli army is barely catching its breath in southern Lebanon, and its resources are less than in the previous round of fighting," - Haaretz....
🇺🇸 Blue Owl Capital just disclosed that investors tried to pull 40.7% of one fund and 21.9% of another in a single quarter, and both funds gave the same answer, you can only have 5% back, and everyone else waits in line.
This is a bank run, not a normal withdrawal.
Wall Street spent the last decade selling millions of investors on something called semi-liquid private credit, higher yields, steady income and the promise you could get your money back every quarter if you needed it. What they buried in the fine print was what happens when too many people try to leave at the same time.
Analysts who have covered private credit for decades say nothing on this scale has ever been reported before at any major private credit manager.
These funds do not hold stocks you can sell on a Tuesday afternoon, they hold private loans to mid sized companies that cannot be liquidated quickly without destroying the price for every investor still trapped inside.
This product was originally designed for ...
🇺🇸 President Trump wants to switch to war economy in 2027 with massive increase in military spending and massive cuts to healthcare and other domestic agencies
Once a deficit hawk — he said in 2016 that he thought he could balance the budget in five years — Trump ended his first term with $7.8 trillion in added debt. His 2027 proposal is expected to give an update on 10-year deficit projections currently estimated at around $16 trillion.
The GOP's message for the Midterms will be focused on the "need" for a massive defense build up while the Democrats' message will be focused on affordability.
The fiscal 2027 budget will be the first time Trump puts his second-term governing agenda into one comprehensive document — with the numbers to back it up. The budget he released last year lacked detailed line-by-line spending targets and the economic assumptions necessary to project the long-term cost of his proposals.
Investors in US Treasuries will be looking to see if the debt and ...
