The Continued Escalation

Greetings to all, 

I came across an article, entitled "Lemons: Gun-Totin' Left-Wingers Demonstrate at the Arizona Capitol: Is Bloodshed on the Horizon?" This article split me in two, one part in hysterics and one part deeply concerned. In this article talks about how this is the beginning of the true escalation of the left following President Trump election. 

Here is what happened:

"40 or so assorted anarchists, Brown Berets, and members of a group calling itself the Phoenix John Brown Gun Club across the street from the state Capitol, openly armed to the proverbial teeth. The left-wingers, some of them masking their faces, some not. Many of them were armed with long guns. You know, just like the "patriot" groups." 

Now, do really care about a group of left-wing protestors deciding to exercise their 2nd Amendment rights to bear arms, especially if they are in accordance with State and Local laws? Nope not at all, here is where I DO have a problem. 

The author of the article continued:

"While I was taking photographs of them, a woman approached me and told me that the group would not be granting interviews. She gave me a flier with a statement from something called the "Redneck Revolt," which according to the flier aims to "put the RED back in redneck."

This website is filled with your typical left-wing nonsense about "fighting white supremacy". The creation of this group is in clear response to the Democratic Party's loss of the "White Working Class Voters" in 2016. 

If you go to their "principles" page, you will see the another reinterpretation of the Ten Planks of the Communist Manifesto. With the exception that now it is aimed squarely at white people. Most of it is nonsense, with the exception of "We are an aboveground Militant Formation", with the aim to: 

"We strongly believe in community defense, the basis of which must be meaningful involvement in our own communities, material support for other liberatory defense groups and survival programs, and an acceptance of the risk we take on when we commit to defending each other. Defense means more than just confrontation. Our relationships with our neighbors are strengthened by breaking bread together, knowing each other's families and struggles, and becoming accountable to one another. Most importantly, we are willing to take on personal risk to defend those in our community who live under the risk of reactionary violence because of their skin color, gender identity, sexuality, religion, or birth country. For us, that means that we meet our neighbors face-to-face, and stand alongside them to face threats whenever possible. We understand this means that we may also become targets ourselves and become known to their enemies, but we act always with the understanding that those who oppose liberty for all people are already our enemies. Power is built collectively through intentional relationships and networks with each other. The best security measures enable us to act militantly and from a position of strength, rather than preventing us from taking meaningful action"

Ladies and Gentleman this is narcissistic personality disorder, but now with guns. We have seen the rise of Black Lives Matter, Anti-Fa and now this. You must always mind your surroundings, because not only do these people feel they are fighting for a just cause, now they have given themselves just reason to do so. My real issue is that these people, who are driven by emotion, will end up causing a catastrophic event, resulting in terrible loss of life.

Stay Safe, Stay Ready 
 

London has not fallen yet, but it is close

Yesterday we saw a gruesome display of what the west refuses to acknowledge. The clash of cultures has been an unmitigated disaster. What we are witnessing in Europe and in some places here in the Union is the result of the promotion of one culture to the detriment of another. Now I will go into the actual attack in a moment, but this does need to be said.

Events do not happen in a bubble.

When I was teaching history, the first thing I would tell my students is that nothing happens spontaneously, but are the culmination of actions that have take place, sometimes YEARS before (a prime example is the Boston Massacre was a result of Washington's ill fated raid on Fort Duquesne). Yesterday was another example of these events being set up far in advance. Look a the numbers, and if you can see past emotions, propaganda, and political correctness, you will see that this is only going to get worst, from The Guardian UK (keep in mind this article is 2 years old)

"The Muslim population of England and Wales is growing faster (2.71 million) than the overall population, with a higher proportion of children and a lower ratio of elderly people, according to an analysis of official data. 

One in three Muslims is under 15, compared with fewer than one in five overall. There are also fewer elderly Muslims, with 4% aged over 65, compared with 16% of the overall population.

Half the Muslims in England and Wales were born there and almost three-quarters (73%) identify themselves as British. Two-thirds of Muslims are ethnically Asian and 8% are white.

80% of Muslims live in inner-city areas of Greater London, the West Midlands, the north-west and Yorkshire and the Humber.

Eight per cent of all school-age children (five to 15) are from Muslim households."

The popular saying is that only small percentage of a given Muslim population supports the Sharia Law. Let's use a popular number, let say 3%. So if my math is correct, that is 81,300 Muslims that are walking around London at this very moment that support Sharia and all it represents. That means their are 81,300 Muslims that live in London that are either neutral or happy that their was an attack on the Houses of Parliament. Well, what if it is only 1 percent? Ok, then that leaves 27,100 Muslims in England that were happy about that. Compound that idea with the fact that the Muslim population is out producing the English population, I'll let you figure that out.

As far as the attack is concerned, the perpetrator used a Kia SUV "4X4", proving again that these acts do not need to be conducted with guns, or IED's or any of the things that are commonly associated with "terrorist attacks". You want to find out more information about this attack, see my post on the terror attack that took place in Nice, France. Until the root of the problem is addressed, this is all folly to examine and argue. Trust me, there will be more of these to come.

Good Luck and Good Hunting

National Preparedness Goal vs. Disaster Psychology Missions Discussion

When looking at the commonalities and differences between the National Preparedness Goal put out by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) vs the mission repertory of disasters, we should first look at the objectives of these two methods:
 
 I will compare the concepts of Preparation and Recovery within the methods. The first look at determent. Both methods address the idea of Prevention. That is where the similarities end. As far as the differences:

 Disaster Psychology Mission Set (DPMS):

Anticipation and Preparation – One of the focuses is on the “important differences in the ways individual’s vs organizations prepare for the disaster.[1] These preparations can be for anything, from natural disasters to man-made events.

Homeland Security Cycle (HSC):

Prevention- Focuses on how to physically prepare for incidents, more specifically terrorism driven. “Prevention also includes the intelligence, law enforcement, and homeland defense activities conducted in the event of an act of terrorism in the homeland to determine if follow-on attacks are planned and to thwart and/or apprehend the adversary.”[2]

 Now looking at the concept of Recovery:

 DPMS:

Resilience and Recovery- This idea considers how the disaster will impact the frame of mind of those impacted.  The reason being that you can have all the resources available to you, but unless the individuals in the community have healthy and positive influences to foster mental resilience, the physical recovery will be stalled until that is accomplished.[3]

 HSC:

“Recovery includes those capabilities necessary to assist communities affected by an incident in recovering effectively. It is focused on a timely restoration, strengthening, and revitalization of the infrastructure”.[4] This one sentence demonstrates where the focus of the HSC really is, on the infrastructure. These are shelter, roads, power, etc. The entire focus of the National Preparedness Goal is on physical.

As you can see, the HSC focuses on the material or physical aspects of disaster preparation, while the DPMS focuses on how people behave with this knowledge. I believe that the HSC can learn from DPMS that there is more than physical needs have to be address when dealing with disasters, whereas DPMS can incorporate better overall preparation strategies that can be found in HSC.

 Cheers


Information obtained from Penn State course "HLS 558 Disaster Psychology"

Emerging from the Bunker

Greetings everyone!

Sorry for the long hiatus, just been busy getting school stuff out of the way. I am currently 9 credits deep and experiencing the joys of graduate school! Anyway I hope to get back to posting at least once a week, but hopefully sooner.

Good Luck, and Good Hunting.

Nice proves it is ideology

The tragic events in Nice, France does prove one thing. That you can ban guns, track purchases that can make homemade bombs, but it until emergency managers, politicians, and the media address ideology, these events will continue to happen.

It frustrates people like me, because if you look at the coverage that has taken place, the phrases is "the truck", implying that this vehicle had evil intentions and drove off on it's own. This is both false and misleading. The focus has been on the weapons, and how if, as the pseudo-intellectuals at Vox.com have stated ""Make it harder to get guns." This deflecting of motive from person to object blunts any attempt to address how we can prevent these tragedies from occurring. Do we ban all trucks now? Absolutely not, because terrorist groups have been calling for this exact thing.

The Institute for the Study of War noted in a 2014 report that ISIS spokesman Abu Mohammad al-Adnani instructed supporters in a speech in September of that year. He stated

"If you are not able to find an IED or a bullet, then single out the disbelieving American, Frenchman, or any of their allies. Smash his head with a rock, or slaughter him with a knife, or run him over with your car, or throw him down from a high place, or choke him, or poison him."

The man then goes on to mention cars specifically:

"There are weapons and cars available and targets ready to be hit. ... Kill them and spit in their faces and run over them with your cars."

If you have followed this site since it's inception, you will know what my response. "It's the ideology stupid"

ISIS foundation is build on the strict orthodox interpretation. The way this is promulgated by their martyr message. As the Institute for the Study of War pointed out:

"ISIS glorifies its martyrs and showcases those who hail from foreign lands. ISIS regularly publicizes reports of its international “martyrs,” or suicide attackers."

The fact is, the possibility of a 9/11 style attack are diminishing the farther we get from that event. What the homeland security apparatus needs to understand is that the concept of "lone wolf attacks" being carried out by "homegrown violent extremist". How do emergency managers respond? Well lets look at some aspects of the National Response Framework to see:

Planning: Clearly, there is a lack of imagination with those who are creating the overall planning. Right now, it feels like planning consist of "lets make sure this event doesn't happen again" it is reactionary. Instead of trying to get ahead of the curve, the current planning is the curve.

Mas Care Services: Right now, when an Mass Casualty Event (MCE) occurs, the healthcare infrastructure seems to be overwhelmed. This may be due to budget concerns, or general malaise towards this issue. Whatever the case may be, this area needs to be shored up. 

Situational Assessment: This goes along with planning, but understanding the who, what, where, and how of an event, and getting that covered.

Good Luck and Good Hunting

Happy Birthday to these United States of America...Now stay safe

Fireworks, they are an integral part of the festivities during 4th of July celebrations to such an extent that most people will go out of their way to either see them, or fire some off if they don't want to deal with the crowds. Not to be a downer, but here at the Brief, we always want you to be aware of the risks involved.

In regards to fireworks so fun statistics:

• 67% of firework injuries occur around the 4th of July.
• In 2011, there were nearly 10,00 firework-related injuries treated in U.S. hospitals, with burns accounting for most of those injuries (50%)

1. Hands and Fingers = 36%
2. Eyes, Head, face and ears = 19%
3. Trunk = 11%
4.  Legs = 10%
5. Arms = 5% 

 Fireworks by injury type:

1. Unspecified = 31%
2. Firecrackers = 20%
3. Sparklers = 19%
4. Reloadable Shells = 9%
5. Novelties = 6%
6. Roman Candles = 4%
7. Public Displays = 4% 
8. Bottle Rockets = 2%
9. Multiple Tubs = 2%
10. Fountains = 1% 

Injuries by Age: 

1. 0-4 = 9%
2. 10-14 = 11%
3. 20-24 = 11%
4. 45-64 = 9%

Injuries by Sex:

1. Male = 74%
2. Female = 26% 

(This stat shouldn't surprise anyone)

Now, if you do chose to use fireworks, here are some tips:

• When using fireworks, stand at least 12-15 feet away from where the fireworks are ignited. 
• In case of an injury, such as burns or debris in the eyes, use cool water and dial 9/11
• Remember: Used fireworks still run hot or may explode, so be cautious around any fireworks on the ground. 
• Don't let your children play with any fireworks. If you choose to give your kid a sparkler, keep an eye on it because those can reach a temperature of up to 1,2000 degrees.
• Keep an eye on your older children
• Set off your fireworks outdoors in a clear area, away from houses, dry leaves, or grass or other flammable materials. 
• Have a bucket of water nearby for emergencies and for pouring on fireworks that fail to ignite or explode.
• Get everyone out of range before lighting fireworks
• Never light fireworks in a container, especially a glass or metal container.
• Keep any unused fireworks in away from lighting area
• Don't fire off illegally,  local law enforcement will have a lot on their plate and the last thing they need to do is be pulled away to arrest you for not observing local laws. 
• Pretty obvious, but never have any portion of your body directly over a firework when you light it. 
• Finally, don't try to make your own firework, no matter how many Youtube videos you have watched.

If someone does get burned:

• Keep the burn under water for 10 minutes. 
• Do not touch the burn or pull any clothing that may be stuck to it. 
• If you clothing catches on fire, remember: Stop, Drop, and Roll.
• Seek medical advice for any burn on a child larger than a postage stamp.
• If the burn involves any tender areas, definitely have it seen by a doctor. 

Enjoy your holiday ladies and gentleman, be safe and remember those who have sacrificed for us.

Good Luck and Good Hunting

Consideration a Tornado Shelter?

If you read yesterday's post on Tornado's, and you live in an area that is susceptible to tornado activity, then one thing you can consider is to have a safe room (not that terrible Jodie Foster movie). 

According to Ready.gov, when some considerations when building your safe room:

"You can build a safe room in one of several places in your home.

• Your basement
• Atop a concrete slab-on-grade foundation or garage floor.
• An interior room on the first floor.

Safe rooms built below ground level provide the greatest protection, but a safe room built in a first-floor interior room also can provide the necessary protection. Below-ground safe rooms must be designed to avoid accumulating water during the heavy rains that often accompany severe windstorms.
To protect its occupants, a safe room must be built to withstand high winds and flying debris, even if the rest of the residence is severely damaged or destroyed. Consider the following when building a safe room:

• The safe room must be adequately anchored to resist overturning and uplift.
• The walls, ceiling and door of the shelter must withstand wind pressure and resist penetration by windborne objects and falling debris.
• The connections between all parts of the safe room must be strong enough to resist the wind.
• Sections of either interior or exterior residence walls that are used as walls of the safe room must be separated from the structure of the residence so that damage to the residence will not cause damage to the safe room."

So you have decided to obtain a shelter for you and your loved ones, you have two choices: Build or Buy. Lets walk through these two options:

Build: If you are a DIY kinda person, then this is a good option for you.

1. Since you will be starting from scratch, check out FEMA-320, which is described as a "Manual with detailed information about how to build a wind-safe room to withstand tornado, hurricane and other high winds." Now my personal recommendation (for what is worth) is to use this as a reference or introduction. When building your shelter please keep the following things in mind:

• It can ruin your foundation 
• Make sure it is properly secured 
• Proper ventilation and debris guards on the doors
• Finally, have more than one way out, in case the main door becomes blocked
• Please consider your options, underground shelters are not guaranteed safety so craft your room to your house, no the other way around.

Buy: So you have looked into the building process, and you figured that it will either A) Take too long or B) Cost too much. Buying it is! Unfortunately it isn't simply plug and play.

•  Make sure the storm shelter you purchase meets FEMA guidelines and has been impacted tested at Texas Tech Wind Institute
• Do your research - you would do it for a car, so take a little time to research the company you are interesting in.
• Pay attention to the quality of metal being used.
• Is it welded on the inside as well as on the outside?
• Make sure you can operate all the latches and doors within a matter of seconds.

Ultimately the decision is up to you, hopefully this is helpful.

Good Luck and Good Hunting