the internet and terrorism

today is 25 april 2005, its monday morning, and its 0256 hours.im very tired physically and fairly well mentally exhausted. it seems once again i have myself involved in an unusual situation. this happenstance is in no ways uncommon for me as a whole, however, the situation is so unique, i find it hard to reason out or understand.
what i do believe i understand is that we who are americans, as well as our allies, are not to support, aide, or abeit the terrorists who kill our people and theirs with out remorse or compassion. it is my understanding that any person, country, or corporation that supports terrorism in any way is a target of the american government. herein lies the vexation i am encountering.
the vexation i face now, with great apprehension, is that i have found several american owned websites that are directly purchasing videos of terrorists directly involved in terrorist activities such as car bombings and ambushes. it seems to me that it would be a different situation if the videos that were aquired were from americans or all allies to demonstrate the techniques the terrorists use for educational purposes to inform people of those techniques to enhance safety and security. in my mind i believe i am correct in this assertion, however, i have found myself dismayed that these people are in fact profitting from these videos and are therefore supporting terrorism.
take for example, www.steakandcheese.com, on several of the movies they show on their website you can watch as muslim terrorist are present producing a video of their activities. in at least two of the videos you here terrorists discussing what they did and the results of that which they done.
in order to verify that i was not being paranoid or any sort of a conspiracy theorist i asked a fellow islam chat infidel to verify what i discovered. and indeed it was verified that my statements were true and without error.
i personally believe that these individuals may be unaware of their treachery or their support of these terrorists. who in their right mind would knowing do such a thing just to make money or to insure the status of their website. what american would ever dream of buying a video from a terrorist? for that matter what american would imagine profitting from terrorists in the first place?
apparently there are numerous websites, through undisclosed and possibly illegal means, ascertain these owner specific videos. as such, it is my honest opinion, that these websites should be investigated for illegal aquisition and terrorist support. if the investigation reveals that the videos and other media were illegally aquired from the terrorists themselves, the owners of those websites should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and the websites themselves eliminated from the internet.
in conclusion, i sincerely hope i am wrong about my asertions, because in my heart, i can not imagine any american profitting in any ways or means from terrorism, be it video media or anything such as the like. be they a businessman, poltician, or corporation. hopefully i am incorrect, becuase if i am not, we are all in a lot of trouble.
regards
archie

water purification techniques: survival part I

as i began to think about things that a lot of people may be needing to know, i thought about basic survival techniques. the most important facet of any survival situation is water. a human being can go without food for upto 8 weeks, no human being can go without water for more than 2 weeks. which is why i prioritised water purification.
heres some info from the EPA. accoerding to the epa 97 percent of americas waterways are contaminated with bacterias such as giogardia, and believe it or not ecoli. there are others i will detail as well. the majority of the contaminants are of a chemical nature moreover than a biological nature. however, ine must always bare in mind the presence of sewage and other human waste products. the chemical contaminants include anything ranging from arsenic to mercury, phosphates from fertiliser run off, and petrochemicals. all of which are very bad for any human being or animal. as such there are various means by which to purify water in an emergency situation.
the most common method is boiling. the epa recomends boiling water for no less than 3 minutes. i say go for 5 and make sure its a good rollling boil. boiling does not eliminatesolid particles from the water.
chemical purifiers such as bleach work well to make water drinkable, usually 3 to 5 drops per quart of water, but once again this only works on bacterias not solid particles or other chemicals present in the water. for the bleach to work properly you have to let the water sit for 30 minutes or possibly longer.
waterfilters are highly developed now and many are made for individual or group usage in the field. these include individual water bottles with replacable filters built into them as well a group sized units. you can go to ebay and do a search for water purifiers for info on costs and such.
potable water tablets are a very good means to purify water, you can find them on a websearch under potableaqua or water purification tablets. i have 3 bottles of these and have had occassion to use them. they really dont make the water taste very good but they do a good job on bacteria, also, the one disadvantage is you still have to wait at least 30 minutes before drinking the water. they carry easy and each bottle has a shelf life unopened of 5 years. it takes just one pill per quart of water to make the water drinkable. i remind you again that the water will not taste all that great but it will be safe to drink. the cost for potableaqua was 2.95 per bottle plus shipping, each bottle had 30 pills in them, which means i can purify 90 quarts of water. be sure to read all lable instructions!!!!!!
iodine is an old way to purify water. most, if not all, viet nam era vets remeber the little orange pills they would put in their canteens. today we have access to iodine in our local pharmacies. in small brown bottles. make sure the label reads iodine NOT murcurichrome!!
iodine is my absoulte last resort to purify water. it takes on 1 to 2 drops of iodine to purify 1 quart of water and yes, once again, you have to let it sit for at least 30 minutes for the iodine to do its job. iodine must not be used over an extensive period of time to purify water and if you have thyroid problems or are taking a medication for your thyroid DO NOT USE IODINE TO PURIFY WATER!!!! iodine is not recommended for use as a water purifier during pregnancy.
as i said, i can and will use iodine, but only as a last resort.
in most normal cases water purification works very well, however, there are situations where water purification will not work and need not even be attempted. those situations are as follows:
1.) water that appears metallic, like a silvery film, almost mirror reflective, do not come into contact with it or even think about drinking it. do not attempt to purify!!!!!
2.) water that has a reddish to yellowish appearance, do not come into contact with it or even think about drinking it or from any water around it. do not attempt to purify!!!!!
3.)water that has medical waste products in it, ivs, syringes, etc do not attempt to purify!!!just avoid coming into contact with it etc.
4.) water that has human waste or sewage in general in it. same as above, no contact and do not attempt to purify.
heres the question you may be asking,where in hell could i find water that would be safe to purify and safe to drink. that i wouldnt have to worry very much about other than just basic purification techniques? local paylakes for fisherman, national parks, or anything that is nowhere near any kind of industrial or chemical plants. if you think its safe is one thing but to know its safe is another. if in any doubt purchase a water quality test kit, just make sure of whats its testing is for. all will list what they test for and they cost around 29.95 to 39.95.
the one i have cost 29.95, i tested it out on the ditch near my apartment, in all actuality beargrass creek is fairly clear of chemicals and such, and in my opinion, would be safe to purify and drink. although my wife said i was crazy i proved to her by purifying that water and drinking it. i still dont think shes convinced that i am not actually insane but i never have gotten sick as a rsult of my experiment. anyway, just use common sense and very keen observation when it comes to water purification!
regards
archie

survival of the fittest

one of the first laws of nature is survival of the fittest. the sick, lame, or dying are left to the predators in order that the circle of life is maintaned. unfortunately, we human beings are not exempt from this rule.
in an instant you could find yourself in a situation with a predator of the worst kind. a human predator. this person will steal from you, harm you, and kill you. it may only be that this person wants your money, groceries, or car. but there is no guaranee that if you give them what they want they won kill you anyway. at least as of this date today this is where we all stand. but things can become worse.
if the entire world were to fall apart tomorrow. no banks, no money, no food, no gas, and no peace what would you do. what are you capable of? would you steal or kill to feed yourself and your family? would you kill another human being for his food and water. perhaps you would not, but there are predators out there that will, with no hesitance, kill you for whatever you have and whatever they need.
what would you do if tomorrow the united states government declared a national emergency and martial law was declared. how would live?
many people i have spoken with tell me im wrong, and things will never get hat bad, or they think im paranoid or a conspiracy theorist. i assure im niether, but i am a realist. in which case please feel free to ask your local banking institution the following questions. i would suggest speaking to an account representative, futher , i would suggest you ask these questions of the bank representative very discreetly. i assure you the anwsers you get will surprise you.
1.) in case of a national emergency what are this banks procedures concerning electronic and personal withdrawals from accounts. such as atm withdrawals and personal checks.
2.) if a national emergency is declared will this bank be in full operation?
3.) if a national emergency is declared how will this situation affect the use of electronic trans actions such as debit cards and/or check cards?
4.) under what circumstances will i not be allowed access to my account(s)?
in reference to the questions, it is far better to ask now and know than to wait till its to late to ask then. you may even want to observe the reactions to the questions of the bank rep, as well if they attempt to blow you off. afterall, it is your money isnt it? or is it?
regards
archie

a serious fuck up in the making

the blog title here is a serious fuck up in the making. thats a unique statement since a great many things in our lives can be fucked up. ill be specific on one issue of importance to me. and many of my friends and associates.
on 01 apr 05 myself and a friend of mine i was in the army with were just shooting the shit when he asked me a question. the question he asked me was what are you going to do when gas goes upto to such a point that its cost is unbearable. we were in this discussion for a good 30 minutes and all we could determine was that if fuel costs get to such a point you have to dip into your grocery budget to get the kids to soccer practice, there might be the need to stop playing soccer.
my friend is an over the road truck driver. its not uncoommon for him to travel in his vehicle in excess of 6000 miles a week. he makes runs from tennesse to stockton california. roughly 6000 miles round trip. when i talked to him he was going to stop for fuel then switch off with his partner. he also told me that he stops twice going and twice leaving for diesel fuel. each stop costs his company 487.00 per fill up. i understand that we dont drive semis and, as a general rule, many of us do not drive a vehicle the uses diesel fuel. however, the more important question for us is a what point do fuel costs start affecting our personal lives and lifestyle.
it is well known that in europe, some areas are paying as much as 5.00 per gallon of petrol(gas for us americans), and here in louisville kentucky the average today is 2.20 per gallon of gas. yes, it does appear that we americans,when compared to europeans, are spending less for fuel, but our cost of living,wages, and economic conditions are quite different from the europeans.
for example, i drive a mini van, and it has a 22 gallon fuel tank. at 2.20 per gallon. it will cost 44.00 to fill up at the pump. becuase i have serious limited my getting out and about in the past 2 weeks i have only burned 1/4 tank of gas and have 140 miles on the trip meter. i keep the van in very good mechanical condition and i feel i get pretty good gas mileage as a result.
anyway im going to conclude the blog by leaving you with some questions to ponder. please feel free to respond the questions at your convenience if you should decide to do so.
1.) does anyone remember the 1973 when the oil embargo forced us to wait in line for hours for no more than 5 gallons of fuel?
2.) does anyone remember during that time how people acted while waiting for gas?
3.)does anyone consider the affect of fuel costs on the trucking industry and how that may affect how we live?
4) have you thought about putting a locking gas cap on your vehicle?
5.)at what point will the price of fuel begin to affect how you live and, in general, your life style?
6.)what can you do to insure that you can afford fuel costs.
7.) just how high do you believe fuel costs can go based on opecs production and cost per barrel?
anyway friends and neighbors this is why i named this blog "a serious fuck up waiting to happen."
regards
archie, the old bald headed son of bitch himself.