NorthStarXO  

Today we're going to discuss Potential Threats and Dangers and what should you expect in an emergency from local, state and federal government.

Associated Press

Athens, Greece - A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.5 struck southwestern Greece on Sunday, killing at least one person and injuring several others, authorities said.

The quake struck at 8:25 a.m. EDT near the port city of Patras, about 120 miles west of Athens in the northwestern Peloponnese, the Athens Geodynamic Institute said.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,364353,00.html

Associated Press

Tokyo, Japan - A man who police said "was tired of life" drove into a crowd of pedestrians Sunday and then went on a stabbing rampage in Tokyo's top electronics and video game district, killing seven people and wounding 10, authorities said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080608/ap_on_re_as/japan_stabbing;_ylt=AvhBgWi58elpnA77RYMVNK.s0NUE

Aftershock Rocks China lake, Creates Landslides

Associated Press

Qinglian, China -A magnitude 5.0 aftershock shook a brimming, earthquake-formed lake and sent landslides tumbling down surrounding mountains Sunday, underscoring the persistent threat of flooding to more than 1 million weary refugees downstream. No new evacuations have been ordered.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080608/ap_on_re_as/china_earthquake;_ylt=AkbMrGE7WmsS1n.68hoho1ms0NUE

Associated Press

Yangon, Myanmar - Tens of thousands of people killed in last month's cyclone may never be identified because their bodies have decomposed so badly and many ended up far from home, the Red Cross. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080608/ap_on_re_as/myanmar;_ylt=Am6mvv4urRFFUmUxIHP3Qy9I2ocA said Sunday.

Fox News

Washington, DC - The head of the World Health Organization’s HIV/AIDS department has officially admitted for the first time that there will be no global epidemic of the disease among the heterosexual population outside Africa, The Independent reported.

Kevin de Cock said global prevention strategies to address AIDS as a risk to all populations, among the WHO and major AIDS organizations, may have been misdirected. It is now recognized that, with the exception of sub-Saharan African, it is confined to high-risk groups.

These groups include men who have sex with other men, drug users who inject with needles, and sex workers and their clients, The Independent reported.

“It is very unlikely there will be a heterosexual epidemic in other countries,” de Cock is quoted in The Independent. “Ten years ago a lot of people were saying there would be a generalized epidemic in Asia — China was the big worry with its huge population. That doesn't look likely. But we have to be careful. As an epidemiologist it is better to describe what we can measure. There could be small outbreaks in some areas.”

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,364345,00.html

Associated Press

Franklin, Indiana - Severe storms flooded central Indiana with as much as 10 inches of rain and spawned tornadoes that ripped up roofs and flipped tractor-trailers in Wisconsin and the Chicago suburbs.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,364282,00.html

Wildfire Still Burning In North Carolina Refuge

Associated Press

Columbia, North Carolina - A wildfire that has burned nearly 31,000 acres in eastern North Carolina may smolder for months as it burns decayed vegetation that makes up the soil in the area, a state official said Saturday.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080608/ap_on_re_us/wildfires;_ylt=AiGedbrOMPTKd95qL7ABeRBvzwcF

Associated Press

Albuquerque, New Mexico - Salmonella food poisoning first linked to uncooked tomatoes has spread to 16 states, federal health officials said Saturday.

Investigations by the Texas and New Mexico Departments of Health and the U.S. Indian Health Service have tied 56 cases in Texas and 55 in New Mexico to raw, uncooked, tomatoes.

"We're seeing a steady increase," Deborah Busemeyer, New Mexico Department of Health communications director, said Saturday.

An additional 50 people have been sickened by the same Salmonella "Saintpaul" infection in Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,364305,00.html

A rare form of tuberculosis—Mycobacterium bovis—has emerged and been traced to illegal, unpasteurized dairy products, including tainted queso fresco cheese. The outbreak is rising among Hispanic immigrants in Southern California and is also raising fears about a revival of this strain that was nearly completely destroyed in the US in the 1900s.

Unlike typical TB caused by the M. tuberculosis strain, this reemerging bovine variety does not easily spread via human-to-human contact and tends to land less often in the lungs, making it less likely to be transmitted through breathing and coughing, Rodwell said. Unfortunately, this rare strain resists drug treatment and is resistant to front-line drug therapy. Adults who contract M. bovis TB are more than twice as likely as those with traditional TB to die before completing treatment.

http://www.newsinferno.com/archives/3223

http://www.hispanicprwire.com/news.php?l=in&id=4054&cha=9

Associated Press

New York, New York - Drivers are paying an average of $4 for a gallon of gasoline for the first time. AAA and the Oil Price Information Service say the national average price for a gallon of regular gas rose to $4.005 overnight from $3.988. But consumers in many parts of the country have already been paying well above that price for some time.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080608/ap_on_bi_ge/gas_at4;_ylt=AhxnUTqrYOHJf6N43xjGuOpI2ocA

Reuters

Monroe, Georgia & Douglas, Arizona - In the richest nation on earth, a rising number of people line up for free food because they are struggling to put meals on the table at home.

Demand at food banks in the United States is up 15 percent to 20 percent over last year and many food banks are having difficulty coping, according to America's Second Harvest, the largest U.S. food bank provider with 200 in its network.

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN2843937320080606

Home-Grown Vegetables Grow in Popularity

Reuters

London, England - Almost 70 years after Britons were urged to Dig For Victory to produce hearty home-grown food to help the war effort, domestic horticulture is coming back.

Across the Atlantic, where mortgage defaults, plummeting property prices and spiraling oil costs have driven the U.S. economy to the brink of recession, home-grown food is also gaining in popularity.

http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSL2865585820080606

Climate Change Will Add to Food, Utility Bills

Reuters

Bonn, Germany - Climate change presents a tough choice for governments determined both to fight global warming and tackle the rising cost of living.

Climate measures inflate energy costs by putting a price on burning fossil fuels and also stoke food bills by using farmland and crops to produce renewable fuels.

Now near-record oil and food prices coupled with a global economic slowdown have triggered unrest in several countries and demands to ease taxes on fuels and free up farmland for food.

"This important part of the global economy, food and energy, has been grossly distorted due to under-pricing of water and (carbon-free) air," Nobel Laureate economist Joseph Stiglitz told Reuters.

http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-Agflation/idUSL0549221920080605

Associated Press

Washington, DC - Police in the nation's capital set up controversial vehicle checkpoints Saturday in a neighborhood reeling from gun violence, with civil liberties groups considering legal action and closely observing officers.

Police in neon yellow vests stopped motorists traveling through the main thoroughfare of Trinidad — a neighborhood near the National Arboretum in the city's northeast section. Police checked drivers' identification and turned away those who didn't have a "legitimate purpose" in the area, such as a church visit or doctor's appointment.

The checkpoints were announced after eight people were killed in the city last weekend. Most of the killings occurred in the police district that includes Trinidad. Already this year, the district has had 22 killings — one more than in all of last year.

The checkpoints have drawn harsh criticism from civil rights groups. "Trinidad should not be treated like Baghdad," said Mark Thompson, the leader of the NAACP's local police task force.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080608/ap_on_re_us/neighborhood_checkpoint;_ylt=AuqJePg7ZHEPTGjBl1vyQ4dI2ocA

Fox Business

Washington, DC - Crude oil prices soared by a once-unthinkable $10 on Friday, inciting a broad sell off on Wall Street and sending the Dow to its worst day in more than a year.

When the dust settled the Dow suffered its largest one-day point loss since February 2007 and closed at its lowest level since March 19. For the week the blue-chip index fell 3.5%, while the S&P slid 2.6% and the NASDAQ shed 1.9%.

As if the scary crude oil prices weren't enough, the government said on Friday that the nation's unemployment rate rose by 0.5% in May -- the largest one-month rise in more than two decades.

Oil's unprecedented rally sent the commodity to a new all-time record of $138.54 a barrel. Combined with Thursday's big gains, crude soared more than $16 in just 48 hours.

http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/oil-data-swallows-market-open/

So, with all this talk of Mother Nature, Climate Change, Plummeting Currency Values, and more, what are you supposed to do? What are the real threats that I'm talking about when I do this radio show every week? What are you worried about and what should you be worried about?

Well let's talk about it.

We have natural disaster and man-made disasters. Natural disasters are usually weather related or atmospheric, planetary, etc. Man-made disasters are accidents or as the result of negligence or on purpose like acts of terrorism or war.

So what should you prepare for and how do you do it?

With everything that's going on in the world today, it's easy to worry yourself straight into an early grave. And not that there isn't something to be concerned about but worrying gets you nothing. Doing is what will save you and that's why I do this show every week. I'm out there doing my preps and learning skills because I've educated myself and my doing this show helps you on that road. Even if you're starting now and have never thought of this before, it's not too late, you just have to learn faster but this isn't brain surgery. Most is common sense and there are so many times that someone posts something or I read something and I get that AH-HA moment where I just want to smack myself in the head and say, "Wow! I didn't think of that," or "WOW, I knew that, I forgot about that!" I consider it a perfect day if I've learned something and I really do try to learn something new every day.

So back to those disasters......

Natural disasters include: Heat wave, Flood, Flashflood, Landslide, Mudslide, Sinkholes, Avalanche, Volcano, Tornado, Thunder & Lightening, Snowstorm, Ice Storm, Blizzard, Earthquake, Tsunami, Forest Fire, Wild Fire and Outbreaks & Epidemics.

We hear about heat waves in the big cities every summer. We hear about it and every summer I wonder why didn't someone help that elderly person out of their apartment to get air? Why didn't the landlord or property manager go check on every tenant? Why are people sitting in their homes dying? I almost consider heat waves a manmade problem because we’ve built these asphalt ovens and choose to live in them but the heat itself is from the weather so it’s a natural disaster.

Floods & Flashfloods are really two different things. Flooding happens on a regular basis in some areas. Every year, here in Washington state, we get the snowmelt and certain areas flood every year. Flashfloods are what happens as a result of storms, hurricanes, sudden heatwaves that melt the snow pack too quickly, etc.

Landslides and Mudslides are similar in effect but happen for different reasons.

Landslides are from unstable cliffs, hillsides, mountainsides etc. Mudslides are the same thing but usually caused by too much rain or sudden snowmelts, volcanic activity like out here with Mt. St. Helen’s, etc. Both can also be manmade due to mass construction projects and the like.

Manmade Disasters include: Home Fire, Hazmat, Outbreaks & Epidemics, Terrorism, Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Warfare, Economic Downturn, Government Collapse, Invasions, War, and the Overthrow of Governments.

All these disasters you can consider and prepare for but depending on where you live you may not have to worry about some. This is where we've talked about Mitigating you damages by looking through and see where your potential hazards are. Then Prepare for those dangers. If they happen and you prepared then after the danger has passed you're going to Recover by repairing, rebuilding, restocking you supplies and more. You get the idea.

Some of these hazards are seasonal like hurricanes, blizzards and such. Some depend on the economy and world affairs. Most are completely out of our, yours and my, control. What we can do it follow the news, understand economy and world affairs and prepare by talking to each other and evaluating situations and considering outcomes. This is another example of my message about getting to know people. The "lone wolf" attitude is a tough guy attitude but will get you nowhere but alone. Get out there and find like-minded people. If you have a hard time discussing politics with anyone other than those who share your opinion, find people who share your opinion and talk to them.

Get together people and do bulk food purchases and share the packaging chores and you'll build a better sense of community and friendship and it'll make this a better country.

So I’d like to leave you today with a couple really interesting websites:

The Pioneer Woman - Good recipes and gardening information

Just Bean Recipes - Literally Just Bean Recipes - 4,507 different recipes in 18 categories

Penny Meals - I heard Jaci Rae on the radio this morning and wanted to pass her website along. She has lots of great recipes and tips on buying groceries and getting more for your money.

This is all under your own control.