Tag Archives: Supplies

Michael Snyder: A world of chaos and 50 things that you should stock up on

Snip20240825_20-Apocalypse

Important Takeaways:

  • Are you getting prepared? Right now, millions of Americans are stockpiling food and supplies in anticipation of what they believe is coming.  People are on edge due to the approaching election, the rapidly escalating war in the Middle East, the alarming natural disasters that we have been witnessing all around the world, and the potential for another great global pandemic.  In all my years, I have never seen more concern about the next 12 months as I am seeing at this moment.  There is a growing consensus that major history changing events are about to happen, and there are lots and lots of people that want to be well prepared.  In fact, Newsweek has reported that “doomsday prepping” has become a 2.46 billion dollar industry…
  • If you really want to be well prepared, you should consider everything that you will need if there is no power and you can no longer get anything from the stores because supply chains have completely broken down.
  • I have shared a list of 50 basic things that I believe that everyone should be stockpiling in a couple of my books, and today I would like to share that list with all of you…
  • #1 A Conventional Generator And A Solar Generator
  • #2 A Berkey Water Filter
  • #3 A Rainwater Collection System If You Do Not Have A Natural Supply Of Water Near Your Home
  • #4 A Large Emergency Medical Kit
  • #5 Rice
  • #6 Pasta
  • #7 Canned Soup
  • #8 Canned Vegetables
  • #9 Canned Fruit
  • #10 Canned Chicken
  • #11 Jars Of Peanut Butter
  • #12 Salt
  • #13 Sugar
  • #14 Powdered Milk
  • #15 Bags Of Flour
  • #16 Yeast
  • #17 Lots Of Extra Coffee (If You Drink It)
  • #18 Buckets Of Long-Term Storable Food
  • #19 Lots Of Extra Vitamins
  • #20 Lighters Or Matches
  • #21 Candles
  • #22 Flashlights Or Lanterns
  • #23 Plenty Of Wood To Burn
  • #24 Extra Blankets
  • #25 Extra Sleeping Bags
  • #26 Ammunition
  • #27 Extra Fans If You Live In A Hot Climate
  • #28 Hand Sanitizer
  • #29 Toilet Paper
  • #30 Extra Soap And Shampoo
  • #31 Extra Toothpaste
  • #32 Extra Razors
  • #33 Bottles Of Bleach
  • #34 A Battery-Powered Radio
  • #35 Extra Batteries
  • #36 Solar Chargers
  • #37 Trash Bags
  • #38 Tarps
  • #39 A Pocket Knife
  • #40 A Hammer
  • #41 An Axe
  • #42 A Shovel
  • #43 Work Gloves
  • #44 Lots Of Warm Socks
  • #45 Seeds For A Garden
  • #46 Canning Jars
  • #47 Extra Supplies For Your Pets
  • #48 A Substantial Emergency Supply Of Cash
  • #49 Bibles For Every Member Of Your Family
  • #50 A “Bug Out Bag” For Every Member Of Your Family

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Prepping has become a mainstream idea: Whichever side of the fence you stand on the consensus is something’s coming and you better be ready

Stockpiling-Guns

Important Takeaways:

  • Why younger Americans are stockpiling supplies ahead of 2024 election: ‘Society unraveling’
  • Doomsday “prepping” is seeping into the mainstream as Americans of all ages and political persuasions are becoming increasingly worried ahead of the 2024 presidential election about the prospect of a civil war.
  • “On the left, you have people afraid (Trump’s) going to declare himself dictator of the United States and people on the left are going to end up as targets in some sort of authoritarian system,” author Brad Garrett told the paper.
  • “On the right, it’s general malaise and a fear of society unraveling. They point to these smash-and-grab robberies, riots and protests.”
  • “An electromagnetic pulse that takes out the electrical grid could happen. A nuclear war might happen. A civil war might happen. But a storm will happen.”
  • Wagoner has a 90-day supply of food stocked up for her six-person family in the event of a similar emergency.
  • “If you can be prepared, you won’t be a drain on the resources needed to help the people who didn’t prepare,” she told the paper.
  • “In the face of an apocalypse, I want to come out and calmly help people,” she said. “I want to be able to create a society that instead of wanting to shoot every stranger, understands our interdependence and creates a better society.”
  • The recent statistics could be explained by growing societal unease. A USA Today/Suffolk University Poll recently found that more than two-thirds of Americans believe the world is facing either bigger problems than usual or is in the most troubled state they’ve ever seen.
  • Chad Huddleston, an anthropologist at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, said the surge in prepping is the result of an increased loss of trust in government among younger and more liberal people.

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Lack of Governmental Leadership in Maui leaving locals to take care of one another

Important Takeaways:

  • Maui fire survivors describe nighttime looting and rerouted supply drops as they say local leadership botches emergency response
  • Maui residents are becoming increasingly desperate for local leadership to take control of the emergency response to the catastrophic fires that leveled parts of the Hawaiian island and left at least 93 dead.
  • While rescue crews made their way across the island with water, food, and first aid, locals told Insider supply drops were being rerouted and anguished residents were taking matters into their own hands.
  • “There’s some police presence. There’s some small military presence, but at night, people are being robbed at gunpoint,” Matt Robb, a co-owner of a Lāhainā bar called The Dirty Monkey, told Insider. “People are raped and pillaged. I mean, they’re going through houses — and then by day, it’s hunky-dory. So where is the support? I don’t think our government and our leaders, at this point, know how to handle this or what to do.”
  • Kami Irwin, a Maui resident helping to coordinate relief efforts “I had to deal with a situation that wasn’t even part of who I am or what I do,” Irwin said. “I had to talk to pilots that got grounded with our medical supplies who were stuck on the Big Island because the Department of Health stopped them from transporting insulin. And we have people all over the island that need insulin.”
  • She said residents chose to take matters into their own hands after realizing they were repeatedly seeing the same local volunteers, not government officials, coordinating aid efforts.

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Pentagon could run out of money for weapons by midsummer

Revelations 6:3-4 “when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.

Important Takeaways:

  • The end of Ukraine aid is rapidly approaching. Reupping it won’t be easy
  • The $48 billion Ukraine aid package that Congress approved in December has about $6 billion left, meaning U.S. funding for weapons and supplies could dry up by midsummer.
  • The original $48 billion package approved in December included about $36 billion for the Pentagon to craft a wide range of military aid to Kyiv.
  • The Biden administration has settled into a mostly regular pace of doling out several hundred million dollars every week to 10 days.

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Be prepared Hurricane Season is approaching; don’t be caught without supplies

Hurricane Preparedness

Luke 21:25 “And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves

Important Takeaways:

  • Hurricane season begins June 1, consumers urged to get supplies now
  • Hurricane season officially begins June 1, but officials urge consumers to stock up on supplies now to make sure their families have what they need to avoid a mad rush at the store.
  • Officials also urge consumers to be mindful of the potential for tornadic activity.
  • According to the American Red Cross, families should have enough non-perishable food at home to last about two weeks. Those who choose to evacuate should have food supplies that are easy to prepare, like canned goods.
  • Families are reminded to check expiration dates if they have food items left over from the previous hurricane season.
  • Families should simply purchase enough water for their households. The recommendation is one gallon per person, per day in the household (3-day supply for those evacuating, 2-week supply for those staying at home).
  • Cleaning supplies, flashlights, extra chargers, first aid kits, and personal hygiene products are among the most important items to also have on hand. Extra batteries are highly recommended in case the power goes out for extended periods of time.
  • Also, when shopping, families should ensure they have enough necessary items for other family members. These supplies include baby supplies, diapers, wipes, and pet supplies. Toys and games are good to have as well.
  • Something consumers might not think about right away is medication for their families.
  • Important documents, insurance information, family contact information, extra cash, and other essential paperwork are also good to have on hand in case of an emergency.

Read the original article by clicking here.

Over 71% of Lebanon’s population risks losing access to safe water – UNICEF

BEIRUT (Reuters) – The United Nations warned on Friday that more than four million people in Lebanon, including one million refugees risked losing access to safe water as shortages of funding, fuel and supplies affect water pumping.

“UNICEF estimates that most water pumping will gradually cease across the country in the next four to six weeks,” a statement by the U.N. body said.

Lebanon is battling an economic meltdown that has propelled more than half of its population into poverty and seen its currency lose over 90% of its value in less than two years.

The financial crisis has translated into severe shortages of basic goods such as fuel and medicine as dollars run dry.

UNICEF said that should the public water supply system collapse, water costs could jump by 200% a month as water would be secured from private water suppliers.

The U.N. agency said it needed $40 million a year to secure the minimum levels of fuel, chlorine, spare parts and maintenance required to keep critical systems operational.

“Unless urgent action is taken, hospitals, schools and essential public facilities will be unable to function,” UNICEF Representative in Lebanon, Yukie Mokuo, was quoted as saying in the statement.

(Reporting By Maha El Dahan; editing by Grant McCool)

Democrats push for U.S. coronavirus supply czar to oversee key medical needs

By David Morgan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Congressional Democrats on Wednesday proposed a bill that would require a U.S. coronavirus supply czar to oversee critical medical supplies, while the top Senate Republican doubled down on demands for business protections.

Senate Democrats unveiled a new bill requiring the Pentagon to name a civilian officer to oversee the nation’s supply and production of medical supplies and equipment needed to combat the spread of the new coronavirus.

Limited supplies of masks, gloves and testing materials have been blamed for hampering the United States’ response to a pandemic that has now killed more than 58,000 Americans.

The proposal also calls for a comprehensive testing plan that would include viral and antibody testing, and a blueprint for scaling up production of an eventual vaccine for the coronavirus, which causes the COVID-19 respiratory disease.

Democrats, frustrated by what they view as Republican President Donald Trump’s unwillingness to seize control of the supply chain for personal protective equipment and testing, want the bill to be part of Congress’s next coronavirus legislation. A companion bill is expected from Democrats in the House of Representatives.

House and Senate Democrats are also pushing for additional funding for state and local governments facing the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic, with spending estimates of $500 billion for states alone.

But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the way forward on coronavirus legislation would depend on Democrats’ willingness to agree to protect businesses and others from COVID-related litigation.

“We’re going to insist on this reform, which is not related to money, as a condition for going forward,” McConnell told Fox News Radio.

“We’re willing to discuss the way forward, provided we have protections for the brave people who’ve been on the front lines,” he added, couching his demand as a protection for frontline healthcare workers as well as companies.

Lawmakers grappled with the prospects of new legislation as U.S. states moved to reopen the economy amid reports of supply and testing shortages that health experts warn could lead to a resurgence of coronavirus infections.

With backing from major unions, lawmakers said the medical supply bill would establish a more coherent national response by requiring the secretary of defense to appoint a civilian executive officer charged with overseeing the production and distribution of COVID-19-related equipment.

The bill would also require the administration to produce weekly national assessments of equipment supplies, identify available stockpiles and industries capable of filling orders, post state requests for assistance and establish an inspector general to oversee implementation.

(Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Scott Malone, David Gregorio and Jonathan Oatis)

Search for bodies continues in hurricane-ravaged Bahamas

Members of the Bahamian Defense Force remove bodies from the destroyed Abaco shantytown called Pigeon Peas, after Hurricane Dorian in Marsh Harbour, Bahamas September 8, 2019. REUTERS/Zach Fagenson

By Zachary Fagenson

MARSH HARBOUR, Bahamas (Reuters) – Rescue workers wearing white hazard suits continued their grim search for bodies and survivors in the hurricane-ravaged Bahamas on Monday, as relief agencies worked to deliver food and supplies over flooded roads and piles of debris.

At least 43 people died when Hurricane Dorian hit the Bahamas on Sept. 1, flattening homes and tossing cars and planes around like toys.

Dorian was one of the most powerful Caribbean storms on record, a Category 5 hurricane with winds of 200 miles per hour (320 kph). It rampaged over the Bahamas for nearly two days, becoming the worst disaster in the nation’s history.

Large swaths of Greater Abaco Island were destroyed. Reuters journalists saw search crews using geotagging technology to mark the locations of bodies in the hard-hit Mudd section of Marsh Harbor on that island.

Thousands of people poured into the capital, Nassau, where a week after the storm shelters were straining to house evacuees from worse-hit areas. Hundreds more have fled to the United States in search of safety and resources.

The National Emergency Management Agency said late Sunday that 2,500 people had been evacuated from the archipelago’s several islands, most of them from Abaco.

Shelters are housing about 1,100 people, the agency said; more are staying with friends and relatives. The agency late Sunday was asking residents whose homes were intact to open them up to people displaced by the storm.

Some 90% of the homes, buildings and infrastructure in Marsh Harbor were damaged, the World Food Programme said. Thousands of people were living in a government building, a medical center and an Anglican church that survived the storms, it said, but had little or no access to water, power and sanitary facilities.

Some 70,000 people were in need of food and shelter, the WFP estimated. Private forecasters estimated that some $3 billion in insured property was destroyed or damaged in the Caribbean.

The risk of outbreaks of diarrhea and waterborne diseases was high as drinking water may be tainted with sewage, according to the Pan American Health Organization.

(Reporting by Sharon Bernstein and Scott Malone, editing by Larry King)

U.S. Veterinarians steel themselves for online pharmacy challenge

Destiny Brown, Dr. Katie Buss, and Kingsley family pose with puppies at the Kings Veterinary Hospital in Loveland, Ohio, U.S., on April 26, 2019. Picture taken on April 26, 2019. Courtesy Jennifer Blodgett/Kings Veterinary Hospital/Handout via REUTERS

By Manas Mishra and Tamara Mathias

(Reuters) – A David and Goliath battle is brewing in the business of selling prescription medicines for pets, pitching veterinarians against online giants moving into this lucrative corner of the growing market for animal supplies.

Americans spent $72.56 billion last year on their pets, according to American Pet Products Association. Prescription drugs were expected to account for over $10 billion, according to an estimate.

With deep discounts and online convenience, Walmart Inc, soon-to-be listed Chewy.com and Amazon.com Inc’s Wag brand have effectively conquered the market for pet food, care products and other supplies, but until now veterinary practices, which both prescribe and sell drugs, have been a major source of prescription medication.

While Amazon so far has shown no interest in that market, Chewy’s and Walmart’s forays into the online pet pharmacy business threaten to change that, prompting veterinary clinics to seek help in defending their turf. Enter Covetrus Inc, Vet Source, which partners with Patterson Companies Inc, and others that offer tools to help vets manage their practices and give customers the convenience they have come to expect from online shopping.

“We started to realize this is what our clients want,” said Stephanie Foster, practice manager at Kings Veterinary Hospital in Loveland, Ohio. “They want to be able to order things at 11 o’ clock at night. They’re used to the Amazon mentality.”

Foster says she began using Covetrus to order drugs and supplies for the practice after it began losing sales of pet food and other products to online retailers. Now, her hospital has a website run by Covetrus under the practice’s name that effectively acts as its online pharmacy.

With that comes software that helps the clinic manage its inventory and track prescriptions, so Foster knows when clients need a refill and for those in Covetrus collects a service fee that is a percentage of sales.

Foster said partnering with Covetrus has helped boost overall sales by half over the past three years because it gives clients online convenience, timely reminders and, despite the fees, competitive prices.

“Covetrus now has more leverage with the manufacturers than I will ever have as a small business,” she said. “They’re able to get the manufacturers to agree to instant rebates and they can do flash sales on products and things that we just can’t compete with.” 

The company, formed by the combination of medical supply firm Henry Schein’s animal health unit and Vet’s First Choice and listed in February, represents some 100,000 veterinary practices globally. In the United States, 27,000 use some form of its services with over 8,000 – about a quarter of the market – signed up for prescription management, Covetrus says.

HOME TURF ADVANTAGE

PetSmart Inc-backed Chewy.com, whose sales soared from $26 million to $3.5 billion between 2012 and 2018, said in a filing ahead of its New York Stock Exchange debut this month it planned to expand its online pharmacy business launched last year.

The company has yet to update on the pharmacy’s performance and it would not comment for this article, citing the silent period ahead of its stock exchange debut.

Walmart joined the fray last month when it launched its online pet pharmacy WalmartPetRx.com and said it aimed to operate 100 in-store animal clinics by the end of the year.

Analysts say, however, the prescription pet medicine business could prove more challenging than other pet products.

Those who want to buy medication online still need a prescription from a vet and must either email or upload a copy or have the online retailer contact the practice first.

That, analysts say, offers the practices a chance to sell the first batch on site and then direct customers to their own online service.

Kristen Cook, a practice manager at the Belton Veterinary Clinic in Belton, Texas, says their doctors have no obligation to write a prescription for those shopping elsewhere and the clinic’s policy is to handle prescriptions internally.

“It’s not something like I am handing them a piece of paper to take it wherever they want to take it,” Cook said.

The stakes are high.

Cook said that at least half of the clinic’s revenue comes from prescription drug sales.

Nationally, pharmacy sales on average make up about a third of a practice’s revenue, according to Gary Glassman, partner at accounting and financial services firm Burzenski & Company, which serves veterinary practices across the country.

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) says, however, that 40 states have already adopted laws, regulations or guidelines that specifically or implicitly require veterinarians to provide a written prescription upon request in some circumstances.

To see the summary report from AVMA, please click here

This means pet owners could fill those prescriptions with Chewy or other online providers, and the market is just too attractive to e-commerce players for the vets and their partners to get complacent, analysts say.

According to a 2018 TD Ameritrade online survey of U.S. millennial pet owners, they were willing to spend up to $2,000 on average if their pet got sick, with dog owners prepared to spend more on their pets than what they expected to spend on their own healthcare.

“People are treating their pets more like people,” William Blair analyst John Kreger said. “Historically … you’d frankly euthanize the pet when they started to have some of these chronic conditions. That’s just not happening now.”

(Reporting by Tamara Mathias and Manas Mishra in Bengaluru, Writing by Patrick Graham; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)

U.S. to send 100 agents to Mexico border to cut delays: congresswoman

FILE PHOTO: Trucks wait in a long queue for border customs control to cross into U.S., at the Cordova-Americas border crossing bridge in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico April 5, 2019. REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez/File Photo

By Julio-Cesar Chavez

EL PASO, Texas (Reuters) – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will send about 100 agents to the Mexico border to speed up crossing times, a U.S. congresswoman said on Thursday, as businesses grapple with trade delays after officers were redeployed to immigration duties.

The slowdowns began late last month after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to close the border if Mexico did not halt a surge of people seeking asylum in the United States.

The administration moved several hundred border agents to handle the influx of migrants, triggering long delays for cross-border traffic because of the staffing shortage.

As soon as Monday, CBP plans to send officers from the Canadian border and other parts of the country to El Paso, Texas, said Democratic U.S. Representative Veronica Escobar of Texas, noting she had been informed by CBP Deputy Commissioner Robert Perez.

CBP did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Rio Grande Valley, on the eastern edge of the border, was being considered as another point to deploy extra officers, Escobar added.

Wait times totaling hours have hit industrial trade hard.

Losses have amounted to $800,000 a day for transportation businesses in Mexico’s Ciudad Juarez across the border from El Paso, said the head of Mexican trucking association CANACAR, Manuel Sotelo.

Data from border business association Index Juarez showed that losses from 28 exporting firms in Ciudad Juarez that utilize the crossing total $15 million over the past week.

In El Paso, several truckers said they usually did four crossings a day and were now managing only one.

Some manufacturing plants, including automotive factories that depend on constant cross-border shipments, have turned to expensive air freight to stay on schedule.

Passenger vehicles that would normally wait up to an hour and a half to cross are now facing four-hour waits.

(Reporting by Julio-Cesar Chavez in El Paso, Texas; Additional reporting by Sharay Angulo in Mexico City; Editing by Peter Cooney and Stephen Coates)