Monday, July 25, 2011

Norway killer is not a Christian

(reposted from G+ comment)
The "fundamentalist Christian" claim is just simply not supported by Anders Breivik's own writings. "As a non-religious person, but still one that acknowledges and respects the impact of Judeo-Christian thinking on Western culture, [...]"

Breivik actively indicates he does not practice religion, and writes essays complaining about "evangelist, fundamentalist churches"

The first ~600 pages is devoted to alternately describing how Muslims are awful because of the nasty things they did to medieval Christians, and lauding medieval Christians for anti-Muslim violence, and Crusading against Muslims.

What Breivik does not do is claim any sort of Biblical or holy justification, or indicate that some higher power is guiding his hand or thinking. He never feels nor says he is acting as a Christian -- just the opposite, in fact.

It seems like standard "race war" agitprop, that attempts to draw from history examples of glory for, and crimes against, white people. Historically speaking that means Christians and Jews (which he does mention).

Yuck. I just feel nasty, having waded through that white supremacist crap.

Friday, July 22, 2011

Contents of our "go bag"

As promised, the following is our current "go bag" packing list.  All these supplies can usually be obtained from the camping section of your local Wal-Mart.  Inspiration was drawn from this list and instapundit (during Katrina), among others.

Standard advice is that you should be able to survive 72 hours (3 days) without any assistance from 9-1-1 and the local authorities. The biggest threat in eastern NC, where I live, is hurricanes.  However, I've had to weather Pitt County tornadoes (20+ funnels, 50+ killed) and ice storms (power out 3-4 days), where some of these items became vitally necessary.  I generally do not actually go anywhere with this stuff, so "go bag" is really just a handy place to keep disaster gear.

  • pencils
  • permanent markers (sharpies)
  • memo pad / small notebook
  • multi tool
  • whistle + compass + thermometer (all-in-one gadget, but the whistle and compass are the most important items, separate or together)
  • light sticks / chem lights
  • zip loc bags
  • trash bags
  • fishing line
  • duct tape
  • camp soap
  • water purification
  • first aid kit
  • rain poncho
  • Space blanket
  • 50' nylon / parachute cord
  • work gloves
  • Hand-cranked flashlight + radio
  • Filtering water bottle
  • 1-litre waterskin
The list is definitely incomplete, and needs updating.  Most notable things that are missing, and should probably be added:
  • Important documents, emergency contact and medical information
  • Copies of I.D. cards
  • Color photos of all family members
  • Cash, small denominations