Thread: BASIC LIST / SUGGESTED ITEMS FOR LONG TERM SURVIVAL

Radiation doctor says TSA naked body scanners can cause cancer

Thursday, January 05, 2012 by: Jonathan Benson, staff writer

(NaturalNews) No matter how many times the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) claims the machines are safe and pose no threat to travelers or personnel, naked body scanners that emit ionizing radiation are, indeed, a very serious health threat. And Dr. Edward Dauer, head of radiology at Florida Medical Center, agrees, having recently come forward to explain that naked body scanners can cause cancer, particularly in those over age 65 and in women who are said to be genetically prone to developing breast cancer.

"I think it's potentially a real danger to the public," Dr. Dauer is quoted as saying by the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Contrary to popular belief, even the so-called "small doses" of radiation emitted from the machines are toxic, and represent "additional exposure" that could lead to the onset of cancer.

The TSA continues to insist that the ionizing radiation emitted from its backscatter X-ray naked body scanner is minimal, and that individuals are exposed to far more background radiation every single day just living their normal lives. But the agency has not provided any solid proof to back this claim, and many experts say that the radiation emitted is concentrated on the skin in a much more harmful way (http://www.infowars.com/pilots-assoc...body-scanners/).

In fact, a group of scientists from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), has publicly countered the TSA's claim that naked body scanners are no more dangerous than background radiation. The group says this claim is highly "misleading" because background radiation on airplanes, for instance, is absorbed by the whole body, whereas during a naked body scan, it is focused directly on the skin and its underlying tissues.

"Ionizing means it knocks the electrons out of your body, which breaks your DNA chain, which can cause death or cancer," said Dr. Dauer. "Adding to this notion, John Sedat, head of the UCSF opposition group, wrote in a letter to the Obama Administration that "[a]ny glitch in power that stops the device could cause an intense radiation dose to a single spot on the skin."

The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) has repeatedly challenged the constitutionality of naked body scanners in the first place, and is currently pressing a lawsuit to stop the entire body scanner program, which it rightly says is "unlawful, invasive, and ineffective" (http://epic.org/privacy/airtravel/backscatter/).

Sources for this article include:

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/201...-wave-scanners

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/034567_TS...#ixzz1irHzqV6M

http://www.naturalnews.com/034567_TS...rs_cancer.html

Canada joins the fight against Smart Meters

The battle against Smart Meters continues…but don’t count on your public officials to help you

January 8, 2012 by ppjg


Marti Oakley © 2012 All Rights Reserved
__________________________________________________ ____

News is coming in across the country regarding the fight against smart meters.



If ever there was an indicator that not only does our government not work for the people, but that they have absolutely no interest in what the general population thinks or wants the smart meter issue has got to top the list.

After being exposed personally to the smart meter scam, I began calling senators and representatives not only here in my state, Minnesota, but in other states as well just to get their response.

Without exception this is what I was told in every instance of contact in exactly this order:

• I never heard of smart meters….what are they?
• We haven’t had any other complaints about smart meters.
• Smart meters are no worse than your cell phone. (false)
• There is no credible evidence that says these meters are dangerous. (false)
• This is a legal issue…hire an attorney.
• We only make the laws so we don’t get into legal issues.
• There is nothing we can do for you. Go back to your city council.

What are the chances?
What do you think the chances are that without exception absolutely every senator or representative office we contacted would say exactly the same things, in exactly the same order….unless they were following a carefully prepared script provided to them?

Having had to face my own smart meter battle here in my small rural community after it was identified as having grant money that could be used for smart meters, among many other things, I saw firsthand the use of the same arguments used across the country in the attempt to convince people they have no rights. There were any number of activities this small town could have used the grant money for, but Ferguson Water Suppliers swooped in and shined the city council up and money that could have gone for various improvements that might have benefited this community was wasted on smart meters for water.

Letters were sent out saying the meters were mandatory. No public meetings, no full disclosure, no public input and no one said a word about the 40% rate hike on minimum use charges that will be effective as of January 1, 2012.

Claiming the new meters were more accurate, the City Council failed to mention that no complaints of inaccuracy had been logged with the old meters. (We checked)

Claiming the new meters would save residents money on their water bills, the Council has been unavailable to answer questions as to why the monthly bills will be increased 40%.

Claiming that it would cost $50 per month for a meter reader to walk by and scan the old meter, the City Council has failed to show any former meter reader who ever made any wage remotely close to $50 per hour. This was an obvious attempt to extort property owners who refused the meters in order to coerce compliance.

Claiming they had the authority to mandate the smart meters, the City Council passed an ordinance two months after the fact (defacto laws are prohibited in both federal and state constitutions and ordinances are local laws) in order to make the private contract they had entered into with Ferguson, while failing to meet PERPA requirements, appear legal.
This scenario is being played out across the country. If you think your congressional representatives on any level give a crap, or even remotely care what you think try giving anyone of them a call.

Canada joins the fight against Smart Meters
http://smartmeterfilm.com – An upcoming community-based film about the “No Smart Meter” revolution, gathering steam in British Columbia, the US and around the world. Find out why it is critical that we occupy our power, and take a stand now at this key time in history.
We need your support to complete the feature film! Learn how here:
http://indiegogo.com/smartmeterfilm

Stop Smart Meters: The Film [Trailer HD]



http://ppjg.wordpress.com/2012/01/08/6000/

Amazing Chi Gung Demonstrations

Posted on January 11, 2012 by WashingtonsBlog



[video]





Amazing Chi Gung Demonstrations

How To Prepare For The Difficult Years Ahead




January 10th, 2012
170 comments

How should people prepare for the difficult years that are coming? I get asked about that a lot. Once people really examine the facts, it is not too hard to convince them that an economic collapse is coming. But once they accept that reality, most of them want to know what they can do to prepare themselves and their families for the hard times that are ahead. Well, the truth is that it does not have to be complicated. Many of the things discussed throughout this article are things that most of us should be doing anyway. Now is not the time to be splurging on luxuries or expensive vacations. Now is not the time to be going into large amounts of debt. Instead, we all need to get back to the basics and we all need to do what we can to become more independent of the system. Just remember what happened back in 2008. Millions of Americans lost their jobs and millions of Americans lost their homes. Now experts all over the globe are warning that another great financial crisis that could be just as bad as 2008 (or even worse) is coming. Those that don't take the time to prepare this time are not going to have any excuse.

But there is also a lot of sensationalism out there. There are some people out there that claim that the economy is going to collapse all at once and that we are going to go from where we are now to some type of a post-apocalyptic "Mad Max" society almost overnight.

Well, that is just not going to happen. We are not going to wake up next week in a world where we are all fighting each other with sharp pointed sticks.

Just like anything else, an economic collapse takes time. I like to describe what is happening using an analogy from the beach. When you build a mighty sand castle, it is not totally destroyed by the first wave that comes along, right?

Well, it is the same thing with the U.S. economy. It was the greatest economic machine that the world has ever seen, and it is most definitely in decline. But there are stages to that decline.

The "wave" that came along in 2008 did a huge amount of damage. Our economy has not recovered from that.

Now another wave is coming. But that will not be the end. There will be other waves after that.

Eventually, this thing is coming all the way down. Someday America will be such a horror show that it will be hard to believe that it is the same place that many of us grew up in.

But in the short-term, we are going to be facing a major league recession and millions of Americans will lose their jobs. It won't be the end of the world, but for some people it may feel like it.

So when you are talking about "how to prepare", the truth is that it depends on what kind of time frame you are talking about.

In the long-term, a lot of the things that even the hardcore survivalists are doing will not be nearly enough.

In the short-term, there are things that all of us can do to weather the coming storm....

Get Out Of Debt

The global financial system is headed for a massive crisis. Just like in 2008, a lot of people are going to lose their jobs and a lot of people are going to lose their homes.

In such an environment, it makes sense to travel as "lightly" as possible.

That means getting rid of debt.

Some forms of debt are worse than others. Mortgage debt is not that bad. We all need somewhere to live, and not all of us can run out and immediately pay off our mortgages.

But there are other forms of debt that are absolutely toxic. A good example of this is credit card debt. There are very few things that are as good at bleeding your finances as credit card debt is.

For example, according to the credit card repayment calculator, if you have a $6000 balance on a credit card with a 20 percent interest rate and only pay the minimum payment each time, it will take you 54 years to pay off that credit card.

During those 54 years you will pay $26,168 in interest rate charges on that credit card balance in addition to the $6000 in principal that you are required to pay back. That is before any fees or penalties are even calculated.

But a lot of Americans still have not learned to stay away from credit card debt. In fact, one out of every seven Americans has at least 10 credit cards.
Ouch.

The truth is that in future years there is a good chance that you may be facing a situation where you are not making as much income, so you want to try to start reducing your expenses right now.

Getting out of debt will help you to do this.

Save Money

A shockingly high number of American families are operating without any kind of financial cushion whatsoever....

-According to a Harris Interactive survey taken in 2010, 77 percent of all Americans are living paycheck to paycheck.

-According to one recent survey, one out of every three Americans would not be able to make a mortgage or rent payment next month if they suddenly lost their current job.

This is one reason why so many Americans have lost their homes and why so many Americans have fallen below the poverty level in recent years. They simply had no cushion.

Last year, 2.6 million more Americans dropped into poverty. That was the largest increase that we have seen since the U.S. government began keeping statistics on this back in 1959.

Don't let this happen to you. At a minimum, everyone out there should have a cushion that will cover at least 6 months worth of expenses. Preferably, you should have a cushion that will last you at least a year.

Yes, I know that is a tall order. But you would be amazed at how much money the average American family wastes in a typical month. Almost all of us have areas where we can cut back.

Trust me, in the middle of a major recession you will be really glad that you are sitting on a pile of savings.

Get Independent Of The System

What would you do if you lost your job tomorrow?

Would you have any other income?

How long would it be before you lost your home?

Those are very important questions.

The truth is that the system is failing and so we all need to work hard to become more independent of the system.

So what does that mean?

Well, instead of relying on someone else to employ you indefinitely, you can start up a business in your spare time. Yes, it will cut into your television time, but if someday you lose your job you will be extremely happy that you still have some income coming in.

Another way of becoming more independent is to start a garden.

Yes, you can run down the street and buy giant piles of cheap food right now, but that will not be the case forever.

Store Food And Focus On The Essentials

I might get into a little trouble for saying this, but the truth is that there is not going to be a major famine in America in 2012.

However, that does not mean that you should not be storing food and other essentials.

In the old days, our grandparents always saved up food. It was just a natural thing for them to do. This was especially the case if they lived through the Great Depression.

When hard times come, you will be glad that you have food stored up. Plus, food is never going to be cheaper than it is today. Having food stored up is a great hedge against the rising food prices that we will see in the future.

No, we are not going to see hyperinflation by the end of the year like many of the sensationalists are warning. But someday you will be really glad that you stored up food for yourself and your family.

We live in a world that is becoming more unstable with each passing month. You never know when the next natural disaster, pandemic, war or national emergency will strike.

It only makes sense to store food and other basic essentials that you will need in the future.

In a previous article entitled "20 Things You Will Need To Survive When The Economy Collapses And The Next Great Depression Begins", I listed 20 of the things that you would need in the event of a major disaster, a national emergency or a total economic collapse. These are things that you are going to want to make sure that you have ready right now, because after the crisis begins it may be too late to prepare....

#1) Storable Food
#2) Clean Water
#3) Shelter
#4) Warm Clothing
#5) An Axe
#6) Lighters Or Matches
#7) Hiking Boots Or Comfortable Shoes
# A Flashlight And/Or Lantern
#9) A Radio
#10) Communication Equipment
#11) A Swiss Army Knife
#12) Personal Hygiene Items
#13) A First Aid Kit And Other Medical Supplies
#14) Extra Gasoline (But Be Very Careful How You Store It)
#15) A Sewing Kit
#16) Self-Defense Equipment
#17) A Compass
#1 A Hiking Backpack
#19) A Community
#20) A Backup Plan

In the comments to that article, the readers suggested the following additional items....

A K-Bar Fighting Knife
Salt
Extra Batteries
Medicine
A Camp Stove
Propane
Pet Food
Heirloom Seeds
Tools
An LED Headlamp
Candles
Clorox
Calcium Hypochlorite
Ziplock Bags
Maps Of Your Area
Binoculars
Sleeping Bags
Rifle For Hunting
Extra Socks
Gloves
Gold And Silver Coins For Bartering

Once again, a lot of these things are not going to be needed right away. The economy is going to go through a lot more ups and downs before it totally dies.

In the short-term, keep an eye on the European debt crisis, the Japanese debt crisis and the U.S. debt crisis. There are a lot of similarities between what happened back in 2008 and what is happening now.

And what happened following the crisis of 2008?

Unemployment shot through the roof.

So be prepared for that.

Make a plan for how you and your family will survive if you end up unemployed.

Also, when it comes to "how to prepare", there is one aspect that is often overlooked.

During the difficult years ahead, we are all going to have to be mentally and spiritually tough.

It won't matter how good your physical and financial preparations are if you are cowardly and paralyzed by fear.

The times that are coming are going to test all of our hearts.

Some people are going to make it and some people aren't.

Some people will become so consumed with fear that they will give up completely.

Don't let that happen to you.

Prepare your heart, soul, mind and body right now for what is coming. For those that are cowardly the years ahead will be a total nightmare, but for those that overcome the fear the years ahead have the potential to be a great adventure.

How To Prepare For The Difficult Years Ahead

AirborneSapper7, this thread, albeit long, was what initialy prompted me to start thinking about the unthinkable. The "what-ifs". Since we have moved from our in town man made he.. (double toothpicks, LOL), we have been blessed with space for huge gardens, chickens and still more room. Well water (although the pump is electric..how do we get by that?), and a septic (should city pumping stations ever go down, we will not be swimming in "it").

We have stocked up, but feel far from done. Our main concern is not any belief in the Mayan stuff, it is the panic all the hype may cause in humans that concerns us. So glad we are outside of town now.

I have had words from people out in the safety (cops), food industries, financial industries and so on, all talk of being prepared, making sure you have guns and ammo....etc. These are people who are talking common sense these days. I think it is a sign to take things seriously folks, prepare, at least somewhat, it's better than nothing at all.

Now on this idea of being prepared. I started looking to the past for wisdom in this. People before the industrialize age in our nation, used to always prepare for winter, always. Wood stocked up to heat and cook with, gun and ammo for hunting and safety, salted meats, livestock, hay for llivestock, grains, stored foods, dried or canned food...people always lived like this. Now it is common knowledge that the average family has nothing more than a 3 day supply of food in their homes! With modern distribution, stores no longer have stores in back, they simply only have what they need for about one weeks of sales. Should something happen (such as does with hurricanes, etc..) the stores get wiped out in hours, and if a natural or manmade disaster hits, then the distribution chain gets disrupted, then what will the family with three days supply of food do? They will do without, that's for sure.

This seems so crazy to me now, thinking about it all. Why do this to your family? I live in an area where we seem to be blessed, so far, in not seeing the kinds of natural disasters that plague other states (hurricanes, tornadoes..), but still, all it takes if for something to disurpt electrcicity, distribution stops, stores do not sell if their system is down, they would shut the doors. So stock up people.

Candles, matches, a way to cook beyond electricity, oil lmps with the oil, water for drinking and cooking, dried foods, bleach for cleaning up water if needed, medicines you cannot do without...pet food, antibacterial topical meds, other OTC's that could be important for wellness.

sounds like you all have a really good jump on self sustainability AmericanElizabeth I dont believe in the Mayan crap either... I am more worried about a Katrina event that causes a break down in supply and demand and creating a panic with the people.... store shelves empty fast and it maybe weeks before order is restored and shelves are stocked again. I think we ALL need to be able to go back to a gardening society instead of relying on global industry for food items.... once you have a stock built up all you have to do is rotate your foods and use them before the go bad ... I believe in preparing for the worst case scenario and if it happens I am ready... if it doesnt happen I didnt lose anything as I am just using up foods that I stored and replaced with new items ... anyway... thanks for the comments; I for one like to know I am not the only one thinking this way and I am sure there are many, many others as well

Research From 100+ Countries Proves Sunlight Prevents Cancer

Post date: Tue, January 10th 2012 at 8:0 am by Sayer Ji

For the same reason that the conventional energy industry has not harnessed the full potential of solar energy (its free!), sunlight and its indispensable byproduct in our skin: vitamin D, represents a serious threat to the medical establishment, whose questionable and aggressive promotion of vaccination and drug-based strategies in place of inexpensive, safe and effective vitamin D supplementation (or better, carefully meted out recreation and sunlight exposure) for immunity, has many questioning their motives.

Vitamin D, after all, has a vital preventive role to play in hundreds of conditions, due to the fact that 1 in every 10 genes in the human body depends on adequate quantities of this gene-regulatory hormone to function optimally. In other words, the very genetic/epigenetic infrastructure of our health would fall apart without adequate levels.

Even the risk for developing cancer, one of the most feared health conditions of our time -- and the one the medical establishment has had the least success preventing and treating -- is intimately connected to your vitamin D status.

Indeed, a groundbreaking new meta-analysis on the sunlight-vitamin D connection, published in the journal Anticancer Research and based on data from over 100 countries, found that "a strong inverse correlations with solar UVB for 15 types of cancer," with weaker, though still significant evidence for the protective role of sunlight in 9 other cancers.
The relevant cancers were:

"Bladder, breast, cervical, colon, endometrial, esophageal, gastric, lung, ovarian, pancreatic, rectal, renal, and vulvar cancer; and Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Weaker evidence exists for nine other types of cancer: brain, gallbladder, laryngeal, oral/pharyngeal, prostate, and thyroid cancer; leukemia; melanoma; and multiple myeloma."

Sunlight exposure, after all, is essential for health from the moment we are born. Without it, for instance, infants are prone to developing neonatal jaundice. The very variation in human skin color from African, melanin-saturated dark skin, to the relatively melanin de-pigmented, Caucasian lighter-skin, is a byproduct of the offspring of our last common ancestor from Africa (as determined by mitochondrial DNA) migrating towards sunlight-impoverished higher latitudes, which began approximately 60,000 years ago. In order to compensate for the lower availability of sunlight, the body rapidly adjusted, essentially requiring the removal of the natural "sunscreen" melanin from the skin, which interferes with vitamin D production. While a life-saving adaptation, the loss of melanin likely has adverse health effects, which include losing the ability to convert sunlight into metabolic energy, increased prevalence of Parkinson's disease (which involves de-melanization of the substantia nigra), and others effects which we will discuss in detail in a future article. For now, it is important to point out that within the span of only 60,000 years (a nanosecond in biological time), many of the skin "color" differences among the world's human inhabitants reflect how heavily genetically-conserved was the ability of the human body to produce vitamin D.

It should also be pointed out that vitamin D is to sunlight, what ascorbic acid is to the vitamin C activity in food. In other words, sunlight likely provides a greater spectrum of therapeutic activity (when carefully meted out, preferably during solar noon) than supplemental vitamin D3, which is almost exclusively derived from UVB irradiated sheep's lanolin.

For further research, the following link reveals 50 therapeutic effects of sunlight exposure, as culled from research housed on the National Library of Medicine.

Research From 100+ Countries Proves Sunlight Prevents Cancer | GreenMedInfo | Blog entry | Natural Medicine | Alternative Medicine | Integrative Medicine | Consumer Advocacy

Seven Ways To Light a Fire Without a Match

Photo Gallery by Field & Stream Online Editors. Uploaded on October 15, 2006



Friction-Based Fire Making
Rubbing two sticks together is likely the oldest of all -fire-starting techniques, and also the most difficult. Besides proper technique, you have to choose the right wood for the fireboard and spindle. Sets made from dry softwoods, including aspen, willow, cottonwood, and juniper, are preferred, although a spindle made from a slightly harder wood, combined with a softer fireboard, can also work. The friction of the spindle against an indentation in the fireboard grinds particles from both surfaces, which must heat to 800 degrees?F before a glowing coal forms. This must then be transferred to tinder and -gently blown to life.

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Hand Drill
Using a hand drill is one of the simplest friction methods, but high speed can be difficult to maintain because only the hands are used to rotate the spindle. It works best in dry climates.
Step One Cut a V-shaped notch in the fireboard, then start a small depression adjacent to it with a rock or knife tip. Set a piece of bark underneath the notch to catch the ember.
Step Two Place the spindle, which should be 2 feet long, in the depression and, maintaining pressure, roll it between the palms of your hands, running them quickly down the spindle in a burst of speed. Repeat until the spindle tip glows red and an ember is formed.
Step Three Tap the fireboard to deposit the ember onto the bark, then transfer it to a tinder bundle (see "Tinder Bundle-¿ on page 56) and blow it to flame.
Photo by Steve Sanford




Two-Man Friction Drill
Two people can do a better job of maintaining the speed and pressure needed to create an ember using this string variation of a friction drill.

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Step One Have one person apply downward pressure to the drill while the other uses a thong or shoelace to rapidly rotate the spindle.
Photo by Steve Sanford



Fire Plough
This produces its own tinder by pushing out particles of wood ahead of the friction.

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Step One Cut a groove in the softwood fireboard, then plough or rub the tip of a slightly harder shaft up and down the groove. The friction will push out dusty particles of the fireboard, which will ignite as the temperature increases.
Photo by Steve Sanford




Pump Fire Drill
The Iroquois invented this ingenious pump drill, which uses a flywheel to generate friction. The crossbar and flywheel are made of hardwood; the spindle and fireboard are made from softwoods (as in the hand drill).

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Step One Bore a hole in the center of a rounded piece of hardwood and force the spindle in so that it fits tightly. Select wood for the crossbar and bore a larger hole that will slide freely on the spindle.
Step Two Attach the crossbar to the top of the spindle with a leather thong or sturdy shoelace.
Step Three Wind up the flywheel so that the thong twists around the spindle, then press down. The momentum will rewind the crossbar in the opposite direction. Repeat until friction creates a glowing ember.
Photo by Steve Sanford



Bow Drill
Of all the friction -fire-starting methods, the bow drill is the most efficient at maintaining the speed and pressure needed to produce a coal, and the easiest to master. The combination of the right fireboard and spindle is the key to success, so experiment with different dry softwoods until you find a set that produces. Remember that the drill must be as hard or slightly harder than the fireboard.

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Step One Cut a notch at the edge of a round impression bored into the fireboard, as you would for a hand drill. Loosely affix the string to a stick bow, which can be any stout wood.
Step Two Place the end of a wood drill the diameter of your thumb into the round impression, bear down on it with a socket (a wood block or stone with a hollow ground into it), catch the drill in a loop of the bowstring, then vigorously saw back and forth until the friction of the spinning drill produces a coal.
Step Three Drop the glowing coal into a bird's nest of fine tinder, lift the nest in your cupped hands, and lightly blow until it catches fire.
Photo by Steve Sanford




A dried grass and cottonwood bark tinder bundle like the one above will turn your hard-earned coal into flame

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Spark-Based Fire Making
Human beings have been starting fires from sparks since the days of the cave dwellers of the Paleo-lithic era. It is still a vital survival skill for modern hunters and fishermen to learn. If conditions are wet or windy and matches are extremely difficult to light, a glowing spark in tinder uses wind to its advantage to burst into flame.

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How To Make Char Cloth
The only naturally -occurring material that readily glows from a spark is tinder -fungus, a corky brown deposit found under scars on birch trees. Don't stake your life on finding any in a survival situation, though. Carrying char cloth in an emergency kit is a safer bet. To make it, cut strips from any 100 percent pure cotton material and set them on fire. After the strips have blackened but not yet turned to ash, stuff them into a lidded jar to smother the fire. Test your new char cloth by striking sparks onto it. A spot on the cloth should -begin to glow, the glow holding and slowly spreading. If it doesn't do this, make another batch.
To blow the bundle into flame, make a small pocket in the center. Tuck the glowing coal or char cloth into the pocket, then loosely fold the edges around it. Next, pick up the bundle and gently blow on it. Once it has burst into flame, place it under a tepee formation of small twigs and add larger pieces until a strong fire has been established.

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Tinder Bundle
Fire making does not end with the birth of a red-hot coal, nor does a glowing char cloth ensure that you're going to get a flame. The coal or char cloth must be transferred to a bundle of fine tinder before being blown into flame. Good sources include dried grasses, lichens (including old man's beard), shavings from the inner bark of aspen, poplar, and cottonwood trees (which burn even when wet), and windblown seed or fluff. The tinder bundle should be roughly the size of a softball and loosely formed to allow air circulation.
Photo by Cliff Gardiner & John Keller




Flint and Steel
Striking the softer steel against the harder flint will produce sparks to flame your fire. The curved steel striker provided with flint and steel kits is easiest to use, although with some practice you can produce sparks by using the back of a carbon-steel knife blade. (Stainless-steel knives are usually much too hard to shave sparks from.) An old bastard file or an axe head will also work.

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Step One Grasp a shard of hard rock, such as flint or quartzite, between your thumb and forefinger with a sharp edge protruding an inch or two.
Step Two Tightly clamp a piece of your homemade char cloth or a lump of birch tinder fungus under the thumb holding the piece of flint. Grasping the back of the striker, knife blade, or file in your other hand, strike a glancing blow against the edge of flint, using a quick wrist motion. If you're using an axe, hold the head still and sharply strike the flint near the blade, where the steel is harder. Molten sparks from the steel will fly off and eventually be caught by an edge of the char cloth, causing it to glow.
Step Three Carefully fold the cloth into a tinder nest and gently blow on it until it catches flame.
Another option is to use a magnesium-and-steel tool, which is an updated version of an ancient method that creates a strong shower of sparks. The advantage of this method is that the magnesium shavings flame briefly at an extremely high temperature, eliminating the need for char cloth or tinder fungus.
Step One Using a knife blade or striker, shave a pile of magnesium flecks into a nest of tinder.
Step Two Strike the steel edge of the tool with the back of a knife blade or the scraper provided to direct sparks onto the tinder.
Step Three When the tinder starts to smolder, gently blow on it until it bursts into flames.
Rock Striker
An ideal tool for starting a spark-based fire, the striker should be made of flint for best results. If you can't find flint, look for quartzite, which is much more common and is hard enough to strike sparks from steel.

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Step One Identify quartzite by the many crescent-shaped fractures on the surface.
Step Two Choose a quartzite boulder that is flat or discus-shaped and drop it against a larger rock to chip off an edge. Round or oval rocks are more difficult to break.
Step Three A flake broken from the quartzite boulder is usually sharp enough to use as a striker or knife. If you can't find one to your liking, break the boulder again.
Photo by Steve Sanford

Seven Ways To Light a Fire Without a Match | Field & Stream

Survival firestarter - dryer lint and vaseline tinder ball

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5lJ1B3cPcg



Jul 25, 2009
http://www.survival-gear-guide.com

Dryer Lint and petroleum jelly (Vaseline) rolled into a ball makes a great long lasting tinder ball. I call them "Vasolint balls". They'll burn for 10 minutes or so.

Upside-Down Fire (Self-Feeding Fire)

Upside-Down Fire (Self-Feeding Fire) - YouTube