Saturday, March 10, 2012

Josephine Levin: HOW TO BE PREPARED FOR AN EARTHQUAKE OR MISSILE ATTACK


An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure


Smoke from fires covers San Francisco after earthquake of 1906

Collapsed school El Salvador earthquake 

G-d commands us through the Torah to do everything possible to make our lives safe. Careless and reckless behavior leading to loss of life can be judged in His eyes as tantamount to murder.

If we are properly prepared, then lives and property can be saved when disaster strikes. Here are some simple steps we can take before there is a major disaster like an earthquake or missile attack: Note: If you are warned about an incoming missile attack you must seek cover in a security room, bomb shelter or in the most secure room in your home (inner room without outside walls) or seek shelter in a stairway.

Most people are injured in earthquakes by falling, glass, debris, plaster, electrical wires and other objects. Do not let anyone sleep next to glass windows. Replace glass windows with plastic or safety glass. Put clear contact paper over your glass windows to prevent them from shattering. This can save eyes and lives, as flying glass can sever arteries and veins leading to massive bleeding and death. Do not let anyone sleep under heavy pictures, bookshelves, electrical appliances, heavy lighting fixtures or ceiling fans. Bolt firmly to the wall all cupboards, bookcases, buffets and wardrobes. Do not assume that something is too heavy to fall. On the contrary the heavier the object is the harder it will fall crushing anyone in its path.

Unless you are on a ground floor bordering open space, you are probably better off not trying to run outside. You can be injured by falling objects and electrocuted by falling electrical wires. Take refuge under a strong wood table. Even if the ceiling collapses, you will have enough air space under the table to survive until you are rescued. Store under the table a few cartons of bottled water, canned food and can opener, first aid kit, flashlight with extra diapers and food for infants, tissues, wipes, transistor radio and batteries. A cell phone is also useful and a covered pail for a makeshift toilet. Hold practice drills, so your children will know what to do if you are not at home. You should also have tools available to pry open jammed doors, windows and to dig yourself out (folding spade, crowbar, hammer, saw, screwdriver and pliers). If you cannot take refuge under a table then stand in a doorway.

Walls, foundations, columns and pillars of our homes can be re-enforced to help prevent the collapse of buildings.

Fires are one of the biggest dangers of earthquakes and missile attacks, and may be prevented by the following:

Disconnect all electrical appliances (except the refrigerator) from the sockets before going to sleep or leaving home.
You should also have on hand a water hose or fire extinguisher to put out fires. Caution! A fire extinguisher can give off dangerous vapors if used in a small enclosed area. Bags of sand, salt, baking soda and cat litter can be used to smother fires. Never throw water on an electrical fire! Water will increase the intensity of the fire and you could be electrocuted. You must always shut off the electricity at the fuse box before attempting to extinguish an electrical fire. Immediately following an earthquake or missile attack, you should shut off the electricity and the gas, whether or not you decide to evacuate your home.

If you live on an upper floor and have safety bars on the windows and balconies, make sure that at least one of these can be opened to serve as an emergency exit if your door is jammed, or if there is fire or smoke in the corridor. If there is fire or smoke in the corridor do not open the door! You can be engulfed by flames or overcome by smoke. If there is smoke in the corridor, place a wet rag under the door to keep smoke from seeping in and open all your windows for air.

If there is a fire in your home that you cannot extinguish, you must leave immediately. Wrap yourselves and your children in wet blankets. Never try to walk downstairs from an upper floor if there is heavy smoke in the hall; you will be overcome by smoke inhalation and die long before you reach the bottom. Never try to use an elevator after an earthquake or missile attack, even if the electricity has not been cut off. So how can you escape? If your home does not have a fire escape, you should consider buying a nylon ladder, which can be thrown out of the window and used to evacuate your family.

You should have at least a month’s supply of ready-to-eat food and bottled water for any kind of emergency. Suitable items are canned vegetables, tuna, sardines, chick peas, baked beans, powdered or canned milk, granola, dried fruits and nuts, peanut butter, power bars, canned and bottled fruits and juices, baby food and formula, pet food, vitamins, crackers and biscuits. Remember you may be in a situation with no electricity, gas or running water. A portable cooking grill with either canned gas or charcoal is a must. Buy some water-proof matches from a camping store, or keep some matches in a water-proof container. If you have mung beans, alfalfa, wheat berries or whole barley you can make sprouts in order to get some fresh vegetables for vitamins. You should also have at least a month’s supply of any prescription drugs that you or your family members need. Remember roads may be damaged or closed.

You must have a way of purifying water, especially if you are not able to boil water. Buy water purification tablets or a special water filter from a camping store. If you have the opportunity, fill up your bathtub and other containers to store water. If you have no bottled water, you can use water out of the tank above your toilet, but you must purify it. Even if you still have running water in your pipes, it may be contaminated and will need to be purified. If you are rationing water, try to avoid eating very salty foods, as these will only increase your thirst.

In case you will be unable to heat your home, it is a good idea to have emergency blankets (available from camping stores). These are tiny enough when folded to fit in the palm of your hand, but can be opened to give necessary insulation and warmth.
It is a good idea to have sleeping bags and a tent and a 72 hour kits for each family member in case you have to evacuate your home.

72 hour Kits should contain ID, water, medicines, emergency blankets, underwear, power bars, small cans of food, water purification tablets and/or filter, flashlight, transistor radio, extra batteries, camping knife, wipes, toilet paper, compass, can opener, small portable spade, duct tape, water-proof matches and first aid kit

Enroll in a first aid course. Everyone should know how to stop bleeding, treat shock, dehydration, burns, make splints, etc., and to administer CPR (cardio- pulmonary resuscitation).

ABOVE ALL TRY TO REMAIN CALM. PANIC IS THE NUMBER ONE CAUSE OF DEATH IN DISASTERS.

Pray, read Psalms and trust the LORD to help you. If you can boil water, drink calming herbal teas like Chamomile, Sage, Lemon balm (Melissa), Verbena and Motherwort. At homeopathic pharmacies you can buy Motherwort Leonurus Cardiaca tincture- ad 10 drops to a glass of water for a mild tranquilizer.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Mitt Romney: MY SPEECH AT AIPAC

Mitt Romney today delivered remarks to The American Israel Public Affairs Committee Policy Conference. The following remarks were prepared for delivery:

Thank you for the opportunity to address the AIPAC Policy Conference. And thanks to Teddy and Ed, who have been great friends, supporters, and teachers over the years.

I regret that my Super Tuesday travel schedule prevents me from being with you in person. But while I can’t be with you, I stand with you. I share your commitment to a strong and secure Israel. And I salute your tireless work to strengthen our alliance.

This year, we are gathering at a dangerous time for Israel and for America. Not since the dark days of 1967 and 1973 has the Middle East faced peril as it does today. This is a critical moment. America must not – and, if I am President, it will not – fail this defining test of history.

The current administration has distanced itself from Israel and visibly warmed to the Palestinian cause. It has emboldened the Palestinians. They are convinced that they can do better at the UN – and better with America – than they can at the bargaining table with Israel. As President, I will treat our allies and friends like friends and allies.

In recent days and weeks, we’ve heard a lot of words from the administration. Its clear message has been to warn Israel to consider the costs of military action against Iran. I do not believe that we should be issuing public warnings that create distance between the United States and Israel. Israel does not need public lectures about how to weigh decisions of war and peace. It needs our support.

Israel’s democratically elected leaders will always be welcomed and respected by my administration. Israel’s current prime minister is not just a friend; he’s an old friend. We worked together over 30 years ago at the Boston Consulting Group. He is a leader whose intellect and courage I admire – and whose family’s sacrifice I profoundly respect. In a Romney administration, there will be no gap between our nations or between our leaders.

I have seen Israel by land and by air. I have seen its narrow waist, and its vulnerability to positions on the Golan Heights. I have spent time with families in Sderot who have been terrorized by rocket barrages from Gaza. I have walked the streets of Jerusalem, seen schools pocked by rifle rounds fired from the foreboding hills that nearly surround it. I would never call for a return to the ’67 lines because I understand that in Israel, geography is security.

I have studied the writings and speeches of the jihadists. They argue for a one-state solution—one all-dominating radical Islamist state, that is. Their objective is not freedom, not prosperity, not a Palestinian state, but the destruction of Israel. And negotiating and placating such jihadists will never, ever yield peace in the Middle East.

I recognize in the ayatollahs of Iran the zealot refrain of dominion. Their passion for the martyrdom of Arab youth is matched only by their cowardice in avoiding it for themselves. Nuclear ambition is pursued by Iran to dominate, to subjugate, and to obliterate. A nuclear Iran is not only a problem for Israel; it is also a problem for America and the world.

We may not know when Iran will secure sufficient fissile material to threaten the world, but the IAEA warns that that the hour is fast approaching.

In the Gulf, Iran prepares to close the Strait of Hormuz, to hold hostage 20 percent of the world’s oil. In their nuclear laboratories, they prepare the means to hold hostage the entire planet.

Iran has long engaged in terrorism around the world, most recently in Georgia and in Thailand. In Washington, DC, Iran plotted to assassinate the Saudi ambassador by bombing a Georgetown restaurant. Iran has deployed Hezbollah and Hamas and armed the insurgents of Iraq and Afghanistan, killing our sons and daughters. They war against America.
Yet, the current administration has promoted a policy of engagement with Iran. The President offered to sit down with Ahmadinejad during his first year in office without preconditions. He sat silent as Iranian dissidents took to the streets of Tehran, not wanting to disrupt the potential opportunity for dialogue with Iran’s fanatical tyrants. This President not only dawdled in imposing crippling sanctions, he has opposed them.

Hope is not a foreign policy. The only thing respected by thugs and tyrants is our resolve, backed by our power and our readiness to use it.

Of course, the administration’s naïve outreach to Iran gave the ayatollahs exactly what they wanted most. It gave them time. Whatever sanctions they may now belatedly impose, Iran has already gained three invaluable years.
There are some in this administration who argue that Iran’s leaders are “rational,” and that we can do business with them. The President speaks of common interests. Let me be clear: we do not have common interests with a terrorist regime. Their interest is in the destruction of Israel and the domination of the Middle East. It is profoundly irrational to suggest that the ayatollahs think the way we do or share our values. They do not.

I will bring the current policy of procrastination toward Iran to an end. I will not delay in imposing further crippling sanctions, and I will not hesitate to fully implement the ones we currently have. I will make sure Iran knows of the very real peril that awaits if it becomes nuclear. I will engage Iran’s neighbors. I will station multiple carriers and warships at Iran’s door. I will stand with the Syrian people who are being mercilessly slaughtered. I know that the fall of Assad would not only be an important victory for liberty, but also a strategic blow to Tehran.

As President, I will be ready to engage in diplomacy. But I will be just as ready to engage our military might. Israel will know that America stands at its side, in all conditions and in all consequence.

Of course, American strength abroad depends upon our strength at home. My economic plans will buttress our capacity to project power. And as President, I will repair and strengthen our military. President Obama wants to shrink our Navy, our Air Force, and our contingent of fighting men and women. I will expand them. A military in retreat invites adventurism by the world’s worst actors, just as we are seeing today. A strong and superior military is the best ally peace has ever known. I do not seek military superiority solely for the purpose of winning wars. I seek it to prevent wars.

As President, peace will be my solemn goal. A peace based not on empty assurances, but on true security and defensible borders. This will require American strength, and a demonstration of our resolve. That’s why, as President, my first foreign trip will not be to Cairo or Riyadh or Ankara. It will be to Jerusalem.

We will make clear to the world that Israel’s continued existence as a Jewish state is a vital national interest of the United States.

I believe the right course is what Ronald Reagan called “peace through strength.” There is a reason why the Iranians released the hostages on the same day and at the same hour that Reagan was sworn into office. As President, I will offer that kind of clarity, strength, and resolve.

In a Romney administration, the world will know that the bond between Israel and America is unbreakable – and that our opposition to a nuclear Iran is absolute. We must not allow Iran to have the bomb or the capacity to make a bomb. Our enemies should never doubt our resolve and our allies should never doubt our commitment.

This is a critical time, and AIPAC has a vital voice. Together, let’s achieve peace for the region and ensure a secure future for Israel – and America.
God bless America, and God bless our friendship with Israel.