A Veteran Policeman’s Observations on The Golden Horde | SB

James:  A lot has been written warning us of what will happen when the City Dwellers find their homes are untenable and vacate [en masse as The Golden Horde] for “the country”, but I haven’t seen anything on what the make-up of these hordes will be. The generic term “city dwellers” encompasses a lot of territory. Who will they be,what kind of shape will they be in, how will they be armed…all of these need to be examined.One category needs to be examined, I feel, more closely than others. Since I have seen posts on your site lately dealing with the nitty-gritty, unpleasant aspects of prepping, I think this is a needed look into what’s out there. I’ve been a cop over 20 years, my last uniform assignment before moving to Investigator being a two year stretch of Anti-Crime patrols in the Section 8 Housing projects of my city. This put me into contact with some of the “Worst of the Worst” that will be fleeing the cities in time of trouble. Gang-bangers, common street thugs, dope dealers and users, all have a place in the hierarchy of the streets. And they will certainly be part of what preppers will be facing in times of troubles. Here’s some of what I have learned:

The bottom rung is occupied by the drug addicts and users. They exist, not live as we understand the word. They have no assets, no goals, no drive. But they do have an almost animal instinct to continue living. They will be armed with anything they can steal or lay hands on. Most will have a knife of razor box cutter, and some sort of cheap pistol, or they will not live to get out of the city. Since they have no resources or assets, they will be on the edge of starvation and desperation almost within a day of an event. With no fixed residence or place to defend, they will be hitting the road and coming towards us. They will become violent without any provocation and there will be no negotiating or bargaining with them. They don’t want to hear your story or excuses. All they want is what you have. And have no doubts: They will do anything to get what they want. And this does include catering to their most base instincts of rape, murder and mutilation. Letting someone like this even close to you and what you have is flirting with death.

Port Authority: CDC Investigating Sick Passenger For Possible Ebola At Newark Airport

CDC Warns That New Swine Flu Strain Has ‘Pandemic Potential’ – chicagotribune.com

The A(H3N2)v swine flu strain that has infected at least 18 Americans since Sept. 2010 has shown the potential for human-to-human transmission. According to the paper, which was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the H3N2 strains “resemble viruses with pandemic potential.” Terrence Tumpey, one of the authors of the study, says the current seasonal flu vaccine won’t protect against this swine flu strain, although he says the CDC is working on creating a vaccine for swine flu variants such as the one he studied…. go here chicagotribune.com

12 Infected With New Swine Flu Strain | US News and World Report

” The days of medical masks at airports and widespread panic may be coming back—that’s because at least 12 humans are believed to have been infected with a new strain of swine flu that’s not covered by this season’s vaccine.The new swine flu strain, H3N2v, has shown at least some potential for human-to-human transmission in those 12 individuals, which makes it especially dangerous… The 12 people with the new swine flu strain live in Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia…”  via 12 Infected With New Swine Flu Strain – US News and World Report.

WHO ‘deeply concerned’ by mutant bird flu | The Raw Story

The World Health Organization (WHO) said it was “deeply concerned” about research into whether the H5N1 flu virus could be made more transmissible between humans after mutant strains were produced in labs.  Two separate research teams — one in the Netherlands and the other in the United States — have found ways to alter the H5N1 avian influenza so it could pass easily between mammals… Scientists fear H5N1 will mutate into a form readily transmissible between humans, with the potential to cause millions of deaths.  go here Bird flu | The Raw Story.