Sunday, October 29, 2006

Nuclear Bunkers Back in Vogue

You know, I'm just wondering if it isn't time to explore nuclear bunkers here in the United States. They are doing it in Israel:

AMID mounting fears that Iran is planning to obliterate their country, wealthy Israelis are shelling out on underground nuclear shelters in the gardens of their luxury homes.

The shelters, which cost at least £60,000 for a bargain-basement version, are built to withstand radioactive fallout, have fortified walls and doors and generate their own electricity and decontaminated air. Defence experts estimate that hundreds of such bunkers, many fitted with all modern conveniences such as bedrooms, kitchens and bathrooms, have already been built in private homes across the country and demand is soaring.

I'm reading the book Standing with Israel by David Brog, and he notes a Netherlands (I think) family who saved over 700 Jews by building a safe room, escape in their house years before Hitler rose to power. Actually the future Furer was sitting in a prison cell, but this family saw the writing on the wall. They paid for their foresight with their lives when they were finally caught, but before then, they saved many lives.

The Mormons, members of the Church of Latter Day Saints (they oppose the term "Mormons", but it is a description most people recognize), plan for a dire future in a myriad of ways--stocked up food, survivalist training, etc.

After the hurricanes, it became patently obvious to me that my family is soft. We don't hunt. We don't have survival equipment. We don't have much of anything that would save our hide in a time of need.

The time to have flood insurance isn't when a flood comes. The time to have flood insurance is before hand. The Israelis rightly distrust their government's ability to protect them. Can we Americans trust our government? I think we're better served if we don't.

So, when do we build the bunker?