Off The Grid News’ is a fiercely independent, weekly email newsletter and website that is crammed full of practical information on living and surviving today and in future times when life may not be as easy.

Each week we include articles on topics such as:

Gardening, including “Crisis Gardens”
Alternative Energy Options, so you can go ‘Off Grid’
Political Analysis, So You Can Understand What’s Really Going On
Herbal Medicines and Alternative Health Care
Threats to Your Privacy
Economic Analysis, So You Can Prepare Your Finances
Gun Ownership, Maintenance, Training and Use
How-To Articles on Things Like Canning and

Mission Statement

This website is a place for you and other like-minded Americans looking for direction in taking back the control of our country. It is also a place to find information that will assist you in navigating the rough waters we face in the days, weeks and months ahead.
We suggest that you start in your own homes. Talk to your family about the Values and Principles. Discuss the importance of what the Founders designed for America.
Hold or attend a weekly meeting in your neighborhood or town. Communication with your neighbors is vital to the process of protecting our country. Gather in living rooms, coffee houses or restaurants. Share your thoughts and ideas.
Visit this website often. Make use of the resources that are linked here. Share the ideas and resources that have worked in your home or town.
This is a non-political movement. The 9-12 Project is designed to bring us all back to the place we were on September 12, 2001. The day after America was attacked we were not obsessed with Red States, Blue States or political parties. We were united as Americans, standing together to protect the greatest nation ever created.
That same feeling – that commitment to country is

(inan.info)-By Mike O'Sullivan
Los Angeles


Hollywood actress Stefanie Powers is keeping alive the African legacy of the late film star William Holden, who established a well known game ranch and sanctuary in Kenya. Powers is president of the William Holden Wildlife Foundation, and she spoke with VOA's Mike O'Sullivan about her work on behalf of animal conservation in East Africa.


On the slopes of Mt. Kenya, thousands of schoolchildren arrive throughout the year at the William Holden Wildlife Education Center, where they learn about the animal and plant life of the region.

The center, which is adjacent to the Mt. Kenya Wildlife Conservancy, carries on the legacy of Hollywood actor William Holden. He fell in love with East Africa after going on safari there in the 1950s.

In 1959, he became co-owner of a famous resort, renaming it the Mt. Kenya Safari Club, and in the 1960s he and his partners set up the Mt. Kenya Game Ranch. Within a few years, it would house a sanctuary for orphaned animals.

After Holden's death in 1981, his partners and actress Stefanie Powers co-founded the William Holden Wildlife Foundation, which operates the educational center. She says it re-introduces African students to nature away from Kenya's bustling towns and cities.

"We do not allow boom boxes. We do not allow portable telephones. That all is left at the door," she says. "This is a natural experience. It is for students to come and understand nature, and to do so, you cannot have headphones on."

There are 37 species of wildlife on the preserve adjacent to the center, and the foundation offers programs on animal conservation and environmental protection. Powers says it also reaches out to youngsters through the schools.

"We combine our curricula, which is specifically adjusted to their level of education and understanding, as well as onsite programs, which we install, such as lessons on composting, what to do with biodegradable waste, how to create agro-forestry, where trees and crops can be grown harmoniously in a companion planting method where nitrogen-producing plants can actually enhance the soil." she said.

Powers divides her time between Hollywood and Kenya, and says her globe-trotting activism comes naturally. When she was a child, her family collected exotic birds and her stepfather bred racehorses. As a young woman, she owned dogs and acquired her own exotic animal, a Malaysian Sun Bear.

She recalls breaking the news to her boyfriend, who later became her husband.

"It was really not my most subtle moment," she says. "The little bear was in the kitchen playing with my Yorkshire Terrier. My boyfriend came home and I poured him a very stiff drink, and I said, 'You like bears, do not you?' I very subtly broke the ice."

Her fascination with animals outlasted her marriage. She was divorced in the early 1970s and found a new love in her life, one of Hollywood's top stars, William Holden. He had

(inan.info)VOA News-By Brian Wagner
Miami

Environmental groups are praising a decision by the U.S. state of Florida to buy a vast tract of farmland to restore the Everglades wetlands. In Miami, VOA's Brian Wagner reports the deal aims to control water pollution and ensure fresh water supplies.

The $1.7 billion plan aims to fill a major hole in long-running efforts to restore the vast watershed in southern Florida. State government officials agreed to buy the land from U.S. Sugar Corporation, which will abandon its sugar cane fields and end operations after six years.

The cane fields have long cut off the natural flow of fresh water, from lakes in central Florida through the Everglades and into the

(inan.info)-By Deborah Tate
Washington

Legislation to revise U.S. surveillance law survived a key test vote in the Senate Wednesday, despite opposition from some majority Democrats to a provision protecting telephone companies from possible privacy lawsuits. The Senate could give final approval to the bill and send it to President Bush for his signature before a congressional recess next week. VOA's Deborah Tate reports from Capitol Hill.

Senators voted 80 to 15 to proceed to the legislation - 20 more than the 60 votes necessary under Senate rules.

The bill, which updates the 1978 Foreign Surveillance Intelligence Act (FISA), would expand the government's powers to eavesdrop on terrorism suspects while at the same time take steps to safeguard civil liberties.

"We have produced a strong, smart policy that will meet the needs of our intelligence community and protect America's cherished civil liberties," said Senator Jay Rockefeller, a West Virginia Democrat and chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

The bill would grant retroactive legal immunity to telephone companies that allegedly took part in the Bush administration's warrantless wiretap program following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks - but only after a federal court determines they received legitimate requests from the government to participate in the program.

That provision has some Democrats furious. "This bill is not a compromise. It is a capitulation. This bill will effectively and unjustifiably grant immunity to companies that allegedly participated in an illegal wiretapping program," said

By: Nicole-Gov Gab(inan.info)-

Wow, we have a lot to celebrate this weekend. Saturday, June 14, is Flag Day. And of course, Sunday, June 15, is Father's Day.

U.S. FlagFlag Day recognizes the day in 1777 when a Congressional resolution officially adopted our beloved stars and stripes as the U.S flag. However, celebration of this

(inan.info)-President George W. Bush and Laura Bush present Pope Benedict XVI with a framed photograph Friday, June 13, 2008, during their visit to the Vatican. The photo shows President Bush and

(inan.info)-The book has been #1 on the Wall Street Journal and BusinessWeek bestseller lists

StrengthsFinder 2.0 by Tom Rath marks its first anniversary in print this month, having spent its first year on the Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, and USA Today bestseller lists. StrengthsFinder 2.0 has been on the Wall Street Journal and BusinessWeek lists since March 2007, landing atop both lists in the #1 spot in July and again reaching #1 on the Wall Street Journal list early this year. At the end of its first year, there are 500,000 copies in print.

In the 2001 New York Times bestseller Now, Discover Your Strengths, Gallup ignited a

(inan.info)-By VOA News
Spain's Prince of Asturias Foundation has announced that two Japanese and three American scientists are laureates of this year's award for scientific and technical research.

The foundation cited physicist Sumio Iijima, of Japan's Mejo University, engineers Shuji Nakamura, of the University of California at Santa Barbara and Robert Langer, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and chemists George Whitesides, of Harvard University and Tobin Marks, of Northwestern University.

The foundation cited the scientists for producing artificial tissues and organs and

(inan.info)-Hormel Foods-COMMENTARY

“It was a solid quarter for Hormel Foods. We were able to meet our company objectives for sales and earnings growth in the second quarter amidst a challenging operating environment,” said Jeffrey M. Ettinger, chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer. “Our Refrigerated Foods segment led the way, as lower pork input costs combined with increased sales of