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What Is Your Plan To Make It Through The Worst Global Food Crisis In Any Of Our Lifetimes?
by Michael Snyder | Jun 21, 2022 | Headline News | 0 comments
https://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/what-is-your-plan-to-make-it-through-the-worst-global-food-crisis-in-any-of-our-lifetimes
This article was originally published by Michael Snyder at The Economic Collapse Blog.
We are being warned well ahead of time that it is coming. Joe Biden has publicly admitted that the coming food shortages are “going to be real”, and the head of the UN World Food Program is now telling us that we could soon see “hell on Earth” because the lack of food will be so severe.
Food prices are already escalating dramatically all over the globe, and food riots have already erupted in Sri Lanka and elsewhere. But most people in the western world are treating this crisis as if it is no big deal. Many seem to assume that our leaders have everything under control and that things will work out just fine somehow.
Unfortunately, the truth is that everything is not going to be okay.
So far this year, the number of hungry people around the globe has risen to more than 800 million…
Currently around 811 million people are experiencing hunger. Levels of food insecurity have doubled from 2019, increasing from 135 million to 276 million. Of this total around 48.9 million people are facing acute or emergency levels of food insecurity that require humanitarian intervention.
But this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Much worse is ahead, and David Beasley is openly warning that “hell on Earth” is coming…
The UN has warned that there could be “hell on earth” due to the global economic impacts of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Guardian reports that David Beasley, director of the UN World Food Programme (WFP), has said that the war has been “devastating” in conjunction with various other factors.
He said, “Even before the Ukraine crisis, we were facing an unprecedented global food crisis because of Covid and fuel price increases. Then, we thought it couldn’t get any worse, but this war has been devastating.”
According to Beasley, we will soon see “frightening” shortages of food, and those shortages could potentially spark civil unrest in literally dozens of different nations…
Dozens of countries risk protests, riots and political violence this year as food prices surge around the world, the head of the food-aid branch of the United Nations has warned.
Speaking in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, on Thursday, David Beasley, director of the UN World Food Programme (WFP), said the world faced “frightening” shortages that could destabilise countries that depend on wheat exports from Ukraine and Russia.
But most Americans are not paying much attention to this rapidly growing crisis because they don’t think that it will really impact them personally.
For the vast majority of us, a lack of food is something that we have never had to be concerned about before.
During “normal” times, we could always go to the grocery store and fill up our carts with mountains of super cheap food whenever we wanted.
Unfortunately, things have changed. Food production in the U.S. is going to be way below expectations this year, and the head of the National Black Farmers Association claims that we will soon see “a lot of empty shelves and a lot more high food prices”…
Three weeks ago John Boyd Jr., the President of the National Black Farmers Association, said “We are in a crisis right now as far as the food chain goes with the farmer in this country,” adding “We’re going to see a lot of empty shelves and a lot more high food prices.”
In his forty-year career as a farmer, Boyd said he never imagined he would be “paying $5.63 for a gallon of diesel fuel, $900 a ton for fertilizer, and all-time high prices for soybean seeds.” All of the prices he mentioned are at record highs, pressuring farmers’ margins.
Of course we are already seeing widespread shortages of certain products around the country.
For example, Fox Business is reporting on the serious shortage of tampons that has recently started making headlines…
A spokesperson for Tampax, which is owned by P&G, told FOX Business in a statement that this is “a temporary situation, and the Tampax team is producing tampons 24/7 to meet the increased demand for our products.”
Meanwhile, the ongoing shortage of baby formula just keeps getting even worse...
Parents aren’t getting much of a break as the out-of-stock rate for baby formula rose to 73% nationwide for the week ending May 29, according to the most recent data by retail data firm Datasembly. It’s a significant increase from earlier in the month, when the national out-of-stock rate for baby formula stood at 45%.
On top of everything else, we are now facing a shortage of hot sauce…
In April, Huy Fong Foods, Inc., the nation’s leading sriracha sauce manufacturer, sent a letter to customers about an impending shortage, which would directly impact retailers and restaurants.
“Unfortunately, we can confirm that there is an unprecedented shortage of our products,” Huy Fong Foods told Fox News Digital in an email.
These shortages are just a very small preview of what is approaching.
As I have been warning on my website throughout 2022, conditions are going to deteriorate quite a bit more in the months ahead.
So what is your plan to make it through the worst global food crisis in any of our lifetimes?
Have you been stocking up?
Earlier this year, I published a list of 50 basic items that I would recommend having on hand. The following list is certainly not exhaustive, but it will help you cover many of the essentials…
#1 A Generator
#2 A Berkey Water Filter
#3 A Rainwater Collection System If You Do Not Have A Natural Supply Of Water Near Your Home
#4 An Emergency Medical Kit
#5 Rice
#6 Pasta
#7 Canned Soup
#8 Canned Vegetables
#9 Canned Fruit
#10 Canned Chicken
#11 Jars Of Peanut Butter
#12 Salt
#13 Sugar
#14 Powdered Milk
#15 Bags Of Flour
#16 Yeast
#17 Lots Of Extra Coffee (If You Drink It)
#18 Buckets Of Long-Term Storable Food
#19 Extra Vitamins
#20 Lighters Or Matches
#21 Candles
#22 Flashlights Or Lanterns
#23 Plenty Of Wood To Burn
#24 Extra Blankets
#25 Extra Sleeping Bags
#26 A Sun Oven
#27 An Extra Fan If You Live In A Hot Climate
#28 Hand Sanitizer
#29 Toilet Paper
#30 Extra Soap And Shampoo
#31 Extra Toothpaste
#32 Extra Razors
#33 Bottles Of Bleach
#34 A Battery-Powered Radio
#35 Extra Batteries
#36 Solar Chargers
#37 Trash Bags
#38 Tarps
#39 A Pocket Knife
#40 A Hammer
#41 An Axe
#42 A Shovel
#43 Work Gloves
#44 N95 Masks
#45 Seeds For A Garden
#46 Canning Jars
#47 Extra Supplies For Your Pets
#48 An Emergency Supply Of Cash
#49 Bibles For Every Member Of Your Family
#50 A “Bug Out Bag” For Every Member Of Your Family
Many of the items on this list are now much more expensive than they were earlier this year.
And if you wait, many of them will continue to become much more expensive.
If you don’t like my list, come up with your own.
The important thing is to have a plan.
Global events are really starting to spiral out of control, and I expect the second half of this year to be even more chaotic than the first half of this year has been.
***It is finally here! Michael’s new book entitled “7 Year Apocalypse” is now available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.***
About the Author: My name is Michael and my brand new book entitled “7 Year Apocalypse” is now available on Amazon.com. In addition to my new book, I have written five other books that are available on Amazon.com including “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, “Get Prepared Now”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”. (#CommissionsEarned) When you purchase any of these books you help to support the work that I am doing, and one way that you can really help is by sending digital copies as gifts through Amazon to family and friends. Time is short, and I need help getting these warnings into the hands of as many people as possible. I have published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream, and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe. I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but I also ask that they include this “About the Author” section with each article. The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial, or health decisions. I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and anyway that you can share these articles with others is a great help. These are such troubled times, and people need hope. John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” If you have not already done so, I strongly urge you to ask Jesus to be your Lord and Savior today.
Common Sense Preparedness:
https://commonsensehome.com/preparedness
Unvaxxed Assets:
https://www.bitchute.com/video/sbls9aO7kys6/
Pardon My Woo
https://www.bitchute.com/video/04yI8MuKjfVL/
You have 27 years to prepare for the Apocalypse II.
Causes of the Ice Age and Nova, the Greatest Secret of the United States
You have 27 years to prepare for the Apocalypse I.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjBe55XpYzc0HzkK-8lgQtA/videos
Diehold Foundation Introduction 3/14/2018
10 Things to Have Ready before the Huge EMP !!!
http://www.askaprepper.com/10-things-to-do-before-an-emp/
Pro Tip: a simple microwave oven is an excellent Faraday Cage.
Prep for crop failure due to Global Cooling.
Grand solar minimum.
12 Types of Knives You Need for Survival
http://www.survivalsullivan.com/12-types-knives-need-survival
MUST WATCH: Martin Armstrong
Economic Downturn Will Take World to War
Greg Hunter
Prepare For The Coming War: “It’s Going To Obliterate The Global Financial System… Our Economy Will Not Survive”
http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/prepare-for-the-coming-war-its-going-to-obliterate-the-global-financial-system-our-economy-will-not-survive_04092017
How about we don't go to war with China (or Russia any time soon).
Backdoors Embedded in DoD Microchips From China
https://www.scribd.com/document/95282643/Backdoors-Embedded-in-DoD-Microchips-From-China
But now everybody has the design to and how to hack it or disable or confuse it like the spinning wheel of death on your computer, no bueno, when it's in the guidance system...what the hell were they thinking letting our adversaries sell us chips...hat was no accident. Not even the US government is ha stupid...sorry. And none dare call it TREASON.
Russians Disable U.S. Guided Missile Destroyer » Alex Jones' Infowars: There's a war on for your mind!
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2014/11/13/aegis-fail-in-black-sea-ruskies-burn-down-uss-donald-duck/
Has Russia Just Changed The Future Of Warfare Completely, And Rendered US High-Tech Weapons Systems Inoperable?
http://allnewspipeline.com/Has_Russia_Just_Changed_The_Future.php
RUSSIANS DISABLE U.S. GUIDED MISSILE DESTROYER
https://www.infowars.com/russians-disable-u-s-guided-missile-destroyer/
And now you know why this:
Trump to Seek $54 Billion Increase in Military Spending
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/27/us/politics/trump-budget-military.html
Harvard Scientists Announce Bill Gates Funded Chemtrail Plan
http://prepforthat.com/weather-events/harvard-scientists-announce-bill-gates-funded-chemtrail-plan/
t is all being done under the guise of “thwarting global warming.” It is well-funded. It is well-branded from within the intellectual community. And in the end, it is chemtrails.
Two Harvard scientists have revealed plans to move forward with the launching of a high-altitude balloon equipped with propellers and sensors. It will be called a “StratoCruiser” and this “StratoCruiser,” according to David Keith and Frank Keutsch, will “spray a fine mist” of sulfur dioxide, alumina, or calcium carbonate into the stratosphere.
No joke. They are saying it out loud. They are informing the masses. If anyone thought this to be “conspiracy theory,” this confirms the frightening contrary. And they are doing it under the global warming umbrella which tends to generate lots of social issue passion.
The device will originate from a location in Arizona, according to TechnologyReview.com.
This will be one of the first overly public endeavors into geoengineering and a way to cultivate sympathy amongst the masses who are afraid that “global warming” and “climate change” are man-made incidents. This will give the excuse for growth in geoengineering to move unabated.
And there’s more….
Look who’s funding it:
Harvard provided Keith and Keutsch as new professors. Additional funds may come from Harvard’s Solar Geoengineering Research Program, a multidisciplinary effort launching this spring to study feasibility, risks, ethics, and governance issues surrounding geoengineering. As of press time, it had raised more than $7 million from Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates, the Hewlett Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Harvard-internal funds, and other philanthropists.
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation interfered with the showing of Vaxxed at Tribeca. And then of course, we have Bill Gates and his diabolical play for global rule.
With a list of investors like that, how could anyone believe this to be for the good of the masses?
Scientists are trying to say that because volcanoes push sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere, it is a good idea for man to execute an intervention plan of it’s own. The goal would be to regulate the earth’s temperatures.
I’m not sure about you, but this doesn’t feel right at all. It is unimaginable that man interfering in weather events would be free of “unintended consequences.” Not to mention more nefarious agendas being given a free path to develop.
World governments could end up in weather wars. We could easily and quickly create damage that would be irreparable. And now, with this announcement, it will all be an acceptable strategy for man to “manage the weather.”
Doug Casey-High Unemployment & High Inflation Coming Buy Gold
Why you should eat 10 portions of fruit or vegetables a day
http://www.kurzweilai.net/why-you-should-eat-10-portions-of-fruit-or-vegetables-a-day
The Best EDC Items for Self-Defense
http://www.survivalsullivan.com/the-best-edc-items-for-self-defense/?issubscriber=true&source=nl
Portable solar has come a long way in he last 2 years:
http://www.grideraser.com/model-prices.html
Dakota fire hole...
http://www.myfamilysurvivalplan.com/how-to-make-a-dakota-fire-hole/
> What To Expect During The Next Stage Of Collapse
> By Brandon Smith
> Alt-Market.com
> September 3, 2013
>
> For years now at Alt-Market (and Neithercorp.us) I have carefully outlined the most likely path of collapse to take place within the U.S., and a vital part of that analysis included economic destabilization caused by a loss of the dollar’s world reserve status and petro-status. I have also always made clear that this fiscal crisis event would not occur in the midst of a political vacuum. The central banks and international financiers that created our ongoing and developing disaster are NOT going to allow the destruction of the American economy, the dollar, or global markets without a cover event designed to hide their culpability. They need something big. Something so big that the average citizen is overwhelmed with fear and confusion. A smoke and mirrors magic trick so raw and soul shattering it leaves the very population of the Earth mesmerized and helpless to understand the root of the nightmare before them. The elites need a fabricated Apocalypse.
> Enter Syria…
> I have been warning about the Syrian trigger point for a very long time. Syria’s mutual defense pact with Iran, its strong ties to Russia, the Russian naval base off its coast, the advanced Russian weaponry in it’s arsenal, its proximity to vulnerable oil shipping lanes, all make the nation a perfect catalyst for a global catastrophe. The civil war in Syria is already spreading into neighboring countries like Iraq, Jordan, and Lebanon, and if one looks at the facts objectively, the entire war is a product of covert action on the part of the U.S. and its allies.
> The U.S. trained, armed, and funded the insurgency using Al Qaeda operatives. Saudi Arabia has sent funding and arms as well. Israel has aided the rebels using air strikes within Syria’s borders (even though this means that the Israeli government is essentially helping their supposed mortal enemies). This war would NOT be taking place today without the express efforts of the West. Period.
> If one takes more than a brief examination of the Syrian insurgency, they would find an organization of monsters. Wretched amoral wetwork ghouls whose crimes have been thoroughly documented, including the mass executions of unarmed captured soldiers, the torture and beheading of innocent civilians, the mutilation and cannibalism of dead bodies, and the institution of theological tyranny on a terrified populace. The U.S. created and unleashed these demons, and now, we the people are being asked by the White House to support them through force of arms.
> But what is the goal here…?
> The goal, I believe, is to utterly transform the world’s political, economic, and social systems. The goal is to generate intense fear; fear that can be used as capital to buy, as the globalists call it, a “new world order”. Syria is the first domino in a long chain of calamities; what the Rand Corporation sometimes refers to as a “linchpin”. As I write this, the Obama Administration is moving naval and ground forces into position and clamoring in a painfully pathetic fashion to convince the American public that 90% of us are “wrong” and that a strike on Syria is, in fact, necessary. It appears that the establishment is dead set on starting this chain reaction and accelerating the global collapse. So, if a strike does occur, what can we expect to happen over the next few years? Here is a rundown…
> 1) Many U.S. allies will refrain from immediate participation in an attack on Syria. Obama will continue unilaterally (or with the continued support of Israel and Saudi Arabia), placing even more focus on the U.S. as the primary cause of the crisis.
> 2) Obama will attempt to mitigate public outcry by limiting attacks to missile strikes, but these strikes will be highly ineffective compared to previous wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
> 3) A no fly zone will be established, but the U.S. navy will seek to stay out of range of high grade Russian missile technology in the hands of Syria, and this will make response time to the Syrian Air Force more difficult. Expect much higher American naval and air force casualties compared to Iraq and Afghanistan.
> 4) Iran will immediately launch troops and arms in support of Syria. Syria will become a bewildering combat soup of various fighting forces battling on ideological terms, rather than over pure politics and borders. Battles will spread into other countries, covertly and overtly, much like during Vietnam.
> 5) Israel will probably be the first nation to send official ground troops into Syria (and likely Iran), citing a lack of effectiveness of U.S. airstrikes. American troops will follow soon after.
> 6) Iran will shut down the Straight of Hormuz sinking multiple freighters in the narrow shipping lane and aiming ocean skimming missiles at any boats trying to clear the wreckage. Oil exports through the straight of Hormuz will stop for months, cutting 20% of the world’s oil supply overnight.
> 7) The Egyptian civil war, now underway but ignored by the mainstream, will explode due to increased anger over U.S. presence in Syria. The Suez Canal will become a dangerous shipping option for oil exporters. Many will opt to travel around the Horn of Africa, adding two weeks to shipping time and increasing the cost of the oil carried.
> 8) Saudi Arabia will see an uprising of insurgency that has been brewing under the surface for years.
> 9) Gasoline prices will skyrocket. I am predicting a 75%-100% increase in prices within two-three months of any strike on Syria.
> 10) Travel will become difficult if not impossible with high gasoline costs. What little of our economy was still thriving on vacation dollars will end. Home purchases will fall even further than before because of the extreme hike in travel expenses required for families to move.
> 11) Russia will threaten to limit or cut off all natural gas exports to the EU if they attempt to join with the U.S. in aggression against Syria. The EU will comply due to their dependency on Russian energy.
> 12) Russia will position naval forces in the Mediterranean to place pressure on the U.S. I feel the possibility of Russia initiating direct confrontation with the U.S. is limited, mainly because countries like Russia and China do not need to engage the U.S. through force of arms in order to strike a painful blow.
> 13) China and Russia will finally announce their decision to drop the dollar completely as the world reserve currency. A process which already began back in 2005, and which global banks have been fully aware of for years.
> 14) Because of China’s position as the number one exporter and importer in the world, many nations will follow suit in dumping the dollar in bilateral trade. The dollar’s value will implode. China, Russia, and the war in Syria will be blamed, and global banks including the Federal Reserve will be ignored as the true culprits.
> 15) The combination of high energy prices and a devaluing dollar will strike retail prices hard. Expect a doubling of prices on all goods. Look for many imported goods to begin disappearing from shelves.
> 16) Homelessness will expand exponentially as cuts to welfare programs, including food stamps, are made inevitable. However, welfare will not disappear, it will merely be “adjusted” to fit different goals. The homeless themselves will be treated like criminals. The roaming bands of jobless drifters common during the Great Depression will not exist during a modern crisis. State and Federal agencies will pursue an “out of sight, out of mind” policy towards the indigent, forcing them into “aid shelters” or other bureaucratic contraptions designed to conditioning the homeless to accept refugee status, making them totally dependent on federal scraps, but also prisoners on federally designated camps.
> 17) Terrorist attacks (false flag or otherwise) will spread like wildfire. Israel is highly susceptible. The U.S. may see a string of attacks, including cyber attacks on infrastructure. Syria and it’s supporters will be blamed regardless of evidence. The White House will begin broad institution of authoritarian powers, including continuity of government executive orders, the Patriot Act, the NDAA, etc.
> 18) Martial Law may not even be officially declared, but the streets of America will feel like martial law none the less.
> 19) False paradigms will flood the mainstream as the establishment seeks to divide American citizens. The conflict will be painted as Muslim against Christian, black against white, poor against rich (but not the super rich elites, of course). Liberty Movement activists will be labeled “traitors” for “undermining government credibility” during a time of crisis. The Neo-Conservatives will place all blame on Barack Obama. Neo-Liberals will blame conservatives as “divisive”. Liberty Movement activists will point out that both sides are puppets of the same international cabal, and be labeled “traitors” again. The establishment will try to coax Americans into turning their rage on each other.
> 20) The Homeland Security apparatus will be turned completely inward, focusing entirely on “domestic enemies”. The domain of the TSA will be expanded onto highways and city streets. Local police will be fully federalized. Northcom will field soldiers within U.S. border to deal with more resistant quarters of the country. Totalitarianism will become the norm.
> What Can We Do Right Now?
> The level of collapse, I suspect, will not be total. The government is not going to disappear, rather, it will become more dominant in its posture. Certain sections of the country will be maintained while others fall apart. The IMF will move in to “help” the ailing U.S. economy by tying funding to the SDR (Special Drawing Rights). America’s economy will be absorbed by the IMF. Constitutional protections will be fully erased in the name of reestablishing “law and order”, with the promise that the loss of our civil liberties is “only temporary”.
> If the U.S. strikes Syria, and refuses to disengage, these things WILL happen. So, the next question is what can we do about it?
> 1) Given that this crisis is going to be riding a wave of extremely high energy prices, every single Liberty Movement activist (and every American for that matter) should be stockpiling energy reserves. Motor oil, gasoline (with gas saver), diesel fuel, propane, etc. should be at the top of your list right now. A generator should be next. Prices are only going to rise from here on out. Buy reserves now, before it is too late.
> 2) Everyone in the Liberty Movement should have at least minimal solar power capability. A couple of 100 watt panels, an inverter, a charge controller, and two-four deep cycle batteries can be had for under $1000. You may not be able to run your house on it, but you can at least charge important electronics, run a well pump, run some lights, a security system, etc.
> 3) The internet as we know it will no longer exist. The White House will apply preexisting executive orders on U.S. communications to restrict internet use, or, a convenient cyber attack will take place, opening the door for federal controls. The web will likely still operate, but only as a shell of its former greatness. Certain sites and email providers will be designated “safe”, while others will be designated “unsafe”. This leaves a gaping hole in our society’s ability to communicate information quickly and efficiently, and, it removes the alternative media from the picture. The best solution I can present for this problem is Ham Radio, which is very difficult for the establishment to shut down. Ham Radio communication chains could take the place of the internet as a lower-tech but useful means of spreading information across the country. In the next few months, EVERYONE in the Liberty Movement should have a Ham Radio set, or handheld model, and they should know how to use it.
> 4) Harden your home during the next few months. Place security bars on windows, and replace weak doors with steel core doors. An internal lock bar will still frustrate entry by those who might blast hinges. Add a fire suppression system for good measure. This might sound like overkill, but if you want to be able to sleep at night during such an event, you must make your home your castle. No one should be able to enter your house without your permission.
> 5) Learn a useful trade right now. If you don’t already know how to produce or fix a necessary item or commodity, take the next six months to learn how. If you don’t know how to teach a valuable skill, get to work. Barter and trade will become the primary method of economy during a dollar collapse. Make sure you are sought after within your local economy.
> 6) Cache items before winter begins. Do not assume you will be able to stay on your homestead indefinitely. There are no guarantees during collapse. A wildfire could reduce your neighborhood to ashes in hours. Your home could be overrun. Make sure you have secondary supplies in a safe location just in case.
> 7) Find two friends (or more) right now that are willing to coordinate with you in the event that the worst happens. This means mutual aid and defense. This means predetermined arrangements for supplies, communications, meeting spots, and security. Do it now. Do not wait until our situation worsens.
> 8) Buy six months worth of food over the course of the next two months. Bulk food, freeze dried, MRE’s, whatever. Just buy it. Have a lot of food already? I don’t care. Buy six more months of supplies now. You’ll thank me later.
> 9) Cultivate nutrient rich soil before winter begins. Buy a truckload of planting soil and manure and create a garden space if you have not already. Purchase extensive seed storage. Compile books on growing methods.
> 10) Gauge the temperament of your neighborhood. If all of your neighbors are mindless brain eating zombies, then perhaps it would be better to share a home with a prepared family member in another region now. If not, then start a neighborhood watch. Two or three families working together is far stronger than only one, and can change the temperament of an entire block of homes.
> 11) Train for tactical movement over the next three months. Learn how to move, shoot, and communicate as a team. Learn your strengths and weaknesses today or suffer the consequences tomorrow.
> 12) Prepare yourself mentally for conflict and self defense. Sign up for at least six months of hand to hand defense training. Learn how to deal with the mental and emotional strain of another person trying to harm you. Get used to the idea, because where we’re headed, someone, at some point, will probably want to do you in. Always maintain your conscience and your principles, but never allow yourself to become a victim.
> The Tension Is Palpable
> As I have said many times before, a fight is coming. There is no way around it. But this fight must be fought intelligently, and we must never forget who the REAL enemy is.
> If a revolution ensues and Obama loses control, the establishment could simply trigger a Neo-Con or military coup in order to placate the masses and fool Constitutionalists into believing they have been saved. Useless solutions will be presented to the people, including new leadership composed of more old guard elitists, a disastrous Constitutional Convention, or limited secession (which will never be honored by the establishment anyway). The purpose of these false solutions will be to fool you into relaxing your vigilance, distracting you from seeking justice against globalist organizations, or, to redirect your energies away from self sufficient communities, counties, and states, ready to dispel aggressive establishment elements.
> Beware of those who grasp too readily for leadership over you. Real leaders stand as teachers, not oligarchs, and rarely do they take on the role without considerable reservations. Never trust anyone who does not immediately back their promises with tangible action. And, never forget that we fight not just for the removal of one particular tyrant, but for Constitutional liberty itself. One must follow the other, or there has been no victory.
> Though it is depressingly difficult to see in times like these, there is indeed good in this world. There are ideals, and aspirations, and visions, and loves worth standing up for, worth fighting for, and worth dying for. There is still a future worth striving for at the end of the long night. There are dreams here, in the hearts of men, worth realizing. We do not necessarily battle for what humanity is, but for what we have the potential to become. The tides of society may shift and storm, the chaos may become unbearable, and the world may tear apart until it is unrecognizable. The agents of dominion believe they are the only constant, but there is another. In time, the dim pale of tyranny will always break in the light of freedom’s resolute. Get ready, honorable Liberty Movement, our work has just begun.
> Reprinted with permission from Alt-Market.com.
A Collection of Food Preservation Techniques
http://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/food-preservation-techniques-zl0z1308zkin.aspx
4 Reasons To Add a Pellet Air Gun To Your Survival Gun Arsenal
March 9, 2011 By Creek 74 Comments
http://willowhavenoutdoor.com/featured-wilderness-survival-blog-entries/4-reasons-to-add-a-pellet-air-gun-to-your-survival-gun-arsenal/
You read the heading correct – I said Pellet Gun. Yes, the kind powered by air – just 1 step above a BB gun. I own many guns of many calibers and styles for many different purposes. Among these is a good quality Pellet Air Gun and it’s not just because I still have it from when I was a kid. I INTENTIONALLY have added this gun to my survival rifle options for very specific reasons…which I have detailed below. If you’ve never considered a Pellet Gun as a survival rifle option, you might change your mind after reading this post.
Next to my 12 Gauge Mossberg and my Ruger 10-22 sits a very cool and collected Benjamin Sheridan 392 .22 caliber Multi-Pump Pellet Gun and I treat it with the same respect as it is a very specialized soldier in my arsenal.
Benjamin Sheridan 392 .22 Cal Multi-Pump Pellet Gun
Benjamin Sheridan 392 .22 Cal Multi-Pump Pellet Gun
As a student and instructor of survival living, I take my gun choices very seriously and only add one to my cabinet if it deserves to be there. Below are 4 reasons (in no particular order) why a Pellet Gun deserves to be including in your Survival Rifle selection:
Survival Reason # 1: Excellent Small Game Hunter
A pellet gun, especially .22 caliber, is an excellent weapon to take down small game. While people have taken larger game such as wild boars with air guns, they are best suited for small game. Hunting small game is perfect for any survivalist. Rabbit, squirrel, dove, quail, duck and the like are excellent food sources and are readily available in most of the country. With practice, hunting small game with a pellet gun is absolutely no problem.
Small Game Hunter
Small Game Hunter
I have taken many small game animals with my .22 cal pellet gun. It requires better stalking skills, but that is a good skill to learn anyway. It requires better shooting skills, but that is also a good skill to hone in on. Hunting with a pellet gun will force you to be a BETTER hunter and it will also put dinner on the table. For an interesting photo gallery of pellet gun hunting kills visit: http://www.adventuresinairguns.com/gallery56-i-12.html
Survival Reason # 2: The AMMO
The Pellet Gun’s AMMO is one of the more convincing reasons to have one on hand. Pellets, no matter the caliber, are very cheap.
.177 cal Pellets - 500 Count for $10
.177 cal Pellets - 500 Count for $10
You can buy 100s of pellets for just a few bucks. Spend $50 and you’ve got enough to last a lifetime of small game hunting. If all hell breaks loose, traditional ammunition will become increasingly difficult to get your hands on. Not to mention that it will be ridiculously expensive. If the world we live in ever gets this way, why waste your traditional ammo on hunting squirrel or other small game? That would be wasteful and careless if there was a smarter way. There is – PELLETS.
1000s of Pellets Fit into Small Spaces
1000s of Pellets Fit into Small Spaces
Not only are pellets DIRT CHEAP, they are very small. You can carry 1000s and not even know they are there. You can store 10s of 1000s in just 1 shoe box. To top it off, pellets have a shelf life of pretty much FOREVER! Traditional ammunition can go bad over time. Especially with the talks of giving ammunition an expiration date, stocking a few 1000 pellets isn’t a bad idea.
Worse case scenario you could use all these extra pellets to reload your shot-gun shells.
Reload Empty Shotgun Shells With Pellets
Reload Empty Shotgun Shells With Pellets
Survival Reason # 3: Silent Shooter
Forget the earplugs. These guns are silent. In many survival scenarios, a silent weapon is a good thing. Not only can you hunt without drawing attention to yourself or your family, but shooting a silent weapon often means you can get off more than 1 shot if there are multiple targets. Both of these are positive. People pay 1000s of $$$ to make their guns silent. No extra charge for the pellet gun.
Survival Reason # 4: Powered By Air
You don’t have to buy air. And, it’s never going to be out of stock. For this reason, I prefer either a MULTI-PUMP or BREAK-BARREL Pellet Air Gun. I have opted NOT to purchase a CO2 or pneumatic powered air gun. Needing to refill canisters or tanks doesn’t make any sense in a survival situation. You want to keep it as old fashioned as possible. It’s hand pump all the way for this survivalist.
Convert Your Mower Into A Generator.
http://www.theprepperjournal.com/2013/04/02/convert-your-mower-into-a-survival-generator/
They Will Seize Your Food and Resources: “Hoarding of Just About Anything Can Be Banned”
July 1st, 2013
1 8 0 0 25
Mac Slavo
July 1st, 2013
SHTFplan.com
http://investmentwatchblog.com/they-will-seize-your-food-and-resources-hoarding-of-just-about-anything-can-be-banned/
In March of 2012 President Obama signed an executive order which, among other things, gives the federal government authority over every resource and infrastructure element in the United States.
The new order provides specific definitions for each of these essential infrastructure elements, indicating that all resources, not just those owned by large farms and businesses, are to be directly controlled by the government.
…
The signing of the National Defense Resources Preparedness executive order grants the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Labor, the Department of Defense and other agencies complete control of all US resources, including the ability to seize, confiscate or re-delegate resources, materials, services, and facilities as deemed necessary or appropriate to promote the national defense as delegated by the following agencies:
That the government would seize energy depots, large farms, water reservoirs, and infrastructure-critical factories in the midst of a widespread disaster is a given, but how far can they really go?
According to a detailed analysis by Code Green Prep, The Present Legal Support for Seizing our Food and other Supplies suggests they can go all the way, including what you have stocked in your home pantry.
…the President can order the military to do pretty much anything to anyone, at any time, for any reason.
Specifically, he can order the military to ‘restore public order’ – and you might wonder what ‘public order’ is. Truly, that’s a broad term capable of many meanings, and so too is the verb before the noun – ‘restore’. What types of things can he order the military to do to restore the public order? There’s no limit specified, so presumably whatever he (and he alone with no need to get approval from Congress) feels to be prudent, necessary, and appropriate.
The legal framework was partially outlined in the aforementioned executive order, butDavid Spero notes that it’s not the only law on the books:
Hoarding of Just About Anything Can Be Banned
…
These definitions are written in to the 1950 War and National Defense Defense (sic) Production Act, and so let’s see what the act itself has to say for itself.
Go directly to section 2072. That’s the key part from our perspective.
§2072. Hoarding of designated scarce materials
In order to prevent hoarding, no person shall accumulate (1) in excess of the reasonable demands of business, personal, or home consumption, or (2) for the purpose of resale at prices in excess of prevailing market prices, materials which have been designated by the President as scarce materials or materials the supply of which would be threatened by such accumulation. The President shall order published in the Federal Register, and in such other manner as he may deem appropriate, every designation of materials the accumulation of which is unlawful and any withdrawal of such designation.
In making such designations the President may prescribe such conditions with respect to the accumulation of materials in excess of the reasonable demands of business, personal, or home consumption as he deems necessary to carry out the objectives of this Act [sections 2061 to 2170, 2171, and 2172 of this Appendix]. This section shall not be construed to limit the authority contained in sections 101 and 704 of this Act [sections 2071 and 2154 of this Appendix].
So the President can simply say that anything more than (for example) a week’s supply of food (and all the other things listed) is an amount ‘in excess of the reasonable demands of personal consumption’ and then order the Army to impound everything you have in excess of that amount.
…
We don’t want to get into the deeper darker conspiracy theories of what FEMA and HSD might be and do in the future, but we would like to be reassured that these theories truly are as impossible as we hope them to be.
We have no answer to these questions. But we wish we did, because we can readily see a future scenario where the government (which, of course, always ‘knows best’) decides the best thing to do is to centralize all food and other survival resources – all the stuff listed above in the Executive Order – and then distribute it ‘fairly’ as it sees fit.
And, in case you didn’t read the first part of this two-part article,distributing ‘fairly’ is a code phrase that means ‘we’ll take as much as we can from people who have the thing, and then give it to people who don’t have the thing’. The people without the thing doubtless feel that is fair, but how do you feel, as someone more likely to be losing your preps, while seeing people who laughed at you for being a prepper now having your preps passed over to them?
[emphasis add]
Full Reports via Code Gree Prep
Part 1: Preppers Beware : Our “Hoarding” Can Be Deemed Illegal
Part 2: The Present Legal Support for Seizing our Food and other Supplies
It should be clear from the laws that are already in effect that the government has given itself a legal pretext for confiscating anything they so choose in the midst of an emergency.
During Hurricane Katrina we saw officials go door-to-door to disarm Americans against their will and in violation of the Second Amendment. They had no authority to do so in a legal sense. They did it anyway.
Should an emergency befall the United States, the military, national guard, and local police operating under orders from the Department of Homeland Security will have carte blanche to do as they please.
For evidence of this look no further than Boston, Massachusetts just a few short months ago when the government declared nothing short of a de facto state of martial law. Militarized police forcibly entered the homes of hundreds of Americans without permission.
In a widespread emergency where supply lines have been threatened and millions of Americans are without essential resources because they failed to prepare, the government will swoop in and attempt to take complete control.
They will enter our homes and search them without a warrant. They will confiscate contraband. And they will take any ‘excessive resources’ that you may have accumulated. This includes food, toiletries, precious metals and anything else emergency planners and officials deem to be a scarce material.
Expect it. Prepare for it.
The Best Preparedness Moves You Can Make, Right Now, for FREE!
Posted by Ed Corcoran News Add comments
Jun 262013
http://www.survivalandbeyond.net/the-best-preparedness-moves-you-can-make-right-now-for-free/
Ed That Matters
In a recent Prepper Website poll, “Which one word/phrase best describes your “type” of Preparedness the best,” 18% of those that responded (2nd most) considered themselves “newbie preppers.” This is not surprising since many people are “waking up” to how fragile our society has become.
But living a life of preparedness, much less getting started, can be overwhelming. Sometimes you just need to know where to start. This is a list of things you can do right now to get started. Most of these suggestions will cost you nothing. Some of these suggestions will require a very small investment. But every move here is solid!
• Make a plan – Whether you write it down (recommended) or have it in your head, be able to articulate your preparedness plan. You and anyone in your family need to know what your plans are for food, water, bugging in vs bugging out, finances, medical etc… You also need to know what you are actually preparing for. Do you have a plan for natural disasters related to your area of the country? And do you have a plan if things in this country go south? That last statement might not require a detailed plan, but it is something that you should talk about and consider.
Resources: The first edition of The Preparedness Review was heavy in planning – click here. Also, you can visit the tag cloud of Prepper Website for info. on plans and lists.
• Learn as much as you can – The key word here is balance. It is very easy to get sucked into all the information out there for preppers. Blogs, forums, podcasts and Youtube videos are all good resources, but, take it from someone who knows, they can keep you glued to your computer and you never actually get to “practice” the skills you are learning. Lisa Bedford, The Survival Mom, wrote that if she had to do it all over again she would read less Survival Blog and watch more Youtube videos, “Survival Blog gave me a big kick in the pants for getting started in preparedness, but it also sucked me into near-panic attacks and bouts of despair. One day my husband came home from work to find me at my desk, in my pajamas, hypnotically reading article after article on Survival Blog. Rather than motivate me into action, I was frozen with fear.”
John Maxwell, my favorite leadership author, quoted Earl Nightingale, “If a person will spend one hour a day on the same subject for five years, that person will be an expert on that subject.” I would suggest that a person would need to “study” and “practice” to become an expert in preparedness.
Suggestions: Limit your preparedness learning to 1 hour a day. Set a timer and then stop. J.W.R. of Survival Blog (hehehe), posted one of my articles on learning. I still do this today. After the hour, go out and practice something you recently learned.
• Fill-up 2 litter bottles with water – You might not have the money to purchase a Big Berkey right now. But that doesn’t mean that you postpone storing water. You don’t have to drink the 2 litters either. There are plenty of people out there who would save their 2 litters for you.
Resources: Here is an article on using 2 litter bottles for water storage – click here.
• Start your food storage program – This means different things for different people. Some of you reading this think you need to drop $3,000 on freeze dried food. That is far from the truth. Use the copy cat method to stock up. Budget, plan meals, use coupons, buy when items are on sale. There are many stories from preppers who don’t drop a ton of money on freeze dried food and MRE’s that you can learn from.
Resources: Here are few articles that you can use for research – click here, here and here. Then, think about what you and your family eat and try to buy a few extra cans of food next time you are at the grocery store.
• Budget/Save your money/Get out of debt – We don’t like it, but the fact is that if you budget your money, it will go further. Most people don’t do it because it takes an initial time investment and then discipline. But the experts will tell you that this is the way to go!
Suggestion – Visit Dave Ramsey’s site to create budget or for information on how to get out of debt. Also, check your utility bills. I was talking to my neighbors and they were surprised how little I was paying per kilowatt hour of electricity. In Texas, you can visit Power to Choose to compare prices. I’m sure every state has something similar.
• Get to know your neighbors – In America, especially in the suburbs, it is easy to do your own thing and never know the people around you. You never know what kind of help someone can be; they have skills you might need (a/c, electrical, plumbing), will watch your house if you leave (security) or just fun to know.
Suggestion – Get to know your neighbors. Just walk over and say hi!
• Get important documents together – Lately, we have seen people have to leave their homes in a hurry for fires that all of the sudden made a turn towards their homes. In a scenario like this, when there is so much going through your head, would you be able to locate all your important information: house, auto and medical insurance, passports, driver’s license, Social Security cards, marriage license, diplomas, will, important phone numbers, list of medications, birth certificates, tax forms, etc… After you find them all, make copies. You can also scan them or use a free app like CamScanner to make a pdf and then transfer them to a secure usb drive.
Suggestion – Take some time to find your important documents and secure them!
• Recycle/Reuse – One of the scenes in the movie Book of Eli has stuck with me for a long time. In one scene, Denzel Washington tells the young girl, “People had more than they needed. We had no idea what was precious and what wasn’t. We threw away things people kill each other for now.“ What do you throw away that can be reused? There are many sites online that show ways how to repurpose junk.
Suggestion/Resources – Think about everything you throw away. Is there another use for it? Visit these sites for ideas – here and here.
There are many more suggestions and ideas that belong in this article. The main thing that I would want to leave readers with is to, “Be purposeful!”
If you have other suggestions for FREE preparedness ideas, please post them in the comments section.
Learn A Post-Collapse Trade Before It’s Too Late
Brandon Smith
Alt Market
June 13th, 2013
There comes a point in the analysis of any problem when its escalation turns so blatantly obvious that the disaster is self-explanatory. The economic crisis in the United States and around the globe is one of those problems. While there are still plenty of people out there who remain ignorant to the immediate danger, I think we are very close (at least in America) to a point of maximum velocity. The more accelerated the awakening, however, the faster globalist interests will pull the plug on what remains of our financial system.
Most citizens are at least vaguely concerned with the state of our country and are attempting to learn more. The survival methodology has gone mainstream and grows in popularity daily. Even the annual Bilderberg meeting — a confab of the world’s most influential economic and political power mongers, which mainstream media entities have long refused to publicly acknowledge — is finally being exposed to the light of day. We are now in a race, a mad dash to shape the future battle space before the elites position themselves for the final conflict.
Further economic analysis would merely reaffirm what most of us in the liberty movement already know, but let’s recap our situation for the sake of clarity.
Full-Spectrum Fiscal Disaster Is No Longer Theory; It Is Certain
The U.S. stock market is now in the midst of perhaps the largest artificial bubble in world history. Virtually all movements in the Dow are now determined by the stimulus actions of the private Federal Reserve. Agents of the Fed, including former Chairman Alan Greenspan and current branch head Richard Fisher, have openly admitted in separate interviews that the central bank’s primary directive has been to prop up equities to give the public the illusion of stability, rather than to revamp consumer credit markets as originally promised. Because of the system’s dependence on Fed fiat, whenever the smallest rumor of a possible reduction in stimulus is heard, the markets tumble.
To illustrate how detached and absurd our economic reality has become, investors now actually rally around the Dow whenever bad financial news is released because bad news means there is higher likelihood that the Fed will continue fiat printing.
For example, Reuters reported on June 4: “A report released on Monday showed the Institute for Supply Management’s index of U.S. factory activity fell to its lowest since June 2009 and tempered expectations the Fed would retrace its stimulus measures.”
This indicates our current economy is so fragile that it is utterly incapable of sustaining concrete investment without the Fed creating dollars out of thin air 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In fact, I have to laugh anytime a mainstream analyst suggests we have entered a phase of recovery. Let the Fed stop all stimulus, and then we’ll see how much legitimate “growth” is actually taking place.
The wealth of most Americans is down 55 percent since the “recession” officially began in 2008. Job creation remains dismal. In 2010, 58.7 percent of working-age Americans were employed. In 2013, that number fell to 58.6 percent (according to official statistics), meaning there has been no improvement in the jobs sector of the U.S. economy following the 2008 collapse, despite all the claims by the Fed and the Administrations of George W. Bush and Barack Obama that bailout dollars and quantitative easing measures would bring jobs back to life.
Also, keep in mind that a rating of 58 percent employment may have been acceptable in the 1950s and 1960s when the U.S. population was half what is today. However, 42 percent unemployed working-age Americans in a population of 350 million is a dangerous prospect. Add to this the fact that, in those days, high-paying manufacturing jobs were the norm. Today, blue collar business has been replaced by burger-shoveling-wage slavery.
Unknown trillions of dollars have been printed, the dollar has been inflated and devalued, national debt is skyrocketing, and there’s absolutely nothing to show for it.
In the global political sphere, tensions continue under the surface between North Korea and South Korea, while the conflict in Syria appears to be spreading like a plague, drawing in multiple nations and promising a high probability of widespread warfare. Any broad-based disaster at this tenuous time will trigger a breakdown in the U.S. fiscal system. A crisis is inevitable.
Once we accept this fact, we must then ask ourselves a simple question: What can we, as individuals, do about it? In the liberty movement, most activists agree on the causes of our current dilemma as well as the eventual direction we are headed. Unfortunately, the movement completely diverges when it comes to solutions.
Fight Tyranny From The Bottom Up
Though there are as many “silver bullet” ideas as there are people, I would divide the argument over solutions into two basic camps: top-down proponents and bottom-up proponents.
I have heard numerous theories fielded, from suing the Fed to voting Republican to impeachment to leaving the country to marching on Washington, D.C., with rifle in hand. These are what I call top-down solutions, none of which take into account the need for localized independence. If you cannot even sustain yourself where you live and if you are unable to provide your own survival necessities, then what good is voting, suing, impeaching or marching abroad going to do?
The problem with the average solution put forward by well-meaning, but sometimes naïve, activists is that they cannot seem to free themselves from the top-down mentality. For them, all big sociopolitical changes must be made at what they believe to be the epicenter and often by working within the controlled paradigm. They think they can play the game better than the men who created it. They forget all about the periphery, the foundation of localism. They forget that to give independence to the world, they must first give independence to themselves. I am consistently astonished by the number of liberty movement activists who don’t even have food storage, a decent rifle or a worthwhile barter skill, yet seem to think they are ready to march weapon-bound to Washington.
Let’s be clear about something: Even if the masses coalesce to overthrow our currently corrupt political matrix of puppet middlemen, we are still left with an international banking oligarchy as well as a collapsing economy. The fight doesn’t end when you boot out the paid-off politicians; the fight has just begun. It is childish and foolish to believe otherwise. Therefore, one must plan ahead if one wishes to be victorious in the battle for a decentralized society.
This decentralization starts with you — in your personal life and within your community. The last thing the establishment wants is for individuals, neighborhoods and towns to decouple from the mainstream system and provide for themselves. This is what they truly fear — not empty marches without tangible goals or intelligent planning.
One thing that every American can do right now to bolster and inspire real revolution would be to learn a trade or skill that would be highly valuable in a post-collapse environment. If you cannot sustain yourself, then you cannot thrive and you cannot fight. If your neighborhood or town is unable to produce necessities for barter, then there is no trade, no organization, no cooperation and, thus, no organized will to fight. That is to say, global liberty stems from local industry.
During a debt and currency crisis, barter will probably be the most accessible form of local industry. The following is a list of examples of post-collapse skills and trade models that you could learn or construct within the next six months in order to ensure you are a sought-after partner in your own community when breakdown occurs:
Fresh Water Storage And Filtration: Clean water is a precious commodity, especially in a collapse situation when central treatment plants stop functioning. Whether urban or rural, many people are not equipped to provide ample water supply that is free of contaminants. Those who choose to boil whatever stagnant pools they find still have to contend with disgusting tastes and smells. Fresh, clean water will be sought after, and stockpiling filtration equipment ahead of time means you have a ready-made barter business in place. As long as you have the means to protect that business from looters, you have cemented your position as a vital barter hub within your neighborhood or town.
Solar Power Bank: Use a well-maintained solar power array to charge deep-cycle batteries for your barter network. The need for electricity will not disappear post-collapse. There are literally hundreds of tools people will need, from flashlights to food dehydrators to night vision. Not everyone can afford to set up his own solar array, but most families can afford to purchase a few deep-cycle batteries. If you have the means to charge those batteries, then you have a valuable service to barter.
Seed Saving And Storage: The ability to grow food is a talent. A good gardener is a godsend to any survival community. That said, a person who knows how to effectively save and store seeds is even more important. Most people never consider that seed availability (especially heirloom seeds) might dissipate. One person with knowledge could take one good crop and turn it into dozens, or even hundreds. Learn to do this professionally, and you will never be without barter customers.
Gunsmithing: The establishment has been quite open about its intentions to continue pursuit of gun legislation and, eventually, confiscation. There may come a day very soon when the guns we have in our hands are the only guns we’ll be able to find. We will have to think less in terms of replacing items and more in terms of repairing them. Learn how to fix weapons and invest in the machinery to fashion new parts from scratch, and you will be one of the most sought-after members of your barter network.
Ammunition Production: I don’t have to tell you that the ammunition market is bone dry lately. I have never seen anything like it in my life, and neither has anyone else. Even during the “assault weapons ban” of the 1990s, parts and ammo were far more available than they are now. In response, smaller companies across the United States are starting to spring up to fill the void, producing higher-quality ammo at affordable prices, but with a reduced output. I would take this model down to the local level. If every survival community had a dedicated ammo smith (or at least a reloading expert), then regional and nationwide supplies might be rejuvenated (unless the Department of Homeland Security buys another 1.6 billion “practice rounds”). Making ammo can be slow and tedious (starting with scratch brass and lead is even more so). Output would be limited, but having some is better than having none. Also, I have no doubt that ammo will be treated like a currency in the near future.
There are numerous trade skills that one can learn to become more viable within a post-collapse economy. No one can provide every necessity or foresee every eventual need. Therefore, a barter community of tradesmen is essential and is the foundation of a truly free and prosperous society. The pursuit of a post-collapse skill should be at the top of every survivalist’s to-do list. It is not something to be put off or shelved for a later date. Learn one today — not tomorrow. This solution is within your power to make happen now. Do not waste the opportunity, especially in pursuit of top-down schemes that serve only to give false hope and zero returns.
Delivered by The Daily Sheeple
Contributed by Brandon Smith of Alt Market.
You can contact Brandon Smith at: brandon@alt-market.com
Alt-Market is an organization designed to help you find like-minded activists and preppers in your local area so that you can network and construct communities for mutual aid and defense. Join Alt-Market.com today and learn what it means to step away from the system and build something better.
To contribute to the growth of the Safe Haven Project, and to help us help others in relocating, or to support the creation of barter networks across the country, visit our donate page.
- See more at: http://www.thedailysheeple.com/learn-a-post-collapse-trade-before-its-too-late_062013#sthash.JKjz3nBi.dpuf
http://www.thedailysheeple.com/learn-a-post-collapse-trade-before-its-too-late_062013
41 Camping Hacks That Are Borderline Genius
http://www.buzzfeed.com/peggy/camping-hacks-that-are-borderline-genius
You Have WHAT in Your Bug-Out Bag?!
Posted by Ed Corcoran
http://www.survivalandbeyond.net/you-have-what-in-your-bug-out-bag/
Above Average Joe
Finding practical uses for ordinary items has always been a hobby of mine. It all started when I had my first apartment way back when and I used toothpaste to patch up nail holes left in the wall as I was hanging posters using the trial and error method. After that, there was no looking back. I was hooked on using household items in unusual ways.
It has been my experience that most prepper’s have this same penchant for wanting to use ordinary items for extraordinary purposes. Myself? I feel pretty clever in this regard. But today I have to tell you, Above Average Joe has me beat. Who would have thought that pantyhose could be put to practical use in a bug out bag?
Read on.
My BOB Has A Secret…And It Isn’t Pretty.
If you are heading out for a weekend camping trip or a disaster is on its way and you need to hoof it on foot to get out of dodge make sure you always have a few pair of these in your gear:
That’s right the secret weapon in my Bug out Bag is pantyhose… er maybe I should call them Man-tyhose.
It might not be a very manly thing to carry and I get a few funny looks when I step up to the counter at CVS with a pair of Pantyhose… but this is survival planning and you looking manly is trumped by being prepared.
Not only are these cheap to buy but there are dozens of alternative uses for them and they take up practically no space. Check out the list below for a small sampling of what these can be used for:
You can wear pantyhose as extra layer beneath your normal clothes to keep warm in cold weather.
Use pantyhose to prevent bites and stings. Wear pantyhose under your shorts or pants to protect against chiggers, ticks, and other biting insects.
If you are going to be trekking through water, wear them to protect yourself from jellyfish stings and leaches.
Stretch a pair of pantyhose over a “Y” shaped branch or stick and use as a skimmer or a fishing net. You won’t catch a 10lb catfish in this, but you may be able to pick up a few smaller fish to eat or use as bait for a larger fish
Use pantyhose to secure bait while fishing. Place bait in the pantyhose and secure it to a tree or anything sturdy in order to to keep from losing bait while fishing.
Use pantyhose as a pouch or bag to carry things.
Use pantyhose to fasten or bind things together instead of twine or bungee cords..
You can use pantyhose as a belt to keep your pants hiked up.
In first aid, you can utilize pantyhose as a tourniquet or to hold and/or secure a bandage or hot and cold pack.
Use pantyhose as a first round filter to strain any collected water. The water will still need to be treated or boiled but this first line of defense will help to clear the water of any large particles.
Use pantyhose to prevent blisters. I saw a lot of comments in one of my previous articles about using pantyhose to keep your feet blister free and I just wanted to highlight it again here. Cut the feet off of a pair of pantyhose at the ankles and wear them under your socks. They will help cut down on the friction between your shoe and your foot, thus reducing the risk of blisters.
Pantyhose look terrible on men… plain and simple, but they were never designed for us but the great thing about them is that they are extremely stretchy and most have a sizing guide so that you can take a guess at the size you should buy.
I’m not saying that these should be worn on a regular basis, but in a survival situation the benefit of having those in your pack outweigh any blow that your pride may take when purchasing them. And if you really can’t break down and buy a pair of them for yourself, I’ve actually seen a few places that sell them in camouflage for the real manly man.
Or if you have the extra cash you can always buy underarmouramazon.com/e/ir?t=continmoti-20&l=ur2&o=1" alt="" width="1" height="1" border="0" />, but when you can get 10 pair of pantyhose for the cost of 1 pair of underarmour, I would rather save my money for something else.
These are just a few examples of what a little ingenuity can bring you in a survival situation; can you think of a few more that I may have missed?
COFFEE FILTERS
Coffee filters .... Who knew! And you can buy 1,000 at the Dollar Tree for almost nothing even the large ones.
1. Cover bowls or dishes when cooking in the microwave. Coffee filters make excellent covers.
2. Clean windows, mirrors, and chrome... Coffee filters are lint-free so they'll leave windows sparkling.
3. Protect China by separating your good dishes with a coffee filter between each dish.
4. Filter broken cork from wine. If you break the cork when opening a wine bottle, filter the wine through a coffee filter.
5. Protect a cast-iron skillet. Place a coffee filter in the skillet to absorb moisture and prevent rust.
6. Apply shoe polish. Ball up a lint-free coffee filter.
7. Recycle frying oil. After frying, strain oil through a sieve lined with a coffee filter.
8. Weigh chopped foods. Place chopped ingredients in a coffee filter on a kitchen scale.
9. Hold tacos. Coffee filters make convenient wrappers for messy foods.
10. Stop the soil from leaking out of a plant pot. Line a plant pot with a coffee filter to prevent the soil from going through the drainage holes.
11.. Prevent a Popsicle from dripping. Poke one or two holes as needed in a coffee filter.
12. Do you think we used expensive strips to wax eyebrows? Use strips of coffee filters..
13. Put a few in a plate and put your fried bacon, French fries, chicken fingers, etc on them. It soaks out all the grease.
14. Keep in the bathroom. They make great "razor nick fixers."
15. As a sewing backing. Use a filter as an easy-to-tear backing for embroidering or appliqueing soft fabrics.
16. Put baking soda into a coffee filter and insert into shoes or a closet to absorb or prevent odors.
17. Use them to strain soup stock and to tie fresh herbs in to put in soups and stews.
18. Use a coffee filter to prevent spilling when you add fluids to your car.
19. Use them as a spoon rest while cooking and clean up small counter spills.
20. Can use to hold dry ingredients when baking or when cutting a piece of fruit or veggies.. Saves on having extra bowls to wash.
21. Use them to wrap Christmas ornaments for storage.
22. Use them to remove fingernail polish when out of cotton balls.
23. Use them to sprout seeds.. Simply dampen the coffee filter, place seeds inside, fold it and place it into a plastic baggie until they sprout.
24. Use coffee filters as blotting paper for pressed flowers. Place the flowers between two coffee filters and put the coffee filters in phone book..
25. Use as a disposable "snack bowl" for popcorn, chips, etc.
Not just for coffee.
What Every Prepper Should Know About Shipping Containers
Posted by Ed Corcoran News Add comments
http://www.survivalandbeyond.net/what-every-prepper-should-know-about-shipping-containers/
By By Ryan @ ContainerAuction.com
When it comes to prepping, many folks are interested in using shipping containers for a secondary retreat or bug out shelter. However, there are a lot of misconceptions and mislead ideas with regards of how to move them, use them, and maintain them – and we’ve heard most of the questions several times over. The good thing is, with a few exceptions, the questions are all similar. What this tells me is that there’s a consistent path of logic that I can follow, but there’s a little information that the people asking the question haven’t been introduced to. To no fault of their own, it’s really only something that you’d consider if you a) deal with shipping containers on a daily basis, or b) have the same question asked enough times that you do the research yourself. The main areas of missing information are around moving/transporting shipping containers to their site, setting up foundations/burying/covering containers, and retrofitting the unit for proper use.
Moving Shipping Containers: Mislead Idea #1
Idea: I’d like the container moved to my property (location A), then I’ll gradually load it, then I’d like you to come back three months later and move it to my “alternate location” (location B).
Problem: Sure, the shipping container can be moved to location A with no problems. We run into the problem when the trucking company returns to pick the unit up. You’ll need a fork lift or crane on site that can pick it up and put it on the chassis or flatbed, and most people don’t have this type of equipment on site. At this point the project needs to be revised around this obstacle.
Moving Shipping Containers: Mislead Idea #2
Idea: I’m in the planning phase and need two 40' containers delivered to my vacant lot in the mountains. I’d like them placed in a hole (which may or may not be dug out yet), and I don’t have a fork lift or crane on site.
Problem: A truck driver with a roll off truck doesn’t need a fork lift, but no matter how skilled he is he can’t drop a container of any size in a hole; and for that matter neither can a fork lift. We’re happy to sell you any number of containers, but would also like to see your project be successful. If this is your goal it’s best to have your holes cleared out, contact a local crane operator that’s cost effective enough to be affordable, but large enough to get the job done properly, and have the containers delivered on the same day on a flatbed truck or chassis (which tends to have a cheaper per mile cost than a roll off).
Burying Shipping Containers: Mislead Idea #1
Idea: I’d like to bury my shipping container shelter so that no one can see it.
Problem: On the surface, it’s a great idea and I’d like to do it myself. The sides of shipping containers aren’t designed to hold or support weight for an extended period of time. You’ll need to investigate a way to keep the pressure off the walls of the container. For an idea, read this article on using Gabion baskets to bury a shipping container.
Burying Shipping Containers: Mislead Idea # 2
Idea: I’d like to bury my container shelter completely, and have a few feet of soil on top of the unit.
Problem: Just as the walls of a shipping container aren’t designed to hold weight, neither is the roof. Shipping containers are designed to carry their weight in the corner posts, which makes stacking them easier. Think of it like this: Take a piece of plywood and stack two bricks on top of each other under each of the four corners. If you stand in the middle what happens? The result is cracked plywood. The roof of a container will do the same thing given enough time and pressure. If you are fixed on doing this you’ll need to find a way to truss out the top of the unit and keep some of the pressure off the roof, or just not bury it as deep.
Retrofitting a Shipping Container: Mislead Idea #1
Idea: I’m going to buy a container, then stop over at home depot and buy a door and a couple of windows to put in it.
Problem: This can be done, but standard window and door frames aren’t designed for this use, and will require a fair amount of effort to make it work. Containers tend to flex a little, so the frames need to be sensitive to this, as does the seal of the window and the door locks. There are a few suppliers of doors and windows that are specifically designed for shipping containers. Drop us an email and we’ll send you the details (the one we use the most doesn’t have a website yet).
Conclusions
Using containers for a fallback or bug out shelter is a great idea, and done more frequently all the time. As with any project, a strong shipping container shelter takes planning and dedication; and the end product is very rewarding and secure. If you have any questions about buying, moving, or using shipping containers as survival shelters feel free to ask us.
*While most questions are grounded in honest reality, the most concerning one that our staff and industry colleagues couldn’t answer (or wouldn’t – for legal reasons), was “I have a family of four, and a dog. If something happens and my family and I are sealed into a container with supplies, how long can we survive on the air in a 20' vs. 40' container?”
ContainerAuction, Inc was founded in 2010 and is working to become a global leader in the sale of new and used shipping containers. We specialize in helping sellers of all sizes market their shipping containers and related equipment. Our management team and advisory board consists of industry professionals with years of experience in container finance, trading, and fleet management.
25 Things That You Should Do To Get Prepared For The Coming Economic Collapse
GO for comments like this: You are describing rural life 40-50 years ago. It was called being self sufficient.
http://www.activistpost.com/2013/04/25-things-that-you-should-do-to-get.html
Michael Snyder
Activist Post
Do you think that you know how to prepare for the collapse of the economy? If so, are you putting that knowledge into action? In America today, people are more concerned about the possibility of an economic collapse than ever before. It has been estimated that there are now three million preppers in the United States. But the truth that nobody really knows the actual number, because a lot of preppers keep their "prepping" to themselves. So what are all of those people preparing for exactly?
Well, survey after survey has shown that "economic collapse" is the number one potential disaster that preppers are most concerned about. Of course that shouldn't be surprising because we truly are facing economic problems that are absolutely unprecedented. We are living in the greatest debt bubble in the history of the world, the global banking system has been transformed into a high-risk pyramid scheme of debt, risk and leverage that could collapse at any time, and wealthy countries such as the United States have been living way above their means for decades.
Meanwhile, the United States is being deindustrialized at a blinding pace and poverty in this country is absolutely exploding. Anyone that is not concerned about the economy should have their head examined. Fortunately, I have found that an increasing number of Americans are becoming convinced that we are heading for a horrific economic crisis. Once they come to that realization, they want to know what they should do.
And the reality is that "getting prepared" is going to look different for each family based on their own unique circumstances. Some people have a lot of resources, while others have very little. Some people are very independent of the system and can move wherever they want, while others are totally dependent on their jobs and must stay near the cities at least for now.
In addition, it is important to distinguish between the "short-term" and the "long-term" when talking about economic collapse. As I have written about previously, our economic collapse is not going to happen all at once. It is going to unfold over time. In the "short-term", many are moving money around and are building up "emergency funds" to prepare for the next recession. For the "long-term", many are storing up food and huge stockpiles of survival supplies in order to be prepared for the total collapse of society. Both approaches are wise, but it is important to keep in mind that different approaches will be needed at different times.
The strategies posted below are a mix of both short-term and long-term strategies. Some will be important for our immediate future, while others may not be needed for a number of years. But in the end, you will be very thankful for the time and the effort that you spent getting prepared while you still could.
The following are 25 things that you should do to get prepared for the coming economic collapse...
#1 An Emergency Fund
Do you remember what happened when the financial system almost collapsed back in 2008? Millions of Americans suddenly lost their jobs, and because many of them were living paycheck to paycheck, many of them also got behind on their mortgages and lost their homes. You don't want to lose everything that you have worked for during this next major economic downturn. It is imperative that you have an emergency fund. It should be enough to cover all of your expenses for at least six months, but I would encourage you to have an emergency fund that is even larger than that.
#2 Don't Put All Of Your Eggs Into One Basket
If the wealth confiscation in Cyprus has taught us anything, it is that we should not put all of our eggs in one basket. If all of your money is in one single bank account, it would be easy to wipe out. But if you have your money scattered around a number of different places it will give you a little bit more security.
#3 Keep Some Cash At Home
This goes along with the previous point. While it is not wise to keep all of your money at home, you do want to keep some cash on hand. If there is an extended bank holiday or if a giant burst from the sun causes the ATM machines to go down, you want to be able to have enough cash to buy the things that your family needs. Just ask the people of Cyprus how crippling a bank holiday can be. One way to keep your cash secure at home is by storing it in a concealed safe.
#4 Get Out Of Debt
A lot of people seem to assume that an economic collapse would wipe out all debts, but that will probably not be the case. In fact, if you are in a tremendous amount of debt you will be very vulnerable if the economy collapses and you are not able to find a job. Just ask the people who were overextended and lost their jobs during the last recession. So please get out of debt. Many debt collectors are becoming increasingly ruthless. In many areas of the country they are now routinely putting debtors into prison. You do not want to be a slave to debt when the next wave of the economic collapse strikes.
#5 Gold And Silver
In the long-term, the U.S. dollar is going to lose a tremendous amount of value and inflation is going to absolutely skyrocket. That is one reason why so many people are investing very heavily in gold, silver and other precious metals. All over the globe, the central banks of the world are recklessly printing money. Everyone knows that this is going to end very badly. In fact, there is already a push in more than a dozen U.S. states to allow gold and silver coins to be used as legal tender. Someday you will be glad that you invested in gold and silver now while their prices were still low.
#6 Reduce Your Expenses
A lot of people claim that they can't put any money toward prepping, but the truth is that we all have room to reduce our expenses. We all spend money on things that we do not really need. Those that are "lean and mean" will tend to do much better during the times that are coming.
#7 Start A Side Business
If you do not have much money, a great way to increase your income is by starting a side business. And it does not take a lot of money - there are many side businesses that you can start for next to nothing.
And starting a side business will allow you to become less dependent on your job.
In this economic environment, a job could disappear at literally any time.
#8 Move Away From The Big Cities If Possible
For many people, this is simply not possible. Many Americans are still completely and totally dependent on their jobs. But if you are able, now is a good time to move away from the big cities. When the next major economic downturn strikes, there will be rioting and a dramatic rise in crime in the major cities. If you are able to move to a more rural area you will probably be in much better shape.
#9 Store Food
Global food reserves have reached their lowest level in nearly 40 years. As the economy gets even worse and global weather patterns become even more unstable, the price of food will go much higher and global food supplies will become much tighter. In the long run, you will be glad for the money that you put into long-term food storage now.
#10 Learn To Grow Your Own Food
This is a skill that most Americans possessed in the past, but that most Americans today have forgotten. Growing your own food is a way to become more independent of the system, and it is a way to get prepared for what is ahead.
#11 Nobody Can Survive Without Water
Without water, you would not even make it a few days in an emergency situation. It is imperative that you have a plan to provide clean drinking water for your family when disaster strikes.
#12 Have A Plan For When The Grid Goes Down
What would you do if the grid went down and you suddenly did not have power for an extended period of time? Anyone that has spent more than a few hours without power knows how frustrating this can be. You need to have a plan for how you are going to provide power to your home that is independent of the power company.
#13 Have Blankets And Warm Clothing On Hand
This is more for emergency situations or for a complete meltdown of society. During any major crisis, blankets and warm clothing are in great demand. They also could potentially make great barter items.
#14 Store Personal Hygiene Supplies
A lot of preppers store up huge amounts of food, but they forget all about personal hygiene supplies. During a long crisis, these are items that you would greatly miss if you do not have them stored up. These types of supplies would also be great for barter.
#15 Store Medicine And Medical Supplies
You will also want to store up medical supplies and any medicine that you may need. In an emergency situation, you definitely would not want to be without bandages and a first-aid kit. Over the course of a long crisis, you do not want to run out of any medicines that are critical for your health.
#16 Stock Up On Vitamins
A lot of preppers do not think about this either, but it is very important. These days, it is becoming increasingly difficult to get adequate nutrition from the foods that we eat. That is why it is very important to have an adequate store of vitamins and other supplements.
#17 Make A List Of Other Supplies That You Will Need
During any crisis, there will be a lot of other things that you will need in addition to food and water. The following are just a few basic things that it would be wise to have on hand...
- an axe
- a can opener
- flashlights
- battery-powered radio
- extra batteries
- lighters or matches
- fire extinguisher
- sewing kit
- tools
This list could be much, much longer, but hopefully this will get you started.
#18 Don't Forget The Special Needs Of Your Babies And Your Pets
Young children and pets have special needs. As you store supplies, don't forget about the things that they will need as well.
#19 Entertainment
This may sound trivial, but the truth is that our entertainment-addicted society would become very bored and very frustrated if the grid suddenly went down for an extended period of time. Card games and other basic forms of entertainment can make enduring a crisis much easier.
#20 Self-Defense
In the years ahead, being able to defend your home and your family is going to become increasingly important. When the economy crashes, people are going to start to become very desperate. And desperate people do desperate things.
#21 Get Your Ammunition While You Still Can
Your firearms will not do you much good if you do not have ammunition for them. Already there are widespread reports of huge ammunition shortages. The following is from a recent CNS News article...
"The run on ammunition has manufacturers scrambling to accommodate demand and reassure customers, as many new and seasoned gun owners stock up over fears of new firearms regulations at both the state and federal levels."
Don't just assume that you will always be able to purchase large amounts of ammunition whenever you want. Get it now while you still can.
#22 If You Have To Go...
Have a plan for what you and your family will do if you are forced to leave your home. If you do have to go, the following are some items that you will want to have on hand...
- a map of the area
- a compass
- backpacks for every member of the family
- sleeping bags
- warm clothing
- comfortable shoes or hiking boots
#23 Community
One of the most important assets in any crisis situation is community. If you have friends or neighbors that you can depend upon, that is invaluable. The time spent building those bonds now will pay off greatly during a major crisis.
#24 Have A Back-Up Plan And Be Flexible
Mike Tyson once said the following...
"Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth."
No plan ever unfolds perfectly. When your plan is disrupted, what will you do?
It will be imperative for all of us to have a back-up plan and to be flexible during the years ahead.
#25 Keep Your Prepping To Yourself
Do not go around and tell everyone in the area where you live about your prepping. If you do, then you may find yourself overwhelmed with "visitors" when everything falls apart.
And please do not go on television and brag about your prepping to a national audience.
Prepping is something that you want to keep to yourself, unless you want hordes of desperate people banging on your door in the future.
For much more on prepping, please check out some of my previous articles...
- "Should You Move To Another Country To Escape The Collapse Of America? 10 Questions To Ask Yourself First"
- "14 Questions People Ask About How To Prepare For The Collapse Of The Economy"
- "Rise Of The Preppers: 50 Of The Best Prepper Websites And Blogs On The Internet"
- "120 Powerful Pieces Of Advice For Preppers"
Sadly, most Americans still have blind faith that our "leaders" actually know what they are doing and will be able to fix things.
Most Americans still are convinced that everything is going to be just fine.
And of course the mainstream media does all they can to reinforce faith in the system. Day after day, we see mindless news headlines such as this: "Californians Champing at the Bit Over Powerball Debut".
But if you are reading this article that means that you are probably much more awake than the average American is.
Please get prepared while you still can.
A great storm is coming, and time is quickly running out.
So do you have any points that you would add to the list above? Please feel free to post a comment with your thoughts below...
This article first appeared here at the Economic Collapse. Michael Snyder is a writer, speaker and activist who writes and edits his own blogs The American Dream and Economic Collapse Blog. Follow him on Twitter here.
5 Items Not to Forget When Planning for an Emergency
Gaye Levy, Contributor
Activist Post
http://www.activistpost.com/2012/11/5-items-not-to-forget-when-planning-for.html
One of the very first things I did when I adopted what I like to call the “Prepping Lifestyle” is do a walk around inventory. Although I had not consciously considered myself a prepper – and at the time I barely knew what that meant anyway – I discovered that I had a lot of stuff, but that it was woefully disorganized and lacking in many key areas.
I had lots of canned goods, supplemental lighting, off-grid cooking devices, tools and more. But I was sorely lacking in water and first aid items. Go figure.
Over the past couple of years, I have learned a lot, shared a lot and made a number of prepping mistakes. Taking them all in stride – well, not quite, but I try – I can now look back with relief that I have come as far as I have. But as I often say, prepping is a way of life and there is always something new to learn, tasks to do and gear to purchase.
Today I am going to share with you a list of things that you may not have thought of when planning for an emergency, a short-term disaster or a SHTF situation where you will be on your own and totally off-grid.
1. Aluminum Foil
A few rolls of aluminum foil will serve you well in an emergency situation. You can use foil to fashion cooking utensils, or to line your pots and pans before cooking so that you do not have to waste precious water cleaning up. If you do cook on you pans directly, a crumpled up piece of foil can be used as a handy scrubber to remove the crusties. You can even use foil to create an impromptu Faraday cage.
There are a lot more uses for this handy stuff such as wrapping stones in foil, heating them by the campfire, then using them to heat up your blanket or sleeping bag before going to bed. Once you put your mind to it, you will wonder why you had not thought of including aluminum foil in your survival kit before now.
2. Disposable Eating Utensils
Unless you live near a lake or stream, chances are that water is going to be precious. Even a 55-gallon water barrel or two will only go so far, and you will want to reserve that water for drinking and cooking. Paper plates and disposable utensils (forks, knives and spoons) are the answer and will only set you back a few dollars.
3. Laundry Equipment and Supplies
You are going to need to have tools and supplies for hand washing and drying your clothes. Sure, you can wear a shirt and pants for a few days without worry but hopefully the undies and other unmentionables will be clean. And who wants to wear dirty socks?
You are going to need a tub and plunger (don’t discount using a plumber’s helper if that is what you have) or better yet, an old-fashioned washboard. You can fashion a clothes line out of paracord or purchase a dryer rack. But have you thought about clothes pins?
And for washing, how about a bar of Fels Naphtha washing soap? It is lightweight, portable, and does not take up a lot of space. As good as my DIY laundry soap works in a machine, when you are the machine, nothing beats a bar of soap for rubbing, scrunching and stain removal.
4. Cooking Grate
Depending on your facilities and the number of mouths to feed, cooking over an open fire may be a real possibility. Even if you are using a rocket stove – either home made, an Ecozoom, Solo Stove or other type – an open fire may still be needed for grilling freshly caught fish or game or for long-term simmering for stews and chilis made with your stored food items.
5. Sanitation supplies
Funny how people forget about the basics. In addition to a supply of TP, how about some old tee-shirts cut up into squares to use “there” when nothing else is available? In addition, you will need some feminine supplies for ladies and diapers for the little ones. And, if the sewer or septic system in inoperable, you are going to need a bucket and some large heavy-duty plastic bags to use as a liner so you have someplace to do your business.
The Final Word
As you look over this list, it may occur to you that many of these items are already available in your pantry, closet or basement storage area. And if not, none are overly expensive. Even the cooking grate can be improvised from an oven rack, or you can purchase one at a second-hand store.
The moral of today’s article is that when and if the time comes, it will be comforting to have the basics covered so that you can spend time worrying about the important things such as your safety, security and the health of your loved ones.
For the next few days, why not walk around your home or apartment and seek out items that will be useful in an unconventional manner in an emergency. Add them to this list and, of course, share your ideas below in the comments.
Read other articles by Gaye Levy here.
Enjoy your next adventure through common sense and thoughtful preparation!
Gaye Levy, also known as the Survival Woman, grew up and attended school in the Greater Seattle area. After spending many years as an executive in the software industry, she started a specialized accounting practice offering contract CFO work to emerging high tech and service industries. She has now abandoned city life and has moved to a serenely beautiful rural area on an island in NW Washington State. She lives and teaches the principles of a sustainable and self-reliant lifestyle through her website at BackdoorSurvival.com. At BackdoorSurvival, Gaye speaks her mind and delivers her message with optimism and grace, regardless of the uncertain times and mayhem swirling around us.
Read This First Before You Decide That Preppers Are Crazy
Go for hypertext: (was too lazy to put all the links in...)
http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/read-this-first-before-you-decide-that-preppers-are-crazy
Do you believe that preppers are a few cards short of a full deck? Do you assume that anyone that is "preparing for doomsday" does not have their elevator going all the way to the top floor? Well, you might want to read this first before you make a final decision that all preppers are crazy. The information that you are about to read shook me up a bit when I first looked it over. To be honest, I had no idea how incredibly vulnerable our economic system is to a transportation disruption. I am continually getting emails and comments on my websites asking "how to prepare" for what is coming, so when I came across this information I knew that I had to share it with all of you. Hopefully what you are about to read will motivate you to prepare like never before, and hopefully you will share this information with others.
Originally, I was going to write an article about the rising unemployment in Europe today. Did you know that unemployment in the eurozone is now at a 15 year high? It has risen for 10 months in a row with no end in sight.
But I have written dozens of articles about the economic crisis in Europe already. So before starting on that article I started thinking of all the "preparation" questions I have been getting lately and I went over and checked out one of my favorite preparation websites: shtfplan.com.
Well, an article had just been posted over there about a report put out by the American Trucker Associations entitled "When Trucks Stop, America Stops".
I went and found that original report and I was stunned as I read it.
The truth is that our "just in time" inventory and delivery systems leave us incredibly vulnerable to a nationwide disaster.
You see, it is very expensive to hold and store inventory, so most manufacturers and retailers rely on a continual flow of deliveries that are scheduled to arrive "just in time", and this significantly reduces their operating expenses.
This is considered to be good business practice for manufacturers and retailers, but it also means that if there was a major nationwide transportation disruption that our economic system would grind to a halt almost immediately.
Once store shelves are picked clean, they would not be able to be replenished until trucks could get back on the road. In the event of a major nationwide disaster, that could be quite a while.
So what could potentially cause a nationwide transportation shutdown?
Well, it is easy to imagine a lot of potential scenarios - a volcanic eruption, a historic earthquake, an EMP attack, a solar megastorm, a war, a major terror attack, an asteroid strike, a killer pandemic, mass rioting in U.S. cities, or even martial law.
If something caused the trucks to stop running, life in America would immediately start changing.
So exactly what would that look like?
The following is an excerpt from the report mentioned above put out by the American Trucker Associations entitled "When Trucks Stop, America Stops"....
*****
A Timeline Showing the Deterioration of Major Industries Following a Truck Stoppage
The first 24 hours
• Delivery of medical supplies to the affected area will cease.
• Hospitals will run out of basic supplies such as syringes and catheters within hours. Radiopharmaceuticals will deteriorate and become unusable.
• Service stations will begin to run out of fuel.
• Manufacturers using just-in-time manufacturing will develop component shortages.
• U.S. mail and other package delivery will cease.
Within one day
• Food shortages will begin to develop.
• Automobile fuel availability and delivery will dwindle, leading to skyrocketing prices and long lines at the gas pumps.
• Without manufacturing components and trucks for product delivery,
assembly lines will shut down, putting thousands out of work.
Within two to three days
• Food shortages will escalate, especially in the face of hoarding and consumer panic.
• Supplies of essentials—such as bottled water, powdered milk, and
canned meat—at major retailers will disappear.
• ATMs will run out of cash and banks will be unable to process
transactions.
• Service stations will completely run out of fuel for autos and trucks.
• Garbage will start piling up in urban and suburban areas.
• Container ships will sit idle in ports and rail transport will be disrupted, eventually coming to a standstill.
Within a week
• Automobile travel will cease due to the lack of fuel. Without autos and busses, many people will not be able to get to work, shop for groceries, or access medical care.
• Hospitals will begin to exhaust oxygen supplies.
Within two weeks
• The nation’s clean water supply will begin to run dry.
Within four weeks
• The nation will exhaust its clean water supply and water will be safe for drinking only after boiling. As a result gastrointestinal illnesses will increase, further taxing an already weakened health care system.
This timeline presents only the primary effects of a freeze on truck travel. Secondary effects must be considered as well, such as inability to maintain telecommunications service, reduced law enforcement, increased crime, increased illness and injury, higher death rates, and likely, civil unrest.
*****
Earlier in the report, the reasons why America's water supply would be in such jeopardy are described in greater detail....
According to the American Water Works Association, Americans drink more than one billion glasses of tap water per day. For safety and security reasons, most water supply plants maintain a larger inventory of supplies than the typical business. However, the amount of chemical storage varies significantly and is site specific. According to the Chlorine Institute, most water treatment facilities receive chlorine in cylinders (150 pounds and one ton cylinders) that are delivered by motor carriers. On average, trucks deliver purification chemicals to water supply plants every seven to 14 days. Without these chemicals, water cannot be purified and made safe for drinking. Without truck deliveries of purification chemicals, water supply plants will run out of drinkable water in 14 to 28 days. Once the water supply is drained, water will be deemed safe for drinking only when boiled. Lack of clean drinking water will lead to increased gastrointestinal and other illnesses, further taxing an already weakened healthcare system.
Can you see why I always recommend that you make sure that you and your family have access to fresh water and a way to purify it?
This report should be very sobering for all of us.
What would you and your family do if you had no food, no clean water and the stores were shut down because their supplies were gone?
An article by Tess Pennington entitled "Emergency Items: What Will Disappear First" contains a list of 100 things that are likely to disappear from store shelves first. The following are the first 10 things on her list....
1. Generators (Good ones cost dearly. Gas storage, risky. Noisy…target of
thieves; maintenance etc.)
2. Water Filters/Purifiers
3. Portable Toilets
4. Seasoned Firewood. Wood takes about 6 – 12 months to become dried, for home
uses.
5. Lamp Oil, Wicks, Lamps (First Choice: Buy CLEAR oil. If scarce, stockpile
ANY!)
6. Coleman Fuel. Impossible to stockpile too much.
7. Guns, Ammunition, Pepper Spray, Knives, Clubs, Bats & Slingshots.
8. Hand-can openers, & hand egg beaters, whisks.
9. Honey/Syrups/white, brown sugar
10. Rice – Beans – Wheat
You can find the rest of the list right here.
Most Americans just assume that they will always be able to run out to the supermarket or to Wal-Mart and buy anything that they need.
But if the trucks stop running that will change almost overnight.
After reading the information above, does anyone out there still believe that preppers are crazy?
The truth is that there are good, solid reasons why millions of Americans have been storing up food, water filters and other supplies.
Our world is becoming increasingly unstable, and all of us need to get educated about how to prepare for the difficult years that are coming.
One nightmarish event can change everything that we take for granted in a single moment.
Just remember what happened after Hurricane Katrina. Even though that was only a regional disaster, millions of people had their lives completely turned upside down by that tragedy.
Don't make the mistake of assuming that just because the U.S. has always known tremendous peace and prosperity since World War II that things will always be that way.
Our lives will only continue to be "normal" as long as the trucks continue running.
When the trucks stop running in America, there will be mass chaos.
Are you prepared for that?
10 Best Survival Foods At Your Local Supermarket
Activist Post
http://www.activistpost.com/2012/10/10-best-survival-foods-at-your-local.html
As food prices continue to skyrocket, having a bulk supply of food is a great investment. But it also provides security and peace of mind against potential emergencies.
By now most people should be aware that grocery stores only have about 3 days of food in stock when crises strike. So if anything was to disrupt the food supply chain for an extended period of time, there would be untold chaos in most communities.
Any number of events could trigger mass disruption to a fragile food system, many of which are well documented and even predicted. Even NASA has warned its staff to prepare for potential disasters with survival foods and other precautions with their "Family Preparedness Program."
Prepping for disasters can seem overwhelming with so many aspects to be considered. However, for those just beginning to recognize how perilous these times are and are new to prepping, you can find many great survival foods at your local grocery store.
There are many fancy freeze-dried food companies offering light-weight storable meals. These are cost effective and great for new preppers. But if you don't have $1000 laying around to by a large supply, it may be better to pick up a few key items each week at the supermarket to build up your food bank gradually. And by buying base foods at the store, you'll ultimately save money.
It's best to keep your survival food list simple, and concentrate on storing foods with the highest amount of calories and the longest shelf life. This list is geared toward foods that will help you survive a crisis that lasts for extended periods of time.
Here are the ten best and cheapest survival rations available at any store:
www.OffgridOutpost.comRice: Every time you go to the store you should buy one 10-lb bag of rice. You can find them for around $5 at most supermarkets. Rice will stay in good condition for 10 years or more if stored properly. It offers high carbohydrates which is especially important if you are exerting a lot of physical energy during a crisis.
Beans: Beans are known to be one of the best all-round survival foods. They're high in protein, and if sealed in food-grade buckets with a small amount of dried ice, they'll stay for up to ten years. Make sure to store them in a cool, dry, dark location. Buy a 4-5 lb bags of dried beans every time you go to the store. All dry beans are good to store; black beans, red beans, pinto beans, lentils, etc.
Cornmeal: All-purpose flours are good to store, but cornmeal may be the best overall. Cornmeal is packed with dense carbohydrates and contains oils that helps extend its shelf life. Additionally, if the power grid is down during a mega disaster, it is much easier to make good corn breads and tortillas with cornmeal in a simple skillet or solar oven, where refined flour will need yeast and oil to make decent bread or biscuits. Get a 5-lb bag of cornmeal ($10-$15) at each grocery visit. Seal and store the same way as beans (buckets, salt and dry ice), and it will safely keep 8 months to 2 years.
Lard: If you're a health-conscious reader, hydrogenated lard does not sound very appetizing, but in a survival situation you can't afford to be picky. Animal lard or vegetable shortening both offer much-needed calories during times of crisis, cooking oil for multiple uses, and it will keep longer than cooking oils because of the hydrogenation. Buy a 6-lb can ($12) and store in a cool, dry, and dark place and it will stay good for 2-3 years or longer.
Salt: Salt is one of the most useful survival food items. It's used for storing food, curing beef, and flavoring most meals. Salt will stay forever, so always buy extra when you're shopping.
Canned Fruit & Vegetables: These are another obvious survival food, but not as practical as many would think. They're heavy and somewhat costly for the calories they deliver. Additionally, acidic fruits and any cans with tomatoes will not keep as long as most people think. But most canned food is good for 5+ years. Buy green vegetables and fruits like peaches and pears for long-term storage, but more importantly, buy what you already eat in case you need to rotate them into your diet before they go bad.
Canned Meat: Canned meats like ham, tuna, and chicken are excellent to store. They typically will keep for 6-10 years and they're an excellent source of protein. However, if the grid is down for a long time (apocalyptic), hunting and fishing will likely provide most meats. Therefore, it may be sufficient to buy extra canned meats every other time you go shopping.
Sugar: Brown and white sugar will add much-needed flavor and calories to a survival diet and they'll keep for ten years or more if stored properly. Honey is also excellent as it will store forever. Make sure to buy extra every other time you go grocery shopping. You won't need too much, but they'll be well worth having if a crisis strikes.
Pasta: Pasta is a good light-weight storable food that is also a great source of carbohydrates. Pasta will not keep as long as rice, but it can stay for around 5 years in good conditions. Pasta is also very inexpensive and extra should be bought at each trip to the store. It will take up more space in your food bank that rice, beans and cornmeal, so plan your space the best you can.
Peanut Butter: Peanut butter is a terrific source of protein, fat, and calories. Plus, it's just a great treat to have on hand. Peanut butter can last up to five years in root cellar conditions. Stock up whenever there are good deals at your grocery store. You'll be happy you did if the SHTF.
If you consistently buy these items 3-4 times per month, you'll quickly acquire a year's supply of survival rations for your whole family.
How to store it?
A really basic way to store the rice, beans, cornmeal, sugar and pastas is to buy several 5-gallon seal-able paint buckets or food-grade buckets from your local hardware store. Put a cup or so of salt into a sandwich baggie (opened) at the bottom of the buckets. Then fill it with food stuffs and add a couple of ounces of dried ice (found at large grocery stores) which will remove the oxygen from the bucket after it's sealed. Finally, label each bucket with its contents and the date, and place it in your cellar.
Please let us know what other food items you think will be useful for new preppers....
Mountain House Buckets...
http://www.mtnhse.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=M&Category_Code=bkts
24 Signs That You Just Might Be a Closet Prepper
Posted on September 3, 2012 by Sheila
http://fromthetrenchesworldreport.com/24-signs-that-you-just-might-be-a-closet-prepper/20509/
Here are 24 signs that you might be a closet prepper:
You’ve had a survival blog for 4 years and your spouse doesn’t know.
Your family does not know there’s a case of Dinty Moore stew hidden in the basement
You stand around the office water cooler laughing with your buddies about all those tin-foil hat wearers – but you have your own roll of Reynolds Wrap at home.
You’re an anonymous poster on Infowars.
While you were supposed to be grocery shopping, you were checking out escape routes out of the city.
You’ve got a Swiss Army knife on your keychain that looks like a roach clip, instead of a roach clip that looks like a Swiss Army knife.
You’ve read The Turner Diaries with a flashlight under the bed covers, so now you think you know what’s coming.
You download Steve Quayle’s podcasts to your i-pod so you can listen to him on your way to work, alone.
You anonymously put your spouse on a mailing list for wilderness vacation spots.
You’ve got a browser bookmarks folder named “Recipes” that includes links to Survival Blog, Preparedness Society Forum, the Economic Collapse Blog, Survival Mom, and Surviving Survivalism.
You’ve told your in-laws that the camping equipment in the garage is because you love the great outdoors.
You’ve convinced yourself that you like the taste of freeze-dried storage foods.
You play the video game, Half-Life II to practice what you will do when chaos breaks out.
Doomsday Preppers is your favorite TV show, but you have to TiVO it so you can watch it when your family is out of the house.
You’ve asked a survivalist group to try to convince your spouse that prepping is a good idea.
Your family thinks you’ve become a religious fanatic, but every Sunday morning you are really taking trips into the wilderness.
You tell your wife the gas mask you bought is to spark up your sex life – you’d rather have her think you’re a pervert than a prepper.
You run a large “off-grid” website from your London apartment, but you tell your friends it’s just for the monthly Google Analytics check.
You tell your neighbors that you bought a HumVee for its gas mileage.
You visit different survival communities every weekend, telling your girlfriend/boyfriend that “It’s just a free camping weekend!”
You’ve built a house out of rocks deep in the woods while your wife/husband thought you were taking philosophy classes at the local college.
While you are in the bathroom getting ready for work, you day dream about leaving society behind and living the self-sufficient life.
You pray that company doesn’t want to stay overnight, because if you open the sofa bed they’ll see all your Survival magazines.
You’re just waiting for the day when you can say, “See? I told you!”
The silver lining behind the coming collapse: 10 reasons for legitimate optimism in the face of impending financial crisis
Go for pics:
http://www.naturalnews.com/036951_financial_collapse_optimism_silver_lining.html
Sunday, August 26, 2012
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
Editor of NaturalNews.com
(NaturalNews) There is good reason for legitimate optimism right now, even in the face of an approaching financial collapse and the rise of the new American police state. It sounds contradictory, but there is a silver lining to all this. There's a catch, however: The silver lining only applies to those who learn how to get out of the way of the "social tsunami" that will be unleashed. I'll explain that in more detail later in this article.
To explain that, we first have to address the issue of FEMA camps. Publicly described as "refugee camps," FEMA camps have a reputation among the "awakened" community as being concentration camps. There is evidence that FEMA camps are stockpiling huge numbers of cadaver incineration containers (http://tv.naturalnews.com/v.asp?v=C67234C7049D2AB2F3D897B805FEFEC2). The recent purchase of 1.4 billion rounds of ammunition by the DHS also indicates a massive amount of firepower is about to be directed at the American population. (http://www.naturalnews.com/036847_ammo_purchases_government_stockpili...)
But let's analyze this rationally, and let's look at both "best case" and "worst case" scenarios for these FEMA camps.
BEST CASE scenario: FEMA camps are merely "refugee camps" set up to help the masses of refugees who will flee the cities in the midst of a global economic collapse. The FEMA camps will provide basic supplies such as food, water, shelter, electricity, basic medical care and so on. The camps will also offer security to the people during the crisis, and then after the crisis people will be free to leave. FEMA saves a bunch of lives and the government is the hero.
WORST CASE scenario: The FEMA camps are actually concentration camps set up with human incinerators (large, walk-in ovens) to process tens of millions of inner-city dwellers who the globalists see as having no value whatsoever and therefore need to be eliminated at the first opportunity. The camps will be use to stage citizens who are rounded up under the pretext of being "saved" but are actually sent either to slave labor camps or incinerators after being tagged as "infected" with a fictional infectious disease propagandized by the CDC. The "American holocaust" will take place under the name of FEMA.
Keep in mind as you read all this that the United States of America already has a long and well-documented history of running internment camps and rounding up innocent people, kidnapping them, stuffing them into these camp prisons, and not letting them out for years. This is the factual story of exactly what happened in World War II with the Japanese Internment Camps located all across the country. I recently wrote about it in this article:
http://www.naturalnews.com/036922_Census_Bureau_racial_profiling_inte...
Analyzing the scenarios
Remember, by the way, that FEMA camps could also potentially function somewhere in between the best case and worst case scenarios. They don't have to be wholly one or the other.
In the best case scenario (or anything close to it), there's little to worry about. Nobody's going to be harmed if FEMA merely serves its official function of helping refugees deal with disaster. So let's look more in the direction of the worst case scenario: What is the worst that FEMA can do?
To answer this question, we have to ask some basic questions:
1) How many FEMA centers exist across the country?
2) How many people can they hold and / or house at any one time?
3) How many people can they "process" through incinerators if that were indeed their goal? (Worst case scenario, remember?)
The answer to the first question is relatively straightforward. Based on maps available online, there appear to be roughly somewhere between 175 and 200 FEMA camps across the USA. Let's take the 200 as our working number as we explore these questions.
How many people can each camp hold? While every camp obviously has different facilities and capacities, what we're looking for here is the average capacity.
This is a bit of a wild guess, but I'm going to propose that the average capacity of a FEMA camp is about 25,000 people. This number is probably ridiculously high, as housing that many people would require a huge structure approaching the size of a sports stadium. My honest guess is that most camps can handle fewer than 5,000 people while only a few larger camps are built for anything approaching 100,000 people. But we'll go with 25,000 each for illustration purposes.
If accurate, this means FEMA camps can hold, at maximum, 200 x 25,000 people, which is 5 million people. That's a nationwide total.
But New York City, all by itself, has 8 million people. Los Angeles has another 3.8 million, and Chicago has 2.7 million (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_cities_by_populati...).
When you start adding up the populations of the largest cities, it becomes very clear that FEMA camps can't hold anywhere near the numbers they would need to hold in order to handle the mass of refugees fleeing the cities. Remember, the U.S. population is roughly 300 million people. If FEMA camps can hold 5 million people in total, that's only 1.7% of the total population.
Of course, that calculation is only based on how many people FEMA camps can hold. A darker question is: How many people can FEMA camps process? (Incinerate.)
Aren't the incinerators just some wild conspiracy theory?
FEMA camp incinerators, you say? Sounds like some wild conspiracy theory.
That's what I thought, too, until I saw this patent from the U.S. patent office. It's patent number 5425163. And here's the description of the patent:
A multi-functional cremation container for a cadaver is provided. A rectangular container is enclosed on five sides by four container side panels and a bottom panel. The sixth side is an upwardly facing open top for providing access to the internal volume within the container. The side panels terminate at the open top in a first annular horizontal peripheral groove and a downturned external flange having a downfacing annular edge. Each side is sloped so as to allow multiple cremation containers to be nestled for compact storage and easy transportation. A rectangular cover has a horizontal top panel with four peripheral, downwardly extending cover side panels. The cover side panels fit over the container flange for closing the container, and include formed therein a plurality of reliefs for carrying the casket...
http://www.google.com/patents/US5425163
The image of this "cremation container" patent is shown here:
http://www.google.com/patents?id=R-kkAAAAEBAJ&pg=PA2&source=gbs_selec...
These exact "cremation containers" aren't just real, they're stacked inside FEMA camps in massive quantities. The following picture is taken from the 2:30 mark of this Jesse Ventura video:
http://tv.naturalnews.com/v.asp?v=C67234C7049D2AB2F3D897B805FEFEC2
As you can see from the video, these human cadaver incineration containers are being produced and stored in massive quantities, then held at FEMA camps. There can be only one purpose for such containers: The incineration of a massive numbers of Americans.
The CDC, of course, would explain all this as merely a "precautionary measure" to deal with the casualties of a runaway infection with a high fatality rate. Most of the sheeple don't believe mass incineration containers really exist... until you tell them the CDC supports the plan as a way to dispose of infected bodies in a large pandemic outbreak. And then, suddenly, a typical sheeple person will say, "Oh, then, it must be okay."
But back to the point at hand, it is absolutely clear that the U.S. government is preparing to incinerate huge numbers of human bodies at FEMA camps. For what reason? Believe what you wish.
Hold on a second, you say. This is nuts. The American people wouldn't stand by idly and allow the government to incinerate citizens by the millions.
Oh really? And on what evidence do you base such a conclusion? The German citizens tolerated it in World War II, when Jews were being rounded up and incinerated by the millions, right in the German citizens' own back yard. Today, in the USA, the sheeple have become so "sissified", apathetic and mentally malleable that no one would stop the government's mass incineration operations, even if such activities became widely known. "Anything to stop terrorism!" the sheeple would scream as they bow down and lick the boots of tyrants.
If there's anything that's perfectly clear about American culture over the last couple of decades, it's that people will go along with anything -- even crazy things -- as long as the White House explains it away. Hey, let's bail out the rich banksters with trillions of dollars in taxpayer money while nobody goes to jail! Or, let's spend billions of dollars to move U.S. auto industry jobs to China! Or how about this one: Let's just start arresting veterans and throwing them in psychiatric hospitals by the hundreds, claiming they have "mental disorders" if they speak out against the status quo (http://www.naturalnews.com/036923_Brandon_Raub_thought_crimes_psychia...).
So where's the good news in all this, you ask? There is a limit to how many human beings they can process. So even if you believe the FEMA camp infrastructure is engineered and intended to "process" large numbers of American citizens, the limited resources controlled by the federal government means that, by definition, most of the population will escape such evil aims.
Only the clueless and unprepared will be caught in the FEMA web
That's the good news in all this. Even if FEMA camps are invoked in their worst case scenario status, and even if the government becomes overrun with such evil that it pursues a new human holocaust and starts incinerating citizens by the millions, there is a practical limit to how many people they can round up and process.
All such operations -- if they even take place at all -- will be focused entirely on high population density cities where the minimum number of troops can effectively round up the maximum number of citizens with the least amount of resistance.
Keep in mind, by the way, that even the troops won't be told the full story here. They'll be told a big lie such as "a terrible infectious disease has been released by a terrorist and we have to round people up for their own protection." So the troops won't resist the orders, as they'll be operating under the belief that they are saving people. Only a very small inner circle of commanders and loyal troops will know the rest of the story of where those people are headed (and why so many magically disappear).
Even then, there simply aren't enough troops to conduct these "sweep up" operations everywhere. The largest five cities will, all by themselves, use up most of the national resources of troops, humvees, armored personnel carriers, and so on. No one has ever attempted to militarily control the city of Los Angeles, but the task will be enormously complex and extremely messy (if not impossible). Once the roadblocks are put in place around the city, the region will almost certainly become a free-for-all of runaway gang violence, accented with the occasional arrival of guns-blazing national guard troops who shoot anything that doesn't immediately surrender.
Where's the good news in all this again?
Keep reading.
95% of America is rural open space
According to U.S. Census Bureau data, roughly 95% of the USA is rural open space. This is even true in California, where 94% of the population lives in just 5% of the land space of the state. (http://news.heartland.org/newspaper-article/2003/07/01/census-bureau-...)
Think about this for a minute. Ninety-four percent of the population lives in just 5% of the space!
So where do you think the FEMA round-up operations are going to be focused? They're going to be focused on the 5% of the geographic space where the population is concentrated. The cities, namely.
That means 95% of the American landscape will remain a FREEDOM ZONE where there simply aren't enough troops to cover the geography. Yes, troops can and will cover all the highways, bridges, interstates and major roadways. But there are endless back roads, pathways, farms and ranches off the beaten path that will simply be ignored.
Even more, National Guard troops aren't going to want to mess with heavily armed rural populations to begin with. Do you think a bunch of troops want to roll through the mountains of Idaho in the middle of a civil war, with armed rebels hiding behind every tree and rock? Not a chance. They're going to focus their efforts on the disarmed cities where civilians are completely helpless to defend themselves. Turn off the water supply to Los Angeles, and the entire city surrenders in 72 hours.
Chicago also comes to mind as a likely target for rounding people up. Think about it: 2.7 million people, mostly disarmed, ready for the taking. It's "easy pickins" for a holocaust if, indeed, holocaust is the goal.
New York is an easy target for the holocaust, too, with 8.2 million people who are mostly disarmed. Los Angeles provides 3.8 million people to fill the incinerators, although battles with the inner city gangs will be hard-fought.
Houston is another story altogether. With a population of 2.1 million people, there are probably at least half a million armed citizens in Houston. Houstonites are not going to just quietly get stuffed into transport trucks and hauled off to the incinerators. There are a lot of African-American brothers in Houston who know their history -- and they know not to trust the government when someone says, "Just hop onto this transport boat and everything will be fine." The last time that line was offered to black folks, it didn't turn out to be honest advertising.
A hard upbringing makes a stronger survivor
In fact, I have to say for the record that black folks are far sharper about not trusting the government than white folks. A typical middle-class suburban white family is totally clueless about reality, having never seen real hardship. Their kids are hooked on Ritalin, their neighborhood has no real violent crime, and they easily find decent-paying jobs because they look clean-cut and trustworthy. White folks are often in favor of gun restrictions because they live under the delusion that the government will always show up and save them if they need to dial 911 for any reason.
The inner cities, on the other hand, are places where reality hits the pavement night after night. The people who live there are street-wise and not so gullible. Whether they are black, Latino, Chinese or Korean, they're survivors who know to watch their backs and avoid predators. That's a skill relatively few well-to-do white folks have mastered. I'm not trying to be racist against whites here, by the way; I'm just laying out the facts of cultural reality: A hard life makes you a survivor. An easy, cushy life in a protected, artificial suburban upbringing makes you soft, regardless of your race. When a typical rich suburban kid has a problem in life, he's sent to counseling to "talk it out." When a typical inner city kid (of any race) has a problem, he might have to literally dodge bullets. Which one of these two do you think has a better chance of surviving a societal collapse?
For the record, by the way, I was brought up "soft" in a cushy suburban neighborhood, complete with Cub Scouts, my own bicycle newspaper route and four years on the high school track team. I never knew that my protected world wasn't the real world. The only clue I really had was at the divisional track meets where the inner city "brothers" tore up the track, easily beating all us "white boyz" in virtually every running event, seemingly without even trying.
We had several black athletes on our own team, some of whom I got to know quite well, and they were almost universally the strongest runners. Our coach was a smart and fair man, and he always handed the events to the most deserving, regardless of their skin color. That's the only thing that kept our team in the running, as it was often our fastest "brother" who took on the final leg of the 1600-meter relay, making up all the ground lost by us white guys and somehow pulling out a narrow victory by clocking a 47.5-second quarter mile -- an amazing feat for a high school runner.
The point in all this is that when it comes to surviving during hard times, it seems obvious to me that those who were brought up under "hard" circumstances have a survival advantage during a collapse.
Of course, survival skills can be learned and mastered by anybody. With a few hundred hours of training, almost anyone can learn to watch their back, size up potential threats to their safety, become competent in basic skills of evasion and personal defense, and even master what is called "the great American martial art" -- pistol fighting.
The number of people who actually pursue these skills, however, is tiny. Less than one percent of the population. Most people place a far higher priority on television and shopping than on self defense and survival. Needless to say, proudly owning a fancy new pair of designer jeans doesn't count for much in a collapse.
Get your butt into the 95% "freedom zone" areas
The upshot of all this -- and yes, the silver lining -- is that roughly 95% of America's land space will remain virtually untouched by destructive forces even in a worst-case scenario. It only makes sense that getting yourself into this zone well ahead of time is a key strategy for avoiding whatever malicious agenda might be pursued by a government gone bad.
The cities are the death traps of modern society. Whether you're talking about a pandemic, a nuclear strike by an enemy nation, a FEMA-led extermination effort or a "grid down" power collapse, cities are quite obviously death traps. Getting you and your family out of the city is your ticket to freedom and safety.
How do you do that? First, take a look at this list of U.S. cities with populations greater than 100,000:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_cities_by_populati...
If you live in any of those cities, you're probably living in danger.
There are nine U.S. cities with populations greater than one million: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Antonio, San Diego and Dallas.
All nine of those U.S. cities are death traps just waiting to be triggered. But even on that list, some are far more dangerous than others. Cities like San Antonio and Dallas, for example, have multiple escape routes in all directions. But cities like Chicago, Los Angeles and New York are strictly limited by geography and are therefore far deadlier in a crisis. New York City, in particular, resides within Manhattan Island which is connected to the rest of the area by just 16 bridges. This means the military can simply throw down 16 armed, barricaded checkpoints and essentially quarantine the entire city. Patrolling the rivers and harbors is a simple task, so don't think you can escape by boat, either.
This is why I put New York City at the top of my list of the most dangerous places to live. In fact, the entire East Coast is rife with high-density population areas. To really get some open space, you have to head westward, into the Midwest or even go west of the Rockies. There's a lot of rugged open space, for example, in Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona. Idaho, Wyoming, Montana and even Eastern Washington / Oregon have lots of opportunities to get away from the cities. Texas is a huge rural area dotted by a few high-density cities that take up a very small percentage of the actual geographic area of the state.
So the strategy -- and the good news -- is simple and straightforward: Get your butt out of the high-density cities and into the "freedom zones" of the rural areas.
Get this book: Strategic Relocation by Joel Skousen
The best book on this subject is also one that's been around for more than a decade: Strategic Relocation by Joel Skousen.
I recommend you buy this through the InfoWars.com store:
http://www.infowarsshop.com/Strategic-Relocation-North-American-Guide...
On that page, you'll also find a video interview with the author. I first read this book over ten years ago, and it has guided my relocation decisions ever since.
We may soon even carry this book in our own store, the upcoming "NaturalNews Store," which is launching in approximately six weeks: http://store.naturalnews.com
Why I chose Austin, Texas
According to Skousen, Austin Texas is not necessarily the best place in the country. It's too near high-population cities such as San Antonio, Houston and Dallas. There are some nuclear plants in Texas that might also be troublesome.
But I don't actually live in the city of Austin, of course. I live in an outlying area many miles from the city. Most importantly, I chose Texas because of the Texas culture, which turns out to be a perfect fit for my own beliefs of rugged individualism, personal responsibility and Constitutional liberties.
Texas is also the only state with its own independent power grid. Texas produces an excess of energy, food and technology. Of all the states in the nation, Texas is probably the most well-suited to be self-sufficient.
On top of that, Texas is a culture that strongly encourages private firearms ownership, which I believe to be crucial for survival. I simply will not live in a city or state that places ridiculous restrictions on firearms ownership. In Texas, much of the population is armed, and guns are ubiquitous. It's not a problem, by the way. Violent crime is relatively rare in Texas (compared to disarmed death zones like Chicago) because all the potential "bad guys" still have enough brain cells functioning to know that the Texas population is armed to the teeth and willing to shoot back.
Just as importantly, Texas is also an agricultural hub for the nation, so engaging in activities like buying large drums of chicken feed or fertilizer is a common practice. If you want to store 500 gallons of diesel fuel on your farm, that won't raise any eyebrows, either. In rural Texas, you can raise backyard chickens, goats and even rabbits. Land is relatively affordable, and rich soils are available in the right areas.
Texas is famous for producing blueberries, pecans and other superfoods!
Plus, Texas folks are by and large polite people. They still have that Southern hospitality attitude, and they are genuinely helpful folks who band together in any emergency and work to protect their local communities.
Texas is full of Sheriffs and deputies who still believe in the Bill of Rights. Many are quite outspoken about the coming collapse, and they are intent upon protecting their communities from FEMA and the United Nations. (http://www.infowars.com/texas-judge-warns-obama-re-election-could-lea...)
Texas isn't perfect, of course. The cities will be hell holes in a collapse, but the people of Texas are resilient, rugged, innovative and determined. And those are the kind of people I want to be living among when the fit hits the shan, so to speak.
Choose your priorities now
What you decide to do depends on your perspective of what's important. If you're into fashion, shopping malls and living in a concrete jungle with zero sustainability, a city is a great choice. But if you're into living off the land, away from the urban death traps and practicing permaculture or self-reliance, simply shift your priorities so that you get out of the city and into the country.
Remember: 95% of America's land space is wide open, rural space. These spaces are very likely to be left alone in almost any crisis. So pick your spot, buy some land, drill a well and start your garden. Learn the skills you need to survive -- self-defense, plant propagation, raising chickens, and so on -- and you'll be relatively well off when the collapse comes.
That's the good news I promised in all this: If you get out of the city and get prepared, your odds of surviving even a worst-case collapse and FEMA-style round-up attempt are very, very high. It is primarily the clueless, defenseless masses who will find themselves victims of whatever agenda or circumstance unfolds.
The 10 reasons summarized
So, as promised, here are the 10 reasons for legitimate optimism in the face of impending financial collapse:
#1) 95% of America's land space is rural, "wide open" space.
#2) Government forces are limited and can only cover high-density population areas -- the cities.
#3) Right now, you still have time and opportunity to leave the city and move to the countryside.
#4) In many areas of the country, it is perfectly legal for you to raise chickens, raise crops and own firearms for your protection.
#5) Rural culture teaches a survival mindset. Farmers are very resourceful and innovative.
#6) You are not limited to how you were raised. You can teach yourself the skills you need to live in a rural setting. (I did!)
#7) Getting out of the city also gives you buffer space against a pandemic outbreak or biological attack.
#8) FEMA round-up attempts -- if they even occur -- will be very unlikely to ensnare prepared "country folks" who are willing to defend their lives, communities and property.
#9) FEMA camps do not have the capacity or resources to "process" everyone. They are limited in their scope, even if they pursue a holocaust type of agenda.
#10) Most of all: Survivors can help REBUILD a better society after the collapse -- a society that respects liberty, justice, personal responsibility and the order of law. The "next society" which emerges after the collapse will be an opportunity to imprison the banksters, take back the money supply, throw the bums out of office in Washington, shatter the government's devastating monopoly over (failed) public education, end the FDA / pharma monopoly over fascist medicine, and unleash the true entrepreneurial leadership of America once again.
And isn't that good news, after all? Think of the "collapse" as a detox. A cleansing. A reboot to a better operating system. While the current system of runaway debt spending will, without question, come to an end, isn't that actually a good thing if we can create something better on the other side and restore freedom and liberty for America?
Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/036951_financial_collapse_optimism_silver_lining.html#ixzz24xaJsuCS
Hurricane Isaac reminds Americans to stay prepared with a 'Bug Out Bag' (BOB)
http://www.naturalnews.com/036966_Hurricane_Isaac_preparedness_Bug_Out_Bag.html
Monday, August 27, 2012
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
(NaturalNews) Hurricane Isaac doesn't look to be anywhere near the strength that Katrina demonstrated seven years ago, but it nevertheless has much of the Gulf Coast preparing for emergency. Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama are all in declared states of emergency right now, and citizens in many cities have been urged to evacuate.
Isaac's track indicates it could make landfall right smack in the middle of New Orleans -- precisely where Katrina hit seven years ago, causing over $100 billion in economic damage to the region. See the estimated storm track at:
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/storm_graphics/AT09/AL0912W5.gif
Landfall is estimated to take place Tuesday evening, with the really heavy winds tearing through New Orleans Tuesday night.
It is perhaps the recent memory of Katrina that has so many people taking such active precautions now. It might even be overkill, given that Isaac is barely a category 1 hurricane and will only have top winds of around 90 mph according to meteorological estimates. Isaac may turn out to be the "big dud" hurricane of 2012.
Nevertheless, one lesson from Katrina in 2005 is that government is incompetent and can't save you from natural disasters. Perhaps that's why so many citizens are getting prepared on their own, filling up gas tanks and buying up generators, bottled water and other supplies. Profiteering has already kicked in, with some gas stations hiking prices and gouging residents who are fleeing the storm (http://miami.cbslocal.com/2012/08/26/desperate-drivers-pay-the-price-...).
Hotels in cities along evacuation routes are already filling up, and by all indications outbound automobile traffic will be heavy Monday evening and all day Tuesday.
Small hurricanes offer great preparedness practice
I don't expect Isaac to cause anywhere near the damage of Katrina, but the hurricane is at least an opportunity for people to practice preparedness.
Do you have a "Bug Out Bag" ready? (BOB)
Hurricanes have a way of forcing us all to rethink our BOBs. We should all be ready to hit the road in a moment's notice with a survival selection of:
• Food
• Water and water filters
• Emergency medicine
• Light sources
• Blankets and thermal protection
• Firearms and self defense gear
• Radio and communications gear
• Extra fuel for vehicles
• Maps and navigation aids
• Spare cash
• Important documents such as passports
• Personal hygiene items such as soap, toothpaste, etc.
• Spare clothing and quality shoes (NO FLIP FLOPS!)
If you don't yet have your own BOB prepped and ready to go, let Hurricane Isaac be a timely reminder. Because Isaac may turn out to be a relatively mild hurricane, but the real storm heading our way is an economic tsunami called "the great global debt meltdown of 2013" (or whatever year it happens).
That's the storm none of us can escape, so be ready for it.
40 Items to Barter in a Post-Collapse World
Gaye Levy, Contributor
Activist Post
http://www.activistpost.com/2012/08/40-items-to-barter-in-post-collapse.html
Do you know how to barter? In preparedness circles, the term barter is used lot when describing a post SHTF situation when goods and services may no longer be available through normal channels. According to Wikipedia, "barter is a method of exchange by which goods or services are directly exchanged for other goods or services without using a medium of exchange, such as money".
A lot of people think of bartering as something to do when they are down an out, perhaps unemployed, or low on cash. But nothing could be further from the truth. Bartering has been around for eons and is simply a smart way to acquire goods and services under the radar screen.
Today I would like to share some very simple tips for bartering as well as my own suggested list of items and skills that may be useful for barter in a post-collapse economy.
How does simple barter work?
In a simple barter, you look for someone who is looking for a particular kinds of goods or services in exchange for goods or services that you may want. For example, let’s say you do plumbing work but you need a some gardening equipment. A simple barter would be exchanging some plumbing repairs for a used plow or rototiller.
The Best Items to Use For Barter in a Post-Collapse Word...
Getting started is easy. One of the simplest things to do is to put up an small ad on the local community bulletin board, perhaps at the grocery store or bowling alley. (And by the way, I don’t know why but bowling alleys are particularly good for this sort of thing.) You can also peruse Craigslist or the Little Nickel want ads for people trying to sell the item you need. The next step is to simply phone them and ask and suggest a trade.
One of the very best ways to barter, though, is to put the word out among like-minded friends, relatives and neighbors. [NOT strangers.] Let them know what you have for trade and see what they offer in return. What I am describing here is bartering in its most simplistic form but I think you get the gist.
Beyond simple bartering there are more complicated and dare I say sophisticated scenarios such as three way barters and barter clubs. But that gets beyond the scope of this article which is merely to get you into the bartering mindset.
There are a lot of different opinions as to what items will be best for barter in a post-collapse world where the underground economy may be the only viable economy for the passing of goods and services. That said, consider this a starting point as you begin to acquire goods for barter.
In no particular order, consider accumulating some of the following items for barter purposes. And keep in mind that in a post-collapse world, the items do not necessarily have to be new, but simply serviceable.
Water purification supplies including purification tabs and filters
Hand tools including hatchets, saws, machetes and general fix-it tools
Fire making supplies, including lighters, matches, flint fire steel
Sanitary supplies including toilet paper, feminine products and diapers
Disposable razors and razor blades
Fuel, any and all kinds (gas, diesel, propane, kerosene)
Prescription drugs, painkillers, and antibiotics
First aid remedies such as cough syrup, cortisone cream, boil-ese, calamine lotion and topical pain relievers
Spirits such as bourbon, rum, gin, and vodka
Coffee and tea (instant coffee is okay)
Solar battery charger and rechargeable batteries
Standard Batteries
Reading glasses
Paracord
Bags, including large garbage bags as well as smaller zip-close bags
Plastic sheeting
Duct tape
Tie Wraps
Heavy plastic sheets and tarps
Toiletries including toothpaste, dental floss soaps, shampoo (tip: save those small sized toiletries that are provided by hotels and motels)
Condoms
Latex or Nitrile gloves in a variety of sizes
Hard candy
Fishing supplies
Knives of various types including fixed blades, kitchen knives, and box cutters
Condiments and Spices
Paperback books on a variety of subjects
Tobacco and cigarette rolling supplies
Amusements such as playing cards, crossword puzzle books, Sudoku
Pencils & paper
Pepper spray
Garden seeds
Flashlights
Vinegar and baking soda to use in DIY cleaning supplies
Empty spray bottles and squirt bottles
Hand pumps for both air and liquids
Mylar blankets and tents
Hand warmers
Sewing and mending supplies
Knitting or crochet needles and yarn
One thing you will notice that I have not included firearms or ammo and for good reason. In a post-collapse society, you might not know your barter partners well and may run the risk that they will use these items against you so that they can steal the rest of your stuff. One person’s opinion, anyway.
A Caveat for Businesses
As you get started with bartering in a pre-collapse world – and after all, like any other survival skill, you should hone your skills now.
Keep in mind that in the United States, the IRS does have some rules for business bartering and most certainly, states probably do as well as it pertains to Business and Occupation taxes. Just something to keep in mind.
The Final Word
Times are tough. Many are unemployed. And many have had their retirement funds decimated by the sneaky (and dare we say corrupt?) Wall Street types. Perhaps you have a useful skill. Or perhaps you have a healthy flock of egg laying chickens that provide more than you can consume. Whatever you have in excess capacity, now is the time to learn to trade your skill or extra commodities for something you either need or covet.
There are lots of resources online, at the libraries, and in eBooks to help you acquire bartering skills. Start small but start now. Bartering is the “in” thing to do these days.
Getting Prepared Month 11: Stock Up on Disposables & Build a Neighborhood Contact List
http://www.activistpost.com/2012/08/getting-prepared-month-11-stock-up-on.html
In case you missed any of the articles in this series:
Month 1: Supplies, Gear and Tasks to Get You Started
Month 2: First Aid, Personal Hygiene and Home Safety
Month 3: Special Foods, Fire Drills and Home Safety
Month 4: Prescription Medicine, Cash, and Things to Keep Us Warm
Month 5: Sanitation Supplies and Establishing a Community of Like-Minded Folks
Month 6: Fitness, Energy Bars and Face Masks
Month 7: Gear, Tools, and Skills to Save Lives
Month 8: Adding Supplies, Tasks, and an Emergency Preparedness Kit for Your Vehicle
Month 9: Duct Tape and Drills
Month 10: Practice Going Off Grid
Enjoy your next adventure through common sense and thoughtful preparation!
Protect our electronics against EMP attack
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/1219/p25s02-stct.html
EMP AND FARADAY CAGES
http://unitedstatesaction.com/emp_and_faraday_cages.htm
Fun one:
How To Protect Your Electronics From An EMP Attack
http://ibloga.blogspot.com/2010/02/how-to-protect-your-electronics-from.html
Eight foot copper grounding pole is essential. Crap loads of youtube vids on this.
Charge your gadgets
By converting heat from the fire into usable electricity, our stoves will recharge your phones, lights and other gadgets while you cook dinner. Unlike solar, BioLite CampStove is a true on-demand source.
http://biolitestove.com/campstove/camp-overview/features/
Bank Runs, Food Shortages, Riots, Looting, Blood in the Streets. And That's Just Greece: 10 Things to Prepare for NOW
http://beforeitsnews.com/story/2230/990/Bank_Runs,_Food_Shortages,_Riots,_Looting,_Blood_in_the_Streets._And_Thats_Just_Greece:_10_Things_to_Prepare_for_NOW.html
The following are 10 things that we can learn about shortages and preparation from the economic collapse in Greece....
#1 Food Shortages Can Actually Happen
Most people assume that they will always be able to run out to their local supermarket or to Wal-Mart and get all of the supplies they need.
Unfortunately, that is a false assumption. The truth is that our food distribution system is extremely vulnerable.
In Greece, many people are starting to totally run out of food. Even some government institutions (such as prisons) are now reporting food shortages. The following was originally from a Greek news source....
The financing for many prisons has decreased to a minimum for some months now, resulting in hundreds of detainees being malnourished and surviving on the charity of local communities.
The latest example is the prison in Corinth where after the supply stoppage from the nearby military camp, the prisoners are at the mercy of God because, as reported by prison staff, not even one grain of rice has been left in their warehouses. When a few days earlier the commander of the camp announced to the prison management the transportation stoppage, citing lack of food supplies even for the soldiers, he shut down the last source of supply for 84 prisoners. The response of some Corinth citizens was immediate as they took it upon themselves to support the prisoners, since all protests to the Justice ministry were fruitless.
#2 Medicine Is One Of The First Things That Becomes Scarce During An Economic Collapse
If you are dependent on medicine in order to survive, you might want to figure out how you are going to get by if your supply of medicine is totally cut off someday.
In Greece, medicine shortages have become a massive problem. The following is from a recent Bloomberg article....
Mina Mavrou, who runs a pharmacy in a middle-class Athens suburb, spends hours each day pleading with drugmakers, wholesalers and colleagues to hunt down medicines for clients. Life-saving drugs such as Sanofi (SAN)’s blood-thinner Clexane and GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK)’s asthma inhaler Flixotide often appear as lines of crimson data on pharmacists’ computer screens, meaning the products aren’t in stock or that pharmacists can’t order as many units as they need.
“When we see red, we want to cry,” Mavrou said. “The situation is worsening day by day.”
The 12,000 pharmacies that dot almost every street corner in Greek cities are the damaged capillaries of a complex system for getting treatment to patients. The Panhellenic Association of Pharmacists reports shortages of almost half the country’s 500 most-used medicines. Even when drugs are available, pharmacists often must foot the bill up front, or patients simply do without.
#3 When An Economy Collapses, So Might The Power Grid
THE REST BLOW
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10 Things That We Can Learn About Shortages and Preparation From the Economic Collapse in Greece
Economic Collapse Blog
http://lewrockwell.com/rep3/learn-from-greek-collapse.html
When the economy of a nation collapses, almost everything changes. Unfortunately, most people have never been through anything like that, so it can be difficult to know how to prepare. For those that are busy preparing for the coming global financial collapse, there is a lot to be learned from the economic depression that is happening right now in Greece. Essentially, what Greece is experiencing is a low level economic collapse. Unemployment is absolutely rampant and poverty is rapidly spreading, but the good news for Greece is that the global financial system is still operating somewhat normally and they are getting some financial assistance from the outside. Things in Greece could be a whole lot worse, and they will probably get a whole lot worse before it is all said and done. But already things have gotten bad enough in Greece that it gives us an idea of what a full-blown economic collapse in the 21st century may look like. There are reports of food and medicine shortages in Greece, crime and suicides are on the rise and people have been rapidly pulling their money out of the banks. Hopefully this article will give you some ideas that you can use as you prepare for the economic chaos that will soon be unfolding all over the globe.
The following are 10 things that we can learn about shortages and preparation from the economic collapse in Greece....
#1 Food Shortages Can Actually Happen
Most people assume that they will always be able to run out to their local supermarket or to Wal-Mart and get all of the supplies they need.
Unfortunately, that is a false assumption. The truth is that our food distribution system is extremely vulnerable.
In Greece, many people are starting to totally run out of food. Even some government institutions (such as prisons) are now reporting food shortages. The following was originally from a Greek news source....
The financing for many prisons has decreased to a minimum for some months now, resulting in hundreds of detainees being malnourished and surviving on the charity of local communities.
The latest example is the prison in Corinth where after the supply stoppage from the nearby military camp, the prisoners are at the mercy of God because, as reported by prison staff, not even one grain of rice has been left in their warehouses. When a few days earlier the commander of the camp announced to the prison management the transportation stoppage, citing lack of food supplies even for the soldiers, he shut down the last source of supply for 84 prisoners. The response of some Corinth citizens was immediate as they took it upon themselves to support the prisoners, since all protests to the Justice ministry were fruitless.
#2 Medicine Is One Of The First Things That Becomes Scarce During An Economic Collapse
If you are dependent on medicine in order to survive, you might want to figure out how you are going to get by if your supply of medicine is totally cut off someday.
In Greece, medicine shortages have become a massive problem. The following is from a recent Bloomberg article....
Mina Mavrou, who runs a pharmacy in a middle-class Athens suburb, spends hours each day pleading with drugmakers, wholesalers and colleagues to hunt down medicines for clients. Life-saving drugs such as Sanofi (SAN)’s blood-thinner Clexane and GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK)’s asthma inhaler Flixotide often appear as lines of crimson data on pharmacists’ computer screens, meaning the products aren’t in stock or that pharmacists can’t order as many units as they need.
“When we see red, we want to cry,” Mavrou said. “The situation is worsening day by day.”
The 12,000 pharmacies that dot almost every street corner in Greek cities are the damaged capillaries of a complex system for getting treatment to patients. The Panhellenic Association of Pharmacists reports shortages of almost half the country’s 500 most-used medicines. Even when drugs are available, pharmacists often must foot the bill up front, or patients simply do without.
#3 When An Economy Collapses, So Might The Power Grid
Try this some time - turn off all power to your home for 24 hours and try to live normally.
Sadly, most people simply do not understand just how dependent we are on the power grid. Without power, all of our lives would change dramatically.
In Greece, authorities are warning of an impending "collapse" of the power grid. If it goes down for an extended period of time in Greece, the consequences would be catastrophic....
Greece’s power regulator RAE told Reuters on Friday it was calling an emergency meeting next week to avert a collapse of the debt-stricken country’s electricity and natural gas system.
“RAE is taking crisis initiatives throughout next week to avert the collapse of the natural gas and electricity system,” the regulator’s chief Nikos Vasilakos told Reuters.
RAE took the decision after receiving a letter from Greece’s natural gas company DEPA, which threatened to cut supplies to electricity producers if they failed to settle their arrears with the company.
#4 During An Economic Collapse You Cannot Even Take Water For Granted
If the power grid goes down, you will soon no longer have clean water coming out of your faucets. That is one of the reasons why it is absolutely imperative that the power grid stay operable in Greece.
Sadly, most people don't understand just how vulnerable our water system is. In a previous article, I quoted from a report that discussed how rapidly our water supply would be in jeopardy in the event of a major transportation disruption....
According to the American Water Works Association, Americans drink more than one billion glasses of tap water per day. For safety and security reasons, most water supply plants maintain a larger inventory of supplies than the typical business. However, the amount of chemical storage varies significantly and is site specific. According to the Chlorine Institute, most water treatment facilities receive chlorine in cylinders (150 pounds and one ton cylinders) that are delivered by motor carriers. On average, trucks deliver purification chemicals to water supply plants every seven to 14 days. Without these chemicals, water cannot be purified and made safe for drinking. Without truck deliveries of purification chemicals, water supply plants will run out of drinkable water in 14 to 28 days. Once the water supply is drained, water will be deemed safe for drinking only when boiled. Lack of clean drinking water will lead to increased gastrointestinal and other illnesses, further taxing an already weakened healthcare system.
What will you do when clean water stops coming out of your faucets?
You might want to start thinking about that.
#5 During An Economic Crisis Your Credit Cards And Debit Cards May Stop Working
Most people have become very accustomed to using either debit cards or credit cards for almost everything.
But what would happen if the financial system locked up for a period of time and you were not able to use them?
This is something that the citizens of Greece are potentially facing in the coming months, and this is something that all of us need to start thinking about.
#6 Crime, Rioting And Looting Become Commonplace During An Economic Collapse
Big corporations are already making extensive plans for how to protect their stores in the event that Greece switches from the euro to the drachma.
The following is from a recent Reuters article....
British electrical retailer Dixons has spent the last few weeks stockpiling security shutters to protect its nearly 100 stores across Greece in case of riot.
The planning, says Dixons chief Sebastian James, may look alarmist but it's good to be prepared.
Company bosses around Europe agree. As the financial crisis in Greece worsens, companies are getting ready for everything from social unrest to a complete meltdown of the financial system.
#7 During A Financial Meltdown Many Average Citizens Will Start Bartering
During this economic depression, alternative currencies have already been popping up in Greece.
When things fall apart on a global scale, will you have things to barter for the things that you need?
#8 Suicides Spike During An Economic Collapse
When you think of the Great Depression of the 1930s, what do you think of?
Many people think of images of people jumping out of buildings.
Well, something similar has been happening in Greece. Suicide statistics in Greece have been absolutely soaring during the last couple of years.
Once prosperity disappears, many people feel as though life is not worth living anymore.
#9 Your Currency May Rapidly Lose Value During An Economic Crisis
Just remember what happened in Germany during the Weimar Republic and what has happened recently in places like Zimbabwe.
The truth is that it can happen anywhere.
Right now, Greeks are pulling their money out of the banks because they are worried that their euros will be turned into drachmas which would rapidly lose value.
If I was living in Greece I would definitely be concerned about that. The return of the drachma seems to get closer with each passing day. Just check out these screenshots.
#10 When Things Hit The Fan The Government Will Not Save You
Has the government of Greece come to the rescue of all of those that are deeply suffering right now?
Of course not. The truth is that the Greek government can barely take care of itself at the moment.
History has shown us that governments simply cannot be counted on when things hit the fan.
Just remember what happened during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
In the end, the only one that can be counted on to take care of you and your family is you.
So you better start preparing.
Unfortunately, as I wrote about the other day, time is rapidly running out for the global financial system.
Even some of the top economic officials in the world are warning that another major crisis could be on the way.
Just check out what World Bank President Robert Zoellick said the other day....
"Events in Greece could trigger financial fright in Spain, Italy and across the eurozone. The summer of 2012 offers an eerie echo of 2008."
He also compared a potential exit of Greece from the eurozone to the collapse of Lehman Brothers back during the last financial crisis....
"If Greece leaves the eurozone, the contagion is impossible to predict, just as Lehman had unexpected consequences."
So what are some things that the average person can do to get prepared?
Well, a recent article on SHTFplan.com entitled "The List: A to Z Survival for the Abysmal Times Ahead" contains hundreds of ideas for preparing for the chaotic economic environment that we are heading into.
Preparation is going to look different for every family. No two situations are exactly the same.
But there are some practical steps that nearly all of us can take to better position ourselves for what is coming. Now is the time to get educated and now is the time to take action.
Or you could be like all of those that laughed at Noah while he was building that big boat.
In the end, things did not work out too well for those folks.
Reprinted with permission from the Economic Collapse Blog.
June 7, 2012
Copyright © 2012 Economic Collapse Blog
10 Things That We Can Learn About Shortages And Preparation From The Economic Collapse In Greece
http://www.activistpost.com/2012/06/10-things-that-we-can-learn-about.html
Michael Snyder, Contributor
Activist Post
When the economy of a nation collapses, almost everything changes. Unfortunately, most people have never been through anything like that, so it can be difficult to know how to prepare. For those that are busy preparing for the coming global financial collapse, there is a lot to be learned from the economic depression that is happening right now in Greece.
Essentially, what Greece is experiencing is a low-level economic collapse. Unemployment is absolutely rampant and poverty is rapidly spreading, but the good news for Greece is that the global financial system is still operating somewhat normally and they are getting some financial assistance from the outside. Things in Greece could be a whole lot worse, and they will probably get a whole lot worse before it is all said and done. But already things have gotten bad enough in Greece that it gives us an idea of what a full-blown economic collapse in the 21st century may look like.
There are reports of food and medicine shortages in Greece, crime and suicides are on the rise, and people have been rapidly pulling their money out of the banks. Hopefully this article will give you some ideas that you can use as you prepare for the economic chaos that will soon be unfolding all over the globe.
The following are 10 things that we can learn about shortages and preparation from the economic collapse in Greece....
#1 Food Shortages Can Actually Happen
Most people assume that they will always be able to run out to their local supermarket or to Wal-Mart and get all of the supplies they need.
Unfortunately, that is a false assumption. The truth is that our food distribution system is extremely vulnerable.
In Greece, many people are starting to totally run out of food. Even some government institutions (such as prisons) are now reporting food shortages. The following was originally from a Greek news source....
The financing for many prisons has decreased to a minimum for some months now, resulting in hundreds of detainees being malnourished and surviving on the charity of local communities.
The latest example is the prison in Corinth where after the supply stoppage from the nearby military camp, the prisoners are at the mercy of God because, as reported by prison staff, not even one grain of rice has been left in their warehouses. When a few days earlier the commander of the camp announced to the prison management the transportation stoppage, citing lack of food supplies even for the soldiers, he shut down the last source of supply for 84 prisoners. The response of some Corinth citizens was immediate as they took it upon themselves to support the prisoners, since all protests to the Justice ministry were fruitless.
#2 Medicine Is One Of The First Things That Becomes Scarce During An Economic Collapse
If you are dependent on medicine in order to survive, you might want to figure out how you are going to get by if your supply of medicine is totally cut off someday.
In Greece, medicine shortages have become a massive problem. The following is from a recent Bloomberg article....
Mina Mavrou, who runs a pharmacy in a middle-class Athens suburb, spends hours each day pleading with drugmakers, wholesalers and colleagues to hunt down medicines for clients.
Life-saving drugs such as Sanofi (SAN)’s blood-thinner Clexane and GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK)’s asthma inhaler Flixotide often appear as lines of crimson data on pharmacists’ computer screens, meaning the products aren’t in stock or that pharmacists can’t order as many units as they need.
'When we see red, we want to cry,' Mavrou said. 'The situation is worsening day by day.'
The 12,000 pharmacies that dot almost every street corner in Greek cities are the damaged capillaries of a complex system for getting treatment to patients. The Panhellenic Association of Pharmacists reports shortages of almost half the country’s 500 most-used medicines. Even when drugs are available, pharmacists often must foot the bill up front, or patients simply do without.
#3 When An Economy Collapses, So Might The Power Grid
Try this some time - turn off all power to your home for 24 hours and try to live normally.
Sadly, most people simply do not understand just how dependent we are on the power grid. Without power, all of our lives would change dramatically.
In Greece, authorities are warning of an impending "collapse" of the power grid. If it goes down for an extended period of time in Greece, the consequences would be catastrophic....
Greece’s power regulator RAE told Reuters on Friday it was calling an emergency meeting next week to avert a collapse of the debt-stricken country’s electricity and natural gas system.
'RAE is taking crisis initiatives throughout next week to avert the collapse of the natural gas and electricity system,' the regulator’s chief Nikos Vasilakos told Reuters.
RAE took the decision after receiving a letter from Greece’s natural gas company DEPA, which threatened to cut supplies to electricity producers if they failed to settle their arrears with the company.
#4 During An Economic Collapse You Cannot Even Take Water For Granted
If the power grid goes down, you will soon no longer have clean water coming out of your faucets. That is one of the reasons why it is absolutely imperative that the power grid stay operable in Greece.
Sadly, most people don't understand just how vulnerable our water system is. In a previous article, I quoted from a report that discussed how rapidly our water supply would be in jeopardy in the event of a major transportation disruption....
According to the American Water Works Association, Americans drink more than one billion glasses of tap water per day. For safety and security reasons, most water supply plants maintain a larger inventory of supplies than the typical business. However, the amount of chemical storage varies significantly and is site specific.
According to the Chlorine Institute, most water treatment facilities receive chlorine in cylinders (150 pounds and one ton cylinders) that are delivered by motor carriers. On average, trucks deliver purification chemicals to water supply plants every seven to 14 days.
Without these chemicals, water cannot be purified and made safe for drinking. Without truck deliveries of purification chemicals, water supply plants will run out of drinkable water in 14 to 28 days. Once the water supply is drained, water will be deemed safe for drinking only when boiled. Lack of clean drinking water will lead to increased gastrointestinal and other illnesses, further taxing an already weakened healthcare system.
What will you do when clean water stops coming out of your faucets?
You might want to start thinking about that.
#5 During An Economic Crisis Your Credit Cards And Debit Cards May Stop Working
Most people have become very accustomed to using either debit cards or credit cards for almost everything.
But what would happen if the financial system locked up for a period of time and you were not able to use them?
This is something that the citizens of Greece are potentially facing in the coming months, and this is something that all of us need to start thinking about.
#6 Crime, Rioting And Looting Become Commonplace During An Economic Collapse
Big corporations are already making extensive plans for how to protect their stores in the event that Greece switches from the euro to the drachma.
The following is from a recent Reuters article....
British electrical retailer Dixons has spent the last few weeks stockpiling security shutters to protect its nearly 100 stores across Greece in case of riot.
The planning, says Dixons chief Sebastian James, may look alarmist but it's good to be prepared.
Company bosses around Europe agree. As the financial crisis in Greece worsens, companies are getting ready for everything from social unrest to a complete meltdown of the financial system.
#7 During A Financial Meltdown Many Average Citizens Will Start Bartering
During this economic depression, alternative currencies have already been popping up in Greece.
When things fall apart on a global scale, will you have things to barter for the things that you need?
#8 Suicides Spike During An Economic Collapse
When you think of the Great Depression of the 1930s, what do you think of?
Many people think of images of people jumping out of buildings.
Well, something similar has been happening in Greece. Suicide statistics in Greece have been absolutely soaring during the last couple of years.
Once prosperity disappears, many people feel as though life is not worth living anymore.
#9 Your Currency May Rapidly Lose Value During An Economic Crisis
Just remember what happened in Germany during the Weimar Republic and what has happened recently in places like Zimbabwe.
The truth is that it can happen anywhere.
Right now, Greeks are pulling their money out of the banks because they are worried that their euros will be turned into drachmas which would rapidly lose value.
If I was living in Greece I would definitely be concerned about that. The return of the drachma seems to get closer with each passing day. Just check out these screenshots.
#10 When Things Hit The Fan The Government Will Not Save You
Has the government of Greece come to the rescue of all of those that are deeply suffering right now?
Of course not. The truth is that the Greek government can barely take care of itself at the moment.
History has shown us that governments simply cannot be counted on when things hit the fan.
Just remember what happened during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
In the end, the only one that can be counted on to take care of you and your family is you.
So you better start preparing.
Unfortunately, as I wrote about the other day, time is rapidly running out for the global financial system.
Even some of the top economic officials in the world are warning that another major crisis could be on the way.
Just check out what World Bank President Robert Zoellick said the other day....
Events in Greece could trigger financial fright in Spain, Italy and across the eurozone. The summer of 2012 offers an eerie echo of 2008.
He also compared a potential exit of Greece from the eurozone to the collapse of Lehman Brothers back during the last financial crisis....
If Greece leaves the eurozone, the contagion is impossible to predict, just as Lehman had unexpected consequences.
So what are some things that the average person can do to get prepared?
Well, a recent article on SHTFplan.com entitled "The List: A to Z Survival for the Abysmal Times Ahead" contains hundreds of ideas for preparing for the chaotic economic environment that we are heading into.
Preparation is going to look different for every family. No two situations are exactly the same.
But there are some practical steps that nearly all of us can take to better position ourselves for what is coming. Now is the time to get educated and now is the time to take action.
Or you could be like all of those that laughed at Noah while he was building that big boat.
In the end, things did not work out too well for those folks.
This article first appeared here at the Economic Collapse Blog. Michael Snyder is a writer, speaker and activist who writes and edits his own blogs The American Dream and Economic Collapse Blog. Follow him on Twitter here.
Gun Manual For Nearly EVERY Firearm On The Planet
12160.info/group/rise-of-the-reds/page/gun-manual-for-nearly-every-firearm-on-the-planet
10 Survial PDFs for When TSHTF
http://www.thepreparationstation.com/2011/survival-kindle-pdfs-for-when-tshtf/
12 Months of Prepping, One Month at a Time
Gaye Levy, Contributing Writer
Activist Post
http://www.activistpost.com/2011/09/12-months-of-prepping-one-month-at-time.html
Once the prepping bug hits, it is easy to want to go for it. You know what I mean: Let’s do it and let’s do it all Right Now!
There are some problems with this. First there are time constraints, and second there are money and budget issues. But the biggest problem and undoubtedly the one that is overlooked in the initial flurry of readiness preparations, is that without reasonable care and thought given to the process, the tasks and the actual products involved, you can make some costly mistakes. I say this from experience. In my haste to get “stocked up” I bought gear that I don’t like and will never use. I purchased foodstuffs I will never eat. Stupid stupid stupid of me. I should have taken my time, done my research, and made a well thought out and educated decision before I even got started.
Today I would like to help you break down the overwhelming task of emergency preparation by providing you with a month-by-month calendar of things to do, tasks to complete and items to purchase. For the newbies, this gives you a manageable number of things to do in a short period of time. Instead of looking at a task list 10 pages long, you have a short list that is eminently doable in 30 days or less.
ad
And for the more experienced prepper? You can start with month #1, look at the activities and tasks involved and fill in any gaps you may have in your own preparation. In some cases you may see a need to update or rotate what you have on hand and in others, you may find the need to practice a particular skill.
I love lists. So bear with me as I present a readiness calendar to guide your through twelve months of prepping. Hopefully you will find that one month’s work is not too costly, not too time-consuming and not too difficult. The most difficult part as I see it will be getting off your bum and starting. So let’s do it!
MONTH 1
SUPPLIES & GEAR:
* Water-3 gallons per person and per pet
* Hand-operated can opener and bottle opener
* Canned meat, stew, or pasta meals – 5 per person
* 2 flashlights with batteries
TASKS:
* Inventory the disaster supplies you already have on hand, including your camping gear
* If you fill your own water containers, mark them with the date they were filled
* Date cans of food and food containers if you have not already done so
MONTH 2
SUPPLIES & GEAR:
* Canned vegetables – 4 per person
* Toilet paper – 3 rolls per person
* Sanitary napkins – 2 months’ supply
* Instant drinks (coffee, tea, powdered soft drinks)
* Family sized first aid kit
TASKS:
* Change the batteries and test your smoke detectors. Purchase and install smoke detectors if you don’t have them
* Make an inventory of home contents for insurance purposes. Take photographs (digital are easiest) of your house and contents. Store a copy away from your home.
We will protect your privacy...guaranteed!
MONTH 3
SUPPLIES & GEAR:
* Canned fruits – 3 cans per person
* Any foods for special dietary needs (enough for 3 days)
* A large plastic tub or bin for storage of food and other emergency supplies.
TASKS:
* Conduct a home fire drill
* Locate the gas meter and water shutoff points and attach/store a wrench or shutoff tool near them. Also store special shutoff instruction, if any.
* Establish and out-of-state contact to call in case of an emergency
* Identify a location for your storage of plastic bin or tub.
MONTH 4
SUPPLIES & GEAR:
* Extra baby bottles, formula and diapers if needed
* Extra pet supplies; food, collar, leash, etc.
* A stash of at least $100 in small bills – more if you can afford it
* Begin to stockpile extra supplies of critical prescription medications. Talk to your pharmacist for help in making this happen.
TASKS:
* Place a supply of prescription medicine(s) in a storage container and date the medicine(s) if not already indicated on its label
* Start putting supplies in storage container(s) and include blankets or sleeping bags for each family member
MONTH 5
SUPPLIES & GEAR:
* Canned, ready-to-eat soup – 4 per person
* Liquid dish soap
* Plain liquid bleach
* Portable am/FM radio with batteries
* Liquid hand soap and hand sanitizer
* Disposable hand wipes
* Disposable latex or nutile gloves
TASKS:
* Make two photocopies of important papers and put one in the storage container, and one away from your home.
* Talk with neighbors about organizing a neighborhood preparedness group.
MONTH 6
SUPPLIES & GEAR:
* Box of granola or power bars – 1 per person
* 6 rolls of paper towels
* Box of N-95 or N-100 face masks – 1 per person.
TASKS:
* Check to see if stored water has expired and needs to be replaced
* Put an extra pair of eyeglasses in the supply container
* Find out about your workplace disaster plans and the disaster plans at your children’s schools
Food Storage
Freeze Dried Food
Dehydrated Food
MRE
Survival Kits
Water Storage
Mountain House Food
MRE Meals
Emergency Supplies
Emergency Preparedness
MONTH 7
SUPPLIES & GEAR:
* NOAA Alert Weather Radio
* ABC fire extinguisher
* Jug of juice – 1 per person
* Adult and children’s vitamins
* A pair of pliers and/or vise grip
* 100 feet of rope or paracord
TASKS:
* Take a first aid/CPR class
* Show family members where and how to shut off utilities
MONTH 8
SUPPLIES & GEAR:
* Box of crackers or graham crackers – 1 per person
* Dry cereal or instant oatmeal – 1 weeks’ worth per person
* 1 box of large, heavy-duty garbage bags
TASKS:
* Make a small preparedness kit for your car. Include food, water, blanket, small first aid kit, a list of important phone numbers
* Secure water heaters to wall studs (if not already done)
MONTH 9
SUPPLIES & GEAR:
* Extra batteries for flashlights, radio and hearing aids (if needed)
* Duct tape
* Add an additional 3 days of water to your supply per person and per pet
TASKS:
* Follow up on efforts to organize your neighborhood
* Conduct an earthquake drill at home: stop, drop and hold, then go outside. (Remember, and earthquake can happen anywhere as recent events have demonstrated.)
* Replace prescription medicines as required by expiration dates
MONTH 10
SUPPLIES & GEAR:
* Take the month off from purchases. Yay!
TASKS:
* Secure shelves, cabinets and drawers to prevent them from falling and/or opening during earthquakes
* Imagine your house with no electricity. What more do you need?
MONTH 11
SUPPLIES & GEAR:
* Package of paper plates
* Package of napkins
* Package of eating utensils
* Package of paper cups
TASKS:
* Exchange work, home and emergency contact phone numbers with neighbors for use during an emergency
MONTH 12
SUPPLIES & GEAR:
* Heavy work gloves
* Begin to try to expand your food supply to twice of what you have on hand right now. Continue with this effort into coming 12 months.
TASKS:
* Check to see if your stored food and water needs to be replaced.
MONTH 13
Congratulations. You have completed your year of preparations. Now is a good time to go back to month 1 and review, replenish, rotate and drill. Good job!
The Final Word
Once a month for the next twelve months I will feature an article devoted exclusively to the monthly tasks at hand, including suggested activities, recommended purchases, viable alternatives, budget saving strategies and references to more reading material. Sometime I may deviate from the list a bit and other times I may enhance it.
The final word for today is this:
Emergency preparation is your journey and should be unique to your circumstances, your family, your geographical location and your financial resources. Yes, it can be a chore. But as I have said before, it should be a chore with a happy ending.
Enjoy your next adventure through common sense and thoughtful preparation!
Gaye Levy, the SurvivalWoman, grew up and attended school in the Greater Seattle area. After spending many years as an executive in the software industry, she started a specialized accounting practice offering contract CFO work to emerging high tech and service industries. She has now abandoned city life and moved to a serenely beautiful rural area on an island in NW Washington State. She lives and teaches the principles of a sustainable, self-reliant and stylish lifestyle through emergency preparation and disaster planning through her website at BackdoorSurvival.com. SurvivalWoman speaks her mind and delivers her message with optimism and grace, regardless of mayhem swirling around us. Enjoy your next adventure through common sense and thoughtful preparation!
FBI Asks Stores To Spy On Survival Gear Customers And Report Them As Potential Terrorists
http://blog.alexanderhiggins.com/2011/08/11/oath-keepers-fbi-demanding-surplus-stores-spy-customers-54401/
'Preppers' stock up on guns'n'gear as financial doom looms
http://12160.info/video/preppers-stock-up-on-guns-n-gear-as-financial-doom-looms?xg_source=shorten_twitter
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A Collection of articles and posts that prepare the gentle reader for the disruption that comes.
Pure Ugly Ahead. May as well make the best of it.
"When a well-packaged web of lies has been sold gradually to the masses over generations, the truth will seem utterly preposterous and its speaker a raving lunatic." ~ Dresden James
"Men think in herds, go mad in herds, but recover their senses one by one." ~ Charles Mackay
There will never be a really free and enlightened State until the State comes to recognize the individual as a higher and independent power, from which all its own power and authority are derived, and treats him accordingly. ~ Henry David Thoreau
OF COURSE:
http://www.loompanics.com/
http://www.canningpantry.com/
This is must a read site, has a bit of everything:
http://www.endtimesreport.com/
You can spend days reading it. The other thing you can do to prepare is "spend a week with the Amish"....
100 Items to Disappear First
1. Generators (Good ones cost dearly. Gas storage, risky. Noisy...target of thieves; maintenance etc.)
2. Water Filters/Purifiers
3. Portable Toilets
4. Seasoned Firewood. Wood takes about 6 - 12 months to become dried, for home uses.
5. Lamp Oil, Wicks, Lamps (First Choice: Buy CLEAR oil. If scarce, stockpile ANY!)
6. Coleman Fuel. Impossible to stockpile too much.
7. Guns, Ammunition, Pepper Spray, Knives, Clubs, Bats & Slingshots.
8. Hand-can openers, & hand egg beaters, whisks.
9. Honey/Syrups/white, brown sugar
10. Rice - Beans - Wheat
11. Vegetable Oil (for cooking) Without it food burns/must be boiled etc.,)
12. Charcoal, Lighter Fluid (Will become scarce suddenly)
13. Water Containers (Urgent Item to obtain.) Any size. Small: HARD CLEAR PLASTIC ONLY - note - food grade if for drinking.
16. Propane Cylinders (Urgent: Definite shortages will occur.
17. Survival Guide Book.
18. Mantles: Aladdin, Coleman, etc. (Without this item, longer-term lighting is difficult.)
19. Baby Supplies: Diapers/formula. ointments/aspirin, etc.
20. Washboards, Mop Bucket w/wringer (for Laundry)
21. Cookstoves (Propane, Coleman & Kerosene)
22. Vitamins
23. Propane Cylinder Handle-Holder (Urgent: Small canister use is dangerous without this item)
24. Feminine Hygiene/Haircare/Skin products.
25. Thermal underwear (Tops & Bottoms)
26. Bow saws, axes and hatchets, Wedges (also, honing oil)
27. Aluminum Foil Reg. & Heavy Duty (Great Cooking and Barter Item)
28. Gasoline Containers (Plastic & Metal)
29. Garbage Bags (Impossible To Have Too Many).
30. Toilet Paper, Kleenex, Paper Towels
31. Milk - Powdered & Condensed (Shake Liquid every 3 to 4 months)
32. Garden Seeds (Non-Hybrid) (A MUST)
33. Clothes pins/line/hangers (A MUST)
34. Coleman's Pump Repair Kit
35. Tuna Fish (in oil)
36. Fire Extinguishers (or..large box of Baking Soda in every room)
37. First aid kits
38. Batteries (all sizes...buy furthest-out for Expiration Dates)
39. Garlic, spices & vinegar, baking supplies
40. Big Dogs (and plenty of dog food)
41. Flour, yeast & salt
42. Matches. {"Strike Anywhere" preferred.) Boxed, wooden matches will go first
43. Writing paper/pads/pencils, solar calculators
44. Insulated ice chests (good for keeping items from freezing in Wintertime.)
45. Workboots, belts, Levis & durable shirts
46. Flashlights/LIGHTSTICKS & torches, "No. 76 Dietz" Lanterns
47. Journals, Diaries & Scrapbooks (jot down ideas, feelings, experience; Historic Times)
48. Garbage cans Plastic (great for storage, water, transporting - if with wheels)
49. Men's Hygiene: Shampoo, Toothbrush/paste, Mouthwash/floss, nail clippers, etc
50. Cast iron cookware (sturdy, efficient)
51. Fishing supplies/tools
52. Mosquito coils/repellent, sprays/creams
53. Duct Tape
54. Tarps/stakes/twine/nails/rope/spikes
55. Candles
56. Laundry Detergent (liquid)
57. Backpacks, Duffel Bags
58. Garden tools & supplies
59. Scissors, fabrics & sewing supplies
60. Canned Fruits, Veggies, Soups, stews, etc.
61. Bleach (plain, NOT scented: 4 to 6% sodium hypochlorite)
62. Canning supplies, (Jars/lids/wax)
63. Knives & Sharpening tools: files, stones, steel
64. Bicycles...Tires/tubes/pumps/chains, etc
65. Sleeping Bags & blankets/pillows/mats
66. Carbon Monoxide Alarm (battery powered)
67. Board Games, Cards, Dice
68. d-con Rat poison, MOUSE PRUFE II, Roach Killer
69. Mousetraps, Ant traps & cockroach magnets
70. Paper plates/cups/utensils (stock up, folks)
71. Baby wipes, oils, waterless & Antibacterial soap (saves a lot of water)
72. Rain gear, rubberized boots, etc.
73. Shaving supplies (razors & creams, talc, after shave)
74. Hand pumps & siphons (for water and for fuels)
75. Soysauce, vinegar, bullions/gravy/soupbase
76. Reading glasses
77. Chocolate/Cocoa/Tang/Punch (water enhancers)
78. "Survival-in-a-Can"
79. Woolen clothing, scarves/ear-muffs/mittens
80. Boy Scout Handbook, / also Leaders Catalog
81. Roll-on Window Insulation Kit (MANCO)
82. Graham crackers, saltines, pretzels, Trail mix/Jerky
83. Popcorn, Peanut Butter, Nuts
84. Socks, Underwear, T-shirts, etc. (extras)
85. Lumber (all types)
86. Wagons & carts (for transport to and from)
87. Cots & Inflatable mattress's
88. Gloves: Work/warming/gardening, etc.
89. Lantern Hangers
90. Screen Patches, glue, nails, screws,, nuts & bolts
91. Teas
92. Coffee
93. Cigarettes
94. Wine/Liquors (for bribes, medicinal, etc,)
95. Paraffin wax
96. Glue, nails, nuts, bolts, screws, etc.
97. Chewing gum/candies
98. Atomizers (for cooling/bathing)
99. Hats & cotton neckerchiefs
100. Goats/chickens
From a Sarajevo War Survivor:
Experiencing horrible things that can happen in a war - death of parents and
friends, hunger and malnutrition, endless freezing cold, fear, sniper attacks.
1. Stockpiling helps. but you never no how long trouble will last, so locate
near renewable food sources.
2. Living near a well with a manual pump is like being in Eden.
3. After awhile, even gold can lose its luster. But there is no luxury in war
quite like toilet paper. Its surplus value is greater than gold's.
4. If you had to go without one utility, lose electricity - it's the easiest to
do without (unless you're in a very nice climate with no need for heat.)
5. Canned foods are awesome, especially if their contents are tasty without
heating. One of the best things to stockpile is canned gravy - it makes a lot of
the dry unappetizing things you find to eat in war somewhat edible. Only needs
enough heat to "warm", not to cook. It's cheap too, especially if you buy it in
bulk.
6. Bring some books - escapist ones like romance or mysteries become more
valuable as the war continues. Sure, it's great to have a lot of survival
guides, but you'll figure most of that out on your own anyway - trust me, you'll
have a lot of time on your hands.
7. The feeling that you're human can fade pretty fast. I can't tell you how many
people I knew who would have traded a much needed meal for just a little bit of
toothpaste, rouge, soap or cologne. Not much point in fighting if you have to
lose your humanity. These things are morale-builders like nothing else.
8. Slow burning candles and matches, matches, matches
http://www.thepowerhour.com/news/items_disappearfirst.htm
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