Odds ‘n Sods:

China’s control of rare-earth metals poses risk to U.S. solar future.

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Rourke spotted this: Inexpensive perimeter alarm. Keep in mind that those units are NOT weatherproof, so they should be installed in weatherproof enclosures, and buy plenty of spares!

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The Queensland Floods: Next shock will be high food prices

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James C. recommended this videotaped interview with Dimitri Orlov: “America Will Collapse”. It should come as no surprise to SurvivalBlog readers that Orlov predicts very high crime rates and that country dwellers will fare better than urbanites. He calls the collapse unavoidable, and urges people to prepare and develop a sense of community.

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Since it’s not considered polite, and surely not politically-correct to come out and actually say that greed gets wonderful things done, let me go through a few of the millions of examples of the benefits of people trying to get more for themselves. There’s probably widespread agreement that it’s a wonderful thing that most of us own cars. Is there anyone who believes that the reason we have cars is because Detroit assembly line workers care about us? It’s also wonderful that Texas cattle ranchers make the sacrifices of time and effort caring for steer so that New Yorkers can have beef on their supermarket shelves. It is also wonderful that Idaho potato growers arise early to do back-breaking work in the hot sun to ensure that New Yorkers also have potatoes on their supermarket shelves. Again, is there anyone who believes that ranchers and potato growers, who make these sacrifices, do so because they care about New Yorkers? They might hate New Yorkers. New Yorkers have beef and potatoes because Texas cattle ranchers and Idaho potato growers care about themselves and they want more for themselves. How much steak and potatoes would New Yorkers have if it all depended on human love and kindness? I would feel sorry for New Yorkers. Thinking this way bothers some people because they are more concerned with the motives behind a set of actions rather than the results. This is what Adam Smith, the father of economics, meant in The Wealth of Nations when he said, ‘It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interests.'” – Dr. Walter E. Williams

Note from JWR:

Today is Martin Luther King Day in The United States. While his civil rights goals were admirable, he was a documented chronic plagiarist. Because of that mar on his record, I don’t think that he is worthy of remembrance for a national holiday. My suggestion is that the holiday be replaced with Dr. Walter E. Williams Day. In my estimation, he is a man that is much more worthy of admiration. In his honor, all of SurvivalBlog’s Quotes of the Day for this week will be quotes from Dr. Williams.

Pending Magazine Ban Legislation in the U.S.

Just as I anticipated, in the wake of the Tucson shootings, the mainstream media and the congresscritters are on the war path! Mayor Bloomberg has the propaganda machine running overdrive with this week’s Bloomberg Businessweek cover story.  The cover of the Jan. 17, 2011 issue of Bloomberg Businessweek is midnight black with nothing but a Glock 19 pictured and the words “The Killing Machine” in white boldly superimposed over the gun.  The article summary states “America’s Gun – How Glock became the weapon of choice for U.S. cops, gun enthusiasts, and mass killers/psychopaths like alleged Tucson gunman Jared Loughner.”

A recent article in Politico outlines the draconian terms of congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy’s recently-announced magazine ban bill. (The bill will be formally introduced on January 18th.) According to Politico, the new law would not just permanently ban the import or manufacture of 11+ round magazines, but it would also outlaw their sale or transfer–even those that are obtained before the law takes effect. This flies in the face of a heretofore fairly uniform feature of American jurisprudence: the grandfather clause. This will set the bill up for an almost certain court challenge. Leaving dealers and private citizens holding millions of un-sellable magazines in effect constitutes a “legislative taking” that is wicked and despicable. (With the exception of drug bans, grandfather clauses are considered standard practice in the U.S. for laws restricting everything from R-12 Freon to pre-building code houses, to live cheetahs to machineguns to elephant ivory.) Could you imagine a law that said that it would be illegal to pass down to your grandchildren a family heirloom piano, just because it had ivory keys? That is effectively what Rep. McCarthy has proposed, for what she calls “high capacity” magazines! (OBTW, they are more accurately called “full capacity” or “standard capacity.”)

Last week, Delaware Senator Ted Kaufman said: “We should all agree there’s no earthly reason to have a 30-shot magazine.” Well, Senator Kaufman, I’d like you to come huckleberry picking with me, out here in grizzly bear country. Or go walk a patrol with some American infantrymen in Afghanistan or for that matter with the Guardian Angels in Dallas, Texas. Then you will indeed see an earthly reason to have a 30-shot magazine! Meanwhile, veteran gun grabber Senator Frank Lautenberg was recently quoted as saying: “The only reason to have 33 bullets loaded in a handgun is to kill a lot of people very quickly.” How about stopping a charging bear? Or stopping a charging meth addict? These legislators are out of touch with reality. Please contact your Senators, and insist that they kill any new “gun control” legislation before it ever makes it out of committee.

A magazine ban would limit us to neutered 10-round (reduced capacity) magazines. So what am I supposed to say to a charging brown bear or grizzly bear? “Time out! Wait, while I reload.”

The ban is being drafted by Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, who is absolutely clueless about firearms terminology. (She thinks that a barrel shroud is a “shoulder thing that goes up”). In an interview with NPR, Rep. McCarthy said: “We’re not dealing about guns here. We’re dealing about a piece of equipment that goes to the gun. I think when you think about just common sense here, large capacity clips that can basically, in my opinion, be weapons of mass destruction, should not be available to the average citizen. They will be available to our military. They will be available to our police officers.” Oh I see, only “trained professionals” should have access to them. We, the lowly peons should not be entrusted with coercive force.

As an aside, hearing the ignorant nabobs in congress and the mainstream media talking about banning “clips” that can hold more than 10 “bullets” makes me cringe. I find this akin to hearing George W. Bush mispronouncing the word nuclear as “nuke-you-lur”, or hearing Congressman Hank Johnson pontificating on the risk of a “capsize” of the island of Guam because of overpopulation.

These politicians seem very intent on “closing loopholes” and enacting what they call “reasonable” “reforms” (read: restrictions) on our rights. What is really going on is that the legislators want to deprive the citizenry of effective modern arms, but retain them for The Powers That Be. Also beware that there are legislative threats at the state level. For example, read this: Reactionary Gun Laws Being Proposed in South Carolina After Tucson, Arizona Shooting. Be vigilant. Contact you legislators frequently, or our liberty may slip away.

Just in case a magazine ban becomes law, I recommend that you immediately stock up on your lifetime supply of full capacity magazines! Also, be prepared to legally transfer, by means of a dated document, the majority of your magazines to your children and grandchildren, before any new ban is signed into law. Do an inventory all of your 11+ round magazines, and make detailed lists in separate “Completed Transfer of Magazine Ownership” documents for each child. Have each witnessed by two adults who are not members of your family, and then have the documents notarized. Unless your children have this equivalent of a Bill of Sale, they won’t be able to prove that they legally owned their magazines before the bill becomes law.

Again, please regularly contact your congressmen and senators, and express your concern about this issue.

Letter Re: Observations on Atlanta’s January 2011 Ice Storm

Hi JWR:

One of the parts of SurvivalBlog that I enjoy the most is when folks contribute their real life experiences after going through some sort of hardship. Reading the examples from others helps me to fine tune my preps. Let me participate by providing my observations from the ice storm, amusingly titled Snowpocalypse 2011, that hit Atlanta recently. The roads were impassible due to the city’s lack of snow removal equipment, and pretty much the entire city was stranded in their houses. What would’ve been a blip of a storm in the north ended up crippling this city, and everything ground to a halt.   I started creating this list of observations for myself, but decided to share. Here they are, in no particular order:  

• The statistic I’ve frequently heard of “every family has only three days of food on hand” always sounded like bunk to me. Who goes grocery shopping every three days? Shopping once a week seems more realistic, so I figure a week’s supply of food is in everyone’s home. However, consider the pattern where Family A typically shops on Mondays, Family B shops on Tuesdays, Family C on Wednesdays, etc. Imagine what happens if the stores are closed for three days in a row, like they were due to this storm. Everybody that missed their typical shopping day now has to go, and the stores were cleared out. That, plus the expected panic buying, happened here. Imagine, say, 40 feet of shelving without a single item of food on it. I saw photos. It was real.  

• Injuries exponentially increase stress, especially if it is impossible to get to a doctor. A family member developed a wound that needed seven stitches, and I had no way of making that happen for five days. I’ve recently purchased a skin staple gun.  

• No matter how deep your larder, chances are excellent that you will not have something very important when you need it. In my case, it was antibiotics. I had topicals, but I needed something more significant because the above-mentioned wound got infected. Mentally prepare yourself for the idea that you won’t have everything, and when you do discover that you are missing something, the idea won’t come as such a shock.  

• A routine is a powerful thing, and three days without the ability to leave the house is enough for cabin fever. It would have been much worse without Internet or television, and even that got old after visiting all of my usual web sites. Have something to read. Have a lot to read. I personally suggest studying some sort of skill during your normal work/school hours, then having fiction or entertainment to read during your normal off hours. It helps keep a semblance of a routine.  

• Keep enough of your regular food for at least every other meal. My wife and I feared a power outage, so we ate all of our typical “Sunday fancy meal” foods from the freezer in succession, and it made me sick.  

• Expect typical governmental lunacy. Some of Atlanta’s main streets downtown weren’t touched for days because the roads themselves belong to the state. The city said clearing the roads was the state’s job/expense, and the state said that since the roads were downtown, they were the city’s responsibility. So nothing happened.  

• People who make poor decisions during normal circumstances will continue to make poor decisions, only now the impact will be worse. Despite repeated pleas by the local government not to drive, folks went out anyway, and got stuck or crashed. Some were killed. Those stranded/abandoned cars prevented the few plow trucks the city has from clearing the roadways. Also, the crashes were so frequent, the police said they would respond to accidents only if somebody involved was injured because they were overwhelmed by the volume. If no injuries took place, you were on your own.  

• Your family is just as stressed as you are. Don’t be at each other’s throats. If you’ve been with your spouse long enough, you know what will make him/her happy, even if it is just a small gesture. Do them. Such efforts will pay dividends when the crisis is over, too.  

• Those with alcohol will drink it, to the point where it was treated like a mandatory vacation. I frequented an Atlanta-based message board online, and was surprised to discover how many people posting said they were doing not much more than spending the entire time drunk. I would say that 65% percent of the posters said so. I don’t have anything against alcohol, but decided to spend the duration sober, if only to stay sharp. If the huge tree in my back yard fell on the house due to the ice load, I didn’t want to have to evacuate my house while inebriated. WTSHTF, I would expect the same sort of people to react in the same manner, at least until they run out. See my point above about the people with poor decision making skills. In this case, they knew the ice would eventually melt, and things would go back to normal. When it is TEOTWAWKI, these folks might make some unpredictable choices.  

• A job that can be worked from home is a huge benefit. I racked up hours even though I wasn’t able to get to the office.   • Ice is the great equalizer. Traffic was snarled, cars abandoned, making roads impassible. Everyone should have chains for their vehicles, even if they live in the south and own a 4X4. A recent news story said that 49 of the states had snow. It can happen anywhere. My four wheel drive was parked because I didn’t have chains. I live on a slight hill, and a neighbor of mine had his car slide down the hill. Bear in mind that no one was in it at the time, as it was parked and the doors were locked. It just slid away. He managed to run after and catch it in time before it hit another car. If anything, this observation should reveal just how slippery the roads were.  

• Down here, some houses are poorly insulated compared to northern levels, and many heaters weren’t be able to keep up when the weather got record-breaking cold. Be prepared for the idea of wearing outdoor clothes indoors. A co-worker of mine had her furnace fail because of the stress load. She spent three days freezing (temperatures were in the teens) because the service technicians weren’t able to get to her. An alternate source of heat would’ve saved her a load of turmoil. Keeping her equipment maintained would’ve been a good idea, too. She confessed that she skips the typical service checks to save money. Guess that didn’t work out so well.  

• Unless you are very fit, everything will be sore as you are forced to vary from your daily routine. Have pain reliever ready. I’m a black belt, and consider my balance exceptional. That said, I still slipped and fell on the ice. It can happen to anyone. My training included the ability to take a fall and not get hurt, so I came out ok. Not to say that I wasn’t sore, of course. I’ll take sore over a broken bone any day. The news reported of one poor gentleman that fell and was killed.  

• Have enough preps in your home to last at least a couple of weeks, even if there is a store within walking distance of your house. Depending on the circumstances, even three blocks will be an impossible distance. I read stories about locals who fell on the ice and broke bones. Also, not only will the stores get cleared out by panicked buyers, some employees were not able to make it to work so the stores couldn’t open, and in other cases, resupply trucks were not be able to restock due to the roads.  

• Services, such as mail or trash pickup, stopped. Public transportation didn’t run, schools were closed. I haven’t had mail for an entire week, and UPS and FedEx suspended deliveries completely. That’s a shame, because I had some stuff on order that would’ve been nice to have. Banks were also closed, which ended up no big deal because not only could you not get to them, few stores were open anyway so you had no place to spend your money. A town north of here had a boil water advisory, for whatever reason. I wonder how they got the word out if people were without power. A Berkey, with a policy of using it regularly instead of just emergencies, would probably be pretty useful for those folks.  

• Local television newscasters couldn’t get in to the stations, and were posting their on-the-scene news reports online by using the video capture provided from their iPhones.  

• Emergency services were also compromised. An ambulance is nothing but a big car, and in some circumstances, they weren’t able to get where they needed to go either. I saw a fire truck, with chains on, stuck. The crews were using shovels to clear a path under the wheels, one foot at a time. Slow, hard work.  

• A retreat is useless if you can’t get to it. Pre-stage your preps there, if you have one, but have something to fall back on at your regular home. You might find that you have to dive into those reserves unexpectedly.  

• Fortunately I never lost power or water/sewer, though some did lose electricity. If the lights had gone out in mass quantities, with impassible roads and well below freezing temperatures, people would’ve died all over the city. There would’ve been no way to extricate them from their homes, and if the outage was wide spread enough, no place to put them.  

• There is one bright spot in the story. In my area, neighbors relied on each other, communicated, and provided assistance to each other. My neighborhood has a Google message board, and if anybody learned any useful knowledge, it was passed along to the group. I highly recommend setting up one of these, no matter how big your community is. Our group is populated by a wide variety of socioeconomic levels, and it still works. Even if no useful information is conveyed, the gallows humor passed along provided a great stress reliever and offered the “We’re all in this together” attitude.   Hopefully this list will provide value to someone. Stay safe! – John C. in Atlanta

Letter Re: Resources for Preppers in South Africa

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Dear Editor:
This letter is a primer for new preppers in South Africa. The reason for this is simple, we don’t have the equivalent of a SurvivalBlog in South Africa and our family and confidants have had to find out the hard way where and what to buy. (Subtle hint to a South Africa-based prepper looking for a home business)

That said, this is not to be considered a definitive resource for the South Africa prepper, it is a list of known suppliers to us that we have purchased from, specifically for reasons of preparing. We have never had a hassle with these suppliers. Most suppliers are in the Gauteng area, but there are a number that are national, you will need to maintain your own OPSEC, as none of these suppliers knowingly supply the local ‘prepper movement’. We typically use reasons of self-sustainability, Camping/off-road trips, farm security or one of our own businesses if the situation/reason fits, if any direct questions are asked. We find giving an impression of ….. (choose one of the above) without outright lying is best, people make up their own stories. Lets jump into the list. This is in no particular order, as it flows. All of these suppliers will ship to you if you cannot find a local supplier.

Plastic Food Grade Containers.
Trim Plastics supplies a whole range of food grade plastic buckets. We have found the rectangular 10 and 20 litre containers to be perfect for storage as they can stack higher (7 high for 20 Lt and 12 high for 10 Lt.) They use less space in storage and seal really well. I think it’s the corners that assists with the strength. Unlike elsewhere in the world we do not have the luxury of free buckets, as they are typically scrounged by staff working in a ‘free bucket’ environment. (Cash or EFT)

Glass ‘canning jars’.
Consol jars are similar to the Mason jars in the US and Canada. Consol jars are often free for the taking in many older homes. It’s the seals that are hugely expensive. We have found the most cost effective solution is to standardise on a single size jar (Cross & Blackwell Mayo jars for example, get your friends to collect for you) and then purchase a few boxes of single use lids from www.bonpak.co.za the lids are 1/20th the cost of Consol seals. These can often be reused if the seal is still perfect. Note: We have not used these for pressure canning. Stick to Consol Jars and lids for that. (Cash EFT and Cards)

Your Local Fresh Produce Market is a great place to get bargains on in-season veggies for a canning exercise. We use AppleQueens at the JHB Fresh Produce Market. We plan a trip in once every second month and all spend part of the weekend processing at a fraction of the cost of buying elsewhere. Don’t go to the trouble of getting a buying card, the prices are not much different from the market floor or a wholesaler. Fresh produce markets also have a host of supporting businesses (for farmers) where you can get bulk packaging, bulk catering items and growing resources like seedling trays, ties, bulk seed (Hybrid) and irrigation systems. etc, so take your time and see what is available. (Most stores are Cash Only)

Grains.
Find your local Co-Op and purchase your bulk grains like wheat and whole mielies (Corn) there. Typically sold as Boer Koring or just plain Wheat, you will be paying about R200 per 50 Kgs. The same goes for mielies  but you are almost certain to get GMO Corn, unless you grow your own. (Depends on the store) Your Co-Op is also a great place to get veterinary medication at a good price. They also sell disposable syringes, gloves, needles and multi-use ‘sharps’. I have tried the multi-use sharps (B Co injection) it’s a bit more painful than the single use needles, but they work.

Dry Ice, find your local Ice-cream factory and buy from there.

Heirloom seeds
Contact the guys at www.livingseeds.co.za. We have had great service from these guys, all their seed is grown in South Africa and it’s a good local business to support. There is also a lot of useful info on keeping your seed pure from season to season and generally being self-sustainable. (EFT and credit card)

Beans and Lentils
Akhalwaya’s is a great place to buy bulk storage beans, lentils and spices. If you are outside of Gauteng then do a google for your local spice wholesaler. Spices, oils, beans, wheat, rice and the like are available there. I always leave with more than I planned to buy. (Cash and EFT)

Oils and Chemicals
Rebound Chemicals. These two ladies provide a great service and supply a wide range of chemicals at rock bottom prices. Food grade oils (Coconut, olive etc) and chemicals for making soaps and detergents, they will even supply you with recipes if you would like to start a home based soap making business. (Cash and EFT)

Another edible oil supplier is Pridon, they also have no web site, just e-mail Graham at pridon@isat.co.za (016 365 6073) they supply in bulk and are a good place to lay in your edible oils or Pomace olive oil for soap making. (Cash and EFT)

Essential Oils

www.essentialoils.co.za a great range and one of the most cost effective suppliers. We have been using them for years. (Credit card and EFT)

Off grid power. We use two sites/suppliers www.sustainable.co.za and www.redrhino.co.za  They stock all one needs, the service and prices are by far the best we have found. A self-installed solar geyser (hot water system) from Red Rhino is cheaper than taking advantage of the Eskom rebate with a more expensive dealer installed system, as long as you are handy and can do-it-yourself. (Cash, EFT and credit card)

Solar water pumping. www.allpower.co.za this is a great locally made solar (PV) pump that can be repaired by most handymen. It uses commonly available spares in most motor spares shops. Proprietary parts are freely available from the manufacturer at a low cost. Well worth the investment. Get a spare controller board in case of a lightning strike, as well as extra diaphragms. (The system comes with a free set, replace every 12-24 months). I really like the fact that this system is user serviceable, important in a SHTF scenario. We used their Gauteng based dealer www.sunlec.co.za and are extremely happy with their service, they delivered onsite (120+km) and even supplied couplings that were not charged for to suit our unique installation. (Cash and EFT)

Security, we use a number of suppliers here. Oh, I’d give an eyetooth to be able to shop in the States but we need to maintain OPSEC locally and work with what we have. Maybe the Dollar will crash one day soon and we can get it on the cheap…)

For Mil Spec gear to drool over http://www.msequipment.co.za prepare to flatten your wallet, this site can hurt. (Cash and EFT)

Mil Spec Clothing and tents www.armystores.co.za they do postal orders which is cool. (Cash, credit card and EFT) Another option which we are exploring is to purchase a bolt of Mil Spec Camo material to make clothes on patterns. We are waiting for our first order to be delivered. Just find your largest haberdashery and say you need it for a bush camp that you are setting up…. Mmmm could very well be true, depending on how you interpret it.

Second-hand reloading kit at reasonable prices (New as well)  Try Craig at the Blunderbuss Tel 011 867 0370 Fax :  011 867 0369 E-mail : blunderbuss@telkomsa.net  (Sorry they have no web site) they also stock a range of militaria, however we have found their Military clothing to be a bit steep on price, but they do have some really cool original WWII stuff. They are a great resource for spare mags and additional (old and new) Mil Spec kit. If you need something rare or unusual they should be your first stop. (EFT, Cash and credit card)

Pick up brass at your local range or purchase brass from their shop depending on the range. We pick up everything that we can lay our hands on and put it in storage, you never know when its barter value will go through the roof. Also lay on some extra dies in common calibres and make sure you keep loading data for all of them.

As an aside, most larger gun shops have a large collection of spares for firearms. (They break-down and/or weld-up most of the weapons handed in by gun owners that did not want to go through the hassle of the new Firearms Control Act) You can often sort through crates of spares and mags looking for the peaches.

Reloading Components.
Contact www.questbullets.com for limited range of superb quality locally made rifle bullets at a good price. Don’t phone Oom (Uncle) Petrus, he prefers email. For any other components buy them cash from your local gun shops in staggered amounts and please stick to the law. (Credit card and EFT)

OTC Medical supplies.
We get some from www.dischem.co.za and some from www.clicks.co.za. Both of these national pharmacies require a verbal ID (Name, address and ID number) when ordering basic over the counter (OTC) medications. Create a pseudonym that you can easily remember, they don’t ask for a visual ID. Don’t buy your first aid kit supplies here, rather check out one or both sites that are mentioned below.

Online suppliers for medical kit and hardware that we have used with great success are. www.yms.co.za (They also supply security related products) and www.myomed.co.za

Hand powered equipment and antique tools.
Find your local smallholders’ livestock auction. Typically held on a Saturday in rural / Peri-urban areas. These auctions most often have a flea market attached to them that sell all manner of things. Get there early and browse the flea market. We have found some real gems like hand powered grain grinders, scythes and old wood working tools.

For anything else keep a watch on www.gumtree.co.za, at www.bidorbuy.co.za and at www.junkmail.co.za those three sites will often turn up an item that you are looking for. If it’s not urgent and the price seems a bit steep, the seller will often re-list at a lower price, if it’s up for three weeks you could probably negotiate quite nicely. Regards, – Joe Ordinary Voortrekker

Economics and Investing:

A chart published by The Financial Times says it all: America: Paydown problems

You’re insane if you don’t own gold, investors told

Muni Bonds Crashing For Third Straight Day, And This Is The Worst Yet. (A hat tip to Yishai for the link.)

John R. sent this by Gonzalo Lira: Why Democracies Will Always Go Bankrupt

The Latest Gold Fraud Bombshell: Canada’s Only Bullion Bank Gold Vault Is Practically Empty. (Thanks to Michael H. for the link.)

Items from The Economatrix:

At Least 10 States Have Introduced Gold-As-Currency Bills

Industrial Production Rises By Most in Five Months  

Holiday Spending “Record” Not As Good As It Looks  

Wholesale Food And Energy Prices Rise  

US Mint Reports Unprecedented Buying Spree Of Physical Silver  

Bad Real Estate News Ignored To Spin Bright Future  

Odds ‘n Sods:

Pierre M. sent a link to a fascinating blog written by a wife and mother who lives deep in the interior of Alaska: The Last Frontier. Their main access to the outside world is via bush pilot flights. The blog is posted only sporadically, since they have to fly in the gasoline to run their generator. Now that is remote!

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Leading computer expert warns of cyber attack on National Grid. (Thanks to Dave B. for the link.)

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From Chris S. comes a news account of YOYO time: Brazil Mudslide Survivors Carry Food, Water to Those in Remote Village.The mudslides have reportedly taken 600 lives.

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“The essence of exchange is the transfer of title. Here’s the essence of what happens when I buy a gallon of milk from my grocer. I tell him that I hold title to these three dollars and he holds title to the gallon of milk. Then, I offer: If you transfer your title to that gallon of milk, I will transfer title to these three dollars. Whenever there’s voluntary exchange, the only clear conclusion that a third party can make is that both parties, in their opinion, perceived themselves as better off as a result of the exchange; otherwise, they wouldn’t have exchanged. I was free to keep my three dollars, and the grocer was free to keep his milk. If you think it’s obvious that both parties benefit from voluntary exchange, then how come we hear pronouncements about worker exploitation? Say you offer me a wage of $2 an hour. I’m free to either accept or reject your offer. So what can be concluded if I’m seen working for you at $2 an hour? One clear conclusion is that I must have seen myself as being better off taking your offer than my next best alternative. All other alternatives were less valuable, or else why would I have accepted the $2 offer? How appropriate is it to say that you’re exploiting me when you’ve given me my best offer? Rather than using the term exploitation, you might say you wish I had more desirable alternatives. While people might characterize $2 an hour as exploitation, they wouldn’t say the same about $50 an hour. Therefore, for the most part, when people use the term exploitation in reference to voluntary exchange, they simply disagree with the price. If we equate price disagreement with exploitation, then exploitation is everywhere. For example, I not only disagree with my salary, I also disagree with the prices of Gulfstream private jets. By no means do I suggest that you purge your vocabulary of the term exploitation. It’s an emotionally valuable term to use to trick others, but in the process of tricking others, one need not trick himself. I’m reminded of charges of exploitation Mrs. Williams used to make early on in our 44-year marriage. She’d charge, “Walter, you’re using me!” I’d respond by saying, “Honey, sure, I’m using you. If I had no use for you, I wouldn’t have married you in the first place.” How many of us would marry a person for whom we had no use? As a matter of fact, the problem of the lonely hearts among us is that they can’t find someone to use them.” – Dr. Walter E. Williams

Medical Quarantine — Protecting Your Family from Infection, by Dr. Cynthia Koelker

Plague.  Yellow fever.  Cholera.  Diphtheria.   Diseases which evoke images of death and despair.  
Though less likely to transmit a fatal illness, would you open your door to someone with hepatitis, strep throat, or methacillin-resistant staph?  What about a person suffering from vomiting, diarrhea, a cough, or lice, or a fever?  Are you immune to measles, polio, and whooping cough – and would you even recognize these conditions?  How will you know if someone is going to come down with influenza in the next day or two?

Before antibiotics, before anti-virals, before immune globulin, societies used quarantines to protect their populations.  As early as the Middle Ages quarantines were imposed on potentially infected ships to reduce the risk of plague spreading to port cities. 

What will you do if someone shows up, seeking shelter?  Can you trust a child who appears healthy to be free of disease?  Does loving your neighbor as yourself require you to put your entire family at risk? 

In times of scarcity, when the marvels of modern medicine are unavailable, medical quarantine offers a possible solution.  The term quarantine applies specifically to apparently well people who may have been exposed to a contagious disease, and therefore may (or may not) become ill.  (For an obviously ill person, isolation procedures should be enacted, a topic for a future article.)

Almost every transmissible disease has an incubation period during which the person is infected but not yet showing signs of disease.  Quite often, a person can be contagious for one to several days before exhibiting symptoms.  Blood borne infections in asymptomatic individuals can sometimes be transmitted months or years before the infected person becomes symptomatic (as in HIV), hence the need for universal precautions.

In recent years the Haitian orphans provide an example of how the U.S. treats potentially contagious immigrants.  Though not quarantined in the usual sense, per the CDC even the apparently healthy children were all examined for:  bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, typhoid fever, dengue fever, malaria, leptospirosis, tuberculosis, syphilis, intestinal parasites, Giardia spp., and Cryptosporidium.  They also had their immunization status checked and updated for diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, measles, rubella, polio, hepatitis A and B, Haemophilus influenzae type b, meningocococcus, pneumococcus, and varicella (chicken pox).

Lacking the means to do any of this, what constitutes a reasonable approach to strangers seeking help?

For the purposes of this article, I’ll assume those seeking to join your group are not suffering from any apparent signs of infection including fever, chills, vomiting, diarrhea, cough, runny nose, peculiar behavior, or visible rash.  Again, lack of apparent infection does not guarantee health.  Certain illnesses such as chicken pox and influenza are often highly contagious even before symptoms have developed.  With other microbes, such as strep and typhoid, occasionally a person will develop a carrier state where they are able to transmit an infection but are not themselves infected.  In other cases an infection may be subclinical, that is, too mild to detect, as in the case of a toddler with infectious mononucleosis. 

The above reasons are the basis for quarantining apparently healthy individuals, isolating them from your established, (hopefully) healthy group, until sufficient time has passed to convince you that the well-appearing newcomers are, indeed, most likely healthy.  Even then, this cannot assure that an asymptomatic carrier is not in your presence, but the risk decreases as evidence of prolonged wellness accumulates.     

Quarantine measures depend on potential routes of transmission:  airborne, droplet-borne, direct contact, vector-borne (mosquitoes, fleas), fomite-borne (doorknobs, clothing, equipment, toys, or other inanimate object), food-borne, and feces-borne.  Blood-borne infections should not be an issue without exposure to blood or other body fluids.  (Warning: don’t have sex with strangers.) 

Ideally the quarantine area will be a separate building from your own living quarters, such as an outbuilding, garage, empty house, or barn.   If you choose to offer a room within your home, choose one vented to the outside, without ductwork connecting to the rest of the house.  Make sure the room has a negative pressure by leaving a window cracked, so the air flows into the room from the remainder of the house rather than vice versa.  If you allow newcomers within your home, have them fold their arms across their chests as you lead them to the quarantine room, to prevent potential contamination of walls, doorknobs, and other surfaces. 

Food utensils must be kept entirely separate.  Do not offer to wash dishes nor remove waste.  When offering food, do not touch a potentially contaminated dish with your own utensils.  If this occurs, either leave them with the quarantined population, or sterilize them (by boiling or with a 10% bleach solution.)
A 5-gallon bucket with attached toilet seat and sturdy disposable bags is adequate for waste disposal, preferably with an adequate supply of sturdy disposable plastic bags until the quarantine is lifted.

Who should be quarantined?  The answer could be anyone outside your group who wishes to join you.  Of course, this will depend on several factors, including known epidemics, length of time since societal breakdown, potential resources of newcomers, etc.  Even a few days of separation are better than none at all.  People from unvaccinated populations may pose a greater threat than those likely to have had standard immunizations.  No matter how long you wait, you may not know if an asymptomatic carrier is in your midst. 

How long to impose a quarantine?  Many latent viral infections will manifest themselves within a period of 3-5 days, and most within 10-14.  A three-week period of wellness assures against most transmissible infections, though such a prolonged period may impose hardship on both host and guest.  Certain viruses such as infectious mononucleosis and hepatitis A sometimes have an incubation period of 6 weeks before symptoms occur.  Anyone over the age of 30, however, is presumed to have had mono whether they’ve ever exhibited symptoms or not.  A table at Wikipedia, culled from other sources, lists incubation periods of common illnesses.

Most illnesses are not truly airborne, but rather spread via droplet contamination of surfaces including hands, doorknobs, utensils, and tools  (TB, anthrax, and influenza may be either airborne or droplet-borne.)  It is not likely you will become infected by standing across the room from a person as long as you keep your hands to yourself.  If you do touch something, do not, repeat, do not touch your face until you have washed your hands adequately.  The mucus membranes of the eyes, nose, and mouth are the primary entry points for most contagious diseases. 

If your newcomers still appear well at the end of whatever quarantine period you’ve chosen, don’t neglect to do a rudimentary physical exam.  Check their hair for nits (lice eggs) and their skin for rashes.  Ask about known infections, including sexually transmitted diseases.  Keep your ears open for a cough, or wheezing, or abnormal behavior.

This brings us, perhaps, to the point of turning someone away.  Before you even start down the road of quarantine, you should have a plan in place.  Will you turn away a child?  A slow-moving grandmother?  A hard-working adult?  Will your decision be influenced by the potential contribution of the newcomer?  Would you welcome a carpenter with lice?  What about a gourmet cook with herpes?  Or a doctor with shingles?

If I were a layman considering a post-Armageddon scenario, I would update my immunizations now, beginning with those protective against diphtheria, hepatitis A and B, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), polio, measles, mumps, rubella, meningitis, chicken pox, pneumonia, and influenza.  Although other illness such as yellow fever, typhoid, and Japanese encephalitis are rare in the United States, immunizations are available.  See the American Academy of Family Physicians recommendations for a list of vaccines and associated costs. 

Note: Family quarantine will be addressed in detail in my upcoming book, Armageddon Medicine.

Learning to help yourself is a process, but an easy place to start is with my book, 101 Ways to Save Money on Health Care, which includes dozens of sections on treating yourself affordably.  Available for under $10 online, the book offers practical advice on treating: respiratory infections, pink eye, sore throats, nausea, diarrhea, heartburn, urinary infections, allergies, arthritis, acne, hemorrhoids, dermatitis, skin infection, lacerations, lice, carpal tunnel syndrome, warts, mental illness, asthma, COPD, depression, diabetes, enlarged prostate, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and much more.

Dr. Koelker has recently started a new medical blog on surviving 2012 and TEOTWAWKI at www.armageddonmedicine.net.  She welcomes your questions, comments, and critiques.

Letter Re: Firsthand Experiences in the Australian Floods

James,
I would like to bring you and your readers a synopsis of the floods in Australia and their probable scenarios; firstly I have a first hand view through sandbagging and seeing friends through rising floodwaters, so I have a strong viewpoint. Around where we were in Brisbane east side , the water rose very quickly, the house where our friend  is on a flat concrete slab, the water rose within 2 hours about 3 feet ! The house was saved along with much prayer.

It is estimated that seven billion tons of water has been dumped on Queensland !

Let me explain, Brisbane had floods in 1974, the city then was more like a very large country town, the population was a little over 1 million people, there was very little high rise then, the previous flood peaked  at 5.45 meters and put  6,700 homes under water contrast that with today 60,000 homes  and last week over 100,000 people had no power. The peak this time was about 1 meter lower I think.The devastation this time was over a much bigger area.

As of now 28,650 properties were still without power, sewage plants are not functioning, 75% of the state is has lost crops such as avocados, which happen to be very sensitive to having their feet wet,  they stress, prices for capsicums, tomatoes, lettuce and broccoli will skyrocket, the states sugar cane crop is under water, $500 million worth is wiped out. Two growers in Chinchilla have lost $20 million between them.

For many of the farmers are getting wiped out, this will be the end for many of them, in this part of Queensland most of the nations crop of sweet potatoes , zucchinis ,cucumbers, macadamias mangoes and lychees are grown.

In Queensland  beef prices can only go one way up! Livestock can’t get to market because the roads have been destroyed, also 200,000 tons of wheat and barley have been wrecked. Mines need to be drained and supporting infrastructure needs to be completely re built or replaced, in the mean time though countries around the world that rely on Australia’s coking coal will go elsewhere to get it, its estimated that Australia  loses 100 million every day the mines can’t get their product out.

When will the rail roads be up and running again? when will the large produce markets be up and running again ? what about the road networks ? no one knows !

Add to all that, some of the mining companies like Energy and Easternwell have reported damaged or non-operational rigs.

There have also been looters at work, they row along in small dinghies jump onto a roof of a flooded house, prize away some roof tiles and get into the roof space stealing peoples money and valuables stored there in safety and make off with the goods, people have enough heartache to contend with without having these low-lifes steal all they have left.

My wife thinks I am too harsh (I think the cops should shoot a them,  then hang him up on a pole with a sign around his neck  saying “LOOTER”) how many will loot after that? Not many I suspect.

Also there have been some instances of women being sexually molested in evacuation centers ( reminds me of Katrina )

I saw people come  in canoes or boats with what they considered their most valuable possession , one woman came in make up with all her diamonds and jewels with a mink coat, another woman with a short statue of eastern origin, and another guy with a old bottle of whisky , amazing to me, I guess under pressure we all will take what is most valuable to us.

My family had our 72 hour kit, our Bibles and our pets, we were ready and we are doing well, ( much better than almost all we know ) lots of people laugh at us and think we are nuts, not any more though.

It seems to me that the country is in for a rough ride around the world because of the loss of the floods,  people are now losing their jobs in other big cities such as Sydney or Melbourne, friends of ours have been laid off because the banks call centers and marketing firms have closed because of the Queensland head offices are under water.

Thanks to SurvivalBlog my family has a heads up and are miles ahead, I see many totally unprepared for food shortages ahead, this has greatly impacted this country and will effect many more areas in other states.

So in the meantime, I would encourage anyone, have your bug out bag (BOB) ready and food and water for at least 12 weeks as a minimum.

Economics and Investing:

Cost to Make Penny and Nickel Rises for US Mint. It now costs the U.S. Mint 9.22 cents to produce a nickel! Build your pile now, before the coin composition changes! (If you dawdle, then you’ll have to sort coins. And once the base metal value exceeds 2x face value, nickels will be driven out of circulation by the general public.)

Illinois Lawmakers Pass 66 Percent Income Tax Increase

Ben S. was the first of several readers to send this: Housing Market Slips Into Depression Territory

Items from The Economatrix:

S&P, Moodys Both Warn On US Credit

Hard Times In Illinois  

Long Shadows Cast Over US Economy 

FDIC Friday Follies: Regulators Shut Small Georgia Bank; Third This Year
 
Stock Indexes Gain For Seventh Straight Week   

Odds ‘n Sods:

#1 Son forwarded me this: In Nuclear Silos, Death Wears a Snuggie

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Some news from Israel for the Orchestrated Institutional Stupidity Department: IDF collecting settlers’ weapons

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Avalanche Lily flagged this one: “Food riots in America? You’re crazy…”

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P.J. sent this: Living large: Home going up in Highlandville to be one of country’s largest. This “one-family house” has some veeeery interesting specifications.

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes." – Nehemiah 4:14