Brett G. sent this: Fed Warns of 4.25 Million More Foreclosures Through 2012
From Russia Expert, a Gloomy Outlook. (Thanks to Siggy for the link.)
P.D. flagged: Tent Cities, Homelessness and Soul-Crushing Despair: The Legacy of Decades of Government Debt and Mismanagement of the Economy
Inyokern highlighted this one: Ireland fears civil unrest as bank crisis deepens
Items from The Economatrix:
Job Seekers Find Bias Against Unemployed
Jobless Benefits Cost So Far: $319 Billion
Brace yourself for more high inflation, Mervyn King tells George Osborne.
$4.00 Gasoline By The End Of 2010?
Our friend Fred C. sent this: “Riceland brand rice in 50 pound bags at my local Sam’s Club in Arkansas was $13.95 in July. Then it jumped to $14.60 in late September. Last night I noticed that the pallet with Riceland rice bags on it had 25 pound bags instead of 50 pound bags, and they were priced at $8.95 each. (The equivalent of $17.90 per 50 pounds.)
Gap, Wal-Mart Clothing Costs Rise on `Terrifying’ Cotton Prices
I’m scheduled for a two hour interview on the EMPact Radio podcast on Wednesday. That should be interesting.
o o o
Something tells me that there will be some bargain prices soon: Solar Panel Makers Face Supply-Glut `Armageddon’: Chart of Day. Thanks to reader Chris S. for the link.
o o o
Seen over at Paratus Familia: A novel concealment holster for women.
o o o
J. in the Great White North recommended this five minute video: You Can Eat Dandelion
o o o
I just finished reading Jerry and Sharon Ahern’s new sci-fi novel, Written in Time
“It could unfold very, very quickly. Because deflation is a swing of poverty feedback, it can take awhile to build up. If you try to explain to people what’s coming, because it doesn’t happen instantly, they tend to go back to sleep. The thing they need to understand, however, is that when it does hit a tipping point, a kind of critical mass, then it can unfold exceptionally quickly. Then it’s very much like having the rug pulled out from under your feet. So I tell people all the time, prepare now because it’s better to be two years too early than five minutes too late. You can’t play with this sort of thing. In September, 2008, we came within a few hours of the banking system seizing up, and that could easily happen again. People wouldn’t get a lot of notice. For anyone who’s not in the meeting room-it will be too late by the time they find out. My worry is that if there are an enormous number of people who just had the rug pulled out from under their feet, they’re going to run around like headless chickens, and the human over-reaction to events will be really responsible for a large percentage of the impact.” – Nicole Foss, Senior Editor of The Automatic Earth blog site
Today we present another two entries for Round 31 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round will include:
First Prize: A.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795, and B.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees, in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $392 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A 500 round case of Fiocchi 9mm Parabellum (Luger ) with 124gr. Hornady XTP/HP projectiles, courtesy of Sunflower Ammo (a $249 value), and E.) An M17 medical kit from JRH Enterprises (a $179.95 value).
Second Prize: A.) A “grab bag” of preparedness gear and books from Jim’s Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (JASBORR) with a retail value of at least $400, B.) A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials, and C.) two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).
Third Prize: A.) A copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, from Arbogast Publishing, and B.) a Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21. (This filter system is a $275 value.)
Round 31 ends on November 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.
So much has been written on preparing solely for survival of TEOTWAWKI. What about after? What about five years after? Granted, if something minor happens and we could overcome it within a month or so, I truly see precious metals quite viable. However, should the whole world fall to its knees and we would be looking at years before any sort of progress could be made, I think material goods would be much more important.
This list is not meant to be a final checklist, but rather a starting point that you could adjust, add, or take away from. These are some items that you could stock, to start your own General Merchandise store:
Glasses: With so many people running around with contact lenses, lots of eyesight would be lost after the first few months of TEOTWAWKI. Try talking to friends and family that have old pairs of glasses lying around and ask if you may have them. If possible, keep the frames as similar as possible. This would allow you to change out one lens for another if need be. Go to your local pharmacy and purchase a few types of reading glasses as well.
Hearing Aids with Batteries: These are a bit more pricey, but if you can come across some save them for someone that may be willing to pay for them with a side of beef in post-SHTF situation.
Boots and Shoes: It seems all we hear about is the best type of clothes for when the SHTF, but what about footwear? People will be walking all day, everyday thus making shoes wear out faster. I’d recommend going to garage sales and second hand stores to stock up on various sizes and types of footwear for adults and children. Twelve months after TEOTWAWKI and people are going to want to ditch their sandals and oversized sneakers for a more durable and appropriate shoe.
Can Openers: You would be astonished as to the number of people I know that have stocked up on canned goods but only have an electric can opener. Buy a few dozen good quality hand can openers. These will likely sell fast.
Female Products: Per my wife’s instructions. Women will need time until they can make their own pads. Nuff said!
Herbs: Whether or not you know how to make herbal remedies, someone will. Possibly through a collection of people, enough remedies may become apparent as medicines. You could trade these herbs for some of the medicines that people would make.
Medical Supplies: Medical personnel close to you will probably have a small stock of supplies in their own home. This extra supply is so if they are unable to get to their work site to retrieve more. You could trade these supplies for some medical treatments.
Writing Supplies: Pencils, pens, markers, and paper. Most likely electricity will go out fairly quickly. Being able to write notes, signs, or for pleasure will become more commonplace.
Reloading Equipment: This isn’t necessarily for you to sell, but rather to make sellable products. Bullets will in a sense become a type of currency. It will be used daily for hunting and for protection. Carry sufficient equipment to reload common sizes such as .357, .40, .45, .223, .30-06, .308, 12 gauge, and others . Check out local tire shops. Some will give you the old lead weights for free.
Archery Supplies: This one is not really talked about in the prepper circuit, but is becoming slightly more popular. At some point and time, there will be no more cartridges [because there will be no more primers]. Period. That is until someone starts producing gun powder and cartridges. This doesn’t apply to everyone, but if you live in an area where guns and shooting are frowned upon, this will happen. A large number of hunters are becoming more involved with bow hunting. Carrying some extra arrows, heads, and strings will make you quite popular among these hunters.
Antiques: So when you inherited grandpa’s farm you got to looking around. You found old lanterns, a horse drawn plow, old hand tools, an antique sheller, etc. You understand the importance of these types of tools in a SHTF situation, so you bought new replicas that you know will last. Don’t chuck these antique originals in the junk pile. These can be sold to farmers who have not prepared, for a hefty price.
Fire Starters: Lots of people have matches and lighters in their house. Do you think they have sufficient to last five years? Stock up on strike anywhere matches, butane lighters, and magnesium fire starters. Once people realize there gas stove doesn’t light up without their electric starter, they’ll be calling you to trade.
Lubricants: Whether we experience an EMP or not, the lights will go out at some time. People will have generators and vehicles that are still going to run for awhile. I constantly read feuds between preppers over how many “trillions” of gallons of fuel they should have along with a stabilizer. What about oil for your motor? If you have enough fuel to last for three generations, how long will that motor last with nasty oil? Buy some common types of oils for two-strokes, gas vehicles, diesel vehicles, and tractors. Don’t forget to buy grease and penetrating lubricants as well.
Dental Care: There have been a few articles on the care of your teeth and gums, which means that people understand the importance of good dental hygiene. Stock up on toothbrushes and dental floss. People that understand the importance of these products will trade with high values.
Soap: Many people will start making their own soap, but many people will not know how. At fifty cents a bar, stock up on a pallet of this stuff. Even for certain people that are in love with their hair will use good old bar soap for shampoo. It sure beats using soap made from animal lard, or worse yet, no soap at all.
Kids Stuff: Children will be living in a far different place a year after TEOTWAWKI. No more Xbox, DVDs, iPods, and the list goes on. Most kids will be working to help the family survive by helping in the fields, homes, or learning a trade. However, we don’t want to completely throw away our children’s’ future. Stock up on some old fashion board games. These will not be solely for children, but for the whole family. When things calm down some, we will need to take some time to decompress everything that has happened. Stock up on story books along with textbooks. These children will someday be rebuilding the world we destroyed. Don’t let them lose their intelligence.
Adult Stuff: Kids aren’t going to be the only ones that will need to decompress. Our days will be long and difficult and at some point in we will have some down time to relax. As stated above, board and card games will help. Pick up some novels to sell that people could cozy up with next to a fire. Keep some bottles of perfume for women and some old car magazines for guys.
Tools: Most people have a socket wrench set and a hammer. If you live in the country, you probably have a mini hardware store in your shop. On the other hand, some people have a screwdriver and not much else. Keep a few extra tools around not only for yourself, but to trade as well. Sockets break, screwdriver tips wear down, and handles break.
Seeds: The starter prepper knows that they need “X amount” of food stored away. What about after it’s all gone? Seeds will become very important once people realize that TEOTWAWKI is here to stay and their supply of canned goods will not suffice until the lights come back on.
Canning Supplies: When harvest time comes around, people (hopefully) will have a bountiful crop of food. They will need a way to store this to get them through winter and into the next year.
Coffee and filters: The filters can be used for people that do not have percolators. They set their coffee pot up as normal and slowly pour hot water over the grounds. The filters can also be used to filter water for big chunks of stuff that we shouldn’t be drinking. As far as the coffee…we’re Americans. Coffee will be like gold!
Bibles: I stress that for this one, you use it not for trade, but as a gift. Help spread the word of God in a crucial time.
Baby Formula: Some children may not drink breast milk due to either a lack of lactation or an allergy to something in the milk. I do not think I would be able to use this as a trade or sellable item. Best leave this for a charity item.
Hand Pumps for Wells: I know of people that live in the country that are preparing to have the SHTF. They are storing food, fuel, water, and bullets. A number of these same people have yet to realize that when the lights go out, so does their well. Having a few of these around could be worth a huge amount in the barter world.
Solar Panels: For this, I would recommend putting them away in a faraday cage. Should an EMP blast occur, these could be trade to someone that is in great need of electricity such as a doctor, dentist, fire department, or the local Ham Radio operator to keep us up on the news. Don’t forget to also keep on hand batteries, charge controllers, cabling, connectors, and all the other goodies needed [to make small PV systems.]
Last, and certainly not least…. Books and Manuals:
Not everyone’s situation will be the same. You may live in an area without any medical personnel around. I may live in a climate that never gets below eighty degrees. Pick up books that people could use and the entire community could benefit from over time. Pick up a copy of Where There Is No Doctor or Seed Sowing and Saving. Find technical manuals and do-it-yourself (DIY) books. Purchase five copies of each one. Should you live in an area that is so desolate that your community is less than one hundred families; skills may not be readily present and must be learned. Knowledge is power.
The preceding list is just a guide. What I really hope to get out of this is for people’s minds to shift from preparing and trying to survive to looking past the final hour and realize that if you do survive, we will have to restart everything. If you are thirty years old, have all of you food, water, crops, and fuel squared away, start thinking about the next thirty to forty years you may live after the SHTF. We’ve focused long enough on getting ready for the big day, but what about the years and years after? As in the novel “Patriots”
Using the theory of competence awareness that you can apply to any skill, or knowledge based discipline i.e. cooking, auto repair, etc. I am taking a writers license to make a revision to Dr. Abraham Maslow’s conscious competence theory, and apply the theory to Disaster Preparedness.
Unconsciously Incompetent: The UI represents approximately 90% of the population of the nation. Using Hurricane Katrina as an example, hundreds of thousands of people felt it was the role of the government to make sure that individual citizens would have food, water, clothing and shelter. These same people believe under no circumstance, the individual (UI) was responsible for ones lack of preparation. In fact, some people even blamed the President of the United States for the UI’s unwillingness to become ready for a disaster.
In a study commissioned by the San Diego Department of Emergency Services in 2006 a year prior to the largest fire storm in California’s history, showed that out of those that did not have a plan 50% stated that they have just not taken the time. The UI will most likely react to an event instead of planning. Then the UI will need assistance from government and NGOs such as the American Red Cross. The UI places tremendous strain on the response system. People that otherwise are not a “victim”, will still expect heroic measures to be taken by the community, to “save” and help them, and recover from the event. The UI does not know where to start or get services. The UI will demand that those that are prepared for the event help them, the classic “crab in the bucket” reaction pulling down individuals who were ready for a disaster.
The “crab in a bucket” syndrome is: When a single crab is put into a lidless bucket, they surely can and will escape, however, when more than one share a bucket, none can get out. If one crab elevates them self above all, the others will grab this crab and drag ’em back down to share the mutual fate of the rest of the group. Crab bucket syndrome is often used to describe social situations where one person is trying to better them self and others in the community attempt to pull them back down
Consciously Incompetent: If the UI is the “crab in the bucket” the CI is the provable “grasshopper” from the fable of the “Grasshopper and the Ant.”
The fable concerns a grasshopper that has spent the warm months singing away while the ant (or ants in some editions) worked to store up food for winter. When winter arrives, the grasshopper finds itself dying of hunger, and upon asking the ant for food is only rebuked for its idleness.
The CI knows that they need to get ready. The CI may even have some gear and supplies. The supplies that the CI does have are not located in any order or state of readiness. They still believe that if the “big one” hits that the government or someone will come for them, or that things will be back to normal soon. They are the people that say to the Consciously Competent “I am coming to your house if anything happens.” The CI also thinks that they have time to get ready later. This is supported by the San Diego study. Around 20% of those that were not ready stated the “nothing serious is going to happen.” The CI will have excuses for not being ready; they “live in an apartment,” “it is too expensive,” “they are going to a family member’s home if it gets bad here” and so on.
Consciously Competent: Of the 10% of the population that are ready most fall into this level. The CC has the 72 hour bag that FEMA recommends; they have some extra water and food. Their items and tools are located in one spot in the home and ready to go. The CC will go through their supplies once in a while making sure that tools are in working order and the food fresh. Their papers are in order for the most part. They have a family plan and everyone in the family knows how to respond incase of an event. For the CC this is a laborious undertaking but completed with care. The CC is always looking for items to make their family and themselves better prepared at the super market, online, hardware stores and alike. Being ready is almost a hobby to the CC.
Unconsciously Competent: The UC falls into a special category, they are sometimes called a survivalist. The UC has programmed their mind and body to being ready. However the UC is not always a militia, gun toting anti-government far on the right person, some UC’s fall far on the left of the political spectrum.
Subsistence farmers for example are UC’s. They know how to grow and harvest their own food. Making butter, jelly and canning food is not a conscious effort like it is for the CC, it is a part of their daily lives. The idea of having food to last the winter is not foreign to them. The UC knows how to work the land, fish, and hunt, repair anything for the most part and need little from anyone else. The UC life style is the way people lived until the 1950s. Today the UC maybe looked down upon by some and even demonized by others however when it comes to being Disaster Resilient the UC is king. UI and the CI may try to take things from the UC and the CC; however unwanted guest may be greeted with a barrel of a gun when approaching the UC’s home.
I have taken the opportunity to share with you the different attitudes toward Disaster Preparedness today in this article. I hope your eyes are open toward being ready and will take it seriously. Don’t be a crab or a grasshopper, be the Ant!
Roubini: Debt Nightmare Unfolding in Europe
The blame game is on: Bernanke Takes Aim at China
Governor Warns Cities May Go Bankrupt. (Thanks to B.B. for the link.)
The American Way of Life, As Things Fell Apart, Nobody Paid Much Attention.
Items from The Economatrix:
How Gold Performs During Periods of Deflation, Disinflation, Runaway Stagflation and Hyperinflation
Debt Collectors Stalking, Publicly Humiliating People Through Facebook
US In Terribly Dangerous Territory, Bond Market May Be Headed Toward Implosion
Gold Investing: A Bet Against The Idiocy of Money Creation (The Mogambo Guru)
I was doing some web wandering and found this: British national builds a ‘tsunami-resistant house,’ powered by solar energy
o o o
Reading this synopsis, I would surmise that the script writer for the upcoming “modest budget” guerilla film Remnants must read SurvivalBlog. Watch the latest trailer. Oh, and their clip of “Merle’s Basement” may strike a chord. (Thanks to C.H. for the link.)
o o o
Scott F. recommended this web page for some details on suturing: Operational Medicine 2001 Field Medical Service School Student Handbook.
o o o
SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large Michael Z. Williamson sent this: Flashlight plunges Swedish village into darkness.
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” – Romans 8:28 (KJV)
I was tickled to see that Glenn Beck interviewed Lisa Bedford “The Survival Mom” on his television show. (Nov. 18, 2010.) Hopefully this will encourage a broader cross-section of America build a food storage program.
—
Today we present another entry for Round 31 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round will include:
First Prize: A.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795, and B.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees, in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $392 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A 500 round case of Fiocchi 9mm Parabellum (Luger ) with 124gr. Hornady XTP/HP projectiles, courtesy of Sunflower Ammo (a $249 value), and E.) An M17 medical kit from JRH Enterprises (a $179.95 value).
Second Prize: A.) A “grab bag” of preparedness gear and books from Jim’s Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (JASBORR) with a retail value of at least $400, B.) A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials, and C.) two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).
Third Prize: A.) A copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, from Arbogast Publishing, and B.) a Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21. (This filter system is a $275 value.)
Round 31 ends on November 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.
A Christian homeschooling wife and mother of three, I find that the subject of children isn’t often addressed by survivalists. Perhaps it goes without saying that we will teach our children the skills they would need to survive in any given situation, but I know how easy it can be to overlook this vital task in the busyness of raising a family. At the other end of the spectrum, I do not want to raise children who are crippled by fear of the world they live in, nor do I want irresponsible sissies dependent on electronic entertainment and happy meals to make it through the day.
As a solution I have interwoven survival skills with daily life. American history has come to life with a hands-on approach to the “old fashioned” way of doing things. From dipping beeswax candles and learning how to build a fire with a flint and striker at a local rendezvous festival to a full year study of botany (think gardening) for science, our homeschool education has taken on a no nonsense approach to learning valuable life skills.
How about hobbies? My son is an active cub scout learning camping, hiking, woodworking, team building and leadership skills as well as, perhaps most importantly, service to others (as Biblically mandated, not in the lemur-like mindless way the government seems to prefer). He can be trusted at age eight with a BB gun under very limited supervision because he is responsible and educated in gun safety. He is a great fisherman thanks to my Hubby. My oldest daughter, an aspiring chef at age ten, can out-cook many adult women. I suppose that would have been a less impressive feat a generation or two ago when more women used their kitchens as more than granite and stainless steel showpieces. However, my little gem is up to her elbows in bread dough or at worst watching Food Network and reading cookbooks while the other little girls are playing video games or talking on cell phones and Facebook. Not only are the kids practicing important life skills from a young age, they are stirring up cookies and planting herbs with our youngest daughter, age two.
For Christmas gifts this year both of the older kids will find Swiss Army knives under the tree. My oldest will be delighted to find a vintage campfire cookbook, and my son a wrist rocket with a supply of paint balls to target practice with. The baby wants only one thing: a kitten. I need one to keep the mice at bay anyhow.
Whatever the future may look like, I want my kids to enjoy a time of innocence as children. They are learning the skills they may someday need without worrying about what that day looks like. So, while we are raising chickens and rabbits, learning how to chop kindling with a hatchet, making soap from lye and the herbs we grew in science class, and organizing the food storage into our own little “store”, the world can keep their Happy Meals and X-boxes. My kids aren’t missing a thing. The neighbors’ children who are always in our yard building “log cabins” out of the firewood and collecting eggs with my kids attest to that fact. They are having a blast!
The children of today are our hope for tomorrow. What difference does it make how many supplies we’ve socked away or how much knowledge we have acquired if all of the skills die with us? I urge you to teach your kids, your neighbor’s kids, your grandkids… any kid who will listen or has an interest. We have to do something to combat the modern culture of entitlement and helplessness. Battle the apathy and laziness one child at a time.
I’ve had several readers ask me about the status of my upcoming novels. Here is the news, in brief: I submitted the manuscript for the first sequel to “Patriots” in July. Atria Books (a division of Simon & Schuster) plans to release it around October of 2011. It is currently being edited. OBTW, I had the chance to meet my editor, Emily Bestler, in person for the first time last month. She is a very skillful editor. After seeing how wonderfully she edited Glenn Beck’s new novel “The Overton Window
I am meanwhile busily writing the second sequel, which is scheduled for release around October of 2012. I should mention that both of the sequels are contemporaneous with the action in “Patriots”, but set in different locales. There is just minor overlap of characters that fill in some of the missing pieces in “Patriots”. For example, in the second sequel there are more details about Ian and Blanca Doyle, and in the second sequel there are more details about Ken and Terry Layton.
My thanks to the many folks who volunteered to be subject matter experts on my latest novel. They provide a wealth of information that adds texture and authenticity. I will be corresponding with them in the coming weeks, as the new chapters take shape. Thank you!
Voting with their feet: Low-tax states will gain seats, high-tax states will lose them. (Thanks to John M. for the link.)
The Southern California residential housing crater is not improving.
Commentary by Simon Black, over at the Sovereign Man blog: The First Signs of the Coming Dollar Crash are in Hong Kong.
Items from The Economatrix:
G20: World Gangs Up On America; The Dollar’s Days As Reserve Currency Are Numbered
Three Big Banks Cutting Deals on Foreclosures
Following some very expensive lobbying, S.510 passed a cloture vote in the U.S. Senate earlier this week. What a huge disappointment to see this bad legislation will probably be passed. The big question is: How will that bill and the considerably different H.R. 2749 (the Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009) from over in the House be reconciled? Please contact your congresscritters and ask them to do their best to get this legislation stopped.
o o o
Reader Ron L. noted: “What happens when you have a displaced populace? Disease. Then unrest. It’s happening now in Haiti.”
o o o
Rourke mentioned: Emergency Broadcast System Coming to Cell Phones
o o o
Tam mentioned that some of our returning veterans are getting infuriatingly idiotic treatment from the TSA. That was almost incomprehensible. Oh well, at least there is some good news: The Medal of Honor for Staff Sergeant Salvatore Giunta. (Even though non-Veteran Barack Hussein Obama was officiating, it was still a moving presentation.) And speaking of the Medal of Honor, see: Passed and Pending Coin Legislation.