Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“No one realized how bad the economy was. The projections, in fact, turned out to be worse. But we took the mainstream model as to what we thought — and everyone else thought — the unemployment rate would be.” – Vice President Joseph Biden, June 14, 2009 (Backing away from the BHO Administration’s estimate that “stimulus” funds could “create or save” 3.5 million jobs, instead now promising just 600,000 by the end of the summer.)

Letter Re: Three Abstracts on Public Health in Ghettos During the WWII Holocaust

James,
In light of the recent shooting by a Nazi whacko in Washington at the Holocaust Museum, I think it is important that we remember the victims and impact of a totalitarian government deliberately starving, looting, and otherwise dehumanizing its citizens. (The articles were published in Hebrew but the following abstracts are in English) – Yorrie in Pennsylvania (a retired physician)

Clinical Manifestations of "Hunger Disease" Among Children in the Ghettos During the Holocaust
Hercshlag-Elkayam O, Even L, Shasha SM.
Western Galilee Hospital, Nahariya, Israel.

The harsh life in the ghettos were characterized by overcrowding, shortage of supplies (e.g. money, sanitation, medications), poor personal hygiene, inclement weather and exhaustion. Under these conditions, morbidity was mainly due to infectious diseases, both endemic and epidemic outbreaks with a high mortality rate. The dominant feature was hunger. Daily caloric allowance was 300-800, and in extreme cases (i.e. Warsaw ghetto) it was only 200 calories. The food was lacking important nutrients (e.g. vitamins, trace elements) leading to protean clinical expression, starvation and death. The clinical manifestations of starvation were referred to as "the Hunger Disease", which became the subject of research by the medical doctors in the ghettos, mainly in the Warsaw ghetto in which a thorough documentation and research were performed. The first victims of hunger were children. First they failed to thrive physically and later mentally. Like their elders, they lost weight, but later growth stopped and their developmental milestones were lost with the loss of curiosity and motivation to play. The mortality rate among babies and infants was 100%, as was described by the ghetto doctors: "when the elder children got sick, the small ones were already dead…". In the last weeks of the ghettos there were no children seen in the streets. In this article the environmental conditions and daily life of children in the ghettos are reviewed, and the manifestations of "Hunger Disease" among them is scrutinized.
[Harefuah. 2003 May;142(5):345-9]

Morbidity in the Ghettos During the Holocaust
Shasha, SM.
Western Galilee Hospital, Nahariya.

The environmental conditions and daily life in the ghettos of Europe during the holocaust are reviewed, and their effect on morbidity in different ghettos is scrutinized in an attempt to construct a typical morbidity profile. The outstanding characteristics were: crowding, shortage of basic necessities (such as food, clothing and medications), harsh environmental and sanitary conditions, inclement weather, poor personal hygiene, chronic undernutrition and malnutrition, physical and mental exhaustion. Morbidity was mainly due to infectious diseases, both endemic and epidemic outbreaks with high mortality, and high infestation rates of lice and other parasites. The dominant feature was "hunger disease" with its protean clinical expressions, endocine pathology, growth and development retardation in children, and amenorrhea and infertility among women of child-bearing age. Polyuria, nocturia and increased frequency of bowel movement were common. The typical presentation of a ghetto dweller was of extreme emaciation (a loss of up to 50% body weight); muscle weakness and skeletal abnormalities; pale, dry skin with excoriations; pedal edema; anxiety and nervousness; often goiter in children. Most of the inhabitants had some, or all, of those signs and symptoms (there were times when more than half the population was sick). This syndrome complex was termed "Ghetto Sickness" or "Ghetto Fatigue" (ghetto schwachkeit).
[Harefuah. 2002 Apr;141(4):364-8, 409, 408]

Medicine in the Ghettos During the Holocaust
Shasha, SM.
Western Galilee Hospital, Nahariya.

The Health systems in several ghettos in Europe during the holocaust were studied in an attempt to construct a typical structural profile. The medical system in a typical ghetto consisted of a department of public health (sanitation) that belonged to the Yudenrat, several hospitals, outpatient clinics, first aid stations and physicians in the labor groups. The structure of the system in several ghettos is discussed and the functions of the various units in the prevention of epidemics, and health education are reviewed. Also described is the medical research that was carried out in the ghettos, emphasizing the work on "Hunger Disease" in the Warsaw ghetto, as well as the heroic endeavor to establish a clandestine medical school in the Warsaw ghetto during the holocaust
[Harefuah. 2002 Apr;141(4):318-23, 412]

Letter Re: Sprouting is Key to Good Nutrition in TEOTWAWKI

James,
I am a fan of sprouting, but I have to disagree with Roxanne on a few points:

The idea that the human body needs external enzymes from raw food and that we will ‘run out of them if we eat cooked food’ is a food myth that traces it’s origin to the natural hygienists of the last century, along with the idea that you can live forever if your colon is clean.

Humans have been cooking food since we discovered fire. Our pancreases are bigger and we do suffer plenty of diseases wild animals don’t and yes, eating some raw food is a good idea but no, you will no more run of enzymes than you will run out of saliva or any other fluid.

Eating raw food means you are more at risk for food borne pathogens such as E. Coli and parasites. Furthermore cooking vegetables allows the body to digest them. We do not possess the enzyme cellulase that vegetarian animals do so we cannot break down plant cell walls without cooking, juicing or chewing and regurgitating and chewing again like a cow.

Also, all sprouted foods contain some toxins during the sprouting phase which is how the young plants try to avoid being eaten by animals, as well as anti-nutrients (protease inhibitors etc.) Alfalfa is one of the worst offenders as:

“Alfalfa sprouts contain approximately 1.5% canavanine, a substance which, when fed to monkeys, causes a severe lupus erythematosus-like syndrome. (In humans, lupus is an autoimmune disease.) Canavanine is an analog for the amino acid arginine, and takes its place when incorporated into proteins. However, alfalfa that is cooked by autoclaving (i.e., subjected to pressure-cooking) doesn’t induce this effect. [Malinow 1982, Malinow 1984].”

Add to that, the fact that many people will experience gas when eating raw food and that sprouted grains don’t taste as good as cooked grain and you have a problem.

I spent a year eating only raw food. I felt great for the first little while as I cleaned out my system but over time I got quite weak. When I added in raw meat towards the end of the experiment (chicken, fish, beef and eggs) I felt better. You can eat raw meat and sprouted grains but consider it something you do in case of emergency. While raw meat now is quite clean thanks to the USDA inspection process (I still eat 4 raw eggs a day), after an event, without refrigeration, eating road kill or trading for wild meat or eating meat you hunt without cooking it first is too risky.

As I mentioned in a article I wrote for SurvivalBlog two years ago, sprouting allows you make Vitamin C from grains (a vitamin that is difficult to store long term) but this is something that should be done as digestive capacity allows. A handful of sprouts is all you should need to take care of this.

One option is to sprout your grains and then bake with them (such as Essene bread), then you get the best of both worlds, but this type of bread is so sweet as to be like candy and will not give you the slow burn of energy that cooked grains can deliver. – SF in Hawaii

Influenza Pandemic Update:

Don’t Worry, It’s Just a Pandemic Just redefining it so there is no panic.

Symptoms of Swine Flu and What to Do

Delayed Pandemic Phase 6 Designation Raises Pandemic Concerns “The parallels between the 2009 pandemic and the 1918 pandemic are striking; Both began as a mild infection in the spring and targeted previously healthy young adults. In the fall of 1918, the virus was much more deadly, leading to the death of 20-50 million people, most of which were previously healthy young adults….the two-month delay in the pandemic [phase] 6 declaration may prove to be quite hazardous to the world’s health.”

Economics and Investing:

From frequent content contributor KAF: Federal Deficit Soars to May Record of $189.7 Billion

D.S. mentioned an interesting piece on the decline of collective net worth, over at Michael Panzner’s blog: The Big Wipeout

Items from The Economatrix with an Emphasis on the Ponte Chiasso Bond Smuggling Case:

2 Japanese Carrying $134 Billion In U.S. Bonds Detained In Italy. “In a suitcase were 249 bonds of the ‘Federal Reserve‘ American in the nominal value of 500 million each, and 10 ‘ bond Kennedy ‘ of the nominal value of $ 1 billion each, in addition to what is described as very original banking documentation.”
New Evidence Pointing to Japan

Update 6/12/09, 19:05 Seizure of US Government Bonds “News about it initially made it to the front page of many Italian papers, but not of the international press. Since yesterday though, some reports have published by English-language news agencies. And some commentators are starting to link the story to reports in US press dating back to 30 March. On that date the US Treasury Department announced that it had about US $134.5 billion left in its financial-rescue fund, the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), whose purpose is to purchase assets and equity to buttress companies in trouble. At the same time, Japan’s Kyodo news agency has reported that the resignation of Japan’s Interior Minister Kunio Hatoyama might also be related to the Ponte Chiasso affair.

Yosano Says Japan’s Trust In US Treasuries “Unshakable” “Japanese Finance Minister Kaoru Yosano said his government is confident about the outlook for U.S. Treasuries, signaling the second-biggest foreign holder of the securities will keep buying them amid record sales.” And, later in the article: “We have complete trust in the fact that the U.S. views its strong-dollar policy as fundamental,” Yosano, 70, said in an interview in Tokyo on June 10 before attending a Group of Eight meeting of finance ministers starting today in Italy. “So our trust in U.S. Treasuries is absolutely unshakable.”

Judgment Day: Broke California Faces Shut-Down at Schwarzenegger’s Hand

Economic Rebound? Curb Your Enthusiasm

Odds ‘n Sods:

The full length version of this show: Bizarre Foods Survival Special will air on Tuesday, June 16th, at 10 p.m. Eastern/Pacific time, and immediately after (11pm ET) Andrew will be doing a live chat with viewers.

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F.G. sent this: Round Up Hate-Promoters Now, Before Any More Holocaust Museum Attacks. I don’t suppose that there is any point in mentioning the deep irony of this to the author. (After all, the reason that a Holocaust Museum even exists is that some seven decades ago, a national government went along with public demands that certain people be “rounded up.”) Now don’t get me wrong: the man that perpetrated the attack was obviously a dangerous loon. But I’m not ready to set up a Department of “Pre-Crime” Thought Police, a la Phillip K. Dick’s Minority Report.

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I’ve been amazed at how quickly Microsoft’s Bing.com search engine has taken off. Rather than anything special provided by Bing’s software, perhaps their success can instead be attributed to Google’s Orwellian cookies retention policy and their corrupt “Pay for Rankings” marketing strategy. Google deserves only the quiet, withering death of inattention. For greater web search privacy, use Scroogle.org’s “scraper”. But regardless, learn how to clear your web browser’s history, and clear cache.

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This confirms one of my long-held assumptions: Some Very Interesting Statistics on Rape Resistance. Teach your daughters to shoot, get them some advanced training, and set them up to carry concealed, daily. (Thanks to SF in Hawaii for the link.)

Note from JWR:

Today we present a guest article from one of our most loyal advertisers. You will note that I post very few articles from advertisers, but when one like this comes along that provides useful and practical information, I don’t hesitate. Also please note that our advertisers are not eligible to participate in the SurvivalBlog Nonfiction Writing Contest.

Sprouting is Key to Good Nutrition in TEOTWAWKI

If you were to take an inventory of all your preparedness supplies, would you feel quite confident that you are in fact “ready”? Your supplies might include a good, well thought out long-term, food storage program, complete with a variety of dehydrated and freeze-dried legumes, grains, vegetable, fruits, dairy and meats. If you’ve gotten this far, you are to be commended for taking two giant steps toward emergency preparedness. But have you also considered the very process by which these foods are preserved to give you the benefit of long-term food storage? Did you know that both the dehydrating and freeze dried process destroys the essential enzymes your body needs to utilize the nutrients in the food itself? That’s what may keep the food from spoiling thereby giving you the benefit of long-term storage, but your body still needs these essential enzymes.

To give you an example of how enzymes work and why they are so important for your health, consider this: Have you ever dropped an apple and noticed a bruise form? Have you ever watched what happens to that bruise over time? Underneath the skin, enzymes are busy at work breaking down that apple until there is nothing left. The exact same thing happens with the enzymes in your digestive tract: These mighty, enzymatic “powerhouses” perform their magic – breaking down the food to its constituent parts – vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates and protein – so the body can ultimately use it for life and vitality. Without them, we are borrowing from our body what it was never designed to do. To use the old adage, if I may, we are “robbing Peter to pay Paul”.

Yes, the body is thankfully equipped with the means to also digest these essential nutrients with a flood of digestive enzymes, from amylase in your saliva, to gastric lipase, pepsin and rennin in your stomach mixed with hydrochloric acid. The partially digested food (chyme) then empties into your small intestine where liver bile and pancreatic enzymes continue to breakdown the food so the nutrients can be absorbed. There is a kink in this unreliable system, however. Over time and with abuse, when the body is forced to pump out all the enzymes needed for digestion, eventually the body breaks down. Hence, we see the rise of all these horrific, degenerative disease like diabetes, coronary heart disease and cancer – to name a few. Instead of the food enzymes breaking down our vital nutrients, our bodies are breaking down and we wonder why.

Although this article cannot possibly cover the scope of the need for enzymes incorporated into our everyday lives, it must cover the inevitable concerns we face in preparedness. We know the time is near and we need to prepare. One only has to watch the “real” news to realize we’re headed for some tumultuous times. And for many of you who read and support SurvivalBlog, you already are prepared and continue to prepare. But now you’re faced with this dilemma: Your long term food storage is depleted of enzymes. It contains all the necessary nutrients, but nothing to deliver them to your body. Now what?

That was a question we faced as individuals, and as a self reliant, emergency preparedness business: We sell good, wholesome dehydrated and freeze-dried food products from some of the best companies out there with all the necessary nutrients for survival but void of the enzymes needed to break it down. So, from our personal interest in nutrition, to my naturopathic studies, to the realization that Americans are in imminent danger with their casual approach to health, we decided to take that leap of faith. We had to do something that would not only provide the enzymes needed for everyday living, but for our long-term food storage as well. So we made a drastic shift in the way we eat now by choosing healthy, unprocessed food and incorporate a lot of whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables in our diets, including sprouts.

Did I say sprouts? Could it really be that simple that we could live off our food storage and enjoy good health with the simple usage of sprouts? Sprouts are living foods packed with living enzymes ready to take food to its next level. In fact, alfalfa sprouts are one of the healthiest foods available to man with such vital nutrients as calcium, copper, folate, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium silicon, zinc, vitamins B, C, D, E and K. Not only does it possess all these nutrients, it’s alive and full of enzymes. By the simple application of sprouts in your long term food storage, you too can not only enjoy the fresh crisp taste of vegetables but employ every nutrient for the health of your body from otherwise, “dead” food.

Sprouting is so easy, anyone can do it. It requires no special knowledge or complicated equipment, just the seeds, a sprouter kit, some moisture, warmth, darkness and maybe ten minutes of your time daily. They not only store well, but a little goes a long way! In fact, just one pound of alfalfa seeds can produce 10-14 pounds of sprouts. Just simply soak the seeds in water overnight, drain them and lightly water for a few days. Then watch them grow! Soon you will have a bountiful crop of healthy sprouts to incorporate into your long-term food storage plan. – Roxanne L. Griswold, Ready Made Resources

Letter Re: Breeding Guinea Pigs as a Protein Source?

Hi Jim;

I remember reading a “review” from a survival-minded individual who raised some Guinea Pigs (cavies) as a test case for survival situations. It took some searching, but I found it on the excellent Alpha Rubicon Web site.

While I was searching for it, I stumbled upon some other sources of information as well:

An article on the pros and cons of cavies as a meat source, from the book “Microlivestock”

And here’s an article (in PDF) on cavies for meat production.

And an older article about Peruvian Guinea Pig meat production. I love this line: “Today, churches in Lima and Cuzco still display Indian depictions of the Last Supper with Jesus and the 12 disciples eating roasted guinea pig.” Is Guinea Pig even kosher?

Thanks again for my daily read, – JRIP

Economics and Investing:

Jack B. sent a link to a brilliant little essay by “Innocent Bystander”, posted over at The Silver Bear Café, titled Economics.

From Greg J.: US government seeks to rein in executive pay. Greg asks: “When will this stop? If the Benevolent State can declare both a minimum wage and a maximum salary, then what is to stop them from controlling all wages? This is madness! “Punishing” the rich will just push funds and eventually people and entire corporations offshore. As you’ve mentioned in SurvivalBlog, wage and price controls have an ugly history. They’re indiscriminate. They’re ineffective. They’re anti-freedom. And they’re coming soon again, to America.” JWR Adds: Just wait until inflation returns, in earnest. We’ll no doubt then see some draconian wage and price controls. Methinks it is time to dig out my copy of Dr. Gary North’s book, Government By Emergency.

Nouriel Roubini asks: Is Eastern Europe on the Brink of an Asia-Style Crisis?

I noticed that spot silver took another substantial dip on Friday. Buy on these dips!

Items from The Economatrix:

Two Japanese Carrying $134 Billion in U.S. Treasury Notes (and 10 ‘bond Kennedy’ of the nominal value of $1 billion each) Detained In Italy. This sounds more than a little bit fishy. If these bearer bonds weren’t counterfeited, then somebody in the US Treasury has a lot of explaining to do. Oh, and here is a bit of interesting follow-up commentary on this case. (The latter link courtesy of Frank K.)

US Stocks Fall On Concern Over Bond Yields, Rising Fuel Costs

US Trade Gap Grows as Exports Decrease Geithner: “Recovery here depends on recovery abroad.”

Oil Prices Near $72, Strike New High For 2009

The Media Fall PForhony “Jobs” Claims “We would never have used a formula like ‘save or create,'” he tells me. “To begin with, the number is pure fiction — the administration has no way to measure how many jobs are actually being ‘saved.’ And if we had tried to use something this flimsy, the press would never have let us get away with it.”

Majority Now Supports Ron Paul’s Fed Audit Bill “The majority of Americans are fed up with Fed secrecy.”

Fed Would Be Shut Down If It Were Audited, Expert Says

Counterfeit or Just Fake? (The Mogambo Guru)

Odds ‘n Sods:

A USCCA Video Tip of the Week: Carrying Extra Magazines.

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Reader T.M.N. sent a link to an article that gives new meaning to the term “efficiency apartment”: Man turns closet into living space. The space efficiency achieved is laudable, but that doesn’t leave much room for prep logistics. (FWIW, the food storage shelves for my family in JASBORR take up more cubic feet than his “apartment”.)

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Steve in Philly mentioned that a six-part Gunsite video on Tactical Carbine handling and marksmanship is now available on YouTube. (I’m dubious about its copyright status! (So it is best to buy your own copy, on DVD, directly from Gunsite.)

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A bit of modern wilderness survival lore at Gizmodo, courtesy of SurvivalBlog reader C.S.: SurvivorNerd: How to Start a Fire with Your Cellphone.

Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 23 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest.

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 between $500 and $600, and B.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried foods, courtesy of Ready Made Resources.

Second Prize: A “grab bag” of preparedness gear and books from Jim’s Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (JASBORR) with a retail value of $350.

Third Prize: A copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, from Arbogast Publishing.

Round 23 ends on July 31st, 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.