The Credit Collapse–The World’s Bankers Revert to Saying “No”

A recent news article titled Dresdner Rescues $19 Billion SIV, Follows Citigroup illustrates the severity of the global liquidity collapse. Note that the article mentions that the K2 SIV had no “direct exposure” to securities backed by subprime or midprime debt. But yet the fund failed dramatically. This adds credence to my assertion that the world’s entire credit market is essentially broken, and that despite frantic attempts by the central banks to inject liquidity (BTW, another $25 billion was just injected the Fed on Thursday), most of the major financial institutions are starting to crumble.

In the very near future, we will be reading headlines trumpeting the collapse of multi-trillion dollar derivatives schemes and dozens of hedge funds. In essence, no financial institution will be immune. It won’t stop with the exotic “alphabet soup” CDO, CDS, MBS, and SIV investments. The problem is systemic. By endlessly repackaging and re-selling debt instruments, the bankers have built themselves a multi-hundred trillion dollar house of cards. The labyrinth of debt repackaging made it impossible for anyone to gauge risk. Nobody knows what exactly what collateral is backing up any given debt-based investment vehicle. Worse yet, while currencies are inflating, assets–such as houses–are deflating. Thus, even the once “solid” backing of residential house mortgages is nothing but sinking sand. Without a quantifiable measure of risk, it is impossible to judge whether any business venture is creditworthy. Hence, the bankers have defaulted to the time-honored answer that they have given to any potential borrower that cannot prove the value of his assets: NO! (As in: “No, we are not giving you the loan that you applied for.”) Global finance has already dramatically slowed. Without liquidity, the wheels of commerce are grinding to a halt. It is particularly noteworthy that the number of new derivatives contracts being written has dropped by more than 90% since August. (And many of those still holding derivatives are biting their nails.)

The global credit collapse will eventually lead to some huge bank and S&L runs and equally huge municipal bond failures. These, in turn, will spawn massive Federal bailout schemes that will make the Chrysler bailout of 1979 and the S&L bailout in 1989 seem miniscule by comparison. Since there will not be nearly enough tax dollars to fund these bailouts, the government will resort to creating new Treasury debt. Tax incentives, large scale civic works projects, and other desperation measures to “jumpstart” the economy will result in even more debt. But since there will be few takers for this mountain of new debt, the Federal Reserve will be forced monetize most of the debt–in effect creating trillions of new dollars out of thin air. This monetization will be insanely inflationary. (On the scale of what I described in my novel “Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse”.) I am talking inflation in the Zimbabwean sense of the word. The name Ben Bernanke may someday be remembered in the same breath with the name Robert Mugabe.

The Asian financial crisis of 1997 very nearly started this avalanche, but that problem was contained and fairly neatly varnished over by the mass media. But this new crisis–which started with shaky loans to flaky home buyers in the United States–cannot be stopped until it reaches its inevitable conclusion. So, instead of Thai Baht currency speculators, it will be lower middle class Americans that bought houses with granite countertops that will be remembered as the culprits. “It was the Americans that started this depression”, they will all say. And the symbol of this villainy will undoubtedly be the Dollar Sign ($). Don’t expect the US dollar to survive this crisis. At the very least it will lose its status as a the world’s reserve currency, but more likely it will suffer mass inflation and find its place the dustbin of history. All unredeemable fiat currencies eventually meet their doom. Some are just quicker about it than others.

The current financial instability is just the beginning. Before this is over, the debt crisis will start an avalanche that will bankrupt countless individual investors, institutional stockholders, hedge funds, stock trading companies, municipalities, banks, S&Ls, and insurance companies. Since the magic money tap will be turned off, both residential and commercial real estate may decline–absent overall consumer inflation–by as much as 70%. Stock markets will collapse, and economies will be plunged into prolonged depression. On and on it will go, as the trillions of dollars worth of bad debts that have been winding up for the past two decades are gradually “unwound.” This unwinding will be an incredibly painful and protracted process that is punctuated by some massive layoffs, strikes, and social unrest. Dan Ackroyd said it best: “Real wrath-of-God type stuff.”

I suspect that the debt avalanche will destroy entire currencies and possibly bring down governments. (We should remember that the Asian financial crisis of 1997 led to the ouster of the 30+ year Suharto regime in Indonesia.) My only hope is that one of the institutions that is replaced is the private banking cartel called the Federal Reserve. Inevitably, we need to replace fractional reserve banking with proper warehouse banking, and replace the fiat currencies with ones that are freely redeemable for precious metals.

Two Letters Re: Thoughts on Overseas Retreat Destinations

Mr. Rawles,
In looking through your great web site I can’t tell if you’ve ever addressed the issue of having a non-US retreat. There are some notable characteristics of the USA that make it a less then optimal location in a TEOTWAWKI type scenario. I think specifically of very heavy reliance on personal vehicles and fossil fuels, a general ignorance about growing food, preserving food, raising livestock. There is a tremendous demographic heterogeneity (“diversity”) that in a crisis situation would become a very sore spot and possibly a source of violence. Also a Federal government that has shown an inclination to trample the rights of citizens when it is expedient to do so.

Having some familiarity with central Europe, I can tell you that the rural peasantry will fare very well in a crisis situation. Agriculture is still animal-powered in many areas. Self-sufficiency is the norm rather than the exception.

I would love to see you assess and evaluate various foreign sites as possible retreat locations. The analysis that you have already done on the western states is superb. Thanks much – Dr. R

 

Mr. Rawles,
First, I’d like to thank you for your work and dedication with SurvivalBlog. You’ve been a guiding light in darkening times. Second, I’d like to ask about your thoughts on relocating to a retreat abroad?
For some context information, I’m a college student at a local private university; by working two jobs, I’ve managed to avoid the average $30,000 in student loans my peers have accumulated, and am down to only $9,000. I pay off my interest as it accrues, and set aside about as much as I can spare for prepping every paycheck. Last year, I started talking with my family about survivalism in relation to our current times, and they’re happily on board and setting things aside as much as they can, as well. We’ve made it our goal to purchase our retreat this year- we actually start looking at bookmarked properties the third week of March – but as that I was assigned by family vote the family task of deciding which properties we see, and where we look, I feel the express desire to weigh as many potentially good options as possible.

Recently, the grandparents of a friend retired in Mexico; I had the opportunity to meet them and discuss the venture, and was amazed to hear that, paperwork aside, they were able to purchase several acres, build and furnish their own home, as well as obtain several head of livestock, for under $80,000! In a TEOTWAWKI situation, would one even perhaps be better off in a remote location in Mexico that’s already mostly self-sufficient in terms of agriculture, with the advantage of being able to afford more for the money, than in the US?
Or, for that matter, in other such places in the world of similar condition, like Romania, rural western Russia, (and etc.)? Admittedly, if there is ever a popular anti-foreigner sentiment, that could be a key worry- the biggest concern I’ve come across being that the foreign state could take away your property at any time… but does that worry not also apply to the US, with Eminent Domain? I understand that there’s no quick or easy answer to this, but I’m hoping that I might glean some better understanding through your experience, and that of your readers.
Wishing well, – S.L.K.

JWR Replies: Becoming an expatriate retreater requires some very careful study, consideration, and prayer. Many of the highly touted offshore locales suffer either from high crime rates, or have a high population density that would be an issue in a grid-down collapse. Many of these same countries also have restrictive laws on private firearms ownership, so that makes self defense problematic. Despite these and other drawbacks, there are a few offshore destinations that rate high on my list. These include New Zealand (South Island), the Cook Islands, Niue, Tonga, Vanuatu, Bolivia, Chile, rural portions of the Czech Republic, and the lower elevation cantons of Switzerland. I would also recommend Finland if it were not for its harsh climate.

I generally do not recommend most of Latin America and the Caribbean because of high crime rates (most notably property crimes and murder.) Even Costa Rica, which is often touted as a “peaceful haven”, has a murder rate higher than the U.S. (6.23 per 100,000, versus 5.9.) It also has a nearly four times higher robbery rate, but a surprisingly low burglary rate.) A lot of the Pacific Islands are not on my list because of either draconian gun laws or a high level of systems dependence. Many of them are now dependent on food imports. (Nauru is perhaps the worst in this regard. It could not even supply enough fresh drinking water for its residents if international shipping were to cease.)

I generally recommend moving to countries that share your language. But if you have an “in” somewhere–namely relatives or close friends that speak the native language and if they would be living on the same property or contiguous property–then the language barrier is less of an issue. But regardless, learn the local language and customs quickly. You should consider that education practically a full time job for your first few years.

The bottom line is that there is no single “perfect” retreat locale. There are advantages and drawbacks wherever you go. Climate, taxes, gun laws, population density, and crime rates are all trade-offs. Many of the locales that would be idyllic in a grid-up situation might be a nightmare if grid-down. But some countries might do very well in the absence of “the modern conveniences.” You will note that I have quite a few Pacific Islands on my list. In these island nations, if grid power were interrupted, I anticipate that the locals would quickly revert to traditional fishing, gardening, gathering fruit, hunting (bats, of all things!) and raising pigs.

Odds ‘n Sods:

Eric found this: Fed Issues Gloomy Economic Forecast. The article begins: “The Federal Reserve on Wednesday lowered its projection for economic growth this year, citing damage from the double blows of a housing slump and credit crunch. It said it also expects higher unemployment and inflation. “

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RBS sent us this from a Tampa, Florida newspaper: In home foreclosure, if it’s not nailed down …

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I couldn’t help but notice the New York market’s closing spot prices for platinum ($2,169 per ounce), gold ($944.60 per ounce) and silver ($18 per ounce). This is still not anywhere near the top. My advice remains: dump your stocks during the rallies, and buy gold and silver on the dips.

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You might have heard an item in the news about a magnitude 6 earthquake in northeastern Nevada. Its epicenter was near Wells, Nevada. The quake was felt as far away as Boise, Idaho and Salt lake City, Utah. I have mentioned the Wells area before, when I was discussing geothermal home heating. Unfortunately, one of the drawbacks of geothermal heating is that regions where geothermal heat is available generally also coincide with earthquake risk. Living there, you have to take the bad with the good–and forget about masonry construction!

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"Gentlemen, I have had men watching you for a long time and I am convinced that you have used the funds of the bank to speculate in the breadstuffs of the country. When you won, you divided the profits amongst you, and when you lost, you charged it to the bank. You tell me that if I take the deposits from the bank and annul its charter, I shall ruin ten thousand families. That may be true, gentlemen, but that is your sin! Should I let you go on, you will ruin fifty thousand families, and that would be my sin! You are a den of vipers and thieves." – President Andrew Jackson, when he forced the closing of the Second Bank of the U.S., by revoking its charter

The “Come as You Are” Collapse–Have the Right Tools and Skills

When the Second World War broke out in September, 1939, the United States had nearly two full years to ramp up military training and production before decisively confronting the Axis powers. In the late 1970s, looking at the recent experience of the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, the Pentagon’s strategic planners came to the realization that the next major war that the US military would wage would not be like the Second World War. There would not be the luxury of time to train and equip. They realized that we would have to fight with only what we had available on Day One. They dubbed this the “Come as you are war” concept.

In my opinion, the same “come as you are” mindset should be applied to family preparedness. We must recognize that in these days of rapid news dissemination, it may take as little as 10 hours before supermarket shelves are cleaned out. It make take just a few hours for queues that are literally blocks-long to form at gas stations–or at bank branches in the event of bank runs. Worse yet, it may take just a few hours before the highways and freeways leading out of urban and suburban areas are clogged with traffic–the dreaded “Golden Horde” that I often write about. Do not make the false assumption that you will have the chance to make “one last trip” to the big box store, or even the opportunity to fill your Bug Out Vehicle’s fuel tank. This will be the “come as you are” collapse.

The concept also applies to your personal training. If you haven’t learned how to do things before the balloon goes, up, then don’t expect to get anything but marginal to mediocre on-the-job training after the fact. In essence, you have the opportunity to take top-quality training from the best trainers now, but you won’t once the Schumer hits the fan. Take the time to get top-notch training! Train with the best–with organizations like Medical Corps, WEMSI, Gunsite, the RWVA/Appleseed Project, the WRSA, and the ARRL. Someday, you’ll be very glad that you did.

The come as you are concept definitely applies to specialized manufactured equipment. You are dreaming if you think that you will have the chance to to purchase any items such as these, in a post-collapse world: razor wire, body armor, night vision equipment, advanced first aid gear, tritium scopes, dosimeters and radiac meters, biological decontamination equipment, Dakota Alert or military surplus PEWS intrusion detection sets, photovoltaics, NBC masks, and semi-auto battle rifles. Think about it: There are very few if these items (per capita) presently in circulation. But the demand for them during a societal collapse would be tremendous. How could you compete in such a scant market? Anyone who conceivably has “spares” will probably want to keep them for a member of their own family or group. So even in the unlikely event that someone was even willing to sell such scarce items, they would surely ask a king’s ransom in barter for them. I’m talking about quarter sections of land, entire strings of well-broken horses, or pounds of gold. Offers of anything less would surely be scoffed at.

Don’t overlook the “you” part of the “as you are” premise. Are you physically fit? Are you up to date on your dental work? Do you have two pairs of sturdy eyeglasses with your current prescription? Do you have at least a six-month supply of vitamins and medications? Is your body weight reasonable? If you answer to any of these is no, then get busy!

Even if you have a modest budget, you will have an advantage over the average suburbanite. Your knowledge and training alone–what is between your ears–will ensure that. And even with just a small budget for food storage, you will be miles ahead of your neighbors. Odds are that they will have less than two week’s worth of food on hand. As I often say, you will need extra supplies on hand to help out relatives, friends, and neighbors that were ill-prepared. I consider charity my Christian duty!

I have repeatedly and strongly emphasized the importance of living at your intended retreat year-round. But I realize that because of personal finances, family obligations, and the constraints of making a living at an hourly or salaried job, that this is not realistic–except for a few of us, mainly retirees. If you are stuck in the Big City and plan to Get Out of Dodge (G.O.O.D.) at the eleventh hour, then by all means pre-position the vast majority of your gear and supplies at your retreat. You will most likely only have one, I repeat, one G.O.O.D. trip. If there is a major crisis there will probably be no chance to “go back for a second load.” So WTSHTF will truly be a “come as you are” affair.

With all of this in mind, re-think your preparedness priorities. Stock your retreat well. If there isn’t someone living there year-round, then hide what is there from burglars. (See the numerous SurvivalBlog posts on caching and constructing hidden compartments and rooms.) Maintain balance in your preparations. In a situation where you are truly hunkered-down at your retreat in the midst of a societal collapse, there might not be any opportunity to barter for any items that you overlooked. (At least not for several months. ) What you have is what you got. You will have to make-do. So be sure to develop your “lists of lists” meticulously. If you have the funds available, construct a combination storm shelter/fallout shelter/walk-in vault. It would be virtually impossible to build something that elaborate in the aftermath of a societal collapse.

A closing thought that relates to your retreat logistics: The original colonial Army Rangers, organized by Major Robert Rogers during the French and Indian Wars of the 1750s had a succinct list of operating rules. The version of the “Rules of Ranging” recounted in the novel “Northwest Passage” by Kenneth Roberts started with a strong proviso: “Don’t forget nothing.” That is sage advice.

Two Letters Re: My Preparedness Plans Just Took an Unexpected Turn

James,

I found a vendor that sells gluten-free flours in #10 cans for long term storage. See this PDF. Look bottom of page 3 and top of 4. (Also flour in bags that are not packed for long term storage.)

This company make a lot of the baking mixes that are repacked and sold under a different label by the long term storage food companies. So prices are good, but you will pay shipping. (I have no affiliation, but did buy from them and have been happy with the products.) God Bless! – Lyn H.

 

Dear Jim,
This is in reference to the posters with diabetes in their families.

I am diabetic, Type 1, which means Insulin Dependent by definition. I am also a survivalist. These positions are not mutually exclusive, but my options for survival are quite limited. Why? Diabetic test strips last around two years if they’re kept cool and dry. Insulin must be refrigerated but not ever frozen or shaken, and lasts at most 18 months. Oxygen destroys it. Shaking destroys it. What does this mean? You’re dependent on civilization to survive, and can only last 18 months without supplies. Meds to reduce your odds of a nasty side effect (coma, embolism, stroke, heart attack, blindness, ketone acidosis) are worth retaining and using.

If civilization falls too far to produce insulin, you’re screwed. No really. There is no happy way around this. The upshot is, insulin is produced in many places, and there are some methods which are quite surprising, such as genetically engineered safflower plants by a firm in Calgary, Canada. I don’t have access to the seeds yet, but I want them, badly.

To retain access to insulin, you must live near places which stock and store the medicine. This pretty well prevents the Deep Boonies lifestyle, and means you’ll have to deal with societal collapse in the burbs or city, or at least close to them. It means dealing with the horde, and retaining contact with those groups or persons who still have access to the medicine needed to live. You don’t have the option of moving away unless you can let yourself or your child die painfully, which happens less than 12 hours after the insulin in your system is gone. That may happen regardless, but you’d best organize your plans around staying close to the medicine. And that means staying in the cities and suburbs and dealing with the people there.

Think carefully and plan accordingly and learn to deal with unpleasant people. We don’t know just how bad things will get. It might only be the Great Depression 2..Its predecessor was survivable but unpleasant. A good hidden safe is far more valuable to you than a main battle rifle. Good luck. We both need it. Best, – InyoKern

JWR Replies: To extend your logic, the safest place for a diabetic to live would be in close proximity to a pharmaceutical manufacturer that produces insulin. And. ideally, it would be one that is in a swine producing region.

The Home Chicken Flock for Self-Reliance, by Keith in Minnesota

The little details in being prepared for self reliance are often the most important ones. Often people think, chickens would be a good thing to have in a survival situation, after all they produce free eggs, right? Unfortunately they are not free, they cost feed. How can you pay less? Breed survival chickens. Store and feed mill bought chickens are typically ridiculously inbred, and solely dependent on you providing them food. I got started raising survival chickens for meat and eggs about five years ago. My goal was to end up with a breed of chickens that were both adept at foraging, and had a better ability to avoid both disease and predation. Egg production was an afterthought since all chickens are going to lay eggs, it is just a matter of how many. We have a chicken coop that is open for the chickens to come and go as they please. I don?t lock them up at night to keep them safe. The entrance and exit hole is about four feet off the ground, and consists of a piece of electrical conduit sticking straight out of the ground about three feet away from the opening of the chicken house. Connected to this post, I have a thin board that is about two inches wide running directly to the hole of the chicken house. I plan on replacing this with another piece of conduit. This helps to prevent some predators from climbing the pole to gain entrance to the house. My next security measure was to cut an upside down U shape into the plywood I used to block the entrance window to the house. The hole is just big enough for the chickens to squeeze through to be able to get into the chicken house.

My next step started with picking a chicken to use for a breeding line. Several different kinds of chickens were bought at a local chicken swap. The one that proved to be the most resilient was a small bantam we named crow. Crow is now going on to her fourth year, and still produces eggs, just not as many. She has large wings compared to her body size and can fly similar to a pheasant, getting about six feet off the ground, and being able to fly/glide about sixty yards or so. She is an excellent forager, and for the most part, provides for herself. The other much wanted trait she possessed was that she would wait until she got 12 plus eggs, then sit and hatch them if she was allowed to do so. I purchased several more breeds of chicken, and let nature take its course. If a chicken was killed by an owl, or coyote, then to me it was not smart enough, or physically adept enough to get away. I also culled out the lazy roosters that would go and sit under the bird feeder to avoid getting used to handouts, and to avoid any diseases from wild birds. I looked for roosters that had smaller body sizes, had good wing to body ratios, would keep a good look out for danger, would actively search for food and call the other chickens over when they found it, and liked to roost in trees if there was danger, versus trying to make it back to the chicken house. The rooster that made the final cut was my breeding rooster. I allowed these two to breed, and crow hatched out 12 chicks. After several predation attacks, I was left with 5 out of 20 chickens one year. The survivors were bred the following year, and produced another 15 or so chickens. This number was again knocked down by both predators, disease, and injury to about 10.
I added a few challenges to them along the way. The roost height is about four and a half feet off the ground. The heavier bodied chickens would have a tendency to dislocate a hip when jumping down. These became dinner. My next hurdle I threw in their way was to hold back feed in the summer, and only feed them once a week. The ones that did not want to go and forage, became dinner. I know this may sound harsh, but there were plenty of insects, weed seed, and greens for them to eat in the yard, pasture, and woods. It was just a matter of working to go and find it. This is where the chickens separated into groups. One was the forager group, and the other was the dinner group.

My last challenge was disease. I know many people believe that making sure the chicken house is clean to prevent disease is very important. I feel exactly the opposite. The more you shelter both the chickens, and your own immune system, the weaker you make it. In a survival situation, just make sure you put on a disposable mask that you can use much more than once, and gloves if you are worried. I only clean the chicken house once a year in the fall. The chickens don?t seem to mind, as they only use the house for sleeping, and are on roosts that are well above any chicken droppings on the floor. It gets pretty dirty by the fall, but it seems to strengthen the chickens immune systems. The ones that are weakened by the inability to find their own food, and the ones that don?t have strong immune systems tend to get sick and die off. Once a chicken was obviously sick, I would remove it from the flock and put it in a separate house that was the quarantine house. I would be careful to use gloves, and use a mask. If after a couple of days they got better they were re-introduced to the flock. If they were not better, they were put down and burned. When I get new chickens, typically 30% die from disease, or are killed within the first two weeks. Only about 10% make it a full year. (Since my flock is primarily self sufficient in reproduction, it does not cost me anything) These are then allowed to breed into the line. The end result has been a group of chickens that:
1. Can provide 70% of their own food, in the spring, summer, and fall (I do feed them a small amount of layer crumbles, and supplement with finely crushed egg shells, with full feed rations in the winter)
2. Have the ability to fly away from most ground predators.
3. Are smart enough to scatter when hawks or other above ground predators (eagles/hawks) come hunting.
4. Have strong immune systems. (typically after their first year I have no losses to disease)
5. Raise their own chicks, thereby keeping an average flock size of 10.

I have not paid for any chickens for several years now, the only cost is feed. If I need new birds to keep the gene pool from getting too shallow, I typically find someone to trade a few of the hens I don’t want for a few roosters that have the physical traits I am looking for. Trust me, it is very easy to trade hens for roosters. What I have ended up with I have appropriately named survival chickens. They require a lot less care, feed, are tough and much smarter than the average bird, and for the most part, take care of themselves. If I needed to, I could breed within the line for several years. This all requires living on your retreat, if you do, it is something to think about ahead of time. This years project is growing my own feed for winter, I plan to start experimenting with the most time and energy efficient grains/seeds I can raise. The goal in the end is to have the end product outweigh the energy expenditure it takes to produce it.

The Memsahib Replies: You are to be commended on your forward thinking breeding “survival” chickens in advance. Based on Keith’s experiences it takes several years to develop a survival breed, so it behooves those of us who have land to get going on this project right away.

The ideal stock to use as the starting point for a breeding program would be acquired from someone in your area who has a mixed breed flock of free range chickens that have been allowed to cross breed at will. Even better if this neighbor has practiced benign neglect–letting predators and disease carry off the dumb and weak birds. Barring that look for breeds that have a rose comb, since a small comb is less likely to suffer from frostbite in cold climates. One handy resource is the breed selector tool at MyPetChicken.com. If you are going to start with commercial breeding stock, Sand Hill Preservation Center has some scarce breeds. You might try crossing one of the small-combed Dorking breeds with something like the Norwegian Jaerhon. This would likely yield a very hardy bird that forages well, is sufficiently broody and maternal, and that is fast and wary of predators. OBTW, when visiting the Sand Hill web site, be sure to take a look at their heirloom seeds.

Odds ‘n Sods:

Alphie sent us this link: More people are tapping their 401(k) for cash. JWR’s comment: Notice in the photograph accompanying this article what the man’s elbow is resting on. That picture tells a thousand words.

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Bob G. mentioned a news feed on Asian Avian flu. He said that it is updated once every 15 minutes.

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I heard that the organizers of the Appleseed Project have 13 simultaneous rifle training events (one for each of the original 13 colonies) planned for April 19th. They are hoping to get 1,000 shooters on the line that day. What could be better than learning about the events of Lexington and Concord on the anniversary of their occurrence? The Appleseed training is a bargain. Get involved!

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Patrick H. and Ben sent this: Montana is up in arms about the supreme court’s upcoming D.C. v. Heller decision on the Second Amendment. Patrick’s comments: “The Montana legislature meets only once every two years, and is not scheduled to convene again until January of 2009. (OBTW, perhaps there is a lesson in there for the career politicians in the more populous states.) So this resolution was drafted [informally] between the legislative sessions. I wouldn’t be surprised if Wyoming and Idaho follow suit.” OBTW, there is an interesting discussion of the various Heller court briefs over at the Volokh Blog.

Note from JWR:

Today we present another article for Round 15 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The writer of the best non-fiction article will win a valuable four day “gray” transferable Front Sight course certificate. (Worth up to $2,000!) Second prize is a copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, generously donated by Jake Stafford of Arbogast Publishing. Round 15 ends on March 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entries. Remember that articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival will have an advantage in the judging.

Sanitation During a Grid Down Collapse, by Nina in Washington

Sanitation may be an area that is neglected in our preparations for during difficult times. Not because people don’t care, but because we take so much of it for granted we aren’t aware of its importance. There are several areas in the sanitation arena that need to be considered when preparing;
1. Food
2. Daily Living
3.Waste Disposal
4. Medical
5. Deaths

The most obvious area to consider is that of our food preparations. We are all aware of the importance of washing our hands and not cross contaminating foods like meats and vegetables. All counters where foods may be prepared should be kept spotlessly clean. This includes areas where butchering is being done. The areas should be hosed and bleached and the meat meticulously washed, making certain the contents of the animals intestines does not come in contact with the meat. The animals should be covered with a fabric bag (one that breathes) to protect the meat from flies, and dirt while the meat is hung. All utensils including those being used for dehydrated foods and canning should be sterilized by boiling or baking. (Do not bake canning lids, they are placed in very hot water prior to processing.)

In the area of daily living, if we allow ourselves to become cluttered and disorganized because the world around us is falling apart we have begun the downward spiral ourselves. Remaining organized and clutter free gives us access to items which may be of immediate necessity and less chance of an accident of which even something as minor as tripping over clutter could become life threatening. Keeping organized also causes us less stress. Relieving our minds to be put to better use. It also provides activities to the group, giving tasks to those who may not be able to do other things or just an extra way to stay ‘busy’. Clothes that are kept clean are warmer and last longer (dryers are hard on fabric). And shoes should be worn at all times outside. Personal hygiene is important not only for our physical health, but our mental health as well. Ever notice how much better you feel after a shower? It helps us maintain some a semblance of normalcy and civility in our lives not only for ourselves, but for the group. When we are clean and groomed it is also easier to spot someone not well. Special attention needs to be paid to the care of our teeth. Brushing, flossing and possibly rinsing with an anti-cavity rinse.

Feminine hygiene products that are disposable should be burned and the fabric reusables (for the same) as well as cloth baby diapers should be either boiled or bleached and hung in the sun. (The ultraviolet rays kill lots of bacteria)

Of course you can’t assume that cleanliness is next to Godliness is only for the people in your group. Your animals will benefit from your diligent attention to their well being as well. Keeping their pens, bedding and feeders clean could mean the difference between animals used to fulfill our needs and sickly or dead critters. Most domesticated animal waste can be safely used as fertilizer after composting with the exception of dogs, cats and pigs. These should never be used around areas that will have vegetables and pregnant women should Never handle cat waste.

The third great consideration is waste disposal. This not only pertains to manure, but garbage as well. Most containers used for foods will probable be kept for some other need down the road. However, that means time and effort into making sure they are very well cleaned and stowed properly so as not to attract rodents or flies and bacteria. That which isn’t needed should be burned, composted or deeply buried away from your area. Food scraps can be fed to animals or composted (not meats) or put into a worm bin (a little bit of meat is okay here) which not only provides great fertilizer for the garden, but worms for your fowl.

Human waste is much more of a problem. We are no longer used to dealing with our own waste. Most of us just pass it on to someone else to take care of. The average person produces 2-3 pints of urine and one pound of feces per day. Multiply that by the number of people in your group for a day/week or longer and you begin to see the problem. If the sewer system is working you can still use your toilet by pouring water directly into the bowl to flush the waste. Five gallon buckets with a toilet seat can be used as a porta-potty. Lime, wood ash, and good ol’ dirt can be used to reduce the odor. This will have to be cleaned daily and an area set up away from any possible contamination sites to be used for composting keeping the compost covered to deter flies, etc. You should not use this compost in food gardening. A trench toilet is also an option. Dig a trench two feet wide and a minimum of 12 inches deep and 4 feet long or more. After use, cover with the dirt from the hole, filling in from one end as you go. Bad bacteria can travel 300 feet from its original site. Pay attention to drainage and making sure the manure is covered with lime, ashes or dirt. The area could attract rodents, dogs, and worse, flies. The most important things to remember are reducing the fly/rodent problem and washing your hands thoroughly when you’ve finished. Stock up on hand sanitizer as well as soap. The book “The Humanure Handbook” by Joseph Jenkins is an interesting read. [JWR Adds: I must add a strong proviso. With this approach, temperature monitoring is crucial! Unless you can be absolutely sure that a bacteria-killing temperature is achieved, then do not attempt to use this method for manure that will be used for vegetable or grain growing!] In my opinion, the risks far outweigh the rewards.

For those of you planning on hunkering down in place if the grid were to go down and the sewer were to quit functioning, pay attention to where the access lids to the sewer are in your area. If you are anywhere down hill sewage may back up through these portals and even into your drains, and toilets. Give this some thought.

The fourth area of consideration is medical. In a TEOTWAWKI situation, we may be having people show up late or be accepted into our group that weren’t there in the beginning. We need to consider that these folks whether loved ones or stranger may be bringing something unwanted with them. If possible a ‘quarantine’ area should be set up where these people could spend two weeks away from the group to make sure they aren’t sick. It may sound cruel, but these people should remain without direct contact with the group. (radio contact or distant voice communication if acceptable would be greatly appreciated.) Their meals could be dropped off on paper plates that they could burn after finishing. There utensils washed by them and kept in the quarantine area. Anything that is needed should be brought and dropped off so as not to expose the other members of the group. They would need to remain in the quarantine area at all times and not expose people, animals, areas, or equipment. If after two weeks they are well, the chances are greatly reduced that they have a communicable disease.

There should also be a separate area for medical procedures. A separate bedroom or bathroom. This area should be kept spotless at all times. All items being used should be boiled or steamed (a steam canner or pressure canner as an autoclave) and all fabrics baked (200 degrees for one hour) prior to use. Tables, trays and equipment should be washed and bleached. (Alcohol is a great bacteria killer) New garbage bags can be used to cover tables, chairs etc. prior to use and after cleaning, and to protect between activities. They are fairly sanitary. Disposable rubber gloves and masks should be used when treating patients and if blood is present goggles should be worn (swim goggles, or ski goggles over glasses would work). Used dressings, etc should be burned or buried deeply, away from the area.

A hundred years ago our ancestors lived with germs that our systems are no longer used to. What would not have made them sick, could easily sicken us today. Rodents and flies that carry disease are probably one of the major concerns for us. In a grid down situation they would flourish. And if we weren’t exceptionally careful, bring disease to us. Rodent control would be a regular requirement around our ‘camps’, but handling them could be an issue in itself. Probably best done with a mask and gloves. Keeping flies away from any foods and food areas would be vital. Fly tape wouldn’t hurt. All this of course means more water. Stock up on those barrels if you have no other means and if you’ll be living downstream of metropolitan areas the water runoff could be deadly so remember to use caution.

The most difficult area of sanitation we may have to deal with is death. Although many organisms in the body of the deceased are not likely to infect a healthy person, handling the blood, bodily fluids and tissues of those who had been infected increases that risk. Many fluids leak from a dead body, including contents of the stomach, and intestines. Decomposition depends on how long the person has been deceased, the temperature of the environment and the damage to the body and the bacteria present. There are some basic precautions to take in handling the deceased. Wear disposable gloves when handling anything associated with the body and cover all cuts or abrasions with waterproof bandages or tape. Wear a mask, or face shield, goggles or some kind of protection to the face for the mouth, nose and eyes. Decomposing bodies can sometimes burst and spray fluids and tissues due to the buildup of gases. Wear aprons or gowns that can be destroyed. Wrap the body in a body bag or several layers of garbage sacks or plastic sheeting. The more quickly this takes place after the death, the less chance of leaking [body] fluids will occur. Graves should be dug at least 100 feet away from all open water sources and deep enough that animals won’t dig them up. Cremation requires large amounts of fuel and may not be feasible. In case of accidental exposure, flush with huge quantities of water. (Dilution is the solution.) Thoroughly wash yourself afterward and dip your hands in a bleach solution even if no apparent contact was made. Disinfect all equipment, surfaces, floors, and so forth with a bleach solution. Don’t forget to make notes on the deceased and the circumstances surrounding the death and burial. Take pictures if you can. Anything that you think is of importance in case the authorities come back and question it at some time. This may be the most difficult part of a crash. But, the quicker it is dealt with, the better for everyone involved.

Sanitation is a major concern in your preparations. Improper sanitation is responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths each year. It would be a shame if you stored your beans, bullets and band aids, but died of dysentery due to lack of proper sanitation. Give this one some serious thought.

Letter Re: Your Bug Out Vehicle as Your Daily Driver

I take a different approach to choosing a Bug Out Vehicle (BOV). I recognize many who read this site can afford a well equipped vehicle for your BOV, but not all are in that position.
Let me offer a few suggestions for a different slant on the need to get out of Dodge.
Here is a description of my daily work/family car. This is a 1999 Plymouth Voyager Minivan, in the longer wheelbase version. This has a 3.3L V-6, and gets about 18 MPG around town and approximately 22-23 MPG on the highway, depending on traffic. This is rated for E85 for Ethanol use.

There are presently only two in our family so we leave the two bucket seats and the bench seat out of the back of the vehicle and stored in the garage.

The first consideration after buying this used was to put new Michelin X tires on it, which made a very big improvement in handling, especially in our wet Oregon weather. Costco had them on sale, and they now have over 8,000 miles on them with no discernable wear showing. Next was an Optima Red Top battery, which insures reliable starting every time, even in freezing temps.

My wife and I are both Amateur Radio Operators, and involved in Emergency Communications so we installed,, in the dash console, down low and out of sight a Yaesu FT 1500 2 meter radio with many Oregon 2 meter repeaters, plus several simplex frequencies, plus all of the public service, fire, police, highway frequencies that are VHF high band, that we can scan. Knowing what is going on, on these frequencies give us a good picture of what is happening in our area. We also travel with a scanner guide for the area we are going to be in and passing thru.
The antenna is a 18 inch 1/4 wave thin whip on the roof, and barely shows.
Maps of our area plus surrounding states are also carried in the van.
This model mini van has factory tinted windows which hide a lot of the gear we keep in the van.
We choose to have no decals or signs on the outside of this vehicle, to make it look like any other family van.

We keep a porta-potty in the van all the time, plus all of the extra survival gear that enable us to camp in the vehicle for short times, with bedding, food, water, butane stove, plus clothes for any weather. We keep our equipment covered with blankets, so that a look inside does not give away the multi purpose of this van.We also keep tools, extra fan belt, tow strap, jumpers, and shovel in the back.

This, like most of the mini vans, has front wheel drive which gives it good traction. This is not an all wheel drive vehicle and we do not try to take it in those off road conditions.

I spent most of my adult life in the auto repair business, and do most of my own repairs/service. Please feel free to use some of these ideas in your own preps. This is working well for us. Your mileage may vary. – Tom in Oregon

Odds ‘n Sods:

More than a dozen SurvivalBlog readers suggested this important article: America’s economy risks the mother of all meltdowns

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Northern Rock Bank to be Temporarily Nationalized. Speaking of banks, Eric and Krys both sent us this: Banks “quietly” borrow $50 billion from Fed

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Eric suggested this New York Times piece: Wall Street Banks Confront a String of Write-Downs

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Also from Eric comes this Associated Press article: Foreclosed Homes Occupied by Homeless

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Historically, legal tender laws have been used by governments to force their citizens to accept debased and devalued currency. Gresham’s Law describes this phenomenon, which can be summed up in one phrase: bad money drives out good money. An emperor, a king, or a dictator might mint coins with half an ounce of gold and force merchants, under pain of death, to accept them as though they contained one ounce of gold. Each ounce of the king’s gold could now be minted into two coins instead of one, so the king now had twice as much “money” to spend on building castles and raising armies. As these legally overvalued coins circulated, the coins containing the full ounce of gold would be pulled out of circulation and hoarded. We saw this same phenomenon happen in the mid-1960s when the US government began to mint subsidiary coinage out of copper and nickel rather than silver. The copper and nickel coins were legally overvalued, the silver coins undervalued in relation, and silver coins vanished from circulation.
These actions also give rise to the most pernicious effects of inflation. Most of the merchants and peasants who received this devalued currency felt the full effects of inflation, the rise in prices and the lowered standard of living, before they received any of the new currency. By the time they received the new currency, prices had long since doubled, and the new currency they received would give them no benefit.” – Congressman Dr. Ron Paul. Excerpt from a speech titled ” Let’s Legalize Competing Currencies”, before the US House of Representatives, February 13, 2008