Not good, but livable

From a site that I visit often.

We will live through the hardship. Our great and great-great grandfathers did.

How fragile our society really is?
Julia said...What's frightening about all of this is that the veneer of civilization is so thin. And, most of us have no experience with this. Perhaps our grandparents could handle it better without breaking down....
Leftists have no idea how fragile civilization is...December 9, 2009 8:04 PMHi Julia,

You know, I’m not so sure how fragile our society really is.Granted, in some of the most advanced part of the world the society has reached incredibly complex networks but in other places its still technologically modern but much more rugged.What I mean is, if Bolivia has power and a somewhat functional society, anyone can.

Most of the third worlds works in such a semi-organized chaoes.I think that in a worst case situation, that’s as far as you can fall in global terms. You dont go back to cavemen or pre industrial revolution times. What has been learned and such cannot be undone.We’ve been social creatures for so long, a functional society is part of who we are. Even though events can disrupt that for some periods of time, I don’t think its disappearing.A lot of people don’t know it but the social organization as we have it today ( except for the technological advances of course) has been around for thousands of years.Since the times of the Babylonian empire, there’s been complex social threads.

Today middle east is largely ruled by some laws and religious traditions that are brutal, yet almost 2000 years BC, on that same region the Hammurabi code had surprisingly modern laws about real estate, divorce, etc.

My point is, there are some fragile technologies and networks, mostly regarding complex logistics, but we can have a modern society without many of them because many countries do. Buenos Aires may be nicer than the cities in Bolivia, but its logistics and infrastructure is patched as it gets broken in a similar manner. Apparently always about to crumble, but gets patched or fixed and we keep going. The logistics mostly consist on independent truckers and drivers, chugging along the roads in poor conditions, in vehicles just as poorly maintained… and yet here we are.

Lets also keep in mind that there always will be fatalists and doomers. For them the world is always about to end. This year, or the next, always predicting the feared end of the world because one well founded reason or another, just to come up with a new one when that prophecy wasn’t fulfilled.

I think the greatest fragility our society has isn’t physical, but psychological; the idea that there’s always a punishment for a crime, that the police are the ones that are responsible for your personal protection, the government will watch after you and is responsible for your well being. All these ideas some people have and have a rude wakeup call when they learn otherwise.FerFAL

SHTF time.

Ok, folks. I hate to say it, but I believe the Sh** has Hit the Fan.

I believe that we don't see it because our eyes are coated with it and it just hasn't started to smell yet.

Unemployment is at 10% and after the seasonal hiring for Christmas comes to an end will go up even faster. Banks are failing at an ever faster pace. One story I listened to sees more than a thousand+ closing next year. Japan just revised their third quarter numbers down tremendously. China and India are stockpiling huge amounts of Gold boullion. I've read news stories of gold and silver being bought and delivered. Not just paper gold, hold in your hand gold. European banks are being warned to prepare for a coming disaster. Cap and Trade is coming to this country whether we like it or not. Health Care is not on the ropes as some might think. It's just a matter of how large the initial program will be. Once passed it will only grow. Another tax and spend program is being considered and will probably pass. That means we'll get to pay even higher taxes. Interest rates are going to go up next year. The old adage that you can only get a loan if you don't need it will be the rule not the exception.

http://eclipptv.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=8516 (I am not familiar with this guy, but he is worth investigating.

How many government programs are broke: FDIC, FANNIE MAE and FREDDI MAC, MEDICARE, MEDICAID, SOCIAL SECURITY and probably many more that I don't know or can't think of. Probably your underwater with your car payment and your house payment (you owe more than it's worth). Foreclosures are at an all time high and still going. Business closures are increasing.

An old story that shouldn't be forgotten is the stationing of more than 20,000 troops on our soil for civilian control. I just read a report yesterday developed for the military on the creation of a "Special Police Force for the U.S." http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/2009/RAND_MG819.pdf
Just reading the conclusion you will see that this force is being contemplated for deployment in the United States. It will only cost around $650 million for a force of 6000. Peanuts, spare change in our multi trillion dollar debt.

Don't forget that the original depression didn't start when the stock market collapsed. It started about three years later.

Come next year the Sh** is really going to start to stink.

EPA

The EPA (Evironmental Protection Agency) came out in the last couple of days and made it clear: We are going to get the Cap and Trade program one way or another.

Essentially, they threatened the Congress. Either pass Cap and Trade or we will impose our own version and it is going to be a whole lot worse than yours. It's called extortion. It's called blackmail. Personally, I believe that when extorted or blackmailed you respond with a force exceeding their own.

Whether Cap and Trade is passed by Congress or the EPA begins enforcing their own version business in this country will be reduced by nearly 50%. The only place to make money will be in the trading of carbon emissions. A prime example is a steel company in Europe that blackmailed Germany by threatening to take 90,000 jobs elsewhere. They got all of the carbon emissions approval that they'll need for some time to come. And they made a fortune doing it.

Fax your representatives in Congress. E-mail your reprentatives. Phone your representatives.

Do one or all three then write your govenor and state legislators. The states will take a huge hit when even more businesses start down sizing and closing. Unemployment is going to go up even further costing the states even more money. Money that they are currently borrowing from the Feds. Your federal, state and local taxes are going to go up to try to keep up.

I don't know about you, but, I don't have money to spare.

Federal Agencies

http://www.usa.gov/Agencies/Federal/All_Agencies/index.shtml

Ultimate

The Ultimate Right of Force

The ultimate right of force belongs not to government. Rather to the people that enact a government to assist in protecting them.

It has been said that only government has the authority to use deadly force. That is not true. Government may only use that which its' citizens may themselves apply. Acting on behalf of the citizens law enforcement is authorized to use the same force the citizens themselves use for self protection. As with any citizen law enforcement must protect themselves from harm. However, in the case of duly authorized law enforcement personnel they have the additional duty of protecting others from harm when possible. Law enforcement voluntarily put themselves in harms way thereby opening themselves more often to the chance of danger.

The military, likewise, have no more right to self defense than the citizens of this country. As with any citizen people in the armed forces of the United States or any country may only exercise the same rights that the citizens themselves possess.

Who are the police, the FBI, the sheriff, the sailor, the soldier? They are you and I. Our brothers and sisters, our mothers and fathers, our cousins. They grew up in the same house, on the same farm, in the same apartment. They went to public school, private school or maybe they were home schooled just as were those in the next city or town. They saw themselves as the white knight or the men in blue or the last soldier standing in a major battle to protect their loved ones and their way of life. They are indeed our front line. We have asked them to put themselves between us and them. But, they are not the last line. We are.

Many of us have been there and done that. We know some of what they face. That's why we authorize them to protect themselves and us with deadly force. We know, however, that they do not always win the day or are not in the right place at the right time. We know that ultimately it is up to us to protect ourselves.

I, you, we maintain the Ultimate Right of Force.

Next year

Next year is beginning to look alot like Christmas for the bad little boy.

Coal if were lucky is all we're going to find in the stocking. We're going to need every piece to keep warm.

Vox day is laying an outline for economic doom. He's supported by central banks of europe who are warning that plans need to be made for a total collapse. Peter Schiff and Congressman Ron Paul have become more vociferous of their vision for a Federal Reserve sponsored disaster. People with personal experience in the recent decline of their country point out the parallels.

Congress continues to support spending programs that are larger than any ever envisioned in the past. More bailouts are being considered. The FDIC has no more money. The money in your savings and checking accounts are at risk. The FHA has no more money and presides over tremendous loses from foreclosures that continue to mount. Health Care probably will pass and be signed by our Socialist in Chief this year. Unemployment is above 22% nationwide and appears to be increasing.

If you have money in a 401K or IRA or similiar account be prepared to take it out. When the SHTF the FED and congress are going to take a large portion of it (or all of it) because you are one of the evil dispised RICH. It's happened elsewhere and has been contemplated before in the U.S.

What to do. SAVE EVERY PENNY YOU CAN!!

Cut back on your spending. If you're contemplating a major life changing decision, stop. Think about it again. Then don't do it. If you can move closer to your family do it. Family is going to be extremely important to your wellbeing and theirs. Think about it before you do it!

Where can you stop spending? Do you have a land line and a cell phone? Get rid of one or the other. The new digital broadcast TV is better than cable in quality. Content sucks but, you'll have some tv. Dump the cable or satellite. Do you have any extra items around the house that aren't necessary, sell them. Game players, tv's, DVD's, VHS tapes, books, etc. Sell them.

Store food and water. Dried pinto beans are one of the most versatile. Rice is easy to store. Canned goods are good but must be rotated out before their shelf life ends. Get a book on foraging for food. Put together a survival kit. Most important of all get your mind set for hardship. You are going to have to adapt quickly.

Taking stock

Who do you know? Who do you know locally? It's as good a spot as any to start.

Can you combine your knowledge and abilities with your neighbor? Have you ever been an electrician or plumber or carpenter? What have you done during your life? Can you build or repair an engine or generator? What kind of tools do you have at hand?

Power tools, hand tools wrenches, saws, shovels, etc. allow you to work with machinery or wood or the earth. Your neighbor probably has knowledge and abilities that augment your own. He may have some or many tools that you do not have.

Friends and neighbors often times work together to repair a problem. Some even go into business together to make money.

When you take stock be brutally honest with yourself. Are you a leader or a follower? What are your physical limitations?

Look at yourself. Look around yourself. Look around the neighborhood.

One of the best solutions to government is to not depend on them for anything.