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http://www.knowthelies.com/?q=node/3665

[May be a repost, still worth thinking about...granny]

100 Items You’ll Need That Will Disappear First...
Submitted by SadInAmerica on 2009, February 14 - 6:38pm.

This deserves some serious thought and consideration... If there are any items on this list that you do not currently have put away, you might want to think about getting them before you can’t...

1. Generators (Good ones cost dearly. Gas storage, risky. Noisy...target of thieves; maintenance etc.)
2. Water Filters/Purifiers
3. Portable Toilets
4. Seasoned Firewood. Wood takes about 6 - 12 months to become dried, for home uses.
5. Lamp Oil, Wicks, Lamps (First Choice: Buy CLEAR oil. If scarce, stockpile ANY!)
6. Coleman Fuel. Impossible to stockpile too much.
7. Guns, Ammunition, Pepper Spray, Knives, Clubs, Bats & Slingshots.
8. Hand-can openers, & hand egg beaters, whisks.
9. Honey/Syrups/white, brown sugar
10. Rice - Beans - Wheat
11. Vegetable Oil (for cooking) Without it food burns/must be boiled etc.,)
12. Charcoal, Lighter Fluid (Will become scarce suddenly)
13. Water Containers (Urgent Item to obtain.) Any size. Small: HARD CLEAR PLASTIC ONLY - note - food grade if for drinking.
14. Mini Heater head (Propane) (Without this item, propane won’t heat a room.)
15. Grain Grinder (Non-electric)
16. Propane Cylinders (Urgent: Definite shortages will occur.
17. Survival Guide Book.
18. Mantles: Aladdin, Coleman, etc. (Without this item, longer-term lighting is difficult.)
19. Baby Supplies: Diapers/formula. ointments/aspirin, etc.
20. Washboards, Mop Bucket w/wringer (for Laundry)
21. Cookstoves (Propane, Coleman & Kerosene)
22. Vitamins
23. Propane Cylinder Handle-Holder (Urgent: Small canister use is dangerous without this item)
24. Feminine Hygiene/Haircare/Skin products.
25. Thermal underwear (Tops & Bottoms)
26. Bow saws, axes and hatchets, Wedges (also, honing oil)
27. Aluminum Foil Reg. & Heavy Duty (Great Cooking and Barter Item)
28. Gasoline Containers (Plastic & Metal)
29. Garbage Bags (Impossible To Have Too Many).
30. Toilet Paper, Kleenex, Paper Towels
31. Milk - Powdered & Condensed (Shake Liquid every 3 to 4 months)
32. Garden Seeds (Non-Hybrid) (A MUST)
33. Clothes pins/line/hangers (A MUST)
34. Coleman’s Pump Repair Kit
35. Tuna Fish (in oil)
36. Fire Extinguishers (or..large box of Baking Soda in every room)
37. First aid kits
38. Batteries (all sizes...buy furthest-out for Expiration Dates)
39. Garlic, spices & vinegar, baking supplies
40. Big Dogs (and plenty of dog food)
41. Flour, yeast & salt
42. Matches. {”Strike Anywhere” preferred.) Boxed, wooden matches will go first
43. Writing paper/pads/pencils, solar calculators
44. Insulated ice chests (good for keeping items from freezing in Wintertime.)
45. Workboots, belts, Levis & durable shirts
46. Flashlights/LIGHTSTICKS & torches, “No. 76 Dietz” Lanterns
47. Journals, Diaries & Scrapbooks (jot down ideas, feelings, experience; Historic Times)
48. Garbage cans Plastic (great for storage, water, transporting - if with wheels)
49. Men’s Hygiene: Shampoo, Toothbrush/paste, Mouthwash/floss, nail clippers, etc
50. Cast iron cookware (sturdy, efficient)
51. Fishing supplies/tools
52. Mosquito coils/repellent, sprays/creams
53. Duct Tape
54. Tarps/stakes/twine/nails/rope/spikes
55. Candles
56. Laundry Detergent (liquid)
57. Backpacks, Duffel Bags
58. Garden tools & supplies
59. Scissors, fabrics & sewing supplies
60. Canned Fruits, Veggies, Soups, stews, etc.
61. Bleach (plain, NOT scented: 4 to 6% sodium hypochlorite)
62. Canning supplies, (Jars/lids/wax)
63. Knives & Sharpening tools: files, stones, steel
64. Bicycles...Tires/tubes/pumps/chains, etc
65. Sleeping Bags & blankets/pillows/mats
66. Carbon Monoxide Alarm (battery powered)
67. Board Games, Cards, Dice
68. d-con Rat poison, MOUSE PRUFE II, Roach Killer
69. Mousetraps, Ant traps & cockroach magnets
70. Paper plates/cups/utensils (stock up, folks)
71. Baby wipes, oils, waterless & Antibacterial soap (saves a lot of water)
72. Rain gear, rubberized boots, etc.
73. Shaving supplies (razors & creams, talc, after shave)
74. Hand pumps & siphons (for water and for fuels)
75. Soysauce, vinegar, bullions/gravy/soupbase
76. Reading glasses
77. Chocolate/Cocoa/Tang/Punch (water enhancers)
78. “Survival-in-a-Can”
79. Woolen clothing, scarves/ear-muffs/mittens
80. Boy Scout Handbook, / also Leaders Catalog
81. Roll-on Window Insulation Kit (MANCO)
82. Graham crackers, saltines, pretzels, Trail mix/Jerky
83. Popcorn, Peanut Butter, Nuts
84. Socks, Underwear, T-shirts, etc. (extras)
85. Lumber (all types)
86. Wagons & carts (for transport to and from)
87. Cots & Inflatable mattress’s
88. Gloves: Work/warming/gardening, etc.
89. Lantern Hangers
90. Screen Patches, glue, nails, screws,, nuts & bolts
91. Teas
92. Coffee
93. Cigarettes
94. Wine/Liquors (for bribes, medicinal, etc,)
95. Paraffin wax
96. Glue, nails, nuts, bolts, screws, etc.
97. Chewing gum/candies
98. Atomizers (for cooling/bathing)
99. Hats & cotton neckerchiefs
100. Goats/chickens

From a Sarajevo War Survivor:
Experiencing horrible things that can happen in a war - death of parents and
friends, hunger and malnutrition, endless freezing cold, fear, sniper attacks.

1. Stockpiling helps. but you never no how long trouble will last, so locate
near renewable food sources.
2. Living near a well with a manual pump is like being in Eden.
3. After awhile, even gold can lose its luster. But there is no luxury in war
quite like toilet paper. Its surplus value is greater than gold’s.
4. If you had to go without one utility, lose electricity - it’s the easiest to
do without (unless you’re in a very nice climate with no need for heat.)
5. Canned foods are awesome, especially if their contents are tasty without
heating. One of the best things to stockpile is canned gravy - it makes a lot of
the dry unappetizing things you find to eat in war somewhat edible. Only needs
enough heat to “warm”, not to cook. It’s cheap too, especially if you buy it in
bulk.
6. Bring some books - escapist ones like romance or mysteries become more
valuable as the war continues. Sure, it’s great to have a lot of survival
guides, but you’ll figure most of that out on your own anyway - trust me, you’ll
have a lot of time on your hands.
7. The feeling that you’re human can fade pretty fast. I can’t tell you how many
people I knew who would have traded a much needed meal for just a little bit of
toothpaste, rouge, soap or cologne. Not much point in fighting if you have to
lose your humanity. These things are morale-builders like nothing else.
8. Slow burning candles and matches, matches, matches

Fiddle-dee-dee! The Art of Scarlett O’Hara Optimism
http://www.onsimplicity.net/2008/09/fiddle-dee-dee-the-art-of-scarlett-ohara-optimism/

Posted on September 08th, 2008 in Happiness, Personal Development
She may be a spoiled, somewhat delusional, sheltered Southern belle, but you’ve got to give it to Scarlett O’Hara: the gal’s a first-class optimist. This is a character who doesn’t just turn lemons in to lemonade, she turns curtains into couture. And while her aim may not always be pure, she never lets a setback (or even a war) stop her from dreaming and reaching her goals.

If you’re a dreamer of any kind, then optimism isn’t just a state of mind, it’s a weapon in your arsenal. Without a healthy amount of optimism, the first setback you come across can cause you to give up. So if you’d like to tap into some of that “tomorrow is another day” optimism, consider the following ways to embrace your inner believer:

1. Ignore convention. The most optimistic act you can commit is one that flies in the face every bit of conventional wisdom you’ve heard. Scarlett didn’t let anyone tell her she couldn’t run a plantation, a business, or well, anything. If you listen to the crowd on every issue, you’ll never have an extraordinary moment. Have the courage to believe that you can challenge the status quo and come out ahead, and watch doors you never even saw before suddenly fly open.

2. Change your mind. The ultimate form of optimism is knowing that there’s a world of possibilities yet to be discovered. In Scarlett O’Hara’s terms, just because you told someone you hated him and hoped you never saw him again, that doesn’t mean he’s not the love of your life. Hopefully, your changes of mind and heart are less dramatic, but above all, reserve your right to change your mind. Changing your mind is not giving up; it’s evolving. It’s recognizing that there may be more different, better options for you. Far from being a pessimistic act of waving the white flag, changing your mind can be the ultimate act of Scarlett-style optimism.

3. Earn the respect of others. Yes, she was manipulative, but in the end Scarlett got what she wanted because she had earned the respect of the people she needed. Whether you earn that respect through being consistent, being great at what you do, or simply because you’re unimaginably ballsy (the Scarlett method), it’s vital. Optimism can get you pretty damn far, farther than you might imagine, but you will need the help of others if you have big goals. Take the time today to start earning the respect of your peers and industry, and you’ll be able to get others to believe in your optimistic vision.

4. Never be afraid to dance. So what if you’re in mourning for the husband you never loved and only married to make your sister’s husband jealous? If you want to dance, then by all means dance. There’s never (well, rarely…) a bad time to embrace the joy in life and follow your passion. When you can view life as full of possibility instead of filled with limitations, guess what? You’re an optimist. Take a cue from Scarlett and dance, laugh, and love, even when the world is quite certain you should be crying.

5. Embrace your special talents. If you’re Scarlett, this means pinching your cheeks for color and batting your eyes to get what you want. If you’ve got good people skills, then it means taking the time to engage as many folks as you can in conversation. Whatever your best talents are, use them as often as possible. It’s always good to stretch yourself, but there’s no reason not to use your natural talents to your advantage. What does this have to do with optimism? By identifying and tapping into your strong points, you can find more opportunities to shine and be confident in yourself as well. If you feel that you can use your talents to your advantage in any situation, you’re a bonafide optimist.

What do you feel are the best ways to be optimistic? Are there limits to how far optimism can take you? Waltz your way into the comments, and let me hear what you have to say.

http://www.onsimplicity.net/2008/10/the-unstoppable-health-benefits-of-optimism/
The Unstoppable Health Benefits of Optimism
Posted on October 03rd, 2008 in Happiness, Personal Development

Seeing the glass half full, it turns out, may yield both mental and physical benefits. Having an optimistic outlook on life can prevent depression, boost your immune system, and improve general health. (And don’t worry, there’s good news for pessimists, too!)

Studies have shown that control groups who are identified as “optimists” via pre-intake tests have fewer instances of clinical depression than those who expressed negative thoughts–in other words, classic pessimists. In addition, “optimists” participating in the study who did become depressed were far more likely to experience mild to moderate depression as opposed to severe cases. In other words, you have a better chance of bouncing back if you’re a glass half-full kinda person.

Beyond experiencing lower stress levels and increased longevity, those with optimistic personalities are also, according to a Harvard study, significantly healthier in middle age–45 to 60. In general, positive thinkers experience fewer instances of diabetes, hypertension, and even back trouble. If there’s any better reason to quit with the doom and gloom, I really don’t know what it could be.

Why Do Optimists Get All the Luck?

Part of the reason may have more to do with common sense, though. Some of these studies have indicated that optimists are more likely to seek information on health, especially when disease strikes. Because they believe they take can actually make a difference in their healthy, optimists are more likely to look into treatment options and take active measures to combat disease and live healthy lifestyles. In somewhat of a self-fulfilling prophesy, people who believe they’ll live long, healthy lives often do.

Sure, but What About Pessimists?

Ready for some more good news? Optimism isn’t necessarily an ingrained trait. Clinicians are starting to see optimism as more of a coping skill than an inherent personality trait–a coping skill that can be taught successfully. People can train themselves to think positively and reap the health benefits of optimism.

Now, I’m no expert on teaching optimism. It’s something that’s been with me for longer than I remember, not something I purposefully learned. A few quick thoughts, though:

Take another person’s perspective. So the barista screwed the pooch on your coffee order. Maybe her mom is in the hospital and she’s a bit distracted. The coffee doesn’t seem like such a big deal anymore, does it?
Take a longer perspective. Yeah, the stock you just bought tanked right away. But you’re not in it for quick profits. Focus on the long-term goals and the short-term goals can become slightly less frustrating.
Laugh. Is every, single, stupid, dumb little thing going wrong today? Instead of piecing together a complex and nearly plausibly conspiracy theory, have a laugh. Enjoying the irony and ridiculousness of bad luck can make it seem less like a personal attack and more like a prank by the universe.

Think of something good. For a many people, there are plenty of good experiences to balance out the bad. When you get rear-ended, remember the time you barely scraped out of an accident. Or, think of the way you’ll tell the story at the party tonight. Since you can’t change things after the fact, there’s no harm in seeing the lighter side of things.

So tell the truth–do you think that optimists have better health? And is it possible to learn to be an optimist? Drop your opinion into the comments, conflicting views welcome.

http://ferfal.blogspot.com/2009/02/chavez-and-cash-filled-suitcase.html

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2009
Chávez and the Cash-Filled Suitcase

I dedicate this to the Argentine that just sent me a nasty comment. One that probably took him 30 minutes to write and I rejected in 0,5 seconds. I don’t “ruin” the reputation of our country, my friend. Our president, the one you seem to like so much, does that all by herself.

You think we fool anyone? you think the rest of the world is stupid? That they don’t know our president “cooks the books” and lies about crime and inflation rates? Just read the article below. They fool no one but themselves. It’s not only that they are corrupt. That’s bad enough but what pisses me beyond that is that they don’t care to hide it even a bit. They are sloppy in their corruption and make us look like the worst banana republic in South America. Suitcases full of money… why don’t they just pay her with cocaine shipments instead? Keep believing in our leaders my friend, don’t let those pink shades drop!;^)

FerFAL

Chávez and the Cash-Filled Suitcase

Sitting in a Florida steakhouse a year ago this month, millionaire Venezuelan oilman Frank Duran allegedly gave his friend Guido Antonini Wilson a dark warning. “A moment might come,” Duran said, “when nobody can save Antonini’s skin.”

Antonini, a Venezuelan businessman with U.S. citizenship, was indeed in a jam. A month earlier, he’d arrived in Buenos Aires on a chartered flight with Argentine energy officials and executives of Venezuela’s state-run oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA). Argentine customs agents then caught him with a suitcase stuffed with $800,000 in cash. Antonini was allowed to return to the U.S. — but it seemed the entire hemisphere wanted to know if he’d been carrying the money for Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez as some sort of bribe for the Argentine government.

Today, however, it’s Duran whose legal skin that needs saving. Last December he and four other men, three Venezuelans and an Uruguayan, were charged in Miami with failing to register as foreign government agents. U.S. prosecutors say the men, at the behest of “high-level” Venezuelan government officials, cajoled and even threatened Antonini to keep mum about the real purpose of all that cash: an illegal contribution from Venezuela to the presidential campaign of then Argentine Senator and First Lady Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, a Chavez ally. One of the men, Moises Maionica, pleaded guilty in January; one is at large and another — Carlos Kauffman, a close Duran pal — pleaded guilty in March, leaving Duran all but alone to face trial in Miami that began this week.

Both backers and critics of Chavez say the radical left-wing Venezuelan President is tacitly on trial himself. It’s no secret that Chavez, who controls the hemisphere’s largest oil reserves, lavishes billions of dollars in foreign aid on allies to promote his anti-U.S. Bolivarian Revolution. Foes have long groused that his largesse can also be as shadowy as the covert U.S. operations Chavez accuses agencies like the CIA of perpetrating. They contend that he has funneled cash to leftist candidates in presidential races from Bolivia to Mexico, and that he has helped fund Marxist guerrillas like the FARC in Colombia. Chavez has just as adamantly denied those charges, as have his supposed beneficiaries.

It wasn’t until Antonini’s luggage was opened in 2007 — and until Colombian authorities claimed last spring that seized guerrilla laptops revealed Chavez payments of as much as $300 million to the FARC — that alleged evidence of Caracas’ covert dealings had ever surfaced. The top prosecutor on the Antonini case, Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Mulvihill, has said in hearings that conversations recorded by an FBI wire that Antonini wore prove the suitcase money “was meant for the campaign of Cristina [Fernandez].” And according to court documents filed this summer, Kauffman is expected to testify they were told by high-level Venezuelan officials that Chavez was personally involved in the alleged suitcase affair and its aftermath.

One question Chavez supporters ask is why Fernandez would even need his cash when she held a more than 20-point lead in voter polls leading up to last October’s election, which she won handily. When the campaign contribution allegation was made shortly after her inauguration, she took it as a Yanqui affront to her own government and angrily called the case a “garbage operation.” The Casa Rosada, the Argentine presidential palace, insists instead that the U.S. should extradite Antonini to Argentina.

Indeed, the acid relationship between Chavez and the U.S. has also thrown the Bush Administration’s motives into doubt. Thomas Shannon, U.S. assistant secretary of state for western hemisphere affairs, has insisted the indictments stem purely from “a judicial process” and not politics. Venezuela and defense lawyers claim otherwise. Chavez, who accuses the White House of backing a failed 2002 coup against him, calls the case “part of the U.S. empire’s plan” to smear him. Duran’s attorney, Edward Shohat, argues that the statute at play — acting, or conspiring to act, as a foreign agent without permission — has been used only when espionage or a threat to U.S. security was involved. “The U.S. has no security interest in this matter,” he says. “This case is political.”

If this does turn out to be a kind of Watergate for Chavez, it will have started under similarly clumsy circumstances. Antonini, 46, now claims the suitcase wasn’t his — that he was carrying it for another Venezuelan passenger on the Cessna Citation that landed in the wee hours of Aug. 4, 2007, at Buenos Aires’ Aeroparque Jorge Newberry — and that he wasn’t aware of its contents. But Maria del Lujan Telpuk, the agent who stopped Antonini inside Newberry’s VIP sector, says he became visibly nervous when she asked him to open the bag. “I had to insist,” says Telpuk, who recalls the dollar bills “literally spilling out” when Antonini unzipped it. (Telpuk, 28, has since parlayed her new fame and good looks onto the cover of the Argentine edition of Playboy magazine — holding a suitcase beneath the caption “Corruption Undressed.”)

One of the Cessna’s passengers claims that two days later Antonini joined them at a reception in the Casa Rosada. Argentine officials dispute that. Either way, Antonini returned home to Key Biscayne, Florida, scared enough to cooperate with FBI agents. For the next four months they monitored his meetings and calls with Duran, 40; Kauffman, 35, a Venezuelan partner of Duran’s in oil products and drilling equipment firms; Maionica, 36, a Venezuelan lawyer; Antonio Jose Canchica, 37, an agent of the Venezuelan intelligence service, DISIP; and Rodolfo Wanseele, 40, an Uruguayan and Canchica’s driver. Maionica and Kauffman face a maximum five years each in prison; Canchica is at large; and Duran and Wanseele, who have pleaded not guilty and are set to go on trial on Tuesday, face a maximum 10 years each.

Court documents allege Maionica confided he was “brought into the conspiracy by a high-level official of DISIP.” They say Kauffman and Duran — who own ritzy Florida homes, enjoy racing Ferraris and are part of what Venezuelans call the revolution’s “Boli-bourgeoisie” — issued thinly veiled threats. They warned that “foreign government authorities would pursue Antonini” if he talked, and that it was in his children’s best interest that he have “no problems” with Venezuela. At one cloak-and-dagger gathering, Canchica, using the name “Christian,” allegedly told Antonini that PDVSA (the Venezuelan oil corporation) and the Chavez government would make his legal problems vanish.

Mulvihill claims to have 41 audio recordings and eight videotapes to play at trial; and the Maionica and Kauffman guilty pleas suggest that evidence may be as potent as he suggests. Then again, Duran and Wanseele might be risking a trial partly because they know Mulvihill also charged Fidel Castro in the late 1980s with aiding Colombian drug traffickers, an accusation that was never proven. Either way, Chavez and the U.S. may both face more scrutiny this month than either bargained for.

Posted by FerFAL at 7:34 PM
Labels: Argentina, corruption, politics