Posted on 02/28/2012 9:22:53 PM PST by Kartographer
Society as we know it will break down and collapse in a five stage process outlined here. While it can be accelerated by certain events like war, a natural disaster, pandemic, terrorist attack, or even an impending asteroid impact, history has shown that economic collapse will essentially happen in this five stage process. To survive the collapse, it is important to read and interpret the signs and understand what assets are important to the current situation so you can be prepared for the worst thereby allowing you to survive intact and with as little damage as possible.
(Excerpt) Read more at shtfplan.com ...
I think we are at Stage 3 and very, very close to Stage 4.
We are in deep, deep trouble.
I see Americans fleeing our country from the shores in innertubes sometime before my time expires.
Nuclear war is near the bottom of my list of things to worry about. Nuclear war is only possible when one side wants to utterly destroy the other side. However there is no political need for such an action. There was no such need in 20th century, and there is even less now. Any country that wishes for destruction of the USA only needs to buy a calendar.
The only possible threat of nuclear attack comes when the government, in its last and futile attempt to stay in power, uses nuclear weapons against its own country. It's possible - Assad is doing about that right now. He has no nukes, but he has artillery - and the only difference is in time that it takes to level a city. The end result is the same. This is possible because at least one side in that conflict has a strong desire to destroy the other side.
Aside from that, the next likely scenario that the USA may encounter is the economic collapse. As soon as the US dollar is no longer a desirable currency we cannot use it to buy oil. Without oil production and transportation of food will be curtailed (corn will rot in the fields.) Without food there will be riots. Once the riots start there will be National Guard in the streets. Not that it would help any - there isn't enough soldiers in the USA to patrol every street of every town. Perhaps there will be one soldier per town - or one small group of soldiers per hundred towns.
Regardless, once the soldiers are in the streets there will be shootings and there will be even larger riots. In the end soldiers will not be able to hold the ground, and they will retreat because doing anything else would require taking the route of Assad. Nothing less will be effective (see the success in Afghanistan.) If the army is not willing to kill citizens by hundreds of thousands then it might just as well not get involved to begin with. Generals know that. They also know that it's pretty hard for a US soldier to desert in Iraq; but it's trivial here and the soldiers will have plenty of motivation to do so.
IMO, the “Nuclear Winter” theory and even how much radiation for how long rest on a lot of blanket assumptions. The most dangerous period, in terms of radioactivity, would be the first few weeks after, depending on half-lives of radioactive elements and wind patterns.
One could very well make a case for Stage 5. Look at the record:
1st Amendment - if 0bambi gets his way, religious liberty is gone. We don’t have a free press anymore.
2nd Amendment - constantly under attack.
3rd Amendment - Not yet; probably the last one to go.
4th Amendment - TSA
5th Amendment - see Kelo decided by SCOTUS
6th Amendment - the recent defense bill killed this one.
7th Amendment - judges rule by fiat.
8th Amendment - the current regime constitutes “cruel and unusual punishment”.
9th Amendment - it’s ajoke, right?
10th Amendment - now 0bambi is telling the states how to spend money.
It certainly is a sorry picture. BUT IT IS OUR OWN FAULT FOR LETTING THIS GO SO FAR.
Then they that are in Judea, let them flee to the mountains:
And he that is on the housetop, let him not come down to take any thing out of his house:
And he that is in the field, let him not go back to take his coat.
And woe to them that are with child, and that give suck in those days.
But pray that your flight be not in the winter, or on the sabbath.
Matthew 24; 15-20
If one holes up then, when they eventually emerge, they are going to find out that they are suddenly "living in Mexico", in total poverty and with everything controlled by ultra-violent "cartels".
I've decided the *only* hope this nation has is for a new movement, similar to "Promise Keepers", to sweep the nation. Particpants in the movement would commit themselves not just to their families, but to their employer and their society. They would wear some outward sign of their commitment - maybe a little pin - which would make a huge statment during a job interview.
Without such a movement we're going to descend into barbarism and violence. With such a movement we could yet resurrect the American Dream.
We’ve had “Promise Keepers” and “Oath Keepers”. What is needed is “Dream Keepers” - keepers of the American Dream.
Vladmir Alexandrov successfully debunked “nuclear winter” just before his disappearance. He analyzed the huge Siberian forest fire and found no global impact. The burning of the wells in Kuwait was likewise examined and found to contribute little to the global environment. Both events put gigatons of stuff into the atmosphere, like a big nuclear war would.
But as an antinuke platform for Sagan et al it just could not be beat.
Fallout is a problem if there are lots of ground bursts, and yes, you’d be under shelter for months if you are downwind of a plume. Got rad detection gear? I suggest an old CD ion chamber for high levels and a classic Geiger-Mueller rig for low level stuff.
Back then there were literally tens of thousands of warheads waiting to go. There are far fewer now, though the number is not insignificant.
These groups could merge into something like your 'Dream Keepers.'
I think most will need to have a serious fright before joining such organizations, though.
Ping.
Thanks, Torquay. I’ll check it out.
“You have every reason to be spooked. But keep your head and associate with and surround yourself with as many like minded people as you can.”
Unkus is right, you have every reason to be worried, but not necessarilly afraid. I know exactly where you are. I was there myself a few years back. I get that overwhelming feeling now and again, but it’s really, really, really (can’t say enough reallys) good for you. (In fact, you can use it to your advantage. Keep a pen and paper with you, and when you get those feelings, write down a list of everything you’d need at that moment to get home safely, or what you couldn’t live without, etc., and start acquiring those skills and items.)
The Bible teaches prudence. Think of Joseph and Egypt. Think of Proverbs: “Consider the ant and her ways.” Think of the fable of the ant and the grasshopper (not in the Bible). The ants prepare and store, and perhaps most importantly, WORK. They work all the time, they don’t rest at all, that I know of (I mean vacation, not sleep). Well, you don’t need to be frightened, but you do need a firm resolution to get your house in order.
Nurses make a good income. Don’t be one of the lackey’s that says “I don’t have space.” Baloney. Depending on your size and activity, you need anywhere from 1-2 lbs of Dry goods per day to survive. That can be virtually anything. Rice, beans, wheat/flour (milled flour doesn’t keep as long, the others keep 30 years) mashed potato pearls, pasta, etc., etc. Each pound has roughly 1600 Calories in it. Now, consider this. It’s approximately 50lbs for a 6 gallon bucket of dry goods. You could have about a 2200 Calorie diet for 1 year if you had just 9 of those buckets. You can stack them 3x3 in the back of a closet (how I started out). That would set you back roughly $100-$150, if you bought in bulk, and you do it right NOW. (Wheat in my area is about $13/50lb sack, beans about $20, potato flakes, depends upon where you get them. Rice is $20/50lb sack at Sam’s Club.)
Don’t wait, go out and do it now. You won’t worry about whether or not you like that food if you have nothing else to eat. But it’s just a starting point. You’ll need spices, fats/oils, etc. along the way, and some canned or fresh veggies (from a garden). Meat if you really, really want it, but that’s quite costly, and not necessarilly good for you. Don’t waste your money on freeze dried. I mean, you can, but it’s not a good deal economically, not necessarilly more tasty, and certainly not a good place to start. You’ll need some good multivitamins. I recommend “Nature’s Way: Alive.” A consumer study listed it #1 out of 50 different name brand and generic multivitamins. It’s the one I use, and It’s well worth the cost (Which is not substantial, it’s about $20 or so for 180ct).
I suggest you go out and buy extra socks and underwear, and a method of washing them. It sounds like you have that in mind, as you mentioned a drying rack. You can buy a hand washer for about $15-$20, shipped. We hand washed our clothes in buckets for nearly a year. Anyone who has hand washed can tell you, it’s not the washing though, it’s the wringing out that’s the pain.
Anyway, I don’t mean to sound bossy, but I want to help light the fire. Don’t get overwhelmed. Use the stress as a motivator, not a deflator. I feel for a lot of folks, they have weeks, not even months to get prepared. I could be wrong, it’s just in my gut. But let me say one thing, to quote something I heard once, “If you pile up a lot of ‘tomorrows’ you’ll find you have a lot of empty ‘yesterdays.’” And, “If you don’t make decisions, in time, time will make decisions for you.”
Don’t be caught standing in life’s game of musical chairs. If you need any prepping advice just ask. I’m always here to help. If you’re not on it, Kartographer is the keeper of the “Prepper Ping list.” Every thread he pings us to, I add the keyword “Prepperping” to, so you can review all the old ones. Take care, and God Bless.
You are absolutely right. I’m not saying that there’s no worry from nuclear fallout, but let’s be franks. Hundreds (if not thousands), of nukes have been detonated already. Much of the really nasty stuff leave pretty quickly. There’s also ways to mitigate radiation poisoning, depending on the severity and type of radiation. I dare say your best defense is to be healthy now, and to eat a fair amount of good, fresh, and wholesome food. A good immune system is part of God’s neverending mercy. He created us to be able to take a lot of damage, and still pull through. I wouldn’t go so far as to stay “Don’t worry!” but I surely think we need to keep it in proper perspective.
I’d say based on that list that we are on the cusp of stage 3 or already partly into stage 3. I am glad I live way, way out in the boonies. We have an artesian water source and a couple of bins full of Oats as well as a cellar across the road with a few million potatoes which we could trade water for and a sizable herd of meat on the hoof in the form of sheep and goats. All of the surrounding farms are either good friends or family. One thing I think every prepper should acquire if things get bad is a small heard of goats. They are easy to keep, cheap, and can live off of practically anything. They turn weeds and brush into meat and milk unlike cows who need grass. Chickens too are easy to keep and you can just let them forage most of the year.
Of course it may not be possible to keep all of these things if things really drop in the pot. Here’s hoping they won’t.
Very good! Thanks, JDW11235
That's it. There's a dark "something" that's coming that more and more are beginning to realize it. Just this last week, a friend called to say they were reading 'One Second After' and 'Patriots' which surprised me as I didn't see them getting off the couch.
I grabbed a few more bags of pasta and dried beans at the store this week, too. Half the garden is planted and I'm feeling a nesting coming on in that there's some need to spring clean and organize to a higher degree.
I have a question, can you help me out?
I’m thinking about adding some livestock to my way of life, and I’m not sure what to add. We currently have rabbits and chickens, and were thinking about adding some sheep. Are goats better than sheep? If so, why? I’ve never eaten goat, but I do love lamb. Dad was raised on goat and hates it, and says the meat smells. They’d have about 1/2 acre of pasture, and hay is relatively inexpensive here. They’d also get a supplement from the garden stuff. Would goats be a better choice? Thanks to anyone and everyone in advance.
I don’t know anything about sheep but have raised goats. Goats are poop machines so your house better be up wind of them. They don’t have as much meat on them than sheep if that’s what you’re looking at.
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