Survival Preparations in Canada, United Kingdom, and Ireland

Posted on May 24, 2013 by suburbanprep

I have great affection and admiration for the people of Canada and United Kingdom.  Part of my blood line takes me back to Scotland.   I have admired the strength, character, and work discipline of the Anglo countries.  This article is posted with the sentiment of my admiration for Canada, Britain, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, and Northern Ireland.

My main concern for UK and Ireland is they are island countries with a historical focus on trading.   A lot of food stuffs are imported into UK and Ireland, thus belies their vulnerabilities.   During World War 2, UK nearly lost the war by being cut off from their imports of food and raw material resources.  The other vulnerability is the reduction of native manufacturing.  Just like the United States, too much manufacturing has moved to China.   The long-supply chains from the Far East creates vulnerabilities with Western countries.  God forbid there is ever a shooting war between NATO and China.  NATO will run out of manufactured goods to fight with.

Where the UK and Ireland have great strengths is in their historical expertise in gardening and farming.   UK and Ireland gardens ranks as the most beautiful in the world.  Every true Brit dreams of a country garden to call their own.   The other key strengths of UK and Ireland is their fishing fleets.  British fish & chips and Scottish smoked salmon are gifts from the heavens.  Unfortunately the European Commission’s regulations on fishing and fisheries are hitting British and Scotland disproportionally too heavy.

My key recommendation for people in UK and Ireland is to build up their long-term food storage.  Because of the vulnerabilities of long supply chains for food and the lessening of native agriculture, a major disaster event will quickly cause mass starvation in UK and Ireland.   Fortunately, the quality of canned food produced in UK and Ireland is among the best in the world.  So that is the first place to start.   Each family should incrementally build up their stocks of canned food until they have one year’s worth of food for their entire family.

If you are fortunate to have even the smallest piece of land in UK or Ireland, please consider gardening a small vegetable garden.  Go back just 75 years ago, nearly every Irish family had a potato patch, and food good reason.   With potatoes and milk alone, that provide a robust enough diet to survive for many years.   Since the growing season is limited and specific, I’d recommend that the focus is on cold-weather vegetables and short growing season vegetables.

UK and Ireland receive ample rain throughout the rain (perhaps too much rain over the gloomy winters).   With the reliance of public water systems, I’d recommend collecting water from rain downspouts.   Cache of rain water can be used drinking, sanitation, and gardening.   Combine the rain water collect with the British Berkefeld water filtration units, that is a winning survival resource.

One of the challenges of the UK and Ireland is they are not very large countries.   When Hurricane Katrina made an utter mess of New Orleans, there were many destinations within the United States to retreat.   If, god forbid, a tsunami came screaming up the Thames River, an evacuation and retreat from London would be near impossible.  While a bug-out bag is a recommendation for everyone, where people in Ireland and UK need to put more focus is where to retreat.  Hopefully you have a country cousin, a country retreat, or friends in the midlands or highlands.   Recommended that you spend additional planning of where and how you could retreat.

A bit of long-term concern for Ireland and UK is the rise in sea levels.   Ireland and UK will be hugely impacted by rising sea levels over the next 50 years.   I am expecting trillions of pounds will be spent to protect the coast lines.  Rather than buying a seaside cottage for your retirement, I’d rather see you build a country cottage at an elevation of 400 feet or higher.

A risk and survival focus for Canada, Ireland and UK is winter home heating.  There had been a historical reliance on wood and coal to heat homes.  With the transition to renewable resources, the UK and Ireland are very vulnerable to interruptions of electrical power supply.   Just retaining and maintaining your traditional fireplaces or coal furnace will serve you sell in the future.  Canada is supremely bless with fantastic energy resources in oil, coal tars, and natural gas.   Despite that, would recommend that Canadians retain their wood-burning stoves and fireplaces.

A challenge for Ireland and UK is their severe restrictions of firearms.  There have been so many instances with people in the UK needed firearms to protect themselves from rioters, looters, and terrorists.   Yet the people of UK have surrendered their rights to own firearms.  If you live in UK, I’d very much recommend that you join a traditional shooting club or hunt clubs.  Yes, you may be required to store your firearm at the shoot club.  But in a dire and extreme WROL, SHTF, or TEOTWAWKI situation, there is the possibility of retrieving your firearm from the shooting club.   The application for firearms license is a long and burdensome process in UK, but well worth it.  Here are some links further discussing UK and Ireland gun laws:

Canada has strong firearms regulations, but not as severe as UK.  Canada has great strength in hunting and trapping opportunities.   The much shortened growing season in Canada commands a focus on gardening during the quick Summer.  But the short growing season can be offset with hunting and trapping.   It is hard, but not too difficult to obtain firearms in Canada, so make the effort.  Canadian gun laws:

Fortunately the people who live in UK, Ireland, and Canada are much more law-abiding, orderly, and polite people.  Thus their risks of internal civil violence is much less than the United States.  Unfortunately, there is vulnerabilities of terrorism, especially from Islamic extremists, due to years of open door immigration policies.

Another recommendation for Ireland, UK and Canada is to build a hot-house or greenhouse.  This will extend your growing season.   If you have ready access to inexpensive power supplies, hydroponics is a good option for the folks living in the Great White North.

Another great strengths for UK and Canada are their native mints.  Their mint produce the highest quality and very beautiful gold and silver coins.  Canadian coins from 1968 and before have silver content, and are a way to build a silver collection in a relative inexpensive way.

Top of the morning, cheers, g’day mate, and Gahoozen, howber neflooten to the good people of Ireland, UK, and Canada.   With common language and traditions of democracy, you are good friends of the United States.   You can’t find a better neighbor than Canada.

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A Sample Of What WROL Looks Like

Posted on May 24, 2013 by suburbanprep

A point of frustration about the debate on gun control in the United States is the lack of recognition about riots and civil collapses; and the lack of understand of what a period of “without rule of law” might look like.   The discussion that you don’t need a gun, you don’t need a rifle, you don’t need an AR-15 with 30 round magazines is so just wrong.  The argument is not defensible (pun intended).

Even in the most polite, civil, law-abiding countries, civil disorder is possible.  Take a look at the riots and arson in Sweden this past week.  Sweden ranks in the top-5 of the best countries for many factors – freedom, economic climate, crime statistics, equality, and quality of life.   The people of Sweden are blessed to be in a wonderful country.  And yet, a break down of civil disorder is possible in Sweden.  Please look at the following stories and videos:

Let’s contrast and compare against the recent London riots:

Can any of you imagine more proper and polite and civil places in the world, which are nicer than London and Sweden?

Then let’s overlay that upon the United States:

  • The United States has a considerable gang problem.
  • Despite liberals denying the historical truth, Americans are a war-like, determined, independent-minded, and hard-fighting bunch of people.
  • The United States borders on Mexico, with its out of control drug war and police corruption.
  • The United States has resisted prohibition in every form.  Alcohol prohibition turned most US citizens into everyday criminals.  How is the current “war on drugs” coming along?  From every angle, the war on drugs is an outright, undeniable failure.  It is responsible for putting criminal records on nearly 1+ million black Americans and fills our jails unnecessarily.
  • The police in the United States have become increasingly militarized.
  • While the rate of violent crime has been decreasing for the past 20+ years, there remains an untapped, undercurrent of pent-up anger and repression in the minority communities.
  • There is a underclass in the United States that is just waiting for the opportunity to join a looting spree.   The LA riots, Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Sandy, and many other examples show that ordinary folks will quickly join looting event.

Thus my supposition is: the United States has a greater perchance for riots, looting, arson, mass theft, and over types of civil disorder.   The possibility and risks are greater in the United States, than in UK and Sweden.

In recognizing and accepting the truth of this potential, how does this overlay with gun control efforts?  Well, I’m all for preventing guns from falling into the hands of known criminals and the mentally ill.   But as a law-abiding, country loving citizen of the United States, I can not justify having my firearms taken away from me.

Why do I need 30 round magazines?  Look at the videos above.   It took weeks for the police to reclaim control in the riot zones.   If there were gangs of riots coming towards your home or business with fire bombs and molotov cocktails, how many rounds of ammunition would you need?  Or would you cowardly running away while your own neighborhood burned to the ground?   US citizens, on average, are brave, freedom-loving, and confront evil wherever encountered.   It is not the duty solely of police to face crime.  Police do their best with professionalism and sacrifice every day, already!  Police can quickly get overwhelmed by shere numbers very quickly.   It is the duty of all law-abiding people to face down crime, to confront evil.   If the urban-liberal-progressives want to run away from evil, that is to be expected, frankly.  Your typical urban metrosexual would sooner call a lawyer than punch a bully.   Not everyone has the character and fortitude to confront bad people.  But in the tradition of our country’s founders, I shall not.   It is within my duty as a citizen to support local police, support the rule of law, and thwart crime.

In saying this, I do not support vigilante justice.  The rule of law requires that criminal face a judge and jury.   Honest citizens of have the responsibility to use violent force only when preventing imminent criminal violence.   If the criminal element comes to my neighborhood to commit violence, I will defend my home and my neighbors with great force.  But with force no more necessary than to protect against violence.   Chanting, peaceful protesting, marching, and other forms of 1st amendment speech, I’ll defend that.   If you hold a molotov cocktail in your hands, I’m not going to wait for the police to arrive.

If every citizen took the posture to partner with local police, resist lawlessness, and defend your neighbors, that alone would reduce crime rates further.

As for the potential for WROL, riots, looting, and arson in your town, if it is possible in lovely peaceful London and Stockholm, it is possible ANYWHERE.

And to add into this discussion is the revolting, disgusting attack that occurred in London this week.   A British soldier has been butchered on a busy London street   No one was able to stop the attack, because British citizens have been disarmed.  In the UK, you are prevented from even owning a pistol, let alone a concealed carry license.  Understand, people of UK are not citizens with a full breadth of inalienable rights, but rather “subjects of the crown”.   I have mentioned many times in my articles, what do you plan to do while waiting for the police to arrive.  The woman in the photo of the London butchering was incredibly brave.   Where were the men?

Evil exists and grows with good men cowardly walk away.

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Barter Items – The Big List

Posted on May 23, 2013 by suburbanprep

The concept of barter is widely discussed in the survival prepper community.  As I mentioned in my previous article, I do not advocate relying upon barter in a SHTF or TEOTWAWKI situation.

The previous article: Do not rely on barter during an economic collapse

In a post collapse environment, barter will be initially risky.   First, as you are attempting to conduct barter, you identify yourself as someone having valuable goods, thus making you a target for thieves and home invasions during the early stages of the collapse.  Second, it will take a period of time until the civil environment calms down to even allow for barter and commerce activities to restart.   Third, it is better to rely upon your own stored supplies for the first year after a collapse.  If you are in a desperate situation where you must barter for essential items, such as food, water, clothing, and medicine, you immediately put yourself into a high-risk, poor negotiation position.

Don’t get me wrong.  I am all for barter.   So start now.   But before you can enter into a regular bartering partnership, you must be producing goods and services in excess to your own needs.   So for example, you have an ample garden and can over 100 jars of tomato sauce every harvest season.   If you anticipate consuming only 50 jars over the next year, then you have 50 excess jars for barter.   So then make the effort now to find barter partners.  Perhaps the lady down the road makes candles, wool sweaters, soap, medicinal herbs, or other good stuff.   Or the guy up the road produces honey, chicken eggs, or pork hams, partner with him.   It is a great situation where you could barter your 50 excess jars of tomatoes in return for 2 eggs every week from your friend with a hen-house.

But if your region or the entire country enters a period of WROL (without rule of law), your neighbor with the hen-house is will need to hunker down, until it is safe to travel again.   Thus no eggs for you for days, weeks, or months, depending on the duration of WROL.

Let’s take another example, the 1992 Los Angeles riots.  Let’s suppose you took part in a community garden among the neighborhoods hit hard by this riot.   Will you be tending your garden during the period of lawlessness?   Will you be conduct harvest activities, when people are being beaten in the streets?   Will you be exchanging your harvest with neighbors, when neighborhoods are burning down?   Obviously, you need to hunker down, protect your home and family.   It would be many weeks until it was safe to return to your community garden, if anything was remaining after the period of lawlessness.   During the period of riots, the best thing to do was: (1) stay home, (2) set up a security watch on your block, (3) maintain a 24/hr security watch over your family, (4) eat from your stored foods and drink from your stored water.   It is no time to be conducting regular barter activities.   Rather, this is the period of time for which you build your survival supplies.  But once rule of law returns, then return to your regular, pre-arranged barter partnerships.

If you think you’ll be safer in rural area or in the country setting, think again.   Even if you live in a rural area, you are very vulnerable.   You might not have neighbors within screaming distance.  When you are working out in the garden, it would be too easy to drop a homesteader with a deer rifle at 300 yards.   Organized gangs will actually specialize in home invasion of rural homes, because police are at a great distance and it is very difficult for a single family to defend against an armed group.   During a period of WROL, rural/country folks need to hunker down as well.

Enough with the hyperbole.   Here is my list of barter goods and services you should consider for your survival preparations.

List of Goods and Services for Survival Barter

Those items highlighted in bold are expected to be items in high demand.

  1. Food and Water Related Items

    1. Stored and Canned Food – Everyone needs to eat.   Folks will exchange their grandpa’s watch or grandma’s pearls for a sack of rice, when hungry.
    2. Fresh Food – It you can produce or grow your own food, that definitely puts you in the driver seat for barter.
    3. Vitamins - Very valuable barter items a couple of years after the collapse
    4. Salt – Need for food preservation, cooking, and home canning
    5. Milk – fresh and powdered
    6. Infant formula
    7. Honey
    8. Sugar
    9. Food Producing Animals – Chickens, rabbits, goats, sheep, ducks, geese, cattle, pigs, etc.
    10. Water storage bottles
    11. Food grade buckets
    12. Cast Iron Cookware
    13. Water Filters – To purify water
    14. Water purification Tablets – To purify water in a bug-out or camping situation
    15. Hard candies
    16. Medical herbs
    17. Coffee
    18. Tea
    19. Garden seeds - both GMO and non-GMO seeds will be worth more than their weight in gold.
    20. MRE – Meals Ready to Eat – Has a 5+ year shelf life, if stored in cool conditions.

  2. Stores of Value

    1. Gold bullion coins – gold coins in 1/10th ounce sizes are perfect for commerce (it is very hard to make change for 1 ounce gold coins)
    2. Silver bullion coins – 1 ounce coins from a government and private mints
    3. Silver bars – in 1 ounce, 10 ounce, and 1 kilo sizes
    4. Pre-1965 silver coins – dimes, quarters, and half dollars minted in the United States in 1964 and prior
    5. Copper coins – 1 ounce copper rounds will make change for silver exchange transactions
    6. Graded diamonds – very dense forms of wealth useful only for international travel during a SHTF, TEOTWAWKI situations, such as the Jews escaping Nazi Germany in 1932.
    7. Ammunition – ammo will be used readily as money in a SHTF, TEOTWAWKI period
    8. Firearms – firearms are excellent stores of value in a SHTF, TEOTWAWKI period.  The most ardent progressive, gun-hating liberal will pull a gold tooth to exchange for a pistol during TEOTWAWKI.
    9. Drinking Alcohol - Has been through the ages, alcohol has been a very good vehicle for commerce.

  3. Sanitation and hygiene Items

    1. Toilet paper - More valuable than gold in 2 years after the collapse.  That corn cob on your butt will make you rethink your pre-collapse preparations.
    2. Hand Soap / Bath Soap
    3. Toothpaste
    4. Toothbrushes
    5. Dental floss
    6. Bleach – for cleaning and water purification — a high value barter item
    7. Feminine hygiene (tampons, menstrual pads)
    8. Trash bags (heavy-duty)
    9. Deodorant – Get ready for smelling bad
    10. Face masks (N95)
    11. Home disinfectants and cleaning solutions
    12. Razors (manual, hand razors)
    13. Straight razors – the old fashion straight razor will make a come back
    14. Condoms
    15. Latex gloves – Expect to be handling lots of nasty, dirty things during TEOTWAWKI.

  4. Energy Related Items

    1. Batteries - When the grid goes down, everyone will need them, especially rechargeable batteries.
    2. Battery chargers – Solar battery chargers and hand-crank chargers will be worth their weight in gold.
    3. 12 volt storage batteries
    4. Solar panels
    5. Power inverters – to convert solar supplied DC power to household AC power
    6. Cured firewood - some folks can make a whole business out of supply cured firewood
    7. Wood stoves - everyone will want to install a wood stove for winter heating
    8. Coal – if you have an exposed coal seam, such will be very valuable for winter heating
    9. Kerosene – for heating and lighting
    10. Preserved gasoline or diesel fuel
    11. Alcohol (95%) to burn as fuel
    12. Home stills to produce high-proof alcohol
    13. Home produced bio-diesel
    14. Motor oils – standard weights
    15. Chainsaw oils
    16. Portable power generators
    17. Lighter fluid
    18. Matches
    19. Portable lighters
    20. Propane tanks - Propane stored in steel tanks has nearly no expiration date.  So long as the steel tank doesn’t rust, you can utilize the stored propane twenty years from no.

  5. Medical Related Items

    1. Antibiotic medicines
    2. Prescription medicines
    3. Pain relief medicines
    4. Cold and flu relief medicines
    5. Children’s pain relief medicines
    6. Hydrogen Peroxide – for wound cleaning and dental care
    7. Israeli battle dressings and other large emergency wound dressings
    8. Blot clotting bandages – such as Quick Clot
    9. Small, complete packaged first-aid kits
    10. Small bandages
    11. Gauze and wound covering bandages
    12. Dental instruments
    13. Wound closure kits
    14. Suture kits
    15. Small surgical kits
    16. Hydrocortisone cream for itches, rashes, and bug bites
    17. Rehydration drink mixes
    18. Antidiarrhea medicines
    19. Potassium iodide pills - for use after a nuclear accident or nuclear war
    20. Surgical blades
    21. Surgical hand tools – vascular clamps are a lifesaver in first aid kits
    22. Reading glasses
    23. Rubbing alcohol

  6. Household Goods

    1. Flashlights
    2. Plastic sheeting – 3mil and 4mil sheeting for window covering and roof repairs
    3. Garbage bags
    4. Laundry detergent
    5. Home schooling books
    6. Survival books
    7. Educational and instructional books – for home schooling
    8. First-aid and medical books
    9. Reading books – fiction and non-fiction for entertainment
    10. Ziplock and food storage bags – 100′s of uses
    11. Aluminum foil – 100′s of uses
    12. Duct tape – 100′s of uses
    13. Vinegar – 100′s of uses
    14. Baking soda – 100′s of uses
    15. Bleach – 100′s of uses (yes, mentioned multiple times in this list)
    16. Salt (table) - 100′s of uses (yes, mentioned multiple times in this list)
    17. Rodent traps
    18. Rodent poison
    19. Board games – for family time (consider that the Internet may not exist)
    20. Children’s toys – old style mechanical and hand toys will make a come back.
    21. Coloring books and crayons – for the kids
    22. Paper, pens, pencils – going back before the internet was invented
    23. Sewing supplies – everyone will return to mending their own socks and repairing their own clothing.
    24. Knitting supplies
    25. Cast iron cookware
    26. Food dehydration equipment – construction of these could be a good home business
    27. Solar cooker
    28. Pressure canning cooker
    29. Canning jars
    30. Canning lid replacements – will be hugely valuable within two years after an economic collapse, since lids should not be reused.   This is one item that I suggest that you buy by the case load.
    31. Freezer bags
    32. Food smoker – a very good food preservative method.  Native Americans used smoke to preserve fish and meats for centuries before refrigeration.
    33. Mylar bags for long-term food storage
    34. Oxygen Absorbers for long-term food storage
    35. Sterno fuel cans - for cooking with our electricity or natural gas
    36. Metal wire – For making repairs and fixing fences.  Has 100′s of uses.
    37. Sand bags – Buy by the case load.  Useful for protection against flooding or creating ballistic protection for your homestead.
    38. Chicken wire fencing – To keep your food production animals safe from predators and thieves.

  7. Weapons and Tactical Items

    1. Spare firearms - When SHTF, TEOTWAWKI arrives, everyone will need a firearm.
    2. Ammunition – common calibers are the best: 22LR, 9mm, 40S&W, 45 ACP, .223 Rem, .308 Win, 7.62x39mm Russian, 50 BMG, 12 gauge shotgun, 20 gauge shotgun
    3. Gun magazines
    4. Stripper clips – to organize our ammo in tactical kits
    5. Metal ammo cans – to use as storage containers
    6. Weapons cleaning and lubrication fluids – will be in high demand about 2 or 3 years after TEOTWAWKI
    7. Tactical vests and Plate carriers – When SHTF, TEOTWAWKI arrives, tactical gear will be the hottest new season’s fashion style.
    8. Bullet resistant plates / armor plates - such as the AR500 plates and Kevlar inserts.  Don’t leave home without wearing!
    9. Holsters and tactical pouches
    10. Tasers
    11. Pepper spray
    12. Tactical knifes
    13. Machete long knifes – these are essential blunt, short swords for hacking at vegetation.  Has utility as a carry weapon, as shown often in African conflicts.
    14. Large dogs – as watch dogs and guard dogs
    15. Black powder for old fashion, non-cartridge firearms
    16. Smokeless powder for ammo reloading
    17. Ammo reloading equipment

  8. Tools and Equipment

    1. Garden tools
    2. Digging tools – shovels, pick axes, post-diggers (digging your own latrines will become very popular)
    3. Axes
    4. Wood stoves
    5. Basic home repair and hand tools (hammers, screw drivers, wrenches, etc.)
    6. Chainsaw – along with spare chains
    7. Hunting knives
    8. Butchering knives
    9. Kitchen knives
    10. Geiger counters

  9. Communication Equipment

    1. CB radios – especially battery operated
    2. Weather alert radios
    3. Walkie-talkie radios
    4. Marine radios
    5. Portable AM/FM radio
    6. Hand-crank radios
    7. Tactical handset radios
    8. Shortwave radios
    9. Ham radio equipment

  10. Clothing and Bedding

    1. Winter coats
    2. Hiking boots
    3. Winter boots
    4. Long underwear
    5. Standard underwear
    6. Hiking and boot socks
    7. Standard socks
    8. Hats
    9. Gloves
    10. Scarfs

  11. Camping Gear and Outdoor Gear

    1. Tents
    2. Backpacks
    3. Coolers
    4. Water jugs
    5. Sleeping bags
    6. Plastic tarps
    7. Camp stove
    8. Lanterns
    9. Fishing equipment (especially rod, reels, and lots of fishing line)
    10. Insect repellant
    11. Hexamine tabs or Trioxane fuel bars as fuel for small camp stoves

  12. Services and Skills (in no particular order)

    1. Medical services
    2. Dental services
    3. Veterinarian services
    4. Wet nurse
    5. Nanny and infant care
    6. Babysitters (a good role for grandparents in a SHTF, TEOTWAWKI situation)
    7. Engine mechanic
    8. Auto mechanic
    9. Farm equipment mechanic
    10. Field plowing
    11. Farm harvesting services (mechanical and manual)
    12. Well-drilling services
    13. Farming skills
    14. Gardening skills
    15. Plant nursery
    16. Seed savings / Distribution of garden seeds
    17. Permaculture teaching
    18. Medicinal plants growing and harvesting
    19. Home canning skills / food preservation instruction
    20. Cooking (general)
    21. Baking – especially bread baking
    22. Cheese making
    23. Jams and jelly production
    24. Butcher / meat harvesting
    25. Beekeeping and honey production skills
    26. Wild foods instruction
    27. Animal trapping and fur
    28. Firearms instruction
    29. Archery instruction
    30. Arrow / Bow making
    31. Martial arts instruction
    32. Security guard services
    33. Bodyguard services for wealth individuals
    34. Hunting
    35. Home safety and security consulting
    36. Ham radio and communication equipment instruction
    37. Solar panel installation
    38. Battery recharging / battery recycling
    39. Welding
    40. Blacksmithing
    41. Horseshoeing and horse care
    42. Animal husbandry
    43. Chemist and chemical processing skills
    44. Carpenter / Wood turning
    45. Midwife
    46. Fiber production (flax, cotton, wool)
    47. Knitting
    48. Sewing and tailoring (seamstress)
    49. Weaving / Hand loom
    50. Quilt making
    51. Dress making
    52. Vinegar making
    53. Soap making
    54. Candle making
    55. Basket making
    56. Pottery making
    57. Teaching and home schooling
    58. Musical instrument instruction
    59. Home repair / Handyman
    60. Construction (home, barns, outbuildings, sheds, smoke houses, root cellars, etc.)
    61. Electrician / electrical
    62. Plumbing and pipes
    63. Fireplace and wood stove installation
    64. Tanner and leather working
    65. Rock quarrying / Brick making
    66. Lime production (a nasty activity)
    67. Chiming sweeps
    68. Wine making
    69. Beer making
    70. Home distiller of alcohol (aka moonshiners)
    71. Message delivery – will become a valuable service when postal mail fails during SHTF, WROL, and TEOTWAWKI period.

Does this list seem overwhelming to you?   Indeed it is overwhelming.  It was intentionally overwhelming.  Before you stock up on barter items, likely you have not completed building up your supplies of essential survival supplies.   Of all the items listed above, these are your essential survival supplies.  Until you covered all your essential survival needs, stocking up on barter goods actually creates survival risks by distracting you away from real priorities.  That’s why the subject of preparing for barter in a SHTF or TEOTWAWKI situation should not be your priority.  No one can achieve 100% perfection with their own survival supplies.  Most all of us are working under budget constraints.  All of us are learning and growing our skills and knowledge.   Being a survival prepper is a continuous, evolutionary process.   You are slowly building your supplies, skills, and preparations every day.   If you are spending time and money accumulating barter goods, likely you have missed more important aspects of survival planning.

Don’t get me wrong here.  I’m not against barter.  Barter should stem from your excess production.   Bartering away stored goods is like draining a bank account.  Eventually the account balance hits zero, then what?   Rather than focusing on gathering barter supplies, better to focus on producing something.   Producing your own food is the starting place for most of us.

Having lots of gold and silver, but no long-term food, is just a bad idea.   Having lots of guns and ammo, but no medical supplies is narrow thinking.   The glamour side of survival preparations (guns, ammo, gold, silver) are not the most important items.   Food, water filtration, home heating, and medical supplies will be utilized by 100% of people.   You may or may not need to shoot something or someone.  When everyone is hungry, who will exchange your gold and silver for food?   I would suggest it would be better produce excess food, so that you may exchange for gold and silver from the unprepared.  During the Great Depression of the 1930′s, people would sell off their household goods, furniture, art work, jewelry, collectibles, clothing, tools, equipment, and anything in return for food.   Don’t put your family in the situation where you offering the family heirlooms in return for a meal.

May you live in peace and prosperity all of your days.

P.S.:  Yes my grammar and spelling are less than optimal.  I recognize it as a weakness.  My heart is in the right place, so I hope you receive the value of the information, in spite of my less than stellar writing skills.

Posted in General, Skills (Mental, Physical, Spiritual), Stuff (Gear and Tools), Sustenance (Food and Water) | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

A Follow-up Point Regarding The Oklahoma Tornados This Past Week

Posted on May 23, 2013 by suburbanprep

When I read the following article, my first reaction was, don’t wait for a government program to do the right thing.

Red Tape Delayed Oklahoma Town’s Tornado Shelter Program

The program to reimburse storm shelters was held by FEMA?   Ridiculous.   Not ridiculous because of the government delays.  That’s what governments do best – create delays.  What is ridiculous is the concept of FEMA spending taxpayer money for very local and individual disaster preparations.  It is not FEMA’s job  to provide safe shelters for every person around the country.   It is the head of the family’s duty to provide for the safety and security of their family.   If you live in Alaska, you should have a wood burning stove and lots of firewood stacked up.  If you live near the ocean, have flood insurance and be ready to bug out.  If you live in earthquake vulnerable regions, have digging tools, stored food and water.  When we all lose the will and ability to be self-reliant, well I guess that’s how the country now has $17 trillion in Federal debt.

As a society and country, we cannot wait for the government to incent the right behaviors.  If you have a local, regional, or seasonal disaster risk, take care of it yourself.  With 300+ million people living in the United States, it is impossible for the government to create local disaster safe havens for everyone.  It is much more cost-effective for people to take care of themselves.   Just go back 50 or 75 years, the government did provide tax payer monies for each plains state citizen to dig a root cellar.

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Seasonal and Regional Disaster Risks

Posted on May 21, 2013 by suburbanprep

My wife and I were very saddened by the events in Oklahoma this week, and by all the deaths the resulted from huge tornado that hit Moore, OK.

Survivors pulled from Oklahoma tornado debris as toll falls

What pains me even further is how unnecessary the deaths were.

My back-of-the-napkin statistic analysis about the risks from disasters states that each of us will encounter disasters in a lifetime.   Every person should expect that, on average, they will be direct witnesses of 2 major disasters and 6 lessor disasters in their lifetimes.   Live to a ripe old age of 80, and you’ll likely have witness or been victim of two major disasters.   By my categorization, a major disaster has a region impact and takes many lives.   Minor disasters are isolated to specific town or to a specific individual.   Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy are obviously major disasters.   A spouse with cancer, automobile accident with injuries, bankruptcy, home fire, and disasters that affect just a neighborhood or a single family are hugely impacting, but minor in proportion to effects on the community at large.   The size of a disaster varies by perspective.   If one of my children was killed in the collapsed Plaza Towers Elementary School, it is beyond huge, devastating, life altering.   A person living in Alaska or Maine have very little perspective about tornadoes.

Because disasters are unique to the perspective, it is very important for families to prepare for the specific regional and season disasters that may come upon them.   It would be impossible for me to provide an exhaustive list of seasonal and regional disaster risks, since I have a perspective from my home town.   I’ll provide a list of a few below.  Then I suggest that you conduct a bit of research as to which disasters have hit your state and region in the past, and incorporate that research into your preparations.

List of Seasonal and Regional Disaster Risks

  1. Tornadoes – Tornadoes have a specific season and geographical risk area.   If you live in tornado alley, the section of the United States that regularly is impacted by tornadoes, it is only prudent to prepare.   Simply stated, if you live in tornado alley, you should have a below-ground storm shelter.   How much would the death’s of this week’s tornado victims would be alive today, but for the lack of a storm shelter.  Every school district should have a prevention and reaction plan to anticipate a direct tornado strike upon a school.   It seems utterly silly to me to buy a $250,000 home, and yet not spend $5,000 on a turnkey storm shelter.     Here is an example of a turnkey storm shelter for the price of $3,000.
  2. Hurricanes – When Hurricane Sandy hit New Jersey and New York in 2012, I was stunned by the utter lack of preparedness.   Hurricane Sandy was claimed to be a once in 100 year storm.   If you live the a ripe age of 85, then you have an 85% of encountering a 100 year storm!!!!   And the concept of once every 100 year storm is more like once every 25 or 50 years.   The price of rising sea levels is more severe hurricanes.   If you live close to the coast, please consider having flood insurance.  Unless you can afford to rebuild your coastal home out of your own pocket (ie you are very wealthy), flood insurance is essential to protect your home.   Can’t afford flood insurance?  Then you can’t afford the coastal home.  A vast majority of Hurricane Sandy damaged homes are not covered by insurance.  Typically homeowner insurance covers wind damage, but not flood-related water damage.   Also, you having a well prepared bug-out bag and a retreat plan.   The rule with hurricanes is leave quickly.  Waiting for an evacuation announcement means you are already late.
  3. Tsunami – Same preparations as a hurricane, but you need to be faster with your evacuation.   There is no “shelter in place” for a tsunami.  If a tsunami alert or warning is issued, you must immediately get to high ground – many miles inland from the coast.   You cannot out run a tsunami by car.
  4. Flooding – If your home is in a flood plain, or close to a dam, dike or levee, then you have specialize preparations.  You should have flood insurance.  Also consider having a boat and floatation devices at your home.   Being alert and connected to weather news is important, since flooding often causes in the dark of night.
  5. Wildfires / Forest Fires – This is a risk mainly in western United States.  During the dry wind season, any lightening strike can result in a brush fire.   The key prep items for a wild-fire, brush fire, or forest fire is fire-proofing your home.   The roof is the key.  If you live in wildfire risk areas, then install a metal, burn-proof roof.   Attempt to keep a potential fire line away from your home by trimming back vegetation and trees near your home.   If you have ample supplies of water, consider an external home sprinkler system.   A DIY home sprinkler system can be done with bolting several large lawn sprinklers on the roof of your home, and running hoses from the roof to water supplies.  Unfortunately this is not possible in many fire risk areas because of the inherent lack of water (and thus the fire risk).    The selection of a home site is a key to preparing for wild-fire.   If the natural contour of the land funnels winds over the home, that is not a good site in wild-fire territory.
  6. Blizzard / snowstorms – I am amazed that during regular and expected snow storms, people fail to make the most modest preparations.   The key additional prep item is home heating.   Electricity often drops during a major snow storm.   Many / most home furnaces require electricity to drive the furnace’s computer and air circulation fans.   If you live in the snow belt, have a wood burning fireplace and stove.  Natural gas, ornamental fireplaces are worthless, especially the ventless fireplaces.  Ventless fireplaces smell bad and introduce risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.  Having a kerosene heater is a great back-up to heat your home.  Your vehicles should be well stocked with food, blankets, water, tire chains, and shovel.  Envision you and your vehicle trapped in snow bank during a blizzard for 4 days.  What would you like to having in your vehicle during those 4 days?
  7. Ice storms – The prep items for ice storms are similar to blizzard / snow storm.  While electrical power may be on during a snowstorm, expect electricity to be off during an ice storm.  Many areas that are at risk for ice storms don’t receive major snow during the winter.   Ice storms have been known to go as far south as Dallas, TX.   You key additional prep item for an ice storm is a portable power generator and stored fuel for the generator.   I have a transfer switch installed at my primary home, so that I can run my home from a power generator.  The transfer switch was installed for under $200 by a professional electrician.
  8. Industry accidents – If you live near a major industry site that processes chemicals, fertilizers, petroleum products, metal smelting or refining, and such, you have special considerations.   Aside from having a good bug-out plan, would suggest adding gas masks, 3mm or 4mm plastic sheeting, lots of duct tape, and staple gun to your survival supplies.  You may need to quickly create a protected air space for sheltering in place.   Likely though, your best response is to bug-out quickly in the event of an industrial accident.   Better yet, choose not to live near industrial sites.
  9. Earthquakes -  I keep waiting (and hope it never occurs) for the big one to hit Los Angeles.  If and when it does, I’ll try not to be surprised by the lack of preparations.   Southern California is long over due for a major earthquake.  The planet is in a high frequency period for earthquakes.  The specialized preparations for earthquakes is a lot of stored water, lots of canned food, and digging tools.   Recommend that you have crow-bars, shovels, pry bars, and sledge hammers added to your survival tools.  If you don’t need to dig yourself out of a collapsed home, consider that you will be called into helping your neighbors dig out.   Expect to be sleeping under the stars for several weeks, so have a good quality tent and sleeping bags for every family member.   I am expecting a lot of lawlessness (WROL) in Southern California after a major earthquake, so go through the onerous process of obtaining a firearm and ammunition.   Shotguns are especially effective for self-defense after an earthquake, and less likely to be confiscated versus a rifle.
  10. Landslides / Mudslides – If you live near a hill-side or mountain, suggest that you learn about the possibility of a landslide or mudslides.  Pay attention to weather reports for major rainfall.
  11. Avalanches – Portions of the country are at risk for avalanches during the winter.  I’ll not provide advice for backpackers or snow skiers.  For the average person, it is about not being in the right place as the wrong time.   Listen to weather reports, watch road signs, and generally stay away from avalanche areas.

Some general preparation items related to all of these risks.

  1. Always keep your vehicle fuel with three-quarters of a tank or more.   When these events occur, there is no time to fill-up at the gas station.   Keep several filled gas cans at your home to extend your travel distances.  If you need to evacuate, then likely thousands or millions other people will do the same.  Rely upon your own gasoline (or diesel) fuel for an evacuation.
  2. You are responsible for your own self-defense.  Police and first responders are quickly overwhelmed responding to cries for help.  Don’t let yourself be vulnerable.  Criminal utilize disaster situations as their low-risk play time.  Every adult should have a pistol.  Every adult should have a shotgun or rifle.  Know your local laws, get training, store your firearms safely away from children and mentally ill.
  3. Have an evacuation plan.   Have at least three pre-planned destinations.  Have printed maps and travel instructions to your retreat locations.  Know how to take the side roads out of your town, so that you are not stuck in traffic for hours.
  4. Rely on your own food and water.   Have enough stored water for three weeks per person.  Allocate minimum of one gallon per person per day for drinking and food preparations.  Shame on you, if you are hungry after a disaster.  It is too easy to store food in your home, vehicle, and bug-out kit.
  5. Always have money in your pocket for emergency situations.   Consider the potential that ATM machines are not working for days. Stores might not accept credit cards.
  6. Keep your important documents in a fire resistant, water proof safe.   Keep copies of all important documents in your bug-out bag and in a bank safe box.   The likely time you’ll a copy of your insurance policies is when you can’t put your hands on them.  Consider scanning important documents onto a memory stick that requires a password.
  7. Buy and setup a weather alert radio.   An example is the Midland NOAA Weather alert radio.  You can sleep in peace knowing the alert radio is listening for disaster notifications.

What risk and vulnerabilities that are relevant to your situation, that is for your to research and understand.  A search of local newspaper archives or talking to insurance agents are sources of understanding local and regional disaster risks.

I hope you never encounter as disaster situation, but likely you will several times in your lifetime.  Hope is not a plan.  Allocation a portion of your budget to essential levels of insurance and survival preparations are the means to protect your family from misery, pain, and suffering.

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“I woke up early today” – author unknown

Posted on May 20, 2013 by suburbanprep

I woke up early today, excited over all I get to do before the clock strikes midnight.  I have responsibilities to fulfill today.  I am important.  My job is to choose what kind of day I am going to have.

 Today, I can complain because the weather is rainy or I can be thankful that the grass is getting watered for free.

 Today, I can feel sad that I don’t have more money or I can be glad that my finances encourage me to plan my purchases wisely and guide me away from waste.

 Today, I can grumble about my health or I can rejoice that I am alive.

 Today, I can lament over all that my parents didn’t give me when I was growing up or I can feel grateful that they allowed me to be born.

 Today, I can cry because roses have thorns or I can celebrate that thorns have roses.

Today, I can mourn my lack of friends or I can excitedly embark upon a quest to discover new relationships.

 Today, I can wail because I have to go to work or I can shout for joy because I have a job to do.  I can complain because I have to go to school or I eagerly open my mind and fill it with rich new tidbits of knowledge.

 Today, I can murmur dejectedly because I have to do housework or I can feel honored because treasures have been entrusted into my care.

 Today, stretches ahead of me, waiting to be shaped.  And here I am, the sculptor who gets to do the shaping.  What today will be like is up to me.    I get to choose what kind of day I will have!

- author unknown

If you know the name of this author, please post a comment.  I wish to provide full attribution to the author.

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Items About To Be Banned By Progressive, Nanny-state, Big Brother Government

Posted on May 20, 2013 by suburbanprep

Ah, the good old days, when men were men.   When I was growing up, a boy had a 22 LR to shoot squirrels.   A boy could go down to the corner hardware story, buy a box of 50 rounds of 22LR, and enjoy an afternoon of plinking.

Today, that same boy conducting the same action results in a tactical swat team arriving in an armored tactical vehicle.

It is so hard to be man’s man these days.  Our laws are being created by nappy boys, raised in tidy suburban neighborhoods to become momma’s boys.  The lawyers and business people and community activist that predominate this age’s legislatures are the type of people who never get their hands dirty.   Likely, they have never handled a firearm.   Hasn’t picked up a shovel, pick, axe, sledge-hammer in the past 20 years.   And their young children’s dirty diapers were changed by nannies, babysitters, pre-schools, grandmothers, and day-care centers.  I pride myself in the ability to change a fouled diaper in under 20 seconds, leaving a perfectly clean and dry bum afterwards.  As my grandfather once told me, you can trust a man with dirty hands, because he is working hard for a living.   Men with perfectly clean and soft hands are not to be trusted.

Today’s lawmakers did not drive fast cars, did not go plinking with a 22 LR, did not jump into quarrels filled with water, never shot through white-water rapids, and did not go water skiing or snow skiing.   Especially the urban-progressive-metrosexual liberals that dominate today’s political class don’t have any practical experience in the great outdoors.  And have no perspective on the simply, clean, and happy life that the rural environments provide.   And they avoid dangerous things like sports car driving, shooting sports, white water rafting, rock climbing, ice fishing, wilderness camping, motorcycles, knives and swords, country horse riding, etc.   Urban liberals don’t do Man’s stuff (…on average, no doubt there are a few exceptions.   I have a couple of friends who are rare exceptions.)   There is a very good reason why most of US soldiers come from small towns.  Small rural towns are the most likely source of tough, physical, hardworking men, who have handled a firearm before.

The great separator in the United States is not red versus blue; or Democrat versus Republican.    Rather what splits society is rural versus urban.    Urban liberals by their nature and lack of experience are afraid of so-called “dangerous things”.   Country boys, who were born and raised with guns, don’t go around committing mass murders.   In contrast, since urban liberals are unarmed, city gangs know they can run wild and unopposed.   Look at the free-fire zones of Detroit and Chicago.   How’s the gun bans working for you folks in Detroit and Chicago???  Gun control in Detroit and Chicago are an utter failure.   From the perspective of the rest of the country, Detroit and Chicago look utter ridiculous–they are unwilling to admit their gun control laws are failing.  Criminals can have all the guns they want in Detroit and Chicago, while law-abiding citizens have been disarm and now sitting ducks–sheep ready for the slaughter.    Likely a home invasion in Chicago or Detroit results in innocent victims.   And likely a home invasion in rural areas results in a funeral for the criminals.   Gun control only protects criminals from being shot.

To get the point I’m try to make here, please listen to this YouTube video:

“Dangerous Things” by Nutnfancy

While I acknowledge and agree that not everyone should own a firearm, I do resist laws being made by people who don’t understand firearms.   Getting marital advise from a Catholic priest is non-sensical.  How can a priest, who has never laid down with a woman nor lived with a woman, ever understand the true dynamics between husband and wife?  If you don’t have deep understanding and the specifics about an important topic, then you should not be writing laws about that topic.  Urban liberals writing gun laws make as much sense as a virgin providing marital advice.  Neither have the knowledge or frame of reference.   Look at how poorly NY Governor Cuomo’s SAFE Act guns laws were very poorly written.   This new New York gun laws for 2013 limited magazines to 7 rounds.  The Governor did not realize when he wrote the law that gun makers don’t create 7 round magazines.   After the law was passed and implemented, Governor was forced acknowledged and interpret his own law that 10 round magazines are allowed, but only if loaded with 7 cartridges.   If you mistakenly put 8 rounds in a magazine, you’ve committed a crime, as if one more cartridge mattered in any way.    The law was written very sloppily with no considerations for special circumstances.  There was no provision in the laws to allow police to carry full capacity magazines.  (By the way, in our society, police are not supposed to be elevated classes of people, with rights greater than the average citizen.  This concept seems lost on liberals.)   There was no provision in the new law for handicapped people to utilize full capacity magazines.    And there was no mention in the new law about people traveling through the state with their legally own magazines.   You can be charged with a crime for traveling from Pennsylvania to Maine with an empty 30 round magazine.  There was no mention in the law for military conducting training or traveling through New York State.  Here is a few articles about how poorly this law was developed:

The following shows urban, liberal Democrats don’t understand firearms concepts .

But lack of understand (i.e. ignorance) does not prevent the writing of new laws.  I believe several things are about to be banned, and made illegal.   You have a short window to obtain these items.

Items about to be banned:

  1. .50 BMG rifles and ammunition - There are bills in several states that will outlaw the 50 caliber ammo and rifles.   Despite nearly no crimes have been committed with a 50 BMG rifle, the fearful urban liberals don’t want these rifles in the hands of law-abiding citizens.   Some states may allow grandfathering of those already owning a 50 BMG rifle.  If you have a spare chunk of money, 50 BMG rifle and ammo can be an excellent investment.  After the ban, 50 BMG stuff will likely triple in value.  Expect to drop $10k to get a basic .50 BMG rifle package.   .50 BMG ammunition is priced at $4 per round for basic ball ammo.   The more exotic types of .50 BMG can be $200 per round.   There is a lot of diversity in the types of rounds for the .50 BMG.  This is attributed to many different roles and missions that can be performed by .50 BMG.     Shooting a .50 BMG rifle is a whole different animal than compared to .30-06 or .300 Win.    Expect to budget lots of money for training ammo.  And it is recommended that you buy a spare barrel and key parts to keep on hand.   If .50 BMG is banned at the federal level, you can expect the price of .50 BMG ammo to triple over night.   You may never have another chance to obtain a firearm with this level of power.
  2. AR-15 and AK-47 – The liberal Democrats are still coming for your guns.  They wish to outlaw our essential home defense rifles, which are protected by the Bill of Rights 2nd Amendment.   They will keep trying until they win.   Read more in the following links:
    1. Barack Obama supports plan to ban deer-hunting ammunition
    2. Shocking Hot-Mic Gun Comments From New Jersey Senate: ‘Confiscate, Confiscate, Confiscate’
    3. Sen. Feinstein suggests national buyback of guns
  3. Black and smoke-less gun powder for hand loading and black powder hunting – For those that have a hobby of loading their own cartridges, I am expecting that the gun powder used to reload shells will become restricted.  You may need to show your driver’s license with each purchase of powder.  And the powders may contain nano-micro-identifiers, which makes each cartridge powder to be uniquely traceable.
  4. Tannerite – The binary explosive powder is used by target shoots to simulate a live battlefield.  Tannerite is very save to ship, store, and handling.   Tannerite will only explode once the two components are mixed and then struck with a high-speed bullet.   Only a high-speed bullet can trigger the explosion, thus is not likely to be part of a bomb.   Look for state and federal governments to place restrictions on the sale of Tannerite.
  5. Thermite – Thermite has long been used in industry process, such as welding railroad rails together to make smoother train ride.   The ingredients are very simple – iron oxide (rust) and powdered aluminum.   Burning a strip of magnesium will ignite thermite.  Thermite burns at nearly 5000 degrees F, and will melt through steel like butter.   Look for state and federal governments to track closely who is buying thermite ingredients.
  6. Gold coins – As the US economic slips into the next Great Depression, it is very possible that the federal government could outlaw the private ownership of gold bullion and gold coins.   Read more at: U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt “forbidding the Hoarding of Gold Coin, Gold Bullion, and Gold Certificates within the continental United States”.   There is a completely strange event in the gold market.  It is very difficult to obtain physical good.   Owners of physical gold in bank depositories are told to come back in 3 or 6 months.   And yet the price of gold on paper is shrinking.   I recommend that everyone have 5% to 20% of their net worth held in physical gold and silver coins.   With the recent price decreases, now is the best time to stock up on physical gold and silver.   Don’t buy gold and silver mutual funds or ETF’s.   It defeats the purpose of why you buy gold and silver.   Gold and silver are not investment.   Rather they are a store of value.   A silver dime in 1964 could buy a loaf of bread.   In 2013, that same silver dime (pre-1965), can still buy a loaf of bread.    When bank holidays and bank closures come to the United States, those with all their money in banks and stock markets will lose everything, just like in 1929.    Those holding some gold and silver will have preserved some of their wealth.    But don’t store you gold and silver in a bank safe box.   Bank safe boxes will be confiscated.
  7. Bitcoin – The US Government doesn’t like competition against its currency.   I am not a fan of bitcoin, because I can’t hold it.   My preference for an alternative store of value and conducting person-to-person exchange of equal-valued goods is gold and silver coins.
  8. Prayer – The act of prayer is being pushed out of public and governmental meetings.  Giving people a moment of time to conduct their own personal prayer is being challenged by atheist groups.   While I defend the rights of all people to follow or not follow a religion, I also believe the atheist groups should defend the rights of religious people keep their traditions and practices.   People should be allowed to pray.  And people have the right not to listen.
  9. Specialized Ammunition – There are proposal on the table to ban types of ammunition, such as armor-piercing.   Despite the fact that some criminals are now wearing body armor, your average law-abiding citizen is again made more vulnerable.
  10. Body Armor – I can easily see where the government would want to ban body armor.   A criminal wearing body armor during a criminal event is hard to bring down.   Governments work not by banning things for just criminals   But rather banning things for all its law-abiding citizens.   In the event of a WROL or TEOTWAWKI situation, you will not be able to obtain body armor.   You will need to obtain body armor well ahead of time.
  11. Hoarding of Food during an emergency - The definition of hoarding is often misused.   If I prepare and gather supplies during a time of plenty, that is not hoarding.  Rather, that is prudently preparing for the future.   Hoarding is the gathering of scarce resources or goods during an emergency situation.   I recommend that families have 2 to 3 years of long-term stored food and unmarried, single people should have at least 1 year of long-term stored food.    After a disaster strikes, or an economic collapse occurs suddenly, I can conceive where government official will confiscate large supplies of food from individuals and businesses.   For this reason, you must preserve OPSEC (keep your mouth shut) about all your survival prepper activities.  My goal is to provide charity and extra food to my family and neighbors during an emergency.   But I will only give away so much, with my primary goals to feed my family first.   It is my duty to feed my children first.   Only when I have more than enough to continue feeding my children will I share.   Also there is the risk of looting and theft of your food.   Therefore, you should not put all your eggs in one basket.  Hide food in different parts of your home.  Store some food with trusted friends, neighbors, and family members. Store some long-term stored foods in a rental storage unit within walking distance of your home.   When you and your family are eating well, and all the neighbors around you are starving, expect that you will be challenged.
  12. 3-D Printed Guns – This has been a huge news story in 2013.   A group named Defense Distributed has design, printed, and test fired guns has have been printed.   See the story here:   Despite banning 3D-printer gun blueprints, the U.S. government posts gun designs  online  Now that the designs of printed guns are in the Internet, it is too late for the government to stop the sharing of the designs.
  13. Freedom of Assembly – Governments have gotten more aggressive with preventing protests.  Many numerous situations were state, city, and federal government have attacked protest marches.   New York City is famous for suppressing protest marches.
  14. The Right to Privacy - With Obamacare being administered by the IRS, the government will have all of your medical records at hand for inspection.   The FBI was caught recently gathering the personal phone calls from AP reports without warrant.   It is thought that the NSA is scanning every webpage, every email, every electronic transmission from around the world.   Anyone, anyone can look up your financial records, credit reports, view your home, and see your criminal records online for a small fee.   Cities have camera that continually capture your license plate information as you go about your travels.   Cell phones and automobile toll lanes track your location wherever you go.  For the 0.001% risk you incur for a future terrorist event, the government has taken away 100% of your privacy.    1984 Big Brother is here today.  You allowed this to happen.  You allowed this.  You are to blame.  You fell asleep in your comfortable little life, and did not get involved in politics.     As a law-abiding, tax-paying, boring family man, who loves the United States, I am creeped-out that the government knows so much about me.  Don’t get me wrong — I am against terrorist and criminals.  And I have a boring ordinary life, thus don’t even get close to trouble.  In a big net, good fish and bad fish are caught and sorted together — which is troubling.

For all of these things will be banned or about to be banned, you have a rare and short opportunity to prepare ahead of time.  The people of Portugal, Greece, and Spain, who are now in their Great Depression with unemployment over 25%, those people wish they could go back in time to save more money and stored more long-term food.   When UK and US can no longer service their federal debts, the next Great Depression will come to the UK and US as well.    The first rule of solving any problem is to stop making the problem bigger.   Today, the federal debts are growing uncontrolled.  The outcome can only be bad.  It is just a matter of time.   When the economic collapse occurs, governments will use emergency power to institute capital controls, confiscate investments and businesses, constrain personal freedoms, limit your mobility, lower your wages, increase your taxes, lessen your government benefits, cancel your pensions, lessen government services such mental health services, neglect public infrastructure, layoff police allowing crime to increase, establish martial law, and enact a police state.   Take the examples of Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy — but spread over the entire country.  Except the damage is not caused by a storm.  Rather the damaged will be caused by looters, rioters, well-organized criminal gangs, and starving people who no longer fear prison or death.

Disclaimer:  All of my advice, suggestions, and discussion points are targeted towards law-abiding, country-loving citizens of the United State of America.

Posted in General, Safety (Medical, Sanitation, Security, Weapons), Stuff (Gear and Tools), Sustenance (Food and Water) | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Comprehensive Guide to Preparing for Terrorism – Coming soon

Posted on May 16, 2013 by suburbanprep

This is a bit of advanced notice that I’m preparing a long and comprehensive guide to prepare for any type of terrorist event.   I have been posting much, because of research and writing on this topic.   It could be the basis for a full published book, but don’t want to deal with the hassle of publishing..

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Yes, Liberals Want to Confiscate Your Guns (and how to protect yourself from confiscation)

Posted on May 16, 2013 by suburbanprep

While the President, other Democrats, and a wide range of liberal say they don’t, in their heart-of-hearts, they want to confiscate your guns.   So say otherwise is disingenuous at the least, and outright lying at the most.

Senators Caught on Tape: “Confiscate, Confiscate, Confiscate”

I have mentioned that I am pro-2nd Amendment for several reasons.  These reasons include:

  • I am a law-abiding, tax-paying, honest citizen with rights equal to all others.
  • My wife’s grandfather was a victim of the World War 2 holocaust.
  • The right to carry a firearm was granted to me by virtual of my birth and from God.  No government of the people can deny this right.
  • If only police and soldiers have firearms, then by definition, the government is now a police state.
  • Governments go through periods of chaos, lawlessness, and disorder.   When these periods occur is impossible to predict ahead of time.   Therefore a prudent person prepares well ahead of time.
  • It my duty to protect and defend my family, not the government.
  • The average 911 call response time is 10 minutes.   What is your plan while you wait out the 9 minutes until police arrive to you home.   My home is my castle.   If you attack my castle, can defend it until police arrive.

How do you protect yourself from a possible gun confiscation?

Here are some suggestions:

  • First, obey all federal, state, and local laws.  There are legal ways to obtain and store firearms in every state.   Some states are harder than other, thus it requires more effort in the anti-freedom states of California, New Jersey, and New York.   There is no need to put yourself at legal risk.
  • Realize that gun freedoms will incrementally, slowly, and continuously erode over time.  Therefore you must prepare now for the future.  No one will give you advance warning that new guns laws are being enacted.   New York State enacted new gun restrictions over one weekend without advanced notice or public debate — intentionally to surprise everyone.
  • Diversify the storage locations for your guns.   Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.
  • Agree with friends to share storage.  You store in your gun vault a spare handgun, rifle, and ammo for your trusted friends and family.  Likewise, they do the same for you.
  • The price of guns and ammunition know only one direct – up.   The price of guns and ammunition don’t every go down.   What you buy today will be more expensive next year.
  • Consider purchasing and storing guns and ammo at your vacation home, camp site, or hunting lease.
  • Consider storing guns and ammo in a gun friendly state adjacent to your state.
  • Consider storing an extra handgun and rifle at your gun range or gunsmith.   Many will do this for a fee.  (Hint: pay in cash).
  • Consider storing extra guns and ammo at a rental storage unit within walking range of your home.  (Hint again: pay in cash).
  • Consider storing some guns in a buried cache.  Know your local laws before doing this.  And lock the gun with a trigger lock, in case your cache is discovered.
  • Have a give away gun in a relative easy to find spot in your home (obviously secured from children and mentally ill people).  An old, beat-up shotgun and nasty old .38 special revolver are ideal give-ups.   Your more important guns and ammo should be secured in a hard to find space.  As a law-abiding citizen, you have no duty to make it easier for a confiscation agent.
  • You have the constitutional right to keep you mouth shut.   If confiscation comes to your door, don’t fight.  But don’t put yourself at risk by talking to police.  State emphatically, “you do not have my permission, but I will not interfere”.   Then call your lawyer.   It is important that you listen closely to this video: Don’t Talk To the Police
  • Consider moving ownership of your guns to a trust or personal corporation.
  • All of these suggestions and hints are equally valid to prepare for theft and burglary of your home.

Additional information:

I pray and hope you never need to shot a firearm to defend yourself and your family.   But if you must, I hope the criminal loses.  Personally, I resolve to never let my family become a victim of a future holocaust.   I’ll die fighting outside the interment camp, rather than die in slavery within.

Disclaimer: This advice is targeted to law-abiding citizens.

Posted in Safety (Medical, Sanitation, Security, Weapons) | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Slow, Incremental, and Continuous Loss of Government Benefits

Posted on May 16, 2013 by suburbanprep

Announced today: House panel OKs farm bill with food stamp cuts

As budgets are reworked, refined, and continuously cut, you will see the loss of benefits and services at the federal level, state levels, and county services.

The cut to food stamps will be immediate dramatic and painful.  Food stamps is the main mechanism to prevent hunger in the United States.  With the need for food stamps growing, and less available budget available, what are the results?   Food stamp recipients will need to learn to live with less.

Everyone can take the journey to food self-sufficiency.   The efforts are:

  • Sprouting seeds – anyone, everywhere can do this
  • Small flower box to grow vegetables
  • Indoor dwarf fruit trees
  • Home canning of food obtained from farmers markets, gleaming harvested fields and from your own garden
  • Buy direct from farmers and food purchase co-ops
  • Move out of the city to where you can have your own sizable garden
  • Visit a community garden and carve out a section for your efforts
  • Raise chickens for eggs and meat, and rabbits for fur and meat
  • Buy and store lots garden seed (a mix of GMO and non-GMO vegetables seeds is recommended).

Garden seeds are an excellent barter item.   When the economic collapse becomes fully realized, garden seeds will be more valuable than gold by weight.

Especially if you rely on food stamps now, you need to start these activities.   Often charitable groups will help you get started.

In the near future, the difference between hunger and non-hunger is the ability to produce your own food.   Get ready now!  Or suffer later.

Posted in General, Sustenance (Food and Water) | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment