Civil unrest can come at any time and be triggered by a wide range of events. Just look to American history and you’ll see many examples of it in action. And it hasn’t gotten better in the past decade either.
One of the most vulnerable situations we face is when we are driving, and during a time of economic collapse when crime skyrockets, we must know some basic urban survival techniques so that we don’t become victims.
It may just be that crime rises due to a financial crisis, or it could be full-blown social unrest and riots that we face. Regardless, people driving in their cars tend to feel a lot more safe than they really are. They forget that windows can be broken and the road can be blocked very easily.
Rule #1: You Can Drive On A Flat Tire
Very often, criminals will put nails out in the road so that when you stop to deal with your flat tire, they can come out from hiding and surprise you. The fact is that if you get a flat tire in a neighborhood or situation that makes you feel uncomfortable, you should trust your instinct.
You can keep driving on a flat tire and, though it might be very noisy and the tire will be ruined, the cost of the tire is much less than what you lose getting beaten or robbed. The worst case scenario is that the wheel also needs to be replaced, but again, trust your instincts and just keep driving out of there.
Rule #2: Don’t Get Out Of The Car
A common trick is a bumper tap at a stop sign or red light. You get out to look at your rear bumper and the man standing on the corner “waiting for the bus” seizes the opportunity to jump in your car and drive off. You’ve been carjacked and don’t even realize that the car that tapped you in the rear was driven by the accomplice.
If you have a minor accident, stay in the vehicle, ready to drive off if need be. Have your cell phone in your hand and keep the car running.
Rule #3: Don’t Get Blocked In
Another common way criminals can get you at a stop light is by having a car in front and behind you. If you always leave at least half a car length in front of you, you will have more time to react and pull out and gun it. Don’t worry about hitting the car; just worry about getting trapped.
If you follow these three rules, you will be safer driving during the aftermath of an economic collapse with skyrocketing crime and times of civil unrest / riots. The other base you should cover is realizing that you may not be able to get home right away, and should have some basic supplies in your car to enable you to get by until you can get home…
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The debt based monetary system is dying before our eyes. The collapse in bond prices, currency volatility and the coming collapse in financial assets are merely symptoms of the underlying problem.
With money anchored in nothing of value the financialisaton of the economy has resulted in every asset being levered up multiple times. This works whilst assets are increasing in price but those price increases depend on an increasing money supply. At some point the expanding money supply results in savage inflation. The central banks are then faced with two equally unpalatable options. They can allow credit to contract and implode all assets resulting in insolvency and bankruptcy of most banks. Alternatively they can continue to expand the money supply, perhaps using it to bail out the insolvent banks, and risk an almost certain hyper inflationary collapse. The house of cards has been built to a height at which it is hopelessly instable.
I believe central banks will pick the hyper inflationary route. The £65 billion bond purchase scheme announced last month and the unlimited and unfunded energy market subsidies strongly suggest that the UK is already heading down this route.
The global banking cartels have clearly signalled their desire to move towards Central Bank Digital Currencies ( CBDCs) as the new monetary order. As a system CBDC’s will still be under the control of those who have destroyed existing currencies. For that reason are likely to fail the fundamental confidence test that all money must pass in order to be accepted as a medium of exchange.
CBDC’s provide the infrastructure for a potentially tyrannical digital control matrix. CBDC money is programmable and decayable. The issuer can control how and where it is spent and can issue it with an expiry date. At an even more sinister level bank balances can easily be frozen or even cancelled for those who oppose a particular part of the prevailing state narrative. Trudeau’s freezing of bank accounts of any Canadians who donated to the Truckers campaign shows the willingness of some existing leaders in the supposedly free world to travel down that dystopian road.
Cash is the antidote to CBDC tyranny. Continuing to use cash represents a simple but highly effective step we can all take to guarantee our future liberty and freedom. The signs are good. In the UK many small businesses are reporting an upswing in cash payments. The Bank of England Weekly Report shows cash in circulation increasing from £73 billion in February 2020 to £87 billion last month.
But cash is much more than just the guarantor of our freedom. Cash provides the opportunity to build a robust, resilient, and inclusive economy. An economy in which high streets prosper and in which towns aren’t some identikit version of each other. An economy in which food and goods are mostly produced locally. And most critically an economy which doesn’t collapse every time there is a minor contraction in money supply.
The use and reuse of cash is the key to realising this economic dream.
Cash spending has a number of key attributes that are fundamentally different to digital spending
It tends to be spent locally.
It’s frequently used in transactions that contain a high labour component.
It is more frequently spent in small independent businesses than large multi national chains- many of whom are now banning cash transactions.
It provides some protection against the over leverage and financialisation of the economy. If you spend on a credit card the debt you create can be resold many times over before you settle the outstanding liability. Not so with cash.
By promoting the use of cash we promote transactions that support employment in diverse local businesses. We also get an economy that is more robust and able to withstand inevitable cyclical downturns.
Cash still needs help. Digital convenience combined with the tax avoidance employed by many multi nationals make this an uneven playing field. Government has a legitimate role in leveling this playing field. At Freedom Alliance we understand how that could be done. We propose that :
Cash retail transactions should be exempted from all taxes.
Employers should be able to pay up to 10% of wages in cash and in so doing avoid all payroll taxes.
Benefit claimants can elect to have one two year period each during which any cash earnings do not impair their benefit entitlement.
We need to ensure that cash remains circulating in the economy. If the employees receiving 10% of their wages in cash simply walk down the road to the bank and pay it in to a digital account there is no benefit. Consequently there should be a transaction tax on cash deposits to the banking system. This will partially offset the taxes foregone by the other measures. Any remaining shortfall would be recovered by additional taxation on purely financial transactions.
The additional cash in the economy will increase cash handling and security costs. But again local employment makes up much of that cost . This is fundamentally different to digital transaction charges that frequently end up being transferred abroad.
Cash in its current format is clearly still an expression of unbacked fiat money. To complete the economic transformation we propose two further measures.
Firstly notes and coins in circulation are backed by hard assets ensuring that they maintain value over time. Secondly the worst excesses of private bank money creation should be constrained by removal of limited liability from the banking sector. The likely outcome of the second measure will be much smaller, focused and more accountable banks.
This guide below can help you in a survival situation
If society collapses, you can bet that the foods the pioneers ate will become dietary staples
Preparing to survive in a post-SHTF world is challenging. More than anything, we have to realize that we’re preparing blind. We don’t know what sort of disaster we’re facing or what the post-disaster world is going to look like. With those two pieces of information missing, it’s hard to know exactly how people will react and what they will do. Therefore, we must prepare for the worst.
There is a wide-ranging assumption that public servants will abandon their posts. I would have to say that this assumption is totally unfair. We live in a hurricane zone and my wife is a city employee. She and her co-workers are required to agree that they will stay on the job, protecting the citizens of the city and keeping city services running, both during and after a hurricane. While a few might abandon their posts if things get bad enough, most seem to be people who will follow through on that requirement.
But what about a worst-case scenario? What about in the wake of an EMP or other grid-destroying event, which would result in a true breakdown of society and the banking system; a situation where they would no longer be paid to do their jobs?
That’s a difficult question. For some, like my wife, their positions probably wouldn’t exist anymore. But the real issue here is emergency workers and law enforcement officers. We would greatly need their services in the wake of such a serious disaster. Would they stay on the job or would they feel they had to abandon their posts to care for their families?
There’s really no way of knowing the answer to that question until the time comes. It is a very individual question, so I imagine that some will stay, while others leave. Whether they stay or leave will largely determine whether they are friend or foe.
Police officers tend to be highly disciplined individuals, much like soldiers. In fact, many start out as soldiers, then move to law enforcement when they get out of the military. As such, they are largely people with a high regard for the law. Oh, there are the few bad apples; but despite stories saying otherwise, there aren’t many of them.
Those who stay on the job will be concerned with maintaining law and order in the worst of circumstances. They will also be subject to the politicians who are still in place over them. This means that if those politicians declare martial law, they will most likely enforce martial law, unless they believe that to be an unlawful order.
This could get sticky. As we saw during Hurricane Katrina, declaring martial law would probably mean they would be confiscating guns as well. That would put the police in the position of appearing to be the enemy in the eyes of any Second Amendment supporter. Whether or not they actually became an enemy would depend on how you, I and other gun owners would react to them. If we use force to reject their orders to turn over our guns, they will use force in response. That makes them our de-facto enemies.
The Cops Who Abandon their Posts
Some police officers may choose to abandon their posts, especially if they feel that their families are in danger. In that case, the question is what they will do to protect and care for their families. While there are very few bad cops out there, there is always the possibility that a cop will turn bad in such circumstances, out of desperation to take care of their families.
These people will be dangerous, because they will be able to present themselves to the public as law-enforcement officers, when in fact they are acting like criminals. There could even be some cases in smaller communities, where the police take over, much as warlords take over in times of anarchy. Should that happen, the police in question would be extremely dangerous.
It would be our duty, in such a case, to stand up against the police. But here’s the problem. How do you tell if what they are doing is in the public interest, or just in self-interest? If they are acting in the public interest, our duty is to support them, so we need to be sure they are the enemy, before treating them as such.
The National Guard
If military forces are called out to help gain control, it will be the National Guard, not the active military. US law prohibits the use of US military forces within the borders of the United States. Even if politicians in high places wanted to use the regular Army, it is doubtful that Army officers, all of whom know that prohibition in the law, would allow it.
But state Governors can call out the National Guard to help law enforcement in maintaining law and order. It’s not unusual for this to happen in the case of natural disasters. I would say that we should expect it to happen in a true SHTF scenario.
National Guard forces are US Army reserve soldiers and formations, which are “owned” by the governors of the several states. They serve a dual role, both as state owned military forces and reserves for the federal forces. If called out in a disaster situation, they could serve either to support law-enforcement or to provide disaster relief. In either case, they would be armed.
Should martial law be declared, it is highly likely that the National Guard would be called out. If guns are confiscated, they are the ones who would most likely do the confiscation. They would probably be as polite as possible about it; but if they decided to obey that order, they would do their best to fulfill it.
However, the National Guard, like other military forces, is made up of predominantly conservatives. There’s a very good chance that they would refuse an order to disarm the population. Military officers swear an oath to uphold the Constitution and they would likely see the disarm order as a clear violation of the Second Amendment. As such, it would be their duty to refuse that order.
UN Troops
Of all these options, UN troops is the most dangerous. Any decision to use UN troops would have to be made at the federal government level. Were such a decision to be made, the troops which would be brought in to help maintain civil order would not be American troops. They would be unfamiliar with our culture (other than what they had seen in movies) and unfamiliar with our laws.
To these troops, a firearm confiscation order would seem perfectly reasonable, especially when you consider that they would probably come from a country where they don’t enjoy our Second Amendment protections. There would be no appeal to them on the grounds of our Constitution.
Should this happen, refusing an order to turn over your guns would be dangerous. The only thing that would protect any of us is the fact that there is no federal gun registration. Even so, there are states which require a permit to own guns, as well as concealed carry licenses which many of us have. That would give them a starting point for where to look.
Getting into a battle with armed troops is foolish. In such a situation, the only practical recourse is to hide all your guns where they won’t be able to find them, with the exception of a few, which you could then allow them to confiscate, making them think you’ve obeyed the order.
Regardless of the specific situation we would end up encountering, chances are that any police or military forces which were still in operation, would be there as part of whatever government managed to survive. Unless such forces decide to go rogue, we can count on them being there to help.
That doesn’t mean they’ll be our friends though. Unless you know them personally, they will look on you with suspicion, just like they will everyone else. Anyone carrying a weapon openly will be suspect. That doesn’t mean that they’ll hassle you, take away your weapons, fire upon you or arrest you; it just means that they will be watching to make sure that you aren’t a problem that they need to deal with.
The best thing you and I will be able to do in such a situation is to keep ourselves below the radar, so that we aren’t noticed. If we are not noticed, hopefully we will be left alone.
Should orders go out to confiscate any supplies that are stockpiled, it would probably be a good time to put our bug out plans into effect. Hopefully, we’ll all have a cache of supplies elsewhere, so that when we lose the supplies that we have stockpiled at home, we’ll still be okay.
This guide below can help you in a survival situation
If society collapses, you can bet that the foods the pioneers ate will become dietary staples
It is not likely that your grandparents, parents, teachers, spiritual counselors or even your government have taught you how important it is to be prepared for an emergency, disaster or catastrophe. There is more than a 90% chance that my statement is accurate based upon numerous surveys conducted recently to determine how many Americans are prepared for an apocalypse. Was I wrong, or are you by chance part of the 10% that is totally prepared for a catastrophic change in your world as you know it?
If you are not, than let me assure you, based upon the most recent predictions of scientists, meteorologists, seismologists, geologists, volcanologists, physicists, astronomers, geophysicists, oceanographers and epidemiologists, you should be storing up a few extra cans of beans.
Why is it that only the Boy Scouts of America have a motto, “Be Prepared”? They also have an aggressive training program that teaches young boys survival, from the age of six, covering every scenario imaginable from surviving in a wilderness to staying alive at sea. They are taught how to tie dozens of knots, build a shelter, find water and food, and even find their way without the use of a compass. For every skill set they learn, whether it be swimming, mountain climbing, skiing, archery, rifle skills or how to start a fire without matches or a lighter, they receive a “Badge of Merit” to sew on their uniform sleeves or a sash worn around their neck and across their chest.
As they accumulate these merit badges they automatically are advanced to higher levels or ranks. These recognitions start in the Cub Scouts. And no matter what age they join, the Bobcat level is earned first by all Cub Scouts, then Tiger for 7-year olds, next level Wolf at 8 years of age, followed by Bear. Ten year old boys become Webelos, followed by fourth grade Arrows of Light. Next is graduation into Boy Scouts with advancement ranks of achievement being Scout, Tenderfoot, Second-class, First-class, Star, Life, and Eagle. Eagle Scout is the highest rank to be attained in the Boy Scouts. Since the Eagle Scout rank was introduced in 1911, more than two million young men have earned this highest rank. The Eagle Scouts are taught leadership and social skills.
If you ever wondered why most Boy Scouts grow up to become prominent citizens, consider the organization’s framework, part of which is the Boy Scout Oath or Promise: “On my honor, I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; to help other people at all times; to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight.” So what is this scout law they are sworn to obey? The Scout is to be:
· Trustworthy
· Loyal
· Helpful
· Friendly
· Courteous
· Kind
· Obedient
· Cheerful
· Thrifty
· Brave
· Clean
· Reverent.
Wow, “… to do their duty to GOD and their country… ” The Scout Oath and Promise is about the only place the Godless pagan judges and atheists haven’t removed God entirely.
However, I digress. Why have I bored you with the history of the Boy Scouts? Because the Boy Scouts are one of this nation’s vertebrae that help support its rapidly disintegrating, decaying backbone. Let me help you put all this in perspective. The proverbial feces is about to hit the fan, according to all the experts; and less than ten percent of this God-forsaken country is prepared for what is coming. Sorry, but the light you see at the end of the tunnel that you think is daylight is actually the headlight of an out-of-control locomotive bearing down on you. Americans are totally spoiled, they are not totally prepared. The early pioneers did not have a Costco or Ralphs, clothing or hardware stores, electricity, appliances, cars, roads, pharmacies or hospitals. Did I mention Starbucks? They had no choice but to become one with each other and nature in order to survive. They learned quickly to prepare for natural disasters, droughts, and long freezing winters and always be prepared for that inevitable “coming storm.”
Americans have never been taught how to work together at common tasks or major community projects such as building a church. Trust me and the experts when we say it is not a matter of if a disaster is coming, it is only a matter of when. The storm is coming! When it does you will want to be totally prepared, or at the very least have a Boy Scout nearby to share with you what he knows about survival.
If there is a major earthquake in California, it could trigger other faults such as the Madrid Fault in the Midwest, affecting seven states: southeastern Missouri, northeastern Arkansas, western Tennessee, western Kentucky, southern Illinois, southwestern Indiana and northwestern Mississippi.
Experts say Mt. Saint Helens is ready to erupt again, along with Mt. Rainier and the Super Volcano, the Caldera in Yellowstone National Park. (Hundreds of tremors this year in a 100-mile diameter of the Caldera. Do your own research and you will learn that any of these pending events along with an attack on our electrical grid from the sun, EMP weapon, or terrorist will plunge our country into darkness and total chaos, with millions perishing. Most of the casualties will simply result from being unprepared, lacking the simplest supplies, adequate water, food, medical supplies, alternate ways to cook, stay warm, etc.
If I have in anyway motivated or persuaded you to do your own research on survival preparedness, please understand, preppers on the internet can be your best friend or your worst enemy pertaining to survival tips. Many have an ulterior motive or agenda, trying to sell you something on their website. I spent hours trying to find an unbiased website regarding the most critical survival supplies or gear to share with you. I found dozens of websites claiming they have the perfect top 10 or top 20 list of the most important things to have in a natural disaster. What a joke! The 10 or 20 items they list are simply what they are hoping to sell you.
What is sad or actually pathetic is, most don’t even have water on their list! Water is the single most important critical component determining life or death. The average healthy person can live 50-80 days without food, (depending on stress level) but will die in 3 to 5 days without water. I personally fast on nothing but distilled water every two years or so for a minimum of 21 days, and every three years for 40 days, water only. I even went on a 60-day fast. Fasting cleans out your body and gives it a chance to rest. Imagine, most of the lists don’t include water or it is at the bottom of their list in a quantity of a few liters.
You should always have three to six months of both food and water on hand. For the sake of argument, let’s say nothing happens in the next ten years. What is the worst case scenario? You have two years’ worth of food to eat over the next two years and you store up two more years of fresh food. Now, what if something does happen? Case closed!
What’s better than simply having stored water, is to have a way to purify water in case you run out or gangs steal your stored water. In emergencies, disasters or catastrophes, the Red Cross, Homeland Security and FEMA all recommend electric or non-electric water distillers, not filters This is because the distillation process kills viruses, cysts, all bacteria, parasites and will remove toxins and most all chemicals. If you lose water pressure, water filters and RO units are worthless; and simply boiling water only kills bacteria. Distillation removes all contaminates. With a non-electric water distiller you can purify water from any polluted water source, river, lake, pond, pool, drainage ditch, even a sewer or the ocean. Since water is the most important survival item, if all you had was a non-electric water distiller you could easily trade water for anything you need! There are several non-electric water distillers on the internet, and there is one that is totally automatic and produces 18 gallons per day using any heat source. I figured that out to be six cups per day for 48 people. Google survival stills and compare.
When it comes to food storage, remember: you’re not thriving, you’re surviving… A great long-lasting survival food is rice and beans. Together they have all the nutrients the body needs — protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, etc. Plus, one cup of rice cooks into three cups, the same with beans. They both store forever in a seven gallon plastic bucket with a water-tight, airtight screw-on Gamma Lid. Two 7 gallon buckets of both rice and beans supply one adult with a year’s supply of nutritious food (about 50 lbs.). Survival websites want you to spend thousands on freeze dried gourmet food in Mylar packages. For $20 at Costco you can buy 50 lbs. of rice and 50 lbs. of beans that will last one adult a year.
You should have warm blankets or sleeping bags in case you’re forced to leave your home and sleep outdoors. A tent would be good and a tarp to pitch it on. You need a first-aid kit, extra batteries, flashlight and/or lantern, fire starting tools, lighter, matches, Ferro rod & striker, a way to cook food, mess kits, solar oven, propane single burner stove with a dozen 1lb tanks (you can cook on campfires when you run out of propane). Have a backpack with items like a knife, can opener, hatchet, rope twine or Para cord, crank radio/light/cell charger. Get a complete list for a Bug Out bag on the internet. Please research getting totally prepared for the next inevitable emergency or disaster. Watch National Geographic’s “After Armageddon” on YouTube and ask yourself, what would you do in that same situation or would you have prevented it?
Interpreting the Times
Jesus said to the crowd, “When evening comes, you say, “It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,” and in the morning, “Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.” You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.
As a result of developing and installing America’s first drinking water vending unit, “Distillation Station” in 1976 at Bill’s IGA store in Brooklyn MI, I’ve dedicated the past 40 years to learning about the health benefits of distilled water. My main focus has been studying water and its relationship to our metabolism and sharing that knowledge with all that will listen. My second goal has been to develop the first stainless steel fully automatic non electric water distiller that would purify over 18 gal/day of any polluted water using any heat source. Mission accomplished!
This guide below can help you in a survival situation
If society collapses, you can bet that the foods the pioneers ate will become dietary staples
When discussing matters of national security, the economy is hardly ever a topic which is raised, except to say that the cost of defending our country is too high. With billions of dollars a year spent on branches of the government which are responsible for the safety of every American, defense and national security are definitely huge portions of the country’s yearly budget. However, it appears as if that money is indeed being spent wisely. Of course there are areas of the Department of Defense and other agencies which have some superfluous spending, but when one examines the overall spending on homeland security, we’re still coming out on top. A study conducted by Steven Weber and John Zysman out of the University of California, Berkeley, examined the economic impact of security treaties in Europe. What they found is that proactively protecting the United States is actually less expensive than dealing with prolonged security concerns. In other words, it’s cheaper to fix a problem before it becomes a problem, rather than trying to fix a leak in a dam.
With this piece of revealing information in hand, it is clear that the United States must ensure that it continues to be ahead of the game when it comes to defending the homeland. A pivotal piece of this puzzle is the training of new individuals who can become part of this solution. There must be an open stream of funds available for those who wish to peruse national security courses and/or counter terrorism training. Those students, the next generation of America’s defenders, will herald the way, not only for continual safety of the homeland, but economic stability as well. To this point, the United States military has done a very good job at protecting the continental United States from attack. With the number of enemies worldwide, the number of attempts and the amount of animosity towards the U.S. in the world, having the events of September 11th as the only major glaring failure is remarkable to say the least.
A continued and sustained monetary effort to support national security courses and counter terrorism training is one of the main keys to success of national security going forward into the future. America has always had a strong educational lineage and so it is no surprise that when it comes to teaching national security courses and counter terrorism training, there are numerous institutions which excel at this task. In addition to the merely the financial support offered by the government, more of the reputable academic institutions need to branch out into this specific area of study, bolstering their faculty with time-tested and experienced individuals whose expertise can be passed to the newest generation. Doing so, even though it will take an initial financial investment, will prove to make the nation safer and save money in the long-term. Very few things in life are truly considered a, “win-win” situation, but when it comes to the investment in our national security, there are only benefits to be found.
After an economic collapse, the aging infrastructure of the electrical power grid is likely to get less and less maintenance, repair and upgrades. This means that an already stressed power grid is going to become less reliable and we will be more prone to having power outages and even rolling blackouts during times of peak demand.
Even if there is no actual economic collapse, we know that the economic situation has put a strain on all utilities and infrastructure, as there is less money to do the maintenance and repairs that are necessary.
So if we know that we have an aging electrical power grid that is increasingly susceptible to failure, and an economic collapse is on the horizon that could make the situation even worse, what can we do about it?
Instead of waiting for something to happen and then complaining that we are helpless victims, we can be proactive and take action to be prepared for what is coming. Let’s look at some alternatives to being a victim.
First of all, you can educate yourself about the alternative methods of providing power to your home during an outage. While purchasing an emergency backup portable generator is what most people think of doing, many people either don’t have the $500 to $800 to lay out for that purchase. In addition, storing gasoline may not be an option, especially if you live in the city and have a small lot, or worse yet, if you live in an apartment.
For a fraction of the cost of a generator, you can get a small solar power system from a store like Harbor Freight that will at least supply you with light when the power goes out. Unlike flashlights, this system will last you indefinitely, as you don’t have to worry about replacing batteries.
Another thing you can do is purchase a small, indoor-safe propane heater in case the power goes out in the winter and you are without heat. You must be careful, as most heaters that rely on combustion are not safe for use in a closed environment, as they give off deadly carbon monoxide. However, there are a few units, and Coleman makes one, that are safe for use in the home.
Forward thinkers are always ostracized. It has been that way throughout history. Preppers are no different. We just ought to be thankful we are not living in the time of Socrates, or else we would be lining up for the hemlock.
From large scale civil unrest to the one of an EMP generated by the sun, it’s clear that preppers have been way ahead of their time. These topics were once deemed “paranoid”, or “delusional” but all of the sudden names in pop culture and even world governments are paying attention to these types of threats.
One such threat seems to be leading the pack and has shown up in many recent government reports. FEMA in particular seems to be concerned about the threat of a geomagnetic storm that would emanate from the sun and cause massive power outages across the planet.
A once classified FEMA report has surfaced and goes in depth on the level of preparations and concern that they have for a storm of this magnitude.
Understanding Reports and Unpublished Documents
The government buys ammo, writes and drafts lots of reports and documents that never really see the light of day. Now, we must be smart about that bit of information.
It’s important to take a look at these for what they are. There is a lot of research and science that goes into creating these drafts and reports. They are not a bunch of made up steps and stats.
However, some of these reports are also never going to be acted upon. That means, though the report may contain some very effective information, it’s not going to affect law or protocol in any way.
To be completely clear, what we have here is an unpublished document that was written by FEMA. It contains some very important information that confirms the government’s understanding of the EMP threat posed by our own sun.
The title of this unpublished report is very telling.
Mitigation Strategies for FEMA Command, Control and Communications During and After a Solar Superstorm
FEMA and NOAA’s Geomagnetic Storm Timeline
There are many takeaways from this classified FEMA report, but the geomagnetic storm timeline is the core of this document. This timeline shows that this report was put together with a tremendous amount of research and a focus on following the solar superstorm, from its start as a sunspot all the way crashing into the earth’s atmosphere.
G Minus 5 Days
This is the first spotting of the large sunspot on the surface of the sun. The focus is on large, complex magnetic fields on the surface of the sun. From this point we would have a 5 day window to prepare, but it would be very hard to determine the threat at this point.
G Minus 17 Hours
At the launching of a massive CME we are left with just 17 hours to prepare. Radio, radiation storms and geomagnetic storm warnings and watches are also issued at this point.
G Minus 16 hours 40 minutes
The solar radiation storm arrives at this time and we lose 15% of our satellite fleet due to solar panel damage. There could be greater loss and efficacy issues with GPS.
We would have about 20 minutes notice before this happened. “We” doesn’t necessarily mean you and I would hear anything.
G Minus 15 minutes
CME arrives at the NASA ACE Satellite.
There is no going back from this point. This is basically the point when we have an EMP on our planetary doorstep.
0 HourServices Interrupted
At the heart of the EMP fear is the loss of services. We all know that once shipping stops things get ugly fast. When the food and medicine are no longer being shuttled around the nation, people get hungry and desperate.
Water systems will also be affected by an EMP. Much of the process that cleans your water is governed by computers and machine systems. Those go away, too!
In this report they discussed something that was very interesting in terms of communications and infrastructure. It is called the “Cascading Loss of Last Mile Telecommunications over Time”. It’s a terrifying look at how over the span of 8 days all communications will fall, starting with communications from home telecom lines.
The diagram below offers up a telling scenario where this cascading loss takes its grip starting at the residential level and working its way through to the Central Office.EMP Recovery
The infrastructure needed to tackle EMP recovery is expensive and hard to make. That’s the deal. We are talking about things like oil cooled transformers that are 60,000 a piece and require special equipment to move around.
Special equipment that will likely not be EMP proof!
Recovery from an EMP is something of a pipe dream if we are honest and if the whole nation is affected. Maybe the military could bring up sections of the grid at a time, or maybe not. However, it really is more of a countdown on human life.
The survival of our society will depend on how many people die in the time it takes to recover from that EMP.
What to Make of all This Reporting?
There are two big takeaways from all these documents coming to light, research being done and even Donald Trump bringing the threat of an EMP to the forefront.
#1. People are Paying Attention
While we can all agree that our bloated government is full of people looking for a way to bide their time and get another day closer to pension, this keeps coming up. Grid down situations are a concern in the halls of government. I don’t think we can deny that.
Even the most cynical of us must agree that without electricity it gets much harder to collect taxes.
How far they will go to take action against an EMP threat is another thing entirely. However, we also have to be honest about our responsibility in this.
We the people cannot bray about small government all day and then complain that they aren’t 100% prepared to assist the public following a total grid down situation.
#2. A Prepper’s Responsibility
The second and more important takeaway from this report is that we have a responsibility to prepare and get as many others prepared as possible.
A widespread grid down situation is going to kill anyone who is not prepared for it. It’s even going to kill tons of people who are prepared for it. Now is the time to take action and make your action known. I really believe that us, preppers, can influence the world positively.
People might seem put off by the message but, trust me, they go home, and they think about putting up their own food and being ready for when disaster strikes.
If an EMP attack happened and you were on the other side of the country, what would you do? From time to time, my work required me to have to go out of town on business just like millions of other people each year. The distance and locations all vary with the need, but in a lot of cases, I am unable to be as equipped as I would normally be around my home town. In some cases, I travel internationally, but that is rare.
Sometimes I only travel an hour or two by car so I opt to drive. In this type of situation, I can take my Get Home Bag and usually a firearm (or two) with me. Most often it is several hundred miles away from home and to cities where firearms are not allowed. On business trips, it is harder to pack your survival supplies in sufficient quantities to last if some disaster happened and you needed to get home.
I started to consider what a person would need to think about and could possibly face if they were in a situation where an EMP attack, delivered by a warhead exploded over the US, total chaos ensued and you were forced to make it back home over a considerable difference.
In my scenario, the distance would be about 700 miles and the assumption with an EMP attack would be that there were not many electrical devices working. All cellular communications would be down as well as landlines were out of commission. TV and Radio networks had been taken offline even if some of the TV sets and radios themselves still worked. I don’t imagine every single electronic device in the world would go out forever, but it would be enough to create massive confusion, fear, and panic.
In addition to communication and access to news all access to money was cut off. Banks would slam shut and a bank holiday would be declared. Hospitals would quickly fill with the sick and injured and you would be on your own. How would you get back home and what would you need to consider if your home was 700 miles away and you had no survival supplies and no way to procure them.
Plan for an EMP attack before you travel
The average, healthy person on level terrain can comfortably walk about 20 miles in a day. In our scenario above, with no issues whatsoever, it would take you about 35 days to walk back home if you didn’t stop anywhere to take pictures. That is a very long time to be walking. There are a myriad of issues to consider in even starting a challenge like that.
Most backcountry hikers, who have plenty of gear and some expectation they are going to be roughing it, rarely set out on trips that long. Even backpackers, who hike the Appalachian Trail stop into towns, eat hot meals and pick up packages of goods they have stored along the way. How will you with minimal supplies even begin to hope to make it home alive? There are some items that I think you would need to have squared away in your mind first.
Should you stay in place or set out on foot?
What gear will you need?
How will you eat?
What route will you take?
An EMP attack could leave major metropolitan regions without power for weeks or years.
Should you stay or should you go after an EMP attack?
This will be the first mental challenge that you will be faced with and could determine if you will live or die. In all seriousness, the plans you make and more importantly your actions affect the situations down-line that you find yourself in.
We have all probably heard stories about travelers who had a “gut-feeling” that they shouldn’t get on a plane and the plane ended up crashing. Similarly, your “gut” is going to be screaming at you in a disaster. It is the well-known fight or flight response and you will need to figure out for yourself what you will be capable of doing mentally and physically before you set out on an expedition.
Hiking for over a month is a very monumental task that not a lot of people (including me) have any experience with. In days long past, a travel plan like this wasn’t so far out of the norm. We haven’t always had cars, trains and wagons to get us around and people walked. This is certainly doable, but for a lot of very good reasons, people didn’t live as long back then. Journeys of this scale take time, planning and skills.
Deciding whether or not you would even consider a trek like this is something you can do now. I know that I personally would try to make it back home to my family. I don’t know if I would make it, but I would be on the road somewhere. In my situation above, I would stick around a couple of days most likely to procure supplies, get any information I could, plan and prepare.
I think that a couple of days after an EMP attack everyone will be in shock, but that won’t last long. Eventually, people will panic and that is when you don’t want to be around. My wife already knows that if something like this happens, I am headed home but it might take me a while.
What are the chances of an EMP attack?
An EMP attack would be devastating to our entire way of life. If you stop for a second and think of just how many systems rely on electricity. From fuel pumps, to vehicles, to shipping and unloading machinery to refrigeration. Loss of electricity for a prolonged time could kill millions.
EMP is one of a small number of threats that can hold our society at risk of catastrophic consequences. EMP will cover the wide geographic region within line of sight to the nuclear weapon. It has the capability to produce significant damage to critical infrastructures and thus to the very fabric of US society, as well as to the ability of the United States and Western nations to project influence and military power. – The EMP Commission
What gear will you need?
As I said in the introduction, if I am driving anywhere, I pack a lot of supplies that would help me get back home in a disaster scenario like this. If you weren’t able to pack your Get Home Bag or any firearms, what would you do?
It helps to consider the journey back home and the different factors that you will encounter. Is this winter or summer? Will you have extreme temperature that needs to be planned for. What will you use for shelter? Security?
A good exercise if you find yourself in a scenario like this is to take stock of what you have. Empty your pockets of everything and conduct a simple inventory. When I travel, regardless of where I go I always have a bandanna, flashlight, multi-tool, and small hank of paracord. This is part of my everyday carry.
These items can really come in handy, but they wouldn’t be the only things I would count on to get me back home over 700 miles away. Depending on the season, I would try to acquire additional clothing if I needed it, but usually, I pack appropriate clothes for wherever I am going. What I don’t normally pack are clothes designed for living out in the woods for a month. Some modifications might have to happen.
A simple tarp and rope/bungie cords will provide shelter for you and will keep the elements off your head while you sleep. A big sheet of plastic would do the same. Is it the same as a nice backpacking tent? No, but it works and is lighter and speaking of lighter… You need an easy way to start a fire also.
Try to fit everything I needed into a standard size backpack that most everyone has. This way you will look just like everyone else headed home.
Great walking shoes that are already broken in would be a huge advantage. Actually, I think sturdy leather boots would be the perfect choice, but some people might have to hike back in dress shoes. If possible, I would look for boots as quickly as you can after deciding you are walking.
For security, you have to take what you can get if the grid crashes like this. At a minimum I would find a large stick or pole. Baseball bat would be my second choice but may be harder to find than a good old wooden stick. This needs to be sturdy enough to use as a walking stick or club to crack someone’s head open with if necessary. Additionally, it can be used to support your tent.
Money could either be worthless or crucial to you getting supplies in an EMP event. If you have your head screwed on tightly and have cash on hand, you may be able to run down to the sporting goods store and buy some needed supplies before you make your trip. When I travel I always try to have cash in my wallet. It isn’t enough to buy out the store, but could get me some crucial supplies.
I would caution you though to try and maintain a low profile. If you are all set up for a big backpacking expedition with the latest bag, gear and clothes you may be a target. Someone might want what you have (because they can’t get it) and try to take it from you. It’s better to keep a low profile and low weight will help the trip too.
I would try to fit everything I needed into a standard size backpack that most everyone has. This way you will look just like everyone else headed home.
How will you eat?
This will probably be the toughest part about a journey like this in my opinion. I think most people can walk long distances. Most people will be able to carry or find some relatively decent source of water, but most people won’t be able to find food. What do you do?
There is no way you could ever pack enough food to last you your entire journey. You more than likely won’t be able to set up traps like Bear Grylls and catch rabbits or fish from a stream with your pocket survival kit, but I could be wrong. I think a lot of people are going to be going several days at a time without food. Could you hole up somewhere and catch wild game? Of course you could and I am not knocking those skills. What I am going to try to do though is to get home as quickly as possible.
This may be where timing comes into play. Food from grocery stores will be wiped out in days. You could be one of the early birds and grab enough food to last you a week or so and set out. After that week, you will need to find food along the way. Will people have any to sell you or will there be some form of bartering set up already? I don’t know, but I think the sooner you can get home the better. As the realization that the power isn’t coming back on hits, people will be stingier with their food I imagine. The old rule is you can go 3 weeks without food but I don’t want to try and put that to the test.
What route will you take?
The final item to consider is how will you get back home. What route are you going to take to get there and this is where having maps will be invaluable for a couple of reasons. First, you want to plan your route and make sure you know which way you are going. I have on more than one occasion gone the wrong way and had to turn around and backtrack. Its easy to do this for twenty miles in a car, but if you are walking and realize you took a wrong turn, that could waste a day.
The second reason is I would use secondary roads as much as possible and not highways. I would also try to steer clear of major cities in my path. A highway is faster if you are traveling 70 miles an hour, but it might not be the most direct route you can take. Maps that show the secondary roads to your home will be good to have. Some may even be able to help you determine good places to stay. I would personally camp outside of cities and avoid people as much as possible, but I would want the flexibility to change that plan if needed. Everyone’s circumstances will be unique.
Hopefully, this was useful and gave you something to think about as you plan for your next trip. Please let me know if you have other suggestions in the comments below.
We don’t all get to choose where we live; at least, not the state we live in. For most of us, that’s determined by our work; we live where our jobs are. But what about when our jobs no longer determine where we live? Can that happen? It usually does when we reach retirement.
Granted, most people don’t move once they retire, but you’d be surprised how many people actually do. The area where I live has tens of thousands of retired winter residents who come down here to escape the cold weather “up north.” Some of those people come for the winter and just end up staying on, becoming permanent residents in the area. So if they can, you and I can too.
That raises the question of where we would go to retire, if we could go anywhere we want. As preppers, there’s more to that question for us, than there is for our friends and neighbors (unless they are preppers too). We obviously would want to go somewhere where we can live comfortably, even should a TEOTWAWKI scale disaster strike.
This is actually a fairly complex question, with a lot of factors involved. So let me see if I can thin it out a bit for you. I’m not going to tell you where you should go; but let me offer you a glimpse of states that you should avoid going to. I’m basing my decisions on the following criteria:
Population Density – The higher the population density of an area, the more of a fight for resources. This fight will probably hurt the poor, the aging and single mothers more than anyone, as they will not have the ability to fight. Survival of the fittest will take over, as people literally fight for the available resources. That’s enough to make many areas unattractive.
Average Annual Rainfall – We all know that water is going to be a problem in a post-disaster world. Areas with little rainfall and few rivers will be hard to live in. For most of us, the best way of harvesting water is probably going to be rainfall capture, so we’re going to need a lot of rainfall.
Political Leaning – While we all assume that government services and interference in our lives is going to be severely curtailed during a post-disaster situation, we have to think about the here and now as well. Many of the bluest states in the country are also the ones which are working the hardest to take away our Second Amendment rights. That alone is enough to say that those states aren’t a good place to move to.
Federally Owned Land – A lot of people talk about bugging out to the wild. That’s great; I have my own plans for that as well. But in most cases, the only practical place to bug out into the wild is federally owned land; national parks, national forests and other land under the control of the federal government. So states with little federal land ownership aren’t all that attractive for preppers to retire to.
Forestation – The most practical means of heating a home in a post-disaster world, especially one in which there is no electricity, is with wood. That means having a lot of forests available, where you can cut that wood. This leaves out huge swaths of the nation, such as the entire breadbasket, which is farmland, nor forests.
There may be other criteria which are important to consider; but I limited myself to those five. To me, those seem like the major ones which will affect a prepper’s ability to survive, both in a pre-disaster and a post-disaster world.
The Worst States
Based on that, here are my picks for the worst states to retire in, if you’re a prepper:
New York – I lived in upstate New York for a number of years and it is absolutely beautiful. There are miles and miles of hardwood forests, lakes and rivers. But even so, the state is one of the most heavily populated in the country. It is also one of the most left-leaning states, politically speaking, with some of the harshest anti-gun laws around. It would be a very difficult state to survive in.
California – In many ways, California and New York are copies of each other. Both have a high population and both are strongly blue. While California has a lot going for it, in the area of natural resources, it has the highest population of any state in the Union. We can expect many people to expand outwards from the major population centers, gobbling up everything in their path. I sure wouldn’t want to be in their path.
Florida – At first glance, Florida looks like a great place to go and a lot of people retire there. But much of the state is covered up by the Everglades. Unless you are going to learn how to survive in that harsh environment, it might not be a great place to be. The lack of forestation really isn’t much of an issue, as you aren’t really going to have to heat your home. But you are going to have to worry about hurricanes, which seem to have an affinity for the state.
Arizona – Another popular retirement state that’s going to be a mess in a post-disaster world. Arizona is extremely hot, even hotter than South Texas and the Florida peninsula. But there is very little water to be found. That alone is enough to put this state on our worst list. I seriously doubt there will be many people surviving in the heat of Arizona, without access to water.
Minnesota – Minnesota is known as “the land of 1,000 lakes” so there’s no shortage of water there. They’re pretty good in the forestation department too. So there’s actually a lot going for this state. But it and its neighbor Wisconsin have very high populations. Unless you could get way out in the boonies, it might be hard to avoid the crowds. Of course, way out in the boonies means the coldest parts of the state, so you have the problem of cold to contend with. That not only affects how much wood you need for your fire, but the very short growing season will make it hard to grow enough food to eat.
Granted, there are a lot of other states which we can rule out, based upon the same criteria. Pretty much all of both the eastern and western seaboards would be bad places to go, for the same reasons I’ve already mentioned. The trick is finding someplace that is good to move to.
My Picks for Best States
Everyone has their own opinion, but here are my top picks for the best states or regions for retiring in as a prepper. These choices were made based on the same criteria that I used for picking the worst states.
Eastern Texas – While Texas isn’t a perfect survival location, there are a lot of good areas in the Hill Country and eastern Texas where there is good forestation and water.
Idaho, Western Montana and Western Wyoming – This whole area is excellent; providing a lot of forestation, water, federally owned land, rainfall and good hunting. Although far enough north that cold would be a bit of a problem, I would call this the best area of the country to have a retirement home and/or survival retreat.
The Appalachian Mountains – This mountain range, passing through several states and changing names a number of times, is a great place to live. While there are some high population areas to avoid, there’s still a lot of back country, which would be ideal for our purposes. I’d avoid the Virginias though, for their political leaning.
The Gulf Coast – There’s a lot of good land in the gulf states, along with people who like to hunt and fish. While there really isn’t much government land to bug out to, there are lots of forests, lots of water and lots of game to hunt.
When I discuss the increased possibility of food shortages and food riots happening right here in the United States, people look at me like I have lost my mind. How could that ever happen in the richest country in the world where we have so much food we export it to other countries? The answer comes as a shock to many people.
Food Riots Are Not Always About Food Shortages
Food riots are about panic, not always reality. The best example is the insanity that happens every year with Christmas shoppers on Black Friday. The video clips of people getting trampled for an Xbox or a Barbie Doll are all over YouTube.
The fact is that there are plenty of gifts for everyone to buy, but the fear is that you won’t be able to get the exact item you want, when you want and at the price you want. This is what turns normal people into crazed Black Friday shoppers.
Food riots are all too frequently the same. The fact is that most Americans have a 3-day supply or more of food in their homes, and even if they missed a meal or two, they would be fine. However, when the news reports come out that stores are running low and panic sets in, we learn firsthand that stores have only a three day supply of food at best on the shelves, and they can get emptied in a matter of hours during a panic.
Food Riots Can Cause Food Shortages
So the fact is that very often, it is not a food shortage that causes a food riot. However, as crazy as it sounds, the opposite can happen. A food riot empties out store shelves and then suppliers become reluctant to ship food the next day, causing a real food shortage. Why don’t they ship the food?
There are two reasons that suppliers get gun-shy about shipping their food to the stores in such a scenario. The first is the obvious concern for safety for the drivers. Everyone remembers how during the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles the truck driver Reginald Denny was dragged from his truck and beaten half to death.
The second reason is that if the panic is due to fears of an impending economic collapse, then suppliers are concerned that they may not get paid for their shipments if their customers go under during the turbulent economic events that are just unfolding.
Or, even if the customer is rock-solid financially, the fact is that prices can easily skyrocket in this type of situation, and shipping the goods next week instead of this week could mean a huge price difference.
So now that we have looked at the mechanics of how food riots and food shortages can happen suddenly, the question we all have to ask ourselves is how stable and secure is our country’s financial situation.
If we are confident that our leaders have everything under control and the national debt and the budget deficit are no big deal, and nothing happening with the Euro will impact us here in America, then we have nothing to worry about and there is no need to take simple precautions to protect ourselves.
However, for most Americans familiar with our economic state of affairs and the way our leaders in Washington are dealing (or not dealing) with things, that is a big “if.”
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