Are you prepared?

[zeeba amoeba]

hey man I can tell some of you are looking forward to the collapse of civilization, it's not just fear but anticipation mixed with glee. No more cops, you can smoke and grow all you want, and no more pesky government. Probably free pussy from desperate starving women coming in from the cities. You are imagining building a little kingdom of one man, in a fort protected by natural defenses and firepower, and with maybe multiple women and quite possibly servants and soldiers working with or for you.

Well, I for one, would mourn the loss of the internet, and reliable electricity, and a civil society. But that's not to deny there wouldn't be certain compensations...

 

[Smurf]

Hey guys, I have been following the progress of this topic and love what I've read.

Here's something to think about......

Along with being producers of honey, commercial bee colonies are important to agriculture as pollinators, along with some birds, bats and other insects.

Bees pollinate almost all the fruit and veggies we eat: pumpkins, apples, cucumbers, blueberries, cherries, melons, avocados, almonds to name just a few, and they're significant in the production of seeds for asparagus, carrots, celery, onions and turnips.

In the USA bees are responsible for about 90 diff fruits & vegetables available.

At the moment, America uses 1.2 million bee hives in California alone for the pollination of almond trees, which pumps over $2 billion into the local economy. The bee hives are trucked in from all over the country. From what I’ve read Cali is the salad bowl of the US.

For the past 20 years, the honeybees have been bashed by a series of problems. Like all animals, honeybees have a series of disease problems. They have these diseases from fungi called chalk brood, for example, the wax gets invaded by this nasty little moth called the wax moth, everything in the hive turns to goo.. Now on top of this, in the past 20 years the American hives have been invaded by two species of mites and they are very devastating. One lives in the breathing apparatus of bees, those are the tracheal mites, and the other one is referred to as an ectoparasite, it gets into the wax cells where the bees have laid their eggs and it eventually eats up the entire larva.

The world expert on this predator is an Australian scientist, CSIRO entomologist Dennis Anderson, and he gave the mite its frightening name - destructor. After the varroa destructor has moved into a new hive, Dennis Anderson says, it strikes at the developing larvae, the brood.

Dr. Dennis Anderson: The mite reproduces on the brood of the bee, so it invades the brood, the female mite does. She enters the brood cell at a particular time; she then progresses on to produce a male offspring, followed by several female offspring. Those offspring mate with each other and live off the blood of the bee and develop into adults, and they don't kill the bee, they basically weaken the bee so that the bee actually emerges from the cell in a weakened state. But during the feeding, the mites can transmit viruses and other pathogens and as mite levels build up within the colony, these secondary pathogens actually break out of the holes that they're normally restrained in, and cause lots of problems and eventually can kill a colony.

When varroa strikes in a country, it first wipes out practically all wild bee colonies. And that leaves only a reduced population of severely weakened managed hive bees.

Varroa destructor


But now there is another dilemma... Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD)

Bee numbers on parts of the east coast and in Texas have fallen by more than 70 percent, while California has seen colonies drop by 30 to 60 percent.
They're now down to 2.5-million hives.

Winter 2007
"Approximately 40 percent of my 2,000 colonies are currently dead and this is the greatest winter colony mortality I have ever experienced in my 30 years of beekeeping," apiarist Gene Brandi, from the California State Beekeepers Association, told Congress recently.

Statement from April 2007
According to estimates from the US Department of Agriculture, bees are vanishing across a total of 22 states, and for the time being no one really knows why.

Statement from March 2008
Reports from Illinois make them the 35th state to have CCD

Bee populations throughout Germany have simultaneously dropped 25% and up to 80% in some areas. Poland, Switzerland and Spain are reporting similar declines. Studies have shown that bees are not dying in the hive, something is causing them to lose their sense of orientation so that they cannot return to the hive. Depleted hives are not being raided for their honey by other insects, which normally happens when bees naturally die in the winter, clearly suggesting some kind of poisonous toxin is driving them away.

About one third of all food is produced as a result of insect pollination, and the European honeybee, Apis mellifera, is responsible for about 80% of this.

"If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man," said Albert Einstein.

At least I know all you guys will be hand pollinating your fruit and veg that is of course if you haven’t considered your own bees by now. Aust is the only country that has not been infected by the Asian Varroa destructor mite, as it turns out we've sent $5 m of honey bee consignments to the US in the last 2 yrs. Not sure how long they can keep this up for tho, why?, because of the drought here, plus its only a matter of time before we'll have the same prob.

 

[hunt4genetics]

hey man I can tell some of you are looking forward to the collapse of civilization, it's not just fear but anticipation mixed with glee. No more cops, you can smoke and grow all you want, and no more pesky government. Probably free pussy from desperate starving women coming in from the cities. You are imagining building a little kingdom of one man, in a fort protected by natural defenses and firepower, and with maybe multiple women and quite possibly servants and soldiers working with or for you.

Well, I for one, would mourn the loss of the internet, and reliable electricity, and a civil society. But that's not to deny there wouldn't be certain compensations...

Seriously if you had the world that you just described,
would you really miss the internet? Whos says you can't have both?

I wasn't even thinking of those things, but the world you described is not half bad.

peace.

great thread here by the way.
good luck to all

 

[socioecologist]

The Social Security Story

The Social Security Story

Glad to see some folks here who actually see what's going on around them. The global economy operates on growth, and it needs oil to grow--but oil production has peaked, which means no more growth. This is why the global economy is contracting--this is the beginning of a new period of world history (and it will be rough until we come to terms with this fact).

The 2012 date is tied into the Mayan calendar, but that doesn't have a god damn thing to do with Social Security. Here's the short story on that Titanic government program:

Social Security (SS) operates by collecting payroll taxes from workers and employers (6.5% from each), then redistributing the funds to retirees. Obviously, this means that you need many more workers than retirees or the system doesn't work. Since the inception of SS, we have averaged a worker to retiree ratio of 5:1. As the babyboomers retire (starting this year--my dad, born in 1946, just signed up), the ratio will drop to 3:1. This means that we have a looming shortfall in the system. The projected date for an actual shortfall is supposed to be 2017. I think it will occur a year or two before that, as the projections were based (as always...) on an exponentially growing economy. Regardless, we'll have a shortfall.

But wait! Our benevolent government knew this would happen, so they stocked away previous SS surpluses from the good 'ol days of many workers and few retirees. This surplus is known as the Social Security Trust Fund--it is currently worth $4.2 trillion. This is enough money to bridge the shortfall from 2017 through 2042.

Or so Democrats and Republicans would like you to believe.

The real story is this: between 1980 and 1996, the federal government borrowed all of the money in the Social Security Trust Fund to pay for things. They replaced the actual money with US Treasury Bills; these are essentially IOUs from the government to the government. So in reality, there is no Social Security Trust Fund, but rather a very large debt obligation. As a side note, this debt is never included in official estimates of the federal debt.

Wonder why the Federal Reserve's response to our current economic meltdown is to print more money? By increasing the rate of inflation, they are reducing the actual amount of money they owe (to us via social security, and to all other holders of federal debt (i.e. T-Bills)). You'll always be able to collect social security, but how much good will $900 a month do you if a loaf of bread costs $1 million?

Peace and Good Preparation to those of you who have the foresight to see what's happening, and the patience to read more than one sentence.

SE

 

[basilfarmer]

maybe no internet, but definately shortwave radio talking

and, .22 ammo will be the new currency
solar panels the new comodity

medical knowledge & training/antibiotics/medicine will be more valuable than can be measured

and in the long term, herbal medicine



I uploaded a good book on survivalism. It's dated, but a classic ~ kind of like Nevilles Haze.

http://www.4shared.com/file/54325152/b46486a0/tappan.html


================
EDIT: socioecologist & smurf - wonderful info, thank you.

 

[zeeba amoeba]

Glad to see some folks here who actually see what's going on around them. The global economy operates on growth, and it needs oil to grow--but oil production has peaked, which means no more growth. This is why the global economy is contracting--this is the beginning of a new period of world history (and it will be rough until we come to terms with this fact).

The 2012 date is tied into the Mayan calendar, but that doesn't have a god damn thing to do with Social Security. Here's the short story on that Titanic government program:

Social Security (SS) operates by collecting payroll taxes from workers and employers (6.5% from each), then redistributing the funds to retirees. Obviously, this means that you need many more workers than retirees or the system doesn't work. Since the inception of SS, we have averaged a worker to retiree ratio of 5:1. As the babyboomers retire (starting this year--my dad, born in 1946, just signed up), the ratio will drop to 3:1. This means that we have a looming shortfall in the system. The projected date for an actual shortfall is supposed to be 2017. I think it will occur a year or two before that, as the projections were based (as always...) on an exponentially growing economy. Regardless, we'll have a shortfall.

But wait! Our benevolent government knew this would happen, so they stocked away previous SS surpluses from the good 'ol days of many workers and few retirees. This surplus is known as the Social Security Trust Fund--it is currently worth $4.2 trillion. This is enough money to bridge the shortfall from 2017 through 2042.

Or so Democrats and Republicans would like you to believe.

The real story is this: between 1980 and 1996, the federal government borrowed all of the money in the Social Security Trust Fund to pay for things. They replaced the actual money with US Treasury Bills; these are essentially IOUs from the government to the government. So in reality, there is no Social Security Trust Fund, but rather a very large debt obligation. As a side note, this debt is never included in official estimates of the federal debt.

Wonder why the Federal Reserve's response to our current economic meltdown is to print more money? By increasing the rate of inflation, they are reducing the actual amount of money they owe (to us via social security, and to all other holders of federal debt (i.e. T-Bills)). You'll always be able to collect social security, but how much good will $900 a month do you if a loaf of bread costs $1 million?

Peace and Good Preparation to those of you who have the foresight to see what's happening, and the patience to read more than one sentence.

SE

Good message. I don't think everything is quite planned out in conspiratorial fashion. Rather, the idiots in power just behave with the short-sightedness that we all have from time to time. If people would just vote for people who are smarter, instead of people that are *just like them*... another problem is that in order to capture the nomination of either party you have to be an intellectual whore and agree with the fringe special interest groups on a host of wacky things. It's probably worse for the Republicans because they have to kiss the butt of the religious right, which does not believe in evolution.

Another factor you left unstated is that the official inflation rate is and has been for a long time a joke. Today they say we still have a low to moderate inflation rate. If you have been to the grocery store in the last three years, you know that is not the case. Real inflation is close to 15% right now. Anything lower than that is just a lie. They factor in computer sales to keep the figures low. We all know computers double in speed every three years. So they figure that means the computer is 1/2 the price it used to be.

I'm pretty pessimistic about all the money I stashed in the stock market. I think the country is going to hell in a hand basket. We're going to see DOW 8,000 again before too long. I remember the projections we were given as workers of an annual return in the double digits. Most of us imagined we would make at least 8% a year. We never thought that we would actually LOSE money, but here we are, losing money in the stock market. Big money, too. Thanks Bush! At least you got to off your enemy Saddam. That's going to be a real comfort to me when I can't pay my medical bills.

 

[socioecologist]

Zeeba, I can't believe you actually believe in evolution--you know that shit is just a conspiracy perpetrated by the Illuminati, right? Where'd my foil hat go?

What gets me is that 63% of the US population doesn't accept evolution....we've created a society of mindless robots.

Yea, official inflation figures are a joke. It's the ol' core inflation vs. actual inflation story. The most important, undisclosed information that would give us a more accurate inflation figure is the M3 money supply vs. prices, but the feds stopped reporting M3 supply last year--just as it was starting to spike off most historical charts....

Peace.

 

[9Lives]

What gets me is that 63% of the US population doesn't accept evolution....we've created a society of mindless robots.

That is pretty messed up. Around here you are pretty likely to find atleast 63% of people who would claim they accept evolution. But would not mutter a single world when asked what evolution means..

^ Equally messed up really. But it is much easier to open someones eyes when they just don't have opinions. Than trying to reach someone who has very closed minded but strict opinions or more dangerous beliefs based of fairy tales that feel good..

 

[basilfarmer]

Sorry dude, I stole your foil hat, they put a gps transponder in mine.

"we've created a society of mindless robots."

Isn't that easier then, for people like Mr. Cheney & the Bush family to profit from war like it's a business?

I have always noticed people that smoke pot don't want to just go with the system/machine, they are a much harder group of people to indoctrinate with ridiculous dogmatic paradigms. Basically they are rebellious.

Maybe this is why govs don't like the herb, while cigarrettes remain perfectly legal?

What they want is a bunch of ignorant, beer swilling fools that are either working for the man, or at home watching Fox News (and believeing it) or spectator sports.

 

[9Lives]

^ Well you have to be just a little rebellious or have just a little common sense. To try something ILLEGAL THAT CAN KILL YOU!

It's rewarding to trust facts and know you are right than to just flow with the masses. There is safety in numbers (illusion) but it's boring as shit!

 

[Frogger]

so true....

 

[med_breeder]

Did anyone see the run on banks today? Over the weekend Freddie Mac and Fanny mae failed, the government has now taken it over. Today outside their branches, lines streached around the corner. The first $100,000 will be insured over that the government will pay 30-50 cents on the dollar. It looks ugly, and it's only july.

peace and stay safe.

 

[Kinimod]

I'm doing everything I can to get my shit together.

I have started an investment group with the idea of buying 200-500 acres within the next 3-5 years and building totally independant, low-tech, low-impact housing that will last a few hundred years and is built from natural, locally harvested materials.

I have a number of business ventures I am either running (Cannabrex) or starting up to try and fund my project. I have about 6-8 interested parties and am always on the lookout for like-minded people who think the Canadian Shield is a good place to be in the future (esp those who are rich and generous...hee hee hee).

These kinds of thoughts started for me when I was 6 years old.
On the first day of grade one, I was less than enthused with the prospect of going and asked my mother why I had to go to school. She told me the usual shpiel about having to get a good education so I could get a good job etc etc...

And it hit me all at once...in about 1.8 seconds.................is that it?

Is that all I am here to do....go get a job, work, pay taxes and die?
I hid in my closet, screaming hysterically.................... and have been recovering ever since.

That early experience and the thoughts it forced into my mind led me long ago to one major decision. I have made it my life's work to provide a place for my children where they can LIVE for a living, not spend their time dying a slow death working their lives away making some scumbag donkeyhonking nutsack in a suit richer than he ever needs to be.

Because I truely believe that the only way to free humanity from the malignant, exploitative profit-based paradigm we have been following for the last 5000 years is to make people who live differently, and value a life-giving as opposed to resource-hoarding lifestyle and philosophy.

Some people say having children in this fucked-up world is a crime, and we don;t need more people, blah blah blah....

I say bullshit.....we need children who value sitting in a 400 year old oak tree over a fucking video game or 'bling'. We need children who marvel at the wonders of this beautiful planet we live on, and can make the drastic lifestyle shift to low-tech, low-impact living. So have kids...and provide them with the infrastructure, knowledge and skill base to be truely free of the malignancy we call industrial society.

Maybe after 15-50 generations of people who live on that paradigm we can start maturing to the point where we can use our vast and deadly technological ability responsibly and with long-term vision.

I like your way of thinking.

 

[Dozja_Budo]

Im curently stock piling all the guns, mags, and ammo I can get my hands on. Bring it on. I got loads of grow equipment to.

 

[Smurf]

I've heard people have been stock piling gold & even silver, in lieu of paper money.

 

[DIGITALHIPPY]

i saw that the rice price is goin wayyyy up too. (not that i eat rice much)...but i see where this is going.

have people seriously lost the ideal of sef-sufficiencey.

im really about done w/ reliance on society.

...and im not kidding!

this thread should be on every persons computer, and we need to talk about it...

....i dont care if it is or not, but it gets me thinking.

sounds good, but even a 'backyard' garden of gargantuin perportions will only feed so many for so long...










the just need to buckle up, run a tight ship, and do anything to reduce expenses...

 

[southflorida]

being prepared......there is a saying the russians have....*If I knew where I would fall...I would have put some hay there....lmao*

you have to live your life from the point of creating something...not being prepared...lol...but that's what I think

in reality....you never really know what will hit your ass.....just make sure your fuc...ing brains are working and you know how to track reality as much as possible and see what is going on at the current moment

plus always know where you are going....what result you want to create in your life

between these two things (your future result (goal/objective and your current reality....there are steps you must take....and this is what everyone's day should consist of)

being prepared is just manipulation of reality...as if you *know* what will happen...but no one *knows*....just guesses....period folks

 

[hunt4genetics]

As bad as my economic situation is, if I had some herb it would be so much more better. My money situation is stressfull and fills me with great fear at times, but the weed really helps. I could never admit this to the anti-drug crowd that surrounds me.
Seriously if I had an 1/8... it would be like... what housing crisis!

For a plant to give a person so much joy... That in itself is a miracle.

 

[SweetNightmare]

I've heard a lot of shit about 2012... supposedly a meteor is gunna come close to hitting us...

 

[EatCannabisRaw]

Maybe it would be way easier to just come to terms with death and let yourself go when the time comes.