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Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Preparing For The Worst

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 Preparing for the worst

By francophile100     Monday, 7 Feb 2011, 9:19 am     1433 views     33 comments      Unwatch this post
I’ve been reading about the events in Egypt and I found myself wondering what would happen if the US entered some kind of period of social/political unrest. I was surprised at how quickly the Egyptian government could shut off the internet, close the banks, etc.
Thinking back to the period after 9/11 I was also surprised at how everyone here panicked, and how quickly habeus corpus, and civil rights in general, were tossed to the side like trash. I don’t have any faith that the US would act any better if something hugely disruptive came around again.
I was thinking of making my own “survival kit.” I’m soliciting comments as to what you would keep on hand, like how much cash (it’s useless in my savings acct. anyway). I plan also to get my radio operator’s license (HAM). I’m not going to get any guns (there are kids in the house), and I reject on principle that kind of Armageddon-head for the hills mentality, but I want to be able to lie low, communicate with my family, keep people safe and fed, and get out of town if the need arises.
I already have the basics of food, water, battery-operated radio, etc. for earthquakes, but I’m thinking about a more disruptive scenario.
What do you think?

33 comments on "Preparing for the worst"

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  1. Mr.FantasticMonday, 7 Feb 2011 at 10:15 am       top       quote       email this       flag
    APOCALYPSEFUCK has a PhD in surviving these type of socio-political impacts. I expect him to present his theories and findings in this thread anytime now.
    Personally I would forget about paper money (because of the hyper inflation that will occur once the credit strength of the U.S is gone from full rebellion). Store lots of ammo. It’s been suggested that 5,000 rounds is the minimum for defensive survival, but I’ve got at least twice that. Also remember that the ammo will eventually run out, and it will be too difficult to fish bullets out of gaping chest wounds, so buy a recursive bow and learn how to shoot it accurately. Always recollect your arrows.

  2. pkennedyMonday, 7 Feb 2011 at 10:15 am       top       quote       email this       flag
    The difference is the US bound together. Rights went away, because everyone said “That isn’t a right I use or really need, but if it’ll help the general good, I’ll give it up!” Now people are saying “Hmm ops that was a bit too far…”
    Don’t build a survival kit for that kind of idiocy, build one for earthquakes, floods, or whatever is the most likely to hit you. Keep it in your car, because it’s more likely you’ll get stranded in your car, find yourself in an accident or helping someone else who has been in an accident. If you were at work, at a park, restaurant, camping, you’ve at least got the kit with you.

  3. rpanic01Monday, 7 Feb 2011 at 2:30 pm       top       quote       email this       flag
    But in reality like Pkennedy said the best thing is to have a kit in you car with some good shoes. I keep all my camping/hiking/first aid supplies in sturdy container where it won’t get buried under to much debris when the major earthquake hits. You and I are the same on guns because of kids although sometimes I think of getting a revolver and just locking it in combo safe.
    Getting your Ham license might be fun I got one when I was a kid and I think it’s much easier to get now since they took the Morris Code portion out of it, haven’t used one in decades. Could get a prepaid Satellite phone with no month charges and just add minutes as needed if you want to blow some cash.

  4. American in JapanMonday, 7 Feb 2011 at 4:23 pm       top       quote       email this       flag
    I was going to start a post with a similar theme, but this one is close enough–
    How bad would things have to get in the US for Greek style protests or even Egypt style protests to take place? Some have suggested that merely making major cuts in food stamps amounts/numbers would bring the US to a similar state …

  5. TroyMonday, 7 Feb 2011 at 4:35 pm       top       quote       email this       flag
    Some have suggested that merely making major cuts in food stamps amounts/numbers would bring the US to a similar state …
    Depends on what happens at the state level, really. Cutting back on our $9B/yr prison industry is a double-whammy, putting more people out on the street who can’t get work, and cutting into the 60,000 employee-years the system is funding, e.g. a 10% cutback would cost 6,000 jobs theoretically.
    The state has $16B/yr to cut if we don’t get our tax rises passed this year. $16B would be at least a half-million people negatively effected (at $30,000 each — maybe twice that since that $30,000 generally involves a service provider and a state beneficiary), plus peak initial claims were in 2009 so these people will be running out of their 99 weeks any day now, which will raise the simmer temperature a bit more as this welcome influx of Federal money into local communities goes away.
    Throw in a crack-down on illegal employment in traditionally OK areas like food service, another click or two.
    I think the state is fucked and that’s one of the main reasons I want to move out, either to a doomstead up north or back to Japan, though a nice enough place down in southern OC might also work.

  6. American in JapanMonday, 7 Feb 2011 at 5:50 pm       top       quote       email this       flag
    I would hope the government (state and local) could steadily divert money away from “industries” with a low multiplier effect (i.e. prisons and the military) to stimulate those with a greater multiplier effect. I may be too idealistic here but that is one of the policy changes that needs to be done.
    @pkennedy
    >The difference is the US bound together. Rights went away, because everyone said “That isn’t a right I use or really need, but if it’ll help the general good, I’ll give it up!” Now people are saying “Hmm ops that was a bit too far…”
    Well said.

  7. lurkingMonday, 7 Feb 2011 at 7:02 pm       top       quote       email this       flag
    Just turn off Glenn Beck and you’ll be Okay.

  8. elliemaeMonday, 7 Feb 2011 at 7:33 pm       top       quote       email this       flag
    Just turn off Glenn Beck and you’ll be Okay.
    But don’t forget to pack extra chalk for your chalkboard. ;)

  9. American in JapanSaturday, 12 Feb 2011 at 9:08 pm       top       quote       email this       flag
    Algeria is now having riots apparently…

  10. ZlxrSaturday, 12 Feb 2011 at 9:39 pm       top       quote       email this       flag
    Even if we don’t have riots here - you can still have floods, fires, hurricanes etc.
    So we should all know where our important papers, photos etc. are. We should have a list of things to take in a hurry or evacuation - because you can never remember everything in a crisis.
    Also - in certain situations - if you leave or evacuate - there is a certain risk that your home will be broken into and robbed. Do you have safe places for valuables that you can’t take with you?

  11. elliemaeSunday, 13 Feb 2011 at 8:49 am       top       quote       email this       flag
    Z raises a point - if your house burns down, along with your computer, have you a backup for the important stuff? And is it in your house?
    I’m not worried about riots, floods, fires, etc. But when the alien ship lands in my (huge-ass) backyard, I am worried that they’ll land on my septic tank and crush it. Those suckers are expensive.
    I only worry about plausible things.

  12. TenouncetroutSunday, 13 Feb 2011 at 10:00 am       top       quote       email this       flag
    If our internet and television were to shut down over night. With in a week, our collective blood pressure would fall by 75%. Would we still be an angry rabble? Probably, but a more focused and coherent one, at peace with our selves.

  13. elliemaeSunday, 13 Feb 2011 at 10:45 am       top       quote       email this       flag
    Nah, we’d be freaking out due to lack of news,

  14. ChrisLAMonday, 14 Feb 2011 at 7:50 am       top       quote       email this       flag
    Radio, food, water, basic medicine, gas/oil for the vehicle. Batteries, flash light, gas lamp (gas to keep it filled). A tent (thats more for earthquakes, fires, etc…)
    Depending on your geographical location a rifle and a hand gun may be a necessity.
    Civil rights do get trampled upon very easily, even in our society. We still have the patriot act to remind us of 9/11. In Indiana (Fort Wayne) groups of locals got into a mob and started rounding up local Muslims and castrating them after news of 9/11.
    During WW2 this nation had concentration camps for Japanese. Shit happens, best way to deal with it is to be ready.

  15. APOCALYPSEFUCKMonday, 14 Feb 2011 at 9:46 am       top       quote       email this       flag
    Learn to love and use your bayonet. It may be the last friend you have before the meat is ripped from your body by starving hoards of howling neonazis.

  16. AustinhousingbubbleTuesday, 15 Feb 2011 at 9:29 pm       top       quote       email this       flag
    Rights went away, because everyone said “That isn’t a right I use or really need, but if it’ll help the general good, I’ll give it up!”
    You, sir, are a funny motherfucker.

  17. illustratethTuesday, 15 Feb 2011 at 9:32 pm       top       quote       email this       flag
    This last weeks economist (I think the one with the article about 3D printing) just had an article about the possibility of the internet being shut off in the U.S. and the basic conclusion was that it’s highly unlikely here, one reason being it would simply be a lot more complicated to shut it off her than it was in Egypt. (And even there they weren’t able to totally shut it off.)

  18. patbTuesday, 15 Feb 2011 at 9:48 pm       top       quote       email this       flag
    i would plan for a Katrina style scenario. Say a temporary disruption of civil society, and a slow painful restart.
    So 30 days food, Water Filters, camp stove or sterno, box of ammo,….
    Look if you want to plan for the dead rising, well, shoot, move north.
    but could we see major riots, like greece, or a hurricane hit and the government fold up for a while? sure.

  19. sybribTuesday, 15 Feb 2011 at 9:48 pm       top       quote       email this       flag
    But when the alien ship lands in my (huge-ass) backyard,
    I dunno about alien spacecraft, but I am sure the house I live in was haunted for the first year or two after we moved in. I don’t think it is haunted now.
    Do I have to disclose it when it comes time to sell?

  20. redriderTuesday, 15 Feb 2011 at 10:04 pm       top       quote       email this       flag
    Patrick….I appreciate you and your logical way of seeing things! Just like the housing bust….you are onto something and people should listen!!!

  21. htbrandonTuesday, 15 Feb 2011 at 10:19 pm       top       quote       email this       flag
    hey Patrick….move to Canada, buy a homestead near a river, stash some food away, it’s not bad there. Nobody will probably bug you…their too polite. Just make sure you like hockey!

  22. elliemaeTuesday, 15 Feb 2011 at 10:28 pm       top       quote       email this       flag
    I dunno about alien spacecraft, but I am sure the house I live in was haunted for the first year or two after we moved in. I don’t think it is haunted now.
    Do I have to disclose it when it comes time to sell?
    Finally! A sensible question.
    The answer is a resounding NO! Unless your house is actively haunted at the time of the listing (or the time you placed an ad, put a sign front, listed on Craigslist, nailed a sign to a phone pole, or painted “for sale” in florescent paint on your neighbor’s roof with an arrow pointing toward your home - and I recommend you wait until the neighbors are away to do this), you don’t have to disclose the haunting.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jThcc5lbfOs
    If a dead clown appears in the window signaling unspeakable evil, however, you might have to have a ready explanation. Might I suggest using the ex-spouse/stalker dressed like a clown excuse? It worked for me.
    ——————————-
    Seriously, it doesn’t hurt to be prepared for a snowstorm or other disaster. They don’t happen often, but when they do it’s vital that one be ready. I have a “fire kit” by my door during the summer months, living in the mountains/high desert. I have a weeks’ worth of medications and other stuff, you can’t be too careful.

  23. eoulimTuesday, 15 Feb 2011 at 10:28 pm       top       quote       email this       flag
    what kinds of food you guys would stock ?

  24. sybribTuesday, 15 Feb 2011 at 10:33 pm       top       quote       email this       flag
    francophile,
    there are all kinds of reasons for having a reserve, and it will come in handy when you least expect it. There was the time when both parents in the house got sidelined with the flu. Since there was a reserve supply of spare food that didn’t need cooking, the kids were able to manage.
    There’s the time when the refrigerator died during a nasty heat wave when I had to work double shifts (no time to shop for another one); stuff lasted a long time in the freezer since there’s always a block of ice in it so we had barbeque for a few days that time;
    The “cash stash” has been there in a nick of time for all sorts of stuff that came up, and was replaced the next day the bank was open.
    More than once the electricity has gone out after dark when kids had a heavy homework load, including during a storm. Had to go to someone else’s house where the lights were still on. A generator would’ve been nice. One of the homes on my street has a generator because they have a person living there who needs constant power for a dialysis machine or something such thing like that. It makes a large racket but when the power goes out, their lights are still on.
    Gasoline ! Remember, people died in the hurricane because they could not evacuate. Probably we won’t have a hurricane, but if the electricity is out from an earthquake or whatever then the gas pumps won’t work. I still rememeber seeing Jose Canseco on TV, with his babe-a-licious Esther Canseco, still wearing his Oakland A’s uniform, stranded when his Trans Am ran out of gasoline a filling station in Woodside where the electricity was out after having evacuated the World Series game in Candlestick Park when the 1989 quake happened. The TV reporters van also ran out of gas there, but had enough battery power to make a story about it on the TV news. Maybe there will be some other reason that we cannot even imagine right now that we’d have to evacuate. You’ll never know if you needed it till its too late. Keep enough gas in the tank for the evacuation.

  25. chachacharumbaTuesday, 15 Feb 2011 at 10:42 pm       top       quote       email this       flag
    I was thinking exactly like you Patrick, and will get myself a radio HAM license also learn the radio packet on how to hook up the laptop to it, I was dreaming about the “moon bounce” 15 years ago, I think 30 days of dry food supply and water filter is reasonable, and for self defense, few teasers at few hundreds thousands volts each well charged would be OK, may be even safer than gun and ammo, good pair of shoes ready in the car with blanket and battery for radio and light in a backpack ready to “jump” like the boy-scouts, in case of “disaster” (natural or social) I learned from my father in the “war time” that your life is more precious than anything else so “avoiding the elephant is not a shame”, just keep low profile and be in good health to be able to run away fast if all the roads are cut-off.
    Paper money in that situation would be worthless for sure but we still need few thousands in z pocket, thick enough to go unoticeable.
    Thank you Patrick for your clear vision, I was reading regularly to your website

  26. sybribTuesday, 15 Feb 2011 at 10:53 pm       top       quote       email this       flag
    During the Cold War I had a roommate who worked for a defense contractor in the Blue Cube when it was still part of the nuclear deterrent apparatus.
    They had “phone drills” where they have to be ready to go to work immediately. Like the Strategic Air Command, theoretically they’re supposed to respond as if every drill is the real thing. I suspected that he’d suspect when one wasn’t a drill. Of course, they’re not supposed to say anything, but he told me the clue would be if I saw him leave with an overnight bag. His girlfriend heard him say that to me.
    Some months later when I got home she was hysterical, because he left at a late hour to “go to work”, and took his overnight bag. This was as the cold war was winding down and peace was breaking out, so I didn’t pay it any attention but she was a nervous wreck.
    Some days later I mentioned it to him. Oh yeah, he said, he thought he’d stop by the 24 HR Nautilus he belonged to on the way home, so he took his gym bag.

  27. ssriTuesday, 15 Feb 2011 at 11:46 pm       top       quote       email this       flag
    I think it`s more of a mental preparation individually and as a group then material, though water and some basic needs would would be good to contemplate.
    Try getting rid of your Tv and ph, cell for a week, and see how you and your family will deal with each other. After that try cooking without electricity or gas for a week. You`ll get an idea of what you`ll need in both materials and mental capacity.
    Though its just an exercise I believe everyone will learn something about themselves and each other. Make everyone inclusive in the exercise so that they also can contribute to the ideas. This way if you are separated when or during an event, your children will not go into a dependency based indecision.
    research a good divorce attorney from the fallout of the above exercise in advance :-)

  28. bloginname33Tuesday, 15 Feb 2011 at 11:47 pm       top       quote       email this       flag
    I’ve worked in Emergency Preparedness and I can tell you that the most likely and most tricky scenario is simply a black out or brown out for more than 3 days. You don’t need a disaster or political unrest. Because we live in such a cashless society and no credit cards or atms or checks will be taken in a blackout, by day 4 charity will run thin, tempers will run high, and states of emergency will bring in Unified Commands aka Homeland Security and Marshal Law. That even makes Mayors uneasy.
    No money no diapers, food, medicine (and no drugs - so lots of unhappy, even more desperate drug addicts and that is not a small problem.) In China after the large earth quake, the black market was up in a flash collecting all the prescription drugs it could from regular families in return for cash (a) because China uses a lot more cash than we do and (b) because drug dealers have more cash than anybody.
    Maybe it will be difficult to turn off the internet but it won’t be difficult to turn off electricity. Sure, make friends with the people who have solar - or buy some yourself.
    And then there are the pumps. A surprising number of US cities rely on electricity for their pumps to keep water out of major roadways and downtown areas and subways that are all below water table or sea levels. You want to stop a city in its tracks - this will do it. Supplies not coming in, transportation within and in and out all down, logistics nightmare for emergency crews…
    I bet Enron could have given us an Egypt if they’d wanted to. ugh
    Have food stocks and in any emergency the FIRST thing you do after you are sure your immediate family is alright and your building is stable - is FILL YOUR BATH TUB. Always keep your bathtub(s) clean. You never know if you’ll need the water.
    You can survive:
    3 minutes without air
    3 hours of exposure (wet / cold)
    3 days without water
    3 weeks without food
    3 months without chocolate (never been tested tho)

  29. carlitorisingWednesday, 16 Feb 2011 at 12:11 am       top       quote       email this       flag
    I live in new york city. I always have. I hang out in a lot of really nice neighborhoods and many that are not so nice. Last week’s half-a-day Eastern European serial killer notwithstanding, there is very little you cannot talk/maneuver your way into or out of if you have some street smarts.
    I was in LA for the riots 18 years ago. BUY YOURSELF A GUN AND LEARN TO USE IT AND TEACH YOUR WIFE AND CHILDREN GUN SAFETY OR MOVE TO A DIFFERENT STATE.

  30. no2foreclosuresWednesday, 16 Feb 2011 at 1:18 am       top       quote       email this       flag
    The problem with JUST having survival or storage food is that eventually it runs out (I highly recommend that everyone have at least 3 months of supply for each member of their family–to give one and one’s family options as to what to do). But then what are you going to do when your survival/storage food runs out?
    As I wrote in another blog, the key to GD2 survival lies in community or even just a group of families, and in the means to produce energy and food locally:
    The key to energy and food self-sufficiency lies in small to medium scale alcohol production on the farm or farmland, as was done 100 years by most farmers throughout the Western world. With alcohol (or ethanol) produced, one can then use alcohol stoves, alcohol heaters, alcohol lamps, alcohol refrigerators, alcohol electricity generators, etc. to be completely energy self-sufficient. Growing veggies using the CO2 produced from alcohol production, and you can grow fish/earthworms/mushrooms using the left over mash from alcohol production.
    A 10 acre of land growing crops for alcohol (sugar beets, sweet sorghum, potatoes, cattails, etc.) using hydroponics and aquaponics can theoretically produce over $500,000 of food and fuel products! Think of 10 families banding together to do this. After the expenses and marketing and advertising ($120,000), the net profit can be divided among 10 families making about $38,000 each, and each family doing about 25 to 30 hours of work per week!
    That’s a killer job to survive and THRIVE during GD2!

  31. xlr8Wednesday, 16 Feb 2011 at 1:23 am       top       quote       email this       flag
    Here is a good place to get your supplies: www.redflarekits.com

  32. ssriWednesday, 16 Feb 2011 at 1:34 am       top       quote       email this       flag
    notoforeclosures, Thats the best idea i`ve seen so far. Farming your own energy along with your food.

  33. ohomen171Wednesday, 16 Feb 2011 at 2:45 am       top       quote       email this       flag       edit
    I do research for people on what if’s in the worst possible situation. I have had a few people refuse to receive my emails any more because they think I am the grim reaper. I am an American and my wife is from Argentina. We both survived Latin American military governments in the 1970’s. (Me in Peru and Brasil and Elena in Argentina where some 30,000 people were murdered.) We have survived economic crashes and hyper inflation. I would advise anyone to have the supplies you would need to ride an earthquake. I would recommend a few hundred dollars in cash. But do not keep thousands in the house. There is always a “jungle telegraph” that mysteriously operates. If you keep a big amount of cash in the house, thieves hear about it. The next thing that happens is a violent home invasion and perhaps your murder during the robbery. A foreign bank account would be helpful. Keep the balance $9,900 or less so you do not have to report it to the IRS (Failure to report a foreign bank account over $9,900 is up to ten years in Federal prison.) I would want a very stable currency. I would look at Norway, Sweden, Finland, or Denmark. You should also have a place to go in the countryside where you could “hide out” if things got bad in the big cities. (In our case my sister has a small ranch.) If you are richer or have strong ties to another country, set yourself up as a permanent resident in another country. Argentina has a lot of potential. I can recommend a law firm to help you. A satellite internet wireless internet connection should also be considered.

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