Posted on 05/14/2012 7:11:25 PM PDT by Kartographer
“Witching” or “divining” rods do work - for some people.
And the funny thing is, in my experience, only those who can do it believe that it works.
Anecdotally I believe it’s a genetic thing, having to do with our “conductivity”.
My dad could do it, my mom could not.
I can do it, my kids can do it, my wife cannot.
My sister can, her husband can’t, her kids can.
I bet if you asked the regular 1930’s Germany Jew,talked to any Argentinian in 2000 or what do you think if you told the people on the streets of Sarajevo during the 1984 Olympics what was going to happen to their beautiful city in just ten years time, do you think they would have believed you?
Here's the question: In case of an EMP, I won't have the chance to bug out and will be stuck in a suburban environment with people like mkleesma who didn't prepare. I am more than a little concerned that the civil authorities, as seen in the book One Second After, will attempt to round up all the excess food and make it community property. Which means people (see above poster) who didn't prepare will be the benefactors (for a few days) of my hard work...and I will get screwed.
Any suggestions?
Urban zombies don’t wander or roam. They wait to be fed.
Sitting on a vast hoard just turns you into a supermarket of free stuff. Think Branch Davidians.
“Vast Hoard”?
Me and my simple little garden? :)
If you keep good OPSEC, stay low profile, don’t go out when and if do try and make yourself look as dirty and as down trodden as the next person. The authorities will have their hands full and they won’t have the man power to do a massive house to house search and even if they did it would be in all likelihood fruitless as only 98 houses out of 100 would be likely to have any real food storage. The authorities will rely on ‘snitches’ and not all of them will be who you would expect. Just read some of the Prepper threads right here on FR and you will see there are ‘conservatives’ like mkleesma and others that would be more than happy to turn Preppers in.
Read their post post look at the anger in many of them and you can see that it’s not just the Libs that are shocked and angered by preppers.
Some want to bring God’s Armageddon into the discussion as if they know that it will be God’s will should some catastrophe befall us. Despite the fact that the history of man is full of direr times which were cause by nature or man himself. Man doesn’t need God to help them muck things up to a point were their fellows cry out for God to end it all and relieve them of their misery.
How many Jews do you think while crammed into a cattle car on their way to some death camp didn’t wish they had heed the signs more and prep for what was coming? What would the average citizen of Sarajevo had said if you told them during the 1984 Olympics what was going to happen to their beautiful city in just ten years time? How many Argentinians do you think would have believe what would become of their country?
I want to warn you who prep, beware these pseudo-conservatives they will be the worse in someways than many of the Libs. These types will want to punish you for being right and proving them wrong, they will even go as far as blaming you for the troubles because in their twisted way of thinking your prepping brought the ‘troubles’. I also warn you of those of the ‘its God’s will’ crowd who also will want to see you punished as they will see you as dodging God’s punishment, these two groups will be among the first to report you so as to make sure you too suffer. The first group because you proved them wrong the second because you try to escape what they see as the rightful wrath of God, as if they know the Lord’s mind.
OPSEC is not just for you Lib neighbors many people that you think as being conservative thinkers will be just as dangerous.
We have talked a lot about safety in numbers and that is so true, just keep in mind not all enemies sail under their true colors.
Beware these people listen to their words carefully and keep in mind this quote from one of my favorite westerns:
“Most times a man will tell you his bad intentions if you listen, let yourself hear.”
I would ‘listen’ to some of these post and take warning at what they are saying.
This is why I do no understand why these people go on doomsday preppers. Most of them are by far more prepared than I...but they have exposed themselves by their poor OPSEC. Sure...I don't know where they live...but their neighbors do. The authorities do. It's crazy. 1 month after a collapse or EMP...solar flare...they will be overrun by their neighbors who saw them on TV.
Thanks.
By the way I made an error in my post I meant to say that 98 house out of 100 will have NO real food storage.
OPSEC starts with kids and teens. Only my wife knows what I have prepped for. The kids are just myna birds, they will brag and blow things out of proportion.
But most importantly they will target the gullible children to turn in the parents for social awards.
This is the real life scenario unless you raise your kids out of the liberal indoctrination centers, on a farm or on your own. The zombies underground message network will react faster to food rumors than any gun cache.
Myself I may create a false food cache front, and those items will be treated to induce vomiting and diarrhea. Let them eat my cake and run, and they surely will run. Or go blind.
How about if I tell you “You’re gonna die”?
Are you going to tell me “Name an exact date, or go pound sand.”?
I think maybe times of prosperity are tougher on we human beings than the more challenging times. Look how pathetic we've become!
Good.
I like this idea.
When they come to raid you supplies, open the door and show them you have none and beg to go with them on their raids.(ahem)
After a while, they'll become suspicious when you're still the only fat guy in the neighborhood.
I am very sorry to hear that. I'll say a prayer for you this very day, in hopes that your situation improves and that all burdens are lifted. :)
No spring chicken here myself - and my own prospects would not be that good in the event of a collapse. I'm just trying to help out the three young men that I'm leaving in my wake.
I posted this nine years ago:
Its dramatic presentation of the torments that await the non-prepping world give the serious prepper a gratifying glimpse of the coming vindication!
Five gold C-rations for imagination and barely suppressed rage! Bring the whole family!
I have my own moral code that is based on what I think is important, and I follow that more than any rule, law, or policy. I take pride that anyone that wants to know how I will react to a situation (speaking of moral situations not tactical) can normally guess my answer if they understand my basic precepts:
1. I am a Christian, so I do not have to live in fear of the unknown. Life may be hard and may end badly, but my future is assured.
2. I don’t want the manure to strike the air oscillation device. I don’t want to be proven right. I want my food storage to hit its shelf life unopened. But I feel better knowing I have food insurance.
3. I do not live in fear, as an acquaintance used to say “They can kill me, but they cannot eat me, and if they do, I hope they get diarrhea.” I prep for hard times because I know historically it can happen, and statistically will happen again.
4. I take reasonable precautions based upon my own risk assessments. And then I get on with my life. As situations change, I may spend some time tweaking plans as I watch current events. But life happens, things break, I fix it, and move on.
5. Bad things happen. I cannot control what happens, but I can control how I deal with events.
6. I don’t deal in conspiracies, men do evil things on occasion, and groups of evil men do bad things, but the shear amount of people that would have to be quiet to pull off a “shadow” government is impossible for a bureaucrat to manage. These guys cannot figure out how to pay their taxes or keep from getting their affairs out of the papers. I work in a bureaucracy, and I know exactly how ineffective they can be at keeping secrets. Every time someone sends an email out FEMA Red lists or prison camps it only hurts our community.
7. I am the only person in responsible for me. No one else is responsible for my actions, safety, or future. If I want to be well fed it is my duty to go outside, find food, kill it, and drag it home.
8. I avoid ethical spirals, its better to admit you’re wrong up front and apologize rather than hide it and play the “big lie”. I’d rather take a small lump up front than a huge hit later for hiding my mistakes.
9. I don’t know everything, and I cannot do everything. Our world is complex and integrated. To be prepared is to have a network of people who can fill in the gaps – not only physical but also spiritual. Having trusted friends multiplies your joys and divides you pain.
10. Violence sometimes IS the answer. If someone is raping your wife, asking him to please stop is not as effective as a .45 caliber bullet traveling at his face at 1041 feet per second. If you are unwilling or unable to fight for your beliefs and your liberty, you don’t have “rights” you have polite requests.
11. Violence is not ALWAYS the answer. I won’t kill over “stuff” a TV is not worth a human life. However, if a person tries to steal property that impacts on my life safety – food, weapons, etc – then I am justified in using force to protect what protects me.
12. Skills beat stuff. I love gadgets and new toys as well as anyone, but stuff can be stolen, lost, or broken. What you carry in your mind and heart are things that cannot be lost.
13. Be flexible. Things can be used outside of their intended usage. Things change. You should be able to think outside the box once you understand the reasons for the box.
14. Be rigid. There are absolutes. No matter how ugly life gets, what separates the human from the animal is our ability to distinguish right from wrong. Sometimes, the right thing is the one thing you don’t want to do, but not wanting to do what is hard is not justification for being evil.
15. Be balanced in your life. You cannot be a superman 24-7-365. You have to take time to make connections with your family, to rest, to play. Sprinting is healthy in short durations, but prepping is a lifestyle not a race.
16. Be balanced in your plan. All food no gun, makes you vulnerable to those with all gun and no food. It’s better to have a lower level of prep that is more versatile and covers water, food, shelter, defense, communications, and medical, than a extremely high level of preparedness that covers only one or two areas.
17. Charity is important, but charity is not enabling others to be lazy or rewarding bad behaviors. If you work hard, someone that refuses to work has no moral demand on your labor. However, I would have a hard time swallowing a meal if I refused to help a hungry child, widow, or a disabled person. God gave us free will; he also was clear about the consequences for bad behavior. In my house you contribute, or you don’t eat.
18. My plans are generic as much as possible. I prep and plan for all hazards, and not specific events. How many people bought into the Y2K, and then let their food rot because they felt silly. My food storage is for when I cannot buy groceries, it does not matter to me that it might be because I lost my job, or I am under quarantine for bird flu. When I need it, all that matters is I have it, not why I need it.
19. Store what you can use, and use what you store. I don’t buy books I won’t read, clothes I won’t wear, food I won’t eat, or Hip Hop music. I also don’t buy things I don’t know how to use.
20. Have backups. Things break. They normally break when you really need them and the store is closed. The more redundant the system the better insulated you are.
21. Cheap is cheap for a reason. I cannot always afford to buy the best, but neither can I afford to keep replacing the cheapest junk every time it breaks. There is a difference in a 40 and a 400 dollar grain mill.
22. Common sense cannot be legislated. Laws are made in a vacuum by people that don’t always fully understand the problems. Rather than looking to laws to see if I CAN do something, my right to liberty says I can do whatever I want unless a law specifically prohibits it. And depending on the situation, I’d rather be in jail than dead.
23. Gold is nice, but it’s used to buy stuff in the event money is worthless. With that in mind, its much cheaper to just buy the stuff now. A wheat grinder is $40 now, but how much do you think it will cost if everybody actually needs them to eat?
24. It’s better to be home, rather than be a refugee in a shelter, but if you have to leave, you might not have time to pack a bag – have a Plan A and a couple backup plans.
25. You have to practice your plan, thinking is not the same as talking, and talking is not the same as doing.
26. Don’t waste. Be frugal, learn to make do, or you may have to do without.
27. Think, Learn, Plan, Test, repeat…
I’ve repeatedly warned preppers to listen to the anti-preppers words carefully and keep in mind this quote from one of my favorite westerns:
“Most times a man will tell you his bad intentions if you listen, let yourself hear.”
I’ve ‘listen’ to your post Yardstick and I take serious warning at what you are saying.
Dude, give it an effin' rest, will ya?
Like someone said on the other thread: you got "projection" issues.
OPSEC ???
is used often on this thread and some do not know what it means ...
HELP, Please ...
Operational Security
The Official Definition
(From JP 1-02, Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms, www.dtic.mil/doctrine/new_pubs/jp1_02.pdf.) Operations security (OPSEC) is a process of identifying critical information and subsequently analyzing friendly actions attendant to military operations and other activities to: (a) identify those operations that can be observed by adversary intelligence systems; (b) determine what indicators adversary intelligence systems might obtain that could be interpreted or pieced together to derive critical information in time to be useful to adversaries; and (c) select and execute measures that eliminate or reduce to an acceptable level the vulnerabilities of friendly actions to adversary exploitation.
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