2012 Blog » Survivalism

What If Money Goes 100% Digital?

Robert Bast — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 04:22:58 +0000

The long term trend is obvious to any Sci-Fi fan – one day all transactions will be cashless. We might even have a universal currency known as credits!

There are some indications in Europe that the shift away from cash has begun:

Italy - since 4th December 2011 amounts above € 1000 can no longer be paid in cash. This is to help stop tax avoidance, supposedly.
Belgium – soon the maximum for cash transactions will be € 5,000, down from € 15,000, for the same reason
EU – a directive has been issued regarding how they will enable a cashless society

Now a cashless society means that authorities get to track all transactions. And in the USA they are equating survivalist purchases with terrorism. So Preppers should probably only use trusted suppliers, and only pay cash.

And while cash can be kept safe, digital money can be taken from you with the click of a Powers That Be button. Ask a few dictators…

Something will have to replace cash, and it won’t be legal tender. But that won’t stop folk, so here’s some ideas about what we could use instead of cash, for any purchases we don’t wish to be tracked and cataloged:

Dedicated Patsy – the equivalent of the adult who buys liquor for teens. They make purchases on your behalf for a fee, and they don’t care who knows what about them, or what risks they face.

Businesses – shell companies will most likely always exist, so form one and let it buy your stuff. Perhaps run a large group of like-minded people, who share a single debit card… so Big Brother knows one of you bought something, not which of you.

Bartering and LETS - legal until it gets too popular?

Alternative currency – I don’t mean printing your own notes, but there are items of value that could be traded. Precious metals are an obvious one. What is to stop a business selling little nuggets of metal that fit on a necklace, each of a precise weight? And then folk can adopt it as a currency. In a tiny way, the Pandora charm bracelets are in that direction. What if Pandora sold charms that all weighed 10 grams and were made of pure silver (or whatever) and they sold them at only 15% markup on the raw metal value?

Theft – if you don’t get caught, your “purchase” won’t be traced.

What If Money Goes 100% Digital? is a post from: 2012 Blog

Preview: Doomsday Preppers

Robert Bast — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 09:56:41 +0000

Doomsday Preppers is a new National Geographic series, launching on Tuesday, Feb 7 in the USA. Here are two of the survivalists they visit – one is your standard prepper and the other is a full-on survivalist team.

This group have a great Plan B: load up the buses and drive for 12 hours…

This woman believes a fuel crisis will cause panic buying and social mayhem - her apartment is full of survival supplies:

For me this is a must-watch series. Let me know what you think – leave a comment!

Update: NatGeo have set up a Doomsday Dashboard, which shows the latest tweets and lists the most envisioned doomsday scenraios based on twitter activity:

66% – MegaQuake
9% – 2012 Cataclysm
9% – Nuclear War / Radiation
9% – Pandemic
6% – Nuclear War
6% – Economic Collapse
3% – Peak Oil
1% – Solar Flare

Preview: Doomsday Preppers is a post from: 2012 Blog

Emergency Light Bulb + Funny Video

Bobby Doomsday — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 19:24:09 +0000

I think this is a great product – it’s an LED bulb that has a battery inside, meaning you get 7 hours of light when your power is out – and it doubles as a flashlight! When the grid goes down at 2AM, and you figure it would be smart to flee to your safe spot – you don’t want to be stumbling around in the dark wasting precious time…

http://store.axiomled.com/AX_RUDOLPH_50_p/ax-rudolph-50.htm

In this video, leading presidential candidates Mitt and Newt discuss the merits of the Axiom LED Rudolph:

Emergency Light Bulb + Funny Video is a post from: 2012 Blog

Some 2012 Survival Vehicles

Robert Bast — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 08:19:42 +0000

This Top 10 list is actually from a car site, but everybody is talking about 2012 this month…

1. Knight XV - fully armored, hand built luxury SUV
2. Pirate 4×4 – not much luggage space!
3. TRAX STI - Subaru WRX turned into a snow mobile.
4. Hummer H1 – dying brand
5. Isuzu VehiCROSS – probably the best little 4WD out there
6. Marauder – quite blast-proof
7. SISU XA-185 – armored personnel carrier
8. Toyota Hilux AT38 Polar – the regular Hilux is my personal choice, and the better value than these dream vehicles for sure
9. MaxiMog - a Mercedes Unimog with lots of cool features
10. Dobbertin Surface Orbiter - hand built amphibious vehicle, read about it

The Knight XV is worthy of being the #1 choice for urban survival. Aside from being armor-plated, it can come equipped with extras like built-in oxygen survival kit, under vehicle magnetic attachment detection system, multiple armoring levels, under vehicle explosive protection system and a black box system.

Some 2012 Survival Vehicles is a post from: 2012 Blog

Ron Paul Bets on Gold / Aum Cult Member Arrested

Robert Bast — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 02:34:24 +0000

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago how Newt Gingrich is fearful of an EMP Doomsday. He’s not the only Republican presidential candidate who has some understanding of survivalism.

Ron Paul has an investment portfolio worth as much as five million dollars. 64% is in gold and silver-mining stocks. An investment manager, quoted by the Washington Post, says Paul has made an extreme bet on economic collapse:

“This portfolio is a half-step away from a cellar-full of canned goods and nine-millimeter rounds”

—–

After 17 years on the run Makoto Hirata has surrendered himself to Japanese authorities. He was a member of the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult that caused the deadly Tokyo subway Sarin gas attack. I find it interesting that he chose the first day of 2012 to surrender. Aum Shinrikyo is still active (under the new name Aleph) with 1000 members, so could 2012 be meaningful to them??

Hold on to your conspiracy hats! Aum have previously predicted a major Japanese earthquake (Kobe) and have been implicated in testing EMP weaponry in Western Australia. And guess what happened on the very day he handed himself in? Yep, Japan had a 7.0 earthquake. Read more about Aum and earthquakes:
http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/tesla/esp_tesla_9.htm

Ron Paul Bets on Gold / Aum Cult Member Arrested is a post from: 2012 Blog

Blue Eye Noah: Survival RV

Robert Bast — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 10:24:03 +0000

Speaking of Xmas wish lists…

Here’s an interesting idea – it’s a regular RV that you can leave parked in your driveway. But if a tsunami comes, and the floating tubes are attached, in becomes a boat. It’s tough (kevlar) and self-contained.

Made in Taiwan. Their website is blueeyenoah.com

Check out these features:

diesel generator, plus optional solar panel and wind-power generator
optional positive pressure air filter and water filter
bullet-proof – built with Kevlar
water-proof – it’s a boat when you add the floating tubes
17, 19, 21 and 23 feet models

It’s quite affordable, with prices starting at US$40,000. Available in the USA in the northern spring, just in time for the end of the world.

The name is interesting, here’s what they say:

…a natural disaster about 8,000 years ago wiped out other Homo sapiens races in the Black Sea area, and only one blue-eyed person (family) survived, resulting in a gene explosion by their offspring. And this blue-eyed survivor 8,000 years ago matches all the descriptions of the survivor Noah in the biblical Ark.

Blue Eye Noah: Survival RV is a post from: 2012 Blog

One Year To Go – Are You Ready?

Robert Bast — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 00:12:40 +0000

First and foremost, the very notion that there is only one year left until (perhaps) the end of the world as we know it, should have many people making New Year’s resolutions – planning to survive. It can be your resolution if you choose – there will never be a better opportunity to take control of your destiny. This is especially important for those with families…

In the UK, George and Karen Shaw are a great example of every day people making the sensible, prudent decision to store food and water. They aren’t crazy survivalist gun nuts, or doom and gloom religious zealots. They’re just doing what humans have always done – except for the last two generations who seem to think they are invulnerable to catastrophes.

Just like the Shaws, divorced mother-of-four Lynda Mayall is stockpiling supplies:

As well as buying several hundred pounds worth of freeze-dried ‘survival’ meals, her cupboards contain more than 100 tins of beans, fish, soup and vegetables. She also has stocks of pasta and rice.

‘I think I have about a six-month supply of food in the house,’ she says. ‘The freeze-dried tins are great because they take up so much less space. It is something we can fall back on if times are tough. It is my security blanket.’ Miss Mayall says her stockpiling instinct has been sharpened by the way in which the European crisis is unfolding.

If you are thinking you can’t afford to stockpile, think again:

For the past 18 months, Chris James, a 40-year-old business consultant from Manchester, has bought an extra can of baked beans and one litre of water every time he goes to the supermarket.

‘I think there is a chance, a remote chance, that the supply chain will break down badly,’ he says.

‘For less than £1 a week I’m able to fill my garage with baked beans and water. It’s a tiny outlay for what could be a great benefit.

Today’s Daily Mail article goes on to highlight a few recent cases of critical situations:

Take the fuel strikes of 2000. Lorry drivers, fed up with high diesel prices, blockaded the refineries. Almost immediately they exposed the frailties of a society that feeds itself via a just-in-time supply chain.

Within days, shelves were bare and supermarket bosses were warning civil servants in Whitehall that there were just three days of food left.

Then there was Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Within days, residents of the richest country in the world were looting to feed themselves and their families.

Next came the credit crunch and that day in September 2008 when the Royal Bank of Scotland almost folded. It would subsequently emerge that its cash machines were only hours away from running out of money.

What can we expect in the coming year?

Natural disasters appear to be on the rise. While we are still within the realm of of normal statistical probability, if 2012 starts like 2011 did, there will be a lot of very fearful people. Although there’s no easy way to measure it, I’ve noticed earthquakes in a lot of places that don’t usually get them – that could be indicative of something.

Religion. There are quite a few evangelical Christians who believe that they have the ability to bring on a Biblical apocalypse, and 2012 is a year they have latched on to. A popular idea involves building the Third Temple in Jerusalem, thereby fulfilling Biblical prophecy. Fingers crossed Rick Perry doesn’t become president. Meanwhile Pope Benedict is very frail, and he is visiting Mexico in March where a volcano is threatening to erupt. According to the prophecy of Saint Malachy, the next Pope will be the last.

War and Terror. There’s no predicting terrorism, but it’s not hard to predict escalating tensions in the Middle East. Israel has been talking about preemptive strikes against Iran, and the new leaders of Egypt (whoever that will be) are unlikely to be as friendly with Israel as Mubarak was.

Economy. The USA seems to be coming right, but now Europe is in trouble, and things could get a lot worse. Don’t be surprised if some major European banks get in trouble. Liquidity is at an all time low, which is why the price of gold has begun to fall – people are cashing out because the banks can’t loan them any money! Of additional concern is rumors regarding China – they might be cooking the books (just like Greece did) and hiding the truth about their economy.

The Sun. At the tail-end of 2012 and into early 2013 we can expect the peak of the solar cycle. Some experts think it will be quiet, some expect it to be the stormiest peak in a century. If it is quiet, we might be entering a new mini-Ice Age. And if it is turbulent, NASA has warned that the power grids in the USA and Europe could go down.

Space Nasties. Just this week NASA declared that a supernova harming us in 2012 is impossible. They said it with certainty. That’s a strange thing to say considering they are still discovering new types of supernovae. I would fully expect that one day they will discover a type of supernova that is many times more powerful than they are currently aware of. NASA’s debunking is just as foolhardy and dangerous as the worst 2012 hoaxes. And of course they repeatedly fail to mention the threat posed by comets, especially dark comets.

Disease. Scientists have been warning for a long time that a big, scary, deadly flu pandemic is well overdue. 2012 could easily be the year that the first pandemic of a globalized world attacks us. Keep in mind that the #1 killer of soldiers in WW1 wasn’t a human enemy – instead it was the flu.

If I have added to your worries, that was intentional. Preparing for the worst is cheap and easy, and you really don’t have an excuse not to prepare:

Take a 2 hour drive into the countryside and think about where you would flee to if disaster struck where you live.
If something you regularly eat can be bought in bulk – say rice or baked beans – do so and you will be saving money whilst being prepared.
Store water. We buy cases of 24 500ml bottles for $8. That’s 33c each. Beats paying $2-3 from a corner store. Water stores well and lasts a long time. But without water you will die in 3 days. Numerous 2012 scenarios involve town water supplies failing. Please, please, store some water.

While I wish, dream and hope for an uneventful 2012, the odds are stacked against it.

Be safe, and season’s greetings,

Rob

One Year To Go – Are You Ready? is a post from: 2012 Blog

Update: Definition of a Terrorist

Robert Bast — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 05:04:17 +0000

I covered this back in August, but it has taken on a deeper meaning now that US citizens can detained without charge or trial – the law has passed, and Obama didn’t veto it after all… You could theoretically be locked up forever for one of these:

Storing Food. The FBI/DOJ have decided that having more than 7 day’s food on hand is suspicious, even though this is precisely what FEMA recommends (in case of a disaster). There’s a report from a cannery that pimarily has Mormons as customers (their religion compels them to keep one year’s worth of food stored), where federal agents were asking for customer lists – fortunately they didn’t keep one.

Owning Guns and Ammo. You especially don’t want to be a military veteran who has just returned from war. The Dept of Homeland Security have said:

the return of military veterans facing significant challenges reintegrating into their communities could lead to the potential emergence of terrorist groups or lone wolf extremists capable of carrying out violent attacks

How about keeping precious metals, or having a Ron Paul sticker on your car? Read the full list, with plenty of links to sources, at OzHouse.org

Update: Definition of a Terrorist is a post from: 2012 Blog

American Survivalists – Brace Yourselves

Robert Bast — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 12:27:09 +0000

Today’s news is quite disturbing. The U.S. Senate voted to let the military detain terrorism suspects on U.S. soil and hold them indefinitely without trial. This is outside of the normal judicial process. In theory absolutely anybody can be sent to Guantanamo Bay (or some other overseas detention center) and there is no recourse available. Even, say, a political candidate, or an outspoken rap artist. You’d like to think the media would help and highlight any travesties of justice, but I wouldn’t have 100% faith in that.

The problem is a combination of:

1) A DOJ directive that lists criteria for being suspected as a terrorist – as described by Rand Paul (son of Ron) in the video below, including keeping more than 7 days of food, and having ammunition.

2) The government can, via the military, detain anyone suspected of terrorism, without charge, indefinitely.

American Survivalists – Brace Yourselves is a post from: 2012 Blog

Jim Bakker: Special Offer

Robert Bast — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 00:19:44 +0000

Jim Bakker is one of those disgraced televangelists. I wondered about the markup on his $3800 product (found in his Love Gifts department):

Actually the price is in line with what Amazon charges… so I guess his main aim is to get you on his mailing list as someone with $$. Even so, he must be expecting a major disaster/rapture of some sort, and perhaps he is seeking to profit from those who won’t be saved by God/Jesus?

If anyone knows why he is selling survival supplies, please let me know… It feels hypocritical.

Jim Bakker: Special Offer is a post from: 2012 Blog