If you are reading this morning’s report on a web site whose address is OTHER than UrbanSurvival.com, you are reading a rip-off site. Been a growing problem – and we’re going after not only the copyright infringers but also their website hosting providers. Please check that you are reading the legit https://urbansurvival.com site. World’s full of sleazebags, but like that’s a surprise, right?
How does one prep for War?
Before we wonder whether “Walla Worry” is near Walla Walla, seems pertinent to ask. Prep while you can because we’re now in a ‘Race against time’ to get tanks to Ukraine before Europe engulfed in war with Russia.
Obviously, there are multiple flavors of war, so the answer quickly gets complicated:
- Russia Conflict (Style 1): This is where Russia attempts to overrun Ukraine, the U.S. unloads outdated military hardware into the conflict, and after tons of European deaths, eventually both sides tire of fighting. Stocks rally, the U.S. investors (even us small fry) do OK because “war is good for business.” But, only to a point…
- Russia Conflict (Style 2): Decapitation strike on American military assets and leadership. Lead in with a few tactical nukes in Europe, and a “sales closing call” on the Moscow-Washington hotline, but if – after three in-theater nukes Slow Joe ain’t getting that his world could blow up his Corvette, then our military bases are attacked and then we launch the massive doomsday play. A lot harder to prep for, because so much is location, location, location. Big city? Top 10 civilian pop centers? Little point prepping if this plays out. Cities in the “under 500 biggest” are not likely on targeting lists, unless there’s an obvious military item: The Pantex Plant in Texas, or you just want America to collapse internally, in which case major energy switching centers like this one matter. The population of Erath, Louisiana is a bit less than 2,100 people, so being small may not matter in this kind of “special situation.” War has more styles than Martha Stewart.
- Russia Conflict (Style 3): A series of electromagnetic pulse explosions over key population regions, perhaps not even done by the Russians – could be a proxy like Iran which could give Russia plausible deniability, With the grid hard down, no back-up transformers, and insane national energy policies that threw energy independence under the bus (thanks Dems!) this one gets a lot harder to figure. See, there is a case where Russia might be able to survive without an overwhelming U.S. response if the proxy was unclear. You need power, the stores need power, as do traffic lights, hospitals…you have read One Second After, by now, for sure?
As of this morning, the One Second After book has more than 16,000 reviews on Amazon and the average rating is a 4.6 out of 5 with good reason. A damn fine read and a useful playbook.
War is a very ugly thing to contemplate, and even uglier to prepare against. There are just so many possibilities. Yet, even in our hyper fortified joint in the outback, taking out four huge trees Thursday increases our survival margin against, oh, fire storms after a nuke strike, and will ensure the solar panels are all open to unfiltered sunlight again. But will it matter? Aye, there’s the rub.
There are seven physical systems that support life in first world countries. When they are all up and working right? Life can work toward “pretty good.” But when down, the terrorists in office will all go Reverse Robinhood and steal from the prepped to save their own sorry asses. Which explains, I hope, the gun range out back. We fervently hope marksmanship and dronesmanship won’t matter. But a review along the urban to rural battlespace continuum suggests otherwise.
We’ve wailed endlessly about the Liberal Fake Industries (LFI’s) like gender-swaps, race rekindling, climate scams, and shaming of all stripes, but these are merely your indicators that we have run out of large-scale industrial innovations to power the economy. What happened to the bullshit about higher wages and more time off? All lies told by crooks holding office.
Wars, in economic terms, are a chance to kill people (and break things) on an unprecedented level in order to “till the soil” and set the stage for the world to be “regrown” which, of course never seems to work out as planned.
Which means you come down to your own shopping, making, and prepping list based on your preference levels of:
- Food and water
- Shelter
- Transportation
- Communications
- Environment
- Finance
- and Energy
When the BioWar portion of WW III began, who would have thought toilet paper would have been so important? Yet here we are in the intermission between acts in the (invisible to most) World War III wondering what will be the next shortage?
Brains? Humans? Food? Breathable air?
We just laid down $1,750 to “solve” the tree problem. Firestorm resistance up, less hurricane worries. We will be laying down another $1,250 to fix a dental problem, shortly. After that? Another $5,200 worth of eye treatment because insurance won’t cover corneal cross-linking if you’re over 65, we’re told. Even with a Medicare Advantage plan. Age discrimination is a no-no in the workplace, maybe, but actuaries have invented defensible discrimination in healthcare. F**kers.
We work hard only to eventually end as the best-prepped people in the cemetery.
Personal Income
How to prep for the (collapsing, likely) world ahead won’t be a problem for us: We’ve known since 2003 that the Global Playbook would have a bad ending to it. Because while the government touts various economic data, the reality is America doesn’t have a budget, doesn’t have leadership, and the quality of life is on the skids. Mainly because our money is being thieved by the rich Bankster class through the process called inflation.
Let’s see how “Personal Income” is doing, shall we? Nitrous or crack pipe at the ready?
“Personal income increased $49.5 billion, or 0.2 percent at a monthly rate, while consumer spending decreased $41.6 billion, or 0.2 percent, in December. The increase in personal income primarily reflected increases in compensation and proprietors’ income. The personal saving rate (that is, personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income) was 3.4 percent in December, compared with 2.9 percent in November.
After this little bit of financial crack, Dow futures down 23, S&P down 16. I’m too busy today to care, but have fun with it.
All dandy until we remember that the social security increase this year was supposedly 8.7 percent. Doesn’t seem to have held the price of eggs down, does it? $18 a dozen: how did America’s eggs get absurdly expensive? Out here, egg prepping might come to 50 pound bags of corn and “scratch” for chickens. Not yet, though because it sets up a running gunbattle with the raccoons and possums who want a free lunch. (We wonder if they voted for Biden?)
The majority of news is (as always):
Bitter Harvests
Why does organic always cost so much more? In Vermont, organic dairy farmers seek state assistance. We’ve planted GMO and Heirloom seeds next to one-another and the plants work about equally hard.
Oh, look: Government caught lying again: Feds adapting AI used to silence ISIS to combat American dissent on vaccines, elections | Just The News. Land of the Free now Home of the Gullible.
“Shut your mouth Dear” department: Video of Jill Biden Ushering Joe Away From Reporters Goes Viral. Our Democrat Womens Fan Club is also tracking Paul Pelosi attack video to be released Friday. Side of victimhood for breakfast?
More thoughtfully: Doomsday Clock Jitters and “How to Fix a Broken Planet” – CounterPunch.org
The march to monetize on public display: Coronavirus tally: FDA panel agrees with plan for annual COVID boosters in new approach to virus. Say, are the vaxxed considered “armed and dangerous?” Just curious… Even the scientists can’t agree on this as reported in Should COVID vaccines be yearly? Proposal divides US scientists (nature.com). But there’s a reason we refer to the Fooled and Drugged Administration. Money will win. Watch.
Say, you like documentaries, right? Pamela Anderson on Her New Netflix Documentary, Starring in That Jacquemus Campaign, and Possibly Joining the ‘White Lotus’ Cast | Vogue. (Marginally better than the study of arms deals.)
ATR: Tree Clean Up
We will be short and to the point for a spell. Some before and after pix this morning and then Ure will begin 4-hour a day spins on the Kubota cleaning up the four HUGE trees we had taken out Thursday.
City folk can’t think in these terms, of course, but an 80 foot tree with a 24 inch diameter trunk runs 20,000 pounds. And since these were bigger around and taller, figure 30,000 pounds or more.
A tractor bucket holds (call it) 400 pounds. So, uh, 300 buckets worth. times (man, this is discouraging!) 5-minutes per load is…25-hours of serious tractorfying. Which you can’t do in the rain because it wrecks the ground you’re on. Swell, huh? Now begin when it’s 35 degrees outside…
Are we having fun, yet?
Write when you get rich,
George@Ure.net