Thread: BASIC LIST / SUGGESTED ITEMS FOR LONG TERM SURVIVAL

Prepare To Defend Yourself: Defending Your Life

Learn to defend yourself. Study judo, wrestling or mixed martial arts -- anything that involves actual physical contact.

July 13, 2011 by John Myers

Learn to defend yourself. Study judo, wrestling or mixed martial arts -- anything that involves actual physical contact.

Sometimes, we are in danger because we are in the wrong place at the wrong time. Knowing what to do to avoid such a situation, or what you must do if you cannot, can be a lifesaver.

As a child, I was bullied, and I took more than my share of beatings in the schoolyard. I grew out of that stage and became a satisfactory football player. But I was never confident that I could defend myself.

At 17, I spent a year taking karate lessons. The conditioning part of it was fine, but part of me knew it was a waste of time. There was never any contact, and our sensei taught us that we had to pull our punches. In football we were taught to tackle through the opponent, so I knew there was something amiss.

Later, I spent a lot of years in the weight room. Even as I got stronger, I never had confidence. I decided to go back to traditional karate classes when I was 30. The kata movements that were taught were more choreographed dance steps.

Each day driving home from work, I would pass Matt David’s kickboxing gym. I finally mustered up the courage to go in.

Matt David was an imposing man. He owned a Spartan Gym in the rough area of town, along East Sprague in Spokane, Wash. Matt had a regulation boxing ring at the center of the gym. Surrounding it were speed bags, heavy bags and a mirrored wall. In the evenings, the Lilac City Boxing Club would train there.

I was not so impressed that Matt David had a 7th dan black belt in traditional kenpo karate, a rank he was awarded from the renowned Ed Parker. What impressed me most was that Matt had been an all-state wrestler in high school and was a former two-time California Golden Gloves heavyweight boxing champion.

When I first sat down with Matt, he asked me if I had any martial arts experience. I told him I had spent a couple of years in karate.

“That’s too bad,” he said. “But I can teach you to lose those bad habits.”

So began the school of hard knocks. No longer did I wear a white gi with a belt around my waist. Instead I wore tennis shoes, shorts, a T-shirt, hand wraps and a molded mouthpiece.

Our training was broken into two parts. First, we did calisthenics, hit the bags and shadow boxed. Then, we sparred in the ring with 16-ounce gloves, wearing full protective headgear.

I learned two things: that I didn’t know how to throw a punch and, more important, I didn’t know how to take a one. I dreaded getting in the ring against experienced fighters, but I was willing to pay that price.

That first summer at the gym, I took some tough rounds and suffered a couple of concussions. After one tough round, the head coach for the Lilac City Boxing Club, Dan Vassar Sr., approached me.

“Are you getting tired of getting beat up?” he asked.

At age 34, I joined the boxing club. I started training five days a week. I soon began to improve and gain confidence.

In three years, I had only three fights. I lost them all. But I finished each one of them on my feet. It was an incredible experience to spar against gifted fighters and with great instructors. It was invaluable.

A few years after I stopped boxing, I was cornered by two men on a stairwell when I was with my 10-year old son. They wanted to rob me.

My son and I were lucky: We got out of that mess without a scratch. Our two attackers didn’t fare so well. One ran away, and the other was taken by ambulance to the hospital.

I was not charged. To this day, I know the outcome would have been very different if I had not practiced full-contact fighting.

Three Rules To Live By

I encourage anyone at any age to learn realistic self-defense. No, you don’t have to join a boxing gym. You should not, however, waste another dollar or minute in traditional non-contact martial arts. Instead, study judo, wrestling or mixed martial arts — anything that involves actual physical contact.

In his book Streetwise: The Complete Manual of Personal Security and Self Defence, Peter Consterdine writes that the self-defense combinations most schools teach are a waste of time, that no one ever uses a karate-based attack and they don’t leave their hand or foot stuck out for you to do your stuff.

Consterdine knows his stuff. He is a former British Karate International full-contact kickboxing champion as well as a reputable bodyguard.
If you are unconvinced, consider the adage: “The way you train is the way you fight.”

If you think you might have to defend against a 2-by-4 piece of pine, then by all means, take up traditional karate or tae kwon do and learn how to break a board in half. Then again, traditional martial art students might want to consider what the late, great fighter Joe Louis once said: “Everyone has a plan until they’ve been hit.”

If you want to learn more about real self-defense, pick up a copy of Forrest Griffin’s book, Got Fight?: The 50 Zen Principles Of Hand-to-face Combat. Griffin is a former Ultimate Fighting Championship® light heavyweight champion. Reader beware, he uses graphic language and details the savagery that is a part of his life in and out of the octagon.

The best advice I got from Matt David had nothing to do with throwing punches or applying arm bars. He had three simple rules:

1. Don’t be in a place where you will have to defend yourself.
2. If trouble comes your way, run.
3. If you can’t run, grab the closest thing you can and use it as a weapon.

Hopefully, you can avoid ever having to defend yourself. If you must, you can only hope you have learned a few tactics and that the person threatening you says: “I have to warn you… I have a black belt in karate!”

Yours in good times and bad, –John Myers

Editor, Myers’ Energy & Gold Report

NOTE: Dan Vassar passed away last autumn. You can read about his life here.

http://www.personalliberty.com/survi...ing-your-life/

The Strategic Advantages Of Community Building

Wednesday, 13 July 2011 02:44
Brandon Smith



The year was 2002, and while the majority of Americans were completely obsessed with the so called “War On Terror” and other devices of distraction, something much more real and decidedly prophetic was going on in our southern hemisphere. Argentina was in the midst of total collapse, driven by banker fraud and extreme currency devaluation in tandem with government mismanagement and corruption. First, cities exploded with rioting and violence as Argentinian police and military attempted to crush all dissent. Soon after, displaced refugees from population centers along with roving bands of thieves flooded into the countryside, wiping out isolated farms, murdering families, and hunting down any small group of survivors weaker than themselves and flush with supplies. The authorities (and I use the term loosely) were too busy trying to suppress civil protests to bother protecting those who were caught unprepared.

This behavior is part and parcel of economic destabilization, regardless of the time or place in which it occurs. Only nine years ago, a very modern and technologically savvy nation of people, nearly cannibalized itself. Those who survived and thrived did so through family aid and substantial existing wealth, or, the tactical building of communities for the purpose of mutual defense and alternative trade. Farmers armed themselves and formed regional groups along with security measures. City dwellers formed neighborhood watches and barter networks when the mainstream economy disappeared. The bottom line; lone wolves and isolated country families were nothing more than tempting targets at the onset of the breakdown in Argentina.

I and most other Americans have never personally lived through such a collapse, though some would be preppers rather boldly claim to be experts on surviving these specific kinds of catastrophes. I am not an expert, and neither is anyone else who has not experienced a collapse first hand. However, we CAN learn from the experiences of experts; those people who lived through the Great Depression, the Argentina crisis, the implosion of Bosnia, the breakup of the Soviet Union, the ongoing breakdown in Greece, etc. We can analyze their successes, and their failures, and devise solutions based on that which actually WORKED, instead of the random theories of people who can only guess at what life is like in the thick of hell.

One solution that has consistently been adopted and applied by numerous societies across the globe in the face of a stratum of different calamities is the art of community building. This strategy has proven itself over and over again regardless of catastrophic conditions. It is not theory. It is not debatable. Community networking has been proven time and again as a means of subsisting safely during depression, hyperinflation, mass hysteria, despotism, martial law, and even widespread war. Unfortunately, it is a methodology that has gone mostly ignored by many Americans, even those who are well aware of impending economic danger.

Common Oppositions To CommunityBuilding
First, we must put to rest those misconceptions that hinder the development of meaningful defensive community before we are able to understand the nature of various organizational methods and their benefits. Let’s examine some often heard arguments against the formation of survival relationships, groups, and focused networks…

1) Other People Aren’t Reliable. I Can Survive Better On My Own…

I’ll be the first to admit that some people are unreliable if not downright pathetic. On top of this, many in our culture find it necessary to exaggerate their abilities or their resolve until they are faced with an actual crisis, and then they fold like a wet blade of grass. Counting on such men is a waste of time and energy, not to mention, dangerous. Certainly, every prepper should have the ability to make it on his own, at least for a short time, in a collapse environment, and anyone who does not have that option is in some serious trouble.

I write a lot about “dangerous assumptions”, almost to the point of feeling ill, because most if not all of America’s problems are either caused or exacerbated by them. We presume too much too often, and it always comes back to bite us. Presuming that one will never be forced into a situation where he might have to survive alone for a time is foolish. There is no guarantee that we will always have others to fall back on, or that we will never be driven from our homes. On the other hand, it is equally foolish to presume that you will not face even worse circumstances while you are on your own.

Unless you have the ability to go for weeks without sleep, and to be alert to every conceivable detail at every conceivable moment, it is insane to CHOOSE lone wolf survival over community and mutual defense. Its good to have the ability to go solo, but if you want to actually make it through a collapse similar to that which occurred in Argentina or worse, eventually you will have to work with others. This is not my opinion, it is a fact made concrete by numerous economic disasters around the world.

2) Groups Draw Too Much Attention. It’s Better To Keep A “Low Profile”…

I’m not sure where this nonsensical theory came from, but it definitely didn’t get started by anyone who has actually lived through economic implosion. The root of this strange position is that organizing networks of people for trade and for defense makes you a visible “target” for a corrupt government. At least, that’s the argument. It may be true that more focused groups of liberty minded people are indeed placed on lists, and singled out for surveillance or media ridicule, however, we need to apply some logical thought here.

During an economic collapse, EVERYONE becomes a target. A target of poverty, a target of homelessness and starvation, a target of crime, a target of mass hysteria. Honestly, martial law and despotic politicians are secondary concerns. If you have no solid community structure to brace against the fiscal avalanche, then your problems are much larger and more immediate than any alphabet agency goon squad or military outfit crossing the Rubicon. You, my friend, have no support. You are relying on “luck”. This is pure stupidity.

A strong community rarely attracts antagonism. On the contrary, strong communities dissuade attack, as has been proven in numerous national disasters. The risk of raiding the retreat of one man or one family is negligible compared to the risk of raiding an entire town. Most criminally minded people (this includes bloodthirsty bureaucrats), deliberately target the noticeably weak, and avoid any confrontation that might actually deal them a damaging blow. Believing that one can “hide” until the storm blows over is also a serious stretch. Again, assumptions kill.

Finally, fearing the potential actions of government so much that we refuse to take meaningful steps to even protect ourselves is such an affront to the principles of freedom and liberty that I shudder to imagine what it must be like to be stricken with such cowardice. The Founding Fathers didn’t sign the Declaration of Independence, “Anonymous”. We should have the same courage to openly organize against those entities and events which aim to harm us. As we like to say here at Alt-Market; grow a pair!

3) I Don’t Have To Organize, I Can Just Leave The Country…
This argument often includes references to WWII and the flight of more affluent Europeans to places such as South America and Australia to escape tragedy. First, let’s be clear; anyone who fields an argument like this must have at least some means to travel internationally without much warning, otherwise, they are kidding themselves. Second, they would have to leave before the crash reaches critical mass, and before transportation and infrastructure are affected, or they will be trapped in-country like the rest of us. Finally, I would venture to ask them where exactly they think they will flee to in order to avoid the effects of a GLOBAL economic crisis? Only the ASEAN trading bloc has taken measures to shield itself from both a European and U.S. financial crash, and those countries have their own problems; financial and social.

Strangely, I find China is often cited as a possible expatriate escape. If someone is dense enough to run away from possible totalitarianism in America just to live under assured totalitarianism in the land of the CPC, then I say good riddance. You can’t “escape” the destruction of globalization, you can only stand and fight it. All other solutions are a stop-gap at best.

4) There’s No Point In Organizing. We’re All Doomed Anyway…

Ah, the stench of nihilism strikes again! How often do we hear this from day to day? Good men and women have been confronting tyranny since the dawn of time, for the betterment of the future, and without fail, there’s always some group of quivering mental weaklings nearby to assert that “all hope is lost”. If liberty minded people didn’t pay these whining slugs any attention back then, why should we pay any attention to them today?

The origin of this argument springs from the average nihilist’s underlying feelings of inadequacy. For them, defiance IS impossible, because they lack the backbone and the will needed for success. Unfortunately, nihilists also lack the gumption to admit this to themselves. Thus, to compensate for their failings, they project their weaknesses onto everyone else.

“Surely”, they claim, “If I can’t fight back, then neither can anyone else”. You’ll find it is common for nihilists to react furiously and melodramatically when they are confronted with people who have the will to stand firm in their convictions. Nihilists feel highly threatened by men with solid character, because their feebleness is made more apparent when strong personalities are present. They also have a tendency towards eugenics, or overt religious zealotry to the point of obsession with apocalypse or rapture. They WANT the downfall of humanity, because they feel so isolated by their own pitiable existence and the desire to be proven correct in their wretchedness that they would actually be happy to see the end of millions of lives just to experience a fleeting moment of sour vindication.

Trying to speak plainly with anyone who makes this argument against community building or proactive organization is usually a waste of time. Most are simply incapable of hearing you…

Methods Of CommunityBuilding
Community networking is our best available solution in the wake of inevitable economic chaos. Ending the Fed is a noble goal. Changing government through reform and by running for office should be pursued. Reducing or completely negating the unchecked power of agencies like the DHS, FEMA, the CIA, the ATF, etc, is essential. But, none of these actions will undo the underlying damage to our economy, or prevent a collapse. At this point, nothing can turn back the tide on the dollar, or our national debt, and we will see a considerable downturn in markets, employment, and wages, along with severe inflation in prices. The dam has been broken, and the flood cannot be turned back. This means that more than ever, we must organize to lessen the injury to ourselves and each other as much a possible, so that we are better capable of repairing the damage done later on.

The following are a few different methods for actively constructing community groups and organizations. Some may fit particular situations more aptly than others, but the point is to get out of your house, and start meeting others face to face. Without this, there can be no community.

Meet-Up Groups: This is better than nothing. At the very least, we should be able to find the time to talk with others of like mind in a neutral setting away from our computers and express our concerns. Weekly or bi-weekly meetings are a must. Anything less frequent will probably go nowhere. If taken seriously, Meet Up groups can easily develop into the first strides towards real community.

Protest Groups: As I’ve said in the past, street protest alone is not enough to effect positive change. Governments today ignore the will of the people, and assert policy measures without regard for public outcry. However, a protest group could help in initiating wider political action and help build bonds of trust. It is a step in the right direction, but not the end of the journey.

Farmer’s Or Garden Co-ops: Now we’re actually producing something vital; food. This kind of organization creates tangible safety in the form of commodities which can cushion communities from hyperinflation or total breakdown. Notice the recent government crackdowns on smaller private farming, private gardens, and even Amish farm goods? Personal food growing and especially organized citizen growing is a threat to establishment and corporate systems. If you are no longer dependent on their food, you are less likely to be swayed or controlled.

Barter Networks: My personal favorite. Barter networks take farmer’s co-ops and other private entrepreneurial ventures and form living, breathing economies which decouple from the mainstream system. Now, not only does your community have its own food sources, but its own full fledged Alternative Market along with numerous options for currency and trade. A strong barter network with knowledgeable and skilled participants is like an oasis in the desert of economic disaster. It insulates and protects community, yet it refrains from centralizing or dominating community. Barter networking should be a number one priority for every American today.

Neighborhood Watch: No, not the kind of neighborhood watch where everyone on the block gets together for a barbecue and talks in hushed voices about all the devious criminals you think are hiding behind every neatly trimmed shrub. And, not the kind of neighborhood watch where you call the cops every time you see a car driving slowly down the street. Those types of groups only create paranoia and dependency. A real neighborhood watch is a move towards independence, and self defense. With municipal investment disintegrating, and states (like Wisconsin) on the verge of default, you cannot always count on local police to have the funding or the motivation to help you. Which means, you’ll have to help yourself. This is much easier when the rest of the neighborhood is behind you.

Survival Groups: Prep alone if you must, but build relationships with others if you can. Survival groups allow training with others who may have extensive knowledge in areas you do not. Also, Survival Groups can share the financial burden of stockpiling goods, and, they can coordinate the acquisition of supplies so that each person has less work load to carry in the long term. Hiking, hunting, and trips to the shooting range build team awareness. If worse comes to worse, and a full spectrum collapse takes place, you will have an organization of trusted friends with fundamental training ready to back you up.

State Or CountyMilitias: Yep, I used the “M-word”. Militias are perhaps the most criticized and demonized community type in America, and ironically, the only group on this list specifically mentioned in the Constitution as a national necessity. A county militia sponsored by a liberty minded sheriff would be the ideal situation, but this is, of course, not always possible. So, often these groups must form on their own accord without any support from local officials. Militias are an interesting breed of organization which I have a lot of respect for, despite the accusations of “domestic extremism”, and here’s why; militias aren’t just larger survival groups whose only concern is the extension of their own lives. Most militias very often take responsibility for the protection of the surrounding communities as well. They seek to ensure the safety of others in the event of collapse. This is an honorable endeavor, not “extremism”. The establishment is so threatened by militias because they supply another means of defense beyond standing military or law enforcement. Some militia members actually ARE standing military and law enforcement. Bad government needs the masses to remain dependent, or, it loses its source of influence. Militias take away that influence, and so, are constantly and maliciously scrutinized in the media.

Safe Haven States: A Safe Haven State, or a “Free State”, is a state that has nurtured so many alternative markets and liberty minded communities that it acts as a barrier to not only collapse, but also to aggressive and corrupt government. Today we have the beginnings of several Safe Haven States ready to be cultivated, but not any that could be called full fledged. A Safe Haven State is Tenth Amendment conscious, supportive of sound money measures, and restrictive of federal interference in its affairs. Barter networks are a normal part of daily life, and use of Federal Reserve fiat is minimal. It is a community that sets an example for the rest of the country.

Alt-Market and Oath Keepers are nearing launch of a project which we believe will help in the growth of Safe Haven States. The difference between this and most other communities is that it does not form through local effort alone, but is populated by independent people from around the nation seeking a more free way of life. Some areas of the U.S. already have considerable foundations for community, while others are sparse, or unreceptive. Liberty Movement participants in these places may decide that it is better to move to a more welcoming and productive environment. Safe Haven States could fulfill this role.

Make It Happen

All community efforts require one thing above all else; initiative. We have to be willing to put in the work. Plain and simple. The sooner this is done, the sooner we can reap the benefits of insulated commerce, sound money, mutual defense, and sincere associations and friendships. The most detrimental failing of the Liberty Movement today is its propensity for inaction, or the belief that internet research is “good enough”. Eventually, we will have to leave our comfort zones and do something with what we have learned. That means setting aside our jobs (which likely won’t exist in a couple years), our hobbies (which we likely won’t care about in couple of years), our habits and addictions (which we likely won’t be able to afford in a couple of years), our financial designs (which will be laughable in a couple of years), and ignore the skepticism of our immediate families (who will be thanking us in a couple of years). It means getting our priorities straight. This can be done, by everyone, and it can be done now. All that is required is the resolve to take action, and the determination to see it through.

http://alt-market.com/articles/175-t...unity-building

The FDAs War on Dietary Supplements

July 13, 2011 by Bob Livingston

The United States Food and Drug Administration guidelines will apply to supplements developed since 1994.

The United States Food and Drug Administration is trying to implement new guidelines that will effectively kill the nation’s supplement industry.

A draft of the guidelines was issued July 1 to comply with the New Dietary Ingredient (NDI) notification protocols called for in the 1994 Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA). In the 17-plus years since the act was passed, supplement manufacturers have had little information to help them determine what makes a NDI and when or how to file NDI notification.

Now, we know the FDA wants to destroy the supplement industry.

The guidelines were reviewed by the Alliance for Natural Health, and the alliance determined them to be onerous and punitive. For example, any supplement developed since 1994 is now subject to FDA approval under the NDI.

Many important supplements have been developed since 1994. Under the new guidelines, those will have to come off the market for at least 75 days while the FDA decides whether it wants to approve them. On top of that, any supplements that were “grandfathered” in by the DSHEA that have been altered in any way — prepared by a different process, dosage increased, harvested from the plant at a different point in the life cycle, recommended for use by another demographic group, etc. — must also be pulled from the market and sent to the FDA for approval. And the kicker is that the FDA is under no obligation to approve them.

If any changes are made or unapproved substances are added to a supplement, the FDA considers it adulterated. As a result, the supplement could be confiscated by the FDA, the supplement manufacturer would be subject to severe sanctions and the manufacturing company’s officers could be imprisoned.

Additionally, any new supplement being considered for manufacture must have an NDI completed for each ingredient, regardless of whether those ingredients had been previously approved by the FDA for use in other supplements, or the same substances had been previously approved for manufacture by a different company. This will drown supplement manufacturers in paperwork and result in increased costs and the closure of many supplement companies.

It’s obvious the FDA and Big Pharma want to destroy the supplement industry and are not interested in letting Americans make their own health choices.

Call or email your Senators and Representative and tell them the FDA should not be imposing such draconian guidelines on the supplement industry. You can find the contact information for your Senators at www.senate.gov and your Representative at www.house.gov. Or you can call 1-800-333-4636.

http://www.personalliberty.com/conse...y-supplements/

Plant Extracts May Offer Hope For Those With Malaria

July 13, 2011 by Personal Liberty News Desk



An estimated one-third of malaria patients die from the disease each year. The disease is particularly deadly to children under the age of 5.

Over the years, the malaria parasite has developed a resistance to most traditional medicines used to treat it, and the mosquitoes that carry and spread the disease have become immune to most insecticides. However, Norwegian researchers are seeking an alternative treatment: extracts from a plant used in traditional African medicine.

Researchers at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (UMB) are testing plant extracts in the hope that it will be able to replace the traditional remedies for the condition.

“There are several plants that have been shown to kill the malaria parasite,” says Dr. Torunn Stangeland Ph.D. of UMB. The university is not the only group looking to use plants to fight disease in Africa.

If the plants prove effective, it could lead to a healthier and more independent Africa. Stangeland said, “If we can find plants that prove effective against malaria, we hope that African authorities and countries will register the tested medicines and produce them themselves.”

The Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology (IME) is working with tobacco extracts as a possible cure for Malaria and HIV/AIDS.

http://www.personalliberty.com/news/...a-2-800542947/

How to protect your mobile phone, computer from illegal police searches

J. D. Heyes
Natural News
July 13, 2011

(NaturalNews) The U.S. Constitution is clear about the issue of privacy. In fact, the Fourth Amendment states, in part, "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated..."

With that in mind, it's safe to say it's more than just a little disturbing to know that, in certain circumstances, police can search your cell phone and computer(s), even if you don't want them to and even if they don't yet have a warrant to do so.

The good news is, someone out there has recognized the problem and has taken steps to help you protect that vast amount of data you have stored on your smart phone or laptop.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation, long defenders of electronic rights, has written a legal guide designed to help you better understand your rights and, more importantly, when police can - and cannot - legally confiscate and search your personal electronic devices.

"In the heat of the moment, it can be hard to remember what your rights are and how to exercise them," says EFF Senior Staff Attorney Marcia Hofmann. "Sometimes police can search your computer whether you like it or not, but sometimes they can't. We wrote this guide to help you tell the difference and to empower you to assert your rights when the police come knocking."

Adds EFF Staff Attorney Hanni Fakhoury, "With smart phones, tablet computers, and laptops, we carry around with us an unprecedented amount of sensitive personal information.

"That smart phone in your pocket right now could contain email from your doctor or your kid's teacher, not to mention detailed contact information for all of your friends and family members," Fakhoury continued. "Your laptop probably holds even more data -- your Internet browsing history, family photo albums, and maybe even things like an electronic copy of your taxes or your employment agreement. This is sensitive data that's worth protecting from prying eyes."

According to a summary of full EFF legal guide:

· Always say "no" when police ask if they can search your server, personal computer or cell phone because if you give them permission to search, they don't need a warrant - even to enter your home;

· If police tell you they have a search warrant, ask to see it because you have a right to;

· Make sure police are only searching the areas outlined in the warrant;

· Be silent - you don't have to help the police or answer their questions, and that means you don't have to give them your encryption keys or passwords;

· If you do decide to talk, don't lie because lying to the police is a crime;

· Finally, if you can consult with a lawyer before police conduct a search or even just talk to you, that's ideal.

This guide is extremely helpful in this digital age when being secure in our "papers" and effects now includes our data-filled electronic devices. Know your rights; that is your best protection.

http://www.naturalnews.com/032985_il...le_phones.html

Monsanto and Gates Foundation Push GE Crops on Africa

Tuesday 12 July 2011by: Mike Ludwig, Truthout | Report

Skimming the Agricultural Development section of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation web site is a feel-good experience: African farmers smile in a bright slide show of images amid descriptions of the foundation's fight against poverty and hunger. But biosafety activists in South Africa are calling a program funded by the Gates Foundation a "Trojan horse" to open the door for private agribusiness and genetically engineered (GE) seeds, including a drought-resistant corn that Monsanto hopes to have approved in the United States and abroad.

The Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA) program was launched in 2008 with a $47 million grant from mega-rich philanthropists Warrant Buffet and Bill Gates. The program is supposed to help farmers in several African countries increase their yields with drought- and heat-tolerant corn varieties, but a report released last month by the African Centre for Biosafety claims WEMA is threatening Africa's food sovereignty and opening new markets for agribusiness giants like Monsanto.

The Gates Foundation claims that biotechnology, GE crops and Western agricultural methods are needed to feed the world's growing population and programs like WEMA will help end poverty and hunger in the developing world. Critics say the foundation is using its billions to shape the global food agenda and the motivations behind WEMA were recently called into question when activists discovered the Gates foundation had spent $27.6 million on 500,000 shares of Monsanto stock between April and June 2010.

Water shortages in parts of Africa and beyond have created a market for "climate ready" crops worth an estimated $2.7 billion. Leading biotech companies like Monsanto, Syngenta, Bayer and Dow are currently racing to develop crops that will grow in drought conditions caused by climate change, and by participating in the WEMA program, Monsanto is gaining a leg up by establishing new markets and regulatory approvals for its patented transgenes in five Sub-Saharan African countries, according to the Centre's report.

Monsanto teamed up with BASF, another industrial giant, to donate technology and transgenes to WEMA and its partner organizations. Seed companies and researchers will receive the GE seed for free and small-scale farmers can plant the corn without making the royalty payments that Monsanto usually demands from farmers each season.

Monsanto is donating the seeds for now, but the company has a reputation for aggressively defending its patents. In the past, Monsanto has sued farmers for growing crops that cross-pollinated with Monsanto crops and became contaminated with the company's patented genetic codes.
In 2009, Monsanto and BASF discovered a gene in a bacterium that is believed to help plants like corn survive on less water and soon the companies developed a corn seed know as MON 87460. It remains unclear if MON 87460 will out-compete conventional drought-tolerant hybrids, but the United States Department of Agriculture could approve the corn for commercial use in the US as soon as July 11. Monsanto plans to make the seed available to American farmers by next year.

GE crops like MON 87460 can only be tested and sold in countries that, like the US, are friendly toward biotech agriculture. WEMA's target areas could add five countries to that list: South Africa, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya and Mozambique. The Biosafety Centre reports that WEMA's massive funding opportunities pressure politicians to pass weak biosafety laws and welcome GE crops and the agrichemical drenched growing systems that come with them. Field trials of MON 87460 and other drought-tolerant varieties are already underway in South Africa, where Monsanto already has considerable political influence. Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda are expected to begin field trials of WEMA corn varieties in 2011.

Make a tax-deductible donation to Truthout this week, and your contribution will be doubled by an anonymous foundation! Keep independent journalism strong - support Truthout by clicking here.
The agency that is implementing WEMA is the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), a pro-biotechnology group funded completely by the US government's USAID program, the United Kingdom and the Buffet and Gates foundations. The AATF is a nonprofit charity that lobbies African governments and promotes partnerships between public groups and private companies to make agricultural technology available in Africa. The Biosafety Centre accuses the AATF of essentially being a front group for the US government, allowing USAID to "meddle" in African politics by promoting weak biosafety regulation that makes it easier for American corporations to export biotechnology to African countries.

WEMA and AATF swim in a myriad alphabet soup of NGOs and nonprofits propped up by Western nations and wealthy philanthropists that promote everything from fertilizer to food crops with enhanced nutritional content as solutions to world hunger. Together, these groups are promoting a Second Green Revolution and sparking a worldwide debate over the future of food production. The Gates Foundation alone has committed $1.7 billion to the effort to date.

There was nothing "green" about the first Green Revolution of the 1950s and 1960s. As population skyrocketed during the last century, multinationals pushed Western agriculture's fertilizers, irrigation, oil-thirsty machinery and pesticides on farmers in the developing world. Historians often point out that promoting industrial agriculture to keep developing countries well fed was crucial to the US effort to stop the spread of Soviet Communism.

The Second Green Revolution, which is focused on Africa, seeks to solve hunger problems with education, biotechnology, high-tech breeding, and other industrial agricultural methods popular in countries like the US, Brazil and Mexico.

Africa has landed in the center of a global food debate over a central question: with the world's growing population expected to reach nine billion by 2045, how will farmers feed everyone, especially those in developing countries? The lines of the debate are drawn. The Second Green Revolutionaries are now facing off with activists and researchers who doubt the West's petroleum and technology-based agricultural systems can sustainably feed the world.

The African Centre for Biosafety and its allies often point to a report recently released by IAASTD, a research group supported by the United Nations (UN), the World Health Organization, and others. IAASTD found that industrial agriculture has been successful in its goal of increasing crop yields worldwide, but has caused environmental degradation and deforestation that disproportionately affects small farmers and poorer nations. Widespread use of pesticides and fertilizer, for instance, cause dead zones in coastal areas. Massive irrigation projects now account for 70 percent of water withdrawal globally and approximately 1.6 billion people live in water-scarce basins.

Increasing crop yields is the bottom line for groups like the Gates Foundation, but the IAASTD recommends that sustainability should be the goal. The report does not rule out biotechnology, but suggests high-tech agriculture is just one tool in the toolbox. The report promotes "agroecology," which seeks to replace the chemical and biochemical inputs of industrial agriculture with resources found in the natural environment.

In March, a UN expert released a report showing that small-scale farmers could double their food production in a decade with the simple agroecological methods. The report flies in the face of the Second Green Revolutionaries.

"Today's scientific evidence demonstrates that agroecological methods outperform the use of chemical fertilizers in boosting food production where the hungry live - especially in unfavorable environments," said Olivier De Schutter, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food and author of the report. "Malawi, a country that launched a massive chemical fertilizer subsidy program a few years ago, is now implementing agroecology, benefiting more than 1.3 million of the poorest people, with maize yields increasing from 1 ton per hectare to 2 to 3 tons per hectare."

De Schutter said private companies like Monsanto will not invest in agroecology because it does not open new markets for agrichemicals or GE seeds, so it's up to governments and the public to support the switch to more sustainable agriculture. But with more than a billion dollars already spent, the Second Green Revolutionaries are determined to have a say in how the world grows its food, and agroecology is not on their agenda. To them, sustainability means bringing private innovation to the developing world. The Gates Foundation can donate billions to the fight against hunger, but when private companies like Monsanto stand to benefit, it makes feeding the world look like a for-profit scheme.


http://www.truth-out.org/second-gree...ica/1310411034

New Study: Fluoride Can Damage the Brain - Avoid Use in Children

NEW YORK, June 21, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- "The prolonged ingestion of fluoride may cause significant damage to health and particularly to the nervous system," concludes a review of studies by researchers Valdez-Jimenez, et al. published in Neurologia (June 2011), reports New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation, Inc. (NYSCOF).

The research team reports, "It is important to be aware of this serious problem and avoid the use of toothpaste and items that contain fluoride, particularly in children as they are more susceptible to the toxic effects of fluoride." (1)

"Fluoride can be toxic by ingesting one part per million (ppm), and the effects are not immediate, as they can take 20 years or more to become evident," they write.
Most fluoridating U.S. public drinking water suppliers add fluoride chemicals to deliver 1 ppm fluoride (equal to about 1 milligram per quart) intending to benefit teeth and not to purify the water.

"Fluoridation clearly jeopardizes our children and must be stopped," says attorney Paul Beeber, President, NYSCOF. "We can actually see how fluoride has damaged children's teeth with dental fluorosis; but we can't see the harm it's doing to their brains and other organs. No U.S. researcher is even looking," says Beeber.

Valdez-Jimenez, et al. describe studies that show fluoride induces changes in the brain's physical structure and biochemistry which affects the neurological and mental development of individuals including cognitive processes, such as learning and memory.

"Fluoride is capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier, which may cause biochemical and functional changes in the nervous system during pregnancy, since the fluoride accumulates in brain tissue before birth," they write.*

Animal studies show fluoride's toxic brain effects include classic brain abnormalities found in patients with Alzheimer's disease, Valdez-Jimenez's team reports.
A different research team (Tang et al.) reported in 2008 that "A qualitative review of the studies found a consistent and strong association between the exposure to fluoride and low IQ." (Biological Trace Element Research) (2)

In 2006, the U.S. National Research Council's (NRC) expert fluoride panel reviewed fluoride toxicology and concluded, "It's apparent that fluorides have the ability to interfere with the functions of the brain." And, "Fluorides also increase the production of free radicals in the brain through several different biological pathways. These changes have a bearing on the possibility that fluorides act to increase the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease." (3)

On April 12, 2010, Time magazine listed fluoride as one of the "Top Ten Common Household Toxins" and described fluoride as both "neurotoxic and potentially tumorigenic if swallowed." (4)
Phyllis Mullenix, Ph.D., was the first U.S. scientist to find evidence that fluoride damages the brain. She published her animal study in a respected peer-reviewed scientific journal in 1995 (5) and then was fired for doing so.(6)

Vyvyan Howard, M.D., Ph.D., a prominent fetal toxicologist and past-President of the International Society of Doctors for the Environment, said that current brain/fluoride research convinces him that we should stop water fluoridation.

Many communities have stopped or rejected fluoridation in the past several years – the most recent is Fairbanks, Alaska. This year, seven New York City Council Members co-sponsored legislation to stop fluoridation in NYC.

*Translated from Spanish using Google Translation
References: https://groups.google.com/d/topic/fl...cLw/discussion
Contact: Paul Beeber, JD, 516-433-8882 nyscof@aol.com
http://www.FluorideAction.Net
http://www.fluoridation.webs.com
SOURCE NYS Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation

RELATED LINKS
http://www.orgsites.com/ny/nyscof

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-relea...124299299.html

Alternative Markets, Barter Systems, and Local Co-ops are the Lifeboats That Will Save Us

Interview with Brandon Smith, founder of Alt-Market.com

Eric Blair
Activist Post



More and more people are becoming aware of the complete system failure we’re experiencing in the United States and around the globe.

As the true nature of the control system is revealed, people tend to feel as Howard Beale did in Network when he said, “first, you’ve got to get mad…and scream, I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore!”

But once that anger at being lied to for so long subsides, then we must get on with the business of taking action to make the world more just and hopeful for our children. Many people will take to the streets to protest certain aspects of the current system.

Others will do everything in their power to inform or warn their peers of the coming iceberg. Those are good and necessary functions, but they won’t stop the Titanic from sinking.

It seems the broken system will continue to take on water despite the best efforts to affect change within it. That’s why some are suggesting to jump ship now before they run out of lifeboats. By jump ship, I mean function outside of the system as much as possible.

The faulty economic system is only propped up by our belief and support of it. When we operate outside of it using alternative markets, barter systems, local cooperatives, and competing currencies, we not only provide a lifeboat to many frightened passengers, but the paddles as well.

Below is my email interview with alternative market activist and founder of Alt-Market.com, Brandon Smith. He explains the need and benefits of using alternative markets as a form of protest and survival:

EB: What was your motivation for starting Alt-Market?

BS: I had been writing for years under the pen-name “Giordano Bruno” on my first website, Neithercorp.us, which is now retired. My original purpose when I began was simply to provide as much clarity as I could for people who were feeling overwhelmed by the wash of mainstream media disinformation, especially in terms of economic analysis. This was back in 2007 at the onset of the credit collapse, and there were a lot of good writers and researchers already doing great work, but most of it was geared towards people who had a pretty intensive understanding of the common terminology. The MSM, on the other hand, was a highly concentrated example of educational dissuasion through obscure linguistics.

That is, they talked big and thought small, and the rest of us were left confused and frustrated. . .

Average Americans believe economics is mind numbingly tedious, and they are right. Primarily, because mainstream financial pundits on your typical FOX News or MSNBC afternoon market show spew vocabulary particular to their field that most of us are not exposed to on a regular basis. They might as well be speaking Sumerian and posting stock quotes in Cuneiform. I really felt this was just a byproduct of the inbred banking and investment world.

The complex language makes them appear knowledgeable, almost unreachably superior. In reality, once you learn the terminology of micro and macroeconomics, you begin to discover that these guys actually HAVE been talking gibberish the whole time. It wasn’t you that was incapable of understanding; it was they who were incapable of giving valid explanations.

I set out in my own little way to help people realize that they could grasp finance easily, and far better than any talking head on cable television.

Until the past year, I hadn’t really considered taking the reigns of a project dedicated to organizing people around anything. I just didn’t see myself as the “frontman” type. I had written numerous articles on the concept of decoupling from the corrupt establishment system, including pieces on what I call “Alternative Markets”.

I figured that launching the ideas and strategies out onto the Web would be enough. “Let some of the heavy hitters in the Liberty Movement pick them up and run with them“, I thought. Some of these guys can jump in front of a camera or a microphone and talk for hours, non-stop about any number of subjects. That just wasn’t me.

Almost out of nowhere I received an email from Stewart Rhodes of Oath Keepers, an organization I have a lot of respect for. Its one of the few that have gone beyond the sphere of education and produced tangible results, and whose members are willing to take substantial risks to their careers and themselves.

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Stewart was looking for someone to help him with solutions on the economic side of the globalist problem. We agreed that the military, even honorable oath keeping men and women, would feel compelled to participate in a martial law scenario if there was no alternative in place for Americans to utilize during a breakdown.

If we were tearing each other apart for food and water, the DHS, FEMA, and NORTHCOM, would have the perfect rationalization for complete lock-down, and a lot of the troops would go along with it.

I brought up my work on decentralization, localization, alternative markets, and barter networks. He basically said “Great, let’s do it. You take the lead.” I was reticent, but Stewart is a Constitutional lawyer, and damned persuasive. It’s almost impossible to dissuade the guy. So, with the help of my good friend and web designer Josh Ogden, Alt-Market.com was born.

EB: How would you define alternative markets? In other words, what constitutes an alternative market?

BS: It was all theory based on diametric opposition; the idea that there is an opposing methodology for every political or social strategy, that defuses the effects of that strategy. If you want to fight elitist centralization of a system, for example, you have to develop your own working system based on decentralization.

If you want to stop the destructive effects of globalism, you have to turn away from participation in it, and focus more on localism. The purpose of centralization is to remove options from a cultural system until the only options left are those that YOU want people to bow to, and become dependent on.

If the Liberty Movement wants to fight back against this, we have to have the determination to create our own options and stop playing by their rules. I feel that an Alternative Market is one of those options.

As for what an Alternative Market is; it is essentially any method of trade outside the establishment-controlled economy. It could be based on the barter of goods and skills, or the proliferation of precious metals to break our dependence on the fiat dollar (or Federal Reserve Note), etc. It could be a network of people across a county or state, or, an agreement between two friends.

The Federal Government would call this “black market trade”, and they have called it that in the past. After the recent Liberty Dollar case was concluded and they railroaded Bernard von NotHaus with the broadest and most ridiculous interpretation of counterfeiting law I’ve ever seen, the DOJ even compared barter groups and sound money advocates to “domestic terrorists”.

This was meant to shoo us away from such organization, but, really, all it did was reveal what they are afraid of. They are desperate, and I do mean DESPERATE, to keep us from developing our own private economies. If we are successful, we will no longer be in the position of dependency on the dollar or the sham economy.

When it implodes, we will be relatively unfazed, and certainly not tearing each other apart. Meaning, their rationalization for martial law goes straight down the drain. The thought of that possibility really pisses them off…

EB: Why are alternative markets important? Explain to our readers what the benefits are to supporting alternative markets, barter systems, local co-ops, or competing currencies.

BS: I went into this a little bit above, but I believe widespread alternative trade and barter will solve a large portion of our problems. We deny the Federal Reserve the ability to collect income taxes to pay off the debt they generate out of thin air to enslave the country.
We remove ourselves from dependency on the dollar, a fraudulent fiat currency backed by nothing but more debt, which is on
the verge of hyperinflating into oblivion anyway. We rekindle the bonds of meaningful community once again, bonds which we have neglected for far too long. And, we openly declare our independence from a bad system run by despicable people. I see very little downside.

Another thing to remember is that barter networks are inevitable. I pursued a comprehensive study of barter markets throughout history before I even began writing my ideas down on paper, and I can tell you, every single modern economic collapse from the Great Depression on resulted in the immediate and natural formation of barter groups, some of them containing tens of thousands of participants.

It’s going on in Greece right now! Alternative markets are a necessity when the mainstream economy falters. They work. Period.

Another thing to remember is that barter networks are inevitable. I pursued a comprehensive study of barter markets throughout history before I even began writing my ideas down on paper, and I can tell you, every single modern economic collapse from the Great Depression on resulted in the immediate and natural formation of barter groups, some of them containing tens of thousands of participants. It’s going on in Greece right now! Alternative markets are a necessity when the mainstream economy falters. They work. Period.

I suppose my project is only original in that I changed the timing. I propose that instead of waiting until the whole edifice comes crashing down, we are preempting collapse by building barter networks now. That way we are insulated from the effects of the disaster before it happens.

Another important benefit is that barter networking is the gateway to other forms of organization. You might trade with each other, but you also might work towards mutual defense if things really go downhill, which I’m sure most of us are aware is a distinct possibility.

EB: Do you consider them a form of protest of the current system?

BS: Absolutely. A lot of people naively call America a “free market economy”. This is simply not so. If you have only two options; use the dollar and play the game, or starve to death, then this is not freedom. In a true free market economy, you should be able to participate in a particular system all you want, but also have the choice of walking away at any time.

If you can’t walk away, or if you are punished for walking away, then you are slave. That’s the bottom line. Think “feudalism”. The most effective anti-establishment movements are those that create a “third option”; a way of thinking or a means of living outside of mainstream conditioning. This is what really draws the ire of the authorities, because it presents an actual threat to their base of power.

Normal protest in itself is fine and it gives exposure to your ideas, but, really, true protest involves independent action with tangible benefits. This requires nonconformity, and risk. Without risk, there is no chance of gain. Not to disparage street actions, but waving around signs is a minimal risk, and you can see that in the behavior of our government.

Nearly 80% of the country was against the bailouts, and many protested admirably, yet they passed the bills anyway without a second thought. They don’t feel threatened by traditional protest. We’re going to have to do much more than that to stop globalization in its tracks, and I think Alternative Markets are a good start.

EB: What do you think is the major reason for the current system’s failure?

BS: Oh man! That’s a loaded question. I suppose if I was to go to the very bottom of it all and pick out the primary root from which the whole poisonous vine sprang, it would have to be the establishment of the private Federal Reserve Bank in 1913. It’s funny, because you couldn’t even call the damn thing private four years ago without media sock puppets jumping all over you like feral cats.

It’s “quasi-governmental” they used to say. Frankly, I don’t know what the hell that means. Either it is an institution under the direct authority of Congress and the American people, subject to audit and to public scrutiny, or, it is a private corporate bank outside of public control. You can’t be both. Sorry. Them’s the breaks.

Now, Alan Greenspan has finally admitted to the fact that the Fed is private and answers to no one, not even Congress, and the MSM stooges have shut up. However, the reality of that has not set in with the American people yet. Think about it; our entire economy is fully in the hands of a group of private corporate bankers who are almost all open proponents of globalization and the disintegration of national sovereignty for the sake of further centralization under the purview of an unaccountable global governing body.

They go to meetings like Bilderberg or Davos along with many of our political leaders in violation of the Logan Act, where no press is allowed, and write foreign and domestic policy which is then implemented without our consent here at home. This isn’t “conspiracy theory”. This is just what’s admitted! Our taxes pay for this monstrosity to exist. We are paying for our own chains.

In terms of the immediate cause of collapse, anyone who has done the research behind the Fed’s activities knows, whether they admit it or not, that the whole nightmare is engineered. I welcome those who are skeptical to read my research papers on the derivatives crisis and the devaluation of the dollar, or the papers of many other alternative economists. It’s all there.

The Fed knew it was creating a credit and mortgage bubble all through the ’90s and early 2000s. The Fed and entities like Goldman Sachs knew that the derivatives and mortgage markets were an utter farce and on the verge of meltdown (just look into the writings of Catherine Austin Fitts, the former Assistant Secretary of Housing).

The Fed knew that the banks were ridiculously insolvent (it has recently been discovered that Lehman Bros. received $18 Billion in secret Fed funds months before they declared bankruptcy, and they warned no one). The Fed knew it all!

So, the only logical conclusion one can come to is that they wanted a financial disaster to take place. Why? They are globalists! They want a global currency, a global economic infrastructure, a global government. The U.S. is simply being prepared for that transition, whether the American people want it or not.

EB: We share the belief that a genuine free market is the answer to current global consolidation, but do you think free markets, or underground markets, will be permitted beyond the local level?

Who knows if they’ll be “officially” permitted at the local level, let alone the national level. I guess there will come a point where Americans will have to ask themselves where the line is. In my opinion, the line was crossed a long time ago, but human beings will put up with a lot of trouncing for the sake of “not making waves”.

Under a corrupt government, the law is not for us, and it is not “just”. It is not an equalizer for the safety of the citizenry. Under a corrupt government, the law is a weapon to be used to subjugate the public. That is all. Ultimately, if we wish to survive, and if we wish our principles of liberty to survive, we will have to break the law, because it is in direct opposition to our survival. To be quite honest, I would rather be called a criminal or an “extremist”, than be called an “abiding subject”.

My suspicion is that many people feel the same way, and that free markets will spring up everywhere regardless of what is permitted.

EB: Once local alternative markets are established to weather the transitional storm that is coming, what do you think should replace the Federal Reserve System?

BS: Not the IMF or some other global central bank, even though that appears to be the plan. Alternative Markets are a shield against the storm, but eventually, we’ll have to rebuild our government, only then can we replace the Federal Reserve with something honorable.

The way any transition would naturally progress would probably be through the implementation of numerous decentralized markets which would then take on gold, silver, and maybe copper as a common currency mechanism (being that precious metals are the only practical replacements at this time). The power to create and regulate money would have to be given back to the Treasury as was originally intended by the Founding Fathers. A new paper currency is certainly plausible, but this time its production would have to be limited by a metals standard.

People who don’t comprehend how a metals standard works always blubber about how there’s not enough gold or silver to support a currency anymore. They don’t understand that the value of metals increases with demand, and therefore, it wouldn’t matter if there was only one ounce of gold in the entire country.

That one ounce would be worth trillions, and each paper currency note would represent a tiny fraction of that ounce, while at the same time forcing a level of commodity backing. There can still be some inflation, but a metals standard sets limits, and it limits the government’s ability to spend with wild abandon. Keynesianism is a travesty.

It doesn’t work (obviously), and Keynes himself was a globalist cretin with aspirations of total centralization. Let’s dump his wretched theories and move on, please!

EB: Wouldn’t Wall Street have to be completely overhauled as well for a new monetary system to function properly?

BS: I’m not even sure what Wall Street is anymore. It’s certainly not a representation of free markets or of true Capitalism (in the Adam Smith sense). It’s a kind of nasty bulbous tumor now, leaching off the lifeblood of the real economy. The bull market rally we’ve had over the past couple years is completely fiat driven. If the Fed raised interest rates tomorrow, I guarantee stocks would plummet to 2008 levels or lower.

The bailouts and Quantitative Easing are the only things keeping it alive. Fiat injections are like formaldehyde for the Dow; it’s a corpse, but a pretty corpse, with blush and a nice suit. It looks almost alive, but it died a long time ago, and its starting to smell a little. I think speculative markets have a place in any economy, and investment must be encouraged. But, it should be investment based on legitimate performance, not cooked books and fabricated securities.

In a new stock market, transparency would have to be demanded with no exceptions. That’s the only way it would work.

EB: What do you ultimately hope to achieve with your alternative market social network?

BS: We began with the goal of 50,000 members before collapse escalates towards hyperinflation. Right now we have around 1200 members, so we have a long way to go, though there has been a very exciting snowball effect in membership over the past month. The website itself is just a springboard for local action. I try to impress this on all our members.

It’s not enough to merely join the site and start a group in your town or city; you have to leave your freaking house and meet each other face to face. You have to commit to real organization and real trade. You know . . . what people used to do before the Internet. My hope is that through Alt-Market, we can facilitate strong community building across the country and help people to remember that they do have a choice.

That they can walk away from the rigged game and play by their own rules. Most importantly, my hope is that it will save lives, and save our country. It’s not a perfect country, but that shouldn’t stop us from aspiring to something better.

We can sit around on our asses and complain about the terrible state of the world, or we can take it upon ourselves to clean up the mess. That’s all there is. If you are afraid to take action, then I suggest you consider what will happen if you don’t. I see far more danger in complacency and fear than I see in defiance and courage.

EB: Where do we go from here, what can people do to stimulate alternative markets?

BS: My website is only one way to build a barter network. You don’t have to join to do it, we just try to make the process easier for you. Food production should be a priority for any new alternative market, especially in the face of inflation.

Approaching farmer’s co-ops or garden co-ops, or even starting your own and trying to develop a barter plan, would be a good first step. Getting people to meet bi-weekly and discussing goals would be more than what most in the movement do. It’s a lost art form. It’s going to take a little time for us to relearn how barter is done.

Stewart Rhodes and I will actually be driving Alternative Markets even further with our Safe Haven State Project, which will be ready for launch soon. For those who feel the area in which they live is too unreceptive to barter networking, we’ll be building barter communities in states and counties that have a strong existing foundation.

The first state we will be focusing on is Montana. We also hope to work with other Free State Projects like those in New Hampshire and Wyoming to give people more moving options. The plan is to set up coordination committees and welcome wagons within certain areas that will make your move smoother, as well as help you to find housing and employment.

On top of this, as more people move to these Safe Havens, barter networks will grow until a full bore alternative economy is in place. I will be putting my money where my mouth is and moving to one of these areas shortly.

At bottom, we need to set aside our cynicism and our nihilism and become human again. There is nothing to lose and everything to gain. Honestly, I don’t know many people that have better things to do. There is no excuse for failure. In the words of Carl Jung; we make our own epoch.

Please visit Alt-Market today to begin building your local alternative market connections. And please consider making a donation to their summer fundraiser; the movement needs lifeboats and paddles. You can reach Brandon at brandon@alt-market.com.

http://theintelhub.com/2011/07/12/al...-will-save-us/

STAY AWAY FROM CHEMOTHERAPY AND RADIATION

By Dr. James Howenstine, MD.
November 25, 2011
NewsWithViews.com

For many years it has been known to well informed individuals within the medical community that chemotherapy and radiation were quite toxic and essentially worthless in the management of malignancies. This information is carefully covered up by our controlled media so that these two methods of therapy are regarded by lay persons as the proven therapy for malignancies. Like lemmings going over a cliff the general public lines up for these therapies and nearly all treated persons proceed to die.

To the person who inquires how can an essentially worthless therapy continue to be used as the answer is simple. It is all about money. Chemotherapy drugs bring in more than a trillion dollars annually to the pharmaceutical industry. Oncologists frequently make (actually the number can now be over $50,000 per injection) $1000 from every injection administered to a patient. There are 40 National Cancer Institute Centers scattered across the USA. Each of these employs thousands of employees. Curing cancer would be devastating for the economy and must not be allowed to occur. Research programs whose alleged purpose is to cure cancer see their funds steered into harmless areas where no cancer cures will ever result. Less than 1% of research funds are spent finding methods to prevent the spread of cancer, which is the cause of fatal cancer cachexia which kills 90% of cancer victims.

Preventing unfavorable chemotherapy results from being seen by the public in TV, radio, and newspaper reporting is combined with malicious quackery charges and actual death threats to practitioners who have legitimate cancer cures. I am aware of at least a dozen cancer cures since 1900 that have been ignored or suppressed. Several persons with bonafide cancer cures have been so vilified they died alcoholics or committed suicide. Prominent physician Dr. Milbrook Johnson was fatally poisoned the night before he was scheduled to speak on a national radio network in the 1940s about the ability of Dr. Royal Rife’s electronic equipment to cure cancer and infections.

Both chemotherapy and radiation have such toxic effects on the human body they must be stopped before they kill the patient. In the early days of chemotherapy drugs it was noted that skeptical patients who refused to take chemotherapy usually lived longer than patients treated with chemotherapy. (in the 1940’s research was done that showed the average life expectancy was 4 times longer for those that took no treatment)

Radiation therapy directed toward a bone containing cancer might initially seem innocuous but actually has effects throughout the body. Circulation of blood through areas of ionizing radiation being delivered to bone is able to transport this radiated blood to distant sites where it can injure bone marrow production of killer lymphocytes, red blood cells, macrophages and platelets. Loss of appetite and nausea can also be seen. Conventional radiation to the abdomen and other areas may be followed by permanent injury to the small intestine, liver, pancreas, colon, (diarrhea, pain) and arteriosclerosis of arteries in any field of radiation.

A suspected cancer patient had x-ray films showing numerous lucent identical sized masses overlying brain and spinal cord tissue. The films were misread as metastasis from a prior malignant melanoma instead of echinoccocal cysts spread from the family dogs. Massive radiation of brain and spinal cord tissue caused complete loss of appetite with no food intake and death in 8 days in a previously well 26 year old woman.

What are results of chemotherapy drugs? Associate Professor Graeme Morgan of Australia was the lead researcher on an article titled “The contribution of cytotoxic chemotherapy to 5 year survival in adult malignancies.” This research showed that chemotherapy improved 5 year survival by less than 3% in adults with cancer. In 1987 Dr. Lana Levi of the University of California wrote “most cancer patients in this country die of chemotherapy. It does not eliminate breast, colon, or lung cancer. This fact has been known for over a decade. Women with breast cancer are likely to die faster with chemotherapy than without it.”

Dr. Ralph Moss Ph.D. relates that “Conventional Cancer therapy is so toxic and dehumanizing that I fear it more than I fear death from cancer. Yet most alternative therapies regardless of potential or proven benefit, are outlawed, which forces patients to submit to the failures that we know don’t work because there is no other choice. Dr. Moss was employed as a science writer for Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. Chemotherapy drugs are cellular poisons so they are quite toxic. They are also quite expensive. In his book The Cancer Industry he documents how the close links between the pharmaceutical industry and the cancer establishment enables an inadequate therapy like chemotherapy to become promoted and established as standard care.”

In a 1995 interview Dr. Moss related that chemotherapy was effective in only 2 to 4 % of all malignancies (Hodgkin ’s disease, Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia, childhood leukemia, testicular cancer and Choriocarcinoma.)

The package inserts for chemotherapy drugs admit that taking a course of chemotherapy drugs can increase your risk of subsequently developing a new cancer by about 10%.. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) warns that the powerful drugs used in chemotherapy can cause cancer in employees who handle them (nurses, pharmacists, cleaning personnel). If continued too long these drugs are fatal. The damage to white blood cells, killer lymphocyte and red blood cell production makes the patient vulnerable to overwhelming (bacterial and fungal) infections which are the cause of death in many patients on chemotherapy and radiation. It never made sense to me why administering toxic substances that cause major side effects could possibly heal a serious illness like a malignancy.

Dr. William Campbell Douglass II, MD “To understand the utter hypocrisy of chemotherapy, consider the following: The McGill Cancer Center in Canada, one of the largest and most prestigious cancer treatment centers in the world, did a study of oncologists to determine how they would respond to a diagnosis of cancer. On the confidential questionnaire, 58 out of 64 doctors said that all chemotherapy programs were unacceptable to them and their family.

In 33 years of conventional medical practice I referred all patients with malignancies to oncologists. The only survivor was a Chinese man with a low grade lung cancer. He responded every five years or so to a few doses of radiation.

In my opinion one of the most important verses in the Bible is Proverbs 14:12 There is way that seems right unto man but its end is the way of death. Drug company owners and executives, politicians, world leaders and media executives have unbelievable wealth and power in this world. However, they face a tortured eternity following death. This seems to be a very unwise tradeoff.

Anyone reading this article has my permission to copy or publish this information. Hopefully, some individuals will be made aware that there are safe effective alternatives to chemotherapy and radiation in the treatment of malignancies.

© 2011 Dr. James Howenstine - All Rights Reserved

Dr. James A. Howenstine is a board certified specialist in internal medicine. The Second Edition of his book A Physicians Guide To Natural Health Products That Work is available.

Dr. Howenstine can be reached by phoning 001-506-2262-7504.

E-Mail: dr.jimhow@gmail.com

http://www.newswithviews.com/Howenstine/james191.htm

Making Pitch Glue

Pitch glue is something new to me. I have never used it, made it, or even seen it in person up until today when I did all three. I have watched videos about it on you tube and read about it in books and internet articles. It seemed like one of those things that would be difficult to do and was slightly intimidating for some odd reason. Though as if it was something only the most seasoned woodsman or expert bush crafter would use.

Well, today I realized that all of these perceptions were just that.

Pitch glue is extremely simple to produce. There are three ingredients needed; pine pitch, charcoal, and a strengthener (fiber). These ingredients must be combine in a simple but necessary process. First, lets go over what exactly these components are and how to harvest them.

Pine Pitch, simply the sap that seeps from wounds on a pine trees trunk. It can be harvested using a strong twig, a rock, a dull knife or even an old hack saw blade. The pitch should be placed in an small steel bowl, pot, or can.

Charcoal, well you know what it is. Simply harvest chunks off of an partially burnt log. These pieces of charcoal will need to be ground into a powder. I used a couple rocks to crush and grind the chunks of charcoal into a mixture of dust and dirt type of powder.

Fiber, can be the dried excrement of a plant eating animal or a dried and ground grass. So rather than playing with animal poop, I took some dried grass clippings and ground them up with the same stones that I used for the charcoal.

NOTE: You will also need a container to store the pitch glue in. I used a small tin similar to one of the popular mint containers.

Now, lets go over how to combine these components into a pitch glue. The first step will be to make a small fire with a decent bed of coals. You will also need a way to suspend your bowl, pot, or can over the fire. (For some ideas, check out the bush class thread on pot hangers. http://bushcraftusa.com/forum/showthread.php?t=35142 ) Place the pitch pot over the fire at a height that will warm it slowly, something equivalent to a simmer on your home stove. Be careful no to light the pitch on fire! It is extremely flammable and very difficult to extinguish once it catches fire!

While the pitch is warming and beginning to liquefy, crush and grind your charcoal and grass (or poop) into the powders. Combine the two powders at a ratio of 1:1. Once the pitch is liquefied add your charcoal and grass mixture. You will want to have twice as much pitch as you do grass and charcoal. Mix the ingredients thoroughly and place the mixture back over the fire to bring it back up to heat. Get your storage tin ready and take the pitch glue back off of the heat and pour/scrape it into the container. Be careful not to get the glue on your hands as it is very hot and very sticky. Also try to avoid getting the glue on any of the sealing areas of the container as that will make it difficult to open in the future. To help prevent yourself from gluing the container shut, let the glue cool completely before you put the lid on. This way, if there is any glue on the rim of the container, it will not be an issue as it will be dry.

That’s it! You’ve made and packaged your own pitch glue! Made from the things nature gave us!

To use the glue you will have to re heat it. That is why I chose to use a metal container to store it in. So to use it, warm it back up so that it is pliable, and apply the same way you would a two part epoxy. Hold the items until the glue cools, which is only a few seconds to a minute, and you are done!

This first batch of glue that I made is fairly brittle so I’ll have to experiment some more and see if I can make it a little more pliable. (Edit: I just found out that if you add fat to the glue it will remain more pliable. I wonder if wax would work?) Have fun and be safe!

http://bushcraftusa.com/forum/showthread.php?t=37776