Thread: BASIC LIST / SUGGESTED ITEMS FOR LONG TERM SURVIVAL

WHAT ARE YOUR CHANCES OF GETTING AND SURVIVING CANCER?

By Dr. James Howenstine, MD.
August 23, 2011
NewsWithViews.com

• In 2005, cancer passed heart disease as the leading cause of death in the United States.
• An American life is lost to cancer every 21 seconds.
• Cancer now kills more children between the ages 3 and 14 than any other illness.
• Cancer is responsible for 1 out of every 4 deaths in the U.S.A.

Who Is at Risk of Developing Cancer?

EVERYONE! Statistics show that in the year 1880, when records were first kept, 1 in 35 people developed cancer in their lifetime. That figure is currently 1 in every 2 men and 1 in every 3 women. Since the occurrence of cancer increases as individuals’ age, most cases affect adults middle-aged or older.[1]

Prostate cancer is the most common major cancer in America, even though it affects only one sex. Lifetime odds of getting it are 1 in 6. Prostate cancer gets a fraction of what is spent on breast cancer research, and virtually nothing is known about what causes it.[2]

Incidence of breast cancer in women has increased from 1 in 20 in 1960 to 1 in 8 today.

Worldwide, 10.9 million people die each year from cancer.[3]

The U.S. spends a conservative 1.4 trillion dollars a year on "healthcare," with another 34 billion spent on complementary and alternative methods - a high percentage of that being spent on cancer; more per capita than any other nation on earth. But the quality of life for the average American stops at age 51. After that, it takes medical intervention to manage their symptoms. Using conventional methods, the war on cancer is being lost; many people die not from the disease itself but from damage caused by the treatments.

In ancient days, leprosy was the plague that struck fear in all hearts. Cancer is the modern day equivalent of that disfiguring condition. Today cancer is the most dreaded of all. Death by cancer is humiliating, debilitating, painful and sometimes agonizingly slow. After your body has been subjected to the arsenal of weapons that modern medicine uses to fight cancer, it may seem that just staying alive isn't worth the effort. Be that as it may, we willingly submit ourselves to the physical destruction of surgery, radiation, and/or chemotherapy just to gain a few more precious days of life. No matter how you perceive life and death, being a cancer patient is no picnic. Every year, 700,000 Americans die of cancer--the equivalent of more than three fully loaded Jumbo Jets crashing every day, this is despite the fact that record sums of money have been spent on cancer research and treatment. Cancer is a symptom of an inefficient immune system, a red flag signifying that the immune defense forces are falling down on the job. But, even the best cancer specialists are still confused about what cancer is and what it isn't.

In 1971 when the U.S. declared war on cancer, scientists still hadn't identified the body’s immune system defense force, which was already fighting that war, along with many others. All the doctors, scientists, the American Cancer Society, call cancer a disease. Cancer is not contagious, it doesn't have an incubation period, and there are no foreign invaders that have been identified. Cancer is not a disease, you can’t catch It--it's a symptom of a naturally occurring condition in the body that the immune system normally keeps under control. The problems come when the body’s immune system becomes compromised and can no longer maintain this control. As long as they have cancer misclassified, it will continue to remain both their biggest challenge and a major scientific mystery. Scientists, medical doctors, authors, mass media reporters, even cancer patients, think of cancer as a whole group of diseases, because they have cancer in the wrong category. All the research and efforts go into fighting the symptoms, and not the cause, which is a weakened immune system. Cancer is the scientist's playground. Because cancer kills, scientists have been able to request and receive billions of dollars in grants from the federal government, non-profit health-oriented organizations, major corporations, and private sources.

The New England Journal of Medicine reports that the war on cancer is a failure. "Despite $30 billion spent on research since 1970, cancer remains "undefeated," with a death rate not lower but actually higher than when they started. The effect of new treatments for cancer has been largely disappointing. The failure of chemotherapy to control cancer has become apparent even to the oncology establishment." John C. Bailar III, M.D., Ph.D., Chairman of the Dept; of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at McGill University.

The late H.B. Jones, Professor of Medical Physics, was a leading U. S. cancer statistician. He said in a speech before the American Cancer Society that no study has proved that early intervention improves the chances of survival. On the contrary, his studies proved conclusively that untreated cancer victims live up to four times longer and with better quality of life than treated ones.

The prestigious British medical journal The Lancet wrote, "If one were to believe all the media hype, the triumphal of the medical profession in published research, and the almost weekly miracle breakthroughs trumpeted by the cancer charities, one might be surprised that women are dying at all from breast cancer." Noting that conventional therapies--chemotherapy, radiation and surgery--had been pushed to their limits with dismal results, the editorial called on researchers to "challenge medical dogma and redirect research efforts along more fruitful lines."

TAXOL is the most commonly prescribed medication in the world today for breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and lung cancer.

TAXOL was discovered in the mid 1960’s and yet with all the research being conducted in the following 50 years, it is still the number one seller. In order to make it appear that cancer medications are improving, they just rename the same product from time to time. In addition to the brand name Taxol, it is also known as Paclitaxel or Onxol. In Canada Taxol is sold under the names Abraxane and Apo-Paclitaxel. In Mexico it goes by the names Aclixel, Asotax, Bristaxol, Cryoxet, and Praxel. It’s interesting because as old as Taxol is, and as long as it has been manufactured, it remains to be one of the most costly.

The truth is that TAXOL is completely ineffective in treating any of the three cancers for which it is prescribed, as proven by the fact that more people are dying of these cancers than ever. However, chemotherapy is made to look increasingly more effective by simply changing the way we determine survival rates. It used to be that anyone going 15 years without dying was considered a survivor. In order to improve the numbers that was lowered to 10 years, now its 5 years. But the big improvements in the number of cancer survivors came when they changed the way you were classified. Let’s say someone is diagnosed with breast cancer and it metastasizes to bone cancer, and perhaps lung cancer, and they die, having three types of cancer raging in their body. To improve the survival rate, and make everyone believe we are winning the war on cancer, they will determine which cancer of the three actually killed the person, in this case say it was the lung cancer, they will then be counted as both as a breast cancer and a bone cancer survivor, as technically they did not die from either of these cancers. The fact is the person was dying from all three of them as the chemotherapy and radiation treatments were failing miserably; the death is just attributed to one of the three and a victory is claimed in the other two types of cancer. As misleading as this is, it is how the numbers are currently being calculated, and as most of you know, the majority of people that succumb to cancer will end up with cancer that has metastasized into one or more other types.

The truth is that the large pharmaceutical companies are making record profits, many billions of dollars every year, and are not going to change direction anytime soon.We may be losing the war on cancer, but they are winning the war of statistics.

At this point I think we have pretty well covered the first part of this articles title, “what are your chances of getting cancer,” now let’s discuss the second part of the title, “will you survive it.” I’m am going to give you the same advice I give every patient that comes through my door, and if you take it, you will have more than a fighting chance to survive.

FIRST, and most important – TAKE CONTROL. You are the one with cancer, not your physician, and you need to always remember that. When you walk into the oncologists’ office for your first consultation, you are considering if you should hire his services or not. If you do decide to continue with this person always keep in mind that he works for you, he is there to advise you, but the decisions are always made by you. I see too many times where the patient is told what they must do if they want to survive, or even if they want to continue with this particular physician, and they are given no choice or options in the matter. And all too many times if the patient dares to question the oncologist they are treated with indignation and contemp. If this happens to you, I advise you to run from that office.

SECOND, there are always options. Actually this is truer with cancer than many other conditions or diseases, and because you are in control, you need to do your homework. Go on-line and look at your options, study them, and then take them to your physician for his advice; if they are a good oncologist they will talk them over with you. Don’t let them hurry you into a treatment; you have time, remember it took the cancer a long time to get to the stage where it could even be detected. You have time to consider which direction you feel is best for you; it is one of the most important decisions you will make in your lifetime. It is definitely a high priority decision but don’t get pushed into making it by anyone, this is about you and no one else.

THIRD, get a second opinion, and maybe a third or even forth opinion. Physicians are people and as such they are not perfect. Just like car mechanics, there are good ones and there are bad ones. And just like car mechanics, no one ever admits to using a bad one. Everyone always have the best, and this is even more true with physicians, everyone will tell you their physician is the absolute fantastic, but the fact is, not all physicians are equal. It is possible that a mistake has been made but without a second opinion you will never discover if that is the case. There are some very good physicians out there but there really are some bad ones, get a second opinion. You will only know what you have if you have something to compare it to. My advice for obtaining a second opinion is to NOT ask your current physician if they could recommend someone. Most physicians are aware that people will want to discuss their case with someone else and they belong to a network of physicians that support one another, don’t fall into this situation, you will just be wasting your money. And now that I have brought up money, let’s move to number four on my list of advice to help you survive.

FOURTH, the insurance companies are not on your side. Despite what you see on TV commercials, insurance companies are not there for you, they are not your friend, or your neighbor, and you are not in good hands. Also keep in mind that your physician works very closely with the insurance companies because they pay the bills, and your physician is going to remember that in prescribing a treatment for you. At the end of the day, insurance companies do not want to pay, and all physicians want to get paid, and because of this fact you will be given limited options for your treatment. Most physicians will not prescribe treatments that are not covered by your insurance no matter how effective they are, and at this writing the insurance companies are only covering mainstream treatments that are largely ineffective. This is your life; please do not let the insurance companies dictate to you a form of treatment that will result with you being just another statistic. Remember, sometimes no treatment results in a longer, better life, and I should note the following fact here; the percentage of oncologist who say they would NOT receive chemotherapy if diagnosed with cancer is 75%.[4]

FIFTH, investigate on your own the vast amount of natural treatments available. The numbers of all natural, non-toxic cancer treatments are increasing every day, and they are producing amazing results when compared to the real results of the major pharmaceutical companies. I have been personally using a product called the LifeOne Formula for the past 9 years with near 100% results and I am an avid advocate of this product. When I receive a new cancer patient I find myself excited to share the LifeOne information with them, and get them started on their journey to recovery.

The first place I advise them is to click here because they have the most complete information available on LifeOne. When my patients begin the LifeOne treatments they will very quickly feel better, look better, and have a renewed vigor for life. By comparison, what happens to patients that are given chemo injections, they become emancipated, frail, sickly, and their hair falls out. These are not the effects of the cancer; these are the effects of the poison that has been injected into their systems. To see just how toxic these chemo injections really are, follow this link to see the effect that a small spill of chemo had upon a hand, and while looking at the photo imagine what the effect this poison has on the inside of your body.

For a comparison with the LifeOne Formula, TAXOL, the number one chemotherapy ingredient in the world, is derived from a single natural ingredient that comes from the bark of the Pacific Yew tree which is then chemically reproduced in pharmaceutical laboratories and it no longer has anything natural about it. The LifeOne Formula contains more than 8 active natural ingredients obtained from around the world, all of which work synergistically in a liposomal delivery system to produce an unequalled attack against cancer. The complete story and history of the LifeOne Formula can be found here. I encourage you to go to this website and pour over the vast amount of information they have available on this amazing product. The LifeOne Formula was originally conceived, manufactured, and patented as an immune system enhancer, and that is its sole intended use. The body’s immune system is every person’s most important weapon in the war against cancer. Good Luck and please live a long and healthy life.

Dr. Jose Benavente
Surgeon - General Medicine
Occupational Medicine
C.M.E.C. 3095
MPPPS 57335

Footnotes:
1. How many New Cases are expected to Occur this yaer?
2. Prostate Cancer Research and Advocacy Lag
3. How many people are killed by cancer each year?
4. Vast Majority of Oncologists Would NOT Use Chemotherapy If They Got Cancer.

© 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/james190.htm

The Ultimate Crisis Hedge: Land. Physical Land.

Eric Peters
August 23rd, 2011
Eric Peters Autos
147 Comments

This article has been generously contributed by Eric Peters of Eric Peters Autos.

Editor’s Note: With real estate prices continuing their downward trajectory and no end in sight, most Americans, even those who would love a new home, are shying away from the housing market. For the most part, this makes sense, especially considering that housing may fall another 20% to 30% from here. We certainly wouldn’t recommend jumping into a new traditional home ‘investment’ right now, especially if you have to take on a new mortgage to get it, and especially if it is in any major cities. There’s really no significant upside to the deal. Not only will you end up losing on the investment side, but the fact of the matter is that the majority of real estate is, contrary to popular belief, not an investment, but rather, a liability. A home in the suburbs or a condo in the inner city has no productive capacity – which means you’ll never really get anything out of it unless you buy at the very bottom of an unpredictable collapsing bubble. But for the right family, the right property may prove to be a great investment at this time, even if you have to borrow to buy it. It’s true that mortgage rates are at historic lows. And, with the real estate market in shambles, more land owners than ever before are willing to owner finance a deal, making it possible for those with not-exactly-great-credit or a huge down payment to have their own piece of paradise while also avoiding the banking system in general.

In the article below, Eric Peters provides several compelling reasons for why buying land, physical land, is the ultimate hedge against crisis – be it economic or otherwise. Unlike suburban properties, acreage outside of a major city can serve a multitude of purposes, including giving you the ability to produce your own food and the obvious protection provided from the possibility of rioting and civil unrest which is sure to hit the streets of America’s major cities in months and years to come. Even though the value (priced in dollars) of physical land may not be immune to what’s headed our way, the real value comes from its ability to actually produce something, rather than suck up more of your wealth like traditional real estate investments. There’s a reason that billionaires, hedge funds, and even sovereign wealth funds of entire nations are investing in farmland. They understand the trend, which is progressively rising food and energy costs. Find a good piece of land and you can completely eliminate these costs for the long-term, and create a truly self sufficient investment that never stops producing.


A Not-Car Column….

By Eric Peters

Last weekend, we bought some land.

This flies against policy (our policy) of never buying anything except that which can be paid for at the time of purchase – and even though I know full-well that we won’t really own the land, just as we don’t really own the land we have (or the house that sits upon it) because owners don’t pay rent in perpetuity to the government, which we, like all “owners” must (in the form of annual property taxes) if we wish to continue to be allowed to remain on the land (and in “our”) house.

Anyhow.

We did this deed as a way to hedge against what I am increasingly convinced is coming – the destruction of the dollar, followed about five minutes after this becomes common knowledge by the final implosion of what’s left of the American economy.

Land – physical land – is a good way (perhaps the only way, in a major economic crisis) to keep at least some of your wealth intact and more importantly – if you act in time – a way to transfer the value of fiat dollar-denominated assets into something tangible, of real value. Gold, of course, is another way to do this but it has a major disadvantage: It is only valuable as a sort-of proxy for wealth; that is, it has value only as long as someone else who has something you want is willing to trade you what he has for the gold you have – which means that he (the owner of the item you want) must believe he will be able to then swap the gold he gets from you to some other person who has something he wants, something that’s not gold. Put another way, gold is fungible only if there’s a still-operating economy. If the worst happens and the system really does experience a catastrophic collapse, the value of gold may collapse along with it – at least, for awhile. Until civilization re-assembles itself. But in the meanwhile, what will you do with your gold? It is pretty to look at but you can’t eat it and outside of a few specialized industrial applications that won’t matter during a period of crisis, it is useless.
Land, on the other hand, not only has tangible value (like gold) and is fungible (also like gold) because you can always convert it into gold or trade/sell it for something else you value – but perhaps much more importantly, in a time of real crisis, land can give you life.

Literally.

You can grow food on land – which could mean the difference between life and death, when the system runs off the rails and Costco and Safeway are looted to the linoleum. Which – count on it – is sure to happen the moment the masses get a whiff of the dollar’s imminent collapse. And you can hunt on land, too – assuming enough acreage.

But the number one advantage to land, as I see it, is physical distance between yourself – you and your family – and the latter-day Golden Horde that is already in the process of forming itself up. (Witness the so-called “flash mobs” of “youths” in Wisconsin, Philadelphia and other places.) Just as it is harder for a thug to assault you from 20 yards away than when he’s right up in your face, you stand a better chance of making it through what may be coming if you and yours are not in the immediate vicinity (or path) of the rampaging mobs. They may not even notice you – and more significantly, you will enjoy a greater likelihood of noticing them before they notice you. In old-school cowboy lingo, this means getting the drop on them. And that can be the difference between life and death as much as having some food and other supplies stored up to get you through a few months of hard times.

In the most extreme eventuality – minions of the Clover State coming to round you and yours up for “relocation” to a FEMA camp or god-knows-what-else in the immediate aftermath of a SHTF-type scenario – you have the option of just… disappearing. Of going off the grid, into the heart of darkness. It will not be easy. It will certainly not be pleasant. But it is much more pleasant than the alternative.

I am in my 40s now and like most people in that age bracket, I like my comforts. I enjoy having my motorcycle and car projects; even doing the chores around the place that need to be done. But if the S does H the Fan, I will do everything in my power to make it through to the other side of whatever’s coming, which will hopefully be something better than what we have now. But above all else, I will not Submit and Obey. If they come for me and mine, if they are not willing to leave us be in return for us extending the same common decency toward them – well, then we have options.

Because we have some land.

If you are reading this, there is still time for you to do the same. I hope you will consider it – and I hope you can make it happen.

Meanwhile, let’s hope for the best and that all we’ll be doing next summer is cutting the grass….

Throw it in the Woods?

Eric Peters is the proprietor of Eric Peters Autos and provides commentary on everything from classic cars and SHTF vehicles, to preparedness information and Libertarian ideas.

http://www.shtfplan.com/emergency-pr...-land_08232011

Getting Off The Globalist Chess Board: Safe Haven Relocation

By Brandon Smith & Stewart Rhodes
Submitted by Brandon Smith from Alt-Market

Getting Off The Globalist Chess Board: Safe Haven Relocation

By Brandon Smith & Stewart Rhodes

Special Note: This is the second part in our ‘Getting Off The Globalist Chessboard’ series. Go here to read Part I. Also go to Operation Sleeping Giant for more information , and, be sure to check out our recently launched Safe Haven State Project (page still under construction).
As we noted in part one of this series:

“To put it simply, America is nearing a checkmate scenario. Like the final torrid maneuvers of a rigged chess match, we have been pressed, manipulated, and attacked into the last remaining corner of the “grand global chessboard” left to us; centralized control of all social and economic power into the hands of an unworthy elite. If we continue playing the game by their rules, we will lose. There is no doubt. There have been many solutions presented to us in the past to combat this development, but nearly all of them function within the constraints of Federal politics. Working within the system has earned us no quarter, and frankly, no results. Our only recourse (and, frankly, the best recourse all along) is to STOP relying on the rules of their game, and to walk away from the chess board completely...”

Ideally, it would be grand if enough Americans across this nation would decouple from the fraudulent fiat system so that they and their communities could be sufficiently strong, independent, and resilient enough to weather the coming storm and walk out the other side free. Whatever our individual circumstances, wherever we are, we should work toward that goal; decentralized and sovereign – starting with ourselves, then working outward to galvanize and steel our families, our close friends and distant relatives, our neighborhoods, towns, counties, and then, of course, our states.
Through this effort, we greatly improve our own chances, and equally important, the chances of our communities and our country. It is not only for us to save ourselves, but also to restore our Republic, from the ground up.

We also need to face the reality that an economic collapse is very likely to come before such a renaissance of preparedness will see the light of day. We must accept that in many parts of modern day America, we will not be able to wake up enough people in time to prevent a U.S. version of what we now see in the riots of England, as well as what we saw here in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, but on a national scale – unprepared people who are desperate and scared, or those who are willing to take advantage of the situation to loot, rob, rape, assault, and even kill their fellow citizens.

Some might say that in times like these, uncertainty reigns supreme. However, for those of us in the Liberty Movement, who have spent years carefully tracking the negative progressions of our economy, our government, and our culture, the future is disturbingly clear. We’ve all noticed the turning of the tide, in financial sectors, in political attitudes, in social interaction, in law and law enforcement; our country is, indeed, eroding before our very eyes. It is degrading into something unrecognizable; something monstrous. The pace has quickened, especially in 2011, and those who have chosen to “wait out” the storm in the hopes of a comprehensive top down solution are becoming more and more disappointed and disenchanted.

This is not to say that astounding strides have not been made. The Liberty Movement has an incredibly strong and decisive presence on the internet and in our society today, something that we could not boast three years ago. Efforts to educate the public on globalism, central banking, and economic collapse have brought substantial results that are visible now even in the so called mainstream. However, root problems of centralization and fiscal instability remain. These problems will never be undone unless we are first honest with ourselves.

The painful reality is that right now the general populace is urbanized, collectivized, and addicted to the speed and ease of technological amenities to the point that many cannot live without them. This simply will not do.

It is historically evident that in every modern economic collapse, city dependent cultures are far less resilient than farming cultures. During the hyperinflationary crisis of 1920s Wiemar Germany, Austria, and Hungary, those tied to city life, indeed, went hungry, while those in the country had food. In fact, with extreme currency devaluation, farmers no longer had any incentive to trade food for worthless fiat money, and thus stopped supplying large population centers altogether. Though just as “poor” as any city dweller, farmers were able to live on their own produce and labor, and began bartering with their rural neighbors. People trapped in the dregs of metropolitan dependency did not have that option, and desperately hocked grand pianos and the family silver for mere sacks of potatoes. This has happened over and over again, with Argentina being the most recent example of a sophisticated modern nation suffering hunger in its cities during hyperinflation.

America is truly on a similar path, and the outcome will undoubtedly be the same…

While awareness is growing, a primary focus or framework for activism is still elusive. The movement seems to be pulling itself in too many directions at once in search of answers, and without a foundation for proactive measures. Many participants and activists feel isolated from one another, or even surrounded by less prepared swaths of the American public. Organization is limited primarily to interactions on the web, and face to face cooperation is rare. If a full spectrum economic collapse were to occur today, or even a moderate breakdown, we would NOT be ready for the panic that would follow. This is the bottom line which we must acknowledge if we are to finally move forward.

Political and legal recourse has so far failed to produce tangible results, and is unlikely to do so before a serious crisis unfolds. So the question is; what solutions are left to us?

At Alt-Market and Oath Keepers, we believe that the best solutions are those which can be implemented by each individual American without reliance on legislators, bureaucracy, or political solutions alone. While we do encourage people to take back their towns, counties, and state governments, kicking out the corrupt oath breakers and replacing them with solid liberty advocates, we must also work outside the political sphere, taking personal responsibility to strengthen ourselves and our communities by private action and free association.

The Founders never intended that we simply sit around and wait for “officials” to save us. We must work both in the public and in the private arenas. We certainly don’t have time to wait for lawmakers to find their sanity or their honor, and so, in many respects we must walk away from the rigged game entirely, and take matters into our own hands. This means first and foremost decoupling from the broken mainstream financial system, and building networks for Alternative Markets as well as for mutual defense in the event of disaster.

First steps towards this end include relocating away from areas with a high potential for danger. Of course, in any region, prepping with food storage, survival gear, and a personal garden is essential. Ideally, your neighbors should also be aware, prepared, and already involved in food production and barter. You should strive to build such robust community wherever you are (even if in the city), but country settings definitely offer greater opportunity. Rule #1: Go where the food is! Regardless of the state you live in, get out of the city and into a rural area.

Next, a community’s proximity to urban environments must be considered. Many rural retreats are still vulnerable to being flooded by unprepared city dwellers in search of food at the onset of collapse. James Wesley, Rawles, of Survival Blog, refers to this as the “Golden Hoard”, and advocates living at least one tank of gas distance from major metropolitan areas.

Just as there are better places to live in each state, there are also better states to live in; what we call “Safe Havens.” Rural states with low population, abundant water, plentiful game, natural resources, fertile farmland, and defensible terrain, along with a relatively self reliant population, can rightly be considered safe haven states. These states will fare better than others in adapting and overcoming in the face of any crisis.

Many fantastic efforts have been launched over the past decade which follow this concept. One is the Free State Project, which eventually selected New Hampshire, and another is the Wyoming Free State Project, which was started by Free State Project participants who opted out of East Coast relocation. There was also the Montana Alliance for Liberty, started by folks who likewise declined to consider New Hampshire. I (Stewart Rhodes) was also in the Free State Project but likewise opted out of the East Coast states and moved to Montana in 2005. And now Alt-Market’s Brandon Smith is moving to Montana. In the past year Pastor Chuck Baldwin, the 2008 Constitution Party presidential candidate, along with his son Timothy Baldwin and their families, have moved to Montana, with the same goals in mind. In response to Pastor Baldwin’s effective championing of Montana, many others have followed him by moving there. Most recently, influential survivalist author James Wesley, Rawles has promoted the concept of the Northern Rocky Mountain U.S. (Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, eastern Oregon, and eastern Washington)as being the “American Redoubt” – a refuge in time of coming trouble, and likewise has renewed interest in relocation to that region.

All of the above projects provide a solid framework for those seeking refuge amongst like-minded people. Our goal is to learn from, provide support for, and build onto these existing projects until full fledged large scale liberty minded communities become a reality. While some people might feel perfectly comfortable in their current location, or have an existing community to work with, many other Americans out there do not.

The Safe Haven State Project (alt-market.com/safehaven) is designed around helping those people to relocate to counties or cities within states that have elements of protection and survival not readily available in other places. Here are some of the finer points of this project:

1) Safe Havens will be organized and promoted through the networking capabilities of Alt-Market.com. Coordinators will be made available who already live in safe haven areas that will help you with information on the region, housing availability, job availability, etc.

2) Initially, the project will focus only on a few areas of a few states. For now, our efforts will be centered on Western Montana (where we both reside). As more people in states suited to the project volunteer to help with coordination, greater numbers of safe haven areas will become available. And, of course, if anyone is interested in Wyoming, we will send them to the good folks at the Wyoming Free State Project.

3) The core purpose of Safe Havens will not be to build voting blocks, or to effect change through legislation, though those methods will be taken under consideration. Instead, Safe Havens are almost entirely about community building. This means that our area of networking will be tight (within a few counties, instead of spread out across the entire state). People relocating should be within easy driving distance of each other, so that barter networks can be constructed and mutual defense is made practical. Eventually, a few counties could turn into a dozen, and a dozen could turn into a full state, depending on the circumstances.

4) Safe Havens are meant to consist of a large number of people, with a diverse membership, living in relative proximity. Safe Havens are NOT compounds, communes, or any other such nonsense that requires too many people in too small an area with too many rules. A Safe Haven will not be dictated or micromanaged through pyramid structures, military hierarchy, or “community tribunals”. It is a designated area of free cooperation, not a creepy village of collectivists ruled by herd mentality. White robes and funny tasting Kool-Aid will not be made available…

5) Barter markets will become a foremost concern. A community entirely dependent on the mainstream financial system cannot be realistically considered a safe haven. Therefore, active organization of barter and trade will be ongoing. This trade will include goods and services, anchored by silver and gold (and perhaps copper) as a common currency. A weekly or bi-weekly marketplace will eventually be arranged (think “market bazaar” or farmers market).
6) Meet-ups will be a common occurrence in order to maintain market stability as well as to create opportunities for building relationships. The method of these meet-ups will likely vary.

7) Volunteer coordinators will help relocators to the best of their ability, however, the Safe Haven Project is not an employer or a nanny, and cannot provide guaranteed employment or housing. We are here to make your move smoother, and to introduce you to the area as well as other participants, but there will be no hand-holding.

8) Sincere commitment is essential. Our limited number of coordinators restricts our ability to help people who are not serious about relocating. Now is not the time for wishy-washiness…

9) There are certainly many arguments (usually erroneous) against the idea of community building. Most of these have been covered and refuted in great detail in the following article:

http://www.alt-market.com/articles/175-the-strategic-advantages-of-community-building

The combined establishment of Safe Haven States, along with alternative markets and barter networking capability, could be a powerful step forward for the Liberty Movement that would attract many free minded Americans and inspire coherent working communities based on Constitutional principles and the support of individualism, not to mention non-coercive, truly free cooperation. This would provide not only the foundation for mutual defense, but also insulated, localized economies, shielded from financial chaos. The positives are many. The negatives are few. And, most people are tired of waiting around for someone else to solve their problems for them. Safe Haven Projects give activists an environment in which they can take legitimate steps towards determining their own destinies, as well as an opportunity to meet many others who are pursuing the same end, building a better country from the ground up, with their own two hands.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/guest-...ven-relocation

My fight against the 'smart meter'

(You don't want one of those dangerous things on your house)

By: Devvy
August 15, 2011

If you are unfamiliar with my case, I've already written three articles on this disaster; see here. I still have my old analog meter; the meter reader dutifully comes once a month. I unlock the gates, escort him to him to the meter and back out the gate; on go the locks.

As you can see in article one at the bottom, there are links to more than a dozen articles from experts in the field of electro magnetic frequency radiation technology. For those of us who have zero understanding in that field, I've now spent more than 200 hours reading and sorting opinions from scientists and doctors who have decades of experience. All this 'dirty energy' is killing us and that's not hyperbole.

I'm not one of those people who hate the big utility companies. I am grateful to live in a country where we have heat and air conditioning piped right into our homes. Utility companies are just like any other business. They have to make a profit in order to stay in business, but they should not be allowed to expose us to technology that is so incredibly dangerous to the human body. I'm not going to rehash the money issue because that's what this is all about - tens of billions of dollars at stake for the utility companies.

Money corrupts as we all know and Hawaii is a prime example. Hawaii originally said no to the 'smart' grid because it wasn't worth the investment. The 'smart' grid is no good unless every business, home and school in this country is wired with one of those deadly 'smart' meters. Well, money talks:

Smart grid technology rollout stalls in Hawaii - July 2010

Surprise, surprise!

"The Hawaii PUC has approved Hawaiian Electric's request to use a $5.3 million federal stimulus grant to install smart grid technology to portions of the electric system in urban Honolulu."

The so called 'smart' meters, referred to by utility companies as advanced metering systems are being "deployed" all over this country against the wishes of homeowners for very good reason. One: They are, in the words of one scientist - ticking time bombs for the human body. Even dogs are being adversely affected as well as livestock which feeds the country. Two: They do not save energy; in fact, utility bills have gone through the roof in many states. Third: 'Smart' meters aren't smart, but in reality they are warrantless wire tapping of your personal life.

There is a very important case out in Portland, Oregon. Parents are suing the school district over all the "wi-fi" technology. If you take the time to read the statements of the experts submitted for that case, you will come to understand America's children and teachers are at serious risk from all the 'dirty energy'. Sadly, those deadly meters are required on all federal buildings exposing federal employees.

Here are more expert opinions as well as some other items - and if you think cell phones are safe, think again:

Portland case courtesy of Curtis Bennett, Director of Operations, Chief Science Officer, Interprovincial Journeyman Electrician (Red Seal), Engineering Technologist, Adjunct Faculty, IHF & GEDI, Thermografix Consulting Corporation; he lives in British Columbia. Curtis has been an expert witness for the Canadian Parliament on the dangers of Wi-Fi and Smart Meter Frequencies. As a government trained electrical professional, he reported to the Canadian Parliament's Standing Committee on Health that their federal and international codes was missing the mechanism linking the frequencies to adverse health effects. Curtis email me this the other day:

"Electromagnetic fields used for radio frequencies are just EMFs within a specific range. "In Canada, the standard for acceptable public exposure to radio frequency is governed by Health Canada in Safety Code 6, which has the same specification as the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC)" Here is a link to Safety Code 6 (2009)"Although Safety Code 6 and international standards are based on 3 decades of scientific literature, codes admit the mechanism linking the frequencies to adverse health effects has been missing.

"I have attached a letter received by the medical education administrator where the dangers of these frequencies is lectured for continuing education credits medical professionals require for licensing. Whether Wi-Fi in schools or smart meters, the frequencies are illegal and hurting people as well as interfering with electrical devices inside the building. Here is a link to Central Maine Power admitting their smart meters are interfering with electrical devices inside buildings. They have settled claims and set up a special unit but can't rule out the interference with pacemakers, health monitoring equipment, life alerts, baby monitors, vulnerable babies, causing harmonics, violating building codes, etc.

"The letter can be printed or forwarded, education credits means it is now accepted medical education and the science had to be substantiated as well as approved before lecture. It is important to forward to keep people, corporations, schools, government and medicine fully informed. The application of Safety Code 6 (same as FCC) changed with the mechanism reported linking the frequencies to adverse health effects.

"People with EHS (EMF Radiation) can show the letter to their medical professionals, CE credits is the language they need to hear in support of their diagnosis. It is no longer opinion, it is accepted and approved medical education.

"Wi-Fi is in US Courts and myself in my capacity as well as other provided declarations under threat of perjury. The link below can take you to the filings and a code that never considered people to be electrical, they were treated as tissue heating only. The commission, judge and lawyer require this information and the lead lawyers information is on the filings. Every minute people are radiated is 60 seconds too long, there are reasons we wire things including protecting people as well as equipment. Wi-Fi as another example is radiating school to avoid the required infrastructure costs to upgrade schools. It seems like a wise idea but isn't and denies the world billions in economy from construction."

If you go to his web site here, you will see the list of testimony for the Portland case: Trower, Carpenter, Morgan, Havas and more. It's horrifying. We, all of us, have to stop this insanity.

A Critique by Scientific Experts, Physicians and Oncologists

Assessment of Radiofrequency Microwave Radiation Emissions from Smart Meters

Evaluation of Exposure of School Children to Electromagnetic Fields from Wireless Computer Networks (Wi-Fi): Phase 1 Laboratory Measurements

MPSC Launches Investigation into the Deployment of Smart Meters by Regulated Electric Utilities in Michigan - If you live in Michigan, make your voice heard.

Md.'s Veto of Advanced Meter Deployment Stuns Smart Grid Advocates

Invisible Hazards in the Wireless Age - A conversation with Dr. George Carlo

Public Health Threatened By Rapidly Increasing Exposure To High Frequency Electromagnetic Radiation

California - Smart Meters - PG&E Blinks After Lawsuit Is Filed

Georgia Power: Is my personal information secure? Answer: Yes. Customer usage data is sent over a private, dedicated network.

Really?

• Security Experts: Smart Meters can be hacked
• Smart Meters have security holes
• Many young companies have sprung up based on being able to access consumers’ Smart Meter data and package it in some meaningful form.

Use of mobile phones in schools - About half way down it talks about the banning cell phones for kids under 16. Why? How about brain tumors and other neurological problems?

Cellphone Towers EMR Damaging Biological Systems of Birds, Insects, Humans

T-Mobile & Deutsche Telecom Report Outlines Biological Effects from Cell Phone Technologies

"A report commissioned by T-Mobile and Deutsche Telecom MobilNet GmbH clearly outlines much of the science showing biological effects from cell phone radiation. This report was prepared in 2000–a decade ago. It reviews effects such as gene toxicity, cellular processes, effects on the immune system, central nervous system, hormone systems and connections with cancer and infertility."

Who funds the positive reports about 'smart' meters and radiation research?

Mobile phone safety. The real truth about the hazards, told by independent scientists in a language everybody can understand

I highly recommend you read: Dirty Electricity - Electrification and the Diseases of Civilization. It's a fairly short book, but powerful. Dr. Milham will be one of our expert witnesses.Here in Texas, the utility companies continue to lie through their teeth (as in California, Idaho and other states) that installation of 'smart' meters are mandatory and you have no choice. This is going to be a major issue during our hearing in front of the Texas PUC. Let me give you an example:

AEP Texas Grid Smart

"Can a customer opt out of the program if the new meter is not wanted?

"No, in order to reap the full benefits of AMI from an operational and cost standpoint, AMI needs to be fully deployed throughout the service area. In turn, our operational structure is changing to support the new technology and work practices."

"Needs" does not mean mandatory. That type of clever word smithing is in letters being sent to homeowners all over the state.

That's not what the Texas Legislature passed:

Here is the exact language in H.B. 2129 passed and signed into law by Rick Perry:

SECTION 6. Chapter 31, Utilities Code, is amended by adding Section 31.005 to read as follows:

Sec. 31.005. CUSTOMER-OPTION PROGRAMS.

(b) An entity to which this section applies shall consider establishing customer-option programs that encourage the reduction of air contaminant emissions, such as:(5) a program that encourages the deployment of advanced electricity meters

All the committee documents from our legislature for that bill say the exact same thing. Words have meaning in the law. Encourages does not mean mandatory.

ONCOR, CenterPoint and AEP all seem to have missed the memo from the Chairman of the Texas PUC:

Testimony of Chairman Donna L. Nelson, Public Utility Commission of Texas

Before the House (US) Committee on Science, Space and Technology - Subcommittee on Technology and Innocation

Empowering Consumers and Promoting Innovation Through the Smart Grid - Sept. 8, 2011

""State legislation has encouraged the implementation of advanced metering by directing the Texas PUC to establish a cost recovery mechanism for utilities that deploy smart meters and related networks. The Texas PUC adopted a rule in May 2007 related to smart meter deployment."

Her testimony is only six pages, but if you read the entire statement, you will see the staggering money at stake here in Texas and that's why the utility companies and their distribution providers have lied to all of us.

This article by Marti Oakley fully covers the federal regulations which proves there is no federal mandate or law making installation of 'smart' meters mandatory.A number of issues are going to be addressed at our hearing:

1. The lying and thuggery by utility companies in this state forcing homeowners to accept installation against their will with threats of turning off the power - even during snow storms or temperatures in the 30s..

2. The known health issues which are serious and deadly.

3. Those meters do not save energy. There is no cost savings to the ratepayer. Yes, America needs to upgrade our utility infrastructure, but using safe technology like fiber optics. As a country our power infrastructure is vulnerable, but what has been done to we the people with the dirty energy being blanketed across this country is criminal.

4. Because the utility companies have lied their way to installing 4.2 million meters in this state, they must assume all costs involved in removing a meter at the ratepayers request and re-install the analog meter. Texans should not be punished with a bunch of fees so the utility companies can recoup their losses caused by their own duplicity as they're doing in California. There are some other legal issues here about liability that I hope to pursue at a later date. The utility companies in this state have behaved deplorably to put it mildly; the only thing they understand is financial penalty.

If you live in Texas and wish to speak at the formal hearing (which will be in Austin), please contact me. We don't have the hearing date yet, but application is soon. If you live in Texas and are experiencing health effects like migraines, nausea, vomiting, muscle spasms, heart palpitations and sleeplessness caused by intense bursts of radiation since the 'smart' meter was installed on your home or business, you can document them and send it to me a letter; P.O. Box 1102, Big Spring, TX 79721, and we'll get it into the public record at the hearing. It is simply horrific how people are suffering while the state legislatures sit around on their backsides doing nothing.

Besides waiting for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's to get over (the worse time of the year for legal hearings), attorneys are committed by judges for trial dates; they have huge preparation just like for this hearing. Our case is very important to our attorney, but some things just take time. But, we're getting close as I said. We will have expert witnesses who will testify over the phone; one lives in Britain. There's no way I can afford to fly him to Texas and our other witnesses from different states. Our witnesses will have to have phone discussions with our attorney before the hearing and all that time gets billed.

We have one of the best constitutional attorneys in this country, Tommy Cryer. For those not familiar with his credentials:

Tommy graduated cum laude with a Juris Doctor from LSU Law School in 1973 and was inducted into the Order of The Coif, the world's most prestigious honorary society for legal scholars and practitioners. He served in U.S. Army in the Adjutant General Corps, discharged honorably as a Captain. My friend has also made new law by winning a number of landmark cases and was inducted into the LSU Law School's Hall of Fame after only 14 years of practice. Tommy has been a trial and appellate lawyer for the past 36 years.

Regular readers of my column know I seldom ask for donations. Once in a great while for a special project, but I would now ask if you can make a donation to the smart meter defense fund. This is very serious business that affects all of us and it takes very serious money. My case has a dozen petitioner's at this point who have financially contributed. Like tens of millions of Americans, we live on a fixed income, so this has been very difficult as I have already spend a considerable amount of money putting this all together for the hearing. All the research, gathering of documentation and getting it ready for the hearing as been done by me. The less our attorney does, the less billable hours. Texas is one of the largest states in the Union. The decision here will have a huge impact on the rest of the country, but we need your help. I thank you in advance. Click here for donation information; goes directly to our legal counsel.

© 2012 - NewsWithViews.com - All Rights Reserved

Devvy Kidd authored the booklets, Why A Bankrupt America and Blind Loyalty; 2 million copies sold. Devvy appears on radio shows all over the country. She left the Republican Party in 1996 and has been an independent voter ever since. Devvy isn't left, right or in the middle; she is a constitutionalist who believes in the supreme law of the land, not some political party.

Devvy's regularly posted new columns are on her site at: www.devvy.com. You can also sign up for her free email alerts.

E-mail is: devvyk@earthlink.net

http://www.newswithviews.com/Devvy/kidd523.htm

bttt

bttt

Complexity Theorists Predict Food Crisis, Riots and Civil Unrest By April 2013

Mac Slavo
August 24th, 2011
SHTFplan.com
100 Comments

Forecasting isn’t an exact science, but researches at the New England Complex Systems Institute may have come up with a formulaic approach that can help them to identify risk factors that contribute to political instability which may lead to riots and civil unrest similar to what we saw in the Middle East this year.

Their model is so accurate that they reportedly wrote a letter to the United States warning of imminent danger just days before the mid east and north African riots broke out:

On 13 December last year, the group wrote to the US government pointing out that global food prices were about to cross the threshold they had identified. Four days later, Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire in Tunisia in protest at government policies, an event that triggered a wave of social unrest that continues to spread throughout the middle east today. (source)

Using advanced complexity theory the researchers have come up with a number of indicators that can predict when a population reaches its breaking point. Specific details and assessments are provided in The Food Crises and Political Instability in North Africa and the Middle East [pdf]:

When the ability of the political system to provide security for the population breaks down, popular support disappears. Conditions of widespread threat to security are particularly present when food is inaccessible to the population at large. In this case, the underlying reason for support of the system is eliminated, and at the same time there is “nothing tolose,” i.e. even the threat of death does not deter actions that are taken in opposition to the political order. Any incident then triggers death-defying protests and other actions that disrupt the existing order.

Widespread and extreme actions that jeopardize the leadership of the political system, or the political system itself, take place. All support for the system and allowance for its failings are lost. The loss of support occurs even if the political system is not directly responsible for the food security failure, as is the case if the primary responsibilitylies in the global food supply system.

The following chart provides a visual guide:



Chart Explained: Time dependence of FAO Food Price Index from January 2004 to May 2011. Red dashed vertical lines correspond to beginning dates of “food riots” and protests associated with the major recent unrest in North Africa and the Middle East. The overall death toll is reported in parentheses. Blue vertical line indicates the date, December 13, 2010, on which we submitted a report tothe U.S. government, warning of the link between food prices, social unrest and political instability. Inset shows FAO Food Price Index from 1990 to 2011.

The group, led by researcher Marco Lagi, is now warning that their thresholds are about to be broken again. And, this time the implications may be much more serious than before:

The underlying trend of increasing prices will reach the threshold of instability in July 2012, if we consider current prices, and April 2013 if we correct prices for reported ination. Either way, the amount of time until the often warned global food crises appears to be very short. Indeed, consistent with our analysis, the current food price bubble is already subjecting large populations to reported distress, as described in a recent UN report warning of the growing crisis.
…
We identify a speci c food price threshold above which protests become likely. These observations suggest that protests may reect not only long-standing political failings of governments, but also the sudden desperate straits of vulnerable populations. If food prices remain high, there is likely to be persistent and increasing global social disruption. Underlying the food price peaks we also fi nd an ongoing trend of increasing prices. We extrapolate these trends and identify a crossing point to the domain of high impacts, even without price peaks, in 2012-2013. This implies that avoiding global food crises and associated social unrest requires rapid and concerted action.

It’s clear that Lagi and his colleagues have done the work, and their data make sense, especially given what we’ve seen geo-politically over the last year. Given the way government has thus far attempted to mitigate this economic crisis – which is to make it worse – we are pessimistic about their ability to stop the rising food price trend, and the loss of confidence that will be sure to follow.

As such, the analysis provided suggests that instability due, in large part, to rising food prices is imminent and we have, at best, twenty months before riots and civil unrest come to the streets of America.

Now would be a good time to speed up your SHTF Plans.

References: Cornell University Library, What Really Happened

http://www.shtfplan.com/forecasting/...-2013_08242011

We Are Totally Unprepared - Tremors Caused Mass Confusion, Panic

Mac Slavo
August 25th, 2011
SHTFplan.com
272 Comments

The east coast earthquake(s) are just the latest example of how unprepared we are for an emergency or major disaster.

Whether we’re talking about earthquakes, snow storms, hurricanes, floods, electrical outages or terrorist attacks, government officials, as well as individuals, have demonstrated time and again that we have a psychological inability to cope with high stress situations, a lack of foresight to stock emergency reserves, and have failed to prepare effective emergency response plans.

Though we hardly felt any movement here in the city of New York as a result of the earthquake, panic seemed to overtake a lot of people, as indicated by various news programs and social networking sites.

A single tremor was enough to cause mass confusion, building evacuations and cell phone service outages across the city.
…
So, I ask, are we ready for this possibility [Hurricane Irene], New York?

Consider: This region, more than any other, relies on electrical power. From high rise apartment buildings, to business computers, to the subway system, a massive power outage caused by a hurricane will have a significant impact on people’s lives.

Imagine if you were sick or paralyzed, and stuck on a building’s 35th floor without elevator service for days. Or, simply picture the isolation caused by television and cell phone outages. Ask yourself, where are your flashlights? Your radio? How will you keep up to date with important emergency information if the storm knocks out electrical services?

In order to prepare for this hurricane, ultimately we have to think not of the earthquake, which caused no lasting damage, but rather everything that went wrong during this past winter’s big snowstorm.

People were unable to leave their apartments, and emergency buildings were essentially unable to move around on the streets. We were woefully under-prepared, and most city workers had to play catch up to fix the significant problems that resulted from the storm.
Source: Fox News [Hat tip Bill]

Once cell phone service went out following high volumes of calls across the eastern seaboard, local police, fire and medical response was effectively shut down. Add congestion and confusion on roadways and you have a recipe for disaster.

The earthquakes this week were minor events in terms of severity and damage. But consider what might happen in a prolonged regional-disaster. Hurricane Katrina was such an incident, albeit still a short-term event, and luckily the rest of the country was unaffected. Emergency response took a week or more in some instances, and it reportedly took some three days to get bottled water into New Orleans. Bottled Water! And this is with a completely intact national infrastructure around the disaster zone.

Images of the looting, violence, preventable deaths and confiscatory martial law sweeps were beamed to millions of Americans. No one was paying attention, save a few individuals willing to think outside the box of complaceny and the status quo.

We realize the government has spent billions of our tax dollars making preparations. But how that money has been directed and managed is anybody’s guess. When it comes down to it, whatever preparations are being made by emergency preparedness experts at DHS, FEMA and other agencies, they will likely not benefit you all that much. If the time ever came that the infrastructure of the entire United States, not just an isolated region, experienced a far-from-equilibrium event we need to assume help is not coming. No ambulances. No police. No grocery delivery trucks. And no electricians to fix the power.

It’s going to be up to you.





http://www.shtfplan.com/emergency-pr...panic_08252011

Honey laundering: tainted and counterfeit Chinese honey floods into the U.S.

by Tom Laskawy
18 Aug 2011 1:58 PM

Mo' honey, mo' problems.


Photo: Kathryn Harper

If it’s possible to write a blockbuster story about honey, Food Safety News has done it:

A third or more of all the honey consumed in the U.S. is likely to have been smuggled in from China and may be tainted with illegal antibiotics and heavy metals. A Food Safety News investigation has documented that millions of pounds of honey banned as unsafe in dozens of countries are being imported and sold here in record quantities. …

Experts interviewed by Food Safety News say some of the largest and most long-established U.S. honey packers are knowingly buying mislabeled, transshipped or possibly altered honey so they can sell it cheaper than those companies who demand safety, quality and rigorously inspected honey.

This is a serious issue because China has a monumental problem with its honey industry. A bee epidemic in China several years ago led beekeepers there to use an antibiotic that the U.S. FDA has banned in food and that has been linked to DNA damage in children. And as FSN observes, though China has a state-of-the-art honey processing industry, its beekeeping has not kept up — resulting, for example, in some Chinese honey being contaminated with lead from the use of improper storage containers.

Even worse, Chinese honey brokers have been known to create counterfeit product made of “a mix of sugar water, malt sweeteners, corn or rice syrup, jaggery [a type of unrefined sugar], barley malt sweetener or other additives with a bit of actual honey.” A label is slapped on the container and the adulterated honey is shipped through another country — for the most part, India — before finally making its way to the US.

Much of this came out two years ago during a major government investigation into “honey laundering” (that’s when I first heard the term). But the resulting arrests didn’t do much to halt the illegal activities.

For all of the above reasons, honey from India is already banned in the European Union, and it’s supposed to be illegal to import food into the U.S. that’s been banned in other countries. However, the FDA response has been muted. A representative told FSN that the agency “would not know about honey that has been banned from other countries,” but experts and other federal agencies believe that’s because the FDA refuses to look. Indeed, the FDA appears to have adopted the policy the Pentagon just dropped: Don’t ask, don’t tell.

And it’s not just outside experts who are alarmed at FDA’s lackadaisical approach to honey laundering. FDA is supposed to be working with U.S. Customs officials to crack down on this practice. Yet, according to FSN, Customs investigators claim that:

… the cooperation is more on paper than in practice and that the FDA continues to be the weak link. They say the FDA either doesn’t have the resources to properly do the job or is unwilling to commit them.

ICE and the border patrol can and do go after the honey launderers by enforcing the anti-dumping and tariff violation laws. But protecting consumers from dangerous honey, identifying it as adulterated and therefore illegal for importation, falls to the FDA. And many of its enforcement colleagues say the food safety agency doesn’t see this as a priority.

There’s much more to the story, so I highly recommend reading FSN’s deep dive in full.

But this article raises major questions for me about the role of U.S. honey packers and distributors. Why don’t they care more? Domestic honey production only meets about half of U.S. consumer demand, so it’s clear they feel the pressure to find honey somewhere. But at a certain point, you have a moral obligation to the consumer that should trump the profit motive.

“Everyone in the industry knows” about the illegal smuggling, says one industry insider. He claims that four or five of the 12 major U.S. honey packers are responsible for most of the illegal purchases. It’s no surprise, then, that executives from those companies refused to comment on the story. Clearly, they are unable to ensure the quality and purity of the product they are selling. What else is there to say?

What’s most concerning is that consumers are limited in their ability to avoid tainted honey, since 65 percent of honey sold in the U.S. goes into processed food. So certainly, you should buy local honey from small producers you trust. And if you can’t find good honey, don’t buy what’s on supermarket shelves. But we’re also at the mercy of food processors’ willingness to ensure the ingredients they put into their products are pure.

The U.S. government could act aggressively to stop honey laundering, as the E.U. already has. But that kind of action could throw the U.S. food processing industry into turmoil. No matter the risks, the feds don’t generally consider that an option. So, unless the FDA displays a sudden willingness to trade wrist slaps for perp walks when it comes to food company executives, honey laundering appears here to stay. The FDA did not respond to our requests for further comment.

When I wrote about this two years ago, I said, “This story is really about a food system that’s diffuse, international, and impossible to regulate — in other words, broken.” It’s still all too true.


A 17-year veteran of both traditional and online media, Tom is a founder and Executive Director of the Food & Environment Reporting Network and a Contributing Writer at Grist covering food and agricultural policy. Tom’s long and winding road to food politics writing passed through New York, Boston, the San Francisco Bay Area, Florence, Italy and Philadelphia (which has a vibrant progressive food politics and sustainable agriculture scene, thank you very much). In addition to Grist, his writing has appeared online in the American Prospect, Slate, the New York Times and The New Republic. He is on record as believing that wrecking the planet is a bad idea. Follow him on Twitter.

http://grist.org/food-safety/2011-08...m-china-in-us/

Packing the Five Super Essential Elements of Survival

Last week our family was tooling around some truly beautiful country in Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming. We had planned to do a bit of camping so our tent, sleeping bags, and other supplies were in the back of the truck, along with a couple of ice chests.

image by Paul


About halfway through our 2,745 mile journey I realized that we had all the essentials of survival with us. We had been making on-the-spot decisions about which direction to go, which campground we should stay in each night, and debating how many miles could we push the kids before they rebelled! What gave us so much freedom and empowerment was that we were completely equipped with everything we needed for survival.

• Shelter: We had a sturdy tent with an effective rain fly to protect us from the elements. We also had a couple of tarps and plenty of rope if we’d needed to set up another shelter or a wind block.
• Water: We had an ice chest filled with water bottles and could have used the melted ice for drinking. (Next time I’ll pack our SteriPEN.)
• Food: Our ice chest was kept full with fruit, veggies, meat, cheese, yogurt, and a lot of other good stuff! We also had an additional crate with foods that didn’t need to be kept cold.
• Security: Both my husband and I had packed our pistols with an extra magazine and ammo. This wasn’t a resort vacation, and we had no idea where we would be staying each night. If four-legged critters posed a danger, or two-legged ones for that matter, we wanted to be prepared.
• Warmth: Considering we were camping in August, we felt pretty certain we wouldn’t run into any blizzards. Our heavy-duty sleeping bags and air mattresses kept us up and away from the cold ground during the night. However, I also had hand and foot warmers in the 72 Hour Kit and I made sure everyone packed a jacket. We also had everything needed for starting a fire.

It’s no wonder my husband felt empowered enough one day to say, “Let’s not spend a second night here. Let’s head over into either Oregon or Wyoming!” We had everything we needed, so why not?

image by OakleyOriginals

Is your vehicle or emergency kit packed with everything you would need? Are the Five Elements of Survival covered? In an emergency away from home, do you have a way to provide shelter? Do you keep water stored in your vehicle, along with some food that doesn’t need cooking? Have you thought about how you would protect yourself, your family and belongings? A handgun isn’t for everyone, and in some parts of the country could get you in real trouble (unfortunately), but do you at least have pepper spray or bear spray? Finally, do you have a way to stay warm if/when temperatures drop? All of these supplies can be kept in a large backpack, bin, or crate.

Start thinking about what you have and could pack in order to cover these five elements. If your home was without power for an extended period of time, are you able to continue providing water, food, security, and warmth? What if the crisis happens during the hottest part of the year? How could you and your family stay cool?

Chances are, you already have a lot of basic equipment and supplies to insure your family’s security. On my FREE Downloads page, take a look at “The Everyday Emergency Kit“, “Handy No Cook Foods“, “Prep Your Vehicle for Emergencies“, and “Vehicle Emergency Check List“. I recommend printing them out and storing them in plastic page protectors in your Survival Mom Binder.
Get prepared and then take the rest of the day off!

© 2011, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.

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http://thesurvivalmom.com/2011/08/19...s-of-survival/