Civilians die from nerve agent in Egypt

The government is getting ready for something big. They know people will react and one of their steps is to prepare the police to respond to bigger scenarios. It is happening here in the US as well, but that will be for another post. For now, we look at how Egypt is treating their civilians-using CR gas-a more lethal version of CS gas used for crowd control. Egyptians are dying from this lethal chemical agent which was famously used in the South African apartheid. This is a sad sad turn of events for the Egyptian people who had just recently won their freedom and now a few months after their victory must face more riots and abuse.

It could very well happen here in the US as well. We only have to open our eyes to what systems they have prepared to use on us and we can see how difficult the times ahead will be.

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Predictions of an economic apocalypse are now main stream

Predictions of an economic apocalypse are no longer restricted to the realm of fringe doom and gloomers lurking in the dark corners of the internet. As we’ve previously suggested uncertainty now pervades the social consciousness, not just in America, but the world over. Every major media outlet in developed nations is now reporting on the headwinds facing the so-called recovery. The problems and threats confronting the stability of the globe can no longer be dismissed as theoretical arguments, because they are now being actualized – in real time.
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Stock market plunged down 500+ points

As soon as I received a text update from CNN about the stock crash I lost focus on my day job and kept rehearsing my plans in my head. Over and over-kept rehearsing my plans in my head. I kept close watch of the news and tried to get a feel for anything going on outside of the office...some lessons learned:

• Make sure your family/group know what to do and what to avoid if this triggers something. At the time, as I was trying to gather more detailed info on the matter, I called up my wife. She and our son were out of the house strolling about the neighborhood. If something happened, I would want her to be home, or to avoid other people and minimize risks. I made it known to her what I had found out and told her of my concerns. She was soon back at home, secure and listening to news, keeping each other updated by text of how we are doing.
• Have your atm cards on you, in case there is a need to take out cash. In this case it would have been in anticipation of a bank run. Should people panic and run to the banks, you  want to have taken out enough money before the panic. However, I did not take out cash-as it would have been a negative effect on the banks-I do not want to contribute to the panic.
• Keep a short inventory of what bank accounts you have and around how much each of them have-revolving around or set aside. If banks closed you may have difficulties. At the time, it was Thursday, if something happened over the weekend banks would be closed. One could still have access to the ATMs but more than that, it would be a problem. So a short list of bank accounts and their value, and the closest branches to your location at the time. I was at work and I knew how much, how close the banks were-and I kept calm and monitored the news. One thing I must advocate is to not contribute to a panic-no matter what the situation.
• Check your everyday-carry gear before leaving the building. If people do find reason to panic (not this one just yet as it was only a partial crash) I may have difficulty going home. I checked my EDC to find I have enough food, will need to refill my water bottles at the office pantry and should wear my spare shoes I have at work-which are better for long distance walking.
• I did a quick check of what my recent preps were-and they were all at home and ready for use. A bit messy some of them, not being logged and stored in the right box, but all were within our home and can be used.
• My office is fairly oblivious to market news because we are in a different industry. I am only aware of the issue as it is part of my concerns as a prepper. I cannot rely on my coworkers to know what is going on outside the office. Hence, I have to get to a window to look at how people are acting. This has other useful applications, but this allows one to sense any tension amongst the people who are outside and not confined to their work at the time. I would peek out the windows everytime I went for coffee, or went for the printer. Any tension in the air and I may need to get a closer look by going downstairs.

As the day went on, my mind kept drifting to the situation and I lost focus at my work. At some point I was comforted by the knowledge that nobody is in a panic just yet-perhaps the sheeple are just oblivious, or maybe people remained calm and optimistic. I went back to work and tried to be productive, keeping in mind that employment is one of the most important preps one can maintain. As soon as I could, I'd inform my family/group and update them on issues I told them were coming-this was to reinforce those who doubt the warnings I had been easing them into. They may not become preppers, but at least they are aware through me. I could definitely need more help to support our group and this was a way to keep them aware.

The scenarios I prep for [part 1]

New York city has a population of more than 8 million people as of the 2009 census. 3.9 million of these are male, 4.4 million are female. The median age of these people are 35.9 years. Among these, 42,480 are in nursing homes, 15,338 are in local jails and 4,801 are in halfway houses for drug/alcohol abuse. The local population is diverse-with various races and nationalities, religious beliefs, affiliations and morals. All these people rely heavily on the one city's infrastructure- a high maintenance network of just in time systems. Mass transit of subways bring people in and out of an island city. Bridges and tunnels surround Manhattan, control and security provided by surveillance and roving security personnel. Food is shipped in by the truckload on a daily basis-loaded into groceries and restaurants all over-which feed the masses of people coming to the city to work. The convenience of living in such a city often hide the dangers and pending disasters associated with such a high density area working on a very interdependent and fragile system.

I have always been concerned about survivability in my area. Such a dense city with so many dependent people would be a disaster. And with the recent events happening all over, I cannot avoid thinking about my plans and preparations. There have been floods, droughts, earthquakes, financial crisis, inflation...I spend my hours pondering what this radically different time holds for the rest of us. I cannot focus on my work sometimes. I spend my hours-those that I have for myself when I am free of the chains of this daily work cycle-preparing for what may come. Almost daily I read up on specific news from certain news sources; some mainstream and some less reliable ones. I note down observations for the day when I had just scouted the neighborhood on the way home-regarding specific information which would be of value for when all my planning must be put to action. I note down tools which need to be acquired-manual hand tools and some powered ones. I prepare meat to preserve and store, constantly figuring out how long our stock will last us. I research and print instructions on how to install electricity. I check on the progress of our potato plant, and prepare for addition of other ones. I do a quick run on our group's plans for escaping the city. It sounds hectic, and it is. Sometimes it overwhelms me, especially so when I feel its urgency. These last few months have been going too fast, and I can only hope and pray that I have done all I can to avert disaster.

One of the must urgent issues I have would be an economic collapse. US now regularly uses the word "default", where it had blocked out the use of the word "recession". It may not be a full shtf scenario, not a wrol life, but it will get really ugly. Since this would be a long boring post if I wrote down all the scenarios I prep for, I'd rather break them down into smaller posts. And as I said, the most immediate one is economic collapse.

Economic collapse:

This is not a local issue-if the country's financial system fails it fails everywhere. The problems will be global-since everything is pegged on our currency. A collapse will have very specific effects in this urban environment. In a city of apartment renters-homelessness would go through the roof. Think about it, how can rent be paid if one barely has any money for food? Do you think that the land owners will just let people squat on their property for nothing? People would be homeless, entire families out on the street. If we end up there as well, I'd try to treat it as a camping trip in an urban area.

What kind of jobs would be available? I am trying to make plans and train myself in jobs that would still be around in such an event. Repairmen, engineers, construction workers, mechanics and general laborers may fare better than office workers. I wonder if a job in IT would fare well...technology would definitely be around but on what level? Also, how would schooling work? Education would be substandard as we lose good teachers. A lot of schools have closed in the past few years as well...this is a real consideration. I have thought of stocking books and educational tools, pencils and paper for this purpose. It may not be high up on my list as it is still early for my family, but it is on the to-do-list. Also, public utilities would go down, or would be of substandard quality. The quality of water in countries which faced an economic meltdown dropped significantly. Electricity was also scarce and thus there were roving blackouts. With these came disease and crime.Make plans for purifying water at home (not necessarily from a river out in the woods) and make plans for security at night, when there are no lights and perhaps no police to come to help.

I have stored food and water for my small family to feed us when food prices skyrocket. Our main plan is to bug in when the collapse begins. We'll avoid the riots and the crime by staying in a secure and familiar area. Our apartment can be made secure-the front door is steel and we have a steel table which would barricade it perfectly. Our window has access to an emergency fire escape which I will secure so only the occupants can use it-not thieves or looters. If the electricity goes out, we have lights and and a source of heat. We can cook without the gas from the utility line-and can convert to propane for some time. We've also stocked up on rechargeable batteries and disposable ones-of standard sizes so we can use use them on most of our electronics. In the future I plan to acquire a solar charger to supplement our electrical needs. Not a priority since my wife and I have experience living with roving blackouts when we were younger. As for money, we do not have a lot of money in the banks-and these would serve us little even if we got them out. It would be a good thing to have an emergency fund, in cash, at home or at some safe place for your use.

As part of what I have scouted before, I know which apartment buildings have a chimney, which ones have a source of water or a garden. We know where to find payphones hidden in a quiet corner. We know where to find meat or food besides the grocery. I know these can be useful to me later, and so I have those listed down as part of our plans. Scouting for such useful information is a good exercise I believe, and best done while things are normal and peaceful.

In reality, the biggest issue will be homelessness and food. It will be harder for those who have families, as their needs will be different with the innocent children. My preps do not cover all my concerns on this matter, and I am still working on them. Like I said, better to do them amidst these normal and peaceful times.