By Kellene Bishop

Perhaps when you listen to the news you hear “blah, blah, blah, resin price increases, blah, blah, blah.”  Well, after today, you may hear this bit of news a bit differently. This isn’t exactly something that you would expect to see in the mainstream news, but you will get the info here because it’s important to your ability to be aware and be prepared.

The cost of resin has been escalating dramatically since the first of this year. For those of you who don’t know, resin is a big part of your life. It’s necessary for the production of all things plastic. This includes pipes, storage bins, buckets, kitchen tools, road markings, construction supplies, general household and kitchen goods, automobile parts, toys, DVD/CDs, waxes, medical adhesives, product packaging, etc. This means that not only are these items increasing in costs but so are all of the products that are packaged in plastic such a wheat, milk, yogurt, juices, etc.

The resin price increase began about two months prior to Chinese New Year (February 14^th) as China began to buy up a great deal of resin in order for them to produce their trinkets, toys, and other necessary celebration items.  The rise has continued with three significant  increases since the first of the year.  The demand was brought about because of the Chinese New Year orders were in addition to China’s standard hefty resin purchasing for all of the kinds of items which I mentioned previously. Unfortunately, this surge in demand, combined with all of our other export demand, our own consumption and some serious production glitches have caused an imbalance between the supply and demand—resulting in some very uncomfortable price increases. In fact one key producer refers to resin now as “extremely expensive stuff”.  (Yes, stuff is apparently a technical term in the world of resin production.)

The production glitches?  The production of plastic products is reliant upon vital equipment known as steam crackers. Steam crackers are usually located near oil refineries. Unfortunately, there are very few steam crackers in existence in relation to refineries (500 refineries compared to only 42 steam crackers).  The simplified explanation is that steam crackers take natural gas liquids and convert it to ethylene and propylene (petrochemicals) which we require in order to manufacture the resin pellets and consequently the plastic goods. The natural gas liquid is fed into the steam cracker and the cracker heats up the natural gas liquid and thus “cracks” the molecules and olefins.  Once the ethylene and propylene is produced, it’s piped into a reactor and converted into resin pellets. As you may know, the oil refineries ideally need to be running 24/7 in order to put out the amount of fuel we consume at a tolerable cost. That cost is dramatically increased however, if one or more of the refineries breaks down or the operation is interrupted.  The consequences are that fuel prices escalate. The same scenario holds true when it comes to any interruption in the functionality of the steam crackers.  If the crackers don’t produce their maximum output, then it has an impact on the cost as a result of imbalanced supply and demand. With such a strain on existing production, the fact that many skilled maintenance workers were laid off and some plants were shut down (such as Dow Chemical Company in Midland, Michigan) as a result of the economic crisis does not bode well. Ultimately the consequences are a limited amount of resources to keep the crackers operating properly in order to attempt to keep up with demand. Whew! How’s that for a behind the scenes explanation?   

Initially the price increases were taken on by the wholesalers anticipating that it was just a temporary cut of their profit margins. However, after the third increase before April of this year, many were no longer able to handle the increase cost and had to pass it along.  In early February, many resin sellers were imploring buyers to buy their May orders on a set contract in order to lessen the cost impact. Due to the economic stage though, few buyers were in a position to do so.  Some even felt that the manufacturers were simply crying wolf in a ploy to bring in additional cash during tough times—as that is standard in virtually any industry, right?. Many seasoned buyers were taken by surprise when the price increases continued, claiming an unprecedented problem of narrowing supplies.

To complicate matters, the U.S. has an onus to take good care of China and other nations who hold a sizeable investment of our foreign debt. China and Japan, who own 25% and 24% of all of our foreign debt respectively, interpret slow turn times and unfulfilled orders as a sign of a weak economy, thus making them a bit nervous in holding so much of our debt. While there is a reality of the narrowing supply of ethylene and propylene monomers (consequently polypropylene), it’s important that the U.S. maintains a good economic game face when selling to their heavy foreign investors. Call it preferential treatment to keep a key customer. The U.S. tends to bend over backwards to meet such demands in order to put forth the impression of a healthy manufacturing market, as opposed to a scarce one.  As a result, the U.S. sells what they’ve got to these critical relationships leaving what’s leftover for us.  (Reminds me of how teenagers act when their friends become more important than their family. Hee hee) Thus our supply of resin has diminished dramatically making the price higher due to the good old fashion consequences of supply and demand.

That’s not the whole of it either.  If we aren’t able to export a sizeable amount of China’s resin requests, then their own market security is compromised. Ironically, all of those “made in China” items begin with the resin we produce here in the U.S.  Because of our financial ties, we’ve ensured that we price our resin to them at better pricing than they could obtain from other, closer suppliers This is the exact same scenario that caused the U.S. to deplete our “just in case” supply of wheat. China was clamoring to purchase it in light of serious drought conditions and increased population. We sold it to keep peace in the family. If China’s economy takes a serious hit because of a lack of resin to produce some of their primary exports, then they are no longer able to purchase our foreign debt. See the vicious cycle?  The U.S. is already way behind its necessary debt sell rate for 2010 by nearly 500 billion dollars—nearly 1/6^th of the entire amount it needs to sell this year.  Holding back resin in order to appease our own domestic demand would consequently be throwing fuel on a much larger fire—at least in the minds of the powers that be.

As a way to make all of this news a bit more real to my own world, I took the initiative to interview five national retailers regarding their bucket prices.  No surprise, all of them confirmed that, yes, they have experienced a hike in plastic goods pricing—anywhere from 7% -32%!  Five Star Preparedness owner, Scott Bishop, stated that he’s seen 4 price increases in the square buckets he offers just in the last three months, impacting his bottom line by approximately 12% on the wholesale side of pricing.  That’s pretty steep when you realize that resin is simply ONE component of the world of plastic manufacturing. 

So what are we left with?  Well, we’ve provided China with as much resin as we dare. In spite of which, their needs are still not satisfied, so they are having to resort to using the more expensive local and Middle Eastern options for resin supplies. This has an unpleasant domino effect causing the resin based imports that we receive from China to increase significantly. This also means that our own supply of resin is critically low and thus everything that is connected to this will increase in price as well. 

Let’s see. What does this all mean to you?  The same as it always does. Just because you don’t see all that goes on behind the curtain doesn’t mean it’s not there, right?  Take time to be methodical and strategic in your acquisition of necessary supplies which will ensure your independence on a rainy day.  Personally, instead of waiting until I’m in an organizing mood, I intend to keep a sharp eye out for storage bins and the like and get them when they are on sale rather than waiting for the mood to hit me. I also intend to be more diligent in acquiring items that are packaged in plastics or that are heavily reliant on plastics as I don’t see a cure for this imbalance anywhere in the near future.  Some financial experts believe that the pricing will settle down in May, but that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me.  The snag is that unless you’re a commodities trader, you won’t see an immediate impact because the products have already been manufactured with the more expensive resin since the first of the year. So until the manufacturers can sell through that inventory, they won’t be able to pass on the improved pricing, and by then, the prices could come back up or exceed where they are presently.  We’re not going to be creating any new crackers anytime soon, right? We’re still a bit behind on China’s desire for resin—and that’s just one customer.  Plus, our technology is constantly increasing in the use of plastics over other more expensive commodities. AND you’ve got the wholesalers who have already invested in the pricier resin who will have to sell through that stock before they could take advantage of the supposedly lower priced goods at the end of May. By that time, a whole lot could happen and the recovery could be swallowed up by another natural disaster or another oil spill accident.  So, for me? I’m not going to gamble on things getting better in this regard. Rather, I’m going to be more diligent in taking advantage of this awareness and acting accordingly.

Peace in preparedness, folks.

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Copyright Protected 2010, Preparedness Pro and Kellene Bishop. All Rights Reserved. No portion of any content on this site may be duplicated, transferred, copied, or published without written permission from the author. However, you are welcome to provide a link to the content on your site or in your written works.

by Kellene Bishop

The Red Dragon of Debt

A Few Good Men "You Can't Handle The Truth" photo c/o www.eucatastrophe.com

As I write today’s article, I keep hearing this familiar voice in the back of my mind. It’s the voice of Jack Nicholson as his character yells indignantly to Tom Cruise’s character in “A Few Good Men.” With blood vessels bulging around his neck and his face turning red, Nicholson’s character convincing hollers “You can’t handle the truth!” to those present in the courtroom setting. This character delivers this line with the utmost of belief that the general population of our nation simple cannot or does not care to understand what goes on around them in spite of the fact that it critically affects their everyday living.  

Today’s second segment in this Financial Preparedness Series is written in defiance of the sentiments of mainstream manipulation who erroneously believe that citizens can’t handle the truth. It is my hope that you will absorb this information sufficiently so that you may be spurned to research, ponder, and realize the validity of this information for your own benefit and independence. In contrast to this memorable line of script, I believe that YES, you CAN handle the truth. So here it goes.

Yesterday I wrote an article talking about a fictional country known as Uberland. In order to teach you a clear precept without the cloud of preconceived notions, I made the country fictitious. However, today we’re going to dig in to the reality of the world market with pure and simple facts. 

At present, the Chinese government holds approximately $2.13+ trillion dollars of U.S. debt. This is in the form of actual debt, currency, bonds, etc. This does not include the physical investments that China holds here in the U.S. such as real estate and business interests. In fact, China is at present the largest holder of foreign exchange reserves collectively and as of March 16 of this year is the largest owner of U.S. Treasuries.  Japan and China have frequently traded first and second places in this regard over the last two years. (CRS Report RL32165, China’s Currency: Economic Issues and Options for U.S. Trade Policy, by Wayne M. Morrison and Marc Labonte.)

Will U.S. Bonds continue to be of worth? photo c/o blog.kir.com

U.S. Treasury securities is what our nation presently uses to primarily finance our debt. Keep in mind that our present debt is running over $12 trillion dollars.  In order to finance this debt, the U.S. needs to sell a LOT of U.S. treasuries and other assets to foreign investors. (I’ve recently read several reports that claim that the U.S. is more than 80% behind its goal for U.S. Treasury sales for this time of the year—but that’s another story.) Keep in mind that the good aspect to the U.S. in selling their debt to China, vs. other nations, is that China is notorious for holding onto the debt long-term. This means that the U.S. get’s to postpone its day of reckoning when they have to make good on buying back the bonds and other like assets and paying a highly compounded interest rate.  With China purchasing our U.S. currency and just keeping it in store, it also helps the U.S. to essentially hide the impact of the large volume of U.S. dollars that are in circulation, because such a significant amount is just sitting in China doing nothing. We have utilized the Chinese relationship for so long, that they now hold 24% of all of our foreign debt. Does that make them our best friend or a formidable vulnerability?  You decide with the content of this bit of information.

Fortunately, our relationship with China does posses some minor checks and balances. The U.S. is the largest purchaser of Chinese exports.  This is in part why China has invested in the U.S. so heavily. But when you really think about it, having China sustain us so heavily financially just so that we can have the financial strength to keep purchasing their exports is kind of like buying your own birthday present.

The real danger in China having invested so heavily in us, and vice versa, is that if there is any curve ball, we’re in deep trouble.  What kind of curve balls? The kind that come from Mother Nature or just plain consequences of physics. You can’t fight them. You can’t hide them. And they do have to be reckoned with.

Suppose China suddenly experiences remorse in owning so much U.S. currency.  If they were to sell off such assets, they would flood our market with our own currency thus rendering the currency we presently have in the market as useless in two ways. The first way would be that they would deplete us of our supply of “stuff.”  If China dumps their currency back into our market, they will do so on an exchange. In other words, they will give us the U.S. dollars in exchange for something else. That something else could be their own currency, gold, or like assets.  Having to make good on this debt we have with China will inevitably deplete our resources of “stuff.”  Remember what I shared with you yesterday regarding what happens when you don’t have enough “stuff” to back up your currency?  So China will have “stuff” but we will simply be left with pieces of paper that are supposed to represent the “stuff” that backs them.  And yet we will have dramatically depleted our “stuffs” in order to make good on our debt to China.  Got it?

What will our currency be worth? photo c/o www.acus.org

The second consequence to China dumping our currency back into our market is that it would inherently deplete our present currency value.  Let’s estimate that we presently have about 800-900 billion U.S. dollars in circulation in our nation.  If China dumps their hundreds of billions of U.S. currency back into our market, then the value of our presently circulated currency goes way down—it’s call supply and demand.  It’s very much like what’s happening in Florida right now with strawberry farmers simply destroying their crops instead of harvesting them to market.  They normally get about $1.00 per pound of strawberries, however, since there are so many strawberries being brought to market right now, the going rate is only 25 cents per pound.  So instead of harvesting them, the famers are simply destroying the strawberries in order to better influence the market of supply and demand. Supply and demand is just as important when it comes to our supply of U.S. currency as it is to our “stuff.”  If money literally grew on tress in ever possible climate, then it wouldn’t have any worth. So if we get nearly double the influx of U.S. currency into our market all of the sudden, then it will have the same effect on it’s value. 

Let’s keep in mind that our nation does not have “the stuffs” to back up our currency like we used to.  Remember, we have exhausted all of our wheat surplus.  We no longer have any such surplus under control of the U.S. Government.  We have also exhausted all of our gold reserves that we were supposed have universally backing our currency.  Yup. There’s literally no gold sitting in Ft. Knox for the benefit of backing our currency. To make matters worse (and I’ve shared this with you countless times before) we no longer are provided with an accounting by the Federal Reserve of exactly how much currency is in circulation at present. (aka the M-3 Report) The $800-$900 billion is simply an estimate from many economists. But what if we are WAY off on that number since it’s being held in such secrecy?  A better question is why would this number NEED to be held as secret if it wasn’t bad news? 

Whose the kingpin now? photo c/o comicsnexus.com/

Here’s the final way that China’s holdings could harm us significantly.  They are presently the kingpin, so to speak. In other words, if China starts dumping their U.S. dollars, then other nations such as Japan, Russia, Taiwan and India (which are the top 5 holders of U.S. debt) will start dumping theirs as well. The consequences will immediately dilapidate our financial value as a nation.

So, is it likely that China starts dumping a lot of their debt?  Well, they certainly are getting nervous.  Over a year ago the Chinese Premier seriously questioned the stability of our market and insisted that the U.S. go to extreme measures to show China that their investments in our debt were worthwhile. They have done so repeatedly just in the last month as well—blatantly expressing serious concerns in holding U.S. debt/assets.  Part of the reasons for this is yet another layer of the problem. The agencies which actually rate the security of any known debt are no longer trustworthy to do so.

Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s are two agencies that are required (and supposedly expertly reliable) to rate a debt/asset.  They rate them usually anywhere from a “triple B” to a “triple A.”  Well, they’ve lost a lot of their trust in doing so in the nation because THEY were the ones rating the horrible sub-prime mortgage packages as “triple A”, the highest rating available. As a result, China and other nations were purchasing these dangerous debt packages and left holding the bag when the bottom fell out.  So China and other nations are dubious in accepting any rating that these two agencies provide.  It’s the equivalent of you getting a full-ride scholarship to a college based on your grades, only to discover that you never even attended class and that you had simply bribed all of your teachers to put an A grade on your report card. Oh, and did I mention that all companies who want a rating have to PAY Moody’s and S&P to rate them? Conflict of interest, perhaps?

So, what could possibly happen that would cause China to suddenly start dumping their U.S. assets?  What would be so vital that they would HAVE to disrupt their relationships with the U.S. by doing so?  Well, folks. That’s what we’re going to cover tomorrow.

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Copyright Protected 2010, Preparedness Pro and Kellene Bishop. All Rights Reserved. No portion of any content on this site may be duplicated, transferred, copied, or published without written permission from the author. However, you are welcome to provide a link to the content on your site or in your written works.

by Kellene Bishop

For the last year as I’ve been writing and teaching preparedness full-time, I have received on a rather regular basis, e-mail messages or blog comments questioning the veracity of my information because the reader has found somewhere else where such information was frowned upon, “debunked”, or disputed in some way. I don’t claim to perfect in my knowledge, but I do claim to be perfect in my intention to always provide my readers with information that I have researched, tried, and believed in.  Today’s article is for all of those who have already (or who may in the future) come across “debunkings” of my statements.

Philippines Jeppnies--what a wild ride! photo c/o www.pcreusere.com

For those of you don’t know, I lived in the Philippines for nearly a year and a half. In spite of all of my mental preparedness, it was definitely a culture shock for me. I didn’t get to dwell in the more “city-fide” areas.  I lived, traveled, ate, and communicated out in the boonies. While I was there I was constantly running into counterintuitive “policies.”  For example, when the jeepnies, which are the primary source of public transportation, would travel at night, they would leave their bright lights off until they came upon an oncoming jeepnie. Then they would turn their brights on until the other vehicle had passed them.  Another “tradition” was that it was considered a poor health decision for a woman to take a shower or bathe during her menses each month. These ridiculous notions come from somewhere. Someone in a position of authority started them. Needless to say, I bathed every day of every month and I probably rolled my eyes and chuckled a bit every time I saw the brights go on towards oncoming cars—and then said a silent prayer for safety.

I suspect that most of you are familiar with the tale of the emperor who is convinced that he’s wearing beautiful clothes which only wise men can see. He bought into this story, in part, because of his pride and the fact that he paid an exorbitant amount of money for these “new clothes.”  Not wanting to admit that he couldn’t see the clothes, the emperor paraded around butt naked in his imaginary attire. Only upon hearing a great deal of laughter and scorn from the villagers was he brought to his senses.

Today, we are surrounded with a great many counterintuitive and “emperor’s new clothes” scenarios. For the purpose of today’s article I want to explore the dangers of drinking the Kool-aid and how we can soundly determine fact from fiction.

So, for the first part of this article, today, I’m simply going to point out the dangers that we’re exposed to when we simply follow along as sheep. Tomorrow I’ll address how we can prepare and protect ourselves from being deceived.

While the lucky ones were escaping the death trap of The World Trade Center during the 9/11 attacks, the NY Port Authority (a state agency) was broadcasting over their loudspeakers for everyone to simply stay put! This is just a small example as to why I firmly believe that the existence of our freedom and safety are seriously vulnerable to what authoritative presentations we buy in to.  Call it drinking the Kool-aid, questioning reality; or whatever you will.  We must take the time to research for ourselves. And then we must condition our brain to respond to THAT input rather than the input which may come from the masses.

For every Mother Theresa through the ages, there are countless Hitlers photo c/o chuckwarnockblog.wordpress.com

Our country, and even our world, is ultimately run by individuals. Yes, humans come with amazing talents, wisdom, mental fortitude, and compassion.  Unfortunately though, for every Mother Theresa through the ages, there are countless Hitlers. Now lest you think I’m pessimistic, understand that I am confident in how things turn out. I’ve read the book. I know how it ends. The good guys win, but not without a great deal of trial and travail brought about by the Hitlers of the world.  I believe firmly that in order to ensure your safety and true freedom, I can’t afford to simply take some “authority’s” word that something IS, simply because they say it IS.  Throughout history there have been far too many mistakes which have affected countless lives which prevent me from believing otherwise.

The USDA, which strongly advises against bottling butter, waxing your own cheese, or preserving your eggs in mineral oil And yet this same agency refuses to consider how such products were preserved BEFORE we entered the days of refrigeration.  This is the same government entity that refuses to shut down beef manufacturing plants which repeatedly offend safety guidelines.  The USDA also allows the beef manufacturing industry to label the ammonia which is put in the beef as an e-coli inhibitor as a “processing agent.”  The USDA is also the one that puts out the “food pyramid” as a guide to how much a person should be eating daily and of what types of food. It hasn’t been updated for decades. And yet there are numerous doctors who believe that if you were to stick to eating according to the food pyramid then more disease and sickness would be prevalent in our society because our foods no longer have the same base of nutrients that they did when the food pyramid was first created. Our soil has been sorely depleted in nutrients. The rampant use of pesticides, herbicides, antibiotics, and other chemicals have a direct affect on our bodies.  One doctor has written three bestselling books on the theory that regardless of what you eat, you won’t receive any nutrients if your body isn’t properly hydrated, and yet the USDA doesn’t say any such thing. (See books by Dr. F. Batmanghelidj) The USDA also has no quantified regulations as to what qualifies as “organic” and thus many products are mislabeled as such. Were you aware that Whole Foods purchases a great deal of their fruits and vegetables from China? China doesn’t have ANY organic checks and balances. (see http://blog.wholefoodsmarket.com/2008/06/inside-scoop-organics-from-china/)

Let’s look at our U.S. military authorities. They should be trusted and believed to be protecting the lives of every soldier, right?   There is a high quality body armor available that the U.S military, as a whole, refuses to purchase for their soldiers, in spite of a greater value and evidence of a greater protection of life and vital organs. From what I’ve researched, it’s the very best body armor available to the masses and it’s the only body armor that’s available for civilians. It’s also the only body armor that’s customized to fit a woman and all of her curves.  Yet Dragon Skin has received nothing but criticism from the National Institute of Justice and many military leaders. Why? The truth is that there is a serious financial consequence to retired military officials if they endorse Dragon Skin, as they have accepted cushy retirement jobs from the existing body armor manufactures.  As such, with as much cut throat maneuvers as you would expect from a government conspiracy movie, the NIJ has managed to “debunk” the benefit of Dragon Skin. Well, the NIJ  “debunking” was counter-debunked by a special episode presented by The Discovery Channel’s hit show, Future Weapons. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYaSRIbPWkM  and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_HRQNd84ZA&feature=related) NIJ had so little to go on that they actually refused in court “for reasons of national security” to not reveal what they felt was wrong with Dragon Skin.  Well, in my opinion, a multi-million dollar television show isn’t going to put their neck out “debunking” the NIJ unless they had the legal and physical strength to do so. The videos don’t lie in my opinion.  Neither do the testimonies of countless professionals who have had their life or physical functions saved as a result of Dragon Skin Body Armor. Fortunately, in spite of this brouhaha about the veracity of Dragon Skin, US Presidents and Vice Presidents, Secret Service Agents, Navy Seals, Blackwater contractors, celebrities, Middle East Contractors, members of the U.S. Coast Guard and the Marine Corps as well as diplomatic visitors have all benefitted from the use of Dragon Skin. But hey, the NIJ has “debunked” it—so it must be garbage, right?  Last, but not least, Dragon Skin puts their money where their mouth is by offering a $15,000,000 liability coverage on their product for each owner. (yes, that’s 15 million!) 

Smoking used to be hailed as healthy for you--DEBUNKED! photo c/o healthyliving.freedomblogging.com

In the early 1950’s Dr. Ian MacDonald and Dr. Henry Garland were contracted by the FDA to conduct a study on the effects of cigarette smoking. These two doctors came to the conclusion that smoking was a “harmless pastime” which was “unrelated to lung cancer.” Dr. MacDonald was later quoted as saying “A pack a day keeps the doctor away.”  Over a million people have died as a result of that lie.  So, I ask you, were their conclusions accurate “debunking” of the concerns medical researchers had with cigarettes, or was it just plain genocide?

Now, let’s follow these same two doctors on another matter.  The FDA contracted with these same two “professionals” to debunk an alternative treatment for cancer in 1953.  The two doctors paired up to call the treatment of Laetrile as “unconvincing” and “wasteful.”  Thus the FDA has refused to conduct any additional research on this topic and the American Cancer Society treats the topic with scorn. Both entities have refused any further investigation in spite of the obvious scientific errors these two doctors have committed in the past. Well apparently the standings of the FDA, the National Cancer Institute, and the American Cancer Society have been demoted by hundreds of American cancer patients per year. Instead of having cancer patients flee to our shores for the best treatments for cancer, we have hundreds fleeing from our shores to other nations in order to receive effective cancer treatments and even cures. Yet somehow these authorities stick with their commitment to our cancer treatment as it is now, even though the effectiveness of cancer treated through radiation and chemotherapy yields only a 5-10% effectiveness after 30 years of application. The bottom line for this butt-naked charade is all about money. The American Cancer Society MUST claim that their current methods are effective otherwise billions of dollars of funding would dry up.

I could go on and on here with several other examples.  But suffice it to say, “debunking” is usually motivated by money and power in one way or another.  Government and powerful corporate entities have repeatedly shown themselves to be more interested in cover-ups than they are in good ole’ honest coming clean.  So, without becoming hardened pessimists who don’t believe in mankind anymore, what can we do? I’ll address that tomorrow. Till then…don’t drink the Kool-aid just yet.

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Copyright 2010 Preparedness Pro & Kellene Bishop.  All rights reserved.  You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to www.PreparednessPro.com & Kellene Bishop

By Kellene Bishop

EMP Range photo c/o irc-online.org

“Do you believe in EMPs?” questioned an older woman in one of my classes this weekend. Until she asked me this question, I suppose I never considered whether or not an EMP was to be “believed in” or not. None of my readers will be shocked to hear that I responded “Of course I believe in EMPs.” My follow-up question to her should have been “What’s not to believe?”

In a previous article I cover the logistics of an Electromagnetic Pulse. But I want to remind you that an EMP is the most economical approach for any enemy country to use against our nation. The EMP technology does exist in the Soviet Union, China, and North Korea. Because it exists in these other nations, that also means it could easily be “for sale” to even more ardent “haters” of the U.S. such as Venezuela or any number of Muslim enemies. Given that our nation is so reliant on electricity for all of the our money circulation, shipments of food and medications, water treatment, and healthcare, an EMP would be the perfect way to debilitate our nation—without the mess and expense that would be necessary with other forms of attack.

If an EMP is used on our nation, it would only take 3 EMP launches above the atmosphere to crumble our entire nation. Parts of Canada and Mexico would likely be affected as well. With an EMP strike there would be no need for an enemy to plan and prepare with all of the expense of shipping large armies and weapons over here. Besides, wouldn’t our detection systems see them coming from a long ways off? Additionally, there would be no need for the enemy army to bear the expense of caring for the sick and wounded. They would simply allow time to take care of that “problem” for them instead. Within 4 to 6 months the weak will have all died from a lack of medical care. (Just think about how many of Americans are dependent on gadgets and technology to keep us alive.) Afterwards, the enemy attacker could easily sweep in and no amount of communication would be available to provide any warnings. They would then have easy access to all of our nations assets along with a strong workforce. Easy peasy, right?

Faraday Cage photo c/o jeddaniels.com

It is due to this awareness that I strongly suggest that if you are going to prepare and protect any electronic devices from the effect of an EMP (via a Faraday Cage) that you focus primarily on communication devices first and foremost. Communication and our hardened resolve will be critical in surviving any enemy attack. Communication enables planning, protection, and strategy. The lack thereof only enables a “sitting duck” scenario. I hear too often of individuals thinking that they will need to protect their cell phones, internet access, and televisions. Excuse me while I laugh at such ignorance and naïveté. If you’re one of those people, think about this for a second. Cell phones, televisions, and computers are only viable communication aids when the originating core network is functional.

While he was a teenager in a small town in the middle of nowhere, Utah, my father-in-law operated a radio station from his bedroom closet. (He actually had a few listeners and he went on to be a great voice of radio many years later.) As I recall this story I’m reminded that having the ability to broadcast a radio signal doesn’t take much effort, equipment or expertise. So I would recommend that you put such skills in your Mental Preparedness category and get it checked off your list. Being able to hear broadcasts of the truth to counteract the broadcasts of brainwashing was critical to the survivors of every major war fought throughout the last 70 years of history. It’s something you can plan and prepare for now.

Now, take heart and fear not. To be clear, based on my scriptural knowledge and belief I do not believe that another kingdom or principality will ever hold this nation physically. But I DO believe that there will be many who try to conquer the U.S. on a more vicious level and an EMP would be the most likely tool. Whether or not an enemy is able to fully execute their plan, they would still be able to do an unfathomable amount of damage in their attempts—such as with an EMP. But the same scriptures which give us this ultimate peaceful assurance also tell us of our “chariots and horses” being “cut down.” (Just imagine an ancient prophet trying to describe our automobiles and other transportation methods hundreds and hundreds of years ago. I’m sure that horses and chariots were about the best they could come up with.) On that note, :) tomorrow I’ll address a bit more of the most likely time an EMP would be launched. Stay tuned.

Copyright 2009 Preparedness Pro & Kellene Bishop.  All rights reserved.  You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Preparedness Pro & Kellene Bishop.

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What You Need to Know About the Likelihood of an EMP Attack on the U.S.
A Multi-Part Preparedness Series

By Kellene Bishop

I recently finished reading two GREAT books, back to back, that are fictional scenarios about an EMP (electro magnetic pulse) attack on the U.S. Both books are very well written, extremely realistic, and I had a hard time putting them down. The first one (still my all time favorite) was “Alas, Babylon” by Pat Frank. The second, as recommended by many readers on this site was “One Second After” by William R. Forstchen. (Warning, occasional language in this book qualifies it as “rated PG-13”) Both authors are so expert in their fields of knowledge on the matters which they write, that I feel the books are more a prediction of things to come, rather than a work of fiction. Out of all of the possible scenarios of a man-made crisis, the most likely to occur against the U.S. is an EMP attack. However, what disturbed me so greatly is the majority of the pain and suffering in either of the books could have been substantially negated with the addition of a very legitimate reality in my world—a years supply of emergency food, water, and other items.

For those of you who may not be aware, the U.S. has received countless amounts of intelligence that an EMP attack is very likely. (Google EMP attack + U.S.) More recently, China has even admitted to preparing an EMP to “use on its enemies.” It’s no surprise that N. Korea has been playing with nukes lately. And contrary to the naïve understanding of many Americans, the Soviets have also been dedicating a great deal of their resources towards the perfection of nuclear attacks. In all actuality, an EMP attack could be done in such a way that we wouldn’t necessarily have any way of knowing WHO launched the attack against us (as accurately portrayed in Forstchen’s book).

About 8 years ago an officially commissioned report was released about the potential catastrophic consequences of an EMP attack over the U.S.  Newt Gingrich specifically stated in response to this report, “this is not idle speculation but taken from the consensus finding of nine distinguished American scientists who authored the “Report of the Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse Attack.” Unfortunately, since the report was issued on the very same day as the 9/11 Commissions Report, it went largely unheeded and unnoticed by the press.

(Author’s note: Please don’t pommel me with requests for the references I’ve researched on these statements. I regularly use hard-copy books, library micro-fiche records, internet, personal interviews and read several newspapers weekly. On a cursory view, these statements are verifiable in newspapers abundantly available on the internet. My job as a writer is to condense information so that it’s easily digestible. If you doubt the veracity of what I write, then there is essentially nothing you can rely on in the content I provide.)

An EMP attack is implemented by launching a nuclear bomb high in the earth’s atmosphere (greater than 25 miles). The detonation causes gamma rays to interact with air molecules to produce positive ions while at the same time recoiling electrons. What ultimately happens is that the positive ions overtake the electrons and as such, when they encounter the earth’s magnetic field it radiates an instantaneous electromagnetic pulse. The pulse essentially fries all electrical devices, including batteries. This same kind of reaction is possible with small solar flares. The pulse is intense but it is not visible and it does no damage to the human body. One of these EMP strikes strategically launched over Kansas could obliterate electrical operations throughout the entire U.S.

So why is an EMP attack more viable than an all out war or a nuclear bomb attack? Well it boils down to dollars and conquering. Why spends billions of dollars and countless lives on fighting an all out war when you can launch an EMP attack, wait it out for several months, and then come in and clean up the few that survived? For only a few thousand dollars each, 3 SCUD missiles can be launched off of a ship in the middle of the waters off of our coast, high up into the atmosphere. It’s not like we’d see “incoming SCUDs”. If we’re lucky we’ll simply see something launched into space. Several billions of dollars can be saved for any enemy when such a strategy is used. With this strategy countless numbers of soldiers, death camps, and an arsenal of bullets is not necessary. Human nature and our reliance on Prozac and technology will easily kill off the weak in a matter of days. Additionally, while the land of the U.S. is rich in resources, access to those resources is impeded if there is no population to harvest them. So using an EMP attack vs. something more deadly that would contaminate the very land an enemy wishes to possess is not in their best strategic interest either. Considering that an EMP attack would make us helpless to communicate or travel effectively, all an enemy has to do is wipe out our electricity, wait several months, and watch how the effects of such an attack kill off the weak, weaken the spirits of the strong, and then come and clean up what’s left. Bottom line, it’s less expensive and less messy for our nation’s enemies to use an EMP attack on us than anything else. Mother Nature and the ugly side of human nature is the ally of our enemy and will work in concert successfully with such an attack. The key to any successful attack is knowing your enemy’s vulnerability. Clearly, technology is our Achilles heel here in the U.S. and it would take very little money and effort to wipe us out.

If an EMP attack were launched against the Philippines, it would make a very small impact comparatively. The Filipinos are used to sporadic technology availability, living off of what they produce, minimal medical access, and a scarcity of food and good drinking water. Heck, they haven’t even progressed to doing their laundry on a washboard yet. They’re still pounding their clothes against rocks in the rivers. But the U.S.? We are a nation of overly medicated, out of shape, pampered, spoiled and indulgent citizens. Don’t underestimate the destruction that can be had simply by the emotional impact of such an attack on the generation of the “entitlement mentality.”

Photo c/o Mark Lennihan / AP file

So, what does all of this mean to you? It means that you need to begin seeing your world differently—NOW. While I will be writing a multi-part series on an EMP attack to shed some light on various aspects of your survival, it’s important that you begin NOW to look around you and be aware. What do you currently rely on that is operated by electricity that you would have NO ability to use after an EMP? Cooking. Driving. Medical? Communications? Whatever the answer is you need to prepare yourself mentally and physically to battle such instances. Some scenarios may be trivial ones of inconvenience. Yet some may be life or death—all because the power goes out indefinitely.

As I said in the beginning, the only problem I had with these stories is that the suffering of people portrayed on the pages was not realistic in MY world. A shortage of food, pain relievers, clothing, bedding, personal hygiene items, water, heat, light, and knowledge is NOT going to happen in my home. I’m prepared specifically for such a realistic situation. Ask yourself, are you? Then again, the authors most likely wouldn’t have sold a single book had they focused on how a prepared person would encounter a disaster vs. the majority of the U.S. population. Guess that would be a pretty boring storing only pertinent for the Discovery Channel.

EMP 101 Series

• EMP 101: Part I–The Likelihood.
• EMP 101: Part II–The Aftermath.
• EMP 101: Part III–Prepare Medically.
• EMP 101: Part IV–Faraday Cages.  

Copyright 2009 Preparedness Pro & Kellene Bishop.  All rights reserved.  You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Preparedness Pro & Kellene Bishop.

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