Global Police State
By Greg McCoach
I personally witnessed what can happen within a very short period of time when food is no longer available to the public. I was in my early twenties, living in Paris, France. Because of an extended truckers' strike, the food stores were cleared out within 24 hours of the announcement.
Within five days, normally law-abiding citizens took to the streets and began threatening anyone who had food...Those with no food quickly crossed the line of sanity and started desperately looking to take food from those who had it by any means necessary.
These events were never properly covered by the news media (what a surprise!), but I saw firsthand how uncivilized a so-called "modern country" can become within a matter of days because of a lack of food.
If I had not witnessed this myself, I probably would not believe this could happen so easily.
And even as a strong young man, I found myself quite frightened at times before the trucks started rolling again.
That particular truckers' strike lasted three weeks but it left me with a lasting impression.
The following are Items to Consider that I feel are prudent as you make your own preparations based on the problems that could potentially threaten our way of life.
Each of the items below could fill a book... but my intent is to at least get you thinking about the most important things related to being prepared.
1. Should I stay or should I go?
Many have already decided where they will go if and when any such disaster occurs.
One of the questions I get more than any other regarding this topic is: Should I stay in the United States or leave to another country?
Personally, I know many who have already left the United States — and they have never looked back. I have been invited to their retreats in Costa Rica, Panama, Argentina, and the Caribbean Islands, and they seem very happy with their decision to leave.
This is a huge decision. My hope is that the following discussion may be of some help when thinking about this topic.
Because I travel internationally so much in my search for quality mining assets, I often compare notes on my trips with other folks (geologists, newsletter writers, etc.) about their travels...
One of the realizations you see firsthand as you travel extensively worldwide is the extreme wealth, extreme poverty, and extreme corruption that exists in all of its world flavors.
If you think the United States is corrupt, you should try going to Peru, or Bolivia, or Panama. And if you think those countries are corrupt, you haven't see anything compared to Russia, Haiti, India, or some places in Africa...
The fact is corruption and the growing global police state is EVERYWHERE!
So while we certainly see much to complain about in the United States, which is definitely going the wrong way fast, from what I have seen in most other places on the planet, the U.S. is still less corrupt than most.
There are bad apples everywhere throughout politics, local police, FBI agents, and most certainly the court system — but for every bad apple, there are probably three times as many honorable people who are truly just trying to do their jobs.
Leaving the country is a decision you must make before the event takes place due to the sheer amount of time and effort it takes to accomplish such a task.
You must also think about being away from family and friends who don't share your enthusiasm to leave the country and what affect that could have on everyone over time.
For most, I think it's probably best to just hunker down in your own country (U.S. or Canada) and prepare as much as you can. If you can afford a retreat cabin somewhere far away from the big cities, that would probably be best but again, you still need to get there once the event occurs.
Studies have clearly shown that once a SHTF (Sh*t Hits The Fan) event occurs, you have two to three days to get to where you ultimately want to hunker down. After that, travel becomes extremely dangerous and it is unlikely you will reach your final destination.
Highways will become kill zones targeted by the bad guys. To a gang of armed looters who forgot to prepare or plan ahead before the event, there is not a better target than an RV loaded down with stored food, ammo, and gold.
Don't be foolish and attempt travel once things have gone south: If you need to get somewhere, plan to leave the moment the event happens and arrive where you want to be within 72 hours.
This may require several false starts (meaning the situation looked bad at first, but didn't materialize, and you need to return home) on your part as events start to unfold. But it's better to be safe than sorry if you are planning to get somewhere when an event happens.
Military strategists know from historical accounts of what happens when governments fail or when SHTF events affect a country: The rule of thumb is that roads are to be avoided at all costs.
If you cannot afford a retreat cabin of some sort, there are things you can do to hunker down in your own home...
First, you need to stock up and find a way to defend it. Like-minded friends and neighbors can be a huge support network as long as they have prepared as well.
There is a great book (it's not well-edited, but has solid content) on how to live in your home and defend it called Holding Your Ground: Preparing for Defense if it All Falls Apart by Joe Nobody, which in itself is a lesson in laying low.
This book isn't about turning your home into a concrete bunker armed to the teeth; it's more about using cosmetic deception to fool would-be marauders into thinking your place has already been hit. It includes plenty of clever techniques that go far beyond "shooting back."
Ultimately, everyone must decide for themselves based on finances, family concerns, and individual preferences what he can or cannot do in his preparations.
Hopefully, this discussion will help you make the best choices for what is in your best interest.
2. Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.
This is a good motto to live by, despite how you think about things.
Individuals can still hope for the best (that things can and will eventually work out), but what good is your prosperity going to do if you don’t have anything to eat or a safe place to hang out for an extended period of time?
Why not prepare while you still can — when things are readily available and can still be purchased at cheap prices? The coming hyper-inflation will make any such purchases beforehand look very intelligent...
To prepare for the worst, you need a plan.
Why are most people so against doing basic preparations that could be the difference on how they survive — or whether they survive?
History shows time and again that those who prepare always fare better than those who did not. Having a plan and being determined to act on that plan will always be the best way to handle any contingencies, should they occur.
After disaster strikes, your mind is going to be racing around like a car on a race track. Pre-planning and having a written set of measures to take will make someone’s life go much smoother when the SHTF.
Your own personal plan is ONLY what best fits what you are going to do during and after a disaster.
People should also have back-up plans — Plans B and C, at least — because nothing ever seems to go as planned. Haphazard approaches to the aftermaths of catastrophes are kind of like a chicken running around without its head.
3. Prepare 72-hour "bug-out" bags.
This is an easy, cost-effective preparation that makes a ton of sense — no matter what happens. Even a small preparation like this can have an enormous impact on how you survive the first few days after any type of catastrophic event.
I’ll bet there were a lot of people after Hurricane Katrina that would have loved to have such a bag for each member of their family...
This could be a backpack or bag of some sort for each family member that contains all the items that individual may need during the first 72 hours after a disaster strikes.
Items to include in such a bag would be toiletries, important papers (see below), change of underwear and clothes, some bottled water, snacks, a few bags of freeze-dried food that only require two cups of hot water to reconstitute within self-contained bag, water purification device, metal cup and small pot for boiling water, backpacker mini-cook stove with fuel, sleeping bag, towel, ability to make fire, flashlight with extra batteries, glow sticks, ground cloth, tarp, rain gear, plastic forks, knives, spoons, parachute cord, personal cleaning wipes, a first aid kit and medication, good sharp knife and a multi-tool, fishing line, small fishing hooks, compass, cash, physical gold and silver, map of areas you may need, and any other items that would make sense for you.
Special items required by the elderly, babies, and pets need to be considered as well.
Important paperwork you should bring with you includes: birth certificates, insurance policies, passports, medical records, pet medical records, bank account information, deeds and titles to cars, homes etc., computer backup.
Gather these and put them in a suitable container and wrap in plastic against the elements.
Having such preparations after a tornado, hurricane, or any calamity would allow you to grab and go because it’s already prepared.
Each member of my family has such a bag. I keep each one of them in the basement of our house in a heavy-duty large trash bag for protection against the elements.