I think its starting now !!

reply to post by whitewave


Much hilarity in our household.

I just had my Son telephone Walmart in Norman, Oklahoma. Their telephone number (from the United Kingdom at least) is 001 405 579 5203 (ask for grocery). They do have 25lbs bags of flour in stock, seemingly the gentleman who answered couldn't advise whether they have sugar in such a large size. He advises they have over 20 different types of flour in 5lb bags as an alternative, sugar normally comes in 32oz bags and they've got a special on organic sugar at the moment.

I would've ordered you some flour but I didn't know if you needed plain or self raising. Or whether sweeteners might have been a better alternative to sugar, 25lbs seems rather a lot of sugar, even for an American.

So. You're not really short of either flour or sugar, are you, dear ?

OP .... I'm still waiting for the list of stores in Yorkshire which are running out of food ...

If you just called then they might have some now. Wal-mart gets deliveries every monday, wednesday, and friday. But they sell out of stuff fast right now. I know this for a fact because my wife is a CSS(customer service supevisor) at a Wal-mart store.

Originally posted by Anuubis


You might be fine in Ohio, but here in Idaho we are feeling the pinch. I have been laid off for six months because my company can't get any contracts. I work in demolition and here nobody is doing construction, so anyone with heavy equiptment is getting into the demo buisiness.

No, I'm not saying everything is fine. When did I say that? Definitely far from it. Many are hurting! Like I said, the county next door has an unemployment rate of 18.3 percent. Are you experiencing a scary increase in Local crime? Just curious.

Again, The only point I made is that our reported crime rates are nothing like what the OP said he is so very worried about in the "low crime,low population area" he lives.

Like the surge in cattle rustling, sheep stealing, poaching, thefts of fuel from farms, ladies murdered, cars having fuel lines cut and fuel syphoned off. Food shortages in the Coops and Spas, pet deer being killed and slaughtered for meat. Townies coming out to commit crimes around this area. various ethnic groups having a go at other ethnic groups. Gangs of unemployed young men wandering around the area getting into all sorts of scrapes, local gas stations all are complaining about a huge increase in thefts of fuel, cops selling guns, locals buying guard dog, vigilante patrols, huge increase in demand for shotgun ammo, fights in the local shops over foods and coffee, etc. etc. etc...

Nothing out of the norm here as far as crime. Where is it that area your in by the way OP? That would be a big help. Thanks.

Just a few items that indicate to me how bad things are getting. We needed 250 feet of four conductor insulated wire, 480 volt, for a rush project. Called all over and was only able to get 200 feet rushed in and had to hire a hot shot truck to get it to us. The same project the vendor on the equipment did not have any thing in stock, for a "small fee" we had them run their shop on three shifts to get it to us. Only problem was that the parts that were machined to fit it were wrong. "Sorry about that but we can't do any thing about it" I told the production manager at the factor on the sixth call of the day that we were going to "make it work" 6 hours later and a lot of welding rod we had a fit up.

Valves, seals, pipe, cable, chemicals you name it the lead time is at least 3 times what it was a year ago and some times the stuff is just not their. "I'm sorry but we have closed that factory, we are retooling in eastern where ever and it will be 12 months before we start filling orders."

I was out at the plant working on this project this morning and one of the guys that took the over time is a guy that never ever works OT unless forced to. I asked him what are you doing here? He smiled and said that he better get the money now.

On the way back from the plant I stopped in the hardware store to look for a few things. There was an out of towner looking in the sporting goods. I asked him whats going on? He was from Las Vegas, 475 miles away and stopped to look for ammo. I watched him buy 200 rds, all they had of 9mm.

All the big dogs are being bought, not the little dogs. We were lucky that we were the first caller on an Airedale. All six pups taken at $500 a pop in a week.

Every one is putting in a garden this year. The hardware stores can not keep in Roto tillers.

Reno Nevada is having a lot more robberies, shootings and cuttings.

The selection of items at the food stores is more limited and there are empty shelves. Also a item for every one to check, see if the store is blocking the back of the shelves to make it look like they are full. This is starting to happen in places.

We all know that guns and ammo is in short supply but good hunting knives and multi-tools are not as well stocked as they were. Camping gear looks to be shorter than normal for this time of year. And where have all the 4 wheeler tires gone (quads to you guys over there)? is it just here in my town?

Rant over

reply to post by ghoulardi


I never said that you said that i said that you said you were fine

I was refering to the crime. I live about 70 miles east of Spokane, Wash. and crime is skyrocketing there. If it continues to increase then it will eventually hit here.

And crime has increased here, but not very much yet.

[edit on 4-4-2009 by Anuubis]


Mod Note: Excessive Quoting – Please Review This Link

[edit on Sun Apr 5 2009 by Jbird]

I've got a solution to the way this thread is heading.

The Lass, you need to cool down, go take a walk around the garden you have created, and which brings you so much joy.

Nothern Raider just keep prepping as you have been, safe in the knowledge you have the gear, food and plans to keep you and yours safe if SHTF.

There has been some gear reports and ideas shared in this thread, but lets keep it civil.

Respects.... Timbo

reply to post by The Lass



I just called Wal-Mart (thanks for the number,btw; saved me $1.25 calling "information" to get it) and they are completely out of .22 ammo, 9mm and .45 ammo. They did confirm that they have sugar and flour again today (who knows for how long).

The point being that things are getting scarce and when you have more demand than you have supply, people will get ugly to make sure they are the ones who don't have to go without.

I've had my gas stolen from my scooter 3 times. Some people who thoughtfully put a locking gas cap on are having their gas lines cut. I live at the edge of a very small town.

reply to post by whitewave


Norman, Oklahoma is 4,390 miles away from where I am now. It's the other side of the Atlantic Ocean and a wee bit more too.

Now if we could establish in one phone call that your local store hasn't run out of flour and sugar, why are you here claiming it has ? Why is Northern Raider telling us about food shortages in his hometown when the stores in mine (maybe 150-200 miles to his north) are cram packed full of food from floor to ceiling ?

Look, I'm not getting at survivalists as such. There's every possibility you'll be using your skills at some point in the near future, the way the world's turning. But if your warnings have no credibility now, what faith can we put in them later this year or next ... when we really need them ?

If you cry wolf too often now, well, you know what happens next. The sheeple get eaten.

reply to post by The Lass


Well I'm 1 1/2 hours from whitewave and I can confirm ammo shortages. No problem with any flour or sugar.

reply to post by whitewave

Apparantly the Lass doesn't read to well. Or can't figure out what i meant when i said they sell out of items fast.

I think we all need to hit the IGNORE tab

reply to post by Anuubis



That's ok, Anuubis. If her idea of "hilarity" is to make an overseas call to find out that Wal-Mart is not out of flour or sugar TODAY when I said that it was out FRIDAY then she needs the entertainment more than I do.

There is a nationwide nursing shortage and yet Norman Regional just laid off 200 employees (nurses included) and there's a hiring freeze on as well. My daughter will graduate nursing school in May. When you're in nursing school the local hospitals come to the school to woo the students into coming to their facilities to work. She told me tonight that all the hospital reps that are wooing students admit that they are only hiring nurse externs (cheaper than experienced nurses).

I tried ordering seeds from Heirloom seeds online and they said they are backordered for months. Anyone interested in seeds can check out Whatcom or another place called Rareseeds.com.

As far as the increased crime, I don't keep up with the local news too much. If it's important I figure I'll hear about it. There has been a noticeable increase in general tensions and hostilities. There's a lot of police "presence" on the roads. I don't watch TV so I don't know if there's generally more crime overall in this area but I do talk to my neighbors and listen to public conversations. It seems like people are very much on edge.

Okies are a pretty level-headed bunch so I don't expect riots in the streets like there are in Germany, France and Italy . Then again, our problems haven't escalated to the level theirs have yet.

Originally posted by ghoulardi

Originally posted by Northern Raider


No mention of the 8,3 % unemployment in the US, No mention of the hundreds of thousands who lost their homes recently because of the banking and mortgage collapse, no mention the sudden wave of gun loons shooting people because they lost their jobs, no mention of the multi trillion debt your nation has got itself in, no mention of the 640,000 people in one month who lost their jobs ????, No mention of the huge increase in numbers of illegals crossing the border causing more social unrest, no mention the state of the dollor. C,mon open your eyes please.

Oh sorry, I thought your thread was about the crazy rise in crime where you live, out in the boonies and how it makes you think something, or "IT is starting".

SO I was just pointing out that there's no rise of crime in my area which is one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation and how if "IT is starting" then I'd think that "IT" would be starting here too, but "IT" is not.

Aha, I stand corrected and apologise, I was out of order for jumping to conclusions, You are indeed correct for pointing this out to me, I guess you Sir are lucky so far that the misfortune biting the rest of us is not impacting your community much. I hope it stays that way. Again apologies for being a prat.
NR

Here locally where I live crime has also been on the increase. Sad as it is. This area used to be relatively crime free but more and more robberies are taking place. We've had a number of items stolen from our property while on the road and a number of items they attempted to steal but realized it wasn't worth it. (LOL flat tires tend to put off theft)

On another note, we have been talking to many many people out there and it actually amazes me how many people ARE aware. It's not like we seak these people out either. Just random people we run into at truck stops, shippers, parking lots, etc.

We went to the flea market yesterday looking for ... *stuff* ... and found quite a bit. Stopped to talk to this one guy and I was, again, amazed by the amount of information this fellow was aware of. He directed me to a website he frequents (went there and it basically has the same stories that I find on here).

More people than we think are aware of what is going on. More people than we think are preparing. I'd say out of the last dozen people we talked to, only one or two looked at us wierd. The rest knew EXACTLY what we were talking about. And these people are from all over the USA.

I was just telling my SO during our last trip out that I thought it had already started. Looks like I was right. We've been buying books (from sustainable energy to carpentry to growing herbs/gardens) and continue stocking on various supplies. I think right now we probably have enough food to last us at least a couple months. We still need to concentrate some on water though, as that hasn't really been something we've been too awfully worried about. We are also continuting to move forward with our plans for building a more secure home. Hopefully the economy remains stable enough for us to complete that endevour.

Anyway, all I can say to all of you is please try and stay safe and continue to gather supplies. Think squirrel during the fall and HOARD! LOL

reply to post by Northern Raider


funny. I can see we have a international meeting of wind power plant specialists. One of my companies import this stuff from China and install it. I did take one for my house in mountains so I can have some power when I feel the time is right to move from the city. take care guys

Originally posted by czacza1
reply to post by Northern Raider

 

funny. I can see we have a international meeting of wind power plant specialists. One of my companies import this stuff from China and install it. I did take one for my house in mountains so I can have some power when I feel the time is right to move from the city. take care guys

My bosses are siting up and taking notice big time of the Chinese turbine builders at the moment, they reckon they will be a force major in the next few years, Renewable energy does appear to be a good career choice for us survivalists these days.

Originally posted by Northern Raider
Renewable energy does appear to be a good career choice for us survivalists these days.

I can attest to that NR!

I've had several offers of employment already, despite being yet to graduate having chosen to specialise in that field and will be free to choose who I work for once I do...

To twist Tory Blair's motto... "things can only get better"

To 'The Lass' in particular...and anyone else who would wish to believe that there is no point in being prepared, and that there is no crisis looming...

Think that you'll always be a-ok to pop down to tesco for a snack? or your weekly shop? I suggest you watch this documentary that explains just how tenuous and dependant on oil imports the UK's food supply really is

All it takes is one flare up of conflict in the M.E or in any other politically and energy-sensitive areas involving the major exporters of crude oil, whether it be military, but more likely economic, to destabilise the way of life that we have taken for granted.

We take for granted that the shops shelves will always be stocked, we take for granted that the emergency services will always be able to timely respond, we take it for granted that our current way of life will continue tomorrow when we wake up...all of it..we ASSUME will carry on regardless

So what happens when those nations who buy our treasury bills that keep the financial liquidity flowing no longer view such monetary instruments as a viable investment? What happens when as a result, inflation and the price of basic commodities rise as a result of a devalued currency?

BBC Natural World, A Farm For The Future

Well?

Answers on a postcard please




[edit on 5-4-2009 by citizen smith]

Originally posted by citizen smithWhat happens when as a result, inflation and the price of basic commodities rise as a result of a devalued currency?

This is one of my pet-peeves. Many will scoff but trust me, it's an indicator.

Last year, to be precise October, I was paying 22 pence for a tin of chopped tomatoes.

Now, 4 months later, they are 37 pence. Apparently, the RPI shows a decrease.

I call BS on the RPI. Well I say that, everyone rightfully should know the RPI is selective.

reply to post by Nirgal


There are two RPI (Retail Price Index) indicators...X and Y

X=without mortgage
Y=with mortgage

An increase in either will denote an increase in base prices of basic human commodites and indicate a rise in inflation of monetary borrowing % rates


edit to add: if i'm wrong in that it was because I had a bad day in my A-Level Economics class at the time

[edit on 5-4-2009 by citizen smith]

In one of my rare sojourns into MSM this week I heard a children's charity bleating about children suffering due to high prices of food. There is no doubt that the price of basic food stuff has increased dramatically. Yes the expensive stuff hasn't altered much, but the cheap food definitely has. I will be struggling soon. Fact.