Comments

Episode-609- Listener Feedback for 2-22-11 — 27 Comments

  1. Technically.. wouldn’t an EMT have an effect that isn’t destruction? Just being devils advocate here.

    • If you mean an EMP (electro-magnetic pulse), taking out a region’s entire electrical grid is a very destructive thing. Airplanes crash. All communications go down. Water pumping stations shut down and suddenly there is no more water. Sewage treatment plants shut down and the sewage backs up into the steets and into people’s homes, spreading disease and causing vermin to run freely. Hospitals swicth to emergency backup generators, and those generators will only work for as long as their diesel supplies last. Gas stations cannot pump gasoline into your car, so all traffic stops eventually. The lack of communication alone is the most critical aspect of the military advantage to dispatching an EMP since it renders your enemy blind, deaf, and dumb. One curious thing about an EMP is that even clocks stop working–even wind-up clocks and wrist watches.

      Where did we learn about EMP’s?

      Scientists in the 1920’s noticed that if lightening strikes nearby, not only do electrical things stop working, even wind-up watches and wind-up cocks –everything stops. S they asked themselves: Can a man-made device duplicate that? The weapons-potential was chattered about for over 15 years by scientists all over the world, especially the “peaceful” and “non-violent” nature of such a weapon. Then in 1942, the chattering stopped and the military asked the scientists point-blank: “Is such a weapon REALLY possible?” The answer: “Yes, at least we think so.” Then, all during WWII we were in a race against Germany to be the first to develop this theoreetical bomb capable of producing an EMP. We knew that creating an EMP had something to do with knocking the electrons of an atom loose from their orbits (called “splitting the atom”) but we really didn’t know for certain what would happen if we successfully peeled those electrons away. After 3 years and hundreds of millions of dollars, we finally made the first “atom bomb.” While getting ready to detonate it they asked “What EXACTLY will it do?” The answer: “We don’t really know. Maybe the universe itself will end” We found out only after the very first detonation that the universe didn’t end, yet still that bomb could do far more than merely release an EMP.

      Since those days we have (just recently!) refined our ability to release an EMP and we can do so without all that nasty mayhem and death and then the aftermath of years of radiation.

      An EMP is a serious weapon that can bring any nation to its knees (like in the original 1950’s version of The Day the Earth Stood Still). And yes, it can be very destructive.

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  3. RE: The investigative news item about WMD’s (or WME’s) possibly getting snuck into San Diego’s harbor ….

    There is a future dystopian novel called World Made By Hand by James Howard Kunstler (about a post-oil collapse of American society). It takes place in Upstate New York some time in the 2020’s, and it includes a plot background detail about a nuclear bomb being smuggled into the Port of Los Angeles via a container ship. The bomb detonated right there in LA eliminating all stability on the West Coast.

  4. I could give a pass on WME. A weapon can have an efffect without destroying anything. A dirty bomb would do little physical damage but affect a large area around it. Maybe I’m PC, I think not.

  5. My local extension agent said to me when I asked why they don’t do the
    rain barrel class anymore “We stopped because it was found that roof
    runoff contains harmful bacteria from things like bird and squirrel
    droppings and you don’t want to put that on your vegtables.”

    • @Doug, you do see the nonsense in that statement I hope?

      I mean I can’t imagine how many squirrels and birds “go” in my garden every year. Think about how many people put chickens into their gardens on purpose specifically to manure the yard. I put rabbit manure in my garden, cow manure and chicken manure all the time. I just can’t see how I am supposed to worry about a squirrel turd or two?

      Some times I think government employment simply lowers IQ.

      Personally I think the rain from a roof is probably less toxic than most city water.

  6. That rain catch website is awesome! I’ve been planning on running rain catch this year on about 1/3 of my roof space and was wondering how much storage I would need.
    The calculator says I need about 30,000 gallons – sweet!

    Now, off to find a 30,000 gallon tank 🙂

  7. Observations of an ex truck driver…

    What dumbass wrote the caption to the picture in the dying counties article??

    There’s no way in hell that coal truck just came from under a 9’0 underpass.

  8. Thanks Jack for the shotgun info and home defense thoughts. I definitely feel the pull of all the “tacticool” accessories out there, and have done a good job of resisting it all. But I see a shotgun-mounted flashlight as being extremely useful should the need ever arise to be absolutely sure about a target’s threat and location. Unfortunately, after lusting after the Surefire shotgun WeaponLights for many months, I just found out today that they are only made for 12 ga, and they don’t work on the 20 ga 870. How disappointing. I know there are numerous ways to hang a flashlight on a shotgun, but I really want a momentary button located on the forend. I guess I’ll have to research forends with Picatinny rails now…

  9. All I can say is OMG and WOW! The video of the Inspector General for the Federal Reserve makes my blood boil! What incompetence which is probably why they gave her the job.

  10. Absolutely brilliant idea to use the on-line rain catch calculator for determining potential catch for a stock pond. And the timing is perfect for me as I am finalizing my tank (pond) design this week. I have found a table from my local soil survey to determine runoff coefficients (the percentage of rainfall runoff not absorbed by soil) for the 2.5 acre pasture up-slope from my intended pond location and found an online volume calculator for pond design. I am now much more confident in my volume and runoff calculations than I would have been without these resources. Thanks again, Jack.

    Oh, my calculations show that I can easily keep a 150,000 gallon pond filled based on local annual rainfall…with over 350,000 gallons of annual runoff to spare.

  11. WME is nothing but marketing bullshit. I have a hard time believing that you didnt see right through it. If they use a vague buzzword nobody can call them out on it. If you think about it nearly anything can honestly be called a weapon of mass effect while wmd is now pretty well understood to be chemical, biological, or nuclear. Handgun, pipe bomb, heck even a baseball bat could all honestly be termed as weapons of mass effect. Also, of course dangerous things have been found at the port of entry. There are dangerous things in every department store and every kitchen for God’s sake. Not to mention the damn toys they ship us are full of poison. Normally your views seem far more thought out and logical, Jack. There are far more than enough real present dangers out there. People dont need to be cowering over fear mongering bullshit like this. I apologize for my language.

  12. One though I had on the dieing counties is, I wonder if a good deal on land can be had in one of the counties. With a declining population, I imagine land prices would be declining too.

  13. @Tim, similar thoughts – if we stay in the suburbs and neighbors all bail out, granted our house’s value is going to plummet, but if that’s really where you want to be, who cares. Maybe we’d be able to pick up the neighbor’s houses on the extreme cheap and end up with a sort of compound – tear down the fences and have some very good sized cropland.

    The vision of the suburbs dying reminds me of End of Suburbia, and thoughts by Kunstler – both of which focus primarily on peak oil as the culprit. Not sure how much credit Jack gives PO for the decline, but it obviously has deteriorating effects on economic growth + increasing energy prices.

    I’d be very interested in learning more about how to do roof rain catching efficiently. Were there any previous episodes about this topic, youtube videos, etc? What about in areas where a good 30-40% of that precipitation falls as snow rather than rain? I’m always mindful when shoveling snow off the driveway/sidewalks to throw it on my planting beds. 🙂 What else can be done?

  14. I have heard that Portland requires all new construction to capture rainwater and not let it go down the storm drains. They are using rain barrels and cisterns and the like.

  15. RE: Understanding Shotguns for Dummies ….

    My name is Oil Lady … and I am a shotgun dummy.

    So I went and found this YouTube video explaining for dummies like me the differences between 10-gauge, 12-gauge, 20-gauge, and even 410-gauge shotguns. (It’s really just a big silly gag of a video, but in spite of the humor, they do show key differences between all 4 guns: their visual appearances, shell-sizes, recoils, and target spreads.)

    “10 Gauge Vs 12 Gauge Vs 20 Gauge Vs 410 (Common Shotgun Comparison Video)”

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnT723O5fZg

    –Oil lady

  16. I suspect that the change from WMD to WME could be related to the control of information. Maybe the drive is to make it more difficult to find out the information that is available. Maybe FOIA related. It would give the people working the FOIA requests something to key on. Maybe allow any WME requests, but no WMD, or vice verse.

  17. Regarding the gold standard and the IMF…

    (b) Under an international monetary system of the kind prevailing on January 1, 1976, exchange arrangements may include (i) the maintenance by a member of a value for its currency in terms of the special drawing right or another denominator, other than gold, selected by the member, or (ii) cooperative arrangements by which members maintain the value of their currencies in relation to the value of the currency or currencies of other members, or (iii) other exchange arrangements of a member’s choice.

    http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/aa/aa04.htm

    Also, see this video from 2008…

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDGJm3bznX8#t=2m37s

    Why Does the IMF Prohibit Gold-Backed Currency for its Member States?

    (Congressman Ron Paul sent this letter to both the Treasury and the Federal Reserve Bank in April. 2002 Neither has responded)

    Dear Sirs:

    I am writing regarding Article 4, Section 2b of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s Articles of Agreement. As you may be aware, this language prohibits countries who are members of the IMF from linking their currency to gold. Thus, the IMF is forbidding countries suffering from an erratic monetary policy from adopting the most effective means of stabilizing their currency. This policy could delay a country’s recovery from an economic crisis and retard economic growth, thus furthering economic and political instability.

    I would greatly appreciate an explanation from both the Treasury and the Federal Reserve of the reasons the United States has continued to acquiesce in this misguided policy. Please contact Mr. Norman Singleton, my legislative director, if you require any further information regarding this request. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.

    Ron Paul

    U.S. House of Representatives

     see – http://mises.org/store/Pillars-of-Prosperity-Free-Markets-Honest-Money-Private-Property-P466.aspx

    Research thanks to the forum at http://www.chrismartenson.com

    • @Kevin, one of the most information rich, direct and concise comments ever on the TSP blog, thank you for that.

  18. The ProArms Podcast did a nice two parter on the defensive use of a shotgun. Episode 17A and 17B

  19. For all the scared extension agents out there there are products out there that allow the first flush of rainwater to be diverted to drains and then begins to store water. there are many plans on the internet as well. Here’s a link to two products available called “Clean rain Ultra”
    http://www.dripworksusa.com/store/rooftop.php
    and also first flush water diverter
    http://rainharvesting.com.au/products/pre-filtration/first-flush-water-diverter
    but I’m with Jack. If you are using it water your garden, I look at it as “additional nutrients” not available from regular rainwater.

  20. While I completely concur with your conclusion that we have no real oversight by congress of the FED, I think the linked youtube vid of Rep. Alan Grayson was most likely another of his shock value stunts. He was the same guy with this vid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-usmvYOPfco

    I view anything from this clown with a jaundiced eye…

    The problem with his questions and the way he interviewed the chairman of oversight was that he was asking her questions that he should have known in advance she wouldn’t be able to answer because of the points you made, Jack. She isn’t interested in looking after the interests of the U.S. public…. The type of oversight and auditing she does is not what Rep. Grayson was asking about. Ron Paul has been asking for a true audit of the activities of the FED for some time. To try to say that we already have someone who is authorized to conduct a complete audit of their activities and to try to portray her as someone not doing the job she is authorized to do seems like a distortion of facts.

    Our Congress has abdicated its responsibility for monetary control to the FED. To insinuate that they (our elected representatives) are not culpable while asking this woman questions that don’t correlate with what she actually does is disingenuous.

    just my humble opinion…

  21. Putting “political correctness” in the garbage cans where all other liberal crap belongs, I believe the term that should be used to replaced “illegal immigrants”, “undocumented workers” and all of the remaining “soft liberal language” descriptions is the following:

    ILLEGAL CRIMINAL ALIEN INVADERS

    It is the only term I use when describing the Border Patrol evading vermin which is destroying our grand constitutional republic, and encourage slike minded people to do likewise.