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7/1/2006

Gardening When it Counts - Growing Food in Hard Times :.

I haven't read this book, but I have read the introduction and the contents. As far as I can tell, the book ignores the security dimension of the situation that "backyard gardeners" will be facing in a collapse situation. If you live in a city and actually had to use this book, the local warlord would take a look at your backyard garden, rub his stomach and think, "Yummy!"

Then what are you going to do?

This is where the Berkeley vegans, Kerry-2004-bumper-sticker-on-the-hybrid drivers and other associated crackpot liberals will try to change the subject.

The people who think that some kind of urban ecotopia is going to spring up out of the ashes of the "capitalistic, patriarchal, hierarchical dominator system" are out of their god damned minds. The people advocating this myth are ignorant of the plain and simple realities of life on the ground in failed states. Have you heard of the term, failed state? The people pushing the free-love-after-the-collapse world view obviously haven't. And, sadly, lots of people who know what's coming, informed people, would rather believe this myth than upset the apple cart and make substantive changes in their own lives.

My education in International Relations wasn't good for much, but I learned quite a bit about how power works, not in some pothead's dreamworld, but on the ground. You take the state out of the picture for a day or so in an urban environment and someone is going to be pointing a gun at your head, making demands that you will probably find less than appealing. (I breathed the smoke of Los Angeles burning during the 1992 riots. I saw troop carriers and U.S. Marines on the streets. I didn't see any free love ecotopia breaking out.)

Backyard gardening? How the F is a backyard garden going to help you at that point?

If you don't have an answer to that question, you need to seriously re-think your situation. Maybe the warlord will be appeased by the fruits of your labor. Then again, maybe not.

If you're not surrounded by neighbors who already have the mind-set that you have.... good luck trying to sway converts when armed men, taking orders from their stomachs, are roaming the streets. You either need to work on building a collective security plan with your neighbors now, or you need to find new neighbors who already get it; meaning, you need to move.

The most valuable lesson you could take from this book doesn't have to do with compost, seedlings, companion planting, or any of the other standard gardening topics.

Where does the author live?

From the introduction:
These days I feel fortunate to have retired to one of the world's most remote places, Tasmania, a temperate South Pacific island with a climate that is a lot like Oregon's. From here I can enjoy a slight sense of detachment as I watch how the planet is going.
Why not just stay in Oregon? Why move to the other side of the planet to find a similar climate?

Because difficult issues need to be broached in Oregon.

Very VERY difficult issues.

He may not be writing about the security dimension of backyard gardening, but he understands it.

So, having said all of that, if you are planning on staying put, with your idiot, Jesus fish-embellished-SUV driving neighbors and their ADHD kids, sure, why not learn how to grow a backyard garden?

Gardening When It Counts: Growing Food in Hard Times
by Steve Solomon


The decline of cheap oil is inspiring increasing numbers of North Americans to achieve some measure of backyard food self-sufficiency. In hard times, the family can be greatly helped by growing a highly productive food garden, requiring little cash outlay or watering.

Currently popular intensive vegetable gardening methods are largely inappropriate to this new circumstance. Crowded raised beds require high inputs of water, fertility and organic matter, and demand large amounts of human time and effort. But, except for labor, these inputs depend on the price of oil. Prior to the 1970s, North American home food growing used more land with less labor, with wider plant spacing, with less or no irrigation, and all done with sharp hand tools. But these sustainable systems have been largely forgotten. Gardening When It Counts helps readers rediscover traditional low-input gardening methods to produce healthy food.


6/30/2006

Israel Threatens to Assassinate a Democratically Elected Head of State :.

I keep one eye on the nauseating situation in Israel, and I usually don't bother mentioning any of it.

This, however, is notably frightening and serious:

ISRAEL last night threatened to assassinate Palestinian Prime Minister Ismael Haniyeh if Hamas militants did not release a captured Israeli soldier unharmed.

The unprecedented warning was delivered to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in a letter as Israel debated a deal offered by Hamas to free Corporal Gilad Shalit.

It came as Israeli military officials readied a second invasion force for a huge offensive into Gaza.

Hamas's Gaza-based political leaders, including Mr Haniyeh, had already gone into hiding.

But last night's direct threat to kill Mr Haniyeh, a democratically elected head of state, sharply raised the stakes.


More: Amnesty International: Israel AND Palestinian Militias Are War Criminals



Ethanol Pickup

Have any of you converted your car or truck to run on straight ethanol? Are you making your own ethanol? Please let me know.

Ethanol is absolutely NOT a solution to Peak Oil. It might, however, be a temporary fix for our NZ$115 problem. A fill up for our pickup truck costs NZ$115 (USD$70). While we don't use the truck for anything except critical trips, we would clearly like to find an alternative. With heavy loads, which is all we carry on that thing, it gulps the juice.

Jerusalem artichoke is a no-brainer here. We can see multiple uses for that crop, besides fuel.

Assuming we can grow the white lightning, I would probably do a duel fuel configuration with a t-valved fuel line for gas and ethanol tanks. I would use a completely different carb for ethanol running, to avoid any chance at all of screwing up my stock carb.

Note: I'm really looking to hear from people who have personally done this and not just thought or read about it. Thanks.



Piss Poor Superpower Can't Deploy 2,500 Troops to Its Own Border :.

The Bush administration has been unable to muster even half of the 2,500 National Guardsmen it planned to have on the Mexican border by the end of June.

As of Thursday, the next-to-last day of the month, fewer than 1,000 troops were in place, according to military officials in the four border states of Texas, California, New Mexico and Arizona.

President Bush's plan called for all 50 states to send troops. But only 10 states---including the four border states---have signed commitments.



We Really Don't Want to Know

Would you leave your children alone with a judge, a former congressman or a head of state?

Not only no; hell no.


6/29/2006

Man Arrested After Videotaping Police :.

Turn the cameras on the filth and you're going to have a problem.

They hate us for our freedom:

NASHUA - A city man is charged with violating state wiretap laws by recording a detective on his home security camera, while the detective was investigating the man's sons.

Michael Gannon, 49, of 26 Morgan St., was arrested Tuesday night, after he brought a video to the police station to try to file a complaint against Detective Andrew Karlis, according to Gannon’s wife, Janet Gannon, and police reports filed in Nashua District Court.

Police instead arrested Gannon, charging him with two felony counts of violating state eavesdropping and wiretap law by using an electronic device to record Karlis without the detective’s consent.



Companies Offer 'Mind Reading' Technology to Government :.

Have you ever heard of spectral evidence?

The U.S. government is going to spend millions of your tax dollars to strap people---at gunpoint---to machines that are going to produce the modern day equivalent of spectral evidence.

Try to picture the scene! Freaky dudes, almost certainly wearing black ninja outfits, goggles and brandishing machine guns, will escort the 'suspect' into a neuroscience crypt in some undisclosed location. There will be people with PhDs and white lab coats and computers. Needles. Electrodes. We probably don't want to know what else...

What has America become?

It's much weirder and darker than the standard sci-fi dystopias and political nightmare scenarios that come to mind. America is now like that frightening part of a county fair. You know, the carnival part, with the creaky rides, loose cotter pins, questionable odors and eerie music blaring from blown out speakers atop the Freaky Fun House. In this America, however, the carnies aren't just a bunch of ex-convicts and weirdos with too many tattoos. These Jesus-fearing clowns are wielding machine guns and They want to strap people into mind reading machines!

If I remember correctly, the exit from the Freaky Fun House was past the wall of mirrors... the convex and concave mirrors that will force America to gaze upon itself; frightening, twisted, bloated and distorted.

Don't be afraid of the guys guarding the exit. You know, the ones dressed in the ninja suits and holding machine guns. They just want you to stay a bit longer, to make sure you experience enough Freedom:

The American Civil Liberties Union today announced that it has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests with the primary American security agencies for information relating to the use of "cutting-edge brain-scanning technologies" on suspected terrorists, RAW STORY has learned.

Two private companies have announced that they will begin to offer "lie detection" services using Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), as early as this summer. fMRI can produce live, real-time images of people's brains as they answer questions, view images, listen to sounds, and respond to other stimuli.

These companies are marketing their services to federal government agencies, including the Department of Defense, Department of Justice, the National Security Agency and the CIA, and to state and local police departments.

"There are certain things that have such powerful implications for our society -- and for humanity at large -- that we have a right to know how they are being used so that we can grapple with them as a democratic society," said Barry Steinhardt, Director of the ACLU's Technology and Liberty Project.

Equally worrisome to the group is the fact that experts in the field have told the ACLU that the science to back up any reliable use of fMRI as a "lie detector" or "mind reader" simply does not exist. At most, correlations have been observed between certain brain patterns and particular, highly controlled behaviors produced in laboratory experiments.

Experts also note that these early experiments on a few American college students are a long way from real-world settings, involving individuals in widely varying situations and with widely varying cultures, intelligence levels and states of mind.


6/28/2006

Cryptogon Reader Signs Up With Blue Host :.

Cryptogon receives $65!

Thanks to an anonymous reader for choosing to host with Blue Host via Cryptogon!

We haven't done the exact arithmetic, but Becky thinks that Cryptogon contributors covered our living expenses this month!

It will be interesting to see just how low we will be able to get our costs. Eggs, dairy, fruit and vegetables are expensive, and totally doable at home. It just takes time to get everything going. Everyday, we're working on firing it up.

The large pitch fork has arrived at the store in town. We're going to get it, along with some nails and maybe a couple of other bits for the chicken tractor. I'd say that 99% of the chicken tractor will be built from free, scavenged debris. I'm noticing that rather than thinking in terms of designing something and writing out a shopping list, I'm looking at what I have on hand, or can find for free, and making it work... somehow or another. Well, I tried straightening old nails that I had pulled from my scavenged lumber, but that didn't work out too well. I think a box of nice new nails is a justifiable expense. :)

Thanks again, anonymous, and to all Cryptogon contributors!

Related: Hosting with Blue Host


6/27/2006

Industrial Organic Dairy Growth Raises Concerns :.

Any organic certification that allows feedlots in its specification is meaningless. If it's not pasture raised, it's nonsense:

A different kind of organic dairy farm is emerging out west---corporate-owned feedlot operations with thousands of cows that are fed organic grain but, according to critics, get little chance to graze.

Fears that big operations will muscle out family farms have produced a backlash, including a boycott by the Organic Consumers Association against the country's biggest organic milk brand, Horizon Organic.

Organic farmers and consumer groups are hoping the U.S. Department of Agriculture will level the field. The agency is considering whether to mandate that milk bearing the "USDA Organic" seal come from cows that have significant access to pasture, a move smaller producers say would give them the protection they need.



Simplified Wood Gas Generator for Fueling Internal Combustion Engines :.

This report is one in a series of emergency technology assessments sponsored by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The purpose of this report is to develeop detailed, illustrated instrucions for the fabrication, installation, and operation of a biomass gasifier unit (i.e. a "producer gas" generator, also called a "wood gas" generator) which is capable of providing emergency fuel for vehicles, such as tractors and trucks, should normal petroleum sources be severely disrupted for an extended period of time. These instructions have been prepared as a manual for use by any mechanic who is reasonably proficient in metal fabrication or engine repair.

PDF Version


6/26/2006

Priceless :.

Cost to U.S. tax payers for the Iraq war so far: About $292 billion

Number of Iraqi civilians killed: About 40,000

Flying around in a military helicopter, above rebel controlled Baghdad, so Dubya can have a photo op: Priceless

Mission accomplished, right?
White House Press Secretary Tony Snow, left, and White House Counselor Dan Barlett, ride in a military helicopter wearing helmets and flak jackets for a trip from Baghdad International Airport to U.S. Embassy in the Greenzone Tuesday, June 13, 2006 in Baghdad, Iraq. Snow and Bartlett traveled with President Bush who made a surprise visit to Baghdad.

Related: Mastercard Priceless Parodies



Poop

Our steers are dropping glorious heaps of steaming sh*t all over the pasture. Now that Becky and I want to activate our compost heaps, we have been making runs with the wheelbarrow to load up!

Gazing at the pile of cow manure this afternoon, I thought, "It's not illegal to have cows here!" Having lived in a place where the length of the toxic lawn is regulated by legally binding contracts, it felt exhilarating to be meandering around our property with a big load of cow sh*t!

I was so overjoyed that I thought I'd share a picture of it with you guys, probably reading from work, just in case you needed reminders of what the good life and freedom look like. If your PHB hasn't taken away your permissions for desktop customization, feel free to make this your desktop wallpaper:




GM to Shed Quarter of Workforce this Year :.

General Motors will on Monday disclose details of one of most dramatic corporate downsizings in US history, exceeding a key target of its turnround plan and accelerating the demise of the privileged American car worker.


6/25/2006

Pickup

Becky and I finally found a reasonably priced pickup (pronounced 'yute' like 'utility' if you're speaking Kiwi).

Our neighbors up the road told us about a woman who was interested in selling this 1990 Nissan Navara for NZ$2000. Knowing such a deal wouldn't last long, we quickly traveled down to see her and the pickup. After about 20 minutes of looking over the vehicle, and test driving it, we neatly stacked the precious cash on the table in front of her. No need to try to get a better bargain, Becky and I felt, since she was asking roughly half the price of what vehicles like this are selling for. (We had considered sh*tty rust buckets that were older and cost more than this.) This thing had never even been used on a farm!

We're glad that we weren't more desperate to get a pickup beforehand. Time and luck were on our side with this thing.

I hate to say it, and it seems contradictory, but if you want to travel "the path to freedom," you better have a pickup truck. There might be ways of getting the farm underway without a pickup, but it sure as hell wouldn't be easy.

In the initial phases, at least, a pickup is the would-be farmer's most valuable asset. It allows you to take advantage of opportunities that you would otherwise have to pass up. For example:

Becky's cousin, Paul, has a bunch of busted-open silage bags on his dairy farm. The hay is well rotted and totally useless for feeding his cows. Well, one man's rotted silage is another man's compost. I drove our "new" ute over there and loaded up nearly two cubic meters of this stuff. It was full of earthworms! I'll keep going over there and hauling away as much of that stuff as I can. We've added fresh cow manure and covered it with a tarp. (I refer to this pile as "My Precious.")

Becky's mom and dad have invited us to remove all the debris we can carry away from the farm they're selling down in Kaikohe. Things like old lumber, weed cloth, piping, hose, pots...

In other words, the pickup is a strategic asset. Make sure you factor the cost of the purchase and operation of a pickup into your plans. Alternatively, come up with a scheme to share a pickup with friends, family or neighbors.



Cryptogon Reader Signs Up With Blue Host :.

Cryptogon receives $65!

Thanks to noauthority.org for choosing to host with Blue Host via Cryptogon!

PLEASE NOTE: Sadly, there is some confusion about how I receive Blue Host referral payments.

IN ORDER FOR ME TO RECEIVE CREDIT, YOU MUST CLICK ON ANY OF THE LINKS TO BLUE HOST FROM CRYPTOGON.COM AND SIGN UP FROM THERE. If you just go to Blue Host, without clicking a link from Cryptogon, and sign up, I won't and can't get credit for it after the fact. So far, this has happened twice.

It's my fault for not making this explicitly clear in the first place. Sometimes, computer people, like me, assume things that shouldn't be assumed. This was one of those cases.

Related: Hosting with Blue Host



Cryptogon Readers Contribute $20 and $25

MW ($20) and GW ($25) have been donating to Cryptogon at these levels for months! Thank you both very much.

Here's how these generous contributions will be used:

For some inexplicable reason, full sized pitch forks are very hard to find in the Far North of New Zealand. My local RD1 carries them, but they are always sold out. The RD1 guys told me that the fork they carry is very high quality and that the people who buy them are extremely pleased with the tools. I placed one on order and should have it by next week.

I will use the rest of the funds to purchase, Organic Dairy Farming: A Resource for Farmers, by Jody Padgham.

Thanks, again, MW and GW, for making these critical purchases possible.




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:. Reading

Fatal Harvest: The Tragedy of Industrial Agriculture by Andrew Kimbrell Readers will come to see that industrial food production is indeed a "fatal harvest" - fatal to consumers, as pesticide residues and new disease vectors such as E. coli and "mad cow disease" find their way into our food supply; fatal to our landscapes, as chemical runoff from factory farms poison our rivers and groundwater; fatal to genetic diversity, as farmers rely increasingly on high-yield monocultures and genetically engineered crops; and fatal to our farm communities, which are wiped out by huge corporate farms.

Friendly Fascism: The New Face of Power in America by Bertram Myron Gross This is a relatively short but extremely cogent and well-argued treatise on the rise of a form of fascistic thought and social politics in late 20th century America. Author Bertram Gross' thesis is quite straightforward; the power elite that comprises the corporate, governmental and military superstructure of the country is increasingly inclined to employ every element in their formidable arsenal of 'friendly persuasion' to win the hearts and minds of ordinary Americans through what Gross refers to as friendly fascism.

The Good Life
by Scott and Helen Nearing
Helen and Scott Nearing are the great-grandparents of the back-to-the-land movement, having abandoned the city in 1932 for a rural life based on self-reliance, good health, and a minimum of cash...Fascinating, timely, and wholly useful, a mix of the Nearings' challenging philosophy and expert counsel on practical skills.

Silent Theft: The Private Plunder of Our Common Wealth by David Bollierd In Silent Theft, David Bollier argues that a great untold story of our time is the staggering privatization and abuse of our common wealth. Corporations are engaged in a relentless plunder of dozens of resources that we collectively own—publicly funded medical breakthroughs, software innovation, the airwaves, the public domain of creative works, and even the DNA of plants, animals and humans. Too often, however, our government turns a blind eye—or sometimes helps give away our assets. Amazingly, the silent theft of our shared wealth has gone largely unnoticed because we have lost our ability to see the commons.

The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It: The Complete Back-To-Basics Guide by John Seymour The Self Sufficient Life and How to Live It is the only book that teaches all the skills needed to live independently in harmony with the land harnessing natural forms of energy, raising crops and keeping livestock, preserving foodstuffs, making beer and wine, basketry, carpentry, weaving, and much more.

When Corporations Rule the World by David C. Korten When Corporations Rule the World explains how economic globalization has concentrated the power to govern in global corporations and financial markets and detached them from accountability to the human interest. It documents the devastating human and environmental consequences of the successful efforts of these corporations to reconstruct values and institutions everywhere on the planet to serve their own narrow ends.

The New Organic Grower: A Master's Manual of Tools and Techniques for the Home and Market Gardener This expansion of a now-classic guide originally published in 1989 is intended for the serious gardener or small-scale market farmer. It describes practical and sustainable ways of growing superb organic vegetables, with detailed coverage of scale and capital, marketing, livestock, the winter garden, soil fertility, weeds, and many other topics.