How Bad Could It Get? US Government Order Of 160,000 HazMat Suits Gives A Clue -- Zero Hedge
Now that Ebola is officially in the US on an uncontrolled basis, the two questions on everyone's lips are i) who will get sick next and ii) how bad could it get?
We don't know the answer to question #1 just yet, but when it comes to the second one, a press release three weeks ago from Lakeland Industries, a manufacturer and seller of a "comprehensive line of safety garments and accessories for the industrial protective clothing market" may provide some insight into just how bad the US State Department thinks it may get. Because when the US government buys 160,000 hazmat suits specifically designed against Ebola, just ahead of the worst Ebola epidemic in history making US landfall, one wonders: what do they know the we don't?
From Lakeland Industries:
Read more ....
My Comment: This order was made a few weeks ago .... even though U.S. government officials (President Obama included) at the time said there was nothing to be worried about. Why make an order when there is nothing to worry about? But here is the scary part .... apparently these HazMat suits are designed for airborne illnesses. Zero Hedge is right .... why purchase such a suit when apparently this is not an airborne disease. Either the government is lying .... or this is a problem far worse than what government officials are willing to admit.
25 comments:
Well it's in my backyard now.
Mine two wasn't really worried till this article....time to stalk up on the essentials.
What's your plan James?
I bought 12 MREs a year ago. It is not nearly enough.
I figure, I could rotate them by using them on camping trips to avoid shelf life problems.
Given the length of quarrantine solutions it looks like people need 21 days worth of food. and in a 33% to 50% safety factor and you are looking at 1 month or more.
And people thought preppers are stupid.
Preppers are actually getting more sophisticated and knowledgeable every day.
There was one prepper who was preparing to assist his entire north central Canadian community. School kids take field trips to his set up.
Those Canadians ...whacky.
The liar and chief.
He campaigned dishonestly.
The ACA was passed dishonestly.
etc, etc, etc.
Now this.
We've been hearing a lot about how the U.S is unprepared for pandemics. It makes sense to buy airborn hazmat suits to cover all bases. It works for ebola and the flu. The US gov can work like the average prepper too. How many of us peppers bought gear just for one particular threat? In my prepping I have accounted for dozens of possible scenarios. Long and the short of it, if you are going to buy gear to be prepared for the worst, it's a good idea to cover as many bases as possible.
Phil,
Mostly common sense. It's pretty obvious the government's been talking out it's ass on this subject. Granted some of it's an attempt to avert panic (which they should do). Since the authorities themselves seemed confused on how it could be infectious (airborne, direct physical contact, etc)it makes it somewhat difficult to plan for a major problem with this disease.
Since there is no cure and no vaccine that leaves only staying or fleeing as the only real alternatives. I don't think this is going to become a big bad outbreak for many reasons, but it still boils down I'm relying on hope only.
What is a fomite?
Why have not we heard about it before?
Seems as though everyone has to be an expert on everything/
"While the study provided evidence that transmission of Ebola between species is possible, researchers still cannot say for certain how that transmission actually occurred. There are three likely candidates for the route of transmission: airborne, droplet, or fomites."
http://healthmap.org/site/diseasedaily/article/pigs-monkeys-ebola-goes-airborne-112112
I read Ropestuff's and James' post and now I feel stupid and unprepared.
Aizino .... as one who now lives in Canada .... we love the outdoors and being away from civilization .... and yes we are whacky. My end of the world prep is simple .... take the family and run to my little chalet in the Laurentians of Quebec, drop a tree to block the only road that one must use to get to my place .... and hide for 6 months. (I have enough food in cans for a few months, generator and satellite link already set up). After 6 months .... hunting and fishing coupled with storing food becomes the priority.
Anyone correct me if I am wrong.
The prepper movement in the U.S. grew out of the survivalist movement in the U.S. circa late 1970s & early 1980s.
The main concerns were nuclear war and/or race riots. I think it was more of the former.
The main plan was the cabin in the woods. The thinking was the great majority of people have not planned (the gov has not planned well or this would not have happened), will not listen, but they will panic and take your stuff and have no qualms about it.
The MSM is still stuck with this view.
Watching the reality TV shows preppers I have seen people who were thinking much larger. They were cooperating wit extended family, prepper neighbors or in 1 case the entire town.
Aizino .... growing up in the old Soviet Union we had bomb shelters, learned survival techniques, stored provisions, understood that the community had to work together, and prepared for the worse ... and this was all in the sixties and seventies.
It's good to see that some in the U.S. are finally catching up.
I prep because I'm somewhat paranoid. I just have a powerful sense that routine in our daily lives is only a short term illusion that can be snatched away in a heart beat. We live in a town of about 4000 people. In 2007 we had a wind storm that knocked out power for 4 days and left us completely isolated, all the roads were blocked. On day 2 I pulled up to a gas station in my electrical van to figure out how we could cobble up a generator. In the 30 minutes it took to formulate a plan, over 200 cars lined up waiting for gas. When we went back the next day to hook them up to get the last 500 gallons out of the ground we wore pistols in our concealed shoulder rigs and had the police there just in case. By the time we had them hooked up the line of cars stretched over a mile on US HWY 101. In a quick count we counted over 300 cars and I'm sure there were more. That was day 3 after the storm. That was a wake up call. The desperation we saw after only 3 days without power was unreal. Imagining what that might look like after a week or two isolated from the outside world without power is what turned me into a prepper. Everything runs smooth until it doesn't and then all bets are off.
A O5 once told me "Every city is just 3 days from total chaos."
I don;t know if they were quoting someone else or a study.
People should take it seriously.
"Every city is three days away from total chaos should supply lines be cut."
http://community.nytimes.com/comments/www.nytimes.com/2011/01/01/nyregion/01doherty.html
3 days may be taking a slightly pessimistic view of humanity but I don't think it's far off. I was in Miami for Hurricane Andrew in 92 and by three days there were a lot more dead looters than storm casualties. It should also be worth noting that in a disaster the beer in cigarettes for the first to fly off the shelves.
Beer and cigarettes ...
A little pick me up and/or self
medication.
I experienced the Montreal Ice Storm of 1998.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Ice_Storm_of_1998
We had no electricity for about a week, and the temperature outside was about -15 Celsius. Picture a city of about 2 million with no power .... in the middle of winter .... that is what we all went through. I tried to coax my mom to go up north and stay at the chalet .... but she was adamant on staying home .... so I stayed with her. We survived .... but it was tough (and cold). Interestingly .... crime went down to almost zero, and everyone pitched in to help everyone else. Shelters were set up to house those who were sensitive to the cold and who needed food, and hospitals/police and fire stations/etc. were prioritized for the restoration of power.
Aizino,
Got me on the fomite, I'm sure Wiki's got something on the care and feeding of...
Disasters and prepping (I'm going to put my pointy smart guy hat on for this one) I'll try not to go over old ground too much.
It boils down to pretty simple things;
1) What do you consider a life that's worth living and fighting for.
2) Energy
3) Time
1) I think this is pretty obvious, from this decision flows how you deal with 2 and 3. What are you willing to do for that life?
2)This ones very important, without electricity virtually all things necessary for large populations to exist and exist harmoniously disappear. Back to a world of fire. Ropestuff's story had two very important points. I'm Ropestuff was under no illusions of what those people were capable of doing to get what they wanted (hence the smart bearing of arms). Also Ropestuff struck me as someone who could maintain and repair a generator with a high level of expertise, but could Ropestuff build a new one from scratch?
This brings us to Time. Three days not that much of a problem, three months yes, but if it's regional other parts of the country should be starting to help. Three months, then most social order as we know it starts breaking down, large cities abandoned, the rise of smaller population units (5,000 to 50,000) near resources especially water. Large population loss. Everything back to say the 1700's, but unless the accumulated knowledge of the population can be transmitted to the new generations (schooling science, etc) then the slide backwards will continue until we reach an equilibrium of population, technology, political structure, etc ie around the 1100's.
Don't worry WNU, I'll send you a trailer truck load of Franzia to tide you through the hard times.
Well I trust that bored everyone to death.
That's something I've noticed as well about the disasters I've been through, neighbors band together.
Franzia .... there we go again on the Franzia.
You will definitely not be invited in my bomb shelter .... hmmm .... then again .... if civilization goes back to the Middle Ages .... Franzia will be a valuable commodity.
On second thought James .... you are invited .... make sure you bring the Franzia.
Ropestuff,
Yeah, it's a natural thing. If and when Armageddon comes to get us, lots people will realize the old "I'll go out to the cabin in the woods with my family and rifle and ride this out" probably won't work so well. As you related in your story the number of have-nots will far out number the haves. People by necessity will band together in defensible groups, town, etc. It's as old (nearly) as I am.
WNU,
Thanks WNU, but unfortunately I'll be otherwise occupied. If you happened to look over your battlement you'll see me playing through with a group of barbarians from Pecos,Tx. Just throw a box over and we'll move along.
You hit A LOT of nails on the head there James. Definitely not boring, but of course I think I've developed a reputation of being long winded. On the point of the generator, I'm technically a "Master Electrician" which means I have mastered the art of getting power to things, but I am horrible with things themselves. I don't even change my own oil. That said, I am always amazed by peoples ingenuity when there are no other options. People never cease to amaze me and a little bit of knowledge from a lot of united people can go a long way. Tie this into what you say about outside assistance if the Armageddon is local and you see it would have to be more than an extreme situation of epic proportions before the end of the world as we know it could transform into anything more than a passing localized inconvenience.
As far as the rifle in the woods theory goes, it's appealing to one to think they could survive a romanticized notion of teotwawki but reality will be 180 degrees off. Anyone who gets mad at me for saying that hasn't though it through honestly. For one, everybody else with rifles will be competing for the same meat, that won't last long in most places. People steal other hunters elk out here as it is, or get into fist fights over who shot it first and that is with grocery stores available. Another consideration is that few people are as fit (mentally and physically) as they think. As an example of this, anyone with a bug out bag should put it on and walk a few miles. If you come back with half the gear you left with you did good. I'm not saying don't prepare, we all should, but some of that preparation should include coming to terms with the fact nearly everything you have planned will fall apart. As a final example here, Mr. WNE has a solid plan to head for the Chalet, but have you prepared a plan B in case someone is already there when you arrive? We just moved back to my old place on 22 acres, long story involving divorce and repurchase, but before we moved back here part of my bug out plan was to come here and "take it back" if it hit the fan. I'm sure you would also "take your place back" but it would be prudent to be prepared for that. Any thought that our plans will go according to plan should be discarded and numerous others should be made, including being naked in the woods or the city with nothing.
Ropestuff,
Self honesty would be the most important asset anyone could have. A good example of course is the rifle in the woods we've been discussing. I can almost guarantee that I could outlast 95% of people living off the land (ala Mountain man), but could I do it on a long term basis? Absolutely not. I'd be damn lucky to last 3 months in GOOD weather and country even without competition. Even 170+ years ago when people grew up with much better skills very few could do it successfully. This is not to disagree on doing some preparedness, everyone should. Anyway humans have survived worse and will keep doing it.
Well said.
Well this turned out to be a good discussion thanks James, Ropestuff, and WNU.
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