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Seems like today is a good day to focus on practical advice.
Politics, such as the upcoming CFTC hearings, is fine for theory and
advocacy, but it's so much more important to focus on improving our own
circumstances in life first, because once that is done, we can have the
confidence and energy to help others.
FITNESS:
Of high importance to me has always been my health. I've sacrificed it
from time to time, most notably when I first began compiling information on
80 silver stocks each week around 2003. I stopped working out.
But I needed a break at the time, as my body was a bit beat up from hitting
the gym hard starting in 2001. I've always been an athlete, as I pursued
amateur alpine ski racing until I was 23; and I was more of a fitness fanatic
than most of my competitors.
About a year ago I discovered isometrics, which are static, non moving,
strength exercises. I've regained so much strength and fitness, and
most importantly, I've discovered PAIN RELIEF, AS MY JOINTS ARE SO MUCH
STRONGER THAN EVER BEFORE. The theory goes that without breaking down
so much muscle, you are not excreting protein through the kidneys, and thus,
not overloading them. Thus, with healthier kidneys, your body can
eliminate toxins better, and thus, not deposit toxins in the joints, thus,
keeping the joints stronger. But the isometrics must do much more
than that for joints and strength.
I especially like isometric workouts because they are extremely fast; one
exercise can take 30 seconds, and it does not burn out your blood sugar,
so you still have energy to work, type, or spend time with family
afterwards. Also, with such a short exercise, you don't have to
break a sweat, so you don't end up having to shower three times a day,
which leaves more time for life.
Here are a few example exercises, one full workout that should take no more
than 10 minutes. You can also do only one exercise at a time,
throughout the day.
1. Hang on a pull-up bar with your arms bent at 90 degrees. -- 30
seconds, or maybe up to 14 breaths is my max.
2. Do a hand stand with slightly bent arms. -- 30 seconds or
less.
3. Get in a low pushup position, and hold your chest
about 1 inch off the floor, not moving. -- 15 to 45 seconds, depending
on overall strength.
4. Do a back bridge. On hands and feet only, belly arched
high in the air, pointing up. Start lying on your back, knees
bent, with your feet right under your butt. Put your hands on the
ground behind your head, and then push hard, and arch up. -- 15
seconds. This one requires flexibility.
5. Easy back bridge, bend the knees, and hold your body flat, like a
table top. This time, your hands and arms are not above your
head, but drop straight down from your shoulders.
6. Squat all the way down, a bit on your toes. Rise about 6
inches until your knees hurt the most. Hold. I'm up to 3 minutes,
but that's only because my legs are super strong from years of ski racing,
squats, and heavy leg presses. When I started out, I could barely hold
this 1 minute.
7. From standing straight up, bend the knees, and push them forward as
far as they will go, but keep the heels down. This is like a half
squat, and much easier.
8. Arms: Put your hands in front of you, and press them together on
front of your belly, one arm pushes/curls up, and the other arm curls down,
but neither move. Thus, one arm works the triceps, the other the bicep.
I developed this routine myself, from learning from Matt Furey. So,
don't just take it from me, go to the source. His best books can be
ordered here, click on the banners:
Combat Conditioning
Take it up a level with GAMA FITNESS
Today a man emailed me to ask how bad things will get, and how much he should
prepare.
"Is it possible that we could have a complete collapse of the dollar and
a complete breakdown of law in the USA because of the final end of all the
money fraud."
I replied "It's more probable than possible."
He replied: "Crap I was really thinking that you would not say
that and bring me back to reality. darn it to hell. Ok well then the
next question is this. I am going to keep buying silver and gold, but during
a total break down in society, that won't feed my screaming kids and fight off
bad guys. How much of a break down do you think we will have and how
long could it last. Because I really need to make some other
preparation."
I think Argentina is a good example of what things might be
like. It can become like a third world nation in chaos, with crime
and gangs being hundreds of times worse.
I just bought a book last week: The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving
the Economic Collapse by Fernando Ferfal Aguirre, a man who is living through
the Artintine chaos.
http://www.amazon.com/Modern-Survival-Manual-...3470&sr=8-1
Just flipping through the book shows he is a big fan of staying fit, and
carrying many spares of needed things like knives, LED flashlights, and
dental floss. Also extra clothing, water, rope, etc. He says
that Guns are generally too dangerous and not very practical for most
situations if it is illegal to carry them. The best defense seems to be
to simply avoid dangerous situations by not driving into the bad areas
of town.
It need not be that way; if people turn towards Biblical righteousness, and
turn back to God, and stop endorsing government theft, things can get a lot
better than they are today instead, but it does not look like things are
headed that way, given the values that children and young people have
today. The reason is that if government goes insanely criminal (more
communist) then there is nobody left to enforce the law. To achieve
this outcome, we need to preach a lot more than we are. My readers tell
me that when they try to talk, they are always shut down by family and
friends who have different social views. This, again, goes to show that
people are not listening, and not turning to righteousness, which is very
dangerous.
FOOD:
We have at least 1 month to 3 months of food in the house for multiple
people. We simply buy extra things from the food warehouse, like
Costco. We buy pasta, sauce, oil, rice, beans, canned tuna, dried nuts
and fruit, chocolate, wine. I bought a hand crank grain grinder way
back for Y2K, but I've never used it. I'm sure some will email me to
encourage me.
I've looked at the 1 year supply of food that you can buy, but it always
seems like stuff that I would never eat; freeze dried junk. And
the price always seems too much, or the food is not the best.
GUNS:
Guns seem rather simple. Get 1-3 of all your basic kinds:
Handgun, Rifle, Shotgun, that's up to 9 guns. Get spares in case one
breaks, and spares to give out to family and friends if it ever comes down to
really needing them in the event of total societal chaos. I like the
.45 Sig Arm Handgun the best, as it has no safety to worry about, just dual
action, and is a favorite in the military. Then, equipped with a laser
pointer for accuracy, the laser itself could also be used as an
excellent deterrent, if ever such were needed. The total for one of
these used to be about $1400, I'm sure they cost much more now.
Our pistol packing pastor, who carries a .45, suggests a .40, which is half
way between a .45 and a 9mm in size, because it can easily be used by
men and women alike. Janelle, who works at the JH MINT carries a .40.
I don't normally focus this newsletter on things like food and guns so much,
because I have never spent more than $10,000 on each, or less than 1% of my
overall net worth. Thus, 99% of my time is focused on silver, and
getting other people into silver, hence the nature of this email list.
Besides, since I'm not an expert on those areas, I leave it to others.
My own preparations in those areas are probably far in excess of most people,
and perhaps not enough for some die hard survivalists.
VAULTS:
Today, a lady asked me where she should put her gold. YOUR OWN
VAULTS is always my answer. But people don't like to put it all in one
place. Diversification is key, in the event of robbery. So, get
multiple vaults if you have enough to afford it. Disguise them by
buying a wall safe, building a cabinet around it, or sinking one into
the concrete, for example.
Here's a rather unique idea. If you are older, and if you plan to leave
X percentage of your wealth with certain other grown ups, such as your
children, then buy multiple vaults and put one into each of their homes, and
stock them up with whatever; gold, guns, etc. You don't have to give
them the combination; give that to your lawyer who will be instructed to
"open the envelope" with the combo to give to them, upon your
death. You could even give only a part of the combo to one lawyer, and
another part to another lawyer, without letting the lawyers know about each other,
to be extra secure. This way, the assets are already distributed, but
not irrevocably. At any time, you should be able to visit your
children, and either add more, or remove some, as needed, while you are still
alive, it's still your money. This also removes temptation from your
children, since they can't access it.
FAITH:
Saving the best for last, faith gets me by. God is good. He has
provided us all with plenty of instructions in the Bible, which are needed
now more than ever before. The solutions are all there, and in the long
run, the resurrection provides the ultimate guide for everything; it is the
foundation of our faith, the ultimate solution if things get their
worst. The resurrection should provide us the courage to do the right
things now, and we should be willing to risk it all now, to pursue and stand
up for righteousness at all times. The doctrine of the
resurrection also teaches us that WE RESTRAIN EVIL; it's what we do, by our
very presence here, we intimidate the forces of evil. Evil
forces want to enslave all of mankind, but God will not let them
while HE lives in us and while we still live. Where the
spirit of the Lord is, there is Liberty.
To the extent that we obey the Lord, and have His spirit, we will have
liberty in our lives, and freedom and prosperity in this life.
If you get depressed, read the Bible. Worrying will not solve
anything. Preparations may help, but in the end, we cannot trust in
silver, or guns or food, we have to trust in God. But on the practical
side, praying for corn when you have planted wheat, is incompatible with
basic Christian doctrine. Our prayers have to match our
actions! God meets us halfway. We do our part, and God does
his. If we are obedient to him, we will listen to Him. We trust
in God's ways, which is an endorsement of private property and personal
responsibility, and we are told to not put any trust in false idols, and not
trust in men, nor trust in government promises.
I thank God every day that we still have the freedom to buy silver and gold.
This may not last, and such freedom ends from time to time, in place to place
in the world. Even today, many people in many nations do not have
the freedom to buy silver and gold like we do in the USA still. In many
nations, there has never been such a thing as a coin shop or bullion
dealer. Take advantage of this freedom while you still can.
Oh, this just came in, can't wait to read it myself:
GATA Chairman Murphy's
planned testimony to CFTC
target="_blank" http://www.gata.org/node/8441
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