Carbon Controls To Stop You From Growing Your Own Food

In early 2020, in the midst of the covid lockdowns, blue states run by leftist governors pursued mandates with extreme prejudice. In red states like Montana, after the first month or two most of us simply ignored the restrictions and went on with life as usual. It was clear that covid was not the threat federal authorities made it out to be. However, in states like Michigan the vise was squeezed tighter and tighter under the direction of shady leaders like Gretchen Whitmer.

Whitmer used covid as an opportunity to institute some bizarre limitations on the public, including a mandate barring larger stores from selling seeds and garden supplies to customers. “If you’re not buying food or medicine or other essential items, you should not be going to the store,” Whitmer said when announcing her order. The leftist governor was fine with purchases of lottery tickets and liquor, but not gardening tools and seeds.

She never gave a logical reason why she targeted garden supplies, but most people in the preparedness community understood very well what this was all about: This was a beta test for wider restrictions on food independence. There was widespread rhetoric in the media throughout 2020 attacking anyone stockpiling necessities as “hoarders,” and now they were going after people planning ahead and trying to grow their own food. The establishment did not want people to store or produce a personal food supply.

Another prospect that was being openly discussed among globalists was the idea that lockdowns were “helpful” in ways beyond stopping the spread of covid (the lockdowns were actually useless in stopping the spread of covid). They suggested that the these measures could be effective in preventing global carbon emissions and saving the world from “climate change.” The idea of climate lockdowns began to spread.

The corporate media has since lied about the existence of the climate lockdown agenda, but articles and white papers extolling the virtues of shutting down the planet in the name of climate change are easy to find and read. The globalists and their academic defenders wanted PERMANENT lockdowns, or rolling lockdowns every couple of months, shutting down most human activity and travel outside of basic production.

I have argued in the past that what Whitmer was doing in Michigan was a part of this agenda – That her garden supply ban was part of a wider goal that had nothing to do with public health safety and everything to do with stopping people from prepping. The covid controls were only meant to be a precursor to carbon controls.

This past week we have seen more confirmation of this, as a study out of the University of Michigan claims that homegrown foods produce five times more carbon emissions than industrial farming methods. In other words, private gardens could be considered a threat to the environment. The Telegraph and other corporate platforms have jumped on the story, and I believe this is cause for concern.

The study includes analysis of various gardens…

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27 Lost Survival Skills Your Ancestors Had

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27 Lost Survival Skills Your Ancestors Had

It’s one thing to prepare for a temporary disaster like an earthquake or hurricane. It’s a whole other thing to prepare for a long-term disaster that cripples the power grid, communication systems, and transportation networks. Without those, we’d basically be living in the 1800s again.

Back then things were very different. People were more hands-on. To get through day-to-day life, they needed all sorts of skills that many people have never even heard of. These skills were so commonplace that they were often taken for granted. The average pioneer may have thought, “How could anyone not know how to make soap?”

The modern world has made life so easy that there’s simply no need to learn pioneer skills. But if we face a big enough disaster, that will change fast. Below is a list of 17 lost survival skills that are worth learning if you really want to be prepared for the end of the world as we know it. If your ancestors were able to learn these skills, then so are you.

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1. Basket Weaving

Crafting baskets from natural materials such as vines, reeds, or even branches can serve various purposes like collecting foraged items, carrying water, or storing food. Basket weaving is a practical skill that allows you to create essential tools for everyday survival.

Here’s how to weave a basket.

2. Blacksmithing

Blacksmithing is a trade that is extremely outdated, but it will come back when large manufacturing companies are no longer around. Iron and steel will need to be forged the old-fashioned way. And because it involves extreme heat, you will definitely need to know what you are doing.

Here’s an article on blacksmithing for beginners.

3. Butchering

Butchering is something you will have to learn one way or another. You need to know how to properly cut and hang an animal so you don’t contaminate the meat. There is an art to the process of butchering an animal you have taken from the wild.

Here is an excellent article about slaughtering and butchering.

Butchering Meat

4. Candle Making

Candle making that uses animal fats or beeswax will ensure you always have light. Your candle making ability will also give you plenty of candles to barter with.

Here’s how to make emergency candles with beeswax.

5. Construction

Construction knowledge that includes how to frame a house or build log cabins will be very useful. Very few people know how to make a home that is structurally sound. You’ll want to know how to make trusses, how to make foundations from stones, and the best kinds of wood to use.

Here’s how to build a log cabin for $100.

6. Fishing

Learning how to catch fish, whether by using a fishing rod, nets, or even primitive…

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The Thirdworldization of the First World Is Ramping Up

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By the author of Street Survivalism: A Practical Training Guide To Life In The City and The Ultimate Survival Gear Handbook

It’s time to review and update the unfolding of Thirdworldization, or the slow descent of First World countries into banana republic territory, in light of the latest local and global events and trends.

In Brazil, the new year only starts after the Carnaval, beginning February 10.

Everything is open, and everyone has been working since January 2. But – and this is kinda awkward and difficult to explain – the period between that and the end of the world-famous popular festive on Fat Tuesday (yep, like Mardi Gras) is sort of considered something of a “warm-up”, and not really the game. Or so dictates the tradition.

That little idiosyncrasy, a folklore typical of less developed nations, might be the perfect introduction for my first post of 2024 for The OP.

Wars

Even though I don’t consider conflicts and geopolitical disturbances as Thirdworldization by themselves, no doubt wars can impact in more than one way the standard of living in countries not directly (i.e., physically) involved in the conflicts but by proxy or some other way.

That’s the pickle the US and its allies in Europe find themselves in at the moment, their governments intent on keep funding Ukraine against Russia with billions of taxpayer’s euros and dollars, on top of what has already been spent.

People at large have lost count of the total, and few are even following that much anymore. The media keeps covering the scam because it’s impossible to hide it and also to give an alibi so that, in the future, no one will be able to say the politicians did it on the back of the population.

Now, that could be some 4D chess strategy, or maybe these governments know something we don’t. Perhaps this time, it’s different. However, this process has led to more than one empire’s bankruptcy. Wars are costly.

Things keep heating up on the geopolitical stage, with other conflicts looming (check this out). Meaning that we can expect more of the above to happen and, consequently, more Thirdworldization.

Border and migration crisis

First, let’s call it what it is: an invasion.

Engineered or not, intentional or not, it’s past the point of crisis. Impacts are already being felt in the US, the UK, and countries in Western Europe and for some time now. Notably, there’s been a rise in all kinds of crime and…

MediaPost: Privacy Watchdog Unimpressed With New State Laws 

While more than a dozen states have recently passed sweeping laws regarding consumer data, most don’t go far enough to actually protect privacy. That’s according to the advocacy group Electronic Privacy Information Center, which Thursday released a report examining the state laws. 

“Weak, industry-friendly laws allow companies to continue collecting data about consumers without meaningful limits,” the group writes in the new report, “The State of Privacy,” which explores laws in 14 states — California, Colorado, New Jersey, Oregon, Delware, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Montana, Texas, Virginia, Indiana, Tennessee, Utah and Iowa. 

The report, written in conjunction with the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, concludes that current state laws “largely fail to adequately protect consumers.”

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The Record: State privacy laws have been crippled by big tech, new report says 

The tech industry has shaped a series of weak privacy laws nationwide, according to a new report, with half of the 14 states to have passed such laws receiving failing grades and none receiving an “A” on the report’s scorecard. 

The Electronic Privacy Information Center and U.S. PIRG Education Fund assessed the 14 bills across several metrics, including whether they have provisions for strong enforcement; how much transparency they offer into data risk assessments; whether they include strong individual data rights such as opt-out signals; if they bar manipulative design; and whether they strongly define what constitutes personal data and covered entities. 

The report argues that the lack of a federal privacy law to govern a multibillion-dollar industry’s data practices has opened the door to states enacting lax privacy laws nearly across the board. 

“Weak, industry-friendly laws allow companies to continue collecting data about consumers without meaningful limits,” the report states. “Consumers are granted rights that are difficult to exercise, and they cannot hold companies that violate their rights accountable in court.” 

Read more here.

Bloomberg Law: Connecticut Privacy Report Details Company Leeway in Enforcement 

The findings come as advocacy groups such as the Electronic Privacy Information Center argue that state comprehensive privacy laws do little to limit how companies use personal data. A report released Thursday by EPIC and the US PIRG Education Fund argues that state laws need stronger enforcement to be effective. It gave Connecticut a D grade for its law, which it called overly favorable to the tech industry and “a favored piece of template legislation for lobbyists, particularly in bluer states.”

Read more here.

FCC Adopts EPIC Recommendations to Safeguard 911 Location-Based Routing Data

On January 25, the Federal Communications Commission adopted its Report and Order on Location-Based Routing (LBR) for 911 calls. Rather than directing a 911 call to an emergency assistance call center based on the area code of the phone (e.g., directing a 202 area code number to DC), or based on what cell tower is nearby (which could result in inaccurate dispatch 10% or more of the time), LBR directs the call based on the precise location of the caller.

In its order, the FCC agreed with EPIC that its existing rules for safeguarding the privacy and security of dispatchable location information (i.e., where emergency responders are sent) should apply equally to the precise location information used in LBR. This requires providers to certify that neither they nor their vendors use the information or associated data for any non-911 purpose except with prior express consent or as otherwise required by law, and to certify that providers and their vendors have implemented sufficient privacy and security measures to safeguard this information. At EPIC’s suggestion, the FCC also clarified that LBR data is subject to the same requirements and exemptions as dispatchable location data under Section 222, which means that the caller’s location data must be treated as confidential information except when providing it to an emergency response authority in connection with a 911 call.

EPIC regularly regularly files comments with the FCC and advocates for improved safeguards for location data, the privacy and security of emergency assistance requests, and greater consumer protection from the unsavory practices of data brokers.

How to Start a Hanging Vegetable Garden

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How to Start a Hanging Vegetable Garden

A hanging vegetable garden is simply an assortment of vegetable plants suspended above the ground in various ways. Some variations are referred to as vertical gardens.

There are numerous benefits and a few challenges but for anyone trying to increase the yield from their gardening efforts, or don’t have the benefit of a yard or traditional vegetable garden a hanging garden is an idea worth exploring.

Why Consider a Hanging Garden?

HERBS HANGING ON WALL

One of the unique benefits of growing vegetables in a hanging garden is that they are highly portable. You can start your garden indoors in winter and easily move the plants outdoors to either an apartment patio or in various areas around your yard and other gardens.

A hanging garden also allows you to grow a diversity of vegetables assuming you’ve planted varieties that will thrive in the confines or a pot or other suspended container.

HANGING BASKET DIVERSITY

It’s also easy to move your hanging plants around to give them more sun, shade or proximity to similar varieties for pollination.  If one plant exceeds your expectations and grows too large you can either prune it or move it.  There’s always flexibility unlike a garden in the ground that is difficult to move or transplant without putting stress on the plant. 

Finally, a hanging garden makes disease control easier to manage.  If a bloom of fungus shows up on a plant you can simply discard it, or isolate it somewhere while you treat it with a fungicide.  In a traditional garden any disease can quickly spread both across the leaves and throughout the soil.  Individual plants in containers isolate both plants and soil from other plants.

Hanging Garden Challenges

EMPY HANGING POTS

One of the primary challenges with any hanging garden setup is watering.  There are various designs for containers that can hold and contain water to varying degrees, but a suspended pot or container will rarely retain water as well as the soil in a traditional garden.

Another challenge is related to the size of the pot or container.  Plants need a certain amount of soil volume or the roots will become bound or stunted affecting the health of the plant.  Selecting the right variety can help and making sure you have a rich soil mix is always a good idea.  We’ll cover the best vegetable varieties and other considerations for the best results as we continue to explore this concept.

Hanging Garden Options

WALL OF HANGING PLANTS

There are a lot of ways to design and arrange vegetable plants in a hanging garden.  One of the first considerations is the type of container or structure you would use to hang or suspend your vegetables.

Hanging Flower Pots

<img width="416" height="579" src="//www.w3.org/2000/svg%22%20width=%22416%22%20height=%22579%22%3E%3C/svg%3E" alt="HANGING POT"…

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EPIC Urges FCC to Offer Wi-Fi Without Surveillance to Students

On January 29, EPIC filed reply comments with the Federal Communications Commission supporting the FCC’s proposal to expand its E-Rate program to include Wi-Fi hotspots but urging the Commission not to require surveillance of users’ online activities through those hotspots. The E-Rate program uses discounted pricing to facilitate schools and libraries providing free internet access to their students and patrons. EPIC argued that concerns about use of the hotspots for non-educational purposes should not frustrate the FCC’s goal of making the internet available to students without reliable internet access at home, nor should the FCC introduce new privacy and cybersecurity vulnerabilities that may expose data about students and their families. EPIC further illustrated the harms of prioritizing program integrity over program utilization by citing to several examples of public benefits programs that wrongfully denied eligible people, largely due to automated decision systems.

EPIC regularly files comments with the FCC and has long advocated for consumer privacy protections in broadband services and student privacy in particular.

Google’s Location Data Policy Update: Why Users Need More Than Pinkie Promises to Protect Their Most Sensitive Information

In December 2023, Google announced an update to its location data policy to provide users with more control over their sensitive location information. While this seems like a promising step in the right direction, we should be mindful of Google’s long history of failing to uphold its privacy obligations and vigilant in monitoring Google’s follow-through on its commitments.

Google’s Unfulfilled Promises to Protect Users’ Location Data

In July 2022, shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated the constitutional right to an abortion in Dobbs v. Jackson’s Women’s Health Organization, Google publicly promised to take new steps to protect users’ location data. In particular, Google said that it would delete location records that revealed whether a user had visited certain types of medical facilities soon after each visit. These facilities include counseling centers, addiction treatment facilities, domestic violence shelters, fertility centers, weight loss clinics, surgery clinics, and abortion clinics. Google promised that the change would go into effect in “the coming weeks” after the announcement.

But in November 2022, research by Accountable Tech showed that Google had failed to follow through on its policy change. In May 2023, follow-up reporting confirmed that failure. And nearly a year and a half after its initial promise to protect users’ location data, further research and reporting confirmed that Google had retained location data revealing visits to abortion clinics in about 50% of experiments conducted by Accountable Tech. The disconnect between Google’s public promises and its actual handling of users’ location data prompted EPIC and Accountable Tech to file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission in January 2024. The groups urged the Commission to investigate Google, impose civil penalties, order the company to disgorge wrongfully retained location data, and enjoin Google’s unlawful location data practices.

Despite the failure to fulfill its 2022 location data promises, Google announced another update to its location data practices in December 2023. Once the changes take effect, the announcement promises that a user’s Location History timeline will be stored on the user’s device and that the default auto-delete control period for location data will shrink to three months from the previous period of 18 months. Google also promises to give users the option to delete activity related to specific places from Maps. As with the July 2022 announcement, Google provided no date certain for when the updates will take effect.

Location Data Reveals Highly Sensitive Details About Us

Location data can reveal a lot about us. Records of a person’s physical movements through the world can divulge sensitive information: a health condition inferred from a person’s visits to a dialysis clinic, someone’s religious affiliation inferred from their attendance at a mosque, or an individual’s sexuality inferred from his attendance at a gay speed dating event. Some location information may seem innocuous in isolation, but when these data points are collected over time, they can form a detailed profile of a person. Apps, phone providers, mobile ad companies, and…