Survival Saturday is a round-up of the week’s news and resources for folks who are interested in being prepared.
This Week in the News
Is the economy turning the United States into a slave nation? It certainly looks like it, given the stories that we’ll be discussing this week. Jobs are so difficult to find that employers can turn them into sweatshops and people put up with it, just to be able to take care of their families.
Add to this the reliance of the average American on the cheap, easily available processed food system, and we truly are a nation at the mercy of the overlords, who even control the news we’re allowed to see.
Slavery and Humiliation Are Alive and Well in the American Workplace
Are your working conditions unpleasant? If you get to drink fluids during work, and urinate and defecate in a toilet, then you’re living the good life. Unlike American poultry workers, who toil in some of the most horrendous conditions imaginable – including having to wear a diaper to work, since bathroom breaks aren’t allowed. Slavery, it seems, is alive and well here in America.
With decent-paying jobs so few and far between, people who want to remain employed are accepting more and more mistreatment just to survive. Essentially,many American workplaces are becoming little more than sweatshops.
A report by the watchdog group, Oxfam, tells a story that will make you sick:
“I had to wear Pampers,” a worker identified as Dolores stated in a damning reportcalled “No Relief” released Wenesday by watchdog group Oxfam America. “I and many, many others had to wear Pampers.”
Industry employees also have been forced to cut down on drinking fluids “to a dangerous degree,” and some reported having urinated or defecated on themselves while working because they can’t hold it in any longer, according to the report.
“Supervisors mock [the workers’] needs and ignore
their requests; they threaten punishment or firing,” the report’s executive summary states. “Workers wait inordinately long times (an hour or more), then race to accomplish the task within a certain timeframe (e.g., ten minutes) or risk discipline.”One worker said supervisors at an Alabama plant regularly threatened people by saying, “Go to the bathroom, and from there, go to Human Resources.” Another worker at a plant in the Delmarva (Delaware, Maryland and Virginia) region claimed it took between 20 and 60 minutes to get permission to leave her position and use the bathroom.
When workers do get permission to take a break, they aren’t given much time to use the facilities. In another section of the report, poultry plant employees say they are given as many as 5 minutes to leave their post, use the restroom and get back.
It’s bad enough that you can almost see how some people would choose welfare over working. Poultry plants are often in rural areas, where jobs are nearly impossible to come by. The folks working there have no options to leave and find other employment. There is no other employment, and that’s exactly what gives these companies the power to treat people the way they do.
These conditions were reported at four of the largest chicken processing plants in the country: Tyson Foods, Pilgrim’s Pride, Perdue Farms and Sanderson Farms. Is it really a stretch to think that companies whose policies are to torture animals in horrific ways would not value the dignity of human beings either? (If you’re wondering what I’m referring to, this article tells shows some horrifying photos from inside a Pilgrim’s Pride plant. I’m not a vegetarian, but I refuse to spend a penny with a company like this. And the big companies? They’re basically ALL like this. The modern poultry industry is horrendous in almost every way.)
Please consider purchasing your meat from small farms, where both animals and humans are treated with decency. Consider raising your own if circumstances allow. If you just go to the store and choose the cheapest option, you are, by default, endorsing the actions of companies that won’t even allow their employees to go to the restroom.
Venezuela Is Going Down
I know, I know. I’ve been saying it for two years, but it’s happening for real.
The beleaguered South American country is descending into chaos. Thousands of looters pillaged the remaining supplies in stores instead of waiting in hours-long lines for whatever might be doled out at exorbitant prices. Supply trucks just keep having “accidents” after which the contents are stolen. Other hungry people are killing cats, dogs, pigeons, and rodents just to have something to eat. One man who turned to mugging people was actually lit on fire and burned to death by the mob that caught him doing so. Unbelievably, the Venezuelan government has promised even more cuts on imports in order to pay their debts. Since stock is already depleted in this country that relies on imports for food, personal items, and necessities, things are about to get even worse.
Venezuela contains the largest reserves of crude oil in the world, but due to the mismanagement of a Socialist regime, collapse is imminent – even the mainstream media has admitted that it is inevitable.The country is suffering from the highest inflation in the world, electricity has been strictly rationed with rolling blackouts(and this is in the city – rumor has it that in the rural areas, there is no power whatsoever), and a few months ago, it was announced that they simply did not have enough food to supply the country. (This will get far worse when the import cuts get more intense.) People, including city dwellers, were informed that they needed to begin to produce their own food.
With the oil-based wealth of the country, many citizens never expected that collapse was coming. Sound familiar? Now that they’re on their own to feed themselves, the country has devolved into pandemonium. This is why, no matter where you live, as I discussed in this interview, you need to begin taking steps to be more self-reliant. You need to store long-term emergency food, build a food pantry that you use from day-to-day, and learn to replenish your food in your own backyard. While you might not be able to grow all of your food, if things get tight, what you do grow and stockpile can supplement meager rations. You do not want to be a slave to this system, because when the masters stop feeding you, things are going to get ugly.
If it can happen in a country with that much oil, it can happen in the United States. They’re feeling the Bern of socialism in Venezuela and if you haven’t noticed, younger Americans are positively begging for a similar style of government here.
Anonymous Is Taking Down Banks, But Facebook Won’t Let You Tell Anyone
Hactivist group Anonymous has dedicated the month of May to assaulting the global banking cartel in a rather spectacular fashion. Beginning with the Bank of Greece, they’ve targeted the websites of 9 of the world’s largest banks so far.
And here is the follow-up from Anonymous with a list of banks that they intend to target.
In the event these videos are taken down, you can find a list of their targets HERE.
But if you haven’t heard about it, there’s a very good reason. Taking media blackouts to a whole new level, it seems that Facebook has blocked any sharing of a particular link about the takedowns. Here’s the message I got when I tried to share the link in a private message to a friend. Right?????? (This is the link I was trying to share – definitely go read it!)
Hmmm…right as Facebook comes under fire for an apparent policy of censoring conservative news and information, an accusation they vehemently denied.
Now, indulge me just a teeny little bit. I enjoy watching the greedy being taught a lesson as much as anyone else, and because everyone loves a Robin Hood anti-hero story, I really hope this is all legit.
But…
What if…
What if there was something huge going on in the banking world this month? Some kind of excruciating collapse that could cause massive chaos if everyone knew about it? What better way to cover up the financial disaster than to say, “Oh! Our system has been hacked! Don’t worry, comrades, your money is safe and there’s nothing to see here!” What if it isn’t Anonymous at all,but actually the banks themselves? What if Anonymous isn’t who they present themselves to be? There have been rumors for years that they are actually a government-controlled psy-op and part of the manipulative narrative.
This, of course, is nothing but interesting conjecture and something to think about. (Dear Anonymous: If I’m wrong, please don’t get all mad and hack me. I’m just a little blogger being a critical thinker.:) Thanks.)
Prepper Stuff
This week, instead of a round-up, I wrote a letter to folks who are out there doing the family preparedness gig by themselves. Single parent preppers can often become discouraged by information that seems to be specific to families with two adults, but there are many of us juggling the whole shebang on our own.
Not only are these families headed up by divorced and widowed parents, but there are a growing number of people who straddle the line for a variety of reasons. Some are the spouses of our military members who have been deployed overseas. Others are forced to live separately when one spouse finds employment too far away to return home each night. There are families in which one parent takes the majority of the responsibilities due to something that affects their spouses: chronic illness, addiction, or mental health concerns, to name a few. These semi-single parents face many of the same issues as single parents do, and these are topped off with additional worries about the well-being of their spouses.You can read the letter here.
I did an interview recently with my friend Rory, of The Daily Coin. We discussed the situation in Venezuela and talked about the lessons that we can learn if we observe carefully what is going on down there. One thing is very clear: independence means a lack of dependence. It’s time to break free from the system. You can listen to the interview here.
Resources:
An Inside Look at the Modern Poultry Industry
Non-GMO Long-term Storable Food
The Pantry Primer: A Prepper’s Guide to Whole Food Pantry on a Half Price Budget
Hacker, Hoaxer, Whistleblower, Spy: The Many Faces of Anonymous
Anything to add to Survival Saturday?
Do you have any news links you want to share? Now’s the time! Please post your links in the comments below. And feel free to indulge in some “what ifs” of your own. I’d love to know what you think of the stories above.