The Implosion is Accelerating

http://www.newswithviews.com/Evensen/greg26.htm

THE IMPLOSION IS ACCELERATING, PREPARE WHILE YOU CAN

By Greg Evensen
March 15, 2008
NewsWithViews.com

For thirty years, I have been writing, speaking, imploring, and begging others to make rational, concrete plans for a time in life that would offer no quarter, give no mercy, and that would in a word be--catastrophic. We are coming face to face with that moment. You have so little time left to do anything that will give you a fighting chance. What are you doing?

National Guard units are training and preparing for urban combat. The United States has just reached an agreement with Canada’s armed forces to come in to this country and assume combat roles should they be needed in American cities and towns. The Federal Reserve'’s last ditch effort to stem the “blood loss” in the sub-prime and other currency markets has failed. The dollar has been abandoned for Euros. The stock market can’t find its ass with both hands and a Chinese made, Wal-Mart sold ass finder. Israel has demanded that all of the financial aid it receives from Washington (that’s us) be paid for in Euros. The ultimate irony and slap in the face. Oil, dairy, wheat, wheat products, gold, silver, copper prices, the list goes on and on, are racing for the stratosphere with no end in sight. An implosion has begun and it has no known method of stopping or reversing until critical mass is reached. It will be followed by an explosion in the economy and the political realm unseen since the founding of this nation.

The ultimate tragedy is, this was preventable. It could have been slowed or reversed at any time if a courageous and morally upright Congress had revealed the root causes for the disaster. If the socialist “generals” in Congress had been defeated or at least their programs thrown out at the time of their introduction, billions would have been saved. If the truth and our first president, General George Washington’s advice had been followed, every conflict since WWII would have been avoided. During the past 60 years, 120,000 American soldiers would have survived, 500,000 would have been physically uninjured, and two trillion in direct costs and the rehabilitation money grants to former enemies would have been saved.

The size of the federal government would be less than half of what it is today, the budget of the US government would be about 500 billion as opposed to two and one half trillion on a yearly basis and we would most likely be at relative peace. Lack of foolish and unnecessary regulations, taxes, and frivolous lawsuits, would have allowed an explosion of small businesses to thrive. The lack of a Federal Reserve System would have allowed the United States to remain a creditor nation based on assets rather than suffering under a crushing debt imposed by the feds dictatorial control over the people’s treasury. There are so many reasons why we could have avoided all of this. Thousands of perfectly good reasons IF employed by thousands of honest, moral, representatives who simply could have done the citizen’s business the way God and sound governmental practices demanded ---would have, should have, and could have made the critical difference.

Instead, we saw year after year, decade after decade, and now century after century of greed, bring ultimate ruin to this marvelous nation called America. Although we did not want it, we have allowed it to happen. It resolves nothing and does not buy us a way out, but we must accept our responsibility for this debacle and now prepare for what is coming.

Friends, you must begin NOW if you have not done so, to protect yourselves and your family from this pending---as the disaster movies call it---“extinction level event” for our former way of life. If you hesitate, you will be caught in the maelstrom that is the next six months to five years of life in the US. Pick your poison. If you like global warming and believe that is going to do you in, well then, build a refrigerated secure basement. If you like the Planet X scenario, then prepare for 800 mph winds and basically a “pole shift” that will leave nothing at all. If you live in a nuclear target city, or worse yet (worse??) yes, in a sanctuary city, then get out and get out quickly. Here is what you must do.

Consider geography carefully. I don’t care where you live now, choose your “Ride & Hide” (ride it out and hide from the enemy—you pick ‘em) location with great wisdom. Coasts are bad, arid regions are bad, rural northern and mountainous regions are the best. Why? Fewer people mean fewer morons to deal with. Weather considerations, wild game availability, timber resources, fresh water, tillable soil, survival off the utility grid is doable, herding small numbers of livestock is possible, also grazing horses can be kept. Being at least 50 miles from the nearest interstate or major highway is preferable, the same with commercial airports and nuke plants. Holing up with really close friends or family is the ultimate best so that expenses, work loads and practical skills are shared to your best advantage. Be ready to leave your city home with only one or two hours alert time. You may not even have that. Practice getting home, loading, and leaving at least once. Notify only those in your group that would be affected. Tell no one else what you are doing. Keep your gas tank full and an extra 5-10 gallons.

Securing the land with a rugged structure(s) and reinforced underground shelter can be expensive, however; it is an absolute. Stocking that domicile with stores of enduring foods, food components (flour, raw sugar, yeast, salt, etc.) medicines or natural remedies (apple vinegar, honey, olive leaf extract, etc.) an electric generator and at least 500 gallons of diesel, 100 gallons of kerosene for lamps, tools-------you know the drill. There are many sites available to assist you in stockpiling long term necessities right at NWV.

You will be happy to know that your government in Washington has assisted these efforts to protect your family from ANY kind of disaster by making it a felony to harbor many items (as listed in the Patriot Act II). You know, be wise, be prepared, but if you go more than a week’s worth, we’ll put you in one of 800 non-existent Halliburton model “stay for a while, we’ll leave the lights on ” Washington style long term family “vacation” detention campsites built with illegal or prison labor, right here in the good old US of A.

Moving your money freely will become even more difficult as banks begin to restrict the amounts that can be transferred from savings accounts and other short-term investment vehicles under their immediate control. Using personal checks outside of your own community will become increasingly difficult, soon. Bank drafts or money orders will do for a while, but many real estate, large business or supply companies will require that you jump over difficult hurdles so that they are not left to chase you down for payment.

Securing advance amounts of medical supplies, especially prescriptions and antibiotics (Tami flu, Amoxicillin, Keflexin, etc.) will be very difficult as most insurance companies will only reimburse for 30 days or less. If you have any serious dental issues, (abscessed teeth), surgeries, glasses or other necessary medical needs, get them done, now.

Consider transferring available 401K, IRA accounts, or other liquid plans into gold or silver before their availability or price are literally beyond reach. A penalty for withdrawal is not desirable, but highly preferable to empty or inaccessible accounts next month or whenever.

Have GPS chips removed from your newer vehicles, laptops if possible, and prepare to leave your cell phones in the lake 100 miles from your retreat. Leave your ID chipped pets at the humane society and any animals you raise for food consumption must be newly born and chip free (many good patriots are telling the state and federal USDA to, well, you know, but that won’t last much longer as most states are going into compliance regardless of what the law says, the constitution says, common sense says or what God himself says. The same is true with the REAL ID. That card is also becoming, state by state, the final nail in the coffin of personal liberty. Consider it the mark of the beast (I don’t know if it is, but it could be). The personal ID chip is without a doubt that mark, I personally believe. I will not UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES take that chip, no matter what it ultimately costs me. That is why, among many reasons listed here, common sense and the urgency that is coming at you like the freight train from Hell, you must complete your personal retreat plans, NOW.

Are you getting the picture dear friends? Laugh at me if you will. Marginalize me and others who are begging you to make this effort while you can, but hear this: IF YOU ARE CAUGHT IN A CITY OR WITHOUT THE MOST BASIC OF NEEDS, YOU WILL NOT SURVIVE A CRISES.

That is the absolute truth and the absolute facts of life. You will be among the first victims of the event or its immediate aftermath. Roving gangs of real pirates and sadistic tormentors will only seal your fate in a most cruel fashion.

Ask yourself this single question. What do you have now that is so worth keeping (suburb mortgaged home, SUV, boat, hockey equipment, a JOB that is killing you, etc.) over your life and that of your family? Is your morning cup of Starbucks worth this effort? For God’s sake, WAKE UP!! If you haven’t really cared who or what the Federal Reserve is, well, don’t worry about it now. Just get your money out and do something with it while you can. If you haven’t followed the presidential debates, then don’t watch them now, either. Decide for yourself what you are going to do for your family and this nation by becoming independent and “free” in spite of this and the world government’s absolute determination to rule you completely and forever. Can you let go of football and beer long enough to answer that single question? I’m ready, some of you are ready, many of you are not. If you refuse to get ready, then I bid you farewell. You were never my fellow countryman to begin with. God help you.

Your last consideration must be in terms of self-defense. This will draw the ire of many morons who were just waiting for this. To you, I say, don’t ever buy a gun. You would only eventually supply a criminal with one more weapon. To everyone else, think shotgun, first. A 12 gauge, 20 inch rifled barrel chambered for 3” shells. Buy at least 1000 rounds of OO Buckshot for defense, 1000 rounds of slugs for large game, and 1000 rounds of #6 shot for small game and birds. These are all round good loads for most situations. Professional hunters may argue a bit, but I tell you from experience hunting and in law enforcement, this will do it. The make of the weapon is your choice, but I would stick with Remington or Mossberg as my first pick. There are others, check with a reputable sporting store to assist you. A Ruger .22 rifle and a 1000 rounds will do for quieter small game. A .308 and 500 rounds will do for long range whatever you need to do shooting—if you get my drift.


A Ruger Mini-14 rancher model chambering .223 with several 20 or 30 round clips and 1000 rounds will be good for when you are outnumbered, and a .45 Government model Kimber or Springfield Armory pistol with 10, 10 round clips and 1000 rounds will do you well. That’s roughly $4500 worth of weaponry. Cheap in defense of all that you have. A good four wheeled vehicle of any kind for off road use rounds you out. I’m pretty good at spending your money, hmm? Forget the vacation that would have cost you that anyway. Forget the new $50,000 truck that you just couldn’t live without. You will LIVE if you use that money wisely. You have just weeks or a few months—MAYBE—to be positioned for any possibility. Natural or manmade. If I am wrong, sell it in a couple of years to someone who still sees the need and you’ll be free to be at risk again.



This is the article that many of you have been pleading with me to write for over six months. I did not want to present it prematurely and yet it’s anybody’s guess as to when it will be too late. There is a risk for the writer of such messages. The risk is that many will still ignore it, stick their heads in a little deeper or laugh nervously as they dismiss the content with, “he’s a typical right-wing worrier, this just can’t happen.” Well, I pray to God Almighty you are right and I am wrong. But then again, no matter what happens, I’m ready, my family and I have a good chance………………..are you ready, do you have any chance at all?

 

<!-- TEXT HEADER L.A. Land: Peter Viles on the rapidly changing landscape of the real estate market in Los Angeles and beyond


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<!-- entry --> California foreclosure "surge": Up 327% from '07 levels

The number of California homes lost to foreclosure in the first quarter surged 327% from year-ago levels -- reaching an average of more than 500 foreclosures per day -- DataQuick said in a report warning that the widening foreclosure problem could "spread beyond the current categories of dicey mortgages, and into mainstream home loans."

From DataQuick's report on California foreclosures in the first three months of 2008: "Trustees Deeds recorded, or the actual loss of a home to foreclosure, totaled 47,171 during the first quarter. ... Last quarter's total rose 48.9 percent from 31,676 in the previous quarter, and jumped 327.6 percent from 11,032 in first quarter 2007." That translates into 517 foreclosures every day in the first quarter of 2008.
DataQuick president Marshall Prentice: "The main factor behind this foreclosure surge remains the decline in home values. Additionally, a lot of the 'loans-gone-wild' activity happened in late 2005 and 2006 and that's working its way through the system. The big 'if' right now is whether or not the economy is in recession. If it is, the foreclosure problem could spread beyond the current categories of dicey mortgages, and into mainstream home loans."
From The L.A. Times' Peter Hong: "Sinking home values and the collapse of flimsy mortgages sent a record number of California homes into the foreclosure process in the first three months of this year, a real estate information service reported today."
Default notices -- which mark the beginning of the foreclosure process -- increased sharply, but not as rapidly as outright foreclosures. From Bloomberg News: "California mortgage defaults more than doubled in the first quarter to the highest in 15 years as a drop in sales and prices prevented some homeowners from selling their properties to pay debt, DataQuick Information Systems said.
More: "Homeowners received 113,676 default notices in the first quarter, up 143 percent from a year ago, La Jolla, California- based DataQuick said today in a statement. The level was the highest since at least 1992, when DataQuick's statistics begin."
Despite well publicized federal efforts to reach out to homeowners in default, the odds that they will ultimately lose their homes appear to be increasing. DataQuick reports that, of the homeowners in default, "an estimated 32 percent emerge from the foreclosure process by bringing their payments current, refinancing, or selling the home and paying off what they owe. A year ago it was about 52 percent.:

 

http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/2008-04-21-rent-rising-eviction_N.htm

Renters can't escape housing foreclosure crisis

Brannon and Sarah Cox, with their 4-year old daughter, Darby, and another child on the way in about two weeks, sold their home in Texas after their loan payment nearly doubled. Now they're paying in rent what their initial mortgage payment was.

RISING RENTS

Median rent for the first quarter of 2008 in 12 major metropolitan areas:

Atlanta: $986
Austin: $907
Boston: $1,645
Chicago: $1,355
Las Vegas: $1,056
Los Angeles: $1,699
Miami: $1,368
New York: $1,751
Phoenix: $939
San Francisco: $1,810
Seattle: $1,211
Washington D.C.: $1,687
All metro areas: $1,368

By Stephanie Armour, USA TODAY
On a chilly night after work last November, Christopher and Jenell Chow relaxed, watching the evening news while their children scampered around their rented two-story stucco home. Someone knocked at the door.

An officer was standing on the doorstep, eviction papers in hand. That's when the Chows learned that the North Las Vegas home they'd rented for two years was in default. They had 30 days to move out and find a new home for their five children, Jenell's live-in mother, their two black Labs and a cat. The stress was severe: Jenell says she suffered a miscarriage the day before they moved out.

"We felt dumbfounded," says Jenell, a stay-at-home mom. She and her husband, an electrician, lost their $5,000 rental deposit. "We would have been homeless if someone from our church hadn't loaned us money for a deposit on another place. I believe the stress caused my miscarriage."

The most brutal real estate slump in decades is reverberating through the rental market. Renters in properties that are being foreclosed on are being evicted. Homeowners forced into foreclosure are becoming tenants again and driving up rents. And renters not yet ready to buy a home — shut out by stricter lending rules or hoping to buy after prices fall still further — are creating a dynamic shift: Even as real estate is sputtering, the rental market is surging.

Rents, in fact, are accelerating in many markets across the USA. Vacancy rates are down from last year, and average rent is projected to rise 5.3% in 2008, up from a 3.1% increase in 2007, according to the National Association of Realtors. In some cities, rents are climbing at a double-digit clip.

In San Francisco, the median rent rose 14.6%, to $1,810 a month in the first quarter this year compared with a year earlier, according to an analysis by Newton, Mass.-based Investment Instruments. The median rent in Seattle rose 10.3%, to $1,211, in the same period. In Washington, D.C., the median rent rose nearly 5%, to $1,687.

And in 2007, the number of renters in professionally managed apartments leapt by the largest amount since 2000, according to the National Multi Housing Council's March report. That increase was as large as the increase for the previous five years combined. From 2004 through 2006, 1.2 million households joined the ranks of renters, more than making up for the loss in renter households sustained from 2002 to 2004.

"The rental market is now very, very strong," says Allison Atsiknoudas, CEO and co-founder of Investment Instruments, which provides Web-based tools for the real estate industry and tracks rental market rates. "It's stable. The increasing number of foreclosures in the market has definitely increased demand for rentals."

Other hot rental markets include Salt Lake City, Nashville, Philadelphia and Austin, according to the M/PF YieldStar apartment rankings.

High demand, rising rents

The health of the rental market is critical for several reasons. Rising demand for rentals can spur construction of apartment buildings, a trend that's already occurring in some metro markets. And the need for more rental properties can energize urban development, because higher commuting costs have translated into growing demand for rentals that are near urban employment centers rather than in outlying suburbs.

"In some areas, because the demand for rentals is happening closer to cities and job markets, there will ultimately be demand for new construction," says Peter Chinloy, a real estate professor at American University's Kogod School of Business. "As rents keep rising, there is more demand, although it also means it's harder to find rental units."

Escalating demand also means steeper rents. The median asking rate for rentals has jumped 14%, from $591 a month during the fourth quarter of 2003 to $673 a month in 2007, according to the Census Bureau. The national vacancy rate for rental housing was 9.6% in the fourth quarter of 2007, down from 10.2% in the fourth quarter of 2003.

Several factors are driving up demand for rentals:

•Renters are waiting for home prices to drop. As they watch real estate prices slide, many renters have decided to wait longer to buy because they think prices have yet to hit bottom. Kevin Merrett, 23, of Fullerton, Calif., has adopted a stance of waiting and continuing to rent while keeping his eyes on the housing market.

"As a renter, it doesn't make sense to buy right now," says Merrett, who handles land acquisitions for an apartment developer. "I can easily survive on my low rent. And I've been closely watching the shifts of the real estate market. I'll continue to wait for the prices to come down enough so that even if the market continues to soften, it will not put me in financial trouble" after a home sale.

•Renters are finding it harder to buy. Many renters can't qualify for an affordable mortgage because of stricter lending rules that call for larger down payments and excellent credit. The days of getting a home with no money down or with other unconventional loan structures are gone.

Lenders have turned more cautious for good reason: Foreclosures are up, and each of them costs lenders an estimated $50,000, on average, in processing fees, liquidation-sale price cuts and other costs, according to the Center for Responsible Lending.

"We've seen demand for rental housing go up," says Mark Obrinsky, chief economist at the National Multi Housing Council. "The ownership side is retrenching, and we're seeing the demand going to the rental side. There's a lot of hesitancy to buy. Others can't get (financing), so they're remaining renters longer."

•A steep rise in foreclosures. Foreclosure filings — default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions — were reported on 223,651 U.S. properties during February, a 4% drop from the previous month but still a nearly 60% increase from February 2007. One in every 557 U.S. households received a foreclosure filing during the month, according to RealtyTrac.

Brannon Cox, 26, and his wife, Sarah, 27, of Flower Mound, Texas, were living in a small starter home they bought in 2004 for $125,000 with no money down; 80% of their loan was a two-year adjustable-rate mortgage. Cox, a graphic designer who then brought home about $2,500 month, soon recognized that his pay wasn't enough to keep up with the escalating mortgage payments. In May 2006, the mortgage rate reset higher.

In addition, the three-bedroom brick home with wood siding and a garage needed major repairs. He and his wife installed new carpet and tile and painted all of the interior. They repaired the garage door. And when the plumbing backed up, Brannon spent hours digging up the rock garden, creating a 6-foot hole, and managed to do the repairs himself.

His wife, a waitress, lost her job. The air conditioning went out, and in a city with sometimes 115-degree heat in the summer, they had to buy new units with credit cards. Soon, they were $10,000 in debt, and their monthly mortgage bills had ballooned to nearly $1,900 from $1,040. They fell two months behind on the mortgage.

Facing foreclosure, they had no choice but to sell the house last year for $128,000. And, saddled with new debt, a bankruptcy filing and no savings, they moved into a two-bedroom apartment. Their rent is $1,093 a month — almost exactly the original amount of their mortgage payments.

'Makes you sad'

"We were scared about what apartment we could get with that credit history," says Brannon Cox, who has a 4-year-old daughter and a second child due in May. "Our daughter says she wants to go back to the old house, and that makes you sad. We still go back to birthday parties with her old friends."

Scores of foreclosed homeowners, now stuck with tarnished credit, are finding it harder to get loans as lenders tighten their rules and standards. As more of them become renters, overall demand for rental property rises.

"There's been a big shift, and it's a national trend," says Jeremy Brandt, CEO of 1-800-CashOffer, which connects home sellers with real estate investors. "We're seeing more and more people moving into renting because of foreclosures, and rents are increasing."

That's especially true in metro areas with stable job markets. Signs of the demand abound, and in some areas, the need for rental units is sparking construction of rental apartment buildings — a trend that, over time, could help ease rental prices as the supply of apartments rises. In Dallas, apartment construction is underway, including plans for a 15-story building. A 300-unit apartment complex is planned in San Antonio.

In the meantime, rents continue to rise. In the Seattle area, rents rose 2.1% in the first quarter of 2008 over the previous quarter and nearly 9% since the first quarter of 2007. Vacancies in some neighborhoods are at 3%. The average annual rent increase for all units was $84 a month, says Tom Cain of Seattle-based Apartment Insights Washington, an apartment-market-research firm.

"The rental market is really healthy," Cain says. "Incentives are going away. Renters are not interested in getting into housing, and the number of foreclosures is going up a bit."

The withering housing market is also extracting an emotional toll, forcing renters out of their homes as landlords go into foreclosure. No hard data exist on how many homeowners who lose homes to foreclosure are becoming renters. But 18% of foreclosures started in the third quarter of 2007 involved non-owner-occupied homes, according to a study by the Mortgage Bankers Association — a sign that tenants are hardly immune to the housing meltdown.

10 days to move out

Tammy Dayton, 46, of Lewisville, Texas, who works in outside sales, had rented a 2,700-square-foot home for about two years.

One day, a sheriff's deputy came to the door, telling her she'd need to leave because the mortgage wasn't being paid. Once the deputy realized she was a renter and not the owner, she was given 10 days to move out.

"I was totally in a bind," Dayton says. "I didn't know what was going on, and I needed to find another arrangement."

In December, she packed her belongings. Along with her Dalmatian, Target, and black Lab, Samson, she moved into a new home to rent. But Dayton says she hasn't received her rental deposit back.

"I was confused and dumbfounded," she says. "I'd paid my rent month to month. I learned to always be prepared for the unexpected. And this time, I checked out the new place first to be sure it wasn't in default."

 

Give it back to the bank. Let's get this show on the road.

 

http://www.survivalblog.com/2008/06/florida_at_the_precipice_of_de.html

Super post on Survivalblog. Check it out.