Archives for April 25, 2016

Everything You Need to Know About Raising Baby #Chicks on a #Budget

April 25, 2016 by daisy luther

April 25, 2016

Baby chicks…they’re adorable, fluffy, and incredibly delicate! Despite their fragility, they’re actually pretty simple to raise. If you have some outdoor space and live in an area where it’s allowed, fresh eggs and meat (if you’re interested in that) can easily be yours!

This week’s self-reliance strategies are all about getting started with baby chicks.

I don’t have 20 years of experience with baby chickens, but I’m now on my 4th batch of them. Each new batch has been more successful than the one before. Just like any other new skill, it works best if you simply find a reliable guide, plunge in, and learn “on the job.” Below, we’ll talk about how to get started on the most adorable hobby around. Trust me – anyone can do this! This article is long, but it contains basically everything you need to know to get started raising baby chicks.

Before you start

We’ve all read about the war on self-reliance. It seems like feeding yourself is becoming increasingly illegal. People are forced to rip out thriving front-yard vegetable gardens, raw milk is illegal in many states, and some states require an “egg handler’s license” before you can sell, give away, or otherwise distribute fresh eggs. We’ve come a long way from the days when being self-reliant was seen as your patriotic duty.

Because of this, if you live in an urban or suburban area, be sure to check the bylaws before bringing your birds home. Often, you can find information on this forum about your town’s specific chicken bylaws.

It would be irresponsible to recommend breaking the law, of course. *coughs* I’ve heard that although chickens aren’t exactly stealth animals, sometimes if you pay protection in eggs, neighbors will look the other way as long as there are no roosters crowing at 4 am or hens enjoying their rosebushes as an afternoon snack. Discretion is the better part of valor, to borrow a phrase from Shakespeare.

I really love having a source of organic meat and eggs in my own backyard. Don’t be intimidated! I started as a total newbie just about a year ago, and thanks to the internet, my personal library, some knowledgeable friends, and the motivation to try out a new skill, we’re now successfully producing protein for ourselves. If I can do this, you can do this. Don’t wait until after a disaster to get started. It took the better part of a year before I had a reliable source of food from my chickens.

Where to get your baby chicks

Baby chicks are everywhere at this time of year. You can get yours mailed to you from a reputable hatchery (that’s where my current flock of 25 Freedom Ranger babies came from) or you can pick yours out at your local feed store. (That’s where I got most of last year’s babies.) Sometimes you can even buy older chicks which are closer to laying age and out of the fragile stage. (I got 3 Barred Rock girls that way last year, too.)

Here are some articles that go into more detail about acquiring your fluffy new babies.

How to Order Hatchery Chicks

Where to Buy Baby Chicks

Mail Order Chicks and Delivery Options

However you get them, it’s very likely that the baby chicks are only going to be a couple of days old when you get them home. Like any newborn, they’re exceptionally fragile. You may lose a few. It’s very sad when this happens, but most of the time, it isn’t your fault. Sometimes there is a physical issue with the chick that doesn’t allow it to survive, sometimes they get sick, and sometimes an accident occurs. (They’re prone to drowning in their water, for example, but we’ll talk about precautions.)

What supplies do you need before bringing them home?

Before you bring your babies home, you need to have a few things on hand. Here is my own list of must-haves.

A Brooder

Mine is very similar to this one, but I had someone local build it for me. We keep it in the laundry room for the first week if it’s cold outside, then on the porch, then we move it out to the coop. The good thing about using something like this as a brooder is that it can pull double duty as your infirmary if you ever need to separate a sick or injured chicken from the flock.

I plan to raise chickens for meat a couple of times per year, which makes a permanent brooder a good investment for me. Here’s my brooder out on our back deck.

However, if you are just raising a few backyard laying hens and not planning to raise new chickens every year, you don’t have to go crazy expensive. Below, you can find some really awesome DIYs.

Here’s one you can make for less than $12!

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Before I got my big brooder, I made one similar to this, except I didn’t fasten the hardware cloth to the top. I cut the hardware cloth bigger than the opening of the Rubbermaid container where it would hang down over the edges, and simply snapped the lid with the hole cut out on top of it. I’m all about the shortcuts and not always the handiest soul around.

Here are more articles about a brooder set-up.

Build a DIY Brooder Box

This link has some videos about incubating eggs and brooding the chicks once they hatch.

How We Brood Chicks (there’s another really cool DIY brooder in this article.)

A heat source

Baby chicks must stay warm, or they’ll die. If they were being raised by their mama, they would huddle underneath her to stay cozy. Since you are the mama, and if you sat on them it wouldn’t end well for anybody involved, you have to go with other methods. The least expensive way to keep them warm is by using a standard heat lamp and a red bulb. A red bulb is recommended instead of a white one so that the chicks sleep better. This is the method that I have used for all my chicks.

But please use extreme caution when heating this way. Many a tragedy has started with a heat lamp. I had a near fire from one out in a wooden chicken coop my first year raising chicks. Luckily, I caught it just as it began smoking, but it could have been a disaster. It can’t be touching anything flammable or meltable, nor can it be too close to the babies. Be sure to hang it in a way that the chicks can get away from the heat if they get too warm.

Another excellent heat source is the EcoGlow. This piece of awesomeness has far less risk of fire or harm to the chicks but it costs a lot more than the standard heat lamp. A friend of mine owns one and it’s a really great method of brooding chicks. You can raise it up as they grow, allowing more room underneath.

Invest in a cheap digital thermometer so you don’t have to guess about the temperature in the brooder. Here’s the rundown on the minimum temps the babies need:

Week 1: 95-100 degrees

Week 2: 90-95 degrees

Week 3: 85-90

Week 4: 80-85

Once they’re fully fledged (that means they have all their feathers instead of just fluff) they can handle lower temperatures.

Aside from a thermometer, here’s how you can tell if the temperature is right in the brooder.

If they’re all huddled together and making a lot of noise it means they’re cold and distressed.

If they’re spread far apart, lethargic, and panting, they’re too hot.

If they’re active, randomly spread out, and making happy little peeping noises, they’re just right.

My dog paid an unnerving amount of attention to the baby chicks in their brooder under the heat lamp.

Bedding

I use wood shavings for bedding, but you can also use straw. Be sure not to get something artificially scented, as this can cause respiratory problems for the delicate babies.

For the first couple of days, I put paper towels on top of the bedding so I can see their poop. See the section on health issues for the reason why.

Feeders and waterers

You’ll need some containers for feeding and watering your babies.

First, a note. Baby chicks are adorable, but they’re messy and they poop everywhere. That includes in their food and water containers. Initially I don’t like to use an open bowl for feeding for this very reason. It doesn’t seem to bother them much, but ew.

I have a couple of different feeders for the littles.

These are awesome because they are inexpensive and they simply screw on the bottom of a regular mouth quart jar. The jars can easily be sanitized in the dishwasher afterward. (They’re less than $5 at the time of publication.)

I also have one of these. I had so many chicks in my last batch that I had to set out 3 feeders for them to be certain everyone got something to eat.

For water, it’s really important to note that a lot of baby chicks die from drowning. It’s heartbreaking to see (thankfully it hasn’t happened to us!) There are two ways to avoid this.

#1. First, you can get a water container that doesn’t have enough room for them to fall in and die. I like the kind that you screw on to the bottom of a mason jar. You can also get them in plastic but it’s only a few cents less. You’ll have to fill these several times throughout the day, depending on how many chicks you have.

#2. You can use a bigger one-gallon water dispenser, but line the trough area with pebbles. this way, they can still get a drink but there isn’t room for them to fall in and be unable to get out. You will only have to do this for a week or so before they’re too big to fall in.

I like to raise the water dispenser up just a little bit to keep it from getting filled with bedding. The bedding can soak up the water like a sponge, leaving you with thirsty babies. You can use just about anything to raise it up. I have a couple of pieces of scrap wood beneath my waterers.

What to feed baby chicks

There are several different types of food on the market for baby chicks. You can get some inexpensive starter, but you probably aren’t giving your chicks the best beginning with it. It’s like feeding them fortified cereal. Instead of food with actual nutrients, the nutrients are artificially added to a stripped product. They’ll probably survive, but they won’t be as healthy as chicks fed a better quality of food.

The next debate is whether or not to give them medicated feed. Some people swear by giving them medicated feed for the first few weeks of their lives, claiming that all of the medication will be out of their systems by the time you consume the eggs (or the chickens if you’re raising them for meat.) It provides them with an immunity to coccidiosis.

Many people are raising chickens to provide them with organic eggs or meat at a better price. If that is your goal, you’ll want to go with an organic food. This starter is a high quality organic product at a reasonable price.

Another option is GMO-free feed if you aren’t worried about strictly organic. It’s a good happy medium between the low-quality “Doritoes” chicken feed and the expensive organic feed. You can usually find a good quality GMO-free crumble at your local feed store.

I always start out with crumble, which is coarsely ground, and as they get bigger, I mix the crumble with the pellets. I like pellets because there is far less waste. I also like to supplement them with fresh fruits and vegetables. However, if you are supplementing them, be sure to provide a little dish of grit to help with their digestion.

Baby chick health issues

Obviously, prevention is key. One great way to prevent illness in your chicks is to add 2 tbsp of apple cider vinegar to a gallon of water. (Get the good kind with the mother – the cheap stuff does absolutely nothing.) You can also get those little packets of probiotics to add to their water, but mine have been just fine with the ACV.

Coccidiosis: Remember how I said I put paper towels over the bedding for the first few days? That’s so I can check their poop. It’s important to check that on a daily basis. You’re looking for anything bloody. ( Turn off the red heat light if you’re using one because you can’t see bloody stool under a red light.) If you see anything with even a tinge of blood, you need to act immediately. This is a symptom of coccidiosis.

It’s not difficult to treat. Although this medication is labeled for use with calves, it can be used for baby chicks if you water it down sufficiently, as per my local feed store. Add 2 teaspoons of Corid to a gallon of water. They’ll generally consume enough if they aren’t too sick to drink.

Here’s an article with more information about coccidiosis in poultry.

Pasty butt: I lost several chicks in my first flock to pasty butt and it absolutely broke my heart. This is evident when their vent gets sealed shut with poop. If it becomes clogged, the waste backs up in the chick’s system and they can’t pass their waste. It’s essential during the first week or two after bringing them home to check everyone’s bottom on a twice daily basis. If there is a little clump of poo on the bottom, you have to act.

You will have to very gently remove the clump on their bottoms. BE CAREFUL. Just pulling on it can actually disembowel the poor baby. Also, you need to be certain it’s the vent and not the umbilical stump.

This video shows you how to clean the chick’s bottom.

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This article gives you more information about pasty butt.

This article discusses a variety of chicken illnesses and symptoms.

How to raise your new babies.

So…you’ve got your babies home. They’re safely ensconced in the brooder. What now?

You need to keep them fed, watered, and warm. That’s about it!

I free feed my chicks and try to make sure there is always food available for the first month or two.
There should always be fresh water in the coop or brooder.
Keep the temperature at the right range for their ages.
Handle them briefly and gently a couple of times per day so they get used to you. It’s much easier to raise them if they aren’t terrified of the giant human.
Check their bottoms 2x a day for signs of pasty butt. (You can do this while you handle them.)

These excellent resources can help you learn more about raising your baby chicks.

My absolute favorite resource is this course which teaches you how to raise them naturally even if you’re on a budget. It’s fantastic!

Here are some articles and books:

Chickens from Scratch

How to raise baby chicks naturally

Chickens: Naturally Raising a Sustainable Flock

Raising Day Old Chicks

How to Get Ready for New Baby Chicks

9 Things You Need for Starting Baby Chickens

Introducing the Chickens

Raising Baby Chicks

Raising chicks for meat? There are a few differences

This time around, I’m raising chickens for meat instead of for eggs. Since this is a first for me, I did a bit of research. While the basics are the same, there are some breed differences of which you should be aware. These articles can help you.

Getting Started with Meat Chickens

8 Pounds in 8 Weeks: Raising Day Old Chicks for the Dinner Table

When they’re big kids…

Once they graduate from the brooder, it is time to introduce them to the rest of the flock. This can entail some bloodshet, so you need to be careful and supervise them well.

My most recent batch of chicks was housed in a dog kennel inside the coop with the Bigs. We had an awful storm the other night and the kennel began to flood. I had no option but to mix the flocks immediately, and fortunately it went well. That was, in part, because they were already accustomed to one another through the safe barrier of the kennel.

Here is an article about introducing baby chicks to your flock

Why should you raise your own chickens?

First, let me get on my animal-lover soapbox for a minute. The poultry and egg industries are enough to make you sick – both physically and emotionally.

More and more information is coming to light about the horrible mistreatment of the birds that provide us with meat and eggs. It’s enough to make a carnivore turn vegan. Even if you don’t care about the well-being of the animals, don’t even get me started on the food safety risks or raising animals the way that they do. If the creatures you consume for sustenance are ill then how can you expect to be healthy when you eat them? If they must be on antibiotics their entire tortured lives to survive, then is this really something you want to feed your family?

If you want more details, here is a horrifying, graphic article about the chicken industry. (No, it’s not by PETA – it’s by a friend who eats meat.) If you aren’t choosy about the chicken and eggs you purchase, you are, by default, endorsing this horrific abuse. *climbs off soap box*

If you can’t or won’t raise your own chickens, please, please consider finding a local farmer who raises his or her animals the traditional way and buy from them. Your business means a lot to them, and voting with your dollars is the only way to make Big Agri change their horrific practices.

On to more positive reasons.

When you raise your own chickens, you learn first-hand where your food comes from. You know what your birds ate, that they are healthy, that they haven’t been given risky supplements or medications, and that they were treated humanely. Unfortunately, the labels at the grocery store are basically meaningless, with the exception of “pasture-raised.” That’s a lot closer to what folks envision when they think about ethically raised poultry.

It’s also very economical to raise your own chickens. Have you checked out the price for organic, pasture-farmed eggs recently? Ouch! My hens eat about $20 worth of food per month and spend their days controlling the bugs and weeds for me. In return, I end up with 3-4 dozen eggs per week. Now, we can’t eat all of those eggs, but they are lovely gifts for friends without farms, and our Great Pyrenees loves them as a delightful addition to his dinner.

I get a lot of joy seeing my goofy hens frolic around the backyard. Each one has a distinct personality, and because they were hand raised, they’re all pretty friendly. If I walk out into the yard, I’m instantly surrounded by happy, feathered friends. My laying hens are like pets that provide us with eggs.

Questions or comments?

If you are a veteran chick raiser, please provide your best tips below! If you are new to chickens, let me know what’s holding you back from starting your own flock! Do you have any questions that I might be able to help with? I hope this article encourages you to take the plunge!

Here’s A Rundown of #Election #Fraud in the 2016 Presidential Race So Far #feelthebern

April 25, 2016 by claire bernish

Op-ed by Claire Bernish
April 25, 2016

(ANTIMEDIA) Supporting an anti-establishment candidate, as the 2016 election cycle has thus proven, at best amounts to little more than a maddening exercise in futility. Yet, droves continue flocking to the polls, ignoring that fixing a corrupt, authoritarian system by validating it through participating in its carrot-on-a-string illusion will somehow — this time — all work out for the greater good.

Though participation through voting might offer the feeling of power and control — as well as comfort in the illusion — the establishment maintains a thorough stranglehold on the current system, by design. If you’re still unconvinced, consider the evidence thus far — some blatant, some subtle — found in virtually every primary and caucus this year.

Iowa

To grasp how arbitrarily the popular vote can be manipulated to fit the establishment’s intended outcome, the Iowa caucus would be a good place to start. As if insufficiently trained volunteer staff, voter confusion, inadequate voter registration forms, and general disorganization weren’t telling in themselves, in multiple locations the awarding of delegates came down to coin tosses — literally.

While described as “the closest Democratic caucus in Iowa history” by the state’s Democratic Party, according to Salon, apparently the same Party felt the need to give Hillary Clinton an advantageous edge. One of Bernie Sanders’ delegates was sneakily awarded to Clinton amidst the confusion, but the Iowa Democratic Party didn’t bother to inform the precinct secretary it had done so. It then refused, despite the somewhat suspect happenings, to perform an audit.

“What happened Monday night at the caucuses was a debacle, period,” The Des Moines Register penned in an editorial afterward. “Democracy, particularly at the local party level, can be slow, messy, and obscure. But the refusal to undergo scrutiny or allow for an appeal reeks of autocracy.”

Nevada

Though Nevada didn’t have to resort to its deck-of-cards method to figure the awarding of delegates — as Iowa had done with its coin tosses — that didn’t stop anecdotal picture and video evidence from proving rampant issues and possible fraud.

Inexcusably hours-long lines, a lack of paper ballots, and poorly trained elections workers meant general disenfranchisement pervaded caucus locations. The situation so outraged voters, it was characterized a “fiasco.” Those who did manage to procure a ballot discovered Clinton propaganda in plain sight; though electioneering is prohibited at polling locations, one Reddit user posted a photo of a sign-in sheet emblazoned with the Hillary for Nevada logo at the top. Asked for an explanation, the poll worker handing out the not-at-all neutral sign-in claimed it was “for the democratic party,” US Uncut reported.

Worse, a Twitter user discovered Hillary supporters allowed to caucus without registering, to which a precinct volunteer offered the rather effrontery explanation that they’d be permitted to register after casting a ballot — and it was all captured on video.

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Worse still, another Reddit user claimed a poll volunteer registering new Democratic voters automatically marked them as favoring Clinton — and not only seemed stubbornly hesitant to correct the error, but later appeared working for the “Hillary group’s tables.”

Chaos in the Republican caucus mirrored that in the Democratic event, including reports of ballot mismanagement; one was allowed to fall to the floor and was ripped up by a volunteer unsure of its validity. Another witness tweeted “some guy voted for trump twice.” Caucus volunteers, who are required to forego campaign gear, sported Trump paraphernalia and, as another Twitter user claimed, were “Actively bullying folks. Not checking IDs.”

Super Tuesday

Super Tuesday’s primaries and caucuses offered no relief to the election madness, as Colorado and Massachusetts, in particular, similarly devolved into messy embarrassments.

Polling sites for the Democratic caucus in Colorado seemed to arbitrarily switch locations, voters were turned away upon arrival, volunteers were unprepared, and, in one case, a private residence intended to be a caucus location met voters with a locked door.

So marred by troubles was the situation in Colorado, one Twitter user asserted, “I honestly cannot say enough negative things about the caucus system. Disorganized, undemocratic, just generally bad. Primary please!” Another voter summarily tweeted, “The caucus process in Colorado is bullshit!” Indeed, after the debacle, swaths of voters called for a return to the primary system, which had been in place until 2002.

Massachusetts saw an appearance by Bill Clinton, who took advantage of the opportunity to electioneer for Hillary, both inside and outside polling locations in a likely illegal violation of state law. So egregious and unusual was the situation, Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin told the New York Times his office “had to remind some of our poll workers that even a president can’t go inside and work a polling place. He can go in, but he can’t approach voters.”

A petition created afterward calling for Bill Clinton’s arrest and prosecution has since garnered over 127,000 signatures.

While not fraudulent, the Republican Party garnered its own firestorm of criticism by eliminating the popular vote from the nominating process — much to the ire of Trump supporters. As the Denver Post explained:

“Colorado GOP leaders canceled the party’s presidential straw poll in August to avoid binding its delegates to a candidate who may not survive until the Republican National Convention in July.

“Instead, Republicans selected national delegates through the caucus process, a move that put the election of national delegates in the hands of party insiders and activists — leaving roughly 90 percent of the more than 1 million Republican voters on the sidelines.”

“The people of Colorado,” Trump, in part, proclaimed afterward on Twitter, “had their vote taken away from them by the phony politicians.” Later, Trump expounded further, declaring in an interview, “The system is rigged. It’s crooked.”

To wit, the Colorado GOP hubristically boasted on Twitter, “We did it. #NeverTrump” — but likely realized the potentially damning repercussions of its candor and swiftly deleted the tweet.

Arizona

“We’ve received complaints throughout the whole day of lifelong Democrats showing up to the polls and being told they are either independent or have no party affiliations,” stated Arizona Democratic Party spokesman Enrique Gutierrez, according to the Phoenix New Times.

Though locations across Arizona experienced massive voter turnout — which, as in many states before, overwhelmed grievously unprepared volunteers — Maricopa County, home of Phoenix, reported average wait times of up to 90 minutes. Long waits had been anticipated, to an extent, as Maricopa County Recorder Helen Purcell had drastically cut the total number of polling places from 200 four years ago to just 60 — questionably citing expected low voter turnout for the reduction.

To grasp the magnitude of difficulty this presented, one person tweeted, “Most counties I surveyed had enough polls for 2.5K or fewer voters per site. Maricopa County? 20,833 voters per polling site.” A local NBC affiliate reporter also noted on Twitter:

“Consider: 2012 primary had 300,000 voters and 200 polling places. 2016 primary has estimated 800,000 voters at 60 polling places.”

In predominantly Latino neighborhoods, that consolidation of polling sites was exponentially magnified — so few polling sites were available to Phoenix’ nearly 41 percent Latino population, even politicians publicly rebuked Purcell’s cuts.

“In my district, there is only one polling place,” Democratic State Senator Martin Quezada noted in a written statement, cited by AZCentral.com. “In my neighboring district, LD 30, there are no polling places.”

New York

In what could only be dubbed a farce, so copious were the complaints lodged about the New York City primary, city Comptroller Scott Stringer announced the Board of Elections would be the subject of an audit — hours before the close of polling. In fact, before voting even commenced, over 126,000 voters had been wholly purged from the records.

Diplomatically describing “widespread reports of poll site problems and irregularities,” Stringer wrote in a letter to New York City Board of Elections (BOE) Director Michael J. Ryan:

“Voters across the city have complained about poll workers erroneously redirecting them to different poll sites, poll workers unable to operate voting machines, poll workers unable to produce the correct party ballot for an individual voter, and poll workers giving conflicting information.

“Of particular concern are numerous allegations of widespread removal of eligible voters from voter-registration rolls, as well as instances of incorrect party affiliations on individual registration records. These errors have conspired to bar first time and longtime voters from exercising their fundamental democratic right.”

Mayor Bill de Blasio swiftly backed the call for an audit, and despite repeated denials from Ryan any major issues had tarnished the day, State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman claimed his office had received “by far the largest volume of complaints” from any election since 2011, according to Politico. Both the comptroller’s and attorney general’s offices began investigations following the debacle.

A top official for the NYC BOE has since been suspended without pay and an internal investigation has been launched over discrepancies in voter records and purging of voter rolls in Brooklyn.

✱✱✱

This list is woefully incomplete — Ohio is now investigating its primary, and Sanders managed to lose Wyoming, despite winning by a margin of 12 percent; this article didn’t even delve into superdelegates. Even so, the pattern of suspicious activity before, during, and after elections presents clear evidence many have not been willing to admit.

Your vote — if you’re able to jump enough hurdles to cast it — doesn’t matter. But worst of all, this farce of an election simply amounts to a theater of illusion, designed to distract people who might otherwise realize the change they seek through politicians could best be implemented by all of us, now, without needing to validate the very system of our modern-day enslavement.

This article (Here’s A Rundown of Election Fraud in the 2016 Presidential Race So Far) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Claire Bernish and theAntiMedia.org. Anti-Media Radio airs weeknights at 11pm Eastern/8pm Pacific. If you spot a typo, email edits@theantimedia.org.

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Doug #Casey Warns: “It’s The Next Stage Of The Greater #Depression… The Economy Is Going To Be Very, Very Bad”

April 25, 2016 by mac slavo

While President Obama took credit this weekend for saving the world economy from a global depression and stock markets are hovering around all-time highs, not everyone is convinced that central bank policy and government involvement in financial markets has stabilized the system. Doug Casey, one of the most well respected institutional investors in the world and someone who thrives in environments plagued with volatility and risk, joins Future Money Trends to explain exactly why the world has not avoided a Greater Depression and how things are about to get “very, very bad.”

And by very bad he means that centrally manufactured super-bubbles and bubbles are set to wipe out trillions.

You’ve got to remember that all of these governments and central banks all around the world have driven interest rates not just to zero, but to negative levels in some cases… and they are simultaneously printing up trillions of currency units. And even while they are desperately doing that the economy is falling apart in lots of different ways.

…They’ve created a super-bubble in bonds, a bubble in stocks, and meanwhile commodities have collapsed and are below production costs in many cases.

…The economy is going to be very, very bad… It’s the next stage of what I call the Greater Depression.

Full interview via Future Money Trends:

(Watch At Youtube)

But as centrally manufactured bubbles burst in one sector of the economy, says Casey, capital will flow en masse to other sectors as investors panic. First to safe haven assets like gold, and then to to broader commodities which have been left for dead since the start of the decade:

Commodities, despite the fact that the economy is going to be bad, I think are headed up at this point because they’re the only cheap thing in the world and that’s where a lot of this excess money is going to flow.

And the excess money is going to flow rapidly. As Casey notes, while there may be panic selling in some parts of the economy, there will be panic buying elsewhere:

I’m extremely bullish on gold because it bears emphasis… gold is the only financial asset that is not simultaneously somebody else’s liability and all of these paper currencies all over the world are going to go to their intrinsic value, which is essentially zero.

What these central banks and governments are doing is incredibly irresponsible and stupid, printing these currency units up by the trillions… so there’s going to be a panic into gold.

As part of that you’re going to find China, maybe Russia, are going to go to a gold-backed Yuan and gold backed Ruble because they want to dethrone the U.S. dollar as the world’s premier currency… Well, the U.S. government is going to do it because of its incredibly foolish policies.

As you might expect, Casey’s focus is on the assets no one else has been interested in during the run up in broader stock markets. And like the Chinese government he’s been acquiring major stakes in commodity producers, including one particular gold mining company:

Yes, it is possible at this point [to invest in companies that will rise 20 to 30 times their current prices]. Because there’s going to be a panic into gold and it’s going to take gold much, much higher. The next commodity bull market is going to be led by gold and it’s going to take these stocks with them.

…I think this is the best part of the market to be in.

On America’s political future, Casey, a self avowed anarchist and anti-establishment proponent, says he supports Trump because he’s the only one in the field who is not a professional politician and perhaps the only one who can change the system as it exists today for the better:

Yes, he says a lot of stupid things… but all of these people say incredibly stupid things… Regardless of the persona he’s projecting at the moment to get attention, I think he’s much more intelligent and much more responsible than any of the people running. I think he’s definitely going to be the Republican candidate unless he’s actively defrauded… and I think he’s going to win regardless of whether Hillary is the democratic candidate or not… Hopefully she’ll be indicted for one or more of her numerous crimes before that happens.

I’m putting my money on Trump for winning the election. Not my ideal choice, but by far the best choice that we have.

… he actually has an understanding of business… and he has common sense… and he’s not part of the political machine… pray that Trump makes it because he’s also the least war-like of all these people… he’s the person that’s least likely to involve us in World War III or something that resembles it…

I believe politics is the problem and not the solution… I support Trump and hope he wins… Remember, we’re going into the Greater Depression… he’s certainly better than anybody else that’s out there at the moment.

But the legendary International Man isn’t just putting all his eggs in one basket in the hopes of a Trump victory or some sort of magical solution to the problems the United States faces. Casey says you need to diversify in these times of uncertainty, and not just with your financial portfolio:

It’s not just important to diversify investment-wise and heavily into gold at this point… It’s even more important to diversify internationally and politically and geographically… you don’t want all your eggs in North America. It’s a big world out there and most of the world is doing better than we are.

For more interviews, breaking documentaries and financial news visit Future Money Trends. To learn what investors like Doug Casey are doing to diversify their portfolios as we enter the next stage of the Greater Depression click here.

SHTFplan and Mac Slavo www.shtfplan.com

Possible End Game: The United States Has Created a Climate That Could Easily Be Transformed Into a #War

April 25, 2016 by contributing author

Most readers have been watching, as the U.S. and Russia seem to be positioning themselves along Cold War lines. The posturing is not confined to maneuvering military assets; it also runs along economic lines, in which most warfare is at least based if not a major or the sole impetus. Each power has sought to cement its claims/presence in areas bordering the sphere of influence of, or the actual territory of the other power. Such posturing can be dangerous and lead to an incident that escalates into the uncontrollable.

Recently the news media has been abuzz with the Russian fighter aircraft buzzing the U.S. in the face: first the incident with the two fighters coming within 30 feet of an American naval vessel, and another separate incident involving aerial theatrics around a U.S. reconnaissance aircraft (a Boeing RC-135 intelligence-gathering spy plane). The U.S. responded in kind on April 20 by allowing a guided missile destroyer, the U.S.S. Cook to encroach upon Russian borders while conducting maneuvers near Poland. The U.S. claimed that Russian aircraft were doing fly-by’s to intimidate the destroyer.

Unlike the puissant response by John Kerry, feigning anger and doing nothing with the Russian aircraft incidences of the past two weeks, Russia is not playing with the destroyer incident. The Russian ambassador to NATO, Alexander Grushko is reported by Reuters to have made the following statement:

“This is about attempts to exercise military pressure on Russia. We will take all necessary measures, precautions, to compensate for these attempts to use military force.”

This statement by Grushko was not limited to the incident with the Cook. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has affirmed in the past week the intention of NATO to deploy command and control centers in Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Romania. Exercises are currently being planned and prepared in Estonia by NATO air assets, to include participation by Sweden and Finland, both non-NATO members. The exercises are scheduled to commence on April 28.

Although the exercises are superficially being dubbed maneuvers to help with control of civilian airports and coordination with them during “an emergency situation,” in reality they are both posturing and stationing aircraft on Russia’s western flank. Also, the mainstream media barely mentioned the fact that last month, NATO fighter aircraft approached a Russian aircraft carrying Sergei Shoigu, the Russian Defense Minister who was en route to inspect military facilities and readiness in Kalingrad, toward Russia’s western border.

Much has also been mentioned by NATO of Russian “aggression and encroachment” regarding Ukraine, still beset by more than a year of fighting in its eastern region between Ukrainian forces and ethnic Russian separatists. NATO has condemned Russia for supplying these separatists with equipment, materials, and personnel. Russia has responded to this accusation by declaring eastern Ukraine to be mired in a civil war.

There are also underlying economic issues to all of this. As mentioned in previous articles, the entire involvement of NATO wanting to “assist” Russia in her support of Syria was nothing more than an attempt to oust Assad. This, in turn took a back seat to the desires of NATO and the U.S. to annex a portion of Syria in order to enable a natural gas pipeline from Qatar into Western Europe for the purpose of negating Russia’s Gazprom from supplying Western Europe with natural gas. Basically, the Russians solidified Assad’s position, bombed the insurgents into submission, left supplies and advisers with Assad, and withdrew from the board. The U.S. was left stultified with egg on its face.

Now the BRIC nations are starting their markets up in earnest, backing their currencies with gold and trading in Shanghai, China, and Moscow in Russia. These two nations, incidentally are #1 and #3 respectively regarding gold production. The former produced 490 tons in 2015, and the latter put out 295 tons that year. The two nations account for 25% of the gold production for the world. Those are staggering numbers. In addition to production, China and Russia have been building up their reserves of gold astronomically.

They are ranked 5^th and 6^th respective to gold reserves. The U.S. is listed as “#1” but this is another faux pearl attached to others on a string, such as phony employment numbers and the inflated GDP as reported by parrots of the media and business insider networks who are, in reality inside of the pockets of the administration and the Federal Reserve.

Another point of interest that may have a great effect is that Congress is in the midst of passing legislation to hold Saudi Arabia partially accountable for the 9-11 attacks.

The Saudis responded with informing the state department that they will call in assets and all accounts payable if that is the case. This could really domino and also spell an immediate end to the Petrodollar. Wouldn’t that be interesting? Congress would hit the Saudis up with a bill, and the Saudis would pay us in “fiat” Federal Reserve notes, maybe cutting off the oil supply as well. Payment of the bill then may as well be in toilet paper.

To summarize, akin to ancient Rome, the United States has over-extended herself. She has created a climate that could easily be transformed into a war on a slight pretext. Wars, as it is well known are also a means a nation can extricate itself from debt and financial responsibility. The dying Petrodollar system has been on life support for some time, and it appears other nations such as the BRIC’s are taking the initiative to return to a true monetary standard. This is the same gold and silver standard that the U.S. should never have left in the first place.

Jeremiah Johnson is the Nom de plume of a retired Green Beret of the United States Army Special Forces (Airborne). Mr. Johnson is also a Gunsmith, a Certified Master Herbalist, a Montana Master Food Preserver, and a graduate of the U.S. Army’s SERE school (Survival Evasion Resistance Escape). He lives in a cabin in the mountains of Western Montana with his wife and three cats. You can follow Jeremiah’s regular writings at SHTFplan.com or contact him here.

This article may be republished or excerpted with proper attribution to the author and a link to www.SHTFplan.com.

Also Read:

The Flashpoint Continues to Build: Intelligence Sources Indicate Russia May Be Planning A Spring Offensive

How an Attack on America Would Probably Begin: Possible Courses Of Action By Foreign Military Powers

How To Survive Occupied America: “Red Dawn Just Started… And You’re In It”

Collision Course: As Obama Weakens America, The Russians And Chinese Prepare

Report: Is China Preparing For a Land Of Invasion Of the West Coast Of the United States?

Russia’s Attack Posture: “The Enemy Must Be Destroyed Or Conquered; The Ultimate Soviet Objective Is Total Victory”

SHTFplan and Mac Slavo www.shtfplan.com