Keep moving, nothing to see here. *cough*

I see now that you've edited your post, to basically what I was gonna say. He was callous and harsh, but the general gist of his point was correct. It is similar to trying to combat the plague when people were still tossing raw human waste into the streets.

 

I always get hopeful whenever I hear of a threat with the potential to plunge our society and that of other countries into chaos. When it really happens, everyone starts dying of something, if I'm not one of the first infected or killed by whatever the threat is, I know I have the skills to survive.

Until recently, I've put myself in survival situations by taking relatively small sailboats thousands of miles over the ocean to tiny islands. Thousands of miles and weeks without phones, internet, medical personnel, a food source other than what the boat was stocked with before departing, potable water other than what was stocked before departure, and countless other comforts most people think they need to survive. I'm drawn to that lifestyle and will do it again when the time is right. Society crumbling around us will certainly make the time right.

That said, I don't think this virus is it.

 

When it comes to ebola, I think cultural relativism runs a bit thin. Its not arranged marriage, its not cultural practices about etiquette, its ebola. There are some traditions and cultural practices that are just not as advanced or well thought out as others.

 

I'll not argue with that. Though I'm certainly not a prepper.

Maybe I'm in the wrong place, but it does say depravity at the top of the fucking page.

I did step away, I only came back because I have newborn son.

 

I too can't stand on the moral high ground looking down my nose at those who think we could use some cleaning up and thinning out. Think about it: we're doubling the world's population at an alarming rate, eventhough the slope of the population gain line is getting more shallow, we are talking gains in terms of billions.

Resources will become an issue quickly; energy, clean water, arable land, food. Too many people chasing too few resources. Eventually a major war over the resources will happen or otherwise, as happens in any population that exceeds the environments carrying capacity: disease and/or starvation. It is inevitable, it will eventually happen.

 

Well the media hasn't gone nuts yet. CNN hasn't even broken out its red font on it's website. When the red font comes out, that's when shit gets real.

 

Bill Gates just donated fifty million to help the cause in Africa, good on him.

Now if only he would stop blowing his cash pimping bullshit common core math he would truly be a man for all seasons.

 

I think you're speculating about my fantasies.

 

If a big viral event happens, and I manage to survive, I have a couple of theories on how that goes down;

1. People band together and become more tribal. They set up little villages, raise stock, defend from bandits, trade with outsiders, hunt, farm, etc. This is gradual, eventual though. At first, there is going to be panic, then getting-together.

2. Some people will 'pack up', but do the things one expects from seeing post-viral Apocalypses in film and novel; rape, cannibalism, wanton murder, slavery, sex slavery, etc. They ain't going to last long if they go toe-to-toe with any well-off settlement, and will either die out quick or learn to cleverly hit-and-run targets of interest.

Of course, this is sort of irrelevant for a virus that is spread through active-infected folks getting their fluids on or in you. Also, apparently it keeps breaking out because folks have to eat bushmeat, namely primates and large fruit bats, and it keeps re-infecting communities in Africa like this all the time.

 

In the meantime, we have a real epidemic that gets little attention:


Enterovirus D68 Hits Los Angeles County; First Case Confirmed in Long Beach

Posted 4:54 AM, October 1, 2014, by Tracy Bloom, KYLA 5, Updated at 10:27am, October 1, 2014

A child was treated at a Long Beach hospital for enterovirus D68, marking the first confirmed case of a virus that’s been recently spreading across the nation to be diagnosed in Los Angeles County.

Respiratory illnesses caused by an enterovirus are sending children to hospitals as the disease spreads across the country, health officials say. (Credit: CDC)

Miller Children’s Hospital spokeswoman Wendy Dow confirmed early Wednesday that a case of the virus was treated at the hospital.

It was not immediately clear whether the child had been released, or what condition they were in.

State health officials confirmed that the first four cases of the non-polio enterovirus, which can cause severe respiratory illness in children, were diagnosed in Southern California nearly two weeks ago.

Three of the patients were in San Diego County, while the fourth was in Ventura County, according to the California Department of Public Health.

Roughly 472 people have been sickened by the enterovirus in 41 states across the country since mid-August, according to the latest figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Infants, children, and teenagers are most likely to get infected with the virus and become ill, CDC stated on its website.

Symptoms include fever, runny nose, sneezing, cough and body and muscle aches. The virus can also cause more severe symptoms such as wheezing and breathing difficulty.

“These children start with what seems like a normal cold on the first day — runny nose, a little bit of cough – but by the second day, they can’t breathe at all. They come in and they need a tube to help them breathe,” according to Dr. Pia Pannaraj, an infectious diseases specialist at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

The CDC was also investigating a link between the virus and paralysis in children.

Several children with similar paralysis symptoms were identified last year in California, according to CNN, which also reported that samples from two of the patients tested positive for enterovirus D68.

The state health department has advised parents to seek medical attention for their children immediately if they begin to have difficulty breathing, particularly if the child has asthma. Signs that a child is having difficulty breathing include wheezing, difficulty speaking or eating, the belly pulling in with breaths, and blueness around the lips.

There is no specific treatment for the disease, nor is there a vaccine to prevent its spread.

The virus likely spreads between people when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or touches contaminated surfaces, according to CDC.

“It’s probably evolved in a way that’s allowed it to spread more easily from person to person, and that’s why we’ve seen so many more cases this year,” Pannaraj said.

To prevent children from becoming sickened by a respiratory illness, the CDC advised the following steps to help parents:
•Wash hands often with soap and water for 20 seconds;
•avoid touching your face with unwashed hands;
•avoid close contact with people who are sick;
•clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces, especially when someone is sick;
•stay home when you’re sick;
•cover your coughs and sneezes

 

Well...

Spoiler

 

Laugh, all of you, but I'm taking this seriously. Therefore, I'm implementing Emergency Plan #217 - Contingency 9.1a.

From page 17, Section 3:

"Additional provisions to be stockpiled - Three (3) cases/person/month of vodka, with a proof not less than 80. For use as internal and external disinfectant, and supplemental fuel source for vehicles.
Twenty-four (24) guinea pigs, twelve (12) of each sex, to be raised for emergency consumption.
Ten (10) pounds of coffee for bartering. Caffeinated preferred.
Fifty (50) pounds of salt (assorted granulated and rock form) for food preservation, bartering for services, and re-packing old shotgun shells."

Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some work to do.

 

I often debate how long post-Apocalypse/Societal Collapse that guns will remain viable. My over-under is about fifty to eighty years unless people somehow manage to create more, (Gun powder, bullets, bullet casings, gun barrels, gun stocks, etc.)

 

There will be a day when the flintlock rifle is king again. If you know how, you can make black powder and bullets. That eliminates casings and simplifies the shit out of the barrels and stocks.

 

Aaaaannnnnndddddd - it only took three pages for this topic to digress into doomsday prepping. I am kind of impressed at the restraint