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From ModernSurvivalOnline.com

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Part 12 in our series backs up and covers again how to install a 3 lb. package of bees. It’s that time of year again- time to get started with your bees or to replace colonies you lost over the winter. Thanks for watching! www.homesteadingandsurvival.com www.survivalreport.net
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From The Economic Collapse

What would you do if you came across someone on the street that had not had anything to eat for several days?  Would you give that person some food?  Well, the next time you get that impulse you might want to check if it is still legal to feed the homeless where you live.  Sadly, feeding the homeless has been banned in major cities all over America.  Other cities that have not banned it outright have put so many requirements on those that want to feed the homeless (acquiring expensive permits, taking food preparation courses, etc.) that feeding the homeless has become “out of reach” for most average people.  Some cities are doing these things because they are concerned about the “health risks” of the food being distributed by ordinary “do-gooders”.  Other cities are passing these laws because they do not want homeless people congregating in city centers where they know that they will be fed.  But at a time when poverty and government dependence are soaring to unprecedented levels, is it really a good idea to ban people from helping those that are hurting?

This is just another example that shows that our country is being taken over by control freaks.  There seems to be this idea out there that it is the job of the government to take care of everyone and that nobody else should…

From Mish’s Global Economic Trend Analysis

The UCLA Ceridian Pulse of Commerce Index based on real-time truck fuel usage rose slightly in March.

The Ceridian-UCLA Pulse of Commerce Index® (PCI®), issued today by the UCLA Anderson School of Management and Ceridian Corporation rose 0.3 percent in March following the 0.7 percent increase in February and the 1.7 percent decrease in January. The first quarter PCI is below the fourth quarter of last year by 4.9 percent at an annualized rate.

Sampling of Graphs From the Report

I would like to see a comparison of the current three months vs. the same three months a year ago, excluding seasonal adjustments. Workday adjustments are reasonable but should be negligible over a three month period.

Such a comparison is how I show overall petroleum and gasoline usage. Please see Another Plunge in 3-Month Rolling Average of Petroleum and Gasoline Usage for details.

I will have an update through March out soon.

GDP vs. PCI

Year-Over-Year Growth of PCI

PCI Compared with Real Retail Sales

What accounts for these divergences?

• Government spending
• Online sales
• Rebound in auto sales and high-end merchandise
• Extreme weakness in housing 
• Renewed plunge in Savings Rate

Personal Savings Rate

Encouraged by the Fed, Consumers are once again spending too much.

The picture is not sustainable. The US economy will not disconnect from the…

From Notes from the bunker…

I was going through one of the first aid kits (FAK*) today and checking to see if anything needs to be replaced (or upgraded). One thing that makes my life so much easier (and more compact) are the small Single Use Packets of various medications. One thing I try to keep in all my FAK is a small quantity of triple-antibiotic ointment. (Usually just referred to as Neosporin….same as just about any copy machine is referred to as Xerox.) ALthough the small vinyl tubes of ointment contain more, I like the small disposable foil packets for the compact FAK that I keep in my everyday bag or in the small first aid kits that go in our hunting/outdoor bags. The larger kits, where size/weight isn’t an issue, get the regular tubes of the stuff, but for keeping things as small and light as possible while still hedging my bets I prefer the ‘ketchup packets’ of medication.

I find these to be the handiest and most compact packaging for this sort of material. However, there are drawbacks. The first is that while the foil packets are about as durable as a ketchup packet from McDonalds, they can still be damaged if theyre not packed away safely. Second drawback is, obviously, if you only carry a half-dozen of these in your kit you can wind up running short if you’re having an exceptionally bad day. To my way of thinking, for…

From SurvivalBlog.com

Although I had a front-row financial services seat for the market collapse in 2008, it wasn’t until fall 2010 that I was stuck by an awakening that “something wicked this way comes.” With a master’s degree in Medieval Literature (it’s not as useless as it sounds, really) two things I have studied are the ravages of war and famine over the centuries, both of which desperately scare me as the mother of two young children.

I have paid particular attention to the many SurvivalBlog entries on gardening, one of my few practical skills. Most are either submitted by seasoned vegetable gardeners who have had a large garden for years, or about lessons learned by beginners.

Gardening is in my blood, passed down from generations of German farmers and English gardeners. My grandparents all moved off the farm, but they continued to garden extensively, as did my parents back in the 1970s. I watched my mother and grandmothers can their harvest. In turn, I have a couple decades’ experience with English perennial gardens, but little experience with vegetables.

I have put off submitting an article for a year in order to try and provide a unique slant on the topic of survival gardening: what happens when an experienced perennial gardener actually makes a serious attempt to grow real food, for the first time ever? And thereby hangs a tale.

We live in a small, conservative Midwestern city, in a solid brick farmhouse that is well…

Participants from across the Unitied States and Canada shared skills in self reliance, sustainability, survival, community, mentoring, and fun. If you attended, you may see familliar faces, if you didn’t, this is a small sample of what to expect next time! See you then!

www.tedxvienna.at www.facebook.com Prof. Muhammad Yunus is a Bangladeshi economist and founder of the Grameen Bank, an institution that provides microcredit to help its clients establish creditworthiness and financial self-sufficiency. In 2006 Yunus and Grameen received the Nobel Peace Prize. Yunus himself has received several other national and international honors. He is a member of advisory board at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology. Previously, he was a professor of economics at Chittagong University where he developed the concepts of microcredit and microfinance. He is the author of Banker to the Poor and two books on Social Business Models, and a founding board member of Grameen America and Grameen Foundation. About TEDx In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)

From The Economic Collapse

What in the world is going on in the heartland of America?  Spring has barely even begun and we are seeing communities all over America being ripped to shreds by gigantic tornadoes.  A lot of meteorologists claimed that the nightmarish tornado season of 2011 was an “anomaly”, but 2012 is shaping up to be just as bad or even worse.  These tornado outbreaks just seem to keep getting more frequent and more powerful.  For example, several “supercell” tornadoes ripped across the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area on Tuesday.  People all over America were absolutely horrified as they watched footage of these tornadoes toss around tractor trailers as if they were toy trucks.  Personally, I have never seen a tractor trailer tossed 100 feet into the sky before.  This is not normal.  CBS 11 meteorologist Larry Mowry told his viewers that one of these torandoes was “as serious of a tornado we’ve seen in years“.  So why is this happening?  Why is the heartland of America being ripped to shreds by gigantic tornadoes that are becoming more frequent and more powerful?

Up to this point in 2012, at least 57 people have been killed by tornadoes across the country.  Thousands more have been injured and countless homes have been reduced to splinters.  In fact, there have been a couple of small towns that have been essentially wiped off the…

From Mish’s Global Economic Trend Analysis

Inquiring minds keep poking around at problems in Spain and everywhere one looks problems are far greater than government officials would like you to believe.

Please consider this Google Translation from the Guru’sBlog Spanish Economic Drama, Over Half Federal Budget Devoted to Pensions, Unemployment and Interest

Today the Minister of Finance and Public Administration, Critobal Montoro, has submitted to Congress the 2012 State Budget , and I am frightened by the huge numbers that are involved in pensions, unemployment and interest.

37.1% of total state budget will be allocated to pension payments, 9.2 % for unemployment benefits , while another 10.5% will go to interest payments (28.848 million euros, equivalent to 2.7% of GDP.

In all, these three items account for 56.8% of total State Budget 2012.

Spain Warns of Soaring Debt

The AP reports Spain Warns of Soaring Debt as Unemployment Rises

Spain said Tuesday its national debt will spiral sharply higher this year as data showed unemployment hit a record high in March, complicating efforts to stabilise the country’s strained finances.

Budget Minister Cristobal Montoro said borrowings of 186.1 billion euros ($ 248 billion) this year will take the debt-to-GDP ratio to 79.8 percent from 68.5 percent in 2011, well above the EU 60 percent limit.

“Spain is a critical situation. That is what we’re trying to address,” he told a news conference after delivering the conservative government’s cost-cutting budget for 2012 to parliament.

…

From The Market Ticker

Let’s start with Bloomberg:

Nearly four years after the financial crisis began, regulators on Tuesday finally agreed to the criteria they will use to decide which parts of the shadow banking system to regulate, but they still haven’t imposed tougher standards on a single insurer, hedge fund, private-equity shop or money-market mutual fund. Failure to do so exposes the U.S. economy to unnecessary dangers.

How about putting a stop to counterfeiting?

Yes, let’s just call this what it is: counterfeiting of our nation’s currency by these institutions.  And we haven’t stopped it because if we do then we’re forced to face rality, and that’s a bad thing from the point of view of all the pigs at the trough — including those in DC.

For the first three months the Federal Government added $ 359.1 billion in new debt to the Federal Balance sheet.  This is approximately $ 1.4 trillion, or 9.4% of the economy.

To put this into proper perspective one must understand that this is 9.4% of alleged “demand” for goods and services that does not actually exist.   That is, it is fake demand, as you and I do not earn enough money to pay for those goods and services.  By conjuring this new debt out of thin air the government is presenting to the economy a claim of demanded goods and services that doesn’t really exist and never did.

We have been told…