I also think shits going down-

The real estate subprime debacle-
The stock market rollercoaster-
The health insurance crisis-
The criminal administration-
The increase in natural disasters- Floods - fires- earthquake- global warming-
The impending war with Iran-
The rise of the militant fundamentalists in this country and in the middle east.
The weakness of the dollar

I realise that these things are not all related- But together they are overwhelming. I have become a "new" survivalist. I keep 60 gallons of water and 2 months of food in my house. Along with a mighty assortment of survival gear, weapon and ammunition. I know it sounds crazy. It's all stored safely and lock away.

We always have about 5k in cash in our house. Enough to hopefully buy our way across a border if it ever came to that.

I have been telling my wife for months now that we should have gold also. I'm not sure exactly how a 3.4 ounce bar of gold is going to help in a crisis (I would buy in 1/2 krugerands).

The last thing I'm worried about is my vintage gear. I keep buying it. I have never lost money on a piece of vintage gear and I've been buying and selling it for years. If the shit hits the fan I don't think there will be time to post auctions on ebay to bail yourself out.

Unless your just talking recession or depression.

I'm really just preparing for the big earthquake that will eventually wipe my city out- But I don't rule out all kinds of more crazy possibilities- Civil war- revolution- widespread riot- who knows?

One thing I can say for sure is that America is not the stable safe country that most Americans remember from their youth. 9/11 and Katrina should have proved that to everyone. All of the horrible things that happen in other countries that people have always said "That could never happen here" Will happen here someday

otisroom wrote:We always have about 5k in cash in our house. Enough to hopefully buy our way across a border if it ever came to that.

What did you say your address was again?

otisroom wrote:Along with a mighty assortment of survival gear, weapon and ammunition.

Umm... never mind.

Yeah I knew that "what's your address" bit was coming.

Very funny. But not so funny when I'm safe in Canada after the militant christian revolution of 2008. And your enslaved and forced to make horrible christian rock records for the rest of your life!

Ha Ha! whose laughing now?

taking drugs doesn't prevent you from 'dealing w/ reality' ROFL if only it were that easy.

Being on ADs or even meth, you are still "dealing w/ reality" as much as anyone else, you are just fucked up on drugs while dealing

it doesn't help matters that I've been watching the old fox show Millennium on DVD lately.

The real estate subprime debacle-
The stock market rollercoaster-
The health insurance crisis-
The criminal administration-
The increase in natural disasters- Floods - fires- earthquake- global warming-
The impending war with Iran-
The rise of the militant fundamentalists in this country and in the middle east.
The weakness of the dollar

I realise that these things are not all related- But together they are overwhelming. I have become a "new" survivalist.

It's certainly true that there are very real dangers to worry about, but this thread seems a bit vague and paranoid IMHO. Many of the items in the list quoted above are not exactly new, although it's true that some of them are worse than before (ie, we've had plenty of criminal Administrations before, but the current one really takes the cake). The stock market has always been a roller coaster, and we've had major nosedives before. What evidence is there that natural disasters are more frequent and/or severe?

There are a great many times in U.S and world history where things looked really scary--the current climate is not completely unique. I'm not saying there's nothing to worry about, I'm just trying to understand realistically what might happen. It's good to be prepared and plan for the worst, but there's no sense in getting irrationally spooked.

I guess I'm still wondering specifically what shit is going to hit the fan--Jesus returning to Earth? Depression? Another 9/11? Fall of the U.S. empire? Riots in the streets? Something else?

Rick Reuben wrote:Good column on the national tune-out, titled: I Will Not Defend Them:

You see them at the supermarket aggressively pushing their shopping carts around, and you get this feeling that if you do not move fast enough they might just run into you. You detect an undercurrent of suppressed rage, hostility, and detachment as if they are on some other planet.

You feel the same thing when you are driving down the road, and you see them driving with one hand on the wheel, the other hand holding up a cell phone to their ear, wheeling their SUVs around just as aggressively and at the same time detached, like those people in the supermarket pushing their shopping carts around.

No one smiles any more. No one wants to talk about things that matter. If you want to discuss anything other than sports, sex, or Dancing with the Stars, no one seems interested.

What is happening? Is it something in the water, or is Invasion of the Body Snatchers actually happening for real?

I do not remember people being like this. They are hostile, impatient, full of suppressed anger, abrupt, suspicious, and some even threatening.

Not everybody is like the people described here, but more people are. I've seen it. This behavior takes hold in a population that has been managed by fear. But like this columnist, I don't defend them. If you think it's hard to step outside your own little world todayand look at the big picture, just wait.

Part of life is remaining aware that 'shit is about to go down'.

Unawareness is a choice.

Pretending everything is fine is a choice.

Convincing yourself that, "I'll just mind my own business and everything will be fine" is a choice.

These are choices made by losers. The game is on right now. It's being played all around you, right now. The winners win a little more every day, because they have the playing field nearly all to themselves- most of the opposition can't even imagine themselves as 'opposition'. They think they will have the same control over their lives next year and in five years and in ten years. They'll learn.

Finishing the column:

No one wants to complain about anything. No one seems to be bothered by high taxes or inflation. They just look at you and roll their eyes like you are crazy if you dare to express your dissatisfaction with the status quo. And God forbid, do not mention the wars, that topic really gets people uncomfortable. It is as if you are asking some personal question.

Have our fellow human beings, our friends and neighbors, become overwhelmed by the course of events these last six years, so they're burying their heads in the sand? Or have they become closet fascists, who privately support the dictatorship in Washington? Are they over-medicated with prescription drugs, or are they getting off on the horrors which the "Decider" and his handlers are inflicting on humanity?

Are these the same people whose answer to every problem, real or imagined, is "Bomb Them"!? No wonder the Bush Cabal and the rubber stamp Congress have no problem disposing of the Constitution and Bill of Rights. I will not defend them. I will not try to enlighten them any more.

All these vegetables think about is their new shiny cars, the ridiculous clothing they buy, the garbage that passes as entertainment, and the anti-depressant drugs which helps them avoid reality. They do not want to admit to themselves that America is in trouble ... After all, that's not supposed to happen here, we are told.

Well, folks, like the Germans and their victims deciding to ignore things, who had to learn the hard way some sixty years ago, it ain't going to be any different this time around.

The prognosis is bad. But is it unwarranted? How 'free' do you consider yourself in America 2007?

http://www.unknownnews.org/070825a-LeonF.html

Guy Debord was Right.
"Dude, if you don't know, then i'm not gonna tell ya"
-butthead

Here's an interesting Wikipedia article:
List of U.S. disasters by death toll

Looking at that chart it doesn't look like we're living in the scariest of times, at least in terms of death tolls.

Is this right--death toll from WWI, up to 66 million (if you count Spanish Flu fatalities, and this is not only American deaths I think)?

Is this right--death toll from WWI, up to 66 million (if you count Spanish Flu fatalities, and this is not only American deaths I think)?

That's right. At the end of WWI, service personnel deaths were underestimated at 8.5-10 million.

21-25 million Europeans died in the 1919 flu pandemic.
There was widespread famine after the war,
which left many Europeans weakened and unable
to cope with the flu's affects. Not that there
was any real treatment for pnuemonia at that
time, anyway.

Human beings have been terrorizing each other since the beginning, as has god (with natural disasters, famine, disease, etc.) The only thing really that's changed is now (for a while, but relatively recently) we have nukes, which could do damage on a scale not seen before. That's why people were also quite anxious during the Cold War (not just now), when there was fear that war between the US and the USSR (or other countries) could lead to nuclear armageddon. We go through cycles, but I think it's always been a potentially terrible world here on Earth.

eta: Another thought--we in the US have had it relatively easy compared to many other countries. While we're worrying about the economy and housing market, there are many millions dying of starvation, or lack of healthcare, victims of ethnic violence, etc. We did get hit hard 9/11, but I don't think we know pain the way people in many other countries do. (Not to say there isn't very real, significant suffering in the US, but there are other places that are like hell on Earth.)