The Readiness Mindset for the Prepper

Okay, so you've been prepping for a while now. You are beginning to feel more comfortable that when the time comes, you will be ready. Exactly how ready are you really? Sure, you have a lot of food, water, and ammo tucked away in the pantry, basement, and closets, but are you ready if it happened right now, this instant?

Picture yourself at work, or a friends house, or shopping, or on vacation, or just about anywhere you can think of except at your home. The quickest, most instantaneous disaster that could strike you at any moment is a HEMP attack, a high altitude magnetic pulse bomb that explodes a hundred miles up and wipes out all electricity and electronics. Iran (very soon), North Korea, Russia, China, and several other countries have this technology available to them and could use it at any time. You are not at home. What will you do? How will you get home? What last minute things can you do before the rest of the population figures out what happened?

This is what I call the readiness mindset. If this happens, you may only have about a two to four hour window of opportunity to act. If you work 20 miles from home, how long will it take you to walk home? If you walk 5 miles per hour, that just ate up your four hours. If your boss will let you, think about taking your old bicycle out of the shed, clean it up and oil it, and take it to work. If they ask, tell them you may want to get some exercise during a break or lunch time. Do it at least for a while. Then you could be home in as little as an hour.

In this four hour period, everyone will be confused as to what is going on. People will initially stay calm, because everyone has experienced a power outage in their lifetime. They will figure that the power will be restored soon. They realize that it may take some time for the electric company to get some workers out to the site and fix the problem. They will look at their cell phones or try to call someone, but their phones won't work. They'll probably figure that the power outage affected the cell tower also. Those in their cars will wonder why their car suddenly quit running. after a few minutes, they'll notice that the cars around them quit too. They'll think it was just something temporary. Something a local contractor did that caused it. They'll expect their cars to begin running again after whatever the contractor is doing, stops.

This four hour window is crucial to you. This is your opportunity to capitalize on the confusion and  get those last few things to supplement your stash. As this window of opportunity unfolds, it will get increasingly more unstable and dangerous. The first hour is the easiest. I recommend that you keep an emergency stash of cash in $20, $50, and $100 increments. If you can, tuck away as much as possible, up to $10,000.

If you can find an old pickup truck that has no computer, from the early 70's and older that still runs good, buy it now. It will come in very handy at this point. In the first hour or two, you will need to go grocery shopping, to the gun store, and anywhere else you can to stock up on to add to your stash. After the four hour window, money will cease to have any meaningful value, but in the first hours, cash is king! Grab your pistol and a few magazines, your cash, a pad and pencil, a flashlight, and a few family members, jump in your old pickup and weave around all the stalled cars on the road and get to the stores as quick as safely possible. Conceal your pistol as to not be obvious. You don't want to use it, but if things get ugly, you want the best chance to get out of there alive.

At the store, there will be a lot of confusion. Get in and out as quickly as you can. Use the flashlight to navigate the aisles. Write down what you put in the basket and keep a running total in the margin. as soon as you are ready (the atmosphere in the store could determine this also) find the store manager and give him the sheets of paper with the cash plus $50 for his trouble and exit the store as calmly but quickly as possible. Load up the truck and go home. Unload as quickly as possible (if your bugging out to another location, fill a trailer or boxes to be ready to leave as soon as you are done). Go to the next location and do the same. As soon as things start to go down hill, STOP! Don't get yourself killed trying to be greedy. Wide spread looting will begin and you don't want to be in the mix. Hunker down or get out of town as early as you can.

Bottom line: In everything you do and everywhere you go, think of what you will do if the lights go out. The readiness mindset...

Will Iran Start a War to Break the Embargo Chains?

Op-Ed: Economic sanctions weaken Iran, but its leaders remain defiant

By Eliot Elwar

Oct 21, 2012 

Iran’s problems worsen as it claims that ‘dozens’ of its drones reached Israel, Iranians are beginning to panic amid rising costs, while Western officials assess that Iran’s economy is imploding quickly. A Mideast war may occur before 2013.

From Ynet News: Top Iranian military official says Iranian-made surveillance drones have been entering Israeli airspace undetected since 2006, but Israeli official denies claim. The Iranian official declined to give details on the drones’ missions and capabilities, including whether they were similar to the unmanned aircraft launched recently by Lebanon's Hezbollah and downed by Israeli combat aircraft. A few defense analysts wonder if Iran’s new advanced drone technology originated from the US drone that was taken by Iran in 2011.

From Gulf Times: While Iran has been attempting to down play the negative effects of international sanctions on its declining economy, the economic crisis engulfing the nation can no longer be ignored. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s collapsing regime now speaks of “economic warfare,” while Iranians continue to panic about their deteriorating situation and are asking themselves what will happen when the war begins. Analysts assess that Iran’s collapsing economy could force it into war before 2013. An economic collapse will cripple Iran’s war making capabilities; therefore, Iran could attack Israel first before it becomes financially incapable of wiping the Jewish state of the Mideast map.

From the Los Angeles Times: Western governments assess that Iran’s economy is imploding rapidly. Iran could essentially collapse next spring because of the combined pressure from international sanctions, an oil embargo, and internal mismanagement by officials in Tehran. Western government analysts believe that Iran will lack foreign exchange reserves within 6 or 12 months, making it difficult for the Islamic Republic to sell products abroad and buy the imports it needs to continue its manufacturing sector and run public services. The faster Iran’s economy collapses the more likely it will attack Israel.

From Jerusalem Post: According to Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman, tough new European Union sanctions on Iran will not force Tehran back into negotiations with world powers over its nuclear program. "We think the error in calculation which these countries are pursuing will distance them from a favorable result," said Ramin Mehmanparast, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman. "We recommend that instead of taking the wrong approach and being stubborn and using pressure...with a logical approach they can return to discussions." These comments confirm that Iran is on a course for war with Israel and nothing will stop them, but military force rather than economic sanctions.

From the Times of Israel: “Iran is considering the option of artificially producing an enormous environmental disaster that would affect the entire region, in order to punish its enemies and force the West to decrease the sanctions against the regime, Der Spiegel reported on Sunday. According to Western intelligence agencies quoted by the German news weekly, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have developed a secret plan to intentionally cause an oil tanker to contaminate the strategically important Strait of Hormuz.” When the bombs begin to fall, Iran may execute this unconventional military operation. Iran’s military leaders do not plan on fighting the West according to the rules of the Geneva Convention.

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/335211#ixzz2A4qRSfAi

The Difference Between EMP and CME

CME = Coronal Mass Ejection = Solar Flare
HEMP = High-Altitude ElectroMagnetic Pulse = Nuclear Bomb

Posted on August 27, 2012 by Rob Hanus

There is a lot of misinformation about High-Altitude Electromagnetic Pulse (HEMP) and Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) events, about what they are and how they effect things.  One of the big misconceptions is that they are the same.  While they may have a similar component and both can cause power outages, there are some striking differences.

The main difference between a HEMP attack and a CME impact is what is effected.  For HEMP, both the power grid and electronics are damaged and destroyed.  In a CME impact, mainly the power grid is affected, while electronics are untouched.

Why?

There are actually three components, or pulses, to an EMP, they are called E1, E2 and E3:

• E1- The first component is a very fast, high voltage pulse. It is very brief, but very intense.
  • It is much faster than lightning and common lightning and surge suppressors will not stop this pulse.
  • It induces high voltages in wiring and cables, like power lines, phone lines, etc.
  • This is the component that destroys computers and electronic equipment.
• The E2 pulse is a lot like lightning and is easier to protect against, though if the protection circuit was destroyed or damaged by the E1 pulse, may still do more damage.
• The E3 pulse is a long duration pulse and is not like the E1 and E2 pulses.
  • It’s a very slow pulse, which can last for minutes.
  • It is caused by the nuclear detonation disrupting the Earth’s magnetic field. Which sounds a lot like what happens during a CME impact.
  • This is the wave that shuts down the power grid. It does this by inducing a DC-like current. When enough DC current flows through a transformer, it melts.

While a CME can damage electronics in space, such as those on satellites and on the Space Station, it doesn’t generate any E1 pulse.  A severe CME could take out large portions of the power grid for years, but they would not damage any electronics equipment down here on Earth unless, perhaps, connected to the power grid or other very long lines.

http://www.thepreparednesspodcast.com/the-difference-between-emp-and-cme/

Former CIA Army General: Martial Law Expected & “Warranted”

August 2nd, 2012

by Dominique de Kevelioc de Bailleul: 

Lt. General William Boykin (retired) told TruNews Radio Tuesday that the U.S. economy of the United States  “is just about the break” and collapse.  And when the dam gives way, severe food shortages and pervasive violence throughout America will warrant, in his opinion, an executive declaration of martial law.

“I’ll be very honest with you; the situation in America could be such that martial law is actually warranted, and that situation in my view could occur if we had an economic collapse,” said Boykin, a former CIA Deputy Director of Special Activities.

“The dam is just about to break on our economy, and I think when it does, there’s going to be a major disruption of the distribution of food,” he added. “And I think what you’ll see particularly in the inner cities is you will see riots, civil unrest that ultimately might justify martial law.”

"Nationalism will emerge. Healthier countries will not see fit to spend their hard earned money to bail out their less responsible neighbors."

Though the U.S. is the world’s largest exporter of agriculture, in the case of a currency collapse, producers will withhold shipments to retailers and consumers unable to pay in a currency other than U.S. dollars.  For a time, barter will take the place of currency for those living in rural areas, but for the majority of Americans living in cities and adjacent suburbs, food shortages can emerge within 24 hours.

“I think those people that are not in the major cities are going to be far better off, but it could actually justify martial law,” Boykin continued.  “And I’m praying that we will not see that kind of collapse, we won’t see a disruption of the distribution of food in America.  That’s probably the single biggest problem.”

Recommendations by “prepper” organizations and a handful of governments (as in the case of Utah and some municipalities) to include storing enough nonperishable food to last a month to 90 days have become commonplace during the four-year-long economic recession, as the history of currency collapses throughout the world demonstrate that for a meaningful period of time food will not be available at grocery stores, food pantries and other collective emergency food supplies.

Recent examples of food shortages due to rapid currency devaluations include Argentina in 2002; Cuba, following the fall of the Soviet Union in 1989; and in Zimbabwe during its currency collapse of the late 2000s.

Although, the U.S. is not expected to match Zimbabwe in intensity and duration of inflation (89 sextillion percent in 2008), all nations undergo a period of profound dislocation of commerce during a currency devaluation, which may range from as little as several weeks to several months.  At that time, food becomes the king of all commodities while government reestablishes a new workable currency to reestablish normal commerce once again.

“If people can eat, they can survive for some period of time while we get through the economic crisis and reestablish currency, and systems, and all that,” said Boykin.  “But if they can’t eat, you know, they’re going to fight.  And that’s my big concern.”  

From his intelligence, as well as from numerous publicly-available anecdotal testimonies and leaked government documents, the U.S. military has been preparing with local law enforcement for a coming crisis.  Boykin strongly advises the public to make preparations for the most likely scenario of a coming breakdown of the food distribution channels in America during a dollar collapse.

“For me, I have three months of food stored.  I have a bunch of other essentials that I have stored in my home,” he said.  “And my wife and I are preparing for this.

“Now a lot of people call us, you know, foolish, for that kind of attitude,” he added.  “But I would tell you that I’m not going to be unprepared, and I think people should be prepared now for some disruption. You know this economic collapse is a very strong possibility.  We need to get ready for it, and we need to be thinking through and developing plans for how we’re going to react to it.”

Silver, The Easily Liquidated Solid Investment

Where are your investments? Are they in the bank, in the form of savings, checking, CD's, money market funds? Are they in stocks, bonds, derivatives, commodities, futures, shorts, longs, etc? Are they in U.S. treasuries or bonds? Are they in mutual funds, 401K's, etc?

Do you realize that a simple single or multiple terrorist attack in this country, which is highly likely by the way, can wipe every bit of it away in an instant? You could be a millionaire today on paper, and a pauper tomorrow with nothing to show for all of your hard work during your lifetime.

In these economic times in concert with the world affairs as they are, the only thing that makes logical common sense (I know, common sense is not at all common) is to move your investments into tangible assets.

The most logical physical tangible asset is not gold, it's silver. Today, the spot price of gold is $1,724.00 per ounce. If you had all your investments in one ounce coins and the economy collapsed, how will you buy or barter for your food? With a $1,724.00 coin? You'd better be ready to haul off a bunch of food, IF they would let you buy that much. Or your little bit of food just became very expensive.

What you need to be invested in, after you have checked off everything on your prepping list, is Silver. And not just any silver. What you want are Pre-1965 U.S. Silver Coins, which are 90% silver. It's called junk silver, but it is far from junk. The spot price of silver today is $32.13 per ounce. About $1,000.00 face value of these coins will cost you about $25,000.00, and it's a good sized bag. Imagine the money sacks in armored cars in the movies. That's about 778 ounces of silver, or about 48.63 pounds!

What's important about Pre-1965 silver coins is that it is a known. It will be much easier for several reasons. It is known that these coins are 90% silver. Each denomination is roughly the same weight, so the value will be consistent and easier to tally when trading. And the silver value of the individual coins are much smaller than gold, which makes it easier to make a fair trade. If our currency hyper-inflates or becomes worthless, gold & silver will still be welcome by most anyone.

Here is a chart to help you now and after the crash to determine the actual value of your coins.
Right click and 'save image as' to save it and print it for safe keeping.

(taken from http://www.silverbarter.com/junk_silver_specs.html )

The End of America - John Price

I strongly encourage everyone in America to read this book. It is Christian based and because of that, they will gain a better understanding of what is going on as it relates to the Bible.

What is even more important is that even if you are an Agnostic or an Atheist, or even Jewish or any other religion, you will gain a better understanding of what America is up against when it comes to terrorism.

This book is a must read and gives a mountain of credence to the need to prepare as an individual to survive going forward (Prepping). The verified facts are too overwhelming to dismiss this as being foil head alarmist. 

From our impending economic collapse to the threat from jihadists of Islam, there is no more important time then now to be working on your prepping list.

http://www.amazon.com/The-End-America-Biblical-ebook/dp/B005230P46/ref=tmm_kin_title_0

Note: I receive no compensation for recommending this book or any other books on this site.

Socialist gov't policies in France lead to mass exodus

(Who is John Galt?...)


By Andrew Moran

Oct 9, 2012 in Business

http://digitaljournal.com/article/334520

Paris - A leading real estate agency has revealed in a report that more than 400 €1million ($1.28 million) homes have been put on the market since France elected Socialist leader Francois Hollande as president. Are the rich fleeing the 75 percent super-tax?

Is this sign of an unintended consequence of the Socialist government’s economic policies in France?

The Daily Mail has discovered that the nation’s luxury real estate market has seen an influx of homes being put up for sale since the Socialists entered government in the spring. More than 400 €1million ($1.28 million) homes in Paris are on the market, which is more than double from a year ago in the same period.

Many are speculating that this is a sign the affluent in France are exiting the country. This is in part due to the president’s proposed 75 percent tax on individuals earning more than €1million ($1.28 million). A large number of people also fear higher taxes on sales of company shares and investing money overseas – the latest 2013 budget proposal includes an increase in the capital gains tax and a cap on deductions for large companies

“It's nearly a general panic. Some 400 to 500 residences worth more than €1million have come onto the Paris market since May,” said Daniel Feau, a Paris real estate agent, in an interview with the British newspaper. “And the profile of those who are leaving has changed, from the idle rich to managers of major international corporations and entrepreneurs who are scared of a marginal tax rate of 62.21 percent on sales of stock.”

The news report also found other indicators of a mass exodus of French citizens.

- British estate agent Sothebys sold more than 100 properties between April and June

- London recruitment agency Astbury Martin has a 51 percent increase in applications from French jobseekers.

- French inquiries for luxury London homes has soared by a total of 41 percent

- A new study found that 42 percent of French workers are willing to move to the United Kingdom

British Prime Minister David Cameron said at the B20 business summit in Mexico in June that he would be willing to roll out the red carpet for wealthy French businessmen who are willing to establish businesses in England and pay taxes for the country’s education and health care.

“If there is such a new tax rule, it’s going to be very, very difficult to attract talent to work in France, almost impossible – at a certain level, of course,” Jean-Paul Agon, CEO of L’Oreal, told the Financial Times last month.

The French leader has lost a lot of confidence from the electorate. A poll from early last month showed that his support dropped by 22 points within just four months down to 40 percent. Even former President Nicolas Sarkozy is mulling a run by telling a former colleague that things will be so bad that he will have to run for office again in five years.

21 Signs That The Global Economic Crisis Is About To Go To A Whole New Level

By Michael Snyder

The global debt crisis has reached a dangerous new phase.  Unfortunately, most Americans are not taking notice of it yet because most of the action is taking place overseas, and because U.S. financial markets are riding high.  But just because the global economic crisis is unfolding at the pace of a "slow-motion train wreck" right now does not mean that it isn't incredibly dangerous.  As I have written about previously, the economic collapse is not going to be a single event.  Yes, there will be days when the Dow drops by more than 500 points.  Yes, there will be days when the reporters on CNBC appear to be hyperventilating.  But mostly there will be days of quiet despair as the global economic system slides even further toward oblivion.  And right now things are clearly getting worse.  Things in Greece are much worse than they were six months ago.  Things in Spain are much worse than they were six months ago.  The same thing could be said for Italy, France, Japan, Argentina and a whole bunch of other nations.  The entire global economy is slowing down, and we are entering a time period that is going to be incredibly painful for everyone.  At the moment, the U.S. is still experiencing a "sugar high" from unprecedented fiscal and monetary stimulus, but when that "sugar high" wears off the hangover will be excruciating.  Reckless borrowing, spending and money printing has bought us a brief period of "economic stability", but our foolish financial decisions will also make our eventual collapse far worse than it might have been.  So don't think for a second that the U.S. will somehow escape the coming global economic crisis.  The truth is that before this is all over we will be seen as one of the primary causes of the crisis.
The following are 21 signs that the global economic crisis is about to go to a whole new level....
#1 Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer says that the global economy is "awfully close" to recession.
#2 It was announced last week that the unemployment rate in Greece has reached an all-time high of 25.1 percent.  Unemployment among those 24 years old or younger is now more than 54 percent.  Back in April 2010, the unemployment rate in Greece was only sitting at 11.8 percent.
#3 The IMF is warning that Greek debt may have to be "restructured" yet again.
#4 Swedish Finance Minister Anders Borg says that it is "probable" that Greece will leave the euro, and that it might happen within the next six months.
#5 An angry crowd of approximately 40,000 angry Greeks recently descended on Athens to protest a visit by German Chancellor Angela Merkel...

From high-school students to pensioners, tens of thousands of Greek demonstrators swarmed into Athens yesterday to show the visiting German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, their indignation at their country's continued austerity measures.
Flouting the government's ban on protests, an estimated 40,000 people – many carrying posters depicting Ms Merkel as a Nazi – descended on Syntagma Square near the parliament building. Masked youths pelted riot police with rocks as the officers responded with tear gas.
The authorities had deployed 7,000 police, water cannon and a helicopter. Snipers were placed on rooftops to ensure the German leader's safety.

#6 The debt crisis is Argentina is becoming increasingly troublesome.
#7 The government debt to GDP ratio in Italy is expected to hit 126 percent this year.  In Greece, it is expected to hit 198 percent.  In Japan, it is expected to hit a whopping 237 percent.
#8 Standard & Poor’s has slashed the credit rating on Spanish government debtto BBB-, which is just one level above junk status.
#9 Back in the year 2000, the ratio of total debt to GDP in Spain was 192 percent.  By 2011, it had reached 363 percent.
#10 Record amounts of money are being pulled out of Spanish banks, and many large Spanish banks are rapidly heading toward insolvency.
#11 Manufacturing activity in Spain has contracted for 17 months in a row.
#12 It is being projected that home prices in Spain will fall by another 15 percent by the end of 2013.
#13 The unemployment rate in France is now above 10 percent, and it has risen for 16 months in a row.
#14 There are signs that Switzerland may be preparing for "major civil unrest" throughout Europe.
#15 The former top economist at the European Central Bank says that the ECB has fallen into a state of "panic" as it desperately tries to solve the European debt crisis.
#16 According to a recent IMF report, European banks may need to sell off 4.5trillion dollars in assets over the next 14 months in order to meet strict new capital requirements.
#17 In August, U.S. exports dropped to the lowest level that we have seen since last February.
#18 Economics Professor Barry Eichengreen is very concerned about what is coming next for stocks in the United States...

"I’m worried that stock markets in the United States in particular have gotten ahead of economic growth"

#19 During the week ending October 3rd, investors pulled more than 10 billion dollars out of U.S. mutual funds.  Overall, a total of more than 100 billion dollarshas been pulled out of U.S. mutual funds so far this year.
#20 As I wrote about the other day, the IMF is warning that there is an "alarmingly high" risk of a deeper global economic slowdown.
#21 When shipping companies start laying off workers, that is one of the best signs that economic activity is slowing down.  That is why it was so troubling when it was announced that FedEx is planning to get rid of "several thousand" workers over the coming months.  According to AFP, "its business is being hit by the global economic slowdown".
For even more signs that the global economy is rapidly crumbling, please see my previous article entitled "The Largest Economy In The World Is Imploding Right In Front Of Our Eyes".
So is anyone doing well right now?
Yes, it turns out that QE3 is padding the profits of the big banks in the United States and making the wealthy even wealthier just like I warned that it would.
According to the Washington Post, QE3 is helping the big banks much more than it is helping consumers.  Is this what the Fed intended all along?...

JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, the nation’s largest mortgage lenders, said Friday they won’t make home loans much cheaper for consumers, even as they reported booming profits from that business.
Those bottom lines have been padded by federal initiatives to stimulate the economy. The Federal Reserve is spending $40 billion a month to reduce mortgage rates to encourage Americans to buy homes. Instead, its policies may be generating more benefits for banks than borrowers.

So exactly how much has QE3 helped out the big banks?  Just check out these numbers...

Revenue from mortgages was up 57 percent in the third quarter compared with the same period last year at JPMorgan and more than 50 percent up at Wells Fargo.

But should we expect anything else from the Federal Reserve?
The American people are trusting the Fed to protect our economy, and yet they cannot even protect their own shipments of money.  In fact, the Fed recently lost a large shipment of new $100 bills.
Or perhaps could letting people steal money from their own trucks be another way that the Fed is trying to "stimulate the economy"?
Stranger things have happened.
In any event, the truth is that the U.S. economy and the U.S. financial system are unsustainable from any angle that you want to look at things.
We are drowning in government debt, we are drowning in consumer debt, Wall Street has been transformed into a high risk casino where our largest financial institutions are putting it all on the line on a daily basis, we are consuming far more than we are producing, there are more than 100 million Americans on welfare and we are stealing more than 100 million dollars an hour from future generations to pay for it all.
Anyone that believes that we are in "good shape" does not know the first thing about economics.
Sadly, the U.S. is not alone.  Nations all over the globe are experiencing similar problems.
The global economic crisis is just beginning and it is going to get much, much worse.
I hope that you ready.

http://world.hawaiinewsdaily.com/2012/10/21-signs-that-the-global-economic-crisis-is-about-to-go-to-a-whole-new-level/

Government checks worthless in economic collapse

By Anthony Black

Standard-ExaminerContributed

Mon, 10/15/2012 - 2:15pm

Editor,

Moody warns of another U.S. credit rating downgrade. Washington stands on shaky ground, borrowing 40 cents of every dollar it spends. Many judge that their best interests are served by preserving and expanding entitlements and will vote accordingly in the upcoming election. However, as the American economic system collapses, the government checks will become worthless.

What is our government really preparing for?

First we hear about orders for billions of hollow point ammunition (which is illegal in war).   Now we have full time paid youth trained to use it???


FEDERAL GOVERNMENT GRADUATES THE FIRST CLASS OF 231 FULL-TIME MEMBERS OF THE HOMELAND SECURITY YOUTH CORPS (REMEMBER THE HITLER YOUTH OF THE 1930's?)
10-16-2012 6:37 pm - WhiteOutPress.com
The federal government calls them FEMA Corps, but they conjure up memories of the Hitler Youth of 1930’s Germany. Regardless of their name, the Dept of Homeland Security has just graduated its first class of 231 Homeland Youth. Kids, aged 18-24 and recruited from the President’s AmeriCorp volunteers, they represent the first wave of DHS’s youth corps, designed specifically to create a full time, paid, standing army of FEMA Youth across the country.

On September 13, 2012, the Department of Homeland Security graduated its first class of FEMA Corps first-responders. While the idea of having a volunteer force of tens of thousands of volunteers scattered across the country to aid in times of natural disasters sounds great, the details and timing of this new government army is somewhat curious, if not disturbing.

http://www.libertynewsonline.com/article_301_32399.php

Who is John Galt?

John Galt is a Producer. He is an inventor in the book 'Atlas Shrugged' by Ayn Rand. Just as he was completing the invention of a motor that powers itself through static electricity in the surrounding air, the owner of the company he worked for dies. The owner's son takes over the company and decides to change the way the employees are paid. The new philosophy of compensation is 'From each according to their ability, to each according to their needs'.

In this model, for example, a low producing employee may earn more than a high producing employee because he has a larger family to support. The company then pressures the high producer to produce more to keep the system functioning, while paying him less for his effort. John Galt decided that the company didn't deserve to prosper from his new invention and disabled it. He then quit the company and left. He sees this change as a trend in the land and decides to create his own community of producers that residents nicknamed 'Galt's Gulch'. Here, there are no moochers or looters. They only invite producers.

The concept is simple.

The world is made up of three types of people:
Producers - The people who make things happen. They are people with initiative.
Moochers - The people without initiative, dependent on Gov't handouts, etc. These people are usually the 'couch potato' type. Many are on welfare, food stamps, etc.
Looters - The non-military government. They believe in tax & spend economics.

• The moochers and the looters need the Producers to survive.
• They have insatiable appetites, whether it be power and expansion of government or more and more entitlements. 
• Their goal is to tax the Producers more and more to fund their increasing appetites.
• The Producers eventually get fed up with it all.
• The Producers go on strike. The moochers and looters are left to try to maintain themselves.
• The economy instantly disintegrates and many see the light or die (economic collapse).
• The Producers rebuild the economy and life eventually goes on with much fewer moochers and looters.

http://conservapedia.com/Galt's_Gulch

Whenever the number of people in non-military government, plus the number of people receiving entitlements becomes greater than 50% of the total population, we cease to be a representative republic. We become a democracy, which is mob rule.

Thomas Jefferson was quoted as saying: "Democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where 51% of the people may take away the rights of the other 49%".

Mob rule is like two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner.

In 2011, the US spent $1.03 trillion on welfare (This does NOT include social security and medicare which are not entitlements, but a paid benefit). Add to that government's insatiable appetite for self expansion, and it's clear to see that the producers are severely outnumbered.

Producers will only take so much abuse before they will become disillusioned and decide that it's not worth it, cash out, and leave. It's interesting that most preppers are producers. Producers are planners. They'll prepare a prepping list and prepare for disasters. As a result, they are more likely to be around to rebuild after an economic collapse.

Germany's Merkel: We Cannot Decouple From European Economic Trends

BERLIN--German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday that Europe's largest economy is feeling the impact of the ongoing euro zone debt crisis and Germany couldn't decouple from broader economic trends in Europe.

"We also feel the impact of the economic collapse around us," Ms. Merkel told reporters at a news conference after meeting Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban for talks. "We cannot decouple" from Europe.

http://www.nasdaq.com/article/germanys-merkel-we-cannot-decouple-from-european-economic-trends-20121011-00335#.UHy79sXA-So

UK will not survive European economic collapse: Expert

Press TV: I wanted to ask you about these plans that David Cameron speaks of. What can you tell us about the quality of those plans in tackling this budget deficit of the United Kingdom? 

Raffone: I believe that Mr. Cameron has little choice, but to start telling the truth to his population. The economy of the UK was mostly a financial based economy and with the crisis in the financial system, the UK has been hit like any other nation in Europe and in North America. 

Press TV: When you look toward the future of the UK do you see this budget deficit in fact getting worse? 

Raffone: Yes. It is difficult for the UK to recover because it doesn’t have its own proper economy running. It’s a financial place and if the rest of the economy in the European area is collapsing, it’s impossible for the UK to survive, it will follow suit. 

Also the position the British government is developing about Europe is completely inconsistent. 

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/10/11/266131/uk-will-not-survive-european-economic-collapse-expert/

Washington 'doing nothing’ to prevent ‘fiscal cliff’

The U.S. is heading towards fiscal disaster and no one in Washington is doing anything about it, the authors of the Simpson-Bowles reform plan and Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein told CNBC Thursday.

"People are never going to understand how critical this particular time in history is," said Erskine Bowles, the North Carolina businessman and co-chairman of President Barack Obama's National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. "We have $7.7 trillion worth of economic events that are going to hit America in the gut in December, and in Washington they're doing nothing about it."

Bowles' co-chair on the commission was former Wyoming Sen. Alan Simpson, who said political culture in Washington is preventing any action to address what is known as the "fiscal cliff."

"They're both in this," Simpson said of the warring Democratic and Republican parties. "They worship the god of re-election." CNBC News

FACTS & FIGURES

The U.S. trade deficit widened in August as slower global growth reduced demand for American exports. The gap grew 4.1 percent to $44.2 billion from $42.5 billion in July, according to Commerce Department. Bloomberg

Overall, the United States has lost more than 56,000 manufacturing facilities since 2001. The economic Collapse

The velocity of money in the U.S. has plunged to a post-World War II low. The economic Collapse

At the moment, there are approximately 56 million Americans that are collecting Social Security benefits. By 2035, that number is projected to grow to an astounding 91 million.  The economic Collapse

Overall, the Social Security system is facing a 134 trillion dollar shortfall over the next 75 years. The economic Collapse

Most of the jobs the U.S. economy is producing now are low income jobs. In fact, since the end of the last recession, 58 percent of the jobs that have been created are low paying jobs. The economic Collapse

More than 100 million Americans are enrolled in at least one welfare program run by the federal government or that more than half of all Americans are now at least partially financially dependent on the government. The economic Collapse

http://presstv.com/usdetail/266163.html

Economic Future?

What do you think will happen if we keep doing what we're doing???

Larger Government & More Spending Doesn't Work

History tells us that more government spending is not the path to prosperity. Proponents of government spending often point to the New Deal as the model of success. In school, we were taught that Herbert Hoover’s austerity measures turned the stock market crash of 1929 into the Great Depression. Nothing could be further from the truth. Under Hoover, non-defense federal spending increased by 259% from 1929 to 1933. He started huge infrastructure projects and raised taxes on high earners. Even Franklin D. Roosevelt described Hoover’s spending as “extravagant and reckless” when campaigning for the presidency.

Despite the campaign rhetoric, FDR simply expanded the government spending, tax hikes and control over the economy. As a result, we had the longest period of economic misery in the history of our nation. In 1939, FDR’s own Secretary of Treasury, Henry Morganthau, said, “We have tried spending money. We are spending more than we have ever spent before and it does not work. ... after eight years of this Administration we have just as much unemployment as when we started. ... And an enormous debt to boot!” Unemployment remained above 17% in 1939. Many FDR apologists argue the economy took another dip in 1937 because the administration cut spending. However, data shows spending only fell $600 million from 1936 to 1937; less than one percent of the nation’s GDP.

http://www.policymic.com/articles/16094/obama-romney-issues-barack-obama-is-the-herbert-hoover-of-the-21st-century

IRAN's Nuclear Program - The Clock is Ticking

BY: Adam Kredo
October 9, 2012 5:00 am

The recent collapse of Iran’s currency has led foreign policy experts to caution President Barack Obama’s administration against declarations that economic sanctions are the key to ending Tehran’s clandestine nuclear arms program.

Protests erupted in Tehran’s largest marketplace last week after Iran’s currency, the rial, plunged in value and lost about 40 percent of its worth against the U.S. dollar, according toreports.

The economic crisis led Obama administration officials to speculate that economic sanctions have reached a tipping point that could prompt the regime to cede its nuclear program.

Iran experts are skeptical of this view, however. They believe that economic sanctions alone cannot force Iran’s insulated leadership to reverse its nuclear course—and that sanctions could be accelerating Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.

“Sanctions are actually serving not just to collapse the Iranian economy, but to accelerate Iran’s nuclear program,” Clare Lopez, a former CIA operations officer, told the Washington Free Beacon.

Intelligence reports, including those issued by the International Atomic Energy Agency, show that Iran has accelerated its nuclear weapons-related research since last year. This is an indication that Tehran is rushing to build a nuke before sanctions ravage its economy, Lopez said.

http://freebeacon.com/the-clock-is-ticking/

Work New Prepping Skills Into Your Daily Living

During an emergency is NOT the time to be learning the skills of self sufficient survival.