Category: Current Events & Politics

Letter Re: Artificial Intelligence

James and Hugh, Regarding your entry on Artificial Intelligence, please see the book “Our Final Invention” by James Barrat. Our world lives with potential catastrophe, i.e. nuke war, EMP attack, famine, drought, civil unrest, asteroids, etc. These are all potentially survivable occurrences. The achievement of AGI (artificial general intelligence) leading to super machine intelligence is not. You might also check out the following: http://Plato.stanford.edu/entries/Chinese-room/. Hugh Replies: While I understand the reasoning behind the desire to advance artificial intelligence, I also clearly see the dangers in it. Isaac Asimov was a visionary in his “I Robot” series in dealing with this …


Letter Re: CERT Training

Regarding CERT Training: Thinking about volunteering your time with your local Department of Emergency Management? You may need to leave your concealed carry at home! I submitted an application to join a volunteer section of the Pierce County Washington Department of Emergency Management. I received a packet in the mail that contained additional forms that needed to be submitted. One of the forms was a Pierce County Department of Emergency Management Emergency Worker Registration Form. One item had to do with certifying my non-drug use and also prohibiting “any concealed weapon possession while engaged in emergency worker activities” . The …


Thoughts on Nevada, by SFE

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13 That scripture came to my mind as I thought about the tragedy in Nevada when two soulless people murdered two police officers and a good Samaritan who marched to the sound of the guns and paid the ultimate price by placing himself in harm’s way in the defense of others. Without seeking to second guess the dead and without full information, I would like to make a few comments. I’m assuming that everyone is aware now of the shooting in Las …


Useful CERT Publications For Preppers, by T.L.O.

The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Program was created in 1987 by the Los Angeles City Fire Department. Los Angeles officials were asked to help Mexico City with a critique following an 8.1 earthquake that killed more than 10,000 people. It was noted that many “spontaneous volunteers” (people with no training who pitched in to try and help others) had saved over 800 trapped victims, but at least 100 volunteers were killed in the effort. They died because of a lack of knowledge and training that would have kept them safe. LA officials knew they would have a similar situation …


Letter: Banker Immunity

My conclusion of why you pay for Banksters crimes: Big banks that assist the US Treasury in exchange for their implementation of financial policies overseas are almost universally held harmless in De Facto Immunity from prosecution for domestic and international financial crimes. In a clear case of what I think is a perfect “Quid Pro Quo” (“this for that”, in Latin) the bank personnel above the lower ranks are protected. The bank executives know they will not serve time and, in the worst case, only fines will be levied on the bank. Those fines are merely a cost of doing …


Letters Re: Militarized Police

SurvivalBlog was privy to an email exchange of readers when Mike Williams, SurvivalBlog Editor at Large, sent us this link about the militarization of police in the U.S.: Just Shoot: The Mindset Responsible For Turning Search Warrants Into Death Warrants, And SWAT Teams Into Death Squads. We thought that our readers might like to see this exchange as well. o o o I gotta tell you, part of the problem causing this has been: Force reduction efforts in the services. A lot of guys get out, and because we’ve been doing COIN for so long, think that being a soldier …


Getting A Real Education– Why Becoming Self-Sufficient Is Better Than Going To College, by D.T.

Everywhere you turn experts are predicting that the world is heading into some very troubling times. At every level, they say we are heading into a period of history that will see major upheavals in economics, politics, education, food production, housing, jobs, and basically everything. These major changes will effect everyone on earth. That is why so many people are trying to prepare for these changes before they happen in full force, and most experts agree the best way to prepare to meet the challenges of living in this kind of future is to have a skills-based education rather than …


Letter: New Federal Information Grab

To the Editor, I am relatively new to your site and now read it daily. It is a valuable site, and I have been passing the word to my friends. Thank you so much for your work in getting the information out there that you provide. My reason for writing is that I am firmly convinced that a SHTF event is coming, and coming soon. A daily reading of the news provides a piece or two at a time to be incorporated into the overall picture. We are witnessing pervasive domestic racial violence that is being largely unreported, our economy …


Letter Re: Thoughts on Memorial Day

I just read your thoughts regarding Memorial Day. I’ve had the opportunity to live in both a very large megaplex city area (the LA/Orange/Riverside County area) and a very small town about half way between Sacramento and the Lake Tahoe area. I’ve noticed a major difference of behavior in the two areas regarding Memorial Day. Even in the area I lived in “down south” in south Orange County (a somewhat conservative area amidst other, more liberal areas), Memorial Day was seen far more as “a day off,” with little thought generally given to thoughts about the sacrifices of our veterans. …


Letter Re: Mayors Feel Misled

JWR, Just wanted to say “Thank You” for your commentary on Michael Bloomberg’s MAIG in your Odds ‘n Sods column today, May 14, 2014. I LOVE IT when people speak frankly about our current gun control dilemma. (Not to mention our other constitutional issues…) It is refreshing to read someone who does not mince words. We are subjected to entirely too much political correctness– the “I don’t want to step on anyone’s toes or offend anyone” mentality in our country. I have become weary of it and at this point, it is imperative that we “tell it like it is”. …


Five Letters Re: The Circular File

Sir, I have apparently been selected to participate in the U.S. Censes Health of America survey. The other day a representative showed up at my door. I had previously received a letter, which I filed in a certain circular file. I politely told the representative I did not wish to participate. She was very insistent. After she saw I would not budge, I was threatened with “hounding until I submitted.” I could not believe it. All I could say was “Yeah, well that’s what lawyers are for, huh.” Has any other reader been threatened with this? Is this part of …


Two Letters Re: A Response to Ideas Concerning a Post-Collapse World

Hugh, J.L.’s article was a little light on the math. I would assume (assumption #1) that the “Christian Era” referred to in “A Response to Ideas Concerning a Post-Collapse World” started with the birth of Jesus (hence the “A.D.” in our dating system). Given that as the starting point, 5 pennies (were they modern-day pennies, assumption #2) invested at 5% annually for roughly 2,000 years would now be worth $214,703,801,016,035,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, according to my Excel spreadsheet calculations. Converting that dollar amount to gold (a more compact measure of value than copper coin) at $1308 (5/6/14 at 2 PM, Kitco, assumption #3) …


Letter Re: Ideas Concerning a Post-Collapse World

Hugh, Considering the important position you have taken as editor on this blog, any post by you should have authoritative backing. I have concerns about parts, 3, 4, and 5 of your post “Response to Ideas Concerning a Post-Collapse World.” Part 3. Usury. Usury is simply a fee for the use of money. Not all religions prohibit it. In Judaism, it is prohibited only in loans of “brothers” to each other, not to outsiders. It is not prohibited in Christianity. Compound interest has a number of uses, including calculating the present value of an amount to be paid in the …


A Response to “Ideas Concerning A Post-Collapse World”, by JLF

RegardingIdeas Concerning a Post Collapse World: If one understands the Declaration of Independence and the Republican form of government, reforming the Union of States (and their people) is a viable goal. Cooperation in the defense of private property rights from predation is one justification for the necessary evil of government. However, I would not suggest using the Constitution as a model, since it was flawed from inception. It would require extensive modification to accurately define the relationship of the sovereign people with the servant government and its servants, the citizenry, with regard to rights and liberties (natural and personal). It …


Letter Re: Ideas Concerning a Post Collapse World

Dear Hugh, Three cheers for the article “Ideas Concerning a Post Collapse World”! “M.S.” is obviously a very bright and literate person, and while the blog offering is short, it is packed with a lot to think about. I believe the author is likely “spot on” with most of its outlook for the future with one question mark for me as to whether a foreign army (or two) would invade the CONUS or not. I see that as more likely than the author does, but only time will tell. I would though like to take the opportunity to address an …