Category: Emerging Threats

Guest Article: Future Chaos: There Is No “Plan B”, by Chris Martenson

Note: This article builds on my recent report, Prediction: Things Will Unravel Faster Than You Think. It explores the coming energy crunch in more detail by looking at existing government planning and awareness, and the implications of what international recognition of Peak Oil as early as 2012 might mean. The hard news is that there is no “Plan B.” The future is likely to be more chaotic than you probably think. This was the primary conclusion that I came to after attending the most recent Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas (ASPO) in Washington, DC in October, …


The Threat of Cyber Terrorism and Cyber Warfare, by Jeff M.

Cyber warfare sounds like something out of a Hollywood action movie, but it’s something we need to take very seriously. There has been some speculation of possible cyber attacks in the past, power outages in Brazil in 2005 and 2007 could have possibly been caused intentionally. The United States was affected by a power outage in 2003 that blacked out the entire northeastern region and was widely publicized. The truth of what happened in these instances may never be known for national security reasons. Power outages are only the tip of the iceberg though, we have yet to see the …


Letter Re: No Law Enforcement in TEOTWAWKI

Mr Rawles, I’d like to take a few minutes to comment about Ron W.’s article, No Law Enforcement in TEOTWAWKI. He brings up a good point at how truly unprepared most elected officials and government agencies for any kind of real catastrophe. Three summers ago in the jurisdiction where I am an officer we were hit by the severe winds that came from a Gulf of Mexico hurricane. These winds took out the power to more than 80% of the city and township where I patrol. This included the maintenance and service buildings for the city as well as the …


Three Letters Re: No Law Enforcement in TEOTWAWKI

Sir, I would like to thank Ron M. for his posting on the potential future scarcity of Law Enforcement officers in future large-scale TEOTWAWKI events. It was one of the few writings that reflects what I’ve witnessed here in my area as well. My brother, and many of my friends are LEOs, and after having discussed some of these things with them I was made quite aware of the accuracy of Ron’s assessment. Most urban departments are issued periodic ‘alerts’ and ‘warnings’ of potential future threats from Homeland Security and other agencies. They are requested to draft up plans to …


No Law Enforcement in TEOTWAWKI, by Ron M.

I am a Christian, husband and father. I am a former 10 year active Army veteran and three year National Guardsman in Louisiana. My military background is helicopter crew chief, CID (the Army’s equivalent of the FBI) and then an Armor officer in the National Guard. After leaving the Guard I became a Louisiana State Patrol (LSP) trooper. I have since left the state police. It is my experience as a state trooper that I wish to write about. I have read on your blog about many things and appreciate them all in many ways. Recently a writer was predicting …


Letter Re: Europe’s Anti-Austerity Protests

JWR: Here are two links to recent news articles: Anti-austerity protests sweep across Europe, and Demonstrators protest spending cuts across Europe. How long until something similar begins to impact the U.S. may be as simple as this. The “hidden from public” depression, camouflaged by government “Robin Hood” programs like Food stamps, EBT cards, extended unemployment, various grants and subsidies, will become increasingly evident when, not if, the Fed slows down and/or stops payments that keep the masses satiated. It certainly can happen if austerity budgets rear their ugly heads and the wheels begin to come off our society. Or hyperinflation …


Letter Re: Why a Practice Garden?

Hi James, Concerning garden soils. Most of the bags sold as topsoil are really not top soil. Top soil occupies only on the top 6 to 12 inches of soil at best. It is called the ‘A’ horizon. What customers are getting is the deep ‘B’ horizon soils usually free of any rocks. ‘B’ horizon soils are found immediately under the ‘A’ horizon and can be any where from 20 inches to 10 feet deep. Mostly they are 2 to 6 feet deep depending on the parent material from which they have developed. Steer manure from a feedlot is most …


Shifting to Tangibles in an Age of Inflation

I’m often asked by my consulting clients why I put so much emphasis investing in tangibles rather than in traditional investments that are denominated in United States dollars. The problem with dollar-denominated investments is that they are vulnerable to inflation of the currency unit itself. The U.S. governments over-spending and deep indebtedness is bound to catch up with it someday. And when it does, inflation and economic ruin will be the result. But there is protection from inflation. If the majority of you assets are in tangibles and they are in your immediate possession, then you will be insulated from …


What Am I Prepping For–And How, by T.N.T.

I  started “officially” prepping about two years ago simply based on the way things were starting to turn bad with the economy and for fear that a real depression was coming.  As I studied and read what other preppers were doing and the reasons they were prepping I came away with some useful knowledge and information that changed my perception of prepping. My early experience found me gathering supplies helter-skelter and after several months I had no idea what else I might need to focus on.  Back in my younger day from backpacking experience, I knew I could make some …


Letter Re Peak Oil–The Short Version

Dear Jim and Family, There are many web sites dedicated to Peak Oil. All the explanations, the various arguments about when and explanations about why and the different methods for mitigating this disaster. I’ve spent most of 10 years involved with it. Once you get past the Kubler-Ross Grief Process, then Peak Oil is a matter of approach. It’s a huge problem for civilization, but its not necessarily an end. I admit to being optimistic about civilization because we are adaptive people. We will find a way. I take a lot of cues from the Third World because they adapt …


Letter Re: What Your Cell Phone Could Be Telling the Government

James Wesley: Regarding the recent article at the Time magazine web site that has been forwarded far and wide: What Your Cell Phone Could Be Telling the Government. Remember, this is America. While there is no better place on earth to live, you are never any more free than They allow you to believe you are at any given moment. All you can do is live out your life, raise your family, eke out some happiness, and try to affect the change that is important to you in the short time you are here. It is certainly worthwhile (and patriotic) …


Convince Your Loved Ones To Prepare–Even When They’re Kicking and Screaming, by Patriot Chick

Becoming self-sufficient during a financial meltdown is difficult enough, but trying to convince reluctant loved ones to prepare can be doubly frustrating. It’s hard to understand how anyone wouldn’t want to start stockpiling their pantries after watching the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the earthquake in Haiti, and more recently the devastating floods in Pakistan. We all watched the newsreels; millions of homeless and hungry fighting for a spot in breadlines. If that isn’t reason enough, the U.S. continues to be threatened with nuclear attack. Meanwhile, most of us are hanging by a gossamer thread between solvency and financial ruin. We …


Letter Re: Many Pension Funds are Doomed

Jim: The following article is one example of why “dot gov” will basically collapse, at every level. The threat is faced by teachers and all public service employees et cetera. All of their “retirements” are doomed. Fort Worth pension bubble will blow up in our faces You don’t have to be an actuary to know that this pension plan will end badly. The technical phrase is “trending toward insolvency.” The key problem is that the city is on the hook for all the promised benefits. Taxpayers will have to pony up hefty contributions for years, even generations, and the city …


Letter Re: Assessing Those Electromagnetic Pulse Risk Assessments

Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) risk assessments have been published by journalists, defense analysts, and foreign policy experts. Unfortunately, some of these assessments rely on incomplete or incorrect information and give the mistaken impression that EMP is not an immediate threat. For example, STRATFOR Global Intelligence recently published a report titled “Gauging the Threat of an Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack.” The report assesses that the risk from an EMP attack is low because “the EMP threat has been around for more than half a century and there are a number of technical and practical variables that make a HEMP [High Altitude Electromagnetic …


Managing Medication Withdrawal in a Prolonged Crisis, by Charles D.

As a pastoral and chemical dependency counselor who has worked in a variety of mental health, ministry and addiction settings, I would like to address one of the unique mental and behavioral health needs that may be experienced in a prolonged disaster. More specifically, I will speak to the possibility of running out of psychiatric and pain medication, and the non-medical ways of dealing with pain and mental health symptoms as well as medication withdrawal. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, almost 58 million adults in the US (one in four) suffer from mental illness, and 45% of …