Survival Threat: Cultural-Religious Violence

I received a lot of comments and e-mails on the post about racial violence being a survival threat. Race or more properly ethnic group would be an obvious factor in a collapse scenario as people band together to address survival needs and threats. Utilmately, the lack of food and water would make strange bed fellows, perhaps causing people from many different ethnic groups to band together but I can't help but thinking this would be a thin, fragile union.

Some people say that "as goes Europe, goes America". This may not be more true concerning the financial collapse hovering over many country members of the European Union. But another aspect to be concerned about is the Islamification of Europe. Some sources say that with 25 years, some of the European countries may have a Muslim majority. And to be sure, a majority is not necessary to cause major trouble up to, and including anarchy or even plunge a country into border to border violence.

In the U.S. we have pockets of Muslims in high density. To be sure, many of these,...perhaps maybe even the majority, are peaceful Islam practioners. But that could easily change if the food supply dwindles and the lights goes out.

The test bed best suited for study as it applies to the U.S. for multi-culturalism may be England. How can separate religious groups exist when one groups believes anything and all things, such as the murder of innocents, is a valid tactic? The video below was produced by a young lady in England either trying to get some answers about Islam for herself or exposing the more radical Muslim agenda.

This is what she says: "This is a CULTURE CLASH. The problem with this specific subpopulation of people is that their culture and beliefs never have, and never will, be in harmony with those values that are European. This is what this VERY RAPIDLY INCREASING subpopulation of the UK want for Britain....Sharia law, Sharia courts, death for gay men and women, death for adultery, death for unbelievers, death for apostasy, amputation for theft, subjugation of women, animal cruelty and child cruelty.

More Proof of the Coming Economic Collapse

ETF Daily, basically an investors information-financial intelligence site often produces excellent articles dealing with the U.S. and World financial situation. Not necessarily from a "gloom and doom, the collapse is coming" perspective, ETF Daily does provide some insight into the possiblities of a national and world wide economic spin downward and that of course is the economic collapse, one of many possible SHTF scenarios, that we have been prepping for.

I have copied some of a recent article by ETF concerning government created bubbles and major events that will cause them to burst and herefore bring the economic collapse closer to the surface if not
bubbling over and effecting life as we know it. Read the entire article here.

The Tech and Housing Bubbles That Created These Giant Failures Were SMALL in Comparison to the Greatest Bubble of All, Being Created RIGHT NOW! I’m talking about the massive growth of the federal government that we’ve seen over the past few years.

Not only is the government bubble the biggest of all time, but it is rapidly expanding in four separate ways:

First, we have an unprecedented Government Debt Bubble: Washington has spent a record $16.3 trillion since 2007 … has added $6.5 trillion to the national debt … and is CONTINUING to run up trillion-dollar-plus deficits every year.

Second, we are witnessing the Greatest Monetary Bubble in U.S. history: Just since 2008, the Federal Reserve has dumped more than $1.8 trillion newly-created U.S. dollars directly into the economy. Plus, the Fed is creating even MORE money by holding interest rates low in order to
increase loan demand. Never forget: When banks lend money, they effectively create new U.S. dollars out of thin air.

Third, we have a Government Employment Bubble. The Heritage Foundation reports that since December 2007, even while the private sector workforce has shrunk by 6.6%, shedding more than 7.5 million jobs … the federal government workforce has grown by 11.7%, adding 230,000 jobs.

Fourth, and most dangerous, there’s the Entitlement Bubble: Just consider the facts:

One in every five Americans now relies on federal assistance.

Nearly 46 million Americans need food stamps to keep body and soul together — 34% more than just two years ago.

The average recipient of federal aid collects $32,748 in benefits — about $300 more than the average tax-paying family gets in disposable income.

The biggest of all: The government’s obligations for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are now $65 trillion, nearly five times the value of all the goods and services produced by the entire country.


But Soon, Three Major Events Will Burst This Massive Bubble …

First, the U.S. government is going to lose its primary creditors — overseas investors. In fact, there’s abundant evidence that this deadly process has already begun. That’s why Lawrence Goodman a former Treasury official and president of the Center for Financial Stability, pointed out last week that major U.S. creditors like Japan and China, that once scooped up U.S. debt, are shunning it. Such foreign purchases of U.S. debt amounted to 6 percent of GDP and has since fallen by over eighty percent to a paltry 0.9 percent.

Second, that’s why the Federal Reserve has had no choice but to temporarily fill the gap. Last year the Fed used printed money to purchase a stunning 61% of the total net Treasury issuance, up from negligible amounts prior to the 2008 financial crisis. This raises the question: What happens when the Fed’s actions drive fuel, food and other prices through the roof? Treasury interest rates surge — the first sign that the government bubble is bursting.

Third, ultimately entitlements must be cut — just like they’re being cut in Europe. In Spain, Greece, Portugal and Italy, those cuts are taking massive amounts of money out of the economy and plunging them into deep recessions.

Imagine what will happen when the world’s largest government with the world’s largest entitlement obligations begins making similar kinds of cuts!

Make no mistake: This great government bubble — probably the greatest mankind has ever seen — is destined to burst. And when it does, blood will run hip deep down Wall Street and effect every aspect of our lives.

The Sovereign Man Movement

With the recent FBI warning about "Sovereign Man" or "Sovereign Citizen" movements in the news, the mainstream media (sometimes looking for a boogeyman) has taken notice and recently published an article titled "Sovereign Citizens: Radicals Next Door" on ABC News.

The FBI warning was concerned about "case law" and other defense strategies concerning "legalities and issues" of engaging federal law enforcement officers with deadly force when said officers are making "illegal arrests".

Yes, I guess there are people dumb enough to think that they can justify shooting it out with federal officers based on the premise that they are
"sovereign citizens" not subject to the laws of the United States.

Most of the rest of us consider the "Sovereign Man/Sovereign Citizen" movement to be on the fringe, and unfortunately mainstream America can lump otherwise lawful and rational thinking Survivalists into the same category.

The sovereign citizen movement is a loose network of individual and groups who are classified as an "extremist anti-government group" by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as people associated with this movement take a position that they are answerable only to common law and are not subject to any statutes or proceedings at the federal, state or municipal levels. Additionally, "Sovereigns" do not recognize U.S. currency.

UrbanMan's Note: We all may be "not recognizing" U.S. currency soon if the economy keeps heading for the cliff. Everybody have a decent supply of Gold and/or Silver?

By some accounts there are thought to be 100,000 Americans as "hard-core sovereign movement supporters" and another 200,000 are on the fringe of the sovereign movement, although this figure comes from the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) which is a well known liberal group. And by definition, liberals tend not to see the value in individual responsibility, which of course is the very basis for us Survivalists prepping for the collapse.

Glenn Beck addresses some of the issues of the Government views on "Sovereign Citizens" in the video below:

Survival Threat: Racial Violence

As preppers were are concerned with the ramifications of a collapse as it pertains to our security and survival. We all intuitively know that any large scale collapse, be it a economic collapse, hyper inflation, terrorist attack with nuclear or biological weapons, disease pandemic and/or large scale natural disasters from which the resulting chaos would eventually pit every "have not" citizen against citizens who "have". This is a flashpoint that could occur with very little prompting and the threats could be along social-economic groups versus another segment of the population,….it could be one community against the other,…..criminal or bandit elements against law abiding groups,……or it could be along racial lines.

Be advised that I am NOT one of the believers that a race war is inevitable. I do think however, that large scale racial violence, short of what we would think of as a war, is probable if the economy tanks or any other survival stressors occur.  I also think a race war or violence between racial groups is much more likely from an economic level or fueled by the collapse based on racial tensions underlying on a thin surface.

We have current examples of this thin surface with the fatal shooting of a young black teenager by a man called George Zimmerman. Rest assured that there will be no assumption of guilt or innocence in this article, but the observations of potential race on race violence created or pushed by perceptions.

In case you have been away, like up in the Artic, this past week, a light skinned Hispanic male, with an anglo name (Zimmerman) reportedly pursued then shot to death a black teenager in the Florida town of Sanford who was in Zimmerman's neighborhood.  It is perceived that Zimmerman uttered a racial epithet under his breath while on the phone to 911 and the perception from the black community and others is that this was a racially motivated shooting with Zimmerman pre-disposing a black teenager to criminal acts in his neighborhood.

While I don’t want to get into the details of the shooting or the investigation, I do want to expose the threat of race on race violence as the local and national black community is outraged, and threats to Zimmerman have been made. Al Sharpton has led media events orienting this shooting as racial motivating and has either, accidentally or purposefully, fueled resentment and retaliation talk.  Barack Obama has also talked about this incident on his campagin tours. 

In fact, the New Black Liberation Militia (NBLM), a group in the mold of the old Black Panthers, led by a man named Prince Najee Muhammad, say they intend to march into Florida and make a “citizens arrest” on Zimmerman.



I think for through our lifetimes, no matter how long or short they will be, that there is a large threat of violence along racial lines occuring, especially during anytype of collapse where the scramble for survival will be significant and perhaps accelerated by the political expediency of using class warfare and pitting the "haves" and "have nots" against each other as this perception of unfairness keeps that socio-economic-racial anger right below the surface.

Economic 9-11

The Blaze posted an article on 28 February 2012, titled: "Buy a Gun & Keep Your Powder Dry: Economists Warn of Looming Economic 9/11", with economic collapse warnings from three noted economists: Harry Dent, Robert Prechte, & Gerald Celente. Click on the link to read the original, full article, otherwise what these three advise us is as follows:

Harry Dent, author of “The Great Crash Ahead,” believes that the global debt bubble is going to burst and when it does, there will be a massive market crash. Dent previously predicted a collapse in 2012 but has since modified it as the global central banks have been pumping the markets with so much money, stocks have been given a temporary boost. But Dent warns that as soon as the short-lived boost comes to an end, the crash will be hard. “This will be a repeat of 2008-09, only bigger, when it finally hits,” Dent says.

Gerald Celente, a market analyst at the Trends Research Institute, believes Americans should brace themselves for what he calls an “economic 9/11.” He blames the inability of policymakers to solve the world’s financial and economic woes. Once the meltdown hits, he says, it will lead to social upheaval, anti-government sentiment, a devalued U.S. dollar, and skyrocketing unemployment.

Celente won‘t rule out another financial panic that could spark enough fear to cause a run on the nation’s banks by depositors, which could cause the invoke ‘economic martial law’ and call a ‘bank holiday’ and close banks as it did during the Great Depression.

He has been warning of economic disaster for years, believes that the national debt and “income inequality” has put the U.S. in a very dangerous place. Celente says that bank runs, brought about by social unrest, will wreak severe economic havoc as well as could easily transform into real violence. He believes the markets will be turned upside down by not only the eurozone crisis but also by an increase in oil prices due to the standoff between Iran and the West.

“2012 is when many of the long-simmering socioeconomic and political trends that we have been forecasting and tracking will climax,” Celente wrote in his “Top 12 Trends 2012” newsletter.

“When money stops flowing to the man on the street, blood starts flowing in the street,” he added in an interview.

Celente advises investors to buy gold – it won’t lose its purchasing power when the dollar tanks. Also, he says, buy a gun to protect yourself from marauders in search of food and money. He also advises people to plan a getaway to places with “more stable finances and governments.”

Robert Prechter, author of “Conquer the Crash,” is being described as “still bearish.” Because he believes there is a frightening amount of similarities between today’s economy and the one preceding the Great Depression, he warns that America should brace for “1930s-style deflation.” “The economic recovery has been weak, so the next downturn should generate bad news in a big way,” Prechter said

Prechter’s advice? Simple: keep your powder dry and buy when the economy starts to get out of hand.

Particular troubling to me is the common theme of a societal collapse and violence. With 46.5 millon Americans already dependent upon the U.S. Government for subsistence, what would America look like with 100 million hungry people, either not getting checks or getting checks that would not begin to feed their families because of hyper inflation or the unavailbility of products?

Wyoming Republican state legislator David Miller has introduced a bill to prepare his state for a doomsday scenario in which the nation's economy and social structure completely collapse. This story previously made national news.

The short article states:

"Things happen quickly sometimes — look at Libya , look at Egypt , look at those situations," Miller told the Star-Tribune. "We wouldn't have time to meet as a legislature or even in a special session to do anything to respond."

Miller's bill seeks to create a state-run continuity force that would study and prepare Wyoming for potential national or worldwide catastrophes. One specific component of the bill calls for the state to look into the possibility of issuing its own currency in the event the U.S. dollar collapses.

"If we continue down this course, this is the way any society ends up — with a valueless currency," Miller told the Star-Tribune.

Miller's original bill would have appropriated $32,000 for the task force, but the state's Joint Appropriations Committee has already cut the number in half. Six other states have attempted a similar currency creation effort in recent years — and all have failed. While Miller's bill may sound a bit extreme, there have been genuine concerns about the devaluation of U.S. currency in recent years. Last year, the International Monetary Fund predicted that China 's economy would overtake that of the U.S. in five years.

But there have been accusations that certain businesses are preying on fears of economic insecurity by plugging cash for gold programs, resulting in individuals selling their precious metals for less than market value.

The Star-Tribune notes that Wyoming 's Department of Homeland Security already has a statewide crisis management plan, but it does not include the so-called doomsday scenario. Miller's bill calls for coordination between Wyoming 's Homeland Security along with the state attorney general and National Guard adjutant general.

The doomsday bill is sure to inspire criticism and even ridicule from some corners, but Miller says his priority is Wyoming . "I don't represent people in Illinois or New Jersey ," he said. "I represent people in Wyoming . And I want them to be protected from any catastrophic events that may beset the rest of the country."

UrbanMan’s comments: I would think that rather than worrying about establishing another fiat currency, the commerce of using gold and silver plus barter will take care of most of the problems. It would behoove the Wyoming State government to put some of their surplus cash into physical gold and silver.

Another thing would be the preparation for refugee traffic by other states mainly on the Interstate highways and not necessarily coming from adjacent states but through these adjacent states. Interstate 80 from Utah; Interstate 25 from Colorado; I-80 from Nebraska; I-90 from South Dakota; and I-25 from Montana are the main lines of communications of high speed avenues of approach.

Some pre-SHTF coordination meetings with a like minded state legislators and possibly tentative support agreements with Montana , South and North Dakota and Nebraska as well as probably Utah and Colorado , could determine what type of mutual support not only in commerce but in security and defense would be possibly.

While Wyoming has several coal fired electrical plants as well as a smaller garbage fueled plants. Wyoming coal mines are the most productive and numerous in the nation. There are five in-Wyoming or adjacent Hydroelectric plants generating a total of 600,000 plus kilowatt hours.

The state is pretty well situated with water having 22 reservoirs for personal, agricultural and industrial use from any where from 20,000 acre feet of water up to around 300,000 acre feet of water.

So all in all, Wyoming is sitting pretty with resources. The planning aspects of how to manage and protect the state will be huge in the event of a societal or economic collapse.

Urban Command and Control Center for SHTF

I received an e-mail from anonymous concerning set up and operation of a Command and control center during a collapse: “I’m living in a condo in basically downtown (city name removed) and am prepared well for SHTF. Guns, water and food are my main preps. Read all your posts now wondering what your thoughts are on setting up a command center for SHTF.”

UrbanMan replies: I removed the city you mentioned in your e-mail. My first advice would be to get out of that city. I know that one of the first rules of life is to have an income, but even a substantially lower income than what you have now, is better than staying where you are. The city and the state are bankrupt and there are plans for razing much of the city because of cost of maintaining all those local government and state owned buildings. You may be living in a urban wasteland in the near future.

Second of all, what do you have to command and/or control?

Command and control (C2) centers also called a Tactical Operations Center or TOC are necessary to Command (receive communications and give direction) and Control (deconflict primarily) by receiving information about current friendly operations (such as routes, locations and actions) and the threat (locations, strength and actions). Really un-necessary if you are a lone survivor. As a lone survivor type or even with a very small group you may just want a situation map posted so you can keep track of intel/info you gather through observation or actual one man patrols.

I read a story in a post-apocalypse city where survivors would mark buildings with chalk to represent if they searched it already and used coded marks to annotate if this building has a safe site and which floor it was located. A Situation Map would do largely the same thing, a way to annotate things and events so you could start analyzing trends and such, which would help your situational awareness and planning.

If you have a larger survival group, and especially if you have a large enough survival group to conduct multiple operations such as security patrols, procurement/foraging patrols, observation/listening post duties, etc., then a Command Post or TOC makes sense in order to have a single point of receptions of communications be it from radios, cell phones or even just from a returning debrief.

For instance, I have eight families currently, not counting the inevitably straphangers who will come, in my planned survival group. I have a large flat roof home. The primary Listening/Observation Post (LP/OP) that will be on top when SHTF will have FRS radio, TA-1 landline communications and a pull cord to a mechanical bell as a way to alert the survival member who is manning our TOC. Our TOC’s mission is to monitor the Weather band radio, monitor the scanner, monitor FRS and VHF radios for all of other team members an deployed patrols, and, serve as an alert for all members on crew rest (that means asleep since we will be running 24 hour operations).

As a deployed patrol radios into our TOC using brevity codes, the TOC will annotate that report and position on a map overlayed with thick plastic using a grease pencil or erasable marker. For any observations such as newly vacated houses, newly occupied houses, signs of activity, sighting of criminal or gang activity thing or any other information of importance, the patrol will re-enter the Base Camp (our Bug In location) and update the Situation Map (SITMAP).

The good thing about this process is that it is exportable in case we Bug Out to a different location. All male members of my survival group are comfortable and knowledgeable about this process and can rapidly terrain others that we absorb into the group.

If this doesn't answer your question, please get back with me. Prepare well.

Militas on Trail - Survivalists Next?

UrbanMan say’s:

One of the perceptions some in mainstream America have on the Prepper or Survivalist Movement is one of radical, right wing, racist extremists. In some cases you can add the word “Militia” to that. These descriptions fuel images of the Aryan Brotherhood in Northern Idaho; of the Branch Davidians at Waco; the “Posse Comitatus” movement in the Midwest: and a host of others.

In today’s post 9-11 world the McCarthyism type search for home grown terrorists often brings the Prepper/Survivalist movement into the cross hairs of the Federal Government and their multiple Intelligence entities. This targeting effort is enhanced when the ideology of the Government is decidedly liberal, where words and concepts like “individualism”, “individual responsibility”, “preparedness”, “conservatism” and even “Christianity” are terms for scorn and ridicule.

Aside for Operational Security concerns, the fear of being lumped into that radical category is what keeps many of us from exposing our beliefs in being prepared for, (pick one) economic collapse, societal collapse, SHTF, or Armageddon, to family members or friends.

I think one way to protect ourselves from being lumped into that radical category and worse, become a target of the Federal Government, is to be able to separate our political beliefs from our Survivalists actions. Hard to do you say? I don’t think so. After all, our survivalist preparations are a safe guard,…an insurance plan for a contingency that may never happen. All of our preparations to survive the chaos of a total economic or infrastructure collapse are intended for when our political efforts, to keep this nation from arriving at chaos, have failed.

The straightforward act of ensuring you and your family, or your survival group (call it a militia if you want) are prepared for the effects of any collapse should not be a means of creating that collapse. Let me say that again,…our preparations for the collapse are not the means to effect or cause the collapse. We have to ensure that it remains so.

Another thing we must do is to keep the upcoming trial of Hutaree Militia in focus, to keep from being lumped into this category or to otherwise keep from being a target of any over zealous government agency. It remains to be seen what the actual ground truth here is. Whether the Hutaree Militia are just a hapless Survivalist group who ran their mouths like school yard taunts,……or if they are actually anti-government, violence prone idiots who deserve to be jailed...or maybe some where in between.  I don’t know if one could ever be sure of the truth, but it is for certain that this trial will effect the way people and the government look at organized Survivalist groups.

Militia on Trial: ‘Good Ol’ Boys’ and Preppers, or Anti-Gov’t Domestic Terrorists? This was the headline a few days ago while the article below can be found on TheBlaze.com:

DETROIT (AP) — Seven members of a Midwest militia accused of plotting to overthrow the government are set to stand trial, where jurors will decide whether federal authorities prevented an attack by homegrown extremists or simply made too much of the boasts by weekend warriors who had pledged to “take our nation back.”

Opening statements are set for Monday once a jury is seated in the trial of members of the Hutaree militia, who are charged with conspiring to commit sedition, or rebellion, as well as weapon crimes.

Following the March 2010 arrests in southern Michigan , Ohio and Indiana , U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade said the time had come for authorities to “take them down.” An undercover agent had recorded the group’s leader, David Stone, saying the militia needed to “start huntin’” police soon.

But since their capture, only one of nine people charged has struck a plea deal, an unusually low number in a case with so many defendants. Their attorneys have maintained a consistent stance: The anti-government talk was simply colorful yet aimless bluster akin to frustrated pals drowning sorrows around a campfire.

“I’m going to fight it tooth and nail,” David Stone’s wife and co-defendant, Tina Mae Stone, said during a break in jury selection last week. “It was just a bunch of good ol’ boys out to have fun. We did survival stuff. I did it mostly to spend time with my husband. People tell me, `good luck.‘ I don’t need luck. I’ve got God on my side.”

The militia prepared for survival in case of domestic chaos or an attack on the United States , attorneys Todd Shanker and Richard Helfrick said in a court filing. They noted the group even had a website and promoted its weekend outings.

“Regardless of the charges in the indictment, there is no dispute that the aims of the Hutaree militia included the free exercise of their 1st and 2nd Amendment rights, including freedom of speech, association, assembly and the right to bear arms,” said the lawyers, who represent David Stone Jr.

The indictment, however, describes a more sinister band. The government says the Hutaree, based in Michigan ’s Lenawee County , was an anti-government group committed to fighting authorities who belong to a so-called “New World Order.” The defendants are accused of conspiring to someday ambush and kill a police officer, then attack the funeral procession with explosives and trigger a broader revolt against the U.S. government.

“The court will hear testimony and examine evidence concerning this particular group’s hatred for, and desire to do physical harm to, law enforcement,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Graveline said.

The government has more than 100 hours of audio and video, including the recording of David Stone, 47, apparently talking about police.

“I think we gotta just start huntin’ `em here pretty soon. … They’re easy to find, they‘re sittin’ alongside the road and they got these red and blue lights on top of their car,” he said.

A co-defendant, Michael Meeks of Manchester , Mich. , replied: “It’s like a Kmart super special or whatever.”

But some conversations were sprinkled with laughter and a mix of subjects, including strippers and drawing Hitler mustaches on photos of state troopers. Agents seized machine guns, unregistered rifles, ammunition and parts for improvised explosive devices.

The government’s case got off to a rough start in 2010, when U.S. District Judge Victoria Roberts released the nine until trial under strict conditions. The government swiftly appealed but then agreed that four could go home wearing electronic monitors. An appeals court ultimately ordered the other five to remain locked up, including David Stone.

The government relied on an undercover agent inside the group and an informant. But the informant comes with warts: He pleaded guilty in state court to firing a gun during a dispute with his wife and also attempted suicide. Another witness who was married to a Hutaree member not charged in the case attempted suicide and told a grand jury she’s prone to panic attacks.

“How often do American citizens get charged with sedition or inciting discontent and resistance against big government? Heck, most citizens are discontented with the government,” said Lloyd Meyer, a Chicago lawyer and former terrorism prosecutor. “In this case, no one pulled a trigger and no one got hurt. … A jury could believe that the feds went after this group with a meat cleaver instead of a scalpel.”

But Alan Gershel, a former prosecutor who teaches at Cooley Law School in suburban Detroit , said the allegations in the indictment seem more than goofy talk.

“There was planning. There was acquisition of firearms. There was training,” he said. “Do you have to wait until the first shot is fired? You have to choose the moment of time when things go beyond chatter. That’s what the government is aiming at here.”

Joshua Clough of Blissfield , Mich. , is the only defendant to make a deal with prosecutors. He pleaded guilty in December to illegal use of a firearm, faces a mandatory five-year prison sentence and could be called as a witness to testify against the Hutaree.

Besides the Stones and Meeks, the other defendants are Joshua Stone of Lenawee County ; Thomas Piatek of Whiting, Ind. ; and Kristopher Sickles of Sandusky , Ohio . Jacob Ward of Huron, Ohio , will have a separate trial. Besides conspiracy charges, all face at least one firearm charge and some have more.

Comments It is also for certain that this event has generated pretty definitive opinions. Here are some of those on-line comments:

SGT Rock, February 13, 2012
This is how those in power paint people who rise against them, they label them nuts, homegrown terrorists, gun crazies and such. This prevents the average citizen from having a common bond with these types of ‘extremists.” I hope they are not guilty of the charges against them. When this President took over and his administration said that all veterans are to be watched because of the possibility of them uprising and we vets became public enemy number one my internal alarms were going off. Yes some ex-vets go bonkers but no more so than some wack job civilian. Those in power will do whatever it takes to stay in power. So since I am a veteran and may be put against the wall with folks like these or Glenn I decided to become a vocal non-supporter of this regime. This is just the beginning folks of what is to come. If Obummer gets another 4 years there will be no stopping the madness as he fundamentally changes our great country into some banana democracy. We all need to watch the watchers to keep them as honest as possible.

Byehlik, February 13, 2012
I’m sure the courts will be full of patriots as the treasonous government tries to put the label on the patriot. Wow, buying weapons, practicing with said weapon, constitutes planning and training a revolution against big tyrannical government when you voice your concerns. Wow, that puts alot of folks in that camp. If these guys were targeting police, they should answer for it however, it’s not the police that are the problem, it’s Washington DC .

Viet Vet, February 13, 2012
Are the so-called machine guns….actually machine guns??? As we’ve seen time and time again over the years, guns claimed to be machine guns by the left are really only semi-autos. Is the communist, Van Jones, really a hero to the left??? I would imagine so. Are these people, the subject of this piece, political prisoners??? Of course they are.

TexasHunter, February 13, 2012
And so it begins. Correction they have been watching us from 09. Keeping an eye on us from day 12. There is only ONE man that will take us back to our constitution. We however can’t look past the theory of letting Israel take care of itself. God says he will ALWAYS take care of his land. How about we take care of OURS for a second!! Then after we get back to our ROOTS then go and help our neighbors from a bay. Otherwise this is what is going to happen ON A DAILY OCCURRENCE. AMERICANS being targeted as TERRORIST!! GTFO OWEBAMA. This is why we are getting ready. 2012 We are the REPUBLIC. I hope the ARMY MARINES NAVY AIR FORCE wake up and realize it is time for our military to take OUR Country BACK!! WE USA CITIZENS are being classified as TERRORIST now!! WTF!!!

UrbanMan’s final comments: While I do not discount the possibility of the Government doing everything from lying, to fabricating evidence, to having a not so hidden anti-gun, anti-religion agenda. I cannot abide by anybody targeting law enforcement to make a political point, if this is true, let alone the asinine comment about hoping for a military coup.

Greece on the Verge of Economic Collapse

One of the reasons many people are predicting a economic collapse that will plunge is that there is basically no formula or path that can bring the U.S. back to a stable economic footing - that's the argument anyway and the reason is that if the Government continue spending and borrowing the way they have,.....over $5 trillion in debt added in the past three years,..... then eventually inflation and probably hyper inflation will occur. The inflation I'm talking about here is where the value of the dollar declines significantly, reducing the purchasing power of American families.

The alternative to spending and borrowing of course is to cut the spending and therefore the need to borrow,....still leaves us with a bunch of debt to pay off,...but the austerity measures necessary to get a rein over the spiraling debt would cause the economy to contract; less money for investments and a decrease in products being manufactured - a general lowering of the GDP and again, economic chaos. This time inflation will be where the goods and commodities are priced too high due to unavailability, or simply because they can go to the highest bidder.

We are seeing in Greece much of what is predicted to occur here in the United States. Greek workers going on strike against austerity measures. Ships sitting at docks not being unloaded; public transport sitting idle. Greece is fairly close to anarchy and the Greece government still needs to bring about additional austerity programs, including cutting outrageous retirement plans, benefits and entitlements programs to even begin convincing the rest of Europe to help with a type of a financial bailout of that country.

The European Union (EU) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) indicated that the Greek deal, which barely had enough support to pass, did not go far enough and time is running out to avoid a Greek default.

The EU and IMF are exasperated by a series of broken promises by Athens and weeks of disagreement over the terms of a 130 billion euro ($172 billion) bailout, with time running out to avoid a default.

Greeks, who have been suffering from years of recession, are very angry about the measures. Protestors routinely congregate and shout,...."No to layoffs! No to salary cuts! No to pension cuts! Do not bow your heads! Resist!"

In addition to the striking dock workers and transportation workers, Hospital doctors, Bank employees and Teachers are all reportedly soon to join the anti-austerity measure protests.

Officials hammered home the message that Greece's future in the euro was at stake.
"The consequences of disorderly default would be incalculable for the country - not just for the economy ... it will lead us onto an unknown, dangerous path," Deputy Finance Minister Filippos Sachinidis said. In an interview with the newspaper Imerisia, he described the catastrophe he believes Greece would suffer if it failed to meet debt repayments of 14.5 billion euros due on March 20. "Let's just ask ourselves what it would mean for the country to lose its banking system, to be cut off from imports of raw materials, pharmaceuticals, fuel, basic foodstuffs and technology," he said.

I am probably way too dumb to figure out all the nuances with the coming economic collapse in Greece and subsequent threats to other EU nations like Italy, Spain and Portugal but whatever happens there would serve as a baseline model for what could transpire here in the U.S.

I wrote the above several days before I posted it.  What has transpired in the last few days is substantial rioting in Greece over austerity measures and inflation of the currency.  Images of police in riot control gear, contact fire bombs hitting the streets and violence targeted against the police and the government are all over the television and internet.  There are reports of people selling their gold jewelry in order to buy food.... .....however food is getting harder to find.  Soup kitchens are springing up in the more populated areas. 

Stay tuned for a worsening situation.  If you think this cannot happen here in the U.S. then you are sadly mistaken.  Last night on television and yesterday on the radio, Glenn Beck was predicting the same situation in the U.S. by the end of Summer.  Get prepared, Stay Prepared. 

Wealth From the Ground

UrbanSurvivalSkills.com has mentioned several times about it being a good idea to become a recipient of the Martenson Newsletters as Chris Martenson publishes newsletters and links to information of value to Survivalists and indicators of the coming collapse.

In one of his latest newsletters, Martenson post’s an article written by James Dines, titled “Owning 'Wealth In The Ground' Is Your Best Bet to Surviving the Coming 'Supernova of Inflations”. Although I have never heard of James Dines, apparently his record of making good calls is pretty strong.

Go here to read the whole article.


Dines made some pretty good comments, among them he sees the excessive credit in the financial system as having placed the global economy on a collision-course with hyperinflation. And of course we know that is true. 15+ Trillion dollar debt by the U.S. Government and really now way to fix it. Too much of an austerity program will induce a collapse as well continued spending. We have fenced ourselves in. And before some of hurl electronic bullets at me, the “we” I’m talking about is America and our elected politicians.....not “we” as Survivalists.

The rapidly increasing demand, increasing prices and shrinking supply of oil may be the catalyst. Dines predicts that at some point, when the military grasps the declining supply, they will seize the remaining supplies and you will not be able to drive your car until the last drop.

Dines states that the price of gold and silver did not go up. It is the fiat currency value that went down. Gold and silver are the ultimate money, coins of which are good anywhere in the world, no matter what is stamped on them, and that is the money. Gold (and Silver) are the only investible asset in the world that has gone up the last 11 years without interruption, and that is because they are just running the printing presses. The more they do, the more value builds into gold and silver. If a Survivalist does not have any precious metals then they run the risk of having a hole, large or small, in the plan.....plain and simple.

The point of the Wealth in the Ground article is about the only assets that would survive an economic collapse and the chaos that went with it is hard assets. Hard assets, in part being, being physical commodities, mining companies, gold and silver. When I first read the title and linked to it, I thought I would find someone advocating Wealth in the Ground” to mean,…a safe and secure survival site; a full time, year round water supply; ability to grow crops to sustain your survival family;......but Dines did not touch n that, but it is a logical extension of the wealth in the ground argument.

Anyway, a good article to read in it’s entirety and the Martenson newsletter at the very least motivates you to prep harder. He is one of many sources I tune to almost each and every day,…sometimes spending 2 or 3 minutes looking for something of interest,…and sometimes spending 20 minutes or more reading something where I’ll think,…”that’s a good point”.

Iran and the Coming Fuel Crunch, Which May Be The Least of Our Concerns

Jairo wrote and said: "Hi again Urban-Man. I don't mean to over do it. However I found this pretty alarming. The things this will do to the price of fuel in this country would most likely push our economy over the side. The price of fuel goes up- so will the price of food, staples and everything else! My preps are far from ready. However this just motivates me to press on. Stay safe, stay prepared!"

Thanks Jairo, you are absolutely right, an economic collapse would result.

Jairo also provided a link to an article about Secretary of Defense Panetta stating that Israel could strike Iran by Spring.

In the article US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta believes there is a "strong possibility" that Israel will strike Iran's nuclear installations this spring, and that President Barack Obama and Panetta are "said to have cautioned the Israelis that the United States opposes an attack, believing that it would derail an increasingly successful international economic sanctions program and other non-military efforts to stop Iran from crossing the threshold," he said.

Israeli media reported in October last year that the option of pre-emptive air strikes on Iran was opposed by the country's intelligence services but favored by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Ehud Barak. Israeli television said Mossad chief Tamir Pardo raised the possibility of a unilateral strike on Iran during a visit last week to Washington.

Additionally, WND also published an article written by Reza Kahlili is a pseudonym for a former CIA operative in Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and the author of the award winning book, “A Time to Betray.” This article, titled "Global Insecurity - Iran warns world of coming great event"

This article, only excerpts are included below, details how even among crippling economic sanctions over its nuclear weapons program, Iran is continuing to prepare itself for war against the West, and now is warning of a coming great event.

“In light of the realization of the divine promise by almighty God, the Zionists and the Great Satan (America) will soon be defeated,” Ayatollah Khamenei, the Iranian supreme leader, is warning. Khamenei, speaking to hundreds of youths from more than 70 countries attending a world conference on the Arab Spring just days ago, told a cheering crowd in Tehran that “Allah’s promises will be delivered and Islam will be victorious.” Khamenei then claimed that the current century as the century of Islam and promised that human history is on the verge of a great event and that soon the world will realize the power of Allah.

Many clerics in Iran have stated that Khamenei is the deputy of the last Islamic messiah on earth and that obedience to him is necessary for the final glorification of Islam. Khamenei has been heard to say that the coming of the last Islamic Messiah, the Shiites’ 12th Imam Mahdi, is near and that specific actions need to be taken to protect the Islamic regime for upcoming events.

Mahdi, according to Shiite belief, will reappear at the time of Armageddon. Selected forces within the Revolutionary Guards and Basij reportedly have been trained under a task force called “Soldiers of Imam Mahdi” and they will bear the responsibility of security and protecting the regime against uprisings. Many in the Guards and Basij have been told that the 12th Imam is on earth, facilitated the victory of Hezbollah over Israel in the 2006 war and soon will announce publicly his presence after the needed environment is created.

Iran is speeding up completion of the nuclear bomb program in which missiles can be armed with nuclear warheads. Iran believes once that’s achieved, Iran can test a nuclear bomb, letting the world know that Iran has joined the nuclear-armed club and that any confrontation will result in destruction of much of the Western world.

The Revolutionary Guards not only can hit all U.S. bases in the Middle East with their ballistic missiles but also reach most capital cities in Western Europe. The Guards, with the help of China and North Korea, are working on intercontinental ballistic missiles. But more dangerous to America, as reported last July, is the Guards action in arming their vessels with long-range ballistic missiles and their expansion of their mission into the Atlantic Ocean, right into the Gulf of Mexico.

And here's the scary part,.....any Iranian military or commercial vessel easily could get right outside the U.S. coastline and in less than 60 seconds fire a ballistic missile armed with a nuclear payload and detonate it over U.S. skies in an electromagnetic attack that would plunge America back into the 18th century. Studies show within just one year after such an attack, two-thirds of Americans would cease to exist and the rest would live under dire conditions.

Possible scenarios that impact on us here in the states:
1. The Israeli's strike Iran, over 40% of the world's oil supplies are disrupted, economic disaster hits our homeland.
2. The Iranians strike Israel and the resulting war, no matter how short, will disrupt oil supplies - read economic disaster here in the states.
3. Possibility of Iranian sponsored nuclear strike(s) in the states, with a resulting SHTF and economic-social and basically total collapse.

Watch the video below:

More SHTF Ambush Tips

I received the following from Paco: “The ambush post was great! Can you have more information on ambushes, maybe some advanced ambush techniques?”

UrbanMan replies: I will eventually write a post with additional ambush formations and maybe some case studies, but the thing to remember is the basics which set the foundation for all ambushes. So I offer this:

§ The ambush site should be suitable,.....having a covered and/or concealed approach/withdrawal route for your group; allow for the placement of observation/listening posts (LP/OP’s), for early warning, which also should provide defensible positions with good observation on the approaching threat; and the LP/OP’s need to be within communications distance from the main ambush element.

§ The Patrol leader or ambush team leader should conduct a leader’s reconnaissance of the ambush site to ensure it is suitable and select positions for the ambush team; the Patrol Leader/Ambush Team Leader should actually emplace each member of the ambush element to ensure they have covered/concealed positions and can cover the ambush “kill zone” effectively - think inter locking fields of fire.

§ There should be a designated fall back or rally position in case the ambush turns bad or the ambush element becomes separated. This rally position should be easy to pickout or recognize, even in the dark, and should be defensible in case the ambush goes bad and the team is pursued by the threat. It may not necessary be back on the route to the main survival site. Everyone in your patrol should have some land navigation skills.

§ The Patrol/Ambush Team Leader should have communications (probably radio) with the deployed LP/OP’s and should have a method to alert each ambush team member of the approaching threat – a pull cord can work well. This is a string connecting each ambush position and a simply mode of communication such as one pull meaning threat is approaching and two pulls meaning the member has received that message.

§ It is important that the kill zone and the placement of the ambush team will effectively cover the entire threat. You would be wise not to ambush only half the threat then have the other half maneuver against you. This is true if the ambush is a “harassing ambush” where the purpose may be the just drive the threat away or otherwise make them pick a easier route or target, or if the ambush is a “destruction ambush” where the intent is to completely destroy the threat.

§ If the threat is in vehicles, it may be effective to initial disable the front and last vehicle to fix the threat in the kill zone. Use of spike strips or other obstacles can help keep the threat vehicles from escaping the kill zone. Ensure the placement of obstacles, such as spike strips, T-posts or log buried with 18 inches or so exposed, or anything else, is concealed or otherwise the threat may recognize the ambush before it is initiated.

§ Ambushes are best initiated using a casualty producing device, other than small arms fire. The military uses high explosive direct fire weapons such as anti-tank missiles, anti-personnel/anti-vehicle mines or explosives, or, at least a machine gun. You may not be able to rig field expedient devices if you don’t have the expertise. It may pay off to have some reference material just in case. To be clear, I am not advocating violating any existing laws governing explosives, but in a SHTF scenario, there may not be any law enforcement and the laws or what people are willing to do to protect their groups from threats may become a little “relaxed”.

§ The Ambush should have planned signals, visual and audible, to “lift” or cease fire; maybe a signal to assault the killzone if that what your plan is or intent is; and a signal to withdrawal.  Keep in mind that in a SHTF - total collapse where medical response may be gone and medical treatment relays on what you can do - taking risks such as assaulting a threat may result in an additional risk of wounds or injuries to your people.  Be prepared to treat injuries and wounds, and, maybe have the ability to move non-ambulatory wounded back to your safe site.  

§ If assaulting the kill zone on a destruction ambush, there are a couple things to remember: use two or three person teams with defined duties such as search or cover; do not put you back to any threat body that is presumed dead – last thing you want is to walk pass a body only to shot in the back; have a limit of advance so you don’t have your kill zone assault element all strung out – this would be bad if the threat counter attacked.

The post collapse or SHTF Survival Group should think clearly before committing their limited resources to a definitive action like an ambush. It must be necessary to the survival of the group first and foremost; have clearly established goals; be conducted by responsible members who won't put other team members at risk; and rehearsed,...from a chart talk, to a sand table exercise to a full mission profile rehearsal.

Europe Collapse is Imminent

From an article on ETF Daily News

The warning signs are all around us. All we have to do is open up our eyes and look at them. Almost every single day there are more prominent voices in the financial world telling us that a massive economic crisis is coming and that we need to prepare for the worst. On Wednesday, it was the World Bank itself that issued a very chilling warning. In an absolutely startling report, the World Bank revised GDP growth estimates for 2012 downward very sharply, warned that Europe could be on the verge of a devastating financial crisis, and declared that the rest of the world better “prepare for the worst.” You would expect to hear this kind of thing on The Economic Collapse Blog, but this is not the kind of language that you would normally expect to hear from the stuffed suits at the World Bank. Obviously things have gotten bad enough that nobody is even really trying to deny it anymore. Andrew Burns, the lead author of the report, said that if the sovereign debt crisis gets even worse we could be looking at an economic crisis that could be even worse than the last one: “An escalation of the crisis would spare no-one. Developed- and developing-country growth rates could fall by as much or more than in 2008/09.” Burns also stated that the “importance of contingency planning cannot be stressed enough.” In other words, Burns is saying that it is time to prepare for the worst. So are you ready?

UrbanMan's comments: If you are reading this then you are probably one of the few who don't need to be told about the importance of preparing for the collapse....you already are preparing to the extent you can. Or are you?

But of course it isn’t just the World Bank that is warning about these things. The chorus of voices that is warning about the next great financial crisis just seems to grow by the day.


Some of these voices were profiled in a Bloomberg article the other day entitled “Apocalypse How? Dire ’12 Forecasts“.


click here to review this Bloomberg article.


The most critical of these voices is Michael Panzner of Financial Armageddon, who said: “The fundamental outlook is even worse now than it was a few weeks ago, given (the lack of positive) developments in Europe and growing evidence that the economies of major countries around the world are deteriorating fast.”

When this crisis is over, all sorts of people are going to be running around claiming that they predicted it. But it does not take a genius to see what is coming. All you have to do is open up your eyes and look at the flashing red warning signs.

So what should we all be looking for next?

March 20th is a key date to keep your eye on. That is the day when Greece will either makes its 14.5 billion euro bond payment or it will default. Greece does not have a prayer of making that payment without help. If Greece can convince the EU and the IMF to release the next scheduled bailout payment and if Greece can reach a satisfactory deal with private bondholders, then the coming Greek default might be “orderly”. But if something goes wrong, the coming Greek default might be quite “disorderly”.

At this point, almost everyone in the financial world is anticipating a Greek default of one form or another. Edward Parker, the managing director for Fitch’s sovereign and supranational group in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, recently declared that a Greek default is inevitable. In Greece, 20 percent of all retail stores have already shut down. The unemployment rate for those under the age of 24 is now at 39 percent. Large numbers of Greeks are trying to get themselves and their money out of the country while they still can.

Greece is not the only declining economy in Europe by a long shot. Italy has a much larger economy, and if Italy totally collapses it will be an absolute nightmare for the entire globe. Right now, the Bank of Italy is forecasting a significant recession for the Italian economy in 2012.

Only this time the U.S. is in a much weaker position. The U.S. debt problem has gotten much worse since the last crisis.

During 2008, our national debt crossed the 10 trillion dollar mark. Less than 4 years later, we have crossed the 15 trillion dollar mark. So what are we going to do the next time large numbers of banks fail and unemployment skyrockets? Where are we going to get the money to bail out all of those banks and to take care of all of those newly unemployed people?

Some people say that socialism is the answer, but the truth is that we are already a socialist welfare state. If you can believe it, nearly half of all Americans live in a household that receives some form of financial benefits from the U.S. government.

During the next great crisis, the number of people that are dependent on the government will go even higher. If you don’t want to end up dependent on the government, you should heed the warning signs and you should use this time to prepare for the hard times that are coming. When even the World Bank tells us to hope for the best but to prepare for the worst, you know that it is late in the game.

UrbanMan's comments: Newt Gingrich took some shots from Liberals when he referred to Predient Obama as the Food Stamp President,......but this is essentially true if you consider people on food stamps has risen by 25% in the past couple of years. What's going to happen when the U.S. Government checks bounce for 150 million people in the U.S?

The Basic Ambush

In a worse case collapse scenario survival groups will be faced with the threat of armed groups that will try to take resources by force. Imagine a suburban community based survival group gaining intelligence or otherwise being informed of a large group of well armed gang bangers going from street to street invading homes and killing people for their supplies and equipment. This was a scenario in Rawles' latest book, "Survivors" where an increasingly well armed and populated gang lived by going from community to community robbing and murdering for food and supplies.

The ability to protect yourself, your family and the bigger group from threats may require the survival group to be able to perform "offensive" type tactical operations such as an ambush.

The Ambush is a surprise attack from covered and/or concealed position upon a threat that is moving or temporarily halted.

Ambush can be hasty in nature or they can be deliberate.

Hasty Ambush. A good definition of a hasty ambush would be your patrol spots a threat group moving towards or near your patrol. Contact may be imminent so you take covered or concealed position and initiate the ambush from your covered/concealed position catching the threat unaware and unprotected. A hasty ambush is also associated with a withdrawal from the ambush positions and not the movement to and occupation of the kill zone. In other words in a hasty ambush you are not assaulting or closing with the threat. The kill zone being the area you project the threat to be in when you initiate the ambush and the area you can cover with your collective weapons.

Deliberate Ambush. This would be a planned action most likely requiring good intelligence on a threat group that will in the immediate or near future pose a sufficient threat to you and your group, and you have information on the routes (and possibly times) this threat is going to be moving on. This is the best type of ambush as you can plan the ambush better, prepare positions and most likely rehearse.

Many factors on setting up ambushes: how many people you can dedicate to the ambush against how big the threat group is; quality of shooters you have against the professionalism and organization of the threat; the type of terrain you will set up and execute the ambush is; type of weapons you have available - probably would not be a good idea for a survival group of ten with bolt action rifles to ambush a threat group armed with semi-automatics.

There are many different type of ambush formations with the linear ambush and the L shaped ambush being the most basic. Being the most basic, they are easier to control.

The basic linear ambush is easy to control; allows minimal chance of fraticide - that is shooting your own people;

The L shaped ambush allows for a cross fire into the kill zone. The short leg facing any vehicular traffic into the kill zone allows for fire into the front of the vehicle;s engine compartment and windshield. While a little bit harder to control, the L shaped ambush would be preferably if the group had to break contact under pressure from the threat they initially ambushed.

Ambush Tips:

o Use listening/observation posts (LP/OPs) to provide early warning of the threat group you are ambushing as well to warn of or delay threat re-inforcements or to prevent threat escapes.

o Make sure the kill zone does not offer any immediate cover and concealment for the threat group. You do not want to initiate an ambush then find yourself just in a fire fight from a threat under covered positions.

o If you are not going to assault through he kill zone, such as conducting a harassing ambush, then best case to have some sort of obstacles between your ambush positions and the kill zone to prevent the threat group from assault to your positions.

o The kill zone and coverage of the kill zone with your weapons has to be big (long) enough to contain the threat you are ambushing....or you will face the prospect of getting maneuvered on (getting flanked).

o If the threat is in vehicles and you are desiring to decisively engage the threat, then the ability to disable both the front and rear vehicle will at least momentarily fix the threat group in the kill zone so you can concentrate maximum firing.

o Mechanical devices such as spike strips, expedient incendiary and/or explosive devices are greatly enhance the ambush. And it is preferred to use a casualty producing device to initiate the ambush - worst case a gun shot, better for coordinated fire or use of mechanical devices. Do not use an initiation signal like a whistle.

o Plan for signals (visual and audio) to command a cease fire, withdrawals, and/or the assault of the kill zone (if this is what you are planning).

o You will have the best chance of success if you rehearse and once you establish the ambush position, assign areas of responsibility to each shooter so you have coordinated and overlapping fields of fire.

Too Late for Gold and Silver?

Too Late for Gold and Silver? I get that a lot. People write me saying buying Gold and Silver are worthless or at best will only have value if someone accepts these precious metals for commodities. Many people write me advocating the purchase and stockage of guns, ammunition and food rather than Gold and Silver.

From my perspective, and considering the capabilities of the common person, anybody preparing for any kind of collapse – nuclear attack, dollar collapse, economic or infrastructure collapse, must consider all aspects of preparation from guns, ammunition, food, viable water supply and sources, transportation, gear and equipment,…and,…precious metals. Not to have any quantity of Gold or Silver is to leave a hole in your survival preparations.

I get that people are scared off by the costs of silver or more so Gold. Purchasing Gold and Silver as a survival asset has to compete with all other aspects of survival and most often places second, third or is not considered on the priority of purchases. That needs to change. Even if you can only afford $30 worth of junk silver coins (for silver melt value) or one ounce silver round, then get started today.

Mike Maloney from the ElevationGroup TV produced a video called “Is It Too Late To Buy Gold and Silver? This is a good education on paper money and how Fed policies influence how the dollar collapse will happen.

Watch more on GoldandSilver.com

Doomsday Scenarios from Ron Paul

According to a Reuters News Report, Texas Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) author of "End the Fed", fears eroding Civil liberties,  a United Nations take over of the U.S. money supply, and violence in the streets following a  Soviet Union-style economic collapse.

Congressman Paul, seen as a loon by some and the People's Champion by others, often warns of a deeply indebted federal government and hollow currency.  He draws parallels between the current situation in the United States and that of the former Soviet Union, whose economy collapsed amid the union's breakup and civil unrest in 1991.

Paul acknowledges that his proposal to avoid that outcome - an immediate, $1 trillion spending cut that would slash the federal budget by more than one-third and eliminate the departments of Education, Energy, Commerce, Interior, and Housing and Urban Development - could have some unpleasant side effects.

Unpleasant side effects?  How about $10 a loaf bread and $25 a galon gasoline, when you can find it - to me that's unpleasant.  

"I'm afraid of violence coming," he recently told a crowd while campaigning in Iowa.  "When you see what the government is preparing for, and the arrests and military law, and the demonstrations in the streets, some people aren't going to be convinced so easily that you don't owe them a living."

What Paul say's does ring true with the recent passing of the NDAA which gives the military unprecedented  ability to hold U.S. citizens as hostile combatants.

Paul also warns that the Federal Reserve was soon to "bail out" the Euro zone, a move that he said ultimately would cause the United States to surrender control of its own currency to the United Nations.  "This monetary crisis is well known by the international bankers. They want the U.N. to come in and solve this problem," he said. "The dollar will probably eventually disintegrate and be taken over. But I don't want the U.N. issuing that currency."

Economists note that Paul's long-standing proposal to return the dollar to a gold standard would force the United States to relinquish control of its currency.  "We would still have monetary policy - it would be set by gold miners in South Africa and Uzbekistan, rather than bureaucrats in Washington," said Michael Feroli, chief U.S. economist with JPMorgan Chase.


JPMorgan? - Oh Yeah, the robber barons....he has a lot of credibility.   

"If you like what OPEC means for oil prices, you'd love what the gold standard would do to financial markets."

You can read the original article here.

EMP Threat In The News

It is becoming more mainstream to talk about the EMP Threat. Recently on Fox News and on web based reporting, good explanations on how an Nuclear weapon or EMP attack over the central U.S. could potentially cause a blackout or infrastructure destruction to over half of the U.S.

EMP is of course an intense electro-magnetic pulse that will instantly destroy electrical circuits which is a by product of nuclear detonations but also several countries have been experimenting with EMP weapons designed specifically against the electrical infrastructure as opposed to physical destruction of everything.

For example a 1.4 megaton EMP bomb detonated 250 miles above Kansas would destroy most electronics in the U.S. See map below of anticipated effects radius or area. This of course will cause complete chaos and subsequent death from the total destruction of our electrical infrastructure as the entire U.S. economy is dependent upon this grid.

Actually, nobody knows the magnitude of infrastructure failure and destruction that an EMP attack would cause. All of the conjecture is based on modeling. Electrical grids going down for months - if not years; communications gone;

Reports by experts confirms that the U.S. is totally unprepared for an EMP attack and that Terrorists Groups and rogue nations like Iran are fully aware of what such an attack would do to the U.S.  Conservative estimates are that the U.S. would lose tens of millions of people in the first year and many more to follow
as the infrastructure that virtually powers every aspects of our lives would be down for years to come and in fact may never regain even parts of it's former capacity.

Government Crackdown on Survivalists?

UrbanSurvivalSkills received several e-mails from readers alerting us to "government raids on private citizens who had been stocking food" because these people fit a profile for domestic terrorist activity. Apparently this story came from an Oath Keepers report on a federal raid on a Mormon (Latter Day Saints) facility in Tennessee and was later de-bunked by Glenn Beck and the Blaze and the
story recalled by Oath Keepers.

However, the roots from this story, and possible others like it, come from government "intelligence" reports about domestic terrorism with survivalists, "gun nuts" and returning "disillusioned war veterans" as potential "lone wolf" type domestic terrorists. One of the government documents that fuel the belief is a joint bulletin from the FBI and Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) titled "Communities Against Terrorism" where the bulletin listed potential indicators of terrorist activities related to (purchases at) military surplus stores.

The joint bulletin lists suspicious activity and encourages store owners to call authorities if they have customers who meet any of these profiles:

What Should I Consider Suspicious? People or Groups who:

Provide ID that is inconsistent or suspect, or demand identify privacy.

Insist of paying with cash or use credit cards in different names.

Significantly alter appearance from visit to visit.

Have missing hands/fingers, chemical burns, strange odors or bright color stains on clothing.

Make racist or extreme religious statements coupled with comments that are violent or appear to condone violence.

Make suspicious comments regarding anti U.S radical theology, vague or cryptic warnings that appear to endorse the use of violence in support of a cause.

Demonstrate interest in uses that do not seem consistent with the intended use of the item being purchased.

Possess little knowledge of intended purchase items.

Make bulk purchases of items to include: Weatherproofed ammunition or match containers; Meals Ready to Eat; Night Vision Devices, night flashlights or gas masks; high capacity magazines; bi-pods or tripods for rifles.


See the Blaze story here, as well as a copy of Joint FBI-BJA Bulletin.

UrbanSurvivalSkills believes that if you are not doing anything illegal then you have little to fear from the government, except tanking the economy and running businesses out of business, but it stills pays to maintain OPSEC,....against misguided government instusion and criminal threats targeting you because you are a prepared survivalist.

Foods that will be Gone When SHTF

UrbanSurvivalSkills received a comment from Horsyguy: "There is a new advertisement about 37 foods that will sell out when SHTF, but they don't list them or give them and want you to buy books? I think the site was 123foodsurvivalplan.com ? Does anyone know what they are or have read the books? Are they legit books worth reading? thanks."

Horsyguy, I have seen many different lists of the foods that are supposed to run out or be first off the shelves and unavailable during a dynamic collapse of when SHTF is apparent. Safe to say all foods will be gone. The advertisement may be 37 foods that will go first, but after two days o not eating, I think a can of Lima Beans, expired for three years would look good.

Here is an example of 37 items that will go quick, taking the obvious Food items, bottled water, guns, ammunition and fuel for vehicles off the table:

1. Water Filters/Purifiers/Pumps.
2. Generators (even though the fuel will run out - people will buy them.
3. Firewood, depending upon the time of year.
4. Candles,
5. Flashlights and Batteries,
6. Dog Food,
7. Butane Lighters and matches
8. Coleman/camping fuel to include propane and butane bottles.
9. Water containers (get more than one and in different sizes)
10. Propane Heaters and all accessories that go with it (extra propane, heads, etc)
11. Some clothing items, starting with coats, gloves, socks and footwear
12. Hand Tools
13. Lumber
14. Aluminum Foil
15. Feminine Hygiene/Haircare/Skin products.
16. Gasoline containers
17. Toilet paper, paper towels, hygiene items
18. Work gloves, Work boots, Work Clothes
19. Seeds (non-hybrid or hybrid - some people don't know the difference)
20. First Aid Kits and all medical materials
21. Large and small Plastic Containers
22. Canning mateials, jars and lids
23. Camping/Cast iron cookware
24. Duct Tape
25. Garbage cans (metal and plastic)
26. Rope and twine
27. Laundry Detergent (dry and liquid)
28. Backpacks
29. Garden tools & supplies
30. Bleach
31. Knives, axes, sharpening stones
32. Bicycles and spare parts/tires
33. Camping material such as Sleeping Bags
34. Books on Survival, gardening, raising animals, etc.
35. Hardware such as nails, screws, bolts, etc.
36. Cigarettes
37. Wine/Beer/Liquor

Let me know if I forgot something.

The Bad Guys Are Us

Starting to come out two days ago, then more fully yesterday and today, are details of the Senate Defense Bill for Fiscal Year 2012 that has a provision, Section 1031, which allows for the designation of the homeland (meaning the 50 states) as a part of the War on Terror or as Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) put it: "The homeland is part of the battlefield and people can be held without trial whether (they are) American Citizens or not." Notable supporters include Senator's John McCain (R-AZ) and Carl Levin (D-MI).

On the surface it seems like a logical means and set of tools for Federal Law Enforcement to combat domestic and imported terrorism. Until you get to these four facts:

1 - The Senate Defense Bill was developed in secrecy contrary to law.What is the Senate worried about? That the People would see what the bill was shaping up to be and be outraged as they should be?
2 - The bill allows for the use of the Armed Forces in domestic law enforcement and anti-terrorism operations.
3- That domestic Terrorist suspects include,.....people who disagree with the Government; people who may be missing fingers; people who collect or store guns and ammunition especially multiple guns and waterproof ammunition,...and people who have 7 days or more of food stocked.
4 - Finally, some wisdom from one of our great Founders, Benjamin Franklin,.."Those who would sacrifice freedom for security deserve neither.

I don't know who else besides Rand Paul (R-KY) is on our side and the side of tens of millions of Americans, but what I do know is if this bill is passed the game changes. Primarily focused on conditions and threats outside of our control,.e.g..economic collapse, dollar break, external terrorist attack by Weapon of Mass Destruction or EMP attack,.....or even natural disasters have now been superseded by the very real threat of a totalitarian government,....at least we have a counter-measure that that is redress of grievances through petition (phone call and e-mails) or through the ballot box. Holy Jesus, this scares the shit out of me!