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The truck approached Chicago in the early morning light much like any of the thousands of big rigs that travel Interstate 80 on a daily basis. Hauling food, materials and life’s necessities and luxuries, it went unnoticed as it, and its load of potentially deadly chlorine, slowly headed into rush hour traffic. The driver had his credentials in check when he picked up the load – he had gone through the hazardous materials training offered by the small company for which he drove. With no criminal record, he easily passed the Transportation Safety Administration’s background check to get the treasured...

Frugality. That's been the buzzword of the Great Recession.   Sliding home values, stumbling stock portfolios and a shaky job market brought with them a consciousness about spending that many of us misplaced during years of consumer overindulgence. Americans responded to the crisis by buying less, clipping coupons more and increasing savings to 4.8 percent of disposable income in December, up from near zero before the recession.   In the past year, blogs about frugality went viral. Everyone from Oprah to President Obama joined the frugality parade.   Now a new term is marching through the blogosphere: Frugality fatigue. But...

I want people to store food not only for their sake, but for mine as well. I don’t want to decide which of my kids have to go hungry when you and your unprepared kin come knocking on my door. Contrary to progressive-collectivist thinking, every individual who takes care of themselves and their families benefits society by not becoming a burden. So take responsibility now and start today. Don’t expect the Feds to come by to hand you your ration of government-rationed cheese. You could be in for a long wait. Wait too long, and you may end up with...

Jim Rogers is sounding the alarm -- buy agricultural commodities ahead of the riots. The financial crisis has cut off investment in agriculture, with many farmers unable to get loans for fertilizer according to Mr. Rogers. Of course, this means agricultural commodities will make a killing: CNBC: "Sometimes in the next few years we're going to have very serious shortages of food everywhere in the world and prices are going to go through the roof." Cotton and coffee are good buys because they are very distressed, while sugar, despite the fact that it has gone up a lot, is still...

QUESTION: What mistakes do you think most people make preparing for what you and your countrymen have gone through? I wouldn’t call them “mistakes”, I don’t hold the SHTF Bible so all I can give is my humble advice which may be correct or not, so all I can tell you is “ I wouldn’t do that if I were you”, and depending on how sure I am , add a smartass grin smiley. There’s simply some preparations that make little sense if you think about it, others that I’ve seen that just wouldn’t work, in spite of all the...

I have just finished reading William R. Forstchen's new novel One Second After. Briefly, it is about the instantaneous breakdown of American way of life as the result of an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) which disables the nation's electrical grid as well as all sophisticated electrical components in cars (they stop), planes (they crash), telecomunications of every sort, etc. leaving the population in a world similar to that of the Eighteenth Century. Shortages of every variety create societal strains, chaos, death and destruction in a matter of weeks and months. Forstchen's book (with a forward written by Newt Gingrich), while fiction,...

On history channel now, after armageddon. Television show depicting survival challenges after a catastrophic event. Great for the survival list!

Officials and Experts Warn of Crash-Induced Unrest Numerous high-level officials and experts warn that the economic crisis could lead to unrest world-wide - even in developed countries: Today, Moody's warned that future tax rises and spending cuts could trigger social unrest in a range of countries from the developing to the developed world, that in the coming years, evidence of social unrest and public tension may become just as important signs of whether a country will be able to adapt as traditional economic metrics, that a fiscal crisis remains a possibility for a leading economy, and that 2010 would be...

While the detonation of a nuclear weapon in the United States is considered highly unlikely, Los Angeles and other U.S. cities are preparing for such a disaster by assessing old bomb shelters and preparing emergency response plans, the Los Angeles Daily News reported Monday.

MESA, Ariz. - Come what may, Donna and Aaron Bradshaw expect their spacious food pantry and emergency plan will carry them through. Shelves and shelves of home-canned vegetables and meats, dried grains, an electric generator and stored water promises reasonable sustainability for the Mormon family in Gilbert in a world where food riots, starvation and disaster-related food shortages are becoming a kind of norm. But the sharp spike in prices of staples such as bread, eggs, flour and milk at supermarkets has folks looking for options in food purchases and storage. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has...

We have had a number of open discussions here at FR for quite some time about the importance of personal emergency preparedness. Many of us have taken an interest in this subject for a long time, and have been working steadfastly toward being prepared for a real emergency, and this evening I thought I would share my progress on one phase of our plan, food. Anyone who knows anything about preparedness will tell you that the first thing you should do is make a plan that fits your personal needs. A bachelor has much different survival needs than a family...

Some see the current economic downturn as tough — but temporary — times to be endured. But others see it as a harbinger of even grimmer days ahead. So they’re preparing for the worst by stockpiling food: piles and piles and piles of it. Call them “suburban survivalists,” or call them, well, a little goofy. But they’re dead serious about being ready for a big crash … by making sure they have a nice little nosh in case of a catastrophe. Across the country, there are people preparing for the possibility that we will not have access to food by...

Weekly Roundup - Living On Nothing Edition Category: Roundups | Comments(15) Did you hear about the guy that lives on nothing? No seriously, he lives on zero dollars a day. Meet Daniel Suelo, who lives in a cave outside Moab, Utah. Suelo has no mortgage, no car payment, no debt of any kind. He also has no home, no car, no television, and absolutely no “creature comforts.” But he does have a lot of creatures, as in the mice and bugs that scurry about the cave floor he’s called home for the last three years. To us, Suelo probably sounds...

I am making a list of emergency food storage items. Please tell me what you have stored or what you will be storing. Some of the things I have: powdered milk, flour, dried beans, rice, jerkey, water purification tabs.

Americans finding soaring food prices hard to stomach can battle back by growing their own food. [Click image for a larger version] Dean Fosdick Dean Fosdick Home vegetable gardens appear to be booming as a result of the twin movements to eat local and pinch pennies. At the Southeastern Flower Show in Atlanta this winter, D. Landreth Seed Co. of New Freedom, Pa., sold three to four times more seed packets than last year, says Barb Melera, president. "This is the first time I've ever heard people say, 'I can grow this more cheaply than I can buy it in...

BUSKIRK — A few years ago, Kathleen Breault was just another suburban grandma, driving countless hours every week, stopping for lunch at McDonald's, buying clothes at the mall, watching TV in the evenings. That was before Breault heard an author talk about the bleak future of the world's oil supply. Now, she's preparing for the world as we know it to disappear. Breault cut her driving time in half. She switched to a diet of locally grown foods near her upstate New York home and lost 70 pounds. She sliced up her credit cards, banished her television and swore...

There are startling scenes in "Restless Virgins" that are bound to -- and meant to -- shock readers. Three hockey players in a girl's bedroom. Clothes come off. Two of the guys hook up with the girl while the third watches and gives instructions. Another scene: a girl performing oral sex on a guy in a campus chapel. And another: "The three of them went at it for 15 minutes. . . . On the way home, Brady let Quinn take a turn with Emma in the back seat, then pulled over so the boys could switch places again." To...

Will someone answer some questions?

What You Should Do to Prepare for an EpidemicStock Up on Essentials and Have an 'Outbreak Plan'How To Protect Yourself Bird Flu How Would You Know If You Had Avian Flu?A Bit of Context on the Bird Flu Threat How To Protect Yourself By LARA SETRAKIAN March 12, 2006 — Will there be an outbreak of avian flu that threatens humans? Many experts disagree on when or if a human pandemic will occur, but do say there is a chance that the virus could mutate, leading to widespread infection. In that case, the best thing you and your family can...

 The following is my usual slap-dash collection of quotes and links from other posts I have run across, with information about preparing for, coping with, and generally surviving hurricanes. Tossed in is some general disaster information. Credit given when I can find or remember it. The Survivalist & Y2K hounds weren't so wrong, after all...   Fast Facts: How to Prepare     Survival starts at the household level -Here is one Survivalist site which I've found fascinatingly useful...(Simple Survival) Emergency Preparedness (year's supply of food, 72 hour kit)( Our own UtahGirl- hattip! )  To: All To: RoseyT; All I hope everyone reading your...