Free Republic

If you are just getting started preparing your family survival kit, it probably seems like a huge, daunting task. You are not alone, and I was in the same boat just a few months ago. So I decided to get started and make my first purchase. The difficult task for most people will be how to balance the cost of long term emergency supplies and food for your family, while still balancing the monthly budget. The only advice I can give is the way things are going, money doesn’t appear to be worth anything in the future. And in fact...

Being ready for a major disaster is no longer the realm solely of Montana militiamen hidden in the mountains. The shaky economy and recent catastrophes are fueling a growing movement of soft-core survivalists, who could just be your next-door neighbors. If there were ever a disaster of any type in Frederick, Colo., the Douglas home is probably where you'd want to be. "From the outside looking in, nobody could really know," said Ron Douglas. Ron and Heather Douglas and their six children are new members of a growing online network getting ready for the worst, the Colorado Preppers Network. Is...

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...

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...

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...

The chemical Bisphenol A, which has been used for years in clear plastic bottles and food-can liners, has been restricted in Canada and some U.S. states and municipalities because of potential health effects. The Food and Drug Administration will soon decide what it considers a safe level of exposure to Bisphenol A (BPA), which some studies have linked to reproductive abnormalities and a heightened risk of breast and prostate cancers, diabetes, and heart disease. Now Consumer Reports' latest tests of canned foods, including soups, juice, tuna, and green beans, have found that almost all of the 19 name-brand foods we...