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The latest real estate boom to sweep America comes with all the trappings of luxurious living: custom-built swimming pools, gyms, full-length basketball courts, and even airplane hangars. The only catch is that this time, the features are all buried underground. The boom in bomb shelter sales over the past 15 years has taken the spartan 1950s notion of a fallout shelter and given it a makeover, according the owners of three companies that make and sell shelters. Now, custom installations can create 100,000 square foot underground dwellings that could hold dozens of people for months or years.

Any of you who frequent the prepper threads, or are on the Prepper Ping List, I am putting together a monthly free magazine, BY US and FOR US. This is not a blog pimp post, I don't have a blog or web site, and don't want one. I am looking for interested FReepers to provide content (articles, photos, columns, gear reviews, etc.) that will be assembled into a PDF that is ad free and noncommercial, which will be posted here monthly and, if Kartographer agrees, pinged to the Prepper ping list for free download and enjoyment. Readers will not have...

Says Obamacare leading U.S. down pathway to socialism The surge of bullet-buying confirmed by the federal government – purchase estimates run into the billions of bullets – even as the U.S. military scrimps to find training ammo is raising lots of questions about the government’s so-far unexplained actions. But a video that has been around since last year is being forwarded across the Internet as an explanation. The six minutes recorded by Lt. Gen. William G. “Jerry” Boykin, retired, warns that America is well along the pathway that other societies have used to bludgeon and beat their populations into submission...

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — First responders from across Los Angeles County are practicing for the “big one” Thursday in a drill designed to measure the response to a magnitude-7.8 earthquake. The exercise is hosted by the Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management and will take place downtown from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. “It’s our game day. The NCAA basketball tourney is starting, it’s their game day. It’s our game day for the Los Angeles County Chief Executive Offices, Office of Emergency Management,” Emergency Manager Kenneth Kondo told KNX1070. This year’s functional exercise will feature the California Integrated Seismic...

More and more people continue to buy guns in Hawaii and this weekend's gun show at the Blaisdell was packed. Business at this weekend's gun show is booming. "A lot more women a lot more families, it's not just a man thing anymore," says Sheldon Tyau, Event Coordinator. Organizers say it's the largest crowd they've seen in the show's 35 year history. The longest line was for ammo.

Greetings, Folks! Today I'd like to share with you what The Bride and I did over this last weekend, because it was pretty exciting stuff. The Bride had the opportunity to enroll in a Medical Seminar geared to disaster medicine, including suturing, stapling and wound care, taught by none other then Dr. Bones and Nurse Amy of DoomandBloom.net. On Sunday, we made the trek to Weston, FL, just west of Ft. Lauderdale. In the class were eighteen people (including three MD's) learning how to suture wounds using stitch and staples; nine folks were in the back of the room, schmoozing...

A couple of weeks ago, on a leisurely Sunday afternoon, 40 people gathered at a church in Washington Heights for a show-and-tell session sponsored by the New York City Preppers Network. One by one, they stood in front of the room and exhibited their “bug-out bags,” meticulously packed receptacles filled with equipment meant to see them through the collapse of civilization. Onto a folding table came a breathtaking array of disaster swag: compasses and iodine pills, hand-cranked radios and solar-powered flashlights, magnesium fire-starters and a fully charged Kindle with digital road maps of the tristate region. Many of the items...

The Battle of Athens was an armed rebellion led by WWII veterans and citizens in Athens and Etowah, Tennessee, United States, against the tyrannical local government in August 1946.

Once a week Tim Ralston and his wife Marie take their three teenage kids to a secluded cabin in the Northern Arizona desert. Surrounded by wildlife and the cows, sheep and chickens they raise it looks like a perfect eco-friendly family retreat. But the Ralstons are not there for an American version of The Good Life. On arrival Marie heads straight to the pantry to check the 15 years worth of tinned and freeze-dried food they’ve stockpiled, the kids test out their survival gear, first aid kits and water purifying tablets and Tim gets in some self-defence practice with his...

SAN BERNARDINO (CBSLA.com) — The city attorney of San Bernardino is under scrutiny for telling residents to “lock their doors and load their guns” during a city council meeting. The official explained that because the city is bankrupt and slashing public safety budgets people will need to start protecting themselves.

What's in your bug out bag? My eldest calls them Good bags, Get out of Dodge. My second daughter (see home page) calls it her apocalypse crate, a rubber maid container filled with all the stuff she'll need, and has it in her car. It has all her old army stuff that couldn't be returned. For example, gas masks, mre's etc. Ours has the normal stuff, blankets, food, flashlights, water, clothes, fire, ammo, etc. It might be a good thread to have input, suggestions, what's good, what's frivolous.

What are the best long term gas storage options("long" being 2-3 years) It will be in a non-climate controlled shed with summer temps up to 100 and winter down to -30.

After Big Sandy, I wonder how many people who thought preppers were "crazy" have changed their minds??

Economist John Williams says the latest round of “open-ended” QE has set the table for a global “dollar sell-off” and “hyperinflation” no later than 2014. Williams says, “There’s no way the consumer can fuel the economic recovery, and there is no way we’re going to see one in the near future.” Williams predicts, “The Treasury is going to have funding problems, and that means the deficit gets a lot worse.”

Families from Los Angeles to New York will dive for cover at 10.18am in each timezone as they rehearse what to do in the event of a major quake. Local radio stations will simulate news announcers warning that a 7.8 magnitude earthquake is about to strike, while ominous rumblings will play in the background. The en masse rehearsal is being coordinated by Shakeout, a Californian group set up to encourage awareness among people living on the San Andreas fault, a tectonic fault line that runs along the West Coast. Major earthquakes are expected to strike the same area every 150...

Violent crimes unexpectedly jumped 18 percent last year, the first rise in nearly 20 years, and property crimes rose for first time in a decade. But academic experts said the new government data fall short of signaling a reversal of the long decline in crime.

We often have threads that quote recommendations of others about things you should do to prepare. Those threads usually focus on food, water, medicinal items, bug out preparations, etc. So I think it would be interesting to find out what FReepers themselves are doing. Combined, we are probably one of the most intelligent, experienced, honest, and practical group on the planet. Without further adieu! In the last two days I: Bought 3 food grade 5 gallon buckets Bought enough oatmeal to fill one, which amounted to 18 lbs. Bought a 5 lb bag of tobacco (I'm a smoker, I admit...

No matter how much I beg, some of you, no doubt haven’t done anything to prepare (you know who you are). I don’t know what else to do. All I can do is give you the information, it’s up to you to act. No one can do it for you. No doubt some of you are intimidated by my repeated suggestions of storing and using whole grains. If it doesn’t come from the supermarket shelf it’s strange and unfamiliar and you want no part of it. Fair enough. But you still need to prepare. Here are ten things that you...

It's been a long time since the great series Jericho, dealt with the topic of a SHTF situation and the lights are out all over the United States again. This one is years after an inexplicable EMP-type of event, and the story picks up when a young arrow-wielding heroine, takes a trek to Chicago,(inexplicably) of all place. Who's gonna watch tomorrow night 9/10C? And what survival book are you reading right now. I am reading the ebook The Prepper Road Compendium. Right now our hero, who has been trucking down the road in style in an old tractor, is going...

The ‘alert’ was a humorous way to give advice to citizens on how to prepare for such real threats as hurricanes, earthquakes, pandemics and terrorist attacks. If zombies take over, the government wants you to be prepared. The Homeland Security Department warned citizens on Thursday that the “zombies are coming,” and urged them to be ready for a walking-dead apocalypse, The Associated Press reported. The zombie “warning” is part of a public health campaign calling for citizens to be ready for disaster — to know to stock up on food, batteries and water, and to keep extra changes of clothes...

Being somewhat of a video nut, I've accumulated quite a few VHSs and DVDs. One of my personal favorites is the complete collection of "The Twilight Zone", the original series broadcast on CBS in the late 50's, early 60's. One of the episodes from the first season is entitled "The Monsters are due on Maple Street". It is a speculative look at what happens to a small town neighborhood and the people when the lights go out and strange things happen like machines spontaneously turning on and off. Bow some of the people remain pretty cool-headed. But some are suspicious,...

Looking for a little prepper guidance, specifically around long-term food (MRS vs freeze-dried) and maybe where to obtain. Also interested in a good site to obtain ammunition (or would the next local gun show be the way to go). Picked up a Mossberg 12 gauge & a Hi-point .45ACP Carbine a few months back.I am currently in an apartment, so space is an issue to a degree. Thanks ahead of time - last weekly prepper thread was a month ago.

Post-apocalyptic film The Road Warrior envisioned an impoverished world of the future. Tribal groups fought over what remained of a destroyed Western world of law, technology, and mass production. Survival went to the fittest — or at least those who could best scrounge together the artifacts of a long gone society somewhat resembling the present West. The culprit for the detribalization of the Outback was some sort of global war or perhaps nuclear holocaust that had destroyed the social fabric. Survivors were left with a memory of modern appetites but without the ability to reproduce the means to satisfy them:...

I was having lunch with some of my students last week and all they wanted to talk about was the coming apocalypse. Not the book of Revelations, exactly – and not exclusively zombies. They were more interested in the all-too-pervasive feeling that *the shit*, as they say, is going to hit the fan. Fecal matter in ventilation systems, sure, but what does that mean? Zombies, they know, are just a metaphor. We have no idea what’s coming. The Zombie is just a mirror of sorts – we make the boogey man look us because we know – even if we...

So the rumor is that the Zombie Apocalypse may have arrived. Sure, the Centers for Disease Control denies it, but what does the CDC know? Just to be on the safe side, Realtor.com put together a list of prime zombie-defense real estate capable of putting those with an unquenchable thirst for human flesh at a distance from you and your family.

(Just In Case the November Elections Don't Work Out)Video of weapon @ link.

The world is on now on the brink of a global credit crisis that could be far worse than the tumultuous events of 2008. The ongoing sovereign debt crisis in the southern reaches of the Eurozone indicate that bank runs in the region will continue, and that more bank closure "holidays" will be declared. Under a bank holiday, virtually all deposits could be frozen and irredeemable for days, weeks, or even months. The key question is: Will this crisis spread to the rest of Europe and then even to the United States? I urge SurvivalBlog readers--particularly those in Europe--to be...

The collapse will be a cycle. Its wise to be prepared for all the angles of possibilities .It will be survival of the fittest and most aware. That's exactly what's happening. Either be aware, prepare, survive, and thrive.. or stay in denial and eventually die on your knees. People have a choice. Most choose to stick their heads in the sand while keeping their lazy fat asses in the air. Most of em enjoy the raping.Avoid big cities and crowded places ,Buy food, water, a water purifier, guns and ammo. You will need medical supplies, vitamins and ibuprofen. Power will...

Anti-gun rhetoric has been a fact of my life as long as I can remember. As a new mom, I even tried keeping toy guns out of the house, because I had bought into some of the myths surrounding gun ownership, such as: 1) Accidental gun deaths are bound to happen with a gun in the house. 2) A gun-free home will keep kids safe from guns. 3) If kids play with toy guns, they will grow up to be violent. All of those are nonsense, of course, but as a mom, all I wanted was for my children to...

I’m not sure when the tipping point occurred, but at some point recently the “prepper” movement exploded and became mainstream. Preppers are folks who detect the possibility of calamity and decide to increase their odds of surviving it by putting aside supplies. “Putting things by” — essential throughout most of humanity’s existence — was common in the United States up until advances in transportation logistics brought about the “just in time” shipping model. Suddenly, we could get almost any supplies delivered fresh and year-round to massive community stores. What our grandparents called “lean times” became a thing of the past...

Total Chaos In the UK As Gas Stations Run Dry; Efforts to Stop Panic Buying Have Led toÂ… More Panic Buying Mac Slavo March 29th, 2012 SHTFplan.com What was a fairly minor fuel shortage sparked when gas tanker drivers in the UK threatened to go on strike has developed into what UK officials are now calling all out chaos, as drivers across the country scramble to fill their tanks amid uncertainty about when transportation services will be up and running at full capacity again. In what may be a glimpse into the future of other industrialized Western nations that are...

Weekly Prepper Thread, for posting tips, new products, good prep buys etc..... “There is no greater disaster than to underestimate danger. Underestimation can be fatal.”

Doomsday Preppers explores the lives of otherwise ordinary Americans who are preparing for the end of the world as we know it. Unique in their beliefs, motivations, and strategies, preppers will go to whatever lengths they can to make sure they are prepared for any of life’s uncertainties. And with our expert’s assessment, they will find out their chances of survival if their worst fears become a reality.

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- When Paula Symons joined the U.S. workforce in 1972, typewriters in her office clacked nonstop, people answered the telephones and the hot new technology revolutionizing communication was the fax machine. Symons, fresh out of college, entered this brave new world thinking she'd do pretty much what her parents' generation did: Work for just one or two companies over about 45 years before bidding farewell to co-workers at a retirement party and heading off into her sunset years with a pension.

Time for the monthly rotation checklist. I’ve adapted this from alpharubicon’s site (they have more info than I can ever read). Usually do this the first Friday of every month (you pick best time for you). Some of these actions may only pertain to those living in a moist (and in my case salty) environment. If you have a suggestion of what to add…let me know!

Since when did prepping for the end of the world become a hobby? In a sense, that’s one of the questions behind “Doomsday Preppers,” a new National Geographic Channel 10-part series that bows tonight at 9 p.m. ET/PT. The show looks at more than a dozen Americans who have turned building bullet-proof shelters, stocking up on several years’ worth of canned goods and mapping evacuation routes into a kind of pricey game of one-upmanship. Whoever wins may be the last man (or woman) standing – literally. But in another sense, the preppers don’t think of what they do as a...

"My husband WAS very abusive to me. The physical abuse stopped, after going to a men's support group. Should i stay or leave? We have a child. I am a student. No work experience because I cared for the baby...WHat to do?" One question and one question only should be guiding you right now. Will the abuse stay stopped? I'm not saying it won't, but I'd also not bet on it. Breaking the cycle of abuse is very hard, and most abusers will eventually re-offend. Maybe your husband is different, I don't know, but there is nothing wrong with keeping...

20 or so people in there, half of them under 30 going for their technician. I was one of 2 in there to upgrade to general, and one showed up for the highest class, amateur extra. Anyways, I ask this kid (22-25yo) "Why are you getting into ham radio"? He matter-of-factly said, "For the upcoming zombie apocalypse". I laughed and half the room turned around, glad to proclaim the same, hell even bragging about it! A couple more admitted that they were embarrased to say that but essentially that is why they were there. I found out with a little...

It seems like everyone has their own vision of the Apocalypse. For Christians, The End is synonymous with the Four Horsemen, the Rapture and the Anti-Christ. Environmentalists, meanwhile, fear climate change, melting polar ice caps and turbulent weather. For paranoid newshounds, if rogue states like Iran or North Korea don't trigger a nuclear war, then debt-wracked banks will soon lead to total societal collapse. Then there's Hollywood: aliens, meteors, earthquakes, malfunctioning uteri and Hitchcock's angry birds. While the Apocalypse-theme has essentially become a pop culture cliché, it remains endlessly fascinating. Case in point: the Christian-focused "Left Behind" books, which have...

When I first started making moldy meat in my garage over a year ago I figured that it must take very specialist equipment, and a team of well read meat science boffins to make anything resembling a decent cured product. I quite frankly am not a meat science boffin, or have very specialist equipment. Nor do the thousands of other people around the globe that cure meat at home, and make a darn fine product too I should add. It turns out it is actually exceptionally easy to make a basic reliable setup at home to cure meat in, and...

I had lunch yesterday with one of the sharpest financial minds I’ve met in a long time at a rather picturesque setting overlooking Evergreen Lake, west of Denver. The restaurant patrons were all well-to-do residents of this wealthy community… in fact, the whole area is like a bubble, largely shielded from any negative effect of the economic fallout thus far. Most of these folks have gone about their lives over the last few years completely oblivious to the global financial crisis. My friend agreed; he told me, “Most of the people sitting in this restaurant haven’t felt a thing. Their...

Predictions of an economic apocalypse are no longer restricted to the realm of fringe doom and gloomers lurking in the dark corners of the internet. As we’ve previously suggested uncertainty now pervades the social consciousness, not just in America, but the world over. Every major media outlet in developed nations is now reporting on the headwinds facing the so-called recovery. The problems and threats confronting the stability of the globe can no longer be dismissed as theoretical arguments, because they are now being actualized – in real time.

Most of our readers will never go out into public seeking a confrontation. But there is no doubt that trouble will find some of us. Take, for example, Mark LaVelle, a suburban dad and father of four, who was recently attacked by a mob that kicked in his door and beat him while his wife and kids watched and listened from the second floor of their home. He and his family were at the mercy of their attackers:

“I’m hungry grandma Kay” Abbie cried “When are we going to eat”? “I don’t know sweetie, I’m hungry too” Kay replied. Abbie just stood there in the living room in her bulky coat and boots swaying back and forth with her head hanging down and weeping softly. She was already skin and bones, Kay knew she wouldn’t last much longer. After 6 weeks there was nothing to eat anywhere, nothing. “Grandma, remember when I told you my friend Marla’s family was storing food at their cabin?” said Abbie. “Yes” Kay sighed. “Why didn’t we store food?” Abbie asked. “Well” Kay...

This latest micro documentary from New America Now discusses the many problems facing modern day American society, namely the US Dollar, our country’s ever growing debt, rising prices and the crisis that will ensue as a result – and how you can survive and thrive.

How to Hide ‘Treasure’ just in case……. Everyone has at least some metallic items they would like to hide away some place for safekeeping. Some are just round precious metal objects, others are hand held items and still others are long pieces. Some will say that the time to hide away these items is really the time to bring them out. And while there is a bit of truth to that, it is still wise to have back up items if the need should arise. Introduction The best method to determine how to hide something is to take the viewpoint...

how did you convince your spouse to be a prepper? (and not think you're nuts) Post your interesting , amusing , and/or somber antecdotes here. IE: I convinced her the money saved on growing food could be used for some killer pedicures.

Last Thursday, National Gun Rights Examiner David Codrea noted a report from the Oathkeepers that the Denver office of the FBI wants surplus store owners to snitch on purchasers of certain survival gear. (Very) briefly summarized, the FBI wants to know about people who purchase "in bulk" things like Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), waterproof containers for ammunition or matches, shooting accessories, etc., especially if the purchaser insists on paying in cash (you know--legal tender). Yesterday, Seattle Gun Rights Examiner Dave Workman reported that this effort on the federal government's part is both more widespread and longer established than was...

Over the past week, my vocabulary of 268,391 words expanded by one, and that word is “prepper.” A prepper is not to be confused with a preppie, who is a person who has attended an exclusive private high school. A prepper is someone who believes that The End is nigh, that society is breaking down, and that if you want to be around to see what’s left, it’s best to prepare for The Wrath to Come.