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Over 200 people have now been infected by an outbreak of parasites linked to recalled vegetable trays from Del Monte. According to the CDC, 212 cases of cyclosporiasis – an intestinal infection caused by the cyclospora parasite – were reported as of July 5. The condition has been linked to “6 oz., 12 oz., and 28 oz. vegetable trays containing fresh broccoli, cauliflower, celery sticks, carrots, and dill dip,” which were recalled by Del Monte Fresh Produce on June 15.

SHTF doesn’t generally drop by at the best of times. In fact, SHTF thrives and grows exponentially under more adverse circumstances. So, suck it up, put on your boots, and power through it – SHTF doesn’t care and neither can you! 1.SHTF doesn’t care about inclement weather – snow, hail, tornadoes and hurricanes all just add to the party atmosphere for SHTF. 2.SHTF doesn’t care that you sprained your ankle, broke your leg or are otherwise less than ambulatory. If you have to bug out without a vehicle, you have to bug out, regardless of your injury status. 3.SHTF doesn’t...

Now, let’s take that conversation into context for my focus of writing an article this morning: What if nothing happens? That’s exactly the question I’ll ask you. You, the prepared individual. You, the prepper who purchases food to have in the event your employment situation loses its revenue temporarily, or a minor movement of the earth closes local markets and grocers. You, the healthy student of nutrition. You, the responsible parent who works to provide the necessities of life for your children and grandchildren and works to secure those ongoing needs. You, the involved citizen who talks with your neighbors...

The latest warning signs are, once again, popping up in Europe and should be taken seriously, as it is only a matter of time before such events play out in the rest of the world, including right here at home: Via Adiconsum Italia – Translated via Google BNI depositors unable to make withdrawals / payments, payments of utility bills, mortgage payments, taxes Peter Giordano, Adiconsum: “Grave of the Bank of Italy’s attitude that takes action without considering the impact on depositors, and especially on single-income families and pensioners” The Bank of Italy authorized the suspension of payments by Bank Network...

The Barter Value Of Skills Tess Pennington April 26th, 2012 This article has been generously contributed by Tess Pennington of Ready Nutrition. After joining the Dallas chapter of the American Red Cross in 1999 Tess worked as an Armed Forces Emergency Services Center specialist and is well versed in emergency and disaster management & response. You can follow her regular updates on Preparedness, Homesteading, and a host of other topics at www.readynutrition.com. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Recently, we talked about the necessity of learning skills to aid us in a survival situation. Don’t underestimate the value of those skills for barter. If the...

Unfortunately, there are many out there who do not share our awareness of the situation. Debt implosions and currency devaluation NEVER simply “fade away”; they are always followed by extreme social and political strife that tends to sully the doorsteps of almost every individual and family. The notion that we can coast through such a tempest unscathed is an insane idea, filled with a dangerous potential for sour regrets. There are some people who also believe that the private Federal Reserve with the Treasury in tow has the ability to prolong the worst symptoms of the collapse indefinitely, or at...

A report prepared for legislators and business leaders by the American Trucking Associations highlights just how critical our just-in-time inventory and delivery systems are, and assesses the impact on the general population in the event of an emergency or incident of national significance that disrupts the truck transportation systems which are responsible for carrying some ten billion tons of commodities and supplies across the United States each year. A shut down of truck operations as a result of elevated threat levels, terrorist attacks, or pandemics would, according to the report, have “a swift and devastating impact on the food, healthcare,...

As smart grid metering systems expand across the developed world, many are starting to ask whether the threats posed by the new devices, which officials promise will save energy and reduce end user utility costs, outweigh their benefits. In addition to documented health concerns resulting from radiation emissions and no cost savings being apparent, opponents of the technology argue that smart meters are violative of basic privacy rights and give the government yet another digital node of unfettered access to monitor and control personal electricity consumption. Now, an alarming new documentary suggests that security problems with the inter-connected and seemingly...

We live in a world that is becoming increasingly unstable, and the potential for an event that could cause “sudden change” to the U.S. economy is greater than ever. There are dozens of potentially massive threats that could easily push the U.S. economy over the edge during the next 12 months. A war in the Middle East, a financial collapse in Europe, a major derivatives crisis or a horrific natural disaster could all change our economic situation very rapidly. Most of the time I write about the long-term economic trends that are slowly but surely ripping the U.S. economy to...

Via: On the probability of occurrence of extreme space weather events Key Points Probability of a Carrington event occurring over next decade is ~12% Space physics datasets often display a power-law distribution Power-law distribution can be exploited to predict extreme events By virtue of their rarity, extreme space weather events, such as the Carrington event of 1859, are difficult to study, their rates of occurrence are difficult to estimate, and prediction of a specific future event is virtually impossible. Additionally, events may be extreme relative to one parameter but normal relative to others. In this study, we analyze several measures...

Prepping for the Financially Challenged: A One Month Survival Plan For Under $300 Tom Chatham March 12th, 2012 The American Dream Lost The following article has been generously contributed by Tom Chatham, author of the newly released book The American Dream Lost – Economic Survival Strategy for a New Paradigm. Many people are now waking up to the possibility that the future may not provide the great recovery we all expect it to be. They are begining to sense that something is wrong with the economy and it will not get better. Their first thought is the question, What do...

A recent survey of 1,007 nationally representative Americans ages 18 and over suggests that most of us believe a doomsday scenario of some kind will occur in the next twenty five years. With three million preppers in the U.S. getting ready for widespread disaster, gun sales sky rocketing, and retail precious metals purchases at unprecedented levels, the results of the survey performed by Kelton Research on behalf of National Geographic shouldn’t be surprising. Among other things, the survey asked respondents to choose which natural or man-made doomsday scenarios they believed are most likely to happen in the United States. The...

With real unemployent approaching 25% of the population, 50 million Americans on food stamps, and the prices of essential goods rising every month, it’s no surprise that black market peddlers are turning to new product offerings to make a buck. In What Is Money When the System Collapses? we highlighted some items that would take the place of traditional currency in the event of a catastrophic financial and economic collapse – things like food, fuel, firearms and footwear. But for many, the world as they know it has already collapsed. Unable to afford retail prices for home essentials, these people...

The Survival Mom Teaches You How To Prepare More, Panic Less Mac Slavo March 13th, 2012 Over the last dozen years we’ve witnessed events in America and around the world that have proven one thing: sometimes, really bad things happen. We’ve seen thousands die in terrorist attacks on our own soil, residents of an entire U.S. city transformed into refugees almost overnight after, generations of families swept away by Tsunamis, economic and financial collapse that has wiped out decades of retirement savings, millions losing their jobs and forced into the government safety net for survival, and most recently, a nuclear...

16 Things to Stockpile with High Barter Value Cigarettes. Soap. Bullets. Alcohol. MREs. Silver Coins. Detergent. Water bottles. Matches and lighters. Sugar. Toilet paper. Water Filters/Purifiers. Bleach. Batteries. Candles.

No Matter How Much Food You’ve Got Stored, It Will Eventually Run Out in a Full-Blown Collapse Joe Alton, M.D.,aka Dr. Bones March 1st, 2012 The following article has been generously contributed by Joe Alton, M.D., aka Dr. Bones, of Doom and Bloom Nation where you can find strategies to stay healthy that include traditional medicine, alternative remedies, and medicinal/survival gardening. For the best in emergency and long-term disaster medical preparedness we encourage you to check out The Doom and Bloom Survival Medicine Handbook and follow Dr. Bones and Nurse Amy on their weekly podcast. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To Survive, How Much...

Society as we know it will break down and collapse in a five stage process outlined here. While it can be accelerated by certain events like war, a natural disaster, pandemic, terrorist attack, or even an impending asteroid impact, history has shown that economic collapse will essentially happen in this five stage process. To survive the collapse, it is important to read and interpret the signs and understand what assets are important to the current situation so you can be prepared for the worst thereby allowing you to survive intact and with as little damage as possible.

Doctor Doom Warns: “World War III Will Occur In the Next Five Years” January 17th, 2012 Well known economist, trend forecaster and Gloom, Boom and Doom Report publisher Dr. Marc Faber joined some of the world’s leading investment minds at the Barron’s 2012 Roundtable to discuss what’s in store for 2012 and beyond with respect to the economy, inflation, political stability and a host of other issues. As is generally the case, Dr. Faber doesn’t mince words and warns that, despite what happens in the near term, the end game is global conflict. Excerpted from Barron’s 2012 Roundtable via SGT...

Who could have accurately predicted that governments would undertake the largest tax-payer funded bailout in history after the collapse of the financial system in 2008, further expanding the multi-trillion dollar global debt bubble, instead of letting it correct itself naturally? How many actually believed, amid protests from millions of Americans, that Congress would follow through with the passage of socialized health care in what it supposed to be the world’s bastion of free market capitalism? Who truly believed that American citizens would be, in one sweeping broad stroke, marked as persons-of-interest and domestic extremists for seemingly innocent behavior that can...

Noticing the First Signs (Excerpt): Revolutions don’t just happen instantly over night, they develop over long periods of struggle. So keep your eyes and ears open for signs of a coming uprising, such as: Civil unrest prior to riots in the major cities. Politicians and media blatantly lying about the most obvious developments. Censorship of social networks such as Twitter or Facebook. This may not be entirely obvious at first but when the sites are blocked completely the warnings are clear (with excuses like child pornography). Censorship of old media such as newspapers and television (non-regime critical press). Arrests of...