Just in case...

given the trend of current social/economic/political events, there's a high chance of utility infrastructure collapse in these united states in the very near future. If this sort of thing happens it will likely lead to total chaos amongst people who are dependent on government and corporations for food, water, heat, energy, fuel, and consumables - so about 95% of the total population will be desperate for things they've always taken for granted. I foresee massive looting and violence, raids and robberies (FYI the US government recently deployed a unit of the US army to be stationed within the united states to help with "crowd control and civil unrest" for management of a national emergency. Also, the government has set up several FEMA prison camps around the country ready to detain dissidents in the occurrence of a national emergency). This is the type of situation where a heavily populated city is the last place you'd want to be.

Things are definitely escalating and while I wouldn't go so far as to suggest the apocalypse or a biblical armageddon, I do believe we're in the midst of the unraveling of civilization as we know it - the collapse of capitalism, globalization, government and industrialization. It's all coming down and there's really no way to stop it, fix it, or do anything other than watch it fall and be prepared to survive the crash. So....

Here's a list of items to help you prepare for the worst:

- be prepared to be mobile and pack light with essentials, unless you have a bomb shelter, in which case, stock that shit up!
- water filtration/purification kit (the kind you take camping): water is the number one thing you don't want to be without, plus you want to be able to drink from whatever sources are available.
- stock of non perishable food (canned foods, dried foods, etc)
- first aid kit and stock of medicine
- a bicycle or a vehicle (might not be a bad idea to store some extra containers of gasoline)
- a good flashlight and spare batteries
- matches and lighters
- adequate apparel (it could happen in the winter, so outdoor boots, jacket, etc are good to have)
- a reliable knife
- a safe and small firearm
- your INTUITION: things are going to happen so fast you're not going to have time to think about it. Be prepared and trust your intuition (i.e. trust your gut instincts).

If you think of anything to add to the list let me know! Buy now because the dollar may be useless very soon.

I know this might seem a little intense, but if you're in the flow then you're in the know and you probably sense it as well. In any case, it's better to be prepared for nothing than to have nothing prepared if the situation unfolds.... which is looking more and more likely every week.

A somewhat related concern: I'm not quite so sure the election will go as smoothly as one would hope. It's possible it'll drag out a month or two. Also, both Joe Biden and Colon Powell have warned of a crisis early in the coming year.

"Mark my words," Biden told donors at a Seattle fund-raiser Sunday night.

"It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John Kennedy. The world is looking. We're about to elect a brilliant 47-year-old senator president of the United States of America.

"Watch. We're going to have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy.

"And he's going to need help . . . to stand with him. Because it's not going to be apparent initially; it's not going to be apparent that we're right."

Strange, no? But you've gotta read into these things. You've gotta be paying attention. Otherwise the rug will pulled out from under you and you'll be on your ass. And anyways, we should be welcoming this collapse as a storm that will transform the world, wash out the bad and prepare the soil for new growth. It's a natural cycle. Embrace it.