Panic, Damn You!!! 2

What does it take to bring you to the verge of panic? Global Warming? Peak Oil? Muslim terrorism? Threats of economic recession? The thought of [you fill in the blank] in the US White House? Whatever it takes, the mainstream media is determined to push your panic button. The media has no scruples about crying "fire" in a crowded theatre.

Popular panic, or collective panic, typically happens when the fear of being trapped in a dangerous place sweeps through a large group of people. This often leads to a mass stampede with some number of persons being trampled underfoot.

In the case of Peak Oil or Global Warming, panic may take the form of a fearful "hunkering down." When an entire society "hunkers down", it fails to plan for and invest in the future. In such a situation, predictions of recession become self-fulfilling prophecies, as investment capital for economic growth is pulled out of the productive economy and placed in more fear-based "investments."

The most knowledgeable voices on oil supplies at this time are Leonardo Maugeri and Daniel Yergin. If you have not read their respective books, The Age of Oil, and The Prize, you need to do so quickly so as to be informed on this issue. "Peak Oil" is a relatively cut and dried issue compared to "Climate Change." By reading Maugeri's book in particular, you will have a much better handle on Peak Oil.

To better understand the panic and hype over "Catastrophic Anthropogenic Global Warming" (CAGW), will take more time, thought, reading, and getting your hands dirty with a calculator. But it will be worth it if you can face the future with more confidence, rather than being at the mercy of climate grifters such as Al Gore.

Start with Warren Meyer's (Skeptical) Layman's Guide to Man-Made Global Warming. Warren also produced a free online climate video. The best website for an open discussion of technical climate issue (without climate orthodoxy censorship of ideas) is Steve McIntyre's Climate Audit. Just as good--but not allowing comments--is Roger Pielke Sr.'s Climate Science blog. Roger's blog is full of scientific articles that expand the climate discussion beyond the narrow issues considered important by Al Gore's Nobel partner, the IPCC.

For staying informed on issues of Islamic terrorism, I recommend a select group of journalists and blogs that work overtime to accumulate reliable information.
The Long War Journal
Michael Totten
Strategy Page
Robert D. Kaplan
Small Wars Journal
Belmont Club

Any readers who wish longer reading lists for any of the above topics, contact me at alfin2100@hotmail.com

A panicked populace is a populace in a state of involution or atrophy. The problem is a reluctance to invest in the future. That reluctance includes a reluctance to procreate to replacement--which is a huge problem for the western world and Japan.

Symptoms of this destructive pathology of the human spirit includes the rise of organisations calling for massive cutbacks in world population including dieoff.org, the human extinction movement, and other groups including those privately endorsed by academics like Eric Pianka. The fact that a large segment of leftist, postmodernist academia and media supports this human "die-down" and reversal of the scientific and technological progress of the western world, should cause parents to seriously consider the educational paths of their children. Unless they actually want their children to have this deep-seated pessimism instilled deeply in their children's developing minds.

The best antidote to panic is to be both informed and prepared. There will no doubt be some large bumps in the road over the next few decades, getting from our present "between-levels" state to the next level. The best "shock absorber"for those bumps is knowledgeable preparation.

Hundreds of thousands are without grid power in California currently, from Pacific storm damage. Obviously everyone needs stored clean water, food, and provisions for alternate heat, refrigeration, and power. Fire extinguishers. Emergency lighting. Medicine kit stocked for at least a month. Extra cash. (ATM's not working) Optional barter supplies.

Here are Popular Mechanics' lists for survival kits. The Al Fin sidebar has more sources for survival information and supplies in the lower 1/4th of the sidebar.

If you are not willing to panic, be prepared.