do you feel in a mental siege mentality in this recession? I feel like I have to close down the hatchet for Judgement day.

I am stocking up money, food, resources. I feel really depress. the job market is extremely bad in Canada now . The US down turn has catch up on Canucks.

Picard, HORSES,HITCHES AND ROCKY TRAILS-The PACKER'S BIBLE by Joe Back is the classic guide to horsepacking.
At the end of his book Joe shared the best knot of all- a simple overhand. He told his readers " When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on."

I feel like we are in a sureal atmosphere; the "calm before the storm".

I'm taking advantage of "the calm" to pay off my debts, continuing improving and expanding my preps, and practice many different skills in both the wilderness and urban environments.

There are some pretty astonishing, "jaw dropping" predictions, being made by persons with good track records, for the time period from mid-July thru the end of December of this year.

Based on historical, common known, and human behavior FACTS, I can't find any good news in any arena such as economics, politics, etc, etc.

Wildman, you have an odd definition of the word "calm".

-Blast

I'm just biding my time, waiting for something different to come along. The roller coaster ride has lots of twists and turns.

Blast, I must agree with you, in many respects.

That is why life appears very sureal to me, right now. Many political, economic, and social changes are occurring, under the surface RADAR, at the moment. These changes have not yet slapped the majority of the population in the face. The impact of these policy changes and movements behind the scenes are going to start rearing their ugly heads about mid-July, IMO.

The landscape is going to radically, eventually violently, change in ways that will have direct affects on ALL of us, in this country.

Lets keep the discussion away from politics people. If history teaches anything, it is that change is the only constant and people survived. Slips in an old copy of CONNECTIONS

Actual survival is not the same as maintaining a lifestyle we're used to. If people can survive in Somalia, one of the worst locales on the planet, I'm sure we'll all be okay here in NA.

No, I don't feel under siege. I'm throttling back on unnecessary spending and developing a couple of side micro-businesses, but nothing gut wrenching so far. I suspect there's more trouble ahead and I'm keeping a weather eye out for inflation; but there are still plenty of opportunities.

A reality check: in this country, we produce more food than we can eat, we produce more energy than we can burn, our banks are solid, we don't lose our healthcare if we lose a job, and people kinda sorta look out for each other. It's not paradise, and we have lots of tough challenges; but compared to 98% of humans on Earth we are very fortunate, and very blessed.

It's none of my business, picard120, but if you're feeling really depressed all the time, you should talk with a medical doctor. Events in life can send people into a negative spiral that they can't climb out of on their own. It's no more shameful than having a broken leg, and it's just as debilitating.

My $0.02.

'It's none of my business." Now there's a quote many say and few practise. Picard is member of our online community so it is.
I went to our Veteran's Administration some time ago trying to resolve an old service injury. Doctor asks me how I was feeling that day. I said I was deeply depressed over the drawn out handling of my case. Doctor instantly prescribed 500 Valium so I wouldn't have to make return trips to refill the prescription.
I tossed the prescription and 6 months later had my surgery.
Society is funny, and it's a miracle any function at all.
So Picard, have a drink, read some Francois Villon and hang on. You're not alone.

Just like many members here on this forum who have served overseas I can say this my friend.

You never really see how good we have it over here until you go over there. Even if the SHTF like some people predict we will still be better off than some poor sods. I don't mean to come off as lecturing because that's not my intent. Rather I would like to point out the fact that we ( especially us Canuks and Yanks) have it better than most even though we often don't see it.

Cheer up friend. The fact that you are even able to stock money and food means that you are doing a lot better than some. Times are tough for sure, but mental siege mentality? Nah, not for me. I try to prepare for tomorrow the best way I can but above that there is no point getting upset about things I can't change anyway. Some people think we may be in the calm before the storm and who knows, they may be right. Keep in mind that every storm does end at some point.
So batten down the hatches like someone said, and hang for all it's worth. The skies will clear at some eventually.

I can's say that I know for sure, one way or the other.
I had not given much thought to our nation's energy situation until I read the book The Long Emergency .
If it's mostly accurate, that is a very "eye opening" read.

Actually, I was talking about your friendly and tolerant northern neighbours, who incidentally are your largest (by far) energy supplier.

Cheers, eh?

It might be even more, but I think Congress has seen to limit the energy that we can buy from Canada, by imposing "environmental" restrictions. I will not discuss the wisdom of such laws.

World stock markets rose for the third month in a row. It looks like we are on the way out of this.
The Sock

Just wait until mid July - mid August,,,then we'll know!!!!

BTW, for the record,,,,"I don't think so"!

Agree with that sentiment. Cooking the books to make this quarter look better in order to provide an escape for those who know. . . BTW, for the record -- "I don't know"!

Chris, Nice point about us being a community (virtual as it is). I forget that myself.