does anyone else seriously think shit will hit the fan in our lifetimes?

[MikeW]

That's one of the reasons I want to join the military - training.

Eh...it'll train you how to deal in a situation but i dont know that it'd train you how to recognize certain scenarios.

Im talking about how many people know what an EMP is, what it does and what to do in the case it happens? And not to panic.

I know it's cheesy, but it's true; "A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals"

[MikeW]

the chances of having a DIRECT attack of any form on the U.S. is fairly unlikely. not saying its impossible, but i dont see it.

if anything serious happened, i hope its a small zombie outbreak. the world has had enough movies to have some clue as to handle that.

I like the way you think.

[Pandemic]

Believe it or not, the FBI crime stats show 2009 had declined even with this economy. At the same time, firearms sales were up.

[alb_accord]

i think that people in this country will bring this country down. too many dumb with a lot of power and greed.

as of something big in our lifetime, well it's happening right now. financial melt donw, 911, iraq war and almost all manufacturing jobs going overseas.

there is no real threat from outside power, the threat is with people within this borders.

[crazymikey]

Justin Bieber.


Shit has already hit the fan.

[agol]

this is such a debatable topic. first off when you said famine im not worried about that at all. the united states is one of the leading producers in food world wide. we have so much corn we dont know what to do with it so we make it into gas.
virus's form all the time h1n1 all that stuff...? yeah a few people die every so often but i mean if your healthy you have nothing to worry about.
terrorism? yeah its likely to happen again with the dumb tsa not doing their jobs right. they have about a 30% rate of finding shit. so itd be just someones luck if it does happen. im 17 and i have a full life ahead of me. i really cant be worrying about all that stuff. but i do know the basic facts which i just stated. and i will eat corn the rest of my life if i have too. hahaha

[TypeG]

it already has...

he means like this....


later.

[deevergote]

Justin Bieber.


Shit has already hit the fan.

Somehow, Bieber managed to slip through the blades unscathed.

[Pandemic]

this is such a debatable topic. first off when you said famine im not worried about that at all. the united states is one of the leading producers in food world wide. we have so much corn we dont know what to do with it so we make it into gas.
virus's form all the time h1n1 all that stuff...? yeah a few people die every so often but i mean if your healthy you have nothing to worry about.
terrorism? yeah its likely to happen again with the dumb tsa not doing their jobs right. they have about a 30% rate of finding shit. so itd be just someones luck if it does happen. im 17 and i have a full life ahead of me. i really cant be worrying about all that stuff. but i do know the basic facts which i just stated. and i will eat corn the rest of my life if i have too. hahaha

What if there was a massive crop failure due to disease, fungus, or mold? Good bye corn.

H1N1 was a media wet dream. I'm talking about Ebola, Small pox, etc. You know, the one where strongest and weakest die equally.

Terrorism is going to happen again. Nothing is 100% secure. Something minor will happen. Something major (ie: dirty bomb) is a lot harder to pull off but is still within the realm of possibility.

[Law Grandeur]

the world is in pretty bad shape. whatever happens to it....we fucking deserve it

[agol]

What if there was a massive crop failure due to disease, fungus, or mold? Good bye corn.

H1N1 was a media wet dream. I'm talking about Ebola, Small pox, etc. You know, the one where strongest and weakest die equally.

Terrorism is going to happen again. Nothing is 100% secure. Something minor will happen. Something major (ie: dirty bomb) is a lot harder to pull off but is still within the realm of possibility.

i mean i guess....
i HIGHLY doubt that we will have a massive crop failure spread across the us. look at all the shit we put on our crops, were more likely to die from eating all the shit they use to protect them then from the actual dieseases they may carry.

ebola is the h1n1 of monkeys, but i dont think there have been any if few human cases in the united states.

terrorism im sure will happen again, and we cant predict it. we can only expect it and not be ignorant of it.

[deevergote]

The good thing is, a terrorist attack on a large enough scale to do serious damage to this country would be much easier to detect than a small scale attack. The 9/11 attacks were devastating, but they were fairly small-scale in comparison to what COULD happen. The bigger the attack, the more extensive preparations will be necessary. The more planning, preparing, and mobilization necessary, the faster it'll be on our radar, and the sooner we can defuse it. The 9/11 attacks also heightened our awareness of terrorism as well. Not just the government, but the general public. We know now that violent terrorism isn't something confined to distant countries.

A virus is more of a threat. Either due to something unwittingly carrying it in, or due to some crazy person that wants to spread it. Fortunately, a viral attack is of little use to terrorists that have any sort of goal in mind. The only thing that could do is potentially wipe out the country... or the world, if it's bad enough.
Again, we're aware of most viruses, and we can combat or avoid most of them. H1N1 was pretty tame. People died, yes, and it's very unfortunate for those that did. But it was hardly a serious national threat. I'm pretty sure I had it. Felt pretty sick for 3 days, and then I was better.
Other well known viruses have been around for a long time, and we've managed to keep them under control. Honestly, at this point, they would have to be weaponized and forced upon us somehow for there to be any serious impact.

A famine could be devastating. We depend on the crops of this country for a lot... not just food, but the economy rests upon it as well. Our economy is already weakened.




I've been watching Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles for the past few days... so the whole "shit hits the fan" idea fits right in.

[Masamune]

Yes. It's called the ocean becoming a sea of oil. Acid rain time.

Actually the worst case scenario for that is outlined in this convenient comic...

[LadyG]

deevergote; For WW1 and WW2 we were much more self-sufficient than we are today.

Modern society (especially American society, and any other "Americanized" society along with us) is showing signs of decline. Historically, such frivolous things such as material posessions, wealth, and vanity have become considerable priorities in overall society, setting aside previous priorities such as spirituality, education (for the sake of knowledge, not financial success), and art. This change in priority is often the precursor to a social downfall.

Funny thing is the very things that the terrorists and extremists accuse us of are the things that, historically, have led to the destruction of prominent societies.

You have it nearly right my friend. So closely right I can scarcely believe it.

No one is wanting to be a Family Doctor, because Neurosurgeons are paid better, and they have HUGE student loans to pay off. So we have HORRIBLE health care among rural and urban impoverished communities.

If the whole world lived as we "Westernized Nations" do, we would need TWO extra editions of Earth.
THAT WE AINT GOT.

We need to cease believing that as long as we look out for "JUST you and yours" everything will work itself out.

That is that thinking in this country that has killed manufacturing in this Nation, (Thanks Corporations) allowed the single biggest threat to our natural born civil liberties to fly,(The Patriot Act) and produces the demand for lil girls sweat suits with "Juicy" across the ass. (WRONG)

My Humble, yet informed, opinion is that we will soon recede as a world power. Eventually, WE will live in a country of slums, corruption and a vast distance between the "Have's" and the "Have not's" in the land. Our generation's decisions will determine the outcome. I want my kids to live well; even if that means less toys/games/stuff.

[deevergote]

It's the way of the universe. Stars grow bigger, brighter, hotter... then they burn out. New stars emerge elsewhere.

Egypt, Greece, Rome, England, USSR... all were powerful. All fell, to some extent (some more than others.) The USA has held the place as the world's premiere superpower solidly since 1945. We have the money. We have the luxury. We have the population. We have the education. We have the weapons. We have the STUFF. The funny thing is, even as I type those things, I have arguments at the ready for each of them now. Other people have weapons, and money, and luxury. We're hurting financially, which is putting the screws to all of that. As for education... we've been behind in that department for quite some time. We like to live in our sheltered little world, thinking we're smarter than everyone else... when in reality, the US on average is dumber than most other civilized countries. The few that are truly intelligent and educated aren't going to keep us afloat for too long. We've always had the brawn and bucks necessary to make any significant lack of education seem insignificant... but that's starting to change.
Now, China and India are emerging, and will soon reach a level comparable to the USA. Not the same, as the social structure of both countries are quite different from ours... but emerging all the same.

The thing is, those two countries alone are creating quite an upset in the world balance as we know it. The world's population is still occupying the same space. Still depending on the same resources. But now we have two countries emerging as major consumers AND major producers. If the automobile industry is any indication... China and India are poised to become MAJOR players in the market. The US, Germany, and Japan have been the 3 largest automotive producers... but now China has Volvo (and Hummer? that story keeps changing every time I look...) India has Jaguar and Range Rover (goodbye mainstream British offerings...) Not to mention each country has quite a few of their own companies.

Suddenly, we're not the only fat kid in the lunch line.





Where've you been, LadyG? Haven't seen you around much lately!