----- Forwarded Message ----- From: Peak Prosperity Weekly <[email protected]> To: Searle88 <[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, 15 July 2012, 14:20 Subject: Weekly Peak Prosperity (formerly ChrisMartenson.com) Newsletter - July 14, 2012 Edition ________________________________ Weekly Peak Prosperity (formerly ChrisMartenson.com) Newsletter July 14, 2012 Edition ChrisMartenson.com is now Peak Prosperity! Below is the content published on PeakProsperity.com within the last seven days. Included are our public blog posts, Featured Voice interviews, our Insider headlines, the Daily Digest, our What Should I Do? articles, the Deal of the Week, and any recently-scheduled upcoming events. Full access to our Insider content is only available to enrolled members. If you are not yet an enrolled member on PeakProsperity.com, click here to join today. ________________________________ Blog Middle Class? Here's What's Destroying Your Future by Charles Hugh Smith Wednesday, July 11, 2012, 8:36 pm According to the conventional account, the Great American Middle Class has been eroded by rising energy costs, globalization, and the declining purchasing power of the U.S. dollar in the four decades since 1973. While these trends have certainly undermined middle-class wealth and income, there are five other less politically acceptable dynamics at work: 1. The divergence of State/private vested interests and the interests of the middle class 2. The emergence of financialization as the key driver of profits and political power 3. The neofeudal “colonization” of the “home market” by ascendant financial Elites 4. The increasing burden of indirect “taxes” as productive enterprises and people involuntarily subsidize unproductive, parasitic, corrupt, but politically dominant vested interests 5. The emergence of crony capitalism as the lowest-risk, highest-profit business model in the U.S. economy read more » Our Money Is Dying by Chris Martenson Tuesday, July 10, 2012, 10:35 am On the minds of a lot of people, and increasingly on those who manage or invest money professionally, is how to preserve wealth during a period of intense official intervention and manipulation of money supply, price and asset markets. As every effort to re-inflate and perpetuate the old credit bubble is made, the words of Austrian economist Ludwig Von Mises lurk ominously nearby: read more » Insider The Middle-Class Survival Guide by Charles Hugh Smith Wednesday, July 11, 2012, 8:31 pm Executive Summary * Recognize the signs of serfdom * Calculate your income's vulnerability to the system * Don't count on high inflation to inflate away your debt obligations * 10 strategies you can start implementing right now to defend against the forces trying to sap your quality of life If you have not yet read Part I: Middle Class? Here's What's Destroying Your Future,available free to all readers, please click here to read it first. In Part I, we surveyed the key dynamics that have eroded middle-class wealth and income over the past 30 years.  Some of these were conventional (higher energy costs) and some were unconventional/politically unacceptable (financialization; neofeudalism). Regardless of what you identify as the primary cause, that the middle class (and labor in general) has lost ground since the early 1980s is undeniable, as is the ultimate failure of debt-dependent “growth.” What can we do about it? It seems to me there are two responses: 1. Avoid becoming a serf in the new financialized feudalism 2. Avoid becoming dependent on the Status Quo and avoid collaborating/supporting those elements of the Status Quo that subsidize and protect the parasitic, inefficient, and unproductive sectors of the economy. Getting Real About Serfdom I am going to cut to the chase here, and I expect many of you to disagree. Debt is serfdom, period. I often illustrate this point by asking two simple questions... read more » Heatwaves, Harvests, and Food Price Shocks by Chris Martenson Tuesday, July 10, 2012, 4:37 pm The persistent drought coupled with a record heatwave is seriously denting farm harvest forecasts across the US and grain futures have already been sent soaring. In some cases, the prices are approaching the old 2008 highs, which saw food riots spring up around the globe and contribute to several rather dramatic regime changes. It looks like the same dynamic is in play again... read more » Positioning Yourself for When Our Money Dies by Chris Martenson Tuesday, July 10, 2012, 10:35 am Executive Summary * Sustaining through a prolonged currency decline is challenging. How to best invest your capital through the speculative whipsaws that will buffet asset prices. * Why important-dependent countries (like the US) are particularly vulnerable. * What the stages of a US currency crisis will be. * What the lessons from the currency destruction in the Weimar Republic and modern Iran have to teach us about wealth preservation. If you have not yet read Part I: Our Money Is Dying,available free to all readers, please click here to read it first. A Process, Not an Event An important observation is that even the most destructive of these episodes are multi-year processes and are not events that transpire over a matter of days.  This means that you will most likely have to plan on navigating the waters for at least several years, possibly as many as ten, which raises issues around the depth of your mental and emotional resilience, and the durability of your physical and financial preparations.  Sure, nearly everybody can coast through the first few weeks and months of a monetary crisis. But very few will truly thrive through the entire process until a final capitulation is reached from which a new beginning can emerge.  Is such resilience even a reasonable goal, or something that can be consciously manifested?  Yes, of course it is.  That's why we at Peak Prosperity are here doing what we do... read more » Daily Digest Daily Digest 7/13 - The Surveillance State, Genetically Modified Apples Worry Growers by Daily Digest Friday, July 13, 2012, 10:43 am * Five things I’ve learned on the ground in Portugal * The Market Has Spoken, and It Is Rigged * Glenn Greenwald: The Surveillance State * Market Savior? Stocks Might Be 50% Lower Without Fed * Wells Fargo Will Settle Mortgage Bias Charges * Oil Tanker Full of Crude Stranded Off Coast of Singapore for 150 Days * Avalanche Kills at Least 9 Climbers in France’s Mont Blanc Mountain Range * That Fresh Look, Genetically Buffed  read more » Daily Digest 7/12 - Let's Draft Our Kids, Roubini On "Global Perfect Storm" by Daily Digest Thursday, July 12, 2012, 10:54 am * Let's Draft Our Kids * Report: Some lose homes over as little as $400 * Many Wall Street executives say wrongdoing is necessary: survey * Why is Wall Street full of psychopaths? * The Impending World Oil Shortage: Learning from the Past * Three central banks take action in sign of alarm * Nouriel Roubini: “Global Perfect Storm” Leads To Event Worse Than 2008 * Chart Of The Year: The Fed Has Doubled The S&P Admits... The Fed * As Evidence Mounts, DC Insiders Worry About Holder's Inaction on Wall Street Crime * San Bernadino, California Budget Report read more » Daily Digest 7/11 - Food Pantries Running Empty, 1 In 5 Alabama Residents Getting Food Stamps by Les Pierce Wednesday, July 11, 2012, 10:51 am * Italy eyes euro zone aid to ease debt pain * Italy’s Economic Gains No Shield Against Contagion, IMF Says * Some unemployment benefits may need to be paid back * Greece's budget gap narrows in first half, revenues off track * Europe Automakers Brace for No Recovery From Crisis * Bank of Portugal Says Economic Risks Persist * Pension deficits deepen in corporate Britain and U.S. * Expect increased grocery prices due to U.S. drought * Nearly one in five people in Alabama are getting food stamps. * Food Pantries Struggling to Meet Increased Demand (Ohio) * Texoma food pantries running on empty (Video) * Spanish Unemployment to Peak at 25.4% in 2013, OECD Says * Central Bankers Talk Up QE3 In Wake Of June Jobs Data * 24,000 Italian government employees to lose jobs * IMF Expects Italy Public Debt to GDP Ratio at 119% in 2017 * Spanish Aid Draft Banks May Wipe Out Hybrid Holders read more » Daily Digest 7/10 - 5 Signs Of Chinese Economic Apocalypse, The Politics Of Power Outages by Daily Digest Monday, July 9, 2012, 10:45 pm * Obama Poised for New Fight With G.O.P. Over Tax Cuts * Syria Could Crash The Dollar * FBI net shut off has 'limited' impact on victims * 5 Signs of the Chinese Economic Apocalypse * A Gold Rush in the Abyss * From Arab Spring to American Summer: The Politics of Power Outages * Shell's Arctic Oil Spill Recovery Barge Refused Coast Guard Certificates * Drilling for Gas Under Cemeteries Raises Concerns read more » Daily Digest 7/9 - Syria In Flux, Economic Report Card Fail, Iceland Heals Among Malaise by Daily Digest Monday, July 9, 2012, 12:42 pm * A Young Syrian’s Evolution From a Carefree Tour Guide to a Revolutionary * Economic Report Card: Fail * Arab Uprisings Point Up Flaws in Global Court * A Bruised Iceland Heals Amid Europe’s Malaise * Largest Hydroelectric Project in the World is Completed, but at What Cost? * Kenya Anchor to East African Oil Economy read more » Daily Digest 7/8 - Charles Ferguson's "Inside Job", Relentless Heat Wave Continues, Is The Carter Doctrine Working? by Daily Digest Sunday, July 8, 2012, 12:14 pm * Watch Charles Ferguson's "Inside Job" * The Carter Doctrine: Is It Working? * A Fancy Financial Adviser Title Does Not Ensure High Standards * 78 Dead in Southern Russia Floods * Uprooting GM Crops with Creole Seeds * Unrelenting Heat Wave Bakes All in Its Reach read more » Daily Digest 7/7 - The World's Biggest Corporate Fines, Global Economic Deadline Is Here, How To Avoid 'Internet Doomsday' by Daily Digest Saturday, July 7, 2012, 11:11 am * Punytive Damages? The World's Biggest Corporate Fines * Internet will vanish Monday for 300,000 infected computers * How To Make Sure You Won't Lose All Internet Access on Monday * Global Economic Decline Is Here, Now * Free Exchange: Move Over * California Approves Funding for High-Speed Rail Line * After Wildfire, a Cowboy Band Fights to Keep a Heritage Alive read more » ________________________________ What Should I Do? Firearms Maintenance by Semper Paratus Moyer Monday, July 9, 2012, 7:39 pm Maintaining firearms is a simple task that adds another element of responsibility to firearms ownership. Similar to any mechanical device, firearms are prone to wear, breakages, and corrosion that accompanies any device that has moving metal on metal. Be it rifle, pistol, shotgun, or anything in between, there are some very common things you can do to prolong the life of your firearm and ensure its proper and reliable function. read more » Daily Prep How to Turn a Pallet into a Garden by Jason Wiskerchen Friday, July 13, 2012, 4:48 pm If you are working with a small space for your garden or want to expand into new areas, this pallet setup can work wonderfully. http://lifeonthebalcony.com/how-to-turn-a-pallet-into-a-garden/ read more » Self Reliance Expo by Jason Wiskerchen Thursday, July 12, 2012, 8:16 pm If you are going to be in or can travel to the Arlington, TX area during July 27-28, there is a Prepper Expo that is sure to provide some new insights and access to resiliency building vendors and like minded people.  It can also be a great way to spread the word about the new PeakProsperity website and its online community as a brigade member.   http://www.selfrelianceexpo.com/ read more » DIY - Solar Water Heater & Pasteurizer Made From Everyday Recyclables by Jason Wiskerchen Wednesday, July 11, 2012, 4:11 pm A simple system for heating water to make it more safe when resources are limited. read more » Edible Weeds by Jason Wiskerchen Tuesday, July 10, 2012, 3:42 pm Learn about using what many have considered weeds as food and nutritional supplements. http://www.ediblewildfood.com/ read more » Tuna Can Oil Lamp by Jason Wiskerchen Tuesday, July 10, 2012, 1:24 pm An interesting way to use a can of tuna (Tuna in Oil) for a light source during an emergency.  Another reason to have wick material on hand and keeping the deep pantry stocked.  read more » Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Jason Wiskerchen Monday, July 9, 2012, 2:39 pm If you are looking for a good summer read that will inspire you to grow more food and learn about some of the trials and tribulations of a family taking the plunge and eating fully local, this book won't disappoint. read more » Starting a Fire with Flint and Steel (Video) by Jason Wiskerchen Monday, July 9, 2012, 2:11 pm read more » Toxic Tomatoes: What Urban Gardeners Should Know by Jason Wiskerchen Monday, July 9, 2012, 1:08 pm Planning on setting up an urban community garden?  Looking to buy a new piece of property to build your homestead? Keep in mind the possible issues and toxic dangers of the land you are going to be using before you start.  Your garden produce may not be as healthy for you as you hoped for.  Take steps to mitigate your risk.  http://www.treehugger.com/green-food/toxic-tomatoes-what-urban-gardeners-sho... read more » Local Harvest Website by Jason Wiskerchen Saturday, July 7, 2012, 1:00 pm Farmers Market season is in full swing and there is lots of great food out there find and eat.  LocalHarvest.org is a great directory and resource for finds local area farmers, farmers markets and food producers in your area.  Find and support the people who grow great food.  They even have an App! http://www.localharvest.org/ read more » Humanure Handbook, 3rd Edition - PDF Download by Jason Wiskerchen Saturday, July 7, 2012, 12:57 pm Available to download are the pdf chapters for the complete 3rd edition of the humanure book.  http://humanurehandbook.com/contents.html Get the hard copy for your bookshelf here: The Humanure Handbook: A Guide to Composting Human Manure, Third Edition read more » ________________________________ Copyright 2012, Whitney Peak Ventures, LLC. All Rights Reserved. ________________________________ To subscribe to the Peak Prosperity Weekly newsletter, please register on the website: http://www.peakprosperity.com/user/register?utm_source=newsletter_2012-07-15... To change your email address, log in to PeakProsperity.com and click here: http://www.peakprosperity.com/user/7823/edit This email was sent to [email protected] Unsubscribe from this newsletter