
Yet there are a few examples stubbornly fixed in the popular imagination of people reacting to a natural disaster by becoming primal and vicious. Remember the gangs “marauding” through New Orleans, raping and even cannibalizing people in the Super-Dome after Hurricane Katrina? It turns out they didn’t exist. Years of journalistic investigations showed them to be racist fantasies. They didn’t happen. Yes, there was some “looting” — which consisted of starving people breaking into closed and abandoned shops for food. Of course human beings can behave atrociously – but the aftermath of a disaster seems to be the time when it is least likely. (source)
For tens of thousands of east coast residents that worst case scenario is now playing out in real-time. No longer are images of starving people waiting for government handouts restricted to just the third-world. In the midst of crisis, once civilized societies will very rapidly descend into chaos when essential infrastructure systems collapse. Though the National Guard was deployed before the storm even hit, there is simply no way for the government to coordinate a response requiring millions of servings of food, water and medical supplies Many east coast residents who failed to evacuate or prepare reserve supplies ahead of the storm are being forced to fend for themselves. Frustration and anger have taken hold, as residents have no means of acquiring food or gas and thousands of trucks across the region remain stuck in limbo. Limited electricity has made it possible for some to share their experiences: Via Twitter:
- I was in chaos tonite tryin to get groceries…lines for shuttle buses, only to get to the no food left & closing early (link)
- I’m not sure what has shocked me more, all the communities around me destroyed, or the 5 hour lines for gas and food. (link)
- Haven’t slept or ate well in a few days. Hope things start getting better around here soon (link no longer available)
- These days a lot of people are impatient because they’re used to fast things. Fast food, fast internet, fast lines and fast shipping etc. (link)
- Glad Obama is off to Vegas after his 90 minute visit. Gas lines are miles long.. Running out of food and water. Great Job (link)
- Went to the Grocery store and lines were crazy but nail salon was empty so I’ve got a new gel manicure and some Korean junk food (link)
- So f*cking devastated right now. Smell burning houses. People fighting for food. Pitch darkness. I may spend the night in rockaway to help (link)

Legends from the past? Every single extreme weather event in recent years in the United States has been followed by looting. As MSNBC reported at the time, looting during Hurricane Katrina was so prevalent that it “took place in full view of police and National Guard troops.” Residents described the scenes as being like “downtown Baghdad” as looters filled garbage cans full of stolen goods and floated them down flooded streets. As Forbes’ Erik Kain points out, “looting and rioting…occur after most natural disasters,” including after Hurricane Irene as well as Hurricane Isaac. Looters also targeted victims of the Colorado wildfires earlier this year.
In George Orwell‘s novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, the Ministry of Truth is Oceania‘s propaganda ministry. It is responsible for any necessary falsification of historical events. The word truth in the title Ministry of Truth should warn, by definition, that the “minister” will self-serve its own “truth”; the title implies the willful fooling of posterity using “historical” archives to show “in fact” what “really” happened. As well as administering truth, the ministry spreads a new language amongst the populace called Newspeak, in which, for example, truth is understood to mean statements like 2 + 2 = 5 when the situation warrants. The Ministry of Truth is involved with news media, entertainment, the fine arts and educational books. Its purpose is to rewrite history to change the facts to fit Party doctrine for propaganda effect. For example, if Big Brother makes a prediction that turns out to be wrong, the employees of the Ministry of Truth go back and rewrite the prediction so that any prediction Big Brother previously made is accurate. This is the “how” of the Ministry of Truth’s existence. Within the novel, Orwell elaborates that the deeper reason for its existence is to maintain the illusion that the Party is absolute. It cannot ever seem to change its mind (if, for instance, they perform one of their constant changes regarding enemies during war) or make a mistake (firing an official or making a grossly misjudged supply prediction), for that would imply weakness and to maintain power the Party must seem eternally right and strong. (source)
Lessons from Venezuela: Top 10 items to barter with when SHTF
By Arsenio Toledo // Share
American cities were unprepared for financial fallout from coronavirus shutdowns
By Franz Walker // Share
A world that operates by financial cheating and unsound money is doomed
By News Editors // Share
State legislatures eye sound money reforms
By News Editors // Share
Prepping tips: How to survive a long-term power outage
By Zoey Sky // Share
Pezeshkian: Iran's New Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is Healthy and Able to Govern
By garrisonvance // Share
Op-Ed Alleges U.K. Establishment Campaign to Prepare Public for War With Russia
By garrisonvance // Share
10-Year Treasury Yield Hits 19-Year High as Oil, Inflation and Fed Comments Drive Spike
By sterlingashworth // Share
Anthropic CEO Amodei: Poorly Managed AI Could Pose "Risk to Humanity"
By chasecodewell // Share
Australian PM: OpenAI Agent Accessed Country's Medicare Portal
By edisonreed // Share
Meta Tests Human Concierge for Muse AI Assistant, Internal Posts Show
By chasecodewell // Share