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Matters of Concern: Knocking on Heaven's Door

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Matters of Concern: Knocking on Heaven's Door

If you thought cable news was crazy, wait until you get a load of Russian TV.

Josh Centers
Apr 29, 2022
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Matters of Concern: Knocking on Heaven's Door

www.unprepared.life

Hello, everyone. I’ve been struggling with a man cold this week and I’m very tired, so this Matters of Concern is shorter than usual. Maybe that’s a good thing? In any case, this edition is free.

Do me a favor: let me know if you find these weekly news roundups helpful. I feel like I keep saying the same things week after week. Maybe that’s because it feels like we’re in the middle of a slow-motion car crash. You can reply to this email, leave a comment, or drop by our Discord server.

And if you like what we’re doing here at Unprepared, please support us with a paid subscription. We can’t keep doing this without your support.

Are we on the verge of a nuclear World War III? Russian commentators seem to think so. This clip is worth a minute or so of your time:

Twitter avatar for @visegrad24
Visegrád 24 @visegrad24
Russia’s most famous journalists and “experts” saying on state TV that nuclear war with NATO maybe wouldn’t be that bad after all since the Russians will go to heaven, while the Westerners...
8:59 PM ∙ Apr 27, 2022
3,413Likes1,556Retweets

Margarita Simonyan, an editor at RT, said:

“Either we lose in Ukraine or the Third World War starts. I think World War III is more realistic, knowing us, knowing our leader. The most incredible outcome, that all this will end with a nuclear strike, seems more probable to me than the other course of events. This is to my horror on one hand but on the other hand, it is what it is. We will go to heaven, while they will simply croak... We're all going to die someday.”

Well hey, at least there’s good news! As nutty as American cable news panels are, imagine if Don Lemon said something like that? It’s more likely than you may imagine. Seth Cropsey published an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal called “The U.S. Should Show It Can Win a Nuclear War.” Here’s an excerpt:

“The reality is that unless the U.S. prepares to win a nuclear war, it risks losing one. Robert C. O’Brien, a former White House national security adviser, proposed a series of conventional responses, which are necessary but not sufficient to deter Russian nuclear escalation. Developing a coherent American strategy requires understanding why Russia threatens to use nuclear weapons and how the U.S. can recalibrate its strategic logic for a nuclear environment.”

At least not everyone on Russian TV is insane:

Twitter avatar for @JuliaDavisNews
Julia Davis @JuliaDavisNews
Russian TV keeps threatening nuclear strikes against Western nations, desperately trying to deter them from continuing to help Ukraine. On a side note, this is the first state TV host who doesn't seem to be eager to die for the Motherland, arguing with a trigger-happy lawmaker.
7:41 PM ∙ Apr 28, 2022
3,119Likes1,409Retweets

Many of us have grown used to Russia’s pervasive nuclear threats, but don’t grow complacent. Biden has brushed off Putin’s threats, saying they’re a sign of desperation, but there’s no animal more dangerous than a desperate one.

CIA director William J. Burns said earlier this month:

“Given the potential desperation of President Putin and the Russian leadership, given the setbacks that they’ve faced so far, militarily, none of us can take lightly the threat posed by a potential resort to tactical nuclear weapons or low-yield nuclear weapons.”

Many of us grew weary of Russia’s constant threats to invade Ukraine — myself included — until they suddenly did it. Putin has the means, the motivation, and he’s impulsive enough to do it. Don’t take this lightly.

Unprepared
Nuclear War: A Beginner's Guide to Survival
We covered all the basics in part one, including a long list of sources. No long introductions this time, we’re going to jump right in. [Obama] Administration officials argue that the cold war created an unrealistic sense of fatalism about a terrorist nuclear attack. “It’s more survivable than most people think,” said an official deeply involved in the p…
Read more
a year ago · 4 likes · Josh Centers

Meanwhile, as we ship weapons to Ukraine, we may have trouble rebuilding our stock.

Twitter avatar for @MarcusReports
Marcus Weisgerber @MarcusReports
BREAKING: Raytheon Technologies says it cannot quickly make new Stinger missiles, which the US has been sending to Ukraine. CEO Greg Hayes says the company must redesign electronics in the missile and seeker. "That's going to take us a little bit of time."
12:59 PM ∙ Apr 26, 2022
1,760Likes532Retweets

Keep an eye on the country of Moldova. Many think that Russia may roll into it soon.

Twitter avatar for @sentdefender
OSINTdefender @sentdefender
Israel, Bulgaria, Romania, and Russia have all called for their Citizens to leave Moldova and the Region of Transnistria as soon as possible, this is due to the rising possibility of Russian Military Action in the Country either independently or in connect to the War in Ukraine.
Image
9:35 PM ∙ Apr 28, 2022
1,160Likes446Retweets

Where the hell is Moldova? It sits between Ukraine and Romania.

Is Russia Winning the Oil War?

Putin told European countries, which get most of their oil and natural gas from Russia, to pay in rubles or be cut off, and he followed through, cutting off Bulgaria and Poland’s fuel supply.

Twitter avatar for @IuliiaMendel
Iuliia Mendel @IuliiaMendel
German Chancellor @Bundeskanzler warned that the country must be prepared for Russia to cut off gas supplies, similar to what happened to Poland and Bulgaria.
5:48 PM ∙ Apr 28, 2022
344Likes93Retweets

The European Union is warning member nations that paying Russia in rubles would be a violation of sanctions, but if given the choice between freezing or receiving a finger wag from the EU, Europe will take the latter. Italy is setting up accounts to pay Russia in rubles, and so is Hungary. Uniper, a German importer of Russian gas, has hinted at preparing to pay in rubles.

Meanwhile, not only has the ruble recovered, it’s doing better than it was before the invasion.

Twitter avatar for @JordanSchachtel
Jordan Schachtel @ dossier.substack.com @JordanSchachtel
Biden sanctions against Russia (with the explicit goal to collapse the RU economy) began a little over 2 months ago. It resulted in a spike of the dollar's value against the ruble. But it was short lived, only lasting about 2 weeks. Ruble is now more valuable than pre invasion #.
Image
12:48 PM ∙ Apr 28, 2022
262Likes77Retweets

Miscellaneous Doom and Gloom

As we’ve been warning, the economy “unexpectedly” contracted in the first quarter. It’s not officially a recession yet, but it’s getting close:

Twitter avatar for @business
Bloomberg @business
BREAKING: The U.S. economy unexpectedly contracted in the first quarter, as GDP fell at a 1.4% annualized rate trib.al/bMZWvAi
Image
12:36 PM ∙ Apr 28, 2022
355Likes201Retweets

More signs of impending food supply trouble, with more farms reducing fertilizer usage:

Twitter avatar for @KimChipman1
Kim Chipman @KimChipman1
One of Brazil's biggest farmers is planning to reduce fertilizer use by a quarter next season to cope with shortages and record prices bloomberg.com/news/articles/… by @tatifre @simoneiglesias @business #AgTwitter #Fertilizer #Brazil #FoodandFeed
bloomberg.comBloomberg - Are you a robot?
10:02 PM ∙ Apr 28, 2022
1Like1Retweet

Former presidential candidate Andrew Yang is worried the United States is headed toward civil war:

Twitter avatar for @AndrewYang
Andrew Yang🧢⬆️🇺🇸 @AndrewYang
“We are at pre-Civil War levels of animosity . .the political stress index incorporates income and wealth inequality, wage stagnation, national debt, competition between elites, distrust in government, social mobility . . and other factors that lead to instability and conflict.”
Image
9:29 PM ∙ Apr 28, 2022
113Likes36Retweets

Finally, there has been a mysterious wave of childhood hepatitis around the world.

Prepare Now

It’s spring. No, for real this time. Things are finally warming up, and the food situation isn’t getting any better, so it’s time to be starting your gardens in earnest. I’ve been hearing that a lot of people are starting gardens this year who have never gardened before, which is great. Here are some of our articles to help you get started:

  • Our Favorite Gardening and Homesteading Books

  • Start Seeds for Your Victory Garden Now

  • Why We Recommend Raised Bed Gardens

  • Why You Should Consider Raising Rabbits

And don’t just grow gardens: start thinking about building resilient systems. We point you in the right direction in What Is Permaculture?

Don’t say you weren’t warned. I know I keep harping on these same topics, but it’s for a good reason: the food situation is going to be bad. You need to become a producer and not just a consumer. We’re not selling boner pills and tinfoil hats here — we’re encouraging you to learn skills that may become invaluable in the 2020s and beyond.

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Matters of Concern: Knocking on Heaven's Door

www.unprepared.life
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Sarah
May 10, 2022

Hello Mr. Centers! Your discord link has expired, I'd love to join your server but can't just now :(

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