Home » Survival
Category Archives: Survival
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CCLXVIII–The Representative Racket: A Canadian Reflection on a Historical Artifact
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CCLXVIII– The Representative Racket: A Canadian Reflection on a Historical Artifact More and more I’m coming to the conclusion that “representative” (or “indirect”) democracy is just another in a long line of ruling elite rackets. And by “racket” I’m thinking of Major General Smedley Butler’s definition used in War is a […]
The Bulletin: October 15–21, 2026
The Bulletin: October 15–21, 2026 This past week’s articles of interest… CLICK HERE If you’re new to my writing, check out this overview. The Environment Is Planet Earth Getting to Know the Oil System Optionality Collapse: We’re Investing in a Future That Won’t Exist Pepe Escobar: Iran & Yemen Escalate — The House of Saud Will Collapse […]
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CCLXVII–Elite Responses to the Architecture of Collapse, Part 7: Patterns, Prophecies, and the Path Forward
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CCLXVII–Elite Responses to the Architecture of Collapse, Part 7: Patterns, Prophecies, and the Path Forward This Contemplation concludes my series exploring the responses of ruling elites to diminishing returns on investments in complexity. I’ve looked at: squeezing of the population (Website Medium Substack); ideological justification (Website Medium Substack); military expansion (Website Medium Substack); scapegoating (Website Medium Substack); and technological […]
The Bulletin: October 8–14, 2026
The Bulletin: October 8–14, 2026 This past week’s articles of interest… CLICK HERE If you’re new to my writing, check out this overview. Explosion Rocks Venezuela’s Second-Largest Refinery | ZeroHedge Why You Are Getting Poorer While the Economy Grows — global geopolitics French Budget Deficit Explodes Into a Major Debt Crisis and Riots — MishTalk Feeding America […]
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CCLXVI– Elite Responses to the Architecture of Collapse, Part 6: Technological Salvation and the Pursuit of Innovation
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CCLXVI– Elite Responses to the Architecture of Collapse, Part 6: Technological Salvation and the Pursuit of Innovation Today’s Contemplation is the last response I will analyse that explores a society’s ruling elite attempts to counter diminishing returns on investments in complexity: technological salvation and the pursuit of innovation. Thus far I […]
The Bulletin: October 1–7, 2026
The Bulletin: October 1–7, 2026 This past week’s articles of interest… CLICK HERE If you’re new to my writing, check out this overview. That’s it. It’s all over bar the shouting… | Damn the Matrix Europe Races To Contain Energy Crisis With Patchwork Measures | ZeroHedge Peak oil and rising costs — by Keith Akers The Night […]
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CCLXV– Elite Responses to the Architecture of Collapse, Part 5: Scapegoating and the Search for Internal Enemies
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CCLXV– Elite Responses to the Architecture of Collapse, Part 5: Scapegoating and the Search for Internal Enemies This Contemplation continues to explore the responses of the ruling elite to diminishing returns on investments in complexity that began with a review of the extraction mechanisms used to squeeze resources out of a state’s […]
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CCLXIV–The Inevitability of Growth.
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CCLXIV–The Inevitability of Growth. A slight departure from my series of Contemplations on elite responses to encountering diminishing returns on investments in complexity… gettyimages.com One of my favourite events is unfolding here in Ontario, Canada–he states sarcastically, perhaps even theatrically given the theatre that accompanies such events. It’s election time. Monday, […]
The Bulletin: September 24–30, 2026
The Bulletin: September 24–30, 2026 This past week’s articles of interest… CLICK HERE If you’re new to my writing, check out this overview. Trump Tells U.N. He Is a Man of Peace, Threatens to Annihilate Iran — MishTalk California Declares State Of Emergency Ahead Of Strong El Niño | ZeroHedge 95.5% of People Are About to Lose […]
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CCLXIII–Elite Responses to the Architecture of Collapse, Part 4: Military Expansion and the Pursuit of Conquest
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CCLXIII– Elite Responses to the Architecture of Collapse, Part 4: Military Expansion and the Pursuit of Conquest This Contemplation continues my exploration of elite responses to diminishing returns on investments in complexity. Part 2 explored the most common one–squeezing the population–and the extraction mechanisms used. Part 3 analysed the response of […]
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CCLXII–Elite Responses to the Architecture of Collapse, Part 3: Investing More Heavily in Ideological Justification
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CCLXII– Elite Responses to the Architecture of Collapse, Part 3: Investing More Heavily in Ideological Justification I began this series of Contemplations on elite responses to the architecture of collapse by outlining the five recurring ones that tend to be made in the face of diminishing returns on investments in complexity: […]
The Bulletin: September 10–16, 2026
The Bulletin: September 10–16, 2026 This past week’s articles of interest… CLICK HERE If you’re new to my writing, check out this overview. Massive Escalation: Iran Sends Large Ballistic Missile Salvo On Jordan Bases, After US Strikes Iranian Oil Tankers | ZeroHedge U.S. Finds A War It’s Willing to Declare Animals regulate water, land, and climate : […]
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CCLXI–Elite Responses to the Architecture of Collapse, Part 2: Squeezing the Masses Even Tighter
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CCLXI– Elite Responses to the Architecture of Collapse, Part 2: Squeezing the Masses Even Tighter In Part 1 of this series of Contemplations on the typical responses of a society’s ruling elite to societal collapse, I discussed the problem of diminishing returns on investments in complexity–perhaps the central tenet of archaeologist […]
The Bulletin: September 3–9, 2026
The Bulletin: September 3–9, 2026 This past week’s articles of interest… CLICK HERE If you’re new to my writing, check out this overview. Trump Attacks Iran Attacks Trump Attacks … How to Engineer a Food Crisis — UNSHADOWED (IAF) The Leipzig Incident Has All The Hallmarks Of A False Flag The Heat Strike: Our Last Chance to […]
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CCLX–Elite Responses to the Architecture of Collapse, Part 1
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CCLX– Elite Responses to the Architecture of Collapse, Part 1 Have you noticed that when a society begins to falter, to move sideways, its ruling elite rarely if ever respond by looking in the mirror and asking, “What are we doing wrong?” No–instead they ask, “How can we maintain our positions […]
