A new microscopic, drug-resistant strain of the Staphylococcus aureus microbe known as CC398 was the subject of of a recent genetic study getting lots of attention. The rapid spread of this frightening infection, which has been shown to be highly communicable on farms between pigs and humans, is the latest in an alarming series of discoveries.

University at Buffalo researchers have raised the alert over mutating and hypervirulent strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae. Say the scientists:

With 7 billion people causing their own infection on Earth, we are entering into a world where pandemic megadeaths are not an if but when. Given all we know of infectious disease, scientists are frankly stunned such a catastrophic health disaster has yet to befall the modern world. Make sure you visit pandemicflu.gov to at least get the basics on being prepared.

Yes, dear reader, you parsed that correctly. The 34th President of the United States reportedly set out “telepathic messages” to extraterrestrial intelligent life forms to arrange a series of meetings between intergalactic beings and the free world.

This is all according to UFO lecturer Timothy Good, who also happens to be a prominent and respected academic, having consulted with the U.S. Congress. In his own words:

Alien invasion remains an unconfirmed but potential threat to all humans. Such an invasion need not be flying saucers with laser. It could be as simple as an Andromeda Strain scenario in which an alien microorganism terrorizes our species. Whatever the case, we wish you a happy rest of President’s Day!

Today’s reports that Russia narrowly averted a nuclear disaster that rivaled Chernobyl in December 2011 rocked the disaster-watching world.

The country was moments away from releasing untold radioactive contaminants into the atmosphere as a nuclear submarine carrying 16 R-29 ICBMs — each with a 1 megaton nuclear warhead — caught fire. The craft had to be partially submerged to douse the flames that threatened not only the nukes, but also the nuclear reactor of the craft itself, not to mention the thousands of pounds of torpedoes and mines onboard.

The well-respected Russian magazine Vlast reported on the incident, saying:

Had even one of those torpedoes exploded, we’d be looking at a serious nuclear accident affecting the globe. Nuclear energy, though much more threatening and accident-prone in weaponry than in civilian uses, is one of the most dangerous threats to humanity. The closely avoided devastation faced in this scenario should serve as our umpteenth strong warning: one day these nuclear chickens will come home to roost.

The fascinating report is really worth a look, and if you’re in a hurry, just check out this crazy infographic:

As you can see, it’s really quite simple: Unsustainable population growth increases complexity, risking critical systems failure as chronic fiscal imbalances test our very survival. Global governance failure means there is no apparatus to contain the problem as rising greenhouse gas emissions throw the environment into chaos. The rapidly disintegrating fabric of society might catch fire before it unravels.

OK, so that’s the doomsday scenario — clearly it would only take only one of the above disasters to seriously tilt civilization toward the edge. That’s why it’s helpful to cross-reference the above with this really cool interactive infographic which displays the likelihood of SHTF in economic, environmental, geopolitical, societal and technological contexts. Each risk is also ranked by impact on how band it’s gonna screw up your day… and the days of 7 billion other folks.

So what do the experts say we should be watching out for the most? On a scale of 0-5, with 5 being ‘unavoidable’, “severe income disparity’ and ‘chronic fiscal imbalance’ rank just above a 4. Major systemic financial failure may only rank around 3 in likelihood, but it’s the hardest-hitting disaster at around a 4 impact. Other notable threats include environmental hazards and shortages of food and water, which the survey finds more inevitable than not.

While the report urges action to mitigate these threats, it paints the picture of a dystopia bound for mass casualties, noting that our preparedness has not evolved alongside the threats. World leaders are reading this report to learn how they can exploit these weaknesses. Business leaders are reading this report to see how they can profit. We highly recommend you at least skim the report, as a stakeholder in the survival of the fittest.

The expanded query results are beyond interesting, at least to us. In fact, we’re so beside ourselves with excitement poring over these results, we’re going to take a look at every one of the 19 questions asked in the survey. More importantly, we’ll draw conclusions from the answers, which are quite illuminating to the overall sentiment of the U.S. human race as it faces imminent extinction. Honestly, National Geographic is doing the Lord’s work here as far as we’re concerned, and we can’t say enough good things about their spot-on questions and significant sample size. Please note these questions and answers are emphatically paraphrased to be concise and comical — go here for the real deal document.

Q: How will shit hit the fan in the U.S. in the next 25 years?
A: Three-quarters thought a significant earthquake or hurricane was guaranteed, we think the odds are closer to 100%. Terrorism and financial collapse was a 50/50 proposition, which is ridiculous. Odds of a significant terrorist attack are far lower in reality, while financial collapse has already occurred and is ongoing. At the end of the spectrum, only 13% thought a SHTF event was unlikely to occur at all… I guess the world still has optimists.

Q: What Hollywood blockbuster most closely depicts how the human race will bite it in the next 25 years?
A: The biggest majority hovers in the one-third territory for The Day After Tomorrow, Armageddon and 2012. Are you people insane? I guess if only given Hollywood blockbusters as choices, one is a bit limited in depictions of reality. Where is The Road or A Boy and His Dog?

Q: Is there even a grain of truth in the 2012 catastrophe predictions?
A: Three-quarters say unlikely, with half committing to extremely unlikely. OK, so there are still some sane people on the planet. While we believe 2012 could be bad — even one of the worst — we’re not convinced the year necessarily has anything to do with it. On the other hand, a whopping 27% said it was likely, so we take back what we said. You 27% are absolutely right, here comes the end, please buy a 2012 shirt before you go. For the 76 respondents who said a 2012 apocalypse, at least in part, was “extremely likely”… where have you been all our lives?

Q: If you knew you were going to die tomorrow, what would you do?
A: We’re honored that National Geographic essentially lifted the lead sentence of the Dead Unicorn band bio for this question. But seriously folks, the results are no surprise. A quarter want to kiss and make nice with loved ones gone astray, and of course bone like there’s no tomorrow. In fact, more people were concerned with getting their freak on than getting their essential life-sustaining resources like food and water on.

Q: How soon will a major world catastrophe happen?
A: Results are pretty evenly split here amongst soon (next 4 years) and 20+ years from now, with two thirds convinced the SHTF in two decades or less.

Q: When this SHTF, whose fault will it be?
A: Survey says… 71% Mother Nature, 29% us. Ahem… we think they’re not giving ourselves enough credit for being able to wipe us off the map. Still, nobody fools with Mother Nature.

Q: Compared to the rest of Americans, are you prepared for catastrophe?
A: Half of respondents consider themselves average. One quarter each consider themselves more or less prepared. We think the ‘average’ preparedness people are far underestimating what it takes to actually be prepared.

Q: Is it better to have a 401k or 401 MRE’s?
A: While almost 60% want the perceived financial stability of a 401k, a healthy 41% would prefer storable foods and shelter from disaster as a long-term investment.

Q: How have you prepared for SHTF?
A: Almost half have done the obvious, like stocking food, water, batteries, fuel… one-third have acquired basic survival supplies and skills. Only 10% or less have taken hardcore steps like finding their own water source and keeping livestock, though we expect that number to grow steadily as situations become more untenable.

Q: How long would you survive solo if you had to stay sheltered in place?
A: This question’s a bit useless because we think the only people qualified to answer this are preppers themselves. Thus, anyone who thinks they can stretch it to 60 days (a full 77%) is probably just guesstimating. If you’re a competent prepper stocked with supplies, you know you’ve got 2 months down pat, and more if necessary.

Q: How quick can you bug out with what you need to survive?
A: Half of people think they can get out in 30 minutes? The key phrase here is “what you need to survive” and in that sense I think respondents are grossly underestimating what that is. But of course the question itself is vague so the answers are tough to parse for meaning.

Q: Are all your ducks in a row right now if the SHTF?
A: Pretty much half and half here too, not much to say. Individuals aren’t often the best judges of their own preparedness.

Q: Why aren’t you prepared?
A: Forty percent can’t afford the supplies, while 27% aren’t informed enough. Well, at least there’s 27% we can help! A cocky 24% of survey takers don’t believe a catastrophe will happen. That’s a convenient excuse for being lazy.

Q: You’re buying a new house: Sub-Zero kitchen appliances or bomb shelter?
A: Jesus, 49% want the nuke shelter over the fancy fridge? We’re just as freaked out about this stuff as you are, but the odds of needing a bomb shelter or safe room are so low, and so much more expensive compared to convenience-of-life appliances. Prepare in moderation — today it’s much more likely you’ll be cooking for the next 25 years than be nuked.

Q: Pick one thing you’d want unlimited access to post-apocalypse?
A: As far as we’re concerned, the 45% who didn’t answer “water” deserve their Darwinian fate. Food, electricity, bullets, gas and batteries don’t go that far when you’re critically dehydrated after just days without water, the most essential resource for survival besides oxygen.

Q: Who do you share resources with post-apocalypse?
A: Have a heart, 74% are sharing with immediate family members. All down the answer grid, folks are reaching out to help others in big numbers on this poll. But let’s face it, in times of relative stability it’s easy to make such claims. When it all comes down, there’s no way even half of the respondents make good on their altruistic claims when faced with the brutality of impending death. Human nature has a dark side and these forged answers reflect our dedication toward hiding that fact from ourselves and the world.

Q: How prepared are most Americans?
A: Not surprisingly, 85% think Americans will generally be unprepared. It’s one of those fun studies in statistics when you look at the 85% stat and compare to the 49% who believe they are “as prepared as I think I need to be for a potential catastrophe”. The 36% difference represents a massive crowd of folks overestimating and/or overepresenting their true preparedness levels.

Q: Should we even bother preparing for catastrophe, or are we just fucked?
A: 36% say we’re fucked, there’s nothing you can do to really be ready. We understand the defeatism… in certain scenarios, these folks are unfortunately dead on the money. But there are plenty of other scenarios where we can survive and come out on top, even if that’s the exception tot he rule. We side with the 64% who believe one can do something to prepare for surviving a life-challenging experience.

Q: Would a Republican or Democrat increase the risk of terrorist attack or economic collapse?
A: The results were pretty much equal, as they should be. The end of the world isn’t right- or left-wing. Extinction knows no party. A terrorist attack, however unlikely, is isolated. The worldwide economic collapse is not beginning to be solved, it’s beginning to unravel. A cycle of consolidation and liquidation continues across international banking institutions and world governments, fueling the insatiable growth of a billion individuals. But that’s another blog post…

The 2012 apocalypse meme has picked up some serious steam early on in the year. Here in the real world, catastrophe insurance companies (my new favorite source) reported a spike in disasters in January 2012 though noted nothing “big” had happened yet.

However in the fictional world, especially on TV, we are seeing the end times theme surging in popularity as we stand just months away from one of the longest- and most-prognosticated end times event of civilization’s history.

First and foremost in the trend is the new National Geographic series Doomsday Preppers. Our favorite part about the show is not in the show itself, but rather this awesome Doomdsay Dashboard that mines Twitter for chatter on extinction level events. We’re excited the issue is getting some serious coverage and exposure and will be watching tonight’s season premiere. Here’s the promo:

We’re also have to give a shout out to Chevrolet for having the cajones to fully embrace armageddon with their Ford-bashing Super Bowl commercial:

Our minds were blown when this commercial aired — the panorama of end times special effects were very well done. We were surprised to see a big American brand have no problem being tongue-in-cheek about the destruction of the human race. That the commercial (spoiler alert) ends with a casual reference to the megadeath of billions of humans speaks as much to feeling an extinction level event is inevitable as to our desensitized culture.

Finally, a new sci-fi apocalypse show by J.J. Abrams, the masterful mind behind the game-changing Lost. We’re definitely buying season passes to Revolution. We’ll keep our eyes on the real end times events (and the Disaster Dashboard), but every now and again we all just need to relax with a good, heartwarming apocalyptic TV series.

A leak of radioactive gas at the San Onofre nuclear power plant outside of San Diego, CA is the latest in a string of what are becoming routine mishaps. Yesterday, China reported a radiation leak as the rapidly expanding country began slowing approvals on new nuclear plants. And Fukishima continued its legacy as one of the worst ever nuclear disasters, announcing today that 8 tons of radioactive water leaked from the crippled plant. This all happened over the course of 48 hours!

The reality is that nuclear power plants leak all the time. Sometimes they release radioactive gas or water on purpose to avert a more catastrophic disaster, sometimes the leak is inadvertent and occasionally undetected. In fact, background levels of radiation are noticeably higher within 30 miles of a plant. These sustained background levels make small leaks even harder to detect.

Right now the fight is strong against the much maligned Indian Point power plant which could severely pollute New York City’s water with a bad enough leak. The plan to remove the threat of a nuclear accident in one of the country’s most densely populated areas is now in place, with Energy Committee Chairman Kevin Cahill saying, “We have the framework and the resources for a future without Indian Point. It all comes down to the state developing a plan and putting it in motion.” Should a meltdown occur in the reactors that sits on a fault line and cannot withstand a high-magnitude earthquake, Indian Point would cause mass devastation and panic in the NY metro area.

This revolt against nuclear energy is happening across the planet, most noticeably with Germany pledging to close all its nuclear power plants by 2022. Unfortunately, our overpopulated planet’s energy needs make the total eradication of nuclear energy impossible for the foreseeable future. Until then, we’ll have our geiger counters handy.

That’s not to say those of us who “believe” in climate change are any more informed. Forbes contributor Steve Zwick points out that both groups primarily operate on abundant faith and little science. They are just as likely to “prove” global warming is real by telling you it’s been a warm winter. The facts don’t care what you believe, only what you can measure, observe and analyze.

Try and tell all of that to the weather, which was undeniably extreme in 2011. Extreme weather can scientifically be tied to extreme weather happening right now, like NASA’s analysis of the 2011 Texas heat wave and drought which was proven to be caused by global warming. The projection from the National Weather Service for 2012 has the drought persisting and intensifying throughout the south.

2005 and 2010 were the warmest years on record, while last year was the 11th hottest on record despite several global weather trends that cooled the planet. Without La Niña’s strong cooling effect, we might have broken the 2010 record. In any case, scientists know we’ll break it in the next few years.

We agree with the folks fighting for weather casters to begin reporting on climate change so we can be a bit more informed as a people about what’s destroying our planet and species.

The always-sharp Middle East analysis at DEBKAfile shows that a war of attrition is brewing and in fact some signs point to a war already beginning to break out. The analysts as well as Saudi Arabia’s leadership predict Iran will progressively constrict the Strait of Hormuz rather than shut it down in one swoop. This waterway is where one-fifth of the world’s oil comes from, and Saudi Arabia is closely watching the situation, mulling what kind of action from Iran would constitute an act of war.

Meanwhile, the U.S. military is constructing a floating commando base in the Middle East which will serve as a launchpad of attack should the Strait of Hormuz situation go south. They’re also working on a bunker buster that can destroy Iran’s deeply buried nuclear facilities after admitting their current $300M+ arsenal isn’t good enough to do the job. This all comes after the Pentagon’s recent revealing of its austerity program, which exposes America’s strategic military objective to use these commandos in response to asynchronous threats in the region. In fact, one could argue that the black ops attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities and scientists could be construed as the start of this conflict, in which case war is already underway.

The emerging picture is not one of a land war similar to the last several Gulf wars, but rather one of precision drone strikes, daring commando raids and high-tech defense gadgetry. This new face of war is no more attractive than the old. Because of Western sanctions currently imposed on Iran, the average Iranian citizen is suffering from rapid inflation and isolation. We may see a similar situation in Iran as the sanctions against Iraq which claimed the lives of millions of innocent Iraqi citizens. It goes to show that any war, be it high-tech, in the trenches, or even fought through “diplomacy” — is hell.

You could have picked a worse year for prophecies about the end times. Whatever the debunkers say, the Mayans did predict that 2012 would be a time of great transformation. When you throw all the astrological stuff out the window — the silly Planet X/Niburu tin hat theories, you still have an incredibly advanced ancient civilization who understood the true nature of space and time far before any other. They most definitely predicted a major transformation around 2012. Whether this means end times or great revelations or both (or neither) is a healthy and unresolvable matter of debate.

Do we at News for End Times think the world will end in 2012? We firmly believe and can prove that it’s more likely than it’s ever been, which is to say it’s still not incredibly likely. The
Yellowstone Supervolcano is overdue to erupt, the West is about to slam the Earth and possibly knock out communications and energy grids, while a deadly global pandemic is not an if but when.

The important thing to remember is that all of these grand disasters operate on grand timescales. Due to different interpretations of the Maya calendar, we don’t know for sure if 2012 marks the end of their timeline… over thousands of years, their advanced methods of time tracking were still somewhat primitive and inaccurate when iterated far into the future. All of the disasters mentioned above happen on timescales in which centuries of inaction are punctured by violent extinction level events. Remember, a 2012 apocalypse would not be the first time all life on the planet was almost wiped out.

The actual outcome will probably exist between extremes — the world will not completely ending, but there will be times when it feels like it is. Even at the hyper-accelerated time scale technology has put us on, the end times will likely happen over decades or centuries, not overnight.