Month: May 2006

Odds ‘n Sods:

There has been much talk about Iran’s new Euro-denominated oil bourse. Presidente Hugo Chavez now says that he might start pricing oil in Euros, too. And President Putin of Russia wants to trade oil and natural gas in rubles. Are they all trying to tell us something about the once-almighty U.S. Dollar?    o o o BBC News Economics Editor Steve Schifferes comments on why the dollar is sinking so rapidly.    o o o The high price of platinum is boosting palladium, as an alternative for jewelry making



David in Israel Re: Buckshot’s Survival Attitude Versus the “Commando” Survival Attitude

James Every time I see an article by Buckshot [such as “The Basics of Stocking a Retreat For One Year”, posted May 19th], I am most impressed that he expresses the distilled wisdom of a true survivor. I don’t believe I have ever see him recommend a battle rifle as an primary part of a survivor’s arsenal. A military type rifle in the hands of someone without a realistic idea of combat gives a sense of super hero power. Sadly in a generation of video games where the “Hero” is able to take down whole rogue military installations a subtle …


Letter Re: Pre-1899 Oberndorf 8×57 Mauser Bolt Action Rifles

James: I am getting a Model 1893 Turkish Mauser. I know that these actions are not as strong as the Model 98. However, they are German Mausers made in Oberndorf. What finer pedigree can a rifle have? I have read some posts on forums that these are marginally safe with commercially available ammo. I was warned that the Turkish ammo was dangerous, it is known to be the hottest of the milsurp ammo. I was also warned against the Yugo [ammo]. One or two guys even said you only should shoot hand loaded mild loads. I am just wondering what …


Odds ‘n Sods:

I’m nearly done reading “The Protector’s War“” the second installment in S.M. Stirling‘s “Dies the Fire” trilogy. If you can suspend disbelief–getting past the basic premise of the series (an inexplicable overnight change in the laws of physics that renders gasoline and gunpowder impotent) then you’ll enjoy these books. In this installment, part of the storyline takes place in England. The author uses the books in this series as a bully pulpit to preach preparedness and self-sufficiency. (Or at least I think that is his intent.) He weaves lot of history and practical skills into the storylines. Stirling is one …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"It is certain that free societies would have no easy time in a future dark age. The rapid return to universal penury will be accomplished by violence and cruelties of a kind now forgotten. The force of law will be scant or nil., either because of the collapse or disappearance of the machinery of state, or because of difficulties of communications and transport. It may be possible only to delegate authority to local powers who will maintain it by force alone." – Roberto Vacca, The Coming Dark Age


Note From JWR:

I just ran the numbers. Of the more than 9,500 people that read SurvivalBlog several times a week, only 242 of them have subscribed, sending 10 Cents a day, or more. That represents just 2.5% of readers. Subscriptions to SurvivalBlog are 100% voluntary. Nuff said.


The Basics of Stocking a Retreat For One Year, by Buckshot

Remember the movie Red Dawn? Think about when Colonel Tanner said: “You think you’re tough for eating beans every day? The scarecrows in Denver would give anything for a taste of what you got. They’ve been under siege for about three months. They live on rats and on sawdust and sometimes… on each other. At night, the pyres for the dead light up the sky. It’s medieval.” Do you have a plan set up to keep you and your family from become scare crows? I mean a realistic plan that you are working on every payday? A good friend once …


Letter Re: Clock Drive Radios

Mr. Rawles: I bought a cheapy Chinese plastic model (“Dynamo and Solar Radio” model, in a small black rectangular plastic case), and it worked okay for a couple weeks. Then the flimsy plastic crank handle broke inside the unit. At least the solar cells seem to recharge it okay if left in the sun for a few hours. The Eton/Grundig ones seem to be well constructed I hear, but now perhaps a better one is coming with a Sony model being released in Japan. They are usually pretty good about testing ergonomics and durability much more than most companies.


Odds ‘n Sods:

For our U.S. readers: According to Congressman Ron Paul’s office the vote on his NAIS de-funding amendment (H.R. 5384) has been put off until next week. This gives us more time to reach our representatives in congress. E-mail, call, tell friends and family, et cetera. The NAIS scheme would impose costly and time consuming requirements on U.S. animal owners, without compensation. It must be stopped!    o o o SurvivalBlog reader RBS mentioned these two articles on the fate of the dollar: US dollar weakness likely to crash global stocks and “The Declining Dollar Erodes Personal Savings” (from Ron Paul’s …



Letter Re: Survivalist Matchmaking?

Hi Jim, I remarried about three years ago to a woman from Vietnam whom I met through a friend I work with. We were introduced by my friend who is also from Vietnam. We became pen pals and conversed via e-mail and chat for almost five months before I went to Vietnam to meet her. She was a school teacher in Saigon and had never been married. She and her family survived the brutal takeover by the communist North Vietnamese after the U.S. government abandoned the South Vietnamese in 1975. My wife and her family made several attempts to escape …



Two Letters Re: Advice on Firearms Caching

Good Evening JWR: I want to safely hide guns and ammo at strategic locations on my wooded property without placing them in buildings, in the chance situation I could not get into my home. Do you have any suggestions on safe storage? Thank you, – Rus Jim, I have been thinking, perhaps someone with expertise in this area may want to post on your blog about long term firearms storage. I have stocked up firearms in the spirit of your book “Patriots”, to give to a friend who has none, or to group standardize for a group that doesn’t exist …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Don’t miss this “must read” piece from Chris Laird on gold price increases and the imminent collapse of the U.S. dollar.    o o o Yikes! Human-to-Human Transmissible Avian Flu in Indonesia?    o o o The high bid is currently $110 in the SurvivalBlog Bandwidth Fund benefit Book Auction. Please e-mail your bids before May 30th. Thanks to Kurt and Angie Wilson of Survival Enterprises for sponsoring this fund raiser!    o o o The next big Los Angeles earthquake could be strong and prolonged.