Odds ‘n Sods:

Perennial contributor Eric S. sent us this: Saxo Bank’s ‘outrageous predictions’ are grim. (They are predicting a 25% drop in the S&P and as much as a 40% drop in China’s stock market.)

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Don’t miss the new SurvivalRealty.com listing in North Carolina with gravity-fed spring water.

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On a recent road trip over the holidays, we noticed that the graffiti blight in America’s urban areas seems to be getting worse. Living out in the hinterboonies as we do, the only significant graffiti that we see is the mobile sort that comes to us–painted on the sides of train cars. But in the big cities, and now even in the suburbs, it seems to have become more pernicious and widespread than dandelions. If graffiti is any gauge of respect for the property of others, then my advice is: don’t consider an area where you see graffiti a viable “retreat” area.

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Jim from Illinois suggested this article: Disappearing Towns in North Dakota. Jim asks: “I would think that there are already wells and electrical power at these sites, but I was wondering if a group of survivalists could buy a declining town, appoint a Sheriff and deputize everyone in the town. This would allow the deputized residents more freedom in the selection of firearms and concealed carry should not be an issue. In the article one man said that he often goes six months without seeing anyone, so the area is quite isolated. The down side would be the brutal climate, nuclear weapons close by and the lack of jobs.”