Month: March 2008

Note from JWR:

You may have noticed some all-time highs were just reached in the commodities markets. Spot gold briefly reached $991 per ounce yesterday morning (intraday). It settled substantially by the closing bell, but the bull market in commodities is far from over. Meanwhile, crude oil futures spiked to nearly $106 per barrel. And the futures market for wheat was recently bid up to an unprecedented $25 per bushel. When I last checked, the US Dollar Index had sagged down to an alarming 72.66! Spot silver, while not at an all-time high (because of the extraordinary highs set during the Hunt Brothers-inspired …


Letter Re: Credit Unions Versus Banks for Safety?

Good Morning Jim, As I read today’s blog, I thought again about the safety of credit unions. As far as I have been able to discover, they have not jumped in to the derivatives like banks and mortgage companies did, and seem much safer than banks. Credit unions are mostly local and (though the requirements are often much less restrictive than they used to be) usually only have local residents as customers. Does anyone know any more on credit unions? I’ve long recommended credit unions to my friends and family in place of banks, since they usually offer lower loan, …


Letter Re: A Recipe for Hunza “No Hunger” Bread

Jim: I found the following recipe for Hunza Bread at the You Q&A web site, in Canada. Because this is a very filling “no hunger” recipe, I have found it very useful in losing weight. (Obviously in a survival situation, my goal would be to maintain my body weight, so I would eat a lot more of it.) It is very easy to make. Hunza Bread Recipe. 4 cups of water 3.5 (three & one half) to 4 pounds of natural buckwheat or millet flour 1.5 (one & one half) cups of olive oil 1.5 (one & one half) cups …


Letter Re: Will US Banking Turmoil Depress the Price of Gold?

Good Morning, I am a fairly new SurvivalBlog reader but like your range and depth of coverage in all things “survival”. I Hope you can help me with a metal question… I have collected gold and silver coins for over 10 years now and have always assumed I could sell them when the time was right, but I recently had a conversation with a local coin dealer who indicated they were cutting back their hours and that there were several other shops that were closing down their retail operations because a lot of people were only wanting to sell precious …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Don’t miss watching this brief video clip: John Williams of ShadowStats Warns: Economic Depression Ahead. (A hat tip to William D. for spotting that video link.)   o o o Jason B. sent us this: Gulf investors may not save Citigroup, Dubai executive says. Jason’s comment: “JWR’s prediction of bank runs may come sooner rather than later.” Meanwhile, we read: Banks’ Losses Could Put $900 Billion Squeeze on Consumers.    o o o In a recent issue of The Daily Reckoning, Bill Bonner commented: “Among the Fed’s efforts to relieve the bankers’ pain has been a new line of credit – …



Notes from JWR:

The folks at Ready Made Resources have kindly added two books to the current SurvivalBlog Benefit Auction. They are: “Healing Oils of the Bible“ by David Stewart, Phd., and “When Technology Fails“, by Matthew Stein. These will be added to the existing lot of auction items: a 120 VAC/12 VDC BedFan Personal Cooling System (a $99 retail value), kindly donated by the manufacturer, a Thieves Oil Start Living Kit (a $161 retail value) donated by Ready Made Resources, and a copy of the latest edition of “The Encyclopedia of Country Living” by the late Carla Emery (a $32 retail value). …


The Elephant in the Room, by Norman Church

“I’m right there in the room and no one acknowledges me.” “We must face the prospect of changing our basic way of living. This change will either be made on our own initiative in a planned way, or forced on us with chaos and suffering by the inexorable laws of nature.” – President Jimmy Carter (1976) Before we discuss this Elephant in the Room we must first briefly consider the notion of ‘sustainability’. Too often people debate sustainability issues from an understanding that is vague, incomplete or frankly flawed. “Just exactly what is meant when the word ‘sustainable’ or ‘sustainability’ …


Letter Re: Spot Shortages at a COSTCO Store a Portent of Things to Come?

Jim: I stopped by COSTCO tonight to pick up some items and they had signs limiting people to two containers of soybean oil and two bags of flour. They were completely out of flour. And they had no 50lb sacks of rice either. So its starting to hit home. This was the case in the West Springfield, Massachusetts store anyway. – John E.


Letter Re: Sizing a Retreat AC Power Generator

Jim – Great blog! I wanted to point out an important calculation everyone missed – internal combustion engines produce less power at higher elevation. Generators are (of course) rated at sea level. It’s important to de-rate generator capacity by 3.5% per 1,000 feet of elevation or your generator will be undersized. (A 5,000 “label watt” generator is [effectively] only a 4,000 watt generator where I live at 6,000 feet.) Density altitude on a warm summer day can easily be 2,000 feet higher than that. My rule of thumb: after sizing for load, size generously for elevation or you’ll be buying …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Fraud compounds woes of housing crisis. (Thanks to Heghduq for the link.)    o o o A reader in South Florida wrote to ask me why I had “an unrealistic view of the [investment] potential for farmland” and why I “such a strong emphasis on buying farm ground” when coastal and resort properties “have appreciated so well for more than 30 years.” I have a news flash for her: For the next 5 to 10 years, coastal and resort property will probably go substantially go down in price, but good productive farm ground is going to go up in price. …



Letter Re: With Bank Runs Looming, Check Your Bank’s Safety Rating!

Jim, Here is a link to “The Street”–a web site that offers ratings of banks throughout the USA. I checked out the banks in my state (California) and found that I currently bank with a “B” rated bank. However, there are a number of A rated banks that are in my town. It might make sense for each of us to know and check up on our financial institutions on a regular basis. This along with choosing the highest rated bank in your area could provide additional layers of insulation from the bank runs that I believe with be inevitable. …


Letter Re: Alternative News Sources When The Grid Goes Down

Sir, I have been hooked to your blog for weeks now and have a topic suggestion for you. The only news I can trust comes from independent blogs with communities of users working together to bring critical information to light. Web sites like The Housing Bubble Blog have saved me tens of thousands of dollars by being months ahead of the mainstream media (MSM) and by reporting honestly. With the internet we have the means to organize grassroots efforts to support candidates like Ron Paul. We can be kept up to date with the latest injustices and know when our …


Letter Re: A Reminder on the Terrorist Toxins Threat

Jim, I bring this news story to your attention: Ricin Found in Las Vegas Hotel Room; Man in Hospital The Center for Disease Control (CDC) protocols don’t give one much hope if ricin is inhaled or ingested. Unclothing and washing procedures for external contact are not reassuring. Other sources indicate that skin contact is usually not fatal unless accompanied by other agents that enhance absorption. [JWR Adds: DMSO is a well-known transdermal carrier.] Other sources also indicate that ricin is 30 times more potent than VX nerve gas. Full MOPP suit and gas mask seem to be indicated to avoid …