Month: May 2008



Triage In Financial Markets, by Darryl Robert Schoon

Global financial markets are in extreme triage following the credit contraction of August 2007. It is believed central bankers are trying to restore markets to help the economy. In truth, they are like life insurance companies fighting to keep a wealthy patient alive so the high premiums will continue to be paid and the large death payout will be postponed. It has been only nine months since credit markets unexpectedly froze in August 2007. The central bankers who were surprised by the summer 2007 credit contraction now hope the danger has passed. But they are about to be surprised again …


Letter Re: Beyond First Aid–Where to Learn Medical Skills

Jim, There has been a recent thread on learning medical skills. Studying the disasters like the recent Chinese earthquake, Myanmar storm and Tsunami teach us that in mass casualty situations like these, you can go a long way knowing how to deal with broken bones, lacerations and infections. Imagine the help you could be if you could: Apply a cast Run an IV Clean and dress a wound Do minor suturing Administer antibiotics from your medical kit These skills can each be learned in a weekend. Sure, knowing how to manage an airway, insert a chest tube, decompress a pneumothorax …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Brent F. suggested this article from Australia’s Courier Mail newspaper: Drivers face fuel ration shock.    o o o CDO Debt Could Pose Renewed Danger for Banks. (A hat tip to RBS for the link.)    o o o Nick recommended the text of a recent speech by geopolitical analyst Richard Maybury: You will be either a winner or a loser, there will be no middle ground. FWIW, I have been following Maybury’s writings for more than 10 years, and I’ve found that he is right far more often than he’s wrong. He was issuing dire warnings about the Islamic …



Note from JWR:

The high bid in the SurvivalBlog Benefit Auction. is now at $600. This big auction is for any of you that are gun enthusiasts. It includes 17 items: A four day “gray” transferable Front Sight course certificate, which was kindly donated by Naish Piazza of Front Sight (worth up to $2,000), a $200 gift certificate from Choate Machine and Tool Company (the makers of excellent fiberglass stocks, folding stocks, and shotgun magazine extensions), $450+ worth of full capacity magazines from my personal collection including five scarce original Ruger-made 20 round Mini-14 magazines, and an autographed copy of the book “Boston’s …


Letter Re: Do-It-Yourself Meat Canning

Dear Jim, Here is some info that other like-minded survivalists might find useful. There was a recent article on television about beef and chicken being priced very reasonable due to the fact that the market is being flooded by farmers trying to unload their product before it costs them more to feed and ship than they can sell it for. I checked it out and yep they were right. Sam’s Club has boneless, skinless chicken breast and beef tip roast for less than 3 dollars a pound. I paid that same price for it a year ago. Anyway, considering this, …


Letter Re: Long Term Storage Food Vendors are Now Painfully Short on Inventory

Hi Jim, I would be interested in you analysis of this: Nitro-Pak, is not even accepting orders for #10 cans of food. Emergency Essentials, (www.BePrepared.com) is out of over half of their #10 can selection. Notice that [presently] you cannot order even wheat in cans or pails. Is this happening throughout the food storage industry? What is up with all this? – Paul D JWR Replies: The storage food industry is relatively small and simply doesn’t have the capacity to handle orders from more than 1% or 2% of the population. Because of the recent headlines about global food shortages …


Letter Re: Advice on an Underground Fuel Tank Installation and Use

Mr. Rawles: Can you direct me to where I can learn how to bury 300 gallon fuel tanks correctly? Also, how to get the fuel out if there is no power. Thanks, – Mark T. JWR Replies: Unless you expect to use your fuel tank on a daily basis, then I recommend that you install just a manual (hand) pump. These are available from most tank dealers. If it will be buried in rocky ground, first put down a 4-inch layer of sand, to minimize risk of punctures during installation. Otherwise, burial is pretty straightforward. Be sure to read this …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Micah flagged this Fox Business video clip with some speculation about a possible war with Iran and a resultant spike in the price of crude oil.    o o o Kevin A., RBS, and Tim P. all mentioned a news article over at the Silver Bear Cafe that focuses on one of our least favorite Nanny States, California: Not-So-Safe-Deposit Boxes: States Seize Citizens’ Property to Balance Their Budgets    o o o “Viking Eric” mentioned a company in England that creates houses out of CONEXes.    o o o Mike the Blacksmith sent us this: Fed’s Discount Window Loans to …



Notes from JWR:

Congrats to Mark L., the high bidder in the SurvivalBlog benefit auction that ended last night. Today we begin a new SurvivalBlog Benefit Auction. This big auction is for any of you that are gun enthusiasts. It includes 17 items: A four day “gray” transferable Front Sight course certificate, which was kindly donated by Naish Piazza of Front Sight (worth up to $2,000), a $200 gift certificate from Choate Machine and Tool Company (the makers of excellent fiberglass stocks, folding stocks, and shotgun magazine extensions), $450+ worth of full capacity magazines from my personal collection including five scarce original Ruger-made …


How To Prepare for Radiation Emergencies, by KLK

Scenario 1 You are sitting at your retreat, enjoying the scenery, when you hear on the radio that there has just been a nuclear weapon that has detonated in a contiguous State . You decide to run into your shelter. After a few days in there, you start to wonder when it might be safe to come out. You also wonder if you would have been better off evacuating and getting as far away from the radiation source as possible. A radiation disaster is a scenario for which we must be prepared. It may be from a radiological source, such …


Gun Buy-Up Programs as a Method for Firearms Battery Upgrades

Hi Jim: Just wanted to let you know that my teen-age sons are reading “Patriots”, (the latest edition). I appreciate that your book is one that a father can allow his children to read, because it isn’t filled with sex scenes. While I’m sure my sons are not ignorant about such things, there is no reason to shove their faces in it constantly. The real reason for this e-mail is to give you and the readers another idea for raising funds for purchases, and best of all, you get the funds from liberals! Several months ago, we had a “gun …