Month: September 2008

Odds ‘n Sods:

If you feel like you’ve waited too long to Get Out of Dodge, and you need to buy a complete, turn-key retreat, then listen to this: I’ve personally visited a northern Idaho retreat that just went on the market, through our spin-off site: SurvivalRealty.com. This retreat has some very special features (most of which I’ve seen) that will be revealed only to qualified buyers.   o o o Eric sent us this: Japan Stocks Dive to 3-Year Low on Lehman, AIG Capital Concern. “[The] Nikkei closed early as the volume was approaching their load limits…”    o o o A …



Notes from JWR:

Warning: Today’s blog posts will exceed the Recommended Daily Allowance of Gloom and Doom. Congrats to Tom H., the high bidder in our recent SurvivalBlog benefit auction. Today we begin a new auction, for a mixed lot that includes: Special Mixed Vegetable Case-Six #10 Dehydrated Food Cans (Retail Price $105.95) This special Mixed Vegetable Case contains six #10 (96-ounce) cans–one can of each of the following: Mixed Vegetable Blend, Green Beans, Sweet Garden Peas, Mixed Peppers, Potato Dices, and Sweet Potatoes and a EZ-Towels 10 Pack Combo (10 bags of 50 towels. Retail value: $99.95). These items were donated by …


Dear Mr. Fuld: It’s The End of the World As We Know It

The recent news headlines about the investment banking crisis have answered the question that I often get from readers: “Why do you spend so much time talking about economics?” In my estimation, an economic crisis is the most likely trigger for a societal collapse, in the short term. The Lehman Brothers debacle is just a microcosmic preview of the global credit collapse. It is also a good illustration of the derivatives risk that I’ve been warning about for many years. How many times do I have to say this? The entire credit system is broken and it will be a …


A Quantum Leap Toward Socialism, by Michael Pento

Unfortunately, we Americans now realize that the decision by Ben Bernanke to slash the Fed Funds rate to 2% (a three hundred twenty five basis point reduction) was just the opening act in this Republican administration’s socialism play. At the time some wondered why the government didn’t just allow home prices fall to historical averages rather than seeking to lower the value of the U.S. dollar and send inflation to a 17-year high. Now we have learned just this past weekend that the Department of the Treasury has come up with a plan for conservatorship of the GSEs, enacting the …


Letter Re: Tropical Storm Ike’s Devastation Works its Way North to Ohio

Hi James! I heard you this morning on WLW [in Cincinnati, Ohio] radio when you did your quick interview. Nice job. It is amazing here in Cincinnati the level of chaos that exists. The power is still out to over half a million people. My power just came back on about 10 minutes ago, but I’m waiting until it stabilizes before shutting down my emergency power system. We had quite a mess with lots of downed trees and power lines, but overall it wasn’t as bad as Houston – thank God! There has been quite a run on gasoline, and …


Letter Re: Just In Time Greenback Cash Supply for American Banks

Mr. Rawles, I worked for Loomis/Fargo as an armed security technician. That means I was a member of an armored car crew. We serviced nearly the whole quarter of a certain state [un-named–not my current state of residence]. This included a major US Air Force base. Once a week we made runs to the area banks to deliver cash. Usually our load [included] 1 to 2 tons of coins. Cold cash totals were in the 1 to 3 million area each week and sometimes up to 5M seasonally. Very often we would arrive at a bank and the tellers would …


Odds ‘n Sods:

From Naish Piazza’s blog: I Love This Little Girl… and So Will You. OBTW, speaking of Front Sight, don’t miss out on their “Get a Gun” training and gear package offer. This offer will probably end soon, so don’t hesitate any longer!    o o o Our hard working Economic Editor Cheryl N. sent us an enormous batch of news and commentary. Note, BTW, how many of these highlight the derivatives market: Meltdown Shakes Up Wall Street Workers—Wall Street Crisis Could Put Fed Rate Cut Into Play—Stocks Tumble Amid New Wall Street Landscape—Obama, McCain Blame Economic Woes on Greed, Policy—Greenspan: …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“In financial crises, your actual capital adequacy and liquidity does not matter. Both Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns — and Lehman particularly — were felt to be adequately capitalized only days before their fall. But once people thought that the end was near, the trading stopped, liquidity dried up, and the capital fled.” – Steven M. Davidoff


Notes from JWR:

I was saddened to hear that Chuck Karwan passed away last week, following open heart surgery. He was an exemplary American, a USMA West Point graduate (1969) that served in Vietnam and elsewhere (1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), 5th Infantry Division (Mechanized), and the 5th and 10th Special Forces Groups), and was a noted writer on knives and military firearms. He will be missed, especially by his friends in Oregon. The SurvivalBlog Benefit Auction ends tonight (Monday, September 15th) at midnight, eastern time. The high bid is now at $580. The auction for a mixed lot that includes: Two cases of …


Letter Re: Some Thoughts on Water Conservation WTSHTF

Jim: Here are some random thoughts that I’d like to share on water conservation, for when the Schumer Hits the Fan (WTSHTF): Latex or nitrile gloves – Minimizes the use of water for cleaning up after a dirty chore. The nitrile gloves sold by Costco seem to be the strongest and do not oxidize like latex. [JWR Adds: The cost of nitrile gloves bought in bulk is so low, that they are well worth using. They are particularly important to use when handling dyes, paint, strong acids (such as during battery maintenance), strong bases (such as when making soap or …


Letter Re: Advice on Gauging the Safety of Individual American Banks

James: Howdy, I haven’t been able to write or e-mail much these last few months as I have just moved from Detroit, Michigan, to Montana. Having just completed this relocation, and unfortunately not having been able to complete my prep for the move as well as I would have liked, I was wondering if you had any info on banks here? I am living about 70 miles west of Missoula, Montana. Thanks in advance. – Warhawke JWR Replies: Well, congratulations on your move and cue the Merle Haggard music! I don’t know much specifically about the state-chartered banks up in …


Letter Re: Recommended Preparedness Focus for a Dentist in Kansas?

Dear Sir, It was James Howard Kunstler who alerted me to the problems that has caught so many other people unawares in early 2002. Alas, although we’re light years ahead of our fellow citizens in terms of preparedness, we’re many parsecs behind the majority of your readers! We do have about six months of food on hand (which keeps growing each day), plus containers for water storage and filters for water purification. We have some basic medical supplies. Our “battery” has been augmented including the storage of several hundreds (although not thousands yet) of rounds of ammunition. Soon, I’ll have …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Craig R. Smith of Swiss America asks: Will government bailouts spell end of dollar? (A hat tip to Jack in Texas for the link)    o o o TheOtherRyan over at TSLRF (one of the eight-or-so blogs that I read frequently) posted a succinct and commonsense list: 10 commandments for buying gold and silver    o o o One of my “Secret Squirrel” contributors mentioned that because the price of 128 MB and 256 MB USB memory sticks (aka “jump drives” or “USB thumb drives”) has dropped to less than $2 each, readers that want to contribute any articles or …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“…we have yet to see a genuine effort by our national security leaders to engage the public to frankly and openly inform them on where we face major threats, how best the community should better protect itself and improve risk reduction measures. In fact the reverse is true: a range of government reports relating to Australia’s ability to respond to large-scale emergencies have been embargoed on the grounds that to share that information with the public would only serve to frighten people.” – Australian Strategic Policy Institute Strategic Insights Newsletter # 39 – Taking a punch: Building a more resilient …