Month: February 2009

Odds ‘n Sods:

KAF mentioned this post over at the Xavier Thoughts blog: The Sad Necessity of Anonymity    o o o Ebola Marburg Case in US Traveler to Uganda (A hat tip to FFF for the link.)    o o o Hawaiian K. sent us a link to a web site for a man dubbed “The Human Swiss Army Knife.” He regularly carries 1,300 compact survival items in his clothes.    o o o A follow-up to this article I mentioned yesterday: Congo town mounts own defense against rebels. Florida Guy sent us a link to a photo montage from the town.


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“The world is not going back to normal after the magnitude of what they have done. When the dust settles this will either work, and the money they have pushed into the system will feed though into an inflation shock. Or it will not work because too much damage has already been done, and we will see continued financial deterioration, causing further economic deterioration, with the risk of a feedback loop. We don’t think this is the more likely outcome, but as each week and month passes, there is a growing danger of vicious circle as confidence erodes. This will …


Note from JWR:

This is last day! The big 25% off special on Mountain House and Alpine Aire freeze-dried foods in #10 cans, offered by Ready Made Resources ends tonight (Saturday, February 14th.) To do better than any competing offer, they are offering free shipping on case lots, and are including some free bonus items with each order. This sale ends at midnight tonight, so be sure to get your order in immediately!


Letter Re: Gold and Silver Coins as an Investment

JWR: Christopher W. asks a very good question, “should you buy gold and silver coins as an investment?” I think this brings up the point that there are really two uses for gold and silver, as an investment and store of value and as a barter/trade item to facilitate commerce. Unless you want to overpay for an item, you will need change, which for every day purchases is provided by smaller silver coin. A friend on Wall Street put it this way “what are you going to do, chip a piece off a gold brick to buy some food?” Smaller …


Two Letters Re: Denominating in Time Versus Dollars

Sir: I bought a cross cut saw on eBay and was wondering how one might sharpen and care for it. I was directed to a USDA Forest Service web site that has a 30 page downloadable document all about cross-cut saws, their use and care. And it is free! Supposedly it is one of the best resources around on this particular topic. Kind Regards, – Jay Jim, The note from SF in Hawaii about the cost of barley versus the work to produce it made me think of one of my favorite tales from Laura Ingalls-Wilder’s book, “Farmer Boy“, about …


Economics and Investing:

It is noteworthy that spot silver and gold prices have remained fairly solid near their six-month highs, despite the IMF’s saber rattling move of announcing 403 metric ton sale of gold.: This is evidence that wise investors have not been fooled by all the governmental and bankster blustering and that they will continue to shelter more of their assets in tangibles. “The Other Jim R.”: flagged this must see: video link: ‘Worst economic collapse ever’. (Don’t hold back, Mr. Celente, tell us how you reallllly feel!) For those readers that don’t have a fast Internet connection, Matt B. mentioned that …


Odds ‘n Sods:

J.H.B. sent us the link to this update at the Gun Owners of America (GOA) web site: Firearms Legislation in the 111th Congress. (a good page to bookmark.) Readers should note that H.R. 45 currently has little support (it is not gathering co-sponsors) so at least for the present time please don’t expend too much time organizing and letter writing about this bill.    o o o John C. sent us this article, which has some implications for survivalists that foresee a breakdown in law and order, and large, organized gangs of looters: Congo town mounts own defense against rebels …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“It will not be enemies at the gates who overwhelm the American empire. It will be the army of politically armed economic dependents inside the gates. Granny will bring it down. If you want a mental picture image of the end of American empire, imagine a man dressed in uniform, holding an automatic rifle, being pelted mercilessly by an old lady who is beating him over the head with her handbag.” – Dr. Gary North


Notes from JWR:

The economic news has been so copious for so many months that I’ve decided to create a new daily Economics and Investing section, to divide those items from the extant Odds ‘n Sods section. My heartfelt thanks to The Economatrix (our volunteer Economic Editor) and to the many SurvivalBlog readers that have sent such a deluge of economic news and commentary links. Please keep them coming, via e-mail. Thanks! — Just two days left to bid! The current high bid in the SurvivalBlog Benefit Auction is at $1,650. This auction ends at midnight (Eastern time) on Sunday, February 15th. This …


Letter Re: Gold and Silver Coins as an Investment

James Wesley, I’d like your input regarding the purchase of gold and silver coins from third party vendors. Instead of paying $1,000+ for a single gold coin of one troy ounce. I’d like to buy ten 1/10th troy ounce gold (or silver) coins. I feel smaller denominations of “hard” currency promote better trade/purchase power. I have noticed in a multitude of Gun/Survival forums/magazines various companies that offer coins that are not directly from the U.S. mint but are [in smaller fractional sizes] than what you normally purchase from the US Mint. I can foresee having a handful of one troy …


Letter Re: Denominating in Time Versus Dollars

James, Today I picked up 200 pounds of pearled barley from my local health food store that had ordered it for me. As I loaded it into my living room so I could mylar seal it, I flashed on what it would have represented in terms of time (man hours) in an earlier age. To get that 200 pounds of barley, I would have had to: 1) Have land 2) Have seed 3) Till, irrigate and plant the land 4) Protect the crop from birds and thieves 5) Harvest, thresh and transport the grain The number of man hours required …


Sending “Patriots” as a Form of Protest

Dear Jim, I was incensed that one of my state’s US Senators (Kay Hagan of North Carolina) voted for the so-called “Stimulus Bill”. I searched for ways to register my protest in such a way that it would get her attention. Thanks to you and your novel “Patriots”, I have a way. I just sent her a copy with a gift card from Amazon.com. The gift card reads: “This is to thank you for voting for the stimulus bill and making the resulting economic collapse and hyperinflation profiled in this work of fiction a reality.” I just hope she gets …


Economics and Investing:

From the most recent issue of The Appenzell Daily Bell comes an article that details both banking peril and some blatantly revisionist editing: European Commission report says $25 trillion in toxic EU bank holdings Reader “DD” sent us this: Thousands losing jobs in housing crisis. From reader H.D.: The Great Awakening: Boomers, Your Crisis Has Arrived (Part 1 of 3). From G.G. came this link: German 10-year Bund auction fails for second successive time. Laura H. said that liked this Wall Street Journal editorial: Capitalism Needs a Sound-Money Foundation. Items from The Economatrix: Martin Weiss: Stock Market to Fall at …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Hawaiian K. flagged a great article at Kevin Kelly’s Technium Blog: Amish Hackers    o o o SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large Michael Z. Williamson pointed us to the comments accompanying this article: Second Circuit to Second Amendment: Drop Dead…. The article was informative, but I thought that the comment from “Bruce” was potentially quite practical: “[I]f you live in a rural area like I do, go out in the woods somewhere and dig a hole. Don’t fill it in. We’ll call it the ‘plausible deniability hole’. Then, when the state comes for your guns (bullion, whatever), take the officers to …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“You’ve got to understand that we had a big ranch but we only got money once or twice a year out of it. The money wasn’t very free. All the money you got was in gold coin. I remember I was nearly fifteen or sixteen years old before I saw much paper money. It was all gold and silver. They didn’t have any greenbacks that I remember. My dad would take the wool and mutton to sell, and he’d come back with some tobacco sacks full of twenty-dollar gold pieces. He used to drive three or four-hundred head of sheep …