Day: May 14, 2009

Note from JWR:

The bidding ends at midnight (eastern time) tomorrow night! (May 15th.) The high bid in the SurvivalBlog Benefit Auction. is now at $1,325. This auction is for a large mixed lot, which includes: 1.) A Three-Color Desert Camo Interceptor OTV (Outer Tactical Vest) size XL only, and a spare Woodland camouflage outer shell, kindly donated by BulletProofME.com. These items have a combined retail value of $960! 2.) A vehicle detection system, which includes: one MURS Alert Probe Sensor (MAPS) with 50 foot probe cable and one MURS Alert Hand Held (M538-HT) transceiver. The MAPS unit’s probe can be covertly installed …


Letter Re: Which Form of Precious Metals?

Dear Sir, During a discussion with a friend today, we chatted about which format of silver would be most viable as a form of a tangible asset. We discussed the recognized value of Silver American Eagle coins versus”silver rounds”, and found ourselves asking more questions than being able to provide reasonable answers. The conversation was based on my recent decision to convert US currency into silver rounds at a price of $0.90 over spot price (at the time $11.91 per ounce). This was a much lower price than the $3.59 over spot price for Silver American Eagles, so it seemed …


Letter Re: A Practical Tip on Using Roof Catchment Rainwater

Mr. Rawles- I sincerely appreciate your site and all of your efforts. In researching rain water collection recently, I came across a manual on rain water harvesting published by the Texas Water Development Board. While some of the data is Texas-specific, I found the overall information and descriptions of various harvesting systems to be extremely helpful. I suspect some of your readers may as well. In addition, I have received notice from the good folks at Safecastle that their next Mountain House [long term storage food] sale will take place between May 23 and June 5 and will include a …


Letter Re: “Patriots” Book Sighting in Downtown Chicago

Just an update on your book from here behind enemy lines in Chicago. I ride the “EL” [elevated railway] to work each day and on Monday saw a man reading your novel “Patriots” . I asked where he purchased it, expecting the answer to be Amazon, and was stunned when he said that he picked it up at Borders on State Street in downtown Chicago. I wandered over to the store at lunchtime and, lo and behold, there were two copies in the the new “Mystery and Thrillers” section right next to Ian Rankin’s latest book. There were plenty of …



Economics and Investing:

Greg C. mentioned some commentary by Howard Rich: The United Fiefdoms of America. “For the first time ever, federal aid – not property, sales or income tax – is the top revenue source for state budgets, the paper reported.” GG flagged this by Karl Denninger: Nothing Suggests We’re Anywhere Near the Bottom CJB suggested this article: Social security to run out of money… And, in a disturbing echo, GG suggested this: Medicare already in the red Items from The Economatrix: Social Security and Medicare Worsens (since yesterday’s article) “The trust funds — which exist in paper form in a filing …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Any of our readers living in Norway (and Norwegian ex-pats) will want to bookmark this blog: Ingen fare…Undergangen er skremmende nær!    o o o More about Pakistan, the Taliban, and The Bomb: Experts predict Pakistan’s collapse. Speaking of Pakistan, here is a prime example of lack of planning and lack of the survivalist mindset: Pakistan’s ‘displaced deluge’. Do your best to never be a “refugee ” It is just one short step away from “casualty statistic.” (Thanks to Ben M. for the second link.)    o o o Tamara mentioned that the National Rifle Association (NRA) is continuing their …