Day: June 29, 2009

Note from JWR:

The folks at Ready Made Resources mentioned that they have reduced their prices on many items, and now offer free shipping on most items. I also noticed that they’ve re-designed their web site. In the nearly four years that they’ve been advertising on SurvivalBlog, I’ve heard nothing but good things about the customer service provided by Ready Made Resources. Whenever there has been a glitch–and that has been rare–they’ve always gone the extra mile to make things right. In one instance, back during the severe shortage of Mountain House foods in 2008, a large storage food order was delayed, and …


Ug-99 and The Ugly Times Ahead–There’ll Be Fungus Among Us

My consulting clients often ask me me for predictions. “What’s your timeframe, Mister Rawles?” I hear that in almost every consulting call. My clients ask: “When will the US economy crater?” I tell them that is impossible to predict, because there are so many variables and interdependencies, and because the markets are so heavily manipulated. They also ask me: Is the H1N1 Flu sure to mutate in to a more virulent strain, and if so, when?” I answer: “That is impossible to predict.” I’m also often quizzed about the Ug-99 wheat fungus (aka “Durable Wheat Rust”, or simply “the stem …


France in 1940 as a Parallel to a Modern-Day Golden Horde on the Highways

Dear James: I recently purchased a book that may be of interest to my fellow SurvivalBlog readers: Hanna Diamond’s book Fleeing Hitler: France 1940. This book is currently being remaindered at the Canadian Internet bookseller Chapters.ca. The jacket copy states: “In June 1940, as Hitler’s armies advanced on Paris, the French people became refugees in their own country. This is the story of their tragic flight”. It describes what’s probably the largest, best-documented mass evacuations of a major Western city in modern times. Invasion by Germany certainly constitutes the Schumer hitting the fan in most people’s opinion; the French certain …


Letter Re: An Upcoming Retreat Purchase — Sell Gold or Take a Mortgage?

Jim, We love your site. It is part of our daily must reads. While driving to view possible retreat locations today, we printed out your advice on retreat locations and read it again as we drove to the determined area. After looking most of the day, we literally stumble upon (because it was not visible from the road – only a for sale sign) a nearly perfect location, several springs, trees, hillside with level areas, in the top three in all categories of your retreat lists, etc. In looking to make an offer we wanted your advice regarding financing the …


Letter Re: Last Minute G.O.O.D. Versus Well-Considered Early Relocation

Dear Editor: John M.’s letter was excellent, polite, and to the point. The following are my rules for townies: 1. If your water comes out of a faucet or a bottle, and you can not safely walk to a permanent backup source in less than 10 minutes every day, then you will die. 2. If you do not raise your own food, or personally know the family that you bought it from, you will either die, or be forever controlled by someone with a clipboard and a list, and you will wish you were dead. 3. If you live in …



Economics and Investing:

From Ben M.: Bad news for GM; China ‘to block’ Hummer takeovei Currie and GG both sent us a link to a piece over at Zero Hedge: Here Comes Russian Bank Nationalzation “Russia is considering a banking bail-out that will go further than measures taken by the US, as fears grow that bad loans could paralyse the economy.” Oh, by the way, GG dubbed the Russian bailout “The MOABsky” David R. flagged this data point: Dresdner Kleinwort Securities Withdraws as Primary Fed Dealer. David’s comment: “This is important because being a primary dealer was the equivalent of having a license …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader “PD” pointed me to an interesting video segment on Russian survivalists.    o o o FG mentioned a great news segment about an 89 year-old woman and her 1964 Comet that she has driven 540,000 miles. FG notes: “She even drove herself alone to her 70th class reunion, a 3,000 mile trip! She also knows how to protect herself on her long journeys. (Check out what she carries in her handbag!)” JWR Adds: This octogenarian demonstrates the virtues of both good preventative maintenance and situational awareness!    o o o H.O.F. e-mailed me to mention that all 36 episodes …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"The paper system being founded on public confidence and having of itself no intrinsic value, it is liable to great and sudden fluctuations, thereby rendering property insecure and the wages of labor unsteady and uncertain. The corporations which create the paper money can not be relied upon to keep the circulating medium uniform in amount. In times of prosperity, when confidence is high, they are tempted by the prospect of gain or by the influence of those who hope to profit by it to extend their issues of paper beyond the bounds of discretion and the reasonable demands of business; …