Month: June 2009

Economics and Investing:

Obama unveils broad financial oversight plan; blames current financial crisis on ‘a culture of irresponsibility’. New powers for the Federal Reserve? Wait a minute! Weren’t they the private banking cartel that got us into this mess, with artificially-low interest rates? AIG Refuses Crash Claims “That division [airline insurance] didn’t get any bailout money.” Black Swan Trader Bets Reputation on Inflation This one is a “must see”: Peter Schiff on The Daily Show (Thanks to GG for the link.) GG also sent this from Barron’s: Will Bad News Be Good for the Dollar Again? Foreigners exited U.S. assets in April as …


Odds ‘n Sods:

SBC and “Shrike” both sent this piece from an Australian newspaper: Melburnians urged to have Go Bags ready in case of evacuation    o o o KAF sent a link to some glimpses of a gentler time: Retrolife. (Seeing that, I couldn’t help but think of some of Merle Haggard’s song lyrics.)    o o o US Battlefield Superiority For Sale To America’s Enemies (Thanks to Cheryl, for the link.)


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Don’t listen to anyone who tells you that you can’t do this or that. That’s nonsense. Make up your mind, you’ll never use crutches or a stick, then have a go at everything. Go to school, join in all the games you can. Go anywhere you want to. But never, never let them persuade you that things are too difficult or impossible.” – Sir Douglas Bader, (1910-1982), The legendary British fighter pilot who lost both legs in a flying accident, but went on to fly as a fighter pilot in World War II.


Letter Re: Escape From (Fill in Your City Here), 2009

Mr. Rawles, Concerning the article: Escape From (Fill in Your City Here), 2009, by Bill in Chicagoland, I would like to add to these comments. My 20 years experience driving the county roads and the farmer ranch roads with the Soil Conservation Service have given me a perspective of the potential for choice this road system presents. I have a considerable amount of experience driving cross country. I have driven from the Northern Texas panhandle across the Oklahoma Panhandle into southeastern Colorado and north to the Colorado Springs area on mostly gravel and dirt roads. Several times I have driven …



Economics and Investing:

F.G. sent this: Restaurants on the Ropes Thanks to for this link: Airlines adjust as demand slides. “Nevertheless, IATA expects passenger yields to fall by 7% this year and cargo yields to decline 11%” The manufactures also expect fewer orders for planes. Also from F.G. comes this Wall Street Journal piece: Retailers Flee a Dying Detroit KAF flagged this: U.S. likely to lose AAA rating: Prechter Items from The Economatrix: German Newspaper Article Thinks [Ponte Chiaso] Bonds May Be Real. Timeline of Events and Updates as they Happen Weisenthal Talks the $134.5 Billion Bond Seizure on Glenn Beck Treasury: Can’t …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Heather H. sent this: A ‘time bomb’ for world wheat crop    o o o Gordon sent a link to a video clip on the enormous Cold War bunker beneath the Greenbriar Hotel.    o o o Shelf Reliance (one of our advertisers) is giving away a Harvest 72″ food rotation system in a free drawing. Visit the Shelf Reliance blog to enter. The Harvest 72″ is valued at $459 and can hold up to 600 cans, making it perfect for a healthy food storage supply. The winner will be announced on Friday, June 26th.    o o o Greg …



Notes from JWR:

I’ve heard just three complaints about bookbinding errors, in copies of my novel “Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse” . In all three cases, there were dozens of repeated pages, where the corresponding correct pages were missing. Yikes! (In the book publishing world, this is called a “folio sequencing error”.) I suppose that this small number of reported errors is not bad for a book with more than 30,000 copies in print, but it is still troubling. If you have purchased a copy of “Patriots” with a binding error, then please call, e-mail or write the publisher …


It Will Be Skills, Not Gear That Will Count in TEOTWAWKI, by Chris M.

The topic I will cover is one I have not seen on SurvivalBlog. Everybody is caught up in the equipment side and not concentrating on the training. I have two examples several months back our dryer started squeaking & we had to stop using it. I am a trained air conditioning technician. At first I thought about going out and purchasing a new dryer and then I had a thought: I have fixed multi thousand dollar air conditioning units, how hard could it be? After two days it was back up drying clothes and for a lot less money than …


Two Letters Re: Getting Started With Dairy Goats

Sir, To add to the Memsahib’s excellent, succinct article on raising goats: Those interested in self-sufficiency could hardly choose a better livestock animal. Might I suggest Nigerian Dwarf goats? There are several reasons why these fine animals make an excellent livestock choice for those interested in self-sufficiency: 1. Nigerian Dwarfs are fairly small and easy to handle. Their food needs are also minimal: they can graze on minimal pasture and will of course forage through wooded areas. Like most breeds, they do equally well on grassy pasture or in thick woodland, flat-land or hills. But unlike some of the larger …



Economics and Investing:

Don W. sent this: US cities may have to be bulldozed in order to survive. Bulldozing whole neighborhoods? This sounds like a land developer’s dream come true. Talk about “stimulating demand” for new housing… Maybe we ought to crush half the cars in the country while we are at it, just to make sure that the Detroit auto makers will get plenty of business. Oh, but wait! SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large Michael Z. Williamson sent this: House ‘cash for clunkers’ plan to boost car sales. Mike’s comment: ” They really are insane. The sheer conceit that makes them believe they …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Recycled Homes, One Box at a Time    o o o Reader “D. from Sweden” mentioned that Sweden’s biggest radio station, public service channel P3, is having an apocalypse theme and is broadcasting an interview with a gent from the Swedish Survivalist Forum. It airs Tuesday, June 16th, at 18.03 local time, which is 12.03 EST. Readers can read about it here.    o o o Reader Kat C. recommended two books on food storage: Preserving Food Without Freezing or Canning: Traditional Techniques Using Salt, Oil, Sugar, Alcohol, Vinegar, Drying, Cold Storage, and Lactic Fermentation and Putting Food By.    …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“The proliferation of state concealed carry laws has evidently reduced the rate of violent street crime to a considerable extent. When the goblins do not know who is armed and who is not, their professional enthusiasm declines. Now that Britain has made sure (insofar as any law can so insure) that everybody is disarmed, the streets are given back to the bad kid with the baseball bat. We hope they are satisfied.” – Jeff Cooper, Cooper’s Commentaries