Day: July 20, 2009

Self-Sufficiency in England? Take the Gap

One of my readers sent me this news item from southwestern England: Announcing the Release of ‘Can Totnes and District Feed Itself?’. That got me thinking. Perhaps they can feed themselves. But if things fall apart, how can they feed the Golden Horde from Bristol, Bournemouth, Plymouth, Poole, Gloucester, Cheltenham, Bath, Exeter, Swindon, Torbay, and the other cities of southern England? And let’s not forget greater London. Most of those city dwellers will want to head for “the countryside”, but how many urban refugees can the small towns absorb? Parenthetically, I’ll mention that the Rawles family name originated from southwest …


Letter Re: Some Details on the High Altitude EMP Threat

Mr. Rawles, Within our Christian survivalist group in Washington State, we use your novel Patriots, as a primer for friends. Keep up the great job you do. Please consider the following statement with your readers. I believe that an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack by satellite can happen to the U.S. without any notice at all, and many nations already have the satellites in order to produce the end result. This is not meant to scare, but just an observation on how our great country can be taken back to the 1800s technology and a Third World country economic level, in …


Letter Re: Propane Tank Refilling Options

Jim, I read the article regarding BlueRhino and Amerigas (“Companies are now shorting (cheating) on propane tank refills“). I guess one could argue both sides of the issue. My personal opinion is that while the practice is sleazy, there’s nothing illegal going on, as the canisters are marked with the amount of propane they contain. It’s not unlike potato chips or breakfast cereal sold “by weight not by volume”. Manufacturers all over the place put their product in packaging far larger than the actual contents would require. Like I said, it’s sleazy, so except for one or two barbecue “emergencies” …


Influenza Pandemic Update:

Joan M. sent this: WHO says flu pandemic spreading too fast to count. “…the H1N1 flu pandemic has been the fastest-moving pandemic ever and that it is now pointless to ask countries to count every case.” Britain prepares for 65,000 deaths from swine flu Swine Flu Threatens Muslim Hajj Season Swine Flu to force 1 in 8 to take time off work sick Swine flu sweeping world at ‘unprecedented speed’: WHO “In past pandemics, influenza viruses have needed more than six months to spread as widely as the new H1N1 virus has spread in less than six weeks.” Swine Flu: …


Economics and Investing:

DD sent this article: 23 metro areas where the recession is finally coming in for a landing. It includes a fascinating animated state-by-state map showing waves of recession since 1994. Pay no attention to their conclusions about incipient recovery. They are dreaming! The current recession is not a typical dip in the business cycle. It was caused by a collapse of the global credit market. This will last a long time, and may very well become a full-blown depression. Reader KAF flagged this: CIT collapse could ripple through retail industry. They are already begging for a Federal bailout. SurvivalBlog regular …


Odds ‘n Sods:

The BATFE apparently can’t understand the plain meaning of the 10th Amendment. Without citing any genuine justification, the ATF is dictating to manufacturers and dealers to ignore the newly-enacted state law. But in actuality, they should ignore the ATF. Federal jurisdiction over FFL-licensed manufacture and sale of firearms is based on the which established Federal jurisdiction over interstate commerce. If a gun doesn’t cross a state line then that is intrastate commerce, and hence outside of Federal jurisdiction. The ATF director needs to read the Tenth Amendment, and the precedent-setting Lopez decision, and take a chill pill. No nexus means …