Year: 2010

Economics and Investing:

From G.G.: China provides 97 percent of the global supplies of rare earth elements, most coming from a single mine in Inner Mongolia I spotted this over at the Dr. Housing Bubble blog: Unlocking the Foreclosure Box – The Most Comprehensive Shadow Inventory Housing Analysis for Los Angeles County. Items from The Economatrix: Taxpayers Hit Harder as Bank Shares Nosedive 20 Million+ in US Got Unemployment Checks in 2009 Washington Times Slashes Staff 40% US Stocks Drop as Crisis Causes S&P 500’s First Decade Loss US Dollar and Treasury Bonds at Risk Following Fannie and Freddie Debt Monetization A Year …


Odds ‘n Sods:

GG flagged this interesting piece: Can farming save Detroit?   o o o Reported, in all places, The Los Angeles Times: Ron Paul’s ideas no longer fringe; With the economy still struggling, the lawmaker’s libertarian views are getting serious attention. (Thanks to Andrew B. for the link.)     o o o Paul D. sent an interesting article that compares ammunition to money.



Letter Re: More About Post-SHTF Anesthetic Medicine Options

Introductory Note from JWR: Warning! The following article is presented for educational purposes only. As previously discussed in SurvivalBlog, using vinyl ether or chloroform for anesthesia can be very tricky. Both can induce deep levels of sedation much more quickly than desired. Thus, at a minimum can can compromise the patient’s airway, and thereby very possibly kill the patient. So unless you have both the equipment and the regularly-practiced expertise to safely intubate and extubate your patient, then do not use vinyl ether or chloroform. Chloroform is also a known carcinogen. Generally, local anesthetics are the best choices for austere …


Four Letters Re: Preparedness for Digital Doomsday

Hello Mr. Rawles, The article by David W. on data storage raised excellent points, and is sure to get people thinking about an often-overlooked subject.. For the prepper on a budget, there are a number of avenues to secure your data that won’t break the bank. While it may be impractical to have several NEW laptops in your stash of supplies, there are plenty of good, used laptops available that will fit the bill nicely. You don’t need a powerhouse just to read your survival documents, and having one or more spares means fewer eggs in one basket. I’ll focus …


Economics and Investing:

GG sent an article link which will not be a news flash to SurvivalBlog readers: What Americans might face next: inflation CNN: Three reasons home prices are headed still lower. (Thanks to FG for the link.) Monroe sent us this: Death and Taxes: 2010 Graph of Federal Budget. Monroe’s comment: “Not for the faint of heart… but then if you aren’t using real money…!” Items from The Economatrix: US Economic Disaster Worse than Weimar or Zimbabwe Cities, Counties Take Back Corporate Tax Breaks China Becomes World’s Biggest Gold Buyer in 2009 Eurozone Credit Contraction Accelerates The Economic “Experts” Who Stopped …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Bobbi-Sue sent a link to some crunch leading indicators with individual and regional railroads in accessible graphs.    o o o GPS-led travel goes amiss; Three Oregon parties rescued    o o o Super C. sent a link to some informative text and video about about unexpected immersion in cold water.    o o o Reader Mike O. sent us this: Packing Heat in Helsinki; Why do Finns own so many guns? This piece in the liberally-biased Slate, fails to mention several key facts. Among these: 1.) Although firearms ownership is widespread in Finland, its violent street crime rate is …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“I am the good shepherd, and know my [sheep], and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, [and] one shepherd.” – John 10:14-18 (KJV)


Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 26 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. First Prize: A.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost between $500 and $600, and B.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees, in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $392 value.) C.) A HAZARiD Decontamination Kit from Safecastle.com. (A $350 value.), and D.) A 500 round case of Fiocchi 9mm Luger, 124gr. Hornady XTP/HP ammo, …


Preparedness for Digital Doomsday, by David W.

One subject I’ve not seen mentioned recently is that of data recovery and security. As a proponent of various disaster recovery plans for large companies during my tenure as in information technology auditor I’d like to propose a few ideas to the readers to increase the chances of keeping data post-TEOTWAWKI. No one plan works for everyone and your mileage may vary. First off we all generate lots more data then we think. The most common insurance against loss of a home PC is regularly maintained backups to some form of storable media like DVD-r’s. However, in a post-TEOTWAWKI world …



Odds ‘n Sods:

G.S. in the State of Jefferson flagged this: Preparing for a ‘nuclear event’ – LA Daily News    o o o Wicket sent an item that illustrates the point that sometimes the most simple solutions are entirely effective and adequate: Man fights intruder after using ‘beer can’ alarm.



Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 26 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. First Prize: A.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost between $500 and $600, and B.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees, in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $392 value.) C.) A HAZARiD Decontamination Kit from Safecastle.com. (A $350 value.), and D.) A 500 round case of Fiocchi 9mm Luger, 124gr. Hornady XTP/HP ammo, …


Survival Banking and Economics, by the Survivalist Banker

Survival is more than just having supplies, it is possessing knowledge, and specifically knowledge about free market (Austrian) economics and banking. One of the fundamental reasons for past productive success in the United States is because there were less intrusive government regulations, a smaller court system, and the division of labor was less cumbersome. Individuals were able to gravitate to where there was a demand that wasn’t currently being met, and were able to meet it without Big Brother wanting to not just regulate the behavior, but also steal a piece of the action if it was successful. If TSHTF, …