Day: January 14, 2011


Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 32 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round will include: 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 $795, and B.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees, in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $392 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A 250 round case of 12 Gauge Hornady …


Firewood on the Homestead, by Grouse Mountain

As energy prices soar and the dollar loses value, people are purchasing firewood for the future. Heating oil is a grade of diesel, propane is an oil by- product and with the rise of over twenty cents a gallon in just a few weeks, people are planning ahead where there may not be any fuel to warm their homes. Those with electricity are starting to look at any solar power possibilities, meanwhile, the big oil corporations have bought up many of the solar-panel producing companies! Firewood providers in our area are getting orders to bring customers as much firewood as …


David in Israel Re: Family Protective Measures — New Instability in Lebanon

James: The following is mostly for the benefit of SurvivalBlog readers who live in Israel, but other readers might find it of interest. Here we go again! Hizb’allah has apparently taken down the somewhat western-aligned government in Lebanon. I want to put not only Israeli readers on warning to have some extra supplies on hand but also collect bedding and blankets to be ready to accept people into your home seeking refuge from the north along the Lebanon and Syria borders. This time around it is important even for people living in the merkaz and possibly even south of Jerusalem …


Letter Re: Those Itinerant Gold-Buyers

Greetings Mr. Rawles, While I believe Survivalblog readers are by-and-large sharp gold-buyers as opposed to naive gold-sellers, I thought I would pass along the experience my local bullion dealer had with one of those “We Buy Your Unwanted Gold!” outfits that came to town last weekend. They specifically solicited numismatic coins and of course promised to pay top dollar. Following the normal modus operandi, this company ran full-page ads in the local paper on Saturday and Sunday and rented space to set up shop in a local motel. Add to this the travel, lodging, and salary expenses of their employees …


Letter Re: Emergency Alert System Radio Stations

Sir, Regarding your question, WBT is one of the 30 or so stations being added to the Emergency Alert System (EAS) Primary Entry Point (PEP) network by the end of this year. Under the EAS’s older sibling, the Emergency Broadcast System (EBS), 33 stations served as PEP stations. These stations could receive an emergency message from the president and relay it to the other stations in its area. The PEP stations were generally the old 50,000 watt AM powerhouses because of their wide reach. The requirements for a PEP station are as follows; – Diesel backup generator with fuel sufficient …


Economics and Investing:

Reader Joe K. pointed me to piece by Lee Rogers that echoes something that I’ve been recommending for the past three years: Investment Of The Century: U.S. Minted Nickels. John Williams Eyes Gold as Insurance Against Hyper Inflation Armageddon Why Interest Rates Keep Rising, Despite QE2 Steve H. sent this: Smaller corn, soybean crops send prices surging Bailouts Postponed, But Can’t Prevent the “Greatest Depression,” Gerald Celente Says. (Thanks to J.D.D. for the link.) Items from The Economatrix: UK:  Petrol Prices To Hit Six Pounds A Gallon   “Our Savings Have Vanished – We’ve Lost Everything”  EMU Debt Crisis Edges …


Inflation Watch:

Inflation Flies Up, Up, And Away   Downsized! More and More Products Lose Weight News from India: Onion prices make Mumbai investors teary-eyed. “Vegetable prices jumped 16% in the week to Dec. 25 from the preceding week and were up about 60% from the comparable week last year. Onion prices, meanwhile, soared 23% week-on-week and were up a staggering 82% from a year earlier.”   Super Big Gulp fan says 7-Eleven duping the public out of 4 ounces JPMorgan: Surging Food Prices Fueling Global Inflation


Odds ‘n Sods:

Atlanta Stores out of food?    o o o Update from Steve Quayle: Mountain House Food Alert, None Available, 92% Dealers Cut. Please patronize SurvivalBlog advertisers first!    o o o Reader T.H. invested some time and created a map of “Potential U.S. retreat locations by distance from cities”. Then #1 Son got busy and created a corresponding map of America’s Interstate highway system. I just posted both maps to my Recommended Retreat Areas web page. T.H. included a proviso: “Note that the areas 300 miles out are shaded green. I did not include any Canadian city data, so the …