Day: February 9, 2011

Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 33 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round 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 TAP …


The Earthquake in Haiti: First-Hand Lessons From Disaster, by Dr. L.F.

I’m a neurosurgeon, and I had the opportunity to spend a couple weeks in Port Au Prince, Haiti last year, arriving just two weeks after the earthquake in February. This was a great opportunity to serve people in need, but I also benefited from seeing WTSHTF firsthand. I brought in a team of three doctors and two nurses , along with one former Marine turned pastor (for security). When a missionary flight company said: “We can get you in if you can be here day after tomorrow, but we can’t guarantee you a flight out,” a wiser person might have …


The Nitty Gritty on Nickels

As I’ve mentioned before in SurvivalBlog, U.S. Five cent pieces (“Nickels”) should be considered a long-term hedge on inflation. I recently had a gent e-mail me, asking how he could eventually “cash in” on his cache of Nickels. He asked: “Are we to melt them down, or sell them to a collector? How does one obtain their true 7.4 cents [base metal content] value?” My response: Don’t expect to cash in for several years. I anticipate that there won’t be a large scale speculative market in Nickels until their base metal value (“melt value”) exceeds twice their face value (“2X …


Letter Re: The Ethics and Methodology of Sniping after TEOTWAWKI

James; I am glad that something has posted such a thoughtful essay on the merits of and moral questions involved in sniping after a collapse. I am not a sniper, but I regularly compete in High Power shooting events and have learned a lot. The first thing I learned is my .308 is marginal at 1,000 yards.To get there I use very expensive Berger bullets and my groups are twice as big as the guys using 6mm or 6.5mm bullets. At a 1,000 yards some of the favorite cartridges are .243, .308, 6.5 Creedmoor, 6.5×287, .287, .260 Remington, 6.5 Lapua, …


Economics and Investing:

The Daily Bell ran this interview: Richard Maybury on the Collapse of the Anglo-American Empire and What It Means for You Eric K. sent this: China Raises Rates to Counter Accelerating Inflation. Eric’s comments: “Three things of note in the article: 1.) They mention a report due next week that will show a 5.3% increase in January for consumer prices. 2.) They are starting a campaign to crackdown on speculation and hoarding. 3.) The Chinese inflation is largely driven by rising food costs. Their formula for calculating their inflation is different to the one used to calculate ours. For one, …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader J.B.G. sent this: 18 Cities Whose Suburbs Are Rapidly Turning Into Slums    o o o Frequent content contributor C.D.V. sent this: We Are Witnessing the Collapse of the Middle East. “If Egypt should fall, it will mark the beginning of the end for what little remaining stability there is in the Middle East.” Can you imagine an enormous Lebanon-like Zone of Chaos, all the way from the Sudan to Tajikistan and from Morocco to Pakistan? I can. It seems that the $55 Billion+ that that we’ve “invested” in stability in Egypt since 1974 sure didn’t buy much, did …