Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader J.B.G. sent this: 18 Cities Whose Suburbs Are Rapidly Turning Into Slums

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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 it?

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F.G. recommended an owner’s review page on shortwave radios that is useful is sorting the wheat from the chaff, when shopping for a used radio on eBay or at a ham. radio swap meet. F.G.’s comment: “By and large, other than very high end professional grade receivers, the older portable and table top radios are of much higher quality construction, and have better listening fidelity. Prices on clean, well maintained, used SW radios continue to climb for that very reason.” JWR Adds: My favorite portable world band radio that is in an affordable price range is the Sony ICF-2010. Used ones can often be found for bargain prices. Now that I’m 50 years old I thus qualify as being on the cusp of curmudgeonry. So my passion is for older, relatively EMP-proof AM/shortwave vacuum tube radios (like the Zenith Transoceanic and the Hallicrafters SW-38E), but I must admit that the sensitivity and extra features (such as a BFO) found on the later transistor SW radios necessitates owning one or two. My advice: Buy one of each, if you can afford them.

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I just heard about a family-owned gun, ammo and accessory shop in southern Idaho that has a great inventory–particularly full-capacity magazines: Armageddon-armory.com. They also do some mail orders.