Year: 2011

Economics and Investing:

C.D.V. sent this: Housing crash is getting worse: report. Observations of the Silver Smack Down. Steve K. forwarded a link to: Doomsday Scenario (from the Treasury Department, of all places!) G.P. suggested: $2 Trillion Mile Marker on Road to Perdition Items from The Economatrix: Florida Bank Fails; 40 Shuttered In 2011 Global Economic Crisis to Worsen n Fall The Silver Bull:  Despite This Week’s Selloff, We See Higher Prices Ahead Hopes For A Quick Decline In US Joblessness Dims Signs Are Pointing to a Big Commodity Selloff


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader R.B.S. sent this: Family details how woman survived in wilderness for 48 days    o o o Several readers mentioned that there has been news of more of the same old Schumer: Schumer Calls For ‘Do Not Ride’ List For Amtrak    o o o Seed for Security announced that they are offering a free gift to customers ordering $25 or more: A free packet of Detroit Dark Red Beet seeds, Bouquet Dill seeds, and Golden Globe Turnip seeds. All of these varieties are great for mid-summer planting. This offer ends June 30, 2011.    o o o Chip …



Pat’s Product Reviews: The PTR91 Rifle

In 1987 at a Colorado gun shop’s “Going Out of Business” sale, I purchased a brand-new HK (Heckler & Koch) Model 91 .308 battle rifle. I got the rifle, along with 10 brand new spare magazines, 1,000 rounds of ammo, a bipod and carrying case for the gun – for the combined price of just $600. Oh, for the good ol’ days! Today, you’ll likely spend $2,500 just for an original H&K Model 91 – and they are now hard to come by. A wave of stupidity overcame me one day, and I sold my HK91 to my friend, and …


Finding a Prepper-Friendly Church

Many readers of SurvivalBlog are Christians. For us, the search for a desirable “vote with your feet” relocation locale includes a very important criteria: finding a good church home. I am of the opinion that finding a good church home is our Christian duty, and that it honors God. It is also an important factor in finding acceptance in a new community. By joining a church congregation that shares your world view, you can very quickly become part of a community, rather than being perceived as just “that new guy”. In many locales, this shortens the time required for a …


The Coming Bitcoin Revolution

SurvivalBlog’s Cheryl N. (also known as The Economatrix) recently sent me a link to a news article that deserves special attention: Peer-to-Peer Currency Takes Banks Out of the Picture. In my estimation, Bitcoin has the potential to trigger a huge shift in how business in conducted via the Internet. . Think of it as a “Local Currency” (such as the well-known Ithaca Hours experiment), but that is scaled up to be a Populist Global Currency. Because of the distributed architecture, it is beyond the control of banks, governments, and taxing minions. Now that is economic freedom! I highly recommend that …


Letter Re: A Prepping Success Story, and a Question on Grain Storage

Dear Mr. Rawles, I live in Queensland Australia and hadn’t even heard of ‘prepping’ until last Christmas.  It is a tradition in our family that every year my brothers and I (and our families) gather, from various points around Australia, at our Mum’s place for Christmas.  Mum and Dad have both passed on but we still carry on the tradition of gathering the family together.  One of my brothers lives at the other end of the country and I only see he and his family this once a year.  As my birthday is in January he gives me a Christmas …


Letter Re: A Spare Parts Travesty Underscores Americans’ Lack of Self-Sufficiency

Hi Jim,   I managed a good day today even though I had to negotiate the land mines of our modern technological civilization. Here is my tale of woe: I needed a mechanical device. Went to Sears and bought the largest sized engine/self propelled mower they had spring of 2010. Platinum level. Used it one year. It up until recently has been a great machine that starts easily. By far perhaps the best mower I ever owned.   This Spring I began mowing again. The self-propelled system fails. Disassembly via detailed parts guide in owner’s manual easily accomplished. Complete owners …


Letter Re: One Week’s Worth — Examining the Ethics of Preparedness

Dear JWR: In response to the article “One Weeks Worth”: First, I believe not all possible solutions were presented. It was clearly stated that the prepared man insisted that his wife always keep a half a tank of gas in her car, implying that he probably had a car too. They should have let them take one of their cars to get to the shelter. This would have been a viable and best scenario for a win-win situation. Being helpless and being lazy are two separate issues and I believe the unprepared man was both lazy and slothful in not …


Economics and Investing:

Reader C.C.V. sent this: U.S. Payrolls Grew 244,000 in April; Unemployment at 9%. JWR Adds: “the recovery is cooling” they claim. I ask: What recovery? All that I’ve seen is a brief blip, caused by a massive infusion of Funny Money. (The monetization dubbed “Quantitative Easing”.) Chris Martenson interviews Addison Wiggin: We Can’t Afford the Solutions Needed To Reverse Our Decline I noticed an interesting article over at Fierce Finance: Goldman Sachs prodigy quits KAF sent this: Fannie Mae has asked the government Friday for an additional $8.5 billion in aid. (It lost $8.7 billion in the first three months …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Several readers mentioned this article about a stranded couple out in the Owyhee country: Search continues for missing Canadian man. Reader R.B.S. had these comments: “Tonight’s local newscast (Boise) had some good news for this lady. Finally located after several weeks. She survived with some rationed granola and water from a nearby stream.  Sadly, I fear the husband did not fare so well on his own, having set out to find a nearby road to get help.  This part of the world is rugged and unforgiving especially to those unfamiliar with its rapidly changing weather conditions and geography.  Hopefully someone …



Note from JWR:

Today we present another two two entries for Round 34 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 Alpine Aire freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $400 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo …


A Real World Test of My Preparations, by Daisy in Canada

Last week my city was taken by surprise by a terrible windstorm.  There were some weather warnings but nothing prepared residents for what would come.  Winds reached 110 km per hour and the damage to property was extensive.  Several people lost their lives due to flying debris and downed power lines.  While some were without power for only a couple of hours, others were without for up to a week.  Although we got our power back after 48 hours, we still suffered sporadic outages for two more days. It was with a completely different attitude that I met this storm.  …


One Week’s Worth — Examining the Ethics of Preparedness, by J.L.

James has a family of two which include his wife and four year old son. He loves them both very much and would do anything to see to their well being. Given the recent events in Haiti, Thailand and most notably Japan, James has decided to prepare himself and his family for a natural disaster. Living in the Southern California area, he has focused his preparation for an earthquake and possible tsunami. In his home he keeps enough canned food and fresh water for his family to survive for at least one week. This week long time frame is about …