Odds ‘n Sods:

Dennis mentioned the Sustainable Local Food and Farm Conference in Grass Valley, California that will be held on January 22, 2011.    o o o Our changing sun. Solar max by the middle of the decade? Major flares?    o o o A World in Crisis: What the thirties tell us about today. (Thanks to John R. for the link,)    o o o Beau spotted a web site with a lot of military field manuals. Most of the manuals can be downloaded and saved or printed.      o o o The Polish Rosomak APC Debuts in Afghanistan







Notes from JWR:

The folks in Queensland, Australia that have been inundated are in our prayers. This catastrophe should serve as a reminder for everyone living in lowland areas to be prepared! — Today we present another two entries 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, …




Thoughts on SHTF Communications, by Carl L.

The scope of this article: I was involved in a discussion in the SHTF411 chat-room regarding SHTF radio communications.  Being a licensed Amateur Radio (ham) operator, I jumped in and put my two cents into the mix.  In the course of that discussion, I was asked to write something up on the subject.   Now, I am no expert on the subject and to be sure.  I sometimes feel that I am the least qualified among my peers.  With that in mind, please understand that much of what I’ve written in this essay is only my opinion and there will …




Physical Fitness For Survival, by Rob B.

With all the many choices and ways of how to prepare for a natural or man induced and instigated crisis, one detail that is critical and mostly overlooked is being relatively physically fit.  Yes it is time to face your fear of physical activity, but that is why I am writing this article, so you can have a better understanding of the amazing creation know as the human body.  Having spent most of my life in some form of sport or physical job situation, I want to share what I have learned about ways to regain and maintain a healthy …




Letter Re: Greenbackism is Not The Solution

Regarding the recent link to The Daily Bell‘s discussion of state-owned banks (Brownian Schism–Ellen Brown Restoring Credit with a Publicly-owned Bank: The Model of the Bank of North Dakota), economist Dr. Gary North has shredded and exposed Ellen Brown as a statist. The siren song of Greenbackism is entrancing Congressmen like Dennis Kucinich and even normally reliable commentators like Karl Denninger. Fiat credit, either through Greenbackism or state-owned bank, leads only to misery, not prosperity. Godspeed to you and yours. – B.G. in Wisconsin. JWR Replies: SurvivalBlog readers may also be interested in this recent piece by Dr. North: How …




Economics and Investing:

Lee H. sent this: China cutting rare earth exports to the world by 10+%. China provides 97% of rare earths to the world. Peter Schiff: Home Prices Are Still Too High. (Thanks to G.G. for the link.) Steve C. sent a link to an article quoting Marc Faber: Long-Term US Treasurys Are ‘Suicidal Investment’ Items from The Economatrix: Fewer Join Unemployment Rolls; Good Sign for 2011   Stocks Down Slightly As Investors Lock In 2010   Oil Settles Below $90 On Government Supply Report   




Odds ‘n Sods:

African Huts Far From the Grid Glow With Renewable Power    o o o What a concept! ‘We the people’ to open next Congress House to read Constitution    o o o Jim B. mentioned a review of three anatomy books.    o o o Mary F. flagged this from The New York Times: With Ambulances Stuck in Snow, City Resorted to Triage    o o o Commentary from Marko The Munchkin Wrangler: The Snow Gestapo