Day: May 8, 2013

Notes from JWR:

May 8th is the birthday of American missionary and military intelligence officer Captain John Birch. (Born, 1918, died August 25, 1945.) He is considered by many to be the first American casualty of the Cold War. — John Bush (of The Dealer Warehouse and other ventures) recently posted this sad news: “Long time machine gun and gun importer Edward Faust passed away this weekend. [He] literally imported thousands of machine guns into the US, many of you probably have a gun marked “IA CO SAC CA” which was the import mark found on the ARMEX guns. Worked with most everyone …


Fats and Rancidity: A Food Storage Problem, by L. Joseph Mountain

Many of the dehydrated “food storage units” available these days specify that you need a certain amount of fats or oils to supplement their unit. You probably know these units, they generally sell as “1 person, 1 year” type of packages and they contain a variety of grains, legumes, fruits and other essentials. They are generally put together with the help of nutritionists that try to deliver a certain amount of calories and essential nutrients per day. You might wonder why they don’t just include a container of oil to complete their units. Or even why we need them. Fats …


Three Letters Re: Kevlar Chainsaw Chaps

James, Thanks to George H. and George W. for their input on chainsaw safety. Yes, buy Kevlar chaps and use them.  Once getting your hands on a pair, don’t expect them to function like body armor because they have Kevlar in them.  From personal experience, they work by the chain’s cutters tearing through the outer fabric of the chaps, then pulling out Kevlar fibers, that then bind up the saw and almost instantly stop the chain from moving. Chain stops and you don’t get cut. Then the penance you pay for your lapse in judgment is taking the cover off …


Economics and Investing:

Jack Spirko (of The SurvivalPodcast) has produced a fascinating behind-the-scenes video tour: What’s Going on at Mulligan Mint? Jack Spirko and I agree that Mulligan Mint is reputable. By setting up redundant manufacturing processes, they have overcome their production bottlenecks. They’ve also cleared the backlog of SBSS orders and they are about to release Jack’s Sentinel coin. This is the same mint that is producing the American Redoubt silver coin. Items from The Economatrix: The Biggest Price-Fixing Scandal Ever Hiding The Unemployed: Disability And The Politics Of Stats Gold & Silver — War Unofficially Declared on 12 April 2013


Odds ‘n Sods:

Some folks on the web had misreported this last week, without checking facts: LDS home storage centers tweaking cannery policy. (Thanks to Brad M. for the newspaper link.)    o o o M.V.R. recommended: Guide to Veterinary Drugs for Human Consumption, Post-SHTF.    o o o Cuban Economic Collapse Survivor Gives Advice On How To Keep Up Your Family’s Spirits    o o o Mark R. sent a link to a U.S. military Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan. ” The plan defines the department’s vision of sustainability and connects the dots between the DOD’s sustainability and energy security goals and potential …