Day: October 18, 2013

Notes from JWR:

I ‘m pleased to announce that another prize has been added to the First Prize package for the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The fine folks at Privacy Abroad in Switzerland are donating both a secure Virtual Private Network (VPN) annual subscription and a DigitalSafe annual subscription.  With these, the prize winner will have a VPN tunnel, secure Swiss data storage, and a secure e-mail service.  These prizes have a combined value of $195. This addition brings the value of the First Prize package to $4,185, and the combined value of the top three prizes to $8,730! — Today is the …


Surviving The E.R., by J. in Montana

This article will focus on the latter half of the oft used phrase The End of the World As We Know It.  Operative portion being “As We Know It.” As an emergency room (ER) nurse, I have the perspective of seeing on a daily basis, for patients and family members of patients, the end of their world as they know it.  While the world keeps turning for everyone else, a tragic disaster unfolds for them and life will never be the same.  I offer this article from the perspective of one who has seen a wide range of traumatic events and people’s reaction …


Letter Re: Remembering Robert W. Ford

James, You recently mentioned the death of the late Robert W. Ford, in England. I highly recommend his book Wind Between The Worlds, his account of experiences in Tibet, captivity by the communist Chinese, and his fight against brainwashing. It is an inspiring story of mental resistance which makes you wonder how well you would have fared in his position. A free PDF is available to download. Regards, – Don in Oregon


Economics and Investing:

New Jersey Island Won’t Get Its Landlines Back After Sandy Because Copper Is Too Expensive. [JWR Adds: It might be less expensive for the phone company to provide a 3-watt PV panel and DC-to-DC phone charger for each customer!] K.A. and Michael C. both sent this Zero Hedge link: Foodstamp Program Shutdown Imminent? The global copper supply glut is expected to triple in 2014–showing that the economic depression is continuing. Items from The Economatrix: Debt Deadline Approaches: Here’s What Would Happen If U.S. Defaults This Is What Has The United States Truly Terrified Fitch Places U.S. on Rating Watch Negative, …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader H.L. sent: Drastic moose die-off puzzles scientists, but they have one main suspect    o o o B.B. forwarded this: US Senate Decisively Rejects U.N. Arms Trade Treaty    o o o Non-Participation As An Effective Weapon Against Tyranny    o o o Dry Ice Goes Boom.    o o o A Guide for Guarding Personal Information in the Workplace. (Thanks to R.B.S. for the link.)


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Yet, although history never quite repeats itself, and just because no development is inevitable, we can in a measure learn from the past to avoid a repetition of the same process. One need not be a prophet to be aware of impending dangers. An accidental combination of experience and interest will often reveal events to one man under aspects which few yet see.” – Friedrich A. Hayek, The Road to Serfdom