Year: 2016

Economics and Investing:

Charles Hugh Smith:  Please Assume Crash Positions o o o Cash is piling up faster than Warren Buffett can invest it.  Most of the mainstream media analysts seem to see Buffet’s growing cash position as crafty planning for some major acquisitions.  But I suspect that he has actually become risk averse and is putting cash on the sidelines in anticipation of a major market correction. This correction would most likely be triggered by another global credit crisis that will dwarf the 2008 crisis. I predict that when Buffett again buys stocks substantially, it will be at or near the bottom. …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Crime Statistics: Motor vehicle theft (most recent) by state.  (Take note of the correlation of the bottom-ranked states with the American Redoubt states and the adjoining western Plains states.) o o o The makers of the famous (and now copied) BedBunker gun vault have expanded their product line to include a variety of automotive gun vaults including center console vaults, under seat vaults, and most recently car trunk vaults.  Be sure to check out their web site. – JWR o o o I spotted this at Off The Grid News: The Five Best Places In America To ‘Bug Out’ When …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Ye are the children of the LORD your God: ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead. For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.”  – Deuteronomy 14: 1-2 (KJV)


Notes for Friday – October 14, 2016

The following article is interesting reading. Because I go by the precept that tangibles beat conceptuals, my general preference is still for precious metal coins (both bullion and numismatic), but I can also see the utility of hedging one’s portfolio a bit into Bitcoin. – JWR o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 67 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Tactical Self-Contained 2-Series Solar Power Generator system from Always Empowered. This compact starter power system is packaged in a wheeled O.D. green EMP-shielded Pelican …


Some Details on Bitcoin and Blockchain, by G.S.

Bitcoin has been in the news recently for good and bad reasons. You are probably also seeing the word Blockchain, and may be curious what that is. It is important for people wary of government intervention in their lives to understand what Bitcoin is, and if it is an avenue that can be used to safeguard wealth or act as an investment. Five years ago, Bitcoin was the only major online currency. This is still the case, but there is competition from all sides. There have been many similar competing currencies released in the last few years, and these are …


Letter Re: Hurricane Matthew–Some Lessons Learned

Good Morning, SurvivalBloggers, SurvivalBlog recently had a very good list of hurricane preparation tips in Hurricane Matthew–Some Lessons Learned, written by a Florida resident. As a former 20+ year Florida resident I’d like to add to his excellent piece. In Florida, hurricanes are a way of life, and the period from June 1 to November 30 is known as “hurricane season.” The period from December 1 to May 31 is known as “not hurricane season.”  “Not hurricane season” is when one should be doing their preparation for the other six months. During “not hurricane season” one can find plywood on …


Economics and Investing:

Pre-1965 Silver Pocket Change Provides Investors With an Economic Future o o o The Case for Investing in Guns o o o This was posted last month at Zero Hedge: The only real currency if society breaks down is accelerated lead. o o o Graham Summers had some comments on the global currency markets: A Problem So Massive Even Central Banks Cannot Contain It o o o SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.


Odds ‘n Sods:

I spotted this collection of how-to videos over at the Backdoor Survival web site:  39 Fantastic Prepping Tips o o o Michael Snyder: Why Are So Many Christians Moving To The Great Northwest? Could It Be A Safe Zone? o o o In an odd riff, this somehow reminds me of the plot of my novel Land Of Promise…. Here is a new spin on the concept of establishing a new sovereign nation in Terra Nullius: Asgardia o o o Zero Hedge reports: Wikileaks Releases Another 2,000 Podesta Emails In Part 6 Of Data Dump



Notes for Thursday – October 13, 2016

One of my contacts who serves on a General Staff mentioned that the recent news reports about contingency plans for a war with Russia have actually under-reported the intensity of the planning effort. There is now a quite frequent shuttling of general officers around the world, to attend logistical planning meetings. My source mentioned that high level staff meetings have been going on since the Ukraine crisis began in late 2013, but they have recently intensified. If you are not yet concerned about the possible advent of World War III, then you should be. The recent policy shift toward the …


Letter: Another View of Alaska as a Survival Location

My family and I arrived in Alaska in 1974 while I was in the U.S. Army. I was stationed at Ft. Richardson (now part of Joint Base Elmendorf/Richardson. JBER). I spent five years at Ft. Rich. A 3-year tour, with two one year extensions. In 1980 I left the Army and moved my family back to Anchorage, where I currently reside. I grew up in mid-eastern Pennsylvania and spent two summers working on dairy farms in that area. I agree with some of what S.J. had to say in regards to whites not welcome in native villages as well as …


Letter: Understanding Bank Transaction Reporting in the U.S.

Dear SurvivalBlog Readers: I have noticed over the last few weeks a couple of articles discussing banking and transaction reporting etc. I would recommend (if one is having trouble sleeping at night) that everyone who is interested read the audit manuals for the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), which includes currency transaction reporting (CTR), suspicious activity reporting (SAR), and monetary instrument logs (MIL). Bank’s are required by law to perform these on all customers based on activity and the bank’s teller system analysis. Most people know about CTRs – deposit or withdraw more than $10,000 in cash – but they do …


Economics and Investing:

Nearly 7 in 10 Americans have less than $1,000 in savings o o o Need a [Home-Based] Business Idea? Here are 55 o o o Hillary Clinton’s planned tax increases o o o Deutsche Bank has another problem: Its ETF business.  (The bank’s stock has dropped from around 30 Euros per share to 12.36 Euros per share, over the past seven months, and meanwhile their funds outflows have been enormous. Collapse of the bank reportedly now appears inevitable.) o o o SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.


Odds ‘n Sods:

Over at View From The Porch, Tamara has some sound reasoning on daily concealed carry: Quote of the Day: Be Real Edition o o o I belatedly noticed that earlier this year,the originator of Robb’s Homemade Life kindly posted a YouTube video describing our CFAPA spin-off web site, where we offer free press credentials for any adult citizen. Thanks, Robb! o o o More Internet censorship: This Trump campaign commercial was blocked by YouTube as “inappropriate content” and has had a warning label added. o o o A new For Sale By Owner (FSBO) listing in Arkansas over at my …