October In Precious Metals, by Steven Cochran of Gainesville Coins

Welcome to SurvivalBlog’s Precious Metals Month in Review, where we take a look at “the month that was” in precious metals. Each month, we cover the price action of gold and silver and examine the “what” and “why” behind those numbers. The marketplace in October was focused on how fast the European Union economies were going down the tubes and how badly it would affect the U.S. economy. Ebola continued to dominate the news channels on TV, while a slump in oil prices squeezed oil-producing countries, from OPEC to Russia. Gold fell to a monthly low on October 3rd of …


Scot’s Product Review: Brass Stacker Products for the Mosin Nagant

I recently reviewed the Russian Mosin Nagant 91/30 bolt action rifle, and while I really like the old rifle, I did see some problems with using it in today’s world. Fortunately, there are so many of them out there these days that there is a market for improving them and some savvy folks stepping up to the chore. The thing I really hated was the safety, but I doubt if the Russian Army ever had the same concerns that we have today about negligent discharges. While the safety is effective, it is very difficult to apply and release. You have …


Recipe of the Week: Egg Foo “Yummy”, by L.H.

Our then-5-year-old son renamed this dish over 25 years ago, and the name stuck. We cannot call it anything else anymore. It’s a simple recipe, perfect for a “meatless Monday”, easy to throw together, and easy to have the ingredients on hand. I serve it with some fresh or canned fruit and call it supper. Ingredients: Note: These sauce ingredients are 1/2 of what was called for in the original recipe I copied. We find the sauce to be just barely enough, but I only have to buy one can of the [expensive, these days] prepared soup, which makes it …


Letter Re: Feeding Farm Animals

Thank you for the article on kids feeding farm animals. It certainly can be dangerous around the farm or ranch. It can even be deadly. But your comments on acclimating kids to handle these chores is spot on. I am 68. When I was 10 or 11, I was tormented by three geese at a neighboring farm. My older brother kept a horse there, and so I was there frequently to help care for it. I had to figure out on my own how to handle those geese. I had to do so out of sight of the owner, who …


Economics and Investing:

NEWSFLASH: The Fed Isn’t Stopping QE! JWR’s Comment: I told you so. o o o The oxymoron of the labor force when labor means not working: 92 million Americans are not in the labor force with 12 million of those being added only in the last 4 years. o o o These Poor 3Q Earnings Reports Foretell 2015’s Economy o o o Kim Kardashian and Fiat Money Have The Same Intrinsic Value o o o China Filling Strategic Reserve With Cheap Oil


Odds ‘n Sods:

S.W. Florida Bomb Shelter, interesting look back. – JRN It may be a look back, but it still sounds interesting to me for future use… o o o By way of Infowars.com: Bundy Family Treated as Terror Suspects by TSA o o o Sipsey Street Irregulars: There will be raids. – B.B. o o o More reasons to home school: Allah in the Classroom — the ABC’s of Forced Conversion. – B.B. o o o ‘Entire villages disappeared’: Ebola deaths in Sierra Leone ‘underreported’ – K.D.



Notes for Sunday – November 02, 2014

Just a reminder about SurvivalBlog’s Contest: If you have submitted an article and it did not win one of the top three prizes, you can still submit another article to the contest this year, even if you won an honorable mention. If you submitted and won one of the top three prizes over a year ago, you can submit again and be eligible now. If you have been putting it off, get busy and get that article in. Who knows, you could be one of the winners of over $12,000 worth of prizes. o o o Today, we present another …


Letter Re: Requesting Advice for a Recent College Graduate

Hi HJL, I need some advice on what I should do next, and I am sure that many of the young college graduates who are reading your site are in a similar predicament. Here is the back story. I graduated from a university with about 80K in student loans– 52K in state and 28K in federal. I was very blessed to get a great job out of college working for my alma mater as a researcher making about 47K (pretax). I live at home and commute to work (1.5 hours each way), and now I am going back to graduate …


Economics and Investing:

It Will Take 6.25 BILLION “Man Years” To Pay Off Federal Government Liabilities: “A Mathematical Impossibility”. – B.B. o o o 4 Basic Truths to Help You Navigate the Financial News o o o World War I ended 96 years ago but Britain is just starting to pay off its debt . – G.P. o o o The Wrath of Draghi: First German Bank Hits Savers with Negative Interest Rate . – CJB o o o Chicago Bank Largest to Fail in 2014. – G.G.


Odds ‘n Sods:

An interesting look at Ebola: Math Just Is. – K.H. o o o SurvivalBlog’s Field Gear Editor, Scot Eire, is curious if any readers have had a time-keeping device like this Dipleidoscope. If you are aware of this product or a similar product, shoot us an email. o o o What a surprise: State of Maine Document Reports Kaci Hickoxâs Roommate in Africa Developed Ebola. – T.P. o o o Another reason I don’t use smart phones: Somebody’s Already Using Verizon’s ID to Track Users. – G.G. o o o For those following the Sharyl Attkisson ordeal, a video has …



Notes for Saturday – November 01, 2014

November 1st, 1923, was the birthday of science fiction writer Gordon R. Dickson (born 1923, died January 31, 2001). Many of his novels and short stories, such as Wolf and Iron, have survivalist themes. November 1st is also the birthday of economist Martin A. Armstrong. For many years he was a prisoner of conscience, in part because he refused to turn over his proprietary trading algorithms to Federal prosecutors. After seven years in prison without a trial, the longest Federal incarceration for contempt in American history, Armstrong was finally put on trial in a proceeding that was branded as a …


Letter: A Two Year Experiment

Two years ago I buried cash and silver coins on some property I own as an experiment to see how well the cash and silver would fare. Oct 31st 2014 was the day it was recovered. The vessel was a white plastic PVC pipe about 6” round and about 1.5 feet long capped and sealed with PVC Glue. The cash was placed in standard zip lock sandwich bags and a moisture absorber pouch was placed in each. The silver was placed in the standard coin tubes you receive when buying 20 coins at a time. No absorbers were placed in …


Economics and Investing:

UK finance ministry says takes orders for first renminbi bond. – G.G. o o o Slowly but surely. The pace seems to be picking up though. China puts a new nail in dollar coffin as it begins direct trade with Singapore. – A.H. o o o Items from Mr. Econocobas: Greenspan: Fed Can’t Exit Without Turmoil Why Did Q3 GDP Jump: Thank ISIS And The “War On Terror” U.S. Homeownership Rate Falls to Lowest Since Early 1995