Letter Re: England’s New Leisure Class

Sir, Please see this article published by the BBC here in the UK: Family life on benefits.   In this article Raymond (not his real name) makes a number of statements that clearly define why the benefits system here in the UK is flawed. I’ll include my comments:   “Raymond, a former educational software writer, has been jobless since 2001…. The market for my skills dried up 10 years ago – there’s a total lack of work in my area of expertise.” So why has someone with apparent I.T. skills not retrained to something he can do to earn an …


Economics and Investing:

Don’t miss this interview with Jim Sinclair: The Impending Undeclared Default of Five Major US Banks. Sinclair exposes an upcoming decision by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA). He expects some very short-cropped haircuts on CDS derivatives. In this land of smoke and mirrors, it all comes down to terminology. What is a severe credit event euphemistically called, other than default? Sinclair anticipates a writeoff down to thirty cents on the dollar for Greek debt! A collapse in the Euro is coming .Massive bailouts are coming. Some very large banks may go under, or more likely they will be …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Artisanal Wheat On the Rise. The article begins: “Giving factory flour the heave-ho, small farmers from New England to the Northwest are growing long-forgotten varieties of wheat.”    o o o Ready Made Resources has announced a special bonus deal: With the purchase of a Augason four person 1-year dehydrated food package, SurvivalBlog readers will also receive a free stainless steel Big Berkey water filter with two white ceramic filters. As usual, they offer free shipping  and the flexibility of customer-requested substitutions allowed for equally-priced Augason dehydrated food items.    o o o Do any SurvivalBlog readers know of a …



Announcing Winners For Round 38 of the SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

We’ve completed the judging for Round 38 of the SurvivalBlog Writing Contest! 1st Place: Barter, Post-TEOTWAWKI: The Micro Store by A.A.A. which was posted on December 22, 2011. He will receive: A.) A gift certificate worth $1,000, courtesy of Spec Ops Brand, B.) 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 C.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $350 value.) D.) …


Letter Re: A Combat Gear Primer

Jim: I wish to address some issues with the recent “Combat Gear Primer” post.  Surplus stores are a great place to buy surplus gear.  It is one stop shopping.   I am an old school prepper.  I believe in a web belt with gear upon it and an ALICE pack for patrol situations.  The web belt is compatible with the old school ALICE and the new MOLLE pouches. In my opinion, a vest keeps you up off the ground with all the stuff on your chest.  I want to become part of the ground when the SHTF.  If I am …


Economics and Investing:

20 Signs That Europe Is Plunging Into A Full-Blown Economic Depression D.D. suggested this one: The Coming Paradigm Shift in Silver   Richard Russell, Joseph Granville, & Baltic Dry Index Warnings = Get Out Of Stocks! Sven sent this: Why Are the Chinese Buying Record Quantities of Gold? Congressional Budget Office reports another $1 trillion deficit. (Thanks to B.B. for the link.)                                       Items from The Economatrix: Wall Street Cuts Losses On Late Buying US Grows 2.8% In Q4, But Not Enough To Keep …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Thanks for your patience as we get the kinks worked out in SurvivalBlog’s new primary server in Sweden. The new server can 5 terabytes of traffic per month. Overall, it is looking good. But we still have some issues with false McAfee anti-virus warnings. We hope to have that resolved soon.    o o o Mongolian Nomads Build a Yurt in an Hour, You Can Watch It in Two Minutes. (Thanks to F.J. for the link.)    o o o AmEx (American Expat) sent this: Tiny rustic farms battle for survival in Los Angeles area.    o o o A …



Notes from JWR:

Växlar, Växlar! We are now finalizing the configuration of our new primary server for SurvivalBlog in Sweden, to mitigate any risk of site blanking or hijacking. We have now “flipped the switch,” so that our old server in Utah is now the backup server and the Swedish server is the primary server. The only significant change from the reader’s perspective will be our new IP address: 95.143.193.148. Please make a hardcopy note of it, and update your bookmarks. Hopefully the transition will go smoothly! I apologize in advance for any glitches. All of this work was accomplished by my brilliant …


Canning Food in a Grid-Down World, by Christine C.

We all know how possible a grid down scenario is.  While we have been stuffing our pantries and freezers with food to sustain us, what happens when there is no electricity to run that freezer?  If it is winter time in a northern place then it would be fine and we could use Mother Nature.  But what if you live in a southern area where the temperature does not remain below freezing? One solution would be to home-can your food. Also home canning is a very inexpensive and frugal way to add to your food stores.  Not to mention you …


Aloe Vera, My Survival Companion, by Carol F.

I grew up in the low desert areas of Arizona:  Douglas, Wilcox, and Mesa.   Later, living near Flagstaff, I began keeping Aloe Vera (Aloe barbadensis) in my kitchen.  In the low desert, Aloe grows in medians and desert yards; almost weed – like.  It is a succulent so it does not need much water.  Most of its moisture comes from any available humidity.  It has a cactus look without thorns, and is a welcome green in a harsh country.  A bonus is the beautiful tiny orange-yellow lily flower that fits with the easy lifestyle of a desert landscape.   Pictures and …


Two Letters Re: A Combat Gear Primer

CPT Rawles: I have had the privilege to wear all three of the Army uniforms mentioned in this article. Here are a few notes on durability:I wore BDU’s in Basic, AIT, and a rotation at NTC (National Training Center). Nothing beats this uniform. They took a beating and always looked sharp. If you happen to get a tear in your uniform, any dull color patch or thread will hardly be noticed in the overall pattern. This uniform utilizes buttons exclusively, which is durable, convenient, and easy to fix with a needle and thread. BDUs come in two different styles, Winter …


Economics and Investing:

F.G. sent this link, that bears repeating: The U.S. Debt Visualized Don’t Get Audited! The IRS’s Dirty Dozen Red Flags (Kiplinger) RBS flagged this: Lawmaker targets coinage costs with bills backing steel. [JWR’s Comment: It is interesting how the congresscritters are trying to make debasing our coins look patriotic.] $140 Silver, Figures Don’t Lie Items from The Economatrix: The Art Of Extortion Now At The IMF You Won’t Believe Who Owes U.S. Billions Fed Is Running Out Of Tools To Boost Economic Growth


Odds ‘n Sods:

The inevitable end result of several years of drought in Texas and high feed prices, nationwide: National Cattle Herd Drops to 1958 Low    o o o Troy H. sent a link to a fascinating TED Talks series lecture on Thorium salts power reactors.    o o o Vic at Safecastle mentioned that they’ve launched a new 7-month “Foodbundle” variant, for about $1,800.    o o o Reader Lee M. suggested this: How to get alerts of an emergency