Economics and Investing:

Jim Rogers: “The U.S. Federal Reserve Is Lying To Us” By way of Tamara’s View From The Porch blog: Like it or not, the euro is doomed. Tam’s comment: “Formerly the province of goldbugs, nationalists, and other assorted doomsayers, predictions of the Euro’s imminent demise are going mainstream. This is the inevitable result of letting Arthur Bach and Ebenezer Scrooge share a joint checking account.” An interesting 20 minute interview with Jim Sinclair. He discusses: increasing precious metals market turbulence is looming, MF Global, a key change in bankruptcy laws (that benefits derivatives holders), hypothecation, and a fundamental shift in …


Odds ‘n Sods:

I deliberately held off on mentioning anything about the “FBI pressures the LDS cannery for lists of customers” brouhaha that was created by Alex Jones, even though I had more than 150 e-mails from readers in the past four days urging me to cover the story. Something about the incident just sounded fishy to me. So now the truth comes out, in SouthernBellePrepper’s video blog: Answers on Mormon cannery controversy. (Credit to M.D.C. for the link.) o o o Life imitates art: Police to test laser that ‘blinds rioters’. (Thanks to Morris for the link.) o o o I read …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Because all of the large nations in the Eurozone are still suffering from deficits above the supposedly required debt-to-GDP limit of 3%, none of them is in a position to bail out the PIIGS without borrowing even more. The PIIGS’ solution — which is nothing but a stopgap measure — is for the semi-profligate governments in the North to co-sign on the bank’s loans for the totally profligate PIIGS. The banks will lend to the North, and the North will then buy Eurobonds, which do not yet exist and are unconstitutional. The semi-solvent North can delay immediate default by PIIGS …


Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 38 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: 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.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 …


Save Them!, by ShepherdFarmerGeek

Spokane was sparkling with light and still bustling when I looked out at it from a downtown building last night. So beautiful in the darkness. My thoughts went out to the hundreds of thousands of little children, women, grandmothers, grandfathers, boys, girls, and men those lights represented. Not just people – persons, each one unique, each with God’s calling on their lives for His purposes. Yet most of them are lost: hopelessly adrift in an empty, frantic, stupid, shallow culture of blindness and conformity and entertainment. Like the people of Jonah’s time they metaphorically don’t know their right hand from …


Letter Re: Base Metal Coins as an Inflation and Currency Revaluation Hedge

Dear Mr. Rawles, I have read your five page article Mass Inflation Ahead – – Save Your Nickels.  You stated that: “…should Uncle Sam decide to devaluate our present fiat currency, holders of piles of nickels will typically make them unexpected beneficiaries of a 10X, 100X or even 1,000X gain of the purchasing power of their coins.”  You went further to say that “Governments just assume that most citizens just have a couple of pocketfuls of coins at any given time.  So if a currency swap were to happen while you are sitting on a big pile of nickels, then …


Letter Re: How to Drain an Abscess

Dear Mr. Rawles: A few comments, in no particular order, regarding the recent article “How to Drain an Abscess, by Lonestar Doc”.   Lonestar Doc is absolutely correct that an incision and drainage (I&D) should be handled by someone with the appropriate training and experience to perform the procedure.  However if you are in a situation where you as a non-medical person need to drain an abscess, such as described by Lonestar Doc, it is important to proceed with the I&D whether you have Lidocaine for anesthesia or not.  The pain of an I&D without anesthesia does not outweigh the …


Letter Re: Gentian Blue — An Old School Antibiotic

JWR: Another great use for Gentian Violet is non-surgical treatment of onychocryptosis, the twenty-five cent word for ingrown toenails. I discovered this old treatment one bored night on Emergency Room call at an Indian reservation hospital, flipping through some hundred year old surgical textbook. Just paint the nail folds and nail liberally. If antibiotics available, and they weren’t when the book was written, I usually use some erythromycin. The Gentian Violet desiccates the nail fold and toughens it, treating the ingrown nail. While it’s not a 100% cure, it works well enough I still use it in my practice. I …


Economics and Investing:

G.G. flagged this: Eurozone banking system on the edge of collapse C.D.V. spotted this: Beware of More “Hopium” from the Crucial European Summit Bob G. suggested this one: Buying Silver Is Like Buying Gold At $554 Today Items from The Economatrix: US Household Wealth Takes Biggest Hit Since 2008 Corporate America Sitting On Jobs Crisis Solution Gold Tsunami: On the Cusp of $3,000? Eight Charts From a Brave New Banking and Economic System


Odds ‘n Sods:

F.J. suggested this: How To Make A Minnow Trap Out Of Soda Bottles    o o o Yishai sent this news from England: Thousands of homes without power on coldest day of winter    o o o Important safety tip: Keep shooting until your opponent is no longer a threat! Chilling 911 tapes illustrate woman shooting home invasion suspect    o o o Iran Releases Video of Captured US Drone Plane. (BTW, you gotta love their 1980s-style trucker’s hats. They look like something out of Smokey and the Bandits Revolutionary Guards.)    o o o Federal judge decides who is …



Note from JWR:

Today we present another two entries for Round 38 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: 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.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a …


Practical Preparedness Perceptions, by Charles S.

In the past Americans expected to be prepared.  Whether it was helping to raise a barn, saving seed for the next spring planting, or being part of the local militia, it was expected that you would be ready.  Today we have become increasingly more dependant on others to do such things for us.  Many people wonder if we need to know how to save food, cut wood or light an oil lamp. If you are reading this you are probably fully aware of the value of preparedness, but maybe someone among your friends, family or neighbors needs convincing.  And convincing …


Maintaining Good Morale in a Survival Situation, by Lisa F.

While much has been written about the essentials of survival (emergency shelter, fire-making, water purification, defense, hunting, bug-out-bags, etc.), few survival experts have focused on ideas and tactics for maintaining morale and good mental health in a stressful and possibly sustained emergency situation.  This essay is intended to arm the reader, figuratively speaking, with some tools for helping people stay positive and energized while under stress.  These tips and ideas will be useful for any group, whether or not it includes children, or an individual.  The games are not my inventions; rather, I’ve picked them up over the years from …


Letter Re: Gentian Blue — An Old School Antibiotic

James Wesley: At a slide show about extreme trekking in the tropics, I asked the speaker what they used as a topical antibiotic and antifungal medicine while on the expedition.  The speaker said they relied on Gentian Blue, an antibiotic that was used in World War I and II. Gentian Blue (or Crystal Violet) is used as a clothing dye.  The early chemical industry put a big emphasis on the development of dyes. In the race to discover the first antibiotics, every chemical on the shelf was tested, and Gentian Blue was found to have powerful antibacterial, antifungal, and antiparasitical …