Economics and Investing:

G.G. sent this: Average Length Of Unemployment Surges To New All Time Record 40.4 Weeks Also from G.G.: Food stamp use rises to record 45.8 million Sam Kirtley: US Yield Curve Flattening to Prompt Fed Easing and $1,800 Gold Items from The Economatrix: Can’t Get No Relief:  Economic News Sours Investors Services Firms Expand At Slowest Pace in 17 Months Unemployment Rose In Nearly All US Cities Going Nowhere:  Economy Struggles To Find Footing Oil Below $92 On Concern About Economy, Demand Two Year Treasury Yield Drops To Record Low EU Urges Bailout Changes As Stocks, Euro Tumble Euro Faces …


Odds ‘n Sods:

F.J. spotted this over at the Makezine site: Drain Pipe Hotel.    o o o Kevin S. suggested a product that will be released later this year: DeLorme inReach—two-way satellite communication. (Pair this $250 device to your Android phone via Bluetooth and send/receive texts using the Iridium satellite network.)    o o o James K. flagged this: Harvesting Energy From Radio Signals: Two New Devices From Japan (Video)    o o o Check out this interesting bucket gardening site: Global Buckets. (Thanks to John S. for the link.)    o o o A newly-orbited Amateur Radio Satellite (AMSAT): ARISSat/KEDR. (Thanks …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive; I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and [I know] the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but [are] the synagogue of Satan. Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast [some] of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown …


Notes from JWR:

Flash Traffic: S&P downgrades U.S. Treasury paper! Excerpts: “United States of America Long-Term Rating Lowered To ‘AA+’ On Political Risks And Rising Debt Burden; Outlook Negative Overview · We have lowered our long-term sovereign credit rating on the United States of America to ‘AA+’ from ‘AAA’ and affirmed the ‘A-1+’ short-term rating.” and “The outlook on the long-term rating is negative. We could lower the long-term rating to ‘AA’ within the next two years if we see that less reduction in spending than agreed to, higher interest rates, or new fiscal pressures during the period result in a higher general government debt trajectory than we currently assume in …


A Frightening Experience Leads to a Plan, by V.A.S.

Part One:  Why I Started to Prepare Speaking from the perspective of someone who has spent the last several years researching, reading about and trying to sort through multitudes of information on the subject, I can say that learning the art of preparedness is not a simple task. Given the huge amount of resources, information and even misinformation available on the internet and within the many books written on the subject, determining the right path towards being more prepared can be a difficult one to say the least. Here is my story, and my tips for finding your own path …


Letter Re: Lessons from the Road

JWR, I’d like to add just a couple points to the excellent “Lessons from the Road” article by R.W.. One key item that I feel is important is to involve everyone in the planning of your escape route. If you are the primary driver, and end up incapacitated, it is essential one of your other fellow travelers be able to take up the mantle and get the BOV to the BOL. In families, route planning can be a great way to get everyone involved and on-board with the preparations process. It also allows everyone to contribute and point out things …


Economics and Investing:

Glenn Beck puts the Federal debt cap deal in prepper terms. An American Suicide US borrowing tops 100% of GDP: Treasury tom in Buffalo spotted this: Royal Bank of Scotland posts £794m loss after Greece hit Avoid Disaster, Get Out of U.S. Assets: Peter Schiff (Thanks to G.G. for the link.) Open letter to the London G20 Summit: Last chance before global geopolitical dislocation Items from The Economatrix: Debt Ceiling Agreement To Trigger Hyperinflation Credit-rating Agencies Still Threaten US Debt Recovery US Manufacturing Woes May Be Just Beginning 10 Signs The Double-dip Recession Has Begun


Odds ‘n Sods:

A gent developed a handy new app for Android phones that calculates bullion coin value for transactions.    o o o Who would have thunk it? Federal officials have been caught facilitating moving drugs one way, and guns the other, across the border. Gee, its good to know that at least we don’t live in one of those corrupt Third World countries with a printing press economy.    o o o Gun lobby fights Mexico border rifle sale control. It is funny that the journalist picked up on the ATF’s “iron river” rhetoric, when the ATF itself is the biggest …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying. There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner [being] an hundred years old shall be accursed. And they shall build houses, and inhabit [them]; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another …


Notes from JWR:

Today, August 5th, is the Sixth Anniversary of the launch of SurvivalBlog. I hope that you’ve enjoyed reading it, and that it has helped you to gain useful knowledge and inspired you to get prepared. Thanks for making the blog such a huge success. In the past six years we’ve built huge archives of useful articles and letters, and they are still all available free of charge. We now get more than one million unique visits per month, making SurvivalBlog far and away the Internet’s most popular preparedness blog. Please continue to spread the word. Thank you! — Today we …


Lessons from the Road, by R.W.

Statistically, driving is one of the most dangerous activities in most of our lives.  Limited supplies, new or dramatically changed surroundings, minimal physical protection and exposure to observation make moving by vehicle the most dangerous phase of many survival plans.     There has been a great deal of focus on the best ‘Bug out Vehicle’ and proper vehicle gear to use in a survival situation.  Often overlooked are techniques and skills, many of which are completely different than the driving skills we use in our daily driving, necessary for a vehicular bug-out.  Whether you are driving a 5 ton military …


Letter Re: Inexpensive Building and Gardening Techniques

Sir:   In many states, it is illegal to transport fish from public waters to private waters [or vice versa].  You might be okay going from private waters to private waters.  The concern is that you might introduce disease from one area to another and thus contaminate another area.  He should probably look into stocking his pond from a legal supplier. – Alan W.


Three Letters Re: America’s Sovereign Debt Credit Rating and Interest Rate Imponderables

Mr. Rawles, Thanks for the blog and your books.  I have given several copies of “How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It” away as gifts. I consider it a network fishing lure of sorts, to find like-minded people. To the point: Another set of dominoes to fall, if the US credit rating is reduced from AAA many pensions will not be able to hold US Treasury bonds, as their bylaws or rules state that they must hold AAA paper.  Unless they find a loophole or change their rules it will be a cascade spiral down. …


Economics and Investing:

Thursday’s headlines were full of deep drama economic news, including a market crash in Italy that looked like La fine del mondo come lo conosciamomeowner. Concurrently, the recent drop in silver has widened the silver-to-gold ratio 42.4-to-1. (Meaning: The cost of one ounce of gold currently equals just over 42 ounces of silver.) So this a great time to go to your local coin shop and perform a ratio trade: Ask them to swap your 1-ounce gold coins into bullion silver coins. (For readers in the U.S., pre-1965 mint date 90% silver Quarters are recommended.) Even though you’ll have to …


Odds ‘n Sods:

F.G. sent this: Cooped Up: Chickens Come Home to Roost for Urbanites With a Yen for Hen    o o o Nissan eyes powering your house from your car. (Thanks to Anthony S. for the link.)    o o o Camping Survival just got another shipment of Wise Foods, packed in food grade pails.  They created a 10% off coupon on these, just for SurvivalBlog readers:  “wise10“. These pails are in stock and ready to ship within two business days.    o o o James C. suggested this video on do it yourself evaporative refrigeration: Zeer Pot Fridge. Cool your …