Odds ‘n Sods:

Following some very expensive lobbying, S.510 passed a cloture vote in the U.S. Senate earlier this week. What a huge disappointment to see this bad legislation will probably be passed. The big question is: How will that bill and the considerably different H.R. 2749 (the Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009) from over in the House be reconciled? Please contact your congresscritters and ask them to do their best to get this legislation stopped.    o o o Reader Ron L. noted: “What happens when you have a displaced populace? Disease. Then unrest. It’s happening now in Haiti.”    o …



Notes from JWR:

I’m scheduled for a two hour interview with call-in questions from listeners on Wednesday, November 24th on EMPact Radio. — Today we present another entry for Round 31 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round will include: First Prize: A.) 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 B.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees, in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $392 value.) …


My Path to Preparedness, by C. in The Ozarks

I am almost 60 years old.  I have a neurological disease which has forced my early retirement.  I am single, never been married, and have no children.  My parents are both deceased and my sister is deceased.  My brother is retired and lives in Florida.  [Some deleted, for brevity.] I also do not have any friends.  My best friend decided that since she couldn’t see the effects of my neurological disease then I must be faking it and being lazy to retire early.  She doesn’t see me writhing in pain most evenings even though I take a lot of pain …


Product Review: Canon A580 Camera

It’s always a good idea to have a camera along.  They serve many purposes, from documenting accidents and incidents, insurance documenation, recording activities, tracking disassembly and reassembly of things like cars, guns or even tents, research photos of things to study later, and even recreational shots.  While modern phones can take images, the quality is certainly lacking due to iris size, and I prefer to leave the phone to its task of communicating. The Canon PowerShot A580 is another device that served me well in the World’s Largest Sandbox.  The camera I had with me was old and inadequate, and …


Economics and Investing:

The ever-cheery Amrose Evans-Pritchard reports: The horrible truth starts to dawn on Europe’s leaders. JWR Adds: They may have to Punt on this one! (Ireland may be ejected from the Euro confab, shortly, and revert to independently issuing the Punt Éireannach. Major financial and currency chaos to follow, no doubt.) Brian B. was the first of several readers to mention this: Max Keiser tells the world to Crash JP Morgan, buy silver. Even if doesn’t squeeze the short sellers, every family should acquire some silver. $53,957 in Circulation for Every Ounce of Gold Why the Irish Crisis is Going Global. …


Inflation Watch:

The Daily Reckoning warns: Prepare for Mass Inflation Think $5 Corn Is Expensive? Some Are Betting on $10 Next Year No Inflation? Grocery Stores, Gas Prices Tell Different Story In his Trader Tracks 2011 Predictions, Roger Wiegand is projecting hyperinflation within 24 months. (Thanks to Steve C. for the link.) G.G. sent this one: Hinde Capital’s Ben Davies Says UK, U.S., And Japan Are All At Risk Of Hyperinflation If You’re Looking For Inflation, Here’s Where To Find It  


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader P.D. notes: “Emergency Essentials appears to be temporarily out of stock most of their super pails. Meanwhile, Walton Feed just went from one week wait to a two-to-three week wait on food orders. Shortages seem to be progressing.” JWR Adds: The long term storage food industry is small and easily overwhelmed by macro level events. It is wise to stock up now. If you wait until after the next crisis, then you may be out of luck. If you are asking: “What crisis?”, then you haven’t been paying attention. The chance of a big financial meltdown in the near …



Notes from JWR:

Glenn Beck is going to be covering “food storage for hard times” on his television show on Fox today. (Thursday, November 18, 2010). Don’t miss it. — Today we present another entry for Round 31 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round will include: First Prize: A.) 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 B.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees, in #10 cans, courtesy …


Survival Gardening, by Delia L. in Oregon

As we near to the end of the days of the dollar as reserve currency for the world, feeding our families becomes much more important. Most gardens go in over a late spring weekend with little thought given to trying to keep a family fed during the winter. My focus is on growing food year round with an emphasis on nutritional content. There are ways to keep tomatoes growing later in the season, or trying to keep greens growing year round. What can we grow that can be stored without electricity or canning. What can we save seed from in …


Letter Re: Bernanke’s Absurd Quantitative Easing Jobs Claims

JWR,   You can’t make this stuff up.  Seriously.  Ben Bernanke claims that the $600 billion QE2 will create 700,000 jobs.  Even if he’s right, that’s $857,142.86 per job created.  Even if you believe the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS, more appropriately called the “BBS”) thei figure of 14.8 million currently unemployed Americans, that means that the U.S. would need to have just over 20 more infusions of $600 billion to employ all of our unemployed.  20 x $600,000,000,000… (drumroll, please)… $12 Trillion!   I think that it’s doable.  Let’s get QE3-to-QE22 underway.  Maybe SurvivalBlog readers could start a grassroots movement to get this …


Economics and Investing:

John R. sent a link to a map that shows the global race to the bottom: The global debt clock Panel sounds foreclosure warning, industry downplays. (A hat tip to B.B. for the link.) John R. spotted this post over at Karl Denninger’s site: The EU’s Lies Blow Up In Their Face. B.B. sent: Poverty in America, The Big Picture Euro under siege as now Portugal hits panic button Matthew Lynn asks: Who’s next? First Greece went bust. Now Ireland is on the brink of a bailout from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. Items from The Economatrix: …


Odds ‘n Sods:

The folks at Everlasting Seeds have added a new product. They call it their “EverGreens” assortment, specifically prepared for sprouting, although they could be used for planting just as easily. The “EverGreens” assortment two pounds of Organic Alfalfa seed, a half pound of Organic Waltham Broccoli seed, and a half pound of Organic Radish seed. They are running a special just for SurvivalBlog readers for only the next week: A 10% discount for the new “EverGreens” product, and a 5% discount on all their other products. This EverGreens assortment is not yet described at their web site, so either e-mail …