Economics and Investing:

“Card House” sent us this: CBO: National Deficit to Hit Nearly $10 Trillion Over Upcoming Decade GG flagged the latest Friday Follies news: Regulators shut down banks in 4 states, making 26 US bank failures this year Also from GG: National debt to be higher than White House forecast, CBO says Another from GG: Greece is a harbinger of austerity for all–The effects of the stimulus are wearing off, leaving us with a nasty hangover, says Jeremy Warner. E.M.B. sent us this piece by Mish Shedlock: Construction Developer Says Banks Suddenly Playing Hardball, Asks “Mish, What’s Going On?” Items from …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Art suggested this piece by an economist: Stocking up on meds and ammo, NOW!    o o o Norman in England mentioned that he had found 680 tree fact sheets available from University of Florida Environmental Horticulture Department.    o o o Ready Made Resources has expanded their 25% off sale on Mountain House freeze dried foods in #10 cans. They are now offering free shipping on mixed case lots, as long as you order increments of full cases! There’s just one week left for the sale, so order soon! James K. sent a link to a humorous little video …



Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 27 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. Please note that I’m posting this only as an illustration of what NOT to do, in the aftermath of a disaster. 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 between $500 and $600, and B.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees, in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made …


Long Term Situational Awareness Can Give You The Edge, by Todd S.

I’ve been fortunate to live in the same general area for my entire adult life, the Rocky Mountains of Utah. I am very familiar with the area made more so by various employments, a variety of interests all centered around the outdoors and twenty years of being a Scout Master. Being familiar with my surroundings for a long period of time increases my knowledge base of useful things to know, information unique to my immediate surroundings.      I have always been curious and a great observer, of both people and things.  Some years ago my brother mentioned something to me …


Letter Re: Afghanistan is 7.62 NATO Country

Dear CPT Rawles: I’d like to bring your attention to a paper prepared at Ft. Leavenworth, titled, “Increasing Small Arms Lethality in Afghanistan: Taking Back the Infantry Half-Kilometer.” Essentially, the old M14 rifle has not yet met its demise, even though Jimmy Carter did order the destruction of 700,000 M14 Rifles. As you have known for years, the 5.56 NATO cartridge is not the best cartridge for a Main Battle Rifle. You have written extensively regarding this issue in your books. For some time now, I have witnessed a sizable number of M14 Rifles, in various configurations, from the original …


Letter Re: Finding Community

Jim, A quick observation about a dog’s ability to judge character or to determine a person’s intentions: They can’t, they have no clue; they are terrible at it. What a dog can do, however, is study their master. Remember, we are their world and the object of their attention 24/7. Your dog knows your thoughts almost as fast as you think them. After all, they have nothing better to do but watch you. So if your dog doesn’t like someone new, they are picking up that vibe from you, and acting on it. Your dog doesn’t care about hurt feelings …


Letter Re: Some Comments and Personal Experiences in Haiti

Jim, Concerning the lack of sanitation at some Haiti evacuation camps: Porta-john [chemical toilets] are nice, but must be pumped out, cleaned and refilled regularly in order to remain usable. A simple solution I have used on the farm is to cut out the bottom of the john’s holding tank. Then we dig a hole and position the outhouse over the hole. As it is used, we occasionally throw a little lime or wood ash into the hole to control smell and bugs. The outhouse is on skids and is easy to move by hand, so when the hole is …


Economics and Investing:

GG flagged this piece over at Zero Hedge: CLSA’s Chris Wood “In Five Years The US Dollar Paper Standard Will Collapse” Greg C. suggested a piece posted at Money News: Rogoff: U.S. Has Defaulted Before, May Do So Again Bob G. liked this piece: ‘Buy some gold every month’ as protection against falling currencies, says Marc Faber Items from The Economatrix: Gold Going Higher: Even George Soros Agrees With Marc Faber Is Moving Out of the US A Way to Escape the Coming Economic Collapse? Gold and Silver Supply: Get Some While You Can (The Mogambo Guru)


Odds ‘n Sods:

Mike T. sent this: Drug gangs taking over US public lands    o o o Wyoming House Passes Firearms Freedom Act. (Thanks to George S. for the link.) I suspect that this will be signed into law, following suit with Montana and Tennessee.    o o o I found an interesting article linked at The Drudge Report by South Carolina Republican Senator Jim DeMint: White House land grab    o o o Zac in Kentucky mentioned a congressional candidate from Missouri that is seeking donations of $5.56 apiece.


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“He’d forgotten the precautions and the care a human had to observe in the depths of the arctic winter. How very easy it would be to cease to exist, by doing nothing, just being out there, getting lost, freezing.” “It’s called death by omission,” said Ian. – from the novel “Ice Trap” by Kitty Sewell , 2008


Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 27 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 between $500 and $600, and B.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees, in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $392 value.) C.) A HAZARiD Decontamination Kit from Safecastle.com. (A $350 value.), and D.) A 500 round case of …


Finding Community – Part 2, by Jim Fry

Suggestions on how a survival community might enlist new members. The lights have gone out. It may be years, if ever, before they come on again. You haven’t seen a banana, orange or avocado in a long time. Of course that’s not surprising since there hasn’t been an open grocery store in a long while either. You have heard rumors that the death toll from disease in China and India is in the hundreds of millions, perhaps even in the billions. But you don’t really know, because you haven’t heard a thing from Washington or the State Capitol in quite …


Three Letters Re: Some Comments and Some Personal Experiences in Haiti

Sir: I thought that you and your family might be encouraged by the following: There was an extraordinary occurrence in Haiti on February 17th. Here is a blog entry with a YouTube link about a nationally declared three days of fasting and prayer in Haiti. Amazing grace. The final sentence in the entry is the most sobering: “The only sadness that I feel today is for our nation. While a nation that has long been under Satan’s domination is turning to God with total commitment, our nation, founded on Godly values, has rejected God and is rapidly trying to forget …


Letter Re: The Art of Humping a Pack

Sir, In the articles concerning Humping a Pack, I observed comments about not using wool for foot wear. I would strongly disagree for a few reasons. My reasoning is based on over 16 years of active and reserve military experience in the Infantry, and from my experiences as a teenager helping Lane County (Eugene, Oregon) in the mid 1970s. Wool is a superior resource. 1) Unlike synthetics, Wool socks can be repaired. 2) Wet Wool unlike synthetics still maintains up to 80% of its heat retention value. Granted, wet wool weighs a lot. 3) Wool does not burn and melt …