Odds ‘n Sods:

Heather H. sent this: A ‘time bomb’ for world wheat crop    o o o Gordon sent a link to a video clip on the enormous Cold War bunker beneath the Greenbriar Hotel.    o o o Shelf Reliance (one of our advertisers) is giving away a Harvest 72″ food rotation system in a free drawing. Visit the Shelf Reliance blog to enter. The Harvest 72″ is valued at $459 and can hold up to 600 cans, making it perfect for a healthy food storage supply. The winner will be announced on Friday, June 26th.    o o o Greg …



Notes from JWR:

I’ve heard just three complaints about bookbinding errors, in copies of my novel “Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse” . In all three cases, there were dozens of repeated pages, where the corresponding correct pages were missing. Yikes! (In the book publishing world, this is called a “folio sequencing error”.) I suppose that this small number of reported errors is not bad for a book with more than 30,000 copies in print, but it is still troubling. If you have purchased a copy of “Patriots” with a binding error, then please call, e-mail or write the publisher …


It Will Be Skills, Not Gear That Will Count in TEOTWAWKI, by Chris M.

The topic I will cover is one I have not seen on SurvivalBlog. Everybody is caught up in the equipment side and not concentrating on the training. I have two examples several months back our dryer started squeaking & we had to stop using it. I am a trained air conditioning technician. At first I thought about going out and purchasing a new dryer and then I had a thought: I have fixed multi thousand dollar air conditioning units, how hard could it be? After two days it was back up drying clothes and for a lot less money than …


Two Letters Re: Getting Started With Dairy Goats

Sir, To add to the Memsahib’s excellent, succinct article on raising goats: Those interested in self-sufficiency could hardly choose a better livestock animal. Might I suggest Nigerian Dwarf goats? There are several reasons why these fine animals make an excellent livestock choice for those interested in self-sufficiency: 1. Nigerian Dwarfs are fairly small and easy to handle. Their food needs are also minimal: they can graze on minimal pasture and will of course forage through wooded areas. Like most breeds, they do equally well on grassy pasture or in thick woodland, flat-land or hills. But unlike some of the larger …



Economics and Investing:

Don W. sent this: US cities may have to be bulldozed in order to survive. Bulldozing whole neighborhoods? This sounds like a land developer’s dream come true. Talk about “stimulating demand” for new housing… Maybe we ought to crush half the cars in the country while we are at it, just to make sure that the Detroit auto makers will get plenty of business. Oh, but wait! SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large Michael Z. Williamson sent this: House ‘cash for clunkers’ plan to boost car sales. Mike’s comment: ” They really are insane. The sheer conceit that makes them believe they …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Recycled Homes, One Box at a Time    o o o Reader “D. from Sweden” mentioned that Sweden’s biggest radio station, public service channel P3, is having an apocalypse theme and is broadcasting an interview with a gent from the Swedish Survivalist Forum. It airs Tuesday, June 16th, at 18.03 local time, which is 12.03 EST. Readers can read about it here.    o o o Reader Kat C. recommended two books on food storage: Preserving Food Without Freezing or Canning: Traditional Techniques Using Salt, Oil, Sugar, Alcohol, Vinegar, Drying, Cold Storage, and Lactic Fermentation and Putting Food By.    …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“The proliferation of state concealed carry laws has evidently reduced the rate of violent street crime to a considerable extent. When the goblins do not know who is armed and who is not, their professional enthusiasm declines. Now that Britain has made sure (insofar as any law can so insure) that everybody is disarmed, the streets are given back to the bad kid with the baseball bat. We hope they are satisfied.” – Jeff Cooper, Cooper’s Commentaries


Note from JWR:

I’m pleased to report that we will soon surpass nine million unique visits. There are SurvivalBlog readers on every continent except Antarctica. Thanks for helping SurvivalBlog become such a great success. Please keep spreading the word to relatives, friends, neighbors, and co-workers. Thanks!


A Derivatives Market Meltdown: “We Apologize for the Inconvenience”

The collapse of the Collateralized Debt Obligation (CDO) market underscored the enormous overhang of the larger over-the-counter derivatives contracts market. This is far from over, folks! For example, we have not yet to seen a full-blown Credit Default Swap (CDS) market implosion. I have been warning blog readers about CDS instruments since 2005. And even though our politics are diametrically opposed, I was not surprised to see George Soros recently chime in on the subject. Derivative instruments are essentially unregulated and they measure in the hundreds of trillions of dollars. The counterparty risk is enormous, yet the derivatives market is …


Getting Started With Dairy Goats, by The Memsahib

Getting any dairy animals is a very big commitment. However, I believe that they are a valuable part of your livestock preparedness. Even more importantly I believe goats are the best dairy animals for the survivalist. Here are my reasons to recommend goats over cows for a survival situation: 1. A dairy goat is about one fifth the cost of a dairy cow. 2. Five goats can be fed one the same amount it takes to feed one cow. 3. If your your one cow dies you are out of luck. But the odds of losing all your goats is …


Letter Re: Bugs in the Pantry

Mr. Rawles, I’m new to prepping. But for some time now, when I go to Costco, I pick up peanut butter, a bag of rice, or a bag of beans to toss in the closet. I really like storing wheat, because it seems to have a much longer shelf life, but it is a little harder to find than rice. I figure I’ve probably got about nine months to a year worth of food for myself now. I know that the bugs will get into it eventually, and I’ll throw a bunch out and start over. I’ve been examining rice …


Economics and Investing:

Reader Ben M. mentioned: World Bank sees even worse slump. All the recent talk of a “nascent recovery” is balderdash. China’s Commodity Buying Spree. Well, gosh , if given the choice between dollar-denominated paper assets and buying useful tangibles, which would you choose? Jim B. sent us a link to an essay titled The Coming Economic Collapse, by Graham Summers. “To give you an idea of how big a problem these deficits are, consider that the US government could tax its citizens 100% of their earnings and not have a balanced budget.” From the Dr. Housing Bubble blog: Foreclosure Reality …


Odds ‘n Sods:

The saber-rattling continues. We read: US Raptors Deployed to Japan, and (some crude gray propaganda from North Korea)Nuclear War Is Kim Jong-il’s Game Plan and, US General: North Korea, Iran Joined on Missile Work, and South Korea sends more troops to North Korea border.    o o o Glenn Reynolds posted this over at Instapundit: Mark Steyn on William Forstchen’s One Second After. Why worry about an EMP attack?    o o o FG. sent this: Rural Michigan counties turn failing paved roads back to gravel. F.G.’s comment: “Don’t swap out that truck for a gas sipping micro car just …