Economics and Investing:

GG sent us this: Gold bugs at last have their perfect trinity Also from GG: The American peso. JWR Adds: As I’ve mentioned before in the blog, 72 is the crucial level to watch for in the US Dollar Index (USDI) . Anywhere south of there for more than two weeks could signal a collapse in international confidence in the dollar. Mike W. flagged this piece by Caroline Baum: Inflation ‘Cure’ Exposed When In-Laws Move In Also from Mike W comes this Wall Street Journal article on self-employment: Ready to Be the Boss? From HPD: Jesse’s Café Américain: Bernanke’s Wager …


Odds ‘n Sods:

I was disappointed to see that my novel “Patriots” has slipped from the 4.5 star rating that it consistently held on Amazon.com for the past nine years, down to just 4 stars. The reason? It is obvious that several readers who just don’t “get it” when it comes to the concept of preparedness bought copies of the novel from the racks at their local bookstores. Perhaps they thought that it would just be another in the endless parade of Tom Clancy clones–formulaic “techno thrillers”, which seem to invariably be set in either New York City, or inside the DC Beltway. …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“A radical does not mean a man who lives on radishes,” remarked Crook, with some impatience; “and a Conservative does not mean a man who preserves jam. Neither, I assure you, does a Socialist mean a man who desires a social evening with the chimney-sweep. A Socialist means a man who wants all the chimneys swept and all the chimney-sweeps paid for it.” “But who won’t allow you,” put in the priest in a low voice, “to own your own soot.” – G.K. Chesterton, in his novel ‘The Innocence and Wisdom of Father Brown‘


Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 22 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. 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 foods, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. Second Prize: A “grab bag” of preparedness gear and books from Jim’s Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (JASBORR) with a retail value of $350. Third Prize: A copy of my “Rawles …


The Pressure Cooker: An Overlooked Preparedness Tool, by N.J.

[Introductory note from JWR: I have made some changes to the following text, regarding safety issues. ] Storing food is an important part of preparing for disasters, natural or man-made. Much has been written about survival foodstuffs: what to store, how long it can be stored, and what foods are needed to form a balanced diet to aid in living through a TEOTWAWKI scenario. How to prepare food is almost as important as what sorts of food to store. In a disaster scenario, circumstances will change radically from the every day life of today, and food preparation and consumption will …


Letter Re: Keep Ammo in Original Boxes?

Mr. Editor, I’ve purchased ammo for self protection and for future barter. Is it best to keep the ammo in the original boxes (e.g. the nice green UMC boxes with the plastic insert that holds the rounds in place) and put those boxes into ammo cans? Or should I just dump all the ammo into an ammo can loose? I could fit many more rounds in each can by dumping them in loose, but I’m concerned about impacting the future barter value of the ammo. And also, if I end up selling some of the ammo before TSHTF, I would …


Letter Re: FDA Restricts Over the Counter Sales of Bulk-Size Hemostatic Supplies

Sir; I try to keep a gun shot trauma kit with my shooting range supplies; when I was ordering some new medical supplies from North American Rescue I was informed that the public can no longer purchase Quikclot ACS+ or any other such hemostatic from them. The operator proceeded to tell me that the [U.S.] Food and Drug Administration (FDA) began regulating these products mid-May because “they go inside the human body.” I was able to order some of my other products in the “scrape and light cut” size” but none of the larger quantity hemostatics. Perhaps some other SurvivalBlog …



Economics and Investing:

Kevin A. sent us the link to a video clip about Mandelbrot protege Nicholas Taleb, of “Black Swan” fame: The Risk Maverick: Present Economy Worse than Depression. Mac F. recommend this basic, commonsense article: Money Shaky? 10 Ways to Get Your Financial Footing Items from The Economatrix: Fed President Says Inflation To Increase GM Borrows Additional $4 Billion From Treasury Didn’t publicly disclose how it would use the money. Fed Changes Rules to Benefit Government Carmakers California Faces its Fiscal Day of Reckoning Propane Suppliers Quietly Reduce Size of Refills Consumers unaware they are getting less for the same price …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Brent F. recommneded a site that focuses on Third World technology: How to Make Everything.    o o o A Sunset magazine article flagged by reader LRG: Make your own backyard adobe oven    o o o William Atkin has posted a very useful guide to sprouting. There is also a PDF available for download.



Four Letters Re: Dealing with Uninvited Guests

Mr. Rawles, I have read and enjoyed your blog for some time now and thank you for it daily. Regarding the recent post on control of head lice, I have found simple light cooking oil to be startlingly effective. Massaged through the afflicted’s hair and scalp and left for a few hours the oil is meant to suffocate the lice and eggs. I have used this several times, once I needed to repeat the processes to be effective, but in most previous infestations, once was enough. This treatment can be made apparently more effective by including some Tea Tree oil …


Economics and Investing:

From frequent content contributor KAF: Congressional Budgeters Predict 10.5 Percent Unemployment Rate Next Year Also from KAF: The Inside Story of Bank United. (How all those Option ARM loans came back to bite them.) Items from The Economatrix: Three More Banks Closed This Week Federal Reserve Cannot Account for $9 Trillion The Economy is Down But The Cost of Living is Going Up (Most canned vegetables at Wal-Mart were 50 cents per can last summer, now they are 72-to-74 cents per can.) US to lose AAA Rating? Dollar Falls to Four-Month Low Against Euro Stocks Hit ’09 Low on Ratings …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Cattle Rustling on the Rise as US Recession Bites    o o o Credit Bill OK’d with Gun Provision    o o o With the Economy Tough, the Tough Go Camping    o o o America’s Poor Are its Most Generous Givers    o o o SF in Hawaii mentioned the Local Harvest web site, and their map of family farms. SF’s comment: “Thinking about relocating? Take a look at this map. It might be nice to have some small farm neighbors.”.


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Today, prayer is still a powerful force in America, and our faith in God is a mighty source of strength. Our Pledge of Allegiance states that we are ‘one nation under God,’ and our currency bears the motto, ‘In God we Trust.’ The morality and values such faith implies are deeply embedded in our national character. Our country embraces those principles by design, and we abandon them at our peril.” – President Ronald Wilson Reagan