Economics and Investing:

John in Ohio forwarded this: At G20, Kremlin to Pitch New Currency. JWR’s Comment: Gee, so they propose replacing numerous un-backed fiat currencies (with free-floating values) with a single un-backed fiat currency of a “fixed” (constantly inflating) value. Cui bono? As I’ve written before: inflation is a hidden form of taxation. How do I vote for a genuine specie-backed currency? Only with a trip to my local coin shop or arms bazaar. Vote with your wallet. For our own protection, get out of paper currencies and into tangibles! From The Appenzell Daily Bell: Banks pop on talk of [FASB] accounting …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Some good news! The US military’s “fired brass destruction” policy change turned out to be very short-lived. It has just been reversed. To begin with, the policy change was intended only for military brass that is OCONUS, not in CONUS. (If you have a fast Internet connection, then see this PDF., but was apparently over-applied ) I also got some information from Gary Marbut, president of the Montana Shooting Sports Association (by way of a SurvivalBlog reader up in Montana): “I just received a phone call from the office of U.S. Senator Tester of Montana to inform me that at …



Notes from JWR:

The good folks at Ready Made Resources have very generously added a Warrior Aid and Litter Kit (with a retail value of $1,500) to the SurvivalBlog benefit auction that started on Monday. This brings the combined value of the auction lot to $2,800! The benefit auction lot now includes: 1.) A Warrior Aid and Litter Kit, donated by Ready Made Resources. This is an advanced medic kit package that includes a Talon II 90C folding handle collapsible litter, which normally retails for $560, just by itself. This truly a “full up” tactical trauma kit! This sophisticated medic kit normally retails …


Life’s Lessons and the Foundations of Preparedness, by A.B.

We may soon depend on all of what we have learned over the years. Putting all of the threads of knowledge together into a tapestry of self-sufficiency, and survival capabilities, is part of the lifelong quest for our family’s security. We learn from many sources and experiences such as: family, church, friends, teachers, teammates, co-workers, reading books and SurvivalBlog, and hopefully from our mistakes. Preparedness Skills from our Grandmas and Grandpas The foundation for preparedness begins with my childhood in Michigan. We lived in Lansing where my great-grandmother was next door and my grandmother lived next door to her. My …


Letter Re: Private Gated Communities May Not be Gated After All

Dear Mr. Rawles, I read Brad S.’s letter with interest today. About ten years ago I was working in property management for an apartment community in Lakewood, Washington. Not exactly a low-crime area, to say the least. One of our selling points was the gates at each entrance of the community. My manager and I took over the property not knowing the sort of people the previous management team had rented to. Over the course of four months, we evicted dozens of tenants for being months behind on rent, among other things. When this process began, we noticed that we …


Letter: Full Capacity Magazine Price Inflation and Scarcity

James, I too purchased a PTR-91 [HK91 clone] rifle and ordered 50 magazines from PTR 91 Inc. The shipping was reasonable and when I received them, there were [actually some free “bonus”, for a total of] 55 magazines. They ranged from good to like new condition and had dates all the way from 1963 thru early 1990s. For $107 delivered, I got 55 magazines and a very big smile on my face. – M.E.K .


Economics and Investing:

HPD sent this: Citi, Morgan Stanley look to sidestep bonus caps: report. (Your tax dollars at work.) HPD also sent: Paul O’Neill: Banks must show U.S. the money Laura H. mentioned: this WorldNetDaily piece: Montana considers return to gold, silver dollars, Proposed bill slams Fed, allows payments in precious metals Items from The Economatrix: Investors Restart Wall Street Rally GM CEO Says Bankruptcy Would Force Liquidation Congress Looking at Huge Taxes on AIG Bonuses Housing Starts Surge, Wholesale Prices Edge Up Completed Foreclosures Hit New High in February Corporate Meltdown Leaves Renters in Limbo US Mint Suspends More Production of …


Odds ‘n Sods:

 Last year, I featured a link to the captivating website of a retiree that had custom-built a horse-drawn “RV”. I just heard that he had an unfortunate accident. Prayers, please.    o o o From Cheryl: Many People are Raising Their Own Food to Save    o o o Our friend Bob in Tennessee mentioned a piece at the WRSA site, titled: Peggy Noonan Goes Doomer. The article references this article in The Wall Street Journal: There’s No Pill for This Kind of Depression    o o o Skip flagged this: Gun Advocates Ready for Battle on Federal Assault Weapons …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"Morals—all correct moral rules—derive from the instinct to survive; moral behavior is survival behavior above the individual level…. Man is what he is, a wild animal with the will to survive, and (so far) the ability, against all competition. Unless one accepts that, anything one says about morals, war, politics—you name it—is nonsense. Correct morals arise from knowing what Man is—not what do-gooders and well-meaning old Aunt Nellies would like him to be." – Robert A Heinlein, Starship Troopers 1959


Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 21 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The contest prizes include: First Prize: Two transferable Front Sight  “Gray” Four Day Training Course Certificates. This is an up to $4,000 value! Second Prize: A three day course certificate from OnPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. Third Prize: A copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, from Arbogast Publishing Round 21 ends on March 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that articles that relate practical “how to” skills for …


Cold and Dark–An Account of an Ice Storm, by Steve S.

Preparations In January, 2008, the outlook for people in the United States appeared bleak. I told my wife that we needed to stock-up on food because I felt that the supply lines were thin and vulnerable. I began my preparations by Internet search. I found JWR’s SurvivalBlog and I bought a copy of his novel. In the meantime, I started buying cases of canned goods. I bought food that we generally ate. I looked at the expiration dates of every purchase. I tried to buy what would last through 2011. Not much would, so I bought with the idea of …


Letter Re: Private Gated Communities May Not be Gated After All

Hi Jim, Due to the real estate slump and the poor economy, my wife and I are trying to unravel our mess of real estate investments. One thing we did, was to abandoned our McMansion in a rural area near Seattle, Washington. It was a new four thousand square foot custom home in a gated community. All the other houses were as large and some significantly larger. We had abandoned the house about a year ago after failing to sell it for what we owed, and have not made any house payments since then. We also chose not to pay …


Letter: Full Capacity Magazine Price Inflation and Scarcity

Greetings – Just wanted to say “thank you” for suggesting the PTR-91 as a battle rifle option. I will freely admit to getting caught up in the AR-15 hysteria but I have come to my senses and saved money thanks to SurvivalBlog. German surplus G3 alloy military surplus magazines in good to excellent condition are easily available in quantity for $3-to-$4 each. Contrast that with AR-15 mags at $15+ each, and that’s a 5:1 ratio. Or, for the same $90 folks are paying for a single AR-10 mag, they can get more than 25 surplus G3 mags, shipped! In addition, …


Economics and Investing:

Shrike sent this: The Size of Derivatives Bubble = $190,000 Per Person on Planet. Shrike’s comments: “Jim, you were uncomfortably prophetic in your September, 2006 article, predicting that derivatives would be a major problem. Until your article, I’d never even heard of the term, at least in terms of financing and markets. Not surprisingly, we still hear very little from mainstream media about them.” Reader “Parsley” mentioned an London Telegraph article that does not bode well: IMF poised to print billions of dollars in ‘global quantitative easing’. Consumer price inflation on a grand scale is a likely result Get out …