Letter Re: Australian Bank Move Exposes the Magnitude of the Global Credit Collapse

James, This afternoon, The National Australia Bank (biggest in Australia, by assets) let the cat out of the bag: They have decided to just fess up and mark down every US mortgage CDO, SIV, and so forth in their portfolio by 90%. What that means is they are coming flat out and saying that all this re-bundled, repackaged, looks like a bond but it ain’t, US real estate paper that was being carried “Off Balance Sheet” and gumming up the works in banks around the world is worthless and they are making it official. (The loans that they represent will …


Letter Re: Advice for a Concerned Investor

Greetings, Jim, I looked at your research list under “Investing”. I have read much of it, and it doesn’t help me in my immediate concern. The sites on this list are good either for big-time or experienced investors, or they deal with specifics such as buying gold. Where can I get overall, what-to-do-immediately-today, type of advice for the small guy. Say someone has one or two small businesses with maybe $20,000 in checking and another $2,000 in Savings (all in a bank). What to do? Where to keep the money? Is offshore a possibility? Recommended? Anyplace where I can still …


Odds ‘n Sods:

OSOM mentioned some advice that will be familiar to SurvivalBlog Blog readers, from the Von Mises Institute, in an audio clip: What To Do in the Depression .   o o o Thanks to KAF for sending this: Five Tick Diseases You Should Know About    o o o Cheryl N. flagged this: Investors Question Financial Sector Rebound. Here is a key quote: “…and several regional banks also posted losses Tuesday or said their profits fell.” But the author neglected to name those banks. Cheryl also found this gem: Death Spiral Financing at Citigroup, Merrill Lynch, WaMu…    o o o …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“He created all men to be equal, and endowed them with ‘certain unalienable rights,’ among them ‘life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.’ These words, in our Declaration of Independence, also convey the absolute conviction that without God and collective faith in His provision, human beings have no claim to this unprecedented freedom – that they might dream of it, long for it, try to accomplish some of it, but with no authority for it whatsoever.” – Pat Boone


Note from JWR:

In a recent e-mail, reader Andrew D. noted that I post precious little “good news” or lighthearted news in SurvivalBlog. I plead guilty! So I will henceforth do my best to counterbalance some of the vast volume of my Gloom und Doom. Here is a start: A good wheat harvest is expected this year in Ohio. And my sister suggested this bit of humorous news: Japanese chimp runs wild, steals tranquilizer gun. A Drudge reader notes: “He subsequently sold his freedom for a banana.”


Letter Re: Questions from A Not-Quite Convinced Reader

Hi James, I’m new to reading SurvivalBlog and pages like it. A year ago, I wrote off survivalists, thinking there was no real chance of any kind of collapse. I’ve been changing my mind, though, and would like to know more about why you think such a thing is likely enough to prepare for. I haven’t read “Patriots”, but I’ve added it to my list. I don’t want to believe in a coming collapse. There have been depressions before, and the fall of civilizations, but as far as I can tell, nothing on the scale of what you seem to …


Two Letters Re: Disseminating Local News and Information in a Grid-Down Societal Collapse

Jim, I think Brian raises a good question and your suggestion about using manual typewriters and mimeograph machines is a great idea. Here’s another one. While watching the the first season of Jericho DVDs, I noticed that in an episode titled “Black Jack” some of the characters went to a barter fair called Black Jack. They had to travel 200 miles to get to this town. The town’s fairgrounds were used as a barter fair location and in the middle (I assume the middle) was a tall board with a platform and a big roll of newspaper on the top. …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Our friends Cheryl N. and Commander Zero both sent a link to an interesting article encapsulating the hows and whys (or at least one interpretation of them) of the current economic situation: Uncomfortable Answers to Questions on the Economy.    o o o Cheryl N. also found this: US Food Groups Plan Hefty Price Raises    o o o Bloomberg reports: GM, Ford ‘On the Verge of Bankruptcy,’ Altman Says. (A hat tip to Dan B. for the link.)    o o o Frequent content contributor Kevin A. sent this: “Is America ready for (true) foreign ownership of major financial …



Note from JWR:

I heard from a dozen readers that I was recently quoted by WorldNetDaily, in an article about food shortages. (The article misidentifies the location of the Rawles Ranch, but I don’t mind keeping people guessing.) Food price jumps and food shortages have a tendency to get into a self-amplifying cycle, during times of crisis. Floods, droughts, and crop failures started the most recent cycle. But in my estimation it will be sharply higher prices for fertilizer and fuel that will exacerbate the problem. The bottom line: Be prepared for considerably higher prices and continued shortages in the next few years. …


Letter Re: What Preparations Should I Undertake Next?

Jim, I just finished your novel “Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse”. Thanks so much for writing it! I just wish I had found it sooner. I’ve always had a survival bent; I guess it started when I was in the Navy going through aircrew training. However in retrospect I realize now that it was kind of how I was brought up. I feel that I’m pretty squared away on the firearms battery , stored ammunition and communications gear. I hunt, fish and camp with my family often and am an avid shooter. Other that these things my wife and I …


Letter Re: The Importance of Pistol Holster Selection

James: Thanks for the response! I didn’t expect my letter to hit the web page. I agree about the belt and my wonderful wife just got me a new black dress belt from Mitch Rosen gun leather (a bit over a hundred bucks but well worth it) as my original one was looking worn and (her word) ‘ugly’. I always carried a Surefire [flashlight]- I’ve still got my original [Surefire Model] 6P from when they first came out. I’m [working] in an office (where guns are banned) now but always have the 6P on my belt next to my cell …


Four Letters Re: Advice on Motorcycles

Jim: If you don’t want to mess with mixing gas and oil in a 2-stroke bike engine, try the 4-stroke engine at BikeEngines.com. I’ve got one and it runs like a champ, at a couple of hundred miles per gallon! Regards, – Hawaiian K. Jim: The 2-cycle bicycle motorizing company mentioned also has a 4-cycle gasoline version. With those, of course no fuel mixing oil required. – SF in Hawaii   Dear Jim and Family, Dunno if you’re aware, but methanol required for a mimeograph is a normal fraction from the alcohol still process, usually the upper third of the …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Frequent content contributor Cheryl N. flagged an article at WorldNetDaily: 1930s Bank Runs Are Back. Speaking of banks, a recent Market Oracle article notes that Wachovia will soon close its wholesale lending unit and henceforth will lend only to bank customers, not brokers. Meanwhile, Bank of America’s purchase of Countrywide that supposed to close this quarter may not happen after all. B of A says it will not guarantee the Countrywide debt.    o o o The latest from Ultra Nanny State Britannia: Now there are 1,000 laws that will let the state into your home    o o o …