Letter Re: Influenza Exercise Shows the Potential for Major Infrastructure

Jim, With all due respect (to Chris in Utah and the folks cited by Computerworld), “If a pandemic strikes the U.S., it will kill about 1.7 million people” is a fantasy, because it is based upon the 1918-1919 flu’s death-rate of 2.5%, and also that the United States’ population of the time was around one-third of the present number. It was said that, in “normal” times, flu killed some 0.25% of those afflicted. In 1918-1919, that figure skyrocketed to 2.5%. Triple the U.S.’s population (in regard to the earlier 20th Century figure), and the post-WW1’s death-rate goes to slightly over …


Letter Re: Advice on a Rust-Resistant Method to Store Spare Magazines

Hello Mr. Rawles, I just read your recent post on investing in full capacity magazines and was motivated to place several large mag orders. I already had at least 150 rifle mags, so I have quite a few mags around. I recently have been trying to get my preparedness storage organized so that items can be stored for long periods without being damaged. As part of this I have been vacuum sealing mags in my Tilia Food Saver with an oxygen absorber thrown in for good measure. These will then be stored in bins in my clean, dry attic. (I …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Stressed borrowers use plastic to delay default    o o o Writing in his most recent quarterly newsletter, economist John Mauldin mentioned: “…at the end of the second quarter, household mortgage debt [in the United States] totaled $10.143 trillion, compared with $4.295 trillion in 1999. Thus, in six and a half years the household sector’s mortgage debt increased by $5.8 trillion, or 136%.”    o o o Chester sent us a link to a hilarious YouTube video on hedge funds, credit derivatives, SIVs, and government bailouts.    o o o Thanks to Eric S. for sending this article: NYSE Eliminates …



Notes from JWR:

A reminder that there are just two days left in the special “six pack sale” for autographed copies of the latest 33 chapter edition of my novel “Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse”. The sale price of a box of six books is still just $90, postage paid. (Normally they are $24 per copy, but during this sale you get six autographed copies for $90, mailed in a Priority Mail Flat Rate box, sent to anywhere in the United States, including APO/FPO addresses.) This sale ends on October 31st. This is your chance to buy some extra copies for Christmas presents. …


Building a Scout Rifle on a Budget, by Paul B.

The late Jeff Cooper described a scout rifle as “a general-purpose rifle [that] is a conveniently portable, individually operated firearm, capable of striking a single decisive blow, on a live target of up to 200 kilos in weight, at any distance at which the operator can shoot with the precision necessary to place a shot in a vital area of the target.” Some of the basic requirements are a maximum unloaded weight of 3.5 kg (3 kg optimal), an overall length of 1 meter or less, a Ching sling, a forward mounted scope, a .308Winchester / 7.62mm NATO chamber, and …


The Falling Dollar–Sheltering Your Assets in Steel and Alloy Tangibles

In a recent e-mail, SurvivalBlog reader Mike the Blacksmith mentioned two articles that confirm what I’ve been saying for several years–that the US Dollar is headed for further significant collapse in foreign exchange: Jim Rogers quits dollar after declaring US recession, and IMF chief warns dollar may suffer ‘abrupt fall’. The latter article is frightening. It is noteworthy that since the first month that SurvivalBlog went live (in August of Aught Five) I have been warning readers to minimize their exposure to dollar-denominated assets. Instead, invest in tangibles, tangibles, tangibles! Other than silver, and productive rural land that could be …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Desert T. sent this article from las Vegas: Hot seller’s market shifts into reverse — Upside-down sales picture won’t change soon    o o o The Army Aviator notes: “On Sunday, the US Dollar Index dropped -0.25 to 76.98. What a Sunday! Did you see the Euro go to 1.4498 [ to the US Dollar]? That’s darned near 1.45, huh? What a day.” JWR Adds: The opening bell in the US market on Monday morning should be very interesting. It is also no surprise that the price of gold just spiked in Asia.    o o o Frequent contributor RBS recommended …



Note from JWR:

Please keep spreading the word about SurvivalBlog. Consider this: Every friend, neighbor, and co-worker that you get motivated represents once less individual that will arrive begging on your doorstep, come TEOTWAWKI+1. So it is in your own best interest to spread the word. Links to SurvivalBlog at your personal web page and/or in your e-mail footer would be greatly appreciated.


Letter Re: Gold is Going Up, But is Now a Good Time to Buy?

Jim, I am going to become a 10 Cent Challenge subscriber before the end of the month because the information provided in SurvivalBlog is invaluable and has forever changed my way of thinking! I have been a reader for about a half year and have seen the topic of gold come up several times. Gold is apparently at a 28 year high and the desire to get invested from my personal standpoint is high but my question is do you see gold leveling out or continuing its upward trend? The other part of the equation is I am young father …


Letter Re: Influenza Exercise Shows the Potential for Major Infrastructure Disruptions

Jim: I thought you and your readers might be interested in this flu pandemic exercise recently carried out by financial services firms. An article in Computerworld describes the scenario: “If a pandemic strikes the U.S., it will kill about 1.7 million people, hospitalize 9 million, exhaust antiviral medications and reduce basic food supplies…”, and, “Among the other things that may happen in an actual pandemic are school closings, as well as blackouts or brownouts in major metro areas because of degraded service as a result of absenteeism. Internet service throughput could be reduced by 50% due to congestion, and Web …


Letter Re: Thoughts on Defensive Handguns

Dear JWR: I have been reading SurvivalBlog for about a month and I really enjoy it a lot. One subject came to mind that I thought was worth discussing. That area is the [Colt Model] 1911. It is worth saying that I find the term combat tupperware incredibly amusing, as a Glock owner. I do not know what kind of high end custom 1911s people are talking about when they say it is necessary to spend $2,000 to get this platform to be functional. I bought a Springfield [Armory] Mil Spec .45 for about $535 and it works fine though …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Will the house-flipping contrapreneurs on both coasts of the US soon be in Deep Schumer? Reader Charley S. sent us this snippet from The Daily Reckoning: “Two million homes will go into foreclosure in the next two years, if home prices continue to slump, said a report released by Joint Economic Committee Chairman Senator Charles Schumer.”    o o o Jason flagged this one: US lacks enough labs to test for contamination if a ‘dirty bomb’ explodes in a major city    o o o A hat tip to SJC for sending this: Report: Oil production peaked in 2006, will …