Odds ‘n Sods:

Does this sound familiar?: Burned by Real Estate, Some Just Walk Away. Meanwhile, with thanks to RBS, here is a housing affordability analysis from Dr. Housing Bubble: A $626,00 Short Sale in Burbank, California    o o o Yet another reason to dislike eBay’s ultra-liberal managers: EBay customers’ cash linked to risky assets    o o o “Kit” sent us this AP wire story on the global SIV fiasco: The credit crisis is far from over, just look at what the new facts show    o o o RBS sent us this article from Alan Farago, posted at the Daily …



Notes from JWR:

If you enjoy reading SurvivalBlog, then please keep spreading the word to help grow our readership. Links to SurvivalBlog at your personal web page and/or in your e-mail footer would be greatly appreciated. Reader Karen B. mentioned the following SurvivalBlog article which was originally posted on August 29, 2005. Karen’s comment: “And look what’s happening now!” Given the recent economic news, I thought it apropos to re-post this article:


From the SurvivalBlog Archives: Dumping of US Dollar Could Trigger “Economic September 11” (Posted August 29, 2005)

I very rarely post lengthy excerpts from other sources. However, I am essentially forced to in this case. You see, this prematurely archived article was posted at The Australian newspaper web site for just a few hours, earlier today. (Actually late afternoon on the 28th in the U.S., due to the time difference and being on the other side of the International Date Line). It was briefly on their “The World” page–one of their main pages. But it now shows up only in their archives. No explanation was given why it has mysteriously disappeared from their “The World” page. It …


Letter Re: Plan B — Your Bug-Out Route

Mr. Rawles, In the event of a natural or manmade disaster you may need to retreat despite extensive preparations at your base of operations, whether in suburbia or in the mountains. You may find yourself in a desperate situation; facing forest fire, fallout from a malfunctioning nuclear power plant, terrorism, organized bands of looters or an invading army. Where will you go? How will you get there? What is your route? Whether you have been preparing for years or weeks you need a Plan “B”. Identifying the threat will help you determine the safest route and mode of transportation to …


Odds ‘n Sods:

From our friends at Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership (JPFO), we learned of the National “Empty Holster” Protest on College Campuses, this week.    o o o Bill in Las Vegas mentioned this article about the lengthy drought in the southeastern United States, necessitating severe water rationing in Atlanta. Bill’s comment: “I can’t get over our Federal Government’s arrogance. When asked about what plans are being made in case Atlanta runs out of water, a major with the Corps of Engineers actually said ‘We’re so far away from that, nobody’s doing a contingency plan’. Incredible.”    o o …




Meltdown from Modern Financial Alchemy, by Thomas Tan

Nowadays after all the 3rd quarter write-off announcements from many banks, sub-prime has been mentioned less on television and newspapers. The market has returned to the old high and some more. Is this credit crunch crisis over? What might be coming next? The sub-prime is only the 1st layer of the onion being peeled; there is much worse danger yet to be revealed. It is amazing to see the high growth in all kinds of fixed income products during last 10 years called SIVs (structured investment vehicles) such as RMBSs (residential mortgage backed securities), CDOs (collateralized debt obligations), ABS (asset …


Letter Re: The Fragility of the US Power Grid

Hi , I read the recent statements about the power grid and have to tell you the telephone network in in a similar condition. The reasons are the same as power guy’s statements. I was a tech for the phone company for 26+ years, much of it as a lineman but also in repair and splicing. Fiber optic cables are great but the electronics at each end require [grid] power to run the equipment. [Some other topics deleted, for brevity] The point is that things are a mess. You are doing a great job [with SurvivalBlog] to get people to …


Perspective on the EMP Threat: Looking Back at Starfish Prime, by David in Israel

James, Since there seems to be big interest in the nuclear electromagnetic pulse (EMP) effect, SurvivalBlog readers might want to see some footage about the Starfish Prime test, [a part of Operation Dominic, a series of tests intended to test nuclear weapons effects in space], which knocked out some power substations on Oahu, Hawaii, around 800 miles away back in 1962. Video clip 1. Video clip 2. – David in Israel


Odds ‘n Sods:

David D. sent a link to a most interesting paper. The abstract begins: “Throughout history, the expansion of human population has been supported by a steady growth in our use of high-quality exosomatic energy. The operation of our present industrial civilization is wholly dependent on access to a very large amount of energy of various types. If the availability of this energy were to decline significantly it could have serious repercussions for civilization and the human population it supports. This paper constructs production models for the various energy sources we use and projects their likely supply evolution out to the …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“I, as President do declare that the national emergency still exists; that the continued private hoarding of gold and silver by subjects of the United States poses a grave threat to peace, equal justice, and well-being of the United States; and that appropriate measures must be taken immediately to protect the interest of our people. Therefore, pursuant to the above authority, I hereby proclaim that such gold and silver holdings are prohibited, and that all such coin, bullion or other possessions of gold and silver be tendered within fourteen days to agents of the Government of the United States for …


Note from JWR:

Today we are pleased to welcome two new SurvivalBlog advertisers: Centerfire Antenna and Alerts USA. Centerfire Antenna makes top quality specialized antennas here in the US, and offers them at very competitive prices. They offer free consulting to SurvivalBlog readers on antenna selection. Alerts USA is an innovative subscription service that provides text and audio mobile emergency alerts to anyone with a laptop, cell phone, pager, or PDA. OBTW, they are offering a special promotion, just for SurvivalBlog readers: A 15 month subscription for the price of 12. The promotional code to enter when ordering is “survival07”.


Letter Re: The Fragility of the US Power Grid

Hello: I enjoy your web site every day and am very close to the 10 Cent Challenge, I promise. I work for a medium sized electric utility in the west and I can tell you first hand how weak and ratty the executives have allowed the system to become. The name of the utility game has now become ‘defer maintenance to artificially inflate the price of your stock and pay your executives large salaries with massive stock options.’ In the old days we had over 250 guys in construction and maintenance staying on top of pole change outs, system upgrades, …