Odds ‘n Sods:

Nuclear alert by ex-head of MI5: The article begins: “More than 100 suspects are awaiting trial in British courts for terrorist offences – a figure unprecedented in modern criminal history – Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller, the former spy chief, has revealed. Dame Eliza: ‘They may attempt a chemical, biological, radiological or even nuclear attack’ Britain is a centre of intense plotting and faces a terrorist threat of ‘unprecedented scale, ambition and ruthlessness’. In a stark warning for the future, Dame Eliza added: ‘It remains a very real possibility that they may, sometime, somewhere attempt a chemical biological, radiological or even nuclear …



Notes from JWR:

An item that was too important to bury down in the Odd ‘n Sods… Billy G. sent us this: Iodine about to be regulated in US. Any solution over 2% will be restricted as “precursors” for illicit drug manufacture. Billy’s comment: “Can nuke pills [potassium iodate] be far behind? I’m stocking up on Iodine crystals while I can.” I strongly encourage readers to buy their “lifetime supply” of Polar Pure water purifier, as soon as possible. (Two or three bottles per family member should be about right.) Polar Pure, Betadine, and Potassium Iodate (KI) are all available from Ready Made …


Survival Labor and Delivery, by John O. MD

The return of home delivery is a fact that most of the survivalist community needs to face, and is a topic I have seen relatively little written about. My own experience derives from 10 years experience as an Emergency Physician, delivering 3-4 infants a year in situations either where the woman has had no prenatal care whatsoever and arrives in our emergency room (ER) [in] crowning [condition]; or as a private patient upstairs who progresses so quickly that her private obstetrician (OB) can’t make it to the hospital in time. This has skewed my experience toward “normal” presentations where the …


Letter Re: Asian Avian Flu is Still a Major Threat

JWR, I am currently working on the construction of a pandemic flu vaccine facility (way too far away from my intended retreat locale, but I need to be able to afford my retreat 🙂 and I have a couple insights that most people and some medical folks might not have. First, the new cell culture flu vaccine facilities will have the ability to adapt to mutating strains during production – within reason, and in-process flu vaccine production can either be stopped, or the pandemic vaccine added to the regular vaccine. That is something that is not possible with even the …


Odds ‘n Sods:

More on the unfolding derivatives debacle: The $300 Trillion Time Bomb   o o o Mark sent us this news article link: Mass Zimbabwe arrests over prices. Mark’s comment: “Note that today [in Zimbabwe] a single banana cost more than a four bedroom house did in 2000.”    o o o David V. recommended this history article from Alaska that has a some applicability to retreat provisioning: Black River Trapper: Fred Thomas    o o o From Gold-Eagle.com, Gary Dorsch, Editor of Global Money Trends (by way of SHTF Daily): Global Exodus From The US Dollar In Motion. The article …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“How rare is gold? If you could gather together all the gold mined in recorded history, melt it down, and pour it into one giant cube, it would measure only about eighteen yards across! That’s all the gold owned by every government on earth, plus all the gold in private hands, all the gold in rings, necklaces, chains, and gold art. That’s all the gold used in tooth fillings, in electronics, in coins and bars. It’s everything that exists above ground now, or since man learned to extract the metal from the earth. All of it can fit into one …



CDO PIK: Satisfaction Guaranteed or Double Your Trash Back

When I attended the U.S. Army Northern Warfare School back in 1980, I was amused to see that all of the trash dumpsters at Fort Greeley, Alaska were stenciled with “Satisfaction Guaranteed or Double Your Trash Back”. I was reminded of this slogan the other day when I was doing some reading about the unfolding derivatives fiasco. I’ll get back to the quip about trash near the end of this blog entry. Let me start with some background: Just like in the traditional bond world, with Collateralized Debt Obligations (CDOs) it is always the holder of the highest rated (“senior”) …


Letter Re: Supporting SurvivalBlog

Mr Rawles: I was shocked to see that only 1% of readers have gotten a [voluntary] 10 Cent Challenge subscription. I signed up after the second week that I began reading.your blog. There is no other site on the Internet that has the same amount of in-depth info on preparedness. Nothing even comes close. I am blown away by how much knowledge is piled up in your archives. I could spend two or three hours a day searching through news sites, financial advisory websites, backpacking websites, EMT websites, gun websites, food storage websites, and so forth, and still not glean …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Remember that there are now just three days remaining for the $500 Interceptor Body Armor (IBA) vest special from BulletProofME.com. July 12th is the deadline. Anyone who has shopped for body armor knows what a great deal $500 is for a new Interceptor vest. Don’t miss out on this deal.   o o o Reader Andy L. mentioned an article about the ultimate in privacy for retreats: Your own island in the Bahamas.    o o o MP noticed this editorial in a Seattle, Washington newspaper: Disaster’s coming: Get ready. MP’s comment: “Sure, 10 days is still a bit weak …



Letter Re: Asian Avian Flu is Still a Major Threat

Jim, I am a regular reader with 40+ yrs of prepping and a 10 Cent Challenge subscriber. My current career is as a Hospital Staff Respiratory Therapist. We recently had a seminar on the coming Avian Flu Pandemic that scared the heck out of me. The timeline for human to human vector is 3 to 5 years, if it follows the current rate of mutation. It will probably come out of Thailand, and with air travel, will quickly spread around the world, with entry to the US through the major international airports. With luck and area quarantines, they may be …


Letter Re: How and Why to Get Physically Fit

JR- With regard to the article on getting into physical conditioning and buying used exercise equipment, here is a general rule for readers to remember. They are like room heaters, air conditioners, pools, and lawn mowers etc. They are very seasonal. I have friends who work at thrift stores, and I can assure you the time to buy any exercise equipment is during the warmer months like right now [in the northern hemisphere]! The Ski Machine you refer to that costs almost $1,000 for the higher end models can be had for song during the summer months. Sometimes pennies on …


Odds ‘n Sods:

I recommend market watcher John’s Mauldin’s astute observations on the derivatives implosion and the tremendous downside risk in sub-prime Collateralized Debt Obligation (CDO) trading, titled “Where is the Real Risk in the Subprime Debacle?” It can be found in this PDF. (BTW, I highly recommend subscribing to John’s free weekly E-letter.) Meanwhile, Bloomberg has more news on troubled derivatives: United Capital’s Devaney Halts Hedge Fund Withdrawals   o o o Commodities market signs of the times: Keg Thefts Rise with Metals Prices, and Power line theft leaves South Africa in dark    o o o From a recent Daily Reckoning …