Angst, Life in Turbulent Times, and Preparedness

Many of my recent consulting clients have mentioned the same feeling of unease about the coming years. Perhaps it is just the general predisposition of my consulting clientele, but they nearly all say things to the effect of “I’ve always been well prepared, but now I consider myself under-prepared, because I feel like something big is coming.” One American client summed it up best when he told me, “I get the impression that I’m living on September of 1929 or November of 1941. Something macro scale is approaching, and I want to be in the right place and to be …


Odds ‘n Sods:

The latest murmurings from Wall Street and the Chicago Board of Trade are that the commodities markets have not nearly reached their peak. If anything, the traders say, we are in the opening stages of a secular bull market that will likely continue for several years. As I’ve stated on previous occasions, the second half of the Aughts will probably look a lot like the second half of the 1970s, with rising interest rates, consumer price inflation, international tensions, and galloping commodities prices.    o o o We just returned from a family trip down to California. (Which explains the …



From the Deep Archives: JWR’s Comments on Silver and Gold

Note: I posted the following to the Usenet newsgroup “misc.survivalism” on July 17. 1997, in response to an ongoing thread about gold and silver. OBTW, at the time, gold was selling for around $320 per ounce, and silver was around $4.25 per ounce. [LOTS deleted] RE: > Gold coins frequently are only some part gold – in actuality an >alloy comprised of MOSTLY gold, but not always.  Different gold coins have >different gold contents and it’s not always clear what percent.  For >instance, did you know that the US RARELY minted a .999 pure gold coin? >That’s why Kruggerands [sic] …


Letter Re: Stocking up on Copper Tubing/Pipe

I have been following the metal’ and copper in particular, as it is a very necessary part of our modern existence.   One of the things I envision, is a shortage of copper tubing. I have been buying a little extra every time I go to the home store. Some of it I plan use for making a still– for making alcohol, other sizes are for my propane tanks and last but not least, I still have copper [water] pipes in my house that are going on 30 years old, so I have been buying some to replace that.   …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Cowabunga! Spot silver is over $14 per ounce, and gold is at $621. The shorts are heading for the hills! There may be some fright inducing pull-backs along the way, but I think that this bull market is just getting started. Consider any deep dips your best buying opportunities.    o o o Richard Kiyosaki on “The Coming Oil Crisis“    o o o From the Second Amendment Foundation: More than seven months have passed since New Orleans residents were forcibly and illegally disarmed in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, and starting Monday, April 17, the City of New Orleans …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"We have counted the cost of this contest, and find nothing so dreadful as voluntary slavery. – Honor, justice, and humanity, forbid us tamely to surrender that freedom which we received from our gallant ancestors, and which our innocent posterity have a right to receive from us. We cannot endure the infamy and guilt of resigning succeeding generations to that wretchedness which inevitably awaits them, if we basely entail hereditary bondage upon them." – John Dickenson and Thomas Jefferson, Continental Congress, July 6, 1775, Declaration of Causes and Necessity for Taking Up Arms


Responding to the Ongoing Middle East Crisis

There are a great many imponderables that have surfaced with the current saber-rattling situation in the Middle East. But one thing is clear–the uncertainty is rippling through the commodities markets. I guess you’ve all seen the higher prices at the gas pump, and the precious metals are spiking. For example, see the charts at Kitco. (To get the big picture, click on the one year chart, down at the bottom of that web page.) Silver was over $13.50 per ounce yesterday afternoon! What can you do? 1.) Pray for peace. Please pray for the survival of the people and nation …


Letter Re: A New Breed of Feral Dogs, by Buckshot

Mr. Rawles, The most vital point, I think, of Buckshot’s piece is not that feral dogs will eat us all alive, but that [applying] current attitudes in future scenarios CAN GET YOU KILLED!   You’d better get you mind wrapped around the hard decisions now the best you can.  Buckshot is exactly right: if you’re making decisions on the fly as a situation unfolds, you’re dog food.  The same goes for any, shall we say, less-than-polite social encounters with humans.  ARIES (Autonomic Response In Extreme Stress) is an acronym we used when I taught self-defense.  Most guys would pooh-pooh the …


Letter Re: Unintended Consequences of a Failure of Basic Services in a Disaster

Jim: When I was a river [rafting] guide we used toilets made of [military surplus wooden] rocket boxes.   The premise is to take a large Army rocket box (a toilet lid fits inside ) and use double lined plastic bags and plenty of powdered lime. Regular old lime for the disinfectant.   We would use on of these on extended wilderness rafting trips for 30 or 40 people.   Here’s how it works. Set up the rocket box and remove the large roll of heavy black plastic trash bags. Take TWO bags and double bag them and line the …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Iran’s president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad alternately threatens to annihilate or “liberate” Israel. With these tensions is it any wonder oil an precious metals are spiking?    o o o David Limbaugh comments on “Immigration Madness“    o o o It looks as if the short squeeze that I predicted in the silver market is starting to unfold. Look for a substantial spike in the price of spot silver in the next two weeks, as the shorts panic to cover their positions. This spike may very well be followed by some profit taking, but who knows–the stair step pattern may persist.


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"Iran has dropped its pretense of benign intent. It has used the passing time to disperse, diversify, conceal, and protect its nuclear centers. But [the U.S.] cannot prevent this through military means—unless it is willing to commit itself to all-out war. Realism about Iran starts with throwing out any plans to bomb." — James Fallows, The Atlantic.


Note from JWR:

The first letter posted today is a thought-provoking piece directed toward fellow Christians, but the issues that it raises might be of interest to those of you that are of other faiths and even those who are not religious. I often stress charity in my writings. As a Christian, I consider charity my duty, and I feel strongly convicted to have extra food and gardening seed on hand to dispense as charity in the event of a disaster. Even for those of you that are not religious, I still recommend the practice, since it demonstrates kindness, and kindness builds trust …


Letter Re: Questions on Saving, Interest, and Preparation Versus Hoarding,

James:  I offer the following discussion (and answers, I hope) for Christians.   Proposition/assumptions: Good financial planning and even seeming ‘common sense’ dictates that we plan our income and expenditures wisely so as to have the ability to withstand a crisis.  This plan makes sense on an intuitive level, and also can be argued quite easily that as a Christian we have a duty to provide for the life and livelihood of our dependents; and that this provision includes saving money and goods for the event of hard times.  Or does it? Our Christian duty is also unquestionably to be …