Economics and Investing:

Ol’ Remus of The Woodpile Report pointed me to this piece by Michael Pento: Will the Last Person to Leave the Treasury Market Please Turn Out the Lights? Pento’s piece begins: “Wall Street and Washington love to spread fables that facilitate feelings of bliss among the investing public. For example, recall in 2005 when they inculcated to consumers the notion that home prices have never, and will never, fall on a national basis. We all know how that story turned out. Along with their belief that real estate prices couldn’t fall, is one of their favorite conciliatory mantras that still …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader Jim T. mentioned that there is a very lively discussion going on over at Surivivalistboards about how to make friends or enemies with your neighbors at your newly-acquired retreat.  Is is very easy to tell who is from the city and who is from the country, from the responses. I think some city folks need to be educated on how things work in the country.    o o o Readers H.L. and B.B. both sent: Illinois State Police Begin Registering Concealed Carry Instructors. [JWR’s Comment: “I hate Illinois Nazis.”]    o o o As I mentioned before, for National …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"Civilization, as we know it, is largely the creation of psychopaths. All civilizations, our own included, have been built on slavery and mass murder. Psychopaths have played a disproportionate role in the development of civilization, because they are hard-wired to lie, kill, cheat, steal, torture, manipulate, and generally inflict great suffering on other humans without feeling any remorse, in order to establish their own sense of security through domination." – Andrzej Lobaczewski, in "Political Ponerology: A science on the nature of evil adjusted for political purposes"


Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 48 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course. (A $1,195 value.) B.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795, and C.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $350 value.) D.) a $300 …


The Most Important Preparation You Can Make, by T.M.

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Because you are reading SurvivalBlog, I am going to assume you are already well on your way to becoming more self-sufficient.  And since I am making that assumption, I will also assume you are making the proper preparations to live that lifestyle. You are acquiring guns and the proper, good quality ammunition, although now impossible to find at a decent price, if you can find it at all.  It’s also important to remember the often forgotten parts such as cleaning supplies for your weapons and training such as self-defense, gunsmithing, and ballistic information.  You are storing food that is good …


Letter Re: Question on Preparedness Course

Jim: I’m planning to get the “Rawles Gets You Ready Preparedness Course.” Does it have any details on the shelf lives of foods like beans, rice, canned goods, and vitamins? Thanks So Much, – K.S. JWR Replies: Yes, and in fact the shelf life appendix (in tabular format) is quite extensive, spanning 15 pages. You can of course print out a hard copy, for your reference binder.



Odds ‘n Sods:

Troll culture has reached the border of free Michigan: Labor Day ‘Mackinac Bridge Walk’ will feature warrantless bag searches. (Thanks to F.G. for the link.)    o o o The Buzz on a Bumper Crop of Yellow Jackets. [JWR Adds: My readers throughout the Inland Northwest have confirmed my own local observations that this summer has been light on mosquitoes, but heavy on yellow jacket wasps and bald faced hornets. ]    o o o News from Nanny State Britannia: A knitting group said it was no longer allowed to meet at a library because its needles are “dangerous” and …



Notes from JWR:

September is the annual Kilted to Kick Cancer Month. That was a wise move guys, not picking January. (Brrrr!) September is of course also National Preparedness Month. — Today we present Part 4 of a four-part entry for Round 48 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course. (A $1,195 value.) B.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) …


Stuff Hitting the Fan: A Position Paper – Part 4, by R.L.

(This is the conclusion to the article series that began on Friday.) Appendix A The following is essentially a “wish” list; however the items that are in bold are relatively important.  The tools and medical areas would be for a complement for 1-10 people.  The sundries area covers a family of six.  The food area is for one person for one year, multiply (or divide) as you see fit.  There is extra food included for charitable impulses.  Coordinate purchases among the group if you plan to congregate.  I live in Georgia, so the clothing and supplies are tailored for that …


Letter Re: Some Off-Grid Living Techniques

Mr. Rawles, Thank you for a great blog site.  I’d like to share some techniques we use every day at our off-grid homestead that would be applicable for grid-down living With 280 watts of solar panels in the southern plains, a good Xantrex controller, three marine deep-cycle batteries and an inverter we power a 9 cubic foot freezer-turned-refrigerator fitted with an analog temperature controller, a portable dvd player used nightly for movies and documentaries, 1 to 3 small fans in summer, a netbook computer, and a couple of compact fluorescent lights along with charging cell phones and cordless tools and …


News From The American Redoubt:

A great new Ttabs ultralight flying video has been posted, showing some touch-and-gos: Elk River, Idaho.The last gorgeous minute of the video relates the enormity of the forested expanse that lies east of the more agricultural Palouse Hills region.    o o o The Couch Bunker (made in Spokane, Washington) attracted some attention down at the Fort Worth, Texas Hunting show. (Thanks to B.B. for the link.)    o o o Buck Knives–a company that wisely relocated from California to Post Falls, Idaho, several years ago–is continuing to prosper. They have released many new American-made products in 2013, most of …


Economics and Investing:

Jim Rogers – US & Syria War, Printing Money = Market Collapse. (Thanks to B.B. for the link.) G.G. sent: Labor Participation Rate Hits 34 Year Low I noticed that spot silver was solidly over $24 per Troy ounce in London trading on Monday, and gold was bouncing around $1,390 per Troy ounce. If there is war in the Middle East, we can expect to see substantially higher metals prices. This might be a good time to further diversify out of Dollars and into physical silver. Items from The Economatrix: Syria Crisis Could Send Oil Toward ’08 Highs: Schoenberger The …


Odds ‘n Sods:

F.J. suggested: Make a Reaping Hook    o o o Reader Joe S. found a great resource for anyone with an interested in First Generation Cummins 5.9 Liter Six-Cylinder Diesels: 1989 – 1991 Ram Diesel Engine Specs    o o o Attention southpaws: I heard that Autrey’s Armory has announced a special for SurvivalBlog readers on Rock River Operator carbines in left hand configuration. They have 8 of these available. Full retail on these is $1,360, but Autrey’s sells these for $1,175.99. But if you send an e-mail and mention that you saw them mentioned in SurvivalBlog, they will knock …