Economics and Investing:

Taxing Coin Sales: A Bureaucratic Nightmare In The Making? Bread, butter, and food stamp economy: Is the US developing a permanent under-class of citizens economically? Richard Russell: Silver, Gold & A Coming Stock Market Crash Over at Silver Doctors: COMEX confirms that its gold and silver inventory reports are fraudulent. Items from The Economatrix: Real Unemployment Rate:  11.3%?  Nope.  29%. Economist:  Labor Market Just Not That “Healthy” May Jobs Report; Government Data Grab


Odds ‘n Sods:

G.G. forwarded this: Everything you could want for a nuclear fallout from Kleenex to unappetizing cans of ‘multi-purpose food’: California couple discover perfectly preserved 1961 fallout shelter 15 feet below their backyard. [JWR Asks: Now will they have the wisdom to fully stock it with fresh supplies?]    o o o A very useful tutorial: How To Wash Laundry Post-Disaster.    o o o Reader W.J. suggested the latest in digital privacy: Peer-to-Peer Bitmessage Software. (Given all the recent revelations, this might be the only encrypted e-mail system that is halfway trustworthy!    o o o Long distance looters: Police …



Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 47 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 …


Community Building is Critical, by W.H.

A couple friends and I recently talked about the state of ‘things’, and how ‘things’ seem to be getting worse, and how ‘things’ are so bad that ‘things’ simply cannot get better. You’ve had those conversations, right? My friend David is well aware of the sorry state of our political system, and we’ve discussed those ‘things’ several times in the past. However, he was not thinking in terms of societal collapse. David started thinking along those lines pretty quickly, once I pointed out some weaknesses of our system, like the fact that our power utilities are not adding capacity, but …


Two Letters Re: Peak Oil Meets Yuppie Marketing

James, I agree with Mr. Williamson’s comments.  To use a Tennessee expression I would opine that Heinberg does not know “diddly-squat” about farming.   First, my bona fides: I grew up on a farm.  Both sets of grandparents farmed with teams of mules in west Tennessee.   Some 30% of our farming acreage was used to grow food for the team of mules.  We now operate a mini farm to be self sufficient in food and to grow and save heirloom seeds for barter after “The Crunch.”  We have a Kubota B7510 tractor and all the implements.  This year we’ve some …


Economics and Investing:

Spot silver took a substantial drop on Friday, closing on the COMEX at $21.69 per ounce. A dip like this would be a good time to buy. And speaking of silver, Mulligan Mint is cranking out the one ounce American Redoubt silver coins in quantity, and the shipping delays are getting shorter. For those who have been waiting, thanks for your patience. India Central Bank Prohibits Sales Of Gold Coins. (Thanks to G.G. for the link.) Lifestyles of the Los Angeles flippers: Big money being invested in flips. Boyle Heights and other interesting market observations. Items from The Economatrix: Weekly …


Odds ‘n Sods:

The Reason an Israeli Man Couldn’t Bring Himself to Turn in His Weapons Will Sound Familiar To U.S. Gun Proponents. Never register your guns, ever! History doesn’t repeat, but it often rhymes.    o o o Michael Z. Williamson (SurvivalBlog Editor At Large) spotted this: Secret Man Caves Found in EPA Warehouse    o o o Radio Free Redoubt is seeking donations to defray some of their costs. Among other things they are sponsoring Pastor Chuck Baldwin’s trip to speak at the upcoming Patriots and Self-Reliance Rally at Farragut State Park, near Coeur d’Alene, Idaho on July 26, 27 & …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest [thine] alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward …



Gun Trusts — Preserving Firearm Ownership Into The 21st Century, by Attorney Terry E. Hogwood

Introduction There are two questions that every gun owner will be asked to address in the near future: 1. Do you own and store firearms in your home? 2. Do you want your children and their children to inherit your firearms without undergoing a background check? Question 1 is taken from a random selection of medical portal entrance questionnaire forms. The question appears on the form along with questions about swimming pools, drugs, alcohol etc and asks if each identified potential risk is present in the patient’s household. It is not a random question for philosophical consideration. It has recently …


Letter Re: Loose Lips: No Need to Pump Some Folks for Information

James Wesley, A few days ago I called a local businessman about doing some work on our water well pump.  I also asked him his advice about the possibility of later installing a manual water pump along with the electric pump.  He then began to tell me that he was at that very moment installing a manual pump for another person.  His words though were “for one of these preppers.”  He said, “I guess he’s worried about a zombie attack or something.”  This short interaction made me think about a few things that I would like to pass on. 1.  …


Letter Re: GPS Jamming is Illegal in Most Jurisdictions

James, Please let your readers know that GPS jammers are illegal to own, operate, and market in the United States. Here is a link to the FCC consumer alert on GPS jammers. While I can understand that someone could make the personal decision that their personal privacy justifies blocking GPS tracking, please be aware that these GPS jammers are very effective and can jam an area up to a mile in diameter. There was well-publicized incident of a personal GPS jammer that shut down the aircraft landing aid at the Newark, New Jersey airport. And there are documented cases of …


Economics and Investing:

At Seeking Alpha: Why the Dow Could Hit 20,000 in Three Years Mac Slavo: We Have Blown the Largest Bubble in the History of Mankind G.G. flagged this: Doomsday poll: 87% risk of stock crash by year-end Surprise! Your Bitcoins May Be Taxable Income to the IRS Items from The Economatrix: Peter Schiff: Fed’s Advisory Council Admits We’re Screwed UCLA Economist Forecast Paints Dismal Picture of Economic Recovery Retailers’ Sales Rise in May, Spending Stays Moderate Remember The Sequester?  It’s Finally Dinging The Economy


Odds ‘n Sods:

There is lots of news about these revelations: NSA taps in to user data of Facebook, Google and others, secret files reveal and NSA Is Seizing Millions of Verizon Phone Records and Clapper denied NSA surveillance before Senate panel in March testimony. As I’ve mentioned before: Never consider anything you say on the phone or anything that you do on the Internet is “private.”    o o o Reader Joe K. suggested this new e-book: Locusts on the Horizon, authored by the Plan B Writers Alliance. It also comes highly recommended by Greg Ellifritz of  Active Response Training. It is …