Silver Thoughts For The Beginner, by Jay in Missouri

One doesn’t have to look far in the news today to catch a conundrum in any article talking about precious metals. If you read the news shops you will have noticed articles crowing titles like “Silver and Gold Have Lost Their Shine!” and “The Precious Metals Market Tanks!”. The strange thing is if you are to walk into any coin or jewelry shop tomorrow and ask to buy a few coins, you will most likely be told the wait time is several weeks, and you’ll be paying prices above the current silver price. While the news outlets are singing the …


Letter Re: Sewing, Mending and Altering Your Clothing After the Ball Drops

James Wesley, I have a few comments on the recent clothing article:   Good heavy work clothing is around, if you know where to look. Carhartt, Prison Blues, Roundhouse, Wild Ass jeans and Dickies to name just a few of the better known names. Treat this clothing as an investment and buy it even if its expensive as it’s worth every penny.   Buttons.  Lay in a store of metal buttons.  I can’t tell you how many plastic, conventional buttons I’ve smashed working on something.  Metal shirt and pant buttons don’t break and wear for years. Plan on making clothes using …


Economics and Investing:

Check Out These Insane Levels of Youth Unemployment In Europe Fed Money Printing Games Out of Gas – Karl Denninger. (Thanks to Jim W. for the link.) Bob in Virginia recommended this by Bill Gross: Here Are The Four Big Ways That The Government Will Steal Money From Bondholders While the paper market is in the doldrums, the physical metals market is searing hot: U.S. Mint Sales of Gold Coins Jump to Highest in Three Years. (Thanks to G.G. for the link.) Items from The Economatrix: Internet Sales Tax: What You Need to Know Online Sales Tax Overwhelming Passes Cloture …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Ready Made Resources is in the middle of a 25% off sale on Mountain House canned long term storage foods. The sale ends on May 6th, so order soon.    o o o S. 336, the Internet Sales Tax bill, can still be stopped. So can the Illegal Immigrant Amnesty Bill. Please contact your U.S. Senators.    o o o Diana suggested this by former congressman Dr. Ron Paul: Liberty Was Also Attacked in Boston.    o o o Reader Mark A. mentioned that Widener’s has D&H mil-spec AR-15 magazines back in stock for as little as $14 each. Oh, …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Therefore do not let our princes accuse fortune for the loss of their principalities after so many years’ possession, but rather their own sloth, because in quiet times they never thought there could be a change (it is a common defect in man not to make any provision in the calm against the tempest.)” – Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince


Notes from JWR:

Reminder: There is a “silver strike” on the banks planned for today, May 1, 2013. Send the banksters a message and withdraw your extra cash today and use it to buy physical silver! — May 1st is also the birthday of Louis Cukela, a Croatian-born American Marine, born 1888, died March 19, 1956. He was one of only 19 two-time recipients of the Medal of Honor. — Today we present another entry for Round 46 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, …


Make Your Own Inexpensive Frangible Slugs, by Sailor Frank

]Editor’s Note: See my warning about this technique, below!] With the current ammo shortages that have been plaguing the country and seem to have no end in sight, having a way to stock up on a key caliber for your preps is vital. Hindsight being 20/20 many of us now wish we would have put more of our valuable prepping budget towards stocking up on ballistic wampum. I believe I’ve found a way to still stock up on some very useful ammo while still making your valuable prepping dollars stretch just a bit farther. The shotgun is universality accepted as …


Penny and Nickel Debasement Bill Introduced in U.S. Congress

Reader Joe K. sent this news link: Bill Seeks Steel Cents, Nickels, Dimes, and Quarters. Note that the bill’s main sponsors are from Ohio, which is a steel manufacturing state. But this legislation is more than just grandstanding. Unlike similar legislation in previous sessions of congress, this new bill will probably gain traction in the current congress, since the government has now been losing money with the seigniorage costs of pennies and nickels for many years. Well, I’ve been warning you since 2009, folks. While this bill is still in committee, I suspect that a coinage composition change will take …


Letter Re: Prepping, World-Wide?

Mr. Rawles; I had a conversation with a friend and the question came up: “I wonder how the rest of the world is on prepping or is it mostly just the US?” Can you shed some light on that by any chance? Thanks, – P.W. JWR Replies: Preparedness is indeed catching on, globally. Just look at the visits map for SurvivalBlog. (We have had visits from 200 countries!) Granted, survivalism is primarily a phenomenon of the English-speaking world, but there is also considerable interest in France, Germany, Russia, Japan, and in the Scandinavian countries. And there probably would be greater …


Economics and Investing:

Reader C.D.V. suggested this article: Spain Is Beyond Doomed: The Two Scariest Unemployment Charts Ever M.E.W. sent: Run on Guns: AR-15s Sales Soar. JWR’s Comment: A modern battle rifle is a great example of a practical, barterable tangible investment. You can only shoot a bad guy with a Krugerrand with the aid of a sling shot, and that constitutes a very inefficient use of resources. M.M. sent this ominous news from Canada: Conservative 2013 Budget May Allow Banks to Confiscate Customer’s Deposits Items from The Economatrix: Jim Rogers:  Every Government Debasing Their Currency, Gold Going Much Higher The Global Economy …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader C.W. forwarded some very scary news: Perhaps just one mutation away from fast transmission human to human transmission? H7N9 Carries Genes from Rare H9N2, H7N3, H4N9, H11N9 Bird Flu Viruses. Here is a quote: “This finding implies that H7N9 viruses have partially acquired human receptor-binding specificity. All of the H7N9 human isolates examined contained a lysine residue at position 627 in the PB2 protein. It is well known that this lysine residue contributes to the replication and transmission of avian influenza viruses in mammalian hosts. It is likely that the acquisition of this lysine in H7N9 viruses during their …



Notes from JWR:

Today is the birthday of science fiction novelist Larry Niven. (Born, 1938.) Along with Jerry Pournelle, he co-authored the survivalist classic Lucifer’s Hammer. April 30th is also the birthday of futurist and computer industry writer Ed Yourdon. (Born, 1944.) — Today we present another entry for Round 46 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. …


Sewing, Mending and Altering Your Clothing After the Ball Drops, by Belle

My husband, children and I live in a largely off-grid community in the desert southwest.  We live on forty acres with solar power, a water well and water catchment.  We garden and live with chickens and are adding skills to our new life style all of the time.  My husband does not like for me to be too specific, but I outlined some of our lifestyle changes in an article on trash in July 2012. This article is about clothing.  It is about sewing and mending and altering.  I know you’d rather read about AR-15’s, but IMHO, clothing is going …


Letter Re: One Year Food Supply at COSTCO

James, What is you opinion of the “30,144 Total Servings 4-people 1-year Emergency Food Kit” now at the COSTCO website? Are the shelf lifes realistic? (Are they really long term storage kinds of foods?) What can you tell me about the company that makes them? Are they legit? Is this price realistic? I appreciate your sage counsel. Thanks, -Walt G. JWR Replies: The THRIVE brand foods are packaged by Shelf Reliance, a very reputable company that has been a SurvivalBlog advertiser for many years. Unlike many of their competitors, they do their nitrogen packing under controlled conditions. (Tests have shown …