Economics and Investing:

From Chris P.: Food and fuel shortages in war-torn Syria.  Regime targeting bakeries and farmers. “Twist” Redux: Fed to Launch New Bond Buying Program to Ease Fiscal Cliff Fears B.B. liked this Peter Schiff interview: Majority Doesn’t “Have A Right To Steal My Money Just Because They Voted For It” Why The Fiscal Cliff Is Set To Crush The Middle Class With 50% Tax Rates FEMA trailers to the rescue! (a month or two late): U.S. Rep. Pallone: post-Sandy temporary housing plans in N.J. to start following talk with FEMA director Items from The Economatrix: New Fed Metrics, QE4 Won’t …


Odds ‘n Sods:

A link courtesy of The Woodpile Report: Mysterious radiation event of 774 might be (a little) less mysterious. A solar flare 20 times more powerful than the oft-cited Carrington event! (How do you like your microcircuits? Regular or extra crispy?)    o o o Bob Owens: The terror of the anti-liberty movement. (Thanks to G.S. for the link.)    o o o H.L. was the first of several readers to mention this news story: Florida nears 1 million permits for concealed weapons. [JWR’s Comment: In the 1980s and 1990s many hand-wringing editorialists loudly predicted that crime rates would skyrocket and …



Notes from JWR:

Today is the birthday of Simo Häyhä (born 1905, died April 1, 2002), was the world’s most successful sniper. Using an iron-sighted Mosin–Nagant in Finland’s Winter War, he had an astounding 505 confirmed sniper kills. — In addition to two articles of my own, today I’m posting a piece by our Medical Editor and a product review by Pat Cascio. Please note that they are both volunteer editors. Their efforts are greatly appreciated!


Of Wolves, Bureaucrats, Biologist-Activists, and Assorted Parasites

I’ve come to the conclusion that our worst imaginings of Canadian timber wolves (purposefully introduced to the Lower 48 by do-gooder bureaucrats in 1995) might have been insufficient. To those of us who live in the rural west, these land sharks are well known for their fanged depredations on sheep, cattle, deer, elk, and moose. But their greater menace–at least to humans–might actually be in the form of a tiny tapeworm that they carry: Echinococcus granulosus. This tapeworm was endemic with these wolves, long before they were introduced. Tapeworm cysts have been identified in both Idaho and Montana in recent …


Debasement is Still Inevitable: Another Year for the Real Cupronickel Nickel?

I’ve been warning SurvivalBlog readers about the debasement of the nickel for several years. It now costs the U.S. Mint 11.2 cents to produce each nickel, so debasement seems inevitable. After a two-year study, testing 80 different alloys, the United States Mint’s findings on alternative metals were announced on December 14, 2012. In essence they’ve said: “We need more time.” Here is the key line from the report summary: “The Mint has made significant progress and, at this time, has concluded that additional R&D is necessary before it can recommend any changes to the current coin composition.” Here is a …


Last Minute Medical Prepping, by Cynthia J. Koelker, MD

Soon enough we’ll know whether December 21, 2012 portends a cataclysmic event. One approach regarding how to prepare is to consider what might kill you in a day, in a week, in a month, or a year.  Your preparations will vary depending on your health now and how long you expect to live without the prospect of professional medical care. The most common life-threatening conditions that can kill in a day include acute allergic reactions (anaphylaxis), heart arrhythmias, pulmonary embolism (blood clot to the lung), various severe traumas (gunshot wounds, excess blood loss, cervical fracture (broken neck), and of course, …


Pat’s Product Review: M14 Juggernaut Rogue Bullpup System

I’ve been a huge fan of the M14 rifle system, ever since I was in Basic Combat Training in the US Army, way back in 1969. The .308 Winchester cartridge is the most popular long-range sniping round in use today. The military version is the 7.62 NATO – and they are not exactly the same round – the .308 Winchester round is actually a little bit hotter than the 7.62 NATO round is – not a big difference, but still a difference. When I went into Basic Combat Training, I was a mere 135 pounds – when I finished Basic, …


Guest Article: QE 4: Folks, This Ain’t Normal, by Chris Martenson

Okay, the Fed’s recent decision to boost its monetary stimulus (a.k.a. “money printing,” “quantitative easing,” or simply “QE“) by another $45 billion a month to a combined $85 billion per month demonstrates an almost complete departure from what a normal person might consider sensible. To borrow a phrase from Joel Salatin: Folks, this ain’t normal.  To this I will add …and it will end badly. If you had stopped me on the street a few years ago and asked me what I thought would have happened in the stock, bond, foreign currency, and commodity markets on the day the Fed …


Letter Re: Options to Buying an M1A Rifle

Hey James, I just read your comments on the Springfield Armory M1A and found it super interesting, I’ve been an avid hunter and shooter all my life and am very used to shooting rifles both long and short range/ scoped and unscoped. I’ve primarily owned and heavily customized both bolt action and AR platform guns and have been super happy with their accuracy and performance, however I’ve always wanted an M14 or M1A. Seeing the specifications on the “Loaded” model, match grade 22 inch – 1-11″ twist barrel, I suspect it will be quite accurate. I am a young guy …


Letter Re: How to Thwart Nigerian Scammers: Demand Proof of Life

Captain Rawles, Regarding the multiple letters you are receiving on the Nigerian scams, you may want to warn your readers that participation can lead to incarceration. The reader who told his story of USAA bank taking the amount of the fake checks from his account was lucky. Frequently, these scams prey on people who get greedy and suffer the consequences. In many cases, people receive a check (sometimes out of the blue, with no prior email contact) in the mail with a request to deposit it and send back 10% or 25%, etc to an international address (often in Canada). …


Recipe of the Week:

Cobalt’s Cabbage Stew Ingredients: 1 ½ lbs. lean ground meat ½ bell pepper, chopped 1 large onion, chopped 2 ribs celery, chopped ½ average size head of cabbage, rough sliced (thinner than ¼ head) 1 can Ranch-style beans 1 can Ro-Tel tomatoes (or comparable diced tomatoes with chilies) 1 can crushed or stewed tomatoes 1 tbl spoon chili powder Salt and pepper to taste Brown ground meat with bell pepper, onion, and celery. Drain. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Drop temperature and simmer covered for 1 ½ hours. Chef’s Notes: Serve with cornbread or french bread. I …


Economics and Investing:

B.B. suggested some recent commentary from Peter Schiff: No Way Out More socialist buffoonery: France’s Jean-Marc Ayrault slams flight of the ‘greedy rich’ (JWR’s Comment: Gee, and they wonder why they are leaving. I suppose that wife-beaters wonder the same thing.) 55 Reasons Why California Is The Worst State In America And The Entire State Is Rapidly Becoming A Bright, Shining Example Of Everything That Is Wrong With America Items from The Economatrix: Job Openings in US Rose in October to Four-Month High Detroit “Bankruptcy is a Possibility” Jobless Claims Fall to Pre-Sandy Levels


Odds ‘n Sods:

I often get questions about rust protection for long term storage of firearms. There is a company called Italian Gun Grease (all American-made products, but their chemist is Italian–so they thought it would be a catchy name), that have some good products for storing pistols and rifles. They are offering a special 25% introductory discount for SurvivalBlog readers. Enter the coupon code RAWLES25 when you check out. Full disclosure: They offered me a 10% piece of the action for mentioning their products.    o o o A reminder that the tax year ends December 31st, so it is important to …