Category: Current Events & Politics

The Hedges Get Trimmed

Just as I warned the readers of SurvivalBlog many months ago, hedge funds are vulnerable to rapid swings in interest rates. (My first warning was even before the pair of Bear Stearns hedge funds collapsed in the summer of 2007.) As the global liquidity crisis has expanded, other hedge funds have started to collapse en masse. Here is an article is from England that is indicative of what is happening globally. (This is a global collapse, because again, as I warned, the current liquidity crisis is global in scale.) Hedge fund legends hit by financial crisis. And here is an …


Letter Re: Sword Ban Begins on April 6th in the United Kingdom

James: In the past you have recommended that SurvivalBlog readers in the UK to get a samurai sword. Well, they are banning them now. As of the 6th April 2008 it will become illegal to manufacture, import or sell (but not own) all swords with a curved, single edged blade over 50 cm in the U.K. Although they can still supply such weapons for “permitted activities”. These activities include; Historical re-enactments and Sporting Activities. The legislation does not mention samurai swords. It only mentions single-edged curved swords with a blade length of 50cm or over. As per the document, it …


News from Wall Street and Capitol Hill–The Mother Of All Bailouts Begins to Grow

Last week, the mainstream media described the latest expansion of the Mother of All Bailouts (MOAB), but they politely refrained from calling this what it is: socialism, plain and simple. The grand plan, as it stands now, is to bail out not just consumer banks, but also investment banks, with taxpayer dollars. They are effectively making our life savings and our future earnings surety for a bunch of idiotic contrapreneurs‘ loans on everything from flat top duplexes to McMansions. These were houses that the contrapreneurs bought, that they could never really afford unless the market continued to rise at an …


The Nationalization of Wall Street, by John Ing

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke once said: “By increasing the number of U.S. dollars in circulation, or even by credibly threatening to do so, the U.S. government can also reduce the value of a dollar in terms of goods and services, which is equivalent to raising the prices in dollars of those goods and services. We conclude that, under a paper money system, a determined government can always generate higher spending and hence positive inflation.” The Fed slashed short-term interest rates six times in six months to 2.25 per cent from 5.25 per cent despite the U.S. Department of Labor …


Letter Re: Choosing a State for Relocation

James, To follow up on Mike Williamson’s recent letter on choosing a state for relocation, the April 2008 issue of Outdoor Life magazine has a good article on the best 200 towns in the U.S. for hunters and fishermen. The towns were rated for: Abundant Fishable Species Abundant Huntable Species Public Land Proximity (This may or may not be a good thing, IMHO.) Trophy Potential Gun Laws From 1 to 10, the top 10 towns rated were: Mountain Home, Arkansas Lewsiton, Idaho Sheridan, Wyoming Cody, Wyoming Pocatello, Idaho Lewistown, Montana Marquette, Michigan Dillon, Montana Page, Arizona Bismark, North Dakota They …


Some Offshore Retreat Considerations, by P. Traveler

Moving to a new area is a challenge, as any city-bred person from the US East Coast could tell you after his first winter in Wyoming. And the job market is not exactly as promising, either, at least for office workers. Yet, many make the move, and come to regret having waited so long before having done so. An even more difficult move is to go from the country of your birth and to explore a new life somewhere else. Many of our ancestors did this, however, and under far more difficult circumstances than you would face today. Just think …


Letter Re: A Machine That Sorts Pennies by Composition

Mr. Rawles, With a 70 pound weight limit, [USPS] Flat Rate [Priority Mail] boxes can be a fantastic deal, especially for small heavy items, as you mentioned. Up until this month, the two sizes available were 11″ x 8.5″ x 5.5″ and 13.625″ x 11.875″ x 3.375″. They cost $8.95 to send anywhere in the U.S.A. Now there is a third alternative, a larger 12” x 12” x 5-1/2” box that costs $12.95 to send (or $10.95 to an APO/FPO address). This is a real bargain. I recently shipped a large quantity of these from Arizona to Alaska. Most of …


Letter Re: A Machine That Sorts Pennies by Composition

Sir: Referring to your comment about sorting pennies in your post about nickels: “At present, sorting pennies simply isn’t worth your time. Although I suppose that if someone were to invent an automated density-measuring penny sorting machine, he could make a fortune. As background: The pre-1983 pennies presently have a base metal value of about $0.0226 each.) Starting in 1983, the mint switched to 97.5% zinc pennies that are just flashed with copper. Those presently have a base metal value of about $0.0071 each.” A penny sorting machine has been developed by a member of the Gold Is Money information …


Flawed Oral Arguments in DC v. Heller

The press has been heralding the apparent agreement by the majority of supreme court justices in the recent oral arguments to DC v. Heller. that the Second Amendment confirms an individual right to keep and bear arms. This is good news, but I think that at least two crucial points were missed in the oral arguments. The arguments made by Mr. Gura, in my opinion, were a disservice to American gun owners and “the militia at large”. (Which consists of all male citizens age 17 to 45, per US Code Title 10, Section 311.) Gura discounts any Second Amendment protection …


Meet The Economic Collapse Family, by Will in Wyoming

In recent months, as he described America’s incipient economic peril, Jim Rawles has made references in SurvivalBlog.com to “The Mother of All Bailouts.” To illustrate the extent of the disaster that is awaiting us–I’d like to introduce you to the entire Economic Collapse Family’s cast of characters. This family is so large that I’ll use numerous analogies and, with apologies, some mixed metaphors. To include the full Dramatis Personae I’ll have to borrow from both The Addams Family, and The Munsters. My apologies to anyone that never saw these two TV shows from the 1960s. This will seem like gibberish …


Letter Re: More on the Emerging U.S. Grain Shortages

Jim: I was told by a local LDS Bishop’s storehouse that the church is out of white wheat and will no longer be providing it because they buy it and it’s simply too expensive right now on the open market. The wait time for [hard] red [winter] wheat orders is 3-to-4 weeks. Another LDS cannery in Utah is also out of several items that they typically have on hand. Get your food storage while you can. – Junior


Guest Editorial: Honey, I Vaporized My Customers, by John Mauldin

By now, everyone knows that the subprime crisis started with non-existent lending standards which resulted in the large numbers of foreclosures we are seeing today. Those foreclosures will be rising throughout the year. We are not near anything like the top of the rising number of foreclosures. Ben Bernanke said last July that losses from the subprime would be in the $100 billion dollar range. True confession. I think I wrote six months earlier that it would be $200 billion. I point that out to make the point that I am an optimist by nature. The latest “bidding war” number …


Hedge Fund Redemption Suspensions–Tax Bills are Adding Insult to Injury

You’ve probably read about the seven Hedge Funds controlling $5.4 Billion have been forced to liquidate or suspend redemptions in the past month. Many of their investors had been leaving their full principal intact, quarter after quarter. In many many cases they want to continue to “let it all roll”, so they then used other funds to pay the tax bills on their hedge fund earnings. But now, with redemptions (cash outs) halted, not only will they lose most or all of their principal, but they must also pay the 2007 income tax on the “gain” for the calendar year. …


Five Letters Re: Battle Rifle Recommendations for a Californian

Mr. Rawles: One way that U.S. citizens can still get M1 Garand rifles at reasonable prices is via the DoD‘s Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP). M1 Garands are available starting at $445 + shipping. (I believe the Field Grades to be best choice for practical use rifles–$495) M1 Carbines are available for $419 + shipping and up. [JWR Adds: I do not recommend M1 Carbines, because they are chambered for an anemic cartridge. The .30 US Carbine is not a reliable man stopper!] .30-06 military surplus ammunition in clips, bandoleers and sealed cans, for $200 per case of 768 rounds. Requirements: …


America’s Mountain of Debt: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Collectively, Americans have accumulated a mountain of public and private debt in the past 20 years. The essential nature of all debts is that they someday must be repaid. Debts can be broken down into three categories: The Good. This is debt with low fixed interest rates, secured by tangible assets that have value that exceeds the amount of the loan. Everything is copasetic as long as the borrowers have a steady cash flow and can make their payments The Bad. This is debt that is either insufficiently secured, or that has a nasty contractual surprise waiting, such as an …