Category: Current Events & Politics

Letter Re: Inflation in Zimbabwe Approaches the Wheelbarrow Stage

Greetings! It’s not quite a wheelbarrow full of money yet, but check out accompanying the photo in this news story. I guess that I should invest in a separate ALICE pack, for when ‘Helicopter Ben’ starts dropping off my paycheck – that way I can at least schlep it all to the grocery store, and keep my hands free to operate small arms. Check out the slide show imbedded in the article as well – shows just how far Rhodesia/Zimbabwe has fallen. – Bob in Pittsburgh


Two Letters Re: 21st Century Property Squatters

Dear Jim: < Sarcasm On > Your disappearing home equity got you down? Behind on your mortgage? What if you could live payment free for up to 8 months or more and walk away without owing a penny? See: You Walk Away < Sarcasm Off > The foregoing is a real solicitation to delay the foreclosure process. When real estate parasites like this have a business helping deadbeats game the foreclosure process, you know the Schumer is starting to really hit. Not that I have much sympathy for the crooked bankers and lenders being taken advantage of here (just wait …


Letter Re: Credit Unions Versus Banks for Safety?

Good Morning Jim, As I read today’s blog, I thought again about the safety of credit unions. As far as I have been able to discover, they have not jumped in to the derivatives like banks and mortgage companies did, and seem much safer than banks. Credit unions are mostly local and (though the requirements are often much less restrictive than they used to be) usually only have local residents as customers. Does anyone know any more on credit unions? I’ve long recommended credit unions to my friends and family in place of banks, since they usually offer lower loan, …


Letter Re: Will US Banking Turmoil Depress the Price of Gold?

Good Morning, I am a fairly new SurvivalBlog reader but like your range and depth of coverage in all things “survival”. I Hope you can help me with a metal question… I have collected gold and silver coins for over 10 years now and have always assumed I could sell them when the time was right, but I recently had a conversation with a local coin dealer who indicated they were cutting back their hours and that there were several other shops that were closing down their retail operations because a lot of people were only wanting to sell precious …


The Elephant in the Room, by Norman Church

“I’m right there in the room and no one acknowledges me.” “We must face the prospect of changing our basic way of living. This change will either be made on our own initiative in a planned way, or forced on us with chaos and suffering by the inexorable laws of nature.” – President Jimmy Carter (1976) Before we discuss this Elephant in the Room we must first briefly consider the notion of ‘sustainability’. Too often people debate sustainability issues from an understanding that is vague, incomplete or frankly flawed. “Just exactly what is meant when the word ‘sustainable’ or ‘sustainability’ …


Letter Re: Spot Shortages at a COSTCO Store a Portent of Things to Come?

Jim: I stopped by COSTCO tonight to pick up some items and they had signs limiting people to two containers of soybean oil and two bags of flour. They were completely out of flour. And they had no 50lb sacks of rice either. So its starting to hit home. This was the case in the West Springfield, Massachusetts store anyway. – John E.


Letter Re: Alternative News Sources When The Grid Goes Down

Sir, I have been hooked to your blog for weeks now and have a topic suggestion for you. The only news I can trust comes from independent blogs with communities of users working together to bring critical information to light. Web sites like The Housing Bubble Blog have saved me tens of thousands of dollars by being months ahead of the mainstream media (MSM) and by reporting honestly. With the internet we have the means to organize grassroots efforts to support candidates like Ron Paul. We can be kept up to date with the latest injustices and know when our …


Letter Re: A Reminder on the Terrorist Toxins Threat

Jim, I bring this news story to your attention: Ricin Found in Las Vegas Hotel Room; Man in Hospital The Center for Disease Control (CDC) protocols don’t give one much hope if ricin is inhaled or ingested. Unclothing and washing procedures for external contact are not reassuring. Other sources indicate that skin contact is usually not fatal unless accompanied by other agents that enhance absorption. [JWR Adds: DMSO is a well-known transdermal carrier.] Other sources also indicate that ricin is 30 times more potent than VX nerve gas. Full MOPP suit and gas mask seem to be indicated to avoid …


The Fleecing of the Sheeple–America Discovers “What That Thing Will Bring”

There is a very old legal maxim: “The value of a thing, is what that thing will bring.” It was developed by the courts to establish the value of a loss, in civil claims. The maxim has been perhaps over-used in central Europe, where if you recklessly drive your car and run down a farmer’s laying hen, you can be held liable for for not only the replacement cost of the chicken, but also the value of its future offspring for the next year–or perhaps even two years if the judge is in a bad mood. That ancient maxim is …


Letter Re: Are Simultaneous Inflation and Deflation Possible?

Hi Jim, Your excellent post about the possibility of simultaneous inflation and deflation got my head to spinning about ways to protect ourselves from a seemingly near-certain banking crisis. Such a scenario would certainly be a major headache for everyone, no matter how large their bank accounts, but it would be a huge problem for those of us who are in business for ourselves and need a constant cash flow through the banking system to pay payroll, expenses, taxes, etc. Therefore, I wondered if you and/or any of your readers had any suggestions for preparing for banking problems ahead of …


Letter Re: The “Invention Nation” Documentary Television Series

Jim, I don’t know if this has been posted here or not. I have finished watching a series on the Science Channel called “Invention Nation“. The show primarily feature inventors who are inventing ways to “go green”. Many of these inventions and ideas fit in perfectly with being self-sufficient. Some of the topics are; used cooking oil for diesel engines, solar power technology, passive solar for heating homes and water, bicycle generators, etc… The series will rerun starting in March and may be worth a look for the preparedness minded. See the Invention Nation web site. Thanks to you and …


Letter Re: The EconomicIndicators.gov Web Site

James, It looks like the U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Indicators web site now will continue to operate and they are going to enhance the site to boot. Here is the recently updated notice from their web site: The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economics and Statistics Administration (ESA) has decided to continue the economicindicators.gov web site. Featuring the economic releases from ESA’s Census Bureau and Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), the site was started by this Administration in 2002 to give greater awareness to these economic statistics. ESA initially planned to discontinue the service due to cost concerns but given …


Two Letters Re: Are Simultaneous Inflation and Deflation Possible?

Jim, We are clearly experiencing deflation, as bad debt and derivatives unwind. At the same time there appears to be massive inflation by the Fed, or else where did the three Trillion for Iraq come from? The only “X factor” now is the money multiplier. Reserve requirements are now [effectively] zero. A good video (Flash required). But now eliminate the reserve component, [and its] Zimbabwe dollars ahoy. Here is some scary stuff, directly from the Fed. And here is an explanation similar to what I had wanted to write about the “Its the Economy Stupid” with Clinton and Greenspan – …


Are Simultaneous Inflation and Deflation Possible?

I often have friends and clients ask me how I can talk about inflation and deflation in the same breath. They’ve asked: “But I thought that inflation and deflation were contradictory. How do you think that we could experience both inflation and deflation at the same time?” Let me explain, starting with a bit of background: The fractional reserve banking system, based on usury, creates money. Here is a simplified example: Each time you deposit a $1,000 at your local bank, the bank then lends nearly all of that money out to someone else, charging interest. The bank holds just …


Letter Re: Building a Kalashnikov at Home

Dear Jim, As you know, it’s legal in America to build your own standard firearm for personal use [by manufacturing your own receiver.] One of the best ways to get a discreet, legal, off-paper SHTF rifle is an imported de-milled Kalashnikov (AK) kit, with a new, home-built receiver. Take a look at this web site. His heat treating and machine and tool instructions are accurate. This is the best site I’ve seen on the subject. I was able to tear down a Romanian kit and assemble a working AK in about 8 hours. Beginners will likely need a couple of …