Category: Current Events & Politics

Letter Re: The Bias of Financial Analysts and the Mainstream Media

James: If you read the mainstream media, you;ll see how the Dow Jones average ‘soars’ when it breaks its downward spiral and posts a 2% gain – when the ‘good’ news is out of Germany and China – never mind that the market is still down 12.5% from where it was a month ago. But, in contrast Gold ‘tanks’ – ‘is at the top of a bubble’ – ‘isn’t money’ – when it pulls back 1.5% at the top of a rally that saw prices up 19% over the same time period. Paper promises of debt aren’t money, and ‘securities’ …


Letter Re: Roads and Infrastructure in Bangladesh

Dear Jim, Regarding the letter from M.Z. Williamson about water on the Bangladesh-India border leading to war (again) it is a good idea to remember that Jammu and Kashmir are fought over between Pakistan and India over water, rather than the Opium grown in Kashmir. Several rivers originate there and India has diverted at least one back across the border so they can grow grain to feed millions of people. This violates the 1960 water treaty, so fighting has resulted. Conflicts over water are very common. While the hard words between Pakistan and India are largely regarded by their populations as empty posturing, the water and …


Small World Department: Image of JWR’s Ferret Scout Car Used for Gray Propaganda

As editor of SurvivalBlog I’ve had a number of “Small World Department” coincidences occur in the past six years. Most of these have been chance meetings with blog readers and mutual acquaintances, everywhere from Reno, Nevada to as far away as Switzerland. But the latest coincidence is absolutely astounding: As you may already be aware, the Russian FSB produces some gray propaganda under the pen name “Sorcha Faal.” Their department’s most recent bit of hyperbolic dezinformatsaya was in an article over at the fairly wacky “What Does It Mean?” web site. (The web site uses the dotted quad address: 207.58.165.85 …


Michael Z. Williamson: Roads and Infrastructure in Bangladesh

One of my regular correspondents is a civil engineer with the highway department in Bangladesh. He sent me the following article links from The Daily Star [in Dhaka, Bangladesh]: RHD chief engineer quits MPs blast communications minister Impossible rides stop They are facing problems of massive corruption, infrastructure failing, and several large rivers that are dammed on the Indian side of the border, which threaten to turn fertile deltas into deserts. He’s sufficiently placed he may be able to, and “considering” emigrating to Canada or to the US.  I suggested he “consider faster” and not wait until it’s too late. …


Bitcoins: A Practical Primer, by Yishai

Bitcoins are a new anonymous peer-to-peer digital currency.  It is truly the next big thing in how we can conduct transactions over the internet without any central clearinghouse or bank or government ‘okaying’ our transactions.  I believe Bitcoins will be quite disruptive in how we all do business online.  You can pay anyone directly with Bitcoins, buy products from Amazon.com in Bitcoins (through a reseller), and even take SurvivalBlog’s’ 10-cent challenge in Bitcoins!  Bitcoins have an inherent value and as long as the internet is standing, are here to stay. As of this writing, 1 Bitcoin (or BTC) was selling …


Some Ground Truth on Intellectual Property Rights

I recently received an e-mail that perturbed me. In reply to my e-mail releasing the right to re-post an article from SurvivalBlog, a gent (who shall remain nameless) mentioned: “Personally, I don’t believe in copyrights because nobody can truly own ideas, thoughts or words…” To which, I replied: Do you really believe that?  Let me politely set you straight:  When I write a novel, that is my intellectual property.  Each book that I write represents the fruit of my intellect, and is the end result of thousands of hours of my work.  Without a limited-term copyright, strangers could rob me …


Letter Re: Expanded Gun Controls in Canada?

Mr. Rawles, The owner of CanadaAmmo.com recently posted on a public forum (Canadiangunnutz.com) that the Royal Canadian Mountain Police (RCMP) Firearms lab “is encouraging importers to hold off on new imports until the fall, when they expect the prohibited list to be ‘updated’ to reflect new models.”  Updating the prohibited list in all probability and precedent would mean sweeping confiscations of some firearms. [JWR Adds: Unlike here in the U.S., Canadian gun laws don’t have a tendency toward “grandfather” exclusion clauses.] Even though the Conservative party of Canada now holds a majority government in Parliament and the party has claimed …


Letter Re: Alabama County Provides Microcosmic Preview of a Larger Bankruptcy

Dear Mr. Rawles — Here is a link to a story in this morning’s New York Times about Jefferson County, Alabama. It seems to be a microcosm of what the whole country faces as the threat of Federal default becomes real. The reporter says, “There are lessons for everyone here, and they are all painful: lessons for those who are not concerned about the prospect of mounting debt, for those who insist that steep cuts can be relatively painless, for those who think the bill for big spending can safely be put off into the future, for those who have …


How to Survive the Cities During TEOTWAWKI, by Lara W.

Get out of the cities. Most would agree this is a key rule of survival during the end of the world as we know it.  After all, millions of people reside in cities around the globe. Supply store shelves can become bare in mere minutes, water can become rapidly contaminated by overwhelmed sewage systems, and riots can outnumber and overtake law enforcement. The urban environment also renders certain wilderness survival tactics unsafe, such as cooking over a fire. Cities are vulnerable to uncontrollable fires. They make prime nuclear targets. Disease spreads among city dwellers at an astounding rate. There are …


Letter Re: A Prepper Goes to College

JWR: S. John’s article on higher education generated some great responses, many of which urged careful attention to choosing an area of study that would be of practical use if/when TSHTF, engineering, medicine or nursing rather than law, English, sociology or political science.  I couldn’t agree more that practical skills will be needed.   In spite of the general disrepute in which lawyers are held, however, I’d like to suggest that law is and will always be a practical skill. If I claimed that 90% (or even 95%) of all knowledge in the field of medicine has been acquired in the …


Smoke and Mirrors: The Full Implications of the U.S. National Debt

We are told by U.S. Treasury officials and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) that the Federal Government’s debt is now just over 100% of our nation’s annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and while this level of debt is “alarming”, it is “still sustainable.” Meanwhile, Greece’s sovereign debt is now 157% of its GDP, and the nation is on the verge of default and collapse. I presume that Joe Sixpack here in the U.S. sees the news headlines and says to Mrs. Sixpack: “Wow, those poor Greeks. I’m glad that we don’t live there. I wouldn’t feel safe, living in Greece.” …


Six Letters Re: A Prepper Goes to College

James:  The article “A Prepper Goes to College” by S. John aptly points out a problem in which is completely avoidable.  It is heartbreaking to know that so many people are setting themselves up for a life of lost opportunities by being saddled with educational debt.   This problem is the subject of the book Debt-Free U: How I Paid for an Outstanding College Education Without Loans, Scholarships, or Mooching off My Parents by Zac Bissonnette.  “Debt-Free U” points out the huge disparity in the cost/value relationships of the many college education options.  It provides strategies (solutions) for getting a good …


A Prepper Goes to College, by S. John

In this article I intend to give the prepper some Christian perspective on what is valuable in an education. First, a couple of quotes: “Youth is wasted on the young.” – George Bernard Shaw “Education is wasted on the youth.” – Michelle Hanson Many people are considering college and advanced education this year, especially with the unemployment at record highs. They believe that having a college degree will help them get out of the economic slump they find themselves in. They imagine a high-paying job in a new field, and economic prosperity. Unfortunately, college is not what it used to …


Letter Re: Dollar Collapse, Deflation, Inflation, and Consumer Debt

Jim: I have a question and would like your opinion on a question that relates to your recent article, The New Century: An Era of Upright Spikes.  I have also read countless other articles and watched interviews/videos from ‘experts’ that all have the same general consensus: Our economy, as well as the globe, is either going to collapse or get significantly worse. My question; I am curious if there is any way to tell how long we have to prepare for WTSHTF of TEOTWAWKI?  My reasoning; I want my family (currently my wife and I along with two dogs) and …


Letter Re: Ohio’s 31+ Round Magazine Ban Insanity

Hi Jim, I was just re-reading your tangibles investing article linked in today’s blog.  Please let your readers know that even though preemption is the rule for the Ohio cities that had previously banned standard capacity magazines; Ohio has a very unusual state [felony] law: Any magazine 31 rounds and larger is classified as a “automatic firearm”. This may sound crazy but it is true.  So don’t add 40 or 50 round magazines or 100 round drums to your gun collection in Ohio. Under Title 29 of the Ohio Code: “(E) “Automatic firearm” means any firearm designed or specially adapted …