Category: Odds ‘n Sods

Subprime defaults put the FHA in the poorhouse. Look for further growth in the Mother of All Bailouts (MOAB).    o o o Risk of Nuclear Attack on U.S. Rises    o o o Mike in Illinois suggested these two articles from New Scientist: Why the demise of civilisation may be inevitable and Will a pandemic bring down civilisation?    o o o The WRSA has a Basic Rifle Marksmanship Course scheduled for April 26-27 in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. OBTW, the WRSA is kindly donating paid admissions to any WRSA shooting event for just the first two people that respond …

SJC flagged this article: Wholesale prices soared in March. On a related note: I’m sure that you’ve noticed the recent spike in oil to an all-time high. The current retail food prices are based on roughly $80 per barrel oil. Part of food prices includes tractor time, fertilizer (which are primarily petrochemical, these days) and shipping costs. When you factor in $114 oil, further jumps in food prices seem inevitable. I hope that you’ve already stocked up. Ditto for filling your fuel storage tanks.    o o o James mention that this Wall Street Journal editorial is worth reading: Dollar …

Eric sent us this: The new underground currency    o o o Time magazine reports: How Hunger Could Topple Regimes    o o o Where are the contrapreneurs that “invested” in McMansions, using NINJA (No Income, No Job or Assets) loans? Some of them have gone through foreclosure and are now moving back home to live with their parents.    o o o As other staples soar, potatoes break new ground

For several months I’ve been pointing to the Federal Reserve’s data on bank reserves. The latest numbers are downright frightening. In particular, see the bottom of the “Non-borrowed Reserves” column. (Thanks to “Tanker” for alerting me to the latest update to the Fed data.) OBTW, don’t miss this article: US banks Citigroup and Merrill Lynch reveal fresh $15bn loss    o o o The latest addition to my blog roll is Target Rich Environment. I found this blog both humorous and insightful.    o o o I noticed that the folks at Green Mountain Gear have expanded their product line …

Frank in Arizona wrote to ask me how much longer Front Sight’s “Get a Gun” training and gear package offer will still be available. From what I’ve heard, it won’t be very long, since Front Sight is running this promotion at near their cost. Don’t dawdle on this and miss out, folks! I can’t think of a better purpose for your upcoming Federal tax “economic stimulus” check. Those checks (for up to $1,200 per married couple) will be mailed out starting in May, so you might want to employ your credit card, in advance! If Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer …

More fallout from the global liquidity crisis: GE Plunges as Profit Misses Estimates, Forecast Cut, and Airlines Face New Cash Challenge, and G7 Economic Powers Endorse Plan to Try to Avert Financial Crises. There will be far, far more fallout in the months to come, as the numerous industries and even national governments are starved for cash.    o o o Rick M. suggested an excellent article by attorney Ellen Brown: Credit Default Swaps: Derivative Disaster Du Jour. Her article keys in nicely with the background piece that I wrote more than two years ago: Derivatives–The Mystery Man Who’ll Break …

I recently got an e-mail from reader Terrence G., who claimed that the national debt figure was “meaningless” because the Federal Government could merely “create” money, at will. But I have a dose of reality: That debt is real, it is increasingly held by foreigners, and debts must be repaid. Worst of all, it is growing at an alarming rate (See: The National Debt Clock.) OBTW, after you are done reading the rest of today’s blog, hit “reload” at that same site, and see how much debt our nation has accumulated in just those few minutes. Someday, our grandchildren will …

I was glad to see that gold touched $940 per ounce yesterday morning. The fact that it did so, just one day after announcement of a 403 ton IMF gold sale was quite encouraging. At this point, I don’t think the central banks will be able to stop the precious metals bull market without doing something drastic. The banksters will start to get nervous once gold passes $1,200 USD per ounce. And at $1,580 (which roughly equals €1,000 Euros per ounce), they will get truly desperate. At that point, both the Dollar and the Euro will be recognized as the …

RBS flagged this: Food Prices Soar as Farmers Bail on Corn.    o o o Horton suggested some good commentary by Aubie Baltin, posted over at Gold-Eagle: A Time for Reflection    o o o Ready Made Resources now sellsan inexpensive and lightweight solar oven that works quite well. The stove with shipping (in the US) is just $44.95    o o o Bill from Ohio kindly sent us a plethora of recent news article links related to the world’s now scant food supplies: Food riots in Haiti: BBC article and YouTube video. Rising prices around the world Rice price …

The magic credit tap is turned off: Citigroup, Wells Fargo May Loan Less After Downgrades Meanwhile, we read: Fed members worried about deep recession   o o o A reader mentioned that Cme Brew is offering a special “stock up” price of $168 (plus shipping) for 50 pounds of current crop, gourmet Arabica coffee beans for home roasting. These beans will store for up to three years. They also have bulk teas in 1 kilo (2.2 lbs.) glass lined, heat sealed bags. Chun Mee, and Special Gunpowder “Temple of Heaven” green teas are $22 per kilo, plus shipping. Each kilo …

Remember how I predicted that the global credit crisis would spawn a wave of forced buy-outs, mergers, acquisitions, and liquidations? Here is news of another one: Washington Mutual close to $5 billion deal with TPG, others. Be prepared for more mergers, many of which will be cases of “strange bedfellows” involving credit unions, pension funds, and perhaps even cities (municipal bonds). Derivatives contract defaults will indeed force some very odd partnerships and salvage operations. If managers’ only options are bankruptcy or buying out the counterparty to a derivative, then guess which they will choose?    o o o Frequent contributor …

Our friend Michael Bane, a gun writer and video producer (of Down Range TV and “Shooting Gallery” on The Outdoor Channel) now has short review segments on Ruger’s new polymer frame SR9 and LCP .380 pistols. The latter, weighing only 9.4 ounces looks like a cross between a Seecamp and a Kel-Tec. I’m not a fan of the pipsqueak .380 ACP (9mm Kurz) cartridge, but a gun that is close at hand at all times is vastly superior to grasping at air when trouble arrives. Concealed carry is, after all, a compromise. If I was expecting trouble, I’d be carrying …

Mark from Michigan sent us this: Homeland Security Blinks on Real ID Plan. o o o Rice Jumps to Record on Speculation Demand Will Outpace Supply.

RBS recommended this article from Fortune: The great inflation cover-up    o o o SurvivalBlog reader “CC” in Centennial, Colorado, asked for my recommendations for local preparedness gear dealers, since he doesn’t like the “paper trail” created by mail orders. (This, I have noticed, is a common concern among SurvivalBlog readers, and I don’t blame them.) One store that I can recommend for anyone in the greater Denver metropolitan area is The Ready Room, in Littleton, Colorado. Phone: is (303) 298-9911. Another “cash and carry” buying opportunity is the Tanner Gun Show, in Denver.    o o o I’ve been …

Food Stamp Users to Reach All Time High    o o o Some commentary from Peter Schiff posted over at Gold-Eagle: Let the Housing Chips Fall    o o o Given the source, this is not to be taken too seriously: Ted Turner predicts ‘mass cannibalism’ by 2040    o o o Some old news from NASA Possible asteroid impact in 2029? For some background, here is a primer on the Torino Scale.