Category: Odds ‘n Sods

Paris suburb riots called ‘a lot worse’ than in 2005    o o o EU President Barroso: Weak dollar a ‘problem’ for world economy    o o o The precious metals market has been volatile, jumping up and down on every bit of international economic and financial news. I currently suggest “at-or-below” buy prices of $818 for gold, and $14.42 for silver. As always, buy on the dips! And, as previously mentioned, be sure to get your beans, bullets, and Band-Aids squared away before investing any excess cash in precious metals. It now appears very likely that the Federal Reserve …

Frequent contributor Eric S. flagged this article: Forecast: U.S. dollar could plunge 90 percent    o o o I dropped by Kit’s blog after a long absence (not Kit’s fault–it was all my fault for being busy with deer and elk season), and saw that she and “Darling John ” (a.k.a. “Commander Zero”) have finally announced that they are going to tie the knot. I predict there will be a lot of heavily-armed guests in attendance.    o o o Northern Tool & Equipment (one of our Affiliate advertisers) is offering sitewide free gift cards with purchases over $100. This …

When banking is in crisis, no one wants to be parted from their cash    o o o RBS sent us this: Banks Gone Wild by Paul Krugman of The New York Times. And for even more financial gloom and doom, see: “A Generalized Meltdown of Financial Institutions” But wait, there’s more, courtesy of reader SJC: Investors fear new turmoil    o o o Both Markus and Carl suggested a link to an article on the 100 things that disappeared in Sarajevo during the war. Carl’s comment: “It is a great list for beginning preps and a gut check for …

From those Enlightened Social Engineers that run San Francisco: Should fireplace fires be banned? Well, there goes your last hope of self-sufficiency. (Not that “Babylon By The Bay” would be very survivable WTSHTF, anyway.)    o o o Trading in derivatives slows to a trickle    o o o RBS spotted this one: Dallas-Fort Worth food pantries facing shortage    o o o A fascinating video clip from a 2002 TED conference: Stephen Petranek: 10 ways the world could end

Courtesy of CS in Wisconsin comes a couple of articles about former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan “Mr. Magoo” Greenspan: from Bloomburg.com: Greenspan Says U.S. House Prices Keep Falling After `Shocker’ and Greenspan Has No `Regrets’ as Housing Slump Deepens. CS’s comment: “If I set up the housing bubble don’t blame me now, I’m writing down my memoirs!”    o o o RBS suggested this article over at 321Gold.com by Bill Bonner: Subprime–The Ultimate Financial Accident    o o o The 33% off sale for the “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course ends in just five days. (November 30th.) Place your …

Florida Guy found us this one: The great depression of 2008 – the mother of all depressions    o o o Frequent contributor RBS flagged this article from Time magazine: After the Oil Crisis, a Food Crisis?    o o o The US Dollar dropped below the crucial 1.10 Swiss Franc level. There is an old saying, “Its a just a stumble and short trip from the limousine to the gutter.”    o o o John the Bowhunter recommended some commentary from Michigan’s Attorney General Mike Cox, writing in The Wall Street Journal: Second-Amendment Showdown

Just a reminder for those of you that assembled the $20 First Aid Kits last year. (See JN-EMT’s prize-winning article.) It is now time to replace your medications and re-stock. Also, consider making up some first aid kits for your friends/family and giving them away as Christmas gifts. You never know when you might get it back when you need help.    o o o It was announced that the US supreme court court will hear an appeal of the Heller case, wherein Washington, D.C. residents sued to overturn DC’s gun ban. God willing, the court’s ruling will expand the …

Reader John M. mentioned: “With Christmas coming up, this is a great time to ask friends and co-workers to save their empty popcorn and cookie tins. Placing small electronic items in the smaller cookie tins and then nesting those tins inside the larger popcorn tins is an inexpensive way to provide a measure of EMP shielding. And the price is right!”    o o o The special 33% off sale for the “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course ends on November 30th. Be sure to place your order soon. The course only rarely goes on sale.    o o o …

Dave M. sent us this: A perfect storm for gold as mines left empty.    o o o Here is some more hot air from the Treasury Department: Paulson Signals He Expects U.S. Dollar to Rebound. “And if you believe that…”    o o o I heard that Ready Made Resources has added very compact Deluxe Outdoor Survival Tool Kit to their product line. It includes a couple or my favorite pieces of field gear: a Blast Match and a SaberCut™ Saw. (The latter is a sort of “hand chain saw”. These cut tree limbs very fast!) OBTW, they also …

A huge list of outdoor survival web site links was recently posted over at the Gulching/Self-Sufficiency forum at The Mental Militia Forums.    o o o I’m now ten chapters in, reading my copy of Michael Z. Williamson’s latest science fiction novel “Better to Beg Forgiveness“. It is set a couple of centuries in the future and follows the adventures of a band of mercenaries sent to guard a national president on a war-torn backwater colony planet. I got a slow start reading the book, given the time constraints of elk and deer hunting season, but now I’m hooked. Thusfar, …

Mike in Seattle sent this piece from WorldNetDaily: In event of emergency … call out the military? Could this mean the end of the generations-old protections provided by the Posse Comitatus statutes?    o o o Anyone looking for like-minded survivalist friends (to join a group or form a new group), or perhaps a potential spouse should be sure to check out the Liberty Mates on-line matchmaking service. Liberty Mates was started as a meeting place for Libertarians, homes schoolers and Constitutionalists, but naturally it has a large crossover survivalist readership. So that you’ll be able to find their site …

Thanks to SJC for sending this: Virulent form of cold virus spreads in U.S.. The general trend is for mutation into less virulent forms, but sometimes a “sport” shows up.    o o o Hawaiian K. sent us this: The Prophet of Climate Change: James Lovelock–One of the most eminent scientists of our time says that global warming is irreversible — and that more than 6 billion people will perish by the end of the century    o o o Michael Panzner, writing in his Financial Armageddon blog, posted an article about how troubled Fannie Mae has changed how it …

Thanks to our friend L.C. who alerted us to this news story: Manteca homes up for auction. Manteca (which fittingly means “lard” in Spanish) is a small town at the far eastern fringe of commuting distance to the San Francisco Bay Area–a full two hour drive from San Francisco when there is no traffic. Similar auctions have taken place recently in Los Banos and Tracy, California. Most of the homeowners in these neighborhoods have eaten their slice of Humble Pie quietly, but others have protested. L.C.’s comment: “One recent auction raised howls of protest from some of the owners that …

Mint Fears Losses From Penny Meltdown: Cindy Skrzycki    o o o Gresham’s Law in action: Proposal to ban U.S. coins in Toronto shot down    o o o Next Monday (November 19th) has been declared National Ammo Buycott Day, 2007.    o o o Speaking of ammo, Todd Savage (who kindly volunteers to be the retreat evaluator for SurvivalRealty.com) notes: “I went by the new Cabela’s store in Post Falls, Idaho today while waiting to meet a SurvivalBlog real estate client for a week of retreat property shopping and I noticed that they were selling 1,000 round cases of …

H5N1 in the British Isles? Yes, it’s official: Outbreak of lethal bird flu confirmed in Britain.    o o o Just in time for holiday travel: Pump price to jump 20 cents in next 2-3 weeks    o o o Thanks to RBS for sending us this article from Forbes: Empty Houses Home to Crime As Loans Fail. Here is a quote: “In the Franklin Reserve neighborhood of Elk Grove, Calif., full of subdivisions with half-million dollar homes, homeowners are fighting inner-city problems like gangs, drugs, theft and graffiti. During the boom, the suburb just south of Sacramento sprouted 10,000 …