Via SHTF Daily comes this commentary from Robert P. Murphy: The Worst Recession in 25 years? o o o Typhoon Season: China Evacuates 1 Million As Storm Hits o o o Blair recommended this article by Dr. Gary North (my hero): A 10-Step Personal Self-Defense Strategy Against a Coordinated Bioterrorist Attack o o o RBS flagged this piece from The Age (in Australia): Food shock as ‘agflation’ sees prices rise
Alphie sent us this: “Adding Insult to Injury Department ” news story: Lost your home? You may owe IRS o o o Homebuilders: Lennar’s Loss Deepens the Pain o o o DV sent us this item: Bird flu virus mutating into human-unfriendly form. The article begins: “The H5N1 bird flu virus has mutated to infect people more easily, although it still has not transformed into a pandemic strain, researchers said…” o o o Found at the Drudge Report: Adventurer ends 13-year human-powered world trip
Sam M. sent us this: CIBC Economist: $100 Oil by End of ’08–Expert: Oil Prices Set to Hit $100 by End of ’08, and Will Likely Stay at Triple-Digit Level. Perhaps the “alarmist” Peak Oil crowd was not far from the mark. o o o A hat tip to Ben L. for forwarding us this article link: Tamiflu may create resistant bird flu o o o The folks at SHTF Daily linked to a great primer on sound, specie-backed money being replaced by fiat currency: The Rule of Planned Money o o o Chuck suggested ED-Day–Dead Sydney, …
Pending Home Sales Index Hits Record Low o o o From Newsweek‘s Daniel Gross: There’s No Inflation (If You Ignore Facts) o o o Green Mountain Gear has found a limited supply of some more original German HK91/G3 alloy magazines. This new batch is in new-in-the-wrapper condition. These are in the original factory wrappers, with factory labels and anti-corrosion paper strips on the followers. (Just as they left the factory in the 1960s.) They don’t come any better than this. o o o DV and David L. both suggested this article: Dollar’s double blow from Vietnam and Qatar
The Chartist Gnome chided me in a recent e-mail, after I had mentioned that after having dropped decisively through the 80 level: “Some analysts suggest 75 or perhaps even 72 as the next support level for the US Dollar Index.” He said that I was being overly optimistic. By his calculations, “the next logical support level for the USD Index is 72 and then if that fails to hold, we can expect a step off the cliff with no support until 42.” Lest you think that this is some wild-eyed exaggeration, Jordan Roy-Byrne (editor of The Trendsman) came up with …
Frequent contributor RBS sent this article link: Credit derivative volumes rise 32 percent to $45.5 trillion. I’ve warned SurvivalBlog readers about the threat of a derivatives implosion before, but for the sake of new readers, I’ll mention it again: Derivatives–The Mystery Man Who’ll Break the Global Bank at Monte Carlo o o o The bidding is now at $500 in the SurvivalBlog benefit auction, for a scarce pre-1899 antique Finnish M39 Mosin Nagant rifle from my personal collection. This rifle was rebarreled by Valmet during WWII, and is in excellent condition. It comes with a replica bayonet, original sling, …
Reader Nathaniel noted that Netbank, a major online bank, just went under due to problems with subprime loans and other issues. Not a good sign… o o o “Florida Guy” mentioned a piece posted at This is London: Tom Cruise building ‘£5m bunker to protect against alien attack’ o o o SF in Hawaii mention this product as a valuable aid for teaching centerfire rifle and shotgun shooting for folks not yet accustomed to stout recoil. o o o The ever-vigilant Stephen in Iraq mentioned these two related news articles: Citigroup Sees 3Q Earns Down 60 Percent …
Five different readers sent us this: Alabama City Reopening Fallout Shelters o o o NFA sent us this link: A spike in the germination failure rate for commercially grown seeds? o o o Bill N. came across this web site for women with guns. Has some good information for any woman that may carry a gun. o o o A hat tip to Desert T. for sending this from The Wall Street Journal: Historic Surge In Grain Prices Roils Markets
There is an interesting thread in progress titled: “Popular Mechanics new take on Heinlein’s skill list“, over at The Mental Militia Forums (formerly called the Claire Files Forums.) I agree with the consensus view there. Parenthetically, I’m glad that I’m raising our kids out in the hinterboonies in a largely self-sufficient lifestyle with plenty of “do it yourself”–mostly by economic necessity but partly by choice. A boy should know how to build a field fence just as well as a web page. o o o From Bloomberg: U.S. New-Home Sales Drop, Prices Fall Most Since 1970 o o …
I was doing some web surfing and stumbled across this video clip on American Gun Owners. I haven’t yet seen the book on which it is based, but the video is remarkably unbiased. I think that it would be a good introduction to the American “gun culture” for SurvivalBlog readers that live in countries that restrict firearms ownership. o o o A Financial Sense editorial by Eric Englund: From Prime to Sub-Prime: America’s Mortgage Meltdown Has Just Begun o o o The WRSA has a high power rifle shooting clinic scheduled for October 6-7 in Brookings, Oregon. These …
From The Independent: Only £4.4m left to protect UK’s bank deposits o o o There is an interesting topic posted over at The Mental Militia Forums (formerly called The Claire Files), about the tremendous gains in the price of Rhodium in the past five years. Obviously, somebody made a lot of money. (FYI, it wasn’t me. I was very conservatively invested in silver and gold.) o o o Pets being slaughtered in meat-starved Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe is now truly in crisis. 80% unemployment. An average life expectancy of just 37 years. The inflation rate is continuing to increase–some analysts …
US Dollar Trades Near Record Low Against Euro Before Durable Goods. When I checked last, the US Dollar Index was down to 78.56. Some analysts suggest 75 or perhaps even 72 as the next support level. o o o Dr. Gary North asks: Has the Fed Lost Control Over Money? o o o From The Boston Herald, by way of SHTF Daily: Despite Fed cuts, mortgage rates rise o o o Stephen in Iraq sent us this: Subprime Panic Freezes $40 Billion of Canadian Commercial Paper
Tim P., “C3”, and AAP all mentioned this article about a former Titan missile base for sale, near Moses Lake, Washington. o o o For the “In Case You’ve Been Wondering Department”: The List of Foreign Governments that Hold US Debt. As Senator Everett Dirksen put it so aptly many years ago: “A billion here, and a billion there, and pretty soon you’re talkin’ about real money!” o o o An emerging threat in the long term: China Build’s World’s Largest Navy. OBTW, the current news about the scrap iron and steel shortage–since China is buying everything in …
Hawaiian K. forwarded us this piece from Mineweb: $3,400 Gold – pipe dream or possibility? o o o Treasury Secretary Paulson tells U.S. Congress current debt ceiling will be hit on Oct. 1 o o o From MSN Money: What the big banks aren’t telling you — yet o o o An editorial from The Financial Times: The Bank loses a game of chicken. From the same publication, we also read: Ease of FOREX swaps vanishes in rush for cash
From The International Herald Tribune, via our friends at SHTF Daily: Dollar hits bottom, and then falls again o o o Dave Duffy, the editor of Backwoods Home magazine (one of our favorites) offers some very useful Recommendations for Handling/Storage of Specific Fruits and Vegetables:in his latest e-newsletter. If you don’t already have a subscription to the magazine, then I highly recommend it. o o o “The Fox” sent us a link to a CNN video clip with more about Zimbabwe’s black market and hyperinflation o o o Frequent contributor RBS recommended this eye-opening primer from Financial …