Category: Odds ‘n Sods

Ron Holland recently penned some prescient commentary on the fate of the U.S. Dollar, as quoted in the Sovereign Society Offshore A-Letter, under the heading Sacrificing Your Dollars for the Housing Market:.”Most Americans could care less about the value of the dollar. But with the 2008 Presidential Election coming up, the public will be closely following their real estate values, so you can expect the Fed to hold or lower rates. This almost guarantees a far weaker dollar. But when the other central bankers really switch more of their dollar holdings to the other major currencies, expect a major collapse …

The true deficit in the Bush administration’s 2006 federal budget is now thought to be an astounding $3.5 trillion in the red, not $248.2 billion as previously reported. Hmmm. That doesn’t sound very “credit worthy” to me. Nay. In fact, it sounds like Uncle Sam needs some credit counseling.    o o o Mike the Blacksmith pointed us to this interesting article: Scientists from Los Alamos national laboratory are out on the road, giving lectures on H5N1 Asian Avian Influenza    o o o Reader S.H. flagged this one: Recent action by the U.S. Mint to outlaw the melting down …

Reader “MP” mentioned this one: Another water purification solution?    o o o From Reuters: Fake snow in Alps, Moscow blooms: green Christmas?  

I noticed that after a fairly quiet week of trading last week, the US Dollar is back to making some big “mood swings” versus the Euro, with moves of up to 140 points in as little as a few hours. That kind of volatility indicates that the US Dollar market has not found a clear direction. The dollar could still rally, but then again, it could “tank.” The Chartist Gnome tells me that if the Euro holds consistently above $1.332 for four days, then that will signal a renewed wave of bear market dollar dumping–possibly “the big one”: a major …

Odds ‘n Sods: Joe from Tennessee mentioned this scary piece: Imminent US Dollar Collapse? Meanwhile we read, Oil Producers Shun the US Dollar. Gee, this starting to sound a lot like the opening chapter of my novel “Patriots.” If this does occur, the full implications of a dollar collapse will be far-reaching. Be prepared!    o o o Hawaiian K sent this: U.S. Criminal Probe Rattles $2 Trillion Municipal Bond Market. That is all we need–a municipal bond collapse, right at the same time as a dollar collapse. Do foreign investors need any more inducement to get out of the …

SurvivalBlog reader “Rmplstlskn” mentioned a tale of woe, posted over at AR15.com: The “Fongman” (not to be confused with the character in my novel “Patriots” with same moniker) had most of his survival gear stolen from his unoccupied retreat. As I’ve mentioned in SurvivalBlog several times before: The best approach is to live at your intended retreat year-round, or have someone that you really trust live there year-round. If you are forced by circumstances to leave your gear unattended, the two best options are: 1.) Underground caches in well-drained soil, or 2.) Renting a commercial storage space that is within …

Nearly every day after their home schooling, the Rawles kids have asked to go snow sledding. We are fortunate to have a great sledding hill in the national forest land that adjoins the Rawles Ranch. It is just a five minute walk from the house, The kids demonstrated their inventiveness by constructing a packed snow jumping ramp at the base of one of their longer sled runs. Our #3 Son regularly achieves “air”, clearing the surface for about 10 feet before landing in deep powder. Quite exhilarating. Speaking of inventiveness, at the dinner table last night I jokingly suggested the …

 SurvivalBlog reader “Paje” put together a detailed analysis on the relative value of gold, dollars, and ammunition that he posted over at the AR-15.com forums. Nicely done!   o o o Rich at KT Ordnance mentioned this article at News With Views by constitutionalist lawyer Edwin Vieira: Will the North American Union Be American Patriots’ Last Stand?   o o o There is an interesting thread of discussion in progress over at The Claire Files on using water well hand pumps during sub-freezing weather.

Mike the Blacksmith and Ben L. both mentioned this article: Bird flu virus ‘still smoldering,’ U.S. expert says    o o o William S. Lind, writing in Counterpunch, penned this thought-provoking piece: When Will the First IED Strike Cleveland? (A hat tip to Eric S. for recommending this article.) According to IED experts, the terrorist IED threat shows spiral development. My personal prediction is that IEDs in the Middle East will soon display far greater sophistication. It is an inevitability of Fourth Generation Warfare. In perhaps just five years, “mud hut tribesmen” will be employing unmanned aerial vehicle borne IEDs …

Readers David D. and Bret F. both recommended a speech transcript at the Energy Bulletin site: Closing the ‘Collapse Gap’: the USSR was better prepared for peak oil than the US.    o o o Michael Z. Williamson sent this link, with this comment: “Further evidence that the “inevitable” Atlantic [La Palma] megatsunami is merely hype.    o o o Rourke (moderator of the Jericho Discussion Group) noticed that SurvivalBlog was linked in the entry on “Survivalism” at conservative commentator Glenn Beck’s “Glennpedia.”  

Writing in yesterday’s Daily Reckoning, editor Bill Bonner observed: “People who lend in dollars get repaid in dollars. An obvious consequence of a falling dollar is that lenders have to expect to get less back than they originally invested. In the last few weeks, the dollar has lost about 5% against the euro. Yet, the 91-day T-bill lending rate is only about 4.90%. Go figure. Lenders expected only 4.9% on their money – for a full year. And in a few weeks, they’ve lost more than that, in international terms. What’s more, they still have to pay taxes on the …

Reader H.V. suggested this article: Zimbabwe Finance Minister promises to slash inflation by two-thirds. What a vast improvement! If he manages to accomplish this, then the inflation rate would only be around 400%, annually. Please pray that Comrade Mugabe and his henchmen leave Zimbabwe soon and that they are replaced with a legitimate, competent government. o o o Fred The Valmet-meister mentioned that he was experimenting with his Civil Defense surplus Geiger counter and was shocked at the high readings from his lantern mantles. “With Coleman [mantles], I got 800 – 1000 millirad. I also have a set of Primus …

 Reader S.P. mentioned this interesting new photovoltaic power technology. Could a price breakthrough on solar panels be coming soon?   o o o In a recent phone conversation, The Chartist Gnome told me that there are now rumors of a U.S. Dollar collapse circulating on Wall Street. Echoing this sentiment came this article: about the dollar’s slide. The Dollar lost 1.7% against the Euro jut last week. (Thanks to Mike the Blacksmith for that article link.) My advice: Be like the Boy Scout. If you haven’t already, diversify out of dollars and into tangibles.    o o o Ben. L. …

Thad K. suggested this link on how to grow your own luffa sponges. His comment: “What a great survival plant, eat them when young, wash with them when they are mature!”    o o o The previously mentioned special promotion at Northern Tool & Equipment (one of our affiliate advertisers) ends tomorrow. (December 4th) Northern is offering sitewide Free Gift Cards with purchases over $100. You will need to enter keycode 94660 in order to receive their free gift card.    o o o I got a note from Freeze Dry Guy, with good news: They are extending their November …

There is a very lively thread of conversation over at The Claire Files Forums, titled “Preparing for Abrupt Climate Change”    o o o From WorldNetDaily: Debunking the debunkers–Snopes snookered by 10 Commandments hoax.    o o o Don’t miss out on the Free Shipping special, this month only at Ready Made Resources. They are SurvivalBlog’s oldest and most generous sponsor. Please visit their web site and check out their wide range of products and place your order soon to take advantage of the free shipping special. (Shipping charges can otherwise be considerable, especially on storage food!)