Odds ‘n Sods:

Ol’ Remus, of The Woodpile Report, has some reservations about all the Federal Reservations in The Redoubt. – J.M.

JWR’s Comment: Federal control of lands within most of the western States is absurdly high, especially in Alaska, Nevada, Arizona, and California. Fully 93% of Federal lands are in the 13 western states, most of which did not achieve statehood until after 1865. This Federal overreach is in part a by-product of the 1860s War Between the States. (After the war, the Federal government grossly expanded its powers, in violation of Article I, Section 8, Clause 17 of the Constitution.) It is high time that the States fully assert their 10th Amendment Rights and take control of the BLM land and perhaps some of the National Forest lands within their borders.

Further Reading:

http://www.dced.state.ak.us/wstpc/Publications/FedLandWest.htm

http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa-276.html

http://cascadepolicy.org/blog/2011/03/31/federal-lands-should-we-sell-federal-lands-to-pay-off-the-national-debt/

o o o

FBI Plans to Have 52 Million Photos in its NGI Face Recognition Database by Next Year – S.O. Google is forced to remove facial recognition software from its Google-glass project, but the Fed steams full ahead.

o o o

Woman arrested for walking on the wrong side of the street – B.B.

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J.C. wrote in to say: This note is in regards to the excellent article “My 2 cents” by G.H. Genuine brand new metal NATO jerry cans can still be had for a fair price from the following link. Mine were brand new, of excellent quality, and made in Poland. Plus they have free shipping on orders over $100. Mine arrived in about 4 days.

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Railgun tests from ship set for ’16

Notes from HJL:

April 15th is dreaded as Income Tax day in these United States.

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An excellent after-action report on the BLM vs. Bundy Ranch fiasco written by Michele Fiore, Assemblywoman for District 4: The Truth about the Bundy’s vs. BLM. Sent in by B.B.

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There is enough to suggest that the Bundy Ranch fiasco is not over yet. There are still many federal employees on site and Sources Inside The BLM and Las Vegas Metro Say Feds Are Planning A Raid On Bundy Home. – RBS

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Today we present another entry for Round 52 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $11,000+ worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course (a $1,195 value),
  2. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  3. Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  4. A $300 gift certificate from CJL Enterprize, for any of their military surplus gear,
  5. A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $300 value),
  6. A $300 gift certificate from Freeze Dry Guy,
  7. A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo,
  8. A roll of $10 face value in pre-1965 U.S. 90% silver quarters, courtesy of GoldAndSilverOnline.com, (currently valued at around $180 postpaid),
  9. Both VPN tunnel and DigitalSafe annual subscriptions from Privacy Abroad (a combined value of $195),
  10. KellyKettleUSA.com is donating both an AquaBrick water filtration kit and a Stainless Medium Scout Kelly Kettle Complete Kit with a combined retail value of $304,
  11. APEX Gun Parts is donating a $250 purchase credit, and
  12. TexasgiBrass.com is providing a $300 gift certificate.

Second Prize:

  1. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  2. A FloJak EarthStraw “Code Red” 100-foot well pump system (a $500 value), courtesy of FloJak.com,
  3. Acorn Supplies is donating a Deluxe Food Storage Survival Kit with a retail value of $350,
  4. The Ark Instituteis donating a non-GMO, non-hybrid vegetable seed package–enough for two families of four, seed storage materials, a CD-ROM of Geri Guidetti’s book “Build Your Ark! How to Prepare for Self Reliance in Uncertain Times”, and two bottles of Potassium Iodate– a $325 retail value,
  5. $300 worth of ammo from Patriot Firearms and Munitions. (They also offer a 10% discount for all SurvivalBlog readers with coupon code SVB10P),
  6. A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials,
  7. A full set of all 26 books published by PrepperPress.com (a $270 value),
  8. Two cases of meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value),
  9. Autrey’s Armory – specialists in AR-15, M4s, parts, and accessories is donating a $250 gift certificate,
  10. Dri-Harvestfoods.com in Bozeman, Montana is providing a prize bundle with Beans, Buttermilk Powder, Montana Hard Red Wheat, Drink Mixes, and White Rice, valued at $333,
  11. TexasgiBrass.com is providing a $150 gift certificate, and
  12. Organized Prepperis providing a $500 gift certificate.

Third Prize:

  1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
  3. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security,
  5. A MURS Dakota Alert Base Station Kit with a retail value of $240 from JRH Enterprises,
  6. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances, and
  7. Ambra Le Roy Medical Products in North Carolina is donating a bundle of their traditional wound care and first aid supplies, with a value of $208.

Round 52 ends on May 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Hyperinflation is Coming: 10 Basic Steps to Surviving an Impending Currency Collapse, by S.P. – Part 1

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” – George Santayana

Back in late June of 2010, I stumbled upon Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad Blog for the very first time. Well, after browsing the archive section, I found myself reading and subsequently re-reading his May 11th post entitled “Living on Borrowed Time.”

There was just something about this particular blog post that left me eerily intrigued.

In a nutshell, “Living on Borrowed Time” references Kiyosaki’s own book, Rich Dad’s Conspiracy of the Rich: The 8 New Rules of Money, and basically acknowledges that while we’re currently in a “calm before the storm” phase, he believes the U.S. economy is heading for undergoing two different types of economic depressions–both an American and German-style depression.[1]

To make a long story short: I became intrigued with the blog because Kiyosaki dropped the economically calamitous financial term HYPERINFLATION.

You see, back in ’96, at the tender age of twenty, I read renowned financial writer Howard Ruff’s Making Money: Winning the Battle for Middle-Class Financial Success, and in that book he writes very comprehensively about what are dubbed as “the ‘flations”– Inflation, Stagflation, Hyperinflation, and Deflation.

According to Ruff, “Inflation is not rising prices. Rising prices are only the consequence of inflation. Inflation is really badly mislabeled. It should be called ‘monetary depreciation’.”[2]

Well, hyperinflation is monetary depreciation on steroids!

Unlike ordinary inflation, which can actually be healthy for an economy, Hyperinflation is runaway inflation that normally occurs as the by-product of a government’s inability to borrow money.[3] During a Hyperinflationary scenario, there is a complete loss of faith in a country’s currency, and people begin to desperately get rid of their money the very moment they earn it.[4]

It was fifties economist Phillip Cagan who famously defined Hyperinflation as “a non-annualized inflation rate of 50% or more [per] month”;[5] and once this sky-high level is attained nobody in their right mind will desire to keep their money because of the fact that out-of-control inflation is rapidly eroding its attractiveness as a “store of value.”[6]

The entire course of economic history is littered with nations who’ve witnessed the debasement and collapse in the value of their currencies. Notable and well-documented examples of countries that faced this dire, financially apocalyptic fate include Germany’s Weimar Republic (1921 – 1924), Argentina (1975 – 1991), and probably most spectacular of all is the rampant 231 million percent inflation Zimbabwe experienced where a single loaf of bread ended up costing over $10 million![7]

Are you prepared for a German-style Depression in the U.S.A.?

Unfortunately, the controversial news I have for you is that several prominent financial minds believe hyperinflation is coming to America. The reason you’re reading this article is because, after conducting extensive due diligence, I’ve concluded that the U.S. dollar is extremely vulnerable to devaluation and the probability is very high that hyperinflation could be triggered.

So what are the compelling facts that could possibly support such a dire conclusion?

Well, here is the short and unsweetened bottom line: The Federal Reserve’s disastrous monetary policies and colossal U.S. government spending is a veritable formula for inflation.[8]

Over the course of six years, the Federal Reserve has pumped over $3 trillion into the economy via Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s “quantitative easing” (QE1, QE2 and QE3/”QE-Infinity”, essentially printing money to fund Treasury bond and mortgage-backed securities purchases) program.[9]

Supply and demand says the more scarce something is the more it’s worth. Conversely, the more there is of something the less it’s worth.

So, when the Fed prints up paper dollars (known as fiat currency) out of thin air and uses this David Blaine-type financial maneuver to buy 70% of U.S. Treasury bonds, not only is it setting the stage for extreme inflation by diminishing the value of existing dollars, it is also embarking on a spending, debt, and dollar-creation binge of historic proportions.[10]

Regardless of what it’s called, expanding the money supply to buy Treasury bonds is nothing but old-fashioned “debt monetization”, and this shenanigan has universally led to a currency crisis.[11]

By resorting to such a financial tactic, the Fed has shown us how fiscally deplorable the situation really is, while basically acknowledging that there’s scarcity amongst foreign lenders, effectively making the Fed the purchaser of last resort.[12] (Both China and Japan have been surpassed by the Fed as the largest owner of U.S. government debt.)

The United States Federal government is currently more indebted than any other country on the planet, with nearly $100 trillion in real total debt, according to a study by California economist James Hamilton.[13, 14] (Boston economist Laurence Kotlikoff and former U.S. Comptroller General in the Government Accountability Office, David Walker, have also challenged official U.S. debt, which excludes unfunded liabilities for Social Security and Medicare.)[15] See U.S. Debt Clock Running at High Speed.

When one contemplates the astronomical scale of this debt load along with the fact that the U.S. controls the world’s reserve currency, it must be acknowledged that our country is facing a very serious debt dilemma.

Using the Past as Prologue

In an editorial commentary entitled “The Lessons of History” that appeared in the December 18, 2010 issue of Barron’s investment newspaper, author and legendary Hall of Fame commodity trader and index developer Victor Sperandeo, known on Wall Street as ‘Trader Vic’, made an incisive case for the statistical certainty of U.S. hyperinflation:

In our system, the Federal Reserve can buy all the paper the Treasury can issue, and the Treasury can pay the government’s bills with the Fed’s newly printed Federal Reserve notes. But at some point, the scales will tip, and debt investors will decide they won’t be repaid with the same buying power. Historically, that break point occurs when a government borrows an amount equal to 40% of its expenditures over an extended period of years.

From a historical perspective, Sperandeo acutely pointed out that there have only been a total of 30 countries that have experienced a hyperinflation, and in every single instance, government exorbitance and “money printing” have been critical precursors.[16]

Trader Vic spoke at The Atlas Summit 2013 June 27-30th. His topic was “The Coming Hyperinflation,” in which the following three key statistics are duly noted:

“All cases of hyperinflations have been connected with huge budget deficits.”[17]

  1. “The figures demonstrate clearly that deficits amounting to 40% or more of yearly expenditures cannot be maintained.”
  2. Budget deficits as a percentage of GDP: “our hypothesis that in all cases of hyperinflation annual deficits amounting to more than 20 percent of GDP are present and for all cases except for Belarus, Turkmenistan, Poland, and Yugoslavia.”
  3. Total Debt To GDP

    2011 Eurostat/IMF/OECD (estimates)

    1

    Zimbabwe

    304%

    2

    Japan

    226%

    7

    Italy

    123%

    8

    Greece

    165%

    15

    France

    86%

    18

    Germany

    81%

    19

    Portugal

    103%

    22

    United Kingdom

    86%

    42

    United States

    70%/104%

    45

    Spain

    85%/146%

    Source: Hyperinflation: A Statistical Inevitability by Victor Sperandeo

It’s critical to note that for three consecutive years the U.S. government has borrowed forty-plus percent of what it spends, and Debt to GDP now officially exceeds 100%.

INSIGHTFUL VIDEO: Wall Street Trader Victor Sperandeo Presents “The Coming Hyperinflation” – Learn More.

Positioning Yourself for a Once-In-A-Lifetime Market Occurrence

While most will blatantly reject that this economic scenario could ever play out at home, in America, sadly, I’m here to ring the alarm and let it be known that all of the numbers that took place one-hundred percent of the time in the previous 30 instances are present.

In closing, I want you to know that the eternal optimist inside me is yearning to hit you with a Joel Osteen-style summary. I mean, I wish that I could tell you that this “Trader Vic” dude is really nothing but a charlatan who masquerades as the Harold Camping of the financial world and that pondering his ideas is more akin to reading the tale of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, but this article isn’t meant for those with “itching ears” (2 Timothy 4:3). So, I’m not going to sugarcoat the truth.

Victor Sperandeo isn’t some run-of-the-mill doomsayer who’s out fear-mongering for the sake of publicity. He’s reputed to be a master global-macro trader of incredible financial acumen, and it is my conviction that his insights and analysis should be taken seriously.

“Can a nation financing 50% of its budget expenditures in the debt market grow itself out of a collapse? Is the reward likely to match the risk of owning government debt?” he asks.[18]

History is telling us that the current trend of debt excess and massive deficit-spending is highly unsustainable, and unless there’s a sharp trend reversal the American economy is marching towards Armageddon.[19]

The backbone of Sperandeo’s argument lays in both his unshakable belief that a growth-led economic recovery isn’t in the cards and a strong assumption that in order to avert a deflationary spiral, the Federal Reserve will continue to devalue the dollar by flooding the financial system with newly printed currency until inevitably a tipping point is triggered that spooks inflation-wary bond buyers and causes unabated selling of U.S. Treasuries.[20]

As frightening and unpopular as his position is, Trader Vic isn’t alone in making this extreme prognostication. (See list of References.) If those in the Hyperinflation camp are right, we can expect a precipitous rise in interest rates, as bonds sell off, and a ferocious exodus from the U.S. dollar that will leave millions of unsuspecting Americans holding practically worthless paper currency with little to zero purchasing power.

In essence, our lingering Great Recession will become a German-style depression.

After viewing Sperandeo’s data-driven presentation, I concluded the risk was bona fide, and I began positioning myself to not only survive an abrupt hyperinflationary outbreak, but also to potentially thrive in that worst-case environment.

Contrary to all the gloom and doom rhetoric, it is still my belief that within every dark cloud can be found a silver lining, and for every economic crisis there will be both victims and victors. For the unprepared masses, the unexpected arrival of U.S. hyperinflation would be tantamount to a “financial Holocaust.”[21] But for the small minority who had the foresight to plan and position themselves and their assets ahead of the collapse, this may prove to be one of the most historic opportunities of a lifetime.

The unimaginable demise of the U.S. dollar would be the most significant financial event of the past 50 years and would undoubtedly lead to the single largest transfer of wealth in recent history, as there would be a swift flight away from all U.S. dollar-denominated assets and a global run into tangible assets, like precious metals commodities (with gold and silver the most likely safe-haven candidates to lead the charge).

As the National Debt Clock continues to tick at full-speed, the time we have before the market forces render a final verdict is indeed borrowed. The all-too-important question you have to ask yourself is the following: If Trader Vic and others are correct, would my family and I be prepared for the economic and societal ramifications?

“The time to plan for any crisis is before it happens.“

The Conclusion: America is an empire in decline, and the odds are high that within this decade massive changes will be coming to our monetary system. Every American family needs to prepare for tougher times by putting in place an iron-clad contingency plan that would hedge against the disastrous consequences of runaway inflation.

If you’re interested in seeing my personal survival plan, check out the basic list of steps I have been taking within my own life in the next part of this article Where I will outline 10 steps you can take to survive an impending currency collapse.

References

[1] Kiyosaki, Robert. “Living on Borrowed Time.” Rich Dad Financial Education (blog). May 11, 2010. http://www.richdad.com/Resources/Rich-Dad-Financial-Education-Blog/May-2010/Living-on-Borrowed-Time.aspx

[2] Ruff, Howard J. “The Malarial Economy.” In Making Money: Winning the Battle for Middle-Class Financial Success, 31-32. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1984.

[3] Sperandeo, Victor. “The Lessons of History.” Barron’s, December 18, 2010. http://online.barrons.com/article/SB50001424052970203676504575618532254502558.html

[4] Ruff, Howard J. “FORECASTING THE FUTURE.” In Making Money: Winning the Battle for Middle-Class Financial Success, 45. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1984.

[5] Sperandeo, Victor. “The Lessons of History.” Barron’s, December 18, 2010. http://online.barrons.com/article/SB50001424052970203676504575618532254502558.html

[6] Ruff, Howard J. “FORECASTING THE FUTURE.” In Making Money: Winning the Battle for Middle-Class Financial Success, 45. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1984.

[7] Wikipedia contributors. “Hyperinflation.” In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 2014. Accessed March 23, 2014. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperinflation

[8] Aden, Pamela, and Aden, Mary Ann. “The Fed Is Conjuring Inflation.” MoneyShow.com. Last modified January 2, 2011. http://www.moneyshow.com/investing/article/1/GURU-22100/The-Fed-Is-Conjuring-Inflation

[9] Wikipedia contributors. “Quantitative easing.” In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 2014. Accessed April 11, 2014. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantitative_easing.

[10] Aden, Pamela, and Aden, Mary Ann. “The Fed Is Conjuring Inflation.”

[11] Stuppler, Barry. “Is Hyperinflation the US Government’s Only Way Out?” Stuppler & Company. Accessed March 22, 2014. http://www.coinmag.com/article.pdf

[12] Aden, Pamela, and Aden, Mary Ann. “The Fed Is Conjuring Inflation.”

[13] Hamilton, James D. “Off-Balance-Sheet Federal Liabilities.” University of California, San Diego. Last modified July 17, 2013. http://econweb.ucsd.edu/~jhamilton/Cato_paper.pdf.

[14] Education News Staff. “UC Professor Pegs National Debt At Nearly Trillion Dollars.” Education News. Last modified July 30, 2013. http://www.educationviews.org/uc-professor-pegs-national-debt-at-nearly-90-trillion-dollars/.

[15] Miles, Carla. “Seeing unofficial red: U.S. debt almost $87 trillion says San Diego professor – San Diego Personal Finance.” Examiner.com. Last modified October 15, 2013. http://www.examiner.com/article/seeing-unofficial-red-u-s-debt-almost-87-trillion-says-san-diego-professor.

[16] Sperandeo, Victor. “The Lessons of History.”

[17] Atlas Society. “Victor Sperandeo: The Coming Hyperinflation.” YouTube. August 24, 2013. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZO5kcQVK68.

[18] Sperandeo, Victor. “The Lessons of History.”

[19] King World News. “John Williams – Accelerating Great Collapse & Hyperinflation.” King World News (blog). January 26, 2012. http://kingworldnews.com/kingworldnews/KWN_DailyWeb/Entries/2012/1/26_John_Williams_-_Accelerating_Great_Collapse_%26_Hyperinflation.html.

[20] Brown, Greg, and Kathleen Walter. “Sperandeo: Hyperinflation Risk Is Real.” Moneynews. Last modified February 4, 2011. http://www.moneynews.com/Headline/Sperandeo-Hyperinflation-Risk-Real/2011/02/04/id/385039/.

[21] King World News. “World To Witness A Frightening & Historic Financial Holocaust.” King World News (blog). August 12, 2013. http://kingworldnews.com/kingworldnews/KWN_DailyWeb/Entries/2013/8/12_World_To_Witness_A_Frightening_&_Historic_Financial_Holocaust.html.

Two Letters Re: Waterproofing Matches

Hugh,

I’ve been doing this for years but not all nail polish works, it all keeps the matches waterproof but some polish puts the flame out. If you can try to get the polish that says HIGHLY FLAMMABLE on the back – this is getting a lot harder to find. Cover half way down 3 matches and when dry test them (away from the polish and the matches) you soon know if your OK. If you are do the rest top half and then the base up. I did not find this out the hard way and you don’t want to. – B.G.

o o o

JWR,

With regard to coating Strike Anywhere matches with fingernail polish to prevent moisture, an excellent way to handle them is to do the following; take a piece of corrugated fiberboard (that is correct name for what we all commonly call cardboard from a box. Cut the material into strips about 2 inches wide. Insert the base of the matches into the holes or corrugations. This will hold the matches neatly and evenly allowing you to dip or treat the matches and it will provide a great way to dry them or dip them over and over. It will make the process faster and much neater. – RBS

News From The American Redoubt:

Montana school considers arming teachers

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Sheriff expands ‘Man Up Crusade’ to rodeos throughout the West

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Girl’s bad dreams help save family from carbon monoxide

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Dashcam from traffic stop of driver from legalized marijuana state. – RBS

Note: This video is over 1.5 hours long. The driver is claiming he was profiled based upon his licence plate.

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4.9-magnitude earthquake rattles central Idaho – H.L.

HJL Notes: See also today’s Odds ‘n Sods column for an interesting video from the NY Times on earthquake readiness.

Odds ‘n Sods:

An informative assessment that looks like it is spot-on. Bundy Boots the BLM – Is This a Significant Moment?

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A short article on what if a suitcase nuke went off in DC, but it has a link to the Government report that is a good source of information about planning. 120 pages! – B.L.

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Turning off AC to modern high rise building that houses major financial organizations could really disrupt things.

Hackers Are Sneaking Via Unlikeliest of Places, Try Vending Machines And Air Conditioning Units. – H.L.

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The last section of this video details a woefully under-reported threat facing many residents of the the Pacific Northwest. – E.G.

Notes from HJL:

Today we present another entry for Round 52 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $11,000+ worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course (a $1,195 value),
  2. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  3. Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  4. A $300 gift certificate from CJL Enterprize, for any of their military surplus gear,
  5. A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $300 value),
  6. A $300 Gift Certificate from Freeze Dry Guy,
  7. A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo,
  8. A roll of $10 face value in pre-1965 U.S. 90% silver quarters, courtesy of GoldAndSilverOnline.com, (currently valued at around $180 postpaid),
  9. Both VPN tunnel and DigitalSafe annual subscriptions from Privacy Abroad (a combined value of $195),
  10. KellyKettleUSA.com is donating both an AquaBrick water filtration kit and a Stainless Medium Scout Kelly Kettle Complete Kit with a combined retail value of $304,
  11. APEX Gun Parts is donating a $250 purchase credit, and
  12. TexasgiBrass.com is providing a $300 gift certificate.

Second Prize:

  1. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  2. A FloJak EarthStraw “Code Red” 100 foot well pump system (a $500 value), courtesy of FloJak.com,
  3. Acorn Supplies is donating a Deluxe Food Storage Survival Kit with a retail value of $350,
  4. The Ark Instituteis donating a non-GMO, non-hybrid vegetable seed package–enough for two families of four, seed storage materials, a CD-ROM of Geri Guidetti’s book “Build Your Ark! How to Prepare for Self Reliance in Uncertain Times”, and two bottles of Potassium Iodate– a $325 retail value,
  5. $300 worth of ammo from Patriot Firearms and Munitions. (They also offer a 10% discount for all SurvivalBlog readers with coupon code SVB10P .),
  6. A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials,
  7. A full set of all 26 books published by PrepperPress.com (a $270 value),
  8. Two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value),
  9. Autrey’s Armory – specialists in AR-15, M4s, parts, and accessories is donating a $250 gift certificate,
  10. Dri-Harvestfoods.com in Bozeman, Montana is providing a prize bundle with Beans, Buttermilk Powder, Montana Hard Red Wheat, Drink Mixes, and White Rice, valued at $333,
  11. TexasgiBrass.com is providing a $150 gift certificate, and
  12. Organized Prepperis providing a $500 gift certificate.

Third Prize:

  1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
  3. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security,
  5. A MURS Dakota Alert Base Station Kit with a retail value of $240 from JRH Enterprises,
  6. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances, and
  7. Ambra Le Roy Medical Products in North Carolina is donating a bundle of their traditional wound care and first aid supplies, with a value of $208.

Round 52 ends on May 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

How To Be Fully Prepared By Taking Charge of Your Health, Our Story, by J.D.

We began our quest to take charge of our health just prior to the end of 2011. Here is our story!

This article is for the purpose of sharing how two individuals (referred to as Person #1 and Person #2) with differing health issues took it upon themselves to learn about their health, deal with their issues, and get off many prescribed drugs. “One size does not fit all.” Eighty-seven percent of those who write the Clinical Guidelines that doctors follow have ties to the pharmaceutical industry! (UPDATE: 2014 an article just came out that states now that number is 53%, but it’s still too high! See “How to Cure Diabetes” page iii & JAMA article Jan 2014 “More than a Billion People Taking Statins”)

http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1787389
http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=194615

When doctors use the same protocols to prescribe the same drugs for every person, never looking for the root of the problem much less at what nutrient deficiencies exist that could be causing the problems, something is wrong!

We have achieved a number of successes, which hopefully will encourage you and demonstrate that some of you can do the same. We learned that we needed to find out what our body was missing and attempt to replenish those nutrients, as well as stop putting things into our body that have no nutritional value or, worse, harms the body chemistry! The body can heal itself, if you treat it with care rather than taking the easy route and merely masking symptoms with another drug.

Where did we start to learn about our health and how to correct problems? (For the serious student only. It requires a lot of reading and time to change your health, but the results are well worth it.)

  1. Books and TW Newsletter of Dr. Sherry Rogers, a physician of 40+ years who finally realized there were some important things missing in her medical training– Molecular Biochemistry and a recognition that the body can heal itself (See “The High Blood Pressure Hoax” pages 39, 202, 222)! She has spent her retirement empowering others on how to take control of their health and find their own cures, using natural means, since the hierarchy in medicine is more concerned about keeping people sick, so their profits increase. http://www.prestigepublishing.com
  2. We started with the following four books by Dr. Sherry Rogers, which are very inexpensive for what you get: “The Cholesterol Hoax“, “The High Blood Pressure Hoax“, “Is Your Cardiologist Killing You“, and her latest book “How to Cure Diabetes“, which lists the nutrients in one section that most people lack, and how to correct them . Later we subscribed to her TW Newsletter to keep learning and keep abreast of new information. (NOTE: Dr. Rogers’ books have something in them for every problem, regardless of the title because most health problems are interrelated.)

Person #1: Changes and Results (over a two-year period, starting the end of 2011):

Description: This person was relatively healthy, took no drugs, but had some lipid levels that could be reduced (cholesterol, triglycerides, and LDL), was a little overweight and not very active (trying to work on that), as well as a had some TSH level (thyroid) that was creeping up. She has no gallbladder, which caused some bowel problems after eating! She was a sweet and soda pop junkie! Eating habits needed to improve.

  1. Soda pop. She stopped it cold turkey because it has zero nutritional value and is full of refined sugars and high fructose corn syrup, which is bad for you. (Did you know it is also in ice cream, candy, salad dressings, and many grocery products?) She has no heart problems but noticed she would have what felt like angina and arrhythmia periodically. Now she knows what was causing this problem because it stopped after she stopped drinking soda pop. Listen to your body!
  2. Sweets. She was a sweet addict. She now tries to eat 70% dark chocolate occasionally, when she wants a sweet, but she tries to limit her overall intake. She has substituted a coconut smoothie, watermelon, and nuts. Her cravings have reduced significantly since changing her eating habits and supplementing with nutrients. Cravings are a sign your body doesn’t have something it needs. Feed it the right things, and those cravings go away. (Did you know sugar fuels cancers?)
  3. Trans fatty acids. Try to avoid foods with TFAs in them. “TFAs and plastics damage lipid metabolism, constrict blood vessels, and raise cholesterol and triglycerides” (“How to Cure Diabetes” page 163). (Did you know that the FDA allows manufacturers to add trans fatty acids and not label it, as long as it is under 500 mg per 1/2 cup? – “The High Blood Pressure Hoax” page 63)
  4. Salad Dressing. She started making her own with Extra Virgin Olive Oil (1 cup) and Balsamic vinegar (1/4 cup). Then she adds spices, like thyme and oregano with some salt and pepper to taste. The store dressings are full of high fructose corn syrup and other junk.
  5. Water. She started drinking filtered water (Berkey Light), after noticing that by drinking water in plastic bottles over a few months that her TSH level increased. Plastic water bottles leach phthalates (plasticizers) as do all plastic products, including food wrappings. Products in plastics should be avoided as much as possible, even though it’s everywhere. Her main beverage now is filtered water. (The body needs a lot of water to function properly– eight glasses per day. However, it should be good water without fluoride and other chemicals that are toxic.)
  6. Cod Liver oil. Carlson Lemon liquid is the purest on the market, and doesn’t promote the fish burp, like the fakes out there do. It tastes refreshing. She uses one teaspoon daily after supper, and takes it with her Vitamin D3, which helps metabolize the D3 more effectively. RESULT: It reduced her triglycerides 23% in 6 months, among other benefits. (“The Cholesterol Hoax” pages 141 and 161.) You can find it here: http://www.needs.com Her lipids– Cholesterol/HDL Ratio– is the most important concern for her to watch. It continues to decrease, as well as the triglycerides. She contributes a lot of this to the quality cod liver oil.
  7. Vitamin D3. She now takes 2,000iu daily. (Many need 4,000iu, to start, if blood levels are under 60 ng/ml.) It takes two to six months to correct a D3 deficiency. (Carlson D3 is one of the best.) She had her Vitamin D3 levels tested for the first time. (The blood test to ask for is the Vitamin D3 25-Hydroxy, which revealed she was a little low.) Most people are extremely low. She now gets this tested annually and suggests others do the same! Vitamin D receptors are in nearly every tissue of the body, and it causes cancer cells to go back to becoming normal cells (called Apoptosis). Therefore, this nutrient (Dr. Rogers says it’s really a hormone) is extremely important to your health!
  8. Clay. This works through the digestive system. It does not enter the blood, and it’s a great detox. Due to having no gallbladder, she would previously have diarrhea shortly after eating. She started drinking 2 oz of clay a day (one in the AM and one in the PM), and it solved that problem and also made her more regular. It made her teeth whiter, and she received rave reviews from her dentist. She also got immediate relief from a stove burn on a finger by applying the clay mask to the finger very soon after the burn. Where a blister was starting to form, it never fully developed because the clay stopped it as well as the pain from the burn. The next day, it was like it never happened. Those are only a few benefits of a good clay that she has experienced, but there are many more. Remember, all clays are not equal in purity, so be selective. (She heard about this on a radio show.)
    http://www.livingclayco.com
    http://www.aboutclay.com
  9. Sugar. She switched to coconut sugar for her coffee in the morning. Refined sugar is not good for you. Other good sugars include Just Like Sugar http://www.justlikesugar.com and Stevia (as long as it’s pure. Don’t fall for Truvia, it’s the corrupted version of Stevia). Bad fake sugars: Aspartame, Nutrasweet, Splenda, et cetera). (Did you know that these fake sugars elevate cholesterol and make you hungrier than natural sugars? “The Cholesterol Hoax” page 186.)
  10. Meat. Some don’t eat meat, but there are some of us who can’t do without it. Therefore, they found a local grass-fed meat producer who uses no vaccines or hormones and bought meat from them. She rarely buys it in the stores anymore and has stopped eating anything with nitrites in it– hot dogs and cold cuts. Buy local when you can!
  11. Real Salt (Redmond) Natural Sea Salt. This is better than refined salt.
  12. Coconut Milk & Coconut Oil. She cooks with coconut oil and no longer buys other unhealthy and refined cooking oils, some of which are GMO (Ex: canola oil) (See “How to Cure Diabetes” page 159). She also drinks a coconut milk smoothie (1 cup orange juiceJ, 1 Tbsp. Honey, 1/2 can coconut milk, and 1 banana) daily. Coconut has gotten a bad rap. It is a medium chain triglyceride that assimilates well in the body, and it has many benefits. (See book by Dr. Bruce Fife “The Coconut Oil Miracle“.)
  13. Kale. She started eating kale a few times a week. This is highly nutritious! (Tear it off the stalk and bring to boil in water, then cook for less than 10 minutes.)
  14. Carlson Aces with Zinc and Iodoral. She lowered her thyroid (TSH level) by a whole point by taking one Carlson Aces with Zinc & 1/2 Iodoral daily for three months. She also thinks using real salt, instead of refined salt helped, as well as no longer drinking from plastic bottles and drinking filtered water.

TIP: Ask your doctor for a copy of your blood test results, and then make a chart which will show your progress over time, or what you need to do more work on.

Person #2 Changes and Results (over a two-year period, starting the end of 2011):

Description: She had high blood pressure, GERD, a hiatal hernia, one knee replacement (the other knee was weak), struggles with her weight, from time to time had herpes lip blisters (only one in two years, after making changes), and was diagnosed with diabetes 2, with diagnosis since reversed.

She was taking five drugs (some for over 10 years), and on various ones from time to time for high blood pressure. These included: Losarten, Tiazac (Calcium Channel Blocker that shrinks the brain and more), Metoprolol (diuretic that depletes potassium and more), one for cholesterol (Crestor, the cash cow statin, which now everyone is being told they need to be on), one for GERD (Pantoloc, which also depletes many nutrients), and soon would have been on a new diabetes drug. She thought that labels in the store that read “Diet” were the more healthy choices for her struggle with weight, but she later discovered that diet pop has aspartame, as do many products, and is even worse for you than regular pop and makes you gain weight. (See “How to Cure Diabetes” page 163.)

So, what did she do?

  1. Regarding her diabetes diagnosis, she immediately bought a treadmill and set out to lose weight. Over many months she slowly lost 100 pounds. She reversed this diagnosis, and her blood sugar is now normal. She has not had a bad reading since the initial diagnosis.
  2. After learning from Dr. Rogers books, she asked her doctor to order the Cardio Ion Test from Metametrix Lab, located in Georgia– a test highly recommended by Dr. Rogers. This is a 13-page assay of your total body molecular biochemistry. It is a little high priced, so if you can’t afford this test, purchase a copy of “How to Cure Diabetes“, and you will find a list of the nutrients most people are low in (page 181), and what to do to remedy the problem. Then read, read!
  3. She consulted over the phone with Dr. Rogers on the results of the Cardio Ion Test (a 1-hour appointment) and received a regime of nutrients to take over time to fix the body chemistry that was ailing, as shown on the biochemical assay. She then began using the nutrients suggested to replenish depleted nutrients, partly caused by prescription drugs.
  4. She began the process to fix problems with a change in lifestyle, eating habits and by using the appropriate nutrients, NOT DRUGS, to replenish and correct the body chemistry! She also started cooking at home more, and stopped eating out as much.

Results: (over a period of two years)

  1. She is off four of the five drugs that she had been put on for life. (Once on drugs, you rarely get taken off unless you say something and take action), She also lowered the dose of her blood pressure drug to the lower available dosage, 25 mg (Losarten).
  2. Her blood pressure is now normal and continues to be so. She used: Natural Calm (magnesium), Carlson L-Arginine powder, Carlson Acetyl-L Carnitine powder and other nutrients to correct this problem. She still uses these and keeps tabs on her blood pressure periodically! She had to slowly wean off of the three blood pressure medications, while taking these corrective nutrients. Slow changes are important with these medications!
  3. For her GERD, she stopped taking the pill immediately, as it is an acid-blocking drug, and acid is quite necessary for proper digestion. It also depletes nutrients. There are other ways to deal with GERD naturally. (NOTE: Some may need to be tapered off these drugs to avoid a rebound effect. She was able to get off of it quickly, without this effect, and has had no problems since. (If you have this problem, check out Zinlori by Metagenics.)
  4. Regarding cholesterol, her statin– Crestor– was stopped immediately! After reading much on this subject, we think the statin was lowering her cholesterol way too much, as well as lowering vital nutrients, which we think brought on her diabetes diagnosis. She also exhibited the symptoms of mania and being zoned out. Since she has been off this drug, she no longer exhibits these symptoms and her cholesterol is normal. (Cholesterol that is too low is dangerous.) She used: Carlson Cod Liver Oil, which is much better than a statin, and magnesium, which acts like a statin. These nutrients don’t deplete CoQ10, Zinc, Selenium, Vitamin E, folate, et cetera the way statins do. (Did you know that Lipitor sales exceeded $120 billion between 1996 & 2011, and now they have changed guidelines to where they predict more will go on statins, even if healthy?) What do you think that will do for their profits? Also, do a search on Dr. Duane Graveline, and read about his TIA experience while on a statin. He states they damage the mitochondria. (See “New Study Fine Tunes Diabetes Statin Link” (WSJ, 8-10-12, Wang)(“How to Cure Diabetes” page 290.)
  5. She reversed Diabetes 2! This diagnosis woke her up and made her start taking her health into her own hands. She only had one bad blood glucose reading, and that was the one when she was diagnosed. Taking immediate action after that diagnosis is why she successfully reversed her diabetes.
  6. 6) Her first D3 test was 45 ng/ml. It should be over 60 ng/ml. Her levels are now normal. This was very important!

Drugs deplete nutrients that the body needs to stay well. If you can get off drugs by finding a natural substitute, we advise you to do so. After consulting with your doctor, find your deficiencies and correct them, and then slowly weaning off the drugs.

If we can do this, anyone can. It just takes a lot of reading and a commitment to want to be healthier WITHOUT DRUGS!

You will never be truly prepared until you act on behalf of your own health and stop believing the lies that drugs are an answer for every ailment. Big medicine needs to learn to share with natural products, because we know they work. We are proof that you can CURE yourself of some ailments, if you get educated, change your lifestyle, and correct your deficiencies.

GOOD LUCK ON YOUR QUEST FOR HEALTH! WE FOUND IT, AND YOU CAN ALSO. THE TIME YOU SPEND LEARNING WILL BE WELL WORTH THE RESULTS! GIVE IT A TRY!

STOP BEING A CASH COW FOR MONOPOLY MEDICINE AND BIG PHARMA!

START LEARNING HOW TO BE HEALTHY!

YOU WILL ONLY BE TRULY PREPARED, WHEN YOU ARE IN CONTROL OF YOUR HEALTH AND NO LONGER NEED TO RELY ON DRUGS!

WARNINGS:

  1. “Don’t stop what your doctor has ordered until you have cured yourself” (Dr. Rogers “How to Cure Diabetes” page 46.)
  2. “Some drugs cannot be abruptly stopped but have to be systematically weaned off over months.” (Dr. Rogers “How to Cure Diabetes” page 46)
  3. “There is a powerful force with obscene financial incentives that has worked hard to keep this information secret.” (Dr. Rogers “How to Cure Diabetes” page viii.)

Pat’s Product Review – Cold Steel Recon Scout

Over the years, I’ve tested quite a few knives from Cold Steel, and I’ve yet to be disappointed in any of them. We’re going to take a closer look at the Cold Steel Recon Scout. This is one brute of a fixed blade knife, which is made In Taiwan, for those who ask. I’ve known Lynn Thompson, who owns Cold Steel, for at least 20 years or more, and he is one of these people who is dead serious about his knife designs and the final product. Lynn has, on more than one occasion, sent back an entire run of knives after he received them and inspected them. He won’t settle for shoddy workmanship with the Cold Steel name stamped on his products. To be sure, once in a while a “second” will slip through or a customer returns a knife for “whatever” reason. He won’t sell those knives as new; he sells them as “seconds” so you don’t ever have to worry about buying someone else’s used knife when you buy a new knife from Cold Steel. Once a year, Cold Steel holds a yard sale at their offices, where you can buy discontinued, “seconds”, or returned knives at a huge discount.

The name of this website is SurvivalBlog, so many of the knives (and other products) we test and report on are designed for survival, not just wilderness survival but survival on the mean streets. We also cover products suitable for camping and hunting needs and products that you can use around your home all the time. However, the Cold Steel Recon Scout is without a doubt one of the absolute best all-around survival knives you will ever find. It is designed to take whatever you can throw at it and come back for more, again and again!

Just a quick run down on the specs from the Cold Steel website on the Recon Scout is in order. We are looking at a fixed blade knife with a blade that is 7 1/2 inches long and made out of SK-5 High Carbon, NOT stainless steel. However, there is a black powder coating on the blade to help ward-off rust. One of the things I like best about carbon steel blades is that they hold an edge for the longest time, and when they do dull they are easy to bring back to scary sharp in a couple of minutes. The overall length of the Recon Scout is 12 1/2 inches, and it weighs a hefty 15 ounces. The blade thickness is 5/16-inches. Read that again; it is more than a quarter of an inch thick. The handle material is Long Kray-Ex, and I’m not sure what it is exactly, other than it feels like rubber, hard rubber. It has cross checkers for a good hold, and there is a lanyard hold in the butt of the handle. The sheath is made out of Secure-Ex, and it is a polymer material.

I’ve tested a lot of Cold Steel fixed blade knives, as well as folding knives over the years, and I believe that the Recon Scout is my favorite of the lot for camping, hunting, military use, and survival use. If you can break this knife, you should join the U.S. Marine Corps. They can break just about anything. I’ve tried to do some serious damage to the Recon Scout, all to no avail.

First off, the Recon Scout came as sharp as sharp can be. I would have been disappointed if it wasn’t up to my expectations. Then again, I’ve said it many times, I honestly believe that Cold Steel set the gold standard when it comes to sharp factory knives. I could take a piece of copy paper and slice off a piece from the top of the paper that was ever so thin. Try that with another knife that is 5/16th of an inch thick. It can’t be done.

This knife was made for chopping, too. It has just the right blade length and amount of heft to it to enable you to really chop. I have a lot of timber on my small homestead, so I never lack for a tree or branch to chop on. The Recon Scout is like a hatchet, when it comes to chopping. I also took some free-hanging poly rope, which is tough to cut because it is so slick. I could easily cut right through it, with one swing of the blade. Try that with many other fixed blades knives.

One test I don’t normally do with many knives is trying to break off the blade’s tip. It’s easier done that you think. How many times have you taken your pocket knife and used it for prying on something,only to have the tip snap right off? Yeah, that’s what I thought. I pounded the Recon Scout’s blade into a tree, about half an inch or maybe a little deeper with a hammer, and I “snapped” the knife out sideways numerous times trying to break the tip of the blade off. It didn’t happen! It won’t happen, either!

I took an old used car tire with steel belts and went to work on it with the Recon Scout. It easily cut through the rubber and the steel belts. Try that with many other knives and see what happens. I chopped on 2X4 wood, cut through cardboard boxes, and even used the knife in the kitchen a few times. It came through with flying colors. I threw the knife at a big pine tree, trying to make it stick. It never did. I did manage to finally scuff the black coating on the blade but just a little bit. I also did some digging in my yard, and we have a lot of rocks in our soil. I finally, at long last, managed to dull the blade. A few minutes on the croc stix had the blade scary-sharp all over again.

The Recon Scout used to come with a Nylon-type sheath, and while it was ok, I always wanted something more. Current knives come with the Secure-Ex sheath, and it is really a dandy one. You don’t have to worry about the sheath getting wet, staying wet, and causing the knife to rust. Nor do you have to worry about the tip of the knife poking through the sheath, if you’re not careful putting it back into the sheath.

The Recon Scout retails for $199.99, but you can sometimes find it discounted a bit, if you check around. Yeah, it’s not cheap, but quality never comes cheap. Now, for the bad news. If you go out and get a Recon Scout for your survival purposes or camping/hunting use, it might just be the last fixed blade knife you’ll ever need. I can’t recommend this knife highly enough. It is impressive and will handle many jobs that lesser fixed blade knives can’t handle. So, be advised, this might be the last fixed blade knife you will ever buy.

Letter Re: Cliven Bundy Support

Dear Editor,

I am writing to you today in support of Cliven Bundy. I attended Saturday’s rally at the Bundy Ranch in support of this rancher and his family. It is true that his family history of ranching this land pre-dates the BLM. It is also true that the BLM has regulated approximately 52 ranchers out of this area of Nevada in the past several years. Mr. Bundy refused to give them anymore of his money, reasoning that why give them the funds to regulate against him to remove him from the land.

The BLM has frequently used the tactics of endangered species to garner public support. It should be known that the desert tortoise reserve near Las Vegas has recently been closed, according to the BLM, due to lack of funding to support the tortoises. Many have been euthanized as they are considered un-adoptable. However, that same agency without funding for the tortoises has spent millions, I would guess, building a militarized compound outside the Bundy ranch, scrambling BLM personnel from neighboring states, and hiring outside contractors to rustle Mr. Bundy’s cattle and corral them. They also hauled heavy equipment onto his property and broke up water lines and cisterns that the Bundy’s had paid for themselves to water the cattle. These water supplies are also used by the wild animals that enjoy the same range land. The personal accounts of the family, as they told their story, was heartbreaking. This is the instance of one rancher and his family. We are all as vulnerable as they. The heavy hand of the federal government was never so visible as it has been this past week in Clark County, NV. I am proud of my fellow countrymen and women that gathered to stand with the Bundy family.

Thankfully, the BLM pulled back and for now it appears peaceful at the Bundy ranch. I was proud to be present and take a stand for the Bundy family this past Saturday. – H.D.

HJL Replies: It’s good to see people exercising their rights. The battle will continue on and rumors abound, so people need to keep a close eye on what is happening. What I find surprising is that the main stream media hardly covered the event at all, even when it escalated. The alternative media and Internet have proved invaluable here, as it has abroad, in keeping the power in the hands of the people. This will not be the end of this situation, and other situations may crop up both here and across the country. The people need to stay vigilant to reign in the abuses.

Economics and Investing:

Every Central Bank for Itself

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More indications of the state of the economy and how people like you are responding to it: A SurvivalBlog reader reports that time to delivery of his PM shipments are averaging about 133 days from order to delivery.

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Items from The Economatrix:

20 Price Increases That Are Breaking America’s Middle Class Families

Retailers Still Have A Lot Of Heavy Lifting To Do Despite March Gains

Russia Announces Decoupling Trade From Dollar

The U.S. Dollar: Currency Masquerading as Money

Goodbye American Middle Class: New Report Reveals That 62 Percent Of Americans Earn $20 Or Less Per Hour. Household Income Stuck In Neutral For A Generation.