Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader CPK pointed us to a video clip of an amazing snow vehicle concept from the 1920s that ought to be revived.

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Courtesy of Cheryl: Record October Cold Has Folks Scrambling to Winterize.

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Reader Phil E. suggested a fascinating account of Jews hiding out in caves in the Ukraine, during WWII, to survive the Holocaust. Greater detail can be found in the book The Secret of Priest’s Grotto: A Holocaust Survival Story.

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H.H. sent us this news blurb from oh-so-politically-correct western Oregon: Apartment residents told to take down U.S. flags. Here are two quotes: “…the American flag symbolizes problems”, and “Residents we talked to who had been approached to take down their flags all told us the same thing: that management told them the flags could be offensive because they live in a diverse community.”

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“For what glory [is it], if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer [for it], ye take it patiently, this [is] acceptable with God.

For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps.” – 1 Peter 2:20-21 (KJV)

Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 25 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest.

First Prize: A.) 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 between $500 and $600, and B.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees, in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $392 value.) and C.) A HAZARiD Decontamination Kit from Safecastle.com. (A $350 value.)

Second Prize: A “grab bag” of preparedness gear and books from Jim’s Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (JASBORR) with a retail value of at least $350.

Third Prize: A copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, from Arbogast Publishing.

Round 25 ends on November 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Square Foot Gardening, by N.C. Gardener

Everyone that has food storage should have a garden to supplement it.  For people that don’t have the acreage or live in cities a Square Foot Garden (SFG) is perfect. We need the nutrients and variety that can be provided with fresh fruits and vegetables.   Think how nice it would be to have a tomato sandwich with lettuce or make a small batch of fresh salsa.  Tomatoes, cilantro, salt and onions makes cornmeal go from cornbread to chips and salsa. The SFG web site has all the information you need to build and care for your garden.
I also recommend buying the books All New Square Foot Gardening as well as the original book Square Foot Gardening, for reference.

Why build a Square Foot Garden?  A small 4’x4’ garden will provide a person with enough produce to have a salad every day of the growing season.  It uses less water and space than a conventional garden is easy to protect and produces a high yield in a little space.  If made with a base the garden can be portable.

A square foot garden consists of a 4 foot by 4 foot box that has a grid on the top to divide the garden into 16 squares.  Each square holds a different crop.  The grid is the most important part of the garden.  It divides the box into “squares”  each square is a foot wide.  Hence the name Square Foot Garden.  Don’t think crop in the sense of a large farm and a crop of onions that is sown in two acres of land.  Our box produces mini crops.  For example in each square you can plant 1 tomato plant, 4 lettuce plants or 16 carrots.  The number of plants you put in each square depends on the recommended plant spacing.  And you have 16 squares to fill.

A Square Foot Garden is easy to protect, easy to build and easy to maintain.  First you build your box (from lumber, bricks, rock anything to hold the soil.  On the SFG web site I saw a  garden that was grown by a hero serving in Iraq, in a cardboard box.  It wasn’t as pretty or as durable as a nice vinyl box, but it did the job.  It produced food in the desert.

After the box is built, fill it with the perfect soil mix, called Mel’s mix, named after the inventor Mel Bartholomew.  The soil mix is equal parts of  coarse A-3 vermiculite, compost and peat moss.  I have found it is easiest to mix [in batches of] three cubic feet of each ingredient.  This gives you a little soil mix left over for other small containers or flower pots.  When you begin with the perfect soil mix there are no weeds.  If a weed does blow into your garden it is easy to identify and pull out. You may think buying prepackaged garden soil from the local hardware store is good enough, but the soil  that comes in the large bags doesn’t have as many nutrients and most are made with Pearlite.  I have found that after a heavy rain the pearlite floats to the top and runs out.  Vermiculite stays in place.  It gives the roots room and air to grow.  The peat moss holds moisture and the compost provides the nutrients or food for the plant.  No additional fertilizers are needed, no pesticides are used.  Bug control  and watering are done by hand.  I have found that in 10 minutes I can water 4 garden boxes, weed, and inspect every plant for pests.

Next, plant your seeds or plants.  Use heirloom seeds.  A lot of seeds and plants that are at the store are genetically modified or are hybrids from the true seed.  They are developed to only produce fruit once.  The seeds that are saved from the hybrid plants may not reproduce the following year.  As a rule, just get the heirloom seeds and if there is a chance that you are not able to buy seeds later; the seeds can be saved from the plants you already have.  After you harvest your plants and are ready to plant something else, dig up the old roots shake off the dirt and plant a new crop in its place.   At this time you need to replace the nutrients in the soil.  Simply add a trowel full of compost to that one square.  Fluff up the soil and replant with your next crop.

Because the boxes are small they are easy to protect and take care of.  Most plants need to be in full sun.  I live in the south and it is hot here.  For hotter climates I recommend having some shade for lettuce plants and some herbs like cilantro and basil.  Shade really helps them to thrive and cuts back on the need for water.  Lettuce is sweeter if it doesn’t get too hot.  If you find that your lettuce is bitter, put it in the fridge for a few days.  It helps.  The rest of the plants need a lot of sun.  Broccoli, tomatoes, cabbage, cauliflower, melons they all thrive in the sun.  I also recommend planting Marigolds and nasturtiums around the garden they keep out deer and some insects.  Plus they look pretty.

Chicken wire and or netting can protect your garden from birds and animals.  Again directions can be found on the web site.  To protect from frost, hail or snow, make a dome using two PVC pipes and cover the pipes with clear plastic.  The plastic dome can also serve as a greenhouse.  Having the plastic dome will extend the growing season into the fall and winter months.  

In an emergency or a TEOTWAWKI situation a garden may be moved short distances within your property.  If you have to bug out it will most likely be left behind.  But the lessons you learn from beginning a garden now are invaluable.  What good is a can of seeds if you don’t know what to do with them? I have put my garden in the garage to protect it from hurricane winds. It just needs a plywood base.  Don’t put a box that you plan to move directly on the ground.  If the box sits on the ground it will hold the moisture and the plywood base eventually will rot.  Placing five bricks underneath the box will do the trick.  One brick in each corner and one in the center for support.  The base also has predrilled drainage holes.  My favorite garden is screwed onto an old picnic table.  It is waist height and I don’t have to bend over to work in it.  It would be perfect as a wheelchair garden.

A few years ago here in North Carolina during the summer when gas prices skyrocketed, tomatoes (shipped here from Mexico, another story) were around $5 per pound.  This was when tomatoes were in season.  I was thankful to have a garden in my yard.  I walked out my back door and hand picked five tomatoes for dinner then shared some with my neighbors.  They tasted better right off the vine and I didn’t even have to go to the store to get them.

Three Letters Re: Perspectives on Roughing It and Covert Car Camping

Hi Jim,
That was a great letter from Jolly but I’d like to add a couple of things. Jolly says ‘never, ever’ sleep at an highway rest stop. I guess that depends on where you are. In the last few years Texas has built some absolutely beautiful rest stops with clean bathrooms, vending machines, etc. that are manned 24 hours a day. They encourage sleeping there (better that than fatigued drivers on the road). I asked the people at one if it would be okay to sleep in my car – they replied that yes, it would be perfectly okay and safe, as they patrolled the lot. I noticed that when they patrolled they were watchful but respected peoples’ privacy – they didn’t peer into car windows, for example – but would have noticed someone breaking into a car.

As far as Wal-Mart goes, I’ve never heard that you can’t or shouldn’t stay there if you’re in a car. I would think that if you parked over with the RVs, they would just assume you were a car accompanying an RV! You’d have the added security of other people around. And for that last reason, my favorite place to sleep in the car is in a truck stop, parked near the trucks. I feel pretty safe among a bunch of truckers – I doubt they’d hesitate to respond to trouble. Just make sure if you park with trucks that you don’t put yourself in their way. – Matt R.

James,
Back when I was young and shiftless I spent about a year living in my car on and off. I have a couple of observations about car camping in small towns and rural America. Places where I never had a problem were small town police station parking lots, a church parking lot, and at scenic overlook parking lots on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The Parkway was good during the summer when lower altitudes were too hot. Places I would advise against are store parking lots, rest areas (where you could have trouble with both police and predatory humans), and anyplace that has a security force. In my case I have always had trouble in college parking lots, for example.

In the event of troubled times however, I would expect a less tolerant attitude from small town law enforcement than I encountered. I don’t know what the right answer would be for this, but expect to be harassed and told to move on in many places (at the least). If you’re packing heat I would expect even more trouble. Finally, make sure you take Jolly’s advice about finding a place to discreetly take care of hygiene. You will have much less trouble if you look clean cut and respectable. Shave and keep your hair trimmed. The best place I’ve found for thorough showering and bathing on the cheap is a gym with a pay by the day feature. $5 could buy you some exercise and a shower with no one thinking anything of it. God Bless you all, – SGT B.

Mr. Rawles,
I enjoyed the article: “Perspectives on Roughing It and Covert Car Camping, by Jolly” and thought it mostly paralleled my own experience. I do take exception with his misunderstanding of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA)’s liquid fuels policies. Boy Scouts are not forbidden to use liquid fuels. The complete policy is here. Quoting from the BSA web page, the salient portion is:

1. Use compressed or liquid-gas stoves and/or lanterns only with knowledgeable adult supervision, and in Scouting facilities only where and when permitted.
2. Operate and maintain them regularly according to the manufacturer’s instructions included with the stove or lantern.
3. Store fuel in approved containers and in storage under adult supervision. Keep all chemical fuel containers away from hot stoves and campfires, and store them below 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
4. Let hot stoves and lanterns cool before changing cylinders of compressed gas or refilling from bottles of liquid gas.
5. Refill liquid-gas stoves and lanterns a safe distance from any flames, including other stoves, campfires and personal smoking substances. A commercial camp stove fuel should be used for safety and performance. Pour through a filter funnel. Recap both the device and the fuel container before igniting.
6. Never fuel a stove or lantern inside a cabin; always do this outdoors. Do not operate a stove or lantern in an unventilated structure. Provide at least two ventilation openings, one high and one low, to provide oxygen and exhaust for lethal gases. Never fuel, ignite, or operate a stove or lantern in a tent.
7. Place the stove on a level, secure surface before operating. On snow, place insulated support under the stove to prevent melting and tipping.
8. With soap solution, periodically check fittings for leakage on compressed-gas stoves and on pressurized liquid-gas stoves before lighting.
9. When lighting a stove keep fuel bottles and extra canisters well away. Do not hover over the stove when lighting it. Keep your head and body to one side. Open the stove valve quickly for two full turns and light carefully, with head, fingers and hands to the side of the burner. Then adjust down.
10. Do not leave a lighted stove or lantern unattended.
11. Do not overload the stovetop with extra-heavy pots or large frying pans. If pots larger than 2 quarts are necessary, ,then set up a freestanding grill to hold the pots and place the stove under the grill.
12. Bring empty fuel containers home for disposal. Do not place them in or near fires. Empty fuel containers will explode if heated.

But there is much more at the link.
I really appreciated his other comments and could relate his experiences with scouting to mine.
Respectfully. – Steve in California

Two Letters Re: Abandonment of the Dollar is a Premature Rumor

Dear Editor:
This civil debate on the status of the Dollar–and thanks, by the by, for keeping things civil on your blog–all comes down to a matter of not “if”, but just “when.” The United States Dollar will soon be dead meat. Finis. See this article: Reckoning Day for US Dollar Coming Next Year. We just need to ask: will the[definitive] end [for the dollar’s dominant reserve status] come in six months, or six years? So, no matter when, I’m hedging by building up my stash of silver and lead. (The kind that goes “bang.”) Since I’m still paying off college loans, my investing is very “modest”. As one of the impoverished masses, I followed your advice and I’m gradually building up a supply of nickels. I’m also culling through a few rolls of half dollars from my bank every week. (I live in a small town in Texas.) So far I’ve found 9 pre-1965 [90% silver half-dollars] and 46 post-’64/pre-’71 [40% silver] halves. It’s like finding buried treasure! It sure beats watching Wheel of Fortune on TV. The result of my effort is tangible. Thank you, thank you for mentioning [searching through half dollar rolls]. It is great way for people like me that are just getting started, after college. – Jason V.

Dear Jim and Family,
Those were interesting responses to my post that this dollar-dump rumor is just another rumor. I must point out, importantly, that everything the Saudis say is a lie, including “Hello”. They promised $200 per barrel oil in 2008. Lie. They promised repeatedly to decouple themselves from the US dollar unless we do their bidding. Lie. They swore they do not provide money to Osama and his Al Qaeda terrorist network. Subsequent research by reporters proved this to be a lie but the Saudis went to the UK, sued for libel, won in the UK, and had the ruling applied to the author of the book and articles in question here in the USA under some sort of twisted reciprocity ruling which makes sense only to judges and crazy people. Yet another reason that globalism is bad.

Yes, the Dollar is dying. However, it is not dying quickly, and while there’s a slim chance it could all go at once in a single day, history, particularly recent history, shows that to be unlikely. The Housing Bubble [collapse] happened over months. The Dot.Com [stock[collapse] took weeks. The Derivatives market crash is still happening and the housing bubble is still half inflated and won’t be resolved until 2012 or 2013, depending on government interference, bankster greed, and economic inertia. A dollar crash would cause too many nations would lose control of their violent populations — by this I mean populations counting on bribes, payoffs, and other forms of corruption bought with dollars to keep their peace. The ones who would gain the most by decoupling from the Dollar are also those who have the most to lose. If there was a viable world reserve currency which was everywhere the dollar was, from bars in Panama to the swamps of the Congo, the banks of Switzerland, the docks of Shanghai and the factory in Abilene, then I think we would have reason to worry. Without that existing everywhere, like the dollar, this is a silly rumor just like all the other silly rumors to erupt from the mouth of yet another lying Saudi.

It isn’t Optimism if you’re realistic and observant. They call this “Pragmatism”. Sincerely , – InyoKern

Economics and Investing:

Dollar hit on Fed’s signal of low rates. Meeting minutes show Fed has strong lean to more debt monetization. (Thanks to GG for the link.)

Brian H. sent us a link to a piece in Zero Hedge. that quotes Money magazine: “Now 5 institutions hold 97% of the notional value [face amount] and 88% of the market value in derivatives, and they are all basically in the same business and all basically hedge with each other. It is not a true hedge when the other side can’t pay, and history has clearly proven how easy it is for the other side not to be able to pay.” [JWR Adds: That is the very definition of derivatives counterparty risk.] Brian’s comment: “I would add that the risk isn’t just concentrated in these “Too Big To Fail” Five. The risks are clearly placed on the backs of the taxpayer, either through Federal Reserve inflation or direct confiscation of taxes passing through to the banks.”

Items from The Economatrix:

Why the Housing Rescue Hasn’t Prevented Record Foreclosures

BofA, GE Stocks Push Results Lower

Summers: Banks Must Accept Goernmnent Regulation

BofA Posts 3Q Loss on Defaults: $1 Billion

GE Profits Fall 45%, as Revenue Trails Estimates

US Consumer Confidence Worse than Forecast

Investors Get Jitters as Citigroup Fuels Fears Over US Economy

You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet at Goldman

The People v. Wall Street

60 Million Mortgages May Have Fatal Flaws. This refers to the Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems (MERS)

Odds ‘n Sods:

Nona mentioned that the North Dakota State University Extension Service has plans for everything from bee hives and rabbit hutches to deep well water systems for your house, to vegetable cellars. You can download the 8-1/2″ x 11″ format plans as free PDF files, or order 18″ x 24″ blueprints for $4.

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The new AsaMom web site (“A Sisterhood of Mommy Patriots”) has been growing at a phenomenal rate, thanks in part to a prominent mention on the Glenn Beck program. Check it out.

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SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large Michael Z. Williamson spotted some further evidence that the British Nanny State has run amok: Review of babysitting ban ordered. Ironically, the issue is nannying.

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JHB spotted this item with multi-generational TEOTWAWKI potential: Scientific Sundials. Note: These will be no use for you George Noory “Coast-to-Coast AM” fans who believe in “Earth thrown off its axis” pole shift theory. 😉

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“The right of self-defense is the first law of nature; in most governments it has been the study of rulers to confine this right within the narrowest limits possible. Wherever standing armies are kept up, and when the right of the people to keep and bear arms is, under any color or pretext whatsoever, prohibited, liberty, if not already annihilated, is on the brink of destruction.” – Henry St. George Tucker, in Blackstone’s 1768 Commentaries on the Laws of England

Note from JWR:

Today’s first post comes from SurvivalBlog’s volunteer correspondent in Israel, an American expatriate.

Getting Prepared for EMP or a Solar Storm, by David in Israel

Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) of the regional effect scale is a threat during times of potential crisis with a megaton class nuclear equipped foe who also has near-space launch capability for these weapons. An EMP-like event of greater strength and duration is also possible during extreme solar flare events. These types of event are caused by ionospheric excitation of the upper atmosphere by subatomic particles and plasma ejected from a massive solar discharge, this motion in the conductive plasma generates massive amounts of radio waves.

An antenna is any conductor of electricity which inductively converts radio waves into voltage, usually grabbing signals in the microvolt range, but–like a tuned guitar string vibrates in harmony when another tuned guitar string is plucked–an antenna best resonates to a frequency resonant with its length. I would ask the readers to quickly brush up on antenna theory with one of the many excellent tutorials on the Internet.

Fortunately for off the grid equipment like portable electronics and vehicles an antenna that best receives these high energy HF radio waves is measured in tens of meters, unfortunately that makes things like electrical power lines and long antennas particularly well suited to absorbing and transmitting large induced voltages into your sensitive solid state electronics.

It is important to remember, if you are concerned about EMP follow the old instructions for during a thunderstorm, disconnect all antennas and unplug your electronics. At a minimum filter your mains power and install gas discharge tubes on antenna feeds for mission critical radios.

Why do the tube tech gadgets survive where solid state dies from HERF? When an errant voltage spike enters a vacuum tube it can just discharge itself to ground if strong enough (so ground everything electronic at every opportunity), the other large components can also mostly take a sudden flash of high voltage without being destroyed. In solid state the junction size is almost universally quite small and if a reversed voltage is applied against the bias of the semiconductor or an over-voltage is applied the gate is almost always ruined in a way that requires component replacement.

While tube tech is much more survivable in an EMP environment, and HF (shortwave) radios are at high risk being tuned to the most affected bands, I wish to remind the readers that in nearly all other categories tube tech is far less survivable and is notoriously wasteful of precious off-grid electricity. The several downsides to “hollow state” tech is mechanical fragility and short life span compared to solid state, we are talking about blown glass and incandescent filaments essentially like a box of light bulbs to the uninitiated. In a well stocked retreat a tube type radio could be an asset after serious preps have been completed, although for the price of a quality collectors item several high quality military grade (civilian ham radio) solid state radios, the tools and parts to repair them, and proper antenna line and power input traps for errant voltage could be purchased providing much better reliable communications to your retreat than tube tech could.

I actually like to play with hollow state components especially when whipping up simple DIY radios and electronics with the kids, it is a much better visual learning tool which can be used to explain how the solid state components work.

I highly recommend that any serious survivalist invest in several good butane soldering irons, quality fluxed lead alloy solder, and a good tackle box full of replacement components, these can either be harvested from junked electronics or purchased in large grab bags form most large electronics engineering supply outlets. The Brunton Fuel Tool [lighter filling adaptor] makes keeping butane in a usable form easier for a prepper by avoiding the mostly incompatible gas cigarette lighter refill cans and instead using lantern/stove cartridges. These, combined with quality test equipment means that most damaged, shot, soaked, or even EMP-damaged electronics could be saved if you have the time to spare testing out components.

If the readers fail to procure the required hollow state and solid state components and practice their electronics repair skills by kitting or repairing intentionally damaged electronics they will not be able to use these skills during a crisis where mission critical equipment might be taken offline.

You must intelligently train, equip yourself for, and practice your medical, electronics, on and off-road driving, long range bicycling, cooking, fieldcraft, armed and unarmed combat, loaded hiking, carpentry, navigation, boating, food preservation, butchering, cycling, farming, veterinary, water finding, cooking, hunting, fishing, leadership, metal smithing, mechanical repair and fabrication, engineering and other critical survival skills. Being a real survivor has nothing to do with hobby shooting, wide-eyed fanatics, or overweight dude commandos, it is about living your life with the calm confidence that you are walking in the path that the Lord has set out for you while taking reasonable precautions to protect the life you have been given as well as being a vital asset to your family and community. – David in Israel

From Michael Z. Williamson: M4 Carbine Failures in Afghanistan Likely Due to High Rate of Fire

Dear Jim,

The alleged failure of M4s in Afghanistan is being discussed on my forum and others. The story so far seems to be that when troops fired enough rounds [in a very short period of time] to overheat the weapons, they jammed. This is true of any weapon. Of course, circumstances may dictate that this happen, but it is not a design defect. The M4 is a carbine, not a light machineguns. It’s akin to blaming the HMMWV for having bad armor, when it was designed as a light truck. This site has some details, and a link to the after-action report (AAR). – Michael Z. Williamson, SurvivalBlog Editor at Large

Three Letters Re: Abandonment of the Dollar is a Premature Rumor

James Wesley,
Regarding the oil-denominated-in-dollars flurry, two important points must be noted. First, dollar denominated contracts can be immediately hedged in foreign exchange markets (FOREX) even before the oil is pumped out of the ground. The oil barons aren’t stuck holding their dollars any longer than they can call a FOREX desk or sovereign Treasury department (3/4 of the world’s oil is owned by governments, not Exxon/Chevron/etc.)

The more important point of dollar-denominated oil contracts is dollar prestige. Documents from the Federal Reserve show that Arthur Burns not only was interfering with the gold markets three decades ago, but the level of cloak-and-dagger efforts to keep the dollar as the world’s reserve currency for political power.

Dollar-denominated oil contracts purposes are to preserve hegemony, not prop up foreign central banks’ currency reserve. Godspeed, – Brian in Wisconsin

Sir:
The current situation with the US Dollar is best described as a near perfect case of the Prisoner’s Dilemma. The best thing for big holders of US Dollars to do is get rid of dollars as fast as is possible without tipping any other significant holders off that they are doing it. Otherwise their best bet is to get rid of their dollars before anyone else does. If someone did that, it would trigger a crash. The only thing stopping everyone right now is that a dollar crash would likely tank the global economy as well. It is beginning to appear that the carry-trade being funded in US Dollars could be the tipping point for serious action as it is relentlessly driving the value of the dollar down. Just look at a chart of the Dollar Index over the past six months. It is clear that the Federal Reserve has no stomach to raise interest rates to stop this progression of events since that would crash our own economy. It would not take a large event to bring the dollar crashing down any time now. – Mike B.

Jim
First, as other people have pointed out here, Iraq provides very little US oil due to its geographic location. The war in Iraq is in no way related to the US oil market. Rather, Iraq is a prime supplier to Europe, in which case a switch from Dollar to Euro was perfectly reasonable (and suited Saddam’s temperament). It would be ridiculous to start a trillion dollar war over such a trivial item. There were much more significant reasons, which I’ll offer in a separate post for discussion. However, the overall global trend is to diversify from single currencies, which I regard as a healthy movement. A great many of our current global economic problems stem from overemphasizing the paper dollar. The former USSR had the same problem–consider what the Ruble is worth now, versus what the USSR claimed it to be worth (About $5 US, in their over-inflated opinion). Personally, I’ve never been one for paper money. I prefer to convert it to capital, such as inventory, home equity, useful vehicles and food. You can always trade food. You cannot eat money. – Michael Z. Williamson, SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large

Economics and Investing:

Karen H. mentioned this sobering piece, also subsequently sent in by several other readers: Foreclosures: ‘Worst three months of all time’

The latest from Dr. Housing Bubble: A Comprehensive Look at the Southern California Housing Market: 60,000 Properties Listed on the MLS but over 100,000 in Shadow Inventory. California and Nationwide Median Home Price Trends since 1968. Say Good-Bye to Option ARMs.

Also from Karen: Dollar to Hit 50 Yen, Cease as Reserve

IRS Intensifies Global Hunt for Secret Offshore Bank Accounts

Desperate Dollar Heading to the Basement. (BTW, they concur with my comments on the USDI‘s crucial support level: 72.)

Items from The Economatrix:

Dow Passes 10,000 For First Time In A Year. There’s another sheep to be shorn every minute…

JPMorgan Earns $3.6 Billion, But Loan Losses Remain High

Bank Regulators: Real Estate Loans Biggest Concerns

Watchdog: Treasury and Fed Failed in AIG Oversight

Sept. Retail Sales Fall 1.5% Post-Clunkers

The End of Money and the Future of Civilization

2008 Debt Crisis Morphed to 2009-2010 Dollar Crisis

Pension Fund Losses: To Infinity and Beyond

Silver Has More Possibilities to Appreciate than Gold

Odds ‘n Sods:

World Rice Stockpiles Hit as Yields Drop

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UN: World hunger has been increasing for a decade. Thanks to Bob for the link.

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SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large Michael Z. Williamson sent us this glimpse of the the Third World: In India: Forget the Diamond Ring, Brides Want Ceramic. “…since a “No Toilet, No Bride” campaign started about two years ago, 1.4 million toilets have been built here in the northern state of Haryana, some with government funds, according to the state’s health department… “I won’t let my daughter near a boy who doesn’t have a latrine,” said Usha Pagdi, who made sure that daughter Vimlas Sasva, 18, finished high school and took courses in electronics at a technical school. “No loo? No ‘I do,’ ” Vimlas said, laughing as she repeated a radio jingle.” Mike’s comment: “As has been mentioned here recently, most westerners don’t really grasp how essential modern plumbing, from water to sewage systems, are to modern society. Without them, large cities are simply impossible, and small housing lots lead quickly to the type of pestilences that wiped out large areas of Europe and Asia during various plagues. Bacterial infections can reduce populations in a matter of days. There is, of course, an irony that the vocal eco activists (the anti-human, pro-wildlife types) would never suggest getting rid of indoor plumbing, even though doing so would reduce the world’s urban population significantly.” [JWR Adds: Coincidentally, we may see some public health issues in the tent cities that are springing up in the US.]

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This product has some possibilities: the Ballistic Clipboard. If carried in a briefcase or in a laptop bag, it might give you some protection, particularly in locations where you must be disarmed–such as in many office buildings, courthouses, and inside airport terminals. In those circumstances, having some protection is better than nothing!