Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“The typical individual is addicted to low quality leisure. He watches prime time television. He reads very little. He does not subscribe to economic newsletters or spend much time on financial web sites. He does not think about the distant future, which he defines as anything beyond this month’s paycheck.” – Dr. Gary North

Notes from JWR:

The high bid in the SurvivalBlog Benefit Auction is now at $1,000. The auction is for a large mixed lot that includes:

1.) A large “be ready to barter” box of full-capacity gun magazines, from the JASBORR. This box includes: 12 – Used original Bundeswehr contract HK91 (G3) steel 20 round magazines, 6 – Used original FN of Belgium-made FN-FAL alloy 20 round magazines, 6 – Used AR-15/M16 USGI (a mix of Simmonds & Colt made) alloy 20 round magazines, and 2 – New and very scarce original FN (Belgian-made) US M1/M2 Carbine blued steel 30 round magazines (marked “AYP”) . All of these magazines are of pre-1994 manufacture (and hence legal to possess in New York.) These magazines have a combined value of approximately $450. Note: If you live in a state where full capacity magazines are banned, then you must choose to: refrain from bidding, or designate a recipient in an unrestricted state, or re-donate the magazines for a subsequent auction.

2. ) A brand new in box Big Berky Water Filter, with your choice of either four white ceramic filter elements or four black filter elements. This is a $329 retail value, courtesy of Ready Made Resources.

3.) A huge lot of DVDs, CD-ROMs and hard copy nuclear survival/self-sufficiency references (a $300+ value) donated by Richard Fleetwood of www.SurvivalCD.com

4.) A NukAlert compact radiation detector donated by at KI4U.com (a $160 retail value). 

5.) A desert tan SOG Trident folding knife, courtesy of Safecastle. (a $92.99 retail value.)

6.) A case of 12 recent production full mil-spec MRE rations (identical to the current military contract MREs, but without the civilian sale restriction markings). This is a $90 retail value, courtesy of CampingSurvival.com.

Thus, the combined retail value of this combined lot is at least $1,275. This auction ends on January 15th. Please e-mail us your bid for the entire mixed lot.

—

Today we present a guest editorial from Roger Wiegand. He is the Editor and Publisher of Trader Tracks Newsletter. Roger is co-editor of WeBeatTheStreet.com and he writes a weekly column, “Rog’s Corner,” For J Taylor’s Gold and Technology Stocks Newsletter. He has had an interest in precious metals and futures since the commodity rallies of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Roger is a voracious reader, reviewing several domestic and foreign newspapers and wire services daily for economic, political, and monetary news. His commentary is frequently featured at KITCO.com.

Our 2009 Predictions, by Roger Wiegand

We think we now have enough data from both the fundamentals and technicals to make some serious forecasts and predictions for 2009. While 2008 was a nasty year when lots of things imploded, they are far from being repaired. Treasury Secretary Paulson told us this week there are no more surprises, which tells me we haven’t even discovered but a small portion of this monster derivative mess. His ripping-off of the taxpayers to the tune of $700 billion is only a warm-up. However, the larger question for traders and investors is what could happen next and when.
In the following report we take the key global economic points and suggest the outcome for 2009.

The most important news for 2008 was the destruction of the big global banks’ net worth and their badly wounded ability to conduct normal business and make market-moving loans. Ben & Hank’s bailout only helped the bad-boy banks reliquify themselves to remain somewhat solvent and stay in business. They are doing nothing to extend credit to any business enhancing western or global economies. The 2009 result will be no significant banker lending, taking more bailout money and sweeping additional bad loans of all stripes under the banker’s rug and hiding the rest in back rooms.

The largest surprise in our view was the massive disaster at insurance giant AIG. Despite numerous injections of bailout billions, AIG remains in very serious trouble hanging on by their proverbial fingernails. The 2009 result will be a surprise crash and failure of AIG frightening the world at large causing ripples of failures throughout western and Asian nations unable to conduct business without mandatory insurance policies. Most folks have no comprehension as to the monster fallout this will create. It is in our view literally immeasurable, and this is why Paulson handed them so much money.
Our new president is determined to hand out $860 Billion to One Trillion dollars in a Herculean effort to literally buy a new economic recovery. While some of his ideas are noble indeed the overall plan
will have little effect and Great Depression II shall take hold in 2009 with crashing stock markets in May and September-October 2009. We think the worst of the worst hits in later September 2009.

During the spring of next year we see:
(1) A second larger wave of residential housing mortgage failures; (2) The first big wave of auto loan failures and repossessions; (3) Over $40 billion in credit card defaults, smashing the bank lenders; (4) The first wave of commercial mortgage failures and foreclosures on shopping malls, office buildings and other commercials; (5) And finally, the grand smashing finale of Credit Default Swaps (CDS) originated with no margin money or down payments! We heard today the total is $500 trillion! I cannot even fathom that number. These five converging train wrecks could take the Dow from a dead cat bounce of 10400-10800 back to 7250, or even 6600, or 5600.

Shares traders and investors have one more solid quarter, in our view to regain some stock market losses on the forthcoming Obama Trillion Dollar handouts. We think the rising share markets will help most all sectors gain some recovery and provide the illusion the bottoms are in and new bases found. The stark reality hits home after shares peak in April or early May taking an unprecedented selling high dive scaring the wits out of Americans and the watching world.

Even with these events and rising unemployment and social problems, economic observers and analysts could continue to plead the worst is over, the bottoms are in and a fine, new, shiny world of trading and investing in our bright economy lies just ahead for the fall of 2009. Then, in later September and early October, the New York, London, Tokyo and Asian markets take a monster crash. How low is low and how bad can it get? We think the Dow could end-up on November 1st, 2009 anywhere from 5,600 to a low of 3,000 or even 1,500. One guideline will be a falling overshoot of PE’s on our largest, so-called international corporations posting lows of 4 to7. Today, many of them are near 18. What does this tell us about the severity of our projections?
Unemployment nationally in the USA is now touching 16%. The officially posted number is somewhere near half of that. By the fall of 2009, American REAL UNEMPLOYMENT WILL BE NEAR THE ALLTIME 1930’S DEPRESSION HIGH OF 25% UNEMPLOYED. SADLY, THAT IS NOT THE WORST AS IT GETS MORE DIRE. WE PREDICT REAL, USA UNEMPLOYMENT REACHES 30-40%. IN THE RUST BELT STATES OF MICHIGAN AND OHIO, WHILE 40% IS NOT UNREALISTIC.

Several European nations have larger, more established social safety nets for the unemployed. In the USA, local, regional and national authorities are not nearly as prepared. The American federal government departments for food stamps and the job of providing welfare provisions will be overwhelmed. This will be a Katrina event for the hungry citizens of the United States. Urban areas will see skyrocketing crime and in parts of some cities, life could become totally uninhabitable.

The last report we’ve seen on those receiving food handouts and related welfare amounted to 11 million USA citizens with 700,000 children going hungry each day. We suspect the true amount of those needing food help will rise to 35,000,000 with an untold tragic number of them being little, defenseless children. Governments remain in denial and are not prepared for this national emergency whatsoever. As things worsen, food riots and others with violence aimed at the “haves’ are common.

The number of bank failures over the next three years will be in the thousands. In addition, the US Dollar’s valuation could break recent lows near 70.00 on the index, dropping to 46.00 by 2011 or 2012.
Inflation or potentially hyperinflation is quite real as the Federal Reserve and US Treasury strain to print and circulate cash to prod our stalled economy. It is simply not working even with the dramatically lower interest rates of late. Benny Bernanke is out of rate cut running room.

Consumers are broke and going broker. Households of interrelated families are doubling and tripling up even with several employed members being under one roof. Basic costs of rent, mortgage payments, health care, food, utilities and taxes are too much to bear on stagnant and in some cases falling wages. In some areas of America, there are entire subdivisions of homes totally abandoned or existing with only a hand full of occupants. The millions thrown at lenders for new mortgages are not getting through to buyers, as there are fewer of them. We are witnessing system breakdown.

Municipalities and states are sinking into a spending, debt-ridden morass. It was reported today that 22 of 50 USA states are in serious budgetary trouble. California is one of those in terrible condition and Michigan is already technically broke as are many of her cities. Detroit will file bankruptcy in 2009 and there will many other surprises as well. There will be a cascade of bond defaults and the outcome will cap the ability of these cities, states and counties to borrow ever more.

The shining light through all of this is the faster we find the bottom the faster we can recover. Sadly, the recovery process will take years. Futures and commodities traders should continue to earn steady profits as the stock markets slide into oblivion for years. We see no recovery until 2015.

Roger Wiegand
Editor, Trader Tracks Newsletter & The Rog Blog at WeBeatTheStreet.com

Letter Re: The U.S. Expatriation Exit Tax

Hi JWR,
Here’s another one for your readers. I’d heard of this “exit tax” a few months ago and it was completely ignored by the mainstream media (MSM). At first blush, it doesn’t appear to impact most people, i.e. only those over $4 million USD net worth for couples who renounce U.S. citizenship and leave. However, we all know how well the alternative minimum tax (AMT)–the so-called millionaire’s tax–worked out. It was supposed to affect only several hundred tax “scofflaws”, and now because of inflation, millions of citizens are affected. A few years of 50% inflation will put most professional couples into the realm of exit tax eligible.

I’m sure many of your readers will agree that it is making more and more sense to go off the financial grid, as well as the electric grid. Rendering unto Caesar is getting pretty darned expensive, even if you want to leave!

Take a look at this post over at The Ron Paul Forums. Here is a snippet:
“Europe’s Economist magazine refers to this new tax as, “America’s Berlin Wall.” They also point out that, along with North Korea, the United States is already one of the few countries in the world that taxes its citizens on their income regardless of the country they earn it in. As most already suspected, the IRS is a hard master. A government that is bankrupt by any honest accounting accounting standards will eventually be forced by its creditors to turn over any real assets it still has at its disposal. Unfortunately, in most courts of law, those assets can include the full net worth of all U.S. citizens and residents. The ability to tax this net worth, to extinction if necessary, is the ultimate backing behind the guarantee U.S. debt holders know as”the full faith and credit of the United States.”

Yikes! – CK

Two Letters Re: Home Invasion Robbery Countermeasures–Your Mindset and Architecture

Jim,
I have not yet seen mention of “air locks” as a security layer for entry doors. Many years ago I managed a software project that included doing installs at armored car companies. The visitor entrance had you go in one set of doors to a small holding room. Here a security receptionist behind thick glass and gun ports could identify you and hold you until they were ready. Only then could you enter a second set of doors into the main facility, which would be analogous to an inner courtyard in a residential estate (i.e., an open area surrounded by secured offices and security stations with more gun ports). There was no way possible for someone to just barge in through the public doors into the private work areas.

I have always been intrigued with this “air lock” concept for security in a home design. The security screen door might be a micro version of this concept. The walled yard with a security gate is closer to the full concept. Even with those ideas in place, I would still like to have a secure foyer in which visitors could enter and be fully observed and communicated with but still protected by a second beefy security door.

Then if the secure foyer opened into a sort of atrium, you can interior rooms overlooking the foyer have bullet resistance windows and discreet firing ports. It doesn’t seems like it would take too much to design an attractive home with many substantial security layers:

– Walled yard with remote controlled security gate, intercom and security camera
– “Air lock” foyer with observation windows and discrete firing ports and remote controlled secure exterior and interior entry doors
– Interior atrium or courtyard with interior rooms having overlooking bullet-proof windows and firing ports(maybe with decorative sliding covers?)
– Gate or steel door to block off bedrooms from living areas at night
– Safe room inside the bedroom area for final retreat location
– Escape tunnel or hatch from safe room to outside into a camouflaged exit point (bushes, shed, etc.)

Are you aware of any traditional architecture styles that incorporate many of these security layers? For instance, I learned in a cultural training class that in Italy new acquaintances are never invited to a private home for visiting. You always arrange to meet in public until you are well known and then only come over at an invited time, never to just “drop by”. You would never invite a bunch of people over and e-mail them a map to your house to just show up for a party. Only family and close friends are invited into one’s house. Also, the houses tend to have outside gates and entry doors away from the living areas so unless someone expects you, you will never get close enough for them to even know you are there wanting to come in. Sort of a cultural OPSEC. – The NW Pilgrim

JWR Replies: Thanks for mentioning those design approaches. For several years, I worked for defense contractors that had secure (SCIF) facilities. This gave me some first-hand experience. For any readers interested in detailed specifications, do a web search on the phrase “Man Trap AND Entrance”. You’ll find articles like this one. One proviso: If you utilize a man trap door system to hold a miscreant, then you must immediately declare “you are under citizen’s arrest” and summon the police or sheriff’s deputies. To do anything else–or otherwise delay–could be the grounds for a civil suit or criminal prosecution.

 

Hi Jim,
The after market security films [mentioned by another reader] may not be useful as advertised. The issue is that the laminate film is not secured sufficiently to the window frame. An intruder can knock out the glass plane at the edges to gain entry. The security laminate films are more of a safety measure against severe weather by preventing glass shard injury.

Most of the security laminates are secured to a window frame with a small bead of silicone, but this offers little resistance to a blow by a crow bar that can deliver thousands of pounds of pressure per square inch. A intruder could knock out a corner of a window and reach inside to open the lock.

Some vendors use a thick PVC frame that is bonded to the window using an adhesive. However this is still likely not strong enough to hold back a determined intruder for very long. The film lamination may provide between 30 to 50 sec of delay.

If you watch this video of a test with a product using the PVC frame it takes just a few blows to cause the PVC frame to partially blow out. I believe a determined intruder can knock the window enough to get his hand to reach the lock in a matter of seconds.

I believe the real solution is to have the security laminates installed at the factory when the windows are manufactured so that laminate security film is installed into the window frame. I would also like to note that these security laminate films do not offer protection against bullets.

Letter Re: Bureaucratic Restrictions on Defensive Wire and Obstacles

Sir
[Regarding your recent mention of the ban on barbed wire in the city of Newark, New Jersey,] they aren’t the only ones. I am currently in Kabul [, Afghanistan] doing contract security work and we wanted to improve the security of the compound we live in. We are doing so by adding HESCO bastions made into fighting positions on the outside of our perimeter wall. As our workers were finishing the last of them, the police came by to tell us that we could not put up HESCOs on the street. When I got out there I asked the police why we could not put out HESCOs. The reply was that someone in parliament thought it made the city look like a war zone and that they would no longer be allowed.

This ignores the fact that Kabul actually is in a war zone. We also had the bombed-out hull of a BTR-152 [Russian Armored Personnel Carrier] alongside the building but that was fine, apparently.

I solved the problem by saying that they were not HESCOs, that we planned to face them with plywood and plant flowers in them. It wasn’t for force protection, it was part of our neighborhood beautification program. The workers laughed, the police scowled and within a week we had them enclosed in lumber and had flowers planted on our fighting positions. – Jake (Vacationing in Kabul)

Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader Jason in North Idaho mentioned the documentary “Alone in the Wilderness“ about Richard Proenneke. Jason notes: “I saw it on on PBS. It was very good documentary.”

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The day’s economic news, starting with this from The New York Times, courtesy of Karl K.: The End of the Financial World as We Know It. Next, Jonathan B. sent this: The Economist magazine says its a depression. Allen sent us this sobering piece by the ever-cheery Ambrose Evans-Pritchard of The London Telegraph: Asia needs to fully wake up to the scale of the West’s economic crisis. And top all that, come these from Cheryl: China, Crystal Maker Waterford Wedgwood Collapses [JWR Adds: Be advised that this corporate umbrella includes Doulton, the makers of the Big Berky ceramic filter elements. So stock up!] — Ford’s US Sales Drop 32% in December — Bailout Costs Exceed All American Wars — US Asks Arab Nations for $300 Billion to Fund Auto Bailout — Idle Ports Signals Two Bleak Years Ahead in World Trade — Wall Street Braces for 2009’s First Full Week — Buffet’s Berkshire “has nowhere to hide” — Downturn Stress Impacting Health — As Recession Deepens, So Does Milk Surplus — America Shifts to Cheaper Wines, and More of Them

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Justin M. flagged a piece in The Los Angeles Times that indicates that Asian Avian flus is still a threat: New bird flu cases revive fears of human pandemic

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"Because of the unprecedented fragility of our intertwined power grid and complex transportation system, the technological West is highly vulnerable to sabotage and chaos." – Camille Paglia

The MOAB Expands Yet Again: Five State Governors Seek $1 Trillion from Uncle Sugar

Back in November I reiterated my point that the Mother of All Bailouts (MOAB) would know no limits. One of my specific warnings was: “The States – Some 29 of the 50 states are reporting budget crises. Lo an behold, most of the hardest hit states are those with bloated Nanny State bureaucracies. No surprise there. The states that had the worst fiscal management, of course, will get the biggest share of the taxpayer funds. Those that were fiscally conservative will get nothing.” A recent wire service headline confirmed that prediction: U.S. governors seek $1 trillion federal assistance.The article begins: “Governors of five U.S. states urged the federal government to provide $1 trillion in aid to the country’s 50 states to help pay for education, welfare and infrastructure as states struggle with steep budget deficits amid a deepening recession. The governors of New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Ohio and Wisconsin — all Democrats — said the initiative for the two-year aid package was backed by other governors and follows a meeting in December where governors called on President-elect Barack Obama to help them maintain services in the face of slumping revenues.”

This is affirmation of my long-standing assertion that the MOAB will continue to expand, uncontrollably. According to a published tally sent to me by SurvivalBlog reader Matt C., $7.2 trillion of bailout money has been allocated, of which $2.6 trillion has already been spent. It is noteworthy that this figure does not include President-elect BHO’s proposed $1 trillion “stimulus package”, nor does it include the $1 trillion sought by the state governors.But even this glut of Federal largesse (from your wallet, BTW), will be insufficient. You will read of some spectacular state and municipal bond failures, more derivatives fiascos, state pension funds “in crisis”, and then there will be news of “special levies”, “temporary’ or “one time” taxes, and so forth. I anticipate that both state income taxes and state sales taxes will increase dramatically. There of course will also be news of “drastic” cut-backs, but chances are that while some of the more extravagant programs will be cut, few bureaucratic paper-pushing jobs will be sacrificed. (That, my friends is is the only truly “essential service” in the eyes of a bureaucrat.) I also would not be surprised to see some of the states that have never had sales taxes start to implement them. The bottom line is that we can expect taxes to increase at the city, state, and Federal levels. In an era of rising unemployment, the few people that are still productive and fully employed will be asked to shoulder the burden of the bailouts. It will be wealth redistribution on a grand scale–Robin Hoodism run amok. The only genuine escape from all this would be expatriation, but few will take that route. However, the one thing that you can do with relative ease is move internally to a state with a smaller scale of government. Again, it is no coincidence that the states that have he most bloated bureaucracies, the least fiscal responsibility, and the most Nanny State trappings are those that are having the biggest budget crises. If you stay in any of those states, they are going to sock it to you. You can expect–with utter certainty–that the tax rates in those states to soon rise to painful levels. My advice is simple: Vote with your feet.

For any of SurvivalBlog readers that are self-employed, or that are retired (or that are about to retire), or that have “portable” jobs that are readily available with the same job security in other states, my advice comes down to one word: move. If you have been considering moving to a state with suitable retreat areas, take this as your cue. Given the deteriorating real estate markets-both residential and commercial–this may indeed be your last chance to sell and move before you lose another 30% of your equity. Parenthetically, I recently had some correspondence with a consulting client that owner of a small but prosperous business in California. This man owns both a home and half a dozen pieces of commercial real estate. He is someone that has been “considering” moving to a state where hi family would have better chance of avoiding violent crime. My advice to him was blunt:

“I recommend that you seriously consider moving out of California, while you still have the chance to sell your business as a profitable operation, and sell your other commercial properties at a profit.” And later, “I recommend moving out of California and making your new [retreat] home your full-time residence. Sell off most or all of your California properties. Perhaps leave one or two that are the most stable, profitable, and recession proof in the hands of a trustworthy commercial property management company. I realize that it is a major life change that we are discussing, but recognize the real decisions have already been made, and made by folks “above our pay grade”. Presently, 99% of the population are deer in the headlights. They are petrified and they are going to get squashed. You are in a good position at present, and you should take full advantage of it by cashing out and moving as soon as possible. If you wait until the recession (and then depression) sets in in earnest, you will probably lose nearly everything. ” And later in the correspondence, after he mentioned how his business ventures were still prospering, I wrote: ” At the current rate, the prosperity you currently enjoy will evaporate in less than two years. By then, all that you will have is un-sellable properties and negative cash flows. Get out!” I then went on to recommend to make some specific recommendations on potential retreat locales (one of which was highlighted in my book “Rawles on Retreat and Relocation“.) I concluded with an admonition: “There are quality of like issues at stake, but more importantly preservation of life issues. Discuss this with your family and pray about it. In any case reduce your commercial real estate holdings, as soon as possible. That needs to be done, regardless of where you move. Do not hesitate.”

I’m sure that there are many other SurvivalBlog readers that are in comparable situations to that consulting client. My advice to many of you would probably be much the same. The only strong proviso in all this is: Do not abandon a job that is good-paying and that has genuine job security. In times like these, that would be foolish.

Letter Re: Bulk Diesel Fuel Antibacterial and Stabilizer

Hi Jim,
For what it is worth: I was quoted $1.99/gal for diesel/fuel oil for Friday delivery (Northern Virginia) from the terminal, and since it looks like prices will be heading up from here, I am filling all of my reserve tanks. After several hours of study, I decided to go with FPPF Super Fuel Storage Stabilizer and FPPF KILLEM (rather than PRI-D or Stanadyne products) in 32 ounce bottles to protect my investment. The best price I found via mail order was from Fleet Source in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Delivered cost: $126 for enough to treat 4,000 gallons.

I hope this is useful information for your other readers. Thank you so very much for your wonderful work! Happy New Year! – Scott in Northern Virginia

Letter Re: Small Volume Water Purification with UV from Sunlight

Jim,
I recently learned about a water purification system that is being promoted by Rotary International for Third World areas without safe drinking water. Simply put: fill a plastic bottle with water, and leave it in the bright sun for six hours. The ultraviolet (UV) light kills the pathogens, and the water is safe to drink. [JWR Adds: This method only works well with fairly clear water. UV light cannot penetrate very murky water, and it will not sterilize any plant matter suspended in the water. So be sure to use a pre-filter when treating water from open sources such as ponds, lakes, or streams. ]

Sound too good to be true? The Swiss-developed system has been saving lives for 17 years. It is fastest in the tropics, where increased water temperature assists the process. Winter use in temperate zones may want to consider using solar ovens or greenhouses to achieve adequate water temperature. Even in bright cloudy weather, the process is effective after two days.

I might not want to make this my first potion, but if stranded in the wilderness, of stuck for an extended period without a reliable water supply, I’d give it serious consideration. Regards, – Ben

Letter Re: Acquiring Tire Repair Supplies and Compressors

Mr. Rawles,
After getting a flat tire recently in the back-country I decided to beef up my off-road repair kit with more than just a spare tire. I now have two spares. I’ve also added a portable 12V compressor along with a portable tire puncture repair kit like this one.

For $35 the kit includes enough plugs to repair perhaps a dozen punctures, extra valve stems and valves, valve wrench and high quality reamer and needle for applying the tire plugs. It is an excellent kit and is much higher quality than the plug kits you find in typical auto stores.

In some states it’s illegal to use tire plugs, but for an emergency situation it may be just the ticket you need to get to a tire shop and have a proper tire patch applied. – Craig R.

JWR Replies: That is good advice. I must add one proviso: The 12 VDC compressors normally sold for roadside emergencies use a very wimpy compressor that will not re-inflate a flat tire that has the weight of a car resting on in. They just don’t have the requisite oomph. Buy a proper 117 VAC compressor with a 2 gallon pressure tank. (If you are a SurvivalBlog reader, odds are that you already carry a 117 VAC inverter, anyway. These compressors can be run from a small inverter. I’ve done so many times around the ranch.) If you pay less than $50 for a new compressor, then you can be sure that it will be inadequate for anything more than adding a few pounds of pressure to a tire with a slow leak.

Odds ‘n Sods:

Thanks to Lisa for finding this gem: Blacksmith ‘a collector of forgotten trades’

   o o o

Joe H. sent us a link to an article from Permaculture magazine about self-sufficient living on the cheap (in England)

   o o o

I read that the latest movie in the Terminator franchise (Terminator 4: Salvation) is scheduled for release on May 22, 2009. Judging from the trailers, it looks like most if not all of the film takes place in the post-Skynet nuked future. This one should be good.

   o o o

The latest flurry of economic news and commentary links from The Economatrix: Bank Bailouts a Failure…And There is No Plan “B” — Frugal is Cool in Cash-Strapped US — UK $200 Billion Re-Financing Time Bomb — UK Banks on Brink of Second Bailout — UK Banks Defy Brown’s Call to Loosen Credit — BoE to Cut Interest Rates; Savers to Receive Zero Interest — Jobless in City Park Tent Village — US Manufacturing Slumps to 1980 Low — Gulf Cooperation Council to Create New Currency — Feds Sell Off Failed IndyMac for $13.9 Billion — Sanderson State Bank Latest Failed Bank — Oil Prices Rebound as Dollar Slumps — Store Bankruptcies Can Burn Shoppers — Will Your Cell Phone Crash in Emergencies?

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FloridaGuy flagged this: Newark, New Jersey bans barbed wire

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"There was no court in Holland which would enforce payment. The question was raised in Amsterdam, but the judges unanimously refused to interfere, on the ground that debts contracted in gambling were no debts in law. Thus the matter rested. To find a remedy was beyond the power of the government. Those who were unlucky enough to have had stores of tulips on hand at the time of the sudden reaction were left to bear their ruin as philosophically as they could; those who had made profits were allowed to keep them; but the commerce of the country suffered a severe shock, from which it was many years ere it recovered." – Charles Mackay, LL.D., describing the Tulipomania, in Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, first published London,1841.

Letter Re: Building a Very Inexpensive 10-in-1 Machine Tool for Every Retreat

Dear Mr. Rawles
The [home-made] MultiMachine is an accurate all-purpose machine tool that can be used as a metal or wood lathe, end mill, horizontal mill, drill press, wood or metal saw or sander, surface grinder and sheet metal “spinner”. It can be built by a semi-skilled mechanic using just common hand tools. For machine construction, electricity can be replaced with “elbow grease” and all the necessary material can come from discarded vehicle parts.

If the MultiMachine builder adds just three easily-learned skills:

Making small welds with a welder made from three vehicle batteries hooked in series.
Using a flower pot furnace to make simple Zinc and Aluminum alloy castings.
Grinding lathe cutting tools. (There are many “How to” instructions on the web for all this).

…then they can then build seven additional metal bending, rolling and cutting tools that could be used to equip a small but fully functional metal working factory.
That’s about 20 serious metal working tools in a project that needs just broken engine blocks, used pipe and truck frame pieces (and lots of hacksaw blades)!

How can just one kind of machine do all this? In almost every kind of machining operation, either the work piece or the cutting tool turns. If enough flexibility is built into these functions, the resulting machine can do almost every kind of metal working operation that will physically fit.
Sounds crazy or too good to be true? The 4,600 member Yahoo news group on Multimachines doesn’t think so and are standing ready to help.
Don’t know anything about machining? Read the small book “How to Run a Lathe” available on our news group.
Every person interested in personal survival needs these free books and video in their library (at least)!
Again, no catches, no charges, no nothing! Just benefit from the seven years work spent developing machine tools for poor people in developing countries. – Pat D.