Bad Advice on Buying Silver?

Tina wrote to UrbanSurvivalSkills and asked: " Several of my friends and I get together to can vegetables, and we take turns going to flea markets to sell items we no longer want or can do without. This has brought about a on-going conversation about the dollar collapse (not all my friends believe) and what it would be like to have a barter only community. I brought up the fact that I have been buying some Silver coins. Two of my girl friends almost seemed offended saying that: if we have a Germany type of dollar collapse, money and gold and silver will be useless and only bartering items and growing your own food for trade would be the right. How can I make them see that having some Silver and possibly Gold is a good idea, along with food?"

UrbanMan's reply: If your friends agree with having physical skills and material to enter into a collapse and survive through barter then they have taken the first step to Surviving SHTF, however you won't be able to talk anyone into anything. It just may be too uncomfortable for them to think about it or accept the possibilities of an impending collapse and the chaos it brings. It will come back to haunt you if you do try and talk them into anything. They need to reach the belief in preparation on their own accord based on the merits of the facts.

Second of all, if one or two of your "friends" think that buying Gold or Silver is foolish, then their attitude probably stems from the "Being Left Behind" syndrome. This is where they are mad that they did not have the same foresight to procure Silver and Gold, be it Bullion or coins for Silver melt value, and don't want you to be ahead of them. This is also the so called "Crabs in a Bucket" phenomenon. If you put crabs in a bucket, when one finds a way to climb up and escape, the others will actually pull him back down into the crowd.......it's like "how dare you" get ahead of us.

In fact, you ought to search for "Crabs in a Bucket" on you tube.

It is great that you and your friends can produce barterable goods, go to flea markets to work in the barter society or otherwise find that what you can make has value for others. There are many other categories for preparing for a economic collapse,.... .......planning, security and the stocking of appropriate durable and on-durable items and material to make survival not only possible, but possible with some decent standard of living. After all, that's the goal.

If you continue dripping information to them about buying Gold and Silver your "friends" will undoubtedly turn to the "Gold and Silver are poor investments argument". Your counter is that you are buying Gold and Silver as a commerce contingency in the period of time when the dollar deflates in value and before a true straight barter society will commence.

I truly think that during and after the period when the dollar becomes worthless, Silver and Gold will be of value and will end up being the new basis for a new currency standard. Tell your friends that if they think Silver and Gold are not important then that's fine,....don't buy any. And I'll just bet one silver round to a can of your vegetables that your friends will experience "fear of being left behind" and start some type of Silver procurement, even if it's just a couple of one ounce Silver rounds a month.

Good luck and prepare well, Tina.

Another Look at the Coming Dollar Collapse

Excellent and easily readable article by Greg Hunter’s of USAWatchdog.
Defining conditions in Europe and how the collapse of the dollar and therefore rise of Gold will occur.

At the beginning of this month, the G20 met in France to try to find a way to solve the European sovereign debt crisis. It ended with world leaders in disarray over a way to come up with a solution. At first blush, it appears that nothing of any importance came of the meeting of the 20 leading economies of the world, but that is not the case. It was widely reported the G20 came up with the idea that Germany might put up its gold reserves to back a bailout fund called the European Financial Stability Facility or EFSF. Of course, Germany , with its more than 3,400 tonnes of gold (number 2 in the world), quickly shot that idea down. End of story? Quite the contrary–the gold story is just beginning to get interesting.

You see, the G20 did something accidentally that was very important, and that was confirm that gold has a place in the monetary system, especially in times of extreme turmoil. Why doesn’t the EU use sovereign bonds to back the EFSF? They are considered a store of value and are held as reserves in many European banks. The simple answer is the world is waking up to the fact that debt can’t back up debt. Europe finds itself in a tough spot, and the leaders there know it. Reuters reported Monday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said, “Europe is in one of its toughest, perhaps the toughest hour since World War Two,” she told her Christian Democrats, saying she feared Europe would fail if the euro failed and vowing to do anything to stop this from happening.” Well, anything but put Germany ’s gold up as collateral. Maybe Chancellor Merkel will be the next leader to exit the European stage? Who knows, but what I do know is that gold is once again going to become an important part of the world monetary system.

UrbanMan's comment: By the virtue of Gold increasing in value, so will Silver. Currently the ratio of Gold and Silver, $1,800 and $34 an ounce respectively, is at an approx ratio of 1:53. That ratio is expected to decrease as the historic Gold to Silver ratio is much narrow than that, so the correction will bring the value of Silver much higher as well.

In a new book called “Currency Wars,” Wall Street insider Jim Rickards examines how countries try to get out of financial trouble by devaluing their currencies. Rickards says, “Today, as yesterday, countries are attempting to devalue their way out of trouble. Following the strategy of beggar-thy- neighbor, the U.S. , Europe, China and Japan all want to weaken their currencies. The flaw in the tactic should be clear. “Not everyone could cheapen at once,” Rickards writes. “The circle still could not be squared.” Rickards predicts the U.S. dollar’s future is not bright, and if there were a “catastrophic collapse of investor confidence,” the dollar’s buying power could suffer suddenly and dramatically in a global sell off.

Gold would be the big beneficiary if the dollar declined, and Rickards’ top price for gold per ounce is–wait for it–$44,552! That price is the absolute highest possibility. Rickards and others predict that in the next few years, America will go back on some sort of gold standard. Meaning, the dollar will be backed by gold, but Rickards has stated on many occasions that there probably will not be a100% gold backed U.S. dollar. Instead, Rickards contends it will be more in the neighborhood of 40%. If that is the case, then gold would be $17,821 per ounce using Rickards numbers. It appears gold prices are going much higher.

UrbanMan's comment: Again, silver will increase as well and by virtue of it's lower cost to procure, it remains not only the poorer man's precious metal for SHTF, but an easier bought one as well.

The main factor in determining gold price is money printing, and one of the biggest currency creators on the planet is the Federal Reserve. It created enormous amounts of money in the wake of the 2008 meltdown, and it looks like it is getting ready to unleash mountains of even more cash to stop the impending Euro-land meltdown. This week, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard indicated the central bank would take action if the EU sovereign debt crisis turns chaotic. According to a Wall Street Journal report, “Bullard said that if overseas events worsened significantly, the Fed could respond, saying “the Fed can re-open some of the liquidity facilities that were used during 2008-2009″ to reduce related market disruptions. “It will be fairly clear if some sort of crisis occurs in financial market that causes trust to break down,” it would then be time for the Fed to take action to alleviate the market tumult, he said.” It looks to me the Fed will be forced to print money to stop another financial meltdown. It is only a matter of time, and time appears short.

UrbanMan's comment: Something we hope never happens but refuse to let hope override good common sense in prepping. When the currency printing press start working over time the price of goods goes up because the dollar becomes devalued. Your pay checks will remain the same.....buying less and less until the one million a year that goes into poverty, becomes 15 million or more. Anarchy will reign when the true poverty level, currently at around 45 million hits 1/3 of the population or around 100 million.

Renowned economist Martin Armstrong says, “What this is really about is it’s the entire Western civilization that’s starting to crumble.” In an interview Monday on King World News, Armstrong warned, “Everything is falling apart and the politicians will not address it because it means having to change the system and that’s what they do not want to do. The real big money that I speak to, they are really starting to look beyond Italy , Greece , Spain and Portugal . They are starting to look at France and Germany .” Armstrong goes on to say, “They have borrowed year after year with no intention of paying it back. The US had $1 trillion of debt when Ronald Reagan took office in 1980. We are now pressing $15 trillion of debt.” The debt crisis throughout the Western world will push the price of the yellow metal (Gold) higher even though it is currently range bound. Armstrong says, “Basically what you are doing is you are building a sideways type of base. Eventually gold is going to take off to the upside, but largely when people begin to see the Emperor has no clothes and we’re getting close to that. I would only give it a few more months.”

When the next financial calamity hits, the Fed and other central banks will have two choices. They can print money to try and save the system they love, or let it implode. That means this is really all about gold now.

Mosin Nagent or British Enfield?

Nick wrote and asked UrbanSurvivalSkills which would be a better rifle, the Russian Mosin-Nagent or the British Enfield: "Hey I like your web site, especially the discussions on low cost preps and some of what some people do with about nothing. I am going to pickup a second rifle. My first is a M1 Garand in .30-06 and I have been looking at either a Russian 7.62 bolt action rifle or a British Enfield each I can get for less than $250. What do you think?"

UrbanMan's comment: With the price of the British Enfield at $250, I assume that it is a British Short Magazine Lee Enfield (SMLE) in the .303 British cartridge, and the Russian rifle is a Mosin-Nagent in 7.62x54R mm. Both are good rifles. If the Enfield you are talking about is an 1917 Enfield - then the discussion stops right here - buy that gun assuming it is in shootable condition. But lets go back to my first assumption that the Enfield is a Short Magazine Lee Enfield,....my thoughts on deciding between the two,....

Do you have enough ammunition stocked for the M1 Garand? Do you have a 12 gauge shotgun, with a decent magazine capacity and enough shot shells stocked for this gun? Both would be considerations for me before I bought a surplus military rifle.

The relative effectiveness of each cartridge - the .303 versus the 7.62x54R mm Russian are similar given the same bullet weight. If I am not mistaken, the .303 British has a very slight edge in muzzle velocity, too little to be a concern of mine. Both are accurate on large animal or man targets, certainly at 100 yards.

The advantages of the Lee-Enfield is a detachable 10 round box magazine, which presumably you could procure several more for a basic load. The disadvantages of the SMLE is that some were made in Canada (called Long Branches if I am again not mistaken) with only two grooves and were not very accurate at distances greater than 100 yards. Well, now I have to admit that thirty years ago, when I was in my twenties and buying guns left and right, I owned a SMLE of Long Branch manufacture and it was inaccurate. Maybe another disadvantage is the ammunition availability .....probably not nearly as available and more costly than the Russian 7.62x54R mm.

You can find 76.2x54R mm at multiple surplus and commercial sources, and at reasonable prices - stick to the non-corrosive primered stuff. The ammunition availability fact would drive me to choose the Mosin-Nagant over the SMLE. However, there are some SMLE re-barreled to 7.62 x 51mm Nato and if I found one of those in good condition it would be my choice over the Mosin-Nagent. Hope this helps you out. Prepare well and stay safe.

FBI Says Gangs Infiltrating the US Military

FBI Says Gangs Infiltrating the US Military, from a 27 October report available on military.com

The U.S. military is facing a "significant criminal threat" from gangs, including prison and biker gangs, whose members have found their way into the ranks, according to an FBI-led investigation.

UrbanMan's comments: Great! Not only is the gangs population growing across the U.S., now we have to be concerned with additional and more modern weaponry and training for these already organized criminal groups. As if the gang lack of respect for life and law isn't enough.

Some gang members get into the military to escape the streets, but then end up reconnecting once in, while others target the services specifically for the combat and weapons training, the National Gang Intelligence Center says in a just-released 2011 National Gang Threat Assessment/Emerging Trends.

Whatever the reasons, it's a bad mix. Gang members with military training pose a unique threat to law enforcement personnel because of their distinctive weapons and combat training skills and their ability to transfer these skills to fellow gang members," the report states. Gang members have been reported in every branch of the armed forces, though a large proportion of them have been affiliated with the Army, the Army Reserves or Army National Guard, it says.

The gang report is the third by the NGIC since 2005 and includes the most information yet on gangs in the military. The 2005 report made no mention of gang members in the armed forces, while the 2009 report devoted two paragraphs to the problem and listed 19 gangs said to include military-trained members. The NGIC is a multi-agency operation -- federal, state and local – headed up by the FBI to bring together intelligence on gangs and gang activity. The latest report devotes four pages to the problem and lists about 50 gangs with members with military backgrounds. In the past three years, it states, law enforcement officials in more than 100 jurisdictions have encountered, detained or arrested a gang member who was on active-duty or a former service member.

Younger gang members, who do not have arrest records, are reportedly making attempts to join the military, and also attempting to conceal any gang affiliation, including tattoos, during the recruitment process. And given the large U.S. military footprint overseas, gangs and gang dependents have found their way onto bases from Japan to Germany and Afghanistan and Iraq , where the center recorded instances of gang graffiti on military vehicles. The report also specifically relates the 2010 cases of three former Marines arrested in Los Angeles for selling illegal assault weapons to the Florencia 13 gang, and a U.S. Navy SEAL charged in Colorado with smuggling military-issued machine guns and other weapons from Iraq and Afghanistan into the U.S.

"Gang members armed with high-powered weapons and knowledge and expertise acquired from employment in law enforcement, corrections or the military may pose an increasing nationwide threat, as they employ these tactics and weapons against law enforcem4nt officials, rival gang members and civilians," the NGIC report says.

The NGIC assessment is not the first to look at the rising problems of gang members in the military.

The Army's Criminal Investigation Division has done a number of them over the years. It found the number of investigations of gang-related violent crimes rising to 9 in 2005, after several years of decline, with just 3 the year before. Most Soldiers found linked to gangs are junior enlisted members, CID found. "Overall, military communities continue to be a more stable, secure and lawful environment than their civilian counterparts, especially given recent access control and other
security enhancements," Army CID concluded.

UrbanMan's comment: Rawles' new book, "Survivors" has a story line about existing urban based criminal gangs accessing military grade weapons and equipment, which should make everyone think about the potential.