Month: September 2006

Letter Re: American Citizenry Preparedness — Columbia University Study

Jim- I sent a preparedness study [from Columbia University] to your attention a few weeks ago; I could not find the online source document. Since it showed up in my media scanning again today, I tried to track it down a little better. I have below some associated links, and the home page (which has a great deal of additional info on it: Preparedness Study News Article Columbia University Projects Web Page Columbia University Research Page Columbia University Index Page As a side note, I purchased Arbogast’s “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course.; it has much well thought out content. …


Letter Re: DAK Canned Ham Storage Life and Date Codes

DAK hams were mentioned in a recent article as a good canned meat to store. I agree with this 110%….I’ve actually called and talked to the supervisor of DAK hams in the USA. His name is Ole he is very nice and wonderful to talk too I recommend it… Ole has told me repeatedly that DAK hams will store for at least 5 years at normal room temperatures. Ole also told me how to read the date code on the can. its format is XXXX H or generally that way the first 2 digits are the DAY of the year …


Letter Re: Swords and Bows for that Dreaded Multigenerational Scenario

Dear Jim, I concur on a gladius (which is the same size as a Celtic leaf blade, Greek hoplite, Swiss baselard or 18th century artillery short sword) as a good choice in swords. It’s about the length of one joint of the arm, so it becomes an almost perfect extension and usable fairly instinctively. It works better with a shield–1/2 to 3/4 plywood. A basic one can be cut from thin leaf spring stock (1/4″ or 3/16″) or riding mower blades. It works best in formation, but that’s unlikely to be a scenario in the future. Swordsmithing more than bladesmithing …


Odds ‘n Sods:

In a recent newsletter article, economist Dr. Gary North commented: “We are at the cusp of Bernanke’s experiment: to reverse Greenspan’s era of monetary expansion without toppling the bubbles that this expansion led to. Can he do it? If he can, and if he does, then he is a wizard much more gifted than Greenspan. Anyone can inflate the money supply. The trick is to stabilize it without tanking the economy after the policy of inflation is a decade old. Paul Volcker could not do it, 1979-81. Greenspan never tried. For those of you who don’t remember January, 1980, gold …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"The rifle is a weapon. Let there be no mistake about that. It is a tool of power, and thus dependent completely upon the moral stature of its user. It is equally useful in securing meat for the table, destroying group enemies on the battlefield, and resisting tyranny. In fact, it is the only means of resisting tyranny, since a citizenry armed with rifles simply cannot be tyrannized. The rifle itself has no moral stature, since it has no will of its own. Naturally, it may be used by evil men for evil purposes, but there are more good men …


Notes from JWR:

We were saddened to hear of the passing of Col. Jeff Cooper yesterday. He was a fine American, a true Patriot, and a master at his craft. Our condolences to his wife Janelle. Round 6 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest ends in three days! The writer of the best non-fiction article will win a valuable four day “gray” transferable Front Sight course certificate. (Worth up to $1,600.) Second prize is a copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, generously donated by Jake Stafford of Arbogast Publishing. If you want a chance to win Round 6, e-mail us …


Maximizing Food Storage Life, by R.E.M.

Well, I guess it is safe to say that we have successfully dodged the Y2K bullet (still not completely sure though), which means that a lot of us that implemented food storage programs in its anticipation in 1998 and 1999 are now looking at rotating stock. This, coupled with current events, has me refocused on restocking. I have some tips to share that may be of value to readers that find themselves in a similar position. First, when evaluating how to go about restocking food supplies, consult the Excel spreadsheet that you created when you first started to get serious …


Letter Re: Questions on the Pickup Truck as a Multi-Purpose Retreat Vehicle

Dear Jim and loyal SurvivalBlog readers: I have been researching pickup trucks as my next logical purchase in preparation for the inevitable short or long-term SHTF/grid-down scenario. I have decided that I will purchase an older (pre-1990/EMP-resistant), diesel, 4 x 4 pickup truck, probably a Ford, but maybe a Dodge or GMC/Chevy. The truck will need to be powerful enough to tow whatever (trailer, boat, camper) as well as be able to effectively plow snow (living here in snowy New England after all). My decision is based on reading the many postings on SurvivalBlog regarding the best G.O.O.D. vehicle to …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Our friend Simon mentioned this article at WorldNetDaily: The city of Cooper City, Florida, has given itself the power to seize residents’ personal property in times of emergency.    o o o The bidding is still at $180 in the SurvivalBlog benefit auction for a fully tested and recently professionally calibrated U.S. government surplus Civil Defense CD V-717 fallout survey meter with remote sensing capability. The meter was donated by Ready Made Resources (one of our first and most loyal advertisers). This auction ends on October 15th. Please submit your bid via e-mail.    o o o The big sale …




Derivatives–The Mystery Man Who’ll Break the Global Bank at Monte Carlo

When I do radio interviews or lecture presentations, I’m often asked: “Mister Rawles, what do you see as a likely ‘worst case scenario’?” People expect me to say “a full scale nuclear exchange in World War III” or, “a stock market crash”, or “a flu pandemic”, or “a sudden end to the current real estate bubble.” But most of them are surprised when I respond: Economic collapse triggered by the popping of the derivatives bubble. Many people that are involved in the periphery of the investing–including most small investors–have never even heard of derivatives. They may have heard of ‘hedge …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader D.M. mentioned this site on anonymous web surfing. I personally recommend these tried and true tools: Anonymizer and StealthSurfer.    o o o I have a good friend that is an attorney who specializes in privacy, trusts, and incorporation. If you’d like to contact her, just send me an e-mail with “Trust Attorney” in the title, and I will be happy to forward it to her.    o o o Courtesy of “akfanatic” at the FALFiles, here is a U.S. Army web site comparing commercial portable water filters.


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"The liberties of our country, the freedom of our civil constitution, are worth defending at all hazards; and it is our duty to defend them against all attacks. We have received them as a fair inheritance from our worthy ancestors; they purchased them for us with toil and danger and expense of treasure and blood. It will bring an everlasting mark of infamy on the present generation, enlightened as it is, if we should suffer them to be wrested from us by violence without a struggle, or be cheated out of them by the artifices of false and designing men." …


Rethinking Global Oil Reserves by Michael Z. Williamson

Ah, oil. It’s close in everyone’s minds because we rely on it absolutely. It fuels our vehicles, some houses, provides lubricants, is used for all our plastics and in many industrial applications. The first major factor in the chain is surveying and drilling of crude. As recently made the news, a massive reserve in the Gulf of Mexico has increased our domestic supply by 50%. There are also newer technologies coming on board for extracting oil from tougher resources (Shales, sands, deep wells, from under permafrost) and also manufacturing oil from organic waste, in a process called Thermodepolymerization (TDP). The …