Month: November 2007

Six Letters Re: New-Found Respect for .223 as a Potential Man Stopper

Jim- I couldn’t help but respond to the blast of letters re: “.223 as Man Stopper”, as most of my time in the employ of our Uncle Sam was engaged in the testing and evaluation of small arms, OPFOR and NATO. (As a matter of full disclosure, I did not offer any opinions or make decisions regarding their respective performances; rather, I merely conducted the tests and recorded the results. Therefore my opinions were/are not colored by the political intrigues of small arms procurement procedures). The trap we, as survivalists/retreaters fall into when looking at our weaponry is to look …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Courtesy of CS in Wisconsin comes a couple of articles about former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan “Mr. Magoo” Greenspan: from Bloomburg.com: Greenspan Says U.S. House Prices Keep Falling After `Shocker’ and Greenspan Has No `Regrets’ as Housing Slump Deepens. CS’s comment: “If I set up the housing bubble don’t blame me now, I’m writing down my memoirs!”    o o o RBS suggested this article over at 321Gold.com by Bill Bonner: Subprime–The Ultimate Financial Accident    o o o The 33% off sale for the “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course ends in just five days. (November 30th.) Place your …



Notes from JWR:

The 33% off sale for the “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course ends in just six days (on November 30th), so place your order soon! Today we present another article for Round 13 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The writer of the best non-fiction article will win a valuable four day “gray” transferable Front Sight course certificate. (Worth up to $2,000!) Second prize is a copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, generously donated by Jake Stafford of Arbogast Publishing. Round 13 ends on November 30th. Remember that articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival …


Preparedness While on Business Travel–What to Pack, by LP

If you’re like me, there are times when you have to leave almost all your preparedness stuff behind as you journey by air to strange, far-off places on behalf of your employer. No access to your well-stocked SUV. You are alone, and home is hundreds if not thousands of miles away. But disaster will not be consulting your personal travel itinerary before it strikes. How best should you prepare? Let’s first discuss the objective, as it determines the approach. For most of us, we leave family, friends, and a (more-or-less) well-stocked homestead behind. This means Your primary objective is to …


Letter Re: Light, Noise, and Smoke Discipline for Retreat Security

Sir: Ianto Evans has a book called “Rocket Mass Heaters”. He is a Welsh inventor, who was hired by the government of Guatemala to develop a less polluting wood stove for cooking. It also had to be more efficient. Basic physics tells you that exhaust heat is wasted energy. The smoke out of his stoves are cool enough to put your hand in front of, and they don’t emit visible smoke. They use much less wood as well and can be made for under $100. EndTimesReport.com has interesting articles on the importance of kerosene heaters, as a way to avoid …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Florida Guy found us this one: The great depression of 2008 – the mother of all depressions    o o o Frequent contributor RBS flagged this article from Time magazine: After the Oil Crisis, a Food Crisis?    o o o The US Dollar dropped below the crucial 1.10 Swiss Franc level. There is an old saying, “Its a just a stumble and short trip from the limousine to the gutter.”    o o o John the Bowhunter recommended some commentary from Michigan’s Attorney General Mike Cox, writing in The Wall Street Journal: Second-Amendment Showdown



Notes from JWR:

JRH Enterprises (one of our most loyal advertisers) is having a Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) sale, today only. The on-sale items include PRI fuel preservative, children’s and adult gas masks, night vision gear, medical items, and long term storage foods. Be sure to visit their site and check out their great line of reasonably-priced preparedness and outdoors gear.


Letter Re: The Best Way to Stock Up on Food at the Eleventh Hour?

James, I currently live in a studio apartment, and my storage space is limited. I have already done my darndest to get creative on storage. For example my “coffee table” is actually eight cases of bottled water, topped with a slab of plywood, and then draped with a decorative print throw. And my bed is a “stylishly” extra tall four-poster, just for the sake of the storage space underneath. But I still lack the space needed for seeeeerious food storage. Because of some deep family commitments, I don’t plan to bug out, but instead “hunker down” in place. (I live …


Letter Re: Climate Change Myth and Reality

Jim: Regarding the recent Odd ‘n Sods link to the article about “The Prophet of Climate Change”: This planet on which we live has been “globally warmed” before, during that episode of time sometimes referred-to as the “Medieval Warm Period”. This warming (which is acknowledged to have been even warmer than our present-day) occurred without benefit of (the) Industrial Revolution, or even of a large human population. It (the Warming) waxed into being beginning around 750-850 A.D., waned, and then moved into the next bit of planetary-cycle, often thought of as (the) “Little Ice Age”. This globe on which we …


Weekly Survival Real Estate Market Update

Isolation, Neighbors, Security and the Golden Rule This week we’ll look into some characteristics of retreat shopping that normally won’t become an issue until you have actually spent time “in theater” and have narrowed your search to several possible retreat properties to purchase. After taking the time to look at the properties available through SurvivalRealty.com and/or working with an experienced local agent in your selected retreat region, you should eventually work your list up to perhaps a half dozen prospective retreat properties that are on the market. . Then it is time to whittle that list down, by selecting the …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Just a reminder for those of you that assembled the $20 First Aid Kits last year. (See JN-EMT’s prize-winning article.) It is now time to replace your medications and re-stock. Also, consider making up some first aid kits for your friends/family and giving them away as Christmas gifts. You never know when you might get it back when you need help.    o o o It was announced that the US supreme court court will hear an appeal of the Heller case, wherein Washington, D.C. residents sued to overturn DC’s gun ban. God willing, the court’s ruling will expand the …