Month: November 2007

Three Letters Re: Storage Foods for Vegetarians?

James: I know there are a lot of dedicated vegetarians, including my own grandson, who would have great difficulty maintaining their ideal diet in extreme times. There is good chart available, listing plant food protein combinations I feel that many would have to become more realistic as the hard labor required to stay alive would preclude being picky about your vittles! You would need the extra calories/fat in meat at least to a modest extent to keep up strength and vitality. We eat vegetarian 2-to-3 times weekly just to learn about it and because we just plain love veggies but …


Letter Re: Will “Jericho” be Affected by the Current Screenwriter’s Strike?

Hi Mr. Rawles, Do you know if the Hollywood writers strike will effect the filming of the CBS television series Jericho? If the [spilt season] filming has been completed, I guess that maybe the strike could be the best thing for Jericho since it would be an all-new show in a lineup of [other shows that are] repeats. Regards, – Sam JWR Replies: I haven’t heard per se, but it is probably safe to assume that most of the Jericho scripts are written by Writer’s Guild of America (WGA) members. I heard from Rourke–the moderator of the Jericho Discussion Group–that …


Letter Re: A Source for Free Coffee Grounds for Composting

James: I found a good source for coffee grounds for using in [gardening] compost. Starbucks packages their used coffee grounds and it’s free for the taking. The packaged grounds are usually located in a bin in any Starbucks store. If you can’t find it just ask for it and they are happy to supply you. Here’s the link that touches on their coffee grounds program. I hope that others can find this of use in their applications. – Desert T JWR Adds: Speaking of coffee, it is interesting to note the value of Starbucks stock have become a barometer for …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Mike in Seattle sent this piece from WorldNetDaily: In event of emergency … call out the military? Could this mean the end of the generations-old protections provided by the Posse Comitatus statutes?    o o o Anyone looking for like-minded survivalist friends (to join a group or form a new group), or perhaps a potential spouse should be sure to check out the Liberty Mates on-line matchmaking service. Liberty Mates was started as a meeting place for Libertarians, homes schoolers and Constitutionalists, but naturally it has a large crossover survivalist readership. So that you’ll be able to find their site …



Note from JWR:

The high bid is now at $250 in the SurvivalBlog benefit auction, for six items: 1.) a Katadyn Pocket water filter, (with a $200 retail value) 2.) a Watersafe field water test kit ( a $27 retail value), both donated by Ready Made Resources, 3.) A copy of the latest edition of “The Encyclopedia of Country Living” by the late Carla Emery (a $32 retail value) 4.) an autographed copy of my novel“Patriots” (a $23 retail value), 5.) an autographed copy of my nonfiction book “Rawles on Retreats and Relocation” (a $25 retail value), and 6.) a SurvivalBlog Logo Contractor/Operator …


Off the Record Comments from a Saudi Prince: Possible Collapse of the US Dollar

A big red flag went up on Saturday, when a “must read” article was published on the web site of The Business (a British international business news magazine): Saudi minister warns of dollar collapse. I loved the bit about the inadvertently open microphone. There is something about “off the record” comments about a potential US Dollar collapse that is strangely reminiscent. (I just can’t quite place it…) Meanwhile, our friend Stephen in Iraq pointed out this article signaling trouble ahead: US inflation reaches 14-month high. The economic pendulum is definitely starting to swing more violently. I predict that things will …


Three Letters Re: The Importance of Making Your BOV Less Visible

Mr. Rawles, For those of us whose BOV is their primary POV, even using flat one-color paint would draw unnecessary attention. Even if your vehicle needs a “normal” (not flat) paint job, my recommendation would be that you keep your choices of colors dull, and earthy. Charcoals, browns and dark tans are good colors to use, generally popular and available, yet are much harder for they eye to detect than other colors. In daylight and low-light conditions, these colors blend with every background. Even at night, a moving, flat black vehicle will stand out more than a moving dark gray/dark …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Thanks to SJC for sending this: Virulent form of cold virus spreads in U.S.. The general trend is for mutation into less virulent forms, but sometimes a “sport” shows up.    o o o Hawaiian K. sent us this: The Prophet of Climate Change: James Lovelock–One of the most eminent scientists of our time says that global warming is irreversible — and that more than 6 billion people will perish by the end of the century    o o o Michael Panzner, writing in his Financial Armageddon blog, posted an article about how troubled Fannie Mae has changed how it …



Notes from JWR:

The high bid is now at $210 in the SurvivalBlog benefit auction, for six items: 1.) a Katadyn Pocket water filter, (with a $200 retail value) 2.) a Watersafe field water test kit ( a $27 retail value), both donated by Ready Made Resources, 3.) A copy of the latest edition of “The Encyclopedia of Country Living” by the late Carla Emery (a $32 retail value) 4.) an autographed copy of my novel“Patriots” (a $23 retail value), 5.) an autographed copy of my nonfiction book “Rawles on Retreats and Relocation” (a $25 retail value), and 6.) a SurvivalBlog Logo Contractor/Operator …


Letter Re: Show Caution When Dispensing Charity

Jim, I read the letter posted about showing caution when dispensing charity. I like the “give ’til it hurts” philosophy from “Patriots” a lot. I have had some training on handling displaced refugees/evacuees/displaced persons which I hope could benefit some readers. I would strongly suggest dividing charity into two distinct areas; charity to neighbors (fixed location) and charity to refugees (mobile). The main purpose of giving aid to refugees is to enable them to keep moving along. Give them water and (if you can spare it) food that they can prepare later when they stop for the night and anything …


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

Jim: When you stop an think about the thickness of the human chest as compared to a large well-muscled deer they are about the same. This is what my family and our friend have done with the same .223 rifle this year: – Buck 150 yards one shot one kill. Dropped on the spot, dead. – Doe 125 yards one shot one kill. Walked five feet and dropped dead. – Doe 220 yards one shot one kill. Dropped on the spot, dead. – Doe 275 yards one shot one kill. Dropped on the spot, dead. – Buck 400 yards one …


Letter Re: Recommended Spare Parts for Firearms

Sir: I am interested in acquiring a good stock of spare parts for my firearms but am not sure where to start. For my AR-15 I got a spare parts kit which covers all the likely culprits for failure (I know it well enough to be sure of that). Eventually I will get an extra bolt carrier group for it. However I do not know enough about the parts that tend to fail for other firearms in my collection. The other firearms I am concerned with are: Springfield Mil Spec .45 [Colt M1911 clone] , Mossberg 500 12 gauge, Ruger …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Thanks to our friend L.C. who alerted us to this news story: Manteca homes up for auction. Manteca (which fittingly means “lard” in Spanish) is a small town at the far eastern fringe of commuting distance to the San Francisco Bay Area–a full two hour drive from San Francisco when there is no traffic. Similar auctions have taken place recently in Los Banos and Tracy, California. Most of the homeowners in these neighborhoods have eaten their slice of Humble Pie quietly, but others have protested. L.C.’s comment: “One recent auction raised howls of protest from some of the owners that …