Month: April 2008

Odds ‘n Sods:

Bank of America Net Income Falls 77% on Writedowns. Something tells me that their acquisition of the mortgage lender Countrywide will not do good things for their balance sheet in the coming year.    o o o UN chief warns world must urgently increase food production    o o o Just as I predicted, lots of fallowed land in the CRP is again being tilled: Land Once Preserved Now Being Farmed    o o o Don’t miss reading this one, from The Market Oracle: Commercial Banks Heading for Huge Derivatives Losses- Credit Crisis Turning into Credit Armageddon



Notes from JWR:

A link to an article in the New York Sun is getting forwarded like wildfire on preparedness web sites and blogs, and was both linked at The Drudge Report and mentioned by talk radio host Glenn Beck: Food Rationing Confronts Breadbasket of the World. It is notable that the article specifically talks about shortages at the “big box” warehouse stores like COSTCO and Sam’s Club. Those are where I recommended stocking up, in my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course. Even with these current shortages, the course explains how a family can economically stock up 90% of what they need …


A Warning on Buying Full Capacity Magazines in “Kit Form”

Thankfully, the Federal ban on 11+ round firearms magazines “sunsetted” in September of 2004. But sadly some bans are still in effect at the state and local level. Most notably, these laws are still on the books: No pistol or SMG magazines with a capacity over 10 rounds in Hawaii. (High capacity magazines that only fit rifles are allowed. (For example, since there are AR-15 pistols, AR-15 magazines are banned.) No magazines with a capacity over 10 rounds in California, District of Columbia, Massachusetts, and New York. (See State Penal Code 265.23 for details. To the best of my knowledge, …


Three Letters Re: Hiding Things in Plain Sight

Jim, I have very carefully concealed my gun safe but in order to fool potential crooks, but I also have an old one that is very poorly hidden. It has stickers on it from my favorite firearms manufacturers. Once the [burglars] get it back to their den and peel it open, they will find themselves the proud owners of five large sandbags full of gravel. – Andy B.   James, My wife and I were recently discussing hiding places – what about inside a bucket of paint? Securely wrapping “the valuables” up in appropriate containers (likely several layers of Ziploc …


Letter Re: Potatoes as a Survival Garden Crop

Sir, It’s important to maintain a variety of root and grain crops for use as survival crops. Potatoes are easy to grow, easy to store and are nutritious enough to keep you healthy as a sole food (if you eat 2/3 of them raw). It is true potatoes have to be grown every year and that they are vulnerable to soil pathogens, but they can be grown under relatively low light, cool conditions, so why not take a small part of the harvest and raise them in a greenhouse through the winter with supplemental light. A half 55-gal. drum filled …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Retailing Chains Caught in a Wave of Bankruptcies. This is an inevitable result of the liquidity crisis, just as I had warned.    o o o Attacks in Middle East, Nigeria send oil to record $117.40    o o o Check out the inventory at CampingSurvival.com: camping gear, first aid supplies, tools, optics, knives, storage food, boots, colloidal silver, NBC protection, you name it. A couple of my favorite items are their emergency dental kit and their magnesium fire starter.    o o o RBS flagged this blog piece: Foreclosures now outnumber home sales in California



Note from JWR:

The high bid in the current SurvivalBlog Benefit Auction is now at $160. This auction is for four items: A FoodSaver GameSaver Turbo Plus heavy duty food vacuum packaging system (a retail value of $297) kindly donated by Ready Made Resources an autographed copy of : “Rawles on Retreats and Relocation”, an autographed copy of “SurvivalBlog: The Best of the Blog.”, and a copy of “The Encyclopedia of Country Living”, by the late Carla Emery. The four items have a combined retail value of around $395. The auction ends on May15th. Please e-mail us your bids, in $10 increments.


Letter Re: Hiding Things in Plain Sight

Mister Rawles, Household burglaries are all too common, especially where I live. (In a Cleveland, Ohio suburb. The crooks actually commute out to the suburbs to burglarize!) From news stories, I have observed that : 1.) They aren’t too smart. If they were, they’d have a “real” job!), and 2.) They are usually in a hurry. You’ve mentioned building hidden caches in your blog several times, but have you given any thought to hiding things in plain sight? For example you could empty out cans of unappealing food items (like dog food, or olives), and using that space for valuables. …


Letter Re: JWR’s Opinion of Kalashnikov (AK) Action Rifles

Jim, What is your opinion on owning the AK variant rifle as a survival weapon? Though medium powered and limited in range to 300 yards, I feel that the simplicity of this weapon is a big plus (as well as magazine capacity, ammo prices/availability. Thanks, Jason, North Idaho JWR Replies: I do like the AK action. They are very robust and designed to take a tremendous amount of abuse, as this YouTube video graphically illustrates.) The AKs chambered in the intermediate 7.62×39 cartridge are indeed are far less expensive than a FAL, M1A or HK91. But ballistically, this cartridge is …


Letter Re: Potatoes as a Survival Garden Crop

Mr. Rawles: The problem with potatoes as a survival crop, is that they are susceptible to soil-borne diseases. Before toxic sprays, seed potatoes were grown at elevations above 800 feet, which does help. They also require a very good root cellar, in order to keep all the way through the winter, until the next planting season. Seed potatoes cannot be stored for years like grains. One [year of] crop failure, and you are done. It helps to swap all your potatoes saved for seed with another gardener, some distance from you. Look for someone with a different type of soil, …


Odds ‘n Sods:

The mainstream media is finally catching on to the surging interest in the Survivalist movement. See, for example, a recent CNN Europe article, in which I’m dubbed ” unofficial spokesman” for the survivalist movement: Survivalists get ready for meltdown. OBTW, I was also quoted (albeit indirectly) in a breezy Fortune magazine article: The appeal of gold–Survivalists and speculators see it as the ultimate safe haven, but buying too much can also be a trap    o o o The folks at HAZARiD (one of our advertisers) recently revamped their web site and put up a video clip. Their fogging applicator …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"Above this race of men stands an immense and tutelary power, which takes upon itself alone to secure their gratifications, and to watch over their fate. That power is absolute, minute, regular, provident, and mild. It would be like the authority of a parent, if, like that authority, its object was to prepare men for manhood; but it seeks on the contrary to keep them in perpetual childhood : it is well content that the people should rejoice, provided they think of nothing but rejoicing. For their happiness such a government willingly labors, but it chooses to be the sole …


Notes from JWR:

We are happy to welcome our newest advertiser, Seed for Security. They provide heirloom variety (open pollinated/non-hybrid) gardening seeds. I am amazed at how political Wikipedia has become. I heard from a reader that the recent attempted deletion of the James Wesley Rawles article at Wikipedia was stopped, by consensus. But now, the neutrality of the article has been called into question. If you are an experienced Wikipedia editor, then please post your opinion about the article’s neutrality, one way or the other. Thanks!