Month: April 2008

Odds ‘n Sods:

Subprime defaults put the FHA in the poorhouse. Look for further growth in the Mother of All Bailouts (MOAB).    o o o Risk of Nuclear Attack on U.S. Rises    o o o Mike in Illinois suggested these two articles from New Scientist: Why the demise of civilisation may be inevitable and Will a pandemic bring down civilisation?    o o o The WRSA has a Basic Rifle Marksmanship Course scheduled for April 26-27 in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. OBTW, the WRSA is kindly donating paid admissions to any WRSA shooting event for just the first two people that respond …



Notes from JWR:

Today we present another article for Round 16 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The writer of the best non-fiction article will win two valuable four day “gray” transferable Front Sight course certificates. (Worth up to $4,000!) Second prize is a copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, generously donated by Jake Stafford of Arbogast Publishing. Round 16 ends on May 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entries. Remember that articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival will have an advantage in the judging. You may remember B.H. as one of the first …


Safe Food Handling, by B.H. in Western Washington

Safe food handling is critical for a healthy life in both good and bad times. As a former restaurant manager, I can tell you food safety or customer safety was priority number one. It’s hard to make money when you’ve killed your customers, which is the alternative to safe food handling. Death or severe illness is the unforgiving consequence to food borne illness. Food borne illnesses doesn’t just happen in restaurants it happens everywhere food is handled and prepared whether it’s during decadent affluence or full scale TEOTWAWKI. Please don’t confuse food poisoning with food borne illnesses. Chemicals, bacteria, or …


Two Letters Re: Getting from Point A to Point B

Mr. Editor, First, [E.I.D. presented] lots of good hints. I like the idea of getting good trail bikes and using them regularly to keep them and your self in shape. But I have long though the best comprise for distance, energy cost, and speed is a four cycle “road/trail” motor cycle. I emphasize four cycle so you don’t have to go looking for two cycle oil. Most get well over 200 MPG and have 2 gallon or larger tanks. That is a long ways. Most of the moped type things he suggests are two cycle engines. Not a good thing. …


Odds ‘n Sods:

SJC flagged this article: Wholesale prices soared in March. On a related note: I’m sure that you’ve noticed the recent spike in oil to an all-time high. The current retail food prices are based on roughly $80 per barrel oil. Part of food prices includes tractor time, fertilizer (which are primarily petrochemical, these days) and shipping costs. When you factor in $114 oil, further jumps in food prices seem inevitable. I hope that you’ve already stocked up. Ditto for filling your fuel storage tanks.    o o o James mention that this Wall Street Journal editorial is worth reading: Dollar …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"Honor never grows old, and honor rejoices the heart of age. It does so because honor is, finally, about defending those noble and worthy things that deserve defending, even if it comes at a high cost. In our time, that may mean social disapproval, public scorn, hardship, persecution, or as always, even death itself. The question remains: What is worth defending? What is worth dying for? What is worth living for?" – William J. Bennett, lecture to the United States Naval Academy, November 24, 1997


Note from JWR:

Congrats to Mark T., the high bidder in the auction that ended yesterday. Today we are starting a new auction. 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 …


The Precepts of My Survivalist Philosophy

In the past week I’ve had three newcomers to SurvivalBlog.com write and ask me to summarize my world view. One of them asked: “I could spend days looking through [the] archives of your [many months of] blog posts. But there are hundreds of them. Can you tell me where you stand, in just a page? What distinguishes the “Rawlesian” philosophy from other [schools of] survivalist thought?” I’ll likely add a few items to this list as time goes on, but here is a general summary of my precepts: Modern Society is Increasingly Complex, Interdependent, and Fragile. With each passing year, …


Letter Re: Food Riots in Haiti

Mr. Rawles, The BBC and several other news outlets are reporting Food Riots in Haiti, where food scarcity and price increases have resulted in violence. Reports say mobs are looting shops, burning cars, blocking roads, and shooting at UN Peacekeepers. It is also reported one man was shot to death by UN Peacekeepers. The rioters are responding to food prices increasing some 50% over the past year. Apparently the United States and France will be sending more money to assist in subsidizing food prices. There’s plenty of information about this showing online. Here are a couple of links, one from …


Letter Re: The Survivor Mindset

Dear Mr. Rawles; I love the SurvivalBlog. It is fun and interesting, yet it is even more, it is educational! I believe that a lot of people are over looking the biggest part of the equation when it comes to survival. It is mindset. When going thru [US Army] Ranger school I knew from the start there was no way I was going to quit. I had the mindset they could “DQ” [(disqualify)] me and send me packing but I was not quitting. In a true survival setting one has to know in his heart and mind he is going …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Eric sent us this: The new underground currency    o o o Time magazine reports: How Hunger Could Topple Regimes    o o o Where are the contrapreneurs that “invested” in McMansions, using NINJA (No Income, No Job or Assets) loans? Some of them have gone through foreclosure and are now moving back home to live with their parents.    o o o As other staples soar, potatoes break new ground



Notes from JWR:

The current SurvivalBlog Benefit Auction ends at midnight (eastern time) tonight. The high bid for the lot is now at $300. This auction is for four items: a MURS Alert Base station, a MURS Alert Hand-held transceiver, an earbud, and a Kaito KA-1102 AM/FM/Shortwave. These radios were kindly donated by the owner of Affordable Shortwaves and MURS Radios. If you aren’t familiar with the Dakota Alert infrared perimeter security system, take a few minute to look at the Dakota Alert web site. These alarms are very reliable and versatile. I often recommend them to my consulting clients–especially those that plan …


Getting from Point A to Point B, by E.I.D.

You’ve got your Bug Out Bags (BOBs) all packed. You’ve prepped your house for whatever reason you’re leaving. You’ve made contact with what family you could, and you trust the rest to meet you at your designated meeting place, whether it’s your retreat or just a spot along the way where your two paths converge. Everything is set. Or is it? Points A and B are ready, but how do you plan to make the trek between them? Walking is always an option, but probably a last resort. Most people aren’t in good enough shape to walk ten miles, let …