Month: May 2008

Letter Re: The Northwestern US as a Retreat Locale–the Downwind Issues

Hello; We are on board with what is coming. Regarding location, my concern for the Idaho and Montana areas are the Yellowstone caldera – should it have a massive eruption and being downwind from the Seattle area should there be a nuke attack there. What are your thoughts, please? Thank you – John JWR Replies: All of Idaho is upwind of Yellowstone except for during the most unusual weather conditions. Ditto for any parts of Montana where you would likely want to live. This is because anywhere that is east (downwind) of Yellowstone is also potentially downwind of the Montana …



Letter Re: Advice on a Budget Water Filter

Mr. Rawles, I just graduated from college this month and am still under the huge weight of college loans. I want to get prepared, but my budget (for now, at least), is very tight. You said that water should be the highest priority. I agree with the wisdom of that. I’d like to buy a [gravity ceramic] Big Berky [water] filter, but they are way too expensive. Even an Aqua Rain [filter] would be too much of an expense. Are there any lower cost alternatives for water filtration? Thank You, – R.T.D. JWR Replies: The least expensive option is to …


Letter Re: A Clash of World Views–Socialism Versus the Libertarian Ethic

Mr Rawles, I have been a survival blog reader for over a year now, and my hat is off to you, sir. “Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse”, and the information presented on these pages have been extremely positive influences in my planning and preparations. While I have been, to this point, content to absorb the wealth of knowledge presented here, I was compelled by a recent post to submit this correspondence. In [the letter posted on Sunday] titled “Clash of World Views”, David D. makes the claim that “We’ve had our grand experiment in deregulation and the magic of the …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Jack B. recommended this piece by James Howard Kunstler: Wake Up, America. We’re Driving Toward Disaster    o o o A news headline that we’ve anticipated: As homes foreclose in U.S., squatters move in.    o o o Naish Piazza’s most recent weekly blog post includes a video clip that makes it clear just how incompetent and ignorant the liberal gun grabbers are. OBTW, Naish Piazza’s very generous “Get a Gun” training and gear package offer will likely end soon, since it is being run at or near cost. Don’t delay!    o o o From an Athens, Greece newspaper: …



Note from JWR:

The following is 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. The author has gardened and preserved food since childhood. …


Lacto-Fermentation–Enlisting Trillions of Microscopic Allies in Your Fight for Survival, by Gospel Guy

In a world with no power from the electrical grid how can perishable foods be stored? Drying and canning are common solutions but are not suitable for all foods. Canning in particular is troublesome due to its dependence on access to industrial supply chains for new lids or seals, the need for precise control of temperature and time, and its consumption of large amounts of energy. The easiest, cheapest and most overlooked method of food preservation is by lacto-fermentation which has the advantages of making the food more digestible and neither precise measurements nor exacting temperature controls are necessary. Lacto-fermentation …


Letter Re: Storing Treet Brand Canned Meat

Mr. Rawles, First, I would like to say thank you for honoring our Lord in your work. Thanks also, for writing your novel “Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse”. It is excellent. I have been recommending it to all of those I love. As I have been preparing for a while, I have been more often cooking my prep food and trying to adjust to that life style. I have been caching “Treet“. It is a canned [spiced luncheon] meat that has a consistency similar to bologna. I have been storing Treet rather than Spam, because it is supposed to keep …


Odds ‘n Sods:

More than a dozen readers mentioned this prominent mainstream media mention: Energy fears looming, new survivalists prepare. This was an Associated Press wire service article also ran in the Washington Post, on Fox.com, and in daily papers across the nation. It is no wonder that all of the long term storage food vendors are getting deluged with orders. Some of the Sheeple are awakening.    o o o From one of my distant cousins across the Atlantic: Dr. Kate Rawles: Why the climate change debate has gone wrong    o o o And from Tom Rawles, one of my more …



Letter Re: Retreat Options for a 20-Something with Cash Savings

Hello Jim, I’m a 26 year old guy living in the city in Washington [state]. I’ve been watching the world deteriorate over the past five years, and suspect it will get worse faster. For a long time, I’d simply resigned myself to dying young. It didn’t really bother me (probably because it was not at hand.) But recently I’ve been thinking that I might have a chance, and anyway I’ve never liked this “labor for dollars” way of life. I’ve saved up $140,000 and about 3-to-4 year’s worth of stored food. I have very low expenses, no debt, and no …


Letter Re: Resources on Packing Lists and Procedures from Expedition Planners

Dear Editor:: I have followed SurvivalBlog for some time now and find it very interesting and helpful. I believe your readers may be interested in the two following listed [PDF] articles about planning and execution of “expedition” type bicycle travel and motor vehicle travel. While not specifically “SHTF” planning, both go into great detail on selection, supplies, planning, and actual execution of trips in (or “on”, in the case of bicycles) both forms of travel and are not the typical “give me my bullets ‘n beans” articles so prevalent on other web sites. Desert Expeditions [This PDF was already mentioned …


Letter Re: A Clash of World Views–Socialism Versus the Libertarian Ethic

Mr. Rawles: [Your frequent quotes from conservatives such as Thomas Sowell and Austrian School economists] blithely ignore the reality of corporatism, authoritarianism, predation, and entrenched elites. We’ve had our grand experiment in deregulation and the magic of the market, and it’s now perfectly clear where it got us. Why don’t you look up a good quote on the definition of an idealogue [sic] — someone who won’t let go of pretty delusions even when the real world proves the idealogy [sic] wrong. This is where the right wing is today. They want yet more of what has driven this country …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Hawaiian K found us this: Energy Watchdog Warns of Oil-Production Crunch–Daily 12.5 Mil Barrel shortfall by 2015    o o o Eric flagged this article: More go off-grid as economy tanks    o o o Reader N.L. mentioned that an on-line Volunteer Safety and Survival Reference is available for free download. It is an updated and expanded version of “The Universal Survival Handbook” published in 1979, by David A. Nuttle,    o o o Jack B. sent us this: Soaring oil prices may end dollar global status – Study