Month: July 2008



Letter Re: The Tomato Rebuild–Machining Technology is Crucial to Modern Society, by Thomas G.

Jim, After reading the recent letter by Thomas G, I felt compelled to offer a response to demystify some of the technologies he talked about. First, I am a tool and die maker for an ammunition manufacturer. If it’s broken, I fix it, if we need it, but can’t buy it, I design and make it. From reloading dies, case feeders, powder measures, primer feeders, cold header press parts, I have done a lot. So I feel somewhat qualified to shed some light onto how things are done. I’ll start basic, and then work up to complex. Aside from the …


Letter Re: PetroMax Kerosene Lanterns

Hi Jim, I figured I’d better write about my experience with PetroMax (BriteLyt) Kerosene lanterns. I’ve had their 150CP (Candle Power) (100 watts of light) for a couple years now and really like it. BriteLyt is now providing their 500CP (400 watts of light ) to the US Government as Model MR-2 with a federal stock number. BTW they also make a nice 11,000 BTU kerosene stove which they are also making for the government. So I got two of the new USG MR-2s and tried them out. Right away I had a problem! As you know, I’m [living and …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Thanks to Cheryl for sending a link to an article that describes how more banks are in trouble. These include: Wachovia (downgraded on the 15th), WaMu, National City Corp., and U.S. Bancorp    o o o Eric sent a link to an editorial from The Des Moines Register: Help farmers, consumers: Revive grain reserve    o o o KMA spotted an article in The Economist titled Peak Oil, The Only Way is Down.   o o o John T. sent us a link to an article that is a sign of the times: Pakistani Investors Stone Exchange as Stocks Plunge


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“If you ever hear a government official come out and say that an institution is fine, you know it’s time to get your money out because history shows they’re likely lying. Look what happened with Fannie and Freddie. The government said everything was fine right up to the day the US Treasury dropped the biggest government bailout of all time on the American taxpayer. The bill for Fannie, Freddie and the bank failures could cost the taxpayer over $400 billion. (That’s your money, of course.)”. – Richard Benson in: Is Your Money Safe?


Note from JWR:

The high bid in the current SurvivalBlog Benefit Auction is $500. This auction is for a big mixed lot: a NukAlert radiation detector, donated by KI4U–a $160 value), a DVD of 480 E-books on Alternative Energy (donated by WK Books–a $25 value), and the following package of survival gear all kindly donated by CampingSurvival.com: One case of MREs, one pack of water purifications tablets, a bottle of colloidal silver, a fire starter, a bottle of potassium iodate tablets, an emergency dental kit, a pack of “Shower in a bag” bath wipes, and one messenger bag to pack it in.


Letter Re: A Reminder to Readers About Botulism

Jim, Feel free to post the following if you think it would be of help and interest. Bulging cans with botulism are worse than most think. While bulging cans of food are relatively rare and most everybody knows that any bulging can should be discarded, few know just how seriously dangerous they can become if opened or accidentally ruptured. Botulism is so extremely deadly, it must be suspect in all bulging cans and they must not only be discarded, but put away from anyone else. Botulinum toxin is one of the most lethal substances known to man, as seen in …


Letter Re: The Cost of Things to Come

We are in a simultaneously deflationary and inflationary situation. The deflationary forces are: 1) We’ve been a credit based society and with less credit available, less purchasing will happen driving down prices. 2) Most people have most of their wealth in their home, their stocks and their banks (Indy Mac anyone?), all decreasing in value thus putting the brakes on discretionary purchasing driving down prices. The inflationary forces are: 1) The rising price of oil raises transportation and manufacturing costs for everything. 2) The increasing population and decreasing supply of commodities (food, metals etc.) increases prices. 3) The Fed cannot …


Letter Re: The Backwoods Home Magazine Anthologies

Jim, I recently purchased Backwoods Home’s “The Affordable Whole Shebang” offer which includes printed anthologies of Backwoods Home starting from year one to the present (13 years) as well as 11 CD-ROMs packed full of information: recipes, alternative energy, firearms info, preparedness guide, etc. The CD-ROMs include a partial electronic anthology of the magazine (years 7-14) for easy portability. I was very impressed by the sheer volume of reading material for only $257! I am a voracious reader and it will take quite a while for me to consume it all. I highly recommend this fantastic offer and feel that …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Downturn gains steam as inflation roars ahead    o o o Cheryl N. sent us this: Fears Over Safety in Savings Triggers Panic in US    o o o Jason M. flagged this: ‘Flying IEDs’ Pose New Iraq Threat. (OBTW, I’ve had the acronym “UAVIED” in the SurvivalBlog Glossary since August of 2005. Terrorists may soon use radio-controlled planes–from the size of light model planes, on up–packed with explosives.)    o o o The International Forecaster anticipates “A Complete and Systemic Breakdown” of the US and world financial systems and economies. (Kudos to Kevin A. for finding that item.)



Note from JWR:

The high bid in the current SurvivalBlog Benefit Auction is $390. This auction is for a big mixed lot: a NukAlert radiation detector, donated by KI4U–a $160 value), a DVD of 480 E-books on Alternative Energy (donated by WK Books–a $25 value), and the following package of survival gear all kindly donated by CampingSurvival.com: One case of MREs, one pack of water purifications tablets, a bottle of colloidal silver, a fire starter, a bottle of potassium iodate tablets, an emergency dental kit, a pack of “Shower in a bag” bath wipes, and one messenger bag to pack it in.


A July, 2008 Jim Rawles Interview by AlterNet

The following is a transcript of an interview that will soon be run at the popular left-of-center AlterNet web site: AlterNet: Is survivalism a failure of community? A celebration of it? JWR: I’d say that survivalism is indeed a celebration of community. It is the embodiment of America’s traditional “can do” spirit of self-reliance that settled the frontier. AlterNet: Is it engineered by personal issues? Is it a racial, or economic phenomenon, in your opinion? Or both? JWR: Survivalism [is a movement that] crosses all racial and religious lines. It is essentially color blind. For 99% of us, we could …


Letter Re: Insect-Free Long Term Food Storage

Jim. I have been buying flour and corn meal in five pound bags and placing in the freezer for a couple of weeks to destroy any “nits” still in them, and after that putting them in plastic bins. I really have no idea if this works long term, but would appreciate any suggestions on whether or not there is any method to preserve these items other than this. I have a Porkett hand grinder, but to grind wheat fine enough for bread flour is difficult. Thanks, – Charlie P. JWR Replies: Just freezing the grain doesn’t kill all the insect …