Month: September 2008

Letter Re: The EMP Threat May Be Worse Than We Had Thought

Mr Rawles, Your readers may benefit from the following current links regarding the electromagnetic pulse (EMP) threat: Full report of the EMP Commission to the House Armed Services Committee (July 10, 2008) This link has a concise summary of key points from the above report: I also recommend an interview with the Chairman of the EMP Commission. The interview includes the following statements that are very important: Asked just how many Americans would die if Iran were to launch the EMP attack it appears to be preparing, Graham gave a chilling reply: “You have to go back into the 1800s …


Range Report: Advantage Arms .22 Conversion Kit for the Glock, by Everyday Prepper

To start off let me say I’m in no way affiliated Advantage Arms or Glock. I don’t get paid to advertise or test their products and I definitely don’t get paid to write reviews. I took the Glock out today with the Advantage Arms conversion kit installed. I wasn’t exactly skeptical of the kit after reading about it online but I was expecting to have some sort of break in period. I opened the kit up and out fell an orange piece of paper that instructed me to put some oil on the parts in the picture. I grabbed the …


Five Letters Re: Welding Oxygen Versus Medical Oxygen

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James: Just a quick note, never ever use oxygen under pressure near oil! Never use oil on the thread’s or fittings! The high pressure will cause the oil to detonate,similar to a diesel ignition! If you must,and probably should never need to, use a teflon tape seal!And if you have an acetylene bottle, let it stand for 24 hours as it may have been laid on it’s side before using it, separating the acetone from the gas. – Dean   Jim The letter in response to welding oxygen versus medical oxygen was interesting. Unfortunately [that readers} was wrong on one …


Letter Re: Firearms Battery Recommendations

Jim, In reference to the post on September 9th concerning the Mossberg Riotgun–as far as I know the only Mossberg available with the steel safety switch (as well as steel receiver, steel trigger guard, bayonet lug and heavier/thick walled barrel) is the Mossberg 590A1. For a few dollars more it is, IMHO a better choice. They can still be had for around $500–steel trigger assemblies et cetera are available for upgrading the plastic parts but they are pricey, and the trigger assembly has to be shipped to an FFL. Once [all of this is] done it may in fact be …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Universal flu vaccine tests start in the UK    o o o We can now chalk up another $200 Billion in the Mother of All Bailouts (MOAB). It’s now official: U.S. Seizes Fannie and Freddie. This confirms my suspicion that there is no such thing as “too big to bail out”, but the dictum of “too big to fail” is in full force. I predict that these bailouts will continue in both the public and private sectors, in a “widening gyre.” The bailouts won’t end until the US dollar is destroyed as a currency unit. Get out of any dollar-denominated …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“The game of chicken that foreigners have been playing with their $[US Dollar] reserves will come to an end. Someone will flinch. The world’s banking system primarily uses Dollars for its reserves. The other currencies used as reserves, Yen, Pounds, Euros, etc. also use Dollars as reserves. Countries are using each other as reserves in a never ending circle of falsely created values. Think of it this way, it is like two people trying to hold each other up off the ground at the same time without either touching the ground. There is no backing or foundation to any currency …


Note from JWR:

The U.S. economy is showing clear signs of disintegration, as the global credit collapse continues to take its toll. The once bountiful Lake of Liquidity has dried up to now resemble the Owens Valley. Corporations are screaming for cash, banks are failing, the real estate market is in freefall, and hedge funds are desperately clinging to the edge of the abyss. The proposed “solution”–The Mother of All Bailouts (MOAB)– keeps growing, with no end in sight. It is actually part of the problem rather than the solution. If you haven’t done so already, prepare yourself for a long term layoff, …


Letter Re: The Approach of Tropical Storm Hanna Was a Wake-Up Call

Sir, I used to think of myself as “Mr. Preparedness.” I read the blogs and often went shopping for preparedness supplies. Then tropical storm Hanna came to the Carolina coast and I realized just how ill prepared I really was. I didn’t even have my medicines in order. Also, I had no reserve of cash in small bills ready to go. Nothing was packed. It took some time to get all my things together. Had this been a real emergency, I would have been in trouble. Sir, you mentioned in a previous blog the importance of having that bag already …


Letter Re: Firearms Battery Recommendations

Mr. Rawles, Thanks for all of the informative posts at SurvivalBlog. Based on your recommendations, I’ve put together the following list of firearms (all I currently own is a 38 year old .22 rifle): Springfield XD .45 ACP ($568) — for concealed carry, self defense Mossberg Model 500 Special Purpose Mariner 12 gauge Shotgun 9 Shot ($423) — for home defense, hunting Remington Model 700 Varmint Tactical Rifle .308 Winchester, 22 in with Muzzle Brake, Bolt Action ($643) — for hunting, possible tactical/precision use in TEOTWAWKI scenarios Rock River Arms LAR-8 .308 Caliber Standard A2/A4 Rifle ($1,170) — for tactical …


Letter Re: Welding Oxygen Versus Medical Oxygen

Jim, In one of the letters about acquiring oxygen, the following statement was made by a SurvivalBlog reader: “Aviation, medical and welder’s oxygen are all pure, dry and inexpensive. There is a deadly difference between oxygen made for use by a machine and oxygen made for use by people. Compressors, like any other machine, must be lubricated. Air compressors used in a dive shop [or a medical supply company] will use a natural oil, like peanut oil. Compressors used to inflate a car tire, or produce air and oxygen for welding and manufacturing processes, generally use a light machine oil. …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Just as I predicted a more than a year ago, and again more explicitly in October of 2007, the hedge fund failure rate is about ready to turn into an avalanche, in agonizing quarterly installments: Hedge funds ready to blow as positions liquidated. (A hat tip to Mike McD. for for finding that link.)    o o o For all of you that have been waiting, after many months of shortages, Mountain House has finally resumed selling their freeze dried foods in #10 (one gallon) vacuum-packed cans on the civilian market. My advice: Get them while you can. When the …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“[John Connor is] ‘the leader of the resistance, fighting artificially intelligent machines determined to annihilate the human race’ Did he strike you that way? Leader of a scrappy band of rebels? Luke Skywalker type?” – Richard T. Jones as FBI Agent James Ellison in the pilot episode of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. (Script by Josh Friedman)


Letter Re: West Virginia as a Retreat Locale

Sir, I just wanted to get your thoughts on West Virginia. I live in Huntington which is at the conjunction of West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio. My family lives in a valley where we are related to nearly everyone there [by blood or by marriage]. We have industrial equipment in our business in the valley. Also a US Corps of Engineers lake covers one end of our road. This leaves just one roadway in or out. The only other approaches are to cross the heavily wooded hills. – Doug in West Virginia JWR: Replies: As I’ve often written in my …


Four Letters Re: Pistol Holster Recommendations for Women

Jim, Bill from Ohio has a number of great observations about carry issues for females. Among the issues he mentions about hip holsters built for men: 1) Because of a woman’s hips they tend to cause the butt of the weapon to dig-in to a woman’s waist 2) Because women have hips, upon which they wear their belt they have less room to lift the weapon before it impinges into their armpit. 3) Because of factors 1 and 2 the FBI cant further complicates a natural draw for women. I’d like to mention a holster made by Blade-Tech that addresses …


Odds ‘n Sods:

We saw this one coming: U.S. Rescue Seen at Hand for Two Mortgage Giants. The Mother of All Bailouts (MOAB) continues to grow!    o o o Season 2 of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (TSCC) begins tomorrow (September 8, 2008). In agreement with the fans at The Sarah Connor Society, I consider it is the best quasi-survivalist show on television. Don’t look for many useful preparedness tips, but at least it is entertaining and motivational for those of us with the preparedness mindset. Meanwhile, the fourth feature film in the Terminator movie franchise (“Terminator: Salvation”)–starring Christian Bale and Sam …