Year: 2008

Packing The Vehicle G.O.O.D. Bag, by Ryan S.

This is a brief outline for preparing a vehicle-borne Get Out of Dodge (G.O.O.D.). bag or Bug Out Bag (B.O.B.). We are all hopefully suitably prepared at our homes or retreats, but what if you find yourself away from your retreat WTSHTF? Recent events and some blog readers have mentioned the importance of having a G.O.O.D. bag in your vehicle. The floods in the midwest as well as the wildland fires in my neck of the woods, speak to this necessity. what ever the situation you are facing you should be able to get back home or at least remove …


Letter Re: Numerous New Economic Crash Warnings

Hi Jim, Within the last couple of days I have noticed that multiple economic and financial institutions have started to issue global financial crash alerts. For instance: – Morgan Stanley warns of a ‘catastrophic event’. The point of maximum stress could occur in coming months if the European Central Bank (ECB) starts to raise rates and the Fed backs away from expected tightening. The rates differential “could trigger a ‘catastrophic’ event”. – The Global Europe Anticipation (LEAP/E2020) team is now convinced that this period will consist for the whole world in a major plunge into the heart of the phase …


Letter Re: Gasoline Prices in the UK–a Preview of Upcoming Prices in the US?

Mr Rawles, First, I will be taking the 10 Cent Challenge starting this week, as I get far more than 10-cents worth of information per day from this wonderful blog. Second, I saw this article on the BBC web site. Fuel £1.99 a litre as tanks dry That’s right, for stations that haven’t run dry yet (1970s America all over again?), gas is selling for the equivalent of $14.76 per US gallon. Time to start thinking about what the US would look like at $15 a gallon. Yours, – DLF


Odds ‘n Sods:

Bill N. wrote me to ask: “Did someone read your novel? Check out the charging system powered by a bicycle.”    o o o A reminder that Wiggy’s is having a 20 percent off sale until the end of July. They have great products at great prices, and they are American-made. Here at the ranch, we have five Wiggy’s FTRSS sleeping bag sets and four of their Lamilite ground pads that we use very regularly. They have received far above average use since 1993, so we can attest to how sturdy and well-made they are.    o o o More …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"The money power preys upon the nation in times of peace and conspires against it in times of adversity. It is more despotic than monarchy, more insolent than autocracy, more selfish than bureaucracy. I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. Corporations have been enthroned, an era of corruption will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people, until the wealth is aggregated in a few hands, and the republic destroyed." …


Note from JWR:

The high bid in the new SurvivalBlog Benefit Auction is at $260. This auction is for two cases (12 cans) of Mountain House freeze dried foods in #10 cans donated by Ready Made Resources, valued at $260, a course certificate for a four-day Bushcraft & Survival Course valued at $550, 25 pounds of green (un-roasted) Colombian Supremo coffee courtesy of www.cmebrew.com valued at $88.75, and a set of 1,600 U.S. Military Manuals, Government Manuals, and Civil Defense Manuals, Firearm Manuals on two CD-ROM disks, valued at $20. Please e-mail us your bids, in $10 increments.


Letter Re: More About Recent Flooding in the US Midwest

Jim, I’m sending a follow-up to your link on the historic flooding in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Typical issues: Roads closed or collapsed, bridges flooded or swept away, traffic jams for miles, power and gas outages, water shortages, businesses closed, forced evacuation of 20,000 people included the local jails and a hospital. Cleanup will take months, and there will be shortages of construction material. Heck, we had shortages of lumber and sheetrock in Iowa during the Florida and Louisiana hurricanes. And what has become typical – jurisdictional disputes. Local law enforcement has its own issues, but FEMA doesn’t play well with …


Letter Re: Alaska as a Retreat Locale

Mr. Rawles, As a long-time resident of Alaska, I agree in general [with your Retreat Locales page assessment] that it’s just not a viable survival location for most people. Someone wanting to move here should carefully consider whether it would work for them. Alaska is huge, with a low population. While 275,000 people live in the Anchorage area, only 400,00 live in the rest of the state, comprised of over 1/2 million square miles. But more than 99% of the land is off limits to settlement, because it’s owned by either government or native corporations. Even if land were available, …


Letter Re: Potassium Iodide Versus Potassium Iodate for Post-Nuke Thyroid Gland Protection

Dear Jim, I read with interest the posted letter on KIO3 versus KI. “Letter Re: Potassium Iodide Versus Potassium Iodate for Post-Nuke Thyroid Gland Protection”. As a manufacturer of both KI and KIO3 I would like to point out that KIO3 is FDA approved and inspected. All of the ingredients are FDA approved and inspected as is the facility where it is made. Even the tableting machines and mixers are registered with the FDA and the DEA. KIO3 as well as it’s ingredients are, by law, approved and inspected by the FDA. Here is an example where our KIO3 is …


Letter Re: Advice on NBC Air Filtration Systems for Home or Retreat Fallout Shelters

Hello, I’m in the process of building a gun vault / safe room and would like to hear your recommendations on a good NBC filter system. Thank you, – M.T. JWR Replies: By coincidence, SafeCastle (one of our most loyal advertisers) currently has a special sale in progress, for their fallout shelter HEPA air filtration and ventilation systems. They are priced at 30% off, and the sale ends at the end of June. I highly recommend their products.


Odds ‘n Sods:

Bill N. Sent us the link to an article by two doctors on how to remove ticks. Bill’s comment: “It connects to a summary on how to remove ticks and more importantly how to avoid being their dinner.”    o o o A reminder that the WRSA has another Practical Medicine course scheduled, in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, June 20 to June 22. They now have just one or two seats still available. This is excellent, very affordable training that is taught by an Emergency Room doctor with many years of practical experience. The course is subtitled: “Field Expedient Medical Care …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"There has grown up in the minds of certain groups in this country the notion that because a man or corporation has made a profit out of the public for a number of years, the government and the courts are charged with the duty of guaranteeing such profit in the future, even in the face of changing circumstances and contrary to public interest. This strange doctrine is not supported by statute or common law. Neither individuals nor corporations have any right to come into court and ask that the clock of history be stopped, or turned back."- Robert A. Heinlein, …


Notes from JWR

The high bid in the new SurvivalBlog Benefit Auction is at $230. This auction is for two cases (12 cans) of Mountain House freeze dried foods in #10 cans donated by Ready Made Resources, valued at $260, a course certificate for a four-day Bushcraft & Survival Course valued at $550, 25 pounds of green (un-roasted) Colombian Supremo coffee courtesy of www.cmebrew.com valued at $88.75, and a set of 1,600 U.S. Military Manuals, Government Manuals, and Civil Defense Manuals, Firearm Manuals on two CD-ROM disks, valued at $20. Please e-mail us your bids, in $10 increments. The following is another article–commendably …


After 10 Years–Some Observations and Lessons Learned by a Y2K-Era Prepper

It was June, 1998. Y2K was a salient topic of conversation. It got my attention. When the electricity went off and there would be no water to drink, and no fuel to move food to the JIT grocery stores, I could see things getting very ugly. I had been willing to fight for this nation as a member of the US Army. Now it was time to fight for my household. I bought a Springfield Armory M1A. I bought a safe to store it in. I bought another M1A (for the spousal unit of course!) I bought ammo. Lots of …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Eric (a frequent content contributor) spotted this: Farms Take Root in Detroit’s Foreclosures. Eric”s comment: “These articles about urban farming are popping up everywhere, where even a few weeks ago there were only a handful of articles on the subject a week now there are many more. Times are a changin’”    o o o Thanks to KAF for finding this: Waves of Emigrants Leaving Britain.    o o o Hawaiian K. sent this from Money Week: Why gold could hit $8,500 an ounce    o o o Kudos to JT for finding this: Nestlé’s Chairman: High food prices here …