Month: April 2010


Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 28 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round will include: First Prize: A.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost between $500 and $600, and B.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees, in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $392 value.) C.) A HAZARiD Decontamination Kit from Safecastle.com. (A $350 value.), and D.) A 500 round case of …


A Practical, Full Spectrum Suburban Survival Plan, by JIR

Survival planning can be overwhelming and a lot of the advice you get is not practical or compatible with our lifestyles. A lot of us choose, or are forced to live in the crowded East Coast far too close to cities to survive TEOTWAWKI. I dare say, a lot of SurvivalBlog readers live in suburbs just outside medium to large population centers. Many of us have jobs that don’t migrate to small towns and would face a substantial loss of income if we moved away from our livelihoods. Some of us like our current lives and feel that hunkering down …


Five Letters Re: Choosing the Appropriate Handgun for You and Yours

Mr. Rawles, I have a few counterpoints to Officer Tackleberry’s article touting the 9mm and especially the Glock 9mm family of pistols. My daily concealed carry pistol is a Kel-Tec PF9 9mm, so I don’t have any objections to 9mm as a caliber. But I also have a SIG P220 in .45 ACP, and favor it over any high-capacity 9mm full-size pistol. While the author’s anecdotal evidence shows any pistol can be lethal, a .45 ACP, with the right ammunition, is going to be more effective than a 9mm. With an 8 round magazine and one in the chamber, that’s …


Economics and Investing:

By way of the Appenzell Daily Bell: Germans Desperate Over EU, Greece Rogers: Goldman May Fuel 20 Percent Market Tumble. (Out thanks to Brett G. for the link.) GG suggested this Forbes opinion piece: Will Japan Default? The Fox forwarded this: Greek Bailout Is a High-Wire Act. They are starting to use the “D” word. (Default.) Items from The Economatrix: Could Germany Quit Euro Over Greek Crisis? Rivals May Not be Smiling at Goldman Sach’s Predicament Long Bank of Ireland Forced to Sell Off Assets FEMA Faces Own Fiscal Emergency Unemployment Rises in 24 States


Odds ‘n Sods:

RBS sent this from China Daily: Shelters part of long-term civil defense plan    o o o Rick pointed me to HomeFirefightingSystems.com, in Pollock Pines, California. They sell pumps, foam, gel, tanks and equipment that would be appropriate for retreats.    o o o Josh flagged this bit of Hoplophobic Political Correctness stupidity: Student suspended after finger gun incident.    o o o I found this linked at the Drudge Report: Mission Impossible: Escape from Europe. (Read between the lines, vis-a-vis Getting Out of Dodge, in other crises.) Meanwhile, we also read: Get ready for decades of Icelandic fireworks, and …



Notes from JWR:

I just heard from my editor at the Plume Division of Penguin Books that Editorial Paidotribo has purchased the rights to produce a Spanish language edition of my non-fiction book “How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It”. — Today we present another entry for Round 28 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round will include: First Prize: A.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost …


Choosing the Appropriate Handgun for You and Yours, by Officer Tackleberry

There are many areas of debate, speculation, opinion and urban legends when it comes to anything involving guns and/or self-defense, with handguns probably being at the top of this list.  I will share my experience, training and research to try to help with this debate. The first thing to consider is what caliber is right for you and your family.  When it comes to establishing a caliber for your family’s security, there seems to be a belief that the .45 is the only way to go, especially in the semi-auto platform.  I couldn’t disagree more with the reasoning for this …


Letter Re: JWR’s List of Lists in an Excel Spreadsheet

Sir, I would like to thank you for your excellent site. I have been steadily working my way through your archives for the past several months now. I have been a prepper for quite a while thanks to my upbringing. However, for me it is more of a serious hobby than anything else. Being in the military and changing duty stations fairly rapidly is not conducive to long term prepping, as has been mentioned before on your site. That does not mean that I cannot plan however. I have attached a “List of Lists” in MS-Excel spreadsheet format. The initial …


Letter Re: U.S. Bank Failures Accelerate in Pace and Increase in Size

James Wesley: On Friday, eight more banks were closed according to this article. I did a little research and found out that so far this year, 50 banks with total assets of approximately $30.4 Billion (you have to add the numbers up in the total assets column) have failed according to this site. By this date last year (April 17, 2009) 25 banks with $12.5 Billion in assets had failed according to the companion site. How’s that “hope and change” working for you? This could be a record year if the pace keeps up. – S.M. Economics and Investing:


Economics and Investing:

Yishai recommended this article: Released to Near Silence, the U.S. Treasury 2009 Financial Report Shows Dire Course Sue C. suggested an essay by Herb Mayer: An Economics Lecture No Student Will Ever Hear Items from The Economatrix: 10 US Cities in Economic Freefall Exxon’s Income Tax: $0 John Paulson: The Man Who Made Billions Betting on the US Housing Crash Goldman Sach’s Client-First Pledge Exposed as Lie Black Gold, Yellow Gold (The Mogambo Guru)


Odds ‘n Sods:

Hunter in Alaska spotted this blog article: The Whiskey Standard (by way of Instapundit).    o o o Our thanks to R.B.S. for sending this: Copper thieves dismantle office building’s roof.    o o o Crime Prediction Software is Here and It’s a Very Bad Idea. (Thanks to F.G. for the link.)    o o o Ferd liked this Lifehacker article: Make a Waterproof Fire Starter Out of Dryer Lint (and Some Other Trash)    o o o Brian B. sent this: Rallies supporting the United States’ 2nd Amendment were held across the country Monday


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Somewhere ahead I expect to see a worldwide panic-scramble for gold as it dawns on the world population that they have been hoodwinked by the central banks’ creation of so-called paper wealth. No central bank has ever produced a single element of true, sustainable wealth. In their heart of hearts, men know this. Which is why, in experiment after experiment with fiat money, gold has always turned out to be the last man standing.” – Richard Russell


Note from JWR:

Notes from JWR: I’m scheduled to be interviewed by libertarian survivalist Reginald Kaigler on The DEMCAD Show (a Freedomizer Radio podcast), this evening (Monday) from 6-to-7 p.m. Eastern Time. — Today we present another entry for Round 28 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round will include: First Prize: A.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost between $500 and $600, and B.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried …