Today we present an article written by one of our long-time foreign correspondents, David in Israel. David was born and raised in the United States. Even before emigrating to Israel, he had a diverse background in forestry, firefighting, mountaineering, emergency medicine, and commercial Kosher food inspection. One of his life-long hobbies has been amateur radio. He is currently a Torah student.
One problem that most preppers fail to take seriously is communications. To most First Worlders communications are something that comes out of the wall like water or electricity, so why should the magic ever end? While not as high a priority as an inexpensive firearm for security, food, water, cooking fuel, non-motorized transport, or shelter, in a safe area communications with those you care about keeps you from going on unneeded health and welfare checks especially during dangerous times. Typically I would suggest a 100 watt+ multi-band HF radio for vehicle or base use and a QRP 40meter set and/or …
Dear Mr. Rawles, We live in southern Middle Tennessee, about an hour south of Nashville, and we are watching the news coverage of this weekend’s record-breaking flooding in the Nashville area. It is confirming our conviction not to live in a metropolitan area as we see how people are affected by this natural disaster. All three interstates going through Nashville–I-65, I-24, and I-40–have been shut down for long periods of time yesterday and today. The cars and trucks stuck on I-40 as I write this stretch for over five miles, and the drivers have no way of backing up, turning …
Two Letters Re: Removing Orthodontia Braces, Post-TEOTWAWKI James, In response to the letter about removing braces, I am a dentist and due to the economic situation in my part of the world, I have de-banded many people who could no longer afford to continue orthodontic treatment. Fortunately this particular problem is not too difficult, but before do-it-yourself de-banding seriously consider leaving everything in place, until things hopefully come around again, or at least try to find a dental professional. There is an increased risk of tooth decay and gum irritations with braces, but there usually is no orthodontic problem with …
El Jefe Jeff E. sent this frightening news on price inflation: US inflation up 2% in March. I’ve already warned you: As the Treasury monetizes its way out of the recession, be ready for mass inflation, folks! Jon in Wyoming sent this: Euro Sales Extend as Morgan Stanley Mulls EU Breakup Also from Jon: Roubini Says Rising Sovereign Debt Leads to Defaults Yishai suggested this piece by Ronald Bailey of Reason magazine: Peak Everything?; Forget peak oil. What about peak lithium, peak neodymium, and peak phosphorus? Items from The Economatrix: Analysis from Dan Denninger: Bernanke is Getting Scared Goldman’s Shares …
Fears for crops as shock figures from America show scale of bee catastrophe; The world may be on the brink of biological disaster after news that a third of US bee colonies did not survive the winter. ( A hat tip to OSOM, for the link.) o o o EMB suggested this Lifehacker article: Top 10 Hard Drive Upgrades and Fixes. (I don’t normally post computer tech article links, but this one has a some preparedness and OPSEC implications…) o o o Reader “Mr. 47” sent a link to a company that makes some clever bullpup conversion stocks.
"One of the greatest delusions in the world is the hope that the evils in this world are to be cured by legislation." – Congressman Thomas Brackett Reed of Maine (1839-1902), writing in 1886
EMB mentioned this amazingly useful, and aptly-named web site: Radio Reference. o o o Since early 2007, I have warned SurvivalBlog readers about the perils of “kanban” inventory control. Here is a bit of confirmation: Volcano Throws Off Ash, Just-in-Time Efforts. (Thanks to Chad S. for the link.) o o o Lee C. flagged this: Fat Americans are a national security threat, warn generals o o o RBS sent this: Copper thieves blamed for dangerous power surge. A comment from RBS: “Here is what could be considered another classic example of the fragility of our Inverted Technological …