Day: June 17, 2010

Notes from JWR:

Just four days left! The special sale price for the “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course will be discontinued on June 21st. So order yours, soon! — Today we present another entry for Round 29 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 …


Colloquium (CQ) Groups–Part Three–The Big Picture, by H.B. in North Central Idaho

The first part of this series described the foundation for success in starting a community preparedness group.  Part Two describes the lessons we have learned.  If you haven’t read these please do so now before proceeding. I hope the two previous articles have encouraged you to start your own CQ.  Let’s now assume you are at the same point we are.  Where do we go from here?  If we follow the rules we focus on excellence, but let’s do so in an organized manner. 1) Individual Preparedness (IP) 2) Family or Group Preparedness (F-GP) 3) Community Preparedness (CommP) 4) Regional …


Letter Re: The Disappearing Suburban Basement–Questions and Answers

Dear Jim: There has been such a great response to the article I wrote about using the basement in my home as a survival retreat, and I want to thank everybody for taking the time to read both parts—and to respond with some great questions. I wanted to take a moment and address a few of the questions, and perhaps give a little deeper insight into the arrangements, processes, and the solutions I have found to each of the various questions. First, and most importantly, I would like to stress that I’m not claiming this to be the ideal solution. …


Economics and Investing:

Evan D. suggested this: The Death of Las Vegas. Niall Ferguson: Debt Has Taken Down Empires Before, There Is No Reason Why It Won’t Happen Again. (Thanks to Eric J. for the link to the lecture. JWR Adds: Don’t miss his discussion of “The Metrics of Doom”, starting about 28 minutes into the video. Europe Troubles Are About to Start: Wilbur Ross (Thanks to Brian B. for the link.) Kevin A. sent this incredible article: State Wants to Borrow From Pension Fund, to Pay the Fund. The article begins: “Gov. David A. Patterson and legislative leaders have tentatively agreed to …


Odds ‘n Sods:

All that I’ve been hearing from SurvivalBlog readers thusfar about the National Geographic documentary Electronic Armageddon has been positive. It is about the effects of a High Altitude Electromagnetic Pulse (HEMP) on the US. Check your local listings for repeat showings! For further research on this topic, I highly recommend the EMPact America web pages.    o o o SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large Michael Z. Williamson mentioned this free NAS on-line book: Severe Space Weather Events—Understanding Societal and Economic Impacts: A Workshop Report    o o o RS.R. noted this: Green Gadgets: Nokia Unveils New Bike-Powered Phone Chargers