Month: June 2010

Odds ‘n Sods:

Judy T. suggested this: Peak Oil and Apocalypse Then    o o o Reader John G. mentioned a South Carolina proposal to criminalize hidden compartments in cars. Yikes! Talk about a legislative solution to a non-existent problem. Whatever happened to “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects…”?    o o o G.G. sent us a curious story about the owner of a “nail house” in China’s Wuhan Province: China’s Wuhan Nail House Owner Fights Forced Demolition with Home-Made Cannon. From the photos, his “block house” architecture leaves a lot to be desired. …



Note from JWR:

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 #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $392 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A 500 round case of …


A Perennial Food Supply, by L.H.

The end of the world may happen tomorrow or who knows when.  Hard times are happening now and may get even harder.  A food storage system and MREs act as a life jacket when times get tough.  But you need to have a plan for when things get even tougher or if your finances or food supplies run out.  Once established, perennials can be a simple, minimal labor answer to a permanent and reliable food source and first aid kit.  Perennials have the advantage of being planted once and then being around to enjoy for many years without the limitations …


Two Letters Re: Transitioning to Seven Day Bug-Out Bags

Firefighter Charles’s statement about FEMA‘s response times shows a lack of understanding of how the process works. In the event of another Hurricane Katrina type natural disaster, the following things have to happen, in the following order: 1. Disaster strikes 2. Local officials setup an incident command 3. Local Emergency Operation Centers (EOCs) are activated. The local emergency operations plan (EOP) is put into action. 4. Mutual aid agreements are activated. If the disaster goes beyond this, then… 5. State EOCs are activated. State EOPs are put into action. 6. The state activates it’s mutual aid agreements. 7. If the …


Letter Re: Feral Dogs and Coyotes in a Schumeresque World

Dear Jim, Feral dogs and coyotes aren’t a problem over here [in England], but urban foxes certainly are. Here is a recent news headline: Baby twins savaged by fox treated for ‘life-changing injuries’ in separate hospitals All the fox-loving ‘experts’ say that this is an isolated incident, but the reader comments suggest otherwise. I’m not sure how these guys get to be called experts, one on the radio insisted that foxes don’t kill chickens for fun, either. I’ve never had it happen to my chickens (I’m more wily than the local foxes) but I’ve seen the result of a fox …


Economics and Investing:

Brett G. sent us this troubling article: Treasury Report: US Debt to Skyrocket to $19.6 Trillion by 2015. Hmmmm… Lets’s do the math: The current “official debt” is around $12 Trillion, which is around 93% of our GDP. And $19.6 Trillion would be a 63% larger debt. If the economy doesn’t grow, then that means that by 2015 the debt will be…uh-oh. And as a data point, Greece is presently in a full-blown crisis that is about to crater the Euro, because their debt got to 130% of GDP.) Kevin S. sent this: Sovereign Credit-Default Swaps Surge on Hungarian Debt …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader D.T. pointed us to a Coast to Coast AM where William Forstchen discusses EMP Threats. (He is the author of the novel One Second After.)    o o o NASA reports: The Sun Has Reawakened. (Robert R. was the first of several readers to send me this link.)    o o o I heard that Noah’s Castle, a hyperinflation novel by John Rowe Townsend, just went back into print. It was written for the “young adult” market. The good editors at October Mist books in Seattle noticed that this British book from the 1970s was out of print. So …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“The reason mankind has to hope that the world, its leaders, its newspapers, its so-called human rights organizations and the United Nations are right about Israel is quite simple: If Israel is the decent party in its war with the Palestinian Authority and Hamas — and nearly all the world’s countries, nearly all the world’s media and the United Nations are morally wrong — what hope is there for humanity? If the world’s moral compass is that broken, are we not sailing into a dark age?” – Dennis Prager, June, 2010


Note from JWR:

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 #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $392 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A 500 round case of …


Transitioning to a Seven Day Bug Out Bag, by Firefighter Charles

I was standing in the living room, watching CNN and saw the devastation of Haiti when it struck me how important a bug out bag was..  I listened to how help is coming and arrived almost immediately.  Logistical issues hampered “helps” immediate aiding of the people in Haiti.  Chile got hit  by a massive earthquake as well.  With Chile’s government not wanting any support at first, watched how Chile succumb to riots and looting in just three days after the quake.  Haiti broke down as well after five days of no food, water, or shelter.  Many people in Chile had …


Letter Re: Feral Dogs and Coyotes in a Schumeresque World

The problem of feral dogs after TSHTF will be a real one. In my part of the country we have a problem with people dumping unwanted dogs. They were cute when they were pups but outgrew the family. Some people would take them to the pound, but with it’s over population and short ‘stay’ led a lot of people think that they were doing the dogs and cats a favor by letting them loose to fend for themselves. This is animal cruelty any way you look at it. There have been several cases where a feral dog joined up with …


Letter Re: Home Packing Five Gallon Food Storage Buckets

James, Thanks to your blog, I now know where I can get cheap (or free) plastic [food grade] buckets. I’ve been building quite a pile of them, and the time it takes to wash them is minimal. I mainly plain [to pack] Pinto beans, rice, flour, and pasta. How do I make sure that I won’t open them up someday, and find them full of weevils? That would be a disaster, especially if I really need that food when it all hits the fan. Thanks, – Randall W. JWR Replies: Insects and their larvae can’t survive without oxygen. Two different …


Economics and Investing:

R.D.H. sent this: Gold Rises to Record on Demand for Haven From European Crisis. Reader David S. suggested this piece by mainstream economic journalist Scott Burns that was surprisingly frank about the possibility of an economic collapse: The Future… as a Large, Sullen Stranger G.G. liked this commentary by Robert Barone: Forget PIIGS, US Debt is Out of Control Brian B. sent this item by our friend Bill Bonner: US government is killing its own economy J.D.D. highlighted this: Long-Term Unemployed Now 46 Percent of Unemployed, Highest Percentage on Record Items from The Economatrix: Increasingly Hawkish Fed Ponder Raising Rates …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Here is “must read” article: Societal Collapse Due to Peak Oil ‘Inevitable,’ According to Researcher. (Thanks to Chris H. for the link.)    o o o Reader RBS recommended a link to some free greenhouse plans, over at Vibration Nation.    o o o Kevin S. suggested this from New Scientist: The wisdom of herds: How social mood moves the world    o o o I noticed that even more counters have been automated at the U.S. Debt Clock web site.