Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 30 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 …




Effects of an EMP Attack or Severe Solar Storm on Nuclear Power Plants, by B.Z.

It is with some trepidation that I write this article, since what I write will be controversial and will alarm some members of the public as well as your readers. Some of my colleagues have urged me not to bring this subject into the open or to even discuss it in public. However, I think the topic is important and needs to be brought to the attention of the public. The issue is the effect that an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack, or for that matter, even a great geomagnetic storm created by a coronal mass ejection (CME) from the sun, …




Letter Re: Prepping and Pregnancy

Good Morning Mr. Rawles, Last year my former boss–with whom we used to have a Bible study–and who is a former Marine, called me up on a Saturday morning, and inquired about a firearm that I would recommend for a semiautomatic sidearm that he and his wife would be able and to shoot comfortably. Without knowing much about what he had in mind, I told him about the top companies, and that a 9mm would be sufficient for his wife, as long as they used +P or +P+ defensive hollow-points with a heavy bullet weight, and if even this was …




Economics and Investing:

Reader B.B. recommended this piece at Washington’s blog: Government Economic Leaders Surprised that Real World Isn’t Responding to their Magic Pixie Dust I warned you, folks! It started with little more than rumors. But now here is something substantive: US Departments of Labor and Treasury Schedule Hearing on Confiscation of Private Retirement Accounts. The government is desperate for sources of revenue, so there is a high likelihood that they will ramrod this through. I recommend that you run the numbers for your age and consider your personal circumstances. Determine wehther or not it makes see to cash out before the …




Inflation Watch:

Deflation Delusion Continues As Economies Trend Towards High Inflation Reader Kimberly S. notes: “I noticed a dramatic increase in the cost of butter at Costco. Last summer the combination package of 4 one-pound boxes of butter was about $4.49. That was the lowest that I had ever seen butter at Costco. Today, the same 4 pound package was $8.99.” UN calls meeting on food price concerns How Hyperinflationary Hell–And Commodity Heaven–Will Happen Before the End of 2011




Odds ‘n Sods:

Christchurch, New Zealand Mayor: Quake hit city ‘like an iceberg’    o o o KAF flagged this item: Harnessing the Power of Gym Rats    o o o Bill N. found this great Analytical Survival video tutorial: Bug Out Vehicle – Re-Inventing the Car Trunk    o o o Ooh, ooh! I want one: The KamAZ Armored Car. (Not that I can afford to buy one, but it makes a nice daydream.) OBTW, I assume that these are built on one of the assembly lines at the sprawling Kama River truck plant–the product of some Yankee ingenuity from the Pullman-Swindell …