Year: 2010

Letter Re: Disturbed by the After Armageddon Docudrama

Dear Mr. Rawles, I fully enjoy your site and have been reading it daily for some time now.Only yesterday did I follow the link to the You Tube video, After Armageddon. And only yesterday did the question dawn on me: Following any disaster, what percentage of survivors would be forced to leave their homes? In twenty years of practicing preparedness, I’ve never given the question any thought! Sure, I am well prepared and sited in a very rural area flush with abundant water, fish and game, mature hardwoods and other natural resources. I’ve a modest farm with large gardens, we …


Economics and Investing:

C.M. suggested this alarming opinion piece by Niall Ferguson that ran in the Los Angeles Times: America, the fragile empire–Here today, gone tomorrow — could the United States fall that fast? Items from The Economatrix: Ambrose Evans-Pritchard: Don’t Go Wobbly on Us Now, Ben Bernanke The Sovereigns and the Serfs Peter Schiff: Don’t Bet on a Recovery The Financial Battle For The Middle Class: Underemployment At 20%; 38 Million Americans On Food Stamps; Little Hiring; Can It Be A Recovery With No Jobs For This Long?


Odds ‘n Sods:

I was doing some research on behalf of reader Dan K. about temperature stability for medications that are buried in waterproof containers, and I came across this useful map, which is probably already familiar to many gardeners.    o o o Ready Made Resources is running a semi-annual 25% off sale on Mountain House freeze dried foods in #10 cans. They are offering free shipping on full case lots. These foods are delicious, compact, and have a 30 year shelf life. There is now just 10 days left for the sale, so order soon!    o o o Courtesy of …



Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 27 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 …


The Realities of Interpersonal Combat: How Are You Preparing?, by Officer Tackleberry

I will start this article with a question: What are you doing on a regular basis (i.e. daily) to prepare yourself mentally, physically, emotionally, and most of all, spiritually, to not just survive, but prevail during a violent encounter? This is a question I ask myself on a regular basis.  I have also posed this same question to my hand-to-hand combat students. There is no question that interpersonal violence will be fact of life for many in a post-societal collapse.  But, it is a reality in today’s society that many people (i.e. sheeple) choose to ignore. Depending on your source …


Letter Re: Some Thoughts on The Golden Horde

One of the SurvivalBlog concepts that has fascinated (and haunted) me since learning of it has been the concept of the Golden Horde: the exodus of the unprepared-but-entitled softies, fleeing the cities in search of food, water and shelter after a SHTF scenario. I say “haunted” because – out of necessity – my retreat lies in the middle of a triangle formed by three medium-size cities, so I’ve long suspected that I would be in prime Golden Horde country. In order to understand what such an exodus might actually look like, I decided to make some assumptions about travel behavior …


Economics and Investing:

Reader John S. spotted this: California is a greater risk than Greece, warns JP Morgan chief I found an article linked in a piece by Dr. Gary North that illustrates just how deep a hole the Federal government is digging: $126.9 Billion and Counting. The charts in Nathan’s recent blog piece tell a thousand words. This is no ordinary recession. We’ve fallen off a cliff. George Gordon spotted this: Gold Hits Record High In Euros, Pound. Items from The Economatrix: Ron Paul Discusses Coming US Collapse Jim Rogers: Pound Could Collapse Within Weeks Housing Recovery Looking Shakier than Expected Consumer …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader “Straycat” says: Don’t count on 911, and don’t be one of the Sheeple: Man Dies During Storm When 911 Calls Go Unheeded    o o o Devon yachtsman jailed for ‘piracy protection’ shotgun. (Thanks to Dane S. for the link.)    o o o Reader Steve K. found this: Backpack Hydroelectric Plant Gives You 500 Watts on the Move    o o o Bob G. sent this humorous short video clip of BHO addressing a US Navy audience. (BTW, more often that not, Navy “Corpsmen” end up with a surviving patient, rather than a corpse. So they get my …



Notes from JWR:

The news from Chile keeps getting worse. I’m now of the opinion that there wasn’t more extensive looting in Haiti simply because there were very few things of value available to loot. The country is that poor–desperately poor. But in Chile, there is some loot worth stealing, and my-oh-my has the thin veneer of civility been torn away! SurvivalBlog reader Bob G. sent this from The Daily Mail: Security concerns spread as Chile quake death toll rises. Bob’s comment: “Do you remember the docu-drama After Armageddon? The comment by one the people in that show was that “we are nine …


Letter Re: Honeybees for Retreat Defense

Dear Jim, I’m very sorry to hear about your recent loss! God Bless! Thank you for all the work you put into your survival blog to get the much needed word out! It is much appreciated! My wife and I live in the mountains of Western Oregon and the following is one of the defensive strategies we use that may be of interest to your readers. A good defense from mobs for a couple living alone is bee hives. A hive of bees tipped over will attack anything that moves within 50′ to 100′ of the hive day or night. …


Two Letters Re: Cost-Effective Emergency Water Treatment

Jim, Having been a small municipal water system operator in Upstate New York, I have some experience with basic water treatment. The link provided in ” Chris in West Virginia’s” article is sound in regard to using Sodium dichloro-s-triazinetrione. One would want to use a test kit to measure residual chlorine in the water and maintain the level between 0.3 and 1ppm after initial treatment. To treat water, chlorine is added until the level is at least 0.5ppm after an one hour contact time. It is critical that the chlorine have time to interact with the water and some method …


Three Letters Re: The Art of Humping a Pack

Hi Jim, In Section 2 – Packing, Blake in Arkansas talks about using 1 gallon Zip-Loc bags for packing items. This is an excellent idea which I have used over the years in my sea-kayaking camping trips. However, another way of evacuating the air from these bags is to use a straw. Method: With bag ready for closure, insert a straw into the Zip-Loc bag. Zip the bag up to the straw. “Press” out as much air as possible (not smash). Then, use the straw to suck out the remaining air from the bag. Remove straw, and zip closed. Voila! …


Economics and Investing:

GG flagged this: WTO says global trade shrank 12 percent in 2009, biggest collapse since Second World War From Brian B.: Head of IMF Proposes New Reserve Currency – ABC News Another from GG: American reliance on government at all-time high Items from The Economatrix: Manufacturing Grows in February, Jobs Gauge Rises January Spending Increases But Income Growth Slows January Construction Spending Slides IMF Says New Reserve Currency to Replace Dollar is Possible Mish Shedlock: Short-Selling Restrictions “A Great Indicator of Imminent Market Crashes” Temporary Hiring: A Different Kind of Signal Jobless Benefits Begin Ending on Sunday