Year: 2010

Letter Re: A Source for Free Firewood

Mr. Rawles, I wanted to express a word of caution about wooden pallets. The company I work for throws away many pallets each week and I had the same thought about using them as a free supplement for my wood burning stove. I am a biochemist so before burning any pallets the scientist in me needed to know more about what chemicals I might be exposing to my family. What I have learned is that many pallets, especially those used in international shipments are treated with a fungicide/pesticide called 2,4,6-tribromophenol (TBE). This chemical can cause irritation of the skin, mucus …


Letter Re: The Really Poor Man’s Guide to Arms and Ammo

Mr Rawles, First off, I must say that I enjoyed your book “How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It”. My perspective on firearms comes from an Infantry (though National Guard) mindset. I hope after a little editing this is worth posting for the Really Poor Man. My friends and I are in our mid- to late-20s, with incomes between $12 and $14 an hour. One has 3 kids and a wife, another has bills (car note payments) and all of us try to find time and have money for limited recreation. When dealing especially with …


Economics and Investing:

Loyal content contributor Susan H. sent us this: More Bad News: 10 Things You Should Know About The Latest Economic Numbers Paul Craig Roberts: America’s Third World Economy. (Thanks to Siggy for the link.) K.T. sent this: Seven Cities About to Sink. Courtesy of KAF: Fed Undaunted by Uncertain Prospects for Money Printing Also from KAF: China Currency Reserves May Hit $2.5 Trillion, Stoking Tensions. Sue C. highlighted this piece of commentary: Three Weeks That Will Rock Wall Street. Items from The Economatrix: Gold, Get It While You Can US Consumer Debt Deleveraging = Commercial Real Estate Market Collapse No …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Bob G. spotted this: Ammo Long Term Storage Tips    o o o K.T. mentioned a web site that houses some rare photos of Assorted Black Ops Toys.[ JWR’s Comment: Some of the conclusions drawn in the captions ramble off into incoherent UFOlogy, so I ignored them. Still, it is a great collection of photos. It is fun seeing photos of the fruition of some of the codeword programs that I had heretofore only read about in text descriptions. Shrouded even deeper in secrecy, of course, are the compartmentalized intelligence products derived from some of these platforms. Those may not …



Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 31 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 …


Tell No One, by Mary F.

I left the city earlier this year, and have settled in on property that my grandmother bought 70 years ago. I work from home, in the arts, doing publicity, proofreading, and copy-editing. I have a very quiet life, very private, a few good friends, a deep knowledge of the region. I rarely go more than five miles from home. The world frightens me much more than it did when I was younger and stronger and living in the big scary city. Havoc, it seems, has already been cried, and it’s not out of the question that the dogs of war …


Letter Re: Inexpensive and Face Value Sources for Silver Coins

Sir, First, from one veteran to another, let me thank you, like so many others, for this outstanding blog. I would like to share my experiences with my like-minded brothers and sisters in the hopes that they too can fill their coffers of coins and silver bullion for free or pretty darn close to it. We most certainly all know the importance of tangible assets at this critical juncture in our Nation’s history. But with upward trend of gold and silver as of late, who wants to pay $23 or more for one ounce of silver? Not me. So I …


Economics and Investing:

Reader Bill R. liked this piece by Brett Arends: The Great Mortgage Mystery. The article begins: “The big question from the mortgage meltdown isn’t why so many distressed homeowners are defaulting on their loans. It’s why any of them are still making payments.” Oh, and FYI, here is a list of non recourse (“mortgage walkaway”) states. 27 Signs That The Standard Of Living For America’s Middle Class Is Dropping Like A Rock Siggy recommend this white paper from QB Asset Management: Who is John Galt? Susan H. sent this: The 19 Countries Most Likely to Default: Ireland Surges Higher Frightening …


Odds ‘n Sods:

I heard about RemedyLink.com, a small pharmaceutical manufacturer produces EDTA suppositories for heavy metal chelation. They offer a 50% discount for folks that identify themselves as SurvivalBlog readers. To get the 50% off, customers will have to phone them, since the web site isn’t set up for that sort of deep discount.    o o o Just a sign of the budget crunch times, or Anarchy, USA? In Multnomah County, Oregon (which includes the city of Portland), the county district attorney said that “low-level crimes” such as shoplifting, trespassing, and disorderly conduct will no longer be prosecuted due to budget …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“The view which defines liberty as the mere ‘absence of restraint’ may be well-meaning, but this is the best one can say about it. It is a definition which permits, and even encourages, the substance of liberty to leak away. It undermines the sanctity of the person and property, it ignores the moral order, and it undermines the system of contracts. The truly free man is not a captive of his impulses; he controls his own actions so as not to impair the equal rights of others to their persons and their property; he is constrained by moral considerations; and …


Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 31 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 …


Cross-Training for TEOTWAWKI Preparedness, by Beau F.

I’ve been preparing for a number of years now and found a great way to prepare others in your group as well. I realized a long time ago that I could not survive alone. Now that I have a family, and close like minded friends, I realize that I don’t have to. A couple of years ago I really started stockpiling my “tactical” gear. I would buy a lot of ammo, good mags, the right tactical clothing, and so on. I started reading up on certain things that would be helpful in a TEOTWAWKI situation and would start to practice …


Letter Re: Self Sufficiency Christmas Gifts on a Budget

Dear Mr. Rawles, My mom gave me a copy of your novel “Patriots” a couple years ago for Christmas. I am married but because college debt and being unemployed for seven months before finding my next job my wife and I do not have much money, (BTW, after reading your book my wife and I saved every penny we could and are now debt free) I have been trying to stash away survival gear, beans, bullets and band-aids, and I have been looking for affordable survival books. In my search for inexpensive books I found out that I could download …


Economics and Investing:

Harold Bradley warns: Far More Derivative Exposure Today Than Two Years Ago. He talks about “terrifying” risks. More about derivatives, and some immediate, huge, repercussions: Tavakoli: Biggest Fraud in the History of the Capital Markets California budget means lean times for the state – 5 reasons why the California economy will lag for years to come. High paying jobs gone, shadow inventory, state taxes, and re-writing history. Have you noticed that the melt value of a lowly Nickel (U.S. Five Cent piece) is now worth more than 120% of face value? It is not too late to stock up, while …