Day: November 28, 2011

Pat’s Product Review: No-Name AR-15s

Over the past several months, I have been asked by many SurvivalBlog readers which AR-style rifle is the best. And, many readers mistakenly believe that some civilian brands of ARs are 100% “mil-spec.” When I explain to them that their civilian ARs, no matter who made them, are NOT mil-spec, and the facts to reinforce my argument, I don’t hear back from them.   So, let me explain why civilian ARs are not 100% mil-spec. Some AR makers mistakenly (intentionally?) advertise their ARs as being mil-spec, when in fact, they are only partially made up of mil-spec parts. Even Colt, who makes …


Letter Re: Lessons From Latvian Bank Runs

James, I recently read an article at Zero Hedge about a bank run in Latvia.  The run was apparently brought on by accusations of embezzlement, document forgery, accounting fraud, and abuse of authority by two shareholders.  (Honestly, this is not about the US Congress emptying the Social Security Trust Fund, or Congressional insider trading)  The information on the bank’s web site refers specifically to Jon Corzine and MF Global!  “Kinda like Jon Corzine, if not by the actual authorities, then by everybody else. And just like in the US where the lack of confidence in the system following the MF filing, so …


Letter: Type 1 Diabetes–There Has to Be a Way to Prepare

Mr. Rawles, I’m writing this because there has to be a better way to prepare for everyone that feels the responsibility to do so without leaving type 1 diabetics behind.  I’m hoping you or someone reading this may have answers or can help in the search.  I had been prepping for a year or so in small but steady ways.  We had covered a lot of ground, everything from food storage to medicine, woodstove, small solar, guns, gardens, you name it and we continued to punch away at our personal list.  Then it happened, my son was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.  It’s …


Economics and Investing:

J.B.G. suggested this: Pictures From A Latvian Bank Run As MF Global Commingling Comes To Town Also from J.B.G.: Deutsche Bank: If Merkel Doesn’t Budge, ‘Our Investment Advice Is To Dig A Hole In The Ground And Hide’ Clive Maund: Gold To Profit From Economic Uncertainty From Wired: The Rise and Fall of Bitcoin Items from The Economatrix: Coming–Big Austerity Cuts 17 Quotes About The Coming Global Financial Collapse That Will Make Your Hair Stand Up Death of a Currency as Eurogeddon Approaches Update On US Banks And The Euro Area–Things Are Looking Grim


Odds ‘n Sods:

Steve M. sent a news article with this comment: “One more reason to live full-time at your retreat”: Neighbors helping neighbors—to break into vacant houses    o o o Scientists create man-made flu virus that could potentially wipe out millions if it ever escapes research lab. (A hat tip to F.J. for the link.)    o o o Jonathan B. sent this from northern California and southwestern Oregon: State of Jefferson Rises again!    o o o EPA targets families that generate heat off the grid using traditional wood-burning stoves. (Thanks to Steve M. for the link.)    o o …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“The first thing I did when I turned twenty-one was go out and buy a handgun. The reason I did that was because it made perfect sense to be armed and seemed totally foolish not to be. By the mid-1970s, I became aware of the fact that there was a growing survivalist movement – everything from food to firearms to retreat property – and that people saw themselves as somehow being able to survive a nuclear war or whatever else might lie in store, if somehow they could prepare. I always believed, as does [my fictional protagonist] John Rourke, that …