Day: January 22, 2012

Note from JWR:

Today we present another two entries for Round 39 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) A gift certificate worth $1,000, courtesy of Spec Ops Brand, B.) 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 $795, and C.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $350 value.) D.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a …


You May Not Get a Second Chance to Prepare, by Larry E.

I have been guilty for years of talking about preparing verses actually putting forth the effort and taking the necessary steps to prepare for my family.  I began my prep life back pre-2000 Y-2K bug times.  I began to read about the potential time bomb that was ticking as it pertained to the technology crash back in 1995.  I had subscribed to a homesteaders magazine called Countryside (highly recommended) and began to study what impending danger that our nation and world was faced with.  As did many, I did not want to face the facts that this could actually happen …


The Overnighters: Coming to a Neighborhood Near You, by Frank C. in California

The collapse has come.  It could be economic, geopolitical, a natural disaster, or any combination of the above.  Suppose it has now been three weeks since your last trip to the grocery store.  It has been two weeks since you lost power to your home.  A week ago, two large families broke into, and are squatting in a vacant, foreclosed home down the street.  Three days ago, you heard gunshots and loud shouting very close by.  You wanted to call the police, but there is no longer any type of phone service, and the last you heard, the police had …


Letter Re: Comprehensive Crisis Communications Planning for the Prepper

James: With reference to the Comprehensive Crisis Communications Planning for the prepper, by Hammer the portion where he described the Dakota Alert using the MURS frequencies is very good, to say the least.   I have the system and anywhere I go around my property  or further I carry the the transmitter on my person. If the barrier is broken according to the audible alert voice system telling me which zone has been broken I can check it out. It is a very reliable system, not cheap but reliable. Each zone can carry whatever amount of receivers you want to …


Economics and Investing:

Jim T. suggested a good piece by Thorsten Polleit: How Deflationary Forces Will Be Turned into Inflation AmEx (American Expat) sent us this: Local currencies: ‘In the U.S. we don’t trust’ The FDIC Friday Follies have resumed: Banks closed in Georgia, Florida, Pennsylvania; first failures of 2012 A reader in Manitoba wrote ask me about possible trigger dates for a financial panic. I told her that a key date is March 15, 2012. That is the day that the Greek government must either cough up the cash, or admit default. Fitch seems to consider Greek default almost a certainty. Items …


Odds ‘n Sods:

SurvivalBlog’s Editor At Large Michael Z. Williamson spotted this little gem: Kitchen Renovation: How to Make a Secret Toekick Drawer    o o o Federal official in Arizona to plead the fifth and not answer questions on ‘furious’    o o o Fairbanks man accused in ‘meat for heat’ case hires lawyer. [JWR Asks: Why is it that in many of the United States that only Native Americans can legally sell or barter wild game? As long as bag limits are respected (to maintain stable game populations), then what you do post facto with your meat from legally-harvested game should …