Day: September 1, 2012

Notes from JWR:

Readers in the U.S are advised that September is National Preparedness Month. In cooperation, many States have special “no sales tax” periods for many items including generators and in a few states even firearms. Some states with chronic flooding problems also give away free sandbags. Do a web search for activities in your State for National Preparedness Month. — Today we present another two entries for Round 42 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. …


When the Antidepressants Run Out, by Dr. S.V.

Worldwide, Prozac is the most prescribed antidepressant.  It is also prescribed for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and co-morbid anxiety. By inhibiting serotonin re-uptake, more serotonin is available at the synapse, which is anti-depressant.  There are many SSRIs prescribed for depression: Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil,  Celexa, Lexapro, etc.  There are antidepressant medications which target serotonin and other neurotransmitters, such as norepinephrine (Effexor), but they lie outside the scope of this article. When raw ingredient availability is interrupted these medications will become abruptly unavailable.  There are recent examples of this phenomenon in the United States:  in 2003 tetanus toxoid became very scarce for some …


Can You Take to the Sky?, by Greg G.

Airplanes Aircraft are expensive, fragile, very dependent on the weather and, unfortunately, on other people such as Air Traffic Control and airport operators. Airports can be blocked, aircraft can be seized and it only takes a pea shooter to put them out of commission.  Given all that, they are still by far the best devices to quickly put hundreds of miles between you and a problem. If you wanted an airplane as a survival tool, you would be looking at something simple that relies on the least possible support and can operate outside of airports: a bush plane. A bush plane is …


Letter Re: Observations on Tropical Storm Isaac

“Fool me once, Fool me twice.” Yes, you would think after Hurricane Katrina that people would have learned their lesson about staying in low lying areas. However, resilient as most people are,  the one thing that many always do, no matter what is stay. Then being caught in an  impossible situation rely on the government for help. I am a hurricane veteran. At 59, and having lived 20 miles west of New Orleans all of my life, I have survived Betsy in ’65 right up and through Isaac. For Hurricane Besty, I was only a child but I remember the broken …


Economics and Investing:

Peter Schiff says Ron Paul was ignored and that an economic collapse is inevitable, regardless of who wins the presidential election. By way of our friend Remus at The Woodpile Report, a link to an eye-opening piece on the velocity of money by Mark McHugh: Shhhh…It’s Even Worse Than The Great Depression. (Warning: Includes some foul language.) H.L. sent: More Bad News Imminent: August US Auto Production Set To Plunge By Most In 16 Months I’m sure that many of you noticed that gold and silver ended the week with bang. Items from The Economatrix: Debt Crisis:  Italian Cash-For-Gold Shops …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Over at Backwoods Home: Animal disease traceability, by Patrice Lewis    o o o Don in Oregon sent this: Remote Alaska to stockpile food, just in case. The state plans two food stockpiles in or near Fairbanks and Anchorage, two cities that also have military bases. Construction on the two storage facilities will begin this fall, and the first food deliveries are targeted for December. The goal is to have enough food to feed 40,000 people for up to a week, including three days of ready-to-eat meals and four days of bulk food that can be prepared and cooked for …