Year: 2012


Notes from JWR:

Today is the birthday of Simón Bolivar. His full name: Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios Ponte y Blanco. He was born July 24, 1783 and died December 17, 1830. Bolivar will always be remembered as an early abolitionist and as “The Liberator”–the man who led Bolivia, Columbia, Ecuador, and Venezuela to independence. — Today we present another two entries for Round 41 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 …


The Bug Out Trailer, by  Allen A.

If things go bad do you bug in or do you bug out.  This decision will probably be made at the time depending on the expectations of what the emergency will be and just how bad you expect conditions to become.  Are you expecting a hurricane or other disaster sizable enough to worry about?  Will you be gone for a week then return and open the house back up?  Are you expecting a Katrina size event or might it unexpectedly turn into a long term emergency where the only things you have will be those things you take with you. …


Emergency Water Treatment On The Move, by Tom K.

When I first started hiking and backpacking in the 1960s and 1970s few people bothered to treat their backcountry water in the USA. If it looked good it probably was good and we drank from streams and lakes without a second thought to the quality of the water in them. Unfortunately this is no longer the case and serious illnesses can be contracted by failing to treat the water you drink. Since I have not yet experienced TEOTWAWKI, I will describe my experiences with different water treatment methods from the viewpoint of a hiker and backpacker. I think that in …


Letter Re: Swiss Fallout Shelter Specifications

Dear Mr. Rawles: Some of your French, Italian or German readers might like to try this link to the official Swiss Civil Defense web page.  The last five links on the page titled ITC or ITAP are the ones with the specs. The 4th link is also quite interesting, and as you can see, they even have the EMP problem entirely figured out, in typical Swiss fashion   I read somewhere that Oak Ridge might have translated some of these documents, or earlier versions thereof but I have yet to come across these on the net.   Beste grussen und …


Letter Re: Long Term Public Employee Pension Obligations

James: A good read, and the author is right, we shouldn’t paint with a broad brush. However I think he had one glaring inaccuracy, and that inaccuracy is regarding the crucial fact is the crux of the problem people have with government pensions. he wrote:   “I contribute 3% of my salary to my government retirement. Not much you say, but in the civilian corporate world, most companies provide 100% of the employees’ retirement without employee contribution”   This is a blatant falsehood. Company provided pensions have been getting phased out aggressively. They may have been the norm in earlier decades, …


News From The American Redoubt:

John Jacob Schmidt (the host of Radio Free Redoubt) mentioned that the latest version of the AmRRON Communications plan is now available.     o o o Coffee Churches? Book studies the growth of the evangelical movement in the northwest: Evangelical vs. Liberal.    o o o The latest flying video from “Ttabs” shows the vast timberland wilderness area in north-central Idaho. Talk about “lightly populated”! And simply gorgeous…    o o o A handy set of maps. Of course the Redoubt States rate quite well.    o o o The Redoubt shines, as usual: Where You’ll Want to Live in …


Economics and Investing:

QE is Coming! Bleak jobs outlook raises heat on Fed: Chief of San Francisco reserve sees benefit of open-ended QE. Inevitably, monetization leads to inflation. Ken W. sent: Analysis: Shoppers may be spared worst of corn price surge. Ken’s Comment: “I ain’t believing it!!!…” Over at Dr. Housing Bubble they spell out the impact of $1 trillion in student debt: Mortgaging your way to a college education – the burden of student debt and the impact on the starter home market. LIBOR suit threat from small banks Items from The Economatrix: Ron Paul Interview With Gold Seek Radio What’s So …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Woolsey: Stormy preview of electric-grid crash. (Thanks to G.G. for the link.)    o o o A very useful article by Dr. Bones: Sleep Deprivation in Survival Situations    o o o Peter S. sent this insightful piece about Syrian Civil War and some lessons learned about “Getting Out of Dodge”: Life During Wartime    o o o M.C.C.L. suggested this over at Sailboat Diaries: Why I’m Leaving America



Pat’s Product Review: Springfield Armory XDs Compact .45 ACP Pistol

One of the most anticipated handguns to come along, is the new Springfield Armory XDs, single-stack, 5+1 shot, .45ACP pistol. This gun was due to be released in March of this year, but there were production  delays that had to be worked out. And, I am grateful for a company like Springfield Armory, who won’t release a gun until it is what it is supposed to be, instead of releasing the gun sooner, and then facing a recall of thousands of guns down the road because of some kind of glitch. Still, people want what they can’t have – and …


Pat’s Book Review: Understanding the Use of Handguns for Self-Defense

Author: David Nash Copyright Date: January 2011 Publisher: Looseleaf Law Publications ISBN: 978-1608850259 I was contacted by David Nash, who wrote “Understanding the Use of Handguns for Self-Defense” and I did a little checking around, to see what his credentials were, before deciding to review his book.   One of the first things that caught my attention, was the Foreword – written by SurvivalBlog’s own Editor At Large, Michael Z. Williamson, and he gives Nash a good review for his efforts. Secondly, and this really caught my attention was the Introduction, written by Nash. Here’s part of what Nash humbly …


Harry’s Book Review: The Royal Wulff Murders

Author: Keith McCafferty Copyright Date: February 2012 Publisher: Viking ISBN: 978-0-670-02326-4 Audio, e-book or foreign translation avail? Yes–Kindle Suitable for children? No, and probably not for the ladies either. When I received my stack of fiction books to review for SurvivalBlog, the novel The Royal Wulff Murders caught my eye right away.  From the description of the murder victim and of Sean Stranahan’s studio I knew this book would have an element of humor worked into the mystery.  In fact, given the author’s day job (Survival Editor of Field & Stream) and the setting for the novel I seriously wondered …


Letter Re: Self Defense Without Firearms

James: Concerning the recent article on traditional weapons, I have a couple of comments: Knife fighting:  Stabbing may have it’s place, but a good knife fighter will slash and cut.  Someone who stabs with a knife is relatively easy to disarm.  Someone who slashes is much harder to defend against.  A stab wound is unlikely to be instantly fatal.  A slashing attack directed at tendons can instantly render the victim defenseless and eliminate his ability to fight back or flee.  (See the following link for more info http://www.martialbladeconcepts.com/ A word of warning regarding arrows:  If you shoot a compound bow …


Recipe of the Week:

The Late Memsahib’s Molasses Taffy Ingredients: 1 Cup granulated Sugar 1 Bottle (1-1/2 Cups) Dark Molasses 2 tsp vinegar 1-1/2 Tbsp Butter 1/8th tsp Salt 1/2 tsp Baking Soda Coating: Powdered Sugar Directions: In a THICK 3-quart saucepan, mix molasses, sugar, and vinegar. Heat and stir CONSTANTLY until it reaches the hard ball stage. Remove from heat. Add butter, salt and soda. Stir until foaming stops. Pour into -a well-buttered pan. Pull the taffy by hand until it is light and stiff. Using buttered scissors, cut into bite-sized pieces (1/2 diameter cylinders x 1 inch long. Roll in powdered sugar. …