Letter Re: My Experience With Social Collapse

People often discuss what would happen in a societal collapse and I wonder how many people have actually experienced one.  My experiences came from living in a foreign country…California.  19 years ago this month, I was living in Long Beach, California after my separation from the US Navy.  I was working in the medical field and came home one Wednesday around noon as usual for my early work hours.  The day was pretty uneventful with the exception of one little item.  The great state of California in all of its infinite wisdom had handed down a verdict of “Not Guilty” …


Economics and Investing:

AmEx (American Ex-Pat): suggested this: Case Shiller 100 Year Chart (2011 Update). JWR’s Comment: Methinks house prices still have a lot farther to fall. Unless you find that “perfect” retreat property, don’t buy into a falling market! Carl T. sent this: Losing 84 Cents on Dollar Reveals Runaway U.S. Public Pensions John B. suggested: The Real Silver High China trims holdings of US securities in February. Sometimes it is these “minor” news articles that speak volumes. (Thanks to G.G. for the link.) G.P. recommended this piece at the NIA web site: The Truth About Silver and Inflation Items from The …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Roman recommended: Your bike – the coolest part of your disaster kit    o o o Non-Retreat Locale: Riding Along With the Cops in Murdertown, U.S.A.    o o o Vin Suprynowicz chimes in: The enormous disconnect between ‘mainstream’ professional reviews and viewer response to ‘Atlas Shrugged The Movie, Part I’. Bottom line: Statists hate this movie and the novel that it was based upon. The fact that that a 54 year-old Libertarian novel is presently ranked #6 overall on Amazon, and #1 in Political Fiction no doubt has the posteriors of the statists chaffed to a shade somewhere between …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“…the afternoon of April 19, [1943] two boys climbed up on the roof of the headquarters of the Jewish Resistance there and raised two flags: the red-and-white Polish flag and the blue-and-white banner of the ZZW (blue and white are the colors of the Flag of Israel today). These flags were well-seen from the Warsaw streets, and the Jews managed to hold off the Germans for four entire days in their attempts to remove them. Stroop recalled: ‘The matter of the flags was of great political and moral importance. It reminded hundreds of thousands of the Polish cause, it excited …


Notes from JWR:

After many months (my apologies!), we’ve finally corrected the link to our map of SurvivalBlog visitors. You’ll always be able to find the map down at the bottom of the left-hand navigation bar. OBTW, please note that some of those locations might not be accurate, because of VPN Tunneling. (Speaking of which, if you are serious about your privacy, I recommend the Strong VPN service for both your e-mail and web browsing. — Today we present an article by SurvivalBlog’s Medical Editor, Dr. Cynthia Koelker. She hosts the medical prepping site Armageddonmedicine.net.  Today she writes about prevention and treatment of …


The Top Five Lethal Infections — How to Prevent and How to Treat

In choosing the top five infections in which preppers should be well-versed, I have employed the following criteria:  The infection must be potentially life-threatening The infection must be potentially reversible with treatment The infection must be common now and likely to continue into the future. Based on the preceding, these five are a good place to start educating yourself. Pneumonia.  Pneumonia is often confused with bronchitis.  Both cause cough, fever, and difficulty breathing.  However, with bronchitis, the breathing tubes are narrowed, thus decreasing airflow.  Occasionally (primarily in patients with asthma or COPD) the airways will be so swollen that sufficient …


Pat’s Product Reviews: Leatherman MUT Multi-Tool

Several weeks ago, I talked about some of the multi-tools on the market. I mentioned that SurvivalBlog readers should avoid the no-name, no-brand of multi-tools on the market. They are junk, and you don’t want to have to depend on one of these tools to save your life if TEOTWAWKI hits – that’s not the time to discover the cheap look-a-like multi-tool won’t do the job you ask of it.   My contact person at Leatherman alerted me to the new Military Utility Tool (MUT) that Leatherman is now producing. “Oh great,” I thought to myself, “she’s playing mind games …


Letter Re: Sanitation in Grid Down Situations

Hello James,   I read the recent article on survival for apartment dwellers and I hate to burst a bubble but a major factor was left out: SANITATION. It’s incredible domino effect is truly mind boggling!   Back in 1999 I was involved in writing a white paper for the government on the effects caused by no running water.   I am afraid I know what I am talking about and it’s not a pretty picture.  In 1998 in Auckland, New Zealand there was a lengthy power failure that in turn led to several days without water and what happened …


Letter Re: Archives of SurvivalBlog

Dear James: During the major winter storm here in Texas in January we experienced many hours without electricity. The power outages were caused by rolling blackouts and also by storm related damage. Our family made the decision to use the situation as an opportunity to “see what it would be like”. One major thing that we noticed that we were totally un-prepared for was the loss of the Internet. We quickly discovered how many times a day we use the Internet as a source of reference and information. Our thoughts were previously about e-mail and news updates. Those we could …


Letter Re: The Importance of Acquiring First Aid Supplies in Depth

James,   I have been a part time survivalist for many years.  I thought about the topic while still serving in the Army and after retiring I have moved, slowly, to position my family to be able to survive if the Schumer hits the fan.    I live in a brick home on 1-1/2 acres, surrounded by vast farmland.  Work cooperatively with neighbors to develop cooperative relationships that would benefit all parties if the worst happens.  Have the guns and ammo thing covered.  Food?  Still working on it but think we could make it for six months or more in …


Letter Re: Bacteria-Infected Meat in U.S. Supermarkets

JWR,   I thought I’d pass this along for your consideration to publish this link: Quarter of Meat Supply Contaminated With Drug-Resistant Bacteria. This article may be alarming to some of our population, but to most of your readers I suspect it is not a surprise and many have even known or anticipated such an anecdotal report as we’ve been observing an increase in drug resistant bacteria for some time.    What I took away from this article is the benefit of the extreme care it takes to not only raise animals for consumption (apparent source of pathogens) but thoroughness …


Letter Re: Buying Military Surplus Directly

Mr Rawles,     Thanks for hard work and invaluable resources. I have a suggestion buying surplus military equipment. It appears the government liquidators mentioned have some sort of fees involved. Anyone can go to the DoD’s Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service web site.  This eliminates any middleman and lets you look at available equipment online.   In addition and maybe more usefully, every military base that I have served on or visited had a Defense Reutilization and Marketing Office (DRMO), and they hold regular sales, some walk-in like a surplus store and others by sealed or open lot bidding. …


Economics and Investing:

C.D.V. sent us a link to a Zero Hedge piece: Jobless Claims Huge Miss to Expectations of 380K, Print at 412K, Previous Revised Upward, Core PPI Higher Than Expected Also from C.D.V.: Zoellick Sees Economic Risks From Food Prices, Debt, Inflation. In related news: World Bank president: ‘One shock away from crisis’. (Thanks to Mark W. for the latter link.) Pierre M. was the first of several readers to forward this link: More Americans leaving the workforce. John S. highlighted this one: Banks Face $3.6 Trillion ‘Wall’ of Debt: IMF J.H. was the first of several readers to mention this …


Inflation Watch:

U.S. Companies Shrink Packages as Food Prices Rise. Reader Bryan E. wrote to mention: “Over the weekend we had visitors who are in the wholesale food distribution business. They were relating that they had experienced a 14% increase in wholesale food prices during just the month of March. Here are some examples: Item Size March 1st Price April 1st Price Sugar 55 lb. $33 $37 Flour 50 lb. $11 $16 Butter 30 lb. $74 $91 Margarine 30 lb. $17 $24 Catfish 15 lb. $54 $89 Cheese 42 lb. $2.55/lb $2.91/lb Restaurateurs are greatly concerned about how they are going to …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Michael Z. Williamson (SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large) recommend this National Geographic documentary: Witness: Disaster in Japan. Mike’s comments: “This is an excellent presentation.  The first 30 minutes is raw footage from cell phones, local cameras and news, with almost no commentary.  There are English subtitles.  Watching six minutes of magnitude 9.0 shaking and collapse, followed by 20 minutes of blasting waves demolishing buildings and sweeping everything inland in a filthy black crush, is very sobering. The sheer level of devastation is a reminder that natural disasters dwarf anything that we might do ourselves.”    o o o How about Gas …