Letter Re: Advice on Insuring Survival Gear

Hi. I have a question that I haven’t found the answer to yet on your site (which I read every day.) I have over $40,000 in storage food and survival supplies. I was wondering about insuring it with my homeowners insurance. I doubt my company would believe me if a fire or tornado destroyed everything. If I take out a supplemental addition to my insurance there goes OPSEC. Should I just take pictures on everything and store them off site? What are your thoughts on this? Thanks for all the great information. – Nancy S. JWR Replies: Many homeowner’s policies …


Letter Re: House Passes Power Grid Protection Bill

James Wesley: The House of Representatives yesterday passed the “Grid Reliability and Infrastructure Defense Act” which is “intended to bolster that national electric grid against terrorist attacks, cyber threats, electromagnetic pulse weapons and solar storms. The Act authorizes the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to issue emergency orders to protect critical electric infrastructure, and to take other measures to address current and potential vulnerabilities.” Given the speed at which government moves, I don’t think I’ll be unpacking my bug out bag or getting rid of my food stores! – Michael H.


Economics and Investing:

Evan D. mentioned this article: Next bubble: Corporate bonds..or stocks The BBC reports: Finland in double-dip recession. (Our thanks to Evan D. for the link.) By way of The Daily Bell, we read: Britain Becomes The First To Choose Deflation Reader S.M. sent us this: Bernanke Puzzled by Gold Rally. Obviously, Helicopter Ben doesn’t understand that gold is a proven hedge against both inflation and deflation. Thankfully, Mr. Market isn’t fooled by such political pronouncements. When I last checked, spot gold was at around €1,018 per troy ounce. This is near its all-time high in Euro terms. In my estimation, …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Brandy down in Bianchiland suggested this piece in the Los Angeles Times: Economic Slump Stirs Up Homemade Preserves Industry    o o o RNS mentioned this troubling news from Sweden: Robberies raise prospect of retail cash ban. What great logic. So if they ban water, there’d be no more drownings!    o o o Roger Y. suggested this article: Doorstep bank raids plague cash-loving Argentina    o o o One of our former advertisers, BulletProofME.com, currently has a special on their overstock of US-made Interceptor vest nylon outershells. These are in camouflage. They are just $20 each if you mention …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“It is a blessing upon every one that feareth the Lord, and walks in His ways, that he shall eat the labor of his hands. And he that without his own labor either of body or mind eats the labor of other men’s hands only, and lives by their sweat, is but like unto lice, and other such vermin.” – John Robinson, “Observations of Knowledge and Virtue”


Notes from JWR:

Back on May 1st, shortly after the big oil leak started in the Gulf, I was one of the first to broach the subject of nuking it. Well, lo and behold, the mainstream media has finally caught on. Recently, they’ve been earnestly interviewing Milo Nordyke, formerly with Lawrence Lab’s Plowshare program. I just heard that CNN will be airing an interview with Nordyke today. — Today we present another entry for Round 29 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round will include: First Prize: A.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for …


Colloquium (CQ) Groups–Part One, by H.B. in North Central Idaho

The Beginning CQ has a unique definition to many people.  One military and another for the Amateur Radio (“ham”) community.  I’d like to add another definition for CQ.  CQ to us refers to our local community preparedness group that we started five months ago.  CQ is actually short for Colloquium- which basically means an open discussion about various topics.  I chose colloquium to shorten the even longer original name-”community preparedness meeting at the Big Cedar Schoolhouse”  Whew!  What a mouthful!  You can see why it was abbreviated.  I soon got tired of having to explain what a colloquium meant so …


Letter Re: Which Food Storage Buckets are Food Grade?

Jim: I have a question about plastic buckets. I’ve heard that some of them put toxic chemical fumes into food, but others don’t. How can I be sure which ones are food grade? Thanks Much, – Wendy J. (Living too close to Mr. Schumer) JWR Replies: As I explain in the “Rawles Gets You Ready” family preparedness course, determining whether or not a particular used bucket is truly food grade can be a challenge. I’ve had several readers and consulting clients who have mistakenly been told that the the number 2 (with the number 2 inside the “chasing arrows” recycling …


Letter Re: Ammo Carrying Options for M1 Garand Owners

Sir, I wanted to provide a couple of suggestions for those folks that are using M1 Garand rifles. [These .30-06 rifles are fed by 8-round en bloc clips .] One obvious solution is the ten-pouch WWII ammo belt that every one is familiar with, giving a total of eighty rounds. There are a couple of other good solutions. One that I especially like is to use a WWI U.S. Grenade Pouch Vest. You can find them on eBay and various internet sellers, both original and reproduction ones. It is a rectangular panel with a shoulder/neck strap and ties to go …


Letter Re: Advice on Building Harder Off-Grid Houses

James, The article on perennial food sources was both timely and excellent! Kudos. We are already planning to introduce many of the species into our farm. Next, a question. Since your book “How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It” has caused me to re-think several things — and after I have spent 20 years being a prepper –I figured I should buy your book “Rawles on Retreats and Relocation”. Chapter 14 is of special interest to me right now as we are building a snug little adobe house on the farm we just bought. We …


Economics and Investing:

It appears that $1,200 per ounce has become the new price floor for gold. With more global financial turmoil surely ahead, we ain’t seen nuthin’ yet for the precious metals. If you feel like you’ve missed the boat, don’t. It’s not too late to buy on the dips. (The top will be much higher than today’s price levels!) Silver is a better choice than gold for most investors. But of course I’ve been saying that ever since I called the bottom of the market, back in February of 2001. That was just a couple of months before its actual low …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Judy T. suggested this: Peak Oil and Apocalypse Then    o o o Reader John G. mentioned a South Carolina proposal to criminalize hidden compartments in cars. Yikes! Talk about a legislative solution to a non-existent problem. Whatever happened to “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects…”?    o o o G.G. sent us a curious story about the owner of a “nail house” in China’s Wuhan Province: China’s Wuhan Nail House Owner Fights Forced Demolition with Home-Made Cannon. From the photos, his “block house” architecture leaves a lot to be desired. …



Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 29 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round will include: First Prize: A.) 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 between $500 and $600, and B.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees, in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $392 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A 500 round case of …


A Perennial Food Supply, by L.H.

The end of the world may happen tomorrow or who knows when.  Hard times are happening now and may get even harder.  A food storage system and MREs act as a life jacket when times get tough.  But you need to have a plan for when things get even tougher or if your finances or food supplies run out.  Once established, perennials can be a simple, minimal labor answer to a permanent and reliable food source and first aid kit.  Perennials have the advantage of being planted once and then being around to enjoy for many years without the limitations …