Author: James Wesley Rawles

The movie Capricorn One premiered on December 17, 1978. Written and directed by Peter Hyams, it had a great cast, featuring Elliott Gould, James Brolin, Brenda Vaccaro, Sam Waterston, O.J. Simpson, Hal Holbrook, Karen Black, Telly Savalas, David Huddleston, and David Doyle. SurvivalBlog reader E.S. sent this note about the film’s interesting premise: “A fake Mars mission, government overreach, and a major cover-up when things go sour. It all sounds familiar. You only have to change the details — WMD, the Wuhan Flu, et cetera.” — December 17th, 1905, was the birthday of Simo Häyhä, who was the world’s most …

The Boston Tea Party anti-tax protest raid was on the night of December 16, 1773 at Griffin’s Wharf in Boston, Massachusetts. Frustrated colonists dumped 342 chests of tea into the harbor. This was the first significant publicized act of defiance to British rule in the American colonies. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 104 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000. …

December 15th is Bill of Rights Day. (The Bill of Rights became law on this day in 1791, following ratification by the state of Virginia.) We encourage our American readers to gather publicly and read the Bill of Rights aloud. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 104 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. …

December 14th is the birthday of the late John Warren Wadleigh (born 1927, died September 24, 2013.) Wadleigh was better known to many SurvivalBlog readers by his pen name: Oliver Lange. He was the author of the best-selling resistance warfare novel Vandenberg. — Today’s feature article is a guest piece written by SurvivalBlog reader Mrs. Alaska. Because it was first published in her blog, Alaska Bush Life, Off-Road, Off-Grid, it is not eligible for judging in the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. We are in need of articles to post for Round 104 of the writing contest.  More than $775,000 worth …

After spending nine months on the run, former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was captured on December 13, 2003. During his 24 years in office, Saddam’s secret police, charged with protecting his power, terrorized the public, ignoring the human rights of the nation’s citizens. While many of his people faced poverty, he lived in incredible luxury, building more than 20 lavish palaces throughout the country. It was fitting that, in the end, he was hiding in nothing more than a hole in the ground covered by plywood. — December 13th is also the birthday of Sergeant Alvin York. — SurvivalBlog Writing …

On December 12, 2019, the British General Election was won by Boris Johnson‘s Conservative Party in a landslide win with 80-seat majority. Scottish National Party also won 48 of 59 seats in Scotland. — Today’s feature article was penned by SurvvalBlog Field Gear Editor Tom Christianson. — We are in need of entries for Round 104 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $775,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. Round 104 ends on January 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and …