"Assessing, developing, attaining and sustaining needed emergency preparedness, response and recovery capabilities is a difficult task that requires sustained leadership… there is no silver bullet, no easy formula." – William Jenkins
Here in the northern hemisphere, we are about to have our Winter Solstice – the shortest day of the year. For some of us, that means that it is time to start planning our Spring gardens! (The seed catalogs will start to arrive soon. They are reliable as our January snow and Spring rain.)
Mr. Jim, You perfectly encapsulated a modification I just did to the kit I carry in my vehicle. While I knew better, it still took reading “One Second After” to set me thinking: How do I get home if the car dies? Your reference: “My personal circumstances are unusual, since I live at my retreat year-round. So the gear that I keep in my vehicle is more of a “Get Me Back Home Kit” rather than a “Get Out of Dodge Kit” is perfect. I have carried a pretty decent vehicle breakdown kit for some time, but I did so …
Sir: I am not an electrician, and I set as system like this up at my house three years ago. It kept our food cold, and the house tolerably warm for three days when the power was out. But I endorse a couple of important differences. First, letting your car run at idle will run down your battery. The alternator doesn’t reach full output at low RPMs, so you need to kick up the throttle a little bit. How much will depend on your car. I watch the volt-meter built into the inverter, and set the engine at about 1,500 …
Reader M.S. spotted this editorial by James Quinn: Brave New World 2010. This editorial by Frank Seuss was linked over at The Daily Bell: The Life-Long Challenge of Differentiating Between Truth, Paradigms, Truisms and Plain Lies RLG sent this video clip: Ryedale Coin Penny Sorter. Keep in mind how much profit from how many hundreds of thousands of pennies it would take to recoup the cost of buying a sorting machine. To my mind, this is a hobby business strictly for retirees with strong backs! Bill from Ohio sent this: Six Banks shut down Friday – 140 total this year …
Henry L. suggested this article over at Market Skeptics: 2010 Food Crisis for Dummies o o o SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large Michael Z. Williamson spotted a blog post about a warning poster at Fort Benning. Mike’s comment: “We’re terrorists, apparently.” o o o From Ferdinand: Man kills bobcat with bare hands during north Phoenix attack. He comments, “Even if it isn’t a complete collapse, things like this will become more common. Being defenseless–having to use your bare hands qualifies you as defenseless–is a death sentence, in my opinion.”
“Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them..” – Nehemiah 4:9 (KJV)
James Wesley: The often-quoted prognosticator Gerald Celente (of The Trends Research Institute) is predicting that the Survivalist movement will go mainstream next year. In a recent issue of The Trends Journal, he wrote: “Back in the Cold War days, survivalism meant building a bomb shelter and stocking it with enough food to outlast nuclear fallout. In the late 1970’s, with inflation soaring, Iran raging, and gold and oil prices skyrocketing, survival meant cashing out of paper money and heading for the hills with enough ammunition and pork & beans to wait out the economic and political storms. In 2000, the …
James, Thanks so much for your books, which have really opened my eyes. I began with “How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It” and have just finished reading “Patriots” for the second time. The first time on Kindle, then I decided I really needed a hard copy as well. After much prayer, my husband has acknowledged the need to prepare as well. We have just joined the NRA and we will be joining a local gun club next month, as well as looking for proper firearms training. We own a new .22 LR and a …
Mr Rawles, Having seen the info on EMT training that has been on your blog recently, I decided to throw in my 2 cents. The National Dept of Transportation (DOT) sets all standards for Emergency Medical Services (First Responder through EMT-Paramedic) for the entire country. These standards include training and standardized interventions for certain trauma and illnesses by EMTs. These can all be found at NREMT.org. All questions on certifications, training requirements, etc can be answered there. Some courses claim that they can accelerate you and get you certified. DOT has requirements that must be met to be nationally certified. …
Mark Lundeen at Gold Eagle asks: How could GDP have increased 2.8% and yet electrical power consumption in the US declined by 5.04%? The latest from the Dr. Housing Bubble blog: Southern California and the MLS Myth: Why the MLS does not Provide an Accurate Picture of Housing Inventory. Shadow Inventory, Foreclosures, and Fantasy Housing Numbers. Red State Ranger sent us this: You Can Negotiate Anything. BTW, I recommend that you read my archived article on savvy bartering, for some more negotiating tactics. (The Economatrix is snowed in today, with no Internet service available.)
From John S.: Happiest U.S. States Pinned Down. Note the correlation with my Recommended Retreat Areas ranking. o o o Chuck M. flagged this from The Guardian: Why Britain faces a bleak future of food shortages o o o Reader M.S. mentioned some analysis from Washington’s Blog: Officials and Experts Warn of Crash-Induced Unrest
"Adversity has the same effect on a man that severe training has on the pugilist – it reduces him to his fighting weight." – Josh Billings
James, I have been reading a lot of the archive items and I have noticed a few times where you went on a trip etc, we have had a few nieces and nephews born this year and when I travel 3 to 4 hours from home I don’t feel as secure as when I am close to my home and supplies so when you venture out for a few days the questions that pop into my mind are: What kind of vehicle do you travel long distances in? What supplies do you stock in it? What are some things we …
Mr. Rawles, I wanted to pass this along to you and the readers of your site. I’ve been looking to increase my medical skills and training and, I found these schools and programs. I intend on going to a few of them when I return to CONUS. Anyone considering taking any of these classes should account for all associated costs and time to attend. This kind of training isn’t cheap but it is well worth it. The first is Deployment Medicine International (DMI). It’s been set up to augment military and contract personnel that are deploying overseas. As far as …