Letter Re: Getting Started with Home Canning

James, I am acquiring the equipment necessary to pressure can (in jars) meat and produce. A bumper crop from a home garden or a freshly killed animal will be lost quickly if not frozen, dried or canned. I don’t want to make jerky stews, casseroles or burgers, so I’m going to add canning skills to my quiver. After doing some reading, I’ve discovered that nearly anything can be canned! I’ve found people canning burger patties, meatballs, butter, cheese, and bacon in additional to all the normal things you’d expect to see in jars. There are tons of books out there …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader FLS suggested this article: Here comes $500 oil. “If Matt Simmons is right, the recent drop in crude prices is an illusion – and oil could be headed for the stratosphere. He’s just hoping we can prevent civilization from imploding.”    o o o Our prodigious Economic Editor sent us a fresh batch of news and commentary: Fed To Buy Massive Amount Of Short-Term Debt — Stocks Fluctuate After Fed Corporate Debt Plan — UK Bank Shares Dive Again As Panic Spreads — Smaller Banks Still Making Loans — UK Gov’t Takes $100 Billion Stake In Britain’s Top Banks …



Note from JWR:

Today we present another Retreat Owner Profile, which will be added to Profiles static page. BTW, we still have room for several more international profiles (outside the US). I am saving the last few slots in the US profiles section for people that have very unusual home/retreats. (Perhaps someone that lives in an underground house, or someone that lives aboard a houseboat or a blue water yacht.) If you decide to e-mail us your Profile, please closely follow the same format used in the the others. For your privacy, be sure change enough details so that your neighbors won’t recognize …


Retreat Owner Profile–Mr. & Mrs. Tico in Costa Rica

Present home : Farm in Northern Costa Rica Ages : 54 & 57 Two sons 30 & 32, who are living in North Carolina. Income $50,000 USD/year secure (many diverse overseas investments) and a tourism business currently at $120,000 or so per year ( I own a botanical garden) . Additional income from fruit groves and tilapia ponds $15,000/year. Profession : Gunsmith, nursery grower, waterscaper, fish farmer . Vehicles : Two 1970s Toyota Land Cruiser BJ40’s with 2.4 diesel engines, kept in top-notch condition and a 2 cycle Ez-Go golf cart set up [with tires and suspension] for all terrain. …


Letter Re: Buying Just One Gun?

Mr. Rawles: I’m a survivalist newbie. I’m thinking about purchasing a gun. I don’t know anything about guns, but I have had a negative opinion about them for a long time. But [now] I’m thinking I might need to get one. What would you recommend for a total novice who would prefer to not have to own more than one? JWR Replies: Owning one gun is like owning one carpenter’s tool, and expecting it to handle all of your construction and repair needs. What single tool would you choose? A hammer, a pair of pliers, a saw, or a screwdriver? …


Letter Re: Becoming a Food Warrior

James: I appreciate your web site. It suits me right to the ground. I’d like to be an occasional contributor. Congratulations on your fastidious maintenance of this meaningful site. Just like farming isn’t it. Guerrilla food shopping (part one) I’m no conventional warrior, I couldn’t force myself to take a life, but I am a survivalist. Not to put too fine a point on this: I am a food warrior. As I write this, one of our battles is escalating food prices, isn’t it? What can we do as individuals to protect ourselves? Plenty! We aren’t hostages you know. Not …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Matthew R. found a link to a great video that has brief interviews with some cave dwellers in Idaho.    o o o The newspaper headlines are sounding like something out of my novel. Randy F. sent us this: Panic engulfs global stock markets. And then Cheryl (our Economic Editor) sent us this mountain of news and commentary: Investors Expect Market Volatility As Global Credit Woes Persist — Analysis: More Banks To Fail Next Year Despite Bailout — Euro Crisis Deepens: Officials Vow To Save Banks — Euro Unity Collapses: Every Country For Itself — $700 Billion Printing Of Bailout …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Keynes explicitly classified the two components in the money supply as ‘industrial circulation’ versus ‘financial circulation.’ The distinction is important; it is like the difference between a woman and a female impersonator. They may be alike in almost every respect, except the essential ones.” – Bill Bonner


Notes from JWR:

I’m pleased to announce that starting today a special “Pre-Election” sale price is now being offered on the “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course. It is being sold at 33% off the normal retail price! Sale pricing on the course is a rare occasion, so be sure to take advantage of it. This sale ends at midnight on Tuesday, November 4th (Election Day, in the U.S.) Today we present the first entry for Round 19 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The contest prizes include: First Prize: The writer of the best contributed article in the next 60 days will …


Sustainable Food Preservation, by Jen W.

A number of preparedness books and web sites talk about preserved food as part of an emergency food storage plan. There can be immense satisfaction in seeing the rows and rows of gleaming canning jars, full of autumn’s bounty. I’ve done it for years, and thoroughly enjoyed the fruits of my kitchen labor. But what happens when Mason jar lids (which are supposed to be used only once in canning) are no longer readily available? Unless you have the more expensive European canning jars, with the reusable rubber gasket, you may be out of luck. Or when you can’t spare …


Letter Re: The Afghan Walled Courtyard Design for Retreat Architecture

James, My daily internet traipsing brought me across a photoset of Afghan walled compounds. It seems that the basic unit of Afghan country life is the extended family, all of whom live within a 12 foot walled compound. Since Afghanistan has lacked real sovereignty for centuries, this seems to be the logical endpoint of the evolution of retreat/farms. Note that they are not unlike the early spanish missions in the American Southwest. – Isaac R.


Letter Re: In a Tight Spot with Long Distance Travel Plans

Jim, Thanks again for all you do. I am in a tight spot and need some good advice. I have to travel to the Washington, DC area this weekend for a two week class at a Federal facility. I have tried (unsuccessfully) to cancel my plans. This will put me thousands of miles from home and family during times of mounting crisis. Due to the areas draconian gun laws, and the classes location I will be unable to travel with a firearm. I have some loose family in the New York City area, but no other regional contacts. I plan …


Odds ‘n Sods:

I’ve recently had a lot of inquiries via e-mail, asking about bank runs, and the possibility of a national “bank holiday”. For many months I have warned that both are possible. Even mainstream news outlets like Forbes magazine are discussing it. But keep in mind that with the growing prevalence of online banking, your bank could get cleaned out by depositors without a queue of people forming in front of the bank. People can empty there accounts while sitting at the their home PCs, with fuzzy slippers on their feet. This is an invisible bank run. It is essentially what …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"When all is said and done, Civilizations do not fall because of the barbarians at the gates. Nor does a great city fall from the death wish of bored and morally bankrupt stewards presumably sworn to its defense. Civilizations fall only because each citizen of the city comes to accept that nothing can be done to rally and rebuild broken walls; that ground lost may never be recovered; and that greatness lived in our grandparents but not our grandchildren. Yes, our betters tell us these things daily. But that doesn’t mean we have to believe it.- Bill Whittle