Letter From David in Israel: On Bootlaces

James I remember hearing an ex-army friend comment that he would always remove the laces from his boots and replace them with 550 parachute cord. His reason was that he could remove the laces and make survival stuff from the inner strands. If a person is in the military and has a steady source of 500 cord to replace their laces every other month in the field hen this is a good idea… Until they have to do real SERE and they are unable to replace the laces when they wear out. A survivor has priorities than having seven tiny …


Four Letters Re: Advice on Protecting My Home from Gunfire

Sir: Regarding the question you received from a reader regarding protection from gunfire. Might I suggest a decorative planter made from poured concrete or concrete block? Brick would do in a pinch, assuming it was face brick (which has holes in them) with rebar and mortar or cement in the holes, although brick shatters easily. (Concrete block should have the cavities filled, with vertical rebar in the cavities and horizontal strengthening rectangular wire loops in the mortar every other layer). An inexpensive and attractive one or two tiered planter 16-24 feet long and 4 feet high can easily be built …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Tom at CometGold.com sent us this article link: Italy set to bail out bank after huge derivatives losses. This is not the end of it folks. You can look for more much, much larger derivatives crises, in the near future, just as I warned you.   o o o DeFazio asks, but he’s denied access: Classified info – The congressman wanted to see government plans for after a terror attack   o o o From a Gander, Newfoundland newspaper come this editorial on the next depression: Unsustainable future. Hmmm, does somebody there read SurvivalBlog?



Note from JWR:

Today we present another article for Round 11 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The writer of the best non-fiction article will win a valuable four day “gray” transferable Front Sight course certificate. (Worth up to $2,000!) Second prize is a copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, generously donated by Jake Stafford of Arbogast Publishing. I will again be sending out a few complimentary copies of my novel “Patriots” as “honorable mention” awards. Round 11 ends on July 31st. Remember that articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival will have an advantage in the judging.


What if The Schumer Doesn’t Hit The Fan? – Reasons to Prepare Anyway, by MB

As long as I can remember, I have felt that someday the comforts of a modern American lifestyle would vanish, at least temporarily. So I have made small mental preparations for some time now; keeping my mind and body fit and strong, staying informed, dropping hints to the wife, etc. Recently, and mostly after reading Patriots, I have a renewed interest in preserving my life and protecting those I love. After educating myself on the subject of survival, I felt, as I’m sure many others have, very vulnerable and even overwhelmed. I needed to take action, immediately. Many thoughts spring …


Letter Re: Canadian Retreat Locales

Hi Jim, I am new to survival/preparedness and was curious if you have any resources for Canadians? In particular places to source out retreat locales? I just found your site, and love it. Keep up the great work. – Brent A. JWR Replies: Just like the US, my advice is go west! The eastern provinces are at risk from nuclear fallout from strikes in the US, in the event of a full scale nuclear exchange. Of course the population density is much lower in Canada than in the US, so population in and of itself is not as great a …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader Ben L. mentioned that the August issue of Popular Mechanics magazine is dedicated to theme of “Survive Anything!”   o o o There is another RWVA Appleseed high power rifle match and clinic scheduled for August 18th and 19th in Ottawa, Illinois. Don’t miss out on this training opportunity. The offer, great rifle training at a very reasonable price!    o o o While wandering that wacky world of Wikipedia, I was looking at the Wiki page for The Sarah Connor Chronicles (SCC) television series, trying to figure out why the link to the SCC Yahoo Discussion Groups Page …



Letter Re: Advice on Generators?

Jim, What is the way to go in generators? I own four now, all gasoline fueled. Last winter the power was out for nine straight days, and it was 28 degrees below [zero, Fahrenheit]. I have used gas generators for near 40 years, but mostly for remote site construction. They are started and shut off as needed. But last winter with the power out, I would run for 4 hours, then off for 6 hours, for nine days straight. What happened is that the 3,600 RPM of long run time vibrated them apart. In the summer one would just tighten …


Letter Re: Advice on Protecting My Home from Gunfire

Jim, I am currently in the position of not being able to leave in the event of collapse or epidemic or whatever God may throw our way. I do, however, have the opportunity to build a “storage” area that may also be able to severe as a safe haven for my family when the hordes come out of Atlanta. Thanks to your blog we are way better prepared to survive than we were five months ago. However I feel we have virtually no gunfire protection in the mobile home we currently live in. I am going to be extremely irritated …


Letter Re: Drinking Water Shortage in Gloucester, England

James: This is an excerpt from a report in The Drudge Report on 7/23/07: “Police at an emergency services briefing in Gloucester said the water treatment works could be out of action for at least a week – and possibly two before it would be fully operative again. This would have serious implications for water supply in the Gloucester, Didsbury and Cheltenham areas, they warned. In Gloucestershire, members of the armed forces have been taking 600 water tanks into the area while 22 miles of temporary mains are put in place to enable water to be pumped from outside the …


Odds ‘n Sods:

From The Wall Street Journal: State Farm to Drop 50,000 Policies Of Homeowners in Coastal Florida OBTW, The Wall Street Journal is one of SurvivalBlog’s Affiliate Advertisers. They are currently running a special Wall Street Journal Print & Online Combination subscription offer: You get a one-year subscription to both editions of The Wall Street Journal plus an additional 8 weeks free, for $125 – a savings of over 70%. By using our The Wall Street Journal link when you subscribe, we’ll get a little piece of the action. Thanks!   o o o Murphy’s Law: Just one day after I …



Note from JWR:

The high bid is still at $300 in the SurvivalBlog benefit auction for a brand new Big Berkey water filter, kindly donated by Ready Made Resources. They are one of our most loyal advertisers. The auction ends on August 15th. Just e-mail us your bid.