Letter Re: Cell Phone E-911 Tracking

Dear Jim, Someone wrote about E911 phones and GPS tracking. I worked in that industry, with that specific issue and I can provide some facts. #1 The chip does not function unless you either Dial 911 or turn it to Location On, which shows a circle with a plus sign through it and two end parentheses to its right. It is common to see the circle-plus sign without the parentheses. Check your manual to verify this. It will list this under “icons” or E911. Phones come with them preset to “911 only”, not “on”. Phones from Nextel/Sprint or using location …


Letter Re: A Mumps Outbreak in the U.S. Midwest

Dear Jim: All the talk about Bird Flu, and we are noticing we have a Mumps outbreak going on: “The mumps outbreak is being called the nation’s worst in 20 years. As of Thursday, Iowa had 975 cases of probable, confirmed and suspected cases, said Dr. Patricia Quinlisk, the state epidemiologist.” In addition, see the CDC’s backgrounder on Mumps. Regards, – Rourke


Letter Re: Dealing with Illegal Immigration in the U.S.

Jim, I must respectfully disagree with your suggestions for dealing with illegal immigration. You stated: 1.) A stout fence and plenty of sensors, regardless of the cost, to make the southern border less porous. I believe this would be an utter waste of time and money. Here’s what I anticipate from that: Tunnels under, which already exist for the drug trade. I also heard of a case where near 1000 Mexicans just swarmed a border crossing on foot. Perhaps 1 in 10 was rounded up. Attacking the fence will become a sport–coyotes and dogs will be goaded across minefields, or …


Odds ‘n Sods:

I’m presently reading the novel “The Hunt for Confederate Gold” by Thomas Moore. (Published by Fusilier Books.) I’m now halfway through the novel, and I can’t put it down! Without giving too much away, I can tell you that it is three storylines wrapped into one. (One of which takes place in the closing days of the Confederate States of America.) Thusfar, I can highly recommend the novel. I’ll post a full review once I’ve finished reading it.    o o o The Survival Report for April 2006 from Mike “Mish” Shedlock and Brian McAuley provides some good background on …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence you murder the hater, but you do not murder the hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate. Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only Light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only Love can do that." – …


More Surprises in the Volatile Silver Market

The New York silver market has been pushed down sharply on profit taking, to around $11.85 per ounce. (It was over $14 per ounce on Thursday, which was a 25 year high.) My advice: Look at this as a short-term buying opportunity. Buy on this dip! The silver bull should resume his charge in May. Even at under $12 per ounce, silver is still quite high compared to just a month ago. OBTW, I recently bumped up my allowance on pre-1965 silver coinage to NINE times face value, for anyone that wants any of my mail order merchandise (or to …


Letter Re: Angst, Life in Turbulent Times, and Preparedness

Jim, I read your commentary today; I’ve never ever had a very good crystal ball, but any good analysis could see what’s coming long term… Sorry for being long winded… I’m up late working on a project and some of what I’ve been reading in the news has been troubling me… It’s the [Chinese President Hu [Jintao] visit… With the Chinese economy growing at double-digits and their defense budget growing at double digits and they being the four largest economy in the world. I found an interesting piece in Defense Industry Daily. It’s only a matter of time… We gave …


Letter Re: Stocking Up on Reusable Plastic Plates and Bowls

Jim, Something just occurred to me as far as an overlooked essential: food plates and bowls. The glass mixes (Corelle, etc) are far better than the stoneware for cleanliness and durability, but they can still be broken. I found out recently that the cheap, media tie-in dishes that extol Disney and various other children’s movies are not only unbreakable plastic, but are immune to gun cleaning solvent–I used an old one, figuring to throw it away when done. But a quick rinse with a dab of soap and it was clean–impervious to the chemical, not even the cartoon image was …


Letter Re: Positive Feedback on Two SurvivalBlog Advertisers

Good Morning Mr. Rawles, I just wanted to say how pleased I am with the services provided by your advertisers. I recently bought four 8×57 pre-1899 Turkish contract Oberndorf Mauser’s from the kind gentleman in South Carolina [The Pre-1899 Specialist]. I got two of the first batch, and two of the second, nicer rifles. I have to say I was very pleased with the first two, and the second two are in fantastic condition. I also received excellent service from Vic [at SafeCastle] in purchasing some more freeze dried food supplies. The most important point for me in using your …


Letter Re: Source for Reflux Still Building Plans

Sir: In the letter titled “Stocking up on Copper Tubing/Pipe”, the writer mentioned wanting to build a still. For those interested, here is an excellent step-by-step guide to building a reflux still: http://designer-drugs.com/pte/12.162.180.114/dcd/pdf/still.pdf I would be interested in hearing of any potential uses for a still other than making alcoholic drinks. I don’t use alcohol or any other drugs, but I am fascinated by the reflux distillation process and its potential uses [for fuel, disinfectant, chemical/formulary processes, et cetera] following a collapse. <>< – Stephen


Odds ‘n Sods:

U.S. Army Dragon Skin body armor test have been delayed.    o o o Oil and natural gas industry analyst Dr. Joe Duarte reports of Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez is taking decisive steps to turn off the oil taps to the U.S. He says that Venezuela’s state owned oil company PDVSA has inked a key deal with India, taking the first key step away from the U.S. as its major oil buyer.    o o o SurvivalBlog reader Scott M. told us about a novel “Send A Brick” congressional mailing campaign has been launched in the U.S., designed to a …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“We will continue to make our greatest efforts with the utmost sincerity to seek the prospects of peaceful reunification. Meanwhile, we will never tolerate ‘Taiwan independence’ and never allow the ‘Taiwan independence’ secessionist forces to make Taiwan secede from the motherland under any name or by any means.” – Chinese President Hu Jintao’s speech to CPPCC members on cross-straits relations, March 14, 2005



Angst, Life in Turbulent Times, and Preparedness

Many of my recent consulting clients have mentioned the same feeling of unease about the coming years. Perhaps it is just the general predisposition of my consulting clientele, but they nearly all say things to the effect of “I’ve always been well prepared, but now I consider myself under-prepared, because I feel like something big is coming.” One American client summed it up best when he told me, “I get the impression that I’m living on September of 1929 or November of 1941. Something macro scale is approaching, and I want to be in the right place and to be …


Odds ‘n Sods:

The latest murmurings from Wall Street and the Chicago Board of Trade are that the commodities markets have not nearly reached their peak. If anything, the traders say, we are in the opening stages of a secular bull market that will likely continue for several years. As I’ve stated on previous occasions, the second half of the Aughts will probably look a lot like the second half of the 1970s, with rising interest rates, consumer price inflation, international tensions, and galloping commodities prices.    o o o We just returned from a family trip down to California. (Which explains the …