Letter Re: Asian Avian Flu and Waterfowl Migratory Flyways

1) I don’t know if you’ve seen it yet, but there is a map of “Waterfowl Flyways of North America” (put mouse cursor on icon in lower right corner and click to enlarge). This shows the routes that migratory ducks and geese follow when they return to the southern USA in the fall after mingling with Eurasian migratory birds in the subarctic over the summer. 2) That is, the map shows the primary routes along which Avian flu would be transmitted into the USA: a) Coastal bays like the Chesapeake and Delaware on the East Coast and San Francisco on …


Two Letters Re: David in Israel on “When the Only Tool You Have is a Hammer” Syndrome, and Building a Post-TEOTWAWKI Shelter

James: G’day, just a quick comment on David’s well reasoned article. Ragnar Benson has a good set of plans and quite well written instructions on building an “A” frame cabin, from scratch, along with a list of kit you will need to make it easier contained in the book ‘Living Off the Land in City and Country’. We used it as the basis for our ‘holiday cabin’ (that’s what we tell our friends/relatives) and it seems to work quite well even after five years of weathering the varied Australian seasons. It is a bit more involved than a simple lean …


Letter Re: .50 BMG Rifles on AR-15 Receivers

Dear Jim: I was reading Boston’s Gun Bible last night and he recommended purchasing a 50 BMG rifle because he believes that it is most definitely at the top of the “too be banned list.” 1.) Do you think that the .50 cal. is an intelligent purchase for a survival scenario? 2.) Boston mentioned a 50 BMG AR-15 conversion package where the .50 caliber upper is used on an AR-15 lower receiver to convert it to a [single shot] .50 BMG. (And, no FFL is required.) What is your opinion of this system? (The approximate cost is $2,000 for a …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Mat the Prop Wizard sent a link for another great article from Make magazine. This one describes emergency arc welding, using automotive batteries. Cooool! I had heard this technique described by some off-road jeep rally buddies, but this is the first time I’ve ever seen the details in an article.    o o o Rourke mentioned that the Sci-Fi Channel is getting into the act, with their own “Countdown to Doomsday”–with numerous Doomsday Scenarios    o o o Independent Petroleum Geologist Jeffrey J. Brown’s commentary: “Has oil peaked?: Yes”    o o o The Homeland Security Department says that The …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Man’s mind is his basic tool of survival. Life is given to him, survival is not. His body is given to him, its sustenance is not. His mind is given to him, its content is not. To remain alive, he must act, and before he can act, he must know the nature and purpose of his action. He cannot obtain food without a knowledge of food and of the way to obtain it. He cannot dig a ditch — or build a cyclotron — without a knowledge of his aim and the means to achieve it. To remain alive, he …


Note From JWR:

The high bid in the SurvivalBlog benefit auction (for a fully stocked M-17 Advanced Medical Bag/Rucksack) is at $250. Special thanks to the fine folks at Ready Made Resources, who kindly donated the kit. Please submit your bids via e-mail. This auction ends on the last day of June.  


David in Israel on “When the Only Tool You Have is a Hammer” Syndrome, and Building a Post-TEOTWAWKI Shelter

One of the most frightening aspects of attempting survival especially in North America is surviving the survivalists. These pseudo-survivors dutifully stock up arms and ammunition at great personal expense but fail to do any other planning expecting to presumably live off of the spoils of the MZBs (mutant zombie bikers) who they eliminate. A physical therapist once gave me a bit of wisdom about his trade and people in general; “every back problem looks like a surgical fix to a surgeon and chiropractic care is the sure cure to a chiropractor”. (Clearly the good doctors do not do not fall …


Letter Re: Understanding the Terrorist Threat Requires Understanding Their Mindset

Dear James, I witnessed a live presentation from “The Three Ex-Terrorists” several months ago. For those who want to understand the mindset of an Islamic terrorist and the ability to completely change one’s life, their story and insights provide actionable information. One of them killed over 200 people. They have presented to government officials but they are too politically incorrect for the liberal media to do more than very short interviews with. See also www.shoebat.com.- Yorie in Pennsylvania. JWR Replies: Lest anyone think that SurvivalBlog is overtly political or religious, I’m posting Yorie’s letter and links for a reason that …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Al Qaeda Cell Had Plans to Gas New York Subways    o o o Rourke recommended this informative site on home ethanol production: http://www.homedistiller.org/ If you spend a lot of time researching there, or end up building a still based on their plans, be sure to send them a contribution.    o o o Does anyone make a “Red Gun” or “Blue Gun” Model 1911 non-firing training pistol with a magazine well and a functional magazine catch? (I’m in need of one here at the ranch, so we can teach our kids presentation drills as well as tactical and emergency …



Two Letters Re: Updated Nuclear Weapon Targeting Data?

Dear Jim, I love your site. This is just a quick note while you are on the subject of the nuclear threat. I have been following Joel Skousen’s World Affairs Brief web site for the past few years and he seems to be of the opinion that this is a threat we should take very seriously. I encourage your readers to check out his article on analysis of strategic threats. I also HIGHLY recommend his books “The Secure Home” and “Strategic Relocation.” I know you’ve mentioned his books before in past articles but it is worth repeating. No preparedness library …


Letter Re: Toilet Paper Calculations

Jim, I hope the following information will help some of the readers with their supplies of toilet paper. I consider this a very important part of the total preparedness plan. If anything it will be a tremendous comfort for people during a really Schumer time. I will mention toilet paper brands, however, this is in no way an endorsement of any particular brand. I was always curious how much toilet paper I would need per person for a year during a post-SHTF event. Not being the one that bought the stuff I relied on the wife for this. The info …


Odds ‘n Sods:

The U.S. The government is asking for public comments on the USDA‘s NAIS animal identification/tracking scheme. Please give them a piece of your mind. (For some background on the NAIS plan, see The Memsahib’s article.)    o o o A Category 5 Hurricane Landfall in Miami Could Cost Insurers Up To $130 Billion    o o o There is currently an interesting thread of conversation about wind generators over at The Claire Files.    o o o North Korea is about to test an ICBM capable of reaching the US    o o o To compete with the Canadian Maple …



The U.S. in 1906 Versus 2006

I generally ignore most of those ubiquitous thrice forwarded pieces of Internet trivia and humor, but I thought that the following one was worthy and would be of particular interest to SurvivalBlog readers in the U.S.: The year is 1906. One hundred years ago. What a difference a century makes! Here are some of the U.S. statistics for the Year 1906 : The average life expectancy in the U.S. was 47 years. Only 14 percent of the homes in the U.S. had a bathtub. Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone. A three-minute call from Denver to New …