Two Letters Re: Prussian Blue for Radioactive Isotope Exposure by P.H.

Dear Jim, I have been reading your blog for a bit and I appreciate your flow of information. One thing I (finally) saw that should be added [to the commentary on Prussian Blue and Potassium Iodate] is the popular poison oak [and poison ivy and poison sumac] treatment called TECNU. It was originally created as a waterless decontamination for nuclear fallout. Just a minor but currently easy to obtain treatment. – Ferk   Dear Jim: What B.F. is looking for is US Pharmacopoeia (USP) listed Prussian Blue. It is sold by prescription. Get a friendly doc to write a script …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Back to school week: Refuting the argument that home schooling leaves children insufficiently “socialized.”    o o o The Intelligence Summit web site has some interesting analysis and commentary on emerging threats. Some of it qualifies as serious “Food for thought and grounds for further research” (FFTAGFFR).    o o o Richard from KT Ordnance sent a pointer to this interesting site on Kia (South Korean) military vehicles. He also bemoaned Jeep dropping the planned Gladiator 4WD Pickup from their product line queue, stating: “I’m sorry to see Daimler-Chrysler take such a short sighted view of Jeep’s future by killing …



Letter Re: Gangs and Escaped Convict Gang Members in TEOTWAWKI

James, Please look up the Gang MS-13 who I understand are a Venezuelan controlled “Mafia” for drug running. These members don’t use guns, (for who knows what reason), they have chosen the Machete’ as their weapon of choice. In a post TEOTWAWKI situation, sizing up a danger by looking for a gun alone will not suffice. Keep your distance. All the more reason to have good firearm training. If it’s hand to hand, it’s probably too late. – The Wanderer JWR Replies: I concur that gang members will be a significant threat in a post-TEOTWAWKI “law and order vacuum” (Just …


Letter Re: The Hazards of Even Non-Recourse Loans

Just a heads-up, lots of folks in place like California where non-recourse loans are mandated by law (at least for homes) feel pretty smug, thinking that even if they get upside down on a mortgage they can walk away without repercussions. Bad news: the IRS considers the amount of the loan “forgiven” by the bank to be income. That means, to use California numbers, if you owe $500,000 on a house which sells at foreclosure for $200,000, you now owe income taxes on your $300,000 in income you just “received”. Just a quick “report from the ground”, I live in …


Re: Prussian Blue for Radioactive Isotope Exposure by P.H.

Mr. Rawles: I have always felt that Prussian Blue [as mentioned in SurvivalBlog on August 27th] should be part of one’s system of NBC protection but never had the info needed to make it happen until P.H. kindly provided important details. I checked the link that was provided to obtain the powdered Ferric Ferrocyanide and noted that their web site indicates it is “made from Ferric Ferrocyanide”. That doesn’t necessarily mean it is chemically pure. I inquired, and they indicated they cannot confirm the chemical analysis as the product was obtained over ten years ago and don’t even know the …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Rourke e-mailed us a link to a table of U.S. Metro home price changes: The level terrain before the precipice.    o o o Michael Z. Williamson sent a link to this handy reference page that gives the bullion content of older European coins. You never know what you might be offered in a Post-TEOTWAWKI, barter transaction–French “Roosters”, , British Sovereigns or perhaps even native gold nuggets… In the absence of the Internet and your local coin shop or jeweler, you must be the expert. Without this expertise, you may end up the victim of a swindle. So it is …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

Jim’s Quote of the Day: “`Get to your places!’ shouted the Queen in a voice of thunder, and people began running about in all directions, tumbling up against each other; however, they got settled down in a minute or two, and the game began. Alice thought she had never seen such a curious croquet-ground in her life; it was all ridges and furrows; the balls were live hedgehogs, the mallets live flamingoes, and the soldiers had to double themselves up and to stand on their hands and feet, to make the arches. The chief difficulty Alice found at first was …


Note from JWR:

The bidding is now at $115 in the SurvivalBlog benefit auction for a copy “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course. The course was kindly donated by Jake Stafford of Arbogast Publishing. Please submit your bids via e-mail. This auction ends on September 15th.


Letter Re: What We Learned From Hurricane Katrina

Dear Mr. Rawles, The anniversaries of Katrina and Rita offer us an useful opportunity to reflect upon the lessons of profound adversity. As a Texan and a native of Houston, the disaster and its aftermath have reminded me of three important truths. First, we were all cautioned that the time to leave is well before the mass of people thinks that leaving is reasonable. Second, if you do plan to stick around, plan to be on your own for longer than you expected in conditions more harsh than you anticipated. Third, any mass-casualty disaster is going to let loose a …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader T.P. mention this editorial: some common sense on preparedness, coming from the journalistic mainstream.    o o o I just saw that Rich Saunders at Century Gun Works (CGW in Gardnerville, Nevada–not to be confused with Century Arms) has revamped his web site. This gent is a fantastic gunsmith that specializes in FAL, L1A1, AR-15, and Glock work. He also does custom gun refinishing with very durable weatherproof coatings such as CenTac 9H. I can personally vouch for the superb quality of his gunsmithing and finishing work. Rich built three of the L1A1s that we use here at the …



Two Letters Re: Questions on Faraday Cages and Radiological Survey Meter EMP Resistance

Mr. Rawles, I am an RF and EMC engineer. I’ve worked nuclear EMP issues for a couple of decades. You were fairly right on – a Faraday cage (or “shield room”) is hard to build. It can be done with fine mesh – similar to window screen but made from copper wire – but the penetrations and doors are always the problem. Mesh will not protect you from large magnetic fields, but for much of the affected area, they are not the problem. Your plan to use a steel ammo can has merit – as long as you close the …


Letter Re: Gangs and Escaped Convict Gang Members in TEOTWAWKI

Jim, First off I don’t want to come across as a dooms day advocate or an alarmist, but….last night while channel flipping I came across a program on Court TV. It was about the gangs that are in prisons. Mostly in the south west and western regions of the United States. I should have remembered the title but I don’t. Anyway, it was an eye opening session for me. I recalled the different books I have read about post TEOTWAWKI and Mutant Zombie Bikers (MZBs) scenarios. The descriptions in the books are vivid as to their ruthlessness, however, I think …


Odds ‘n Sods:

It is interesting to see that the price of crude oil has drifted down to around $70 per barrel and because of growing supplies (there is actually a shortage of storage space!) it is expected to drift lower still in coming months. Meanwhile, the price of gold is holding solidly over $620 per ounce and the price of silver is advancing past $12.70. But wait a minute… The “experts” tell us that oil and precious metals have their prices “tied.” Obviously the silver and gold prices are telling us a different story. I think that the coming year will see …