Letter Re: Thinking the Unthinkable, By Norman Church

Jim, I would like to add a little something to Mr. Church’s article. I have worked in the refining and petrochemical business for over 30 years. I am not a chemical engineer nor a mechanical engineer, however, I am a piping designer. I design the routing or path all the pipes in a refinery or petrochemical plant take to move product from one piece of equipment to another. Basically it’s like a giant chemistry set. Now, I know what a lot of sheeple don’t understand about oil is that it is not only energy (gasoline) that we get from crude …


Letter Re: My Journey of Realization–Getting Back on Track and Stocking Up

Dear Mr. Rawles, I just finished reading your seminal work, “Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse” for the third time in as many weeks. In addition, after some internet searching I’ve found your blog, and am in the process of reading everything that I can, when I can. After reading so much of what’s on your mind, I thought I’d share a little of mine. First, foremost, and most importantly, I want you to know that your book was instrumental in leading me back to God, the Father of our savior Jesus Christ. I won’t delve into the diverse ways in …


Odds ‘n Sods:

An important piece to read by Sean Osborne, “World War IV –The War of Terror    o o o Bud Conrad, writing in The Daily Reckoning, illustrates that with the Baby Boomers beginning to retire and draw Social Security, time is not on our side in the U.S.: Projected U.S. Government Debt Will Grow More Than GDP    o o o Global warming = Happy Reindeer



Note From JWR:

Oops! Jake Stafford reminds me that in yesterday’s announcement I forgot to say that you can still order the “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, and your order will be filled promptly, shipping out by the end of this week. It’s not too late to order.


Two Letters Re: Selecting a Martial Art and a Dojo

Dear Jim, Over the years, I’ve spent I-don’t-know-how-many hours in dojos of various lineage. Now, older (but only questionably wiser) I’ll toss out a few caveats for the consideration of anyone who wants to undergo marital arts training: 1. Decide from the outset why you want to learn a martial art and do not deviate from that goal. If it’s for recreation, exercise, balance, spiritual enlightenment or whatever, that’s fine. Practice kata to your heart’s content, learn how to breathe into your danjun and meditate until ch’i runs from your pores. But – recognize from the start that the vast …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Walter at NoNAIS.org mentioned a device under development that would destroy RFID tags. Keep in mind that if the USDA thinks that you are purposely disabling your livestock’s tags they will give you $1,000 fine if and when NAIS registration becomes mandatory.    o o o SurvivalBlog reader Sid recommends the Wunderground.com weather web site. He says that it is more comprehensive than its competitors. My first impression is that it does a great job of fusing weather data from multiple sources, including weather radars.    o o o Planning to stock up on lantern batteries? Get the Eveready Energizer …



Note From JWR:

I heard from Jake Stafford of Arbogast Publishing that the first big batch of copies of the “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course have now been printed and the accompanying audio CDs have be “burned.” The course binders will be assembled and mailed soon–starting later this week. All of the copies that are going to U.S. addresses are being mailed via Priority Mail, so you should have them within about a week. Thanks for your patience!


Letter Re: Another Recommendation for the Survival and Austere Medicine e-Text

Mr. Rawles, The subject of survival medicine is one which you touched upon in your novel “Patriots” (nicely done, I might add) as well as occasionally via letters to your blog. All well and good but far less than the subject merits insofar as it may weigh into our collective futures. If I may be so bold I’d like to suggest that it be given at least as much attention as the nifty gadgets readers are often eager to promote. You may or not be aware of a relatively new book on the subject, perhaps the first if not the …


Two Letters Re: Push or Pull Carts For All-Terrain Hauling

Hi James, Thanks for the very useful letter about the All Terrain Carts. There are lots of things to think about after reading your article; I had some thoughts to add. I like the input you had about storing liquids, etc… In the tubing of your frames for these carts. A very likely necessity IMHO. I would hate to cart 20 gallons of water 90% of the way home, and spill 1?2 of it before you get there! In the article, the web links to the different types of carts all have inferior wheels as a week link unless you …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Israeli Defense Force Issues an “Order 8” Call-Up of Citizen Soldiers.    o o o A new electric car is hitting the U.S. market with a splash.”[W]ith the backing of PayPal co-founder Elon Musk, Google’s Larry Page and Sergey Brin, and ex-eBay chief Jeff Skoll, [Martin Eberhard] has created Silicon Valley’s first real auto company.”    o o o The naive residents of Memphis, Tennessee prove themselves to be sheeple.    o o o Jay in Florida mentioned this article: Feral dog packs attack Australian farmers.  


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Freedom is not empowerment. Empowerment is what the Serbs have in Bosnia. Anybody can grab a gun and be empowered. It’s not entitlement. An entitlement is what people on welfare get, and how free are they? It’s not an endlessly expanding list of rights — the ‘right’ to education, the ‘right’ to health care, the ‘right’ to food and housing. That’s not freedom, that’s dependency. Those aren’t rights, those are the rations of slavery — hay and a barn for human cattle. There’s only one basic human right, the right to do as you da*n well please. And with it …



Eight Letters Re: Selecting a Martial Art and a Dojo

Hi Jim and Family, Many, many years ago I was an assistant martial arts instructor. I had studied several Chinese styles along with Japanese Kendo. I was making inquiries about instruction in my area for my daughter after being out of that area of study for over 30 years. The self defense instructor I was talking to said that for the best ‘out of the gate’ use of martial arts for practical street self defense was Ju-Jitsu, but to watch the style you want to learn. Basically the styles of Ju-Jitsu are quite similar but some are less suited for …