Notes from JWR:

December 9th is the birthday of Maximo Guillermo “Max” Manus. (Born 1914.) He was was one of the few Norwegians who frequently put his life on the line, fighting the Nazi occupiers. (There surely would have been more active resistance fighters, but fearing widespread reprisal executions by the Germans, King H7 asked the civilian populace to stand down.) Max Manus passed away in 1996. His exploits are fairly accurately shown in the movie Max Manus: Man of War — Today we begin with a guest article:


The Benefits of a Homesteading Approach to Preparedness, by Chaya

We all have our own personal style at preparedness, and the style seems to mature with you the longer you prepare.  I have noticed this in others and myself; that we all gravitate towards the preparedness hobbies that best fit our personal inclinations—homesteading skills in the traditional sense just might not be your gig.  I get that—it is another great reason why a close knit community of prepared people is a super idea.  Let someone else make homemade candles if you just cannot get kicks and giggles out of dipping string repeatedly into a burning wax. (Tactfully)  Identify others, identify …


Pat’s Product Review – Infidel Body Armor Goes Soft

One of the best pieces of kit for law enforcement, military and civilians, in the 20th century, has been, in my humble opinion, body armor. While many believe body armor to be a fairly recent invention, it is not! I know body armor – the type that stops bullets, has been around since the 1920s – armor for stopping swords and arrows has been around for centuries. I had my first experience with soft body armor in 1980, when I owned a gun shop, and bid on a contract to provide soft body armor to a fairly large police department in …


Letter Re: A Conversation with a TEOTWAWKI Survivor

Jim, I’d like to add a couple of thoughts to the recent Appleseed/Libertyseed post.  While I have been involved with Appleseed and really appreciate the history and message that is presented, we need to correct the misconception that: “The spirit of liberty was alive and well in the hearts and minds of Paul Revere and his fellow American colonists in the 1770s…”  The notion of “3 Percenters” lives today based on the rough statistics that only 3% of the colonists actually fought the Revolutionary War, another 10% actively supported the war effort, and another 20% supported the war in spirit …


Recipe of the Week:

Connecticut Tim’s Home-Canned Hot Pepper Relish This recipe makes a big batch (approximately 22 pints) of Hot Pepper Relish that can be home-canned.      4       lbs      Jalepeño peppers    4       lbs       Long hot or cherry peppers    7       lbs       Green sweet  peppers    4-1/2  lbs     Onions    5-1/2 cups   Sugar    9        cups   White vinegar    3        Tbsp  Salt    1-1/2 Tbsp   Cinnamon    9        Tbsp   Alspice   Chop peppers and onions to desired size.    Add balance of ingredients and boil for 20 minutes     Pack hot in boiled jars   Useful Recipe and Cooking Links: Relish Recipes Pepper Recipes Do you have a favorite recipe that would be of interest …


Stronger Passwords for the Masses, by Michael Z. Williamson

This article should be of interest to anyone who is cyber security conscious–which should be everyone, in the present era: Kill the Password: Why a String of Characters Can’t Protect Us Anymore. Now consider the pointed lesson of the XKCD site. Are you now concerned? …then use: Diceware and Truecrypt The main features of Truecrypt: Creates a virtual encrypted disk within a file and mounts it as a real disk.  Encrypts an entire partition or storage device such as USB flash drive or hard drive. Encrypts a partition or drive where Windows is installed (pre-boot authentication). Encryption is automatic, real-time …


Letter Re: Endgames for the Federal Budget and U.S. Dollar

Mr. Rawles: Can you tell me in simple terms how will the current Federal budget crisis and the credit market turmoil play out, in like the long run? How can I protect my savings, in all this chaos? Which are the safe currencies? Thanks, – S.G. JWR Replies: Physical gold is presently heading to China in huge quantities, month after month. (Roughly 1,000 tons of gold per year!) At some point in the near future, the banksters of the West will run out of gold and be left with nothing but a paper-based house of cards. Following the current period …


Economics and Investing:

B.B. sent: 1929 Analog Pierre M. spotted this: Coming Soon: The Coming Global Wealth Tax Axel Merk: Is the Fed increasingly monetizing government debt? (Thanks to G.G. for the link.) Items from The Economatrix: Strong US jobs report keeps markets in check Top 10 Percent of US Households Control Nearly 75 Percent of All Wealth – Average Americans Pretend to be Temporarily Embarrassed Millionaires by Going Further into Debt. Inflation Since 2000 is “Not Contained”


Odds ‘n Sods:

F.J. suggested: Foraging For Edible Weeds    o o o A reminder that Ready Made Resources is running a pre-Christmas sale on Mountain House foods until the 13th of December with 25% to 42% off free shipping, and on request they are willing to mix and match varieties in six-can cases with the varieties that they have on hand.    o o o Directive 21 (a long-time SurvivalBlog advertiser) has begun offering Survival Cave brand canned meats. (Chicken, turkey, pork, and ground beef.) If you use the discount code “survivalblog” at checkout, you will get a 5 percent discount.    …



Notes from JWR:

Last day! Camping Survival’s Mountain House storage food sale ends today, December 8th, 2013. They are offering 25% off cases of #10 cans, 25% off cases of retort pouches and 15% off buckets. The sale is for full cases only.  They are only selling stock on hand, but they bought a substantial quantity in advance. — Today we present another entry for Round 50 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $9,400+ worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course. (A $1,195 value.) B.) A …


How Can Teens Contribute?, by Hannah from Tennessee

Describing how teenagers can contribute to and have the right attitude for family prepping. (Written by a teenager for teenagers.)   As a teenage prepper my top priority is making sure my family and I will survive a natural or man-made disaster, and prepping is how I do that. Prepping is a family affair around my house, each of us have our items or category (medical, food, garden, hunting, etc) that we are responsible for prepping and stocking up and we carry-out that responsibility to the fullest. If one of us doesn’t do our job, in an TEOTWAWKI situation, it …


Letter Re: As Preppers We Must Invest in Our Marriages

My most important prep, While most people start by thanking Captain Rawles, and rightly so, I would like to thank Dan in Montana.  I’d also like to start with a question.  Has anything every just hit you and made you think, “that’s been it all the time?!”  Well it just happened to me.  I have been prepping for several years now and even farther back if I think about it.  So it seems like an easy question, what is my most important prep.  I have seen my focus change over the years.  It has changed, as I have changed.  Being …


Economics and Investing:

Professor Laurence Kotlikoff: $200 Trillion in Long Term Obligations and Fed is Printing 29 Cents of Every Dollar G.G. flagged this bellwether event: Chinese Yuan Surpasses Euro, Becomes Second Most Used Currency In Trade Finance After the recent looting spree in Cordoba, Argentina: “Cleanup on Aisle Three.” [JWR’s Comments: People will come unglued and start looting when the police go out on strike, or otherwise don’t show up for work. Count on it. Oh, and by the way, store owners will have to Go Full Koreatown, and gun up, or lose everything.] Items from The Economatrix: Too Big To Fail …