Odds ‘n Sods:

F.J.R. sent this from MacLife: Eight Apps for Wilderness Survival. The piece begins: “It might seem counterintuitive to rely on a device so associated with the comforts of civilization for survival in the wilds, but a well-prepared iPhone could mean the difference between life and death when stranded in the great outdoors…”    o o o Let’s hear it for home schools: They are educating kids better than public schools. (Thanks to Bob G. for the link.)    o o o Mike Williamson’s latest book Tour of Duty: Stories and Provocations will be released tomorrow.    o o o A …



Notes from JWR:

August 5th is the sad 64th anniversary of the Mann Gulch Fire in Montana that took the lives of 13 firefighters (including 12 smokejumpers and one former smokejumper), in 1949. The intense, fast-moving forest fire was in what later became Gates of the Mountains Wilderness. The events of that fire were chronicled in the book Young Men and Fire by Norman Maclean and immortalized in the haunting lyrics of the ballad Cold Missouri Waters by James Keelaghan. This anniversary of course reminds us of the recent Yarnell Hill fire in Arizona, where 19 hotshots died. Please keep their family members …



Safer in the City? Statistics Don’t Lie, But They Can Obfuscate

Several readers sent me a link to a study by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania recently published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine that had some surprising results: They concluded that big cities are statistically safer than small towns. This study, titled Safety in Numbers: Are Major Cities the Safest Places in the United States? has a number of flaws. First, it treats deaths by intentional violence equally with accidental deaths and deaths related to the use of alcohol and illicit drugs. This is not quite fair, because the former are not nearly so avoidable as the latter. If …


Tradecraft: Going Jason Bourne, on a Budget

Hollywood movies often show secret agents tossing cell phones out of car windows, and grabbing new ones to activate. In today’s world of almost universal surveillance and tracking, that is actually fairly good tradecraft. When operating in guerrilla warfare mode, a cell phone that is used more than a few times is a liability. So is a cell phone that is “turned off”, but that still has its battery installed. (They can still be tracked.) In summary, here is some cellular phone tradecraft for times of genuinely deep drama: 1.) Don’t create a paper trail when buying clandestine phones. Pay …


More All-American Makers

Several readers wrote to suggest some more American makers to add to my recently-posted lists: Alvord-Polk Tool – Aircraft quality reamers.  Brubaker Tool, Division of Dauphin Precision Tool, LLC  – Mills, taps and drills. Ames Corporation is the parent company for several brand names that make all American-made tools. These include: Ames tools – A variety of hand tools, hoses, wheelbarrows, etc. True Temper – Gardening, farming, landscaping, and snow removal tools Jackson Professional Tools (best known for their wheelbarrows.) Razor-Back Professional Tools – Shovels, rakes, hoes, hay and spading forks, digging bars, turf edgers, etc. Union Tools – Shovels, …


Pat’s Product Review: LTR Scope Mount For FAL/L1A1

I’ve had a fondness for the FAL and L1A1 rifles for many years, even before I carried one in Rhodesia, (now Zimbabwe) back in 1976. Even before that, I still remember the first FAL I ever saw. It was a select-fire version, hanging on the wall of my local gun shop outside of Chicago. I asked to handle it, and it was love at first sight and touch. There’s just “something” about this style of rifle that calls out to me – and thousands (or millions) of other gun owners, and for good reason, they are time-tested battle rifle, that …


T.M.’s Book Review: Plague, Quarantines and Geopolitics in the Ottoman Empire

Published by Edinburgh University Press, ©Birsen Bulmu, 2012 ISBN 978 0 7486 4659 3 (Hardback) $75 to $99 on Amazon.com This book has 195 pages including comprehensive bibliography, endnotes for each chapter, and index. Today, I ‘m reviewing Plague, Quarantines and Geopolitics in the Ottoman Empire . Once you get past the price, this book has a lot of good information for any prepper in any nation, not just Turkey. The author discusses various diseases and the reactions of theologians, physicians, politicians, and business leaders. They all have a different approach to the problems over the centuries. Theologians quote holy …


Letter Re: Europe, Japan, or China: Who May Go Off the Economic Cliff First?

Jim, I believe that the world is on the verge of a possible economic meltdown. I think that there is just too much debt (both governmental and private), not enough assets, and with a end result of the financial system breaking down with devastating consequences.   There are some common problems that the countries I will be looking at  all share. The first is high debt levels that cannot be repaid. However, the more important factor is negative demographics in these countries.  I think that national demographics do not receive enough consideration when analyzing a country’s economic potential. This is a mistake. Demographics are …


Letter Re: Advice on Shopping for CONEX Shipping Containers

Hello Mr. Rawles , I enjoy your site. A good idea if you are in the market for a used CONEX shipping container would be to take a container inspection form that you could get online from numerous sources, American Bureau of Shipping to start. A proper inspection form could help you to assess your container. Thanks, – Ed B. JWR Replies: Thanks for that advice. I just found this detailed inspection guide available online. I also found a more brief Army inspection procedure in FM 55-17.


Recipe of the Week:

KAF’s Lemon, Almond, and Date Balls (or Bars) 1 cup Almonds 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 1/2 cups dates, diced up 1 whole diced up lemon with the zest and juice 1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes 2 tsp. amber agave nectar Pulse all together in food processor or in a heavy duty blender, so it’s all chopped but still slightly chunky and sticky, then dump the prepared mixture into a square pan and pat down with spoon. Refrigerate, and when thoroughly cold, cut into small bars, or, you can roll this sticky mixture into small serving candy balls and roll …


Economics and Investing:

Detroit Bankruptcy a “Game-Changing Event,” Meredith Whitney Says Square Goes Bent on Bias: Mobile Payment Company Says No to Guns G.G. flagged this:Bond Losses at Federal Reserve Top $192 Billion. The article begins: “The yield on 10-year U.S. Treasuries has surged 66% over the past three months. And bond investors, especially those with jumbo-sized positions, are getting hammered. How much money has the Federal Reserve lost?” Also from G.G.: US regulators ‘find evidence’ of banks fixing derivative rates Items from The Economatrix: Marc Faber On Central Banker Actions: “Insane People Don’t Realize They’re Insane” The When: “The Economic Collapse Cannot …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Mike Williamson’s latest book Tour of Duty: Stories and Provocations will be released tomorrow, August 6th.    o o o Reader J.B.G. recommended this video: Demystifying Alabama’s new ‘shall issue’ gun law.    o o o H.G. sent this: Feds go after Proxy Servers – Half of Tor Sites Compromised! Here are a few article quotes: “In a crackdown that FBI claims to be about hunting down pedophiles, half of the onion sites in the TOR network has been compromised, including the e-mail counterpart of TOR deep web, TORmail.” <snip> “This is undoubtedly a big blow to the TOR community, …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“9/11 has allowed the government to use fear to get unlimited power. But when you get power, it doesn’t mean you can quickly spring it on everybody, because that shocks and startles them. So you use the power a little bit at a time, and let the people get used to it, and in that way you never meet any opposition.” – Paul Craig Roberts