The Likelihood of Man-Made Disaster, by William Crosby Prentice

Introduction, Scale I think you will agree that you will get the highest returns from your preparation investments when you make those decisions based on the relative likelihood of a range of SHTF scenarios.  Unfortunately, the probability of many SHTF situations is very hard to determine, and will end up being a judgment call.  However, there is some information out there on the likelihood of certain events that qualify as SHTF.  This information allows us to at least calibrate our judgment calls on the likelihood of certain events, enabling us to refine our gut feelings. In doing so, we will …


Letter Re: You Don’t Need To Be A Conservative To Be Prepared

Sir: Anyone who spends any amount of time on survivalist and preparedness oriented forums knows that a certain political worldview is the most commonly encountered perspective, particularly with respect to economic concerns. Particularly in the literary niche that is survivalist/preparedness fiction, the protagonist is often identified as a conservative critic of Keynesian economic thought and favors the gold standard. Very often the plot presupposes a very right-wing political orientation. Matthew Bracken (Enemies Foreign and Domestic), Thomas Sherry (Deep Winter, Shatter), Glen Tate (299 Days), and even James Wesley Rawles (Patriots) all share to some degree this worldview. Some authors even …


Economics and Investing:

Deleveraging from one bubble to another – Since the peak in 2008 $1.3 trillion in US household debt is gone but another bubble is brewing hidden under the rubble of the busted housing market. Precious metals market analyst Ted Butler: Transparency Impending Catastrophe: Spain Has Entered A Full-Scale Collapse And Created A Tremendous Amount of Instability Which Could Trigger An Imminent Lehman-Like Event And A Rerun of The Great Panic of 2008 B.B. sent this: Estimate of California’s real debt upped from $28 billion to… $335 billion In Forbes: Run On The Banks Would Make Fiscal Cliff Look Like A …


Odds ‘n Sods:

SurvivalBlog’s Editor At Large Michael Z. Williamson spotted this: Mapping the World’s Population by Latitude, Longitude. Mike’s comment: “An interesting pair of charts, but it is skewed a bit by China and India.”    o o o Reader R.B.S. sent us this: San Francisco considers 220-square-foot micro-apartments    o o o Reader W.C.P. forwarded a link to a diatribe by the West Point Academy’s Director of Terrorism Studies (an Assistant Professor at the Department of Social Sciences) in which he parrots the SPLC‘s Party Line and tars survivalists with a very broad brush, equating us with skinheads, the KKK, and …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

Praise ye the LORD. Praise the LORD, O my soul. While I live will I praise the LORD: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being. Put not your trust in princes, [nor] in the son of man, in whom [there is] no help. His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish. Happy [is he] that [hath] the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope [is] in the LORD his God: Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein [is]: which keepeth truth for …


Notes from JWR:

A reminder that there will be a Sustainable Preparedness Expo this Sunday in Spokane, Washington (September 30, 2012), from 10 AM to 6 PM. The keynote speaker will be Congressman Bartlett, Ph.D., talking about EMP. Bartlett is the only outspokenly survivalist member of congress and is a strong proponent of EMP preparedness. One of our advertisers (Pantry Paratus) will have a booth there as will one of our writing contest sponsors, Naturally Cozy. The latter will have a few autographed copies of my latest novel (“Founders”) available for sale. I included some very special bookmarks as well as some SurvivalBlog …


Severe Weather Vigilance, by Shawn J.

One recent evening I was listening to the local news as they reported on a Tornado outbreak, in one of the Eastern States. The tornado(s) had occurred at night and the news anchors were horrified that the people would not know that anything was happening until it was all over. Severe weather can occur almost everywhere on our planet. Within the last 10 years I have heard reports of Tornados inside of New York City, London, England, and in India. Tornados and Severe Thunderstorms can occur during the day but also at night. Tornadoes vary in size from yards wide …


Are You Sure That You Are Ready To Defend Yourself?, by Brett S.

You stocked supplies with plenty of beans, bullets, and Band-Aids.  You have backup plans to your backup plans and know your family can survive months without any contact from the outside world.  You are ready for just about any cataclysmic event, should one happen.  But are you really ready for the most important decision of your life and the life of your family members?  How far would you go to protect your life and the life of a family member?  Preparing for disaster doesn’t necessarily mean you prepare for armed combat, but practically, disasters create an environment where the aggressor …


Letter Re: The History of Societal Collapse and Implications for The American Redoubt

Mr. Rawles, I recently watched a speech given by Jared Diamond, author of the books Guns, Germs and Steel and Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed, among others.  It was very interesting and prompted me to write this post (which I first posted over at Guerrillamerica.com.) I’m watching Jared Diamond speak about why societies collapse.   As you may know, Diamond wrote the book Guns, Germs, and Steel and Collapse, among others (and they’re all great).  Here are five factors that Jared says affect the collapse of societies.  I’ll take notes and relate these effects to the American Redoubt …


Economics and Investing:

Sue C. sent: Analysis: As worst euro fears fade, U.S. fiscal cliff looms J. McC. sent: Corn and soybean supplies at an eight year low. Jim Rogers on Quantitative Easing: “We’re All Going To Pay A Horrible Price For This.” (Thanks to Jim W. for the link.) Items from The Economatrix: Former ECB Chief Economist Says ECB is in a Panic, as Czech President Warns the End of Democracy is Imminent Euro Crisis Even Staggers Irish Pubs Consumers Cut Credit Card Use For Second Month


Odds ‘n Sods:

I must mention that there have been several bad reviews of my latest novel “Founders” posted at Amazon.com. Several of them seem to be from people who haven’t even read the book. If you have read the book, then I’d appreciate seeing your reviews. In “Founders”, in response to more than a dozen requests from readers, I expanded the story of Ken an Terry Layton’s cross-country trek with a lot more detail. (Their journey had been just briefly described, post facto, in my first novel “Patriots.”) But now a few folks are hammering me for being “repetitive”–even though I obviously …



Note from JWR:

Today we present another two entries for Round 42 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) A gift certificate worth $1,000, courtesy of Spec Ops Brand, B.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795, and C.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $350 value.) D.) a $300 gift certificate from CJL Enterprize, for …


Making Sense of Retreat Medical Care Requirements, by Brett H.

Recently I attended a three day class on medical response in hostile environments presented by Medical Corps in Caldwell, Ohio.  The presenters were terrific, the topics important, and the hands on lab sessions made the whole thing come together very well.  I have already had considerable medical training but I left with a better understanding of what may be required in the future. I gained additional confidence in my ability to perform many of the basic and lifesaving medical functions.  After talking to a number of people I realized a few things about medical preparedness could be presented to this …


DIY Acupuncture For When TSHTF, by Rose R.

Imagine a scenario where there are no more hospitals, no more drugs, no more pharmacies, no more walk in clinics. No more ER’s or Acute Care Clinics. The OTC medicine’s shelves have been cleaned bare by looters. All the nurses and orderlies and support staff have fled the ruins of the healthcare edifices to be with their families. The modern healthcare system is no more. Now imagine someone you are depending on for your security and perhaps even survival wrenching their back while hopping out of the back of a pick up. Their back muscles seizing up so tight and …