Jim, With some research, I’ve found a few mapping tools that are useful in selecting possible retreat locales: Free GIS tool (overlay and merge different map layers onto one map) Census mapping National Atlas. Crime, precipitation, etc. Very nice but you can’t merge data. An interesting Google Earth plug-in I’d also like to mention an ongoing forum discussion. Regards, – C.D.V.
Mr. Rawles, Three thoughts on this topic: 1. If you are relying on defending your home without outside help then the battle is already lost. It is too easy to burn down your average residence. Defense should be a community endeavor with “depth” provided by multiple engagements from multiple locations. 2. I believe that your average, semi-motivated troublemakers in a TEOTWAWKI will lack training and will become victims of “target fixation”. In other words, they will be motivated to roam around and loot but will not have a modicum of good tactical skills. They will fixate on their target and …
G.G. flagged this one: FDIC closes bank in New Jersey, makes 17 US bank failures so far in 2012 Also from G.G.: 1 in 2 new graduates are jobless or underemployed Items from The Economatrix: Currency Wars: Gambling With Other People’s Money China Buying Gold at Discount US Stocks Join Global Slump On Europe’s Political Woes Durable U.S. Recovery At Hand As Growth Shifts
Ian R. sent this: Crises make automakers rethink lean parts supplies o o o News from the Philippines: Rabies kills 67 people in three months. o o o Camping Survival just received a truckload of Wise Foods buckets. Feeling overstocked, they created an unprecedented 10% off coupon code just for SurvivalBlog readers. The coupon code is “wiseblog“ o o o SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large Michael Z. Williamson forwarded this: Your computer may be at risk, FBI warns–Thousands of PCs infected by hackers could lose Net access o o o G.G. flagged this piece about solar flares: …
"A dead thing can go with the stream, but only a living thing can go against it." – G.K. Chesterton
Today we present another entry for Round 40 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 any …
This site is known for material geared towards protection and preparation for some ultimate tests of social interaction. While we may be working to prepare ourselves for a high end threat, keep in mind that there are levels between normal and end situations; we may not go from normal to end in one quick swoop. We must be prepare for various levels and react accordingly when we or our families are threatened. Knowledge and our equipment are tools to better prepare us to deal with any serious social situation. After writing a previous article on Weapon Use, Slings, Web Gear, …
CPT Rawles, I want to provide a counterpoint to AmEx’s letter about the futility of permanent expatriation. I too have taken a job overseas, after much effort, and am establishing myself permanently in a particular country in Asia. I agree with AmEx that renouncing one’s US citizenship is probably a bit much, I think he severely underestimates the danger that the US government will (I believe) present to it’s citizens. While I am still a US citizen, my wife, who earns all our non-salary income privately, and our children are not. This is something we worked out years ago to limit the reach of my government into our lives. …
Daniel R. Amerman: Inflation & Hidden Gold Taxation: Three Historical Case Studies The Daily Bell reports: Spain Bans Cash Items from The Economatrix: How Iceland Recovered Without Bailing Out Banks Jobs Beat Foreclosures as Housing-Market Guide Falling Energy Prices: Good For Jobs, Not So Good For Gasoline Fears Rise That Recovery May Falter In The Spring
Dave T. mentioned that both Facebook and Apple are locating data centers in Prineville, in eastern Oregon. Dave’s comment: “This shows that even IT folk might be able to find jobs in The American Redoubt area, and makes me wonder if survivability factors into these companies’ desire to locate there, along with considerations like inexpensive power, inexpensive land and tax incentives.” JWR Adds: Both Oregon and Washington have implemented special tax incentives to lure new data centers. Both Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Rackspace are building data centers in Morrow, Oregon, and Google set up one of theirs an hour’s …
"Being prepared turns a crisis into an inconvenience." – Dave Ramsey, financial counselor and syndicated radio show host
To support the blog’s bandwidth costs and other expenses, we have greatly expanded our SurvivalBlog Amazon Store. We did our best to select gear that is made in the United States and Canada. Here how it works: If you click on one of our Amazon links and then “click through” to order ANY product from Amazon.com (not just the ones listed in our catalog), then we will earn a modest sales commission. Please shop with our our paid advertisers first. (See the ads in the right hand bar of the main blog page.) But if they don’t have what you …
First of all, don’t use those words. Doctors don’t want to be “talked into” something that they may not want to do. You’ll need a better approach. Secondly, if you tack your request on to the end of an office visit, it will not be granted. At this point your doctor is ready to move on to the next patient and will not appreciate the delay. You don’t want your doctor irritated with you when you ask him a favor. So how does one meet with success? Basically you need to enter the doctor’s “world” and see …
I know a little something about being a first responder to an accident scene. In another life, I was a paramedic, and later in life, I was a police officer. So, I’ve been to more than my share of accidents, and one thing that was usually needed in many traffic accidents, was a good sharp knife, that could cut a person out of their seat belt, or cut some of their clothes off for urgent medical care. So, I appreciate a good sharp knife, more so than most folks do. Buck Knives (www.buckknives.com) has been around since 1902. No …
JWR, Last Easter weekend, a twitter message went out and in a few hours 20,000 people descended on Surfside Beach, Texas, population about 600. My LEO contacts tell me there were only six officers available. The crowd turned sour towards the locals who did not want them parking or defecating in their yards. Several residents had to stand on their front porches with weapons displayed to keep groups of hundreds from passing through their property. Several rental beach houses were broken into and one contact said the volume of human feces and trash was unbelievable. The roads were impassable for …