Letter Re: Concertina Wire Sources

Mr Rawles, Thank you for your excellent Blog. Can you direct me to a supplier of rolls of military concertina wire?  I am looking for 6-to-8 rolls.  I live in Central Florida.  Google searches have revealed nothing but Chinese and Indian companies overseas.   Thank you for you help – Jim M. JWR Replies: Buying new concertina wire or razor wire from manufacturers and distributors is a costly proposition. In my experience, the best way to buy defensive wire is used, from military (DRMO) or other government auctions. These can be found through the GovLiquidation.com web site. Here is a …


Letter Re: DMSO — Pain Relief Without a Prescription?

James: I read with interest Dr. Koelker’s article/letter regarding DSMO and its pain killing effects and would like share my own personal experiences with it since I am an alternative health care practitioner (not a doctor). First, DSMO is a by product of the paper industry and yes, horse people have used this for years with excellent results. Outside of this country and within the US some doctors use it by injection directly into the joints with amazing results. A quick google search will bear this statement out. In my own experience I have used it topically for muscle problems …


Economics and Investing:

Dr. Walter E. Williams: Our Nation’s Future. Williams begins his latest essay: “Our nation is rapidly approaching a point from which there’s little chance to avoid a financial collapse.” G.G. flagged this: 18 Staggering Charts On The Rise Of Government Dependence Simon Black: Why We’re Nowhere Near The Mania Phase In Precious Metals One Out Of Every Ten Banks Is A “Problem Bank” – FDIC Issues 56 Enforcement Actions In April Lloyd’s ‘has plans for euro collapse’. (Thanks to Andre D. for the link.)


Odds ‘n Sods:

M.P. flagged this: Prepper speaks against stigma that all survivalists are nuts o o o Alabama residents will be interested to learn that the state legislature has enacted a law providing a sales tax free weekend on disaster supplies the weekend of July 6-8, 2012. That will include things like bottled water, foods, candles, lanterns, and even generators. Our thanks to Mark C. for the news tip. o o o Reader Mark P. mentioned that the Ludwig von Mises Institute now offers an e-book of liberty quotations as a free PDF download. o o o G.G. spotted this: Revealed: Hundreds …



Notes from JWR:

JRH Enterprises has extended their annual Memorial Day weekend sale on Night Vision and Thermal Sight units. They have new Third Generation Pinnacle Autogated PVS-14 night vision monocular/sights with a five year warranty for as low as $2,695. Upgraded Versions are sale priced at $2,995. Also, check out the new Clip On Thermal Imaging (C.O.T.I.) unit that clips on the front of your night vision device and adds a thermal image to combine the best aspects of thermal imaging with the best aspects of normal image intensification night vision. Order soon! — Today we present three more entries for Round 40 …


Update on the Recent Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Attack on SurvivalBlog

A Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack on SurvivalBlog.com started the morning of Saturday, May 26, 2012 and continued until the evening. This was a “ping flood” attack, which can be envisioned as someone ringing your telephone number, several times per second. The attack coincided with a holiday weekend in the United States. The SurvivalBlog.com domain name as well as the unique IP addresses for each of our servers were separately targeted at various times. For several hours at a time, SurvivalBlog was almost impossible to reach because the ping count was so high. We have identified hostile IP addresses …


Lessons from Afghanistan, by W.B.

SurvivalBlog is the best in it’s field because it draws upon the different skill sets and experiences of it’s readers. On that note, I would like to offer up my own experience for the benefit of other readers. I am a former Army Infantry Sergeant with combat service in Afghanistan and am currently a private security contractor. I was not a prepper before my service there. However, witnessing a post-collapse environment first hand made me confront some painful realities. I hope to God that my experiences will aid fellow preppers by giving them insight in to one type of collapse …


When Your Batteries Die, by Jay W.

Some of the most common things that we stock up on for short term emergencies are batteries. Many of our important tools need electrical power to work. Flashlights, radios, many power tools, and night vision gear– essentially anything that uses DC electricity–would need batteries. For Bug Out Bags and short-term situations batteries are almost always included and could save your life.   Virtually any situation lasting less than a few years would be fine with batteries.  You can have a hand or pedal generator, solar or wind, et cetera, to charge your batteries.   But what happens in a TEOTWAWKI situation?  Where …


When You Don’t Know Where To Start, by Angela in Georgia

If you are like me, you want to start preparing for TEOTWAWKI, but you have no clue where or how to begin. Even the shortest list, and list of lists, is a daunting undertaking and the expenses can stack up quickly. We thought we’d be up a creek since we had no real extra money to set aside for this project. Alas, it doesn’t have to be that way! There are many things you probably have around the house that will help save or sustain life. You just have to learn to look at your possessions in a different way. …


Letter Re: Risk in CONUS from Fukushima Radiation Releases?

Howdy, I have a question about the American Redoubt in light of the pending and probable total failure of the Fukushima reactors spent fuel rod pool. When this thing goes, the release will be massive and long term. [I have read that the] radiation release will cover most of the US and Canada and that most of Canada and the northern two thirds of America may be unlivable. How advisable would be moving to the American Redoubt? I’m not one for conspiracy theories. I don’t buy the one about HAARP causing the earthquake and tsunami. However, the sheer lack of …


Letter Re: De-Worming Livestock, Post-TEOTWAWKI

Mr. Rawles, I have just finished reading your book How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It and found it very helpful and enlightening. There is one thing I was wondering and can’t seem to find an answer anywhere.   Owning horses in an extended grid-down situation presents the question of worming. After most worming meds has been used or expired how would you treat your horse for worms? I’ve read about using different herbs but wonder about their safety and dosages.   Thank you, – Michael N. in Arizona JWR Replies: As with most medications …


Economics and Investing:

Those pesky derivatives: Wall Street Journal says Comex has been classified as ‘too big to fail’. (“Taxpayers Now Stand Behind Derivatives Clearinghouses.”) More About Banksters and Derivatives: Taxpayer Supported Gambling How Crumbling U.S. Dollars Bailed Out Zimbabwe. (Thanks to Gregg P. for the link.) Adam Brown of Forbes reports: European Crisis: A Greek Exit Would Only Be The Start, Not The End Spain: Five banks downgraded, Bankia seeks 19 billion euros in aid. (Thanks to B.B. for the link.) Items from The Economatrix: Turn Out The Lights:  The Largest US Cities are Becoming Cesspools of Filth, Decay, and Wretchedness The …


Odds ‘n Sods:

The Complete List of Every Prepper Book Ever Recommended. (Thanks to R.D. for the link.)    o o o The town of Coos Bay, Oregon is wisely planning a Tsunami Evacuation Drill on May 31 at 2:00 p.m.    o o o Over at Buddy’s Board, I found a link to this brief how-to video: Tannerite 101    o o o James C. suggested this lengthy YouTube video: The 1940’s House    o o o C.D.V. recommended this site: Pam’s Pride Recommendations. These are my recommendations for free Kindle e-book downloads for homesteaders and do-it-yourselfers.


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“The essence of ‘going Galt’ in any context is to challenge its ultimate implications by putting them into practice. That is: think through the implications of The System, from its fundamental premises and hypotheses all the way to their furthest stops, and then conduct yourself exactly according to their demands. Consider: Economically, in a System that excoriates creators, producers, and capitalists, it means going almost completely limp: making just enough money to sustain your life, but creating nothing from which others can derive a profit or make further advances. Many men have already chosen this course.” – Francis Porretto, in …