Category: Emerging Threats

June In Precious Metals, by Steven Cochran of Gainesville Coins

Welcome to SurvivalBlog’s Precious Metals Month in Review, where we take a look at “the month that was” in precious metals. Each month, we cover the price action of gold and silver and examine the “what” and “why” behind those numbers. Precious Metals Market Drivers in June Gold started the month under $1,250 an ounce, and climbed over $70 to above $1,320 by the end of the month. Silver gained steadily throughout June, from under $19 an ounce to over $21. Platinum and palladium saw peaks and valleys, due to the on-again, off-again labor negotiations in South Africa that had …


SHTF Lessons From Venezuela, by CSR

I am an avid reader and have not attempted to contribute to this fine blog because I personally had little to offer from the perspective of knowledge or skills that many more knowledgeable individuals have already contributed. However, as I have been closely monitoring the current events in Venezuela I realized that this is an area where I have knowledge and skills that many others don’t. Also, there is a great deal about these events that,in my opinion, correlate to the United States’ political and economic directions and possible outcomes. The people of Venezuela are learning lessons the hard way. …


Letter Re: EMP

Hi Jim, Do you know if we have a EMP attack or if the grid goes down weather we will still have internet service? – GLB HJL Replies: Since the vast majority of the Internet depends upon the power grid, it really depends on how much of the power grid survives an EMP event. The long hauls of the infrastructure would probably survive due to the fact that most are based on fiber optics, which are not affected by EMP. The hubs, connection points and routers all have to have power though, which is affected by EMP events. If the …


Letter: Social Media Intel During an Emergency

HJL, I am a long time reader and understand JWR’s recommendation against the use of social media. The recent snow storm that has crippled the roads in major southern cities has proven a positive of social media that I hadn’t fully realized. With a “friends” list of over 1,000 (who are mostly just acquaintances) I was able gain valuable intelligence down to the neighborhood level. Friends reported on road closures, traffic jams, people in need of help and their location, people providing help, and businesses that were open and taking in those that were stranded. This sharing of information undoubtedly …


Guest Article: EMP Myths and FAQs, by Joel Ho

Q: Do Faraday Cages need grounding? A: No. A Faraday cage designed against EMP, if properly constructed, will keep any charge outside the shield. The shield interior is separate, so anything inside, even though it touches the inside of the shield, is safe. However – if the cage is improperly made and there are wide holes in the mesh exceeding the size of wavelength to be blocked, grounding could help. As an example, this Youtube video link is of EMP testing my company has done with another firm’s professional EMP simulator. You can see a shielded laptop on the left …


Letter Re: How To Use Your IRA /401k to Fund a Survival Retreat Property

Sir, I have a question in regards to the reply article on turning one’s IRA or 401(k) into a survival retreat property.  Any ideas on how it would play out with one’s survival retreat that is in their IRA or 401(k) if/when the government confiscates retirement accounts or forces one to turn their retirement accounts into a government retirement account like what was recently done in Poland and other countries? Would the person lose their home/farm or be forced to sell it? Would the government get control of it? I’m curious because we have a fairly decent amount of money …


How to Travel as a Prepper When You are a Road Warrior, by S.S.

I grew up in Omaha, Nebraska and remember spending many afternoons in the basement due to tornado warnings and watches. Several times a year, we saw homes across town destroyed by the tornados. Seeing homes destroyed up close as an eight year old made an impression. After our first winter blizzard, Mom started prepping and established a corner in the basement with our food stuffs, books, toys, radio, flashlight, water and a mattress for us to sleep on.   About two years ago, I gave up on living in the suburbs and moved 20 miles away in a rural area …


Letter Re: Charleston West Virginia’s Drinking Water Crisis

Mr. Rawles, I noticed your reference to the water situation in the Charleston, West Virginia (Kanawha Valley) area. As of Saturday when I’m writing this, the water is suitable for flushing toilets and fire fighting but that is all. The town I live in (St. Albans) has their own independent supply, but most of the surrounding area is fed from the centralized West Virginia American Water Plant in Charleston. One plant serves a very large geographic area. I know when I first finished mechanical engineering school I could only find a job working for a small civil engineering company. We …


BHO’s Africa Policy: Confusion and Duplicity Reign

After many years of a “diplomacy and aid dollars only” approach in Africa, the U.S. government has begun active military intervention, north of the equator. Quite disturbingly, while outwardly appearing to be engaged a campaign against Al Qaeda and its allies, these interventions have effectively supported Muslims (particularly the radical Muslim Brotherhood) while abandoning Christians. Witness: Libya, Egypt, and Uganda (against Kony’s LRA.) You’ve all seen the headlines: In 2011, U.S. air power was used in Libya, to back largely Muslim rebels. In late 2013, BHO slashed long-standing military aid to Egypt, indirectly aiding that nation’s Muslim rebels. Hillary Clinton’s …


Letter Re: Connecticut Corralled: The Slippery Slope of Gun Registration

Jim,   The article forwarded by J.B.G. re: the Connecticut gun registration photo/article for ARs and high capacity magazines (‘Looks Like Weimar Germany’: The Viral Photo Out of Connecticut That’s Giving Some Gun Owners Chills) is really just the tip of the iceberg. This legislation was really designed to ultimately refine and maintain the firearm registry in the state that is already in existence for all firearms. The State police have been collecting and storing all firearms transactions for many years here. The Federal Government by law must destroy all the data gained from background checks for firearm  purchasing. The Connecticut state police have no …


Two Letters Re: Bakken Oil Development has Ended the Peak Oil Debate

Dear Mr. Rawles: Like the author of the letter concerning peak oil and domestic fracking, I too regularly follow your blog but have not felt the need to add comment. However, the author makes several assertions about both the theory of peak oil and the state of oil production that require clarification. The primary hypothesis behind peak oil, the Hubbert peak theory, does not state that after a certain point a nation, or mankind in general, will “never discover any more oil”. Rather, it simply says that oil production at some point reaches a maximum rate, after which it enters …


Letter Re: The Bakken Oil Development has Ended the Peak Oil Debate

Dear JWR: I’m sitting in Western North Dakota atop a sea of oil.  We are producing barrels of oil in numbers that could not be imagined less than six years ago.  Natural gas production is soaring.  Why?  Fracking.  Geologists have determined that world-wide natural gas production, with fracking could produce enough for hundreds of years usage. When I was growing up here in the 1960s, after the boom of the 1950s, experts said we were never going to discover any more oil.  The boom of the 1970s proved that wrong.  Then in the 1980s, it was all over but the …


Letter Re: Open Carry, Concealed Carry and Gun Free School Zones

Dear Jim, There’s another tricky loophole regarding permitted concealed carrying in or near schools. Many states have reciprocity with other states, but best I recall, the Federal statute requires valid licensure issued by that same State to carry in these areas.  So even if your license is valid throughout the state [via a reciprocity provision], it could conceivably still violate Federal law to be armed on or near school grounds. Thanks, – Michael Z. Williamson (SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large)


Letter Re: Open Carry, Concealed Carry and Gun Free School Zones

James, I’m writing to warn fellow SurvivalBlog readers that there is a huge proviso for those wishing to open carry firearms in states where it is lawful to do so. I recommend reading the Wikipedia page on Gun-Free School Zones Act (GFSZA) of 1990. Some key excerpts form that web page follow: Definitions Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(25) the term “school zone” means— (A) in, or on the grounds of, a public, parochial or private school; or (B) within a distance of 1,000 feet from the grounds of a public, parochial or private school. Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(26) the term “school” …


Letter Re: Could America’s Pot Growers Start Growing Opium Poppies?

Dear Jim, I thought I would let you know about something interesting going on in the Gold Country of California. Some SurvivalBlog readers may be aware that the North San Juan Ridge, aka “The Ridge” is highly populated with homesteaders, [near Grass Valley, California,, in Nevada County.] Since the soil is poor, and there are many squatters or people on largely undeveloped land, few make sufficient money from growing food for themselves, so turned to growing [marijuana, commonly called] pot.   In the old days, pot was illegal and the Fed and State CAMP task force would survey and raid …