Letter Re: MZBs: Are You Prepared?

I’d just like to comment on the forum thread you linked to, titled “MZBs: Are you prepared?”, over at doomers.us The dynamic of the petulant and angry underclass rearing a rather violent head once the social controls are gone is precisely what happened in places like Yugoslavia and Russia. On the Serbian side, these types were actively armed by the nationalists. On the Croatian and Bosnian side, they came from a pre-existing underworld and before anyone knew what was happening they had almost completely hijacked power in many areas. And they took what they wanted, took out anyone who got …




How to Prosper in a Salvage Economy, by Tamara W.

A salvage economy is a post-production economy. The economy is based on salvage and then reuse or remanufacture of salvaged materials. The current modern equivalent of this are those individuals who sort through trash heaps and dumps for recyclable materials. The historical equivalent of this are the stone masons in Egypt who tore down ancient monuments for building material. For example, the lost Pyramid of Djedefre was thought to have not been built until its foundations were found, including a mortuary temple and queens’ pyramids. Where did it go? Must of it was used to build buildings in Cairo from …




Letter Re: Nefarious Uses of Google Earth

Howdy Mr. Rawles, I had two comments to add to the conversation about thieves using Google Earth to steal koi. First, when we typed our address into Google Earth, it popped to a house about a 1/4 mile from us (we checked that fact many times, not just once, so it was not a typo on our part). That was just ducky with the family, as it helped our farm stay invisible. After reading about the koi thefts, I decided to check on Google Earth again. I was so disappointed when it popped right to the farm this time! The …




Letter Re: Hyperinflation Appears Certain for the US Dollar

Jim, During many years of “hiding, prepping and watching” I’ve tried to determine what series of events may lead to TEOTWAWKI. There are many, but not obvious to most. Hurricane Katrina and Haiti are examples of either predictable events or unpredictable instantaneous events as would be a single nuclear event such as a “suitcase bomb” . Each of these has a number of things in common, but the most significant is the limited geography associated with each. The biggest difference between Hurricane Katrina and the Haitian earthquake is the lack of adjacent unaffected land. In the case of Hurricane Katrina …




Letter Re: Nefarious Uses of Google Earth

Sir; In response to what Art A. wrote about the koi thieves. I want to add an aside that I don’t know if you covered in your Google Earth piece. I work for a municipal police agency. Google Earth is widely used with the agency to be able to view locations of potential suspects. It is particularly informative when serving search warrants on large compound-like properties as it alerts officials to the location of all building, etc., as well as other things located on the property. When chasing criminals it seems a good tool but when the government decides that …




Lessons from History: The Immigrant and the Refugee

As a student of history, it is surprising how often the same traumatic patterns emerge in times of economic turmoil, political upheavals, and civil unrest. All too frequently, average citizens get caught in the middle of tumultuous situations and unwittingly are soon reduced to the status of refugee. Unlike someone that intentionally emigrates to better themselves, a refugee typically hits the road with few or any assets and no sure destination. As I’ve mentioned before in SurvivalBlog, if the 20th century taught us anything, it is that the one category you don’t want to find yourself in is “refugee.” Refugees …




Letter Re: Making Low Profile Firearms Purchases

James, Thanks so much for your books, which have really opened my eyes. I began with “How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It” and have just finished reading “Patriots” for the second time. The first time on Kindle, then I decided I really needed a hard copy as well. After much prayer, my husband has acknowledged the need to prepare as well. We have just joined the NRA and we will be joining a local gun club next month, as well as looking for proper firearms training. We own a new .22 LR and a …




Letter Re: We Have Some Hard Decisions Ahead

Dear SurvivalBloggers: The economy has taken a dramatic turn for the worse for many Americans. Hundreds of pages could be written to describe how it happened and who did it. While many individuals and households have had the financial resources and good fortune which will allow them to weather economic uncertainty, many will simply not be able to maintain their standard of living. Many two income households are now one income households and that income may have decreased due to companies cutting back on work hours. This situation has been occurring for many Americans for many many months, forcing people …




Three Letters Re: Securing Bedroom Doors Against Home Invaders

JWR, Blessings on you and your ministry. Regarding securing bedroom doors and walls article: For new construction, it would be acceptable to place a 1/8 inch 4′ by 8′ [plywood] panel behind the drywall. Paneling is built with two or three plys, like plywood. A wall so constructed would be only 1/8 inch thicker, but considerably stronger, and would slow down any intruder. Of course, even this would not stop a bullet. – Jim P. in Texas. James Wesley; I read the recent blurb on securing interior rooms, something I have been working on for a while. Seems to me …




Letter Re: Securing Bedroom Doors Against Home Invaders

Dear Mr. Rawles, I will try to keep this short. Hopefully my question might come in handy for a number of your readers. First, thank you for your site and your publications. I am almost finished with “How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It” and am about 50 pages into your “Rawles Gets You Ready” family preparedness course. So far I am loving them both. I am reading quickly through them first and next my wife and I will study them thoroughly together, adapting the information and creating our “list of lists.” Now, I have …




Letter Re: Short Term Survival or Long Term Self-Sufficiency?

Hi James, You have an excellent blog. It is good to find another right-wing Christian who thinks we’re going down the wrong path, and someone who cares about other people. I have to take issue with your blog though. It focuses on survival in the short term (maximum five years after collapse). It does not give direction for how to proceed from there, how to thrive, how to rebuild society (or rather, how to build a better society). Surviving the collapse on modern medicine only to die from disease when it runs out is pointless. Surviving only to find that …




Letter Re: Some Ground Truth–The “Us” and the “Them” in a Societal Collapse

Mr. Rawles, I am a retired Army warrant officer working for the Army teaching Electronic Warfare and Signal Intelligence. I only started reading your blog last week. It’s addictive, but slightly disturbing. Having worked for the Army for 27 years in a number of different failed countries I may have a unique perspective on survival that I would like to share with your readers. I believe most of the “survivalist community” is vastly underestimating the impact that other humans are going to have on their plans. Hunkering down and waiting for everyone to die off is a simplistic plan and …




The Flash to Bang Count: Observations on the October Indonesian Asteroid Airburst

A few days ago, The Telegraph reported: “An asteroid that exploded in the Earth’s atmosphere with the energy of three Hiroshima bombs this month has reignited fears about our planet’s defenses against space impacts. On 8 October, the rock crashed into the atmosphere above South Sulawesi, Indonesia. The asteroid was around 20 meters across and hit the Earth’s atmosphere at 45,000 mph. The blast was heard by monitoring stations 10,000 miles away, according to a report by scientists at the University of Western Ontario. Scientists are concerned that it was not spotted by any telescopes, and that had it been …




Letter Re: Retreat Security: I Am Your Worst Nightmare

I was thinking about the “I Am Your Worst Nightmare” post as I worked in my vegetable garden, preparing it for Spring. I wonder how long it would be until the Looters evolved their strategy to the next levels, as follows: Looter+1: Don’t kill everyone, leave some alive to loot again later. Looter+2: Plan to scare, rather than kill, your victims, so that they can continue farming and provide for your needs later. Dead victims can’t work. Looter+3: Claim a territory and collect “protection” money/goods from the people in your territory. Tell them that in return for only taking one-third …




Retreat Security: I Am Your Worst Nightmare, by Jeff T.

I am the leader of a band of 8-to-12 looters. I have some basic military training. We move from place to place like locusts devouring everything in our path. My group is armed with light weapons and can develop and follow simple plans of attack. We take what we want by force of arms. We prefer none of our victims survive because that could cause problems for us in the future. It has been six months since the grid went down. You and the other five members of your party have settled into what may be a long grinding existence. …