Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 49 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $8,455 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course. (A $1,195 value.) 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.) …




Notes from JWR:

October 20th is the birthday of actor Viggo Mortensen (born 1958.) Part of each year, he lives on his ranch in North Idaho, deep in the American Redoubt. Also at his ranch is his horse-for-life “TJ”–one of the five paint horses that were used in the filming of the movie Hidalgo. — This is also the birthday of exhibition shooter Ed McGivern (born 1874, died December 12, 1957.) His classic book Fast and Fancy Revolver Shooting is still in print, after 75 years! McGivern was born in Nebraska, but was a long-time resident of Butte, Montana. — Today we present …




Notes from JWR:

October 19th is the birthday of three notables: the late Alexander Zeisal “Zus” Bielski (born 1912), investor Jim Rogers (born 1942) and James Howard Kunstler (born 1948.) Kunstler is well-known to SurvivalBlog readers as the author of the novel World Made by Hand and the nonfiction book The Long Emergency. A fictionalized portrayal of Zus Bielski is seen in the movie Defiance. (This movie was loosely based on the excellent book Defiance: The Bielski Partisans written by Nechama Tec.) — Today we present another entry for Round 49 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $8,730 worth of prizes for …




Notes from JWR:

I ‘m pleased to announce that another prize has been added to the First Prize package for the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The fine folks at Privacy Abroad in Switzerland are donating both a secure Virtual Private Network (VPN) annual subscription and a DigitalSafe annual subscription.  With these, the prize winner will have a VPN tunnel, secure Swiss data storage, and a secure e-mail service.  These prizes have a combined value of $195. This addition brings the value of the First Prize package to $4,185, and the combined value of the top three prizes to $8,730! — Today is the …




Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 49 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course. (A $1,195 value.) 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 …




Notes from JWR:

Today we welcome our newest advertiser: Montie Gear. Some of their fine products were reviewed favorably by SurvivalBlog’s Field Gear Editor, Pat Cascio, in July of 2012, and in June of 2013. — Featured today is a guest article by Joel Ho, the founder of an engineering firm that specializes in EMP protection.




Notes from JWR:

Several readers mentioned this: EBT card food stamp recipients ransack Wal-Mart stores, stealing carts full of food during federal computer glitch. Keep in mind: A nationwide grid power failure would also mean a nationwide EBT card system failure. If and when this happens, it will not be pretty. For further perspective, see this over at Ace of Spades HQ: I saw DOOM drinking a piña colada at Trader Vic’s and his hair was perfect. And the always insightful Karl Denninger had these comments: No, I Will Not Help, Donate, Or Continue. At 1:20 PM Central Time today, I will interviewed …







Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 49 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course. (A $1,195 value.) 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 …




Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 49 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course. (A $1,195 value.) 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 …




Notes from JWR:

I heard from my editor at E.P. Dutton that my novel Expatriates hit the New York Times Hardcover Fiction bestsellers list this week at #21. Thanks for making the release such a great success! — Today we present another entry for Round 49 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course. (A $1,195 value.) 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 …




Notes from JWR:

October 10th is the birthday of my old friend who was the basis for the “Cadet Doug Carlton” character in my novel “Patriots.” — Today we present another entry for Round 49 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course. (A $1,195 value.) 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 …




Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 48 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course. (A $1,195 value.) 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 …




Notes from JWR:

Today is the birthday of the late economist and libertarian commentator J. Orlin Grabbe. (Born, 1947, died March 15, 2008.) His online newspaper Laissez Faire City Times had some exceptionally good economic analysis and commentary that really deserves to be compiled into a book. He definitely saw the 2008 global credit collapse coming, early on! — The folks at Survival Cache posted a favorable review of my novel Expatriates. — Today we present another entry for Round 48 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good …




Notes from JWR:

Today is the birthday of science fiction author David Brin. (Born, 1950.) He wrote The Postman, which was very loosely the foundation of a movie by Kevin Costner. — Today we present another entry for Round 48 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course. (A $1,195 value.) 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 …