Notes from JWR:

Flash Traffic: S&P downgrades U.S. Treasury paper! Excerpts: “United States of America Long-Term Rating Lowered To ‘AA+’ On Political Risks And Rising Debt Burden; Outlook Negative Overview · We have lowered our long-term sovereign credit rating on the United States of America to ‘AA+’ from ‘AAA’ and affirmed the ‘A-1+’ short-term rating.” and “The outlook on the long-term rating is negative. We could lower the long-term rating to ‘AA’ within the next two years if we see that less reduction in spending than agreed to, higher interest rates, or new fiscal pressures during the period result in a higher general government debt trajectory than we currently assume in …




Notes from JWR:

Today, August 5th, is the Sixth Anniversary of the launch of SurvivalBlog. I hope that you’ve enjoyed reading it, and that it has helped you to gain useful knowledge and inspired you to get prepared. Thanks for making the blog such a huge success. In the past six years we’ve built huge archives of useful articles and letters, and they are still all available free of charge. We now get more than one million unique visits per month, making SurvivalBlog far and away the Internet’s most popular preparedness blog. Please continue to spread the word. Thank you! — Today we …




Notes from JWR:

Safecastle’s big 25% off sale on Mountain House long term storage foods ends tonight, so get your order in soon! — Today we present another entry for Round 36 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) 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 B.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $300 value.) …




Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 36 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) 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 B.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $300 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo, and E.) …




Note from JWR:

Today we present the first entry for Round 36 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) 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 B.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $300 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo, and …




Note from JWR:

Today we present the final entry for Round 35 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. This is a corrected version of an article that was initially posted last week. It was removed so that a couple of facts could be rectified, and so that the article could be expanded. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) 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 B.) Two cases of Alpine Aire freeze …




Note from JWR:

Today we present another two entries for Round 35 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) 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 B.) Two cases of Alpine Aire freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $400 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo, and …




Notes from JWR:

Production will end temporarily on Monday, August 1st for the SurvivalBlog 5-Year Archive CD-ROM. (Since Lulu.com is leaving the CD-ROM production business.) The good news is that it has been reduced to just $14.95. We hope to have new production available from a different vendor within a couple of weeks, hopefully at the same price. Thanks for your patience. — Today we present another two entries for Round 35 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of …




Note from JWR:

Today we present another two entries for Round 35 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) 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 B.) Two cases of Alpine Aire freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $400 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo, and …




Note from JWR:

My upcoming novel “Survivors: A Novel of the Coming Collapse” (a sequel that is contemporaneous to the action in “Patriots” ) is now past the Second Galley milestone, and soon will be readied for printing pre-release review copies. The new cover is nearly finished, and it looks stunning. The novel is being published by Atria Books, a division of Simon & Schuster. Please delay ordering your copy of “Survivors: A Novel of the Coming Collapse” until October 4th. By concentrating all of the orders on just the release day (also the designated “Book Bomb Day”), we hope to help propel …




Notes from JWR:

Last call! A final reminder that the deadline for the Ready Made Resources Preparedness Video Contest is midnight, eastern time on July 26th. Instructional (nonfiction) videos on any topic related to family preparedness are sought. The prizes are a brand new Rock Rivers Arms (RRA) Elite Comp M4 (AR-15 series compatible ) complete Barreled Upper Receiver and a Trijicon Reflex sight with a combined retail value of more than $1,400. Please keep your privacy in mind when you create your videos. (Don’t mention any surnames or towns). You may post up to three videos to YouTube for consideration in the …




Notes from JWR:

I heard that Ready Made Resources is running a two-day special 25% off sale on Mountain House canned long term storage foods on July 25th and 26th. They are offering free shipping on case lots, any multiples of six cans of the same variety per case. And, if your order at least one full case of the same Mountain House item in #10 cans, you can add aKatadyn pocket water filter for just $279 ($40 off.) Don’t miss out! — Today we present another entry for Round 35 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: …




Note from JWR:

Today we present another two entries for Round 35 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) 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 B.) Two cases of Alpine Aire freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $400 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo, and …




Note from JWR:

Today we present another two entries for Round 35 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) 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 B.) Two cases of Alpine Aire freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $400 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo, and …




Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 35 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) 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 B.) Two cases of Alpine Aire freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $400 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo, and E.) …