Economics and Investing:

Jim W. sent a link to some analysis of the recent jump in the 10 Year Treasury rate: The Nightmare Scenario

Gold-Bashing Mythology Hits New Crescendo. (Commentary by Jeff Nielson.)

Marc Faber: People With Assets Are All Doomed

The News, the Spin, and the Reality of the FOMC Meeting

No great surprise: Maryland, Virginia, D.C. escaped government spending cuts. (The D.C. Beltway’s deeply entrenched bureaucratic aristocracy rarely suffers.)

Items from The Economatrix:

Retirement Shortfall May Top $14 Trillion

Peter Schiff:  Fed Is Trying To Ref late A Phony Economy

Also from Peter Schiff:  “Vicious” Gold Rally Coming

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"All of the government’s monetary, economic and political power, as well as its extensive propaganda machinery, will be enlisted in a constant battle to drive down the price of gold – but in the absence of any fundamental change in the nation’s monetary, fiscal, and economic direction, simply regard any major retreat in the price of gold as an unexpected buying opportunity." – Irwin A. Schiff

Mark Levin: Government Is Simulating the Collapse of Our Financial System, the Collapse of Our Society and the Potential for Widespread Violence

Along with Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, leading conservative radio host Mark Levin reaches tens of millions of listeners weekly, and what he talked about recently on his nationally syndicated show has sent shivers down the spines of many of them.

A few years ago this was fringe theory, restricted only to the sphere of alternative (conspiracy) news.

Warnings of a massive economic collapse, government stockpiling of weaponry, and the idea that Americans could be broadly classified as terrorists and then detained indefinitely or killed often fell upon deaf ears.

Today, as more information ‘leaks’ into the mainstream, it is no longer just conspiracy theory. We now have some of the most influential journalists and commentators in the country alerting Americans to the possibility that everything the government has been preparing for the last several years may soon be realized.

I’m going to tell you what I think is going on.

I don’t think domestic insurrection. Law enforcement and national security agencies, they play out multiple scenarios. They simulate multiple scenarios.

I’ll tell you what I think they’re simulating.

The collapse of our financial system, the collapse of our society and the potential for widespread violence, looting, killing in the streets, because that’s what happens when an economy collapses.

I’m not talking about a recession. I’m talking about a collapse, when people are desperate, when they can’t get food or clothing, when they have no way of going from place to place, when they can’t protect themselves.

There aren’t enough police officers on the face of the earth to adequately handle a situation like that.

I suspect, that just in case our fiscal situation collapses, our monetary situation collapses, and following it the civil society collapses – that is the rule of law – that they want to be prepared.

There is no other explanation for this.

Sourced via Red Flag News

See the Mark Levin video clip HERE.

The Pentagon and military have been war-gaming large-scale economic collapse and civil unrest for nearly four years. Those within our government who understand the ramifications a massive breakdown in our systems of commerce, transportation and justice are preparing by stockpiling weapons and ammo, tens of millions of food rations, and even emergency shelters. They are spending hundreds of billions of dollars on continuity of government programs and exercises, preparing for what they know is coming.

Now why would the government be doing this if there wasn’t a reasonable chance that such events could come to pass?

We’ve urged our readers to prepare a well thought out contingency plan for the very scenarios our government is spending your hard earned tax dollars on.

So you’d better have your own reserves. For those who fail to prepare, it will be horrific. – Mac Slavo, SHTFPlan.com

Letter Re: Raising Beans

 
This week we have been overrun. Not by looters, but by beans. We really look forward to our first spring green vegetables, which are green beans.  After raising green beans for generations on our farm, we have decided that “Contenders” is the very best variety for us. They come up the best, and produce the largest quantity of long slender green beans per plant. We haven’t saved any seeds from this variety, until this year. If you have read one of my previous posts, you will know why. After the great drought of 2011, all the stores in our area had few seed if any. We learned to be better prepared.  We also planted pinto beans, yellow wax beans, black beans, and Anasazi beans. All the bean seeds for the pinto, black, and Anasazi came from the grocery store shelves. So, if you have a favorite bean, that you can’t find at a feed store or garden center, go to the grocery store. They are usually cheaper. If you buy extra seed for the future, be sure to store with a little diatomaceous earth. The stores rotate their stock so you won’t buy dried beans with weevils.

These types of plants don’t require as much fertilizer as corn or potatoes. I used 13-13-13 for these. These plants can’t tolerate commercial fertilizer in the row when planted, however they do well with manure when it’s mixed with the soil. Commercial fertilizer must be added later during the first cultivation pass to be most effective. Here’s why. When a bean sprouts, the root comes out of the center of the seed and pushes the seed halves upward thru the soil. They make the first two leaves on the plant. If these leaves are “burned” by the commercial fertilizer, they die and you have a stem with no leaves, which dies. All of these beans are planted about a week after our corn is planted. These plants like cool spring weather best. As we approach the summer solstice, these plants grow faster each day. They should be planted ¼” deep.

Our goal in planting these beans was to harvest them as dry seeds for planting or eating after boiling in water with seasoning. This would save the work of shelling and canning the beans in jars. Storing this way, rather than putting in the freezer, keeps them safe from loss of electrical power. It would also save the cost of energy to can and the cost of jars and lids plus greatly reduce the storage space.

After we picked just the dry beans from just two rows, we decided that we would need to change our harvest plans. As I’m approaching 60 years of age and currently having back issues along with my wife (except for the age), a change of plans was a must. Our solution was to pull up the beans, stack in small piles, and then load them onto a trailer to bring to our home.
I discovered some unexpected benefits during this process. (Caution: Do not pull up more than you can pick off in one or two days. The ripe beans will go thru a “heat” phase if stacked too thick and sprout in the shell. The whole stack of beans will go thru a process similar to “spontaneous combustion” as they dry. They will generate their own heat. Spread them out thinly out of direct sunlight.)
1) The beans are pulled and stacked and loaded much faster than they could be picked over several times.
2) The beans can be picked under a shade tree or barn sitting down, rather than bent over in 90 deg. heat and 95% humidity. (I live in the southern U.S.)
3) This method of harvest immediately clears the rows, where the next crop can be immediately planted. This prevents weeds and grass from taking over the row and consuming the nutrients left in the soil. This saves fuel and work and the time needed to eliminate the grass before planting the next crop. It also reduces soil compaction from discing and provides the “just planted” crop more time to grow before the coming fall or frost.
4) Elderly or incapacitated people can do the picking.
5) The largest part of the harvest can be done inside a secure perimeter and safety in a worst case scenario (your retreat fence).
6) In a worse case scenario in the future, a security escort is not needed for multiple picking times.
           

As we picked the beans, we learned to separate the beans out as “dried”, “mature, ready to shell” or “snaps”. The dry beans were spread in the sun on metal surfaces to dry. I discovered that I was not prepared for this. I remembered that my dad used burlap sacks. In the 1960’s we always had plenty because all our feed came in them. Not today, everything comes in paper or Tyvek bags. However, I have found some 23×36 bags at Amazon.com.

I believe that this item should be added to your “Lists of Lists”. They are a necessity for drying bean and pea seeds. Once the beans are placed in these sacks they are easily moved from night storage to day drying and back to night time storage. The bags have a loose weave which aids ventilation and the evaporation of moisture. There was usually a row of these lying on my father’s metal barn roof during the summer months. Once the beans are dry and start to “rattle” in the sacks they are dry enough to shell. You can then take an axe handle or broom handle and beat and rotate the sacks of beans. This will make most of the beans fall from the shells making them easy to sort or shell out the beans to store as I mentioned above,
           
We shelled the mature green beans and canned in glass jars for storage. We stir fried the “snaps” to eat fresh and bagged a few for the freezer to eat soon. We also canned many jars of green snap beans. The abundant rain in our region caused some of the plants to produce as much as 40 beans per plant. It also caused the beans that dried on the vine to sprout in the shells. This makes them unacceptable for planting, but you can still cook and eat them if they are not decayed or let your chickens eat them. We planted 9 of these 200 foot rows. This was way too many for two people to pick. We have shared many with the neighborhood widow (charity). Planting this many in the future will make our group independent of the outside world as far as beans are concerned. You will have the first of the three “B’s”.This is a good goal. – M.E.R.

Letter Re: Air Guns as Long Term Survival Weapons

JWR,
Reader M.D.W. wrote a very informative article, as far as he went.  The newest technology in the air rifle race is the nitrogen piston, replacing the metal spring on the break action guns, both in rifle and pistol format.  The nitrogen piston, or nitro piston as it is known, uses the technology of the auto shock absorber.  When was the last time that anybody heard of one of those failing?  The nitro piston can be purchased as a spare and stored indefinitely on the shelf with no special attention.  The major advantage of the nitro piston is no spring bounce after the piston bottoms.   There will be no further vibration from the piston section, unlike the spring that still moves slightly back and forth after the piston bottoms.  These rifles can hold a Quarter-size group at 25 yards.  The muzzle velocities are up to 1,000 fps.  With a .22 cal pellet weighing 14.3 grains, the power is in the high 20s of foot-pounds of energy.  As anything over 15 is adequate for squirrels and rabbits, these air rifles can help feed a family.  After a break-in period , the manufacturers claim a reduction in noise up to 70% over spring action rifles.  The barrel shroud doubles as a baffle to reduce noise.  Very helpful when stealth is needed.  Benjamin/Crosman/Remington and Gamo are the major producers of this type of air rifle.  – Carl L.

Letter Re: Media Misrepresentation of Guns and Gun Laws

James,
Reference the controversy about the Longmire television show. It is common on television and in movies to see 1911s carried with the hammer down and the act of cocking prior to shooting. Most folks versed in firearms recognize this as Hollywood adding some drama. The act of cocking being the lead up to a shootout. Hollywood is after all all about drama and not reality or safety. 

E B  writing about the danger of carrying the hammer down on a round in the chamber is correct about the safety concerns of doing so. 

However the older government models had a half cock safety that could be employed with a loaded chamber. I am not proud to say that I used this feature during my stint in the Army when I felt that I might need to get off a quick  one handed shot and carrying Cocked and Locked was prohibited by unit SOP. Of course I could still have been court-martialed for a live round in the chamber but the hammer mostly down was not a visual giveaway that  Cocked and Locked would have been. I only used this sparingly in difficult circumstances when I felt the need, and I will just leave it at that. I do not recommend half cock as a normal way to carry.

It takes a steady hand to lower the hammer on a live round and of course muzzle discipline is of paramount importance. Use both hands and the weak hand is used to lower the hammer. Again, safety! Please don’t shoot the family dog. Better yet, carry it Cocked and Locked. It was designed that way for a reason by John Moses Browning.

Modern production 1911s DO NOT HAVE A HALF COCK SAFETY NOTCH so please do not try this at home. Of the four 1911s in my possession only the older Gold Cup series 70 has the half cock. The series 80 guns do not and trying this with a live round in the chamber will quite possibly cause a Negligent Discharge. I have no experience with makes other than Colt and the US Army issued guns. 

I certainly hope folks do not try this and shoot their big toe off. – G.R., former CPT, USAR

News From The American Redoubt:

RBS sent: Groups offer reward for info on missing grizzly. I’d give that less chance than a murder investigation in the city of Boston, where 6 out of 10 murder cases go unsolved. Apparently some Bostonians know how to keep their mouths shut. Ditto for ranchers in Idaho and Montana, where “Shoot, Shovel and Shut up” is a commonly-heard phrase.

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Nate’s New York Pizza, in Post Falls, Idaho deserves your business. Great folks. They are one of the sponsors of the upcoming Patriots and Self-Reliance Rally at Farragut State Park, near Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, July 26, 27 & 28, 2013.

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Mountainview Off Grid Living in Nampa, Idaho now sells Calico Forge Knives made by a U.S. military veteran who is also in Nampa.

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Montana has enacted a law that bans GPS tracking without a warrant.

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Illegal Alien in U.S. Map. (As usual, the American Redoubt ranks quite well.)

Economics and Investing:

Moody’s takes rating actions on nine Hong Kong banks. JWR’s Comment: The timing of this is suspect. Is it a coincidence that Hong Kong just dragged its feet on the rendition of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, under the U.S./Hong Kong extradition treaty of 1996? The payback, apparently, is a down rating by an “independent” ratings firm.

Venezuela on the Brink of Hyperinflation. (Thanks to Jim W. for the link.)

Mortgage Rates on the Rise; Repeat of Lead-Up to 2008? JWR’s Comment: Interest rates are crucial. Once rates rise substantially then it will become impossible to service the Federal debt without massive money creation. Doom for the markets and doom for the U.S. Dollar will surely follow. This will make the 2008 credit collapse seem like a small hiccup, by comparison.

The money mattress: A Spanish invention stores cash in beds

Some bad but inevitable news from Germany: EU Bankers Consider an 8% Grab of Depositor Accounts. (The Google Translate tool is available for those who don’t read German.)

Items from The Economatrix:

Many Firms Indicate Pre-Recession Workforce Levels Are History

Good Data, Bad Results; Cash Crunch, Placing Blame

Sector Snap:  Homebuilder Shares Sink On Fed Plans

Odds ‘n Sods:

Orange Jeep Dad has made his move to Oklahoma! He wrote me to mention: “I have to go chop down some overgrowth and explore the farm.” (The family farm had been left vacant for more than 20 years.) He plans to be blogging regularly, as he gets the place back into shape. This should prove to be both instructive and entertaining. Please post a comment, to encourage him and his “Wifey.” Tell him that Jim of SurvivalBlog sent you.

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Reader Ellen E. recommended the resources at the Utah State Ag Extension Web Site. The site has may useful free PDFs on food storage, food preparation, water storage, et cetera.

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Mama Liberty reviews Joel Simon’s book: A Solar Electric System On the Cheap, On the Fly, and Off the Grid

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Over at Survival Mom: How will you know when the balloon goes up? Advice from survival experts

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The new “George Was Right!” T-Shirt says a lot, with brevity. Oh, and speaking of the Orwellian advent, here is some good news: Texas becomes first state to require warrant for e-mail snooping.

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Cause for concern: State photo-ID databases become troves for police. (Thanks to G.G. for the link.)

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More of the same old Schumer: Immigration-Reform Scare Tactics

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"With the exception only of the period of the gold standard, practically all governments of history have used their exclusive power to issue money to defraud and plunder the people." –
Friedrich A. von Hayek

Notes from JWR:

Another reminder to Coloradans: You have some paperwork to do, muy pronto. The state’s new magazine ban will go into effect on July 1, 2013. Of particular note is the fact that the new law’s grandfather clause is not multigenerational. It will be limited to only then-current owners of magazines, as of midnight on June 30th. (When the owner dies, the magazines must be destroyed or taken out of the state.) Therefore I again urge Coloradans to be sure to properly document the gift of your magazines to your children and grandchildren (preferably via a multigenerational trust–which creates a fictitious “person” that never dies), and have those records notarized, ASAP.

And of course this week is the last chance for Coloradans to buy your “lifetime supply” of certain types of guns and magazines if you plan to remain in Colorado. The clock is ticking… Something tells me that the Tanner gun show this coming weekend in Denver will be packed and there will be some frantic buying.

—

I heard that there is a Wise storage food sale starting today at Camping Survival. The sale runs until June 28th, with a 20% discount on all Wise brand foods.

Michael Z. Williamson’s Book Review: Destroy the Enemy in Hand-to-Hand Combat: An Authentic Field Manual of the Red Army

Destroy the Enemy in Hand-to-Hand Combat: An Authentic Field Manual of the Red Army. (Also available as a Kindle edition.)
Gen A. A. Tarasov (Author), Boris Karpa (Translator)

Translated from the Soviet WWII original.  Boris Karpa has done an excellent job of maintaining the flavor of the Soviet manual, keeping the read interesting, and making it reasonably clear. Some sections are a bit awkward, but it seems to be from the original writing, not a translation difficulty.  Those areas that don’t translate well are covered more than adequately by the original illustrations.

The first half of the book covers moving in combat and under fire.  It addresses movement over terrain, over obstacles, in and out of trenches, and scaling of walls.  Most of it should be familiar to anyone who’s read similar military manuals.  The basics don’t change.  There are a couple of neat tricks I haven’t seen elsewhere, for small unit tactics crossing obstacles, as well as for entering close quarters while keeping the weapon ready to engage.

The second half deals with actual combat.  There is a lengthy section on how to throw grenades from various positions, that won’t currently be of much use to most readers, but is certainly useful for information, research, and for studying body mechanics, since one can throw other items besides grenades.

The next chapter covers the basics of bayonet and stock, and the explanations and diagrams clearly show the maneuvers, and the text covers specifics down to hip rotation and foot movement for generating the most power in the attack.  I found this section to be a very good summary of melee, and could be useful in event one needs to defend a position.  It does go into detail on using the bayoneted rifle like a spear—I recognized the techniques from medieval manuscripts and Asian martial arts.  This is very useful information, especially for one using a traditional bolt action rifle with its long stock.  One can use a full-length rifle as a very effective pike and club when empty, jammed, or when ammo is at a premium.

The manual advises practice and rehearsal of various other suggested moves on an individual case, basically, to learn one’s body and how it moves.

There are some supplemental descriptions of fighting into or out of a trench, actual bayonet fencing against an opponent, some stock strikes and blocks.  This was the twilight of the bayonet, as far as training, but most of the old tactics are still in here, and worth knowing.

The final sections cover in extremis—using a standard shovel or entrenching tool against a foe with a bayonet, and even bare hands if need be.  The reader is motivated to believe the fundamental fact that the mind is the real weapon.

I found Destroy the Enemy in Hand-to-Hand Combat to be a readable, useful reference.  It’s not a large book at 45 pages, but it has quite a bit of content, and the original pictures are well-executed.  It’s also an interesting historical reference to the Soviet combat mindset. Mr Karpa has done an impressive job with this translation.

Disclosure:  I received a downloadable .doc file for review.  I have no financial interest in this book.

Pat’s Product Review: VitalGrill Stove

Back when I was in the military I would have loved to have had a way to heat-up my C Rations – yeah, I’m “that” old – that we were issued C Rations in the military, when out in the field. MREs (Meals, Read to Eat) were still only just a concept in the mid to late 1960s. Nothing beats a hot meal in the field, even if it was just C Rats – a cold meal just doesn’t seem nearly as comforting or filling, as opposed to a hot meal. My late friend, Chris Janowsky, who ran the World Survival Institute, up in Tok, Alaska used to say Fire is magic” and it sure is – very comforting, mesmerizing and warm. A fire can make a difference when you’re out in the boonies or in the field, especially when time comes for a meal.
 
Over the past year, I’ve tested several survival-type stoves for SurvivalBlog readers, all had their good points, and I especially like the light-weight they afforded me, and some folded-up for ease-of-carrying in a backpack or buttpack. Best of all is, they burned “whatever” combustible materials you could find; twigs, paper, wood chips, straw – whatever was laying around! You didn’t have to pack fuel, which is expensive and cumbersome to say the least.
 
When I received the Vitalgrill stove I couldn’t wait to get this one out and test it. Right now, I’m buried with products to test for SurvivalBlog – so much so, that testing one product each week – which is the pace I try to maintain – I have enough products to keep me busy for the next 4 or 5 months now. I make every effort to test products in the order I receive them – I want to be fair to everyone who takes the time to send me their products for testing. Thanks for your patience!
 
So, what do we have with the VitalGrill, that sets it apart from some other small survival stoves? Well, first of all, you can’t fold it up, but the compact size isn’t all that big – you can still fit it inside of a small backpack, and it only weights 1.5-pounds. Secondly, the VitalGrill will burn most combustible materials, and I found it works well with small twigs – they burn long enough that you won’t have to keep feeding the fire. I also used wadded-up pieces of paper, but they burn rather fast, and you have to keep feeding the fire while you’re cooking. You can also use heat tabs if you want to pack them along. What really sets the VitalGrill apart from the other small survival stoves I’ve tested is that it comes with a blower. Yes, you read that right, a small blower is attached and it operates from two AA batteries – that last from 35-40 hours – and that’s a lot of fires for cooking, and it’s not a big deal to carry a pack of extra AA batteries in your gear for replacement when the time comes.
 
The little VitalGrill can hold up to 50-pounds of weight on the cooking surface. However, I don’t see how you could put that much in a pot or frying pan, still the little stove will hold a lot of weight – I put some concrete slabs on the cooking surface, and the stove held them just fine. There are “diffuser” plates, that fit on top of the cooking surface, and this reflects the heat upwards, from the tiny holes in the bottom of the stove – where the forced-air blows, to produce as much as 20,000 BTUs – again, you read that right – 20,000 BTUs of heat. I had no way of measuring this statistics, but I do know this little stove really got extremely hot. There are also rods that are attached to the diffuser plates, that you can adjust inwards or outwards, to hold the pot or pan you are using – be it a big pot or pan or smaller ones, the rods did their job.
 
The diffuser plates, with the rods, store easily under the stove, and inside of a minute of less, you can have the diffuser plates installed on the cooking surface, install your batteries into the battery pack, and plug it in, and you are ready to start adding some fuel. Like I said, I found that small twigs worked the best for me, and in my neck of the wood, Western Oregon, we have no lack of trees with plenty of small twigs you can use for fuel. To make my job easier, I wadded-up some paper to get the twigs started, and in a matter of a minute or two, I had a very hot fire going. The VitalGrill web site said temps can reach as much as 1,200-degrees – and I have no reason to doubt this – just depends on the fuel you are using. I used some cardboard for some testing because I know how very hot cardboard gets when it burns. You can even use charcoal, if that is on-hand.
 
There is also a mechanical shutter you can use, to adjust the air-flow, making your fire hotter or cooler if you so desire – neat idea! It works similar to a flu on a wood stove – adjust it up or down for more air-flow. The air intake is also split to prevent smoke or small particles for entering the fan, too.
 
The height of the VitalGrill is only 1.8-inches when folded, width is 4.9-inches and when in use, the height is 4.9-inches, so you can see, this stove is pretty compact. To make your camping or survival a bit more “comfortable” I would suggest carrying some kind of fire starter material, either cotton balls with Vaseline rubbed into, or even some commercial fire starter material. By doing this, you can have your fire up and running in a couple of minutes, and once the fire is going, get ready to cook because the stove heats-up fast – no waiting!
 
I played around with the VitalGrill for a couple of weeks, and really found it to be all it was advertised to be. I was able to cook soups, fry burgers, and even roast marshmallows over the twigs that were burning. A few times, I had to add a few more twigs to keep the fire hot, but it wasn’t any problem – and you should always keep extra fuel on-hand – make sure you have enough to get through your cooking needs.
 
I really liked the little VitalGrill, and I had some concerns about how the stove would work without the blower – so I tried cooking without it. While it still worked, it didn’t cook nearly as fast – I actually got spoiled using the blower motor. And, as I mentioned at the start of this, a pair of AA batteries will last 35-40 hours – that’s a lot of cooking. My batteries didn’t show any signs of quitting on me during my testing, and you can easily pack some spare batteries with the stove in your pack.
 
While cooking over a camp fire is a lot of fun, especially when out camping, you have to build a fire in a safe area, and more than likely, any camp fire you build will bring unwanted attention to you, and in a SHTF scenario, you may not want others knowing where you are at. With the VitalGrill, there wasn’t much smoke to be seen at all – and that’s a good thing. And, you burn a lot less fuel with this stove, than you would with a camp fire. I honestly couldn’t find anything to fault with this little stove – it worked as advertised and you can cook on it faster than you can with some other small survival stoves. Only slight drawback is, this stove doesn’t fold-up, but it is still a very compact stove and you can fit one in your backpack, or the trunk of your care with your bug out gear.
 
Now for the good news, and I expected this little VitalGrill to cost a whole lot more than the $69.99 retail price. I honestly thought, that because of the blower motor (fan) that this little stove would have cost at least a hundred bucks. So, I was pleasantly surprised at the $69.99 price. The VitalGrill is made in Canada, but can be found at retailers all over the place, or you can order direct from them, and they can ship this super-cool little survival stove directly to you.  Be sure to check out their web site because they also have a barbeque grill accessory that transforms your VitalGrill stove into a barbeque grill. – SurvivalBlog Field Gear Editor Pat Cascio