Letter Re: Weapons-Based Martial Arts for Survival

James:
I’d like to comment on some of the restrictions on long blades and impact weapons: Thinking about the gap between empty hands and a firearm is a false exercise for most people, most of the time.  Most people spend at least some time traveling, and most live in restrictive legal environments that don’t allow the carrying (or sometimes even ownership) of “weapons.”  Don’t forget readers that the vast majority of people live in countries with very different gun and weapons carry laws than the U.S.!  Even if you live in country like the United States their are large areas that don’t follow the 2nd Amendment in practice (such as New York City).  Mixing an understanding of local laws and common sense will keep you out of trouble and allow you to actually have an item on hand to defend yourself with. 

Talking about using “swords” and “sticks” to defend yourself isn’t realistic. 

Do you walk down the street with a sword?  Even if you legally can in a strict sense, a concerned citizen would eventually call the cops and you’re day would go downhill quickly.  Could you take one through customs while visiting most countries?  Many countries, such as Great Britain and Japan, don’t allow citizens to even own katanas and other types of swords without a license.  On the upside, most countries allow citizens to own machetes of various types.  Locals carry machetes in rural areas all the time in Mexico/central/south America.  Just because the locals can do something without running into trouble don’t assume you can!  Use your judgment carefully.

Do you actually carry a knife?  This is a possibility in some countries and localities, and not others.  Be advised that such places usually assume the carrier of a knife intends to use it as at tool, not a weapon, and may have specific bans on types/sizes of knives.  Also, in practice, police have a lot of discretion in this area.  Most countries in Europe essentially ban the carrying of even a tiny pocket knife for any reason in Cities.  The penalties for violating these laws can be surprisingly severe, and are, at a minimum, going to ruin your vacation.

A medium sized club, anywhere from length of your forearm to that of your whole arm, is a far superior weapon to a small knife because of its extended reach.  It’s not as lethal as a machete, but this can be a good thing.  Any police officer knows that good stout club strike above the knee will bring just about anyone down.  A solid strike against the hands or arms of a weapon wielding opponent will usually cause them to drop their weapon.  Against an unarmed attacker you have a huge advantage.  And, as a huge plus from a legal perspective, its use might not be considered “deadly force” in some situations and is very unlikely to kill your attacker unless you strike them in the head or neck.  Many people might say they don’t care what happens to someone that threatens their life, but I assure you that you want to avoid this (especially in foreign countries) for a host of legal and/or moral reasons.

When you add it all up you have to make an honest assessment of what the best item(s) for self-defence you can carry or travel with with.  These items(s) have to have no legal or societal constraint to being on your person or nearby, yet have huge defensive utility.  The key is that the item you carry is a tool, not a weapon.  Some good examples:

-Entrenching Tools:  A solid, collapsible, entrenching tool (my favourite is the Glock e-tool) is a must have for any earthquake or tsunami survival kit.  It’s a very useful and reasonable thing to carry in your car.  It fits easily in a small backpack.  As far as I know of there is no country with a law on the books banning the carrying or possession of a shovel.  It’s also can function as a hatchet/club very easily.  For self-defence while traveling it’s my primary item.

-Hiking Poles:  Great for adding extra stability on the trail, or extra power on snowshoes or skis.  A good pair of collapsible hiking poles made of aluminum are cheap an common (especially with tourists).  Also, while collapsed, they are essentially a metal club that will be about as long as your lower arm from your elbow to your fingertips.  The ends tend to be made of durable graphite pegs that you don’t want to accidentally put on someone’s foot.  I also know of no place where one cannot legally carry a hiking pole.

-Hatchet:  A common camping tool with obvious uses.  Are you planning to go camping while traveling?  Good.  Then I guess you have a good reason to bring this with you.  I’ve had my luggage searched many times, and I’ve never had any issue bringing one to any country.  This is not something you can carry everywhere, but if you’re backpacking through a place and have all your stuff with you then you have a legitimate reason to have it in your backpack.  Go for something woodsy, not tactical looking.  I’ve taken my Cold Steel Trail Hawk or Husqvarna hatchet on my many such trips. 

-Machete:  There are all sorts of options here.  This is not something I would ever travel with to Europe or many parts of Asia. But I have taken machetes to Mexico and some South American countries.  Machetes tend to be seen as weapons, not tools, in most countries.  In some cultures, usually tropical ones, a machete is a common tool that nearly everyone owns.   You will sometimes see people walking down the street with a machete in their hand and nobody bats an eye!  This is not something I think a foreigner could do, but it gives you an idea of the attitudinal difference.  Beware of your destination and be prepared to have your machete confiscated!  Travel with something that looks as much like a simple traditional machete as possible as it attracts less attention.

-Sporting Club or Bat:  A baseball bat, right down to a tee ball bat, are common sporting equipment in many countries.  Traveling with your children, either to the park or overseas?  Those little guys love tee ball.  Are you or someone in you party going to be playing the sport in question during your visit?  If so, you have a very good reason to have a that bat, along with gloves and balls, on your trip.  When your kids aren’t blowing off steam playing sports you’ll probably have to carry the equipment.  In a self-defence situation such an item is essentially a metal war club, the utility of which is obvious.

Remember, if you are ever forced to use an item in a serious defensive encounter that ultimately involves the police the legality of your carrying that item in the first place will be scrutinized heavily! Nobody on this site agrees with the silly weapon laws that governments make to “protect us,” but they are a fact of life.  Be smart and be safe! – Urban Raccoon

JWR Replies: Canes, walking sticks, umbrellas and tire checkers, have been discussed at length in SurvivalBlog. (See the archives.) The best advice is to not carry anything that looks out of place for the environment or for your personal circumstances. For example, it would seem normal in any season for anyone of any age to carry an umbrella in Seattle. But not so in Phoenix. Similarly, a man or women in their 60s can carry a cane without suspicion, but not so for most men in their 20s without disabled veteran identification or a note from their physician. Truckers can carry tire checkers in the cabs of their big rigs with nary a second glance by law enforcement officers, but it might seem odd if one were found in a passenger car. Likewise, it seems normal for bicyclists to carry a bike tire pump, but not so for pedestrians to tote one. (A clip-on bike tire pump extends much like one of those often-banned collapsing batons.)

One great self defense item that can be carried in a car is a long Maglite flashlight. But keep in mind that anything longer than a 4-cell light might look too much like a baton and arouse suspicion unless you are an off-duty LEO or security guard. Also note that LED replacement bulbs for MagLites are available, and highly recommend. (They greatly extend the light’s battery life.) There has also been some discussion in SurvivalBlog of small impact weapons, such as kubotans. These are banned in some locales, but their pen equivalents generally aren’t. For example you could carry a Mini Maglite, a Cold Steel Pocket Shark pen (be sure to sand off the markings) or for a touch of class, a Mont Blanc Meisterstuck. Even an innocuous pocket comb can be an effective weapon, in the right hands. And then there is always the ever-popular roll of quarters (preferably in a stout plastic tube), for “making emergency calls at pay phones.” All the usual self-defense provisos apply: Get the requisite martial arts training, and be sure to thoroughly research you state and local laws. Stay safe, and stay legal, folks!

Economics and Investing:

Over at ETF Daily: Jim Rickards: Reveals Fed Blueprint, Gold Prices $5,000 – $7000 Range

Jim Rogers: Don’t Be Fooled by the Dollar Rally

Charles Goyette, over at Lew Rockwell’s site: The Depression Goes Global

Items from The Economatrix:

Housing Continues its Steady Rise [JWR’s Comment: Don’t fall for the rhetoric. We are still not at the bottom.]

“Fiscal Dip” May Make Europe Look Like a Dip

Jim Rogers: Bailouts Can’t Save Europe, Failures Must Go Bankrupt

The Fed is Out of Ammo

Odds ‘n Sods:

Have you cleared that crucial defensible space around your house and barn?

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Snuffy sent us the PDF link to an excellent detailed analysis: Trade Off: Financial System Supply Chain Cross-Contagion–a study in global collapse.

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In this age of cell phones and text messaging, cultural flash mobs are quite popular, even in Russia. Of course, there is also the ugly flip side to folks having that level of organization and communication. (BTW, please don’t take the latter link as some sort of racist statement. For the record: I’m an anti-racist.)

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B.B. sent this sad tale of life in the big city: City of Norfolk using eminent domain to take 78 year old company. Alarmingly, the city doesn’t even have any plans for using the property, once they have it. What petty tyrants! Here we witness both an unjustified “taking” and a violation of freedom of speech. Out here in the hinterboonies, the only takings that we see rarely occur when the state needs to widen a highway. That is justifiable. But Old Dominion’s land grab clearly isn’t.

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B.B. sent this: The Bones of Fast and Furious: Hillary Clinton Deep In It?

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“We, in our rush toward God knows what, acquire, or spend our earthly span trying to acquire wealth, culture, fame, luxury, scientific efficiency—and more wealth. We surround ourselves with telephones, tickers, jazz, orchestras, subways, bootleg gin, dress clothes, taxicabs, motor parkways, science, glittering hotels, psychoanalysis, alarm clocks, forty thousand brands of phony religion, squawking movie palaces, nickel-in-the-slot divorce. We call it civilization. But we know darn well there’s something wrong with it.” – Charles F. Chapman, Editor of Motor Boating, magazine, excerpt from his commentary of March 1931, as quoted in the book The Legend of Chris-Craft by Jeffrey L. Rodengen

Note from JWR:

Mondays are usually product review days at SurvivalBlog. Today we are posting two: One by our Field Gear Editor, Pat Cascio, and one by SurvivalBlog Editor At Large Michael Z. Williamson.

Pat’s Product Review: Just Water Brand Ceramic Drip Filter System

The past several months, I have been buried in products to test and evaluate for SurvivalBlog readers. While this is a good thing, it’s also a “bad” thing – some products take quite a bit of time to test. My time is limited each day, and I do my best to give all the products a fair and honest evaluation for SurvivalBlog readers. And what you read in my articles, are findings based on my testing and my final opinion of the products. No one pays me to feature their products in my SurvivalBlog articles. I know a lot of folks believe that gun and knife companies pay magazine writers to write about their products, and that simply isn’t true, at least in my case. I’ve been writing magazine articles for 20 years, and I’ve never once had any company offer to pay me to write favorable things about their products, and I don’t know of any other reputable writer who has been offered money to write favorable things about anyone’s products.

Chad, who runs the Internet Prepper web store contacted me about a month or so ago, and wanted to send me one of his Ceramic Drip Water Filter System, made by the Just Water Company. Chad e-mailed and asked: “Pat, I’d really appreciate an honest review of the filter system…” That’s refreshing to hear from someone. I’ve had a few companies contact me, and asked me if I would give their products a favorable review and asked what I was going to say about their products – before they even sent me their products. I make no promises to anyone, other than I’ll give their products a fair shake and write an article. I’ve also been asked if I can guarantee them that the article will appear on SurvivalBlog. I refer them to Jim Rawles, he is the editor of Survival Blog for that answer. (Be advised that the editorial calendar is packed, so there are often delays.)

Chad told me that he is a USAF veteran, and he picks and packs each filter order personally. They ship from Dallas, Texas, usually the next business day via Priority Mail. True to his word, my sample filter arrived in short order, via Priority Mail.

Some water filtration systems can cost hundreds of dollars. Some are as little as $15 – but they don’t all filter well, and they don’t filter a large volume of water, either. There are many products on the market these days, and you are only limited by your imagination and funds, when it comes to water filtration systems. Like most folks, my funds are limited, and I carefully shop around for the best products for my budget.

The Just Water Company had their Ceramic Filter Drip System tested by Johns Hopkins University and a number of other independent labs, and they all concluded that it exceeds FDA and NSF standards for filtering water. Cooper was kind enough to send me a copy of some of these reports along with the sample filtration system. Keep in mind that this filtration system does not remove viruses – so if you are concerned about this in your water, it’s best to add a bit of chlorine to the water. However, most water filtration needs are easily met by this system, including the removal of Giardia and Cryptosporidium – two of the really nasty bugs in water, that can kill you.

Johns Hopkins noted in their letter that the treated water should be protected from recontamination in a safe storage vessel – which is part of this filtration system.

Okay, what I received from Chad was the filtration system, which consists of the silver-impregnated ceramic water filter, with a “sock” pre-filter that goes over the filter for keeping out larger particles that could clog the ceramic filter. The system also comes with a spigot and other neat things for getting this filtration system up and running. What this system does not come with are two standard 5-gallon plastic buckets. Those you must purchase yourself. No big deal here, the local big box store had food grade buckets for under $10 each. You will also need a drill and a couple drill bits in order to make the two buckets into a complete filtration system. It doesn’t take any special handyman skills to drill a couple holes in the buckets to connect the upper bucket to the lower, and install the spigot. You’ll also need a rubber band or two. I won’t go into the details of how to get this system up and running. You can read it on their web site – but it only took about 10-minutes of time to get it all up and running . It was a piece of cake!

The biggest concern you have to be aware of it that, you make sure there are no leaks between the two buckets – or the water will get re-contaminated – as pointed out by Johns Hopkins. And, if you’ve installed everything correctly, there won’t be any problems.

Okay, I’m the first to admit, that I’m not the most patient person in the world – far from it. In the instructions that came with the filtration system, it talks about the flow rate you can expect from this simple system, which is about 3/4 to 1 gallon per hour. The flow rate increases as the ceramic shell and mixed media inside the ceramic shell become saturated with water – this can take a couple of days for the flow rate to really get going. So, don’t try to rush it – there’s nothing you can do to make the filtration system flow faster to start with – a couple days is what it took in my case – just as advertised.

With daily use, you can expect a year’s worth of filtered water with this system. When the flow rate decreases, this indicates that the “sock” and the filter might need to be cleaned. All that is needed is a pair of rubber gloves to remove the sock and rinse it in clean water, and a green Scotch-Brite pad to gently rub the surface of the ceramic filter. Rinse with clean (filtered) water and you’re good to go for another year – or whenever you see the flow rate decreasing. You should be good for another year or so, depending on the turbidity of your water source.

The two 5-gallon buckets that you stack on top of one another takes up considerable counter space,. However, anyone can find a suitable place for this simply filtration system in their home. And, if the filter is only going to be used in a SHTF scenario, then who cares if it takes-up some counter space? Clean water is vital to your survival.

My water well has a large filter between the well and my house, and I have to have the media replaced every couple of years. We have what is commonly called “rust bacteria” in our water – and it comes out of the well brownish and it doesn’t taste very good at times. Still, even with the big filter installed, we used a water filtration pitcher for our drinking water that removes the taste from this rust bacteria. So, I had a little something to compare thise Ceramic Filter Drip System to. I ran this system for couple weeks, and found that our drinking water actually did taste much better, that the water from the filtered water pitcher.

And, as mentioned above, if I were concerned about viruses in my drinking water, I’d add the appropriate amount of plain hypochlorite bleach to the water before drinking it. That is no big deal in my book.

You can get all the information you need about the nasty stuff that this filtration system removes from the water you run through it from the web site. The one important thing to remember is to never use any kind of soap when cleaning the filter, pre-filter sock and buckets, as it will ruin the filter.

I like to save the good news for last, and in this case, the selling price for this water filtration system is only $29.97 – and no matter how you look at it, that’s one of the best bargains around. Why would you spend hundreds of dollars or more, each year, for that bottled water, that isn’t nearly as clean as most people think it is? Personally, I think you are throwing your hard-earned money away when you purchase bottled water – and a lot of this is water from the same tap water you already drink – it’s just placed in a plastic bottle – and you’ll spend a buck apiece for this water – that you can already get out of your own tap. If you feel the need to drink bottled water, then buy a couple of bottles, and after you’ve emptied them, fill ’em up with filtered water from this filtration system. You’ll find the water taste better than what you spent a buck for at the big box store. Just think of the savings on not buying bottled water alone. And, think of how much you’re going to appreciate this filtration system when the SHTF and your only source of water might be a puddle of dirty rain water in your back yard?

The bottom line is the quality of the filtered water that comes out of this simple and inexpensive system. I don’t care how stretched your finances are, you can pull together $29.97 plus shipping for this system and another $20 or less for a couple 5-gallon food grade plastic buckets, to assure your family of clean drinking water for a year or two. It’s a great investment, especially for those on a tight budget, as many are today.

Michael Z. Williamson’s Product Review: Taurus Model 445 Ultralite Revolver

Amid the huge selection of autopistols these days, it’s nice to see there are still some basic, reliable revolvers for those who prefer them.

The Taurus 445 is not a deep concealment gun, but is a good carry gun that fits easily in a pocket or hides well on a belt.  It’s light weight (at 22 ounces), has a 2″ barrel, and a 5-round cylinder.  It’s comfortable to handle in adult hands, and pleasant to shoot, recoil being heavy but well-dispersed and not sharp, despite the gun’s low weight.  It has Taurus’ proprietary “Ribber” grips that offer great purchase and retention, and help damp the recoil.  .44 Special is an easy to find, reliable stopper, that doesn’t sacrifice controllability.

The trigger broke cleanly at 11 pounds double action, 4 pounds single, and was quite crisp.  Release and ejection were positive and easy.

Accuracy is respectable.  Weather was about 60F, humidity about 45%, altitude 300 feet, no wind.  I found it easy to shoot 2″ groups at 10 yards standing.  The sights picture was easy to get, and the gun shot right to point of aim laterally, a little low vertically.  Since this is a snub revolver for close defense, I didn’t test longer ranges.   

It shot reliably and easily, and I burned through a box of 50 rounds in very short order.  A gun that’s fun and easy to practice with is always a benefit.

The stainless alloy is very weather-resistant.  Even after a wet range trip with no cleaning for two days, the gun was untarnished and cleaned easily.

Speedloaders are available. 

The manufacturer’s suggested retail price is $539, but is available from about $450 at many retailers.  Taurus offers a free one year NRA membership with purchase.

Disclaimer Note From JWR (per FTC File No. P034520): Michael Z. Williamson received a test gun for 90 day trial, which was returned at the end of the test period. SurvivalBlog accepts cash-paid advertising. To the best of my knowledge, as of the date of this posting, none of my advertisers that sell the products mentioned in this article have solicited me or paid me to write any reviews or endorsements, nor have they provided me any free or reduced-price gear in exchange for any reviews or endorsements. I am not a stock holder in any company. I do, however, benefit from sales through the SurvivalBlog Amazon Store. If you click on one of our Amazon links and then “click through” to order ANY product from Amazon.com (not just the ones listed in our catalog), then we will earn a modest sales commission.

Offshore Relocation: There Is No Perfect Place

I recently read a captivating Daily Bell interview of investing author Ron Holland, wherein he described his reasons for emigrating to Canada. In the interview, Mr. Holland stated: “I left the United States for an exciting business opportunity based in Canada but the increasing authoritarianism in the United States combined with the TSA assaults at airports do make America a threatening jurisdiction to live in or to conduct business in. Add in the threats of a real or contrived future crisis with exchange controls, a run on the dollar and an out-of-control sovereign debt situation makes me very happy to be on the outside of the American financial iron curtain and barbed wire, looking in instead of the other way around.” Ron Holland is correct in many of his assertions, but in some ways, he is simply trading one form of oppression for another. Canada’s gun laws stink. There, unless you fall under an exemption for law enforcement or are a member of a competitive shooting team, it is illegal to possess a magazine for a semi-auto centerfire rifle that holds more than five rounds or any magazine for a handgun that holds more than 10 rounds. There is no “grandfather” clause. If Canada’s gun laws were more lax then a lot more people would consider emigrating there. But, sadly, Canada’s guns laws are much more restrictive than here. And their income tax rates are only slightly lower than in the States. So I frankly can’t see any substantive advantage. As for the TSA’s x-rays and groin gropers, I’ve greatly curtailed taking commercial flights. And for the few that I do take, I’ve scheduled flights that originate from small regional airports. My connecting flights are at larger airports, but by then, I’m already inside the security cordon. I drive most places in my SUV. If I ever fly internationally again, it will be out of a Canadian airport. I’d love to have my own private train car, but I’m not in that league.

All people seem to have differing views of what they consider acceptable, comfortable, and “right”. For example, I once had a long conversation with a friend visiting from England who considered the patchwork of laws in the 50 United States confusing and “chaotic.” His comment was prompted when I was driving him to a tourist destination and I pulled over before reaching a state line to unload my pistol. He was astonished to hear that the guns laws in the U.S. weren’t uniform. I personally consider it an advantage that Americans can vote with their feet and move from one state to another at will, to take advantage of differences in tax laws, guns laws, or homeschooling laws. But he saw it it as confusing and somehow “unfair.” In his estimation, he’d rather see everyone living under identical laws, even if that meant some of them had to give up part of their freedom. If I have to choose between oppression and a little anarchy, then by all means give me anarchy. (Here, I must explain that though the terms are often mistakenly used interchangeably, there is a difference between anarchy and chaos. Anarchy is the absence of any government, while chaos is a state of confusion and discord, whether a government exists or not. By the Libertarian definition, anarchy is a good thing.) My desire to maximize personal freedom is one of key reasons that I originated the American Redoubt movement.

Which Liberty is the Key?

To many, some liberties are are more important than others. If someone truly wanted economic freedom, then they might consider Monaco, The Bahamas, or Vanuatu, since those countries have no personal income tax. (Just ask Mitt Romney.) But of course getting residency in Monaco would require a lot influence with the right people, and for citizenship, even more so. It is too bad that there isn’t a recognized individual right to keep and bear arms in Monaco or The Bahamas, and that Vanuatu is in peril of rising sea levels. In terms of freedom from government surveillance, many Third World countries have the edge, but property crime and murder rates are higher–sometimes much higher. If firearms freedom is your concern, then countries like the U.S., Finland, Switzerland and the Philippines are some of the best, at least for full citizens. (Yes, I know that firearms freedom is even greater in Yemen, Pakistan, or Somalia–where you can buy machineguns and hand grenades at the local bazaar–but who would want to actually live there, given their high crime rates and their dislike of Westerners in general and Christians in particular?)

Tradeoffs are part of the human condition. And emigration decisions are always a collection of tradeoffs. Facebook founder Eduardo Saverin recently bailed out for Singapore for tax reasons, but that nation has perhaps the nosiest police on the planet and stiff penalties for violating their strict gun laws. McAfee Software founder John McAfee chose Belize as his hidey hole, but despite lavishing millions of dollars on the local gendarmerie, he still ran afoul of local gun laws. And multimillionaire actor Mel Gibson bought an island all to himself in Fiji, but he will still be taxed as part of the One Percent. Furthermore, there are no guarantees that laws can change, after you have moved to a perceived safe haven. The bottom line is that these is no single “perfect” country. Perhaps the Perpetual Traveler crowd has it right. But then, that approach doesn’t usually provide a well-secured deep larder, for the event of a global economic collapse or other widespread disaster.

I’ve decided that I’m staying put in the United States, and fighting for my freedom. Of course I’ll always have a Plan B and Plan C. For me, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, and the right to keep and bear arms are my priorities. If any of those three key liberties are substantially degraded here in the U.S. and I see no way of fighting to regain them without ending up behind barbed wire, then I will definitely consider voting with my feet. Note, however, that my situation is unusual. As an international journalist and commentator, I can accomplish much more by agitating for change via the Internet than I can than as just one man with one rifle. So it will only be if and when the statists try to muzzle me that it will be time to move. But again, for now, I’m staying.

Letter Re: Weapons-Based Martial Arts for Survival

James:
If you are going to carry a weapon, in many jurisdictions within CONUS, it doesn’t matter if it is a pistol, knife, or brass knuckles, all are illegal to carry concealed without a permit. (These laws vary widely, depending on blade length regulations, and so forth.) In fact, in some jurisdictions such as California, concealed carry of a “martial arts weapons” (Liberal oxymoron–aren’t weapons martial by definition?) is a felony, but having a Glock tucked into your waistband is a “Class A” misdemeanor [for the first offense.] Therefore, if you are going to carry, then why not carry something truly deadly (such as a pistol). Yes, a knife can be employed nearly instantaneously, but how many of us have actually seen a knife used with ill-intent? How about a machete? Nasty business, this is. You’d better have a solidly sorted spiritual point-of-origin on these matters.

As to a martial arts system that instructs the use of an artificial (non-organic) weapon as a primary source of combat, what happens when the novice loses his knife/stick/nunchaku? What then? Without the underlying principles of motion, the beginner is wolf-bait…any system of martial arts worth its salt will emphasize the principles of applied motion, as in Newtonian Physics. Any hand-held weapon should only enhance the attack, not substitute for it. Now projectile weaponry is another matter. Just my hard-won $2.83 worth (that’s $0.02, adjusted for inflation, before taxes) – Bonehedz

Recipe of the Week:

Big Ben’s Chicken Asparagus Rice Casserole

Sometimes spontaneity can yield a pretty good result.  This recipe was thought up on the spot at fish camp one night, and the result was a quickly emptied  pot. 

3 cups Jasmine white rice
6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
2 lbs fresh asparagus spears
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

 

Combine rice and 6 cups water.  Mix in soups and chicken breasts.  Cover and bake for 1 hour on low heat (275-to-325 degrees F), stirring occasionally.  Trim root ends of asparagus.  Mix into chicken and rice gently along with the cream and half the cheese.  Sprinkle remaining cheese over top and return to low heat for another half an hour. 

Chef’s Notes: Feeds six hungry folks.

 

Useful Recipe and Cooking Links:

Recipe.com. (The Granddaddy of all recipe web sites.)

Rabbit, Hare and Squirrel Recipes

Do you have a favorite recipe that you have tested extensively? Then please e-mail it to us for posting. Thanks!

Economics and Investing:

Starting life in the negative net worth column. What the Fed does not want you to know about American net worth figures.

Dr Gary North: Panic in the New World Order

Yet another reason to keep a cash reserve at home: Millions affected by Natwest online glitch

The USD Trap Is Closing: Dollar Exclusion Zone Crosses The Pacific As Brazil Signs China Currency Swap

Forget the PIIGS, the EU as a Whole is Insolvent

Items from The Economatrix:

Welcome To Doomsday, Warns Wall Street Seer

Why Doesn’t The Stock Market Reflect The Imminent Global Depression?

Why Gas Prices Are Headed Below $3

Euro Risks Have US Businesses Readying For The Worst

Odds ‘n Sods:

Bill Buppert’s new e-book ZeroGov: Limited Government, Unicorns and Other Mythological Creatures is now available quite inexpensively, via Amazon.com. This is a collection of Buppert’s essays since 2003. Several of his essays deal with family preparedness. I highly recommend it.

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The latest scandal in the District of Criminals (DC): Fast and Furious, Executive Privilege, and a Suspected Cover-Up

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Over at Mac Slavo’s SHTFPlan blog: Here it is: An effective plan to convince your loved ones to prepare

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Phoenix boy, 14, shoots armed intruder while watching three younger siblings.

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"The era of procrastination, of half-measures, of soothing and baffling expedients, of delays, is coming to a close. In its place we are entering a period of consequences." – Winston Churchill, November 1939

Note from JWR:

Today we present another two entries for Round 41 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize: A.) A gift certificate worth $1,000, courtesy of Spec Ops Brand, 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 gift certificate from CJL Enterprize, for any of their military surplus gear, E.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $300 value), and F.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo.

Second Prize: A.) A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training. Together, these have a retail value of $589. B.) A FloJak FP-50 stainless steel hand well pump (a $600 value), courtesy of FloJak.com. C.) A “grab bag” of preparedness gear and books from Jim’s Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (JASBORR) with a retail value of at least $300, D.) A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials, and E.) two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value) and F.) A Tactical Trauma Bag #3 from JRH Enterprises (a $200 value).

Third Prize: A.) A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21. (This filter system is a $275 value.), B.) A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206, C.) Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy. This is a $185 retail value, D.) A Commence Fire! emergency stove with three tinder refill kits. (A $160 value.), and E.) Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security.

Round 41 ends on July 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.