The Threat of Cyber Terrorism and Cyber Warfare, by Jeff M.

Cyber warfare sounds like something out of a Hollywood action movie, but it’s something we need to take very seriously. There has been some speculation of possible cyber attacks in the past, power outages in Brazil in 2005 and 2007 could have possibly been caused intentionally. The United States was affected by a power outage in 2003 that blacked out the entire northeastern region and was widely publicized. The truth of what happened in these instances may never be known for national security reasons. Power outages are only the tip of the iceberg though, we have yet to see the realm of cyber warfare blossom, or maybe I should say it is blossoming right now.

Recently a worm known as “Stuxnet” has been revealed to the public. Computer security professionals tend to agree that this worm is unique in that a tremendous amount of resources went into it. It is only about a half megabyte large, but the contents demonstrate a level of sophistication that would take a team effort, a very large team. Allow me to give you an executive overview:

The worm spread by USB thumb drive primarily, but would also infect machines on the local network once the thumb drive had been attached. It was made to hide itself. It stops spreading after three activations so that it won’t spread too far and end up under a microscope (and yet it has).

The methods that the worm uses to infect the host machines were previously unknown to the rest of the world, and there are four of them. Typically one vulnerability will be discovered and a worm exploits this vulnerability to spread across the Internet. This is what has happened in recently publicized worms such as the Conficker worm, which exploited one single undiscovered vulnerability. Stuxnet used four different ones, which would indicate that there is a team of people looking for these vulnerabilities and keeping them a secret.

Another interesting fact is that this particular worm included compiled code that had been digitally signed by two major hardware manufacturers. How is that possible? There are only 2 ways that might have happened, either the private key was somehow acquired by purchasing or stealing from the company which is entirely possible, or it was acquired through the use of another worm, which is the most likely scenario because there are other worms known to do this, most notably the “Infostealer.Nimkey” worm, which scans infected machines for private key files and sends them to the command and control host somewhere in a country you’d never visit.

The last, and most significant characteristic of this worm is that it includes a set of code routines that target a particular type of software known as supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA). You probably have some vague notion of what I’m talking about. Picture a computer screen with icons representing individual components in an industrial process showing various indicators like water levels, temperature and pressure gauges and other information. The machine that runs this software has code routines to warn people when a component has surpassed a warning threshold, and may send out additional notification to safety equipment, shutting down the entire system if need be. This software is often connected to the Internet like everything in the world these days, so that it can receive security updates. (Oh, the irony).

This worm targeted a very specific type of SCADA software which is used in Iranian nuclear power plants, and by all accounts it likely succeeded at installing it’s “payload” into the reactor control systems.

Hopefully I haven’t bored you with too much technical detail, who am I kidding–this is fascinating right? The point I’m trying to convey here is the amount of work that went into the Stuxnet worm and the nature of the attack. I’ll come right out at this point and say that this particular worm was likely the work of the United States government, or it’s allies in an effort to stall Iran. Lets not assume, though, that this is exclusively the realm of the United States. Yes, we do have a stacked deck. We have access to the companies that make much of the technology. Many of them run on operating systems developed in the United States (Microsoft Windows). Stuxnet infections have occurred in Iran more than any other country, according to anti-virus software companies. It was likely introduced to an Iranian facility by an insider.

I’ve heard it said before that the only way to protect a computer from intrusion is to unplug it from the Internet. That made sense when I first heard it, but since then the world has become much more complicated. Almost everything has a wireless connection, which are notoriously easy to break in to. The Stuxnet worm spreads by portable devices, the same method that the very first computer viruses ever made used, and the least virulent form of transmission. You have to assume that an attacker given a selection of supposedly secure pathways for intrusion will find a way to exploit at least one of them. You have to assume it will happen.

Computer security these days not only centers around ways to protect a system, but how to detect when an intrusion has occurred, and how to protect critical processes and data from being compromised through the use of encryption and physical barriers.

Whoever made the Stuxnet worm obviously did it for a reason. Perhaps they wanted to demonstrate that these critical systems could in fact be compromised. Would you put nuclear fuel in this Iranian reactor? I certainly wouldn’t, but maybe the Iranians are gutsier than I am. The Stuxnet worm had the capability to retrieve software updates from its command and control host in those countries you’d never visit, and also from other hosts on it’s network (peer-to-peer). It had the capability to start new processes. It’s very likely that once the worm had reached its target destination it was then used to install another package, otherwise all that effort would be wasted at this point.

We can think about these packages (worms, viruses, trojan horse) in the same sense we think of a cruise missile, or a nuclear weapon. If this worm has the capability to compromise the control software of a nuclear power plant and make modifications, it may have been used to create a nuclear meltdown. Nobody wants to risk a nuclear meltdown and so the Iranian reactor is delayed which if you go look through news archives you will see has happened. This worms purpose may have been in the interest of humanity, but like all technology the power to do evil is always there.

To make matters worse these threats are often completely anonymous and untraceable. Think nuclear weapon going off in a country and nobody knows how it got there or who made it, and there is no way to trace it.

But that will never happen, right? The United States would never do something like that. And nobody but the United States could ever do something like this, right? No, I wouldn’t say that. Hypothetically, if it were me and I wanted to wreak maximum damage on, say, the entire world, and I knew that Stuxnet was designed to overload a reactor core, all I would have to do is follow this simple procedure:

1. Download Stuxnet.
2. Modify Stuxnet so that it was indiscriminate in the machines it targeted.
3. Modify Stuxnet so that it didn’t wait for command and control to tell it to go bang, make it go bang after a few days or some carefully calculated interval.
4. Add in the latest unpatched exploit that was discovered and reported to Microsoft last week.
5. Add in a social networking component, make it spread through popular web sites like Facebook and Twitter. (Yes, this is getting good!)
6. Release it back into the wild.

So we don’t want nuclear weapons falling into the wrong hands, right? Here we have an example of a dangerous and classified military weapon (we’re assuming), and it’s certainly in the wrong hands by now. Perhaps it can’t be used effectively, perhaps it was never meant to do any damage, maybe it was just as I’ve suggested someone wanted it to be known that they are all up in someone else’s systems.

It’s a very interesting story, I’m sure you’d agree. We all need to be aware of the very unique nature of this threat. Could you make a nuclear weapon in your basement? I will go out on a limb and guess that you’re not going to succeed even if you tried, however if your goal is to take down a countries critical infrastructure, turn the lights out, turn banking upside down with spam transactions from millions of Internet connected sales terminals, make people afraid to drive their cars or some other havoc, I’d base your likelihood of success on the level of ingenuity of you and the people you hire to help you. We all know how fragile modern society has become. This threat has similar or greater potential than an EMP attack, and it is much easier to implement by a determined group.

I have heard a lot of people on this blog make suggestions to put a lot of trust in your computer or smart phone to work the way you expect it to. If you’re storing important information on a computer that you think you’ll depend on for survival then I urge you to take steps to secure it. One of the things I mentioned earlier was physical barriers, the simplest thing you can do right now to secure everything is write all of your data to optical disks (CD, DVD, or Blu-Ray) and take necessary steps to preserve them (cool, dry, dark place) and create a bootable Linux live-CD or two or three to run them off of. Make sure this live-CD works for you. It’s very important that you try it on the computer you intend to use it on because not all hardware will work, a linux distribution comes with a collection of generic drivers that work for 90% of the hardware out there but you will want to test a few things; your network connection, flash or USB devices and also make sure this live-CD has all of the software required to access your files; a web browser, PDF reader, video/audio players with the correct codecs. As long as you are booting off of a read-only disk you can always reboot and get right back where you started. I would use this CD for all of your everyday web browsing if you want to remain uncompromised. Browsing the web is always a risk.

Here is a list of bootable live CDs:

FedoraLiveCD
Ubuntu.com
Debian.org/LiveCD
Knoppix.net/
http://getchrome.eu/download.php
 http://code.google.com/p/live-android/

To read more about the technical details of Stuxnet, the Symantec blog is a great source of info.

Letter Re: Survivalist Media–A New Frontier

No one will deny that self-empowerment comes from the additional accumulation of knowledge. Studying, research, and even just plain reading can be devastatingly powerful, if one possesses the willpower as well as knowing how to focus their information gathering. However, other forms of media do retain the potential as knowledgeable gold mines, provided they are constructed in such a manner as to instruct their audiences at least as effectively, if not more, than reading materials.

As a blogger, podcaster, and YouTuber (among other things), I am, at least, moderately versed in written, audio, and video forms of media. I understand how propaganda, culture jamming, and instructional “how-to” tutorials are used and their likely impacts upon their respective readers, listeners, and viewers. I appreciate each forms’ strengths and weaknesses, not to mention their individual idiosyncrasies. On several occasions, I have experimented using two or all three methods simultaneously as a “simulcast.” From my experience and observations, what people have mentioned time and again is their great hunger for instructional information, regardless of whether it is in a political, military, or survivalist context, but who otherwise would prefer it in audio and/or video formats.

Survivalism’s bread and butter media has been written materials, such as books, newsletters, and in more recent history, blogs. While I am certainly not knocking the written word at all (since this article itself is proof that I am engaging in it), I am simply pointing out the necessity of broadening into other types of media, considering their advantages. I’m sure once someone actually decides to become a survivalist they will have no problem reading Dr. Bruce Clayton’s “Life After Doomsday” but quite frankly, a five to ten minute or so tutorial on one method of saving seeds is infinitely more useful for outreach as well as for quick reference. Now, it goes without saying that using audiobooks, podcasts, videos, and even digital PDF files of books all require electricity, so learning through these methods pre-SHTF is apparent, but is it also obvious that if provisions were made for some form of electricity, these materials would be particularly useful post-TEOTWAWKI.

Some folks have already broadened into an audio format, such as podcasting and audiobooks. This venue should be explored more by authors of the more traditional written works, especially the audiobooks, considering that in “normal” life, people typically spend a significant amount of time in their cars while otherwise having next-to-no time for reading. Great strides have already been made in this endeavor, including (but not limited to) Clint Portis and David Whitman’s “Urban Survival Podcast,” and especially “The Survival Podcast” by “Jack,” whose accompaniment YouTube username (aka “YT Alias”) is SurvivalPodcasting. Even The Corbett Report, which deals with more politically oriented content, does occasional delve into the significance of survivalist subjects (like urban edible gardening or establishing small communities of trust), but other than an socio-political overview of these topics, James Corbett does not provide any specified instructional information. I have also noticed that anarchist philosopher Stefan Molyneaux will read his own books aloud, which he makes available on his web site (Freedomain Radio) as a free downloadable audiobook. As per this example, recording an audiobook need not be as complicated as getting it “professionally” made; all that is really required is a decent microphone, a relatively simple audio recording program (such as Audacity), and the patient skill to actually read aloud any book.

Considering the breadth and depth of survivalism, podcasting provides another avenue for easily accessible information. Unlike audiobooks (even when self-made), podcasts allow for a very easy way of updating information when needed. They also provide a more condensed instructional format and even can be used for interviews. Podcasting’s advantage over their video counterparts also lies in the fact that audio digital files occupy much less space on average than video files. If space on your computer’s hard drive is a concern, or you don’t want to bother with the additional skill required for filmmaking, then podcasting and recording audiobooks would be a better option, and is still a quite effective communications medium. If you are so inclined, you could offer your audiobooks for free (especially if they are of the homemade variety) instead of charging people for a copy, but even if the latter option is where you are at, keep in mind that podcasts have been and will (most likely) always remain completely free to be recorded, downloaded, and listened to by everyone.

My preferred method is actually showing people what to do. Video sharing sites provide a guerrilla media mechanism by which video files can be uploaded to the Internet and be seen by folks who can benefit from it, especially if they are still wet behind the ears, or the task at hand is better taught by demonstration than by pure description. Obviously, the number one video sharing site is undoubtedly YouTube; the utilization of this web site, in conjunction with a video downloading site (such as SaveVid.com or KeepVid.com), allows both brand new and experienced survivalists the ability to view and archive open source instructional videos for free. YT buddies of mine, including Ryanjcus, ShinobiMystic, RodneyAHampton, TheAntiTerrorist, and especially ThePatriotNurse, have, at the very least, delved into survivalist topics at one point or another. A common topic (and which is conducive to demonstration) is the assembly of the Bug Out Bag (aka the G.O.O.D. kit). Fellow YouTubers will whip out their camcorders and shoot a quick look at their laid out equipment that they plan on carrying for when they bug out.

Two YouTubers deserve a more detailed look here, the first of which is ThePatriotNurse. This fine Tennesseean devotes herself to medical SHTF issues, such as assembling different kinds of first aid kits (such as for home, the car, and even a $50 budget version), treating burns, giving an intramuscular injection, stocking antibiotics, caring for gunshot wounds, and storing nutritional food. She will also examine the more logistical and scenario planning aspects, including the true shelf life of drugs, the top five diseases that will become prominent, the psychological impact of societal collapse, and even one video on the categories of people who will die first when the SHTF, which by itself has accrued more than 29,000 views. Her latest three videos have focused on preparing children and newborns for a more survivalist lifestyle. With over 94,000 total upload views and 2,500 subscribers, ThePatriotNurse is already a survivalist force to be reckoned with, and who’s emerging success can be attested to her being interviewed by MrLockandLoad (on TheWatchmen.biz).

The other YouTuber that deserves particular attention here is TheAntiTerrorist (AT). A British gentleman who usually focuses on political and especially privacy topics, he, like me, knows that self-empowerment begins with open source intelligence gathering. His two videos on survivalism, “The Larder of Last Resort” and “Bunker In or Bugging Out?,” are unusually quite fantastic, and is my recommended starting point for folks who are contemplating preparing for the worst. Unlike James Corbett whose treatment of the field is purely analytical relative to other issues, AT bridges that common gap by giving very basic pointers on preparation, beginning with food storage; he mentions the “why” of preparation for the politically inclined but also describes the “how” as well. Not only does AT make selected transcripts of his video broadcasts available for download from his web site (in this case, only “The Larder of Last Resort”), but he occasionally has downloadable supplemental information packets to accompany his videos. “The Larder of Last Resort” episode had one such packet that was available as a ZIP file, that once unpacked, revealed its contents to be Al Martin’s “Protocols for Economic Collapse in America” article, The Bacon Report’s list of the “Top 100 Items to Disappear First During a National Emergency,” HEO’s “Bean Bowl” recipe, and AT’s “Survival Links” (which was updated by me recently) that also includes the Survivalist’s Rule of 3. This method of including downloadable transcripts and supplementary information packets through a web site can easily be used by any survivalist with a modicum of computer aptitude.

Now, I am well aware of certain claims made by others on YouTube as well as on other web sites, message boards, and forums that anyone who discusses survivalism is simply a wimpy “armchair survivalist” or “cyber-patriot” who should not be taken seriously. I would like to take this opportunity and mention to any genuine survivalist, who is willing to at least consider my suggestions, that such baseless assertions usually tend to be levied by those folks (typically still within the mental confines of the mainstream media) who perceive any and all attempts by anyone trying to achieve a measure of self-sufficiency independent of the corporatist controlled economy as threats to that specific industrial paradigm. Needless to say, a paradigm shift is already in order, especially in light of the thin veneer of civilization which, as AT mentions, relies on the support tripod of the power grid, the financial system, and the transportation network. Like the infamous fire triangle (heat, air, and fuel), if any leg goes out, the others will as well. It is because of this flaw of modern Western civilization as well as other events (such as the worsening recession/depression, the continued devaluation of the dollar, and the likely removal of the greenback as the world reserve currency) that increases even more the importance of effectively and efficiency disseminating survival information in new ways that can improve retention and accessibility.

In conclusion, any survivalist can learn the basics of information dissemination via the Internet. Unlike other political content that has been able to highly exploit the above mentioned techniques for their purposes, I believe that individuals who have been literally begging for survival tutorials will benefit, especially if experienced survivalists teach the newer crowd using these methods. Of course, all the reading, listening, and watching in the world by itself will accomplish nothing in tangible reality without action; however, my observations point to desperate people attempting to learn by doing, and a lot of times incorrectly, hence the incredible need for reliable survival information dissemination, especially through audiobooks, podcasts, and tutorial videos. While detractors do commonly assert that there is plenty of information and a lack of action, my experience testifies to the exact opposite situation.

If you are interested in any of my material, keep in mind that I haven’t made any dedicated survivalist content yet, but I do intend to in the very near future after my second documentary, which is about culture jamming, is released exclusively over at YouTube. See my blog, my podcast, and my YouTube channel if you are interested.

Regards, – Sleepysalsa

Letter Re: A Source for Free Firewood

Hi Jim,

I know you hear it every day, but I highly appreciate the time and effort that you put into your web site. I see that there has been some discussion on burning wood cargo pallets. Tom Baugh has written has a couple of articles about pallets that explain how they can be used in other applications. The reading may be useful to SurvivalBlog readers. The first article (Pallet Projects) goes in depth on the anatomy of a pallet, while the second is an article about a Goat House project that walks the reader through step by step. – Bill Z. in Wyoming

Economics and Investing:

K.A.F. sent us this: Financial regulators planning worldwide rules for large firms

Jim Rogers advises silver, tractors, and rice. (Thanks to B.B. for the link.)

J.D.D. flagged this: Drowning Homeowners Face ‘Tsunami‘

Damon S. forwarded this PDF link: Optometrists encouraged to barter.

Items from The Economatrix:

How to Prepare for the Bond Market Bust

Securitized Mortgage Debt: The Shot That Will Kill Many Financial Entities

Currency Wars: The Phantom Financial Menace

Gold Versus Treasuries: Which Do You Believe?

$5,000 Gold = $100-$350 Silver — Here’s Why

The Fed’s Zero-Rate Policy is Destroying America

Recession Job Losses Worse Than First Thought

Odds ‘n Sods:

R.F.J. flagged an article about a Building Made from Recycled Phone Books.

   o o o

Reader Bob. H. mentioned that the Rite in the Rain web site has downloadable graph paper among other templates. OBTW, many Rite in the Rain waterproof paper products are available from Ready Made Resources. (One of SurvivalBlog’s loyal sponsors.)

   o o o

Pain rolling in for tire buyers, retailers. Our thanks to Ben S. for the link.)

   o o o

David H. pointed us to this: Neat Lightweight Bow/Rifle Scabbard for Bicycles/Motorcycles

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“It isn’t going to be a world filled with mutant biker gangs, nor will there be blood thirsty zombies. No thermal nuclear wasteland, no empty cities. Nothing that Hollywood said it would be like. All we need to do is look at countries that have succumbed to an economic disaster already. For example look at Argentina…” – Ray Gano, How I Believe The Dollar Will Die.

Note from JWR:

Today we present two entries for Round 31 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round will 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 between $500 and $600, and B.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees, in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $392 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A 500 round case of Fiocchi 9mm Parabellum (Luger ) with 124gr. Hornady XTP/HP projectiles, courtesy of Sunflower Ammo (a $249 value), and E.) An M17 medical kit from JRH Enterprises (a $179.95 value).

Second Prize: A.) 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 $400, B.) A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials, and C.) two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Third Prize: A.) A copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, from Arbogast Publishing, and B.) a Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21. (This filter system is a $275 value.)

Round 31 ends on November 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Non-Electronic Navigation, by Noil

In the modern world more and more people are dependent upon their electronic devices to get them from point A to point B. But what happens when those devices stop working? It can happen either through a natural cause such as a geomagnetic storm, or something man-made like electromagnetic pulse (EMP), a terrorist [cyber] attack, or war. What the majority of people do not realize is that the GPS satellite network is owned and operated by the US Department of Defense. In a case of martial law or an act of war on US soil, civilian access to GPS may be restricted. There are also times when you may be going on an adventure where clear line of sight to the GPS satellites is not possible, such as heavy forest, mountains and jungle locations; all cause problems acquiring GPS signal. And there is always human error that has to be considered, such as leaving the GPS turned on and running the batteries out, breaking the GPS unit, or losing it. Without the knowledge of how to use more traditional navigational methods, your likelihood of survival is decreased.

This article has been broken into several sections, proceeding from the simplest compass navigation to the more complex issues of dealing with maps and magnetic declination. Also included is a section on primitive navigation, which is the worst-case scenario when you have no gear at all with you. The objective is to take my military and survival knowledge on navigation and put it in an easy-to-use guide for anyone from an absolute novice to outdoor enthusiast to use.

Compass Only
Learning how to use a compass is easy and could one day save your life.
Every compass has the four directions, North, East, South and West, which are represented with N, E, S, and W on the compass dial. There are a lot of different types of compasses out there, but regardless of their design and purpose they will always have the four directions on them.
The easiest compass to use is a simple map compass that consists of a dial and direction of travel on the base. Within the dial will be the four directions N, E, S, and W, an orientation arrow, orienting lines, and the compass needle. It does not get much simpler than this. Most compasses will have two different colours on the compass needle: some are white and red while others are red and black and some are white and red with a dot of white at the tip of the red. So which way is north when there are so many colour variations?

  • Red & White with glow-in-the-dark white – White is north.
  • Red & Black – Red is north.
  • Red & White with white dot at tip of red – Red is north; the white tip is glow-in-the-dark material.

For this tutorial red and black will be used for the compass needle, keeping inline with the basic map compass. The red portion of the compass needle will always point to magnetic north, no matter which way the compass is facing.
To go in any other direction other than to the magnetic north, you will need to move the direction of travel arrow to the direction you wish to go. The compass dial will have a scale; most are from 0 to 360 degrees, but there are compass dials that range from 400 to 0 degrees. The degrees are used for navigation between the four directions. For instance if you wanted to go half way between N and E on a dial with 360 degrees it would be a direction of 45 degrees. This sounds easy enough, now how to do it:
Hold the compass out away from yourself but in a position that is comfortable and where you can still read the compass. You will want to make sure there is no metal around the compass as metal will throw off the reading.

With the compass held as flat as possible, let the needle find magnetic north; then turn the dial, aligning the N with the tip of the red part of the needle.
Carefully turn the base of the compass to align the direction of travel arrow to the desired direction you wish to go in. Be sure to keep the red part of the compass needle pointed at the N or else you will go in the wrong direction. It is a common mistake to turn the whole compass rather than just the base. It is often a good idea to redo the reading to make sure you come out to the same location on the compass twice before heading off.

Now that you have a reading, walk in the direction of the direction of travel arrow, while keeping the red part of the compass needle pointed to the N. Always be sure to check your course several times to avoid getting off course. Ideally a check should be done at around 80 meters (262.46 feet); checking frequently means less course correction.
Don’t make the mistake of staring down at the compass and walking through the wilderness; you will find that you will walk into something, off something, or trip and get hurt. By checking frequently you will be able to navigate the wilderness, reducing the risk of injury. The easy way to do this is to use landmarks that are in your direction of travel. That way you can look at the landmark to keep you close to your course.

How do I really know I am going the right way? There are primitive navigation methods that can be used to ascertain the four directions. When using a compass but when doubt still remains, look at the position of the sun. In the northern hemisphere where I am located, at noon the sun is in the south; if you are on the southern hemisphere, for you the sun would be in the north. So if you are in the northern hemisphere and need to be heading north but the sun is blinding you, then stop! You are going south, the wrong direction! Just reverse this for the southern hemisphere; if you are wanting to go north and the sun is on your back, then do a 180 degree because you are facing the wrong way. Using these primitive navigation tricks with a compass will give you the confidence you may lack.

So remember:
In Northern Hemisphere sun at noon is South
In Southern Hemisphere sun at noon is North
Easy way to remember is the sun is pointing to the equator.
This method will help you get out alive if you are in the wilderness without a map, but yet you know that in a given direction from your current location there is a road, town, river or another object that is big and hard to miss.

There are inherent issues with this method of navigating. It’s not very accurate: if you were looking for a small campsite deep in the wilderness, this method would not help you. But it will keep you from going in circles, what happens to most who are lost in the wilderness; the key to getting out is going straight. A good rule is to bring an accurate and appropriate-scaled map with you to any location you are not familiar with.

Compass with Map
You have your basic compass that was used in navigating with just a compass, but you were smart and also brought a map; this section will teach you how to use your compass with that map, to find small sites with precision navigation.

When using a compass with a good map, your odds of survival and making it out greatly increase. You can look at the map to determine major navigational obstacles as well as most likely areas of rescue or self-rescue. This is an important lesson that should be learned by anyone going into the wilderness; not only will you be able to safely navigate the terrain and make it precisely where you meant to be, but you will make it there alive.

In this example to navigate using a map you will be on a wilderness trail at point Alpha kilometer / mile 0, and your objective is to reach point Charlie kilometer 43 / 26.71 mile without going through Bravo point. This will mean you will have to leave the trail and go cross-country. To determine your course, lay out the map and take the edge of the compass that runs parallel to the direction of travel arrow (the longest edge is usually the parallel edge) placing the bottom corner of the edge on point Alpha and the upper corner of the edge on point Charlie. Point Charlie can be located any place along the edge and not necessarily at the corner. An alternative easy-to-remember method is to use the direction arrow of travel as a way to line up the compass so it points from Alpha to Charlie. It is very important to make sure that the direction of travel arrow is pointed towards the other checkpoint, in this example point Charlie; failure to align the direction of travel arrow to your checkpoint will result in going the wrong way. There is great debate on whether or not one should draw a line on the map to mark the direction of travel. When I was in the military, my maps were placed in a waterproof map case, and with a special waterproof pencil I could draw lines, make notations, etc. without damaging the map, but since most people likely will not have such luxury it is not a good idea to draw a line; it does not add anything to the precision and often puts the map at risk of being damaged and covers up important details. You should make the investment in a waterproof map trail case; it will keep your maps dry and you can further tie it to your pack so you won’t lose it on the trail.

No one will complain if you take the time to recheck your work; it is very important even with a map to redo the reading and make sure it is right.
With a direction of travel set you might think you are ready to head cross country. That would be a wrong decision; the compass has to be oriented to the map before it is useful. To do this lay the map flat or stabilize your map case.

On your map there will be lines that run North to South; these lines are called meridian lines. On your compass dial you will see similar lines that run from the N to the S; these lines are called orienting lines. To orient the compass to your map you will need to line up the compass orienting lines to the map meridian lines. In order to do this, carefully turn the dial of the compass while keeping the edge / direction of travel arrow aligned from point Alpha to point Charlie. Ignore what the compass needle is doing for now. Be absolutely sure that the North on your map is also N on your compass dial when the orienting lines have lined up to the meridian lines; if not, your reading will be wrong. Both the meridian north and orienting north have to match up; all maps designate the direction of North; find it so you know which way to line up the lines. It is also important to make sure the edge of the compass base or the direction of travel line remains in alignment between the two points. Failure to check these things will result in course navigation errors.

With the meridian and orienting lines aligned properly and our compass edge or the direction of travel arrow still aligned on the two checkpoints, we have our compass bearing. I like to make a note of the compass bearing; it is a personal preference, because it is extremely important that once you have the bearing, the compass dial or base not move; movement results in a different bearing and consequently navigational errors. With a compass bearing you can store your map safely and navigate using the compass only, as in the first section. The difference here is you are actually navigating with a bearing to a precise location.

Holding the compass as flat as possible, you need to turn your whole body until the red part of the compass needle aligns with the N on the compass dial. Do not turn the dial or the base of the compass. Remember always make sure red is in the north position, or you will never reach the destination. To walk with the compass and navigate, take a minute or two; hold the compass out in front of you while keeping the red compass needle pointed to the N and not turning anything on the compass; look down the direction of travel arrow and pick out something that stands out that is in line with the compass bearing. This will be your landmark so you can walk safely through the wilderness. It is important to pick something that is easy to see in the middle-ground. Repeat and check your direction like before at around every 80 meters (262.46 feet) and you will make it to checkpoint Charlie without having to go through checkpoint Bravo.

Compensating for Magnetic North
The compass needle points to magnetic north, which is where the magnetic fields of the earth align at the northern magnetic pole. This is often mistaken for the North Pole. The North Pole is actually very far from the magnetic pole. It is important to note that the magnetic pole moves often from year to year. The difference between magnetic north and true north is called “magnetic declination”. Because the location of magnetic north moves, it is important to figure out the magnetic declination before leaving home or see if there is a notation on your map as to what the magnetic declination is.

Why should you be concerned with this? Topographical maps are situated to true north rather than magnetic north, so your compass bearings will be off by the amount of the magnetic declination. As well, most modern maps, especially hiking and trail maps, use a grid called the Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM). This UTM grid is used for charting a location that lies between 84 degrees North and 80 degrees South, which covers most of the earth’s surface. Note that the UTM grid does not have a real north pole; however, the orientation of the grid matches closely to the meridian lines of maps.

How this grid correlates to your map is pretty clever: typically the average hiking map will have a 2 centimeters grid setup; with this distance the map scale is 1:50,000, therefore on a 2 centimeters (7/8ths of an inch) grid distance the actual distance is 1 kilometer (0.62 miles). This is very useful when planning an extended tour in the wilderness to determine how far a person can go in a day or where resources or locations are in terms of distance from your current location.

As great as the UTM grid is, to use it properly as a navigational tool you need to know how much difference there is between the UTM grid and magnetic pole. Plotting a course is the same as in the Map with a Compass section, with the added complication of making sure not to align the orienting lines to the east – west UTM grid lines. Now for the tricky part … once you have your compass bearing, you need to account for the number of degrees of magnetic declination. Sometimes this will mean adding degrees, and other times it may mean subtracting degrees. These degrees come from the angle between the UTM grid lines / meridian lines and the magnetic north location.
By now you will have concluded that magnetic declination varies by your geographical location; this is why it is important to figure this out ahead of time before departing. If you have forgotten to do this before heading out to the wilderness, don’t panic.

To figure out the magnetic declination in the wilderness, look at your map grid from your current location and note the grid azimuth. Did I just lose you? Okay, here is what you need to do: find where you are on the map, then measure the angle from the nearest north meridian / UTM grid line to your location. To do this ideally you should have a protractor.

Now that you have found where you are on the map and have your grid azimuth, now look for a very distant distinctive feature; the further away the object is, the more accurate your declination will be. With your compass, aim the direction of travel arrow at the landmark. Now turn the compass dial so that the red compass needle points to N, and when the compass needle is correctly aligned, look at the degrees on the compass dial where the base of the direction of travel arrow is. Note this number, for it is the magnetic azimuth.

To find magnetic declination, take your grid azimuth and subtract your magnetic azimuth; the result is the magnetic declination.
If visibility is an issue in determining a landmark, there is still a way in which to find the magnetic declination. A method used in the military: with your compass edge, draw a straight line passing through your current location on the map and your destination and extend the line across any of the map borders. Now take your compass to where the line you just drew intersects with the map border, positioning the direction of travel arrow in alignment with the line you drew, then align the orienting line with the map edge while making sure that map north and compass north are both in the same direction. The magnetic declination will be the distance from the north orienting line to your direction of travel line.

If the map marker for magnetic north is to the right of the true north line, then subtract the declination value from the magnetic north bearing you took for your destination. If the map marker is to the left of true north, then you will need to add the declination value to your magnetic north bearing for your destination.
For example, in my location the declination is 6 degrees easterly; if my bearing for my location was 140 degrees, I would need to subtract 6 degrees from 140, which would give me a bearing of 134 degrees, which would allow me to use the map that has not been adjusted for magnetic north. If I were in the west and my declination was -10 and my bearing was still 140 degrees, I would need to add 10 degrees to my bearing, making it 150 degrees.

On a lot of modern maps there will be located somewhere a line that points to MN (Magnetic North) and another line from the base of the MN line that points a star symbol (True North), and between these two lines will be a number in degrees, which is the magnetic declination at the time the map was made. You may also notice a GN symbol; this represents the UTM grid (“grid north”) , and the line with the GN indicates the declination of the UTM in relation to true north. Because magnetic declination changes, it is important to make sure your map is up to date with the correct information.

How bad can it be if you are only off a few degrees? Well, it can be downright disastrous; an error of 1 degree after 16.09 kilometers (10 miles) will result in you being off course by 280 meters (920 feet). If you compound this error by ten degrees after the same distance you will find yourself off course by 2.79 kilometers (1.73 miles); in a wilderness situation that is the equivalent of being on the moon and will be completely devastating to the person.
Using the methods described here, anyone should be able to navigate their way through the wilderness safely and confidently, but it is important to practice, navigating at home while you can rather than trying to learn these skills when you are in the wilderness and lost.

Primitive Navigation
What if the worst-case scenario happens? You are so lost, with no hope of finding your way without your trusty compass and maps. It now has become a real issue of survival. It may seem as if there is no hope of ever getting out of the wilderness. I will explain various means of finding your way when you have absolutely nothing to navigate with.
The shadow-stick compass is a very old and tried and tested way to get a general direction, much like navigating with a compass and no map. Put the stick in the ground free of vegetation, take a small stick or stone, and mark the end of the shadow. Now wait 10 – 15 minutes and then mark where the end of the shadow is now. You will notice it has moved. Draw a straight line between the two small markers that mark the end of the shadow. This will tell you the east – west line. The first small marker is the west direction and the second small marker is the east direction.

To find the north – south line, look east and draw a line perpendicular to the east – west line. To the left will be north and to the right will be south. Or if you can’t remember what is left or right … the line moving away from the sun is north in the Northern hemisphere, but if you are in the Southern hemisphere, the north and south direction is reversed and the line moving away from the sun is south.
The longer you wait to place the second marker, the more accurate the shadow stick compass becomes.
If you find you have to travel at night, the shadow compass will still work with a bright moon. The advantage of the night shadow compass is that you can further verify your observation with the use of the stars.

Stellar navigation is not that hard and it is a fun time to learn about the various constellations and the stories behind them, which makes this a great activity in which to include children in the learning process. In the Northern Hemisphere to find north you need to locate a star called Polaris, which is the North Star. To find Polaris is simple: find the Big Dipper (just about everyone can find that), and the two stars that close the dipper part furthest from the handle point to Polaris, which is the first star in the handle of the Little Dipper. Polaris will also be a fairly bright star. However, this method will not work if you are above 70 degrees latitude or are in the Southern Hemisphere. The cool thing about the stars that even in the Southern Hemisphere there is a way to navigate. You will need to find the Southern Cross, which is a constellation of four stars called Crux. Two of the stars in Crixa constellation point to the Southern pole. The Southern Cross looks like a cross with a fifth star off center from the lower portion of the cross. For people in Australia, this is depicted upon the flag of Australia.

To find your east – west direction, you need to find the constellation of Orion, which can be seen in both hemispheres. In Orion’s belt are three stars: the lowest of the three stars is West and the highest is east. On a clear night one can see the whole constellation of Orion including the bow; his bow always faces west; therefore, just remember Orion always looks west.

Should you find yourself unable to find Polaris either because of heavy cloud cover or because the terrain works against you, there are other methods that can be used. The first method is using a single stick. Find a bright star that will be easy to find later. While lying on the ground, look up at the star and point the stick directly at it; since it is important to repeat the same observation position several times, you may wish to use a rock to mark the placement of your head when you observed the star the first time. Ideally you will want to wait an hour, checking on your star every 15 minutes and noting the direction of travel. If the star is tracking to the left, you are facing north; if the star tracked up, you are facing east; if the star tracked right, you are facing south, and if the star tracked down, you are facing west.

This same method can be done using two sticks like the shadow stick compass. You will want two large sticks that are a meter to a meter and a half in length (3 to 4 feet). It is important to have one stick larger than the other. Place the larger stick in the ground. With the first stick in place, sit on the ground by the stick. You now take the shorter stick and aim the top of it in line to the top of the bigger stick, which will in turn aim at a bright star. As in the one-stick method, wait an hour, checking the star positioning every 15 minutes. The second stick in this example takes the place of the stone and provides you with the exact same observation position. Just as in the one stick method, if the star is tracking to the left, you are facing north; if the star tracked up, you are facing east; if the star tracked right, you are facing south, and if the star tracked down, you are facing west.
Another method that can be used to determine direction is called the “Watch” method. If you have an analog watch, hold it out in front of you as you would hold a compass. Use a twig or something to cast a shadow directed to the center of the watch. Now for the tricky part: you need to turn the watch until the shadow splits the distance between the hour hand and 12 in half. When this happens 12 will be pointing South and 6 will be pointing North. If you are in the Southern Hemisphere, this would be reversed: 12 would be pointing North and 6 would be pointing South.

Should you find yourself out in the world without your trusty analog watch or you just have a digital watch, this method will still work for you. Simply draw yourself a clock face on the ground. With your big circle in the dirt draw a line that points to the sun; this will be the hour hand. When you have done that, draw a line to the 12 position where it would be in relation to your hour hand on your dirt circle. Halfway between your dirt hour hand and 12 is South.

Any of the methods described in the foregoing will get you going in a general direction; when done properly they are as accurate as navigating with just a compass with no map. So if you know your survival depends on going in a particular direction, for example if the interstate highway is to the east of your location about 4 miles away, this will get you there. It won’t help you find pinpoint locations.

Suburban Survival Revisited, by The Suburban 10

In April 2010 I submitted “Suburban Survival”. a set of ten steps I was going implement in order to get ready for TEOTWAWKI. Boy… did I underestimate the power and importance of survialblog.com! First and foremost I thank all of you who responded and gave a cold slap of reality. I thought I was going to be in good shape, but now my view and attitude are vastly different. How did it change? It really started when I bought and read Jim’s survival book. It offers solid fundamentals and interesting insight that I am adapting to my particular situation. My situation? Bleak! I consider myself an up beat happy guy; I am a realist, not pessimistic. If the Schumer hits the fan (love that phrase), I am stuck here, on an island with 3 million other people.

My revisited suburban 10 focuses on what my family and I need to survive on in the most simple and minimal terms. No more fantasies about ramming through traffic to get to my underground bunker or of building a stockade around the block with my clueless neighbors and leading them though the battles. One of about ten close friends I approached about ready preparedness is on board with me… others think I am over reaching and most think I’m nuts. They rely on flash lights and 16 oz. water bottles for an emergency, so I don’t respect them enough to let it bother me.

My view on firearms was wrong plain and simple. You need to be equal with or have an advantage over your foe. I decided to obtain a pistol permit. It is not that easy… Here in Suffolk County, New York it takes six months of background checks, a notarized application,  three non-family members to verify that you are sane, a call to your work place, and or any of the those three non-family members and or a neighbor (work place for me) and  interview at police headquarters, fingerprinting and photo identification. The cost ($105) is relatively low compared to neighboring Nassau County. New York City is s for me. There are 80,000 pistol permits in Suffolk County and I now have one of them.

Most of my training is at the police range. I thought bowling was enjoyable, but the shooting range is far more exciting. Most of my training by a friend with years of experience, I read the manuals slowly, and asking questions and share thoughts at the range. I feel confident and capable with my firearm, a 9mm Springfield Armory XD. Most everyone at the range I meet loves to talk about their guns. I listen and learn as to what appeals to them in a firearm. I also got a Henry Survival .22 that my wife uses. It weighs just two pounds the entire rifle breaks down into the stock. Both items and gear fit in my  back pack (no gun cases). I Clean and care for my own weapons because they are expensive finely crafted machines. The economy of 9mm and .22 caliber rounds is what suites my budget and at least my wife has something in her hands that she now uses quite well.

I’ve found lots of great ideas on SurvivalBlog.com and the beauty is that it is a community of like minded individuals who continually improve. I came to the cruel reality that there is really nowhere to run to… If my home is reduced to nothing but a lean two with a fire pit so be it. It will be home and worth defending. Simple and Minimal for what ever the duration until things get normalized (what ever normalized will be). If we are chased out we will head east away from New York City with our go bags and camping gear and fight to survive as nomads.

Before I get to my new list, two thoughts:

I believe we, as frequent readers of SurvivalBlog.com need to form a simple means of communicating that we are willing to work with and help each other if the Schumer goes down. If we are in turmoil and I am approached by a fellow human: I would like to be able to use a name that demonstrates that we are like minded and on the level. Let’s say I came up to you and said: Do you know a man by the name of Jim Rawles. If yes, then we are like minded and more apt to do fair trading. If not, then I am cautious or at an advantage because this person is most likely ill-prepared. I just started asking if people know of him and one did and was very like-minded. The list is growing fast I am sure.

My second thought is, I love the America I knew, I hope and pray for the America I know. Shame on the ones who just don’t want to take a little extra time, energy and money to just do some kind of preparation! I know many of you reading this are preparing, but for the rest of the population they have the potential to be a burden to everyone. I hope to have enough supplies for charity, but don’t count on me if you bought a flat screen television instead of a $250 water purifier.

 

Present Status of the Suburban 10

1. Wood Stove- two cords of wood stacked and covered. Gather and hand splitting what I find on the curb.

2. Big Berkey Water Purifier and an above ground swimming pool with 5,100 gal. of treatable water.

3. Several Buckets of red wheat berries and a grinder. (Hope to buy a bucket a month)

4. Two firearms and 600 rounds of ammo (would like to have 1,000 rounds and a shot gun).

5. Entering 5 KM races, keeping my kids active and aware, eating right and working out with my 3’ staff.

6. First aid kit with N95 masks. (Plan to get medical training and more supplies).

7. Go Bag for each member of the family. (Not yet complete)

8. Stocking up on more camping and fishing supplies. Had some good garage sale finds lately. Such as Candles, Oil Lamps, 20 gallon propane tanks, and knives just to name a few.

9. Thanks, Praise and Prayer- These are the good old days so smell the roses now. I thank the Lord each day that I can live in comfort. I hope for the best, but routinely and steadily prepare for the worst. Purchase a little at a time, but buy!

10. Listen and Learn from those who know. Make a list of those who have a skill set that can be of use to you if it is TEOTWAWKI and have the silver coins to make it worth their while to help you.

Conclusion
I am about half way (50%) to the point of where I would feel confident and comfortable in my preparedness. What is your percentage of progress? Thanks again to all of you at SurvialBlog.com for all the great insight and information you provide. We can make it through the tough times ahead and the world will be a better place!

Guest Article: Using Expired Medications – Antibiotics and Antiviral Medications – Part 1, by Cynthia J. Koelker, MD

1

My first guest post on SurvivalBlog.com generated an abundance of questions and concerns.  Among the most popular was that of using medications beyond their expiration date.  Are they safe?  Are they effective? 

It’s easy enough for me to say I think it’s safe, but is there any science to support my opinion?  I spent the week looking into the facts, and found some fascinating information.
To start with, just what is a drug expiration date?  In short, the date (required since 1979) does not indicate when a drug goes bad, but rather a date through which the drug is guaranteed to be good.  Compare this to what you might find on a can of beans:  the “best if used by” date.  
How are these dates determined?  In two ways. 

The first is by real-time testing.  Medications are stored under manufacturer-recommended conditions (which does not mean in your hot, humid bathroom over the toilet).  At given intervals the medications are tested for appearance, drug content, and stability.  Nowhere could I find that they are tested for safety specifically, but if the drug itself is present in acceptable amounts, it seems reasonable to conclude it is still safe. 

Secondly, drugs are tested under high-temperature stress conditions to simulate longer time periods.  Logically, if a drug is only two years old, five years of stability testing is unlikely to have been performed.  However, if a medication remains stable for a specified time period under adverse conditions, one may presume it likely stable and therefore safe for much longer periods.

Expiration dates are only found on the original packaging and apply to unopened meds that have been stored as directed.  This is in contrast to the date on your actual prescription bottle, a “do not use beyond” date.  Pharmacists commonly purchase pills in bottles of 1,000 then dispense them into smaller containers, generally with a shorter expiration date.  The latest this will be is a year beyond the original prescription date.  Although the original bottle may have a date 2-3 years in the future, your own bottle will be dated for 1 year or less from purchase, due to uncertainty about actual storage conditions and patient use.   
 
One tip on stocking up, then, is to request your prescriptions in the original packaging, typically bottles of 100 (usually not 90, as insurance often prefers, though there are exceptions).  Your doctor will not necessarily know this information, but you can look it up in a PDR to save time.  A used Physicians Desk Reference (PDR) can be purchased on Amazon for under $5.  Generic drugs are not in the PDR.  You will have to ask the pharmacist for information regarding your own prescription.  

The primary source of information regarding the prolonged stability of medications comes from the Shelf Life Extension Program (SLEP) database.  Rather than discard millions of dollars worth of expired drugs stockpiled for emergency use, the government tested representative lots for extended stability.  These stockpiled drugs are aimed at emergency use for injuries and infections rather than chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and asthma.  The most useful data for the layman is related to drugs to combat bacterial and viral infections.

In 2009 as a result of the H1N1 scare, two anti-viral (anti-influenza) drugs were granted an Emergency Use Authorization (which has since expired).  Relenza was granted approval for up to one year after the original expiration date, whereas Tamiflu products were approved for up to an additional 5 years.  Tamiflu is easier to use, has fewer side-effects, and comes in blister-packs of 10.  A full dose is one 75-mg tablet twice daily for 5 days, to be started within the first day or two of true influenza infection (which is not always known, a discussion for another day). 

Several antibiotics tested for extended use were found to be safe as well, for an additional one to several years.  At this time I am unsure whether the tested drugs were brand-name or generic, but I am looking into the question and will address the specifics in Part 2 of this article.

Interested in a free teleconference on the use of expired medications?  Sign up here.  I’ll discuss more info that I’ll be including in my upcoming book, Armageddon Medicine.

About The Author: Cynthia J. Koelker, MD is the author of the book 101 Ways to Save Money on Health Care explains how to treat over 30 common medical conditions economically, and includes dozens of sections on treating yourself. Available for under $10 online, the book offers practical advice on treating: respiratory infections, pink eye, sore throats, nausea, diarrhea, heartburn, urinary infections, allergies, arthritis, acne, hemorrhoids, dermatitis, skin infection, lacerations, lice, carpal tunnel syndrome, warts, mental illness, asthma, COPD, depression, diabetes, enlarged prostate, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and much more.

Dr. Koelker has recently started a new medical blog on surviving TEOTWAWKI, ArmageddonMedicine.net. She welcomes your questions, comments, and critiques.

Letter Re: Self Sufficiency Christmas Gifts on a Budget

Just a note to Richard C. and others who are interested in creating books from public-domain sources.

I think it’s a great idea to give knowledge as a gift, especially in the form of books. However, I’m not sure that Richard’s plan is an economical one. Most people have ink-jet printers, with high cost ink cartridges. Plus the added danger of the risk of fading and lack of water-fastness in most ink-jet inks might make the information unusable for the long term. Another option is using a laser printer, which will deliver a lower cost per page and will have much better long-term durability. However, both methods are going to be time-consuming and will require some sort of binding at the end of all that printing.

These days, there is another way that might interest readers, which is print-on-demand services like CreateSpace.com, run by the Amazon.com folks (there are others out there, I just researched this one for a project of my own). According to the pricing guide on their Web site, an 8″ x 10″, black and white book of 100 pages is only $3.66. A 200-page book is $5.50. The final product looks like a regular paperback book, complete with full-color cover. You’d also pay shipping and handling, but I’m sure you can see that this can be a significant time and money saver, especially if you want multiple copies of the same book. Putting multiple books in the same binding can further your savings.

And after his book is finished and printed for his family at Christmas, he can leave it up on Amazon.com for others to purchase and make a profit on his work if he likes. The gift that keeps on giving! Cheers! – Jason R.

Economics and Investing:

RBS mentioned the Foreclosure Rate Heat Map

Gerald W. spotted this piece that confirms what SurvivalBlog readers heard several months ago: Government Prepares To Seize Private Pensions

From G.G.: One third of Britons don’t have enough savings to survive just Five Days out of work

Items from The Economatrix:

Banking Collapse Scenarios Fall/Winter 2010

Why You (Probably) Need More Gold

Pay Garnishments Rise as Debtors Fall Behind

US Housing Market Faces New Threat from Foreclosure Row

World Financial System Not Sustainable

Dollar Depreciation and the Higher Cost of Living

Earnings Reports Push Stocks Higher, Dow Up 76

Wall Street Begins to Fear Nightmare “Foreclosure-Gate”

Gold Surges After Japan Says it is Considering New QE and Geithner Guarantees Currency Wars

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“….Then the Gods of the Market tumbled, and their smooth-tongued wizards withdrew
And the hearts of the meanest were humbled and began to believe it was true
That All is not Gold that Glitters, and Two and Two make Four
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings limped up to explain it once more.

As it will be in the future, it was at the birth of Man
There are only four things certain since Social Progress began.
That the Dog returns to his Vomit and the Sow returns to her Mire,
And the burnt Fool’s bandaged finger goes wabbling back to the Fire;

And that after this is accomplished, and the brave new world begins
When all men are paid for existing and no man must pay for his sins,
As surely as Water will wet us, as surely as Fire will burn,
The Gods of the Copybook Headings with terror and slaughter return!” – Rudyard Kipling, “The Gods of the Copybook Headings”, 1919

Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 31 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round will 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 between $500 and $600, and B.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees, in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $392 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A 500 round case of Fiocchi 9mm Parabellum (Luger ) with 124gr. Hornady XTP/HP projectiles, courtesy of Sunflower Ammo (a $249 value), and E.) An M17 medical kit from JRH Enterprises (a $179.95 value).

Second Prize: A.) 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 $400, B.) A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials, and C.) two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Third Prize: A.) A copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, from Arbogast Publishing, and B.) a Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21. (This filter system is a $275 value.)

Round 31 ends on November 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.