Top Six Common Questions Concerning An EMP, by Old Bobbert

…trucks would include semis, buses, etc., The title is below which should be easily searchable online. You can download the PDF for future reference. Overall, there is not really as much to worry about as you would think, at least when it comes to vehicles. Evidently, and I will post this information at a later time, the Automakers have been quietly working on the EMP issue for a very long time, and have found ways that are already incorporated into newer vehicles that limit any damage from an EMP. Of course, other aspects of the infrastructure are still more vulnerable to EMP, and that is a concern. Hope this helps. http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&ved=0ahUKEwjr2P7ywsPXAhVilVQKHWQkBvQQFgguMAE&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dtic.mil%2Fget-tr-doc%2Fpdf%3FAD%3Dada484672&usg=AOvVaw1QJiPKjC1wiR2POqLqFt7P Report of the Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack – April 2008 Automobiles were subjected to EMP environments under both engine turned off and engine turned on conditions. No effects were…




Letter Re: Use of the Title Architect

…years of internship, depending on level of architectural degree, (Masters vs. Bachelors) validated by the national  NCARB Intern Development Program (NCARB IDP)  for verification of multi-thousand hours of experience, in over a dozen specific categories, signed off by licensed architects,”  (quote from D.C.’s letter) True, yet not true.  Every state has its own requirement.  Again see the aforementioned link..  The range is from 2 years to 13 years of work under an “architect” and the IDP requirements can be met in as little at 2-½ years, as in my case.  “3. Achieve passing scores on all  8 parts of the national NCARB Architectural Registration Exam (NCARB ARE). Until this exam was computerized in 1996, it was 4 long lays of testing with the final day being a 12 hour long Charette to design an entire building, which passes all codes, based on being provided just a written program requirement and…




Medical Emergency Sheets – Part 2, by K.B., M.D.

…the pain, a heart attack or not? If it’s not your usual indigestion symptoms responsive to antacids, call 911! There are many different types of chest pain and even the experts require EKG’s and other tests to make an accurate diagnosis. In a dire emergency without *any* chance of medical help, take an aspirin daily, use oxygen if available, and stay in bed completely for 3 days, and perform no physical exertion for 6 weeks. (Complete bed rest means no bathroom privileges.) Also note that females suffering heart attack often have an atypical presentation such as extreme fatigue, faintness, shortness of breath, and dizziness. Make sure that your family members know where this Medical Emergency Sheet is located so they can refer to it if you are in trouble. While waiting for the ambulance, have the patient rest with his back supported from behind and his knees bent if possible….




Providing Pictorial Gear Manuals for Your Group, by R.H.

…of each page will seal your manual from most harm. Another advantage is that it will add some stiffness which makes it easier to use. A potential difficulty to lamination when using a single sheet is the wrinkles caused by uneven attachment. A simple flat carpenter’s square can provide both a method to help hold the lamination sheet in place, and measurement markers to start the page at the right spot. Getting the initial margins set up should make it easier to roll the page down onto the lamination sheet. Simply settle the lamination sheet into the corner of the square, use the measurement markings to align the printed sheet at the top and carefully flatten the printed sheet. Once the lamination sheet and manual page are lined up and smoothly flattened together, the square can help guide the second lamination sheet to match the front sheet and cover the…




I Love Sharp Things, by Phil M.

…are sharp and I mean really sharp. From experience I can tell you that most are not very sharp at all. Many examples of this come to mind like taking fresh baked bread to a neighbors party and asking for a bread knife that turned out to be so dull I could have done a better job with my shoe. Or someone pulls out the trusty chainsaw to cut a pine that fell across the drive, and when they finally get it started it whines and bogs and sticks and smokes until the poor guy gives up and calls his brother-in-law. In a normal world these are frustrations, but in a situation where you cannot replace that chain or that blade or those shears, things will become a lot more serious and important. Think of all the items you use during the week or month that work so much better…




Letter Re: An Army Veteran’s Thoughts on Camouflage

Sir, In regards to the article: An Army Veteran’s Thoughts on Camouflage.  I have a few comments and recommendations: There are many different types of materials that a ghillie suit can be made from and burlap being a very good and cheap and easily accessible one, a couple bundles of natural color jute and some color dyes (mixed with some burlap) can make one very nice ghillie suit.  There are many places that these materials can be purchased from.  Ghilliesuits.com (which I have ordered my Jute from) is just one.  Do a quick search for “ghillie suit kits or jute ghillie suite material” and have fun selecting from the masses of web sites.  Why not just search for ghillie suit kits?  Why pay someone hundreds of dollars to build you one that you may not like and/or it may not match your area.  Building your very own ghillie suit is…




Making Water Safe to Drink, by Paratrooper John

…Filter materials that can be used for this method include dirt, grass, charcoal, cloth and coffee filters.  You will ideally need at least three different materials.  The preferred ones would be grass, charcoal and dirt. The top of the container will need to be removed so the materials can be layered into it.  Smalls holes will are placed in the bottom of the container.  They need to be the right size to allow the water to flow through them but not allow all of the filter materials to get through.  You can start small and increase the size of the holes as needed. The filter should have the coarsest materials on the top and bottom and as the layers get closer to the middle the finer materials are used.  For example, at the bottom of the container would be grass, then on that would be dirt, then charcoal, dirt again…




A Contractor’s Preps: Materiel Storage, by Paul W.

…Those are the items I kept for myself.  I gathered windows, doors and molding that I took home and posted on craigslist for resale.  Ammo and food storage money!  Craigslist is the next best place to pick up materials with a little work and searching.  I have come across many postings in the past of people looking to have decks from old pools taken down or concrete blocks from old burn pits.  It is a plethora of free materials that could be a home saver in the future.  Sometimes and if your budget allows you will find contractors liquidating non-used materials from job sites.  You can get these for pennies on the dollar compared to home depot.  Material Auctions from local auctioneers are good to keep an eye out for as well.  Even the local county gov’t has their auctions that you can find items for dirt cheap.  Now Materials




Post Your Curtilage Boundaries!

…be someone screaming or shouting “Help!”) A few jurisdictions allow “telephonic” warrants from a judge or magistrate, but those must eventually be backed up with a written warrant. Anything found by a law officer as part of an illegal search is not admissible as evidence in court, under the Fruit of the Poisonous Tree doctrine. Even a search warrant is not blanket permission to search all parts of a property. Only those places and items specifically named in the warrant can legally be searched. Any searches going beyond the terms of the warrant would also fall under the Fruit of the Poisonous Tree doctrine. A recently enacted Federal law has made it a felony to shoot down drones, since they are classified as “aircraft.” (See: 18 U.S.C. § 32.) Once again, I encourage my readers to post their property lines and also establish and post their Curtilage Boundaries. – JWR…




SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

…China, STRATCOM Chief Says. o o o A video that describes modern search engine truncation, manipulation, and user steering: Disturbing Proof They’re Quietly Deleting the Internet… JWR’s Comments: I’m coining a postulate that I consider nigh-on universal: In 21st Century western societies, if something isn’t about revenue, then it is about control. I found that even StartPage (my heretofore favorite search engine, for the sake of privacy) truncates search results. As a test, I entered: “James Rawles Interview”, and saw that the results were limited to just 12 pages. I assume that this is because they are running one of the major search engines in the background. I tried several others, with similar truncation. Then I tried the Ecosia search engine. Its results on that same test search seemed to go on for about 70 pages, until they started looping back to just two web articles. I’m curious to know…




How to Decide on a Homestead Location and Get There, by Orange Jeep Dad

…of diesel mechanic shops in your desired area complete with address and contact information.  Google the names of their companies and search out a little individually specific information on each one before you call. A quick search tells me that Tim’s Auto Repair and Service in Nampa employs “ASE certified techs” and is” B+ rated with the Better Business Bureau”.” Family owned and operated” while being closed on weekends gives you four arrows in your quiver when aiming for a job with them. They should be impressed that you took the time to research the company. The approach I took to land my job was a little different. Since my job would be in a hospital, I search for the local hospitals near my homestead location. I chose one particular hospital and went to LinkedIn.  I won’t go into the details of LinkedIn here but suffice it to say it…




Small Unit Tactics in a Post Collapse Environment, by Gunfighter

…in your bag. Consider your options, and then act. For more information on Movement to Contact reference FM 3-90 Tactics, Chapter 4 Movement to Contact or SH 21-76 Ranger Handbook Chapter 5 Patrols. You can also do a search of Movement to Contact in an Internet search engine. Up until now we have discussed how to assemble your squad, move your squad, and find the enemy. Finally we come to how to destroy any would be attackers. The scenario is you’re squad has left the survival retreat, as it has before. Every member has their head on a swivel looking for signs of danger, rifles at the ready. You’re not looking for a fight, but are ready if one comes your way. You’re focused on the task at hand, whether it is gathering supplies or going to a town meeting your squad is ready to do what it needs to….




The Latest SPLC Smear Attack

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has published yet another smear article about me, the readers of SurvivalBlog, and the American Redoubt movement. At the SPLC’sĀ  “Hatewatch” web page, an article titled “Far-right survivalist and icon of ‘Patriot’ movement predicts religious civil war” was published on January 3, 2019. ThisĀ  latest SPLC attack piece begins:

“The framer of a far-right survivalist movement in the Pacific Northwest rang in the new year by warning of religious civil war. James Wesley, Rawles, (sic) a former U.S. Army intelligence officer and self-described religious separatist who once called Islam a ā€œreligion of evil and death,ā€ thinks a ā€œwar of world viewsā€ may come as early as 2020. And heā€™s urging his readers to strategically relocate inland to red states.”

By cleverly mixing facts, innuendo, and guilt by association, the SPLC’s Hatewatch editors have repeatedly smeared JWR, SurvivalBlog, and the American Redoubt political migration movement. This is just the latest in their long string of baseless attacks. They published similar smear pieces in 2011, and 2013. Their defaming accusations were also parroted by others on several occasions, most notably in 2017. This modus operandi perfectly matches what Prager University warned about, in their video:Ā The “Anti-Hate” Group That Is a Hate Group.

Crank Up the Sinister to 11

Look closely at the layout of the SPLC’s latest attack piece, The portrait photo of me that they used is blown up and tightly-cropped. It has enhanced contrast, a darkening screen cast over the bottom half (to make me look like I have a Tricky Dick Nixon 10-o’clock shadow), and even darker shading added around my eyes. I can only conclude that this was to make me look sinister.

Continue reading“The Latest SPLC Smear Attack”




Reusing Can Canning Jar Lids, by St. Funogas

…important steps are 1.) be sure the lids are brought to a boil and then the heat turned off, and 2.) the jar rim is wiped absolutely clean. Do these two things and you’ll have a near-perfect lid seal record. WHY REUSE CANNING JAR LIDS? You can buy jars today for $10 at some of the big stores, which comes to 83¢ each. The big canning-jar companies are happy to give you a good price on the jars because at $3.99 for a box of 12 lids, you’ll be spending $40 over the next ten years buying new lids for those same 12 jars. It’s no wonder why canning jar companies tell us not to reuse lids. If you’re a serious canner who does 100 jars per year, you’re looking at spending $333 on new lids over the next ten years. And many of us use far more than 100…




The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

…there is something being added to my comments. *************************************************** The observations made about different languages ~>go to a lack of cohesion; a sense of community within a society. San Francisco is a prime example, of how ~prosperity doesn’t necessary bring about a stable community. [A community means a society where people seek the ‘common good’ for all of its members.] ThoDan, you and I ~might have a difference of values and a common language, understanding. I made my remarks about the lack of commonality in a society; = a lack of a common language and common values, generally leads to a break-down in a society. This is from the ‘about’ page at SurvivalBlog. = “There are Moral Absolutes. The foundational morality of the civilized world is best summarized in the Ten Commandments. Moral relativism and secular humanism are slippery slopes. The terminal moraine at the base of these slopes is…