David in Israel Replies to Letters Re: On Suture, Staples, and Glue for Wound Closure

The letters stating that only trained people should suture wounds are absolutely correct, you must be trained and it definitely falls into the category of a “skilled intervention.”
Clearly, I did not stress this enough.

A good way to get an basic level (non-skilled) orientation to using medical skills is ride along with fire and EMS, Hospitals may allow observers in the ER and other wards if you can find a good reason. A good way to form a relationship with health care providers in this situation is to do research for writing a book. After the releases are signed you will (with due respect for privacy) possibly even be allowed to photograph stages of treatment along with taking notes for yourself. Hospitals have a secondary purpose it is continual training of the doctors, nurses, techs, and staff so expect a many good teachers. Many fields of work from engineering to forestry are happy to allow on site interviews and research if you know how to ask and approach in a professional manner. These interview notes sessions must be taken for what they really are skin deep looks at these vital highly skilled interventions and hopefully a motivation to put in the effort to obtain proper certification verifying to the world (and yourself) that you are qualified in the skills you claim to posses as well as protection under many state good Samaritan acts.

JWR Adds: I concur that SurvivalBlog readers should get as much medical training as possible. The time may come when you folks reading this have a major trauma patient laying before you (for example a gun shot wound, knife wound, or a farm tractor accident) and no doctor available to help you for hours or days. Two of the most crucial skills are learning how to stop bleeding and how to treat for shock. OBTW, I highly recommend a new product designed to stop bleeding called Traumadex. It comes with an instructional DVD that is amazing. (The DVD shows Traumadex being applied to induced wounds on pigs–even stopping bleeding from a femoral artery!) Traumadex is now available from Ready Made Resources  and just a few other vendors.

Letter Re: Questions on Petromax Lanterns (and Clones Thereof)

1

Greetings Mr. Rawles,
I may be able to offer a bit of information on the Petromax lantern to the readers. I purchased one prior to Y2K. I have used mine off and on during power outages over the years. One thing to remember about the Petromax is that their startup procedure is a bit different than Coleman lanterns. So any new owner must read the instruction manuals from cover to cover, and make sure anyone who would be charged with operating the lantern be fully aware of the startup procedure. A bit of a funny story was when we were hit by a power outage a couple years ago. I retrieved a flashlight just to see where I had packed back the Petromax in the bug out equipment. After unpacking the Petromax I proceeded to fill and start up the Petromax, and since it had be a long while since I fired it up I thought that I remembered the procedures. I always startup any liquid filled pressure lantern or liquid portable appliance outside of the house, just in case. Well, I did not remember the procedure as I thought I had, and I had created a very good flame-thrower! Not too good! My wife was standing at the door saying something to the effect, “Boy, you are going to burn the hair off your face!” WHOOSH! She was right, no eyebrows and one slightly damaged moustache! So to anyone who wants to use one of these re-read the directions if you think that you have any doubts about startup procedures. I mention this bit of comedy because if I had not followed my own procedure of starting liquid fuel lanterns outside, and making sure they were performing as they should before entering in the house or garage; the results could have been catastrophic. These are great lanterns, but as with all things safety first, and read directions or re-read them if it has been awhile since you have operated any equipment.
My personal opinion is that any group needs to have at least on of the 500 CP lanterns. I purchased it not only for general lighting but I saw a situation where you would need very bright white light in special circumstances such as repairing equipment at night and most importantly for medical, i.e. surgical procedures. With the hanging options, and reflector for the Petromax you have a perfect OR, or medical treatment light when there is no electricity. The large lantern when hung higher will allow lighting of a large area. As a table or room light the 500 CP is extremely bright. But the Petromax people, being forward thinking, have provided a solution. They have a frosted chimney to cut down on the harshness of the mantle’s light. That is next on the ‘to buy’ list. See:
http://www.britelyt.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=BPP&Product_Code=500F
At one time they had an amber chimney to keep bugs away for when the lantern is used outside, but I have not seen this chimney on their site. If you want to include this additional chimney you may need to ask if they still offer them.
One extra item that I purchased was the Easy Pump Valve. This valve allows you to attach a hand bicycle pump or a CO2 cartridge to pressurize the lantern. Using the standard hand pump can really do a job on your thumb, especially for older people like me. But this resolves that problem quite nicely.
http://www.britelyt.com/pump1.htm
For the 150 Lantern there is an Isopropyl Alcohol Conversion Kit, see: http://www.britelyt.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=BPP&Product_Code=ISPA-150CP
There is also a kit for the 500CP and 350 CP lantern to burn Isopropyl Alcohol more efficiently. http://www.britelyt.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=BPP&Product_Code=ALC-3350
I will not part with my Petromax, and plan on purchasing one of the smaller variants. To my knowledge this is the safest pressure multi-fuel lantern on the market for indoor use (excepting propane lanterns). There may be others out there I am not aware of. If there is, someone chime in and let everyone know. These are built to pass on to the next generation and can be rebuilt from ground up if needed during a time of disaster, providing you have spare parts. Purchasing the parts most susceptible to wear out or break at time of initial purchase is the way to go. I hope this helps, and remember, read all instructions on firing these puppies up. OBTW, here is Tech Link to Petromax Lanterns for those who have lost the instructions or for new people who want to read up before plunking down the bucks: http://www.britelyt.com/technical.htm – The Rabid One

Letter RE: The Silver ETF and Uranium

Jim,
I am a professional financial planner and portfolio manager and I share your feeling that the price of silver is going up. However, I do not believe that the Silver Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) will be approved in the near future. The problem is that there is not enough physical silver readily available to be able to fund it at any reasonable level. In other words, approval of the ETF would be way too disruptive to the market at the current time and I think the regulators realize this. I got the impression from reading your post today that the ETF is a done deal, but I give this a maybe 10% chance of happening in 2006. I do predict that silver is headed into the $12-$15 range in the next 12 to 18 months (I just saw a report that [silver] futures contracts are being sold at $12 [per troy ounce] now.) Perhaps by then the short sellers will have been weeded out of the market and new production will step in to fill the void.

On a side note, check out the price on uranium – the spot price is up almost 500% in the last four years and is in a screaming up trend. Obviously you can’t buy a 100 ounce bar and stick in your safe, but you can buy the shares of a couple of the major producers and leverage the gains. I’m a firm believer that future power generation will have to be nuclear – there is no other viable, economic choice. – D.S.

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Like gold, U.S. dollars have value only to the extent that they are strictly limited in supply. But the U.S. government has a technology, called a printing press (or, today, its electronic equivalent), that allows it to produce as many U.S. dollars as it wishes at essentially no cost…A money-financed tax cut is essentially equivalent to Milton Friedman’s famous “helicopter drop” of money.” – incoming Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, Deflation: Making Sure ‘It’ Doesn’t Happen Here (Remarks to the National Economists’ Club, Washington, DC, Nov 21, 2002)

Note From JWR:

We will be announcing the winner of Round 2 our non-fiction writing contest on February 1st. The prize is a four day course certificate at Front Sight.

I greatly appreciate your e-mails, folks.  Please keep them coming.  They are what make SurvivalBlog great.  Your collective knowledge is phenomenal.

More About Silver’s Imminent Price Explosion

Yesterday on SurvivalBlog (27 Jan.06) , I posted my take on the Iran situation and correlated it to the precious metals market–and silver in particular. Since then I’ve had two different readers e-mail to ask why I’m so sure about an imminent jump in the price of silver.  Here is some useful background:
World silver inventories have fallen to less than 600 million ounces–far below the 1.4 billion ounces that was on hand in 1991. The silver market is incredibly thin compared to the gold
market. That is one reason that silver prices trend to be more volatile that gold prices. For perspective,  consider that together, the two big gold Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) hold around six million ounces of gold. The current ratio of silver to gold prices is around 57 to one. Hence, if the new silver ETF (or multiple ETFs) were hold an equivalent value in silver, that would mean 342 million ounces. That well exceeds the entire world’s silver market inventory! As my maternal grandfather used to say in his fractured Spanish: “No ay ningun possibilidad.” (“There ain’t no way.”) This data leads me to the conclusion that even if the new silver ETF has perhaps only 1/4 the cash value of the Gold ETFs, then the silver market will still explode. Mark my words: Even in the absence of international tension with Iran and other contributing factors, there will probably be a huge short squeeze in the silver market in the near future. The upside potential is astronomical.

Paratus Farms Project Update

Here is an update on my retreat community land deal in the Inland Northwest: We could not come to agreement over terms of the sale. The seller has decided he wants a cash offer.  If the situation changes, I will post an update. At this point, all that I can hope for is that a "white knight" will step forward and take over the project, or lend me the cash needed. But for now, the land development project is on the back burner.

Letter Re: Questions on Petromax Lanterns (and Clones Thereof)

Jim:
This time I’m the one asking questions: Petromax lanterns. Okay, I know about the upgrades all the way thru BriteLyt, etc. One comment, based on what I read at the Walton Feed website: http://www.waltonfeed.com/petromax.html. They don’t recommend the cooking surface that fits on top of the lamp. Best to read their comments directly. Now there are some good, should I say copies?, but what I’m curious about is the Candle Power/Lumens of the various lamps. The 500 generally is considered to be equal to a 100 watt light bulb. There is a 350 candle power (CP) mantle and a new improvement replacing the ceramic jet with a stainless steel one. There is also a smaller one that doesn’t get much press: The 150 CP version. This is what I’m curious about. I know, being American, I’m supposed to buy the big lantern that is bright as heck. BUT I tend toward lower light levels. I never did like the Coleman gas lanterns. They always seemed like a bazillion watt stadium light to me. Anybody using the Petromax/Britelyt 150? I assume that the fuel lasts longer and it puts out less heat but still a fair bit of light. Any good stories or bits of advice? I’m probably picking up a couple of the small ones (yes, of course, along with spare globes, pump kits, and lots of mantels) next week along with the metal lampshade things and the tree hanger with the chain. Does anybody have opinions on the side reflectors? Thanks, – The Army Aviator

JWR Replies:  I’m an old-fashioned Alladin lamp diehard, so I don’t know much about the Petromax lanterns and their clones. However, I do recommend getting shade kits, because those lamps are incredibly bright–as in retinal-burning bright! Hopefully a SurvivalBlog reader will e-mail me with their collected wisdom about these lamps.

Odds ‘n Sods:

The U.S. Army plans to introduce new “Compressed Meal” (CM) freeze dried MRE alternatives. These will be about 2/3s the size and weight of the current MREs. See: http://www.dcmilitary.com/navy/seaservices/10_53/national_news/39293-1.html

  o o o

There was a recent report that the strain of Asian Avian flu that has made its was to Turkey is alarmingly similar to 1918 strain. See:http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=34224cff-120f-4d19-bd6c-526d264833f7&k=15148   My advice:  In case this bug mutates into s strain that is easily transmitted from person to person, be ready to self-quarantine for six months or longer, folks!  This will require a big pile-O-logistics!

 

  o o o

Some good news for FN/FAL builders. You’ve probably heard that the BATFE created a shortage of barrels with their arbitrary decision to restrict import licenses on military surplus semi-auto parts kits. To remedy this situation, Gun Parts Guy has started producing U.S.-made FN-FAL and L1A1 barrels. See: http://www.gunpartsguy.com/

  o o o

 

Mainland China will be introducing its “Geely” economy car into the U.S. market in 2008. How charming. I suspect that the low sticker price will be based on fact that most of the parts will be produced in China’s laogai prison factories. Those commies!

 

  o o o

The folks at The Pre-1899 Specialist report that just as they were about to run out of Turkish contract pre-1899 (no FFL) Model 1893 Oberndorf Mausers, their persistence paid off and they found another small batch. The bad news is that these ones cost them a lot more than the previous lot (since the supply in the U.S. has virtually dried up). But the good news news is that these latest ones are in fantastic condition!  (The importer had apparently been “saving the best for last.”) This is your chance to get a high pressure 8 x57 Mauser  (suitable for re-barreling for many modern chamberings) delivered right to your doorstep without filling out a Form 4473. There is no stinkin’ paperwork required because these rifles are Federally classified as “antiques” and hence entirely outside of  Federal jurisdiction. (Consult your state and local laws before you place an order, naturlich.)

  o o o

On Jan. 31st: America will say Goodbye to “Mr. Magoo” Greenspan, and get introduced to “Helicopter Ben” Bernanke. See Adam Hamilton’s insightful commentary on “The Greenspan Legacy” at: http://www.gold-eagle.com/gold_digest_05/hamilton012706.html

More On Precious Metals, The Iranian Nuclear Situation, The Iranian Oil Bourse, and the New Silver ETF

I’ve had more than a dozen e-mails from SurvivalBlog readers in recent weeks regarding Iran’s plans open a new oil bourse in March that will be denominated in Euros. Meanwhile there is lots of saber rattling going on, regarding Iran’s nuclear program–leading to the prospect of an Iranian oil embargo, which could of course mean very bad things for the U.S. economy. I have no idea how these two semi-related situations will play out. I’d be a fool to say that I knew. Aside for a few Ayatollahs, nobody knows. All that I can tell you is that these situations spell instability and uncertainty. The speculative side of the precious metals market is driven by fear, and I think that there will be plenty of fear in the coming months. Therefore, I can foresee a spike in the price of precious metals. The biggest gain will surely be in silver, which has been undervalued for years. In fact, silver could jump to over $90 an ounce. How? Here is one scenario: What if the recently-announced silver exchange traded fund (ETF) goes “live” at roughly the same time as either a.) a dollar crisis (precipitated by the new oil bourse), or b.) an Iranian oil embargo, or c.) military action in Iran–most likely an attack on their nuclear reactors.  It could even be a combination of all of the above. Consider that silver ran up to $50 per ounce during the Hunt Brothers short squeeze/buying panic in the late 1970s. Adjusted for inflation that would be the equivalent of around $80 per ounce these days.
I can’t overstate the significance of the Iran situation. For some more background, see: http://www.gold-eagle.com/editorials_05/willie012506.html
I’m just glad that I bought nearly all my Engelhard 100 ounce bars back when spot silver was around $4.40 an ounce!

Back in February of 2001, I stuck my neck out and “called the bottom” publicly when spot silver dipped to $4.55 per ounce. In that same post I predicted a possible further price sag to “as low as $4.25.” In fact it actually bottomed a few months later, at around $4.16. Okay, so I missed calling the exact the bottom, but on a macro scale I fairly accurately called the end of a 15+ year bear market and the beginning of the current bull market. BTW, if you think I’m making this up, see the Usenet newsgroup archives: http://groups.google.com/groups?q=Rawles+Calls+Bottom+Silver&hl=en 
The long term charts at Kitco.com are a real eye-opener.

Buckle your seat belts, folks. We are in for quite a roller coaster ride.

Product Review: Safecastle’s New Compact “ScramKit”

A SurvivalBlog reader in Montana recommended that I take a look at the new compact “ScramKits” being offered by Safecastle. I must say that I’m impressed. They pack a lot of survival gear into a very small space. Their “Responder Personal” kit is in effect a miniature “Get Out of Dodge” (G.O.O.D.) kit or “bug out bag” (BOB) that you should keep in your car’s glove box or center console box at all times. This kit fits in its own heavy duty belt pouch (available in three different colors) with ALICE/MOLLE attachments  I think that the ScramKit makes the ideal “core” of a more comprehensive G.O.O.D. kit.  Add a tube tent and/or a couple of heavy duty space blankets and you have shelter for longer duration. Add a canteen and a day pack full of MREs, retort packaged, and/or freeze dried food to that, and you’ve got sustenance for a week. Add a whompin’ big sheath knife, and…

Here is what the kit contains:
* Maxpedition™ M5 waistbag in your choice of black, green, or khaki (as available)
* Personal-size first aid kit (in separately-removable bag)
* Pocket Survival Pack™ (in waterproof bag), from Adventure Medical Kits, which contains a treasure trove of goodies:
o Rescue Howler™ whistle
o Emergency signal mirror
o Fluid-filled magnetic compass
o Fire starter kit
o Duct tape (2″ x 26″)
o Scalpel blade
o Stainless steel utility wire (6 feet long)
o Nylon thread
o Nylon braided “paracord”
o Fishing gear: hooks, sinkers, swivel, nylon line
o Heavy-duty aluminum foil (1 sq. yard)
o Large sewing needle & safety pins
o Waterproof paper and pencil
* Tool Logic SL3™ folding knife with integral whistle and fire starter rod
* Tool Logic Ice Card II™ credit-card multi tool system
* Tool Logic T1 Tech Light™ LED clip-on flashlight
* Emergency mylar “space” blanket
* 2 earloop face masks (surgical grade) in separate ziplock bags
* 2 pairs of nitrile exam gloves (non-sterile) paired up into separate ziplock bags
* GP4L digital shortwave radio with built-in regulated LED flashlight (includes earbuds) in a crush-resistant plastic case
* 16-foot windup antenna for the GP4L radio.

The Responder Personal kit provides the following capabilities:
* Basic first aid
* Basic respiratory protection (biological)
* Moderate emergency response
* Basic lighting (redundant)
* Basic fire starting (redundant)
* Basic tooling & gear repair
* Moderate communications (reception only)

The bottom line: I highly recommend this kit. Yes, you could assemble your own comparable kit, but that would take a lot of research and placing six or seven separate mail orders. And because of economies of scale (since Safecastle no doubt buys all of the components in quantity and hence commands lower prices from their suppliers) you wouldn’t save much money by doing the piecemeal purchasing yourself. One important proviso: Don’ t take one of these kits on a commercial airplane flight unless the kit is inside of your checked luggage.  (The pocket knife, snare wire, fire starters, and stainless surgical blades would be enough to give the TSA screeners fits of apoplexy!)

Precious Metals Update

You may have noticed that yesterday gold briefly touched $565 per ounce and silver hit $9.44 per ounce and stayed there. Methinks this bull market is just getting started! Aside for some doldrums this summer (since summers are typically quiet for the metals markets), you can expect a choppy but generally upward (stair-stepping) path for the precious metal prices through the rest of the year. The 90 and 120 day moving averages (DMAs) point to the bull market trend to continue WELL in excess of the rate of inflation. There is even the chance of on “upright spike” in the event of a dollar crisis. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: On a macro scale, the second half of this “Aughts” decade will probably resemble the second half of the 1970s. I just hope that the Federal Reserve’s new chief (“Helicopter Ben” Bernanke) can crank up his bubble machine fast enough to avert simultaneous stock market and real estate market collapses. This could get very interesting, folks. I expect that the U.S. real estate bubble will burst, sometime around May of ’06. There are already signs that the bubble is starting to lose some of its hot air. For example, see: http://money.cnn.com/2006/01/19/real_estate/home_money_0602/

David in Israel on Fire Suppression and Fire Fighting

For those with a real retreat in the forest or high desert a more pressing need than complete firearms battery is fire suppression. If you miss my point here, I believe that many survivalists confuse their gun hobby with serious survival preparations.

If the massive combined fire suppression ever stops for even a year massive fires will rip across the United States. Fuel loading from over 70 years of fire suppression and no natural burn-off has made conditions ripe for fires never seen before in North America.  Even if your only survival concerns are foreign invasion or occupation expect fire to be used (as was
attempted but failed during the Vietnam Agent Orange defoliation ops) to clear insurgents out of unsettled areas and deny them cover and natural resources.
This is a massive topic and this post can only give you areas to begin study.

1-Thin the vegetation as far as you are practical able to in the area of your home/retreat ideally this would be a county or community effort and the USFS or State Forestry Agency may be able to assist. Ideally, undergrowth would be burned off and trees closer than 5-10M to another would be removed to slow spread through a forest crown fire.
2-Create a perimeter around your home grass must be mowed to a stubble and raked off, no trees can be within 10M of the house any building or fuel tank.
Try to eliminate flammable trees in the nearby areas to your home and plant less flammable types.
3-Switch to a non flammable roof now, shake roofs are tinder and are almost a guarantee of a burned home in a fire
4-Make active suppression preparations:
– Install a irrigation system, include the roofs and under the eaves of your buildings in this sprinkler installation
– Install a swimming pool or cistern to provide a large supply of water
– Have a portable or installed gas powered water pump 250gpm is a good rate more will support more hand lines but any is better than none have a store of 1.5″ supply line as well as 1″ fire and 3/4″ fire (with garden hose fittings) types, nozzles, adapters, splitters etc will round out the hardware.  Standardize [fittings] with local fire or fed/state agencies who would respond.  BTW, it is best to mark [with a distinctive bright paint color] all of your hardware to prevent theft after a fire by the crews.
A excellent preparation to keep you whole home with pressurized water in the event of a prolonged outage is making a water tower and relying on head pressure to feed both your home and fire suppression systems.
This is as simple as hanging plastic barrels on a tree trunk or as complex as complex as having contractors install a proper water tower. For the improvised tower remember the filled weight of your water (1 gal = 8.33 lbs. and 55 gal = 458 lbs.) and fence around the tower in case of collapse so that nobody is injured.

Here in Israel I have seen the same “pumpkin” tanks that we used in the Forest Service, but built to larger dimensions and more aesthetic colors and sold as swimming pools. Above
ground or in ground is a matter of your pocketbook but be sure that you are able to properly draft to supply your fire operations.

Clothing
Nomex is best, USFS surplus or military flight suits are good as long as no metal zippers contact skin, the next best is cotton, Never wear synthetics or synthetic blends for use around fire.

Boots/Gloves
Never wear steel toe boots for fire fighting, because the steel will hold heat. Kevlar laces do not melt or burn. Keep boots and gloves dry to prevent steam burns. White’s brand were
the best in my day this may have changed. Good leather gloves light enough to work in, do not oil them keep them dry buy as large a supply as possible, kevlar stitching and double palm is a plus.

Gear
Buy a fire shelter for every family member plus extras, have several fire shovels (different than cheap garden/work shovels) and Pulaskies (hoe/axe tool), a helmet should always be worn during heavy work, and possibly blagger bags will help mop up after a fire has gone through. Also, a chainsaw adequate for cutting the local timber and the skills to use and maintain it are a must.

JWR Adds:  David speaks from experience. Heed his advice. Most of you may not be aware, but before he emigrated to Israel, David worked in the U.S. for many years as a full time fireman, and later as a paramedic.  

My $.02 worth on fire suppression/fire fighting:  If you are building a retreat from scratch or if you are replacing an existing water system, I recommend that you spend a little bit more an put in a large cistern, preferably with gravity feed with a substantial head, and put in a 2″ diameter Schedule 40 service line to the house.  Just outside of the house put in a “T” on the two inch line with a 2″ gate valve.  (Downstream of that “T” is where you can reduced to 1″ or smaller lines for your house.) Those 2″ gate valves are outrageously expensive–around $50 each), so shop around–perhaps buy them used.  At the big gate valve you can attach a proper high volume fire fighting hose rig. Effective firefighting is all about dispensing a large VOLUME of water, fast. Anything smaller than a 2″ diameter line will not suffice!  (Okay, perhaps 1.5 inch line if you are on a tight budget.)