Ukraine’s surprise robot offensive exposes Russian vulnerability.

SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

James Wesley Rawles October 13, 2026 October 12, 2026

Our weekly Snippets column is a collection of short items: responses to posted articles, practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. Note that we may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters.

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Ukraine’s surprise robot offensive exposes a vulnerability in Putin’s war machine.

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American Lasers Now Destroying Iranian Weapons and Infrastructure.

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Courts Just Ruled the Gospel “Psychologically Harmful” — and Pastors Are Being Told to Shut Up.

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Travis in Southern Idaho wrote:

“Mr. Rawles, I am a long-time fan. In Rush Limbaugh terms, I’m a Dittohead. I have loved your Patriots novel series.

In reading the recent SurvivalBlog two-part article about the 40 TRILLION dollar debt, I felt compelled to note that the $40 trillion debt is the polite/official number. The actual debt is actually fast approaching $116 TRILLION DOLLARS. (This amount is also on the USDEBTCLOCK.ORG website, under “US TOTAL DEBT”) Our [long term] obligations are staggering and almost 4X the polite, and equally outrageous, $40 trillion dollars. We are insolvent as a nation. I’d argue that there is no way that we can pay off $40 trillion in debt, let alone $116 trillion. The only hope we have is that with God, all things are possible. Even things with interest. That being said, I don’t see America doing much to incur His blessings. Plenty to incur His wraith, but not His blessings. (On a side note, it infuriates me when I hear politicians say “God bless America “. Why? What are we doing that qualifies us for His blessings?)

I hear people frequently debating what event will be the downfall of the US. I’m not a math whiz, but I have some common sense. I understand debt and interest rates all too well. The economy has to crash. It has been propped up and artificially maintained for far too long. When this bubble bursts, it will probably have been better to have been hit by an H bomb.”

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To lighten the load for their upcoming move to Montana, the new owners of Ready Made Resources are offering some deeply-discounted food and gear packages. Take a look, and place your order soon. Quantities are limited.

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Mystery in Siberia: anti-plague lab worker dies after test tube breaks, nearly 200 isolated. JWR’s Comment: The Russian government’s massive reaction, multi-hospital quarantine, and the involvement of the FSB tell me that this could have been a weaponized strain of plague, optimized for ease of transmission and/or antibiotic resistance.