Preparedness Notes for Tuesday – September 18, 2018

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The 18th of September is Chilean Independence Day. On this day, in 1810, Chile declared independence from Spain.

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Bill Ruger, Jr. passed away.

JWR’s Comment: Unlike his father, Bill Jr. did not try to appease the Democrats in Congress. It was under Bill Jr.’s leadership of the company that Ruger again began selling 20 and 30 round magazines to the general public. He was a good man, who will be missed.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

This has been another entry for Round 78 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $11,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A $3000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  7. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Second Prize:

  1. A Model 175 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $439 value),
  2. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  3. A gift certificate for any two or three-day class from Max Velocity Tactical (a $600 value),
  4. A transferable certificate for a two-day Ultimate Bug Out Course from Florida Firearms Training (a $400 value),
  5. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  6. A $200 gift certificate good towards any books published by PrepperPress.com,
  7. RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site.

Third Prize:

  1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
  3. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances, and
  6. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).

Round 78 ends on September 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Making a Living as a Reseller- Part 1, by BIF

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JWR is a proponent, with good reason, of living at your retreat and living your preps. He has also pointed out from time to time that it can be a challenge to obtain a job in the American Redoubt. They are available, but sometimes a job require special skills or a willingness to take a step down in your salary or career path. One thing he suggests is finding a way to make a living that is compatible with your lifestyle and available at your retreat location, whether it is in the American Redoubt or not.

Buying and Selling As a Source of Income

For those of you wanting to make the move towards self-sufficiency in a career, or for those who are just looking for extra income, let’s talk about buying and selling as a source of income. I think with a little practice, anyone can learn to make money by reselling things. Buying and reselling goes back to prehistoric times before money existed.

Stone Axes Versus Steel Axes

Years ago, I read a doctoral dissertation on the trade in stone ax making materials in pre-historic Australia. The best material for ax heads was available only in a few locations. The interaction of indigenous peoples across Australia to obtain materials, distribute the materials across the continent, trade, and manufacture the ax heads was incredible. That trade and the related social norms and structures, which had evolved over thousands of years, was destroyed (inadvertently?) by missionaries who disrupted the traditional way of life by giving steel axes away to anyone who did some work for them. However, that is a different story.

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SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

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Here is SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt. This weekly column features news stories and event announcements from around the American Redoubt region. We also mention companies of interest to preppers that are located in the region. The emphasis this week is on the trike flying videos made in the Redoubt region by SurvivalBlog reader TTABS. He is an amazingly skilled pilot who often flies his Experimental class trike–imagine a powered hang glider–at nap-of-the-Earth profiles. (See the Idaho section.)

 

Idaho (Trike Flying Videos)

A recent video from trike flyer TTABs: A Flight Through History to Salmon Idaho. “This is a X-Country trip from Stevensville, Montana to Salmon, Idaho. Come along as we explore new country, chit chat about things, and touch on a few historical topics on our way to Salmon.”  And for some even more scenic beauty, see this, also from TTABS: Flying the Knife Edges along The Bitterroot Mountains. JWR’s Comment: Simply gorgeous scenery. He also has great taste in choosing accompanying music.

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Here is some more of his nap-of-the-Earth flying on the eastern fringe of the Palouse Hills: Floating Population – Trike Flying

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And here is a flight down in the Clearwater River area: Flying Elk River to Deary to Juliaetta to Craigmont, Idaho (and back).  Note: The dam seen near the end is Dworshak Dam, near Orofino.

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Also from TTABs, here is much-viewed 2011 route fly-over of the key Redoubt locales in my first novel: Patriots – Surviving the Coming Collapse – Trike Flying

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Idaho boo-hooing: Not enough refugee workers arriving (Thanks to TZ for the link.)
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The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

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SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods— a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from “HJL”.

FNS-40

Reader DSV sent in this article that details the problems some police departments are having with the FN FNS-40 service pistol. Apparently, the weapons are occasionally discharging on their own with no shooter input. Several officers have been hurt by weapons that have discharged while still in their holsters and a few others have been hurt by other situations. At his time, no incident has been reported where the weapon discharges while in active use. the Arizona Department of Public Safety has issued several warnings over the issue to police departments that use that weapon. If you own one of these, you may want to follow this story closely.

Hunger

A recent poll of Venezuelan citizens has some interesting results. Despite other polls that have determined that Venezuelans do not want foreign intervention, hunger seems to be a major motivator. Nearly 30% of people are eating only once a day and almost 75% of the population is having trouble feeding themselves on a daily basis. These same people are willing to tolerate foreign intervention as long as it brings food into the country. A significant portion of the people are also willing to expatriate if Maduro stays in power and the economic crises continues. thanks to H.L. for the link.

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The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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Political language – and with variations this is true of all political parties, from Conservatives to Anarchists – is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.” – George Orwell

S&W M&P .22 LR Compact – By Pat Cascio

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It’s just hard to go wrong with a really good .22 LR pistol. Specifically, the S&W M&P Compact .22 LR pistol is a winner in every respect. This is a great little gun for trail, plinking small game hunting, or target practice.

The One Gun For Survival

Many years ago, and we are talking close to 40 years ago, I used to get asked the same question over and over again. People would ask, when it came to buying one gun for survival, and one gun only, based on a limited income, what did I choose. My pat answer used to be to buy a good pump-action 12-gauge shotgun and then add a variety of different 12-gauge ammo. I told them it would take care of all their needs. Well, I don’t know of any single firearm, no matter who makes it or what caliber it is, that will take care of all your needs, period!

So, my thinking and firearms education have grown and expanded over the years, and while many may disagree with this, I think either a .22 LR handgun or .22 LR rifle will serve many of your survival needs, if you’ll take some time to think about it.

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Recipe of the Week: Sam’s Potato Cassarol

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Ingredients:

  • 3 cups of thinly sliced potatoes (leave the peel on)
  • 1 lb ground hamburger meat
  • 1 (10.75 oz) condensed cream of mushroom soup
  • 1/2 onion, chopped
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
  2. Brown the ground beef in a skillet, then drain the fat.
  3. In a mixing bowl, combine the condensed mushroom soup, onion, milk, salt and pepper.
  4. In a 11×7” baking dish, alternately layer the potatoes, soup mixture and meat.
  5. Bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until potatoes are tender.
  6. Top with cheddar cheese and bake until cheese is melted.

Makes 6 servings.

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Do you have a favorite recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers? Please send it via e-mail. Thanks!

Economics & Investing For Preppers

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Here are the latest items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of JWR. (SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor.) Today’s focus is on Ratio Trading Metals. (See the Precious Metals section.)

 

Precious Metals (Ratio Trading Metals):

I mentioned this same inflection point in SurvivalBlog a week ago when the ratio was then north of 82-to-1.: Gold to Silver Ratio Hits Highest Level in 27 Years – What does it Mean?   JWR’s Comment:  Again, I recommend that folks seriously consider doing some ratio trading. The approach should be much like the oft-quoted “buy low, sell high” mantra. In the case of commodities ratios, we should say:  “Ratio trade whenever ratios reach extremes.” After all, reversion to the norm happens more often than not.

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When The US Stock Market Crashes, Buy Gold

 

Cryptos:

Hard Forks Hinder Mass Adoption of Cryptocurrencies: Study

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This Dormant $720 Million Bitcoin Wallet Has Woken Up – But Who Owns It?

 

 

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Guest Article: Strategic Relocation: Are You Missing Out? by Kit Perez

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This article originally appeared in the American Partisan.

The concept of strategic relocation is not new, but it’s recently become more popular, as more and more liberty-loving folks get tired of being crammed into crowded public transportation or spending hours on the road in the daily snail-pace commute. For many, the thought of leaving everything can be a bit terrifying, and if you have a family who doesn’t want to leave, you might be thinking that your Big Move is more of a pipe dream than a real possibility, even though you see the death grip on your everyday freedoms tightening by the day. Here’s the truth: it can be done. And yes, you can be amazingly happy in a new location that is more conducive to the type of life you want to live.

Just like changing your physical condition requires time, discipline, and effort, so does changing your permanent residence. Add to that a lot of planning, and you’ll see yet another reason why a lot of people don’t do it. Before we get into how to effectively and efficiently plan such a move, however, let’s look at why you might choose that path — or at least, why you’re probably interested in the idea. Over the next few days we’ll go through the process of aligning your thought process, getting down to brass tacks, and even what you should be doing when you get to your new location.

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The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

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SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods— a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from “HJL”. Today’s edition highlights the nascent Land Grab in South Africa.

Swedish Preppers

Sweden’s Preppers Stock up for potential Russian attack. The article begins: “With its wooden outer wall painted in traditional ‘falu red’ paint, and pigs, ducks, chickens and geese in pens outside, the farmyard in a remote part of Scania, southern Sweden, is the very picture of rural calm.

But the owners of this 190-year old house are preparing for a catastrophe. Sten and Lina (not their real names), are part of a small but growing group of Swedish ‘preppers’, readying themselves for a total breakdown of electricity, communication, food supplies, and possibly even the government — most likely, they believe, as a result of a Russian attack.”

 

Paratus, 2018

Remember, for 2018, the Paratus holiday will fall on Sept. 21st, 2018.  From Commander Zero’s web site:  “Paratus (from the Latin ‘prepared’) is a one-day ‘holiday’ that basically exists to give an excuse for like-minded folks to exchange appropriate gifts, get together in a social setting, and, perhaps, share some ideas on the subject. It is intended to be a secular holiday but, reflecting the individualistic nature of it’s practitioners, can incorporate a religious element if the practitioner wants. However, the ‘true’ Paratus is strictly secular, non-denominational, genderless, mostly apolitical, and thus available to every demographic that wants to participate.”

 

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The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.” – Romans 1:18-25 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Saturday – September 15, 2018

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On this day in 1944, the U.S. 1st Marine Division landed on the island of Peleliu, one of the Palau Islands in the Pacific, as part of a larger operation to provide support for Gen. Douglas MacArthur, who was preparing to invade the Philippines. Within one week of the invasion, the Marines lost 4,000 men. By the time it was all over, that number would surpass 9,000. The Japanese lost more than 13,000 men. Flamethrowers and bombs finally subdued the island for the Americans, but it all proved pointless. MacArthur invaded the Philippines without need of Army or Marine protection from either Peleliu or Morotai.

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We are in the last two weeks of Round 78 of the SurvivalBlog Non-Fiction Writing Contest. If you want to try for the fantastic prizes by simply writing about your experiences prepping, now is the time to do it! Finish that article up and get it sent in to us.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

This has been another entry for Round 78 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $11,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A $3000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  7. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Second Prize:

  1. A Model 175 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $439 value),
  2. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  3. A gift certificate for any two or three-day class from Max Velocity Tactical (a $600 value),
  4. A transferable certificate for a two-day Ultimate Bug Out Course from Florida Firearms Training (a $400 value),
  5. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  6. A $200 gift certificate good towards any books published by PrepperPress.com,
  7. RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site.

Third Prize:

  1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
  3. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances, and
  6. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).

Round 78 ends on September 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.