Notes from JWR:

Avalanche Lily and I wish all SurvivalBlog readers a Merry Christmas! May the love of Christ our Savior surround you and yours, in the year to come! Trust in the Lord. — Today we present another entry for Round 38 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) A gift certificate worth $1,000, courtesy of Spec Ops Brand, B.) 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 $795, …




Childbirth at Home, by Kelli S.

The Department of Health is creating local groups to design an emergency disaster preparedness plan for pandemic flu and other emergencies that would impact pregnant women and newborns, since they are a vulnerable group and need to be treated differently.  In our county, it has been decided that healthy pregnant women will deliver outside the hospital in some emergency situations, pandemic flu being one of them. Are we prepared to assist these women and their newborns? Childbirth is a natural, physiological event. It is not, by definition, a medical emergency that needs to be “managed”, nor is it an illness …




Economics and Investing:

Some End-of-Year Advice from JWR: The wise old saying is: “Buy low, and sell high.” I recommend that any SurvivalBlog readers that are still invested too heavily in equities take advantage of the current market rally, and sell most of your stocks and any remaining municipal bonds. Take the proceeds and buy into current dip in silver. Take physical delivery, and keep your investment silver well-hidden, at home. (Preferably in a concealed vault.) Later, as the bull market in precious metals reaches its peak, and as the real estate market bottoms, take your profits from silver and parlay them into …




Odds ‘n Sods:

10 Days and Two Candy Bars: Stranded student survives 10 days in her Toyota Corolla. This underscores the profound need to carry survival gear and water when traveling. (Thanks to Ian in Virginia for the link.)    o o o Congratulations to Mac Slavo of the SHTF Plan blog, now listed as #1 in popularity by the Survival Top 50 survey site! Congratulations are also due to The Survival Podcast, the top-ranked site in Survival Top 50’s ongoing Reader’s Choice Awards. (Note: You have to scroll way down to the bottom of the Reader’s Choice web page to see The …