Month: September 2015

Economics and Investing:

On the Peter Schiff podcast: Yellen Admits Rates Could Stay at Zero Forever. Schiff rightly concludes that interest rates must rise eventually, in response to a global currency crisis, with dire consequences in the bond and equities markets.. o o o The Daily Mail reports: Four out of five migrants are NOT from Syria: EU figures expose the ‘lie’ that the majority of refugees are fleeing war zone o o o The Silver Supply Crunch Continues o o o Some good analysis by Gary Christenson: Gold: The End and The Beginning Items from The Economics Team: How I Live Without …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Over at The Prepper Journal: Migrant Crisis Validates Golden Horde Theory Fears o o o T. sent this BBC news story: US driver shot from police helicopter o o o Some great reading over at Thoughts from Frank and Fern: A Collage of Comments o o o Mac L. Sent this from The Wall Street Journal: Russia Expands Military Presence in Syria, Satellite Photos Show. (Note: A WSJ subscription is required.) o o o K.T. sent this bit of bad news: X Products Can Cannon Ruled to be an NFA Item When Assembled



Notes for Wednesday – September 23, 2015

Our Managing Editor Hugh Latimer is presently on vacation, so I’ll be filling in with the mechanics of posting the blog each day for the next couple of weeks. So if the blog looks a bit ragged, or if I inadvertently post something twice, then blame me, not Hugh! – JWR o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 60 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $10,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,195 value), A course …


The Surveillance State 2015- Part 2, by Kass Andrada

Police and government have also been using cell phone jammers in a number of places. The Federal government has discussed implementing in-car jammers in order to enforce anti-texting and hands-free laws,[1] in part, at the urging of articles in the Journal of the American Medical Association.[2] While the FCC insists that use of cell phone jammers is illegal[3] at least one commercial site offers cell phone jammers for use in prisons[4] and at least one corporation has been caught using cell jammers to prevent it’s employees from communicating while on the clock.[5] License plate readers have been deployed in fixed …


Letter: Using What Others Throw Away

Dear SurvivalBlog Editors and Readers,The last few days have shown me the wastefulness of others but have given me opportunities to gain from it. I now have apples, corn, and pork sausage that I didn’t plan on getting. Here is what happened: My own apple tree only produced seven apples, because the blossoms were destroyed during a storm. But a friend has a tree in her yard, but didn’t want the apples. She offered them to me. I picked ten five-gallon buckets full of apples. I am now canning applesauce and pie filling. My neighbors chopped silage, which leaves a …


JWR’s Recommendations of the Week:

Books Fiction:Code of Conduct (The Scot Harvath Series) by Brad Thor (2015.) This novel was written by one of my favorite authors. It was also recommended by SurvivalBlog reader Ed C., who notes: “I would suggest this novel as a good “think about areal pandemic situation” story – with some thriller novel aspects. This author seems to have “the touch”. He also seems to try to be specific and authentic about government aspects, travel, weapons and other parts of writing a believable story.” Nonfiction: Lost Rights by James Bovard Movies Above And Beyond. The fascinating true story of the international …



Odds ‘n Sods:

75 years later, Norfolk’s FBI Office Still has Three Working Tommyguns. – A hat tip to “T.” for the link. o o o The New York Times reports: U.S. Soldiers Told to Ignore Afghan Allies’ Abuse of Boys. (“At night, we can hear them screaming…”) JWR’s Comment: If history can be any guide, the Pentagon will probably start with this “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy… o o o Safecastle has another Mountain House long term storage food sale in progress. Note that they have some scarce varieties back in stock. o o o Gregg sent us this: Marines test Google’s …



Notes for Tuesday – September 22, 2015

September 22nd in the birthday of the late Lieutenant Colonel Ronald Reid-Daly, who founded and commanded the Rhodesian Selous Scouts. He was born in 1928, and he died August 9, 2010. His history of the Selous Scouts, titled Pamwe Chete, is fascinating to read, but it is a very hard-to-find book. I should also mention that September 22nd, 1290 is the birthday of one of my favorite fictional characters, Bilbo Baggins (in Shire reckoning). o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 60 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $10,000 worth of prizes for this round include: …


The Surveillance State 2015- Part 1, by Kass Andrada

The history of liberty is a history of the limitation of governmental power, not the increase of it. Woodrow Wilson, 1912 The question of whether a surveillance society was looming on the horizon has been growing since Justice Douglas remarked in 1966, “We are rapidly entering the age of no privacy, where everyone is open to surveillance at all times; where there are no secrets from government.” [1] Early in the new millenium, only about 33% of Americans were concerned about their online data as of 2009. [2] Just a few years later, in 2015, polls show 54% disapprove of …


Letter Re: Helping the Maxners

Hugh, It is never possible to insure or prepare for every event. You can only do what you are able and what is prudent. The one thing which should be different about the Redoubt vs. other “preppers” goes back to DeToqueville when our country was young. But the scene is now changed, and gradually the two ranks mingle; the divisions which once severed mankind are lowered, property is divided, power is held in common, the light of intelligence spreads, and the capacities of all classes are equally cultivated; the State becomes democratic, and the empire of democracy is slowly and …


News From The American Redoubt:

Bozeman, Montana: Transient with sword accused of attempting robbery o o o Blackfeet Tribe decides to banish drug dealers o o o ‘Regulatory War’ Fought Over a Wyoming Family’s Pond Didn’t know rocks and sand were pollutants… – MtH o o o Parents Protest Medical Kidnappings in Michigan – D.S. o o o The western states emergency/disaster services, both government and volunteer organizations, are planning for a massive disaster training exercise in June of 2016 (named Cascadia Rising). It is an earthquake/tsunami scenario based exercise that I’ll be talking about more in the near future. Many state-level ARES groups are …


Economics and Investing:

25 Myths Broke People Believe. – T.A. o o o The Petrostate Hex – how fluctuating oil prices affect currency valuations – T.A. o o o Items from Mr. Econocobas: Going Back To What Works: Gold Is Money Again – Was aware of what Utah did in 2011 but didn’t know this. Interesting.. Traders Now See Fed First Hiking Rates in 2016 – How many times can these lemmings be fooled? The Fed is not hiking rates unless it did so in a minor way and for a short period of time. It is too dangerous to their credibility to …