Year: 2015

Odds ‘n Sods:

Court Rules Police Can Use Volunteered DNA In Other Cases – G.P. o o o Mapping 1083 People Killed By Cops In The Last Year – GJM As usual, the Redoubt rates very well here, though the low population density probably has a significant impact. o o o Judges Can’t Use Freedom of Religion to Avoid Performing Same-Sex Marriages – D.S. o o o Not preparedness oriented, but I stumbled upon this: Riftworld. Quite entertaining! (But beware of some foul language.) – JWR o o o Europe Watches Nervously As NATO And Russia Ready For War With Each Other – …



Notes for Wednesday – August 12, 2015

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 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, DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper with a hammer forged, chromlined barrel and a hard case to go …


Traversing the Hinterlands – Part 1, by Iowa Farm Boy

I have lived in the Midwest all of my life, 90% of which was spent in the Central Iowa region. I’ve traveled the roads and byways from Toledo, Ohio to Denver, Colorado and from Minneapolis, Minnesota to St. Louis, Missouri, and more. Most of this was via the Interstate highway system, so I can’t comment too much about what is too far off of the main road, except in my immediate region. It must be noted that there is a specific reason why the original Lincoln highway (Hwy 30) and Interstate 80 go right through the center of this part …


Letter Re: Growing and Storing Our Own Food

Dear Hugh, Tennessean wrote a very useful article regarding providing your own food, but I wanted to point out one remark about choosing Yukon Gold potatoes. One lesson from the Irish Potato Famine was that most farmers had gone to planting only one variety of potatoes, the Irish Lumper. Other countries had a variety of potatoes, some more resistant to the fungal blight that hit Europe and so the blight did not hit them as hard. The lack of potato variety was only one contributor to the famine but nevertheless an important factor. I humbly submit that it might be …


Economics and Investing:

China Rattles Markets With Yuan Devaluation – G.P. o o o Trends in low wage America: 1.4 million waiter/bartender jobs gained while 1.4 million manufacturing jobs lost since 2007. Top 4 employment sectors pay $10 an hour or less. John Kerry Warns “Dollar Will Cease To Be Reserve Currency Of The World” If Iran Deal Rejected – P.W. “Scaremongery… or maybe the whole point, as Obama’s former chief economist noted, is to lose reserve status. Take that China!!” o o o Items from Mr. Econocobas: The Long-Range Social Security/Medicare Deficit: $72 Trillion And Counting The Fed Is Out Of Options, …



Odds ‘n Sods:

Heavily armed ‘Oath Keepers’ inject disquieting element in Ferguson – C.L. “Disquieting for who?” might be the appropriate question. o o o Irresponsible Gun Owner of the Day: White House Aide Barvetta Singletary’s Ex – R. o o o The Stanford Prison ExperimentForty-four years later, a searing film starring Billy Crudup brings the chilling research to life – An interesting study on prison psychology – Mike Williamson, SurvivalBlog’s Editor At Large. o o o ATF Denies Being an ‘Agency’ to Avoid FOIA Compliance Requirements – B.B. o o o Glenn’s list of 15 cities to avoid like the plague when …



Notes for Tuesday – August 11, 2015

August 11th is the birthday of SurvivalBlog editor The Werewolf in Brazil. Feliz aniversário! 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 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, DRD Tactical is providing a …


Tails for MacBook Users: Anonymity for the Survivalist, by Losttribe

Since the exposures of details regarding the NSA’s communication capture and domestic spying programs, many Patriots wish to keep their identities as anonymous as possible. Examples would be avoiding the tracking of us (who read online blogs, search for articles and information applicable in TEOTWAWKI, and make certain purchases that we feel are not the business of the powers that be) by those who wish to capture and store all of this detail for use against particular individuals and groups, whether it be in our current “big brother” era or future TEOTWAWKI. For many users, reducing your cyber footprint is …


Letter Re: Pat Cascio’s Product Review: Kahr Arms CM40

HJL, I just want to thank Pat for his reviews especially on the small conceal carry type of pistols. Unfortunately, the review on the Kahr Arms CM40 came a little late for me personally. About a month ago I went to a gun show specifically looking for a small frame 9mm for conceal carry purposes. I had researched several specific brands in a low price range, such as the Taurus PT111, and the Taurus PT-709, the Kel-Tec PF9, and the Ruger LC9. I even read Pat’s LC9 review that he posted here some time ago. My thought was to get …


News From The American Redoubt:

During a recent fly-in event, former U.S. Navy carrier pilot and now sport trike flyer “TTABS” made another great flying video, showing some gorgeous scenery in The American Redoubt. This one shows him and a friend flying out of Bonners Ferry, Idaho to skim over the peaks of the Cabinet Mountains, in Northwestern Montana. He has promised to soon post a few more videos filmed in the same region. o o o And during the same Trike Fly-In event, TTABS and a friend did an honorary fly-by at The Bird Aviation Museum in Sagle, Idaho. By pre-arrangement, the legendary Dr. …


Economics and Investing:

From our friends over on the Thoughts from Frank and Fern blog: Brace For Impact When Will Oil Prices Turn Around? o o o Dollar Death Sentence o o o Items from Mr. Econocobas: This Wasn’t Supposed To Happen: Household Spending Expectations Crash David Stockman CNBC Interview: Tops In—–Next Comes An Epochal Deflation Deflation Is Winning – Beware!


Odds ‘n Sods:

Hackers can virtually kill people, manipulate death records, security expert says – T.P. o o o New Video of Ferguson – this guy obviously did not want his store looted – T.P. o o o ‘Preppers’ hone skills for coping with disaster and dystopia – GJM o o o FBI Says That Citizens should have no Secrets that the Government can’t Access: The Orwellian Cyber Police State has Arrived – D.S. o o o Russian Warships Dock In Iran for War Training – G.P.