Month: February 2016

Economics and Investing:

Over at the TaxProf blog: IRS Says 114,000,334,000,724,000 Taxpayer Accounts Were Hacked Items from Professor Preponomics: US News Puerto Ricans Don’t Want a Bailout. They Want This… (CNN MONEY) Excerpt: “Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla claims the island is in a “death spiral” and there’s no way it will ever have enough money to pay all the debt back.” Household Debt Increases to $12T (Washington Free Beacon) Excerpt: “Household debt increased by $51 billion in the fourth quarter of 2015, and now totals $12.12 trillion, or more than $40,000 per household, according to a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of …


Odds ‘n Sods:

I saw this documentary film recommended over at the WRSA web site: Cartel Land. This film underscores the peril of living within 50 miles of the Mexican border, or along any of the major highways within perhaps 100 miles of the border.  It also illustrates how helpless the largely unarmed campesinos are, in Mexico. (In essence, there are only two types of citizens in any nation: Armed citizens, and unarmed victims of their environment.) – JWR o o o Reader Peter S. sent us this:  Apple plans to make devices even more secure o o o ‘Cecil Effect’ dangerous for …



Notes for Saturday – February 27, 2016

February 27th is the birthday of actor Adam Baldwin (born 1962), who is often remembered for his roles as Animal Mother in Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket and as the irrepressible Jayne Cobb in the television series Firefly—  as well as in the shiny spinoff film Serenity. More recently, he has played Executive Officer Mike Slattery in The Last Ship. Note that Adam Baldwin is a “small government libertarian conservative” and is no relation to the notoriously liberal Hollywood actors who share the Baldwin surname.) This is also the birthday of Kelly Johnson, a deservedly famous American aircraft designer and …


SSL On Your Web Server – A Certificate is Just the Start, by Peter S.

If you are running a web server for your business and taking orders from customers, then you have probably acquired a certificate to encrypt the network traffic between your customers’ web browsers and your web server. However, how well are you really doing it? The SSL Labs website offers a free service to test how well your web server is configured for this goal. Someone may have already run the test and made a decision about your business just based on the results. Remember, if your web server is exposed to the Internet, then anyone can run this test. You …


Letter: EMP Effect and Pacemakers

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Hugh, I have an implanted cardiac device (a pacemaker and defibrillator) and, after reading the letter about possible effects of electromagnetic pulse (EMP) on batteries, became curious as to how an EMP or maybe a strong solar flare could affect my device. I searched SurvivalBlog’s archives and saw that such an event could possibly damage the implanted cardiadefibrillator (ICD). Is there any firm evidence as to what may actually happen to an ICD or similar device in the human body and anything that can be done to counter the effects? It seems it will be a bleak future for the …


Letter Re: Passports

Dear Editors: Regarding RM’s question about keeping passports current, here is a Wikipedia link that includes information on which countries allow entry to American citizens without the need to obtain a visa in advance.   That provides some interesting reading.  – JustCallMeAnn


Economics and Investing:

Frequent content contributor B.B. suggested this: More Than 30 Blocks of Fiscal Irresponsibility o o o 45% of Americans pay no federal income tax. (Thanks to RBS for the link.) o o o Items from Professor Preponomics: US News Student Debt Apocalypse: Median Wages Up 1.6% Over Last 25 Years While Median Student Debt is Up 163.8% (My Budget 360) Excerpt: “This idea of high tuition with low wages isn’t some made up propaganda to distract you.  This is reality.” Student Debt and Retirement Saving Don’t Add Up(CBS Money Watch) Study: Millennials’ Lack of Financial Knowledge Could Be a Big …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Peter in Switzerland mentioned that the latest updated model of the previously-mentioned County Comm GP-5 SSB multi-band handheld scanner is now available. o o o Reader D.S.V. sent this: Colorado Bill Would Require Reporting Of Non-Vaccinated Children o o o B.B. suggested this article at Threat Post: Judge Confirms DoD Funded Research to Decloak Tor Users o o o Uncertainties, still, for asteroid 2013 TX68. (Thanks to Andre for the link.)


Hugh’s Quote of the Day:

“And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again. Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the …


Notes for Friday – February 26, 2016

This day, February 26, is the birthday of Major-General Orde Charles Wingate (born, 1903, died 24 March 1944), an eccentric British Army officer who organized special military units in Palestine in the 1930s, and in Abyssinia, Sudan, and Burma during World War II. He is most famous for his creation of the Chindits, airborne deep-penetration troops trained to work behind enemy lines in the Far East campaigns against the Japanese during World War II. o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 63 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $12,000 worth of prizes for this round …


A Lesson from Fasting for Preparedness, by J.C.

First off, let me tell you a little bit about myself and experiences. I am a thirty-four years old, six foot tall, and an active male who enjoys long distance trail running, running mountains, and competing in mud obstacle races and triathlons. I have been married fourteen years and have two pre-teen sons. I currently work out of town as a carpenter and commute three hours each day and work ten-hour days five and sometimes six days a week. During the warmer months, I train nearly every day, mostly running on stairs, hills, trails. During the winter, I am running …


Letter: Passports

Hello, We keep reading about having “current passports”. Could you please explain the ‘necessity’ for this? Where might we go? What might it be needed for? Be well! – RM HJL Replies: It can be summed up in one of the survivalist’s creeds (actually, I first heard this from a skydiver): It is better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. If you don’t have a passport, you have effectively removed the legal means to travel to many foreign countries for a variety of reasons.


Economics and Investing:

Gold Will Overwhelm Dent o o o Items from Professor Preponomics: US News Where Negative Rates Will Lead Us (Mises) Excerpt: “Despite zero-interest-rate-policy (ZIRP) and multiple quantitative easing programs — whereby the central bank buys large quantities of assets while leaving interest rates at practically zero — the world’s economies are stuck in the doldrums. The central banks’ only accomplishment seems to be an increase in public and private debt.” CAGW Releases February 2016 Wastewatcher (Citizens Against Government Waste) Obamacare’s Cerberus, Status Quo for Obama’s Last Budget, Solar Wars: Revenge of the Subsidies, Spring Cleaning at the Federal Government, Rethinking …


Odds ‘n Sods:

No introduction needed. The title says it all: A Warning To The Feds On Incremental Prosecutions Of The Liberty Movement – Sent in by RBS. o o o Federal Court Rules You Can Be Arrested Simply For Filming The Police – H.K. JWR’s Comment: This court ruling is yet another reason why all SurvivalBlog readers should get a free set of press credentials from our CFAPA.org spin-off web site. o o o Interesting Russian link with Caching Tubes from WWII Still Intact. Sent in by L.I. Editors note: Google translated link o o o Where there is a will, there …