Another day, another Islamic terror attack… This time it was the international terminal of the airport in Istanbul, Turkey [1]. The latest report is that there are 41 dead and 239 injured. Prayers, please for the wounded and for the families of the dead.
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Today is the birthday of historian John Toland (author of The Rising Sun [2].) This is also the birthday of rodeo cowboy turned actor Slim Pickens [3] (born: Louis Burton Lindley, Jr.) — he memorably played Major Kong in Dr. Strangelove [4]), and of actor Gary Busey [5].
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A reminder: Safecastle’s Mountain House Sale [6] with discounts of up to 47% on long term storage cans and pouches will end tomorrow. (Thursday, June 30, 2016.) They are offering free shipping to CONUS.
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Today, we present another entry for Round 65 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest [7]. The nearly $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include:
First Prize:
- A Tactical Self-Contained 2-Series Solar Power Generator system from Always Empowered. This compact starter power system is packaged in a wheeled O.D. green EMP-shielded Pelican hard case (a $1,700 value),
- A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate that is good for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,195 value),
- A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses [8], 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 [9] with a hammer forged, chrome-lined barrel 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, which can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools and a compact carry capability in a hard case or 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
- Gun Mag Warehouse is providing 20 Magpul PMAG 30-rd Magazines (a value of $300) and a Gun Mag Warehouse T-Shirt; (an equivalent prize will be awarded for residents in states with magazine restrictions),
- Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees [10] in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
- The Ark Institute is donating a non-GMO, non-hybrid vegetable seed package (enough for two families of four) plus seed storage materials, a CD-ROM of Geri Guidetti’s book “Build Your Ark! How to Prepare for Self Reliance in Uncertain Times”, and two bottles of Potassium Iodate (a $325 retail value),
- A $250 gift certificate good for any product [11] from Sunflower Ammo,
- KellyKettleUSA.com is donating an AquaBrick water filtration kit with a retail value of $250, and
- Two cases of meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).
Second Prize:
- A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 [12] Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
- A transferable certificate for a two-day Ultimate Bug Out Course from Florida Firearms Training (a $400 value),
- A Model 175 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $439 value),
- A Trekker IV™ Four-Person Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $250 value),
- A $200 gift certificate good towards any books published by PrepperPress.com,
- A pre-selected assortment of military surplus gear from CJL Enterprize (a $300 value),
- RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site, and
- American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses [13].
Third Prize:
- A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of [14] Directive 21 (a $275 value),
- A $245 gift certificate from custom knife-maker Jon Kelly Designs, of Eureka, Montana,
- 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,
- Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
- Two Super Survival Pack seed collections [15], a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
- Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances,
- Montie Gear is donating a Precision Rest (a $249 value), and
- Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord [16] (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
Round 65 ends on July 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail [17] 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.