Day: October 20, 2016

Notes for Thursday – October 20, 2016

October 20th is the 58th birthday of actor Viggo Mortensen (born 1958.) He normally lives in the American Redoubt, but it has been reported that he’s presently attending his father, who is in ailing health, in the Northeast. On his ranch in the Redoubt is his horse-for-life “TJ”–one of the five paint horses used in the filming of the movie Hidalgo. Most SurvivalBlog readers probably know him best for his starring role in The Road. This is also the birthday of “fast and fancy” shootist Ed McGivern (born 1874, died December 12, 1957.) He was born in Nebraska, but was …


I Love Sharp Things, by Phil M.

In any survival situation a defective tool is pretty much worthless and will cost you dearly in frustration or even your life. I’m sure you can think of a lot of examples. Effective tools are a big part of my life and most all of them need to be sharp, and some of them very sharp, like chisels and planer blades. When I started thinking of all the tools that I keep sharp the list started running into the dozens, everything from a potato peeler to a chainsaw. A lot of you are like me in one way or another …


Letter Re: Charcoal for Disaster Cooking?

Mr. Rawles, I am now reading your book “How to Survive the End of the World As We Know It“ for the third time. I am wondering why you did not mention the use of charcoal barbecues for cooking. I envision using a small one [such as a hibachi] for small meals, and a larger one for larger meals. Charcoal is storable. I am wondering if one can get a barbecue going by starting with wood, building up a hot base, then adding charcoal? (That’s for when you run out of starter fluid.) Has anybody done this? Love the book. …


Economics and Investing:

Martin Armstrong: Nonperforming Loans in European Banks 10x that of U.S. Banks o o o Understanding Deutsche Bank’s $47 Trillion Derivatives Book .  (SurvivalBlog readers have been warned about derivatives counterparty risks for a  full decade.  When the global OTC derivatives implosion finally occurs, it will be traumatic and have far-reaching effects, possibly toppling entire nations states. o o o I missed seeing this article when it was published last month:  Britain’s May meets Goldman, Amazon, IBM to discuss post-Brexit investment o o o SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page …


Odds ‘n Sods:

The editors of the Middle East Forum note: Hungary has become “the first government to open an office specifically to address the persecution of Christians in the Middle East and Europe.” o o o Reader W.C. suggested this Link:  CIA Prepping for Possible Cyber Strike Against Russia – NBC News.  W.C. asks:  “How can it be covert if they are telling everyone?” o o o Mike E. sent a link to this at Front Page Mag:  The Hijrah Into Europe. o o o DIY submachineguns are popping up across the West Bank. (Kudos to Tim J. for the link.) o …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“As I write this, the New York Times has a couple of stories about a rumor about the rumors of rumors of Trump being rude to a woman on their front page. Nothing about the Wikileaks stuff. The [Washington] Post has the same made up story about Trump and a story about how vexed the Clinton camp is over their e-mails being released.The official newspaper of the Imperial Capital cannot be bothered to cover the biggest scandal since Watergate. It’s as if it never happened. This is just another aspect of the tsunami of bull***t that is the major media …