Year: 2016

Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader MtH highly recommended a free 58-minute documentary film produced by JPFO on the history of gun control and genocide in the 20th Century: Innocents Betrayed. (Don’t miss the bonus interviews, following the credits.) o o o The oft-stated goal is to slow the inflow of illegal immigrants into Europe. But, now this?  Migrants in Greece to be handed cash in envelopes to ‘maintain their dignity’ under £550million EU disaster fund. o o o GunsAmerica, one of the two largest Internet gun classifieds web site in the U.S. (the other is of course GunBroker.com), recently introduced a new program to …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, …


Notes for Saturday – March 05, 2016

March 5th is the birthday of Momofuku Ando (born, 1910, died 2007) the Taiwanese-Japanese inventor of instant noodles and Cup-O-Noodles. He born in Wu Baifu, Taiwan.  His inventions have saved counted thousands of American college students from starvation. This is also the birthday of Howard Pyle (1853-1911) an influential American book illustrator, painter, and author. He was the mentor of many great American artists including Thornton Oakley, Frank E. Schoonover, Allen Tupper True, and of course N.C. Wyeth. o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 63 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $12,000 worth of …


Community Risk Mitigation, by T.P.

I hate it when I see statements on prepping site that make assumptions of our fellow citizens that are overly broad and frequently demeaning. You know the things I’m talking about. “They assume the government will save them.” “Sheeple.” “They refuse to prepare because of their narrow mindedness.” There is certainly a small subset of people who fit that mold. Most however are of the “ignorance is bliss” variety. They simply haven’t woken up to the risk. Prepping is simply a form of risk mitigation. It’s insurance. When my family woke up to the risk, we didn’t suddenly realize the …


Letter: Advice on Learning Morse Code

Dear Editor, I have noted that the main characters in your novel Survivors use continuous wave (CW) Morse Code on occasion to stay in contact, around the globe. As a relatively new ham radio operator I am fascinated by CW Morse and have been trying to learn it for a couple years without a lot of success. Any words of wisdom or proven “best method” to learn CW especially for the over-50 age group? – J.S. HJL Replies: There are a variety of inexpensive Morse code instruction tutor apps that will run on your smartphone or personal computer. While there …


Letter Re: Fitness for Success When the SHTF

HJL & JWR,I am writing to give a brief comment on whether crunches or sit-ups, are important or relevant to the back.  The spine is a series of over 50 joints.  Those joints are “capsular-synovial” joints.  (just like your knee, hip, and shoulder, just smaller)  To say that a  crunch, or sit-up is good or bad is way too generic… to the point that it is irrelevant.  It is popular, often repeated, but not correct as it relates to its benefit, or detriment to the spine.  Most joint pain is intra-capsular (within the joint).  It is often a result of …


Economics and Investing:

Avalanche Lily (Mrs. Rawles) recommended a  great piece by economist/commentator Ann Barnhardt:  The Mark of The Beast Explained: MV = PQ, With Totalitarian Control of V(elocity) o o o G.G. flagged this:  Food Stamp Users Near Record High Despite Low Unemployment Rate o o o Fresh recession will cause eurozone collapse, warns Swiss bank o o o By way of Paul Caron’s TaxProf blog, we read: The IRS is using a system that was hacked to protect victims of a hack—and it was just hacked Items from Professor Preponomics: US News A Conversation with My Neighbor “Sam”(Mises)  Bank of America …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Virginia Governor Signs Concealed Carry Reciprocity Bill, Concealed Carriers Rejoice o o o Commander Zero, the Editor of the Notes From The Bunker blog, mentioned this fascinating little collection of photos, with brief descriptions: In Heinlein’s Bomb Shelter. o o o Finally, some progress on Servergate: Justice Dept. grants immunity to staffer who set up Clinton email server.  I hope that a jury puts Hitlery in prison, where she belongs.  o o o Golly! I just saw that $32 will now buy you a tiny 128 GB memory stick that is USB 3.0 compatible. That is some serious Secret Agent …



Notes for Friday – March 04, 2016

March 4, 1678 was the birthday of Venetian Baroque violin virtuoso and composer Antonio Vivaldi, best known for Le Quattro Stagioini (The Four Seasons). (He died in 1741.) o o o The good folks at Always Empowered have announced that they are now offering a special 10% discount for SurvivalBlog readers. Just enter the discount code “prepared” at checkout.  They also now offer a clever new transportable 500-watt wind power generator called the “Tactical Turbine.”  Anyone living in a windy but cloudy region (or planning an expedition or a bugout to such a locale) should check out those turbines.. o …


Bees and Lavender: The Perfect Symbiotic Relationship Yielding Health and Healing, by K.T.

Many survivalists have found their bit of land, and it is deeply inspiring to read online the various journeys of men and women turning those plots into small Edens, into havens of self-sufficiency, or even into comely places to make a final stand. But for those of us who will not be planning to bug-out, or who aren’t lucky enough to have an extended guerrilla skillset, it is wise, I think, to find activities or projects that are multi-faceted in their rewards. I would like to suggest that anyone who can, consider the pairing up of two simple elements whose …


Letter Re: Low-Carb Paleo and Primal for Preppers

Dear Editor, Regarding the article “Low-Carb Paleo and Primal for Preppers, By T.Z.”, there are a few points of this article that should be clarified. The low-carb diet can be used to great effect, however you need to be aware that you can overdue it and cause yourself harm. Symptoms of harmful ketosis are thirstiness, feeling tired, peeing a lot, feeling sick to your stomach, belly pain, throwing up, dry or flushed skin, trouble breathing, confusion, and fruity smelling breath.  The main benefit of the ketosis diet is the lack of hunger your body feels when on the diet, making …


Letter Re: Solar Power Subsidies

HJL, The author of the article on Solar titled Cost Of Defecting From The Grid is a mistaken. It only affects people who are on the grid. It is an economic subsidy problem and should not affect prepping directly. What was happening is that the utilities were forced to buy solar energy at retail, whether they wanted it or not. If you were charged (for example) $0.15/kWh, the utility would have to pay you the same if your meter ran backward. This caused too many people to install solar systems not because they were worried about the grid going down …


Economics and Investing:

Over at The Deviant Investor: Silver Prices in Five Years? o o o CBC reports: Canada sells off most of its gold reserves. (Thanks to G.G. for the link.) o o o Items from Professor Preponomics: US News Understanding the Federal Reserve’s Shell Game (Mises)How the US Government and the HSBC Teamed Up to Hide the Truth from a Pennsylvania Couple (Liberty Blitzkrieg via Zero Hedge) Warning: Commentary following article may contain foul language and/or inappropriate avatar images. International News UK Exposed to Steel Deluge as US Clamps Down on Chinese Imports (The Telegraph) ECB Ready with New Stimulus: Bank …


Odds ‘n Sods:

The new face of the patriot movement is a Kansas-raised teenager. (Thanks to loyal content contributor RBS for the link.) o o o J.B.G. was the first of several blog readers to send this: Hard to find bread in shortage-stricken Venezuela  (JWR’s Comment: Why must the inevitable folly of socialist centrally-planned economies be repeated over and over?) o o o Tam, over at the always entertaining and informative View From The Porch blog mentioned the clever new “Get Off Me” Tool #4 from FLC Knives. It provides a covert method of carrying a small penetrating weapon that is probably not …