Year: 2017

Economics & Investing For Preppers

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Here are the latest items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of JWR. (SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor.) Today, I’m issuing a U.S. stock market crash warning. (See the Stocks section.) Stocks (Crash Warning): The New York Stock Exchange just recorded its 71st “all time high” trading session since the November 2016 Presidential election. The market is now essentially stair-stepping upwards. The P/E ratio of the Dow …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day

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“No amount of statistics or facts will sway either side in the gun control debate, because they are all looking for simple solutions to complex problems. The facts of those complex problems are uncomfortable and nobody really wants to come to grips with them. For example, we don’t really have a single America with a moderately high rate of gun deaths. Instead, we have two Americas, one of which has very high rates of gun ownership but very low murder rates, very comparable to the rest of the First World democracies such as those in western and northern Europe, Australia, …


Preparedness Notes for Thursday – October 26, 2017

October 26th is the anniversary of the death of American-born RLI Trooper Joseph Patrick Byrne, in Rhodesia, in 1978. Edward Wilson Very (born October 26, 1847, died March 1, 1910) was an American naval officer who adopted and popularized a single-shot breech-loading flare pistol that fired flares that bear his name. o o o SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today features another entry for Round 73 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $11,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A $3000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP …


Radio Communication Methods During Emergencies- Part 3, by R. in NC

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We just took a look at non-FCC License Dependent Communications, including use expectations and purchase considerations. Today, we begin examining FCC license dependent communications devices. FCC License Dependent Communications GMRS GMRS radios operate on the same frequencies as FRS along with a number of additional channels. They can use up to 50 watts, and the FCC allows for better antennas and repeaters. GMRS will require a license. No test is needed, and the FCC license covers all residents of a household. On last check, the license cost $85 dollars. Pros and cons, along with distance, are similar to FRS, with …


Internet Censorship is Now Rampant — It is High Time to Bookmark Your Alternatives

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The New Censorship With every passing week, we are seeing growing censorship of the Internet. The key  mass media phrase of 2016 and 2017  has been “Fake News.” But much of what  is being called fake news isn’t, while much of what the mainstream media is pushing is indeed what is “fake.” Meanwhile, The Powers That Be are enforcing their view of “Community Standards” to quash free speech. I won’t re-hash this with a huge laundry list of particular incidents, because they are too numerous and have been well-documented. Rather, I will suffice with just a few summaries: The Google …


The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

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SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods— a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from “HJL”. A disturbing escalation of hometown surveillance is on the horizon now. Ruger P-Series Mag Identification Commander Zero recently posted this great tutorial: Ruger 9mm P-series mag identification. If you have a Ruger P-series collection, this tutorial will be a welcome addition to your viewing as you try to make heads or tails of the different magazines out there. Death of a Bread Machine We don’t use a bread machine much around here …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day

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“When I was a lad it was required of all able bodied men to go kill Jerrys and Japs, at government expense, one at a time for the common folk, in batches if you showed an aptitude for heavy machinery. We stood shoulder to shoulder with the USSR fighting to free the world of tyranny. It was simple and majestically pure, like life itself at that age. Then, in my first years at school there were air raid drills with Silent Hill-style sirens wailing because the Reds were going to attack us, and our brave allies too—Germany and Japan. We …



Radio Communication Methods During Emergencies- Part 2, by R. in NC

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Today, we’re continuing to look at communications devices in this communications overview section of the article. So far, we’ve look at Ham radio/licensed devices, but now we’re moving into non-FCC license dependence communication devices to consider. Cell Phones – Using During An Emergency and Improving Reception During an emergency it is very common that the local cell phone towers become saturated. Many people attempt to connect at the same time, resulting in busy signals. In addition, some cell towers have special equipment that restrict public use and dedicate additional bandwidth to emergency services. This section covers how to get a …


Economics & Investing For Preppers

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Here are the latest items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of JWR. (SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor.) Today, I’m posting an update on investing in binary triggers. (See the Tangibles Investing section, near the end of this column.) Precious Metals: First up, there is this from Peter Hug: Gold Price Fighting Stronger Dollar o o o American Eagle Gold, Silver Coin Demand on Track for 10-Year …


JWR’s Recommendations of the Week

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Here are JWR’s Recommendations of the Week for various media and tools of interest to SurvivalBlog readers. This week the focus is on Kestrel Elite weather gauges. (See the Instructional Videos section.) Books: The Gun Digest Book of Firearms Assembly/Disassembly Series.  (I recommend this entire book series.) o o o Leonardo da Vinci, a newly-released biography by Walter Isaacson o o o A World Ablaze: The Rise of Martin Luther and the Birth of the Reformation   Movies and Television: Random Quest. A clever film about a scientist who visits a parallel universe. Available on DVD or for free download …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday – October 24, 2017

October 24th is the anniversary of the firing squad execution of Norwegian traitor Vidkun Quisling, in 1945. His ignominious place in history was to have his surname become a noun. “Quisling” is now a moniker synonymous with treason and alliance with an invading army. Something tells me that the popularity of “Vidkun” as a boys’ natal name in Scandinavia dropped precipitously after about 1942. Ditto for “Adolf”, in Germany, and “Benito”, in Italy, after 1944. o o o I noticed that OpticsPlanet.com is having a 11% off sale for orders over $100. This sale ends at midnight on October 26th. …


Radio Communication Methods During Emergencies- Part 1, by R. in NC

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Communications Overview and General Guidelines About This Article A modern two-way radio combines transmit and receive components together and is known as a transceiver. In this article I will use the terms radio and transceiver interchangeably. I’m also trying to write this to the largest audience possible and for that reason I may sacrifice technical accuracy in order to express the concept. Not all emergencies will require advanced communications equipment. Common usage technologies, such as email, voice mail, and SMS texting, should not be ignored. The more options you are able to take advantage of, the better your chances of …


SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

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Here is SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt. This weekly column features news stories and event announcements from around the American Redoubt region. We also mention companies of interest to preppers that are located in the region. The emphasis this week is on the makers of the GrainMaker home wheat grinder.  See the Montana section of this column.) Idaho First up:  An Idaho congressional candidate is under attack.  Why? For simply pointing out inconsistencies in the official Las Vegas Massacre narrative. See:  Idaho congressional candidate pushes Las Vegas shooting conspiracy theories. JWR’s Comments: The leftward-leaning Idaho Statesman has an unjustified …