Preparedness Notes for Sunday – June 10, 2018

On June 10, 1967, the Six-Day War ended as Israel and Syria agreed to observe a United Nations-mediated cease-fire. o o o I just noticed that Ready Made Resources has an interesting sale right now. A six month package of Numanna freeze dried food is only $1337 and includes 2 extra Numanna Grab and Go Buckets valued at $137 each, a Sawyer Mini filter valued at $24.95 and a foldable 21 Watt Solar panel with a USB port valued at $89. This might be a good time to take inventory of your stock and beef it up. o o o …




PGP for Preppers- Part 2, by Groundhog Gravy

We should be especially careful when communicating electronically: it’s little more than trivial for a government, a corporation, or even a couple of well-equipped criminals to intercept phone calls, emails, or text messages. This article explains how to use simple, secure tools that do only encryption and do it right. These are based upon a tool that is significantly better than the name suggests, Pretty Good Privacy (PGP), and offers excellent communications security for preppers. Part 1 covered PGP and how it is used. Now, we are continuing. Setting an Expiration Date Now that you have created a key, there …




The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

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”. Big Brother is back with a vengeance today. YouTube Attacks We’ve almost grown accustomed to YouTube automatically shutting down channels that deal with firearms, but the attacks in the past have mostly been targeted at individuals or smaller operations. This Saturday, they attacked industry giant Brownell’s. When YouTube announced changes to their user agreement in regards to firearms, Brownell’s spent an enormous about of time to edit and alter their offerings so …







Preparedness Notes for Saturday – June 09, 2018

On June 9, 1954, Army counsel Joseph N. Welch confronted Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy during the Senate-Army Hearings over McCarthy’s attack on a member of Welch’s law firm, Frederick G. Fisher. Said Welch: “Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?” Of course, years later, when the relevent documents had been declassified, we find that McCarthy’s concerns were pretty much right on. o o o SurvivalBlog Writing Contest This has been another entry for Round 77 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $11,000 worth of prizes for this round …




PGP for Preppers- Part 1, by Groundhog Gravy

Introduction We all have a need for private communication. Whether it’s details of our preparations that we want to share with others in a group, discussing tactics, carrying on trade, or any of a hundred other matters, we should be concerned about keeping our communication private. We should be especially careful when communicating electronically: it’s little more than trivial for a government, a corporation, or even a couple of well-equipped criminals to intercept phone calls, emails, or text messages. We can use encryption, which transforms data into a form that can only be read with a secret key, to help …




Editors’ Prepping Progress

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make long-term and short-term plans. Steadily, we work on meeting our prepping goals. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities. They also often share their planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, property improvements, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year. We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in the Comments. Let’s keep busy and be ready! …




The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

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”. Impressive Homemade Machine Tool Reader W.T. sent in this impressive article and video on a home built machine tool that is accurate and capable of most small to medium machining tasks with this comment: “As you know, I love machining, so I’m always interested simple ways to do precision work. Here’s a simple machining center that can be made in the home shop. The basic “frame” for this machine is a 4 …




The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they …




Preparedness Notes for Friday – June 08, 2018

On June 8th, 1776, Canadian Governor Sir Guy Carleton defeated American Patriot forces under John Sullivan. After taking heavy losses and the loss of General Richard Montgomery at Quebec, the Patriots were pursued by Governor Carleton. Halfway between Quebec and Montreal, at the Trois-Rivieres, the Patriots turned to fight. The Redcoats and German mercenaries killed 25, wounded 140, and captured 236, but Carleton allowed the rest of the 2,500-man force to complete their retreat. This battle changed the priorities of the Patriots, and Colonel Benedict Arnold wrote, “Let us quit and secure our own country before it is too late.” …




The Rules of Engagement: Meet PTSD- Part 2, by Autistic Prepper

Illness Triggers High fevers can also trigger flashbacks. During a bad bout of flu, H’s temperature soared to 105 degrees, and he went back to the hospital where he was treated for peritonitis after being shot. Sometimes medical treatment in Vietnam had to be improvised. H was placed in a tub of ice, which burned like fire but did lower his temperature. Now, in the present, he looked at me with beseeching eyes and begged me not to put him in the ice. I promised I wouldn’t. Hyper-Vigilance: Once Learned, Never Forgotten Hyper-vigilance, or hyper-alertness, is also common. People who …




Economics & Investing For Preppers

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’s focus is on the expected Social Security shortfall. (See the Economy and Finance section.) Precious Metals: Turkey Uses Gold Bullion To Stabilise Its Currency And Economy   Forex: FOREX-Euro snaps 6-week losing streak as Italy concerns wane; data eyed o  o  o I noticed that in terms of …




The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Whereas, Slavery, throughout its entire existence in the United States is none other than a most barbarous, unprovoked, and unjustifiable War of one portion of its citizens upon another portion; the only conditions of which are perpetual imprisonment, and hopeless servitude or absolute extermination; in utter disregard and violation of those eternal and self-evident truths set forth in our Declaration of Independence.” – John Brown




Preparedness Notes for Thursday – June 07, 2018

On June 7th, 1776, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia proposed to the Continental Congress a resolution calling for a Declaration of Independence. June 7th, 1967 is also the day of Jerusalem’s redemption from foreign governments in the Six Day War, placing it back under Israeli sovereign control after having been occupied for over 2500 years. This was in accord with the UN General Assembly’s vote in 1948. SurvivalBlog Writing Contest This has been another entry for Round 77 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $11,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A $3000 gift certificate …




The Rules of Engagement: Meet PTSD- Part 1, by Autistic Prepper

PTSD is an acronym thrown around quite a bit. Principally, this mental diagnosis term of posttraumatic stress disorder was assigned beginning in the early 1980s, primarily to those who had experienced traumatic events, such as war. Let’s meet PTSD and talk about the rules of engagement surrounding it and those who carry its burden. Why I Wrote An Article A while back I wrote an article about adult autism, an issue I’d never seen addressed in prepping literature. A perceptive reader wondered what the condition had to do with prepping. It is relevant for two reasons. First, it’s a reminder …