Month: September 2019

Economics & Investing For Preppers

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Here are the latest news 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 SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today, we look at investing in stripped AR-15 lowers. (See the Tangibles Investing section.) Precious Metals: Barron’s: Russia, China Massively Buying Gold o  o  o Strong Autumn Rally In Silver And Gold Prices Economy & Finance: Repo Madness Heads Into Day 4: Another $75 Billion Liquidity Drop from …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“The method of using ‘mental health’ or social disruption as an excuse to silence dissent was not actually mastered by China, however.  It was standardized in communist Russia during the reign of the Soviets.  The mental health excuse was exploited on a regular basis in order to quietly sweep government critics and dissidents under the rug never to be seen again. The mental hospitals where these deplorables were kept were called “Psikhushka”, an ironic diminutive label. The hospitals worked hand in hand with the Cheka secret police and their vast networks of civilian informants. ‘See Something Say Something’ began under …


Preparedness Notes for Thursday — September 19, 2019

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On September 19, 1796, George Washington addressed the nation in his farewell address as president. Also on this day, in 1778, the Continental Congress passed the first budget of the United States. While the budget may have passed, the states responded poorly to the call for taxes to fund the government, and the government resorted to printing paper money to cover debts. In effect, the first budget was a failure, due in large part to the states not responding to the demands of Congress and the depreciation of fiat paper money. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry …


The Current Nuclear Threat – Part 2, by John M.

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North Korea, Scenario 2 The second North Korean scenario involves China and potentially Russia. While the threat of mutually assured destruction makes a direct engagement with Russia or China unlikely, proxy wars have often been occurring. If China or Russia were to back North Korea, then it could benefit all parties against the U.S. China and the U.S. have been political adversaries for many years, but have also been economic partners in many respects. Recent competition has escalated, despite maintaining simultaneous partnerships. China has purchased vast amounts of U.S. debt and produces exports for the U.S.. But President Trump has …


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 “JWR”. Our goal is to educate our readers, to help them to recognize emerging threats and to be better prepared for both disasters and negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. Today, we look at the Beto Special AR-15. Trump Red Flag and Background Check Compromise Rumored This has not yet been confirmed,but the folks at the Firearms Policy Coalition have posted this: FPC Rejects …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“For until men recognize that they owe everything to God, that they are nourished by His fatherly care, that He is the Author of their every good, that they should seek nothing beyond Him – they will never yield Him willing service. Nay, unless they establish their complete happiness in Him, they will never give themselves truly and sincerely to Him.” – John Calvin


Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — September 18, 2019

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The 18th of September is Chilean Independence Day. On this day, in 1810, Chile declared independence from Spain. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 84  of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A $3,000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,095 value), A course certificate …


The Current Nuclear Threat – Part 1, by John M.

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Mutually assured destruction. This phrase has long helped prevent direct armed conflict between Russia and the United States. Although many proxy wars have been fought over the past 70 years, since the Soviet Union developed nuclear weapons, both sides have been careful not to start a direct conflict that could escalate toward a nuclear exchange. During the Cold War, there were many moments that brought us close to nuclear war. During the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, the world held their breath as the U.S. faced off with the Soviets over their attempt to place nuclear weapons in Cuba. Many …


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. The focus is usually on emergency communications gear, bug out bag gear, books and movies–often with a tie-in to disaster preparedness, and links to “how to” self-sufficiency videos. There are also often links to sources for both storage food and storage containers. You will also note an emphasis on history books and historical movies. This week the focus is on the 10th anniversary of the release of my nonfiction book How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It. (See the …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — September 17, 2019

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Today, September 17th, we celebrate Constitution Day in these United States.  (If my use of the word “these” sounds odd to you, then that illustrates how much congress and the courts have destroyed the 10th Amendment since 1861.) Oh, and if you value your Constitutional rights, then please take some time today to contact the President and your congressional representatives (House and Senate) and let them know how you feel about the current push for  “Universal Background Checks”, magazine restrictions, and Red Flag laws. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 84  of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction …


When is ‘Good Enough’ Good Enough?, by Survivormann99

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In the various areas of human endeavor one often runs across an individual who only wants “the best” in the pursuit of his or her chosen activity. Deciding what is the best involves choices about such things as golf clubs, running shoes, automobiles, firearms, wristwatches, and small kitchen appliances, to name only a few. Some individuals’ opinions about what is the best can be absurdly wrong, but it’s their choice to make–and to live with. They revel in the fact that others–even if they are complete strangers–see them driving a certain SUV model, carrying a certain designer handbag, or pedaling …


SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

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This weekly column features news stories and event announcements from around the American Redoubt region. (Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and Wyoming.) Much of the region is also more commonly known as The Inland Northwest. We also mention companies of interest to preppers and survivalists that are located in the American Redoubt region. Today, we focus on a few bear stories, including a bear attack. (See the Idaho and Montana sections.) Idaho Bear attack survivor shares his story as a warning to other hunters o o o The new kid on the block in the Cerakote world is PraetorianArmory.com. …


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 “JWR”. Our goal is to educate our readers, to help them to recognize emerging threats and to be better prepared for both disasters and negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. Today, we look at Wal-Mart’s New Ammo Policy. Gun Owners Question Wal-Mart’s New Ammo Policy Even a liberal CBS affiliate couldn’t avoid covering this obvious news: Gun Owners Question Walmart’s Decision To Take Handgun …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“Trump makes worse an already problematic situation with pensions. So whimsical. POTUS makes an historic monetary policy decision by endorsing negative interest rates, probably unaware of the epic controversy that he opened by doing so. Savers and pensioners thrown under the bus! This is why I think a comprehensive and in a sense ‘final’ global financial crisis is so likely. It will provide the cover for massive debt write-offs, but also painful and scary policy innovations (going cashless, positive money, digital moneys, global monetary reset etc). Bernanke was not a hero, but rather an historic villain, pitting bankers against the …