Month: May 2020

Starting an Old Engine, Part 2, by John Leyzorek

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(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) Now we come to the oldest parts of our marvelous rediscovered machine, already centuries old in our English Common Law heritage when they were written into our Constitution. Who will indict powerful members of government itself, when they break the law they are sworn to uphold? Everyone knows how the System protects itself, and the law be damned. The Grand Jury, that is who, an institution first described in the year 997 and wholly independent of judges and prosecutors, with lawful power to investigate any suspicion of crime in its jurisdiction and …


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 demographic shifts caused by the ongoing Wuhan Flu pandemic. New Trend: “Sell City, Buy Country” Reader Jeanne L. sent this bit of confirmation for a SurvivalBlog premise, published by Politico: …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“While he spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live. And Jesus arose, and followed him, and so did his disciples. And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment: For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole. But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be …


Preparedness Notes for Saturday — May 16, 2020

On this day in 1868, the U.S. Senate votes against impeaching President Andrew Johnson and acquits him of committing “high crimes and misdemeanors.” In February 1868, the House of Representatives charged Johnson with 11 articles of impeachment for vague “high crimes and misdemeanors”. (For comparison, in 1998, President Bill Clinton was charged with two articles of impeachment for obstruction of justice during an investigation into his inappropriate sexual behavior in the White House Oval Office. In 1974, Nixon faced three charges for his involvement in the Watergate scandal. He resigned before any trial. And Donald Trump had two articles against …


Starting an Old Engine, Part 1, by John Leyzorek

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I like old machinery. It tends to be simple, and rugged. Because it is considered obsolete, it tends to be available, cheap, and with a little tinkering it will often get the job done very well. I was unloading a truck and pulling saplings out of the ground with my 89 year old tractor just yesterday. I think this interest is practical, but many more pursue it as a hobby. There are numerous web-sites devoted to this interest, innumerable threads about “Look what I found in the woods”, and “Hear it start for the first time in 20/50/80 years!” Of …


Editors’ Prepping Progress

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To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make long-term and short-term plans. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities and planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, ranch improvements, bug out bag fine-tuning, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year. Note that as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in the Comments. Let’s keep busy …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein. Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken. Therefore hear, ye nations, and know, O congregation, what is among them. Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto my words, nor …


Preparedness Notes for Friday — May 15, 2020

On May 15th, 1942, gasoline rationing began in 17 Eastern states as an attempt to help the American war effort during World War II. The main concern behind the rationing scheme was conserving scarce imported rubber, rather than fuel. By the end of the year, President Franklin D. Roosevelt had ensured that mandatory gasoline rationing was in effect in all 48 states. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 88 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A gift certificate from Quantum Harvest LLC (up to a $2,200 value) good for …


100 Days of Final Preparations – Part 2, by Elli O.

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(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) ONLINE SHOPPING To maintain our health we chose to order some items online to avoid the public stores when possible. Fabric for blankets, washable family sanitary cloths, and face masks, and Betadine wound cleanser/disinfectant were purchased. I also ordered and received a non-electric carpet sweeper. ACTIVITIES AT HOME Although the rest of the family is considered “essential”, all of my disaster preparation teaching has been postponed until future dates. This has given me time to complete more than a few projects around the homestead. I have been cooking and canning the rest …


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. Most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today, we look at some possible museum collection downsizing. (See the Tangibles Investing section.) Precious Metals: Gold Price Forecast – The Invaluable Palladium, Platinum And Gold-To-Silver Ratio Lessons o  o  o The latest piece by Hub Moolman: The US Dollar or Silver: Place Your Bet Economy & Finance: At Seeking Alpha: The Stock …



Preparedness Notes for Thursday — May 14, 2020

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On May 14, 1804: The Lewis and Clark expedition set out from St. Louis for the Pacific Coast. — We are pleased to welcome aboard our newest advertiser, Perpetual Assets. They offer both precious metals and cryptocurrencies, and ways to jump out of one asset and into another, very quickly and easily. And for the long haul, they also can help you set up an customized IRA that holds precious metals and/or cryptos.  I’ve often said that it is wise to diversify, folks. Perpetual Assets can help you do so, with a very low markup. If you do business with …


100 Days of Final Preparations – Part 1, by Elli O.

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I’m writing this as a stand-alone article. However, if you would like to read more about our journey through the world of preparedness and our homestead, please see my previous article in the SurvivalBlog archives for November 26-27, 2019. As a follow-up I am writing this to explain what we have done just in the past 100 days and how the global pandemic and possible near-future economical collapse has impacted us and our preparations. 100 DAYS OF FINAL PREPARATIONS For as long as I can remember, I have always had a mindset of preparedness, partly because of my background as …


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 report the death of Cecile Rol-Tanguy. RIP to French Resistance Heroine Cecile Rol-Tanguy Simon sent us this: French Resistance hero Cecile Rol-Tanguy dies at age 101. How Did Ancient People Preserve Foods? …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Most local banknotes in Somaliland are only worth pennies, so a brick of money is usually needed to buy a meal of camel hump or goat meat. The whole process of exchanging notes is gloriously exotic. In the dusty local market in Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland, rows of currency traders set up stalls on the side of the road with money they value by weight. Some traders have hundreds of kilos of notes ready to swap for pound sterling, US dollars or euros, with barrow-boy helpers moving the money around on two wheels or in the back of a …