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 a new Native Bee pandemic.
Boom in Camping After Months at Home
‘Everyone wants to get outside’: boom in camping as Americans escape after months at home
A Fast-Spreading Mutation of H3N2 Common Flu
Reader B.C. sent us this: Fast-spreading mutation helps common flu subtype escape immune response.
“Crunch Time” Arrives for Coronavirus
Here is confirmation about my prediction on declining Wu Flu case fatality rates: “Crunch Time” Arrives And… Was Everyone Wrong About The Coronavirus?
AR Seized from Missouri Home Defenders
Readers C.B. and A.K. both suggested this news item: Missouri couple who defended home have rifle seized during police search: report. JWR’s Comment: So much for “Castle Doctrine” legal protections… A.K.’s Comment: Not sure why it was okay for the police to seize their gun? If they can legally possess them, why should they be taken away? The wife shouldn’t have had her finger on the trigger but other than that, they were right to feel threatened. It seems to be okay for black-clad gun-armed BLM sorts to march through communities threatening them like in Stone Mountain Park and no one says anything but they take the guns from a white couple?
Carpenter Bees and Bumble Bees Face Pandemic
C.B. also sent us this: Native bees also facing novel pandemic. Here is a snippet from the Phys.org article:
“CU Boulder researchers have found there is growing evidence that another “pandemic,” as they call it, has been infecting bees around the world for the past two decades and is spreading: a fungal pathogen known as Nosema.
Yet while it’s been documented across Europe, Canada and even in Kenya, this infection has almost exclusively been recorded in the European honeybee, the recognizable commercial pollinator. Their findings, published in PLOS Pathogens, reveal that almost nothing is known about the impact of this pathogen on native, solitary bees, which make up the majority of the approximately 20,000 bee species on the planet.”
St. Pete Cops to Ignore Non-Violent Calls
MSN reports: Florida police department will not send cops to non-violent calls
Detecting Viruses Jumping from Animals to People
More viruses will jump from animals to people, San Diego Zoo says. Can we catch them? Here is an excerpt:
“In an essay published Thursday in the journal Science, an international team led by San Diego Zoo Global researchers calls for scientists and wildlife experts to routinely test animals for viruses in open-air markets that sell fresh meat, fish and produce (wet markets), wildlife farms and other potential disease hotspots.
The genetic sequences of these viruses would be added to a common database for scientists to monitor and learn from. The idea is to go from simply reacting to outbreaks to anticipating them, and to shift from centralized monitoring efforts to local surveillance on a global scale.”
No School For You: L.A. Teachers Union Makes Demands
I found this linked over at Whatfinger.com: L.A. teachers union says schools can’t reopen unless charter schools get shut down, police defunded
Plausible Denial: Three Explosions in Iran in Three Weeks
An interview at Fox News: Third major explosion in Iran in 3 weeks; Gen. Jack Keane reacts.
Robbers Learn Not to Take on Florida Gun Collectors
Another article by way of Whatfinger.com: Florida homeowner shoots 3 intruders, 2 fatally: sheriff
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Of course what the Guardian article doesn’t mention is that a lot of people have suddenly become aware of what death traps cites are and should you need to leave rapidly camping is not a bad option…. If you have the equipment.
Friends of our who live in London have just purchased a camper van for that very reason. It can be kept practically fully loaded and they’d head for rural West Wales which, while sparsely populated by UK standards, has ample camp sites and food supplies.
Notably they are less worried about Wuhan Flu and more worried about the Burn Loot and Murder brigade.
RE: Robbers Learn Not to Take on Florida Gun Collectors
Homeowner posted his gun collection on social media and thought that is why he was targeted
Thank you for stepping up on that. The most important statement in the article:
“The sheriff said the homeowner believes he may have been targeted because of his gun collection, which he has displayed on social media.”
It is certainly not the homeowners fault and kudos to them for dropping the scumbags however anytime you are attacked you need to self evaluate why and then make adjustments. If you are going to advertise then you have to adjust and make yourself a harder target. Of course it easier to just not post but that’s their choice.
Yep, first thing I thought too. Glad the only ones to suffer lead poisoning were the violent home invaders, and glad it’s in a place where the only individual being charged with a crime is the one who did the breaking in…
but WOOF! what a massive opsec fail on the collector’s part. *Facepalm*
Could this man have been using social media and his gun collection as “bait”?
The insanity doesn’t stop!
The Jesus statue that sits atop of Big Mountain in the Whitefish Range has been vandalized
and desecrated.
Evil monsters in the dead of night painted the face of Jesus brown and taped signs to the
hands that read “BLM and Rise Up”.
The statue was erected on public land( USFS) in 1954 by the Knights of Columbus to honor
all WWII Veterans and specifically Montana Veterans who served in the 10th Mtn. Division
and is included in the National Register of Historic Places.
The memorial has survived two lawsuits brought by the Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Surprisingly the 9th Circuit Court of appeals has ruled in favor of Jesus 2013 and 2015.
Of course everyone at the Forest Service Law Enforcement Office are busy in meetings and
unable to comment if there is or will be an investigation.
We should not let this go away.
LA school teachers and their demands. I thought they are there to teach? Must have missed something. I would see how they feel after a few months without a paycheck. Union strike funds are notorious for having been looted and making only minimal payments.
States like California that permit public employees to form a union deserve what they get. At a minimum, they endorse candidates for election who, once elected, return the favor with salary increases.
St. Pete Cops to Ignore Non-Violent Calls = Stupid
The move will further distance police officers from their community. All officers will further move to the SWAT mindset. The interaction with any officer for any reason will further the divide.
We want law enforcement to do the work of every American.
In reference to the armed couple: rather than focusing on the political stuff I’d like to put something out there to help everyone.
When you are involved in an incident using your weapon, whether you shoot or not, there is a likelihood that it will be taken even if for a short time. DO NOT lose focus on me here with rants and raves. It will be taken. So have a plan B.
When I walk out of the station I will be met by a friend/family member with an extra gun for me. If their AR is confiscated I will immediately drive to their house with another and mags/ammo. No direct contact from the affected individual is needed. You hear about it you act.
You need to plan this now.
You’ve done something that will make others mad and they might come after you know you are unarmed.
Plan for this right now today.
Agreed. Just like everything else, there needs to be backups to the backups to the backups. People need to work together to ensure all the bases are covered. It seems to me that at some point there were a few articles on survivalblog about how to stash weapons (or I read it somewhere else) in a way that even a K9 couldn’t locate them on your property. But, logically, it seems having protection stashed elsewhere with no known trace to yourself as owner is a better option. Although, that would require a trusted relationship with someone else and careful (non electronic) planning.
You bring up an important point: “careful (non electronic) planning” which I believe too many people overlook. I know my current boss does not think of this, but I sure do. How often do people make good plans in private, but then give them all away with their “electronic mistakes” that they make? And thanks to Matt in Oklahoma for original tip.
In my state the left has already checkmated you. You cannot transfer a firearm to anyone. You cannot even hand over a gun to your wife or son while hunting.
I wasn’t planning on telling the left
You live in the wrong state then.
How do they know it’s not my weapon. Live in Free America
Matt, Interesting to know. Under what law or statute do they confiscate the gun? I’ve been puzzled since I first read about it. Is it because the gun was used in a potential crime and becomes a piece of evidence?
In Regards to the Missouri couple facing down The Mob. … Their lawyer ~ “Watkins said the gun Patricia McCloskey was shown holding was not operable, and the inoperable nature of the weapon “significantly preceded” the date of the incident.” [KSDK, July 12, 2020]
People living in northern Idaho just might spot a new mailbox near a driveway, with the name McCloskey on it. … The Mob is directed by people inciting The Mob for political purposes. A group from The Mob might show up one night at the McCloskey home in St. Louis, Missouri, and toss gasoline bombs at the place.
The Mob never sleeps. The McCloskeys should take SurvivalBlog’s advice and move to a safer location. The McCloskeys are ‘marked’ people, in their crime-ridden town; many people in The Mob will want to ‘teach the McCloskeys, an age-old lesson in The Mob tactics. [The Guillotine is a political weapon for The Mob.]
… … But instead, the McCloskeys are wealthy investors and might just buy the entire Trailer Park where I live. … The McCloskeys could have their name in front of an older double-wide trailer around here. …. …. [FYI, I live in a single wide. ~ When the river floods, I might be able to navigate through the rapids.]
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“The bloodthirsty hate a person of integrity, and seek to kill the upright.”
[Proverbs 29: 10 NIV.]
…. …. Sometimes, The Mob will attack people that just get out of bed, and diligently works for a living. [We live in crazy times where The Mob is even envious about people, that have all the premium Cable TV Channels.]
“Carpenter Bees and Bumble Bees Face Pandemic”
I hope people are aware that this article is a press release that hypes the study so that people take interest. This press release directly states that scientists don’t know what effect, if any, is impacting native bees. The headline of the article is very misleading.
As often as geopolitics is discussed in SurvivalBlog, together with how news articles are so frequently used as supporting evidence that “the end is near,” would anyone be interested in a clearly-defined understanding of what geopolitics is, how there are three different types of discourse that work together to generate perceptions of crisis so that people and organizations can obtain more power?
Yes.
The teachers can independently hire themselves out as TUTORS, and can meet with groups of children in neighborhood settings, always assuming of course they opt out of whatever juicy government agreement they entered into originally. Smart Lawyer would argue no open schools, no teaching contract.
Teachers union, is that a front for the liberal agenda? It sure sounds like it, now people should wake up and homeschool their kids if they can and keep them away from the liberal anti-American teaching of these leftist teachers.
With public school teachers, I am reminded of the aftermath of the fall of Saigon. Those who held positions of importance in the South Vietnamese government and Army were rounded up and sent to “political re-education camps.”
That is what so many American parents unwittingly do when they send their kids to high schools and colleges. Their kids are taught by staunch liberals who turn out the next generation of Social Justice Warriors.
Fortunately, my two kids came through the brainwashing without being affected. Too many kids don’t.
Robbers Learn Not to Take on Florida Gun Collectors
That’s how we do it here in Florida. This is not New York, we shoot to kill.
L.A.U.S.D. has been a “progressive” cesspool for a very long time. I personally hope that the school systems in CA crash and burn, and that parents wakeup to the fact that they can get a much higher quality of education, less brain washing, and more literacy for their children without the public education system. Lots of wonderful, Christian, educators have felt trapped in the public school system. (Personally, I would’ve changed careers). Now, those good professionals can “consult” for parents who cannot educate their own due to work requirements or lack of ability (perceived or real). A public school teacher could create a new career as a tutor and make an equal or more salary if they were industrious and organized. Many, many parents need help right now. I see a huge opportunity for those who can think outside the box. And I understand that many people cannot afford tutors, so why not create a community coop and together educate the children, like many home school families do. And I sure as heck wouldn’t be asking the state “permission”. CA likes to intimidate homeschoolers and use CPS (child protective services) as a weapon. Time for people to stand up to that mob.
.02
Teachers don’t want to teach and I don’t want to pay property taxes. Seems workable.
As far as the virus I’m at work every day in a similar environment as far as forced proximity to people without control of their incoming personal health earning my pay so….
There is as saying “Do Not Demand That Which You Can Not Take With Force”
Glad you bring this up. I don’t see how municipalities can continue to collect property taxes for services no longer rendered. If we no longer have access to public parks, libraries, pools, and schools then people should demand property tax deferral. Not sure if there’s legal precedent/mechanism for this.
Fully agree.
Agree also, and wrote a letter to this effect to the county commissioners. The key is to keep the pressure on them.
They will say they need to raise taxes as revenue is down and they have more responsibilities due to Covid. We need to say don’t tax us for services we aren’t getting.
I heard yesterday that in a county in my state the teachers are grouping together to file a lawsuit against their county for “forcing” them to come back to school by reopening schools. My response to my wife was that if they aren’t willing to do the job it’s easy to solve that problem- find another job.
I want to get back to the classroom with my students and teach them vocational skills. I’m not sure that will happen though, they are talking about putting our county online this semester. It is all but impossible to teach my students how to weld, do plumbing, carpentry, electrical skills, growing plants, and animal husbandry, through the computer. Videos can’t fully replace hands on instruction. Part of what really concerns me with this is the further push away from hands on learning and learning actual useful skills for the students, to the watered down state curriculum that they are getting online.
Oh, and when we had to finish out the spring semester with “remote learning” we were told verbally in a staff meeting (read: no paper trail) that “no student will fail spring classes in our county. They will ALL pass and ALL seniors will graduate.” Many students had grades raised to passing without the consent of their teachers. (Passing is also a 60 now, not a 70 as it used to be) The students were told that they would not fail, and as a result only around 10% of my students did ANY of the assignments that were sent home.
@ FLORIDA gun collector, good for him, but my question is ” why post online of what you have?” I know you / he / him are proud of what you have or have accumulated and want o show it off, but to complete strangers. Not a good move. The St Louis home owners having their firearms taken away,reminds me of the L.A. riots from yrs ago, the asian business owners defended themselves from the rioters only to have the police come in confiscate all of their firearms and then the rioters and looters came back and cleaned out, destroyed the asian run business and homes. Yrs ago, there were a riot in NYC, the people of color were rioting in the area of the asian run business and looted and destroyed the asian business, when the asian business leaders sued the city of NY, for protection,the judge ruled that the police department did not have to protect the asian business people. Only that they had to come in and figure out what had happened .
I don’t know of the circumstances, but this is true, NY court ruled that the police have no duty to protect citizens from harm.
People in the above comments are more than willing to strip pay from teachers that refuse to do their jobs, are we to hold the police to a lesser standard?
Freedom of Speech
It’s a right and legal.
Don’t make it smart though. Like a lot of things on all sides these days.
I think one thing many people are missing in the gun collector story is that the guy either was armed within his home or had a weapon close by. I have read many posts recently of homeowners being armed when in and around their homes. Some posters mentioned that they used to be armed when away from home but put the weapon down when they got back home but now are remaining armed even when in their home.
In this day and age ‘Be Prepared’ is more true than ever.
Understanding the importance of pollinators, we can all work to be better stewards of pollinator friendly environments: avoid pesticides, landscape with plants that will thrive in your zone and attract and support pollinator populations, etc. These garden helpers make a very real (and significant) contribution to food production. They also face a variety of risk factors from pest poisons to disease from any source to environmental changes including those that will flow forth from a cold sun.
Why do these prosecutors and elected officials even say the oath to defend the constitution when it is obvious they don’t even know what the constitution says. Everyone, including minorities, immigrants, etc., should be mandated to pass a constitution test, if immigrants refuse send them back to their own country.
Dan, they mouth the oath as a means to an end as spelled out in something like “Strategic Operating Rules and Organized Systems” (note possible acronym). Lying is not only acceptable, it is inherent in the culture of communism.
We should truly teach the Constitution as it was written. There is no excuse for any American student not to know it, and to know the writings of the founders who provided a lot of insight related to their thoughts and the development of foundational ideas.
On a matter related to the concerns about immigration… This article uses a map of the US to outline the costs to each state of illegal entry. The financial impact is catastrophic.
https://www.citizenfreepress.com/breaking/ms-13-leadership-busted/
…and this is not to mention the problem of illegal aliens involved in criminal activity beyond the matter of illegal entry into the United States (some of which is devastating, and is now being correctly identified — in my opinion — as terrorism).
We live in a greatly generous nation, but we must do a much better job of managing immigration (and cultural assimilation — again, my view).
Agree
There has to be some way these socialist governors, mayors, prosecutors, and city councilmen could be removed through dereliction of duty or something. Because many of them are not just cheering on businesses being burnt or looted and then burnt but actively supporting the ‘protesters’.
Evidently today ‘protest’ means a person gets a no go to jail card to burn, loot, rape, and murder. Webster needs to revise their definition of ‘protest’.
Pollinators. Is it really any surprise to anyone that pollinators are decreasing in population? I am the only one I know that doesn’t fog their entire property to get rid of the bugs. And ironically, I have less bad bugs than most of them. I utilize chickens, guineas, bats, dragonflies, etc., to debug our place, and it works well, and the bees don’t die. Incidentally, we have LOTS of bumble bees and our garden gets pollinated very well.
Virus jumping from animals to people. Be very careful of this one. This is part of the propaganda surrounding Agenda 21 and Agenda 2030. It has to do with making it illegal to own any animals or eat any meat. Look up Ice Age Farmer on Youtube and watch all his videos.
Re: Coronavirus Crunch Time
The Zerohedge article is dated and the deaths in Florida, Texas, California and Arizona are rising fast now. Something is happening in those states.
I do not have insight into the specifics on the numbers but I have some theories.
1. Illegals coming up from Mexico sick and seeking medical care along with the annual migrant worker migration. I say this because Yakima County Washington had a huge number of cases and a strangely high positive rate for tests (26% vs statewide average of 5.9%) about the time I would guess a lot of illegals might be migrating in. I would guess (I don’t know) that the effected states have some of the highest migrant populations in the union.
2. Air conditioning. The places getting hit are screaming hot but other places are pretty hot as well. Don’t know about this.
3. Fudged numbers. Since mid June it has been revealed that some testing labs are reporting 100% and high 90% positive ratios on much testing. When challenged and reanalyzed they typically fall below 10%. Additionally when a person tests positive, every subsequent positive test of THE SAME PERSON is counted as positive. The extreme corruption of the data pool is reportedly the reason HHS has taken over data collection for the CDC. I believe that happened today. This is a subject all to itself as the flood of new testing supplies since mid June appear to have changed testing practices in many places and may be resulting in us knowing less rather than more about the disease.
4. The increased case counts could simply be resulting in increased deaths. This would seem logical, except that the increased case counts are occurring in age groups that seldom die from this virus. The average new case is reportedly in people 15 years younger than at the start of the pandemic. And a brief glance at the charts show a ramp up in deaths much more rapid than the ramp up in cases. Possible but not a slam dunk in my mind.
5. Other sources of deaths are being swept into COVID numbers. This has been proven to have happened frequently in this pandemic and minor adjustments have been made.
6. The virus has mutated and is killing more.
There are other possibilities as well but something different is definitely happening in these states. Something has changed. My suspicion is that the data is being manipulated but that may or may not be the case. Time will tell especially with HHS now aggregating and analyzing the data.
Agreed. Florida alone might have 30,000 deaths this year. This could get ugly.
Re: AR Seized
The home owners were justified in their response, however I think it possible that if they had kept their weapons lower, fingers off the trigger and taken a lower keyed posture the outcome might have been different. But maybe not with the liberal DA.
Good reason to not live in such a heavily populated area.
No, the liberal DA is a Soros funded entity. He paid for something like 80% of her last campaign. Funny, I thought there were donation limits. Evidently not for George Soros or this DA.
Several years ago, I heard some commentary about the way Democrats with lots of money were bankrolling lower and lower level politicians. All the way down to school board members and definitely people like DAs. This was a specific strategy to alter typically red states and shift them blue from the bottom up. The commentary was particularly about Colorado.
It was suggested that conservatives needed to do this as well but it does not seem to have happened although in my county we have kicked out a few liberals in the county government that were causing the most havoc.
Conservatives need to view every political race as important no matter how lowly it seems.
JBH, Koch and other conservatives have been buying state and local politicians for decades, funneling hundreds of millions into campaigns and advertising every election cycle. They even announce how much they are spending. They’ve been doing this to control state governments and then to gerrymander districts so Republicans can send more Reps to the House with lower vote counts. It’s been very effective. If its happening on the Democratic side its a recent event. The Democrats really suck at big picture electoral strategy and fighting dirty in the media.
From the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons.
Mask Facts
https://aapsonline.org/mask-facts/
More support for only voluntarily wearing masks.
Churches Report Chicago Officials are Threatening to Bulldoze Their Facilities for Not Complying with COVID-19 Mandates
https://bigleaguepolitics.com/churches-report-chicago-officials-are-threatening-to-bulldoze-their-facilities-for-not-complying-with-covid-19-mandates/
It’s Just a Mask!
https://www.lewrockwell.com/lrc-blog/its-just-a-mask/
Note: You’re not gonna like it. After all, it’s just a mask.
Young white woman killed by BLM thugs simply because she spoke the TRUTH: “All Lives Matter”
https://www.naturalnews.com/2020-07-14-young-woman-killed-blm-thugs-truth-all-lives-matter.html
I’ve been reading about this for a few days over at Lew Rockwell. Where is the mainstream media? Maybe I missed it, but as far as I can tell, nothing on Fox News either?
The COVID-19 Curve Has Been Flattened
By Dr. Joseph Mercola
https://www.lewrockwell.com/2020/07/joseph-mercola/the-covid-19-curve-has-been-flattened/
My comment about the ongoing travisty of the lockdown mentality: GIGO garbage in, garbage out! It’s all political.
“Lockdown 2.0”: This New Wave of Lockdowns Will Ensure The U.S. Remains In An Economic Depression Through The 2020 Election
By Michael Snyder
https://www.lewrockwell.com/2020/07/michael-snyder/lockdown-2-0-this-new-wave-of-lockdowns-will-ensure-the-u-s-remains-in-an-economic-depression-through-the-2020-election/
Again, it’s all political. The politics of totalitarianism, that is.
Culprits Behind Covid-19 Coronavirus Epidemic Reveal Their Destructive Agenda
By Bill Sardi
https://www.lewrockwell.com/2020/07/bill-sardi/culprits-behind-covid-19-coronavirus-epidemic-reveal-their-destructive-agenda/
Reading this, it sounds like the final coalescing of the Fourth Reich!
“it sounds like the final coalescing of the Fourth Reich”
nope, the opposite – the bolshevik coup.
Actually, they are not “opposites”. Bolshevist communism and national socialism (nazism) are both left wing, totalitarian, statist, and collectivist. It is libertarianism and collectivism that are true opposites. Communists call nazis “right wing” only because they are slightly farther to the right of them.
In many instances “opposing” political parties are not much more than different colors of paint on the same machinery. They may look different or opposite at first glance to most people, but when one looks at the overall direction that they travel and where they end up it can be seen that they are very similar. That is why I am a conservative Christian Libertarian. God Almighty is the ultimate one I report to. These other forms of “government” all (mostly all) want man (their purported subjects/slaves) to do their bidding blindly.
I agree wholeheartedly. The Republican party and the Democrat party are both now socialist and statist at their core. One of them is simply in more of a hurry than the other.
The article by Dr. Mercola links to (among MANY others) a study published in the journal Cell. It was imo very thorough, and among other things stated: “Importantly, we detected SARS-CoV-2-reactive CD4+ T cells in ∼40%–60% of unexposed individuals, suggesting cross-reactive T cell recognition between circulating “common cold” coronaviruses and SARS-CoV-2.” That is HUGELY ENCOURAGING!
This also skews the testing. Even the PCR test is detecting the coronavirus induced cold as being positive for covid-19. Just wait until next year during coronavirus season and the next lockdown of the economy, lockdown 3.0. The globalist left is getting aroused at the prospect of finally putting an end to the United States as we knew it.
The series of unfortunate events affecting Iranian assets (most or all probably related to their nuclear armament ambitions) have accumulated steadily across the recent calendar. The story unfolding is one that should be attended. There is no shortage of these lately!
One final thought, just for icing on the cake:
Bill Gates Warning: “We’ll Have a Deadlier Pandemic”
By Mac Slavo
SHTFplan.com
https://www.lewrockwell.com/2020/07/mac-slavo/bill-gates-warning-well-have-a-deadlier-pandemic/
Just thought to inquire here.
What has become of Remus of The Woodpile Report? He hasn’t posted his weekly report for over a month.