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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 “JWR [1]”. 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 celebrate the ATF’s reversal on their plan to ban or heavily tax most pistols with arm braces as Short-Barreled Riles (SBRs).

FPC: The ATF Withdraws “Guidance” for “Stabilizing Braces”

To start today’s column, a follow-up on some good news, from the good folks fighting for our rights, at The Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC): ATF Withdraws “Guidance” for “Stabilizing Braces” [2]. Here is a quote from their announcement:

“Today, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”) issued “the withdrawal of a notice and request for comments” regarding the agency’s recently published “guidance” document captioned “Objective Factors for Classifying Weapons with ‘Stabilizing Braces’.” The ATF’s notice of withdrawal can be found at FPCLegal.org [3].

On December 16, 2020, FPC published a memorandum [4] entitled “ATF to Issue Guidance on ‘Stabilizing Braces’,” reporting on the agency’s intent to further address firearms with stabilizing brace devices. That memorandum also stated that “FPC believes that the NFA is an unconstitutional infringement of the People’s rights, that the ATF should be abolished, and that any policy or practice enforcing the Act is unconstitutional and immoral.”

Two days later, the ATF’s guidance was published in the Federal Register “to inform and invite comment from the industry and public” for a period of 14 days. The notice purported to give the public guidance as to factors that the agency would use to “determine” whether a handgun equipped with a “stabilizing brace” was a firearm regulated by the National Firearms Act [5] (“NFA”).”

But in the same announcement, the FPC warned:

“While the ATF is apparently withdrawing this particular “guidance” at this time, the matter is still “pending further Department of Justice review,” which could lead to ATF taking different and potentially far more aggressive actions in the near future, especially under a Joseph Biden-led administration [6].”

Even though the draft guidance letter was withdrawn, please go ahead and make a comment [7]. (One thing that the leftists say has some truth to it: “Silence is consent.”)  Please make your comment short, to the point, and polite. DO NOT use any profanity, crude language, or insults.

DHS: Avoid Chinese Spy Software and Data Services

Linked over at the Whatfinger.com  [8]news aggregation site: DHS tells US firms to avoid Chinese software, data services over spying concern [9]s.

Why Americans Will Be Demanding Proof of Vaccination

Raeder D.S.V. sent this, over at Axios: Why Americans will be demanding proof of vaccination [10].

CNBC Covers Doomsday Preppers

Reader G.G. spotted this bit of biased reporting, at CNBC: Doomsday preppers stock up on luxury survival kits, emergency food supplies and million-dollar bunker [11]s.  The article’s intro readers:

“This was the year that coronavirus fears turned American shoppers into hoarders. There have been widespread shortages on products like toilet paper [12], hand sanitizer [13] and flour [14] as people prepared for the long stretches of isolation that have become commonplace during the pandemic.

But for one segment of the population, preparing for the worst was a way of life even before the pandemic. “Preppers” or “survivalists,” as they’re known, have been around for years, buying elaborate survival kits, yearlong supplies of nonperishable foods and even elaborate underground bunkers.”

The Left is Targeting Accreditation of Christian Colleges

Texas Representative Brian Babin warns: ‘Blueprint for Positive Change’ Exposes the Left’s Plans for Conservatives [15]

A New Cabin for a Siberian Recluse

Our Editor-At-Large Michael Z. Williamson [16] mentioned a documentary about this family a while back.  It is about Christians who survived Stalin’s purges by going as remote as possible. Here is an update: Russian Billionaire Funds A New Home For Siberian Hermit Known As The ‘World’s Loneliest Woman [17]’.

That includes ensuring the reclusive woman’s home was updated to withstand the harsh Siberian winter, which has only gotten worse due to the changing climate. Mike’s Comment: “I don’t understand. If the climate is getting warmer, how is Siberia getting colder?”

Travelers: AI Will Be Watching – and Mapping Your Face

Reader D.S.V. sent us this from Kim Komando: Traveling in 2021? AI will be watching – and mapping your face [18]

Glitterbomb 3.0 vs. Porch Pirates

And finally just for fun, from reader C.B… This brilliant engineer has out-done himself with version 3.0: Glitterbomb 3.0 vs. Porch Pirates [19]

You can send your news tips to JWR [1]. (Either via e-mail of via our Contact [20] form.) Thanks!

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#1 Comment By Big Mike On December 31, 2020 @ 7:24 am

Proof that you have taken a vaccine made with all kinds of nasty things, cultured in aborted fetal tissue. A vaccine that looks to be causing lots of harm. A vaccine that the CEO of Pfizer won’t take. A vaccine that they are trying to con us into receiving by faking that they got it. Check out Rense.com. A vaccine that I will refuse if it cost me my life. A vaccine for something that can be prevented by vitamins and minerals and some cheap Ivermectin, which the animal feed store just happens to sell.

#2 Comment By Nathan Hail (not to be confused with generic Nathan) On December 31, 2020 @ 4:33 pm

@BigMike- You are exactly right.

#3 Comment By The Lone Canadian On December 31, 2020 @ 5:04 pm

A vaccine that doesn’t cure the disease. A vaccine that doesn’t stop you from getting the disease. A vaccine that doesn’t keep you from spreading the disease. A vaccine that doesn’t work on any of the new mutations.

How is this even called a vaccine? Why wouldn’t you line up to get a vaccine that doesn’t seem to do anything, to stop a disease that has almost no chance of killing you even if you get it.

#4 Comment By JW On December 31, 2020 @ 5:31 pm

Fauci supposedly received the vaccine on television. The injection was in his left arm. Some time later, he was asked how he felt. He said his arm was a bit sore…and rubbed his RIGHT arm.

They won’t take it themselves.

#5 Comment By ThoDan On December 31, 2020 @ 5:58 pm

Any proof that these are in any possible kind related, i don´t see how a vaccination could be related to a sore arm.

#6 Comment By BWL On December 31, 2020 @ 10:26 pm

Injection sure soreness is actually a well-known side effect.

#7 Comment By JW On December 31, 2020 @ 11:12 pm

Hi ThoDan. Soreness at the injection site is a very common side effect of vaccines.

I was bitten by a terrified cat recently, went to Urgicare for treatment and a tetanus shot, and had some soreness at the injection site for two or three days.

Obviously Fauci saw a connection, or he wouldn’t have responded by saying his arm was sore when asked how he felt after having had the shot.

#8 Comment By ThoDan On January 1, 2021 @ 2:22 pm

A translation Problem then, sorry for thst

#9 Comment By Big Mike On December 31, 2020 @ 6:47 pm

And if there was actually something being injected I bet it is saline solution or a bit of sterile water.

#10 Comment By John On December 31, 2020 @ 5:43 pm

If you can’t get out to a store to pick up ivermectin you can order it here and can get in varying sizes. I even spoke with my dog’s vet about it and asked some follow up questions and have since ordered an additional one while supplies are abundant and you don’t need any documentation.

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#11 Comment By Matt in Oklahoma On December 31, 2020 @ 8:12 pm

Picked up mine at tractor supply

#12 Comment By ThoDan On December 31, 2020 @ 5:56 pm

Any professional, reputable source for anything you said?

AFAIK the CEO of Pfitzer said he would wait till he is on the line, and that´s the nearest you come to facts.

#13 Comment By Big Mike On December 31, 2020 @ 6:53 pm

You tell me what you think is a professional media source….it sure isn’t MSM or Bill Gates or Fauci. How about the inscriptions on the Georgia Guide stones. I trust Rense.com before MSM any day. It’s laughable to even think that the CEO of Pfizer couldn’t obtain the vaccine if he wanted.

#14 Comment By ThoDan On January 1, 2021 @ 2:26 pm

Maybe it interestd you, but i don’t care for sny of the sources you refusr, i prefer Forsten, Charité and the RKI.

Maybe he can, but choosr not to do it for professional vor ethical reasons.

#15 Comment By Big Mike On January 1, 2021 @ 10:32 pm

Freedom of choice..more power to you. If you want the vaccine go for it.

#16 Comment By ThoDan On January 2, 2021 @ 12:19 pm

Excuse the mistakes(i a absolutly love the perfect spelling service of my mobile)

REPLY
Maybe it interested you, but i don’t care for any of the sources you refuse, i prefer Dorsten, Charité and the RKI.

Maybe he can, but choose not to do it for professional vor ethical reasons.

#17 Comment By Telesilla of Argos On December 31, 2020 @ 7:33 pm

Keep your eyes on the long acting antibody preventatives and therapies… Ab8 which may be in trials early in 2021 and another one by Oxford AstraZeneca which is in Phase III. These are NOT vaccines.

#18 Comment By Big Mike On January 1, 2021 @ 4:36 am

I keep my eyes on living a healthy lifestyle. I always figured God gave me an immune system if I treat it right. Organic foods, quality supplements and I work out like a man possessed. I have a good friend who is a Doctor and he has been fine with ivermectin and hydroxychloriquine, however you spell it. But I will remember what you said . Thank you

#19 Comment By Telesilla of Argos On January 1, 2021 @ 3:55 pm

Happy New Year, Big Mike!
Really agree… We are doing the same. Eating well, taking our supplements (now revised a bit given pandemic concerns to include Quercetin and a zinc boost among other features of our updated health plan). We also have Ivermectin on hand, and think hydroxychloroquine (aka Plaquenil) should be widely available (probably even OTC).

Our belief is that this is unrestricted biological warfare (even though whether this particular virus was accidentally or intentionally released is an unknown). With this in mind, we’re encouraging everyone to track the REAL information — the facts — closely, to take precautious, and to give themselves every health advantage for survival.

Wishing everyone a HAPPY HAPPY NEW YEAR. May every good wish and prayer come true in 2021!

#20 Comment By Big Mike On January 1, 2021 @ 10:30 pm

Thank you Sir, Happy New Year to you and everyone that reads Survivalblog.com. This whole Covid program is really cover for the Great Reset. Savethemales.ca has some great articles and links to the actual numbers and inflated statistics we are being lied to about. This is in reality a greater war on the real freedoms of people than any tyrant has thought of for a long time.

#21 Comment By CW64 On December 31, 2020 @ 8:39 am

DOMINION MACHINES HACKED IN GEORGIA RUNOFF on 12/30/2020 (yesterday)! Announced during the Georgia Voter Fraud Senate Hearing as the hack was taking place.

A short 3 minute video:

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#22 Comment By Telesilla of Argos On December 31, 2020 @ 3:00 pm

CW64!
So glad you posted this video. Great link and I would say a “must watch”.

Before contributing to your excellent report and expanding the conversation further, I first want to post a poem said to have been placed on Fred Trump’s desk. Fred Trump was President Donald J. Trump’s father, and this poem is especially timely for all of us. Thank you to Lin Wood for tweeting this in his message feed. I hope I formatted it correctly for readers here!

“Success is failure turned inside out –
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
You can never tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far;
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit –
It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit.”

– Edgar Guest

Now back to the news from Georgia… While the news did not come as a surprise to those of us watching so closely, it surely must have been eye-opening for those who were not yet convinced of the overwhelming election fraud.

Supplementing your link… This one is for Rudy Giuliani’s statement. It’s a scorcher.

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If you prefer a text version, here’s the reader’s version.

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From what we’re hearing… The committee has voted in favor of a signature audit of all absentee ballots. Next steps there? We’re monitoring very closely. Here’s an article link from The National File.

[25]

…and BTW. The news of “no news — no meaningful changes to the findings” in Georgia’s recent “audit” (term used very loosely) is a pile of manure. This has all the markings of a cover up.

Meanwhile… There is progress in Arizona.

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Also in Arizona, the Attorney General is supporting enforcement of the subpoena for the voting machines related to a forensic audit there.

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Now… If this next report is true, we must all sound the alarm and raise our voices — all our voices — to opposed any rule that would prevent debate related to the electors. Is Mitch McConnell involved in this? I pray not, but we can take no chances. Fill his email box, cause his phone lines to ring red hot, and run the paper out of his fax machine.

[28]

Senator Josh Hawley has spoken up, and plans to contest the slates of electors chosen based on election fraud. Please support him in this effort.

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Most assuredly the protests are designed to try to prevent the President from presenting specific, undeniable, and overwhelming evidence.

[30]

Also this morning… Watch for updates coming from Pennsylvania. Be sure to check in with Stephen K. Bannon’s War Room at America’s Voice. He expects to interview Attorney Boris Epshteyn.

SPEAK UP and FIGHT ON, PATRIOTS!!!

#23 Comment By Les On December 31, 2020 @ 5:48 pm

WOW, T of A! bless your heart for all this > you are “carryin’ the water” in a big way!! Gracias.
May I add something – for heartening us patriots?
I read this the other day and felt it had some merit. Sharing now for others. (may need to paste into your browser)
God is still on the throne … Jesus is the Name above all Names …Father is faithful!!!
Happy New Year!!
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#24 Comment By Telesilla of Argos On December 31, 2020 @ 7:35 pm

An excellent addition, Les!

I love the idea that Trump is channeling Sun Tzu!

Thank you!

#25 Comment By Telesilla of Argos On December 31, 2020 @ 4:19 pm

When you see this representation of a “signature match” in Georgia, outrage will follow.

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#26 Comment By Joe On December 31, 2020 @ 10:59 am

I am not a writer but it seems that CNBC needs proof readers in a big way. Numerus misspellings, words out of context and a complete lack of knowledge about prepping etc. No wonder they are at the bottom of the news barrel.

#27 Comment By CAP On December 31, 2020 @ 3:56 pm

My wife and I have noticed this as a general trend across all MSM. They don’t even try to put lipstick on a pig anymore, just all around general poop.

#28 Comment By Les On December 31, 2020 @ 5:49 pm

Well said, CAP!!!
Thank you.

#29 Comment By Matt in Oklahoma On December 31, 2020 @ 11:37 am

The CNBC article isn’t terrible. It’s just short, poorly researched primarily from open sources materials, completed with no face to face hands on and done by someone with zero understanding of how things really are. LOL
Even with the attitude it was written with it did point out accidentally that we live in confidence and there are a lot of libs, elites and others who also secretly prepare.
They completely leave out that there are different types of “preppers” and those of us who are NOT preppers but something else.

#30 Comment By Smalltown85 On December 31, 2020 @ 12:04 pm

Re: Siberian Winter

With a warming climate there is more humidity and precipitation. Just because there is warming doesn’t mean that cold weather goes away. There will likely continue to be extremes in COLD and WARM seasons.

#31 Comment By DKL On December 31, 2020 @ 1:35 pm

FPC: The ATF Withdraws “Guidance” for “Stabilizing Braces”

They know they have to be careful or they could start the new civil war. They know they cannot win it yet. They are out manned and out gunned, at least for now.

#32 Comment By Anonymous On December 31, 2020 @ 1:35 pm

Traveling in 2021? AI will be watching – and mapping your face

I went to the hospital a few weeks ago and after filling out the paperwork and answering the covid interrogation, they asked me to look at the machine and get my temperature taken. This was a departure from the previous routine of pointing the ray gun at my forehead and taking it that way. As I lined my face up in the outline on the screen, my first thought was, “Wow, look how blue my eyes are.” My second thought was, “Wow, this is incredible resolution.” My third thought was, “Oh sh-t, this is facial recognition.” I’m guessing these machines will be coming into broader use under other pretenses.

The government at state and federal level have no recent photos of my wrinkled bearded mug so I was bummed when I figured it out. If you run into one of these, ask to have your temperature taken with the ray gun, or when looking at the facial recognition machine, cover your face with your hands with just one eye barely peeking out so you can see to line your face up. The machine only needs your forehead to get your temperature.

I could be wrong but better safe than sorry.

#33 Comment By Telesilla of Argos On December 31, 2020 @ 3:03 pm

This sounds entirely like a lack of disclosure as to the purpose and function of the machine… Disturbing indeed!

#34 Comment By Anna On December 31, 2020 @ 5:14 pm

Oh, gosh! Something else to be paranoid about 🙁 Thanks for the heads-up.

#35 Comment By Charles K. On January 1, 2021 @ 12:37 am

Just because you are paranoid, doesn’t mean s someone is not out to get you. I think we all have reason to be paranoid at this point in history.

#36 Comment By Mray On January 1, 2021 @ 12:27 am

Good advice. In my state you have to give your finger print in order to get your driver’s license renewed. My friend refuses to let the state government have his finger print because he can’t understand why they need his finger print to drive his car. So before he goes to the DMV he puts a liberal coat of Elmer’s glue on all of his fingers and thumbs. When it dries in about fifteen minutes it makes a clear film which doesn’t allow the scanner to get a true reading of his finger print. The examiner will normally be confused and he will reply that he had severely burned his fingers in the past and it had deformed his prints. It’s worked for him every time. I assume that our finger prints must change with time otherwise the DMV wouldn’t require an update every time that license gets renewed. They don’t have his.

#37 Comment By alfie On December 31, 2020 @ 2:04 pm

Hmm, glitter bomb vs porch pirates, interesting. I’ve read where people have had boxes ( that they have doctored ahead of time ) delivered to their house that contained dog poop ( fresh ) , cat poop, soiled baby diapers ( now that can be really bad smelling ). One person ( he had done some trapping in the past ) had rigged up a box explode ( ? ) when picked up by someone to get covered in shunk pee ( now that stuff is really hard to get off.
( experienced it first hand )). Another one rigged up a blank shotgun shell to go off when picked up. Hmm, interesting

#38 Comment By Telesilla of Argos On December 31, 2020 @ 3:25 pm

I’ve seen those glitter bomb videos! There is something satisfying about thieves getting their just deserts — most especially because the glitter bombs are pretty harmless.

What concerns me is that there are reports alongside these that law enforcement will not pursue the thieves. …and while I understand the limits of law enforcement resources, I believe this simply invites more of the same bad behavior.

#39 Comment By Capt Nemo On December 31, 2020 @ 4:58 pm

And you won’t believe how brazen the thieves are! When I was building deployment boxes for an Alaskan prospecting trip, I had my tablesaw outside of the garage. There was a pile of cut wood beside it, and it was easy to see that it was in use. Had a car park in front of the house, and an older couple got out and begin walking up toward the saw. They then saw me in the garage, and turned around and hurriedly got back into their car and drove off quickly. Couldn’t get the plate, but did notify police. A UPS truck had driven by not long before they stopped, so they were following the truck and swiping packages. One look at the couple, and I could tell the type of folks they were, as I’ve seen plenty of them at gun shows. They’ll rob and cheat you blind if they can, and then they open the wallet, and it’s loaded.

#40 Comment By Les On December 31, 2020 @ 5:52 pm

Capt Nemo, this is such a disgrace…one could say, is it any wonder the country is in the shape its in?!
So many have walked away from or never even considered, the God of the Bible.
Shaking head here.

#41 Comment By Telesilla of Argos On December 31, 2020 @ 7:39 pm

Stunning. …like people you see at gun shows? This is just terrible. You are right. These people are BRAZEN.

#42 Comment By 0utlaw On December 31, 2020 @ 2:28 pm

The ATF Withdraws “Guidance” for “Stabilizing Braces”

The changes they intend to make are intentionally obtuse and vague, the ATF only withdrew this to bring it back under the Biden administration as a convoluted set of imprecise benchmarks that will allow agents to classify all AR and AK style pistols as SBRs if they choose to. I have a contact that is a former FBI agent, he left because of the “us against them” mentality that the bureau was fostering. When he was leaving he interviewed with ATF and said after talking to a few of their agents they made FBI look like a Libertarian organization. The culture at ATF is “get as many guns as possible out of the hands of civilians.” He said the front line agents he spoke to were very candid in their desire to “get the guns” and even spoke about the Second Amendment getting in the way of their job and their contempt for it. He is in the private sector now doing corporate asset protection but maintains quite a few contacts within the government.

#43 Comment By Les On December 31, 2020 @ 5:59 pm

Outlaw, if only those “blissfully unaware” of those guv agencies who have such contempt for Americans, could read this.
Then again – it might go ‘right over their heads’! 🙁

#44 Comment By Avalanche Lily On December 31, 2020 @ 2:53 pm

Well,

This is a must read!

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#45 Comment By Telesilla of Argos On December 31, 2020 @ 3:11 pm

Thank you, Avalanche Lily!

It’s very important to understand — and be able to differentiate between — the truth versus what is psychological manipulation. The topic also brings to mind Dr. Anthony Fauci’s misrepresentations related to the use of PPE in battling COVID-19, and more recently the moving goal posts related to herd immunity.

People can handle the truth, and they are seeking it in greater and greater numbers. Perhaps something truly good — good through and through — will come out of the clean up of all the lies. We pray this will be so!

#46 Comment By Dan On December 31, 2020 @ 3:16 pm

I think ATF will not withdraw…they will just start passing unconstitutional acts without public input. This is becoming the norm with all politicians.

#47 Comment By Telesilla of Argos On December 31, 2020 @ 3:21 pm

There are also lots of damning revelations related to China in the news…

It seems China offered to pay non-state actors to attack American troops in Afghanistan.

[34]

…and here’s a list of media outlets who are said to have provided the CCP with favorable coverage.

[35]

This is all especially interesting — and terribly disturbing — given that it appears that so many of our political leaders have been compromised by the Communist regime.

#48 Comment By Telesilla of Argos On December 31, 2020 @ 4:04 pm

I hope Representative Kinzinger (Illinois) has underestimated the number of supporters who will contest the fraudulent election results. The news of 100 is great, but it should be much, much higher.

Remember… Courage is contagious!

Cowardice is too.

Be courageous. Stand with America’s patriotic heroes, and let Adam Kinzinger know that he presently stands on the WRONG side of history. …and if he fails to stand with the country, see to his ouster in the next election (or recall him even before then).

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#49 Comment By RedRover On December 31, 2020 @ 4:07 pm

Should someone take the vaccine, that should protect them, right?

If they are protected, why should they care if someone else doesn’t take it?

#50 Comment By SaraSue On December 31, 2020 @ 4:42 pm

From what I understand, when you take a vaccine, any vaccine, you are injected with a bit of the virus (or viruses) in order to encourage your immune system to mount a response and then make you “immune” to the virus. Any doctors out there please correct me, this is just my layman’s understanding at the 100,000ft view.

When you’ve had an injection/vaccine, your body “sheds” that same virus for a period of time as it works through trying to rid you of it. Therefore, you can give covid to someone else during that time right after the vaccination. Vaccinations are not magic. They’re designed to engender a bodily response to an invader, which your body may or may not be able to deal with.

Regarding this particular vaccine, I’m not so sure they’ve identified the exact virus we’re dealing with, so I don’t trust any of the vaccines. They promote the idea that the elderly and immune compromised should take the vaccine and I think that’s pure hockey puck. I think the vaccine could kill certain people in high risk groups or make them very very sick. Then there’s the bit about the vaccine specifically designed to modify one’s DNA.

Those are my thoughts anyway. I could be totally wrong.

#51 Comment By Marius On December 31, 2020 @ 8:23 pm

I don’t know the about the Covid vaccines
specifically but in general some vaccines are “live” virus and some are deactivated aka dead viruses, you can’t get infected from the deactivated ones. Some vaccines work without viruses at all using immune system markers and other whiz bang stuff I don’t know much about.

Vaccines are all about getting your immune system geared up for a fight, if your immune system drops the ball afterwards…

It’s a risk/ reward analysis regarding the potential side effects of any vaccine, personally I’ll take just about any vaccine I can get my hands on.

#52 Comment By william On December 31, 2020 @ 9:11 pm

SaraSue: you are right. It used to be understood that you take a little of whatever foreign agent which the body considers an “antigen” in a small and sometimes weakened (attenuated) state to begin the body’s building immunity (antibodies) to it. It often requires a second dose to cause an “amnestic” (memory) response and raise the level of antibodies in the body to the initial “whatever,” you took. But just as the ptb are revising history they are also revising medical thought. I am not a doctor but am in several medical fields and the above is what I was taught in the early 1970’s. I have no problem with well tested by use and history, vaccines, but I will wait several years before I take this one.

#53 Comment By JBH On January 1, 2021 @ 5:49 pm

The coronavirus vaccine is unlike any other that has come to market in the US. It is the first Messanger RNA virus approved for general use in the US for human use.

Normal vaccines insert an outside substance which trains your body’s immune system. mRNA vaccines cause your body to produce proteins that have the same shape as the target virus. Your immune system then attacks these proteins and is trained to attack the real thing.

It is this action that has people worried about DNA modification. It supposedly does not modify your DNA but it does highjack your cells operation for a period of time. An article I read about this used the analogy that it does not change the “hard drive “ in your cells that is your DNA but it is like temporarily inserting a thumb drive and running a temporary program. mRNA could be viewed as a thumb drive.

I have concerns about autoimmune issues with this approach. While normal vaccines encourage your body to attack substances from outside your body, an mRNA vaccine encourages your body to attack something your own body has produced. This does happen naturally which is why our bodies normally kill cancer and othe abnormal cells before they cause disease. But I wonder in this case if your body might not continue to attack itself after it supposed to have stopped in some people.

#54 Comment By Anna On December 31, 2020 @ 5:19 pm

A Russian friend clued me into Agafya Lykova, the 70-year-old hermit whose family fled to Siberia in the 1930’s to escape Stalin purges of Orthodox Christians. I’ve watched just about every documentary out there done about the old woman, including Orthodox pilgrims who make a pilgrimage out there to meet and work on the old woman’s tiny self-sufficient farm (not possible in 2020 due to covid-19). Agayfa is a heroine to Russian Orthodox Christians who have rediscovered their religion after almost a century of brutal repression (my friends are devout Orthodox Christian).

It’s heart-warming to see that a wealthy benefactor is funding a new (equally simple, but better insulated) cabin for her as the old one is falling down.Thanks for sharing this link.

On a more disturbing and practical note, how many Americans, Brits, Australians, and other Christians will have to take our families and retreat to our own Siberias in order to escape the socialist-democrat purges? The prepping community “gets” this, but too many normies STILL can’t see the writing on the wall in spite of the targeting of Christians as “bigots” in the media, targeting Christian bakers and other services with lawsuits, and now the shutdown of church services under the guise of covid-19. Communism seeks to take down the only organizing force whcih can compete with the State-As-God. Something to think about…

I suggest everybody go watch the Agafya Lykova videos on YouTube and think about to what extremes her family had to go through to practice their religion.

#55 Comment By ThoDan On December 31, 2020 @ 6:10 pm

Sorry to say that but you´re wrong

The Lykovs weren´t really self-sufficient in the long run, it´s a tragic sad tale about how the family got killed by lack of resources.

#56 Comment By James Wesley Rawles On December 31, 2020 @ 6:29 pm

40+ years isn’t “the long run”?

#57 Comment By Telesilla of Argos On January 1, 2021 @ 4:23 pm

JWR… You make an excellent point. 40+ years is extraordinary. Most of us talk about our food stores and ability to produce our own food supplies, and we wonder how many years we would truly survive. Our household goal has been to have stocks for 7 years with the capacity to produce our own food in an ongoing self-sufficient way. We have made tremendous progress, but we’re nowhere near 7 years in stocks yet!

This story was new to me, and although there are some differing views about it. Even given those differing views, there were some takeaways that transcend those.

Certainly among these is that this life course is filled with risk and with the potential (even the likelihood) of hardship and loss.

Another important question was asked in Anna’s post: “On a more disturbing and practical note, how many Americans, Brits, Australians, and other Christians will have to take our families and retreat to our own Siberias in order to escape the socialist-democrat purges?”

Although Anna is addressing the question of the preservation of Christian beliefs (and a population of Believers), the question goes beyond religious concern, and applies to preparedness and survivalism generally… It asks what changes we are willing to make to prepare ourselves for the risks — and perhaps the realities — that lie ahead.

Remain steady. Be safe. Stay well everyone!

#58 Comment By Anna On December 31, 2020 @ 9:39 pm

Her parents died of old age. Her brother died in middle-age of an illness which, yes, we probably could have treated in the modern world, but wasn’t treatable in the Siberian wilderness. She still lives there, through her 70’s, growing most of her own food and raising her own livestock. Yes, live is difficult in the extreme remote wilderness. She now gets a bit of help in the form of a few visits each year (and presumably some supplies) and some curious pilgrims who help her do some of the work, but it’s disengenuous to call her lifestyle a failure. Every OTHER devout Christian in Stalin’s Russia either publicly converted to athiesm, or they were killed.

#59 Comment By ThoDan On January 1, 2021 @ 2:37 pm

@JWR

40 years is long for a Person not for kein.

@Anna

The mother died From starvation, at least one Child from food poisoning the kidneys(?) or liver
She was the only survivor when found and not in food circumstances at best

In the long run you need a community, kin and neighbours which do support each other.

#60 Comment By Anna On January 1, 2021 @ 7:09 pm

“…In the long run you need a community, kin and neighbours which do support each other…..”

Yup, not going to disagree with you (nor argue with you … it wouldn’t surprise me that the documentaries I watched glossed over their tragic deaths). But one has to keep in mind her family fled for their lives from Stalin’s communist purges and almost certain death and was forced to endure these extremes because it was better than the alternative. With radical-leftist-socialists taking over our country and spewing anti-Christian dogma, we need to pay attention and look to history so we have BETTER options, eh?

#61 Comment By ThoDan On January 2, 2021 @ 12:42 pm

I´m more than impressed what these people did risk, did and achieved, i lack the words to express my awe and respect.

My intention was that the homesteader isn´t more independent than the doctor who treads his family, the blacksmith who make his tools, the smelter who sheds the iron from the ore, the miner …. he is part of an web of services including goods as everyone else.

I don´t care which colour the boots of the radicals´ve, the only difference is how they call and maybe choose their victims.
Left, right, christian etc the difference isn´t worth counting

#62 Comment By Survivormann99 On December 31, 2020 @ 6:02 pm

JWR,

I read the CNBC article about the increase in prepping. Perhaps I missed it, but I saw no bias in the article.

#63 Comment By Buck On December 31, 2020 @ 10:34 pm

The Ivermectin at the farm supply store is either paste or liquid. How do you use this to treat covid?

#64 Comment By RCB5472TN On January 1, 2021 @ 12:33 am

Buck…. hope this will help / explains pill and paste [37]

#65 Comment By Buck On January 1, 2021 @ 5:46 pm

Thanks. Guess I will be making a trip to the local farm supply store.

#66 Comment By Anna On January 1, 2021 @ 7:16 pm

I bought Durvet brand Ivermectin paste (apple flavored). It comes in a thin little tube with a blue plunger. It has 250-pound dosage markings printed on the plunger, but also has 5 little “notches” on between each 250-pound dose so you can calculate it to within 50 pounds. Not all brands have this in-between marking on the plunger, so you’d need a medical scale.

If you squint real hard at the picture on Dover Saddlery you can see the notches: [38]

#67 Comment By BWL On December 31, 2020 @ 10:47 pm

What happens when a psychic gets a really bar sunburn?
They are a medium well done.
Just in case anybody needs a laugh today.
Grace to you from the God of all grace!

#68 Comment By Not So Free On January 1, 2021 @ 2:30 am

And that’s why it’s easy to buy clothes for a psychic. They are all medium.

(groan)

#69 Comment By Nathan Hail (not to be confused with generic Nathan) On January 1, 2021 @ 12:40 am

1851 – The first American YMCA opens in Boston, Massachusetts. First clients include an Indian chief, a construction worker, a cop, and a cowboy. [39]

#70 Comment By GGHD On January 1, 2021 @ 1:16 am

“Only one-third of a panel of 13,000 nurses said they would voluntarily take a vaccine, another third said they wouldn’t and the rest said they were unsure, according to a late October survey by the American Nurses Association.” at Pewtrusts(dot)org.
See ~Health Care Workers Can Decline a COVID-19 Shot—For Now.~ December 8, 2020.

There’s going to be a lot of scrambling, pushing and shoving to be ~last in line, for a Covid-19 vaccination.