Month: October 2022

Economics & Investing For Preppers

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 the global credit market turmoil that started in England. (See the Economy & Finance section.) Precious Metals: Goldman on what oil and gold have to offer: this commodity is ‘welcome opportunity’. o  o  o Hedge funds are still bearish; gold investors want more proof the Fed will slow its …



Preparedness Notes for Thursday — October 27, 2022

October 27th 1858 was the birthday of President Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt. (He died January 6, 1919.) — Today’s feature article is a guest post by our friend Brandon Smith. We recommend both his Alt-Market.us website and his The Wild Bunch Dispatch subscription e-newsletter. — We’re in need of more articles for Round 103 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $750,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. Round 103 ends on November 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on …


Red States Have To Build Alternative Economies, by Brandon Smith

Economic centralization is the ultimate form of organized conspiratorial power, because it allows a small group of people to dictate the terms of trade for a society and therefore dictate the terms of each person’s individual survival. For example, the Federal Reserve as a banking entity has free rein to assert policy controls that can disrupt the very fabric of the US economy and the buying power of our currency. They can (and do) arbitrarily create trillions of dollars from thin air causing inflation, or arbitrarily raise interest rates and crash stock markets. And according to former Fed chairman Alan …


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”. 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 grocery supply chain issues in Europe. Empty Supermarket Shelves in Germany As western Europe begins a winter with scant fuel: Empty shelves as German supermarkets resist price hikes. An excerpt: …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — October 26, 2022

Edward Wilson Very (born October 26, 1847, died March 1, 1910) was an American naval officer who adopted and popularized a single-shot breech-loading flare pistol that fired flares that bear his name. This is also the birthday of Henry Deringer (October 26, 1786 – February 28, 1868) was an American gunsmith. He is best known for inventing and giving his name to the very compact Deringer pistol. — Today, with permission, we are reposting an article by Arkadiusz Sieron. It was originally published by Sunshine Profits. — We are in need of entries for Round 103 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction …


While Inflation Refuses to Go Away, Gold Refuses to Go Up, by Arkadiusz Sieroń

The recent Consumer Price Index (CPI) report shows that inflation remains high. It implies a hawkish Fed and bearish gold. To paraphrase a famous Pink Floyd song, I wish you weren’t here, inflation! The CPI increased 0.4% in September, after rising 0.1% in August, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The move was slightly higher than expected and occurred despite a 2.1% decline in the energy index. What’s really bad, especially for the poorest households, is that food prices continued to rise. The food index rose 0.8% for the month, the same as August, and was up 11.2% from …


SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

This weekly column is a collection of short snippets: responses to posted articles, practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. Note that we may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters. — F.J. suggested this documentary film review, over at American Thinker: A Story of Jewish Partisan Resistance During World War II. o  o  o Reader Pam B. suggested this news story from Tennessee: Man finds hidden TWRA camera on his property. o  o  o Blog reader L.C. wrote: “We read your posts daily,. My wife …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — October 25, 2022

Today is the birthday of explorer and pilot Admiral Richard Byrd (1888–1957). His autobiography titled Alone is a must-read. Margaret Thatcher was born on October 13, 1925. She was the UK’s first female Prime Minister. She died in 2013. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 103 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This …


Revisiting the Rule of Threes, by J.M.

If you’ve been involved in prepping for any length of time or even just done some research on the subject, you’ve probably come across some variation of the Rule of 3s. I’ve seen it expressed a lot of different ways, but the most common version goes something like this: You can survive 3 minutes without oxygen or with severe bleeding You can survive 3 hours without a stable core body temperature You can survive 3 days without water You can survive 3 weeks without food The rule makes a great starting point for planning your preparations, but I’ve found that …


SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

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. The White Bison Big Medicine is mentioned in the Montana section. Region-Wide Two counties to vote on pitch to change state lines and add Eastern Oregon to Idaho. o  o  o There are several new properties of interest in the American Redoubt over at our family’s …



Preparedness Notes for Monday — October 24, 2022

October 24th is the anniversary of the firing squad execution of Norwegian traitor Vidkun Quisling, in 1945. His ignominious place in history was to have his surname become a noun. “Quisling” is now a moniker synonymous with treason and alliance with an invading army. Something tells me that the popularity of “Vidkun” as a boys’ natal name in Scandanavia dropped precipitously after about 1942. Ditto for “Adolf”, in Germany, and “Benito”, in Italy, after 1944. — Today’s feature article was penned by our Field Gear Editor Emeritus, Pat Cascio. — We are still seeking entries for Round 103 of the …