Year: 2022

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. …


Preparedness Notes for Saturday — March 19, 2022

On March 19, 1982, 50 Argentines landed on South Georgia in the Falkland Islands to plant the Argentine flag. They renamed the islands The Malvinas. This precipitated the Argentine army invasion on April 2nd. Despite some significant naval losses and dreadful weather, British Marines re-took the island on April 25th in a well-coordinated ground campaign. Coincidentally, in this brief war, the British Army and the Argentine Army were both equipped with FN-FAL variant rifles. (The British carried L1A1 “SLR” inch-pattern FAL rifles.) — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 99 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. …


Repeater Down? Use Simplex Amateur Radio, by A.S.

Grid electricity down, WiFi down, Internet down! What to do? What kind of storm is coming? Are the stores open? Is my mother safe? Normally, you would tune into your local ham club’s repeater to communicate with fellow hams. A repeater is a dedicated radio (or set of radios) and antenna located in the highest spot available, such as a mountaintop or a building and can reach around 25-to-75 miles — depending on terrain. Repeaters receive signals from one frequency and transmit to another frequency using tones and offsets. They usually have a backup power system that can last a …


Editors’ Prepping Progress

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.  We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in your e-mailed letters. We post many of those –or excerpts thereof — in this column, in …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“And Samuel said unto all Israel, Behold, I have hearkened unto your voice in all that ye said unto me, and have made a king over you. And now, behold, the king walketh before you: and I am old and grayheaded; and, behold, my sons are with you: and I have walked before you from my childhood unto this day. Behold, here I am: witness against me before the Lord, and before his anointed: whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or of whose hand have I …


Preparedness Notes for Friday — March 18, 2022

March 18th is the birthday of novelist John Updike. (He was born in 1932 and died in 2009.) This is also the birthday of Luc Besson, director and producer of films such as Nikita and The Fifth Element. He was born in 1959. — Today’s feature article is by Senior Editor James Wesley, Rawles (JWR). — More than $725,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. Round 99 ends on March 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on …


Some Initial Guerilla Warfare Lessons From Ukraine

With the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the world is witnessing true Fourth Generation Warfare (4GW). According to standard references such as the Infogalactic Wiki, 4GW has these elements and characteristics: Complex and long term Employs terrorism as a tactic A non-national or transnational base – highly decentralized A direct attack on the enemy’s culture, including genocidal acts against civilians. All available pressures are used – political, economic, social, and military Occurs in low-intensity conflict, involving actors from all networks Non-combatants are tactical dilemmas Lack of hierarchy Small in size, spread out network of communication and financial support Use of insurgency …


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. Precious Metals: First up, at The SGT Report: Silver Bullion Sales Surge: Premiums Spike & Wait Times For Products Reaching 4-5 Weeks. JWR’s Comment:  Locally, I’m seeing 1-ounce silver U.S. Mint American Eagles selling for $14 over spot!  If you can find some physical silver at lower premiums, then jump on it! o  …



Preparedness Notes for Thursday — March 17, 2022

This is the birthday of Józef Franczak (born 1917, died 21 October 1963), who was a Polish Army Corporal who fought in the World War II resistance against the invading Germans. He then carried on after the war, to fight against the occupying Soviets and their Polish communist stooges. Eventually, he was one of the last of the Cursed Soldiers resistance in Poland. His nom de guerre was Lalek.  In the photo above, Józef Franczak is in the center. — Today’s feature article is by Don Shift, the author of seven novels and nonfiction books including Nuclear Survival in the …


Nuclear Fallout: The Inverse Square Law, by Don Shift

What if I told you that it may be possible to survive radioactive fallout from a nuclear war without having a shelter? Bottom line up front: get inside, into an uncontaminated environment, and stay at least 10 feet away from the outside and your radiation exposure will be approximately 1/100th of the dose outside. Such a strategy, combined with the low likelihood of fallout for many Americans, could give those without basements, underground shelters, or ways of making improvised shielding a higher chance of survival. Radiation protection is achieved by time, distance, and shielding. Shielding we all know; dense stuff …


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 delve deeper into the implications of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine Invasion Updates This is starting to sound like passages from my novels: Ukraine urges citizens to use guerilla tactics. Ukrainian armed …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — March 16, 2022

Today is the anniversary of the Battle at Pound Gap Kentucky. (1862) — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 99 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 can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value), A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of …


Tornado Preparedness, by SwampFox

You’ve been asleep for about an hour. The fan you keep on in your bedroom turns off, causing you to wake unexpectedly. You glance at your alarm clock on the nightstand and notice that the red numbers aren’t illuminated. Power outage. Unable to get back to sleep, you shuffle down the hall to the kitchen, and light a couple of candles. In the dim light you notice your housecat sitting on a chair, with wide eyes and twitching ears. She’s alert and disturbed. A strong wind is blowing outside, but then you hear something else. An unmistakeable, dull roaring, rushing …