Preparedness Notes for Monday — June 12, 2023

On June 12, 1991, a series of major explosions began inside Mount Pinatubo, a volcano in western Luzon, Philippines—its first eruption in 600 years. — On June 12, 1987, during a visit to the divided German city of Berlin, President Ronald Reagan publicly challenged Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev to “tear down this wall.” — On June 12, 1981, the action-adventure film Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark—directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Harrison Ford—was released in theatres; a huge success, it spawned numerous sequels. The most recent sequel, scheduled for release in late June, is reportedly …




A Special Reminder About Our Writing Contest Rules

Well, it happened again! We’ve been threatened with a lawsuit. This time it was over photo licensing. The use of what appeared to be an unlicensed photo in a 2021 article submitted by a reader resulted in me getting an “unauthorized use” photo licensing bill from Germany for €963 ($1,038 US Dollars) with the threat of a $150,000 USD lawsuit if I failed to pony up the license fee. The photos were provided by the reader/author. Therefore, I need to post a reminder about our writing contest rules. The posted rules clearly state — including some huge bold type: To …




Recipe of the Week: Beef, Turkey, or Chicken Meatballs With Zucchini

The following recipe for Beef, Turkey, or Chicken Meatballs with Zuchinni is from SurvivalBlog reader B.P.. He says: “This recipe is my variation on one that was passed around a couple of years ago. It is one way our family uses part of our summer bounty of Zucchini.” Ingredients For the Meatballs: 2 pounds of your choice of ground beef, turkey, or chicken 1 tablespoon olive oil 3 cloves of garlic, minced 2 large eggs 3 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning Salt and ground black pepper, to taste 2 cups zucchini, finely grated and twice squeeze-drained 1 small red onion, grated …




The Crypto Crackdown Has Begun

Today, in place of my regular column of Economics and Investing news items, I’m concentrating on the nascent crackdown on private cryptocurrency holders. To start, please take a few minutes to read these two articles, and pay particular attention to their tone: Binance.US suspends USD deposits after regulators crackdown. and, SEC’s Gensler Likens Crypto to ‘Fraudsters, Scam Artists, Ponzi Schemes’ of 1920s.