Month: August 2023

The BRICS Alliance is All About Gold

Today, in place of my usual Monday column on economics and investing, I’d like to briefly delve into some of the implications of the recently announced expansion of the BRICS trading alliance. The acronym “BRIC” was first coined in 2001 by Terence James O’Neill — then of Goldman Sachs — in describing the fast-growing economies that would dominate the global economy by 2050: Brazil, Russia, India, and China.  Over time, South Africa was added to the acronym, making it BRICS. Oddly, O’Neill’s term of art eventually morphed into an actual multi-national organization.  In recent years, primarily under mainland Chinese leadership, …



Preparedness Notes for Sunday — August 27, 2023

On August 27, 2011, after causing extensive damage to various Caribbean islands, Hurricane Irene made landfall in the United States, striking North Carolina’s Outer Banks before moving along the Eastern Seaboard; property damage in the United States exceeded $7 billion, making Irene one of the most expensive Atlantic hurricanes in the country’s history. August 27th was the birthday of Emory Upton (August 27, 1839 – March 15, 1881). He was a United States Army General and military strategist, prominent for his role in leading infantry to attack entrenched positions successfully at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House during the American …


Long Term Storage of Household Batteries, by OhioGalt

Several years ago, I began purchasing Lithium Batteries in AA and AAA sizes for long-term storage in case of some event where batteries were not readily available. I was also using them in several trail cams around the property because they would last roughly 10-to-12 months before replacement. I recently went to buy another couple of 48-packs and found the price had significantly increased. The cellular cameras I use offer a rechargeable lithium pack and comparing to lithium AA I found I could pay for the rechargeable pack in less then two sets of AA lithium batteries. Unfortunately, you cannot …


JWR’s Meme Of The Week: 

The latest meme created by JWR: Meme Text: That Face You Make When… Your Arrest Was 99% Political News Links: Notes From JWR: Do you have a meme idea? Just e-mail me the concept, and I’ll try to assemble it. And if it is posted then I’ll give you credit. Thanks! Permission to repost memes that I’ve created is granted, provide that credit to SurvivalBlog.com is included.


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot …


Preparedness Notes for Saturday — August 26, 2023

August 26, 1946 was the official release date of George Orwell’s “Animal Farm.” — Today we present the fifth and last installment of SurvivalBlog Field Gear Editor Emeritus Pat Cascio’s autobiography. — We are in great need of entries for Round 108 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $840,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. We recently polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 108 ends on September 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. …


Making It Count – Part 5, by Pat Cascio

(Continued from Part 4. This concludes the article.) As I’ve mentioned before in SurvivalBlog, from 1990 to 1993 I worked for the late Colonel Rex Applegate as his assistant, on numerous projects. I also maintained his gun collection. He had more than 850 guns – many were prototypes and one-of-a-kind. It was a great honor working for the good Colonel. He taught me a lot about a lot of things, especially when he served in WWII for the military. He told me a lot of things that he said that he’d never mentioned to anyone else. He also taught me …


Editors’ Prepping Progress

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make both 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 the Odds ‘n …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“And after this it came to pass that David smote the Philistines, and subdued them: and David took Methegammah out of the hand of the Philistines. And he smote Moab, and measured them with a line, casting them down to the ground; even with two lines measured he to put to death, and with one full line to keep alive. And so the Moabites became David’s servants, and brought gifts. David smote also Hadadezer, the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to recover his border at the river Euphrates. And David took from him a thousand chariots, …


Preparedness Notes for Friday — August 25, 2023

August 25th is a birthday shared by novelist Frederick Forsyth (born 1938 – pictured), humorist Bret Harte (born 1836), and the late American humorist Patrick F. McManus (born 1933). Forsyth was the author of The Day of the Jackal, The Odessa File, The Fourth Protocol, The Dogs of War, The Devil’s Alternative, and many others. Pat McManus was born and raised in Sandpoint, Idaho, so his books could be classified as American Redoubt humor. — I just heard that Ready Made Resources is running a sale on U.S.-made Photonis Echo AN/PVS-14 monoculars (Normally $3,350) for $2,999 each.  These are the …


Making It Count – Part 4, by Pat Cascio

(Continued from Part 3.) In 1989, I took a job as the police chief in a small town in Eastern Oregon. I had also completed my training with Executive Security International (ESI) at that time, the world’s best place if you wanted to do bodyguard work. I had completed their 650-hour home study course and then needed to complete two weeks at their school. There, I met John Farnam, who taught the firearms training portion, and to this day, I honestly believe that Farnam is probably the best firearms trainer there is. At the end of my training, I was …


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. In this column, JWR also covers hedges, derivatives, and various obscura. This column emphasizes JWR’s “tangibles heavy” investing strategy and contrarian perspective. Today, we look at some market moves triggered by the Jackson Hole, Wyoming conference. Precious Metals: Ex-JPMorgan Gold Traders Get Prison for ‘Prolific Spoofing’. o  o  o Efforts To Protect US Intensify Amid Global Shift From Dollar. o  o  o Kelsey Williams: Gold And The Shrinking Money Supply. Economy & Finance: France24: BRICS summit of emerging …



Preparedness Notes for Thursday — August 24, 2023

On August 24, 79, Mount Vesuvius in Italy erupted, destroying the ancient cities of Pompeii (pictured) and Herculaneum. The excavations of these sites in the mid-18th century precipitated the modern science of archaeology. — On August 24th, 410, Rome was overrun by the Visigoths in an event that symbolized the fall of the Western Roman Empire. This is a moment in history that we would do well to remember. An empire that ruled the known world was corrupted from the inside to the point that they could not defend themselves from a much weaker enemy. — My #1 Son, Jonathan …