Year: 2023

Preparedness Notes for Friday — October 13, 2023

On October 13, 1972, a flight chartered by a Uruguayan rugby team crashed in the Andes Mountains of Argentina, and the wreckage was not located for more than two months; the incident garnered international attention, especially after it was revealed that the survivors had resorted to cannibalism. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present guest article selected by JWR. We are in need of entries for Round 109 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $850,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. We recently polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer …


The Societal Effects Of Inflation – Things Are Really Going Bad, by Brandon Smith

Editor’s Introductory Note: This article was authored by Brandon Smith of Alt-Market.us and was originally published at Birch Gold Group. — Historically speaking, inflation/stagflation has always been a disastrous affair. One is hard-pressed to find any legitimate examples of a country that experienced an aggressive inflationary event that came out better for it. A rare scenario would be one in which a nation inflates to fund a war that they then win, but usually negative consequences still happen later down the road. The problem is that the effects of inflation can be subtle and far-reaching, quietly creeping up on a …


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 the burgeoning global derivatives market. (See the Derivatives section.) Precious Metals: Israel’s war with Hamas puts new safe-haven focus on gold. o  o  o Mark Lundeen, at Gold-Eagle.com: Studying Barron’s Gold Mining Index. Economy & Finance: Bidenomics, in action: Inside Today’s Jobs Report: 885,000 Full-Time Jobs Lost, 1.127 Million Part-Time Jobs Added, …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

In Olde English: No man is an Iland, intire of itselfe; every man is a peece of the Continent, a part of the maine; if a Clod bee washed away by the Sea, Europe is the lesse, as well as if a Promontorie were, as well as if a Manor of thy friends or of thine owne were; any mans death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankinde; And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee.” – John Donne In Modern English: “No man is an island entire of itself; every man …


Preparedness Notes for Thursday — October 12, 2023

On October 12, 2000, while preparing to refuel in the Yemeni port of Aden, the USS Cole, a U.S. naval destroyer, was attacked by suicide bombers associated with al-Qaeda; 17 sailors were killed and 39 wounded. — Today, in 1492, after sailing across the Atlantic Ocean, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus sighted a Bahamian island, believing he had reached East Asia. His expedition went ashore the same day and claimed the land for Isabella and Ferdinand of Spain, who sponsored his attempt to find a western ocean route to China, India, and the fabled gold and spice islands of Asia. — …


CRKT Definitive Cross Bar Lock, by Pat Cascio

I’ve been following the CRKT company almost since their humble beginnings. CRKT was started by two former executives from another knife company. These days one of the founders now owns CRKT. And, we’ve been friends for a lot of years, even though neither one of us will admit we are friends. That is an ongoing joke between us. I’ve never ceased to be amazed how big CRKT has grown over the years from just a few designs to their many new designs every year. As a bit of a disclaimer, CRKT produced one of my designs some years ago, the …


The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods. This column is 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. In today’s column, we look at relocation trends for moves within the United States. Moving to the Country in a Post-Pandemic World Moving to the country in a post-pandemic world. The …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Complete sovereignty at the individual level is nearly impossible today due to the interconnectedness of our economy and society. This is due to the specialization of tasks: individuals are more productive when we focus on doing one specific thing very well. As a result, we outsource many aspects of our lives to third party specialists who are very good at providing specific goods and services. Even if you’re a ‘mountain man’ who lives in the middle of nowhere and is mostly independent, it’s unlikely that you’re living a primitive lifestyle. Most of those folks are still reliant on supply chains …


Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — October 11, 2023

On October 11, 1899, the South African (Boer) War began between Great Britain and the two Boer (Afrikaner) republics—the South African Republic (Transvaal) and the Orange Free State. — Today is the birthday of novelist William R. Forstchen (born, 1950.) He is best known for his post-EMP survival novel One Second After. — Today’s feature article is a review by our Field Gear Editor Emeritus, Pat Cascio. — We are in need of entries for Round 109 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $850,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. We recently …


Rock Island Armory 1911, by Pat Cascio

I love my Glocks. However, I will always have a soft spot in my heart for the 1911 series of handguns, chambered in .45 ACP. Over the past 50+ years, I’ve owned hundreds of different 1911s from many different gun makers. Used to be, I thought that the only 1911s worth owning were those made by Colt. My thinking on this changed a long, long time ago, when I laid my hands on my first Kimber 1911. They were and still are a real game changer. Today we’re looking at a 1911 manufactured in the Philippines and marketed by Rock …


SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

This weekly Snippets column is a collection of short items: 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. Today’s column begins with two news items from Philadelphia — “The City of Brotherly Love.” — New Philly car dealership has 60% of its cars stolen within a week of opening, owner says he “would not come to Philadelphia” if he could have a do-over. o  o  o Philadelphia Journalist Who Mocked Concern …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — October 10, 2023

On October 10th, 1846, English astronomer William Lassell discovered Triton, the largest satellite of the planet Neptune. Today is the birthday of composer Giuseppe Verdi. (Born 1813, died 1901.) And on October 10th, 1913, the Panama Canal officially linked the Atlantic to the Pacific when the Gamboa dike was demolished with dynamite charges. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 109 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 …


Retreat Logistics: Establishing Burn Rates, by 3AD Scout

What is a “burn rate”?  It is simply the period of time it takes to go through a given commodity or resource.  Establishing burn rates are important since it is those burn rates that will help determine how much of an commodity or resource you store before an incident and burn rates will also help you manage your resources in a post-incident environment.   In the Prepping world we already have a few burn rates established.  The amount of calories and water we need per day are for the most part for bare minimums.  That is we know we need about …


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. Today, news of bad bear behavior.   (See the Montana section.) Idaho Video: Idaho’s Most Beautiful Overland Road. o  o  o Couple charged with injury to a child after police show video of gun-toting toddler. o  o  o Judge denies U of I murder suspect’s request to …