Preparedness Notes for Sunday — January 12, 2025

 Print This Post Email This Post Facebook Twitter Pinterest Reddit Google LinkedIn LinkedIn

The Brazilian city Belem (the entrance gate to the Amazon River) was founded by Captain Major Francisco Branco on January 12, 1616. The photo of Belem above is courtesy of The Drinking Traveler.

—

John Hancock was born on January 12, 1737. He was the first and certainly the most prominent signer of the Declaration of Independence.

—

The British-Zulu War began on January 12, 1879.  British troops, under Lieutenant General Frederic Augustus, invaded Zululand from the southern African republic of Natal.

—

Today is the birthday of Edmund Burke. (Born 1729, died 9 July 1797.)

—

Reader M.B. mentioned this interesting history tidbit from the cia.gov website:
“On 12 January 1968, four North Vietnamese AN-2 “Colt” biplanes, painted dark green and modified to drop bombs, flew into Laos headed for a US radar facility that was providing critical all-weather guidance to American warplanes flying strike missions against targets in North Vietnam.  By chance, an unarmed CIA UH-1D “Huey” helicopter approached the site at the same time and gave chase with the onboard flight mechanic firing his AK-47 at one of the Colts.  After a 20-minute pursuit, the Colt crashed, thus earning the Huey’s two-man crew the distinction of having shot down an enemy fixed-wing aircraft from a helicopter, a one-of-a-kind victory.”

See:

and,
—

Today’s feature article is a guest post by one of my consulting clients. It is not eligible for the writing contest judging. – JWR

We are seeking entries for Round 116 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $935,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 116 ends on January 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.