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 preparedness for severe winter weather.
Winter Weather Food Prepping
A television news station in Alabama aired this segment: Winter Weather Food Prepping. JWR’s Comments: Last-minute prepping is not genuine preparedness. It is a reactive panic, and indicative of a herd mentality. Folks have had a three-week warning for the second and third Polar Vortex events of the year. (The next event is expected on January 20th and should continue after January 28, 2025.) Our citizenry should have been prepared months or even years ago. As I’ve written several times before: Each individual who prepares well in advance represents one less individual who will strip supermarket shelves at the 11th hour. Hence, they will be part of the solution rather than part of the problem.
Double-Click Cyberattacks on Major Browsers
Jerome sent us this link: Expert Sounds Alarm Over Double-Click Cyberattacks on Major Browsers. There are some additional details in this piece published by Forbes: Don’t Click Twice—New Chrome, Edge, Safari Hack Attack Warning.
Extinction Scenarios for 2075
From a 2024 Stanford University conference: Extinction Scenarios for 2075: Videos and Narratives. Their five key scenarios:
- Growth and Collapse
- Climate Cataclysm
- World War III
- Runaway AI
- Synthetic Biology in the Wild
ALPRs Strike Again!
Cops Pull Over The Wrong Car – Now They’re Getting Sued. JWR’s Comments: I’ve been warning SurvivalBlog readers about Automatic License Plate Reader (ALPR) technology for several years. This real-life video illustrates just one of the dangers of AI-driven ALPRs. It also shows how confusion over police “Simon Says” orders can put innocent people at risk of getting killed. The officer’s claim: “We had a hit on your license plate” was a lie. It was a slightly different plate number, from a vehicle of a different make, model, and year. And it was a plate registered in a different state! The Artificial Intelligence that triggered this horrifyingly dangerous situation sounds more like Programmed Genuine Stupidity.
Biden Releases Gitmo Terrorists to Oman
Some news posted over at Zero Hedge: Biden Releases Gitmo Terrorists To Oman.
Three Men Made a Stand to Save Malibu Culdesac
From the UK Telegraph: How a ‘warrior’ brain surgeon saved his Malibu street from wildfires and looters. Here is a fair-use excerpt:
“Chester Griffiths finished performing brain surgery, climbed into his car and drove across Los Angeles to save his beachfront Malibu home from the wildfires raging around the city.
It was a scenario the 62-year-old had been preparing for years: he had done the training, sourced the fire hoses, and briefed his son and next-door neighbour about the course of action.
Now was the time to put it into practice.
What followed was a daring mission that saw the three men confront the worst inferno in the city’s history to successfully protect six homes in their picturesque cul-de-sac, while houses around them crumbled into a mess of ash and rubble.
As the Pacific Palisades fire worsened, swallowing up thousands of homes and leaving trails of smouldering ruins across thousands of acres, the men refused to back down.
Even as 80mph hurricane-level winds brought sheets of embers the size of footballs raining down, they continued to fight.
“At one point I started packing up my car and then I just decided I’m just not gonna let my house burn down, no matter what”, Clayton Colbert, Mr Griffiths’s neighbour, told The Telegraph.
Armed with N95 face masks, fire hoses and spades, the trio managed to keep the inferno at bay for four days and five nights.”
Did Gen. Milley Approve DEW Against 2020 Rioters?
Over at The Gateway Pundit: Explosive Claim: Journalist Steve Baker Alleges Gen. Mark Milley Approved Heat and Sound Directed Energy Weapons During 2020 Riots — Claims He Has Evidence to Prove It.
Northern Giant Hornets Eradicated from Washington
Reader C.B. suggested this news that circulated three weeks ago: Northern giant hornets officially eradicated from Washington state.
Russia is Winning the War of Attrition in Ukraine
Atlantic Council: Putin begins 2025 confident of victory as war of attrition takes toll on Ukraine. This article begins:
“While many commentators are already speculating over the possibility of Ukraine peace talks in the coming months, there is actually very little to indicate that Russian President Vladimir Putin is interested in a negotiated settlement. Ukrainian military commanders are certainly not counting on any pause in hostilities, and are instead preparing for a fourth year of Europe’s largest war since World War II.
Russia held the battlefield initiative throughout 2024, and managed to make gains at various points along the approximately one thousand kilometer front lines of the war. While Moscow was unable to secure any landmark successes, the relatively minor advances of the past year marked a shift from the largely static front lines in 2023. If the underlying causes of this Russian progress are not addressed, Putin’s invading army may be able to achieve a more decisive breakthrough in the coming year.”
Biden’s Planned Cigarette Nicotine Limit
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