Preparedness Notes for Friday — March 14, 2025

Paul Émile Vernon was born on 14 March 1872 in Blois, France and died in the same town on 31 January 1920. Emile Vernon studied painting at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Tours and received the first drawing prize in 1888. He then studied William Bouguereau and Auguste Truphème at the School of the Fine Arts of Paris. In 1898, he participated in the exhibition of fine arts and decorative arts of Tours and began at the Salon des Artistes Français. He exhibited there regularly until 1913, presenting in particular portraits, landscapes and floral painting — On March 14, 1900, …




3D-Printed Gun Components – Part 4 by M.B.

(Continued from Part 3.) “Am fear nach gheidh Na h-airm ‘nam na sith, Cha bhi iad aige ‘n am A chogaidli.” (Who keeps not his arms in times of peace, Will have no arms in times of war.) – Scottish Gaelic Proverb (with a hat tip to James Tarr)   Other Filaments Nylon Reportedly, nylon ranges from challenging to very difficult to print. It is temperature-sensitive and can warp as it cools. It requires temperatures at or close to 300° C., which many 3D printers cannot reach without modification. It also gives off fumes during printing. This and its temperature …




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 nascent Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. (See the Forex & Cryptos section.) Precious Metals: The spot and futures prices of silver and gold gained during the recent $4 trillion stock market rout.  Typically, gold has been liquidated for short covering by some traders, during sharp stock market declines. But this time, it appears …




The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“But, we also see in this chapter a recurring, universally human theme across time and space. The doomed, at the brink of civilizational destruction, have an attitude partly born of hubris and partly of naivete, perhaps best summed up as ‘It cannot happen to us.’ ” and, “Epilogue: HOW THE UNIMAGINABLE BECOMES THE INEVITABLE 1. As a general rule, the besieged vainly counted on help that rarely appeared — especially if they were seen as likely to lose. 2. Those surrounded looked to their own bastions and their past impregnability, rather than assessing realistically the unique and existential danger below the wall. 3. Prior discord often explained the vulnerability of the besieged, and its contribution to defeat. 4. The defenders rarely equate their present existential peril with the enemy military genius who reduced them to such straits. Nor can they accurately assess in comparison the mediocrity of their own leadership. 5. The targeted never fully grasped that the antebellum negotiations and diplomacy that had allowed a final and brief respite no longer applied, either because politics had changed in the powerful party, or the technological and organizational capabilities of the enemy had evolved. 6. The effort to destroy rather than merely defeat a trapped enemy ensures unprecedented savagery. And the zeal necessary to resist overwhelming odds eventually ensures a level of counter-violence that seals the fate of the defeated. 7. Once the victors are unleashed — and they always are — their commanders post facto express regret over their nihilistic cruelty, without any sense that they would do anything differently in the future. Education and pretenses of high culture empowered rather than limited the retribution of the conquerors.” – Victor Davis Hanson, from …