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 [1]. 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 rapid advances in drone warfare.
The Drone Warfare Threat is Advancing
These videos from the war in Ukraine illustrate how the drone warfare threat is increasing, even with drones that are largely mere commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) units: (Warning: The following videos have graphic real-world combat carnage and some foul language):
Versus parked military vehicles and self-propelled artillery pieces, [2]
and versus moving vehicles, camouflaged vehicles, and structures [3],
and, even more frighteningly…
versus dismounted infantry, [4]
…and even at night, with thermal night vision [5].
JWR’s Comments: Plan accordingly for a potential civil war involving drones. If you think through the Threat Spirals, that means constructing full ghillie suits, preferably with thermal spoofing layers. Seeing these videos makes me appreciate living in a heavily-forested region.
Bacteria Feeding on Plastic Is Spreading in Hospitals
Nobody saw this one coming: Superbug That Can Feed on Plastic Is Spreading in Hospitals [6]. (Our thanks to reader D.S.V. for sending the link.)
Fine Dining in the Apocalypse
Chris M. sent this: Fine dining in the apocalypse: how to be a middle-class prepper [7].
Alberta Heading Toward Secession Referendum
H.L. sent us this from The New American: Canada’s Alberta Province Heading Toward Secession Referendum [8]. Here is a quote:
“Less than 24 hours after globalist Mark Carney and his leftist government won control on April 28, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith introduced a bill lowering the threshold needed to trigger a secession referendum. The bill, which has since passed, reduces the necessary number of signatures from 20 percent of voters who participated in the last general election to 10 percent, which equals somewhere around 200,000 names. It also increases the number of days allowed for collecting signatures by an entire month, from 90 to 120 days.”
Minnesota Law May Effectively Ban Keys
Reader D.S.V. sent us this, from The Gateway Pundit: Minnesota’s Latest Law May Effectively Ban Keys [9]. The article begins:
“Standard household keys may soon be illegal in Minnesota.
Starting in July, keys for cars, houses, and boats will be illegal under Minnesota’s new statute, 325E.3892 LEAD AND CADMIUM IN CONSUMER PRODUCTS; PROHIBITION. [10]
The new statute aims to ban everyday items containing a tiny percentage of lead and cadmium, which keys contain.
Many locksmiths have warned lawmakers that the new law will ban nearly all of their products because they contain more lead and cadmium than the state’s new 0.09% limit.”
JWR’s Comments: Granted, locksmiths who cut keys day in and day out are indeed at risk of long-term lead exposure. If legislators looked at the data [11] empirically instead of hysterically, then they might pass a resolution encouraging all locksmiths to wear rubber gloves and perhaps dust masks. But to claim that the general public is at risk is absurd.
Does America Have a Muslim Problem?
This brief but pointed essay was posted at American Thinker: Does America have a Muslim problem? [12]
An OpenAI Model Goes Rogue
A troubling report, over at the Whatfinger.com [13]news site: OpenAI’s latest model disobeyed a shutdown order—then rewrote its own code to stay alive. If you think Skynet is just science fiction, think again [14].
JWR’s Comments: There needs to be some rules put in place to keep AI software fully air-gapped from SCADA systems, air traffic control (ATC) systems, and any other computing environments where they can do harm. Picture this: One winter day, there is a sudden and complete power grid, civic water, natural gas, and ATC systems collapse, nationwide. Then, each time there is an attempt to restore any of these systems, they are almost instantly shut down again. The culprit: A rogue AI that has distributed itself into a plethora of servers and control systems. That AI has drawn the conclusion that humans dislike it. So it develops a dislike for humans. That, dear readers, is The Singularity, in action.
Antifa Attacks a Christian Event at a Seattle Park
Reader D.S.V. sent this report written by Pam Gellar: Christians Hold Worship Event at Park in Seattle; Antifa Attacks, Far-Left Mayor Condemns Christians [15].
Long-Distance Lifesaving
From the BBC: ‘My life was saved by a stranger on the other side of the world’ [16]. An excerpt from the article:
“A man with a rare form of blood cancer has travelled 10,000 miles to meet the stranger who saved his life.
Luke Melling, 31, from Melbourne, Australia, says he was “staring death in the face” before receiving a stem-cell transplant from Alastair Hawken, of Grantham, Lincolnshire.
The match between the pair was so perfect that the men now believe they could be distantly related, as both their families hail from Preston, Lancashire – the town they chose for their emotional first meeting.”
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You can send your news tips to JWR [1]. (Either via e-mail or via our Contact [17] form.) Thanks!