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 the ongoing anti-ICE protests and riots.
Southern California Gamefish Carrying Parasites
Most freshwater game fish in Southern California carry invasive parasites capable of infecting humans, study finds [2]. The article’s introduction:
“More than 90% of popular freshwater game fish in Southern California contain an introduced parasite capable of infecting humans, according to a new study by researchers at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
The parasites [3] found in the study—two species of flatworms called trematodes—typically cause gastrointestinal problems, weight loss [4] or lethargy when they infect humans. In some rare and severe cases, the parasites have caused strokes or heart attacks.
The findings, published [5] in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, suggest that these parasites pose a previously unrecognized public health risk in the United States.”
A Third Chinese Researcher Arrested For Bioweapons
NBC News: U.S. says it has arrested another Chinese researcher accused of smuggling biological material [6].
L.A. Rioters Set Waymo Self-Driving Cars Ablaze
Rioters set Waymo self-driving cars on fire, company suspends downtown LA service [7].
Gabbard Warns of ‘Nuclear Holocaust’
Gabbard warns of ‘nuclear holocaust’ in ominous social media video [8].
More Magnetic Pole Reversal Evidence
Lily suggested this, from SpaceWeatherNews: Solar Eruption & Tsunami of Fire, Major Pole Shift Articles [9].
Another California-ARNG Callup
As reported by the leftist CNBC: Trump authorizes deploying 2,000 more National Guard troops to LA [10].
Trump Might Invoke Insurrection Act to Stop Riots
Trump Might Invoke Insurrection Act to Crush L.A. Pro-illegal-alien Riots [11].
Civil War 2.0?
An timely essay by Kevin Finn, at American Thinker: Civil War 2.0? [12]Here is an excerpt:
“The speculative possibility of a civil war hinges on intent. If the Democrat party is orchestrating or amplifying the riots, their aim may be to destabilize Trump’s administration, leveraging the chaos to rally support for progressive causes like open borders. If the funding allegations are substantiated, they may point to a strategic investment in unrest, using groups like CHIRLA, which is linked to ActBlue, as proxies [13]. However, this theory rests on ongoing investigations. While prominent leftists claim that the roots of the riots are organic, pre-printed signs and seemingly coordinated appearances of large numbers of protesters continue to raise suspicions. Another concerning aspect is the actions of left-leaning judges [14] to place the interests of illegal aliens over those of American citizens.
Counterarguments exist. Taking the devil’s advocate position for a moment, the violence may simply reflect community outrage, the flash mobs being coordinated through social media. It may be a response to perceived overly-aggressive immigration enforcement, not a calculated Democratic plot. Newsom and Bass’s responses could be genuine attempts to de-escalate, not incite, while Barragán’s comments might reflect political posturing rather than strategy. However, as evidence continues to mount of taxpayer money being used to fund these protests [15], those arguments become ever more unconvincing.”
The Uglier Side of Electric Vehicles: Battery Disposal
Ronald Stein: The Uglier side of Electric Vehicles: disposing of the EV batteries [16].
Some US Water SCADA Systems Vulnerable to Hacks
Mark P. sent this: Misconfigured HMIs Expose US Water Systems to Anyone With a Browser [17]. The article begins:
“A stray artifact in a TLS certificate led security researchers to an unnerving discovery: hundreds of control-room dashboards for US water utilities were sitting a click away from the public internet, and dozens of them offered full, no-password control over pumps, valves and chemical feeds.
The trail started last October, when the research team at Censys ran a routine scan of industrial-control hosts and noticed certificates with the word “SCADA” embedded. That label, short for Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition, is typically associated with monitoring systems in industrial control environments. Censys found the same certificate distinguished name (DN) across several instances of the uncommon browser-based HMI platform.”
Billionaire Elad Gil Using A.I. for Roll-Ups
Reader D.S.V. sent this: A Billionaire Is Buying Entire Businesses and Converting Them to Run With AI [18].
A Bill to Audit U.S. Gold Reserves
Rep. Massie Introduces Bill to Audit U.S. Gold Reserves [19]. A quote:
“Representative Thomas Massie announces the introduction of H.R. 3795, the Gold Reserve Transparency Act of 2025, legislation requiring the Comptroller General to conduct and publicly release a full audit of gold reserves held by the United States. The Comptroller General’s audit will include gold held in “deep storage” locations such as Fort Knox, Kentucky.”
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