SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods – a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from “HJL”.
Government
In typical bureaucratic fashion, the U.S. government agencies have a miserable track record on security. According to BetaNews, 34 percent of US government agencies have had data breaches in the last year. Sixty-five percent of them have had a data breach sometime in the past. These are the same agencies that hold all of your sensitive and private data. Sent in by G.G.
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Also sent in by G.G. is this article from the Washington Post: Inside the U.S. government’s plans to survive a nuclear war. Used to, your government had emergency plans to evacuate cities and at least give the populace a running start. Now, they don’t care. Their “secret” plans are how to sequester and save a few “important” people and just let the rest of you die in your ignorance.
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From Mike Williamson, SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large: Wikileaks published a new batch of information from the Vault 7 series. This one details the “Athena” CIA spying program that targets all versions of Windows. The hack allows the CIA to take complete control of a person’s computer, installing maleware, stealing data, and deleting data. The CIA developed the code in conjunction with Siege Technologies. They released it only a month after Windows 10. This is the ninth release from this series. While Wikileaks hasn’t provided any documentation on how this was used by the CIA, it doesn’t take much of an imagination to see.
Politics
Reader B.B. sent in this article from Gate To Liberty. It’s time for all of us to learn Grandpa Crawford’s Lesson. Bullies and thugs continue to assault President Trump. It worked for us when we were kids. It still works for us as adults. Chances are good, it would work for him.
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Speaking of thugs, Soren Group has an article over on Market Slant on Trump and the impeachment attempt. There have been some outrageous comments about Trump in the past by Market Slant that have borne out over time, including that Trump would win the election. He also predicted that Trump would spend like a drunken sailor, and it looks like we are headed in that direction. Now the claim is that “10,000,000 people will march on Washington if they try to impeach Trump… they will be heavily armed. I will be one of them.”. With the country as polarized as it is now, an impeachment might just be the trigger to send the country into a bloody civil war.
Personal Safety
Reader H.L. sent this article in on the state of jobs and workers. Apparently there are lots of jobs to be had, but the workers keep getting high. Job sectors where trucking, forklifts, construction, and other heavy equipment are used desperately need sober people to work. And they are having a tough time filling those spots. H.L. adds: “Personally, I would not employ someone who was drunk or high on any drug – legal or not! Only prescription drugs, and even then many warn to not be driving or operating equipment. It is not safe to have such employees around.”
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A reminder from reader S.M. on how fast things can go south on you. A deputy from Douglas County, Colorado pulled over a vehicle and approached it. Within seconds, shots were fired at him, and he was fighting for his life. S.M. adds “I am amazed at how quickly the deputy’s voice calms down and he regains composure.”
Pantry
Remember that box of Epsom Salt that your grandmother used to keep on her shelf? DSV sent in this link on 20 reasons why Epsom Salt should be in every home. From soothing aches and pains to cleaning pots and pans to fertilizing your garden, magnesium sulfate handles a multitude of jobs. Every home needs some!
Just think that you should know that http://www.survivalrealty.com/ is down.
The story of Grandpa Crawford’s lesson reminded me of the book series I read to my children years ago (the youngest just turned 40). They were put out in the 1960’s by the same syndicate that did Nancy Drew & the Hardy Boys, and all written by ghost writers. The series was “The Happy Hollisters.” My kids loved those books. We always read just one chapter each evening at bedtime, Every chapter ended on a cliffhanger, so the kids couldn’t wait for bedtime the next night. The characters in the story were average American kids. The boys always carried a clean handkerchief, and they never let the town bully get the best of them. Millions of these books were printed, so they’re probably easy to find at used bookstores.
I remember reading those when I was a boy. Glad I’m not the only one. I remember they taught solid values, including the importance of family and self-reliance. Would love to find some for my home library.
I have used epsom salt baths for poison ivy infections that just won’t clear up. It dries it up quite nicely. The Epsom baths are also good for insomnia (along with a magnesium and calcium supplement by mouth).
Also, Epsom Salt is great in a weed killer. 1 gallon white vinegar, 2 cups epsom salt and 1/2 cup dawn dish soap. Works great!