The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

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”. Alexa is caught in the act with a spectacular invasion of privacy this week.

Memorial Day

As we move into the Memorial Weekend, SurvivalBlog is asking it’s readers to remember why we have this holiday weekend in the first place. Yes, there will be picnics and camping along with shopping excellent sales, but we must not forget those who made these efforts possible. The Daily Wire has an article suggesting 10 movies that you can pick from to help you remember and celebrate the lives of the courageous men and women in all branches of the military who have sacrificed everything so America can be free. I’ll be watching three of my favorites: “We Were soldiers”, “Saving Private Ryan”, and “The Alamo” myself.

Another Large Failing Nation

Brazil has not seen much media exposure in the last year, but the nation stand in the crowd of nations with massive natural resources who are failing due to political and economic policies. The looming danger this time is over 1 billion chickens and 20 million pigs that are in danger of starving to death because of a nation-wide truckers’ strike. The strike, which has prevented critical supplies like animal feed from reaching their destinations, is over soaring fuel prices. With government forces moving to unblock the highways, the stage is set for anti-government protests that have been simmering just below the surface. Here we go again. Thanks to H.L. for the link.

Routers Hacked

Reader S.H. sent in this article on a warning about Russian hackers. Apparently hundreds of thousands of consumer routers have been hacked by a group called Sofacy that answers to the Russian government. The FBI is recommending that users who have routers made by Belkin, Linksys, MikroTik, Netgear, TP-Link, and QNAP immediately reboot their routers to disrupt malicious communications and upgrade their software. The warning follows a court order that allowed the FBI to seize the website that was directing and controlling the malicious software. Intrusions have been detected in over 50 countries, but the experts believe that the primary target for further actions was probably Ukraine, a longtime cyberwarfare battleground.

Alexa is Caught in the Act

You knew it was a strong possibility, but now it’s been caught in the act. Reader H.L. sent in this article detailing a news report of a family who caught their Alexa device listening to their conversations and emailing the recordings to a third party. Due to some error in the system, Alexa was recording the conversations in their home and emailing them to one of the family’s employees. The employee called the family and informed them what was happening. Initially, the family didn’t believe it until the employee told them what their discussions had been about. Amazon techs have admitted that the incident took place but claims that it is an extremely rare occurrence. I’m sure glad I don’t have those devices in my home!

White South Africans Take up Arms

The violence is starting to ratchet up and White South Africans are now arming themselves to defend their families and property from both looters and the government. For it’s part, the government is continuing to pursue the taking the land without compensation and the conflict is quickly becoming one of white genocide. The white minority is organizing, but the conflict promises to be a bitter one. Thanks to S.M. for the link to this video.

A Summer of Disappointment

Brandon, of Alt-Market.com has a new article out on the economic outlook of this summer. Global tensions seem to have subsided in the last couple of months, but the complacency of the general population in regards to the looming debt-based deflationary disaster is disturbing. He is predicting more rate hikes from the Federal Reserve when they meet in June and a continuation in the burgeoning trade war with China. Add to that the farce of North Korean peace Summit talks and the failure of the Iranian deal (which was only a pause in the push for war), and this summer looks like it’s getting ready to stack up a bunch of disappointments.

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Please send your news tips to HJL. (Either via e-mail of via our Contact form.) These are often especially relevant, because they come from folks who watch news that is important to them. Due to their diligence and focus, we benefit from fresh “on target” news. We often “get the scoop” on news that is most likely ignored (or reported late) by mainstream American news outlets. Thanks!