Notes for Thursday – March 24, 2016

March 24th is the birthday of Dr. Art Robinson, who was born in 1942. Also, today, the 14th day of Adar II, starts Purim, the Jewish holiday that commemorates the saving of the Jewish people from Haman (boo!), who was planning to kill all the Jews. o o o Round 63 of the Writing Contest is coming to a close in only a few short days. Make sure you get your article finished and submitted for this round! o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 63 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $12,000 worth of …


Economics and Investing:

Study Finds Public Pension Promises Exceed Ability to Pay – G.G. o o o Reader T.A. submitted this article from Zero Hedge: A Glimpse of Things to Come: Canadian Oil Company Liquidates Hours After Bank Demands Repayment o o o Items from Professor Preponomics: US News Puerto Rico’s Financial Crisis Has Been Brewing for 75 Years (Business Insider) Excerpt: “If Puerto Rico and its bondholders are to receive a bailout, it should at least be accompanied by the long overdue privatization of its New Deal structures.” Puerto Rico’s Slide (Bloomberg QuickTake) Excerpt: “It’s a tale of financial mismanagement, Wall Street …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Rob Moffet posted a new video on how to make a folding multi-fuel camping stove using an old automobile license plate. It’s a nice DIY project. o o o Teacher Killed by Cop in Crosswalk “Assumed Risk” by Crossing Street Excerpt: “NYPD and the city Law Department are fighting a lawsuit filed by the family of a Brooklyn man who was killed in a crosswalk by an on-duty officer, on the grounds that the victim behaved recklessly by crossing the street. … The city’s response to the suit says Coss “knew or should have known in the exercise of due/reasonable …



Notes for Wednesday – March 23, 2016

This is the birthday of Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa. o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 63 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Tactical Self-Contained 2-Series Solar Power Generator system from Always Empowered. This compact starter power system is packaged in a wheeled O.D. green EMP-shielded Pelican hard case (a $1,700 value), A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate that is good for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,195 value), A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice …


Two Letters Re: The Long and Short of Bolt Action Rifle Magazines

Mr. Latimer, Thank you to Mr. Rawles for his post with the helpful information. In addition to those noted, the relatively new Mossberg MVP bolt-action rifles chambered in .308 accept magazines from the Springfield M1A. If you already have one of those platforms, you could purchase the other and the magazines will be interchangeable between platforms. – J.L. o o o JWR, Just a few more bolt action rifles that use standard magazines– the Mossberg MVP 308 uses M1A/M14 or AR-10 magazines, and the 5.56 uses an AR-15 magazine. I have both calibers, and they work great and are light …


Economics and Investing:

Silver – a Long-Term Perspective o o o Forbes Yanks a Negative Article on JPMorgan While the Bank Pays for Content – P.M. o o o Items from Professor Preponomics: US News To Oppose Free Trade is to Embrace Violence (Mises) Excerpt: “To oppose free trade, on the other hand, is to engage in the imposition of fines, prison terms, and other sanctions on people for engaging in non-violent exchange.” Bernanke: Negative Interest Rates Could Be “Reasonable” (Washington Examiner) Excerpt: “…in a scenario in which the economy weakened and the Fed had already cut short-term interest rates to zero, a …


Odds ‘n Sods:

From Mike Williamson, SurvivalBlog’s Editor At Large: A European state that is doing well Seized cell phones didn’t work this time, but certainly could. Stun guns are protected by the 2nd Amendment. Hopefully they will apply this to other modern weapons. The government apparently has the right to stop you on a whim. o o o Why Putin Wants Syria o o o Why we should fear a cashless world – V.M. o o o Video: Printable magnets. I can think of many uses for such technology. For those short on time, fast forward to the 5.45 mark in the …



Notes for Tuesday – March 22, 2016

This is the birthday of Louis L’Amour. Some of his novels have survival themes, and one of the most notable ones was Last of the Breed. o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 63 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Tactical Self-Contained 2-Series Solar Power Generator system from Always Empowered. This compact starter power system is packaged in a wheeled O.D. green EMP-shielded Pelican hard case (a $1,700 value), A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate that is good for any one, two, or …


Letter Re: Long-Term Gas Storage

Dear Hugh and Jim, Here is my anecdotal knowledge relating to long-term storage of gasoline. I grew up on my family’s dairy farm in northern Wisconsin. My dad had a 300-gallon steel gas tank that sat on a stand about six feet off the ground in the shade of a White Pine tree. He refilled it every year or two, and that gas powered our two Allis Chalmers WD 45 tractors and the other gas-powered engines, lawn mowers, etc., on the farm. So far as I know, he never used any stabilizers and we never had any fuel-related problems. Of …


News From The American Redoubt:

Idaho: House Suspends Rules, Passes Concealed-Carry Bill. JWR’s Comments: While not a perfect bill, this is still great news for the Constitutional Carry movement. The governor is expected to sign the bill into law. The Montana legislature is expected to follow suit, when it comes back into session. (They meet only in alternating years.) Montana’s Democrat governor has twice vetoed permitless carry bills, but the legislatures plans to send him another bill with a veto-proof majority. o o o Elias Alias (of The Mental Militia Forums) has produced a new documentary, filmed in northwestern Montana: This Land is Our Land. …


Economics and Investing:

DOW JONES vs SILVER: Trading Volume Says It All o o o Central banks are already doing the unthinkable – you just don’t know it – G.G. o o o Items from Professor Preponomics: US News Including the Ocean Floor, the Feds Own Much More Land than You Think (Mises) Excerpt: “Is US land ownership heavily socialized? Let’s begin answering this question by considering the states with the largest percentages of government-owned lands.” The next post is a commentary from Judge Andrew Napolitano from 2014. It’s an older post, but it’s well worth reading in the context of the broad …


Odds ‘n Sods:

SurvivalBlog reader B.B. sent in this TED talk on software that can take an ordinary video and magnify nearly invisible motion and sound. If you don’t have time to watch the entire 12-minute video, at least fast forward to the 10-minute mark and observe them recover usable audio through soundproof glass by merely videotaping an empty potato chip bag. Michael Rubinstein: See invisible motion, hear silent sound o o o The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that electric stun guns are Constitutionally protected. o o o Reader T.P. sent this in: Nevada Assemblywoman: If You Were at Bundy Ranch and …