Odds ‘n Sods:

SurvivalRealty has what I would term the “coolest” survival property ever in it’s listings. It’s a 165 acres located in the Western USA with a half mile tunnel (20 feet wide, 30 feet high and 2,400 feet long) on it. The property is 200 feet wide and seven miles long. o o o K. in Tennessee sent in a link to 25 PVC projects. While some of these rate high on the coolness factor as well as the impracticality scale, some actually look useful. o o o Reader GJS sent in the link to this article that explains What Amending …



Notes for Wednesday – January 20, 2016

Today, we present another entry for Round 62 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 of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. …


Letter Re: Active Shooter Response

In light of both the mass shooting in California as well as a shooting scenario that my sister-in-law dealt with on the same day with a non-lethal shootout in her neighbor’s home, it has become apparent that the time has come for families, churches, and communities to take measures to avoid being soft targets. My sister-in-law gave asylum to her neighbors after an angry ex-boyfriend went over to her neighbor’s house and threatened them with a gun. A 2-year-old and a 4-year-old were left in the basement of the neighbor’s house while their mother and two other men dove out …


Economics and Investing:

As this “Recovery” trudges on, the numbers are starting to become known. SurvivalBlog reader B.B. sent in this link showing that Americans are giving up on jobs. “As many as 40% of capable Americans without a job have completely given up looking for work” o o o Why U.S. Retail Sales Ended 2015 Poorly – RBS o o o Items from Professor Preponomics: US News More Pain Seen Ahead for US Banks Exposed to Energy Loans (Yahoo) Excerpt: “”Everybody was hoping for a bounce through most of last year and it hasn’t materialized so I think both the regulators and …


Readers’ Recommendations of the Week:

Child of War Son of Angels by Curtis Whitfield Tong was recommended by SurvivalBlog reader M.G. It’s a child’s memoir of horror and reconciliation while imprisoned in World War II-torn Philippines. o o o SurvivalBlog reader P.B. recommended both In the Absence of God and Bridging the Abyss. Both works deal with different people approaching crises from different world view perspectives. Moderns and Post-moderns find themselves without any objective basis for forming moral judgments or hope of justice. o o o Reader E.L. writes in: Taylor Caldwell’s The Devil’s Advocate, a novel first published in 1952 is distopian fiction right …


Odds ‘n Sods:

RBS sent in this link: Drone Catcher Is Every Drone’s Worst Nightmare (video) – My favorite comment: “Inevitable, a counter-drone. Next will be a counter-drone-catcher” o o o Clinton-Appointed Judge Dismisses RICO Case Against Clintons JWR’s Comment: This adds new meaning to the word racketeering. (Any ethical judge would have recused himself.) o o o Inspector General: Clinton emails had intel from most secretive, classified programs – Apparently Hillary had “several dozen” emails classified as special access programs (SAP) on her private server. SAP indicates a level of classification beyond even “top secret”. Anyone placing bets on whether a Democratic …




The Latest Wave of The Sagebrush Rebellion

The recent events at the former Malheur Wildlife Refuge (now called the Harney County Resource Center) are just the latest wave of the well-justified Sagebrush Rebellion that has been going on in western states for 30+ years. Even though they lack any constitutional authority over land that should rightfully belong to the States (per Article 1, Section 8, Clause 17), bureaucrats from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) have been riding roughshod over the west. They have been doing so through their often capricious and dictatorial policies on grazing, timber cutting, mining, weed control, access to water, hunting, recreational shooting, …


What? SurvivalBlog Has a FaceBook Page?

Anyone who has been a follower of SurvivalBlog for any time understands the distaste that the editors have for Facebook and other forms of social media. We make no secret of the fact that we know the primary purpose of these sites is to produce a viable database that can be mined for marketing purposes (and ofttimes other nefarious reasons). We have long stayed away from these OPSEC nightmares and have encouraged our readers to do likewise. However, we have watched these social media sites become giants in the communications industry, and it became obvious to us that we had …


Letter Re: Root Cellaring Potatoes

HJL, One of the best reasons for storing potatoes in a root cellar is to have seed available to plant potatoes the next year. While I buy new seed potatoes every year, I also plant some of my own from the previous year. Potatoes are the one crop that you can not buy packets of seed to store for a long time. I plant a lot more than we can eat, just to store for seed. – North-of-80


News From The American Redoubt:

Saeed Abedini’s church in Boise celebrates his release o o o Homeward bound? Lion that trekked 450 miles to Montana killed by hunter o o o Warning to U.S. Military and Federal LEOs: Do Not Follow Orders to “Waco” Ammon Bundy Occupation, or Risk Civil War – Sent in by T.P. o o o The Oregon Standoff in a Nutshell — From My Perspective — by Todd Macfarlane – RBS o o o Sent in by Reader RBS: Constitutional Carry in Idaho is for politicians not for the people o o o Rejecting ‘Refugee’ Invitations to North Idaho – B.B.


Economics and Investing:

Italian banks are being squeezed at the margins. Some analysts anticipate more turbulence. “Analysts say stimulus measures by the European Central Bank have helped an economic recovery but have the side effect of putting bank margins under pressure.” 2 Italy Bank Stocks Plunge, Brokers Say Prepare for Tough 2016 – T.A. o o o China to spark financial ICE AGE with depression, says Societe Generale bear analyst – B.B. o o o Items from Professor Preponomics: US News Is Eating a Cinnamon Roll Irrational? (Mises) Who knows what’s best for you? Excerpt: “…in criticizing information asymmetry in markets, they are …


Odds ‘n Sods:

SurvivalBlog reader T.Z. sent in a link on the GP-5 SSB Shortwave (+AM + FM) receiver. It is a bit complex to use with all the buttons and features, but it receives all the HF Ham bands (CB and shortwave too), has a useful scan/store channel feature, can use NiMH rechargeables or normal AAAs or even a Mini-B USB. It includes all the accessories, including a ferrite and clip-on wire antenna. It’s not very expensive, is small and has lots of extras, like alarm and temperature. It is receive only, but considering the number of Amateur Radio operators this would …