Economics and Investing:

RBS cries ‘sell everything’ as deflationary crisis nears – G.G. o o o Record Numbers Of Retired Americans Are Working Part-Time Jobs – G.G. o o o Items from Professor Preponomics: US News All of the World’s Money and Markets in One Visualization (Visual Capitalist) An excellent (and terrifying) representation beginning with Bitcoin and ending with derivatives. Oil Could Fall to $20 but NOT for the Reason You Think (Market Watch) Excerpt: “While oil markets are undoubtedly oversupplied, after a certain point, deteriorating fundamentals have little to do with the price action. ‘Oversupply may have pushed oil prices under $60, …


Readers’ Recommendations of the Week:

SurvivalBlog reader T.A. sent in this recommendation: On a recent trip to a used book store in a tiny little Tennessee town, we found a wonderful treasure. Here it is for SB readers interested in a helpful resource: Root Cellaring: The Simple No-Processing Way to Store Fruits and Vegetables by Mike and Nancy Bubel. Our copy was printed in 1979 and purchased for $5, but there appears to be an updated version from 1991. From the 1979 edition, a quote from Ella Heide whose cellar was built in 1901: “The root cellar was the most crucial link in the subsistence …


Odds ‘n Sods:

House Homeland Chair Warns of Terror Attacks at Disney, Oscars, the Mall of America… – Sent in by T.A. o o o Disturbing news for those planning on having children: Scientists push for new wave of eugenics with genome testing for all newborns While there may be good reasons for knowing this information, I can think of a stream of ways that it will be abused if it exists. – Sent in by D.S. o o o An interesting idea for a survival kit was sent in by reader M.T. PACE lid. Be prepared for whatever life throws your way. …


Notes for Tuesday – January 12, 2016

On January 12, 1888, the “Schoolchildren’s Blizzard” killed 235 people, many of whom were children on their way home from school, across the Northwest Plains region of the United States. The storm came with no warning and some accounts say that the temperature fell nearly 100 degrees in just 24 hours. There were many instances of teachers keeping or rescuing children who would have been caught in the storm while walking home. o o o 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 …


Letter Re: Algorithms

Sirs, I was particularly interested in your 1/9/16 link to an article regarding The risks — and benefits — of letting algorithms judge us. Algorithms are convenient tools and are more ubiquitous in society than you might think. Those maddening automated telephone answering scripts that lead you through a labyrinth of options that do not address what you are calling about are an excellent example. Many businesses and healthcare venues (or providers) regularly use algorithms to help them maintain a minimum standard of service. That is fine, if you are satisfied with a minimum standard of service. I tried, at …


News From The American Redoubt:

Here is some food for thought, when considering retreat locales: Five Maps Showing the Extreme Variance in U.S. Population Distribution. Note that The American Redoubt has some of the least populous counties. o o o U.S. Government to Cull Hundreds of Yellowstone Bison This Winter – Sent in by T.J. o o o RBS sent in this article containing some odd photographs of a rare defect: Idaho Fish and Game mystified by rare, deformed mountain lion o o o The Californication of Washington continues. Here is yet ANOTHER reason for the Citizens of eastern Washington to seek partition! – JWR …


Economics and Investing:

“Unprecedented Demand” – US Mint Sells Nearly As Much Gold On First Day Of 2016 As All Of January 2015 – G.G. o o o Shipping Said to Have Ceased… Is the Worldwide Economy Grinding to a Halt? – B.B. o o o Items from Professor Preponomics: US News More Trouble Ahead for US Oil Industry (Houston Chronicle) Excerpt: “The tentacles of the energy sector run deeper in the US economy than most understand…” Why Sugar, Once a Big Business in Hawaii, is Disappearing (Christian Science Monitor) Excerpt: “The company hopes to shield itself from the vulnerability of a single …


Odds ‘n Sods:

The latest from Wranglerstar (one of our favorite vloggers: Best Everyday Carry Gear 2016) o o o Reader C.S. sent in this link to a review of some inexpensive/cheap “mop wick” diesel stoves. Part of the article is a video that shows how to re-wick them and their operation. Prepping 101: Cooking With Diesel – Mop Wick Kerosene Stoves Explained o o o From Mike Williamson, SurvivalBlog’s Editor At Large: Point source failure – One major highway and only one bridge connecting the nation. Ontario’s Nipigon River bridge fails, severing Trans-Canada Highway o o o After Ebola, two other tropical …




Pat Cascio’s Product Review: Ruger SR-556 Takedown

I’m a fan of the AR-15 type of rifles. I always have been. So, when some gun makers started coming out with AR-15s that had a gas piston, instead of the direct gas impingement system, I tested several of them. I think we could have a debate all week long as to the merits of the gas piston system versus the direct gas impingement system and we couldn’t change one another’s minds. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the direct gas impingement system, other than your AR really gets dirty, in short order. Yes, I’m aware there were problems with …


Recipe of the Week: Amish White Bread, by C.P.

Ingredients: 2 cups warm tap water (Let your wrist tell you the temp. It needs to be like a very warm baby bottle.) 1 1/2 Tablespoon dry yeast 2/3 cup sugar or less, depending on how sweet you want your bread 1 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup vegetable oil 5-6 cups all-purpose flour Directions: In a small bowl to proof yeast, add water, yeast, and 1 tsp of the sugar. Let sit 10 minutes while mixing dry ingredients. Add 5 to 5 1/2 cups of the flour to mixer bowl. Add sugar, salt. Mix lightly, then add the oil and …


Letter Re: Law Enforcement Officers

Everyone should get a copy of a book titled, The Third Alternative: Christian Self Government, written by Bill Burtness, A Christian with a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering. The book illustrates that when individuals operate in conduct based on moral relativism (everyone does right in their own eyes), that a large band of law enforcement is needed to keep boundaries or order within society. With that liberal creed, and with so many truths circulating – the LAW automatically becomes alive and with brut force to align everyone. However, the author insightfully points out that when individuals emulate God’s law, there …


Economics and Investing:

A sobering, yet mind-blowing visualization of the world’s money: All of the World’s Money and Markets in One Visualization – Sent in by V.M. o o o U.S. Silver Production Drops Significantly Again In October… Has Peak Silver Arrived? o o o Items from Professor Preponomics: US News When the Salsa Stops (The Economist) Excerpt: “PUERTO RICO’S creditors have plenty to complain about, but they can’t claim they weren’t warned. Last June Alejandro García Padilla, the governor of America’s Caribbean outpost, announced that its $72 billion public debt was “unpayable”, and that a “unilateral and unplanned non-payment of obligations” loomed.” …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader B.B. sent in this link. We have been discussing the danger of computer algorithms determining everything about you from your credit worthiness to how “good” a citizen you are, now comes the “threat” score: The new way police are surveilling you: Calculating your threat ‘score’ This should be yet one more wake-up-call for those who are active on social media. Data mining of information that you just “throw out there” is big business. o o o Continuing the ongoing bluster coming out of North Korea is a video of a ‘new’ submarine-launched missile test. There is some considerable question …