Notes for Thursday – July 09, 2015

Today, we present another entry for Round 59 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $12,000+ worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,195 value), A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795, DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper with a hammer forged, chromlined barrel and a hard case to go …


Letter Re: Churches and the IRS

HJL, Considering recent events, worries about what will happen to churches, and the two letters on SurvivalBlog referring to tax exempt status of churches, I recommend this article. It breaks it down nicely, with bible references throughout. I have no knowledge about the rest of the site. Hope this helps people who are wondering about the implications of putting churches under the authority of the state. – SJB


Economics and Investing:

Banks Quickly Abolishing Your Ability to Use & Store Cash. – D.S. o o o Priorities: Greeks Rush to Buy Laptops and Games Consoles in Anticipation of Economic Collapse. – JBG o o o Items from Mr. Econocobas: China ‘Heading Towards 1929 Market Crash’… Chinese Retail Investor Savings ‘fall into abyss’… ‘Greece Is On The Edge of Catastrophe. There Will be Riots and Chaos’ Greek Crisis – Breakdown Of Situation With Mike Maloney


Odds ‘n Sods:

Real time cyber attack map. – P.M. o o o U.S. Military Makes Monumental Shift To Hollowpoint Pistol Ammunition – T.P. JWR’s Comment: To the best of my knowledge the U.S. government has never been a signatory to the Hague Convention, which bans soft nose ammunition for military use. (Here, I must peremptorily state that it is NOT “The Geneva Convention”, as is popularly and incorrectly cited.) For MANY years, the U.S. military has issued riot shotguns with size 00 soft lead pellet buckshot, which is technically banned by the Convention. And as I recall, the U.S. Army has issued …



Notes for Wednesday – July 08, 2015

For those looking to relocate: Dark Sky map JWR’s Comment: These are VERY detailed, zoomable maps. Quite useful! (But note, they may take a while to load, depending on your connection speed.) o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 59 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $12,000+ worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,195 value), A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those …


A Portable and Easily Constructed Manual Water Pump – Part 1, by G.G.

“Water, water everywhere but nary a drop to drink” – Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”. Finding water becomes the major problem faced by people in a survival situation. Go without water only a few days and death ensues. Storing water in the form of barrels is a logistical nightmare. They must be drained and refilled annually. Further, you only have as much water as you have stored. Living in Idaho gives those of us who live here access to one of the world’s largest aquifers. In fact, that body of water lies only 70 feet below …


Letter Re: Illusive Self Sufficiency

Hugh Mrs RLB ends her letter with a profound observation: “I am one of those who has worked on a Sunday trying to get some task done, only to be tired all week”. When I was much younger, I was starting out with a partner in a very small architectural mill work endeavor. We had landed a contract for casework in a school that had to be installed by September first. We were running hard, seven days a week, 10 hours plus. I no longer recall all the precise details. I do recall being, by the second week of this …


Economics and Investing:

Gold Up & S&P Down? o o o US Mint SOLD OUT of Silver Eagles, Announces Will Not Take Orders Until AUGUST! – D.S. o o o One in Five Americans Participates in Government Assistance Programs Each Month – G.G. o o o China stocks tumble again despite support measures. – G.P. o o o How The U.S. Government Could Default On Its Debt



Odds ‘n Sods:

The Fiscal health of all 50 states. o o o Oath Keepers Urge Preparation For Economic Collapse: America Running Out Of Time. Support Teams Urged.. – C.W. o o o Firearms Of Frogmen. There are some very interesting photographs here. – T.P. o o o Russia’s ‘superweapon’ can switch off satellites and enemy weapons. – G.P. o o o Jade Helm, Terrorist Attacks, Surveillance and Other Fairy Tales for a Gullible Nation. – B.B.



Notes for Tuesday – July 07, 2015

July 7th, 1907 was the birthday of Robert A. Heinlein. o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 59 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $12,000+ worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,195 value), A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795, DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet …


Inexpensive and Simple Mono- or Multi-Band HF Ham Radio Antennas, by PrepperDoc

One of the distinguishing features of traditional Ham radio, particularly shortwave (high frequency or “HF”) Ham radio, was that you generally had to literally make your own antenna. You could purchase transmitters, receivers, transceivers, microphones, and even Morse code keys, but you likely had fabricated at least one wire antenna. In the event of a national disaster, many people may wish to have effective HF communications for medium- or long-range communications, and they may be faced with the need to construct an antenna. Other forward-thinking preppers may wish to gain Ham radio licenses and experience in HF communications and need …