Odds ‘n Sods:

Big American Brother gives hints on how to spot citizen terrorists. Since when did paying in “Legal tender for all debts, public and private” morph into something suspicious and “weird”?    o o o From the SHTFPlan blog: What To Expect From The Government After Collapse    o o o Some incisive commentary on Attorney General Eric Holder, over at the View From The Porch blog: The cheek of the man is unbelievable.    o o o T.C. mentioned a piece by MSN: Best places to live off the grid    o o o A short and sweet video clip …



Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 38 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) A gift certificate worth $1,000, courtesy of Spec Ops Brand, B.) 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, and C.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $350 value.) D.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 …


Making a Business of Preparedness, by H.P.

An aspect of survival preparedness that is easily overlooked and sometimes ignored is the utilization of a home-based small business as a means of financial preparation as well as a method of acquiring and stockpiling survival necessities.  It appears likely that some level of collapse and restructuring of our financial and monetary system will take place in the near future.  Establishing your own business is a good way to protect against a financial system catastrophe and prepare for other disastrous events.  Starting and growing a small business may seem a daunting task for many, however, it can be done with …


Letter Re: When The Ancient Mayans Got Out of Dodge — All The Way To Georgia

Dear Editor: I’m sure that the readers of SurvivalBlog will find this quote of interest, from an article entitled Ruins in Georgia mountains show evidence of Maya connection: “In July of 2011, Waldrup furnished a copy of the 2000 Stratum Unlimited, LLC archaeological report to People of One Fire members.  Those with experiences at Maya town sites instantly recognized that the Track Rock stone structures were identical in form to numerous agricultural terrace sites in Chiapas, Guatemala, Belize and Honduras. Johannes Loubser’s radiocarbon dates exactly matched the diaspora from the Maya lands and the sudden appearance of large towns with …


Economics and Investing:

B.B. suggested this: It’s the Math, Stupid!: Seven Devastating Facts About 2012 Echoing the statements by Kyle Bass that were quoted in SurvivalBlog: Debt Crisis 2012: Forget Europe, Check Out Japan Items from The Economatrix: Top 10 Companies Hiring This Week Stores See Busy But Not Bang-up Christmas Eve US New Homes Sales Heading For Worse Year Ever Another Face Of US Recession:  Homeless Children US Homes Lose $700 Billion In Value In 2011–And That’s The Good News


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader B.B. sent this: Montanans Launch Recall of Senators Who Approved NDAA Military Detention. Merry Christmas, US Senate    o o o You may remember reading my description of an Elecraft QRP ham radio transmitter in my novel “Survivors”. Here is an update on that technology: the Elecraft KX3 Transceiver is now available for ordering.    o o o A reader from Saskatchewan wrote to ask if it was worthwhile to use paracord bootlace. I replied that I do indeed recommend them due to their durability and versatility. I specifically recommend making them about 18 inches longer than the original …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“The American people have no idea they are paying the bill. They know that someone is stealing their hubcaps, but they think it is the greedy businessman who raises prices or the selfish laborer who demands higher wages or the unworthy farmer who demands too much for his crop or the wealthy foreigner who bids up our prices. They do not realize that these groups also are victimized by a monetary system which is constantly being eroded in value by and through the Federal Reserve System.” – G. Edward Griffin, The Creature from Jekyll Island: A Second Look at the …


Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 38 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) A gift certificate worth $1,000, courtesy of Spec Ops Brand, B.) 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, and C.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $350 value.) D.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 …


Subsistence Fishing After TEOTWAWKI by, CentOre

Introductory Disclaimer: Many ideas expressed within this article may not be legal in all jurisdictions.  Items covered and methods discussed are strictly theoretical in nature unless otherwise stated. Many people have a love of fishing.  Take a pole, and maybe a youngster, down to the shore, or a dock, baiting up, casting out, and waiting for a bite.  It’s a great time to just sit, talk, and enjoy nature.  Right? Not after TEOTWAWKI!  There will not be many ‘restful’ days, or nights for that matter.  Our group has a saying that: “Sportsman-ship goes out the window when Survival-ship comes in …


Letter Re: Going Digital for Improved COMSEC

Dear Mr. Rawles, I was reading back in the archives on the DVD I purchased and found a lot of discussion regarding communications security.  I played with a form of Digital Voice, image and file transfer for HF which could link a number of retreats together with voice, pictures and digital files with a method which in my thinking would be very, very secure.  Have you ever looked at AOR USA‘s digital voice, image, and data modems using analog HF, VHF, or UHF SSB? A friend of mine here in my state purchased one and we ran a lot of …


Economics and Investing:

Kabuki financial theatre – Congress net worth up 15 percent from 2004 to 2010 while the average American sees their net worth decline by 8 percent in the same timeframe. Welcome to plutocrat USA. (It is good to know that our elected representatives are pure as the driven snow, and that they would never engage in felonious Insider Trading.) B.B. suggested this, over at Zero Hedge: Guest Post: A Run On The Global Banking System – How Close Are We? Items from The Economatrix: If a Global Recession is Not Looming, then Why Are Bailouts Flying Around Like The End …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Yesterday, I mentioned using a SOPA work-around: IP-Lookup.net. Today, I noticed that Ol’ Remus at The Woodpile Report had a link to something even better: a Firefox add-on called “DeSOPA”, that provides and offshore DNS (“dotted quad”) number lookup service, in case your favorite site’s domain name gets Borged by the FedGov and you get automagically redirected to a scary-looking FBI “anti-piracy” placeholder page. (I consider that just one notch below the classic “Big Brother” image.) And BTW, and unnamed SurvivalBlog reader who is a skilled software engineer is kindly creating a more robust variant of HTOIP–an application that converts …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“The simple fact is, the government has to take resources from someone before it can dole them out to others. And this act of taking turns out to be economically destructive. It reduces the market’s incentives for entrepreneurs. The more you take from the productive members of society, the less productive they become. That’s the primary lesson of the history of socialism. Yet… many of our political leaders seem oblivious to this iron law of human nature.” – Porter Stansberry


Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 38 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) A gift certificate worth $1,000, courtesy of Spec Ops Brand, B.) 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, and C.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $350 value.) D.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 …