Economics & Investing For Preppers

Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. Most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today, we look at the spike in natural gas prices. (See the Commodities section.) Precious Metals: The Most Inflation-Resistant Money the World Has Ever Known. o  o  o Arkadiusz Sieroń: 2022 Doesn’t Have to Be Like 1980 for Gold. Economy & Finance: Half of US companies preparing to cut jobs, survey shows. o  …



Preparedness Notes for Thursday — August 25, 2022

August 25th is the 84th birthday of novelist Frederick Forsyth (born 1938 – pictured above.) Forsyth was the author of The Day of the Jackal, The Odessa File, The Fourth Protocol, The Dogs of War, The Devil’s Alternative, and many others. This birthday is shared by humorist Bret Harte (born 1836), and the late American humorist Patrick F. McManus (born 1933). McManus was born and raised in Sandpoint, Idaho, so his books could be classified as American Redoubt humor. — Today we present a guest article by Brandon Smith, that first appeared at his Alt-Market.us site. — We are still …


The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods— a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from “JWR”. Our goal is to educate our readers, to help them to recognize emerging threats, and to be better prepared for both disasters and negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. Today, we look at the rising risk of extreme solar flares. NASA Says Huge Solar Eruptions Ahead Fox News: Huge solar eruptions will likely cause problems on Earth, NASA says. (Thanks to reader D.S.V. …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — August 24, 2022

On August 24th, 410, Rome was overrun by the Visigoths in an event that symbolized the fall of the Western Roman Empire. This is a moment in history that we would do well to remember. An empire that ruled the known world was corrupted from the inside to the point that they could not defend themselves from a much weaker enemy. — We are seeking entries for Round 102 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. If you’ve been working on an article, please finish it, and send it in. Round 102 ends on September 30th, so get busy writing and …


A Retreat Locale Selection Criteria Update

When I launched SurvivalBlog in 2005, I summarized my criteria for selecting retreat locales in a series of articles. Soon after, I evaluated 19 western states, for their retreat potential. I later put that data in a SurvivalBlog static page: Recommended Retreat Areas. This article serves as a 2022 update to that page. Some Things Don’t Change A lot has changed in the intervening 17 years, but some ground truths and some key trends haven’t changed at all: The tendencies of governments haven’t changed. They’ve only grown a bit bolder and their tools for surveillance of the citizenry have become …


SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

This weekly column is a collection of short snippets: responses to posted articles, practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. Note that we may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters. — First up, there is this Fox News article about a Bear Home Invasion, forwarded to us by reader C.B.: Colorado man shoots bear inside his home with his .40-caliber pistol. JWR’s Comment: Note that he emptied his pistol magazine — most likely 15 rounds — before the bear stopped. The Bidenistas tell us …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“He was, however, speaking to a representative of government, the police. And it is to government that one goes ‘for a redress of grievances,’ to use an almost forgotten phrase of the First Amendment. But it is said that the purpose was ‘to cause inconvenience and annoyance.’ Since when have we Americans been expected to bow submissively to authority and speak with awe and reverence to those who represent us? The constitutional theory is that we the people are the sovereigns, the state and federal officials only our agents. We who have the final word can speak softly or angrily. …


Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — August 23, 2022

I just heard of the passing of Dr. Peter Vincent Pry.  He did yeoman service, chairing The EMP Commission and EMP Task Force, urging legislators to get the United States hardened against EMP and X-Class solar flares. When he interviewed me, I was impressed by his great acumen and depth of knowledge on EMP topics. He will be greatly missed. Our condolences to his family. The following is from his U.S. House staff biography: “Dr. Peter Vincent Pry is Chief of Staff of the newly re-established CongressionalElectromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Commission, and Executive Director of the Task Force onNational and Homeland …


SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

This weekly column features news stories and event announcements from around the American Redoubt region. (Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and Wyoming.) Much of the region is also more commonly known as The Inland Northwest. We also mention companies of interest to preppers and survivalists that are located in the American Redoubt region. Today, news of some additional bison habitat on BLM land in Montana. (See the Montana section.) Idaho Potato Shortage Hits Idaho, Prices Soar in Grocery Stores o  o  o I found this by way of Whatfinger.com: Idaho Supreme Court Rejects Abortion Providers’ Attempts to Block State’s …



Preparedness Notes for Monday — August 22, 2022

Today is the anniversary of the founding of the London Armoury Company, in 1851. It was founded by Robert Adams (1810–1870). He patented the first successful double-action revolver in 1851. His revolvers were used during the Crimean War, the Indian Mutiny, the U.S. Civil War, and the Anglo-Zulu War. — Today’s feature article is a review that was written by our Field Gear Editor Emeritus, Pat Cascio.


Recipe of the Week: Simple Tomato Gazpacho

The following Simple Tomato Gazpacho recipe is from SurvivalBlog reader. A.G.. It is best made with an electric blender. What to do with all those tomatoes from your garden?  Make Gazpacho! A.G. says: “This is a recipe that I modified from one that I found online. The secret of great gazpacho is letting it sit in the refrigerator long enough for the flavors to meld and mellow. This is definitely one of those ‘better the second day’-type recipes.” Ingredients 2 ½ pounds of tomatoes (equates to 4-5 large tomatoes), cored and then cut into pieces 1 English cucumber, cut into chunks …


Economics & Investing For Preppers

Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. Most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today, we look at an upcoming auction of some iconic movie prop guns. (See the Tangibles Investing section.) Precious Metals: Video from Rafi Farber: Physical Gold Leaving Comex at All Time Record Pace. o  o Yes, there is indeed widespread metals markets manipulation: Two former JPMorgan metals traders found guilty in landmark ‘spoofing’ …