Potemkin Village on the Potomac

I’ll begin this essay with a bit of history, and then take a look at what I foresee in the near future of America. The “Potemkin Village” (Potyomkinskiye derevni) was an invention of Prince Grigory Aleksandrovich Potemkin-Tavricheski to impress Empress Catherine The Second (“Catherine the Great”), while she was traveling through Crimea, in 1787. As the story goes, along the banks of the Dnieper River, Potemkin had workmen erect a fake village, peopled with paid actors. This village was designed to give Catherine with the illusion of economic vibrancy in the region under the prince’s rule, as she floated by. After her …




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 renewed strength of the Swiss Franc. (See the Forex & Cryptos section.) Precious Metals: Turkey Buys All Remaining Wholesale Silver For The Year. o  o  o Commerzbank see gold rising on higher inflation expectations. o  o  o Gold price up as it appears inflation genie out of the …







Preparedness Notes for Thursday — October 28, 2021

Today is coincidentally the birthday of several gun designers: Wilhelm Bubits (born October 28, 1954) in Lutzmannsburg, is an Austrian handgun designer and creator of the Caracal Pistols (pictured) and Steyr Mannlicher M and S model pistols. As a hobby shooter and former police officer, Wilhelm Bubits used his experience and ideas about handguns to advance modern pistol design. Bubits worked for the Glock firearms company and in 1997 joined another Austrian weapons maker, Steyr Mannlicher. At Steyr, Bubits created the Steyr M and S pistols which were released to market beginning in 1999. In late 2002 Bubits worked with …




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 adverse events following Wu Flu jabs. COVID-19 VAERS: 800,000+ Adverse Events Reported I spotted this linked at the Whatfinger.com news aggregation site: COVID-19 VAERS Update: Over 800,000 Adverse Events Now Reported!  …










SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

This weekly column is a collection of short snippets: practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. We may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters. Simon in England passed along this instructional video link: BaoFeng Ham Radio From Noob to Skilled in 60 minutes. o  o  o Andre reminded me to mention this, about the Cumbre Vieja volcano, in Spain’s Canary Islands: La Palma’s volcanic eruption is going strong three weeks later. o  o  o This reporting runs contrary to the “Fauci wisdom”: Amish Covid. …







Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — October 26, 2021

Today is the birthday of Henry Deringer (October 26, 1786 – February 28, 1868). He was an American gunsmith. He is best known for inventing and giving his name to the very compact Deringer pistol. Pictured is the Philadelphia Deringer that was carried by John Wilkes Booth. October 26th is the anniversary of the death of American-born RLI Trooper Joseph Patrick Byrne, in Rhodesia, in 1978. Edward Wilson Very (born October 26, 1847, died March 1, 1910) was an American naval officer who adopted and popularized a single-shot breech-loading flare pistol that fired flares that bear his name. — SurvivalBlog …




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, we look at proposed changes to Montana’s wolf trapping and snaring regulations. (See the Montana section.) Region-Wide Fall color in the Inland Northwest. o  o  o Some fascinating data: Sources of Energy, By State. Note how much hydropower is produced in the Redoubt States. o  …







Preparedness Notes for Monday — October 25, 2021

A Special Note From JWR: I have some sad news. Reader Pam B. wrote to mention that Judge Steve Vandiver is reported to have passed away. Yes, the Steve Vandiver whom you know from SurvivalBlog. At least that is what I’m assuming — since his obituary matches several things he referenced in the article. If so, then we have lost a great patriot. Our condolences to his family. If you haven’t already done so, then please read his two-part article, that just ran this past weekend:  Part 1 and Part 2. — This is the birthday of explorer and pilot …




Recipe of the Week: Gwen’s Sazon Spiced Soup

The following Sazon Spiced Soup recipe is from SurvivalBlog reader Gwen. She writes:  “This is based on a recipe that was given to me but I changed four elements so I would say it qualifies as an original one. Ingredients 1 lb ground hamburger 1 bag of frozen mixed vegetables 2 – 32 oz Swanson Vegetable Broth 1/2 cup dry macaroni noodles 1 can of red beans 1-2 packages of Goya Sazon seasoning found in the Mexican aisle Directions Brown your hamburger or ground meat of choice and drain the fat. In a saucepan heat the broth to boiling and …




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 Joe Biden’s inflationary policies. (See the Inflation Watch section.) Precious Metals: Video interview: From ‘dead money’ to a breakout: Silver’s fortune is about to change. o  o  o Video: Why Silver Could Spike To $80 Or Higher. o  o  o “Gold Suppressed, Shelves Empty, Out-of-Control Fed” – Ron Paul. Economy …