Preparedness Notes for Saturday — August 6, 2022

On 6 August 2011, a U.S. CH-47D Chinook military helicopter operating with the call sign Extortion 17 (spoken “one-seven”) was shot down while transporting an Immediate Reaction Force attempting to reinforce a Joint Special Operations Command unit of the 75th Ranger Regiment in the Tangi Valley in Maidan Wardak province, southwest of Kabul, Afghanistan. The resulting crash killed all 38 people on board – 25 US Navy SEALs, one pilot and two crewmen of the United States Army Reserve, one pilot and one crewman of the United States Army National Guard, seven members of the Afghan National Security Forces, and …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord, and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and forsook the Lord, and served not him. And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands of the children of Ammon. And that year they vexed and oppressed the children of Israel: eighteen years, all the …


Preparedness Notes for Friday — August 5, 2022

On 5 August, 1923, Hinderikus (“Henk”) Lucas Visser was born in Groningen, Holland. A veteran of the Dutch resistance during World War II, he was later involved in the CETME rifle project, the HK G3 rifle program, and several of Eugene Stoner’s projects, most notably the Stoner 63A1. He also did weapons design and tooling development for Mauser and Oerlikon. He was an ardent gun collector, whose collection formed the core of what became the Rijksmuseum gun collection in The Netherlands. (Pictured.) August 5th is also the sad anniversary of the Mann Gulch Fire in Montana that took the lives …


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, more about the looming threat of a magazine ban in the United States. (See the Tangibles Investing section.) Precious Metals: Is Silver A Better Investment Than Gold Right Now? o  o  o A video interview: Gold does well during inflation, recession: Is gold or real estate a better investment? – Jeff Clark. …



Preparedness Notes for Thursday — August 4, 2022

On August 4th, 1944, 15-year-old Jewish diarist Anne Frank and her family were captured by the Nazi Gestapo. The Franks had taken shelter in a small space in a sealed-off area of an Amsterdam warehouse along with another Jewish family and a single Jewish man. They were aided by Christian friends who brought them food and supplies. Her diary survived the war, overlooked by the Gestapo, but Anne and nearly all of the others perished in the Nazi death camps. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 102 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes …


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 threat posed by the inevitable repeat of a Carrington Event scale solar storm. FEMA Report: 4 to 10 Years Without Electricity After Major Solar Storm FEMA Warning: 10 Years …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — August 3, 2022

On August 3rd, 1914, Germany and France both declared war on each other, formally beginning the First World War. — We have revised our rules for the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. Writers are now eligible to win any of the top three prizes once every six months. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 102 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000. …


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. — “Wolverines!” As evidenced by the photo topping this column, the Ukrainians are still putting up a spirited resistance to the invading Russian army. But sadly, both troop numbers and time are not on their side. We can assume that the Russians will maintain their resolve, even when continuing to take huge troop and …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — August 2, 2022

August 2nd was the birthday of Peter O’Toole (1932–2013). When his name is mentioned, Lawrence of Arabia immediately comes to mind. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present the first entry for Round 102 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value), A course …


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 focus on the Moose Fire, in east-central Idaho. (See the Idaho section.) Idaho Thunderstorms fuel Moose fire activity. o  o  o New aerial technology helping crews battle Moose Fire. o  o  o At Fox News: Idaho sheriff sends dire warning to ‘idiotic’ Biden officials: …



Preparedness Notes for Monday — August 1, 2022

On August 1, 1941 the first U.S. military Jeep rolled off the assembly line. On August 1, 1958 the US 1st class postage was increased to 4 cents. (It had been 3 cents for 26 years.) Today is the anniversary of the general uprising against the German occupation, in Warsaw, in 1944. Like the Warsaw Jewish Ghetto uprising in April of 1943, it was doomed to failure. The uprising was eventually crushed, with massive civilian casualties. There was no support provided by the Allies. The advancing Soviet Red Army–just a few miles to the east–merely waited and watched. It was …