Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader Pierre M. sent: Break Up: Will California splinter into six states? Voters, Congress could soon decide. [JWR’s Comments: Looking at the way their proposed state lines are drawn, it would appear that three of the new states would be libertarian/conservative while the other three would be statist/liberal. California’s present two senate seats are currently held by ultra-liberals. They would be succeeded by 12 senators — and presumably that would mean six libertarians/conservatives and six statists/liberals.] While the plan might seem like giving inordinate political power to the populace of what is now the single state of California, this fragmentation …



Notes from JWR:

For those who are waiting, be advised that the updated and expanded SurvivalBlog 2005-2013 Archive DVD should be available for ordering before the end of January. It will include even more bonus content than previous editions. — Today is the birthday of several notables: Senator Rand Paul (born 1963), Cresson Kearny (born 1914, died December 18, 2003), and Bent Faurschou-Hviid (born 1921, died October 18, 1944.) “The Flame” was a red-haired Danish resistance fighter in the Holger Danske Group during World War II. His exploits were dramatized in the movie Flame and Citron. — Today we present another entry for …


Building Your Own No-FFL AR From an 80% Complete Receiver, by Nomad

We live in very uncertain times. For some people, myself included, those times of uncertainty include anything from some financial hardship, to total economic ruin. In knowing this simple truth, I am inspired to share my knowledge and expertise concerning firearms preparedness: in particular, the AR-15 platform and a truly inexpensive option to owning one that is on-par with buying a much less versatile bolt-action rifle. For many of us struggling to make ends meet, an entry-level AR-15 is priced far beyond anything we can hope to afford. Starting at around $800 before background checks, taxes and licensing fees, the …


Letter Re: Diabetics in Disaster

Mr Rawles, I read Meir L.’s “Diabetics in Disaster,” and I found the post very thorough and informative. I just wanted to add a few tips: 1) Cinnamon and Cranberries are a natural way to lower your blood sugar level. Additionally, there is an over the counter supplement called Cinnergen that is a mix of the two in a liquid form. 2) Remember artificial sweetener. Coffee and tea can be bitter and undrinkable without sugar. Also, growing sorghum is a great alternative to sugar, and it can be replaced after the SHTF. Read more at The Mother Earth News and …


News From The American Redoubt:

I heard about a company in Rexburg, Idaho with a clever spin on working around magazine capacity restrictions: Maghack.com. (Note: Folks who live in self-defense oppressed states should consult their state and local before ordering.)    o o o Meanwhile, in Wyoming, the law of averages catches up with them: Woman shot at Lowe’s after gun drops from holster. (Or at least, that was their story…)    o o o Idaho’s version of “reindeer” more elusive than ever    o o o New Year Likely To Bring More ‘Megaload’ Fights


Economics and Investing:

The latest video from Peter Schiff: We Have A Phony Economic Recovery More hilarious commentary from Richard Daughty: Cosmically Timeless Mogambo Monetary And Investment Wisdom (CTMMAIW) H.L. sent: Portugal’s Baby Bust Is A Stark Sign Of Hard Times Items from The Economatrix: How Will The Economy Improve In 2014 If Almost Everyone Has Less Money To Spend? The Great Income Divide: IRS Data Shows 50 Percent Of Households Make Less Than $35,000 Per Year. Top 10 Percent Pay 68 Percent Of Income Taxes. Market Crash In the Works: “A Canary May Have Just Keeled Over”


Odds ‘n Sods:

To follow up on a post I made on Monday, I mentioned this article: Justice Department Pays Linkedin $500,000 For Unlimited Access To Your Personal Information, wherein I noted that the company name: “Carahsoft” sounded suspicious, since “Carah” is an anagram for “Hacar” which of could be spoken “Hacker.” On Tuesday a reader wrote to mention that the company’s founder first named his daughter Carah. (Like the company, Carah Abod is now in her early 20s,) It is noteworthy that Carah (with a trailing “h”) is an extremely rare name–both as a given name and as a surname. So this …



Annual Reminder: The Ten Cent Challenge

Not counting editorial salaries, SurvivalBlog has more than $22,000 per year in annual operating costs including our fully redundant servers in Colorado and Sweden. We need this redundancy because we’ve been attacked (DDOS ping flooding) by malicious hackers, on several occasions. Unlike most publications, our subscriptions are 100% voluntary. And we only make one annual post every January to remind our readers to subscribe or renew, and this is it. We are not like other organizations on the Internet that are endlessly begging, so you hear this this just once a year. We don’t want to pester anyone. Here is …


Seven Ways to Save Money Under Obamacare, by Cynthia J. Koelker, MD

With 2014 and the enactment of Obamacare only days away, we’re all wondering what this so-called Affordable Care Act will really cost us.  Will your premiums be higher?  Or your deductible?  Will you lose employer-based coverage?  Will your doctor simply give up and retire?  But Obamacare is not all bad.  I view it as a wake-up call.  In fact, I wouldn’t be writing this article nor teaching people survival medicine skills if not for our current president.  People tend to blame Obamacare for all the upcoming health care woes, but many of the looming hassles (from a doctor’s point of …


Pat’s Product Review: Benchmade’s 810BK Contego Folder

I love pocket knives! I carry one or two on my person every single day. A pocket knife gets used almost daily, whereas, my handgun on my right hip, is there for when really bad things happen. I couldn’t get along with some kind of folding knife in my pocket – UPS, FedEx and USPS bring packages to me almost daily, and a good sharp knife does the job of opening the boxes in short order. I honestly can’t remember a time when I didn’t carry some kind of pocket knife – even as a kid back in Chicago, as …


Pat’s Product Review: Leatherman Surge – Improved

If you don’t know about Leatherman multi-tools, you must have had your head in the sand for a lot of years. Today, we’re taking a look at the improved Surge  multi-tool. To be sure, if you are serious about Prepping, Survival, hunting or working around your homestead – you absolutely, should have a multi-tool on-hand. My “Blast” Leatherman (sadly, now discontinued) is on my belt every single day, right there, next to my spare magazine, for whatever handgun I’m packing. And, it goes without saying, the multi-tool is used a lot more than my handgun is. The Leatherman “Surge” is …


Bangladesh Troubles Continue, by Michael Z. Williamson

The current situation in Bangladesh bears mention. Here is a recent news headline: The Economist terms JS polls ‘electoral farce’ The majority of “uncontested”seats were appointed by the current Prime Minister, per my correspondent.  The largest opposition party is being harassed and restricted, the party head is under house arrest though the government claims the barricades and trucks are “for her protection.” The second largest is terrorist-connected Jemaat Islamiya, who may be less violent than the government. For further reading: NDTV, Ajkal journos fail to meet Khaleda ‘Action against saboteurs after polls’ I’m under house arrest: Khaleda – Michael Z. …


Letter Re: A Inexpensive Source for Israeli Battle Dressings

Good morning! Yesterday I received an order for Israeli bandages, ordered direct [from Israel], from: IsraeliFirstAid.com. I placed the order on 12/6/13 and received it 1/3/13. Not bad considering it was in international order/shipment. The bandages are well packaged, dated, vacuum sealed. I applied my own labels to them as these packages are in Hebrew and English, and would be a little hard to quickly decipher, particularly in a stressful situation. The prices are good and shipping was only $4 (see below). I ordered the following: 4″ Israeli Bandage with Pressure Bar 1    $5.79 USD    $5.79 USD 6″ Israeli …