Economics & Investing Media of the Week

In Economics & Investing Media of the Week we feature photos, charts, graphs, maps, video links, and news items of interest to preppers.  This week: A map showing the hours of minimum wage work needed for rent, as of 2025. The thumbnail below is click-expandable.       (Graphic courtesy of Reddit.) Economics & Investing Links of Interest Reported on March 6th: Oil surges 35% this week for biggest gain in futures trading history dating back to 1983. Oil soars then retreats, gold drops as Iran war jolts global commodity markets. Venezuela Inflation Hit 475% In 2025, The World’s Highest …


The Editors’ Quote Of The Day:

“We are all tattooed in our cradles with the beliefs of our tribe; the record may seem superficial, but it is indelible. You cannot educate a man wholly out of the superstitious fears which were early implanted in his imagination; no matter how utterly his reason may reject them, he will still feel as the famous woman did about ghosts, Je n’y crois pas, mais je les crains, — “I don’t believe in them, but I am afraid of them, nevertheless.”  – Oliver Wendell Holmes


Preparedness Notes for Thursday — March 12, 2026

March 12, 1850: The first US $20 gold piece (dubbed the Liberty Head, Coronet, or “Double Eagle”) was issued.  Later issues had the “In God We Trust” motto (as pictured above), so the early issues are now called “No Motto” coins by collectors. — March 12, 1940: Finland signed the Moscow Peace Treaty, capitulating to Russia and ceding 11% of their pre-WWII territory, ending the “Winter War”. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 123 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Gunsite Academy Three-Day Course Certificate. This …


The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods. This column is 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. In today’s column: The Iran War and still more AI threats. The Iran Missile and Drone War Iran’s missile math: $20,000 drones take on $4 million Patriots.  Here is a key …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — March 11, 2026

On March 11, 1708, Queen Anne withheld Royal Assent from the Scottish Militia Bill. This was the last time that a British monarch vetoed legislation. — March 11, 1897: A meteor entered the Earth’s atmosphere and exploded over New Martinsville, West Virginia. The debris caused damage, but no human injuries were reported. — And on March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared that the COVID-19 outbreak was a pandemic. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 123 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Gunsite Academy Three-Day …


SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

Our weekly Snippets column is a collection of short items: 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, over at Zero Hedge: The Fix Is in to Defeat Alberta Independence. o  o  o This piece by Paul Joseph Watson if one for the “England Has Fallen” file: He Didn’t See This Coming o  o  o A quite useful video: Installing My Underground Propane Tank.  JWR’s Comments: The crucial …


The Editors’ Quote Of The Day:

“What then is the spirit of liberty? I cannot define it; I can only tell you my own faith. The spirit of liberty is the spirit which is not too sure that it is right; the spirit of liberty is the spirit which seeks to understand the minds of other men and women; the spirit of liberty is the spirit which weighs their interest alongside its own without bias; the spirit of liberty remembers that not even a sparrow falls to earth unheeded; the spirit of liberty is the spirit of him who, near two thousand years ago, taught mankind …


Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — March 10, 2026

On  March 10, 1831, the French Foreign Legion was established by King Louis-Philippe to support his war in Algeria. — March 10, 1891: Almon Brown Strowger, an undertaker in Topeka, Kansas, patented the Strowger Switch, a device which led to the automation of telephone circuit switching. — And on March 10, 1910, China officially ended slavery. But unofficially, China now has one of the world’s largest slave populations. These are mostly political prisoners, working in prison factories. Sadly, there is no way of reliably knowing whether or not most of the “Made In China” merchandise that you buy might originate …


SurvivalBlog’s American Redoubt Media of the Week

This weekly column features media 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.  Today, a public domain photo of the Palouse Hills at sunset in late summer, by Alejandro Rodriguez.  The thumbnail photo below is click-expandable. Redoubt News Links Another news item to file under “Perps from outside the Redoubt”: Man arrested after backpack explosion at gold mining event at Kootenai County Fairgrounds. Sen. Tim Sheehy Helps Tackle Protester Brian McGinnis – Whose Arm Appears to Snap in Wild Scene. Feds: …



Preparedness Notes for Monday — March 9, 2026

On March 9, 1776, Adam Smith published the influential economics book “The Wealth of Nations”. — March 9, 1916: Pancho Villa‘s men killed more than a dozen in a raid on Columbus, New Mexico. — March 9, 1945, the U.S. Army Air Forces bombed Tokyo with napalm, causing fires that destroyed a quarter of the city and killed some 80,000 civilians. — Today’s feature is by SurvivalBlog Field Gear Editor Tom Christianson. — We still need entries for Round 123 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $981,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this …


Recipe of the Week:

The following recipe for Roasted Asparagus with Garlic is from SurvivalBlog reader Callie B. Ingredients 1 large bunch of fresh asparagus, washed and with woody butt ends cut off 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced 3 Tablespoons olive oil Sea salt (to taste) Black pepper, preferably freshly ground. (To taste) Directions Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Place the asparagus spears in a large bowl then add the olive oil and garlic and toss to coat them. Season with salt and pepper (to taste). Transfer the asparagus spears onto a thick metal baking sheet and arrange in one even layer …


SurvivalBlog Graphic of the Week

Today’s graphic: U-Haul 2025 Growth Index. (Graphic courtesy of Reddit.)  It is obvious that the Inland Northwest, the Southeast, and Texas are the winners, while the increasingly socialist California, Illinois, New Jersey, and New York are the losers. The thumbnail below is click-expandable.       — Please send your graphics or graphics links to JWR. (Either via e-mail or via our Contact form.) Any graphics that you send must either be your own creation or uncopyrighted.


The Editors’ Quote Of The Day:

“Who’s going to trust the British media when we know now for a fact that the Trusted News Initiative is an organization of media partners that recognize that their real enemy is independent media? Their enemy, they’re not competing with one another anymore. They’re competing against independent media. It became very clear in COVID. It wasn’t a revolutionary moment. It was a revelationary moment where a lot of people saw for the first time [that] you can’t trust your government. You can’t trust your media. You can’t trust corporations. They’re there to control you. They require that you are ignorant …