The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“We would not be able to ignore the greatest threat western nations have faced in modern times – Radical Islamic Fundamentalism. It’s a different world, today. The Cold War and Mutual Assured Destruction almost look like the good old days. The enemy we face today will not go away, metamorphose or quit. We are in a fight to the death.” – The late Jerry Ahern, when asked if he and his wife were to write The Survivalist series today, what changes he would make. (From an interview in 2010.)


Editors’ Prepping Progress

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make long-term and short-term plans. Steadily, we work on meeting our prepping goals. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities. They also often share their planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, property improvements, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year. We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in the Comments. Let’s keep busy and be ready! …


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. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of JWR. (SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor.) Today’s focus is on investing in Semi-Numismatic Gold Coins. (See the Precious Metals section.)   Precious Metals (Semi-Numismatic Gold Coins): There is an opportunity that presently exists, while spot prices are low and numismatic prices are also low: buying semi-numismatic pre-1933 U.S. gold coins. These are generally coins …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Chess teaches foresight, by having to plan ahead; vigilance, by having to keep watch over the whole chess board; caution, by having to restrain ourselves from making hasty moves; and finally, we learn from chess the greatest maxim in life – that even when everything seems to be going badly for us we should not lose heart, but always hoping for a change for the better, steadfastly continue searching for the solutions to our problems.” – Benjamin Franklin


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Morals, including especially, our institutions of property, freedom and justice, are not a creation of man’s reason but a distinct second endowment conferred on him by cultural evolution – runs counter to the main intellectual outlook of the twentieth century. The influence of rationalism has indeed been so profound and pervasive that, in general, the more intelligent an educated person is, the more likely he or she now is not only to be a rationalist, but also to hold socialist views (regardless of whether he or she is sufficiently doctrinal to attach to his or her views any label, including …


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. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of JWR. (SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor.) Today’s focus is on investing in Graveyard Plots (See the Tangibles Investing section.)   Precious Metals: Eric Reed at The Street: Investing in Silver: Four Ways to Invest and Why o  o  o Gold, Silver Pressured By Firmer USDX, Rally In U.S. Stock Market Economy & Finance: Robert Shiller: …


JWR’s Recommendations of the Week:

Here are JWR’s Recommendations of the Week for various media and tools of interest to SurvivalBlog readers. This week the focus is on DIY home projects. (See the Instructional Videos section.) Books: Wranglerstar’s book published last year deserves a second mention: Modern Homesteading: Rediscovering the American Dream. o  o  o Home Workshop Setup: The Complete Guide (Home Woodworker Series) o  o  o Practical Woodshop Projects: 24 No-Nonsense Projects to Improve Your Shop o  o  o The Home Blacksmith: Tools, Techniques, and 40 Practical Projects for the Blacksmith Hobbyist   Movies & Television: The 12th Man.  An amazing true story of a …



Preparing to Survive Riots, Terrorist Attacks, or a Civil War

Of all of the “worst case” possibilities that we prepare for, near the top of my “most dreaded” list is a second civil war.  This falls in the category of a “highly unlikely, but profoundly inimical if it were to occur.”  In this essay, I will discuss a full spectrum of threats, including contingency preparations for surviving riots, terrorist attacks, or a civil war. I believe that the United States has entered a period of great instability, born of political divisiveness. The sharp differences between liberals and conservatives are now profoundly felt.  Virtually every topic and issue has become heavily …


SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

Here is SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt. This weekly column features news stories and event announcements from around the American Redoubt region. We also mention companies of interest to preppers that are located in the region. The emphasis this week is on American Redoubt coffee roasters. Many of these companies also do mailorder/Internet sales of their beans and ground coffee. I know that a lot of SurvivalBlog readers order their coffee from Black Rifle Coffee Company in Tennessee. But those of us who live here in the Redoubt can now support local businesses. And I have a suggestion that …



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. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of JWR. (SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor.) Today’s focus is on Palladium (See the Precious Metals section.)   Precious Metals (Palladium): The spot price of palladium is still looking strong. But if you see the global economy start to turn downward, it would probably be a good time to cash in and take your profit on …



Editors’ Prepping Progress

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make long-term and short-term plans. Steadily, we work on meeting our prepping goals. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities. They also often share their planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, property improvements, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year. We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in the Comments. Let’s keep busy and be ready! …


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. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of JWR. (SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor.) Today’s focus is on Swiss Watches. (See the Economy & Finance section.)   Precious Metals: I just did a quick calculation and found that the spot silver-to-spot gold ratio just hit 86.6-to-1. This is an ideal time to ratio trade out of gold, into silver. And if you …