Economics and Investing:

North Dakota might have the strongest labor market in the world, with a jobless rate in the Bakken of less than 0.50%. (Adjoining eastern Montana has also greatly benefited from the Bakken Boom.) Life in the Obama era: Private sector shrank in 41 states Dr. Marc Faber: “World Central Banks Are Going To Bankrupt The World!” Items from The Economatrix: More Americans Are Working, But Pay Is Low Prof:  America In Worse Fiscal Shape Than Detroit Low Wages Are Stalling America’s Economy


Odds ‘n Sods:

A reminder that Ready Made Resources is running a pre-Christmas sale on Mountain House foods until tomorrow (December 13, 2013) with 25% to 42% off free shipping, and on request they are willing to mix and match varieties in six-can cases with the varieties that they have on hand.    o o o Do you have an opinion on the introduction of Canadian timber wolves into the Lower 48 and removing wolves from the Endangered Species Act? Then please give Uncle Sam an earful! (The public comment deadline is December 17th.)    o o o Bill Buppert: Obama and the …



Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 50 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $9,400+ worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course. (A $1,195 value.) B.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795, and C.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $350 value.) …


Marksmanship, by Josh B., USMC

The Basics There is a huge focus on stocking firearms, spare parts and ammunition, but using firearms and learning the fundamentals of marksmanship seem to have a little less importance. Not necessarily that it is not important to learn the fundamentals of marksmanship, but more to the fact that it takes quite a bit of dedication and on going training to become proficient using them. I find, being an NRA and USMC instructor, that some people share the idea that they are proficient because they “have been shooting their whole life”. Some of these people assume that they understand proper …


Avalanche Lily’s Book Review: Prepper Pete Prepares

We recently received a review copy of the children’s book “Prepper Pete Prepares.” It was quite well done and very thorough in the breadth of topics covered, and had excellent illustrations. Our young’uns and I read it through once and it was so funny and packed full of information and talking points that we immediately read it again. The book is wonderfully politically incorrect, which caused lots of chuckles to erupt from all of us. I recommend getting a copy for any of your under-prepared relatives who have young children, to encourage their families to get ready. We only noticed …


Letter Re: Stronger Passwords for the Masses

Dear Editor, A long tome ago, I looked at diceware as Michael Z. Williamson mentioned (love that XKCD cartoon), and I don’t find it quite as robust as I would like for password generating (I have one diceware-ish password I use for convenience, but used a couple of foreign words and specific capitals as well). Creating a series of simple words that forces the attackers to use a brute force attack on it anyway, made me want to go out and find out a better way to find brute-force-resistant passwords. I found one (essentially, only one) really good password generator …


Economics and Investing:

Sherry K. suggested: Farmland holding value in tanked market Frequent content contributor H.L. sent this: Gold Smuggling Increases 7x In India And Surpasses Illegal Drug Trade J. McC. mentioned another peril of using social media: Two million Facebook, Gmail and Twitter passwords stolen in massive hack. [JWR’s Comment: In today’s world, your digital persona can be submitted as evidence in both civil and criminal trials. All that it would take is a malicious hacker gaining control of a moribund Facebook or Twitter account to commit wholesale character assassination that might not be detected for months or even years. You could …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Gee, what a concept: Take an under-powered varmint cartridge, and then down-load it to wimpy subsonic velocity. That sounds almost “less than lethal”, to me. In fact, the operative phrase might be: “Hits like a girl.” These wimpy loads will give your 5.56 NATO perhaps just a little more power than the FN 5.7×28 cartridge. My advice: If you truly need a suppressed AR, then get a dedicated .300 Blackout upper receiver group. (See the SurvivalBlog Archives for details.)    o o o The thin veneer: When policemen go on strike, the looters come out: Looting rife in Argentine city …



Note from JWR:

Infidel Body Armor is having a year-end are having a sale, with 5% off the entire store. So that averages about $25 off per order.  They tell me that if you order by the 18th of December, you will receive shipment it in time for Christmas. — Today we present another entry for Round 50 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $9,400+ worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course. (A $1,195 value.) B.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will …


Learning Prepper and Barter Skills at Your Local Dump, by Neil J.

Everyone these days is trying to budget and spend their hard earned money wisely. One place I found that I was able to spend a very limited amount or get items for free is at the local dump. It is a great place to accumulate items you could use in a SHTF situation. This may relate only to individuals living in suburban or city areas. There may be one in your county; it is important to find out if there is. If you have not been to your local recycle center or dump, you owe it to yourself to check …


Letter Re: Preparedness and Divorce

Mr. Rawles, I was happily married for 14 years.  I lived through hurricanes and snowstorms with my ex-wife.  We were preppers, with many firearms, ammunition, water filtration systems, storage food, etc.  One thing that was lacking was mental health.  She has suffered from long term mental problems for over a decade.  She tried to have me arrested as a domestic terrorist.  When that failed to happen, she tried to make me out as a child abuser.  When that failed, she divorced me, and forced a sale of all of our stored food, guns, ammunition, etc. I wanted to let your …


News From The American Redoubt:

Radio Free Redoubt will be broadcasting live on Wednesday, December 11, 2013. They will be broadcasting a concert in Cocolalla, Idaho featuring patriot singer-songwriter Jordan Page, kicking off his Northwest Liberty Tour.    o o o   Church plans fruit orchard in Boise’s North End    o o o Tim in Missoula liked this site: Made in Montana Products Directory    o o o Who says Idaho has no culture? A company in Cascade, Idaho proves that there is an active culture! In fact they have cultures from all around the world. (Thanks to Terry H. for the link.)    …


Economics and Investing:

Signs of the times: Kentucky town to pay police chief in Bitcoin. (A hat tip to Lynn G. for the link.) Marc Faber: World Bankers Are Going To Bankrupt The World G.G. flagged this: 41% of Net New Jobs in November Were in Government Items from The Economatrix: US Retailer Hell In One Chart Wages Relative To Profits Drop To All Time Low Big Banks Are Being Hit With Cyberattacks “Every Minute Of Every Day”