Today’s graphic: A Map Showing the U.S. Homeless Population Change From 2023 to 2024. (Graphic courtesy of Reddit, based on HUD data.) 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.
“There is no greater tyranny than that which is perpetrated under the shield of the law and in the name of justice.” – Charles-Louis de Secondat, baron de la Brède et de Montesquieu, in The Spirit of the Laws
On January 19, 1883, the first electric lighting system employing overhead wires built by Thomas Edison, began service at Roselle, New Jersey. — January 19, 1915: Four people in Norfolk were killed in the first German Zeppelin air raid attack on the United Kingdom. — Today is the birthday of Carla Emery. (Born 1939, died October 11, 2005.) She is well known in self-sufficiency circles as the author of The Encyclopedia of Country Living. This book was recently re-released in a 40th Anniversary edition. Emery’s book is featured prominently in JWR’s Bookshelf Page. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present …
The latest meme created by JWR: Meme Text: “Millions” Worth of Hunter Biden’s Art Went Up In Flames, In The L.A. Fire “Like a Good Neighbor, State Farm Is There…” News Links: Hunter Biden artworks worth ‘millions of dollars’ destroyed in LA fires. A trove of nearly 200 artworks by Hunter Biden has been destroyed. LA Fires Claim Priceless Art. Posted one year ago: Kevin Morris gave ‘massive’ financial support to Hunter Biden, raising campaign finance concerns: Comer. Another from January, 2024: Hunter Biden KNEW most of his art buyers despite White House ethics plan to keep them secret, dealer …
“And they sought to lay hold on him, but feared the people: for they knew that he had spoken the parable against them: and they left him, and went their way. And they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch him in his words. And when they were come, they say unto him, Master, we know that thou art true, and carest for no man: for thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of God in truth: Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not? Shall we give, …
On January 18, 1258 the Mongol army of 150,000, led by Hulagu Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan, arrived at the walls of Baghdad. Following a 12-day siege, the city fell on February 13th. It was recorded that the majority of the city’s one million residents were massacred in less than two days. — January 18, 1923: The first radio telegraph message from the Netherlands was received successfully in the Dutch East Indies. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 116 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The …
To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make both long-term and short-term plans. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities and planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, ranch improvements, bug-out bag fine-tuning, 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 your e-mailed letters. We post many of those — or excerpts thereof — in the Odds …
“And Moses with the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, Keep all the commandments which I command you this day. And it shall be on the day when ye shall pass over Jordan unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, that thou shalt set thee up great stones, and plaister them with plaister: And thou shalt write upon them all the words of this law, when thou art passed over, that thou mayest go in unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, a land that floweth with milk and honey; as the Lord …
On January 17, 1746: In the Battle of Falkirk Muir, the Jacobites under Charles Stuart defeated Hanoverian forces. — Acting for Hawaiian sugar interests and their American allies, a committee led by Sanford Ballard Dole deposed Hawaiian Queen Liliuokalani on January 17, 1893 and installed a provisional government with Dole as president. — On this day in 1994 the 6.7 magnitude Northridge Earthquake struck Los Angeles. It caused about $20 billion in damage and killed 61 people. — Today is the last day to take advantage of the introductory sale price for the new two-volume Red State Relocation Guidebook. It …
Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. In this column, JWR also covers hedges, derivatives, and various obscura. This column emphasizes JWR’s “tangibles heavy” investing strategy and contrarian perspective. Today, we look at credit cards and their proper use. (See the Credit Card Use and Credit Card Debt section.) Precious Metals: China’s central bank purchases 10 tonnes of gold in December, analysts say it’s nowhere near done buying. JWR’s Comments: Those are just the official numbers on Chinese gold purchases. The word in the Comex …
“A state that denies its citizens their basic rights becomes a danger to its neighbors as well: internal arbitrary rule will be reflected in arbitrary external relations. The suppression of public opinion, the abolition of public competition for power and its public exercise opens the way for the state power to arm itself in any way it sees fit. … A state that does not hesitate to lie to its own people will not hesitate to lie to other states.” – Václav Havel
On this day in 27 BC, the title Augustus was bestowed upon Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian by the Roman Senate. — The Persian Gulf War, triggered by Iraq’s occupation of Kuwait in August 1990, began on this day in 1991 with a U.S.-led air offensive against Iraq that continued until a cease-fire was declared on February 28, 1991. — The Space Shuttle Columbia launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on January 16th, 2003. STS-107 would explode on re-entry 15 days later, killing all seven of the crew members on board. SurvivalBlog salutes all seven crewmembers: Commander Rick Husband, Pilot …
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, we look at preparedness for severe winter weather. Winter Weather Food Prepping A television news station in Alabama aired this segment: Winter Weather Food Prepping. JWR’s Comments: Last-minute …
“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 …
On January 15, 588 BC the army of Nebuchadrezzar II of Babylon laid siege to Jerusalem under Zedekiah’s reign. The siege lasted until July 23, 586 BC. — January 15, 1782: Robert Morris, Superintendent of Finance, recommended to the U.S. Congress the establishment of decimal coinage and a national mint. — Today is also the anniversary of the famed 2009 “Miracle On The Hudson” engines-out emergency water landing. — Sales of the new 2005-2024 SurvivalBlog waterproof archive sticks have been very brisk. One reader ordered 10 of them! For a full list of the included bonus books, see my post …
