Category: Odds ‘n Sods

Our Editor at Large, Michael Z. Williamson, sent us a news story of Nanny State Britannia Run Amok. I was dumbfounded by the descriptions of police holding back neighbors that wanted to bring ladders to rescue the family. This is the same country where homeowners have been charged with felonies for defending their own homes from armed intruders. The whole “only trained professionals” mindset infuriates me. It diverges 180 degrees from the Rawlesian Survivalist view. I believe that all adult citizens should be prepared, trained, willing, and able, to act promptly and decisively in emergencies. Seeing this article reminded me …

Semper Cynicus sent us this gem: Chechen soldiers’ Flinstonian phone charger. My father’s often quoted the old “Dollars to Sweat Ratio”. Assuming that hand tools were used, this is obviously a prime example of the “high sweat” end of the scale!    o o o I just heard that Ready Made Resources. now has just nine of the Warrior Aid and Litter Kits left on hand. If you need one of these very comprehensive medic kits for your retreat, order it soon!    o o o From FloridaGuy: Urban coyote attacks on the rise, alarming residents    o o o …

John C. set this this from Yahoo’s Green Home page: Twelve amazing shipping container houses    o o o Reader Rick D.sent this about detergent smugglers Spokane residents smuggle suds over green brands    o o o From FloridaGuy: More and more city folk are raising chickens    o o o Also from FloridaGuy: Toy-gun sales ban advances to Arkansas House. FloridaGuy’s comment: “‘Your sons will play with dolls.’ This is just more nanny-state foolishness.”

In the “Why am I Not Surprised?” Department: Clinton targets assault weapons. “US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says she’ll be arguing for tougher gun controls as part of efforts to help Mexico fight violent drugs cartels.” Okay, so let me get this straight: Hitlery says that we should give up our Second Amendment rights in order to stop drug gangs from misusing guns in Mexico. What is next? Giving up our First Amendment rights, in order to stop libel and slander in Canada? (They might use American-made typewriters and bullhorns, dontcha-know…) OBTW, here is the none-too-subtle spin on this …

Cheryl noticed this over at Steve Quayle’s site: Growing Food in Times of Scarcity    o o o Thanks to regular content contributor HPD for sending this: America’s Abandoned Cities    o o o Vasiilly e-mailed me to mention the Still Tasty web site, where there is lots of data on the shelf lives of various foods.    o o o Currie sent a link to an interesting PDF at a web site in Canada that describes how to used cooking oil for fuel.

Just when you thought that you had all the eventualities covered: Komodo dragons kill Indonesian fisherman. (A hat tip to Tamara’s View From The Porch blog, for the link.)    o o o I was recently contacted by a producer with GRB Entertainment. She wrote: “We are currently looking for a travel expert/adventurer/survivalist who might be interested in hosting a television series. We need someone who is very outgoing and social while also having knowledge in survivalist skills. They can have a military background or just knowledge in the field and we’re preferably looking for a male around the age …

Thanks to Cheryl (aka The Economatrix) for sending this: How To Grow Strawberries At Home To Start Your Victory Garden    o o o The current huge popularity of gardening books (like the Square Foot Gardening book–presently #23 on Amazon.com), is obviously much more than just a seasonal blip. People are clearly getting quite concerned about the economy. So it is just a display of good old-fashioned common sense for folks to revert to self-sufficiency mode. I’m glad to see this happen. Two other popular books that are riding this wave of popularity are: Gardening When It Counts by Steve …

Shades of The Magnificent Seven : Rural Mexican villages dig moats to repel gangsters    o o o JRH Enterprises is running another great sale on brand new AN/PVS-14 (Generation 3) night vision goggles. These are the genuine article!    o o o Alaskan volcano Mount Redoubt erupts. To my readers in Alaska and northern Canada: Got plenty of spare air filters for your vehicles? You may need them! (“Panic now, and beat the rush.”)    o o o The recent tragic death of several Oakland, California police officers illustrates that criminals don’t obey gun laws. (The shooter, Lovelle Mixon, …

Reader Kevin A. notes that the recent “Do it to save Mexico” spin on civilian disarmament proposals is still being touted: California Senator Diane Feinstein Urges Tougher Gun Laws to Prevent Mexico Violence    o o o An old friend of mine sent this: EBay’s Omidyar: Obama-backing Hamas-talking billionaire in Hawaii, expecting disaster    o o o Reader Greg I. mentioned that he just got one of these fashion statements. (See today’s Quote of the Day.)

Reader Mike S. sent this: Gun sales going ballistic: Fears of regulation, crime spur sales of firearms and ammo. Here is an important paragraph was buried near the end of the article: “One northern Warren County resident found out recently the government is paying attention to such ammunition sales. West said a customer of his recently stocked up on .223-caliber rounds, a caliber often used in assault-style weapons. The customer bought 1,000 rounds a few months ago through a mail order company. Shortly after the purchase, he received a visit from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, whose interest was …

Several readers sent us this:White House to break ground on ‘kitchen garden’ SurvivalBlog reader Don W. quipped: “Hey, they already have the guns and the gold. And that Marine [One] helicopter makes one heck of a Get Out of Dodge vehicle.”    o o o From Markku: FCC raids gang-sponsored pirate radio station in Florida    o o o So much for CCW in National Parks: (Thanks to Bill N. for the link.)    o o o From reader FloridaGuy: San Diego [California] Police Fear Growing Number of Activists Carrying Guns Openly. California’s quirky open carry law dates back to …

Hawaiian K. and Chris were the first of several readers to mention an article about statist politics: Who owns Colorado’s rainwater? (In Hawaii, where rainwater catchment is the norm, a law like that would probably trigger a revolt.)    o o o HPD spotted this: Catastrophic Fall in 2009 Global Food Production    o o o Perhaps there are few survival nuggets in a news article on the life of Popcorn Sutton, a moonshiner from Maggie Valley, North Carolina.(A tip of the hat to Matt H., for the link.) Judging from his picture, who would have ever guessed that he …

Some good news! The US military’s “fired brass destruction” policy change turned out to be very short-lived. It has just been reversed. To begin with, the policy change was intended only for military brass that is OCONUS, not in CONUS. (If you have a fast Internet connection, then see this PDF., but was apparently over-applied ) I also got some information from Gary Marbut, president of the Montana Shooting Sports Association (by way of a SurvivalBlog reader up in Montana): “I just received a phone call from the office of U.S. Senator Tester of Montana to inform me that at …

 Last year, I featured a link to the captivating website of a retiree that had custom-built a horse-drawn “RV”. I just heard that he had an unfortunate accident. Prayers, please.    o o o From Cheryl: Many People are Raising Their Own Food to Save    o o o Our friend Bob in Tennessee mentioned a piece at the WRSA site, titled: Peggy Noonan Goes Doomer. The article references this article in The Wall Street Journal: There’s No Pill for This Kind of Depression    o o o Skip flagged this: Gun Advocates Ready for Battle on Federal Assault Weapons …

I had this piece from Cheryl slated for the Economics section, but I decided to move it down to Odds ‘n Sods since it is related to practical preparedness: Dollars From Dirt: Economy Spurs Home Garden Boom    o o o From Paul in Kentucky: World Demand for Safe Drinking Water is Rising, U.N. Warns    o o o The Los Angeles Times profiles Neil Strauss, the author of a new book on preparedness: What’s new now: He’s ready for emergencies.    o o o Several readers forwarded me the link to this article on the erosion of free speech