Today’s graphic: Marriage Rates By Congressional District Map. (Graphic courtesy of Reddit.)
The thumbnail below is click-expandable:
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Please send your graphic ideas to JWR. (Either via e-mail or via our Contact form.) Any graphics that you send must either be your own creation or uncopyrighted.
“Property is surely a right of mankind as real as liberty.” – John Adams
On December 8, 1864, the Clifton Suspension Bridge, designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, was finally opened in Bristol, England, five years after his death. The deck and cables that we see today are replacements, but the footings and towers are original.
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Today’s feature article is an open letter by SurvivalBlog Senior Editor, James Wesley, Rawles (JWR).
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We are seeking entries for Round 116 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $935,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 116 ends on January 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.
This article serves as an open letter, primarily to Tulsi Gabbard, President-elect Trump’s Director of National Intelligence (DNI) designee. It would also be of interest to planners in the CIA’s Directorate of Operations (DO). Take note that rather than re-hashing some well-documented historical subjects, I will be relying heavily on quoting the InfoGalactic Wiki. Also, note that this is an article about strategy rather than tactics.
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With casualties mounting after more than two years of intense fighting in Ukraine, the Ukrainian Army is quite simply losing its war of attrition against the combined Russian ground and air forces. Russia is a much larger nation with a much larger army and air force. In a war of attrition, time is on their side. Meanwhile, Ukraine is now running out of Military Age Males (MAMs). The MAM manpower shortage is now so acute that the Biden administration recently urged the Ukrainian government to start drafting 18-year-olds. The sad truth is that if the war drags on, by 2027 the Ukrainian Army will predominantly be composed of very young conscripts, and men in the 50s. Most of those in the ages between will be battlefield statistics. (Read: killed or permanently disabled.)
With that demographic imperative in mind, it seems obvious that in a best case, Ukraine will be forced to cede some territory in Crimea — the eastern portion of their nation — to the Russians, and parlay for peace. In a worst case, Russia will commit to a much longer war, and seek to conquer the proverbial “Whole Enchilada.” That would transform the war from a simple war of attrition and limited territorial conquest into a full-scale war of subjugation and genocide.
The fight that the Ukrainian armed forces have put up in defending its territory is commendable. But the sheer weight of the Russian forces and the Russian government’s willingness to fight a relatively static war of numbers has made the loss of some ground in Ukraine almost inevitable.
In rethinking the American strategy in Ukraine, one key aspect is contingency planning for if and when Ukraine is partly or entirely overrun by Russian forces. In my estimation, Moldova is similarly at risk. The thrust of this article is that the United States needs to develop a Stay Behind Strategy, in planning their military assistance for Ukraine, and possibly elsewhere in Eastern Europe, the Baltic nations, and Scandinavia.
Continue reading“A “Stay Behind” Strategy for Ukraine and Moldova”
The latest meme created by JWR:
Meme Text:
Project Camel Smoke: Step 1: Joe Biden Pardons Hunter Biden.
Step 2: Joe Resigns and Kackling Kamala Becomes “The First Female President” Step 3: President Harris Conveniently Pardons Joe Biden
News Links:
Notes From JWR: Do you have a meme idea? Just e-mail me the concept, and I’ll try to assemble it. And if it is posted then I’ll give you credit. Thanks!
Permission to repost memes that I’ve created is granted, provided that credit to SurvivalBlog.com is included.
“We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;
Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed.” – 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (KJV)
On December 7, 1909, inventor Leo Baekeland patented the first thermosetting plastic, Bakelite. This sparked the birth of the plastics industry. By the 1930s, the majority of tabletop radios had Bakelite cabinets.
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On this day in 43 B.C., Roman orator and politician Marcus Tullius Cicero was assassinated in Formiae by soldiers under the command of Mark Antony.
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December 7, 1703: The Great Storm of 1703 hit Southern England – thousands were killed, Royal Navy losses included 13 ships and around 1,500 seamen.
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On a Sunday morning in 1941, America was caught sleeping. Then there was that September morning, in 2001. Let’s pray that we don’t have any more days like those, ever again. – JWR
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Today’s feature article is by JWR.
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We are seeking entries for Round 116 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $935,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 116 ends on January 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.
The title of this article might sound like the marquee sign for a magic act. But this piece is more like a segment of Ian McCollum’s Forgotten Weapons video series.
In the late 1860s, the Swiss inventor and gunmaker Johann-Friedrich Vetterli designed a bolt-action repeating rifle (“Repetiergewehr“) that was a true innovation. With its very large magazine capacity, I consider the Vetterli an 1870s Sturmgewehr predecessor.Continue reading“The Amazing Vetterli”
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 ‘n Sods Column or in the Snippets column. Let’s keep busy and be ready!
We had a great two-day belated Thanksgiving visit with our kids and grandkids last weekend, here at the ranch. As usual, our #1 Son Jonathan cut a Christmas tree out in our woods, to take home with him.
On Monday and Tuesday, we slaughtered and butchered two batches of excess roosters. On Monday we did a dozen. On Tuesday we butchered ten more. As usual, I did the slaughtering, beheading, de-legging, gutting, and wingtip removal. Lily did the scalding, plucking, carcass cleanup, and freezer-bagging. Of the thirteen that were skinned, Lily boiled down 11 of them. Those were deboned and the meat put in quart freezer bags and frozen.
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Now, Lily’s part of the report…Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”
Today is the birthday of RAF and RCAF fighter ace George Frederick “Buzz” Beurling. (Pictured, at right.) He was born in Verdon, Quebec on December 6, 1921, and died in Rome, Italy, May 20, 1948. There are a few books about him and one worth mentioning is his autobiography Malta Spitfire which he wrote in 1943 during a Victory Bond tour in Canada. He left the RCAF in about April 1944 with 31 kills, most of them during the siege of Malta in the summer of 1942.
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Today is also the birthday of “claymation” artist and filmmaker Nick Park (born, 1958.) He is best known for his Wallace & Gromit films.
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On December 6th, 1865, the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, ending the institution of slavery. “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” With these words, the single greatest change wrought by the Civil War was officially noted in the Constitution.
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Today we present another entry for Round 116 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:
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More than $935,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 116 ends on January 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.
(Continued from Part 3. This concludes the article.)
– If you have enough people, assemble a minimum of six stretcher bearers and a team leader for even the shortest move- in dark and confined spaces use at least one person to light and / or guide the way
– avoid hurry
– wear safety helmets and work gloves and protective ‘work’ boots
– drape the patient with a heavy blanket if moving / waiting in cold weather and exposed places but leave eyes / face exposed so patient can breathe
– at all times when stretcher is not level keep patient’s head above the level of his feet unless instructed otherwise by a medical / nursing professional
Note that these next carry methods are NOT recommended when the patient has not (yet) been checked and cleared by medical staff as free from any injury or condition which careless handling could make worse, such as a spinal injury. However, in the event of a fire or similar emergency when to save the patient’s and your life you must evacuate the patient immediately from where you find him, these techniques may be appropriate.Continue reading“Improvised Casualty Retrieval and Transport – Part 4, by R.D.J.”
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, another sobering look at the National Debt. (See the National Debt and Deficit section.) Oh, before you jump to the conclusion that I picked an “old” photo of the National Debt Clock… It is only about four years old. That is how rapidly the National Debt has blossomed.
Largest gold deposit in the world worth $83 billion found in China.
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Gold-Backed Or Bust: Judy Shelton’s Plan To Tame The Fed And Restore The Dollar.
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Florida Authorities Recover 37 Gold Coins Stolen From 1715 Fleet Shipwrecks.
US consumer price increases accelerated last month with inflation pressures resilient.
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California Private Sector Employment Has Collapsed.
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Reader E.S. sent this: 2025 Could Be Horrendous for Car Sales. It’s a Huge Test for EVs.
“Our nation was founded on the basic idea that the people we elect run the government. That isn’t how America functions today. Most legal edicts aren’t laws enacted by Congress but “rules and regulations” promulgated by unelected bureaucrats—tens of thousands of them each year. Most government enforcement decisions and discretionary expenditures aren’t made by the democratically elected president or even his political appointees but by millions of unelected, unappointed civil servants within government agencies who view themselves as immune from firing thanks to civil-service protections
This is antidemocratic and antithetical to the Founders’ vision. It imposes massive direct and indirect costs on taxpayers. Thankfully, we have a historic opportunity to solve the problem. On Nov. 5, voters decisively elected Donald Trump with a mandate for sweeping change, and they deserve to get it.
President Trump has asked the two of us to lead a newly formed Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, to cut the federal government down to size. The entrenched and ever-growing bureaucracy represents an existential threat to our republic, and politicians have abetted it for too long. That’s why we’re doing things differently. We are entrepreneurs, not politicians. We will serve as outside volunteers, not federal officials or employees. Unlike government commissions or advisory committees, we won’t just write reports or cut ribbons. We’ll cut costs.
We are assisting the Trump transition team to identify and hire a lean team of small-government crusaders, including some of the sharpest technical and legal minds in America. This team will work in the new administration closely with the White House Office of Management and Budget. The two of us will advise DOGE at every step to pursue three major kinds of reform: regulatory rescissions, administrative reductions and cost savings. We will focus particularly on driving change through executive action based on existing legislation rather than by passing new laws.” – Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, from a Wall Street Journal editorial, describing their goals for the Department of Government Efficiency
On December 5, 1408: The Golden Horde, led by Emir Edigu, reached Moscow.
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December 5th,1456: An earthquake struck Naples, killing an estimated 35,000 people.
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December 5, 1766: Christie’s held their first sale in their permanent saleroom in Pall Mall, London. The firm is now the world’s largest auction house.
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On December 5th, 1964, the first Medal of Honor awarded to a serviceman for action in Vietnam was presented to Captain Roger Donlon, a Special Forces officer.
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Today we present another entry for Round 116 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:
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More than $935,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 116 ends on January 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.
