Economics & Investing Media of the Week

In Economics & Investing Media of the Week we feature photos, charts, graphs, maps, video links, and news items of interest to preppers.

Economics & Investing Links of Interest

Last Call for more than 20 Ruger models! A news headline: Ruger Discontinues many models.

“Effective immediately, Ruger is ceasing production of its LCR, SP101, GP100 and Bearcat revolvers. The company plans to complete its final production runs of the following models for 2026: SR1911, LC Carbine, PC Charger, PC Carbine, LC Charger, Redhawk, Super Redhawk, Blackhawk, Super Blackhawk, Single-Series revolvers, Vaquero, No. 1, 77-Series rifles, Hawkeye and Ruger Precision Rifle.”

JWR’s Comments:  Some of these models will almost surely become collectible, quite soon. Prices will certianly rise on many discontinued mofels. I suggest buying these models “new in box” or ‘like-new in box” if they appeal to you — especially any with threaded muzzles, since suppressors are becoming very popular and are now much easier to either build or buy. Oh, and you might consider getting a stainless steel Super Redhawk chambered in .44 Magnum. Those are de rigueur for those of us living in bear country.

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Over at Whatfinger: Ray Dalio Warns of US Debt Crisis Within Three Years.

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From CNBC: Consumer prices rose 3.7% annually in September as gas prices skyrocket.

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Facial recognition, again: Vede Engel, Amanda Crafts Robbed Man In Hotel Room: Police.

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US Interest Costs Hit Record $1 Trillion, Risking Debt Snowball. JWR’s Comment:  I can clearly remember warnings about the National Debt approaching $1 Trillion, in 1976.  So, now just the annual interest cost on the National Debt is $1 Trillion. Federal spending has reached the Black Hole stage.

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The AI bubble is about to burst — and a big market correction is coming.

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In The Financial Times: America’s $10tn AI infrastructure boom is starting to fray.

Economics & Investing Media Tips:

Please send your economics and investing links to JWR. (Either via e-mail or via our Contact form.) Thanks!

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

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, mre AI-driven battlefield robots.

AI-Powered Robots Could Soon Dominate the Ukraine War

National Security Journal: Terminator in 2026: AI-Powered Robots Could Soon Dominate the Ukraine War and Change Everything.

The War Against The Machines Has Arrived

The War Against The Machines Has Arrived. JWR’s Comment:  I warned about the perils of autonomous lethal battlefield robotic vehicles without a Man In The Loop (MITL) back in 1989 when I was on the staff of Defense Electronics magazine. It just took  37 years for technology to catch up to my prediction.

Drone Awareness Kit: A Quick Guide For Small Teams

Reader Mike in Alaska recommended this very informative web page: Drone Awareness Kit: A Quick Guide For Small Teams.

Continue reading“The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods”

SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

Our weekly Snippets column is a collection of short items: responses to posted articles, practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. Note that we may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters.

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This video illustrates the effect of panic buying: Italy Stripped of Food, Fuel in 4 Days as Diesel Protests Block Deliveries.

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10 Practical Lessons for Concealed Carriers From the Zimmerman Trial.

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US appeals court invalidates federal $9 billion telecom subsidy fund.

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets”

SurvivalBlog’s American Redoubt Media of the Week

This weekly column features media from around the American Redoubt region. (Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and Wyoming.) Much of the region is also more commonly known as The Inland Northwest.

REDOUBT NEWS LINKS

Send Your Media Links

Please send your links to media from the American Redoubt region to JWR. Any photos that are posted or re-posted must be uncopyrighted. You can do so either via e-mail or via our Contact form.

 

Editors’ Prepping Progress

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!

Jim Reports:

We’ve returned from a week-long trip to California, to attend a family reunion. We logged more than 2,000 miles in our SUV. We didn’t do much vis-a-vis prepping this past week.

I did some weed-whacking after we got home to prepare a plot in our south acreage for discing. This will be the first time this soil has ever been cultivated, so it might be a challenge.  (Read: Lots of rocks.)

The general deer and elk season opens soon, so we plan to be out hunting a lot in the next three weeks.

Our senior ram from our wool/dairy flock battered down the end of his sheep corral fence, again.  This time I had to reinforce the fence with an additional fir 4×4, when I repaired it. This, by the way, was the same ram that head-butted into my leg, two weeks ago.

Now, Lily’s part of the report…

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

JWR’s Meme Of The Week:

The latest meme created by JWR:

Meme Text:

Please Help Me Understand: Liberals Tell Me That A Man Can’t Hold An Opinion On Abortion Because He Doesn’t Have a Uterus

But They Also Tell Me That That A Biological Man Can Become A “Woman” , Without A Uterus

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.

Preparedness Notes — October 13, 2026

This Week in History:

The Battle of Kappel was fought on October 11, 1531. Swiss Roman Catholic cantons defeated the Protestant forces of Zurich. In the battle, reformation leader Huldrych Zwingli leader was killed.

October 12, 1773: America’s first asylum opened for ‘Persons of Insane and Disordered Minds’ in Virginia.

October 12, 1901: Theodore Roosevelt renamed the “Executive Mansion” as “The White House”.

And on October 13, 1773, the Whirlpool Galaxy was discovered by French astronomer Charles Messier.

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I recently added more than 250 rifle and pistol magazines to the Elk Creek Company inventory. Many of these were dusted off from Jim’s Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (JASBORR). Be sure to place your order while there is still a good selection.- JWR

The Newly-Released ATF NFA Guidance: Drill Baby, Drill!

I’ve had several more readers contact me in the past week, asking about the Guidance from the BATF regarding SBRs, SBSes, Suppressors, and AOWs, in light of the August, 2026 Silencer Shop (and related Jensen) decision.

For non-licensee private individuals, here is the the most portion of the new Guidance is (with emphasis added):

“Although the district court’s injunction applies only to plaintiffs and certain other specified persons, the Department has determined to exercise its enforcement discretion to create greater uniformity, consistent with the Attorney General’s statement today. Consequently, effective October 9, 2026, ATF will no longer require individuals to seek ATF approval under the NFA before making or transferring short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, silencers, and “any other weapon[s]” as defined in 26 U.S.C. § 5845(e). ATF will also no longer require such items to be registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record. These policies apply uniformly to anyone otherwise subject to these requirements, not just to the plaintiffs in the litigation.”

See the FAQ for details.

They have also dropped their engraving requirements.

Take note that “enforcement discretion ” means that the agency could reverse itself, at a later date.  But for now we have the green light to employ tubing cutters, drill presses, et cetera, as individuals, within our own states, IF state and local laws allow it. But beware: Be sure to consult your state and local laws before doing anything.  If there are no restrictions then you can, as Donald Trump likes to say: “Drill baby, drill!”

For example, unlicensed individuals living in non-restrictive state can now:

  • Shorten rifle and shotgun barrels and stocks to any desired length, or replace barrels with factory-made barrels of shorter length (i.e. put pistol barrels on rifles.
  • Replace pistol arm braces with buttstocks.
  • Add stocks and vertical foregrips to handguns.
  • Install stocks on shotshell-chambered “firearms” such as the Mossberg Shockwave or Remington Tac-14.
  • Make your own suppressor parts and/or complete suppressors.

Note that you cannot employ out-of-state help with tasks like machining, barrel-shortening, or stock installation, you’d be in violation of the NFA.  Also, you may not move SBRs and SBSes across state lines without completing an ATF Form 20.

Also note that the guidance does not spell out the ATF’s planned procedures for removing some NFA items from the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record (NFRTR — aka The NFA Central Registry). And clarifications is still needed on interstate travel and secondary transfers of formerly NFA items belonging to anyone who is in the Jensen Protected Class. Stay tuned.

And be sure to join the GOA so that you will be fully Jensen-protected, even if the notoriously fickle ATF decides to reverse their now quite generous enforcement discretion. – JWR.

Granberg 16 Inch Clip-N-Trim, by Thomas Christianson

Some SurvivalBlog readers may be familiar with “Grandmother’s Song” by Steve Martin. I heard that song for the very first time back in 1979. It was part of Martin’s album “Let’s Get Small”, played from a vinyl LP on a stereo belonging to one of my college roommates.

One of the lines of the song is, “Live in a swamp and be three dimensional.” I never dreamed that one day I would be living that line. But now, almost 50 years later, I find myself living in a home surrounded by wetland.

One facet of wetland life is the need to keep encroaching vegetation at bay. Along the driveway in particular, nutrient rich soil and plentiful water fuel almost explosive plant growth. It is a constant battle to keep the marshland from reclaiming it former domain.

I am happy to report that I have a new weapon in my ongoing campaign to keep the Christianson-Croft-Moor-Monster at bay. It is the Granberg 16 Inch Clip-N-Trim.Continue reading“Granberg 16 Inch Clip-N-Trim, by Thomas Christianson”

SurvivalBlog Graphic of the Week

Today’s graphic: Sunrise lights up the Cirque of the Towers, Wind River Range, Wyoming. (A public domain photo by “gmiphone”, at Openverse.) The thumbnail below is click-expandable.

 

 

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If any SurvivalBlog readers have personally taken or otherwise hold the copyright to a particularly nice landscape photo or other photo of particular interest to preppers that is in a wide horizontal format (to match our blog template) then please send it in as an e-mail attachment, and I will consider posting it as a Graphic of the Week, or as a Top Note photo. I can of course credit you by name — or pen name —  if you’d like. Many Thanks! –  JWR. (Either via e-mail or via our Contact form.) Any graphics that you send must either be your own creation, under your copyright or uncopyrighted in the public domain. Thanks! – JWR

Economics & Investing Media of the Week

In Economics & Investing Media of the Week we feature photos, charts, graphs, maps, video links, and news items of interest to preppers. Today’s graphic shows the relative size of teh U.S. and European economies.  The US GDP used to be smaller than Western Europe’s combined, but today it is larger than Europe’s entire economy. The thumbnail below is click-expandable.

 

 

 

 

 

(Graphic courtesy of Reddit and GeoUniverse.)

Economics & Investing Links of Interest

Economics & Investing Media Tips:

Please send your economics and investing links to JWR. (Either via e-mail or via our Contact form.) Thanks!

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

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. Today’s column outlines some new cyber threats.

Android Malware Stealing PINs and Logins

Reader C.B. sent this alert, from FoxNews: RatHat uses AI to take deep control of Android phones and steal passwords, PINs and security codes.

Iranian Seedworm APT on Networks of U.S. Companies

Security.com reports: Seedworm: Iranian APT on Networks of U.S. Bank, Airport, Software Company.

U.S. Military Looking for FPV Drone Pilots

At ZeroHedge: “Are You An FPV Pilot?”: Pentagon Calls On Drone Operators For Next “Gauntlet” Showdown.

Car Mobile Apps are Leeching and Sharing Data

D.S.V. mentioned this, over at TechCrunch: Your car and its mobile app are probably handing over all kinds of data to tech companies.

2026 Malware and Vulnerability Trends

From Recorded Future: H1 2026 Malware and Vulnerability Trends.

Your Driverless Cab Is Spying on You

Reader D.S.V. suggested this article at Wired: Your Driverless Cab Is Spying on You.

Platforms Operated by China State-Sponsored Hackers Seized

This was reported in late August: Justice Department and FBI Seize Platforms Operated and Used by China State-Sponsored Hackers to Target U.S. Critical Infrastructure.

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You can send your news tips to JWR. (Either via e-mail or via our Contact form.) Thanks!

 

 

SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

Our weekly Snippets column is a collection of short items: responses to posted articles, practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. Note that we may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters.

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Ukraine’s surprise robot offensive exposes a vulnerability in Putin’s war machine.

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American Lasers Now Destroying Iranian Weapons and Infrastructure.

o  o  o

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets”

SurvivalBlog’s American Redoubt Media of the Week

This weekly column features media from around the American Redoubt region. (Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and Wyoming.) Much of the region is also more commonly known as The Inland Northwest. This week a map showing the population percentage increase between 2020 and 2025 in a few Northwestern metropolitan areas, and a few micropolitan areas. The image below, courtesy of Reddit, is click-expandable.

Redoubt Population Increase Map

 

Send Your Media Links

Please send your links to media from the American Redoubt region to JWR. Any photos that are posted or re-posted must be uncopyrighted. You can do so either via e-mail or via our Contact form.