SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

This 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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Rising death toll makes Maui wildfires deadliest in modern US history.

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Reader C.J. wrote to warn about GatewayAmmo.com.  According to C.J., in his case, this company has posted false contact information on their website, used trickery on payment methods, failed to deliver products or to issue a refund, and then tried “refundable insurance” trickery to scam even more money. This “company” has used several addresses in Kansas and California. Their terms of service mention El Paso County, Colorado — also apparently bogus. The Better Business Bureau has plenty of complaints about GatewayAmmo.  Ditto for a Reddit discussion of GatewayAmmo.  A word of warning, in general:  Never do business with any firearms-related company that initially looks like they have a credit card merchant account but then informs you that you need to make payment via the PayPal “family & friends” option, or Zelle, or Venmo.

And I’ve read similar complaints about MEGAAMMOSUPPLY.com.

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Reader A.K. sent this: Examples of Lithium Battery Fires.

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Well, a gazillion deaths late, but: Doctors Can Prescribe Ivermectin for COVID-19: FDA Lawyer.

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Federal Court: Knives are ‘Arms’ and Protected by the Second Amendment.

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Lord, send Your life throughout the entire church. Visit Your church; restore sound doctrine and holy, earnest living. Take away from professing Christians their love of frivolities, their attempts to meet the world on it’s own ground, and give back the old love of the doctrines of the Cross and Christ. May free grace and dying love again be the music that refreshes the church and makes her heart exceeding glad.” – Charles Spurgeon

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — August 15, 2023

On August 15, 1935, American entertainer Will Rogers and aviation pioneer Wiley Post were killed in a plane crash near Point Barrow, Alaska.

On August 15, 1057, Macbeth, king of Scots, was killed in battle by Malcolm, eldest son of Duncan I.

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For 2023 the Paratus holiday for preparedness-minded folks will fall on September 15th.

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Today’s guest feature article was selected by JWR. It first appeared in the Advancing Time blog.  It is reposted with permission.

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We are in need of entries for Round 108 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $840,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. We recently polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 108 ends on September 30th, 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.

Global Inflationary Depression Is Very Possible, by Bruce Wilds

Roughly two and a half years ago it was predicted here on AdvancingTime that we might soon be witness to the first global inflationary depression. Many of us predicted inflation rolling in but underestimated the size of stimulus that would be put in the pipeline. This has only postponed the collapse of the financial system and economy. Still, many investors are basing their investments on more intervention from central banks and governments to pull another rabbit out of their hats.

Global inflationary depression is not a mix of words we normally see placed together. To those finding this notion unacceptable, we could reframe this as a stagflation era of reversion. Moving us towards the depression part of this scenario is the fact many economic watchers are predicting outright deflation pointing to a huge slowing of the economy. Currently, the biggest source of demand comes from governments. Demand from working people and private sector growth is on the wane. If you remove all the money being spent on Covid-19 vaccinations, tests, and a slew of inefficient spending that has created little long-term benefits to the economy the GDP would fall like a stone.

We seldom have depressions but instead tend to roll through mild recessions, however, what we face today may be far more severe. In the past, times of falling economic activity have generally been deflationary as defaults rise but this time if inflation does not abate the result may be very different. Part of this is rooted in the fact that in the past many events tended to be regional rather than global. Today, economies have become more interconnected the resulting codependency presents an increased possibility of problems spreading across the world.Continue reading“Global Inflationary Depression Is Very Possible, by Bruce Wilds”

SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

This weekly column features news stories and event announcements 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. We also mention companies of interest to preppers and survivalists that are located in the American Redoubt region. Today, a further examination of the red county/blue county divide.

Region-Wide

There seem to be a lot of people that now feel a strong conviction to move to the American Redoubt. Here is just one recent example from a vlogger that I have been watching for several years: Incredible News From God Family & Guns!

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See the fastest-growing (and shrinking) U.S. states.

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CNBC says red states are the worst, even though everyone is moving to them.

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Most Gun-Friendly States in 2023.

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Founder of Conservative Move says there is pent-up demand to move to red states.

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Americans growing further apart on key issues of society, politics.

Idaho

Some great footage in an overland backcountry driving video: Incredible Idaho. (Over an hour long, but well worth watching.)

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Idaho’s getting younger. Here’s how many from each generation are moving to the Gem State.

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A great new Trent Palmer bushpilot video: Ty Forgot The Door To His Airplane – Idaho Backcountry Mission.

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Idaho judge sentences 5 from white nationalist group to jail for conspiracy to riot at Pride event. JWR’s Comments:  This incident had all of the telltale signs of being orchestrated by out-of-state agitators.  And indeed, we later learned that these Astroturf Agit-Proppers came from 11 different states. The leader of the group is a young statist-socialist from Texas. It is widely alleged that the “Patriot Front” group is thoroughly infiltrated by paid Federal informants and it is they who are actually directing the group, to be Controlled Opposition or False Flag agitators.

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt”

Preparedness Notes for Monday — August 14, 2023

On August 14, 1457, the first book printed in Europe with a colophon bearing the name of the printer was completed in Mainz, Germany. These eventually developed into what is now commonly called a copyright page.

Today is also the birthday of British folk-rock singer Maddy Prior.  (She was born August 14th, 1947.)

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Our feature article today was written by a SurvivalBlog staff member, Field Gear Editor Tom Christianson.

Spyderco Byrd Harrier 2 Lightweight Folding Knife, by Thomas Christianson

I recently purchased a Spyderco Byrd Harrier 2 Lightweight Folding Knife. It has a 3.36-inch full flat grind blade with a plain edge in 8Cr13MoV steel, a fiberglass reinforced nylon handle, a back-lock locking mechanism, a reversible pocket clip, a lanyard hole, and the distinctive Spyderco opening hole (as modified for Byrd) to allow ambidextrous, one-handed opening.

I bought this knife because I had somehow received the impression that it is made in Taiwan. That is, unfortunately, not the case. All Spyderco Byrd knives are made in mainland China. I usually don’t review products made in mainland China, but since I had already invested $35.70 in this knife, I decided to go ahead and review it.

Blade Steels Can Show the Country of Origin

Online retailers often try to hide the origin of products that are made in mainland China. They may bury that information somewhere deep in the specifications, place it in fine print, or not share it at all. I find this lack of transparency frustrating as I consider potential products to review.Continue reading“Spyderco Byrd Harrier 2 Lightweight Folding Knife, by Thomas Christianson”

Recipe of the Week: Linda’s Sweet Relish

The following recipe for Linda’s Sweet Relish is from SurvivalBlog reader Linda R.  She notes that her version of the recipe is adapted from Linda J. Amendt‘s book:  Blue Ribbon Canning, published by Taunton Press, 2015

Linda notes:  “This sweet relish, made with sugar, onion, salt, mustard seeds, celery seeds, and cider vinegar, is perfect for hamburgers and hot dogs and potato salad, and anything else.”

This recipe makes enough to fill  8 half-pint jars.

Ingredients
  • 3 to 4 pounds stems of purslane or collards, finely chopped (6 to 8 cups)
  • 2 cups finely chopped onions, (2 to 3 medium onions)
  • 3 tablespoons pickling or kosher salt
  • 2 to 3 quarts ice cold water
  • 2 to 3 (or more) cups granulated sugar, depending on just how sweet you like your relish
  • 2 cups cider vinegar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons mustard seeds
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons celery seeds
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
Directions
  1. In a large bowl, layer the purslane or collard stems, onions, and salt. Add enough of the cold water to completely cover the vegetables. Cover and let stand at room temperature for 2 hours.
  2. Drain the vegetables in a large fine-mesh sieve or colander lined with a single layer of cheesecloth. Rinse well and drain again, pressing out the excess liquid.
  3. In a 6- to 8-quart stainless steel pot, combine the sugar, vinegar, mustard seeds, and celery seeds. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly until the sugar is completely dissolved, about 5 minutes.
  4. Add the drained vegetables to the syrup and return to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring frequently, for 10 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat. The mixture may look watery but that’s okay. Ladle the relish into hot pint jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Remove any air bubbles. Wipe the jar rims and threads with a clean, damp paper towel. Apply hot lids and screw bands.
  5. If you’re simply stashing the relish in the fridge for immediate use, then refrigerate the jars of relish for up to a few weeks.
CANNING and STORAGE

If you are properly canning the pickle relish, process 8-ounce jars in a water bath canner according to manufacturer’s instructions for 10 minutes and process pint jars for 15 minutes. Remove from the water bath canner and let cool for 12 to 24 hours. Check the seals and remove the screw bands. Store jars in a cool, dry, dark place for up to 1 year.

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Do you have a well-tested recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers? In this weekly recipe column, we place emphasis on recipes that use long-term storage foods, recipes for wild game, dutch oven recipes, slow cooker recipes, and any recipes that use home garden produce. If you have any favorite recipes, then please send them via e-mail. Thanks!

Economics & Investing For Preppers

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 skewed inflation data. (See the Inflation/Deflation Watch section.)

Precious Metals:

AG Thorson, at Gold-Eagle.com: Gold Forecast: Leading Economic Indicators Support Impending Recession.

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Video from Jeffrey Christian: Silver deficits don’t exist and other silver myths.

Economy & Finance:

From Yahoo Finance: U.S. yield curve hits deepest inversion since 1981: What is it telling us?

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Linked over at the Whatfinger.com site: Credit Crunch: The Money Supply Has Shrunk For Eight Months In a Row.

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Moody’s downgrades several US banks amid ‘ongoing strain’ in the banking sector.

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“I’ve been selling my soul
Working all day
Overtime hours
For bullsh*t pay
So I can sit out here and waste my life away
Drag back home and drown my troubles away

It’s a damn shame
What the world’s gotten to
For people like me and people like you
Wish I could just wake up and it not be true
But it is, oh, it is
Living in the new world
With an old soul
These rich men north of Richmond
Lord knows they all just want to have total control
Wanna know what you think
Wanna know what you do
And they don’t think you know, but I know that you do
Cause your dollar ain’t sh*t, and it’s taxed to no end
‘Cause of rich men north of Richmond

I wish politicians would look out for miners
And not just minors on an island somewhere
Lord, we got folks in the street, ain’t got nothing to eat
And the obese milking welfare
Well God, if you’re 5 foot 3 and you’re 300 pounds
Taxes ought not to pay for your bags of fudge rounds
Young men are putting themselves six feet in the ground
‘Cause all this damn country does is keep on kicking them down.” – Oliver Anthony, Excerpt from the lyrics of Rich Men North Of Richmond

JWR’s Update: Oliver Anthony opened a concert yesterday with a reading from Psalm 37.

Preparedness Notes for Sunday — August 13, 2023

Today is the birthday of screenwriter, director, and producer, Alfred Hitchcock (1899–1980.) His many films spanned five decades.

This is also the birthday of sharpshooter, entertainer, and folk heroine Annie Oakley (1860–1926.)

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Today’s feature article is a guest piece by Brandon Smith, the editor of Alt-Market.us. It is reposted with permission. JWR highly recommends Brandon Smith’s writings.

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We are in need of entries for Round 108 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $840,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. We recently polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 108 ends on September 30th, 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.

Never Forget: Leftists Showed Their True Authoritarian Colors During Covid, by Brandon Smith

When I think back to the first days of the covid pandemic lockdowns, I suspect the majority of people, even many conservatives and liberty movement types, had a healthy concern about the effects of the virus and the potential for structural upheaval if it turned out to be as deadly as the World Health Organization initially claimed. If covid had an Infection Fatality Rate of 3% or more as global health officials warned, then the damage would be substantial enough to change our world for many years to come.

Anyone who was not at least partially concerned about a biological disaster (or biological warfare) was probably an idiot. Anyone who was smart was prepared. However, after a few months of the spread of the virus and after the first flurry of scientific data, several facts became evident:

1) The lockdowns did nothing to stop the spread, they were simply destroying our economy.

2) The masks were useless and did nothing to prevent transmission of the virus.

3) The Infection Fatality Rate (IFR) of covid was a tiny 0.23%, and that’s not accounting for all the co-morbidity deaths that were falsely labeled as covid deaths.

4) The vaccines did not prevent transmission for millions of people. They did not prevent infection in many cases and numerous vaccinated people have died from the virus. Not only that, but unvaccinated people with natural immunity were better protected than those that took the vaccine and boosters.

5) Studies show that the vaccines cause dangerous side effects at a much greater rate than the CDC admitted.Continue reading“Never Forget: Leftists Showed Their True Authoritarian Colors During Covid, by Brandon Smith”

JWR’s Meme Of The Week:

The latest meme created by JWR:

Meme Text:

The Flatulence Generated By My Cows
Doesn’t Worry Me Near As Much As The B.S. Generated By D.C. Politicians

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, provide that credit to SurvivalBlog.com is included.

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake.

But there shall not an hair of your head perish.

In your patience possess ye your souls.

And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.

Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto.

For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.

But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people.

And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.

And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;

Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.

And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees;

When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand.

So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.

Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled.

Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.

And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.

For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.

Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.”  – Luke 21:17-36 (KJV)