Preparedness Notes for Thursday — November 4, 2021

On this day in 1979, student followers of the Ayatollah Khomeini sent shock waves across America when they stormed the U.S. embassy in Tehran. The radical Islamic fundamentalists took 90 hostages. The students were enraged that the deposed Shah had been allowed to enter the U.S. to seek medical attention. Just a few days later, the provincial leader of Iran resigned and the Ayatollah Khomeini took full control of the country. Two weeks later, all non-U.S personnel, as well as female and minority Americans, began to be released. The remaining 52 hostages were held for 14 months until the election of President Reagan.

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November 4th is the birthday of Medal of Honor recipient John Basilone. He was born in 1916 in Buffalo, New York.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 97 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three-day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  4. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  5. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  6. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  7. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.

Second Prize:

  1. A Front Sight Lifetime Diamond Membership, providing lifetime free training at any Front Sight Nevada course, with no limit on repeating classes. This prize is courtesy of a SurvivalBlog reader who prefers to be anonymous.
  2. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, that have a combined retail value of $589,
  3. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  4. Naturally Cozy is donating a “Prepper Pack” Menstrual Kit.  This kit contains 18 pads and it comes vacuum-sealed for long term storage or slips easily into a bugout bag.  The value of this kit is $220.

Third Prize:

  1. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  4. A transferable $150 purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

—

More than $725,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. Round 97 ends on November 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.

Hardening Your Stick-Built Home, by Jeff G.

Imagine the world is full of looters, in the end of times as we know it, it will be. When grid power goes down everyone else food from the urban and suburban areas find food. You are prepared aren’t you? You have done everything right. You have food stored for you and your family, you have guns, ammo, seeds, batteries, etc.

The closer you are to an urban area the sooner it will happen. Even if you are in a remote area west of the Missouri River they will probably find you. No matter how many safeguards you have in place there is one most people have not thought about, your window area. I have heard people talk about sandbags to make a fighting position inside your house by windows. I will explain to you how to make basically the same fighting position without bulky sandbags in your house. If the sandbags are outside then everyone will know you are fortified.

A little about my background before we get into basics. I am a former special operations NCO with the US Army back in the early to mid-1980s. After leaving the Army I went to school for architecture. I put my way thru school as a Carpenter. For 25 years I was a home builder building small homes to million-dollar homes. My favorites were always those that wanted a secure room or safe built-in. I only built what I designed working with the homeowner for their particular needs. I was not the kind of builder who sub-contracted everything out. I was hands-on on the job with my tools. I can do almost every aspect of building a home except heating and air conditioning.

If you hear a noise outside one of the first things people do is look out the window. Even if you think you are being smart standing beside the window and peeking, a quick shot through the wall beside the window will put you out of action or worse, dead.

Learning urban warfare in the military we were taught when engaged from a building to shoot at both sides of the window and also below it. Those are the places people will be thinking they are safe because they are behind a wall. Now if that wall is solid concrete then it is fairly safe. But in the United States and Canada, ot many homes are solid concrete. Honestly, it is an expensive way to build. But typically the walls in American homes are just wood frame construction. (Commonly called “stick-built” houses.)Continue reading“Hardening Your Stick-Built Home, by Jeff G.”

Covid Authoritarians Are The Cause Of America’s Problems, Not The Unvaccinated, by Brandon Smith

Editor’s Introductory Note:  Because I’m back on the road, I’m posting this article in place of my usual Odds ‘n Sods column. This article was authored by Brandon Smith, the Editor of Alt-Matket.us. It is re-posted with permission. I recommend bookmarking his site, and checking it often. – JWR

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It’s an odd dynamic – One would think that if the covid vaccines were a generally benevolent program that actually “followed the science” then there would be no need to pile drive the public with an endless barrage of vax propaganda. After all, if science and morality are on the side of the covid cult then the rest would naturally take care of itself and the overwhelming majority of Americans would have already voluntarily taken the experimental mRNA cocktail without any threats required. And, if some people still refused, then the science would dictate that it doesn’t matter, because if the vax actually works then those people present no threat whatsoever to the rest of society.

It is highly revealing that this is not the case, and the more resistance the establishment encounters on mandates the more aggressive they become and the more they lie about the facts and evidence.

Remember when Fauci and company said they only needed 70% of the population vaccinated to hit herd immunity? That concept was thrown down the memory hole and now they want 96% (really 100%) of the population vaccinated.

They claimed that the vaccination programs were a success with between 70% to almost 80% of the public taking the double jab, and that was a lie as state numbers continue to contradict federal and CDC numbers.

They claimed that the only pandemic still ongoing was a “pandemic of the unvaccinated”, and this was of course a lie as we have seen studies from multiple states and mostly vaccinated countries showing that the vaccinated now make up the bulk of infections and hospitalizations.

They said the vaccines offered more reliable protection when compared to natural immunity, yet medical studies from around the world show that this was a lie and that natural immunity offers up to 27 times more protection than the vaccines do. And, they said that the vaccines were “safe and effective”, yet there is no long term data to prove they are safe, and multiple studies show that vaccine effectiveness is questionable to say the least.

Lie after lie after lie. If the vaccines actually worked, there would be no need for so much deceit, and if their true intention was to “protect public health” then the establishment would be promoting treatment programs and natural immunity, not untested vaccines that continue to disappoint.

Numerous fully vaccinated people including political figures like Colin Powell have died from covid but the mainstream media STILL claims this doesn’t disprove the efficacy of the jab. At the same time, unvaccinated alternative media figures like Joe Rogan beat covid in 3 days using treatments like Ivermectin, and the MSM attacks him relentlessly as some kind of charlatan merely because he dared to not die. The elitists think that the public doesn’t notice massive contradictions like this, but we do. We are not dumb, we see everything.

In Washington State, for example, studies show that there have been at least 51,000 “breakthrough cases” of covid in the past 10 months. Breakthrough cases are people who are fully vaccinated but were still infected with covid. Of those 51,000 people, 493 people died. When calculating the percentage of dead vs infected, we get around 0.96%. The median death rate of covid among unvaccinated people is only 0.27% according to dozens of peer reviewed medical studies. This means that the death rate of fully vaccinated people in Washington is actually HIGHER than that of unvaxxed people.

We have seen similar results in states like Massachusetts, where there were 5100 breakthrough cases in a single month and 80 deaths of fully vaccinated people, which is a 1.5% death rate for the vaxxed as opposed to 0.27% for the unvaxxed. Studies on death rates are going to have to take into account vaccinated deaths vs unvaccinated deaths from now on.

And what about studies from highly vaccinated countries like Israel, which show that the majority of infections and hospitalizations are among vaccinated people, with infections spiking well after the vaccines were introduced. Right after Israel became one of the most vaccinated nations on the planet, it also had one of the highest infection rates on the planet.

It should also be noted that the peak of US infections in 2020 ended well before the vaccine rollout even started in early 2021. Meaning, the vaccines did NOTHING to reduce infection rates. They dropped off on their own. This is a scientific fact that the mainstream avoids, just as they avoid admitting that the median death rate of covid is a mere 0.27%.

The solution that the establishment offers is not surprising – They claim we need more vaccines through booster requirements. As the old saying goes, insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. And so the demented propaganda machine continues into infinity.

The public is growing tired of the games as is evident in mass walkouts, sick-outs and other protests against Biden’s vaccine mandates for companies with more than 100 employees as well as most government institutions. We are seeing up to 50% of employees and government workers in many cases refusing to take the experimental jab despite the fact that they are being threatened with losing their jobs. This dynamic seems to have bewildered the covid cult and the globalists; they can’t wrap their heads around this level of resistance to their agenda.

It’s not a new thing, but I have noticed an increasing number of vax propaganda commercials and articles featuring Donald Trump in the past month. All of them herald Trump’s pro-vaccination stance, which is odd because leftists spent most of 2020 saying they would not take any vaccine that Trump was responsible for producing.

I was recently doing some research on YouTube and was annoyed to have to watch yet another vax ad, but this one had an odd tone. It showed clips of Trump making favorable statements on the mRNA vaccines, he and his wife taking the vaccines with dramatic music, and then a message at the end which said “There’s A Covid Vaccine Waiting For You, Too.”

The bizarre commercial was clearly aimed at conservatives, but it displays an obvious disconnect that the covid cult and the media have when it comes to conservative thinking and principles.

Leftists, collectivists, and globalists function according to majority rule and herd mentality. They have gatekeepers, and the gatekeepers set the agenda and dictate decision-making responsibilities for the group. Leftist herds wait patiently for top-down orders from their designated gatekeepers and most of them obey without question. This is how they operate.

Liberty-minded people operate in the opposite fashion. Our “leaders” are always under scrutiny, and this includes political mascots like Donald Trump. This is why, during a recent speech in Alabama, Trump was booed by a crowd of supporters after he called for them to get the covid vaccine. Conservatives generally don’t care about the person promoting the message, they only care if the message passes the smell test.

Leftists and globalists are incapable of grasping conservative principles or the conservative mindset. This fact is hilariously evident in the style of propaganda they have consistently used to try to intimidate or pressure the conservative public into compliance with the mandates. We don’t view Trump as a philosophical leader; in fact, there were so many underlying issues with his cabinet and his policies that his leadership became suspect. At most, conservatives enjoyed Trump’s administration simply because his presence in the White House drove leftist authoritarians to greater madness.

We definitely don’t care what Trump has to say on the vaccines.

There is further evidence of the disconnect I describe in the actions of leftists and the establishment when it comes to vax mandates in the workplace. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard the argument from covid cultists that conservatives “Might say we will refuse to comply, but when our livelihoods are threatened we will submit.” They believe this because that’s how they would respond. They are cowardly weaklings with no heart, no principles and no morals. They think that since they would cave in to the pressure, the rest of us would cave in as well.

The past month has proven them oh so wrong as millions of people stage protests and walkouts across the country. There is even refusal among around 25% of the armed forced averaged across all branches, as well as up to 50% of city police forces. Most employers and government offices can barely function as is; there is zero chance they will be able to cope with a 10% loss of workforce, let alone a 25% to 50% loss. They would crumble.

This was obviously not the plan; the globalists were not prepared for this level of resistance in the US and this is evident in their pathetic propaganda scramble. That does not mean they don’t have contingencies in place. I am already seeing a fledgling narrative in the media which is implanting the idea that any breakdown of the system in the US will actually be the fault of the unvaccinated.

Biden has been a fervent culprit behind the narrative that everything from economic instability and supply chain problems to social divisions should be blamed on unvaccinated Americans. That’s right, the majority of these disasters started on Biden’s watch and because of his policies, but somehow we are the real danger. Yes, the draconian mandates are illegal and unconstitutional and yes, mandates are not laws in any form, and yes, Biden and his handlers are acting like dictators and there is no reason to do anything they say. But, we are the bad guys. This is classic communist gaslighting.

Here’s an idea: Stop trying to enforce covid mandates and vaccine passports. Stop paying people to stay home from work with covid welfare bribes. Stop generating trillions of dollars in fiat stimulus from thin air to pay for even more useless programs we don’t need. Then watch how quickly stagflation, economic instability, the workforce shortages and most other problems in the US suddenly disappear. The unvaccinated are not the source of American distress, the globalists and errand boys like Biden and blue state governors are the cause. Remove them from the equation and America’s future looks much brighter.

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If you would like to support the work that Alt-Market does while also receiving content on advanced tactics for defeating the globalist agenda, subscribe to their exclusive newsletter The Wild Bunch Dispatch.

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“University administrators are the equivalent of subprime mortgage brokers selling you a story that you should go into debt massively, that it’s not a consumption decision, it’s an investment decision. Actually, no, it’s a bad consumption decision. Most colleges are four-year parties.” – Peter Thiel

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — November 3, 2021

November 3, 1903 was the birthday of Walker Evans, the American photographer best known for his portrayal of America during the Great Depression.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 97 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three-day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  4. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  5. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  6. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  7. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.

Second Prize:

  1. A Front Sight Lifetime Diamond Membership, providing lifetime free training at any Front Sight Nevada course, with no limit on repeating classes. This prize is courtesy of a SurvivalBlog reader who prefers to be anonymous.
  2. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, that have a combined retail value of $589,
  3. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  4. Naturally Cozy is donating a “Prepper Pack” Menstrual Kit.  This kit contains 18 pads and it comes vacuum-sealed for long term storage or slips easily into a bugout bag.  The value of this kit is $220.

Third Prize:

  1. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  4. A transferable $150 purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

—

More than $725,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. Round 97 ends on November 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.

Serious Silver Stacking – Part 2, by East Sierra Sage

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.)

On the federal Holiday in the first week of this October, I was involved in a traffic accident that resulted in my truck getting “totaled” by my Insurer. My truck was 13 years old, I bought it brand new for an unbelievably great price. I had put 229,959 miles on it. In fact, I was taking it to the 330,000 mile oil change when the wreck occurred. My insurer gave me just $9,000 for that total loss I was pleasantly surprised by this sum. I am going to replace this truck with another truck because I live at an elevation that has put 21 inches of snow into my driveway on Memorial Day weekend! So, needless to say, having a four-wheel drive truck is a requirement here.

I was looking at the price of replacing that “old girl” with a younger hotter girl. Sticker shock is a great way to describe the feeling. They cost is well over $12,000. Because I am a military retiree, I try to keep a comfortable monthly budget, I am still working full time for the Federal Government, and I work two nights a week at a nationally-recognized sporting goods store. This third source of income is my fun money. I pretty much spend this whole paycheck on cool “durable goods” and ammunition, which I get an employee rate that is oh so sweet.

So my budget is tight, In order for me to avoid living paycheck-to-paycheck, I will have to dip into my savings to make a contribution to supplement the $9,000 from the insurance. If I put nothing down, the truck payment on the new 4X4 will come to about $740 a month. NO SIR!!! Even though I can do it, I refuse! I intend to once again sell 160 ounces of my silver. This will net me a little under $4,000 for the new truck down payment, bringing my sum to 13,000. I also have a few things in my possession that I am parting with netting me another $2,000.Continue reading“Serious Silver Stacking – Part 2, by East Sierra Sage”

SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

This weekly column is a collection of short snippets: practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. We may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters.

Tonya sent this instructional video link: Building a Smokeless Burn Barrel.

o  o  o

Mike in Alaska pointed me to this fascinating read: Exclusive Front-Line Report: Modern Trench Warfare in Eastern Ukraine.

o  o  o

‘Doesn’t happen every day’: Bear climbs tree, bites Wisconsin deer hunter in the back.

Reader Tom R. sent this:

“To your comment about HF signals being hard to find, they can be located almost instantly using TDOA and, if aircraft or satellites are involved, FDOA.  DF is just a bonus when closing on the transmitter.”

JWR Replies: I suspect that to achieve truly precise NVIS HF-DF accuracy, a TDOA HF system must be supplemented with a chirp sounder to gauge which layer of the ionosphere a signal is propagating from. That data wouldn’t be necessary with a long-duration signal intercepted by a space-based FDOA system. However only a few national-level intelligence agencies have access to that equipment, and it must be specifically tasked, based on the priority of the intercept mission. Intercepting some militia in Michigan’s HF comms will probably not make it to the top of the NSA’s tasking list.

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets”

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — November 2, 2021

On November 2, 1917, British Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour submitted a declaration of intent to establish a Jewish homeland, known as the Balfour Declaration. While Arab hostilities and the outbreak of World War II delayed the desired outcome, the Nation of Israel was eventually re-established in 1948.

The pen & ink of Jerusalem circa 1839 was drawn by the late Barbara M. Rawles.

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Because I’m back on the road, I didn’t have the time to assemble a News From The American Redoubt column for today. My apologies.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 97 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three-day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  4. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  5. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  6. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  7. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.

Second Prize:

  1. A Front Sight Lifetime Diamond Membership, providing lifetime free training at any Front Sight Nevada course, with no limit on repeating classes. This prize is courtesy of a SurvivalBlog reader who prefers to be anonymous.
  2. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, that have a combined retail value of $589,
  3. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  4. Naturally Cozy is donating a “Prepper Pack” Menstrual Kit.  This kit contains 18 pads and it comes vacuum-sealed for long term storage or slips easily into a bugout bag.  The value of this kit is $220.

Third Prize:

  1. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  4. A transferable $150 purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

—

More than $725,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. Round 97 ends on November 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.

Serious Silver Stacking – Part 1, by East Sierra Sage

How I learned to save my money and make it grow without the oversight of a Bank, Credit Union, or other Financial Institutions. And how to insulate yourself from inflation, domestic financial stagnation, and an eventual economic depression or financial and equities collapse!

I never looked at money from a long-term perspective until the end of my military career when I realized that I should have done better with saving my money for when I was older. I can say that I put three kids through college and helped them out whenever they needed it, but as for my wife and I, we didn’t “pay ourselves first”!

After I retired from the Marine Corps, I started a career where I made a handsome six-figure salary. That career choice lasted seven years and the only real thing I have to show for it is a “showpiece” home. My home is modest on the outside, but well-furnished and tastefully decorated inside. Fortunately, I have a “grey man” home from the outside.

I caught the fever for Silver at a good time, after the last economic downturn in 2008. Things did go very bad for a lot of Americans who were living paycheck to paycheck AND who were living beyond their means, I have rarely lived paycheck to paycheck and have always lived within my means, HOWEVER, I have felt the sting of inflation, especially in the year of 2021! I cannot go into the many reasons for America’s current inflationary surge, but I can illuminate for you, the reader, how I am affected and how I am insulated.

I have been buying Silver since 2008. I got a tipoff from a fellow Devil Dog when we were in Albany, New York on an assignment training Reserve Marines. We traveled on a Friday so that we could get to our destination early for our Monday morning meet-up with the Leadership of that unit we were training.Continue reading“Serious Silver Stacking – Part 1, by East Sierra Sage”

Preparedness Notes for Monday — November 1, 2021

November 1st, 1923, is the birthday of science fiction writer Gordon R. Dickson (pictured at a sci-fi convention.)  He was born in 1923, died January 31, 2001.) Many of his novels and short stories, such as Wolf and Iron, have survivalist themes.

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November 1st is also the birthday of economist Martin A. Armstrong. For many years he was a prisoner of conscience, in part because he refused to turn over his proprietary trading algorithms to Federal prosecutors. After seven years in prison without a trial, the longest Federal incarceration for contempt in American history, Armstrong was finally put on trial in a proceeding that was branded as a sham. He was convicted on securities fraud charges based upon some marginal testimony and given a five-year sentence. He was released from prison in September of 2011. Notably, Armstrong continued to write his economics newsletter while in prison, producing most of the issues on a prison library typewriter.

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Today we present another review written by our Field Gear Editor, the Redoubtable Pat Cascio.

CRKT Shenanigan & Stylus, by Pat Cascio

Today, I have a couple knife reviews. Both knives are made by the same company, both from the same designer, and both manufactured in Taiwan — Free China.

It’s a pretty rare thing for a knife company to re-introduce a knife design, but that’s exactly what CRKT did with the improved Shenanigan folder. Some years back, I reviewed this folder for our readers, and didn’t find anything “wrong” with it – so I was a little disappointed when it was retired. A really good knife design, is good for about two-to-three years on the market, before people tire of it. More often than not, three years is the maximum on the life of a knife design. Of course, there are a few exceptions, and some knife designs have been on the market for 50-years or longer. Still, I hated to see production of the original Shenanigan come to an end.

The Shenanigan is a Ken Onion design, and he is one of the world’s more famous knife designers. Ken lives in Kaneohe, Hawaii however his work is known all over the world. Some years back, I did an article on some of Ken’s factory-made knives, and I interviewed him on the phone – it was an interesting conversation we had. Without a doubt, he is a wildman – much like I used to be…I’m mellowed in my old age. Still, I gleaned a lot from our talk, which lasted several hours on the phone. I’m glad that Onion is doing several collaborations with CRKT, because they are bringing a number of his custom designs to buyers that couldn’t otherwise afford them.

CRKT didn’t just bring the old Shenanigan back to life. Nope, they added a few new features. One is, the added Veff serrations to the blade, and you have to try them to know how superior they are to the old-fashioned serrations. These are more aggressive in a number of ways – they aren’t just for looks. They will easily tear through rope and cardboard boxes with ease – especially wet and thick rope. Read up on the Veff serrations – they were designed by a custom knifemaker, right here in my home state of Oregon, and CRKT has added them to many of their knives.

Secondly, CRKT added the award-winning Assisted Opening innovation, and IKBS ball bearing pivot system to a super-smooth and fast opening of the blade. Onion designed this assisted-opening system. The Shenanigan easily opens when you deploy the flipper on the blade – and I mean it is F-A-S-T and smooth. The IKBS ball bearings are the smoothest opening out of any folder – bar none – in my humble opinion. The blade locks up with the liner lock and it is even easy for closing the blade as well as locking it open.Continue reading“CRKT Shenanigan & Stylus, by Pat Cascio”

Recipe of the Week: Red Wine Venison Stew

The following recipe for Red Wine Venison Stew is from reader Kelly in Montana. Kelly says: “This is an old French recipe that requires 8+ hours to marinate the meat, but it is worth the wait.”

Ingredients
  • 2 to 3 pounds of venison, cubed
  • 1 cup coarsely chopped white or yellow onions
  • 3 medium carrots, sliced to 1/4-inch thickness
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped celery
  • Up to 3/4 teaspoon salt (to taste)
  • Up to 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper (to taste)
  • 2 teaspoons dried parsley
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried crushed rosemary
  • 1 cup dry red wine
  • 3/4 cups beef stock (Preferably fresh rather than from b-cubes.)
  • 5 slices bacon, chopped up into chunks just under bite-size
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon of tomato paste
  • 1 to 1-1/2 cups sliced mushrooms
Directions
  1. Place the venison, onions, carrots, celery, salt, pepper, and the herbs in a large casserole dish or glass mixing bowl.
  2. Pour the red wine and beef stock over the venison, and cover it. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours. I do mine for 12+ hours, overnight.
  3. Drain the liquid marinade and set it aside for use as described later.
  4. In a large saucepan over high heat, cook the bacon until it turns crisp.
  5. Transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.
  6. Pour all but 2 tablespoons of bacon grease from the pan. Sauté the onions, carrots, and celery in the bacon grease for 5 minutes, until the vegetables turn soft. Transfer them to a bowl with a slotted spoon and set it aside for a moment.
  7. Toss the venison with the flour and brown it in the remaining bacon grease.
  8. Once all sides of the meat are browned, stir in the tomato paste and cook the mixture for 1 minute.
  9. Add the mushrooms, cooked vegetables, crisped bacon, and the marinade liquid that you set aside into the pan with the browned venison.
  10. Cook the mixture over low heat, covered, for 45 minutes to 1 hour. The venison stew is done when the meat and vegetables are tender and the sauce is thickened.  If covered, it can be simmered at very low heat for up to two hours, depending on the timing of your dinner serving.
SERVING

Serve the stew with green vegetables and mashed potatoes or perhaps rice, to soak up the juices.

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Do you have a favorite 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 and slow cooker recipes, and any 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. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. Most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today, we look at rising fertilizer prices. (See the Commodities section.)

Precious Metals:

Why Isn’t Gold Going Up With Inflation?

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“$3000 In Months, Not Years” – Gold’s Inflation-Protection Means “Violent” Run-Up Imminent

Economy & Finance:

Missed Interest Payment Upped, Evergrande Bankrupt, Western Media Corrupt, Financial Disrupt, China Hiccuped, HSBC Next Up And If The Poop Hits The Fan The Public Might Just Erupt.

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Pelosi upbeat on Biden deal but Manchin pans billionaire tax.

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At Zero Hedge: How Long Until Supply Chains Finally Normalize: Three Things To Watch.

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Another Massive Short Squeeze Leads To Spectacular 5Y Auction.

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At Wolf Street: Rents Spiked 10% to 25% in Half the Cities in October: How it’ll Push Up CPI Next Year, Ridiculing Fed’s “Transitory” Inflation.

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”