The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

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SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods— 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, we look at a legal challenge to 80% receivers.

Another 1876-Style Presidential Election?

Some food for thought: Americans worry about 2020 being another 2000, but the real worry is another 1876.

California Sues Feds on 80% Receivers

In the L.A. Times: California sues U.S. regulator in bid to deter ‘ghost guns’.  (A hat tip to Dave C. for the link.) Here is a quote:

“At issue are so-called “80% receivers and frames” that Becerra said can be sold by unlicensed dealers and made into untraceable firearms at home.

ATF policy holds that the kits have not yet been reached the stage where they can be considered firearms subject to the usual federal firearms statutes and regulations that include a ban on sales to minors or those who have criminal convictions, a history of domestic violence, serious mental illness or drug addiction.”

Trump 2020: A Man Versus A Movement

I consider listening to this speech by Tom Klingenstein important: Trump 2020 A Man vs. A Movement

Preserving Your Apple Harvest

Reader M.H.. sent this: Five ways to preserve your apple harvest. That is a blog written by some good folks in Alaska.

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“If we despond, public confidence is destroyed, the people will no longer yield their support to a hopeless contest, and American liberty is no more. Through the darkness which shrouds our prospects, the ark of safety is visible. Despondency becomes not the dignity of our cause, nor the character of those who are its supporters.” – Samuel Adams

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — October 21, 2020

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Today is the birthday of the late R.J. Rummel. October 21, 1932 – March 2, 2014. He was was professor emeritus of political science at the University of Hawaii. He spent his career assembling data on collective violence and war with a view toward helping their resolution or elimination. Rummel coined the term democide for murder by government (compare genocide), and his research suggests that six times as many people died of democide during the 20th century than in all that century’s wars combined. He is best known as the author of:  Death by Government: A History of Mass Murder and Genocide Since 1900.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 91 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. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (a $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  7. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

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.
  5. An assortment of products along with a one-hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

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!

Round 91 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.

Range Estimation and Windage with Mil Reticles – Part 2, by N.E.

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

Windage

Ranging distance is pretty straightforward with practice. It also becomes fairly easy to calculate your elevation adjustment in relation your data-card or ballistics app. How long-range shooting becomes an art is trying to calculate the wind.

I am going to be straight with you and say reading the wind is an art that can only be learned over time. Calculating wind becomes easier with specific calibers (high BC), the use wind meters, and lots of practice. But, calculating the wind is not nearly as straight forward as ranging distance. There are several ways to calculate wind, and one of the most basic comments that people offer is “look for the mirage.”

Learning how to read mirage is certainly useful, but I am only going to touch upon the technique here for a couple of reasons. One being, mirage flattens out around 12 miles per hour. Two, mirage does little for you on a cloudy day. Three, you are going to get the most out of learning how to read mirage through in-person instruction and lots of practice. There are all sorts of videos on the internet that talk about mirage, so I would suggest that you research those for further instruction.

The most basic benefit of learning how to read mirage is that it allows you to see what the wind is doing down range, and which direction the wind is traveling.

Yet, for those of us who desire something a little more concrete on ways to read the wind during practice, we can use a wind meter such as a Kestrel. And just as there is an equation for ranging distance, there is also an equation for calculating wind.Continue reading“Range Estimation and Windage with Mil Reticles – Part 2, by N.E.”

JWR’s Recommendations of the Week:

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Here are JWR’s Recommendations of the Week for various media and tools of interest to SurvivalBlog readers. The focus is usually on emergency communications gear, bug out bag gear, books, and movies–often with a tie-in to disaster preparedness, and links to “how-to” self-sufficiency videos. There is also an emphasis on links to sources for storage food and a variety of storage and caching containers. You will also note an emphasis on history books and historical movies. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This week the focus is on PVS-14 Night Vision Monoculars. (See the Gear section.)

Books:

American Buffalo: In Search of a Lost Icon

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How to Destroy America in Three Easy Steps, by Ben Shapiro

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Reader Ben S. recommended the new power grid-collapse novel The Silence, by Don Delillo. It was just released yesterday (Tuesday, October 20th, 2020), but Ben got an advance copy.

o  o  o

Red Platoon: A True Story of American Valor

o  o  o

The Big Silver Short: How The Wall Street Banks Have Left The Silver Market In Place For The Short-Squeeze Of A Lifetime

o  o  o

And, pardon the shameless self-promotion — but this was released yesterday: The Ultimate Prepper’s Survival Guide

Continue reading“JWR’s Recommendations of the Week:”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“The 1994 assault weapons and high-capacity magazines bans worked.

And if I am elected president, we’re going to pass them again — and this time, we’ll make them even stronger. We’re going to stop gun manufacturers from circumventing the law by making minor modifications to their products — modifications that leave them just as deadly. And this time, we’re going to pair it with a buyback program to get as many assault weapons off our streets as possible as quickly as possible.

I won’t stop there. I’ll get universal background checks passed, building on the Brady Bill, which establishing the background check system and which I helped push through Congress in 1993. I’ll accelerate the development and deployment of smart-gun technology — something gun manufacturers have opposed — so that guns are keyed to the individual biometrics of authorized owners.” – Presidential candidate Joe Biden, in an August, 2019 New York Times Op-Ed piece.

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — October 20, 2020

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Today is the birthday of shootist Ed McGivern (born 1874, died December 12, 1957.) He was born in Nebraska, but was a long-time resident of Butte, Montana. His classic book Fast and Fancy Revolver Shooting is fascinating reading.

Today is the birthday of the late Tom Petty. (Born October 20, 1950, died October 2, 2017). He was a great singer-songwriter and a passable actor.

October 20th is also the birthday of actor Viggo Mortensen (born 1958.) He lives somewhere in the American Redoubt. On his ranch is his horse-for-life “TJ”–one of the five paint horses used in the filming of the movie Hidalgo. Most SurvivalBlog readers probably know him best for his starring role in The Road.

Book Bomb Day For The Ultimate Prepper’s Survival Guide!

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[UPDATED] Hooray! Today is the much-awaited Book Bomb Day for my latest nonfiction book, The Ultimate Prepper’s Survival Guide.

My sincere thanks for waiting until today to place your order. Hopefully, with this big one-day surge of orders, it will push it into Amazon’s Top 100 (overall, in books) by this afternoon. We’re also hoping to make it onto the New York Times Bestsellers list, this weekend.

Amazon Sales Rank Updates:

  • Sunday, October 18th, 5 PM, Pacific Time:  #13,007 in Books
  • Monday, October 19th, 8 PM, Pacific Time:  #7,685 in Books
  • Tuesday, October 20th, 4:30 AM, Pacific Time: #6,058 in Books
  • Tuesday, October 20th, 5:45 AM, Pacific Time: #3,825 in Books
  • Tuesday, October 20th, 7:00 AM, Pacific Time: #882 in Books
  • Tuesday, October 20th, 10:00 AM, Pacific Time: #176 in Books
    (#1 in Survival & Emergency Preparedness)
  • Tuesday, October 20th, 12:10 PM, Pacific Time: #95 in Books
    (    #1 in Hiking & Camping Instructional Guides)
  • Tuesday, October 20th, 3:00 PM, Pacific Time: #100 in Books

That wasn’t bad, considering that Amazon catalogs and sales rank about 33 million book titles. And they have more than 80 new print titles and several thousand new e-book titles that become available each day.

[Update: As of Wednesday, October 20th, Amazon.com has updated their ordering page for the book to read: “Usually ships within 1 to 2 months.”  Sooooo… They apparently blew through their entire inventory in just two days!]

The Ultimate Prepper’s Survival Guide is 240 pages, with a clever wire-o binding inside of a hardcover. This allows it to lay flat, when open. Please note that a lot of the material that I wrote for the book has never appeared in SurvivalBlog. The editors (at Welbeck Publishing, in London, England) developed some dazzling graphics to go along with my text.

I expect that the small initial First Printing of the First Edition — with only about 75,000 copies available in the United States — will sell out by mid-November to late-November. And unless Simon & Schuster puts in a rush air freight order, the anticipated second printing won’t arrive in the States until January or February.  So please order your copies soon! 

Sources – Worldwide

Starting today, the book is available at most major book stores, directly from Welbeck Publishing’s U.S. partner Simon & Schuster (for 24.99), online through Barnes & Noble (for $24.99), Powell’s Books (for $24.99), BooksaMillion-BAM (for $24.99), at Target.com (for $24.99) and least expensively through Amazon.com (for $22.49 –with free shipping for Amazon Prime members) or Bookshop.org (for $22.49). Oh, and AbeBooks may have just a few copies left on hand, at $21.11 + 2.64 shipping.

Readers in Canada can either order it from Amazon.ca (for $33.65 CAD), or from Chapters (for $33.99 CAD).

The smaller-format UK edition has been available since September 17th from Amazon.co.uk (for just £10.20), or from Waterstone’s (for £20.00.)

Readers in Australia can order it through Booktopia (for $30.95 AUD), of Allen & Unwin (for $39.99 AUD)

In New Zealand, from MightyApe (for $55.00 NZD)

In Germany, you can get it at Amazon.de (for €24.25)

Or… Are you an expat living on some tropical Pacific atoll? Then BookDepository.com sells my book for $26.43, with free worldwide delivery.

Rawles: The Ultimate Prepper's Survival Guide

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Note on Other Sources:

By the way, most Costco stores have already run out of their special (early and exclusive) edition of the book, that they’ve been selling for the past 50 days. That special edition has my  “List of Lists” as a bonus Appendix. But they only bought 30,000 copies. Costco’s anticipated re-order shipment probably won’t arrive until February.

Oh, and if you’d rather order your copies through IndieBound (for $24.99) or Indigo (for $33.99) for delivery via your local bookstore, then take note that the ISBN-13 is: 978-1645173779.

Once you’ve read the book, brief reviews at Amazon.con and BN.com would be greatly appreciated. It would also be great if someone could mention the book in the James Rawles biography page at Wikipedia.

Once again, Many Thanks for waiting until today to order your copies of The Ultimate Prepper’s Survival Guide!  – JWR

Range Estimation and Windage with Mil Reticles – Part 1, by N.E.

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“Tossing a bit of dry grass in the air as he had done at countless high-power matches, T.K. judged the wind. He complained, ‘Darn, I wish I had a windage table for .50 Browning. I’ll just have to guesstimate.’ Getting ready for his first shot seemed to take forever. First, he made several adjustments to the bipod. Then he squirmed around trying to get into a comfortable prone position. He tried placing his cheek on the stock several times before he found a position that was both comfortable and provided a full field of view through the rifle’s ten-power Leupold scope. Next, he concentrated on getting himself relaxed and controlling his breathing. Then, and only then, did he pick his primary and secondary targets.

‘I’ll spot for you,’ Dan said, as he pulled out his binoculars. Dan lay propped up on his elbows, peering through the rubber-armored seven-by-fifty Steiner binoculars. ‘What do you make their range, about eight hundred?,’ Fong asked.

‘More like nine-fifty,’ T.K. remarked coolly.” (Patriots, p. 229).

If reading the novel Patriots doesn’t get you pumped up, maybe you’re on the wrong web site. In this article, I provide a “how-to” on long-range shooting by showing you how to range targets using a mil-based reticle and ways to read the wind.

Long-range shooting works well with prepping because being true to the meaning of the word, you need to prepare in advance so that your end result meets your expectations. Shooting at longer ranges requires an advanced understanding of several things, but, I assure you, it is not hard once you get into it.

Shooting at longer distances does require practice and patience, however. Long range is also not for everyone due to several factors such as firearms interest, cost, and range availability. Or, maybe your general location won’t allow you to see beyond 200 yards. However, if you are sitting at your retreat, or at your home and you can see further than 200 yards, then learning how to use a mil based reticle can help you in the most basic sense of just calculating distance.Continue reading“Range Estimation and Windage with Mil Reticles – Part 1, by N.E.”

SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

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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, we focus on Yellowstone National Park’s efforts to boost its Trumpeter Swan population. (See the Wyoming section.)

Region-Wide

Supply chain issues affect items from cars to fishing lures

o  o  o

What’s Next for the Pacific Northwest? — Neutral El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) Conditions

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43 windmills being transported through North Idaho starting Thursday night

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Your photos, videos of wind damage around the Inland Northwest

Idaho

Idaho has two of America’s fastest-growing cities. You’ll never guess who isn’t one.

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CDA: Moose spotted on campus at Woodland Middle School

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Boise is a ‘trending destination’ during pandemic, Airbnb says. What does that mean?

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

Preparedness Notes for Monday — October 19, 2020

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We’re counting down the hours!  Book Bomb Day for my latest book (The Ultimate Prepper’s Survival Guide) will be tomorrow Tuesday: October 20, 2020. Please wait to place your order until after midnight tonight, eastern time, to maximize the rankings on Amazon.com, and on the New York Times Bestsellers list. Thanks!

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October 19th is the birthday of some notables. First is the late Alexander Zeisal “Zus” Bielski –he and part of his partisan band are pictured.  Other birthdays today: investor Jim Rogers (born 1942), and James Howard Kunstler (born 1948). Kunstler is well known to SurvivalBlog readers as the author of the novel World Made by Hand and the nonfiction book The Long Emergency.

A fictionalized portrayal of Zus Bielski is seen in the movie Defiance. This movie was loosely based on the excellent book Defiance: The Bielski Partisans by Nechama Tec.

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The Pre-Election Sale on Antique Pre-1899 Cartridge guns is continuing at Elk Creek Company. At last count, our inventory was down to just 50 guns. We won’t have many left by election day, so order soon!

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Here is a new listing that I spotted at SurvivalRealty.com: Remote Log Cabin in the Tall Timber South of Dixie, Idaho.

Star BM 9mm Pistol, by Pat Cascio

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I’m a fan of military surplus firearms, of all kinds – unfortunately, there aren’t too many in my meager gun collection. Once again, everyone believes that because I’m a writer – mostly about firearms and knives, that I have a huge collection. But in fact I don’t. I can’t afford all of the guns I’d love to have, so I’m a habitual gun trader. My local FFL dealer recently purchased two huge gun collections, and they obtained quite a few M1 Garands and M1 Carbines in these collections. I’d love to own one of each, especially since those are in original condition – not rebuilt. However, I simply can’t afford the price tags on either model – even the lowest priced models are out of my financial reach. So, I settle for less — not less quality, but lesser prices.

I’ve long admired Star Firearms – long out of business – and the outstanding handguns that they produced. I owned a couple of the Star PD .45 ACP pistols over the years, and wish I had kept at least one of them. But I had never owned a Star BM 9mm handgun, for some strange reason – until recently.

The Star BM 9mm, is of course, a 9mm chambered handgun, and the outward appearance resembles that of a 1911 Commander .45 ACP handgun. However, that’s where all the similarities end. The Star is a completely different gun design from top to bottom, yet it is a solid handgun for police, military, or civilian use. J&G Sales in Arizona obtained some Star BM 9mm pistols via Century Arms International that were brought into the USA from Spain some time ago. They had three grades of the BM, with the “worse” of the batch graded by J&G as in “good” condition. A word here, about J&G and their grading of used guns. I’ve been in the firearms community for half a century, and over that time, I’ve purchased some used guns from J&G. Generally, I’ve found their grading to be one step below how other many other outlets describe guns. For instance, a gun graded as “good” is most likely just in “fair” condition, and one as “very good” is probably in “good” condition – just my two cents worth.Continue reading“Star BM 9mm Pistol, by Pat Cascio”

Recipe of the Week: Giardiniera (Italian Pickled Vegetables)

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The following recipe for Giardiniera (Italian Pickled Vegetables) was kindly sent by SurvivalBlog reader “Animal House.”

Chef’s Notes: I developed a love for giardiniera when I lived in Europe; and now it is a family favorite. In the summer we add giardiniera to cold rice, salad, soups or eat as a snack. In winter add to warm rice, soups, stews and casseroles, or as a stand-alone vege with dinner. There is a German version that adds hot peppers and uses coriander rather than oregano; but I like the Italian version.

This recipe fills 24 pint-size canning jars.

BRINE:
  • 4 cups white vinegar
  • 4 cups apple cider vinegar
  • 4 cups water
VEGETABLES:
  • 2 cauliflower heads cut into florets
  • 3 pds of carrots sliced
  • 2 heads of celery diced to bite size pieces
  • 2 each red, yellow and green bell peppers in bite size pieces
  • 2 medium size red onions, diced to bite size pieces
  • Other vegetables like green beans may be added as desired.In each pint jar:
  • ¼ tsp pickling/canning salt
  • 1/8 tsp minced garlic cloves
  • 1/8 tsp mustard seeds
  • 1/8 tsp dried oregano
  • 1/8 tsp black or white pepper
Instructions

Follow all the food safety guidelines for canning!

  1. In a pan, heat water, and two vinegars for brine, turn heat off before boiling.
  2. Ready your utensils, jars, lids/rings and canners for water bathing.
  3. Begin heating the water bath so it is boiling prior to putting jars in canner.
  4. Add the spices to each pint jar.
  5. Divide vegetables among the jars and pack tightly into jars.
  6. Pour the brine to 1” below jar rim; use a plastic or wood utensil to release the air bubbles in each jar.
  7. Add additional brine as needed to allow ½ to ¾ inch head space, but cover top of veges.
  8. Wipe the jar rims so nothing remains on the rims to block sealing.
  9. Finger tighten rings on to jar lids and carefully place in the water bath.
  10. Bring water bath back to a boil and set your timer for 15 minutes.
  11. Remove from canner and let cool on a clean dish towel. Leave jars set at least an hour before checking for lid sealing.
  12. Let jars set for at least 7 days to pickle, before eating.

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

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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 the nationwide shortage of guns, ammunition, magazines, and reloading components. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)

Precious Metals:

Election countdown: Sell U.S. dollar, buy silver, and other advice from analysts

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Egon von Greyerz: MALDISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH & SILVER – INVESTMENT OF THE DECADE

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Podcast: This Gold Bull Market Won’t End. (A hat tip to H.L. for the link.)

Economy & Finance:

A recent piece by Wolf Richter: Stimulus & Debt-Deferral Economy: Americans Splurged. Huge Price Increases Boosted Auto Sales. Liquidation Sales Pumped up Department Stores

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At Zero Hedge: A Q4 GDP Contraction Will Soon Become The Base Case In Europe

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Dennis Miller, at The Burning Platform: The Perils Of Inflation. JWR’s Comment:  The included charts speak for themselves.

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Another at Wolf Street: Disney Struck. Cinemas, Landlords Face Nightmare in Brick-and-Mortar-Meltdown Series as Movie Debuts Shift to Streaming

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The Australian newspaper The Age reports on trouble for Peter Schiff’s bank: The day the international tax authorities came knocking.

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”