The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly; it is dearness only that gives everything its value. I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress and grow.” – Thomas Paine

Preparedness Notes for Sunday — October 20, 2019

3

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 book Fast and Fancy Revolver Shooting is fascinating reading.

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.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 85 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A $3,000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any 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 (an $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made 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 gift certificate from Quantum Harvest LLC (up to a $2,200 value) good for 12% off the purchase of any of their sun-tracking models, and 10% off the purchase price of any of their other models.
  2. 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.
  3. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  4. A $300 purchase credit for any of the products from EMPShield.com
  5. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  6. 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).
  7. 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. Good2GoCo.com is providing a $400 purchase credit at regular prices for the prize winner’s choice of either Wise Foods or Augason long term storage foods, in stackable buckets.
  2. 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)
  3. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  4. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances.

Round 85 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.

Here’s How The New U.S.-China Trade Talks May End, by Brandon Smith

9

The following is a guest post that originally appeared in the great Alt-Market.com blog.  Brandon Smith also edits the highly-recommended Wild Bunch Dispatch newsletter.

—

With the U.S. and China in the midst of a new round of high level trade talks, this Thursday marks 22 months since tariffs were launched and the trade war began. Far from being “easy to win”, the trade war has lasted far longer than most analysts in the mainstream and alternative media predicted. In past articles, I have warned that the trade war itself is probably not meant to be won at all; rather, it is a massive distraction and a convenient scapegoat as global banks set the implosion of the Everything Bubble in motion. I continue to stand by this assessment, which is why I think it is unlikely that the current talks with China will accomplish much of anything.

This conclusion runs in stark contrast to all the hype we heard in the investment community in September. The way stock markets levitated, one would have thought a deal was assured. Never underestimate the power of blind optimism, I suppose. I believe there are a very limited number of end games to the meeting, none of which will result in an actual “deal”. However, it’s important to understand the dynamics at play here.

First and foremost, if we are to approach the trade war from a mere surface examination, there is really no incentive for China to capitulate to Trump’s demands. There is only one year left until the 2020 elections, and while both economies are certainly seeing a downward plunge, China is hardly crippled by tariffs on exports to the U.S. China can simply bide its time, waiting to see how the U.S. election unfolds. The more unstable the U.S. economy is in 2020, the less likely it will be that Trump will win a second term. Trump has tied himself so completely to the performance of the economy and stock markets that whatever happens, he now owns the end result.

The U.S. only accounts for 18% of total Chinese exports, which is not a small amount to be sure, but nowhere near enough leverage to push China into long-term concessions. China has already begun replacing U.S. agricultural products by turning to alternative markets in countries like Brazil and Mexico. The meme six months ago among trade war cheerleaders was that “the Chinese people would be starving within months without U.S. soy and pork”, and the Chinese government would “have a revolution on its hands.” I hope these people now see how ridiculous this assertion is. The U.S. is not the only game in town, there are plenty of other agricultural markets in the world.Continue reading“Here’s How The New U.S.-China Trade Talks May End, by Brandon Smith”

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

67

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 California’s descent into socialist insanity.

FPC: California Governor Signs 15 Gun Control Bills

A video report from the Firearms Policy Coalition: California Gov. Gavin Newsom Signs 15 Gun Control Bills. JWR’s Comments: The new “loosey-goosey” Red Flag law is so concerning that I now recommend my readers who live in California accelerate their plans to relocate. Relocate soon, before you are targeted by a busybody neighbor and then tried by the New Star Chamber, in absentia!  Face it, folks: California is a lost cause. The Democrats now solidly hold the State Assembly, the State Senate, and the Governor’s Mansion, with no end in sight. They have an entrenched Democrat constituency. Not content with just honoring the memory of Cesar Chavez, California is now on the path to going Full Hugo Chavez. This is the same state that now requires background checks for ammo sales, and that will soon mandate that only licensed dealers can sell gun parts. They also just instituted putting illegal aliens on State Boards. California is now a state ruled by rabid collectivists. This is nothing short of a descent into socialist insanity. Vote with your feet. Flee!

A 3D Printed 25-Foot Boat

Reader H.L. suggested this article over at Futurism: Watch a Giant 3D Printer Spit Out an Entire Boat.
Continue reading“The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

1

“Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Thou art permitted to speak for thyself. Then Paul stretched forth the hand, and answered for himself:

I think myself happy, king Agrippa, because I shall answer for myself this day before thee touching all the things whereof I am accused of the Jews:

Especially because I know thee to be expert in all customs and questions which are among the Jews: wherefore I beseech thee to hear me patiently.

My manner of life from my youth, which was at the first among mine own nation at Jerusalem, know all the Jews;

Which knew me from the beginning, if they would testify, that after the most straitest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee.

And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God, unto our fathers:

Unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come. For which hope’s sake, king Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews.

Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead?

I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.

Which thing I also did in Jerusalem: and many of the saints did I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them.

And I punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities.

Whereupon as I went to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests,

At midday, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them which journeyed with me.

 And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.

And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.

But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee;

Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee,

To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.

Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision:

But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.

For these causes the Jews caught me in the temple, and went about to kill me.

Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come:

That Christ should suffer, and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead, and should shew light unto the people, and to the Gentiles. – Acts 26: 1:23 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — October 19, 2019

October 19th is the birthday of three notables– the late Alexander Zeisal “Zus” Bielski (born 1912), 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.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 85 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A $3,000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any 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 (an $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made 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 gift certificate from Quantum Harvest LLC (up to a $2,200 value) good for 12% off the purchase of any of their sun-tracking models, and 10% off the purchase price of any of their other models.
  2. 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.
  3. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  4. A $300 purchase credit for any of the products from EMPShield.com
  5. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  6. 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).
  7. 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. Good2GoCo.com is providing a $400 purchase credit at regular prices for the prize winner’s choice of either Wise Foods or Augason long term storage foods, in stackable buckets.
  2. 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)
  3. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  4. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances.

Round 85 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.

Prepper House Hunting – Part 2, by Mrs. AK

26

(This installment concludes the article.)

—

We do have towns here in Vermont that lack any zoning. While some might consider this good, it can get ugly when people turn their properties into junkyards or want to start noxious commercial operations in a residential area. I’d like some protection from that sort of thing, while not living in a place that controls every aspect of your life.

I want to avoid large commercial dairy operations and their associated spreading of liquid manure. The odors, traffic, dust and noise can be unbearable and has really caused a diminished quality of life for areas impacted by this; here dairy farms are sacred so good luck getting anyone in authority to help with this. The same goes for large pig farms etc. There’s a pig farm here that has a constant problem with escaped pigs which cause immense damage to the neighbor’s gardens and land. In some states this would also be an issue for large poultry operations which can be pretty nasty.

A piece of land that has significant open sunny area for gardening plus some woods would be ideal. Unless I’d get a large enough piece of land I don’t anticipate being able to cut enough wood on my own land to provide for entire winters of wood stove use(although that would be ideal), but at least some would be helpful.Continue reading“Prepper House Hunting – Part 2, by Mrs. AK”

Editors’ Prepping Progress

27

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make 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 the Comments. Let’s keep busy and be ready!

Jim Reports:

We are always busy in the Fall, since homeschooling has resumed, and we are busy with food preservation and last-minute tasks to get ready for winter. For instance, I will soon be installing snow tires and attaching our pickup truck’s snow plow. Once hunting season begins, everything else takes lower priority.

The fall colors are now at their peak, and that means lots of “oohhs” and “ahhs”, as we round each bend in the highway on our trips to town. I really love the fall season.

I spent almost one full day using my neighbor’s borrowed backhoe to cut a trench out in our barnyard, and then installing a 90-foot long poor man’s French Drain, to cure a chronic large puddle in a low spot. That puddle looked like a small pond, after every long downpour. It was only three to five inches deep, but up to 35 feet long. With heavy clay soil beneath, this puddle often lingered for several days. Because we have plenty of rock on the ranch, and I have a tendency to pile them up when clearing areas (such as our gardens and orchard), so I had plenty of rocks stockpiled–ranging between golf ball size and pineapple size. Most of them were about the size of my fist. I also had a truck load of gravel stockpiled. I ended up using most of that, too!  And since I didn’t have enough permeable underlayment on hand, I used the old homestead trick of laying down straw on top of the rock layer, before back-filling. Straw doesn’t fully decompose when buried for decades, so that should keep the soil above from clogging up the French Drain rocks. Hopefully, completing this long-delayed project will mean: Goodbye, megapuddle!

It feels good to be ready for winter, with hay and firewood stacked, a full larder, and logs crackling in the woodstove. There is some snow forecast within the next two weeks. Let it come.

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

2

“But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.

And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it.

For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever.

In that day, saith the Lord, will I assemble her that halteth, and I will gather her that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted;

And I will make her that halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation: and the Lord shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever.

And thou, O tower of the flock, the strong hold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem.

Now why dost thou cry out aloud? is there no king in thee? is thy counsellor perished? for pangs have taken thee as a woman in travail.

Be in pain, and labour to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail: for now shalt thou go forth out of the city, and thou shalt dwell in the field, and thou shalt go even to Babylon; there shalt thou be delivered; there the Lord shall redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies.

Now also many nations are gathered against thee, that say, Let her be defiled, and let our eye look upon Zion.

But they know not the thoughts of the Lord, neither understand they his counsel: for he shall gather them as the sheaves into the floor.

Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion: for I will make thine horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass: and thou shalt beat in pieces many people: and I will consecrate their gain unto the Lord, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth.” – Micah 4 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Friday — October 18, 2019

October 18th, 1662 was the birthday of Matthew Henry. (He died 22 June, 1714). He was a Presbyterian minister who lived primarily in Chester, England. Matthew Henry’s six-volume Exposition of the Old and New Testaments (commonly called Matthew Henry’s Commentary) (1708–1710) is a must for the bookshelf of any serious Bible scholar.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 85 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A $3,000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any 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 (an $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made 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 gift certificate from Quantum Harvest LLC (up to a $2,200 value) good for 12% off the purchase of any of their sun-tracking models, and 10% off the purchase price of any of their other models.
  2. 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.
  3. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  4. A $300 purchase credit for any of the products from EMPShield.com
  5. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  6. 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).
  7. 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. Good2GoCo.com is providing a $400 purchase credit at regular prices for the prize winner’s choice of either Wise Foods or Augason long term storage foods, in stackable buckets.
  2. 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)
  3. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  4. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances.

Round 85 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.

Prepper House Hunting – Part 1, by Mrs. AK

22

After two years spent traveling and volunteering both in the US and overseas, I’m now back in the US and looking for a place to settle down again. For someone who’s definitely oriented towards a preparedness lifestyle, living out of suitcases with no garden and minimal ability to stockpile food, water et cetera for two plus years has been an eye opening experience. After spending many years on my off-grid farm with photovoltaics (PV) and wind, a gravity fed spring, wood heat, an orchard, greenhouses etc. there has definitely been some discomfort associated with having left (and sold) that tie to security and knowing that if the Schumer Hits The Fan (SHTF), I was mostly on my own, often overseas where I couldn’t even easily understand the radio broadcasts!

But now that I’m back, I thought I’d share my thinking about where I’m hoping to resettle and what I’m looking for. Although the exact specifics may differ for others, I hope that my thought process while considering where I might want to live will be useful to other readers of this site.

I’ve lived in Vermont for a long time. Other than our winters–which are just too long–I really love it here for many reasons including our low population numbers and density, beautiful landscapes, local food production and the presence of people who still know how to do real work with real tools and not just a computer mouse. Living somewhere that when a tree comes down across the road someone is likely to come along soon with their chainsaw and quickly reopen the road and not just wait for someone in an “official “capacity to arrive and take care of it is something that I value. That said, we also are increasingly being overrun by people with super liberal/progressive political beliefs that I abhor. We do still have a decent gun culture and laws though, despite the influx of others that demonize all guns and gun owners.Continue reading“Prepper House Hunting – Part 1, by Mrs. AK”

Economics & Investing For Preppers

16

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. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today, we look at the perennial interest in gold investing. (See the Precious Metals section.)

Precious Metals:

To start out today’s column, blog reader H.L. sent us this: Central Bank Issues Stunning Warning: “If The Entire System Collapses, Gold Will Be Needed To Start Over”

Here’s a quote:

“An article published by the De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), or Dutch Central Bank, has shocked many with its claim that “if the system collapses, the gold stock can serve as a basis to build it up again. Gold bolsters confidence in the stability of the central bank’s balance sheet and creates a sense of security.”

While gloomy predictions of a monetary reset are hardly new, they have traditionally been relegated to the fringe of mainstream financial thought – after all, as Mario Draghi stated on several occasions in recent years, the mere contemplation of a “doomsday scenario” is enough to create the self-fulfilling prophecy which materializes it. As such, it is stunning to see a mainstream financial institution open up about the superior value of limited supply, non-fiat, sound money assets. It is also hypocritical given the diametrically opposed Keynesian practices regularly engaged in by central banks and official institutions worldwide: after all, just a few months back, the IMF published a paper bashing Germany’s adoption of the gold standard in the 1870s as the catalyst for instability in the global monetary system.”

o  o  o

Peter Schiff: “Gold Is Going To Be Money Again” Because Of Gigantic Global Debt Time Bomb

o  o  o

At The Motley Fool: A Foolish Take: The Best Way to Invest in Gold. JWR’s Comment:  As a survivalist, I must warn folks that all  “paper” promises (vault storage, gold mining stocks, futures, metals ETFs, and so forth) are no substitute for tangible precious metals that are in your personal possession. Tangibles Trump Intangibles!

Economy & Finance:

At Zero Hedge: The Return Of Hyperinflation In Zimbabwe. JWR’s Comment:  Hardly unexpected!

o  o  o

Wolf Richter: How the Crybabies on Wall Street Try to Force the Fed into QE-4

o  o  o

Just Weeks After the Collapse of Thomas Cook, Spain Launches First Bailout of its Huge Tourism Industry

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Preparedness Notes for Thursday — October 17, 2019

10

On this day in 1835, Texans approve a resolution to create the Texas Rangers– a corps of armed and mounted lawmen designed to “range and guard the frontier between the Brazos and Trinity Rivers”. After winning their revolutionary war with Mexico the following year, Texans decided to keep the Rangers, both to defend against Indian and Mexican raiders and to serve as the principal law enforcement authority along the sparsely populated Texan frontier.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 85 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A $3,000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any 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 (an $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made 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 gift certificate from Quantum Harvest LLC (up to a $2,200 value) good for 12% off the purchase of any of their sun-tracking models, and 10% off the purchase price of any of their other models.
  2. 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.
  3. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  4. A $300 purchase credit for any of the products from EMPShield.com
  5. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  6. 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).
  7. 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. Good2GoCo.com is providing a $400 purchase credit at regular prices for the prize winner’s choice of either Wise Foods or Augason long term storage foods, in stackable buckets.
  2. 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)
  3. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  4. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances.

Round 85 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.

Living The Homesteading Life Dream – Part 3, by 3 AD Scout

10

(Continued from Part 2. This concludes the series.)

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Monitoring Work

I don’t like to micro-manage but at the same time monitoring the progress of work helps ensure that you are getting what you pay for. As I have stated, the building contractor who built our addition had a very detailed quote and nice computer-generated layouts of what it would look like when done. The only drawing he did not have was one for the addition onto the basement. Guess what the only issue we had was? The mason put the man door in the wrong spot. I caught it but it did require additional costs in which the contractor absorbed. I also noticed that when they broke up part of the cement floor that was being replaced in the basement, that there was busted up clay drainage pipe (new damage) and they replaced that as well. I would drive out each night after work if I could to look at the work and progress. I was not able to spend as much time driving out to check on the work of the first contractor who remodeled our kitchen and replaced a window and the door into the mudroom.

Recently, I started to remodel the mud room and took down the old paneling in the room and noticed that the contractor who had replaced the door and window didn’t even put any insulation in, that was stipulated in the contract. If that wasn’t bad enough, there was improper work done on fixing a 2×4 in a load-bearing wall. He also only used little one-inch screws to hold the hinges onto the doorframe versus the longer 3-inch screws that go into the actual framing. This would have make it a little more difficult to kick in the door. Needless to say, we now have the 3-inch screws attaching the door hinges to the door frame. If I had been able to see the work before it was enclosed, I could have ensured that I got what I asked and paid for. Don’t be afraid to ask for photographs of the walls, et cetera before the contractor encloses them.

Well Water

When we were going through the seller’s disclosure on the house we ended up buying, I noticed that the seller reported that the water did not initially pass the test for total coliform. The seller stated that they treated the well with bleach and it passed on the second test. When we purchased the house we had the water tested again and it failed. The levels being detected where not high but none the less the test showed there was an issue. I removed the roof that was on top of the well house and discovered the issue: Someone had the wrong well cap installed. There were holes that were probably allowing mice, or other small critters to enter the well and then decay thus adding to the small levels of total coliform that the test were detecting. I had a well driller come out and he extended the well tube up and out of the well house, put a good cap on and re-ran the electric wires.

The well driller put a few concentrated bleach tablets down and gave me instructions to wait 24 hours, then run the water in the house from each sink, etc. until I could smell the bleach. I waited a few days after that and then took a sample in for testing and: nothing. I was concerned about the quality of well water in this area since it is notorious for being very high in Sulphur. However our water is good and we have a well that has no issues with recharging. One of the things I also noticed when looking over the house was that the wire for the well pump was “casually” connected with just two wire nuts. Since then I have updated that so that if the power goes out I can now just un-plug the well pump from an outlet and plug it into the generator.

Landscaping

Our newly-purchased home needed some landscaping done. There were several pine trees around the property that that were in desperate need of trimming. We also had to apply poison ivy killer to a number of areas. Due to lack of trimming the trees had taken over parts of the lawn and even part of the drive way. The un-trimmed trees blocked the view of my one of my neighbors. When we were looking at getting insurance on the home it was as a “seasonal” home and being able to be seen by three neighbors lowered the insurance rates. From a survival standpoint I want to have good fields of fire and be able to see what is approaching. From a Mutual assistance group (MAG) standpoint I want to see what is happening at my neighbors’ homes too. The last reason for attending to the landscaping was that it made the place looked “lived in” and thus perhaps passed up by thieves.

Shooting Range

One of my pet peeves about living in the city was having to go to a shooting club. Not that I’m anti-social but it seemed like I would spend more time talking to people about what I was shooting than shooting. There was also the time spent on waiting for others to walk down range and back either setting up or checking their targets. And of course, there was being muzzled by the idiots who didn’t care where their muzzle was pointed. When I would take time to go to the range I want to shoot not talk or be shot. I built a small 100-yard to 140-yard range (depends where I set up). The range allows us to practice even things that were forbidden at the gun ranges due to their rules.

Planting

We knew that we wanted apple trees and blueberries, so we planted four apple trees the second year we owned the property. We did not plant any the first year since we wanted to see how the property drained. The third year we planted four more trees. However, only one of those survived. The trees I got the third year were not what I wanted. I have been buying my fruit trees and plants from the local conservancy who has a plant sale every Spring. The variety of apple tree I wanted was not shipped and on the advice of the people from the conservancy I took a variety that I knew nothing about. Advice from others is good but doing your own research is priceless. We also planted six blueberry bushes and they are coming along nicely.

The two elderberry trees that i bought did not survive either, but they did not look healthy when we got them. The good news is that I found two elderberry trees by our “pond”. We started our garden by making five, 4-foot by 10-foot raised beds with one being planted with asparagus. We did not plant a garden this year due to the move. But we have planted tomatoes, peppers and, onions with a very nice harvest. Now that we have moved to the BOL full time, we will be expanding the garden area. I would highly recommended that when you buy your BOL that planting fruit trees and bushes be on your list of priorities since it will take time for these plants to start producing.

Neighbors

In my opinion, regardless of whether you like them, your neighbors are your de facto MAG members. I have a better relationship with my new neighbor now than I did with the neighbors in the city after 10 years. Besides wanting good neighbors, I strive to be a good neighbor, especially since I’m the “new guy from the city”. Establishing a good relationship with your neighbors sets the foundation for cooperation when SHTF. Like any relationship, developing trust is the cornerstone.

The first year we owned the BOL, the nation was still in the midst of the .22 Long Rifle ammo drought. I was out one weekend and the neighbor came over to talk with me and told me that he “hoped I didn’t mind” that he had dispatched thee ground hogs on my property. I told him that I didn’t mind and that he was more than welcome to dispatch as many as he wanted. I asked what he used and he said “just a .22 rifle” and then mentioned not being able to find any .22 rimfire ammo. After he left, I went inside the BOL and got a 550 round bulk pack of .22 ammo and then took it to him. He was shocked that not only did I have .22 ammo but that I was giving him a whole box when such an item was almost impossible to get.

My closest neighbor runs his own business and has animals and fields to tend to at night. He mentioned needing to get to town for something but that he didn’t have time. Since I still work in town, I told him anytime he needed something just let me know and I’ll get it for him. He has taken me up on this a few times and is very thankful. Our relationship has now progressed to the next level and he borrowed my compound miter saw. My neighbor has been a great source of information on local contractors, saw mills, stone quarries, and other local businesses. He is also sharing what varieties of vegetables have grown really good in his garden. We also discussed raising they same breed of chickens so that we could swap out roosters. Since his apple orchard is already well-established, he was very interested in know that I am starting my own apiary. This year I also offered to let him hay my fields and he cut and baled about 200 small square bales. I figure when we get our animals next year that we will make some share arrangement for him to bale and for me, to get a number of them.

Communications

The Internet and communications were perhaps one of the most challenging issues we had. Our kids wanted Internet, while my wife and I both need the Internet for our work. We are lucky if our cell phones work. I have gotten to the point that I know where I need to stand to make or take a call. Texting is more successful unless I’m inside the house or trying to send a picture. Getting the Internet on my cell phone is also challenging. We looked at getting inter-net service and it seemed like everything was the same, slow and expensive. I talked to our IT director at work and told me about Ubifi. I checked into it and we signed up and it works great. We can actually stream a movie. As for our cell phones, we are planning on getting a cell phone booster, to help improve that service.

Planning

To me, having a strategic plan is imperative. (See: “Putting together a Strategic Plan” in SurvivalBlog, January 16, 2019).   I can honestly report that checking off items from my May 2019 plan has been a dismal failure. The vast majority of my projects will be carried over to 2020. Why? Well, frankly, looking back I assumed that our house would sell quickly thus allowing the funds to be used for many of these projects. The other issue is that I didn’t realize how much of my time would be monopolized by actually moving. We did not hire a moving company. We did it by using my truck and the wife’s mini-van for most of the stuff. For the large stuff like furniture we borrowed a large truck and had our extended family help. We moved from a house with 2,800 plus square feet and a 3 car garage into a house with barely 1,000 square feet.   As I mentioned before, not having a good tractor has been a major impediment to getting stuff checked off my list. That isn’t to say that we didn’t get anything accomplished, because we did. So, our 3-year plan turns into a 4 year plan!

Like many of you reading this I didn’t think moving to a BOL/Homestead full time was possible, at least not until I retired. Now, with a challenging medical condition here I am, a dream turned into reality. Looking back, I wonder why we thought we couldn’t do this until retirement? But like many instances when we stop saying “I can’t” and replace it with “I can”, things happen. Yes, our drive to work is a little longer, we spend more on gas, and I’m sure our car insurance will go up. But we are living our dream of being in a safe location, able to raise our own food, shoot our firearms, and let our dogs run around in a huge yard. We don’t hear the wail of police car sirens.

The kids’ class size went from 26 down to as low a 16, in some classes. My son commented that he hasn’t seen any fights at his new school. Our taxes are about $8,000 less, per year. Some of the money wasted on the taxes will be used to pay for improvements to our new homestead/BOL or to absorb the added cost of fuel, vehicle maintenance and insurance. One of the things we all appreciate and enjoy here at the homestead/BOL is looking up and seeing stars that were unable to be seen in the city with all the lights.

Our world is not becoming any safer. Disasters, crime, political discontent, coupled with cities that are looking Sodom and Gomorrah have made moving to a rural area one of the safest and smartest things that you can do. Yes, we have to drive into the city for work but we are confident that we can get out and back home should anything happen. It is nice to know that, statistically speaking, my home won’t be broken into, my kids will get a better education. They also see kids being kids and not little gangster wanna-bes.

Just start by stop saying “I CAN’T” and replace it with “I can”. Good luck. You won’t regret it.