Economics & Investing For Preppers

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Here are the latest 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 JWR. (SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor.) Today’s focus is on “Neccos Futures”. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)

Precious Metals:

Video from Mike Maloney: The Silver Coil Is Tightening

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Powerful Greenback Hammers Gold and Silver Prices Below Key Support

 

Cryptos:

Rough run for cryptos gets worse

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And H.L. spotted this at Zero Hedge: German Bank Allows Users To Transfer Loans Anywhere In The World Using Bitcoin

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GoTenna Launches a Bitcoin Wallet That Works Without the Internet

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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. This week the focus is on Fasteners. (See the Gear section.)

Books:

The Week-by-Week Vegetable Gardener’s Handbook: Make the Most of Your Growing Season

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Back in print!  Total Resistance.  (This book was formerly published by Paladin Press, a company that sadly went out of business, a few months back.)

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Navy SEAL Sniper: An Intimate Look at the Sniper of the 21st Century

 

Movies:

This is a “must watch” documentary on personal liberty narrated by Larken Rose, available on YouTube:  It Can’t Happen Here.

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And here is a fascinating documentary about the late Jake Korell, a trapper who lived near Riverton, Wyoming. When this was filmed, he was still active in trapping, in his late 90s: Trapper Jake. (Available on DVD. Or available for free streaming, for Amazon Prime members.

 

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The Mathematics of Countering Tyranny

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Introductory Proviso: The following essay on possible gun confiscation is a purely conjectural gedankenexperiment about the future that extrapolates from recent history and current trends. Nothing herein is seditious (per 18 U.S. Code § 2384), nor a call to arms, nor a threat to our government or to any individual, agency, or group.

The Collectivist Dream

The current mass media-driven “debate” on firearms (actually more like paternalistic lecturing or chiding) seems to be leading toward greater restrictions by Congress. The collectivist gun grabbers have the dream of ignoring the Second Amendment and somehow magically removing all detachable magazine semi-auto rifles from civilian hands. But it is just that: a dream. If they think that they can disarm us, then they are thoroughly deluded.  I’ll explain why, with some simple mathematics.

The United States has the world’s first or second most heavily-armed populace, per capita. (It’s possibly second only to Yemen.) The number of FBI firearms background checks for transfers by Federally-licensed dealers from November 1998 to April 30, 2018 totaled 287,807,015. That isn’t all new guns. It of course includes many second-hand sales that cycled back through FFL holders. But it is still a staggering number. And it does not include any private party (“not through a dealer”) sales of used guns. That is thankfully legal in most states. Nor does it include guns that are legally made at home. (Typically made with 80% complete receivers.) Those home “builds” are becoming quite popular. Their ownership is mostly opaque to any would-be tyrants who might covet seizing them.

There are somewhere between 370 million and 420 million privately-owned firearms in the United States. Let’s just call it 400 million for a nice round figure. Most of those guns are not registered to particular owners. That is why there are only rough estimates. It makes me feel good to know that Big Brother has no idea where those guns are, and who owns them. When I last checked, the total U.S. population is 327,708,500.  So that is about 1.2 guns per person. The adult population is around 249,500,000. And according to Wikipedia, the “Fit for service” Military Age Male population (men, ages 16-49) of the U.S. is just 59,764,677. That equates to 6.6 guns per Military Age Male in the United States.

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SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

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Here is SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt. This weekly column features news stories and event announcements from around the American Redoubt region. We also mention companies of interest to preppers that are located in the region. The emphasis this week is on the Idaho Primary Election.

Idaho

The Idaho primary election is being held TODAY — Tuesday, May 15th.  Please vote!  Here is a last minute news item: US Senator Rand Paul Endorses Michael Snyder For Congress.

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Here is just one example of the high caliber of some of the true “small government” conservatives that are running for office, in Idaho: Mark Eberlein talks the growth of government.

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Reader M.H. recommended a precious metals dealer located in Eagle, Idaho: Money Metals Exchange. They stock a broad line of gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. Their markups appear to be quite low.

 

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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 “HJL”. To features an example of why concealed carry is important!

The Importance of Concealed Carry

Reader M.R. sent in this video showing the importance of concealed carry. In the short surveillance video, a man can be observed attempting to abduct a young girl at gun point on a street corner. While most of the crowd are initially oblivious to the assault, one woman draws her weapon and shoots the assailant in the shoulder. At that point, the people on the street (including the girl who was going to be abducted) scatter and clear in just a few moments. But the whole situation is resolved by then. To the defendants credit, she clears the assailants weapon and forces him to roll onto his stomach while giving orders to passers by (presumably to call 911). A good days work for a well-prepared woman.

Hiker Dies of Exposure

On the other end of the preparedness spectrum, a teacher who had been reported missing was found dead. Apparently, he went for a hike, unprepared for spring weather and apparently died of exposure. The investigation is still ongoing and there may be other factors, such as health issues. He was an avid hiker and was known to take hikes for days at a time. Assuming that there was no foul play, we’ll file that one as being unprepared, especially in the communications realm. Even if you don’t have it turned on while you hike, a communications device is a worthy inclusion in your hiking/camping gear for emergency use. Thanks to R.K. for the link.

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Preparedness Notes for Monday – May 14, 2018

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On May 14th, 1948, in Tel Aviv, Jewish Agency Chairman David Ben-Gurion proclaimed the State of Israel, reestablishing the Jewish state after 2000 years. In an afternoon ceremony at the Tel Aviv Art Museum, Ben-Gurion pronounced the words “We hereby proclaim the establishment of the Jewish state in Palestine, to be called Israel,” prompting applause and tears from the crowd gathered at the museum. Ben-Gurion became Israel’s first premier.

The British Army had withdrawn the day earlier and fighting broke out almost immediately. Egypt launched an air assault later in the evening. Despite a blackout in Tel Aviv–and the expected Arab invasion–Jews joyously celebrated the birth of their new nation, especially after word was received that the United States had recognized the Jewish state. At midnight, the State of Israel officially came into being upon termination of the British mandate in Palestine.

Ruger SR1911 – 9mm Compact, by Pat Cascio

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Ruger’s newest 1911 handgun is under review here. Ruger sure did it up right. Check out our findings.

The 1911 Handgun

The 1911 handgun has been around since, well 1911, in one guise or another. I don’t have the facts to back this up, but I suspect it is the best-selling model of handgun of all time, based on how many different companies have produced a version of it over the years. And, just when you think we have saturated the 1911 market, a new maker comes along or an established maker comes out with more models. There seems to be no end to what can be done with a 1911 platform.

Ruger and the 1911

Ruger was slow to jump on the 1911 bandwagon, for a number of reasons. First off, they have kept extremely focused on producing guns of their own design that have been great sellers. When Ruger does something, they don’t want to be satisfied with just copying an old design. If they can’t improve upon it, they won’t do it. Several years ago, Ruger jumped into the 1911 market with a full-sized 1911 with some features other makers didn’t offer. It was a hit! Of course, then everyone was asking Ruger, myself included, “When will you come out with ‘this’ model of 1911…” Ever so slowly, and with caution, Ruger has been answering the call for us, 1911 lovers.

Continue reading“Ruger SR1911 – 9mm Compact, by Pat Cascio”

Economics & Investing For Preppers

Here are the latest 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 JWR. (SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor.) Today’s focus is on the price of crude oil. (See the Commodities section.)

Precious Metals:

First off, there is this from John Rubino, at Gold-Eagle.com: The 1970s All Over Again? (Part 1: The Middle East Explodes)

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Gold’s Time To Shine As Dollar Loses Its Luster – Analysts

 

Cryptos:

Crypto Miners: Another Way To Leverage Crypto Investments

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Does Low Transaction Volume Portend A Bear Market for Bitcoin?

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The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“The liberties of our country, the freedom of our civil Constitution, are worth defending at all hazards; and it is our duty to defend them against all attacks. We have received them as a fair inheritance from our worthy ancestors: they purchased them for us with toil and danger and expense of treasure and blood, and transmitted them to us with care and diligence. It will bring an everlasting mark of infamy on the present generation, enlightened as it is, if we should suffer them to be wrested from us by violence without a struggle, or to be cheated out of them by the artifices of false and designing men.” – Samuel Adams

Preparedness Notes for Sunday – May 13, 2018

May 13th is the birthday of firearms engineer Theodor Koch (born 1905, died 1976.) Koch, along with Edmund Heckler and Alex Seidel salvaged tooling from the bombed-out Mauser factory at Oberndorf, and with it founded Heckler und Koch.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today features another entry for Round 76 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $11,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A $3000 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. Two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value), and
  8. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Second Prize:

  1. A Model 175 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $439 value),
  2. 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,
  3. A gift certificate for any two or three-day class from Max Velocity Tactical (a $600 value),
  4. A transferable certificate for a two-day Ultimate Bug Out Course from Florida Firearms Training (a $400 value),
  5. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  6. A $200 gift certificate good towards any books published by PrepperPress.com,
  7. RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site.

Third Prize:

  1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
  3. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances, and
  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).

Round 76 ends on May 31st, 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.

Bring Your Own Bandaids- Part 6, by A.&J. R.

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This is the final part of our article about the supplies we will need in order to address the medical issues we are most likely to experience, whether in a TEOTWAWKI situation we get to a “Bring Your Own Bandaids” clinic with experienced medical personnel or we have to treat some matters on our own. Our lists and discussion goes way beyond the first aid kit, and at the end of each section, we also note essential oils that may be helpful.

Anti-Fungals

Pills

Fluconazole is the go-to oral anti-fungal medication for fungal infections. It is available only by prescription in the U.S. At first glance, it is a bit pricey—over one dollar per pill. However, you only need one pill to treat most infections, so you won’t need to have a lot in your stockpile. But you’ll be glad to have a few when you need them. Ketoconazole is indicated for systemic infections, or for local ones that just won’t respond to other medications. It has a fish antifungal equivalent. It is also rather pricey, even when purchased through an overseas pharmacy.

Liquids

Gentian violet is a purple dye that will stain everything it touches, skin and clothing. Usually one application is effective, but may be repeated if necessary. It has the blessing of being rather inexpensive and is especially useful for treating thrush.

Powders

Powders may be used. Clotrimazole and tinactin are very effective for treating athlete’s foot.

Topical Creams

Topical creams, like Lamisil and Lotrimin used for athlete’s foot and ringworm and Gyne-Lotrimin used for vaginal infections, are great as long as they aren’t too far out of date. These may be combined with hydrocortisone to make a cream very similar to Lotrizone or Mycalog.

Continue reading“Bring Your Own Bandaids- Part 6, by A.&J. R.”