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 the U.S. Army’s deployment of M1 Abrams tanks to Lithuania.

Taliban Sighted with Night Vision and Thermal Equipment

Reader G.P. mentioned this, over at American Partisan: Taliban Sighted with Night Vision and Thermal Equipment.

New York Sends Cease and Desist Orders to 80% Lower Sellers

Reader SOG sent this: NY State Sends Cease and Desist Orders to Sites Selling 80% Lower Receivers.

US Tanks and Troops Headed to Lithuania for Lengthy Deployment

The Stars and Stripes reports: US tanks and troops headed to Lithuania for lengthy deployment. (Thanks to G.P. for the link.)  The article begins:

“More than 500 U.S. soldiers and dozens of tanks and heavy fighting vehicles will deploy to Lithuania in the coming days on an extended mission to bulk up NATO’s eastern flank, the Baltic country’s military said Wednesday.

The troops are being dispatched as part of U.S. Army Europe’s Atlantic Resolve campaign, which involves rotating hundreds of troops to locations up and down eastern Europe in an effort to deter Russian aggression in the region.

The looming arrival of U.S. forces was welcomed by Lithuanian officials, who have lobbied for more frequent and longer American troop rotations since Atlantic Resolve began in the wake of Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014.”Continue reading“The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“As I read the Second Amendment, it doesn’t say the right to bear arms shall not be infringed unless the gun has scary features.” – Representative Jim Jordan, Republican of Ohio

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — October 2, 2019

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This marks the 150th birthday of Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948). Ben Kingsley did a great job of portraying him in the award-winning movie Gandhi.

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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.

A Failure to Communicate: Operation Market Garden, by Tunnel Rabbit

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Premised on the advantage of the’ element of surprise’, the bold and hastily conceived juggernaut, the subsequent hasty plan of piss poor preparation, lead to the piss poor execution of an operation of huge proportions, in that made Operation Market Garden, impressive in all regards. Although I’m certainly not a military historian, one can easily take that perspective, and learn something. The 1977 movie, A Bridge Too Far  [which was recently made available via Amazon Prime] is actually a great big fat 3-hour-long After Action Report, Hollywood style.  The fine and honest You Tube channel, History Buff provides criticism, insights and praise.

The primary lesson of the Market Garden failure, to reiterate, is that ‘haste makes waste’, and that pitifully poor planning will result in  pitifully poor performance. Getting into specifics points of failure is easy given the utter failure on many levels that made Market Garden monumental: The inability to use radio effectively, and disregard of intelligence are two glaring points of failure of that operation. Don’t let it be yours. They could have used Signal Intelligence (simply listening, collecting and, developing actionable intelligence to improve their strategy), yet sadly radio of the period was not fully leveraged in that capacity for that operation.  And they ignored reports from the Dutch underground.

Modern radio technology makes both communications and DIY signals intelligence much easier today.  We should strive to make the best of what we have today.  It costs little, and is not really all that complicated. But it is vital, and a first line of defense that would be more than silly to ignore. It could be fatal If ya know they are a’coming, we can bar the door.  Taking the element of surprise out of the attack by listening for it, or jamming it. Even the simplest form of home brew signals intelligence can blunt, or defeat an attack before it commences. And wouldn’t that be a good thing?   Warning others is the primary job of communications.Continue reading“A Failure to Communicate: Operation Market Garden, by Tunnel Rabbit”

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 are also links to sources for both storage food and storage containers. You will also note an emphasis on history books and historical movies. This week the focus is on winter backpacking and other aspects of winter travel. (See the Gear & Grub section.)

Books:

Ultralight Winter Travel: The Ultimate Guide to Lightweight Winter Camping, Hiking, and Backpacking

o  o  o

Land of Hope: An Invitation to the Great American Story

o  o  o

Something Deeply Hidden: Quantum Worlds and the Emergence of Spacetime

o  o  o

Head-to-Toe Winter Knits: 100 Quick and Easy Knitting Projects For The Winter Season

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

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — October 1, 2019

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Happy birthday to singer and actress Julie Andrews (born 1935.) Her name is always associated with The Sound of Music.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we are announcing writing contest winners for Round 84, and the first entry for Round 85

We are also pleased to announce a new prize that will be included in teh Secod Prize package, satrting with Round 85. This is a $300 purchase credit for any of the products from EMPShield.com. This fine company is also a SurvivalBlog banner advertiser. Be sure to check our their growing line of ultra-fast EMP protection products for homes, cars, RVs, generators, ham radio gear, and solar power systems.

Writing Contest Prize Winners: Round 84

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Today we are announcing the prize-winning writers for Round 84 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest.

First Prize:

First prize goes to T.R. for Build the Plan vs. Test the Plan, which was posted in five parts from August 20 to August 24, 2019.  She will receive the following prizes:

  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)4th, 2019 is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Second Prize:

Second prize goes to Tunnel Rabbit for My Solar-Powered Dankoff Slow Pump System, which was posted in two parts on August 3rd and 4th, 2019.  He will receive the following prizes:

  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 Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  5. 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).
  6. An assortment of products along with a one hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

Third Prize:

Third prize goes to J.M. for Elements of a Security System, which was posted in five parts from September 3 to September 7, 2019.  He will receive the following prizes:

  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.

Honorable Mention Prize Winners

Honorable Mention prizes ($30 Amazon.com gift certificates) are being awarded to these eight articles:

Note: Round 85 just began today, and ends on November 30th, 2019, 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 always have an advantage in the judging.

Adventures in Beekeeping by K. in Tennessee

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I’ve been a regular reader of SurvivalBlog.com for years and had developed an interest in keeping bees. I started researching online, got a book or two from the library, and after a few years felt I was ready to give it a try. Then we moved 800 miles away, bought some land, built a house, and started a little hobby farm in southern Appalachia. Life has funny ways of getting in the way, but I’m much happier for it, and now I have a great place to try out the hobby of beekeeping.

I was quite daunted with all of the information I found, but after reading a few different books, and lots of time spent online reading even more, and talking with fellow “beeks” (beekeepers), I got a general picture of how things were supposed to work. This took several years, I found it quite my head around the bigger picture challenging. As a new-to-me hobby I only dedicated a minimum of free time to learning about it. Once you decide to jump-in, make sure you are prepared to offer more than just the minimum: I’ve had a couple adventures. I found going to local beekeeper clubs and group meetings in the area to be very useful. Knowledge, information, good deals, and general well wishes were in abundance every time I took the time to attend. Eventually I got my hive and some minimal protective gear. I ordered a package of bees for the spring through a local club, and began the adventure I am about to describe. So far it has been rewarding, I am looking forward to continuing the journey.Continue reading“Adventures in Beekeeping by K. in Tennessee”

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 Boise State’s leftists. (See the Idaho section.)

Idaho

I just heard about a fairly new gun maker called Genesis Arms, in Coeur d’Alene. They are producing a great 12 gauge semi-auto shotgun called the GEN-12, using a standard off-the shelf AR-10 lower receiver and their own proprietary upper. They are now taking pre-orders for a 14-inch barreled “Firearm”” version with an SB Tactical arm brace that doe NOT require a $200 short-barreled shotgun (SBS) registration! They are also now taking pre-orders for 10-round magazines. Check them out!

o o o

Boise State rewards students for ‘unpacking white identity,’ ‘recognizing their privilege’. JWR”s Comments:  This illustrates how nearly all of academia is infected by radical leftist thought, even in a “conservative” state like Idaho. And it is also evidence that the acronym expansion that I predicted in my novel Land Of Promise is coming about. 20 years ago, they just said “Gay and Lesbian”. Then it was “Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual”. Then it was “LGBT”. Then it was “LGBTQ”. Now it is LGBTQIA+.  Just wait a few years, and we will be expected to memorize something like: LGBTT2QQAAIIPDPPANGNAA. That stands for Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Transsexual Two-Spirit Queer Questioning Intersex Intergender Asexual Allies Pansexual Demisexual Polysexual Polyamorous Androgynous Neutrois Gender Neutral and Animal Amorous.  It is also noteworthy that they proudly now call themselves “queer.”  But if I were to call one of them queer, then that would be an insult or perhaps even a prosecutable Thought Crime, in some countries. We are on the slippery slope toward having our own language becoming a weapon of cultural self-immolation.

o o o

Terry in Idaho sent this:  The Dismantling of Micron a Boise Icon.

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

Preparedness Notes for Monday — September 30, 2019

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B-Day!

Today, September 30th, 2019, is “B Day”: Baofeng Day. The U.S. sales ban on multi-band Baofeng UV-5R handie-talkies takes effect at midnight tonight. As of October 1st, 2019, it will be illegal to advertise or sell them. But they will still be legal to operate. Only licensed amateurs can operate on their ham bands. However, unlicensed folks can operate with them on their FRS, and MURS bands, if set to low power. Stock up! I recommend getting at least a six pack, ASAP! If those cases of six radios are sold out, then look for other UV-5R variants from the many sellers on Amazon.com, or on eBay.

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On this day in 1938, the Treaty of Munich was signed by Hitler, Mussolini, Daladier, and Chamberlain. This treaty forced Czechoslovakia to cede territory to Germany.

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Today, we’re posting another product review by Pat Cascio, our Field Gear Editior.

Springfield Armory XD-S Mod.2, by Pat Cascio

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Compact and sub-compact handguns are all the rage the past couple of years, and we have them in 9mm, .40 S&W, and .45 ACP these days. In a sub-compact, I believe it is best to stick with one in 9mm, because you get one or two more rounds in some of the magazines, and it is controllable – more so than the .40 S&W and the .45 ACP. If you can’t control your firearm for follow-up shots, what good is it? I received my Springfield Armory XD-S Mod.2 several months, before they were released to the public, and have enjoyed testing it so much, I just flat out forgot to do an article on it. I was just having too much fun shooting it.

I don’t want to second-guess the powers-that-be at Springfield Armory, but in the case of the XD-S Mod.2 – I believe they should have give it a different designation – there are so many changes on the Mod.2 version, that it really isn’t much of a brother, sister or cousin, from the original XD-S model, if you ask me. It is a substantially  different gun – it even looks different than the original XD-S. It is more stream-lined and much easier to hold and shoot – more on this, shortly.

Springfield Armory XD-S Mod.2The XD-S Mod.2 is a single-stack 9mm sub-compact handgun, that is just begging to be concealed – deeply concealed because of its small and compact size.  It is actually less than an inch wide, and with the 3.3-inch barrel, it is as small as you can go, and still have a functioning semi-auto pistol, that is accurate and easy to shoot. The Mod.2 has some really great upgrades over the original XD-S. To start with, there are the AmeriGlo fiber optic front  sights – the big green front sight is easy to see, and mine has the upgraded Pro-Glow front sight. This has a Tritium insert for day and night use – excellent. The rear sight is also new, compared to the original XD-S – it has the tactical rack design so you can rack the slide against any surface that has an edge on it – if for some reason you can’t use two hands to chamber a round.Continue reading“Springfield Armory XD-S Mod.2, by Pat Cascio”

Recipe of the Week: L.M.’s Sweet Potato Soup

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Reader L.M. kindly sent us her Sweet Potato Soup recipe, one of her fall favorites.

Ingredients
  • 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion
  • 1 cup roughly chopped carrots
  • 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
  • 3 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
  • 2 pounds yellow potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt (can be reduced for low-salt diets)
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper (or less, to taste)
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or less, to taste)
  • 7 cups chicken stock
  • 2 tablespoons salted butter
Toppings
  • 1 cup finely chopped pecans
  • 1/2 cup plain yogurt
  • 1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves
Directions
  1. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high.
  2. Add onion and carrots, and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes.
  3. Add garlic, and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 1 minute.
  4. Add sweet potatoes, yellow potatoes, salt, black pepper, cumin, cinnamon, and cayenne pepper, and cook, stirring, 1 minute.
  5. Add stock; bring to a boil.
  6. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until potatoes are very tender, about 30 minutes.
  7. Melt butter in a skillet over medium-high.
  8. Add pecans, and cook, stirring often, until toasted, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl.
  9. Transfer potato mixture, in batches, to a blender. Process in blender until smooth. (Or you may process the soup in your Dutch oven, with an immersion blender.)

SERVING

Top each serving bowl with 1 tablespoon of yogurt, 2 tablespoons of chopped pecans, and 1/2 tablespoon of parsley.

STORAGE

Can be stored in your refrigerator for up to three days and either re-heated (once), or individual bowls can be he-heated in your microwave oven.

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

Economics & Investing For Preppers

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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. 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 investing in Japanese swords. (See the Tangibles Investing section.

Precious Metals:

Niels Christensen: Gold’s summer rally is just the start – UBS

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About 30 Killed in Landslide at Chad Gold Mine

Economy & Finance:

At Zero Hedge: The Collapse In Germany Is Real… And Accelerating

o  o  o

Stashing Cash: Ultra-wealthy Americans are preparing for an impending recession

o  o  o

These Are The Banks Where The Fed’s $1.4 Trillion In Reserves Are Parked

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”