Zero Tolerance 0920, by Pat Cascio

 

If you want a custom-quality, harsh-use knife, then the ZT0920 that is under review today, should catch your attention. It is made by Zero Tolerance.

Zero Tolerance Knives

Zero Tolerance (ZT) knives is a division of Kershaw Knives, and they’re made right here in Oregon in the same plant where many Kershaw products are manufactured. Every ZT knife is only made in America. They claim their knives are over-built, and I’m sure not going to argue with ZT about this. We are talking about custom-quality knives that are every bit as well-made as any custom knives I’ve seen. I used to collect custom-made/hand-made knives, so I have something to compare the ZT line to.

Military and Law Enforcement

Those in the military and in law enforcement, who are looking for a knife that will never let them down, look to ZT knives to serve their needs. We are talking about hard-use knives that you can’t afford to have fail you; this pretty much sums up Zero Tolerance knives. However, savvy civilian knife users are also many of the customers that ZT serves.

Continue reading“Zero Tolerance 0920, by Pat Cascio”



Recipe of the Week: Caramel Baked Apples by Grey Woman

This is one of my favorite ways to use the last of the fall apples once spring comes. You know, these are the ones that have been in storage long enough to be a little too spongy to eat plain but still too good to feed to the critters.

Ingredients:

Baked Apples:

  • 6 Large apples – I prefer Honey Crisp, but go with what you love
  • ¼ lb + 2 Tbsp salted butter, softened
  • ¾ cup brown sugar
  • ½ cup chopped nuts – I prefer pecans, but, again, go with what you love
  • ½ cup dried cranberries
  • 2 Tbsp grated orange peel (if using dehydrated orange peel, soak first in apple cider)
  • ¼ tsp ground cloves
  • ¼ tsp nutmeg
  • ½ tsp cinnamon
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 4 whole cloves
  • 1 cup apple cider (you can use water, but cider is yummier)

Continue reading“Recipe of the Week: Caramel Baked Apples by Grey Woman”



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 investing in M1 Garand rifles. (See the Tangibles Investing section, near the end of this column.)

Precious Metals:

The Gold-Silver Ratio Is Not ‘Subject To Any Kind Of Cap’ — ICBC.   JWR’s Comment:  Spot silver is now almost laughably low versus other tangibles. I’m actively buying silver.  Selling Bitcoin on days when it is over $8,000 USD, and then buying physical silver when it is under $16.50 per Troy ounce is just common sense.  And if you can get a coin dealer to sell you silver directly for Bitcoin, then all the better. Three precious metals companies that accept Bitcoin are: APMEX (a long-time SurvivalBlog advertiser), JMBullion, and SilverGoldBull.com. Buy low and sell high, folks.

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Get Ready: ‘Big Breakout For Gold’ Is Coming — Bloomberg Intelligence

Commodities:

New Oilfield Capex To Surpass $800 Billion By 2025

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China’s yuan-denominated oil futures – what took you so long? (From the perspective of a mainland Chinese reporter.)

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”



The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Each workman would receive two or three important parts and would affix them together and pass them on to the next who would add a part and pass the growing article to another who would do the same … until the complete arm is put together.” – Samuel Colt



Preparedness Notes for Sunday – April 01, 2018

April 1st is  Molly Ivins Day which refers to this key verse: “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.” (Psalm 14:1 KJV)

April 1st, 1886 was the birthday of Arthur W. Pink, who died 15 July 1952 and was an English Christian evangelist and excellent Reformed Biblical scholar. It was his meticulously referenced arguments in his book, The Soverignty of God, that first convinced JWR of the truth of the doctrine of Election.



Proposing a U.S. Sovereign Cryptocurrency and Free Trade Zone

In February 2018, there was a small news item that didn’t get near the attention that is deserved. It described how The Marshall Islands–formerly  a U.S. Territory, but now an independent sovereign nation–plans to launch it own cryptocurrency, called the SOV and use it as legal tender. This will be the world’s second sovereign cryptocurrency.  (Venezuela has announced pre-sale of a national crypto that is backed by oil. But the Marshall Islands SOV is a much more legitmate venture.)

Sovereign Cryptocurrency

For any sovereign nation to release a legitimate sovereign cryptocurrency and give it legal tender status is huge news–even if it is done by a tiny nation.

Here are three key quotes from the article:

“The country has capped the SOV supply at 24 million tokens in order to prevent inflation…”

and,

“The Marshall Islands is partnering with Neema, an Israeli financial technology startup, to issue the SOV…”

and,

“[The] SOV is based on what the Marshall Islands government calls the “Yakwe framework”, which requires users to identify themselves on the blockchain, solving the anonymity problem that has plagued bitcoin and precluded its mainstream adoption. Paul said that because bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are anonymous, they are not compatible with the framework of a regulated banking environment.”

The story behind the Marshall Islands SOV is interesting reading, just in itself.

Hmmm… This is all food for thought. The SOV articles helped crystallize in my mind a plan for a sovereign cryptocurrency that I had been considering for several months.

Paying Off THE National Debt

If Donald Trump and senior U.S. Treasury Department officials are paying attention, then they are probably considering a similar cryptocurrency token issue. (Or they should be considering it!)  Here is my prediction: If there is a US Treasury Sovereign crypto token issued and if it is done correctly, then it could literally pay off the U.S. National Debt in less than ten years.  I’m not joking. Here is how this could work:

1.) The U.S. Treasury creates a variant of proven blockchain software and releases a strictly-limited quantity of crypto tokens. I propose that these crypto tokens be called U.S. Eagles or (“US-E”), to distinguish them from fiat US Dollars (USD). These would be strictly limited to a total issue of 100 Million US-E tokens. They’d be released at the rate of 10 Million US-E Tokens per year, over the course of 10 years. This strict token limit would insure that inflation of the US-E cryptocurrency is impossible. Instead, a sustained price deflation is inevitable, most likely at a geometric rate as the US-Eagle gains popularity.

2.) The exchange rate of US-E (“Eagles”) would be free-floating versus all other currencies.

3.) The selling price of the Initial Coin Offering (ICO) for 10 Million US-E Tokens be set at $100 USD.  But each subsequent annual release will be sold into circulation based solely on its then-current free market exchange rate. If demand is high then they should be sold with priority given to individual buyers who place online buy orders for less than .10 US-E each, to prevent a small group of individuals from amassing most of the tokens thereby allowing them to manipulate the market.

4.) That the US-E have 12 decimal places of divisibility, to give it long term utility, even if it advances to great value versus fiat currencies and other cryptocurrencies. (Most other cryptos only have 9 decimal places,)

5.) That US-E be given legal tender status for paying all debts, public and private in the United States and its territories.

6.) That ES-E be made 100% tax exempt throughout their chain of creation, issuance, use, and re-use. (“No taxes, ever“) This would mean that holders of US-E who sell them, spend them, or earn them would not be subject to any Federal taxes. Thus, US Dollar (USD) earnings and profits would still be taxable, but the US-E would not.

7.) That there be no electronic mining of US-E  sovereign cryptocurrency. Rather, they will be sold or spent into circulation in annual batches as a land-backed currency. By law, 100% of the revenue derived would be used to pay down the National Debt. And after all that debt is extinguished, any additional revenue would then be used to build up a national infrastructure trust fund to build roads, bridges, canals, border fences, and electrical/Internet infrastructure.

8.) For its land backing, the US-E  sovereign cryptocurrency would have perpetual at-will convertibility on demand into Allodial Patent Deeds for almost any BLM land within Owyhee County, in the southwestern corner of Idaho. This Southwest Idaho Free Trade (SWIFT) Zone would be bounded by the Nevada State line (to the south) and the Oregon State line (to the west.)  But it would exclude the already sovereignly-held Duck Valley Indian Reservation. Nearly all of the BLM-administered Federal land inside Owyhee County wodu be eligible to be redeemed with US-E, with the price for each parcel set at auction. These parcels would be allodially-held freeholds in the SWIFT Zone.

9.) The minimum size parcel for subdivision would be five acres. Owyhee County measures 7,665 square miles (4,905,600 acres.)  That is about three times the size of Delaware. But it has a population of less than 12,000. So there is plenty of vacant BLM land to redeem there. (Since it is likely that the free market  price of land inside the SWIFT Zone would soon exceed 300 US-E per acre, the entirety of the BLM land inside the zone would never be redeemed.)

10.) Any land that is already privately owned in Owyhee County would automatically become allodially-held freeholds, at no charge. Any currently-held mining claims would be converted to patented allodial freeheld claims, at no charge. And currently-held BLM cattle grazing permits inside the SWIFT Zone would end, but the holders of those permits would be reimbursed by free allodial grants of smaller parcels of BLM land, of their choice. The holders of US-E  sovereign cryptocurrency could redeem their choice of any BLM land inside the SWIFT Zone, with the exception of land set aside for road right-of-ways, shooting ranges, water reclamation sites, a few small riparian parks, public landfills, and airports.

11.) All land inside of the SWIFT Zone would be entirely exempt from any property taxes (Federal, State, or Local), in perpetuity. But with more billionaires per capita that any other US county, there will be no shortage of donations for scholarships to private schools and to build and maintain roads. Further, all land inside the SWIFT Zone would also be exempt from all Federal Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms laws. And even better, the holders of these parcels would be exempt from Federal income tax for any income generated by their business ventures located inside the SWIFT Zone. To clarify: Any business venture, trust, or individual, located inside the SWIFT Zone would be fully exempt from all Federal taxes including all duties, tariffs, corporate taxes, excise taxes, income taxes, estates taxes, the Firearms and Ammunition Excise Tax (FAET), NFA taxes, or capital gains taxes, forever.

Conclusion:

If this new US-Eagle sovereign cryptocurrency and SWIFT Zone are created as I have outlined, then I predict that they would immediately flourish with unprecedented abundance. Each successive annual US-E token issue would jump in value in relation to all other currencies. By the time that the Eighth Round of US-E tokens is issued, the value of US-E  sovereign cryptocurrency put into circulation would pay off the current $21 trillion National Debt. (It will probably be at least $23 trillion by the time this plan could be implemented.) And by the time that the 10th Round is issued, it will have built up an Infrastructure Trust Fund so large that it would last the nation for generations.

Pay attention, President Trump. This US-Eagle sovereign cryptocurrency can fly. This is your opportunity to go down in history as America’s Greatest President. Ever. – JWR

Note: Permission is granted for re-posting of this entire article, but only if done so in full, with proper attribution to James Wesley, Rawles and SurvivalBlog, and only if the included links are preserved.)

 

 

 

 



Letter: Colin Wilson and the Dominant Man Theory

Hi Hugh,

A long time ago I came across a book called The Outsider. It was written by a man from England whose name was Colin Wilson. He joined the RAF at a young age, did some manual labor; and set about writing books. This was his first book published when he was only 24. He wrote the book sleeping on hills near his local library, where he researched.. The book became a New York Times bestseller. He later bought a house, and wrote about another 200 books that were published. He Raised a family; and led a respectable life in my opinion.

He has some exciting titles like The Criminal History of Mankind and Religion and the Rebel. The book, The Outsider was about how the major writers and artists of his time were so full of pessimism. He noticed a pattern that for the most part ,”crushed the human spirit.”

Continue reading“Letter: Colin Wilson and the Dominant Man Theory”



The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

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”. More Social Media news today.

Social Media

Reader S.M. sent in this article on how the State Department has unveiled new rules that require most visitors or immigrants to the United States to turn over their recent social media histories. This is part of President Trumps “extreme vetting” national security enhancements. Given that social media is a primary means of communication among radicals, this is certainly a step in the right direction. Also encouraging is the mandate that visitors from countries who practice female genital mutilation will be directed to information sources that ensure that they know the practice is illegal in the United States.

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Do you know of people who announce that they are going on vacation on their social media accounts? I know of several families who have teenagers that regular post their current location along with photos, especially when they are traveling with their families. Note in this story that the house was robbed and the car stolen due to the social media presence of the family. We hate social media, but also understand that there are many who must use it. If you have to, at least use good OPSEC practices and don’t mention that you aren’t home, inviting burglars to visit you.

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



The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.” John 20:19 (KJV)



Preparedness Notes for Saturday – March 31, 2018

March 31 is the birthday of economist Dr. Walter E. Williams, PhD., who was born in 1936. His book American Contempt for Liberty is highly recommended.

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Ready Made Resources is having a great sale on PVS-14 Autogated 3rd gen white phosphor night vision with a 10 year warranty. It you’ve been waiting for the right time to pick one up, this is an excellent opportunity.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

This has been another entry for Round 75 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 Trekker IV™ Four-Person Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $250 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 75 ends on March 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.



Survival, Thirteenth Century Style- Part 2, by Snow Wolf

After I happened to watch the first episode of a 1975 British TV series called Survivors, I began to think differently about survival. Two conversations rearranged everything I’d assumed about survival and the continuation of civilization after a catastrophic disaster. I began to think from a perspective of thirteen century style survival.

I watched as the character in the show named Abby interacted with others and concluded that no one person had the knowledge to make much of anything in our modern society and she needed to learn how to master the old crafts. You might know some part of the process, but we struggled to make anything all by ourselves through the entire process. We depended upon a tool made of metal from ore that was mined or wood that was cut with an axe that is made from metal that is mined. We might depend upon glass. What happens when our tools and supplies are gone? Do we have the knowledge and skill to replace them?

Some think they’ll be able to read a book and know what to do. Let’s continue on with this thought.

Download Book After Book

Preppers who blissfully download book after book on an electronic device with the conviction that it’s now preserved forever are making another dangerous mistake. The further we get from the tangible, paper preservation of knowledge, the more precarious our knowledge base becomes and the more likely it is to be destroyed beyond recovery.

Continue reading“Survival, Thirteenth Century Style- Part 2, by Snow Wolf”



Editors’ Prepping Progress

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make long-term and short-term plans. Steadily, we work on meeting our prepping goals. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities. They also often share their planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, property improvements, 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!

JWR

Dear SurvivalBlog Readers,

This last week was mundane and bucolic. Mostly, we did a lot of manure hauling.

I also replaced a Marey brand compact 220 VAC tankless hot water heater in our tiny house style guest cabin. I discovered (the hard way) that simply draining the pipes in the cabin was insufficient. The heater retained some water, and it froze this winter. It began leaking profusely when I turned the water back on at the tap and drain valve. So the new heater now has an air compressor valve fitting installed, which will allow me to blow out any residual water, each fall. This is just one more item to add to my seasonal checklist. Oh well, that is just life in a northern climate.

I also bought a few dozen more full capacity magazines, just in case there is another Federal ban enacted. Why? I do not trust Paul Ryan and his RINO cronies. They seem all too willing to “compromise” away our right to keep and bear arms.

Avalanche Lily Reports:

I spent some time brushing our horses during the past three weeks, to help them rid themselves of their winter coats. This week’s brushing yielded a box measuring more than 1 cubic foot of horsehair!  We also recently trimmed their hooves. They are now almost looking as good as the horse in the featured image above.

Our garden preps are continuing well. Once every other day I’ve watered our garden seedlings in the greenhouse bedroom which are now between 2″ and 10 ” tall. Some of them are putting out their third sets of leaves. They are almost ready to be moved to the greenhouse.

Most recently we’ve been preparing for our annual Passover celebration. The first night is Friday night.

Please continue to post comments about your own preps.

Thanks, – Jim Rawles and Avalanche Lily, Rawles

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”



The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

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.  Today, the focus is on some firearms headlines.

Build Your Own AR-15 Class in Michigan

Sometimes a dose of reality creeps in to the mainstream news. This was aired by ABC News: ‘Build Your Own AR-15’ class in Michigan draws a crowd just days after protest. Our thanks to H.L. for the link.

 

New ATF Regulations Expanding the Definition of “Machinegun”

Adam Kraut  of The Legal Brief has some details on the new proposed rulemaking by the BATFE that would redefine the word “machinegun” under Federal law. See his new five minute video: NEW ATF Regulations!

In essence, it would ban bumpfire stocks (and possibly  more) at the stroke of pen.  Worst of all, they would be declared unregisterable “contraband”, with a destruction order that would not compensate the roughly 350,000 owners in the United States. Can you spell “Taking”? This is an unconstitutional slippery slope, folks!

Next week in SurvivalBlog we’ll post some more details, including how to post your public comments on regulation.gov website, with some suggested wording that might help.

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



The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men: but my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee. And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.” – 2 Samuel 7:12-16 (KJV)