Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — April 24, 2019

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This is the day that the Armenian Genocide began, in 1915. Ottoman (Turk) Muslims slaughtered 1.5 million of their Christian neighbors, intellectuals, and community leaders. The Ottoman government proceeded with multiple phases to round up men in mass executions and drive women and children into the desert on death marches. They also lead the general Muslim citizens to participate in brutal periodic massacres within their communities signaled with the blow of a bugle in a Manchurian candidate-type of manner. It is one of the first modern genocides and serves as a warning for us today.  There are chilling accounts contained in Islam scholar Andrew Bostom’s book, The Legacy of Jihad: Islamic Holy War And the Fate of Non-Muslims.

April 24th is also the birthday of Carolyn Cole (born 1961), a well-known staff photographer for the Los Angeles Times.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 82  of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $12,000 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. 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 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:

  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.

Round 82 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.

Challenge & Password for The Prepared Family, by A. Jackson

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One of the best ways to improve your preparedness skills is by adapting military skills to preparedness uses. Today we’re adapting the U.S. Army Common Task of ‘Challenge & Password’ to the needs of the survivalist.

Scenario

Consider the following scenario: About six weeks ago it finally happened, the currency collapsed and since then the security situation has rapidly deteriorated. Crime has begun to run rampant as the populace grows more and more desperate to fill their and their family’s bellies. At some point most of the local police force realized that their entire paycheck couldn’t even buy their family a single loaf of bread and every minute they spent protecting your family was one that put their own at risk. The few police that are reporting for duty can’t adequately keep the security situation from spiraling out of control. You’ve been up the last 20 hours warning strangers away from your home and watching for the friends you expect to come shelter with you for the duration of the difficulties. You pray that they arrive soon because you’re not sure you can stay awake much longer and the moon will soon set… dropping the neighborhood into total darkness now with the rolling blackouts. Finally, you see the outline of three people headed directly for your home…your friends must have picked up another along on the way. It sure looks like Jim and Carol walking in and all you need to do to confirm it is hear their voice, so you call out. “Who’s there?” and receive the expected reply “It’s me.” With great relief you step out from your hide and walk up to greet them you soon discover are strangers. Your last thought before you lose consciousness is: “she sure sounded like Carol.”

Challenge & Password is a one technique used by military forces to recognize friendly forces in hostile environments or while guarding resources. While the need for such a technique when encountering a soldier from an adjacent unit that you haven’t met before is apparent this technique also assists service members in recognizing friendlies in low light and no light situations. You may believe that you will always recognize those you should let in and easily identify hostiles but in reality, it’s very easy for a tired and hopeful mind to ‘see’ what it hopes or expects to see when the reality is something else entirely. Challenge & Password and the other recognition techniques we’ll explore today are meant to verify what your eyes and ears are telling you to ensure that those really are friendlies walking up on your position.Continue reading“Challenge & Password for The Prepared Family, by A. Jackson”

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 the new movie The Highwaymen. (See the Movies section.)

Books:

This book was recommended by Wendy McElroy: Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder, by Caroline Fraser. The New York Times Book Review described it:

“An absorbing new biography [that] deserves recognition as an essential text…. For anyone who has drifted into thinking of Wilder’s ‘Little House’ books as relics of a distant and irrelevant past, reading Prairie Fires will provide a lasting cure…. Meanwhile, ‘Little House’ devotees will appreciate the extraordinary care and energy Fraser devotes to uncovering the details of a life that has been expertly veiled by myth.”

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Reader R.B. suggested the Tier One series of military fiction novels by Andrews & Wilson. (If you buy your books from Amazon with our link, then SurvivalBlog will get a little piece of the action.)

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Spearhead: An American Tank Gunner, His Enemy, and a Collision of Lives in World War II

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Living the RV Life: Your Ultimate Guide to Life on the Road

 

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

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 discontinued Browning stainless steel guns. (See the Tangibles Investing section at the end of this column.)

 

Precious Metals:

Gold To Peak At $1,400 On Risk Aversion By Year-End — Capital Economics

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Gold Price Forecast: Gold Lower Even As Fed Loses Credibility

 

Economy & Finance:

Next up, Global growth to slow in 2019. “The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has downgraded its forecast for global growth in 2019 during what it says is a ‘delicate moment” for the world economy.”

o  o  o

There Is Too Much Debt In The World – World Bank.

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House Prices in 12 of California’s Most Expensive Coastal Counties Fell in March from a Year Ago. Here are the Charts

 

The Political-Economic Intersection:

Bernie Sanders announces: OPTIONS TO FINANCE MEDICARE FOR ALL. JWR’s Comments: Note his planned top income tax rate of 52% and “Taxing capital gains and dividends the same as income”. I really hope that this socialist buffoon gets the Democrat Party nomination. With policies like these, he will be unelectable.

o  o  o

Chase Bank shuts down ‘alt-right’ accounts

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“What’s the use of fleeing to the United States if MS-13 murderers can simply follow in the victims’ wake? As someone noted on Twitter, ‘If America is to be a place of asylum then there has to be a way to discriminate between those who flee danger and those who are the danger. The border is the only place for that to happen.’

Walls will eventually be understood as places where information can be intelligently applied. They can make it difficult for any high-ranking Third World official to move themselves, their money, or their families to the West unless specially cleared, a concept already contained in the Magnitsky Act. ‘Since 2016 the bill, which applies globally, authorizes the US government to sanction those who it sees as human rights offenders, freezing their assets, and ban them from entering the U.S.’ In the case of failing state officials, the prohibition could be amended to exclude them ‘unless proven not to be human rights offenders’ and force them to have skin in the game of their own countries. Only a barrier can achieve this. Sooner or later it will become apparent that walls as well as bridges are necessary for a global world.” – Richard Fernandez at PJ Media

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — April 23, 2019

Andrew Rowan, born April 23, 1857 (died 1943) became one of the Spanish-American War’s most famous heroes because of a surprisingly popular essay written by Elbert Hubbard entitled “Message to Garcia”, detailing Rowan’s heroic acts as a liaison obtaining military intelligence. Rowan later wrote How I Carried the Message to Garcia.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 82  of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $12,000 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. 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 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:

  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.

Round 82 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.

Spices for Long Term Storage, by Upper Midwesterner

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This isn’t going to be just another food storage article. For excellent advice on that subject, start by exploring  the SurvivalBlog archives and the LDS web site. But there’s a related topic that I felt was worthy of discussion.

It wasn’t that long ago that .22 rimfire ammo disappeared from shelves, and conversations about PMAGs in stock sounded pretty similar to claims about Yeti and the Loch Ness Monster – utterances viewed by most listeners with great skepticism. We live in a ‘just in time’-supplied world, where almost anything can quickly affect the price – or the availability – of many products we’re used to seeing on our store’s shelves.

If you bake, you’ve probably noticed the massive increase in the price of vanilla. Last year, a hurricane in Madagascar so damaged the crop that today’s vanilla prices have nearly doubled. Vanilla, like many other spices we rely on, still come from isolated places on the globe. Any environmental, economic or political disruption could cause them to rapidly disappear from our markets – perhaps for a very long time. More than our recipes would be affected, because some of these things are essential components of food preservation as well.

Continue reading“Spices for Long Term Storage, by Upper Midwesterner”

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. Today, we focus on concerts in the region scheduled for the remainder of 2019.

As an aside, I had one reader e-mail me to say that much of the news that I report in this column is “boring”.  So, welcome to Mayberry, RFD. I don’t publicize many riots, or mass murders, or street protests, or nudist festivals–simply because we don’t have many of those here in The American Redoubt. Life is a bit more mundane, slow-paced, and bucolic here, and we like it that way! We had zero murders in my county in the past four years. When they do occur, a murder in the Redoubt is usually big news–not just a statistic.

Region-Wide

RFR on KTW – 2019-03-23 Righteous Will Be Accused of Rebellion Our Army Is Bigger Than Theirs

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Now available: Spokane & Inland Northwest Relocation Guide.

Idaho

There are a raft of concerts scheduled for 2019 in Idaho, including: Bela Fleck, Celtic Woman, Old Dominion, Riders In The Sky, Vince Neil, Josh Ritter, Tracy Byrd, Jackson Browne, Travis Tritt, and Josh Groban.

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Rep. Fulcher Introduces Bill for One Subject Rule

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Yes, many Californians are moving to Idaho. Here are the other states new residents are coming from.

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

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”.  Today, we focus on field gear.

Practical Legalities of Magazines in California

First up, from The Daily Shooter: Can I USE My California Standard & High Cap Mags?

The JLTV (Humvee Replacement)

Video: Update for US Army – The new JLTV gives a demonstration of its capabilities. JWR’s Comments: I have to warn myself not to covet.  The good news is that the JLTV will replace the older-generation vehicles. That, in turn, will hopefully mean that a large number of surplus up-armored HMMWVs will probably be hitting the market–at reasonable prices. Be patient.

Europe’s Draconian New Copyright Rules

Several readers sent this: Europe looks to remold internet with new copyright rules. JWR’s Comments: Even though I’ve personally lost out on tens of thousands of dollars due to copyright infringement (e.g. pirated electronic copies of my books and audiobooks) I oppose this legislation.  The inability to quote snippets of articles or even to simply link to articles will stifle freedom of press.

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

Preparedness Notes for Monday — April 22, 2019

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Today is the birthday of actor Eddie Albert (born Edward Albert Heimberger on April 22, 1906.) He died May 26, 2005, at age 99.) Prior to World War II, and before his film career, Albert had toured Mexico as a clown and high-wire artist with the Escalante Brothers Circus, but secretly worked for U.S. Army intelligence, photographing German U-boats in Mexican harbors. For his actions in the battle of Tarawa, he was awarded the Bronze Star with combat “V” device.

This is also the birthday of the late Charles Rankin Bond, Jr, who was born in Dallas on April 22, 1915. He was one of the last of the AVG Flying Tiger pilots.

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Today we present another product review by our Filed Gear Editor, Pat Cascio. You’ll note that Pat never pulls any punches. When a product doesn’t live up to expectations, he never hesitates to tell you about it.

Taurus PT1911, by Pat Cascio

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I’m a huge fan of the 1911 style of handguns. I have been, just about all my life as a shooter. I’m a sucker for a well-made 1911, new or used, at a good price, too. Today, we’re checking out the disappointing Taurus PT1911, full-sized 1911 in .45 ACP.  Pictured is my test gun, with some upgraded grips.

The following hyperbole is a snippet directly from the Taurus web site:

“Destined to become the standard that all 1911 pistols are compared to, the Taurus 1911 offers you the most accurate and feature-laden model on the market today. Starting with our own hammer-forged not cast-ordnance grade steel frame, slide and barrels. Our skilled pistolsmiths hand-fit and assemble each firearm in our state-of-the-art factory. Available in the powerful .45 ACP or 9mm, this aggressive, rock solid firearm is ready to go, right out of the box. The Taurus 1911 is an unbeatable firearms that also provides an unbeatable value.”

Wow! Those promises are quite a bit to take in.

To be sure, this is not the first Taurus 1911 I’ve owned, I’ve had several since they were first introduced some years ago. And, on my Taurus sample, it is marked PT1911 – on the Taurus website, they simply refer to it as a “1911” – something changed some place along the line, for some reason.

Continue reading“Taurus PT1911, by Pat Cascio”

Recipe of the Week: Anita’s Basic Seasoned Flour

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This is a family multipurpose standby that yields about 5 cups of flour mix that can be incorporated into many meat recipes– most often as a flour in which to dredge or roll various meat cuts before baking or cooking. But it can also be incorporated into meat-based soups, or for use in dough to include in meat pies and pasties. (For the latter, add more unseasoned flour, unless you want a really peppery flavor.)

Note: This flour can be stored refrigerated in a tightly-sealed container for many weeks.

You can greatly reduce the quantity of salt, for low-salt diets.

Ingredients
  • 4 C All-Purpose Flour
  • 1/4 Cup of Salt
  • 2 T Fresh Ground Pepper
  • 2 T Dry English Mustard (Powder)
  • 1 T Paprika (or less, to suit your taste)
  • 1 tsp Dried Basil
  • 1 T Chervil (aka French Parsley)
  • 1 tsp Thyme
  • 1 tsp Parsley Flakes
Directions
  • Sift flour, salt, pepper, mustard powder, and paprika together.
  • Stir in the herbs.
  • Store in an airtight container, refrigerated.
Notes

Typically, we use this to dredge pork chops, chicken, beef round steak, or beef chuck steak, cut into pieces.  (After dredging, brown the meat in a skillet , put it in a baking dish, cover with foil and place in a 350 F oven for 30 to 60 minutes.)

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Do you have a favorite recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers? Please send it 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 Sand Color PMAGs. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)

 

Precious Metals:

A Recession, Debt Crisis Would Be Good For Gold – VanEck

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Arkadiusz Sieroń: Will Powell’s Dovish Turn Support Gold?

Economy & Finance:

H.L. spotted this, over at Wolf Street: How Big or Tiny of an Apartment Can the Median Household Income Afford to Rent in the 100 Largest US Cities? A snippet from the article:

“In only 14 of the 100 cities can 30% of this median household income rent an apartment that is larger than average for that city…”

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Moving on to this at The WSJ: The Long Bull Market Has Failed to Fix Public Pensions

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From the analysts at Eide Bailly: Economic Update – April 2019

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”