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’s focus is on Recycling. (See the Commodities section.)

Precious Metals:

Gold Price Goes ‘Thunk’…And ‘Tis A Good Healthy Thing

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From H.L.: The Arms Race Between Gold Counterfeiters and Bullion Testers Is Heating Up. JWR’s Comment:  This is yet another reason that I prefer buying circulated pre-’65 silver coins. (Since they are much more rarely counterfeited than gold.) Anyone who plans to buy gold bullion coins should buy a set of Fisch coin checkers. If the gold counterfeiting problem gets any worse, then it might reduce us to trusting only  PCGS or NGC slabbed Gold Eagles.

 

Economy & Finance:

At Zero Hedge: Foreigner Boycott Of US Treasurys Continues: 7Y Auction Indirects Tumble To 3 Year Low

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Next, over at The Wall Street Journal: In This Oil Boom Town, Even a Barber Can Make $180,000.  The article starts off with this: “One of America’s hottest labor markets is in West Texas, where the brisket is scarce, the ‘man-camps’ are full, and oil workers with no time to spare pay $75 to skip the line at the barber shop.”

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Home Prices in Sydney & Melbourne Spiral Down, Bust Spreads. IMF to Regulators: “Reinforce Financial Crisis Management”

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Michael Snyder: 18 Really Big Numbers That Show That The U.S. Economy Is Starting To Fall Apart Very Rapidly

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Preparedness Notes for Thursday – March 7, 2019

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March 7, 1944 was the birthday of Townes Van Zandt, a gifted Texan singer/songwriter. (He died in 1997.)

March 7, 1707 was the birthday of Stephen Hopkins, (Governor of Rhode Island) one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.

March 7, 1925 was the birthday of Rene Gagnon, a U.S. Marine, who was seen in the famous photographs of the Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima. (He died in 1979.)

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Today we present a short but heavily-illustrated guest article by reader P.R., titled Observations on City Life in Brazil. It was too short to meet the 1,500-word minimum for our bimonthly nonfiction writing contest, so he asked that it be posted as a guest piece.

Observations on City Life in Brazil, by P.R.

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I recently vacationed in Brazil. Whenever I’m abroad, I always keep my eyes out for things that may be of interest to you fellow preppers. Brazil presented a lot of opportunities for this.  I do like theoretical discussions, but I really like to see how people in the real world cope with problems and issues that we may have in the future.  Looking at these real world examples can greatly help out own plans and preparedness.

Although a fairly developed country, Brazil does have a larger economic disparity than the US, especially in the larger cities like Rio de Janiero and São Paulo. There are a lot of homeless folks visible in the larger cities, especially compared to the larger places that I’ve lived In the US, such as Chicago. There are areas that are basically shanty towns, rife with the poor, crime, and where the drug dealers operate out of.Continue reading“Observations on City Life in Brazil, by P.R.”

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 Canada’s Risk Database.

Humanity Development Library

Reader David K. wrote to mention: “I found this while researching food crops for my pigs. It looks like it’s a great resource!”:  Humanity Development Library.

Canada’s Risk Database

Reader C.H. sent this: Police in Canada Are Tracking People’s ‘Negative’ Behavior In a ‘Risk’ Database. Here is a snippet:

“Information about people believed to be ‘at risk’ of becoming criminals or victims of harm is shared between civilian agencies and police and is added to the database when a person is being evaluated for a rapid intervention intended to lower their risk levels. Interventions can range from a door knock and a chat to forced hospitalization or arrest.”

C.H.’s Comment: “According to the article this currently focuses on homeless people, children in dangerous neighborhoods etc.  But how long before there is a Canadian “social credit” system similar to what the PRC is doing?”
Continue reading“The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:”

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — March 6, 2019

March 6th was the birthday of Leroy Gordon “Gordo” Cooper Jr., born in 1927 in Shawnee, Oklahoma. This U.S. Air Force pilot and astronaut was aboard Mercury 9 and Gemini 5. Cooper had his exploits well documented in Tom Wolfe’s book The Right Stuff, and in the well-done film of the same name. Cooper died at age 77 from heart failure at his home in Ventura, California, October 4, 2004.

Coincidentally, this is also the birthday of Valentina Tereshkova (born 1937), a Soviet cosmonaut and the first woman in space, aboard Vostok 6. She was born in Maslennikovo, USSR.

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Today we present a short guest article by reader A.B.S., titled Multi-Caliber Weapons for Survival. It was too short to meet the 1,500-word minimum for our bimonthly nonfiction writing contest, so he asked that it be posted as a guest piece.

Multi-Caliber Weapons for Survival, by A.B.S.

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When it comes to firearms for survival situations, you can find about as many opinions as models of weapons on the market about what is the best choice. To me, the ability to use multiple calibers in one platform will go a long way in extending the utility of these tools without breaking the bank.

The popularity of newer caliber firearms, such as the .327 Federal Magnum has brought this into a new light. The. 327 Federal Magnum had been offered in revolvers for several years. In this form you can use .327 Federal Magnum, .32 H & R Mag, .32 S&W Long, .32 SW Short, .32 ACP, as well as a couple of European calibers. This gives you several options. Lately .327 Federal Magnum has been offered in lever action rifles that are capable of firing .327 Federal Magnum, .32 H & R Magnum, and .32 S&W Long. With this diversity of calibers, it should give a resourceful person the chance to find ammo from a number of sources.

Many other platforms are available in various caliber families for anyone wanting to have options and willing to do careful research and use safe practices. Randy Lyman, of the reloading company fame, has a list of compatible calibers. This makes for a good starting place.

Continue reading“Multi-Caliber Weapons for Survival, by A.B.S.”

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 documentary film titled Calvinist. (See the Movies section.)

Books:

Battlefield America: The War On The American People, by John W. Whitehead.

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Kashmir in Conflict: India, Pakistan and the Unending War

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Brown’s Skin and Minor Surgery: A Text

Movies:

Reader Bruce D. recommended this documentary: Calvinist. Bruce wrote:  “I just watched a great documentary on the recent resurgence of Reformed Theology amongst young adults. It’s streaming on Amazon and I’m sure your readers will enjoy it. Here is a cut & paste from the description: ‘When a generation finds the theology and practice of the modern church wanting, they turn to the internet for answers. an investigation into the roots of the reformation reveals a theology that challenges everything they thought they knew about Christianity. With a fresh view of God, where do they go from here? Calvinist is the theology documentary of a lifetime.” It is available of Blu-Ray, DVD, and for free streaming with Amazon Prime.

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The Fight of Our Lives – Defeating the Idealogical War Against the West, directed by Gloria Greenfield. It is available of Blu-Ray, DVD, and for free streaming with Amazon Prime.

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’s focus is on $100 Bills. (See the Economy & Finance section.)

Precious Metals:

Only The Fed Could Kill Gold Now – Analyst

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Do you like nuggets? Here is a great collection of photos, sent to us by reader H.L.: The most gigantic gold finds of all time

 

Economy & Finance:

Next, over at Seeking Alpha: An Honest Look At Recession Risk – A Simple Model Tells You How Close We Are

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The Fed Chair Just Admitted On Record That The US is Heading For a Debt Crisis. (Thanks to H.L. for the link.)

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Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“INDECISION, n. The chief element of success; “for whereas,” saith Sir Thomas Brewbold, “there is but one way to do nothing and divers way to do something, whereof, to a surety, only one is the right way, it followeth that he who from indecision standeth still hath not so many chances of going astray as he who pusheth forwards” –a most clear and satisfactory exposition on the matter.
“Your prompt decision to attack,” said Genera Grant on a certain occasion to General Gordon Granger, “was admirable; you had but five minutes to make up your mind in.”
“Yes, sir,” answered the victorious subordinate, “it is a great thing to be know exactly what to do in an emergency. When in doubt whether to attack or retreat I never hesitate a moment –I toss us a copper.”
“Do you mean to say that’s what you did this time?”
“Yes, General; but for Heaven’s sake don’t reprimand me: I disobeyed the coin.” – Ambrose Bierce

 

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday – March 5, 2019

We are sad to report the death of actor Luke Perry, on Monday, following a massive stroke a few days earlier. He starred in the quasi-survivalist television series titled Jeremiah. Season 2 of the series is available free for Amazon Prime members. For Season 1, you have to pay. On Hulu, both Season 1 and Season 2 are included with a Hulu subscription. Here’s a description of the series from IMDB: “In a post-apocalyptic future, a deadly virus has wiped out most of humanity. The only ones who survived, were those who hadn’t yet reached puberty. Now, a decade has gone by, and a man called Jeremiah is set on a quest to find a mysterious place, of which his father spoke, a place called Valhalla.”  (Thanks to Marco for letting us know of Luke Perry’s death.)

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This is the birthday of Howard Pyle (1853-1911) an influential American book illustrator, painter, and author. He was the mentor of many great American artists including Thornton Oakley, Frank E. Schoonover, Allen Tupper True, and of course N.C. Wyeth.

This is also the birthday of Momofuku Ando (born, 1910) the Taiwanese-Japanese inventor of instant noodles and Cup-O-Noodles, born in Wu Baifu, Taiwan. He died in 2007.

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Today, with permission, we present a guest article on livestock guardian dogs (LGDs) by Kit Perez. She is one of the editors of the excellent American Partisan. I highly recommend bookmarking that site and especially watching for articles written by Kit.

Protecting Your Farm Animals With a LGD, by Kit Perez

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If you’re serious about prepping and/or homesteading, chances are you have some animals on your property. Maybe it’s just a few chickens for eggs; maybe you have some other birds as well. You might have a beef steer or heifer, pigs, or even some goats or sheep. There’s a huge variety of animals to get, and just as many reasons to get them: meat, milk, wool, whatever. The point is that if you’ve taken on the responsibility (and privilege) of raising animals, then you’ve also taken on the responsibility of protecting them from predators. Anyone who’s raised chickens for a long time has probably lost at least one to hawks, foxes, raccoons, or some other hungry outdoor resident. Those who raise larger stock have bigger things — literally — to worry about, depending on the area they live in.

Sure, you could make sure you’re armed when you’re outside (and you’re armed all the time, right?) but you’re not out with your animals 24-7, and fences, pens, and coops only do so much to keep your animals safe. How can you protect them when you aren’t around?

The single best way to do that is with a livestock guardian dog, or LGD.

LGD vs. Farm Dog

A lot of farms have dogs, but an LGD is an entirely different kind of animal — and only select breeds of dog can do this work. Bred from thousands of years of work in austere conditions guarding livestock, the LGD is not “your” dog. They don’t bond to you the same way as other dogs, they don’t seek to please you, and they don’t much care what you think; in fact, they can be quite apathetic toward you, preferring the company of their stock. If properly trained, they are completely bonded to your animals, which becomes their pack of sorts. They spend every minute of every day with their animals, and they are bred to think independently. They can follow basic commands (and should be taught a recall command and a few things like “sit” to make the rare farm visit from the vet a bit easier), but for the most part their job is to evaluate threats on the property, deter them through barking and aggressive posturing, and if that doesn’t work, confront and even kill them — no matter what it is or where you are at the time. Their entire purpose in life is the safety of their animals, and they will do whatever it takes to fulfill that role even if it means fighting something much bigger than they are.

Continue reading“Protecting Your Farm Animals With a LGD, by Kit Perez”

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 railroads, rail bikes, and rails-to-trails in the American Redoubt.  The region has a rich history of railroads.  Many  “branch ” (Class III) railroads were and still are used to haul grain, ore, logs, and lumber. (A hat tip to reader JML, who sent me the initial link that piqued my interest in rail biking and rails to trails.)

Region-Wide

Any time after April 5th, I recommend visiting the Inland Northwest Rail Museum, in Rearden, Washington. (25 miles west of Spokane.) The museum is closed in winter.

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Active & Abandoned Railroads of the Pacific Northwest

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The biggest railroad in the Redoubt is Warren Buffet’s railroad: BNSF.  (Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway bought the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad for $44 billion in 2009.) Oh, and they’re hiring.

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On the Beauty and the Beta podcast: Among other topics, a discussion of H.R. 8. (Matt Christiansen lives in Montana and his co-host lives in Idaho.) You can skip forward to the 1:16 mark.  That part of their discussion ends at 1:27:30.)

Idaho

Idaho Rail to Trail.

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Idaho Railroad Jobs

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In Idaho, Sandpoint is the “funnel” for railroads.

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Here is one statistic where Redoubt does not fare well: States With The Most Drunk Drivers.  JWR’s Comments:  Note that these statistics may be skewed. Perhaps it should be titled: States Where The Most Drunk Drivers Get Caught. You see, the driving distances to the local watering holes can stretch to 30+ miles in much of Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana. So the gendarmes have more time to spot and follow lane-weaving drivers. There are very few taxi services that serve small towns. And public transit buses and light rail? Ha! There are very few. I suspect that the level of drunkenness is nearly as high in urban states.

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And at Redoubt News, there is this: Idaho HB 17 – Grocery Tax Credit. The article ends with this warning: “I advise you to be wary of any bill that has had major controversy around it for years, then is randomly passed unanimously by both the house and the senate and signed into law with no hiccups.”

 

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 U.S. Population Density.  The featured image is a composite photo of the lights of North America at night.  Some pictures truly are worth a thousand words.

Insured Against Cataclysm?

First up, over at Wired: Post-Apocalyptic Insurers Try Out a New ‘Make it Rain’ Strategy.  Here is a quote:

“Typical insurance, the kind you probably have on your car or home, helps with this, but it is slooooow. It pays out only after you make a claim and get a valuation of the damages—and then you still have to wait for the check. That’s not much help if you’re wading through floodwater.

Insurers have figured out a way to speed that up—by restructuring the system. Forget about claims and adjustment; with these new kinds of policies, all it takes to get the financial ball rolling is the occurrence of a trigger, a previously agreed-upon event: an earthquake of sufficient size, say, or a hurricane with winds of a given speed. It’s called “parametric insurance,” and if one of those hazard parameters gets met, every policy holder downrange of the trigger gets an automatic payment of a set amount. Pow.”

Visualizing 200 Years of U.S. Population Density

Peter sent us a link to this item: Animation: Visualizing 200 Years of U.S. Population Density.  JWR’s Comments: It is fascinating watching this well-researched and detailed animation play through. You will notice a great huge gap in their map: The American Redoubt. The population density here–outside of a few cities like Spokane and Boise–is amazingly low, even to this day.

Facebook Eliminated 1.5 Billion Page-Views to Conservative Sites

I spotted this linked over at Free Zoxee Friends: Facebook Eliminated Over One Billion Page-Views to Conservative Websites in 2018 – Now, Thanks to James O’Keefe, We Have Proof This Was The Plan.

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