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 have a special piece on Google and YouTube Spying.

How Much Do Google and YouTube Spy on You?

SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large Michael Z. Williamson wrote to describe a first-hand experience with Google and YouTube spying:

“My daughter was watching YouTube videos. Her YouTube browsing history also shows on my computer, when I go to YouTube. As you know, YouTube is now owned by Google. Yesterday, I referenced that people here at my home have the flu. Just a few minutes later her YouTube feed started showing cartoons about people being sick and needing bed rest. Bottom line: If you don’t want Facebook, Google, the NSA, Wikileaks, the Russians, the Martians, the DNC, the GOP, the drug cartels, 4chan, your parents, your kids, and the local police to know something, then Do NOT Put it on Facebook, or into a Google search.”

Question Re: The Significance of 6.5 and 6.8 Cartridges

Reader Mark O. wrote to ask: “What is your opinion of the 6.5 Creedmoor, 6.5 Grendel, and 6.8 SPC for defensive purposes?”

JWR’s Reply: I’m in “wait and see” mode. A lot depends on the U.S. Army’s commitment to actually procure and field the as-yet-undefined 6.8 rifle. Odds are that it will be a conversion upper for the M16, rather than an entirely new platform. I’m waiting to see: A.) If that ever happens, B.) Exactly what cartridge is chosen, and whether or not it will use reloadable brass. D.) What rifling twist they choose, and E.) What actuating system they choose. I’m assuming that it will be an M16 variant with a piston upper. But they may decide to “go cheap” for the sake of Big Army logistics and lighter weight to go with a traditional Stoner direct impingement gas tube system.

The last I heard (in December, 2018), there was still talk of using a polymer case and/or a cased-telescoped cartridge. This open question will surely lead to endless debate over at AR-15.com.

Bottom Line: There is a good chance that the Pentagon will pour million of dollars into development for the 6.8 Whatzitz for the next few years. Then, when budgets get tight, simply drop it and revert to 5.56mm NATO. Time will tell.

In the meantime, I’m staying the course with 5.56mm NATO. And of course my primary rifles are in 7.62mm NATO/.308 Winchester. It is important to note that although I own several of them, I consider M4gery carbines in 5.56mm NATO as guns primarily for young teens and for anyone frail for any reason.

Requests to Bring in Child Brides Okayed

By way of FreeZoxee Friends, I found this article: Requests to bring in child brides Okayed; legal under US laws.

Here is a quote: “Thousands of requests by men to bring in child and adolescent brides to live in the United States were approved over the past decade, according to government data obtained by The Associated Press. In one case, a 49-year-old man applied for admission for a 15-year-old girl.”

JWR’s Comment: Just how much do the leftists expect us to accept, in the names of “tolerance” and “diversity”?

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“We still proclaim the old ideals of liberty but we cannot voice them without anxiety in our hearts. The question is no longer one of establishing democratic institutions but of preserving them. … The arch enemies of society are those who know better but by indirection, misstatement, understatement, and slander, seek to accomplish their concealed purposes or to gain profit of some sort by misleading the public. The antidote for these poisons must be found in the sincere and courageous efforts of those who would preserve their cherished freedom by a wise and responsible use of it. Freedom of expression gives the essential democratic opportunity, but self-restraint is the essential civic discipline.” – Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes

 

 

Guest Post: The Modern Prison-Industrial Complex- Part 2

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Editor’s Introductory Note: This article was originally published on Ammo.com, and is reposted with permission. This is the concluding continuation of Part 1, which was posted in SurvivalBlog on Tuesday, January 22, 2019.

Prison Guard Unions and Private Prisons Lobbying Elected Officials

Anywhere government money is being spent or the state is picking winners and losers, there you will find lobbying. Like the military-industrial complex, private prisons are no exception to this rule. The two largest private prison corporations have put more than $10 million into electing favorable candidates since 1989, and more than $25 million into lobbying.

Marco Rubio is an excellent example of the power of the private prison lobby. He has very close ties to the GEO Group, the second-largest for-profit prison company in the United States. GEO was the recipient of a state contract for a $110 million prison during Rubio’s tenure as the Speaker of the House in Florida. This right after Rubio hired an economic consultant with close ties to the company, which has donated nearly $40,000 to his various political campaigns as of 2015. This makes him the politician with the closest financial relationship to the private prisons industry.

The private incarceration industry has stepped up their lobbying game during the Trump Administration, with the GEO Group spending $1.3 million on lobbying between January and September 2017. That topped the total from the previous year, which was $1 million.

The timing of the increase in lobbying funds is worth considering. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was looking to build five new detention centers at the time. Unsurprisingly, companies started lobbying hard to be the ones to build and operate these new facilities. That’s over 54,000 beds. What’s more, ICE is the number-one customer for the GEO Group, which is based in Florida.

Continue reading“Guest Post: The Modern Prison-Industrial Complex- Part 2”

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 Snow Camouflage. (See the Books and Gear sections.)

Books (Snow Camouflage):

Soldier’s Handbook For Individual Operations Survival In Cold Weather Areas, U.S. Defense Department (2009) Paperback

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Field Guide to Tracking Animals in Snow: How to Identify and Decipher Those Mysterious Winter Trails

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The Snowshoe Experience: Gear Up & Discover the Wonders of Winter on Snowshoes

 

Movies:

Ken Burns: The Civil War 25th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray

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Building Your AR-15 From Scratch

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Heirloom Sewing Techniques for Today’s Quilter

 

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 the importance of buying home vaults. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)

Precious Metals:

Gold Stocks Remain In A Downtrend

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Bubba Horwitz: Gold and Silver 2019 – What to Expect

 

Investor & Consumer Psychology:

Here is an interesting recent piece over at Seeking Alpha, written by Larry Hall: Investor Psychology. Here is a pericope from Hall’s article: “Established economic and financial theory posits that individuals are well-informed and consistent in their decision-making. It holds that investors are ‘rational..it’s clear that in reality, humans do not act rationally. In fact, humans often act irrationally in counterproductive, systematic patterns.’”

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Michael Snyder reports:  Shock Survey: 59 Percent Of Americans Support Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Proposal To Raise The Top Tax Rate To 70%

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DSV sent us this: Wondering Why Americans Are Running from Blue States?

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“The President can exercise no power which cannot be fairly and reasonably traced to some specific grant of power in the Federal Constitution or in an act of Congress passed in pursuance thereof. There is no undefined residuum of power which he can exercise because it seems to him to be in the public interest.” – President William Howard Taft

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday – January 22, 2019

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Congratulations to Michael Cargill (the owner of Central Texas Gun Works) for his success in this lawsuit: District Court Fines Austin, TX, $9,000 for Refusing Carry of Handguns at City Hall. Cargill is an upstanding, liberty-minded gentleman. He also runs one of the few gun stores in the country that accepts Bitcoin, in payment. Oh, and he sells Ghostgunner milling machines and 80% receiver blanks. He is quite a guy!

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On January 22 , 1944 Allied forces began their successful landing at Anzio, Italy.

Guest Post: The Modern Prison-Industrial Complex- Part 1

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Editor’s Introductory Note: This article on prisons was originally published on Ammo.com. It is reposted with permission.

The size of the U.S. prison population is of considerable concern to survivalists.- JWR

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There’s no two ways about it: The United States of America and its 50 state governments love putting people in prison.

The U.S. has both the highest number of prisoners and the highest per capita incarceration rate in the modern world at 655 adults per 100,000. (It’s worth noting that China’s incarceration statistics are dubious, and they execute far more people than the United States. Indeed, the so-called People’s Republic executes more people annually than the rest of the world combined.)  Still, that’s more than 2.2 million Americans in state and federal prisons as well as county jails.

On top of those currently serving time, 4.7 million Americans were on parole in 2016, or about one in 56. These numbers do not include people on probation, which raises the number to one in 35. Nor does it include all of the Americans who have been arrested at one time or another, which is over 70 million – more than the population of France.

For firearm owners in particular, the growth in this “prison-industrial complex” is troubling because felons are forbidden from owning firearms and ammunition under the 1968 Gun Control Act. As the number of laws has grown and the cultural shift for police has gone from a focus on keeping the peace to enforcing the law, more and more Americans are being stripped of their 2nd Amendment rights (not to mention other civil rights like voting – as of 2017, 6.1 million Americans cannot vote because of their criminal records). All told, eight percent of all Americans cannot own firearms because of a felony conviction.

For American society as a whole, the prison-industrial complex has created a perverse incentive structure. Bad laws drive out respect for good laws because there are just so many laws (not to mention rules, regulations, and other prohibitions used by federal prosecutors to pin crimes on just about anyone). How did we get here?

Continue reading“Guest Post: The Modern Prison-Industrial Complex- Part 1”

SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

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 Welded Truck Parts made in the American Redoubt.  Since the Redoubt is famous for its plentiful deer and elk, heavy duty grill guard truck bumpers are de rigueur. You sometimes even see them mounted on some passenger sedans! Pictured is a brush guard bumper made by CK Fab of Billings, Montana.

Idaho (Welded Truck Parts)

T-Rex Technology is a maker of precision-welded pickup flatbeds, bumpers, and suspension parts. They also make Razor ATV brush guards and other accessories. T-Rex is located in Athol, Idaho. (North of Coeur d’Alene.)

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Aluminess Products of Santee, California has recently opened a second manufacturing facility, in Hayden, Idaho.

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Don’t get the appeal? Why these Idahoans spend hours dangling lures into frozen lakes

 

Montana (Welded Truck Parts)

MOVE Bumpers has authorized dealers all across the country. They are located at 109 Brookville Lane, Lewistown, Montana. MOVE make both front and rear bumpers, and spare tire carriers,.

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Throttledown Kustoms (TDK) is a maker of custom bumpers, skid plates, Jeep frames, Bronco frames, and dog boxes. They are located in Moore, Montana.

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CK Fab is a maker of custom truck bumpers (Front & Rear), located in Billings, Montana

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 a court ruling on smartphone privacy

The New SurvivalBlog Waterproof Archive USB Stick!

The greatly-expanded SurvivalBlog 2005-2018 Archive Waterproof USB stick is now available for ordering. Since there is so much more bonus material in this year’s edition, we had to switch to offering a 16 GB stick!  If sales made last year are any gauge, we can expect the limited production run of this year’s archive to sell out in just a couple of months. I’ve noticed that several folks have been ordering these in the past two days in quantities of 2, 3, or 4. Order yours today, before they sell out.

A Note on USB Stick Payments by Credit Card: PayPal is our credit card processor. To pay for your USB sticks via credit card, you have to select “PayPal” which has the credit card symbols by it, then select “Proceed to PayPal” button at the bottom of the checkout page. This will kick you over to PayPal’s site. There will be two buttons there. The dark blue button pays with a PayPal account. The grey button pays with a credit card without using a PayPal account.

By default, PayPal wants you to open an account, so make sure the “save information and create a PayPal account” option is NOT checked when you get to it.

The only other option we have for payment is to pay by “Check or Money Order”. You certainly can use that option, but it will delay shipment since we have to wait to receive the check and I only receive forwarded  mail about once every three weeks. So that could mean a mailing delay of up to one month!

Busted: Google Manipulated YouTube Search Results

The Breibart news service recently posted this: ‘THE SMOKING GUN’: Google Manipulated YouTube Search Results for Abortion, Maxine Waters, David Hogg.

Here are a couple of snippets from the article:

“In the case of the “abortion” search results, YouTube’s intervention to insert “authoritative” content resulted in the downranking of pro-life videos and the elevation of pro-abortion ones.”

And,

“A Google spokesperson took a tougher line than its YouTube subsidiary, stating that ‘Google has never manipulated or modified the search results or content in any of its products to promote a particular political ideology.’

However, in the leaked discussion thread, a member of Google’s ‘trust & safety’ team, Daniel Aaronson, admitted that the company maintains “huge teams” that work to adjust search results for subjects that are “prone to hyperbolic content, misleading information, and offensive content” – all subjective terms that are frequently used to suppress right-leaning sources.”

JWR’s Comment:  The standing joke about the national newspapers in old Soviet Union was: “There is no truth in Pravda, and there is no news in Izvestia.”  This joke will give a chuckle only to those who know that Pravda (Правда) is the Russian word for Truth and that Izvestia (Известия) is the Russian word for news.  I’ll update this for the present day: “There is neither trustworthiness nor safety in ‘Trust and Safety’ committees.” Meet the new Commissars. Sames as the old Commissars.

Thanks to reader DSV, for sending that link.

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“We must not forget that when radium was discovered no one knew that it would prove useful in hospitals. The work was one of pure science. And this is a proof that scientific work must not be considered from the point of view of the direct usefulness of it. It must be done for itself, for the beauty of science, and then there is always the chance that a scientific discovery may become like the radium a benefit for mankind.” – Marie Curie

Preparedness Notes for Monday – January 21, 2019

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Good news!  The greatly-expanded SurvivalBlog 2005-2018 Archive Waterproof USB stick is now available for ordering. Since there is so much more bonus material in this year’s edition, we had to switch to offering a 16 GB stick!  If sales made last year are any gauge, we can expect the limited production run of this year’s archive to sell out in just a couple of months.  Order yours today.

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As a former Army SIGINT officer, this article caught my attention: President Trump pays tribute to Americans killed in Syrian suicide bombing as their bodies arrive back in US.  I really doubt that the unit attacked was on a “routine patrol” in Syria, as was publicized by the Pentagon. For OPSEC reasons, I will refrain from posting any conjecture on their unit, mission, RSTA mission equipment, or vehicles. Please take a few minutes to read the article.

Down in the depths of this article were these details:  “On Friday, three of the four Americans slain were identified. Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jonathan R. Farmer, 37, of Boynton Beach, Florida, Navy Chief Cryptologic Technician (Interpretive) Shannon M. Kent, 35, of upstate New York and Defense Department civilian Scott A. Wirtz of St. Louis, Missouri were all named as victims of the suicide blast.”

Tactical SIGINT collectors and analysts are not always “In the rear, with the beer, where there is no fear.”  In fact they are often out Beyond The Wire, in harm’s way.

My sincere condolences to the families of these fallen.

Please pray for the safety of both the military and civilian contract SIGINTers of the US Marine Corps Intelligence Activity (MCIA), US Army INSCOM, US Naval Network Warfare Command (NETWARCOM), and the Twenty-Fifth Air Force (25 AF)–aka US Air Force Intelligence Agency–who are forward deployed. Tactical SIGINT/DF troops are often the “first in, and last out”, in overseas counterinsurgency campaigns such as Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria.

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On this day in 1968, the siege of Khe Sanh began, as NVA regulars surrounded the USMC hilltop airfield near the Laotian border. Fearing a repeat of the French Army’s 1953 Dien Bien Phu debacle, the Pentagon assigned maximum round-the-clock air power to the region, including B-52 bomber strikes, to break the siege. According to the Infogalatic wiki this was “‘the most concentrated application of aerial firepower in the history of warfare’. On an average day 350 tactical fighter-bombers, 60 B-52s, and 30 light observation or reconnaissance aircraft operated in the skies near Khe Sanh.” It was reported that more than 100,000 tons of bombs were dropped in the area during the siege.

American casualties during the siege were 274 killed and 2,541 wounded. ARVN casualties were 229 killed and 436 wounded. The NVA took massive casualties, before withdrawing. MACV’s report estimated 5,550 NVA killed and more 8,000 wounded. (Only 1,602 NVA bodies were counted, but the NVA was famous for recovering the bodies of their KIAs, partially for propaganda reasons, to “deny body count.”) Khe Sanh was finally relieved by American and ARVN ground forces on April 6, 1968.

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Today we feature another product review by SurvivalBlog’s staff Field Gear Editor, Pat Cascio.

Springfield Armory Saint Edge AR 5.56mm Pistol, by Pat Cascio

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Several weeks ago, we introduced our readers to the Springfield Armory Saint AR 5.56mm rifle. Today we’re taking a close look at the newest sibling, the Saint “Edge” AR pistol, and it is quite a firearm.  Note: This is not to be confused with Springfield’s standard Saint AR pistol, which I will be reviewing in a couple of weeks.

According to the Springfield Armory web site, the Edge AR pistol combines the most popular features of their premium Saint Edge AR rifle, with compact shootability in an AR pistol platform. This compact AR pistol, is everything Springfield claims it to be, and then some. We’ll take a look at some of these features. However be sure to check out their website for the full description and detailed specifications.

One change from the standard Saint AR pistol we tested a few weeks ago, is that the Edge has a lightweight billet-machined lower receiver instead of a forged one. We also have the Springfield patent-pending full-length free floated handguard with a lightweight 10.3-inch barrel that is Melonite coated. It has a 1:8-inch twist, so it can handle not only light 5.56mm and .223 ammo, but also some of the heaviest weight bullets.

The handguard is designed so you can attach M-LOK compatible accessories. Unfortunately, I can see many users stupidly add as many accessories as they can fit on this handguard. This defeats the fast-handling capabilities of this pistol. I can attaching a see a small light, or perhaps a laser on the handguard, but that’s it.

Maxim Arm Brace

There is one salient feature I really love on the Edge, and that is the Maxim Defense CQB adjustable pistol arm brace. Keep in-mind, this ATF-approved arm brace is legally not a buttstock. The adjustability of this brace helps reduce the overall size of the pistol and helps reduce recoil and without a doubt aids in accuracy.  With the arm brace extended, the Edge is 28.5-inches long. With the arm brace in the closed position, the pistol is 24.6-inches in length.

Continue reading“Springfield Armory Saint Edge AR 5.56mm Pistol, by Pat Cascio”

Recipe of the Week: Homemade Pasta Sauce

Reader “Sis in Montana” kindly sent us one of her family’s favorite recipes:

Mom’s Quick Homemade Pasta Sauce

Ingredients:

5 – 8 oz. Cans of Tomato Sauce
1-1/2 tsp. Dried Parsley
1-1/2 tsp. Dried Oregano
1 tsp. Dried Basil
1 TBSP. Garlic Powder
2 tsp. Onion Powder
1 Pint (or 1 pound) Browned Hamburger

Directions:

Combine all ingredients, mix thoroughly, and simmer for at least 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. This can simmer while you are preparing the pasta of your choice.

Notes:

This recipe can be made with storage foods, including canned browned hamburger.

This goes well with garlic bread. If you are out of French Bread for making garlic bread, then you can use toast with garlic butter or even toasted hamburger buns or hotdog buns, with garlic butter.