Preparedness Notes for Friday – December 07, 2018

1

On a December morning in 1941, America was caught sleeping. Then there was that September morning, in 2001. Let’s pray that nothing like those days ever happens again. – JWR

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today features another entry for Round 80 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. 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 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 80 ends on January 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.

Common “Weeds” as Food and Medicine- Part 4, by M.C.

8

If things go very wrong, such as in an EOTWAWKI or SHTF scenario, you may find yourself without access to doctors and hospitals and may have to take care of yourself and your family. This is why we are looking at common weeds that can be used as food and medicine. You may want to print this and save it for such a time, when things are stressful and you may not remember the information here.

Warning: Never eat a wild plant unless you are 100 percent positive of its identification. Get yourself a good field guide, like Edible Wild Plants – A North American Field Guide.

In the three previous parts of this article, we have covered a number of other “weeds”. We’ll now move on forward through the alphabet of most common weeds for food and medicine, beginning with purslane.

Purslane

Purslane (Portulaca oleracea), believe it or not, though it is one you pull from your garden is sold in stores in Europe and was Gandhi’s favorite food.

Continue reading“Common “Weeds” as Food and Medicine- Part 4, by M.C.”

Alaska Earthquake After Action Report, by S.J.

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Alaska had a bit of excitement last Friday when a 7.0 earthquake struck. Although it wasn’t a massive quake per se, it was very close to Alaska’s main population center, Anchorage. I had a few observations to pass along:

  • People behaved themselves well. Granted, the aftermath of the quake wasn’t too extreme, but overall people were on their best behavior. I think this shows that you can usually expect better than normal behavior from people in situations where the disaster is perceived as something that will be solved shortly.
  • My preparations gave me great peace of mind, in addition to the fact that I live in a smaller town outside Anchorage and work just 3 miles from home. I can’t recommend enough living in a smaller town and working close to home.
  • People from my area who commute the normal 45 minutes into Anchorage had a slow drive home the day of the quake. Personally, if I knew my family and house were safe, I would have stayed with a friend in Anchorage rather than attempt to get home. Which brings me to my next point…
  • Sometimes the way people react to situations can be worse than the original event. As I said earlier, people behaved themselves well, but they were rushing on the road to get home or get their kids from school. There were several accidents that were no doubt caused by this.

Continue reading“Alaska Earthquake After Action Report, by S.J.”

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 JWR. (SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor.) Today’s focus is on Colt New Service revolvers. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)

 

Precious Metals:

Silver was flat this week, but gold took a jump, following the bad news on Wall Street.

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Gold: Silver: The Markets: What’s Next For 2019

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The Gold and Palladium ratio now shows the two metals trading at parity!  This is probably a great time to buy physical palladium, if you want to diversify your precious metals portfolio.

 

Stocks:

This past week’s stock market slump is making headlines. As of Thursday morning (when I’m wring this), the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is down another 648 points to 24,375. That was a 2.64% drop. And combined with Wednesdays’ losses, we’ve seen a 1,500 point drop. Ouch. And that wasn’t the first big fall. Back in October, market declines had already wiped out all of the gains for 2018.

I now fully expect this to turn into a secular bear market–especially if interest rates continue to rise and the tariff war continues. As I’ve written before: The Powers That Be would rather see a market crash than see Donald Trump re-elected.

 

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Preparedness Notes for Thursday – December 06, 2018

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On December 6th, 1865, the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, ending the institution of slavery. “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” With these words, the single greatest change wrought by the Civil War was officially noted in the Constitution.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today features another entry for Round 80 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. 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 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 80 ends on January 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.

Common “Weeds” as Food and Medicine- Part 3, by M.C.

6

We are taking a look at common weeds that can be used as food and medicine. If things go very wrong, such as in an EOTWAWKI or SHTF scenario, you may find yourself without access to doctors and hospitals and may have to take care of yourself and your family. You may want to print this and save it for such a time, when things are stressful and you may not remember the information here.

Warning: Never eat a wild plant unless you are 100 percent positive of its identification. Get yourself a good field guide, like Edible Wild Plants – A North American Field Guide.

Parts 1 & 2 covered chickweed, cleavers, dandelion, lamb’s quarters, lobelia, mallow, and miner’s lettuce. We’ll now move on forward through the alphabet of most common weeds for food and medicine, beginning with mullein.

Mullein

Mullein is found all over in North America and is exceedingly abundant. It is found growing on by roadsides and on waste ground, sunny positions in uncultivated fields and especially on dry soils. However, please do not harvest Mullein right next to roads; all kinds of things leak from cars and then wash out into the soil when it rains.

Continue reading“Common “Weeds” as Food and Medicine- Part 3, by M.C.”

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 “HJL”. A universal ID proposal is here – proposed by private industry.

Registering Firearms

Reader B.B. sent in this article on the latest gun confiscation scheme in Colorado. Since the mass shooting in Aurora, Colorado, the state has seen a steady march towards anti-gun positions. Despite the fact that it used to be a fairly pro-gun state, the politics are dominated by the urban areas. Now boulder has passed a law that restricts their version of “assault weapons” (which bear nothing but a passing visual resemblance to an actual assault weapon) just days to “certify” them or remove them from city limits. According to the law, if you tell the authorities that you have the firearm and show ownership proof from before the ban, you can keep it. Of course, we all know where that is headed. It shouldn’t be long before jack-booted thugs are kicking in doors to confiscate the duly “certified” firearms.

Calexit

Reader H.L. sent in this excellent article on a rational perspective of the growing movement by Californians to exit the union. The writer compares the issue with the secession of the south which brought about the civil war. It is one of the few articles that I have read that puts the issues of both the south secession and the current thinking in proper perspective. While the author has left out some critical things like the control of and access to shipping ports, he probably comes closer than any other article I’ve seen at addressing the political problems. I still don’t think that the Federal government would allow it, probably mustering much of the same garbage that the union did during the civil war, but it’s a nice thought.

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“No way that any astronaut worth his salt volunteered for the space program to become a hero. You don’t select astronauts who want fame and fortune. You select them because they’re the best test pilots in the world, they know it, and it’s a personal challenge for them. And the astronauts of today are exactly the same. ” – Astronaut Alan B. Shepard of Freedom 7 (Project Mercury) and Apollo 14 fame. His experience at the first American in space is described in Tom Wolfe’s bestselling book, The Right Stuff.

 

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday – December 05, 2018

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On December 5th, 1964, the first Medal of Honor awarded to a serviceman for action in Vietnam was presented to Captain Roger Donlon of Saugerties, New York. Captain Donlon and his Special Forces team were manning Camp Nam Dong, a mountain outpost near the borders of Laos and North Vietnam. Just before two o’clock in the morning on July 6, 1964, hordes of Viet Cong attacked the camp. He was shot in the stomach, but Donlon stuffed a handkerchief into the wound, cinched up his belt, and kept fighting. He was wounded three more times, but he continued fighting–manning a mortar, throwing grenades at the enemy, and refusing medical attention.

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SurvivalBlog welcomes Pruitt’s Tree Resin as a new writing contest prize sponsor. For their prize, they will be donating:

  • 4 pack of 1/4 oz. Super PAV Salve
  • 1 oz. Super Coco-resin essential oil
  • 1 – 1-quart bag sized of their activated charcoal
  • 8 pack Mountain Man leather Care
  • 4 pack of their new Mountain Man Fire Starter
  • Information on tree resins and a newspaper about tree resins, and
  • A one hour consultation on health and wellness

o o o

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today features another entry for Round 80 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. 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 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 80 ends on January 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.

Common “Weeds” as Food and Medicine- Part 2, by M.C.

4

We are taking a look at common weeds that can be used as food and medicine. If things go very wrong, such as in an EOTWAWKI or SHTF scenario, you may find yourself without access to doctors and hospitals and may have to take care of yourself and your family. You may want to print this and save it for such a time, when things are stressful and you may not remember the information here.

Warning: Never eat a wild plant unless you are 100 percent positive of its identification. Get yourself a good field guide, like Edible Wild Plants – A North American Field Guide.

Part 1, covered chickweed, cleavers, and dandelion. Now, let’s move on forward through the alphabet of most common weeds for food and medicine.

Lamb’s Quarters

While my husband and I lived in Oregon, we had a wonderful neighbor, Don, who took care of our home while we were away. On one of those rare but incredibly hot days, Don came over and watered our tomato and pepper plants in the green house. While he was waiting, he decided to pull all those pesky weeds that were growing so healthily. I nearly had a heart attack when I came home and all my lovely lamb’s quarters were pulled and laying in a pile. Fortunately, they were not too wilted, so I gathered them up and brought them into the house, washed them and started cooking them. Then my husband nearly had a heart attack. I expected him to eat weeds!?!

Continue reading“Common “Weeds” as Food and Medicine- Part 2, by M.C.”

Economics & Investing For Preppers

7

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 JWR. (SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor.) Today’s focus is on investing in guns from out-of-business gun makers. (See the Tangibles Investing section.

 

Economy & Finance:

I found this linked over at the FreeZoxee social media site: How Private Banks Create Bubbles — with the Help of Central Banks

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How to spot the next recession

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A hat tip to reader H.L. sent, who this link: The first signs of the next recession

 

Stocks:

Over at the CNBC Cheering Section:  “Stocks fell sharply on Tuesday in the biggest decline since the October rout as investors worried about a bond-market phenomenon signaling a possible economic slowdown. Lingering worries around U.S.-China trade also added to jitters on Wall Street. The DJIA fell 799.36 points, or 3.1 percent, to close at 25,027.07 and posted its worst day since Oct. 10. At its low of the day, the Dow had fallen more than 800 points.”

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Next, at Seeking Alpha: Trump bump for agriculture/farming stocks

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Also, this: After The Fall: What Does Nvidia Do From Here?

 

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

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 some suggested Hanukkah and Christmas gifts for preppers. See the Gear section.

Books:

American Entrepreneur: How 400 Years of Risk-Takers, Innovators, and Business Visionaries Built the U.S.A.

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Killing the SS: The Hunt for the Worst War Criminals in History (Bill O’Reilly’s Killing Series)

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A History of America in 100 Maps

 

Movies:

I’ve already mentioned this great documentary a couple of times before in SurvivalBlog: Alone in the Wilderness. It is the true story of Dick Proenneke’s pioneering adventures in the Alaskan wilderness. This is  “…a simple account of the day-to-day explorations and activities he carried out alone, and the constant chain of nature’s events that kept him company.”

o  o  o

The Boy In The Striped Pajamas

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Self Defense at 50 — Krav Maga Self Defense for people 50 and up DVD

 

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

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday – December 04, 2018

December 4th is the birthday of Gregory “Pappy” Boyington, (born 1912) an AVG “Flying Tiger” volunteer pilot for the Chinese Nationalist government, WWII Marine Corps aviator, and Medal of Honor recipient. (He died January 11, 1988.) A proto-Redoubter, Pappy Boyington was born in Couer d’Alene, Idaho and was raised in Spokane, Washington.

o o o

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today features another entry for Round 80 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. 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 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 80 ends on January 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.