Preparedness Notes for Wednesday – September 05, 2018

On September 5, 1774, fed up with the meddling of the crown and being mostly independant-minded, our nation’s founding fathers met together in the First Continental Congress, in Philadelphia, laying the foundation of what would become the world’s greatest nation.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today features another entry for Round 78 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 transferable certificate for a two-day Ultimate Bug Out Course from Florida Firearms Training (a $400 value),
  5. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  6. A $200 gift certificate good towards any books published by PrepperPress.com,
  7. RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site.

Third Prize:

  1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
  3. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances, and
  6. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).

Round 78 ends on September 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Survival Fitness and Health- Part 1, by JBH

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This essay series is for informational purposes only. Fitness concepts are discussed that the reader may find informative; however, the reader is advised to visit their health care provider and obtain medical clearance prior to embarking on any exercise program. The author is not a health care professional and assumes no responsibility for injuries or detrimental health effects the reader may sustain from performing any fitness regimen.

As evidenced by the multitude of subjects covered in SurvivalBlog and other preparedness websites, many elements come into play if you desire to survive some of the potentially devastating and even not so devastating situations that one can encounter today. What is the most important element? Beans? Band-Aids? Opsec?

Physical Abilities– Most Important Element For Survival

Arguably, the most important element to me is physical fitness. If you were to counter with skills and attitude, I would not argue too hard with you, but I would perhaps offer that, although well armed, the gentlemen described below do not appear as if they will do very well in a difficult survival situation. But then again, who knows? I will discuss that later.

Regardless of whether it is the most important element or not, I would argue the following is important. Without the following physical abilities and attributes, you will not fare well in a survival situation (and you will struggle in normal situations):

Continue reading“Survival Fitness and Health- Part 1, by JBH”

Economics & Investing For Preppers

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Here are the latest items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of JWR. (SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor.) Today’s focus is on copper. (See the Commodities section.)

Precious Metals:

Asian Metals Market Update: September 4, 2018

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The History Of Gold-Oil Ratios: 1970-2018

 

Cryptos:

Japan Ramps up Scrutiny of New Cryptocurrency Exchange Applicants

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Former PayPal CEO Brands Bitcoin a ‘Cult’, Trashes Use Cases

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The Collapse Of Venezuela’s Imaginary Oil Currency

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 propane refrigerators and freezers. (See the Gear section.)

Books:

Just released yesterday (September 4th, 2018): The Last Hour: An Israeli Insider Looks at the End Times. In the past two years, I have spent dozens of hours listening to Amir Tsarfati’s analyses of the situation in the Middle East. He has the level-headed reasoning of an intelligence officer (which he is, in the IDF Reserve), but also has the perspective of a Christian. This promises to be a great book. I pre-ordered mine, and it just arrived on Tuesday. I can’t wait to read it!

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The Old Farmer’s Almanac – 2019

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Alchemy of Herbs: Transform Everyday Ingredients into Foods and Remedies That Heal

 

Movies & Television:

Food Production Systems for a Backyard or Small Farm

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Stalag 17

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The Essential Steve McQueen Collection (Bullitt Two-Disc Special Edition / The Getaway Deluxe Edition / The Cincinnati Kid / Papillon / Tom Horn / Never So Few)

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge natural to party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism. But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism.” – George Washington

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday – September 04, 2018

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September 4, 1862 is the fateful day that General Lee invaded the North with 50,000 troops. Historians will banter back and forth about the real reasons for the civil war, but we will probably never fully understand. It is my personal belief that General Lee was gambling on a quick offensive because the South did not have the resources for a prolonged war. Whatever the case was, President Abraham Lincoln trampled the Constitution and created the foundation for the “Big Brother” government we have today.

Preventing the Statists’ Planned Coup de Maître

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For more than a decade I’ve been saying that we are living in the age of deception and betrayal. Recent events here in the United States have now proven that, without any doubt.

In July of this year, I warned that a new wave of overt Internet censorship was developing. I did so in an article titled: The Internet Gulag: Demonetization, Demonization, and Deletion.

à La Nancy Kerrigan

On Monday August 6, 2018, at least a dozen social[ist] media web services launched a coordinated deletion attack on InfoWars.com. Four more followed suit, within a few days. This was no coincidence. For so many sites to blacklist InfoWars all on the same day must have taken planning and agreement between many corporate executives. (Ironically, they had accused Alex Jones of promotting “conspiracy theories” and then those same executives conspired together, to ban him.) And this was not just some politely orchestrated shaming event. This was a similitude of a full-on Nancy Kerrigan-style baton stroke to the kneecap. Thousands of hours of videos archives were removed. It is noteworthy that before the ban, Alex Jones had more than 2 million YouTube subscribers. His show is is still carried on dozens of AM talk radio stations across the country. And it can still be heard at Real.video. But don’t look for any video or audio of the show in social media. It is gone. Poof! Down the Memory Hole.

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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 grizzly bears. (See the Idaho, Montana, Washington, and Wyoming sections.)

 

Region-Wide:

Three of the five American Redoubt states ranked high on this list:  2018’s States Most Dependent on the Gun Industry

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From The Spokesman-Review newspaper web site: Your Outdoors Photos: August 2018

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August Snow for Northern Rockies

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My #1 Son’s SurvivalRealty.com web site now has dozens of retreat properties listed in the five American Redoubt  states. Take a look!

 

Idaho

Judge blocks grizzly bear hunts in Idaho, Wyoming

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The Inland NW Prep Expo will be held the weekend of September 22 & 23, 2018.  This well-attended event will be held at the Bonner County Fairgrounds, near Sandpoint, Idaho.

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Stockpile Defense–a full line “brick and mortar” gun shop–is continuing to expand their inventory at their store in Boise, Idaho. Check them out. They also offer Internet ordering for a large portion of their inventory.

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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”. Current fear is that the deadly pig disease, African swine fever, will make it to U.S. shores.

Deadly Pig Disease

Reader H.L. sent in this article on the current outbreak of African swine fever. While there isn’t a current case in the United States, experts are warning that its not a case of “if” but “when”. Similarly to the outbreak of avian flu that created fowl and egg shortages, the only real way to deal with outbreaks is the destruction of the whole sounder of swine. In many countries, even the appearance of the disease in a single pig dooms the entire farm. In Spain, they are finding that ticks that feed on the pigs are also carriers and are destroying entire [old] farm buildings, replacing them with modern facilities in an effort to contain the disease. So far, cases have been reported in Africa, Europe, and Asia. The concern for the U.S. is the same one Germany is facing. With a large population of wild boar, there is virtually no way to contain the disease.

Socialism at Work

The proponents of Socialism in America often point to certain European countries as examples of socialism that they want to emulate. Leave aside the fact that all of those countries exist because of America (and the fact that many of them are only recently socialist – they created their wealth under capitalism). If Americans had to pay the 50% or higher tax rates that these countries pay, they would revolt. In Sweden, they have single payer (universal) health care. But examples abound of why this isn’t good. Asia Nader was diagnosed with a hole in her heart at age 21. She was nearly 23 before she could have the surgery to fix it. Sure the law states that patients wait no more than 90 days for care, but one in three end up waiting much, much longer. Most complain about waits longer than six months and the inability to see the same practitioner for continuity of care.

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

Kershaw’s Faultline Folder, by Pat Cascio

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You don’t have to spend a lot of money to get a lot of knife– one that will serve your every day needs quite well. The Kershaw Faultline is just such a folder.

Kershaw Knives

I’ve been reviewing Kershaw Knives for about 25 years, and I’ve toured their plant several times, even the new one that they opened a few years ago and already needs to be expanded to meet their needs. I remember on my very first tour of Kershaw, they had a mere 18 employees assembling knives and one lone gal inspected every knife before it was boxed up and shipped. Kershaw has come a long way since then. They now employ hundreds of people. It is quite the operation to watch how certain people assemble certain parts of a knife and it is moved down the line for the next person to work on it. Then it goes on to the room, a big room with lots of people who do nothing except sharpen knives all day long. They also test each blade for sharpness by slicing newspaper.

Kai Corporation

Kershaw is now owned by the Kai Corporation in Japan. I’m not sure if this is still true, but at one time Kai made more razor blades than any other company. They are also world famous for their kitchen cutlery and, of course, a division of Kershaw– Zero Tolerance, which makes those high-end, specialty knives for military and law enforcement use. However, you can still buy them even if you’re a civilian.

Continue reading“Kershaw’s Faultline Folder, by Pat Cascio”

Economics & Investing For Preppers

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Here are the latest items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of JWR. (SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor.) Today’s focus is on making a living with farmland. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)

Derivatives:

Brevan Howard is first non-bank caught by margin rules, sources say. “Non-cleared exposures thought to exceed $1.5 trillion.”

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Hedge funds turn to curve options for steepener trades

 

Economy & Finance:

Next, at Wolf Street: Turkey’s Debt & Currency Crisis Morphs into Financial Crisis as Banks Face Funding Squeeze

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Where the Right to Keep and Bear Arms Meets Freedom of Commerce: If Cody Wilson Won’t Be Allowed To Give Files Away, He’ll Just Sell Them

 

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“Legalized abortion is a national holocaust; an affront to our national character; a contradiction of established principles subscribed to from the beginning of Western Civilization; an insult to the principles of our Declaration of Independence; a bane of our national spirit; and a stench in the nostrils of Almighty God.” – Pastor Chuck Baldwin