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 investing in registered Class 3 machineguns. (See the Tangibles Investing section, near the end of this column.)

Precious Metals:

Gold Prices Will Be ‘Explosive,’ Just Wait and See – Jim Rogers

o  o  o

As of July 31st, the trend line for spot silver is looking encouraging. I hope that SurvivalBlog readers stocked up when silver was lower. If you didn’t, then buy now, before the next market crisis. (I predict that the next global crisis will send silver soaring to $35+ per ounce.)

Commodities:

Is Big Oil planning its Funeral by ignoring the obvious?

o  o  o

The boom in coffee prices is continuing. As preppers, we need to watch commodities prices closely, to be better able to time our purchases of physical goods, both for our own use and for barter.  This might be our last chance (at least for several years) to stock up on freeze dried coffee at a reasonable price.

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The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“I will accept the rules that you feel necessary to your freedom. I am free, no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them; if I find them too obnoxious, I break them. I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do.” – Robert A. Heinlein, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

Preparedness Notes for Sunday – July 30, 2017

Today we remember the birthday of author Reginald Bretnor. He was born Alfred Reginald Kahn on July 30, 1911, in Vladivostok. He died on July 22, 1992 in Medford, Oregon. In addition to penning many witty science fiction novels and short stories in his characteristic style, he also wrote nonfiction articles for Mel Tappan’s P.S. Letter

Guest Article: The MVT Lite Fight Concept- Part 2, by Max Alexander

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We’ve covered the first two components of the MVT Lite Fight Concept —Lite Hydration Pack (LHP) and plate carrier. However, I haven’t wrapped up my comments relating to plates. Here are my notes:

Ballistic Plates:

  • There is a persistent tomfoolery about steel plates. These are heavy, suffer badly from spalling (ever shot a steel target; you are wearing one). You cannot navigate while wearing them (magnetic compass). In the winter it would be like wearing a refrigerator.
  • Ceramic/hybrid plates are criticized for needing a little more care, like not throwing them off the back of your truck lest they crack (which in itself does not make them ineffective) and for not being as “multi-hit” as steel. I don’t throw my optics or night vision or radios off the back of my truck either.
  • Ceramic/hybrid plates are in fact multi-hit and due to the weight savings are a considerable investment in protection and mobility versus steel.
  • The idea that steel will take so many more hits is a silliness rooted in lack of combat experience. The idea of ballistic plates is to cover vital organs in the event that you are unfortunate enough to take hits. There are plenty of places outside of the plate coverage where you can also get hit and it will wound or kill you. Are you expecting to survive multiple contacts with rounds pinging off your steel plates? If you are lucky enough to defeat a round due to wearing ceramic plates, it does not make the plate suddenly ineffective, and you should consider yourself lucky to walk away. In terms of multiple hits on and near to the plate, if the plate allows you to survive wounded but not killed, consider yourself lucky.
  • You will make your own decisions regarding ballistic plates. Given the whole thrust of this MVT Lite Fight concept, I do not recommend steel plates as an option.
  • One of the reasons to keep a PC with mags on the front is part of the gear concept on the ramp up to full combat conditions – in terms of home invasion or similar scenario you can quickly put on the PC, which will give you ammo to feed your rifle and protection in a CQB environment. This also applies to emergency “stand-to” in the combat environment, where you roll out of bed, don the PC, and grab your rifle to defend the home base. Too much gear and strappage to deal with will slow you down.

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Letter Re: Eclipse TEOTWAWKI

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Hugh,

The coming tsunami of city folk to the small towns of the Redoubt would be a good time to practice your prepping skills. You should be sure to have an extra gas can filled. Keep your water hoses at the ready. Make a grocery run a few days before.

The visitors will arrive in hordes, ill prepared for hot weather, lack of food, water, toilet facilities, gas, or medical facilities. Fights will break out. When some idjit tries to hike down the road for a better viewing spot and trespasses on some retired/unemployed logger’s or rancher’s property and starts a fire to roast weinies or s’mores, and he comes out with a shotgun, what then? When someone’s wife goes into early labor from heat and stress, or somebody’s kid gets hurt, or some old dude has a coronary from heat stress trying to put up the tent and the ambulance can’t get through or is 50 miles down the road on another call what then?

And of course 5 minutes after the eclipse is over they will all want to leave at the same time. I wonder, will folks pull together for the temporary greater good, or will it be me first and the heck with you, I need gas/water/food and I’m takin’ yours. – LE

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”. Venezuela continues to make news as the country continues its slide into oblivion

Stingray Usage

Reader H.L. sent in this article showing that 3G and 4G LTE networks are just as prone to stingray phone tracking due to some recently discovered vulnerabilities. Hackers revealed the findings at the Black Hat conference in Las Vegas. They describe a cryptographic flaw in the protocol which allows the devices to connect with the cell operator. It’s a sad day when you realize that your government is in the same class as those hackers.

Food Supply

Americans and Europeans are not the only ones that are unrealistic about the food supply. It also appears that it is a world-wide problem. Reader T.J. sent in this video of a prank in a Brazilian supermarket where there is a “box” and the chef puts a live pig in, turns a crank and sausage comes out the other side. As amusing as all the reactions are, just where do these people who like sausage think it comes from? People are really disconnected from the actual food supply. I completely understand the predictions of mass starvation should the trucks quit rolling.

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The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, and desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: and he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.” Acts 9:1-6 (KJV)

Guest Article: The MVT Lite Fight Concept- Part 1, by Max Alexander

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This is a follow-up contribution to the two gear posts: The Practical Application of Tactical Gear, Load, and Weight Considerations and Gear System: Philosophy, Set Up, Use, Fitness & Mindset. And as such, it should be read in combination with those posts. Notice that I have updated the gear photo from the one that I used in those posts.

There is not a huge difference between the gear displayed. There’s merely a different rifle and Lite Hydration Pack, plus I have added the helmet to the mix for purposes to be explained below. This illustrates the point that this post is not about specific brands of gear but rather the MVT Lite Fight concept that I have been advocating in these various blog posts.

It’s in the Details

In this post, I will be making some detailed comments. This post is specifically about putting all this gear together for wear during combat conditions. We won’t be able to cover the ground in detail about how you will escalate, or combine, or choose items of gear to escalate your everyday carry as a response to increased threats. That was covered in detail in the two linked posts above.  This post is about putting this MVT Lite Fight concept together when the threat is extant, we are conducting combat operations, the hammer already dropped, the balloon went up, and there are possibly bad guys in the wire. You are conducting active home base defense/ground domination activity. This does not mean you lose all flexibility. You still have the option of combining or dropping items, depending on the mission, terrain, duration, distance, and weather.

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The Editors’ Preps for the Week

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To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make long-term and short-term plans. Steadily, we work on meeting our prepping goals. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities.  They also share their planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, property improvements, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year. We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in the Comments. Let’s keep busy and be ready!  This week’s focus is on garden plumbing.

JWR

Dear SurvivalBlog Readers,

This week in the northern part of the American Redoubt the weather has been very warm and dry, the high temperatures in the high 80s and low 90s and the night time temps right around 50 degrees.  It has been optimal garden growing temperatures.

For Lily and the Children: Not much out of the ordinary happened this week, mostly more of the same from last week.  We’ve been mountain biking on the ranch and in the  surrounding National Forest, swimming, and taking short hikes to identify and review trees, plants and herbs for education, fun and exercise. This week with swimming, we’ve been working on water safety skills and refining our breath control and stroke techniques: Crawl, Breast, Side, and Elementary, in order to swim more efficiently.

In the Garden

We’re continuing to weed and put well-aged compost around a few slower growing plants.  This week we planted carrots and spinach for fall and overwintering crops. Black and Red raspberries are being harvested, eaten, and frozen.  Yellow, Green and French beans are flowering and are beginning to produce fruit.  I froze more zucchini.  Buttercup, Acorn, Hubbard squashes are flowering and are beginning to grow fruit.

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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”. The Internet of Things continues encroaching on your privacy.

Jury Nullification

Jury nullification is a constitutional right that the citizens have against bad laws. It is basically the last line of defense when a police state has passed bad laws and is charging citizens under them. However, in Michigan, Keith Wood was passing out pamphlets on a public sidewalk explaining this little known and little used concept to potential jurors when he was arrested and charged with “attempting to influence a jury”. Disturbingly, not only prosecutors and judges perceived guilt on his part, but the very people he was trying to educate as a jury found him guilty.

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The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“the Lord your God hath multiplied you, and, behold, ye are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude. (The Lord God of your fathers make you a thousand times so many more as ye are, and bless you, as he hath promised you!)” – Deuteronomy 1:10-11 (KJV)

Emergency Checklists, by M.B.

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Where’s your emergency checklists? The worst part about emergency situations and disasters is that they never happen when it is convenient. It’s 2 AM and you awake to find someone pounding on your door. The dam has been breached and you have maybe 30 minutes to get to high ground. What would you do? How do you know what steps to take? What items would you take with you, and how would you prioritize things?

Emergency Chaos

Maybe you live in New Orleans or one of the other Gulf States. A category 5 hurricane is bearing down on you. Do you know what supplies you need and do you know what you currently have? Do you have the necessary medications, first aid, and firearms? “Where is everything at?” you think to yourself, as you frantically search around in the darkness groping for batteries for your flashlight.

Or maybe you hear and feel a huge explosion. The ground literally shakes underneath you as a natural gas pipeline explodes down the street. Your cell phone is broken to smithereens after it fell off the kitchen counter onto the floor below. You need to reach your son and daughter, but you do not remember their cell phone numbers! Oh goodness why didn’t I write them down somewhere?

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Freeze Dried Friday

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Welcome to Freeze Dried Friday on SurvivalBlog! We’ve been making so many things in the Harvest Right Freeze Dryer that we want to share some of them with you. If you have something wonderful you’ve prepared in your freeze dryer that you would like to share with SurvivalBlog readers, take a photo of it and send it in along with a description. We might just feature you here! Today we’ll have a quick note about a shaft seal failure. But first:

Keeping the Freeze Dryer Filled

Harvest season is getting close here. Some herbs are just about ready to be harvested, and I can see the garden produce weighing down the plants in the garden. But they just aren’t quite ready yet. So what do you do with you’re Harvest Right Freeze Dryer while waiting for the bountiful harvest to come in?

A trip to Costco (or similar) for their fresh fruit is always an option. Costco is known for their fantastic selection of beautiful fruit, but it comes with a drawback. Unless you are a restaurant or juicing on a regular basis, it’s tough to use it all before it starts going bad. That’s true, unless you have a Freeze Dryer, of course!

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