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 is back in the news this week again.

Explosive-Carrying Drones

The Explosive-Carrying Drones in Venezuela Won’t Be the Last

JWR’s Comment: I first mentioned the emerging threat of UAVIEDs in SurvivalBlog back in 2006. Frankly, I’m surprised that it took this long for someone to use one against a head of state.

Baofeng Radios

Reader JMD wrote in to let us know of this upcoming change by the FCC that will make it illegal to sell radios (like the popular Baofengs) that can operate in the FRS radio band (462.5625 – 462.7250 MHz) and any other licensed band in a single device. Manufacturers will have to either quit selling them or block the FRS bands like they do for the current cellular bands. This is the relevant verbiage:

§ 95.591 Sales of FRS combination radios prohibited.

Effective September 30, 2019, no person shall sell or offer for sale hand-held portable radio equipment capable of operating under this subpart (FRS) and under any other licensed or licensed-by-rule radio services in this chapter (devices may be authorized under this subpart with part 15 unlicensed equipment authorizations).

Editor’s Comment:  I strongly recommend stocking up on dual band Baofeng handi-talkies before this regulatory change takes place. If bought in a set of five, the cost per transceiver is only around $23 each, postage paid!  By law, these presently may be bought by any adult. But a license is needed to operate them outside of the no-license  FRS, GMRS, and MURS bands. (That is, in the amateur operators’ bands.)

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Preparedness Notes for Monday – August 06, 2018

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On August 6th, 1945 at 8:16 a.m. (Japanese time), an American B-29 bomber– the Enola Gay– dropped the world’s first war-time atom bomb over the city of Hiroshima. Approximately 80,000 people were killed as a result of the blast, with another 35,000 injured. At least another 60,000 would be dead by the end of the year from the effects of the fallout. History is always written by the victors, so the reasoning and justification for this will be argued for years to come. But one thing is for sure: this action officially ushered in the nuclear age in war and has generated mass fear among civilization ever since, even though the firebombing of Japanese cities caused far more damage and loss of life. An interesting side note is Tsutomu Yamaguchi. He was 3km from the Hiroshima blast but survived. Along with a few other survivors, he made his way to his hometown, Nagasaki, and was again within 3km of the second blast yet survived this one also.

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The prepper holiday “Paratus” will be celebrated on September 21st. Paratus was originated by “Commader Zero”, the pen name of the editor of the long-running Notes From The Bunker Blog.

CRKT “Kuk”, by Pat Cascio

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There is nothing really new, when it comes to the time-tested Ghurka blade, is there? Well, as a matter of fact, the all-new Columbia River Knife & Tool “Kuk”, designed by Ryan Johnson, puts a new twist on this blade, which is under review today.

My Collection of Military-Style Knives and Bayonets

I want to say that I was probably about 15 years old, maybe a little older or younger, when I started collecting military-style knives and bayonets. One of my favorite stops was a small Army/Navy Surplus store on the south end of downtown Chicago. Sadly, it is long gone. However, I spent untold hours in there, looking not only at U.S. military surplus clothing but all types of blades for my collection. It was there that I first learned about the Ghurka Kukri curved bladed knife. Even today, this type of blade is still often called a “Ghurka”, and that is incorrect. It was the Indian Ghurkas who carried this blade into combat with great effectiveness during WWII and beyond. Even today, they still use it. It’s a testament to the design and the ferociousness of these fights, often deployed/employed as mercenaries at times.

Sad to say, I no longer have the collection of military bayonets that came from all corners of the world. At some point, it was sold, when I needed some fast cash. I hated parting with all those knives, but ya do what ya gotta do to make ends meet at times. I want to say this collection was sold in the early 1970s, back in my old home town of Chicago, IL.

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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 the effects of higher interest rates on stock markets. (See the Stocks section and the Economy and Finance section.)

 

Precious Metals:

August’s Gold Market Looks ‘Ready For The Up Cycle’ – Sprott Money

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VIDEO — Michael DiRienzo of the Silver Institute on Silver’s Performance

 

Stocks (Effects of Higher Interest Rates):

At The Guardian: Apple hits $1trn stock market valuation; Bank of England raises interest rates – as it happened

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A viewpoint from the Persian Gulf: Will higher US interest rates and the stronger dollar destroy the stock market?

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The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“I’m pretty busy these days with ‘normal’ stuff, but there’s always that little voice in the back of the head that says ‘Hey…stay frosty, man. Today could be The Day.’ It’s really easy to get lax when there’s electricity, hot water, and a fridge full of food at hand. All of that can change like that (:::snaps fingers:::) But, still, it’s hard to stay focused sometimes.

I’ve been cleaning up the ‘extra’ guns and getting them ready for the Deep Sleep. Basically it’s a very detailed cleaning, a generous amount of lubrication, and seal it up in a Pelican case with some desiccant. Handguns are easier…clean and oil, and then stuff them in a nice new ammo can with some ammo, a holster, and some other odds and ends. A package like that can get tucked behind some drywall and be perfectly serviceable in fifty or a hundred years.” – Commander Zero, in his Notes From The Bunker blog

Preparedness Notes for Sunday – August 05, 2018

August 5th is the sad anniversary of the Mann Gulch Firein Montana that took the lives of 13 firefighters (including 12 smokejumpers and one former smokejumper), in 1949. The intense, fast-moving forest fire took place in what later became the Gates of the Mountains Wilderness. The events of that fire were chronicled in the book Young Men and Fire by Norman Maclean and immortalized in the haunting lyrics of the ballad Cold Missouri Waters by James Keelaghan.

Gunsmith Training: Starting the Class, by R2

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This week, I officially started the program. The first disc in the course is the student orientation disk. I realize that this is kind of an obligatory meeting, but I’ve always wondered why colleges and universities do this sort of thing.

New Student Orientation

When I went to college, the university had a “New Student Orientation” for every incoming student, and it always seemed like a waste to me. The new student is so overwhelmed that they will remember virtually nothing from the meeting. The paperwork handed out is what will be referred to. Even if you look at it like a cheerleading sort of class, it doesn’t make much sense to me. Why cheer for your school, when I’ve already made the decision to spend the money and attend. It just seems a waste of time.

That is what I expected, so I almost didn’t view this disc. But I’d made the decision to go through this whole course exactly like they had recommended. I popped the disc in and was pleasantly surprised at the content.

Continue reading“Gunsmith Training: Starting the Class, by R2“

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”. Thommy Robinson gives a powerful interview with Tucker Carlson today.

Call for Biological Attacks

A pro ISIS media group is publicly calling for biological attacks against Western targets. The group has published a series of posters that encourage the attacks and the city shown in at least one of the posters is clearly San Francisco. The article also contains an English transcript where a narrator explicitly gives directions on what types of bacteria and virus are effective and how they should be collected, processed and used. Of course, you won’t find this report in the mainstream media. Note that the campaign explicitly claims that the European Union is developing biological attacks for use against the Muslims to humiliate them, but in actuality, it is Muslims using biological and chemical weapons against themselves. Thanks to reader P. for the link.

Tommy Robinson Interview

Tucker Carlson had an exclusive interview with Tommy Robinson this week. In the interview, Tommy details how the legal system was used against him and how the pro-Islamic justice system kept shuttling him around to limit his access to his lawyers. For two months, the courts played this game with him and when he was finally able to see a judge, there were so many illegal discrepancies in how his case was handled that the Judge had to free him. While in prison, he was given very limited rations and he ended up losing nearly 40 pounds in just a little over two months. Even in a system without our 1st Amendment rights, this was a travesty of justice.

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Preparedness Notes for Saturday – August 04, 2018

On august 4th, 1944, 15 year old Jewish diarist Anne Frank and her family were captured by the Nazi Gestapo. The Franks had taken shelter is a small space in a sealed off area of an Amsterdam warehouse along with another Jewish family and a single Jewish man. They were aided by Christian friends who brought them food and supplies. Her diary survived the war, overlooked by the Gestapo, but Anne and nearly all of the others perished in the Nazi death camps.

Guest Post: Dehydrating Raspberries, by Patrice Lewis

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If there’s one dependable crop we get year after year, it’s raspberries.

 

Raspberries are Younger Daughter’s favorite fruit, and in years past picking them was more or less her province. In her absence this summer, the task has fallen to Don and me. And since it’s been blazing hot in the daytime and there are too many mosquitoes in the late evening when it’s cooler, I’ve been going out around 5:30 a.m. to pick berries.Continue reading“Guest Post: Dehydrating Raspberries, by Patrice Lewis”

Editors’ Prepping Progress

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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 often 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!

JWR

Dear SurvivalBlog Readers:

We’ve had a very busy week at the Rawles Ranch. I did some more woodcutting and slash hauling. We also took a full day at mid-week to do some cattle hauling. Thankfully there was no obstinate livestock rodeo drama. No muss, no fuss.

I also continued my earthwork project.

Avalanche Lily Reports:

It has been very hot here in our part of the American Redoubt.  Thankfully this past week we had a small thundershower that drenched everything very nicely, at least for a day.  I like small thunderstorms with no to little lightening and lots of rain, because we don’t want them starting forest fires.

Our guests departed this week.  Before they left I took them site seeing and berry picking high up in our surrounding mountains.  We picked about three cups worth of Thimbleberries, some Huckleberries and over a gallon’s worth of Elderberry.  I have made jam with the Thimbles and the guests took the Hucks with them. I still have to process the Elderberries and freeze them.  I will make syrup with them at a later date.

In the garden and greenhouse, I have been harvesting seeds from the Kale I planted in the greenhouse last fall, and from volunteer Kale in the garden. I’m cutting the flowered seed fronds and put them loosely into open used grain sacks and put them in a safe dry area to finish drying.  Later, when they are dried,  I’ll beat them until they drop their seeds into the grain sack, then bag them up for next summer. There are so many seeds that I’ll have a great supply for both plants and sprouting.   It is very important to let a portion of your non-hybrid “greens” go to seed for subsequent years.

Also, the bed from where the kale was located will be turned over and more manure brought in and I’ll plant more seeds for the fall garden during this coming week.

I have harvested two small rows of yellow onions, and plan to harvest a few more rows and turn that area into some winter beds with hoops.  I will develop the plan and tell you more about it later.

May you all have a very blessed and productive week

Many Blessings to All, – Jim Rawles and Avalanche Lily, Rawles

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

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”. Check out Wranglerstar’s new firefighting tractor setup!

Firefighting Tractor

With this years fire season devastating much of the American west coast, this video from Wranglerstar comes in at a critical time. He has basically taken his fire-skid and strapped it down to the forklift attachment of his tractor, giving him the ability to put firefighting gear where it is needed quickly. While he spends time detailing the features of this particular rig, he also talks about fire evacuation orders. Many a home has been lost because of the lack of a man with a shovel. When the order to evacuate comes, you have to remember that even though it is “mandatory”, only you can really make that decision. If you have prepared your property in advance, all that may be necessary to save your home is the fast-attack capability of a shovel. This profiled kit is more advanced, placing a foam system with 150 gallons of water at your disposal. With something like this and proper planning, there is no reason to lose your home to fire. Thanks to T.J. for the link.

NRA in Trouble

According to this article sent in by reader KAA, the NRA is in financial trouble. The root problem is the pressure that is being placed on companies that do business with the NRA. Many insurance companies and financial institutions are refusing to do business with the organization due to the false claims by anti-gun stooges that the NRA is in the business of selling guns. This is governmental and corporate blackmail at it’s worst. The NRA has filed suit against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the state’s financial regulators asking for the court to block the state from blacklisting them. Note that this report is from Rolling Stone who gleefully reports that the NRA is going out of business and links them to the ever popular Russian agents.Continue reading“The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:”