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 Indian government’s war on gold.

 

Precious Metals (War On Gold):

First up, at The Economic Times of India: Gold can be best viewed as alternate currency, not investment

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Also from The Economic Times of India: Gold imports dip 31.25% during April-May 2018-19: Government. JWR’s Comments: That figure is for reported gold imports. The black market import and export of gold in India is big, and getting bigger. This is an escalation of the Indian government’s long-running war on gold. (They foolishly look at private gold accumulation of gold as a “drain” on the economy.) Whenever a government attempts to control or tax free markets, people understandably will seek alternative channels of trade.

 

Commodities:

Is The Oil World In Panic Mode?

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WSJ: 2.5 Billion Pounds of Meat Piles Up in U.S. as Production Grows, Exports Slow. JWR’s Comment: Wait for sale prices and then freeze some, but mostly can it, cure it, make jerky or make biltong!
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 Storage Totes. (See the Gear and Grub section.)

Books:

Published this year: You Can Farm, by Joel Salatin

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Strategic Relocation: North American Guide to Safe Places, 3rd Edition – By Joel Skousen

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The High Security Shelter – How to Implement a Multi-Purpose Safe Room in the Home, 5th Edition (2017) – By Joel Skousen

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Also available as an audiobook (by JWR): How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It: Tactics, Techniques and Technologies for Uncertain Times

 

Movies:

How It Ends. This is a quite passable “end of the world” disaster film. Despite some Hollywood cliches and plenty of dramatic Canadian scenery supposedly standing in for Idaho, it was worth watching. Available via free streaming for those with Netflix.

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Gran Torino. Available on DVD or via free streaming for those with Amazon Prime.

 

Continue reading“JWR’s Recommendations of the Week”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“As to the position that ‘the people always mean well,’ that they always mean to say and do what they believe to be right and just – it may be popular, but it can not be true. The word people applies to all the individual inhabitants of a country. . . . That portion of them who individually mean well never was, nor until the millennium will be, considerable. Pure democracy, like pure rum, easily produces intoxication and with it a thousand pranks and fooleries. I do not expect mankind will, before the millennium, be what they ought to be and therefore, in my opinion, every political theory which does not regard them as being what they are, will prove abortive. Yet I wish to see all unjust and unnecessary discriminations everywhere abolished, and that the time may come when all our inhabitants of every color and discrimination shall be free and equal partakers of our political liberties.” – John Jay

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday – July 24, 2018

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July 24 – The late Jerry Ahern passed away on this day, July 24th, in 2012. He is missed.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today features another entry for Round 77 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. Two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value), and
  8. 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 77 ends on July 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.

Get Out of the Cities, NOW, By W.J.

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What’s the rush? Why should we move away from the comforts of our cities? Meteorites, that’s why. Yes, according to the words of Jesus Himself, asteroids from outer space will be targeting the immoral cities of our land.

Vulnerable To Fireballs

But before we look at what Jesus said, let’s first notice just how vulnerable we are to these fireballs from heaven:

Nightly News – March 3, 2017 “Earth weathers an asteroid near-miss: An asteroid roughly the size of a ten-story building came within 45,000 miles of Earth–too close for comfort. NBC’s Brian Williams reports.”

Go to SpaceWeather.com. Then, scroll down to “Near Earth Asteroids”, and you will see just how many “Potentially Hazardous Asteroids” we face for that current calendar day.

“This main asteroid belt holds more than 200 asteroids larger than 60 miles (100 km) in diameter. Scientists estimate the asteroid belt also contains between 1.1 million and 1.9 million asteroids larger than 1 km (3,281 feet) in diameter and millions of smaller ones.”

 

Continue reading“Get Out of the Cities, NOW, By W.J.”

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 gun vault and safe room/panic room/bunker door manufacturers in The American Redoubt. There are vault manufacturer and sales links included in several sections.

Region-Wide

It’s official- Amazon is building a fulfillment center in Spokane. That will hopefully speed deliveries in the Redoubt region.

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First Interstate Bank to Partner with INB
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 “HJL”. Ebola is back in the news this week.

Power Grid

The California power grid is urging consumers to conserve energy in this heat wave that is hitting the western United States. With temperatures in the 100+ range, people are demanding more from their air-conditioning and the grid is stressed. Southern California Gas Company has already issued alerts letting people know that there may be gas shortages as the send more gas to electrical generators. The warning is that if the grid is stressed to much, it will result in brownouts or blackouts for much of California. Gas producers may also have to tap reserves which could mean trouble this winter. As an aside, Valley Food Storage has an article on “10 Ways to Stay Cool Without Power” that you may want to read if you are in an affected area. Thanks to G.P. for the link.

Ol’ Remus on Democratic Socialism

Ol’ Remus pontificates on the rise of Democratic Socialism in the United States in his latest blog entry. In his traditional “calling it like it is” style, he suggests that the reader ad Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals to their reading list as the socialists are following it nearly verbatim. He notes specifically these two rules:

  • Power is not only what you have, but what the enemy thinks you have
  • The threat is more terrifying than the thing itself

He also notes that the U.S. has basically been under Communist rule for decades with the socialists having achieved practically all of their goals. There is also a good update to the chipped tire article in this issue. Thanks to JMC for the link.

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“Writing a book is an adventure. To begin with it is a toy then an amusement. Then it becomes a mistress, and then it becomes a master, and then it becomes a tyrant and, in the last stage, just as you are about to be reconciled to your servitude, you kill the monster and fling him to the public.” – Winston Churchill

SOG Knives, Baton Q1 and Q2, by Pat Cascio

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Multi-tools are some of the handiest types of tools to have on hand at all times. Today, we’re checking out two very unique designs by SOG Knives.

The Swiss Army Knife

No doubt, when it comes to multi-tools, it seems like everyone points to the Swiss Army Knife. There are actually two companies that produce these knives, well those officially licensed to do so, that is. And, while they are a good idea and a good design, I’ve yet to have a genuine Swiss Army Knife or one of the poorly made clones that didn’t break on me when put to real-life use. In my opinion, they are made for very light repairs. Use them for anything more than that and they break. Plus, for the life of me, I don’t understand why the Swiss Army Knives comes with a very dull blade. What’s so hard about putting a working edge on a knife so it will readily cut?

Some Traditional Multi-Tools

Many people look at some of the many more traditional multi-tools that are on the market today. There are some outstanding models out there. I’ve been carrying my favorite from Leatherman for years now. Sadly, it is a long-discontinued model called the Blast. However, they have many models from which to choose. Plus, SOG Knives produces many outstanding traditional multi-tools that are equally up to my high standards, as far as multi-tools go. So, there’s something for everyone when it comes to the more traditional versions of multi-tools.

Continue reading“SOG Knives, Baton Q1 and Q2, 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 offshore havens for relocation and investing.

Precious Metals:

Forbes: Five Questions To Ask Yourself Before Buying Precious Metals

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Gary Tanashian: You Buy The Fear in Gold

 

Commodities:

Trading Economics: Commodity – Forecast – 2018-2020

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Next, at Seeking Alpha: Soft Commodities Q2 2018 Review And The Outlook For Q3 2018

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Resistance to tyranny becomes the Christian and social duty of each individual… Continue steadfast and, with a proper sense of your dependence on God, nobly defend those rights which heaven gave, and no man ought to take from us.” – John Hancock

Gunsmith Training, by R2

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I recently began to wonder about retirement. I’m in my 50s, self-employed, and middle-class. My father worked for the same company for 45 years and retired on a comfortable pension, but I don’t see that happening to me. Unlike years past, there isn’t any real loyalty between employers and employees anymore and retiring after long years on the job is more of an exception than the rule now. To add to this concern, there is the reason I’m self-employed. I’ve never performed well under the thumb of a boss. However, I have been able to excel when working for myself. Not to knock the job, but flipping burgers or being a Walmart greeter just doesn’t suit me as I look forward in getting older.

No Faith in Social Security or Pension Plans

Given the economic precipice that we seem to sit on, I have no faith in social security or in any pension plans. I also don’t want to just sit back and relax after all these years of work. I may not be able to keep up the physical pace that I once did, but my mind is still sharp and I am still driven.

A Hobby to Pay Bills in Golden Years

My self employment has come about because I took hobbies that I held interest in and turned each of them from a mere hobby that paid for itself into one that actually paid the bills. Honestly, it’s time to do that again, this time planning for a hobby to pay the bills in my golden years.

Gunsmithing a Natural Choice

Gunsmithing was a natural choice for me. I enjoy working on firearms, and it doesn’t require heavy manual labor. As my body ages, I can still maintain an income. However, in order to take it from a mere hobby to a business, I had to step up my game. I needed more knowledge and skill as well as the ability to work on other people’s firearms. So how was I to go about that?

Continue reading“Gunsmith Training, by R2“