Vala Alta Irish Linen Handkerchiefs, by Thomas Christianson

Other than using cotton balls for starting fires, it is generally best to avoid cotton for field use. Cotton fabric tends to attract and retain moisture, at which point it becomes uncomfortable and loses its insulating value. As a result, “cotton kills” has become a common saying regarding wearing cotton in the field.

Although there are not too many situations in which one’s life might depend on the insulating value of their handkerchief, there are many times when one’s comfort is dependent upon that article being dry. Linen handkerchiefs provide a stronger and faster drying alternative to cotton handkerchiefs. As an added bonus, linen is hypo-allergenic and even has mildly antiseptic properties.

Vala Alta manufactures an attractive line of handkerchiefs in the USA using Irish linen. I recently tested a couple of these handkerchiefs: one in the 12 x 12 inch size and the other in the 16 x 16 inch size. I found the 12 x 12 inch handkerchief to be a little undersized for my taste, but the 16 x 16 handkerchief was ideal. It was attractive, strong, and comfortable on my nose.Continue reading“Vala Alta Irish Linen Handkerchiefs, by Thomas Christianson”

Recipe of the Week:

The following recipe for Potato-SPAM patties is from SurvivalBlog reader Richard T.. He writes: “This is a variation of the Bean-Potato patty recipe that I submitted in the May 9, 2022 SurvivalBlog. The variation is more in the equipment to make it than in the recipe itself. The result is a more dense patty with more surface on the cast iron pan surface to get toasty. The ingredients listed in this version are for a one-person serving.”

Ingredients
  • One small russet potato
  • Half a yellow onion
  • 1 slice of SPAM
  • 1 tablespoon of quick oats
  • Salt
  • Red pepper flakes,
  • Cooking Oil
Directions

“The last two bulleted ingredients are mixed in after all the other ingredients have been put through a small food chopper one time, as pictured. Once mixed it is formed into a patty and kept in the refrigerator (and later frozen) overnight so that oats have time to soak up the moisture that the salt has extracted from the potato. The skillet can be put in a toaster oven at 350 F for 40 minutes, or on the stovetop.”

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Do you have a well-tested recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers? In this weekly recipe column, we place emphasis on recipes that use long-term storage foods, recipes for wild game, dutch oven recipes, slow cooker recipes, and any recipes that use home garden produce. If you have any favorite recipes, then please send them via e-mail. Thanks!

SurvivalBlog Graphic of the Week

SurvivalBlog reader D.S.V. pointed us to today’s graphic:  Map of America’s Abandoned Railroad Tracks. (Graphic courtesy of the fascinating  Forgotten Lands, Places and Transit website.)

The thumbnail below is click-expandable.

Forgotten Lands, Places and Transit

 

 

Or, better yet, open the map directly in Google Maps, for a nice detailed and zoomable view.

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Please send your graphics or graphics links to JWR. (Either via e-mail or via our Contact form.) Any graphics that you send must either be your own creation or uncopyrighted.

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“There is only one kind of freedom and that’s individual liberty. Our lives come from our creator and our liberty comes from our creator. It has nothing to do with government granting it.” – Former Congressman Dr. Ron Paul

Preparedness Notes for Sunday — March 23, 2025

Today is the 250th anniversary of Patrick Henry’s famous “Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death” speech. It was delivered to the Second Virginia Revolutionary Convention meeting at St. John’s Church, Richmond, on March 23, 1775.

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March 23, 1839: The first recorded use of “OK” [for an editor’s “oll korrect” notation] at the Boston’s Morning Post.

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Today is the birthday of Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa. He directed 30 films. His samurai films (many starring Toshiro Mifune) such as Yojimbo, Sanjuro, The Hidden Fortress, Rashomon, The Seven Samurai, Kagemusha, and Ran are considered legendary in the cinema world.

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I just heard that George Foreman passed away. He was a local celebrity in my hometown of Livermore, California, in my late teen years and college years. He owned a modest home on four acres out Mines Road, in the hills south of town, where he kept his exotic pets, including a lion and a tiger. Many folks in town had little “brush with fame” stories about interactions with George, or sightings of him in his not-so-modest cars. He had 12 children, including five sons all named George Edward Foreman (I through V), and one daughter named Georgetta. He was an outspoken Christian and became active in ministry in his later years. He was quite a guy, and he will be missed. Grill up something, in his memory. (There were 100 million George Foreman grills made.)

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 117 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. A Peak Refuel “Wasatch Pack” variety of 60 servings of premium freeze-dried breakfasts and dinners in individual meal pouches — a whopping 21,970 calories, all made and packaged in the USA — courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  4. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses. Their course catalog now includes their latest Survival Gunsmithing course.
  5. HSM Ammunition in Montana is providing a $250 gift certificate. The certificate can be used for any of their products.

Second Prize:

  1. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  2. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from TOUGHGRID.com (a $287 value).
  3. A Laptop EMP Shield and a Smartphone Faraday Bag (a combined value of $200), courtesy of MobileSecSolutions.com.
  4. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.
  5. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of gun purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. A Berkey Light water filter, courtesy of USA Berkey Filters (a $305 value),
  2. 3Vgear.com is providing an ultimate bug-out bag bundle that includes their 3-day Paratus Bag, a Posse EDC Sling Pack, and a Velox II Tactical Backpack. This prize package has a $289 retail value.
  3. A $200 credit from Military Surplus LLC that can be applied to purchase and/or shipping costs for any of their in-stock merchandise, including full mil-spec ammo cans, Rothco clothing and field gear, backpacks, optics, compact solar panels, first aid kits, and more.
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

More than $950,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest.  Round 117 ends on March 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. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic.

Food Prepping With Freezer Bags – Part 3, by St. Funogas

(Continued from Part 2. This concludes the article.)

The Final Answer: How Reliable Are Freezer Bags For Storing Food?

The most important questions these experiments were trying to answer is how reliable freezer bags are as a food-storage method? Do they work for the short term? And how well will they work for the long term?

Thinner sandwich bags are definitely a bad way to go. Pests had chewed through the plastic in just a few months. Pantry moths in my cupboard also had no trouble chewing through the foil packets of hot chocolate or getting under the lid of a container of raisins.

During these experiments, pests hadn’t chewed through the thick walls of any of the freezer bags over a six-month period. The bags will be checked again time a year after the packing date to see if they can keep pests out for a full year which would be the minimum time a JIT freezer-bag food-storage system would have to endure. That’s assuming a SHTF event occurred right after bagging beans and grains.

So, based on these experiments, the most-important question of whether or not pests can chew through the heavy-plastic walls of freezer bags still remained unanswered.Continue reading“Food Prepping With Freezer Bags – Part 3, by St. Funogas”

JWR’s Meme Of The Week:

The latest meme created by JWR:

Burning Teslas Meme

Meme Text:

Kinda Funny, How Just Three Years Ago, Woke Liberal Virtue Signalling Was Buying A Tesla
But Now, It Is Burning Them With Molotov Cocktails

News Links:

Notes From JWR: Do you have a meme idea? Just e-mail me the concept, and I’ll try to assemble it. And if it is posted then I’ll give you credit. Thanks!

Permission to repost memes that I’ve created is granted, provided that credit to SurvivalBlog.com is included.

 

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases.

And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.

And he said unto them, Take nothing for your journey, neither staves, nor scrip, neither bread, neither money; neither have two coats apiece.

And whatsoever house ye enter into, there abide, and thence depart.

And whosoever will not receive you, when ye go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet for a testimony against them.

And they departed, and went through the towns, preaching the gospel, and healing every where.

Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by him: and he was perplexed, because that it was said of some, that John was risen from the dead;

And of some, that Elias had appeared; and of others, that one of the old prophets was risen again.

And Herod said, John have I beheaded: but who is this, of whom I hear such things? And he desired to see him.

And the apostles, when they were returned, told him all that they had done. And he took them, and went aside privately into a desert place belonging to the city called Bethsaida.

And the people, when they knew it, followed him: and he received them, and spake unto them of the kingdom of God, and healed them that had need of healing.” – Luke 9:1-11 (KJV) 

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — March 22, 2025

On March 22, 1765, the Stamp Act passed. This imposed the first direct British tax on American colonists. It was organized by Prime Minister George Grenville.

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March 22nd is the birthday of Benjamin Tyler Henry (March 22, 1821–December 29, 1898). He was an American gunsmith and manufacturer. On October 16, 1860, he received a patent on the Henry .44 caliber repeating rifle. The first Henry rifles were not produced for Union Army use until mid-1862.

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This is also the birthday of novelist Louis L’Amour. (Born 1908, died 1988.) Some of his novels have survival themes. One of particular interest to survivalists is Last of the Breed.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 117 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. A Peak Refuel “Wasatch Pack” variety of 60 servings of premium freeze-dried breakfasts and dinners in individual meal pouches — a whopping 21,970 calories, all made and packaged in the USA — courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  4. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses. Their course catalog now includes their latest Survival Gunsmithing course.
  5. HSM Ammunition in Montana is providing a $250 gift certificate. The certificate can be used for any of their products.

Second Prize:

  1. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  2. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from TOUGHGRID.com (a $287 value).
  3. A Laptop EMP Shield and a Smartphone Faraday Bag (a combined value of $200), courtesy of MobileSecSolutions.com.
  4. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.
  5. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of gun purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. A Berkey Light water filter, courtesy of USA Berkey Filters (a $305 value),
  2. 3Vgear.com is providing an ultimate bug-out bag bundle that includes their 3-day Paratus Bag, a Posse EDC Sling Pack, and a Velox II Tactical Backpack. This prize package has a $289 retail value.
  3. A $200 credit from Military Surplus LLC that can be applied to purchase and/or shipping costs for any of their in-stock merchandise, including full mil-spec ammo cans, Rothco clothing and field gear, backpacks, optics, compact solar panels, first aid kits, and more.
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

More than $950,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest.  Round 117 ends on March 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. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic.

Food Prepping With Freezer Bags – Part 2, by St. Funogas

(Continued from Part 1.)

Results of Cornmeal in Sandwich Bags

As a side tangent, I wanted to know if weevils and their eggs in feed corn could survive being coarse ground into corn meal. Cornmeal is not ground as finely as wheat flour so I thought perhaps there was a small chance some eggs would survive. I put some weevily corn into the hopper of the grinder, added a bunch more weevils sifted out from some other corn, and ground it into meal.

After grinding, half of the meal was put into a mason jar with a sealed lid, the other half into a normal thin-walled sandwich bag. The meal in the mason jar would indicate if any eggs made it through the grinding process. The open sandwich bag sat on the counter for two months before it was zipped shut, hoping new pests of various sorts would enter. This would help establish the time larvae needed to chew through thin plastic.

No pests showed up in the mason jar during the six-month test, indicating weevils aren’t able to survive the grinding process. In the sandwich bag, after a few weeks I was unable to see any larvae but I did see particles of meal hanging from fine threads of web. The bag was then zipped closed. A few weeks later I finally saw larvae, and after a few months, many of the larvae had chewed their way out of the bag, one of which was halfway out when I saw it. The single threads of web had also turned into small mats of webbing in one end of the bag.Continue reading“Food Prepping With Freezer Bags – Part 2, by St. Funogas”

Editors’ Prepping Progress

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make both long-term and short-term plans. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities and planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, ranch improvements, bug-out bag fine-tuning, 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 your e-mailed letters. We post many of those — or excerpts thereof — in the Odds ‘n Sods Column or in the Snippets column. Let’s keep busy and be ready!

Jim Reports:

I’ve been very busy packing orders for my Elk Creek Company side business. The recent flurry of orders is attributable to my raising our silver divisor to 24.9 times face value, in U.S. pre-1965 silver coinage. (Circulated 90% silver dimes, quarters, and half dollars — commonly called “junk” silver.) This is the most that we’ve ever offered, in trade!  This is your chance to both take advantage of the spike in spot silver and diversify your tangible investment holdings.

This past week started out with great weather, but devolved into some frequent rain showers with afternoon temperatures in the 50s that melted most of our remaining snow.

I help Lily haul out a lot of manure and soiled bedding straw from both the sheep shed and the cattle loafing area. In all, this was more than 40 full wheelbarrow loads. That should make great compost for our gardens.

Lots of seasonal songbirds have returned to our valley. Lily will fill you in, with her part of the report…

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

As the partridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not; so he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool.

A glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary.

O Lord, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters.

Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise.

Behold, they say unto me, Where is the word of the Lord? let it come now.

As for me, I have not hastened from being a pastor to follow thee: neither have I desired the woeful day; thou knowest: that which came out of my lips was right before thee.

Be not a terror unto me: thou art my hope in the day of evil.

Let them be confounded that persecute me, but let not me be confounded: let them be dismayed, but let not me be dismayed: bring upon them the day of evil, and destroy them with double destruction.” – Jeremiah 17:8-18 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Friday — March 21, 2025

Alfonso “Al” Williamson (March 21, 1931– June 12, 2010) was an American cartoonist, comic book artist and illustrator specializing in adventure, Western, science fiction and fantasy.

Born in New York City, he spent much of his early childhood in Bogotá, Colombia before moving back to the United States at the age of 12. In his youth, Williamson developed an interest in comic strips, particularly Alex Raymond’s Flash Gordon. He took art classes at Burne Hogarth’s Cartoonists and Illustrators School, there befriending future cartoonists Wally Wood and Roy Krenkel, who introduced him to the work of illustrators who had influenced adventure strips. Before long, he was working professionally in the comics industry. His most notable works include his science-fiction/heroic-fantasy art for EC Comics in the 1950s, on titles including Weird Science and Weird Fantasy.

In the 1960s, he gained recognition for continuing Raymond’s illustrative tradition with his work on the Flash Gordon comic-book series, and was a seminal contributor to the Warren Publishing’s black-and-white horror comics magazines Creepy and Eerie. Williamson spent most of the 1970s working on his own credited strip, another Raymond creation, [an update to] Secret Agent X-9. The following decade, he became known for his work adapting Star Wars films to comic books and newspaper strips. From the mid-1980s to 2003, he was primarily active as an inker, mainly on Marvel Comics superhero titles starring such characters as Daredevil, Spider-Man, and Spider-Girl.

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March 21st, 1778: Just three days after Hessian mercenary forces assaulted the local New Jersey militia at Quinton’s Bridge, the same contingent surprised the colonial militia at Hancock’s Bridge five miles from Salem. In what became known as the Massacre at Hancock’s Bridge, at least 20 members of the militia lost their lives, some after attempting to surrender. The Loyalists reputedly exclaimed “Spare no one! Give no quarter!” as they stormed the occupied house. Judge Hancock and his brother (both Loyalists) were bayoneted in the melee by the attackers even though they were both staunch supporters of the crown and were themselves non-violent Quakers.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 117 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. A Peak Refuel “Wasatch Pack” variety of 60 servings of premium freeze-dried breakfasts and dinners in individual meal pouches — a whopping 21,970 calories, all made and packaged in the USA — courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  4. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses. Their course catalog now includes their latest Survival Gunsmithing course.
  5. HSM Ammunition in Montana is providing a $250 gift certificate. The certificate can be used for any of their products.

Second Prize:

  1. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  2. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from TOUGHGRID.com (a $287 value).
  3. A Laptop EMP Shield and a Smartphone Faraday Bag (a combined value of $200), courtesy of MobileSecSolutions.com.
  4. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.
  5. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of gun purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. A Berkey Light water filter, courtesy of USA Berkey Filters (a $305 value),
  2. 3Vgear.com is providing an ultimate bug-out bag bundle that includes their 3-day Paratus Bag, a Posse EDC Sling Pack, and a Velox II Tactical Backpack. This prize package has a $289 retail value.
  3. A $200 credit from Military Surplus LLC that can be applied to purchase and/or shipping costs for any of their in-stock merchandise, including full mil-spec ammo cans, Rothco clothing and field gear, backpacks, optics, compact solar panels, first aid kits, and more.
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

More than $950,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest.  Round 117 ends on March 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. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic.

 

Food Prepping With Freezer Bags – Part 1, by St. Funogas

As a followup to my article, “Just-in-Time Food Storage” (Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5) this article is to share with the reader the results of my freezer-bag food-storage experiments.

The first article was for those who don’t currently have any food stored but plan on doing so at the last minute if it looks like the Schumer may be soon hitting the fan. While this wait-and-see method is highly discouraged and defeats the whole purpose of prepping, two methods were presented for those who’ll still be procrastinating anyway.

Method 1: No special preps, just get some food! This involves A) stocking up on a few hundred plastic freezer bags ahead of time which you’ll be using in the future anyway, and B) having a shopping list made far in advance. The freezer bags would take up very minimal space on a pantry shelf. This isn’t the best long-term food-storage method, is highly discouraged, and it’s based on the premise that something is better than nothing. For long-term prepping, don’t even consider using freezer bags in place of proper food-storage containers.

Method 2: Buy a $50 insurance policy. This method also uses a shopping list made far ahead of time. Unlike freezer bags, Method 2 requires buying some items that probably won’t have a future use if the feces never hit the fan. But isn’t that the nature of car, home, and health insurance, we buy hoping we’ll never need it?Continue reading“Food Prepping With Freezer Bags – Part 1, by St. Funogas”

Economics & Investing For Preppers

Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. In this column, JWR also covers hedges, derivatives, and various obscura. This column emphasizes JWR’s “tangibles heavy” investing strategy and contrarian perspective. Today, we look at Canadian trade and currency exchange issues.

Precious Metals:

Mike Gleason: Gold Breaks $3,000, But Here’s Why Silver Could Steal the Show…

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At Gold-Eagle.com: $3000/Ounce: Why The Oldest Money Just Hit Its Newest High.

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Take heed:  The silver-to-gold ratio just hit 90.7-to-1.  And the platinum-to-gold ratio is now 3.04-to-1. For anyone who has holdings that are heavy on gold, I recommend doing some diversifying. – JWR

Economy & Finance:

This is a gut-punch of a statistic: The U.S immigrant employment rate.

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This video offers some basic but quite sound advice: This Is What “ALWAYS” Happens Before A Depression.

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The Irish Times reports: US shoppers cut spending as economic outlook concerns mount.

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A U. of M. report: The U.S. Economic Outlook for 2025–2026.

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Wolf Richter: Will Economic Detox Lead to a Recession? Maybe Not. But a Long Deep Stock Market Rout Will (See Dotcom Bust).

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And just for fun, from the great Finnish comedian, Ismo Leikola: The World’s Debt.

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”