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”. Wait till you see the AR in .338 Lapua Magnum!

Armed and Dangerous

Eric Raymond, of the Armed & Dangerous blog, penned a quite plausible followup to JWR’s recent essay on The Mathematics of Countering Tyranny. The author starts with the numbers JWR derived and uses them to further calculate the difficulties the United States government would have in disarming the American gun owner. From a gun rights perspective, the numbers are very encouraging and only require a fraction of gun owners who are willing to fight for their rights to bring the entire forced collection program to a halt. The American Revolution was essentially kicked off by a gun confiscation order. It would be wise for the would-be gun grabbers to remember that.

Tommy Robinson

Anyone wishing to mail a letter of support to Tommy Robinson (aka Stephen Lennon) in his prison cell, can mail it to:

Stephen Y. Lennon (A2084CG)
HMP Onley
Rugby
Warwickshire
CV23 8AP England

He can also be reached through the commercial “E-Mail A Prisoner” service, at a cost of just under $1 per e-mail::

Stephen Y. Lennon (A2084CG) ONLEY PRISON at: https://www.emailaprisoner.com/

Let’s do our best to cheer him up! Let him know that he has people praying for him, all around the world.

#FREETOMMY

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“Racism is the lowest, most crudely primitive form of collectivism.  It is the notion of ascribing moral, social or political significance to a man’s genetic lineage—the notion that a man’s intellectual and characterological traits are produced and transmitted by his internal body chemistry.  Which means, in practice, that a man is to be judged, not by his own character and actions, but by the characters and actions of a collective of ancestors.

Racism claims that the content of a man’s mind (not his cognitive apparatus, but its content) is inherited; that a man’s convictions, values and character are determined before he is born, by physical forces beyond his control.  This is the caveman’s version of the doctrine of innate ideas—or of inherited knowledge—which has been thoroughly refuted by philosophy and science.  Racism is a doctrine of, by and for brutes. It is a barnyard or stock-farm version of collectivism, appropriate to a mentality that differentiates between various breeds of animals, but not between animals and men.” – Ayn Rand, in her essay “Racism,” from The Objectivist Newsletter 2, No. 9. (1963)

Kershaw Atmos Folder, by Pat Cascio

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It’s a strange name for a folding knife, but we decided to check this one out and we’re glad we did! The Kershaw Atmos is worth a close look.

As long-time SurvivalBlog.com readers know, I prefer longer blades on my knife, and I really like a folder with a 3.75-inch blade. They just seem to fit my hand better and can do more chores, well, better! However, I’m not a knife snob, and just because a folding knife has a blade less than my desired 3.75 inches doesn’t mean I won’t check it out. Enter the Kershaw Knives Atmos. A quick run down is in order, before we report on the performance of this dandy little folder.

Made in China

The Atmos is made in China, for all you haters. It’s too bad you don’t believe great cutlery can be produced in countries other than the USA. You get as good as you want overseas and at a savings. Kershaw has been in business for a lot of years, and in order to compete in the tightly contested knife market, like so many knife companies have done, they have some of their knives produced overseas.

Outstanding KVT Ball-Bearing Opening

The Atmos has the outstanding KVT ball-bearing opening. You simply press on the extended flipper, and those super-smooth bearings open the blade in a split second. It’s very smooth. There is also an inset liner lock, for securing the blade in the open position.

Continue reading“Kershaw Atmos 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 investing in custom knives. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)

Precious Metals:

David Lin: Silver Not Done Rallying; Look For 8% Upside From Current Levels

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Gold price retreats on strong dollar, supported by trade tension

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This article that was posted back in April provides a useful reminder: What Would a Trade War Do to the Value of Precious Metals?

 

Forex:

A good primer, over at Quora: How can I short a currency that has extreme inflation?

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And speaking of shorting: South African EFF leader Julius Malema has made some rash statements that might confirm that his nation on a Zimbabwe Trajectory. (“I’ve never slapped a white person, I’ve never called for their slaughter. I’ve never called for their killing, at least for now. I can’t guarantee the future.”)  If and when Malema and his cronies go Full Mugabe(TM), it will be the death knell for the South African Rand. Those who like to gamble might want to start shorting the Rand, now.

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Argentine Peso Resumes Plunge After Central Bank Shakeup

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“Of the liberty of conscience in matters of religious faith, of speech and of the press; of the trial by jury of the vicinage in civil and criminal cases; of the benefit of the writ of habeas corpus; of the right to keep and bear arms…. If these rights are well defined, and secured against encroachment, it is impossible that government should ever degenerate into tyranny.” – James Monroe

Guest Article: America Loses When The Trade War Becomes A Currency War, by Brandon Smith

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There has been a longstanding narrative in economic circles that no matter what crisis occurs the U.S. dollar is essentially invincible. I have never been one to buy into this assumption.

Reason 1: Because I remember distinctly just before the derivatives and credit crisis in 2007/2008 the majority of mainstream economists were so certain that U.S. housing and debt markets were invincible, and they were terribly wrong. Whenever the mainstream financial media are confident of an outcome, expect the opposite to happen.

Reason 2: Because karma has a way of crushing grand illusions. When you proudly declare a Titanic “unsinkable,” nature or fate often tests that resolve and finds it wanting.

Reason 3: Because I understand that a primary goal of the internationalist, globalist, anti-sovereignty and New World Order crowd is to diminish U.S. economic performance dramatically, and this includes ending the reserve status and petro-status of the dollar in order to make way for a single global currency unit dictated by a single global economic administrator.

Mindless blind faith in the dollar (and U.S. treasury debt) seems to switch sides politically according to whose narrative it best suits. During the Obama administration, conservatives and Republicans witnessed unprecedented fiat currency creation and dollar devaluation by the Federal Reserve and rightly drew the conclusion that this would eventually trigger a currency crisis as various systems absorb and then regurgitate all these dollars back into the U.S. We saw the biggest foreign trading partners of the U.S. launching bilateral trade agreements that cut out the dollar as the reserve currency, and we witnessed many foreign creditors questioning the viability of U.S. debt.Continue reading“Guest Article: America Loses When The Trade War Becomes A Currency War, by Brandon Smith”

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”. Apparently tourists to San Franciso are commonly asking the question “Am I in the bad part of town?” as the homelessness and drug problems are overwhelming the city.

Deep Video

Reader P. sent in this article on a new software that specializes in mapping the facial expressions and mouth movements of one video source onto a second target. We’ve seen software like this before, but the results would only pass a cursory review. Inspection of the video almost always reveals flaws that leads your brain into realizing that the video has been faked. This one is different though. Rather than using a single background frame from the second target, it uses a high count to render the render the video and the results are scary. With this video, you can literally have any person saying anything you want. The results are so good, I would expect face videos to become common place in the near future.

Google is a Monopoly

Google is more than just the 800 lb gorilla when it comes to several markets. Take search and advertising for example. Bing, Google’s closest competitor has only 2% of the market while Google has over 90%. Google also controls over 60% of the global Internet advertising revenue and one of the primary reasons others can’t compete is because they don’t have the user data Google has. There is even evidence that Android bypasses the user’s privacy settings and tracks location by using cell tower connections rather than GPS data. While it’s not the sole threat to privacy, it is one of the largest. For you own protection, you should avoid all things Google (Android, Chrome, Search, Docs, et cetera). Thanks to DSV for the link.

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Preparedness Notes for Saturday – June 16, 2018

On June 16, 1896, the people of Japan awoke to find that many of their friends, neighbors, and family had perished in the night due to a tsunami. A disturbance in the Japan Trench resulted in an earthquake that reached 7.6 on the Richter scale. This caused a large displacement of water, which caused the tsunami to hit Japan about 20 minutes later. In some places, the wave may have reached up to 115 feet high. Entire villages along the coast were washed away. However, fishermen at sea and those living several miles inland had no idea that anything had happened until morning, when they found the coast line destroyed with wreckage and corpses littering the beach. Estimates put the death toll somewhere between 22,000 and 27,000 people.

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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.

Traveling to Your Safe Haven During a WROL Event- Part 3, by E.P.

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In the first two parts of this article series, we have been talking about traveling to your safe haven during a without rule of law event. Part 2 began the overview on traveling by vehicle. We left off with discussion about roadblocks and multiple cars traveling a good distance apart so that the lead car could make a three-point turn in the reverse direction and warn the other cars in advance of a roadblock. Let’s continue with this scenario.

Over-watch Team Defending the Lead Vehicle

Now is the time for the first vehicle to better assess the situation and report. The second vehicle should immediately pull over as well, maintaining the 100 yard (night)/150 yard (day) separation (maybe even farther depending on your team’s abilities). The over-watch team in the second vehicle should deploy and take up positions that are adequate to support the lead vehicle. All other vehicles should pull over. It may be advisable for these vehicles to group closer together back along the road and maintain a defensive rear guard.

At this point the lead vehicle should report back to the leadership and request instructions, which might be to retreat or otherwise. One question will have to be answered quickly; is the roadblock hostile? Almost by definition, every roadblock is hostile. After all, it’s a roadblock. Those manning the roadblock want to halt your progress. Maybe they will take your supplies, firearms, vehicles, and let you live. That’s doubtful.

Leadership’s SOP Guidance

This is a good time to revert back to your leadership’s SOP guidance. A reasonable assumption is that the roadblock is hostile. If so, how many are manning the roadblock? What’s beyond the roadblock? Is it a city, a small town, reserve hostile forces? There is no good answer absent prior intelligence on the area.

Continue reading“Traveling to Your Safe Haven During a WROL Event- Part 3, by E.P.”

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:

This week we had a house guest. We toured him around and took hikes for several days. He is from a foreign country where their citizenry has only limited access to guns. (Only one gun per permit holder. His is a Glock 19.) So we did a lot of target shooting with a half dozen guns. That was also a good refresher for me and my wife. Our guest was thrilled to be able to shoot some guns that were unavailable to him at home. For instance, he had never shot an AK pattern rifle or a .45 ACP Glock. I sent him home with the gift of a Zacchaeus mini holster for his Glock.

I did a bit more firewood cutting and hauling. I also did some rototilling for Avalanche Lily.

Another minor project was replacing a GFI electrical outlet.  Thankfully, I keep a few spares on hand.  The weather forecast looks good for this coming week, so I’m hoping to accomplish a lot out in our woodlot.

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”. A new strain of the bird flu is causing concern.

Field Day

Survivalists and preppers concerned about communications when TEOTWAWKI happens should be aware that the 2018 Ham Radio Field Day is rapidly approaching. June 23rd and 24th are the dates that hams turn out in droves to set up emergency communication sites and practice their skills. If you’ve never actually talked on a radio, this is your opportunity to meet the hams in your area, actually talk on a radio and have someone walk you through the process. The hams will gladly get you started, teaching you what to say and when so you can get the feel for the whole process.

Doctors Without Wisdom

Despite that the actual data from the CDC’s own data shows a significant decline in gun related violence, the American medical Association (AMA) has decided to weigh in on the imaginary debate. Reader D.S. sent in this article that shows the AMA is actually demanding worse gun control measures than most gun control groups. They are demanding outright banning and confiscation of certain evil looking firearms along with demanding a national gun licensing and registration process. They don’t have any data that backs up their claims, but your supposed to believe that the emotional appeal is all that is necessary.

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