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 some recent predictions from economist Peter Schiff.

Precious Metals:

The Precious Metals Week in Review — January 26, 2018

 

Forex:

Next, at Forex Crunch: EUR/USD Forecast Jan. 29 – Feb. 2 2018

 

Commodities:

Moving on to this as Seeking Alpha: Commodities Recap For The Week Of Jan. 26, 2018

 

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

The Left’s Vindictive Databases: For Blaming, Shaming, Defaming, and SWATting

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A key tactic of The Left is to demonize their political opponents. They have become increasingly sophisticated at this since the turn of the 21st Century. Most recently they have assembled voluminous databases on “Right Wing”, “Alt-Right” , and “Hate Groups.” But by lumping together legitimate conservative political activists (such as Tea Party groups) and right to life groups in the same lists as racists, bigots, the KKK, and assorted anti-Semites, they have besmirched the reputations of nearly everyone who opposes the socialist agenda. Some of the latest generations of databases can safely be called Vindictive Databases.

A new article in Wired magazine describes the level of database automation that The Left are now employing: Meet Antifa’s Secret Weapon Against Far-Right Extremists. This article reveals a large database called Whack-a-mole. This tool automatically mines data from Facebook, based on keywords like “patriot” and “anti-Obama” without applying human analysis. Therefore, a considerable percentage of the 400,000 “far right extremists” flagged by this system are surely false positives. And even more alarmingly, the key creator of Whack-a-mole publicly admitted that she has shared some of the database information with the Antifa radicals.

Continue reading“The Left’s Vindictive Databases: For Blaming, Shaming, Defaming, and SWATting”

Letter Re: What Is It That Will Really Help You Survive TEOTWAWKI?

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Hugh,

I wanted to let folks know how deep this goes.

The writer is very prescient in identifying the threat(s). In March, I lost my job. I had worked at this corporation for 19 years, but did not survive the political culture. In early November, I lost the love of my life to a devastating disease.

While I have large stockpiles of beans, bullets, and band-aids – enough to provide for my own family plus many others for a long time – these were two things that I didn’t see coming, and was totally unprepared for.

I’m struggling to deal with the unexpected and life-altering losses. Mentally and spiritually I was blindsided. I’m recovering, but it’s very difficult, and these events exposed a hollowness in my heart that I didn’t even know existed. While I had prepared for every natural and political threat (or so I thought), I wasn’t spiritually or mentally prepared for these events.

Depression? Yes. Survivor’s guilt? Yes. Being overwhelmed with the rush of financial and legal details that have to be dealt with? Oh yeah.

So the author’s advice about preparing yourself mentally and spiritually is spot on. I’m trying to move on with my life, while ensuring that our children are provided for and as a family we transition to the next chapter of our lives successfully. Hopefully, things will work out well. – J.P.

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”.

South African Farm Murders

South Africa has an increasing incidents of white farmers being murdered. The government is classifying them as “robberies gone wrong”, but Lauren Southern investigates and asks how you can accidentally rape for days, accidentally torture an entire family, accidentally cut someone’s eyes out? The crimes are taking on a far more brutal nature than crimes in most of the world. In this video, Lauren interviews a crime scene cleaner, but is unable to get answers to many questions because of confidentiality rules the cleaner has in working with the government. This is what TEOTWAWKI looks like when the government sanctions and hides the racist behavior. (Warning: Some graphic images)

Destruction by Debt

Reader G.P. sent in this video from Greg Hunter interviewing Nomi Prins who talks about how debt will be the ultimate destructor of the global system. Global debt levels are at their all time historic highs. Central bankers have rigged the world economic system and are plundering your productivity. The top three central banks hold 14 trillion in assets with a total of about 21 trillion assets in all central banks. They are the primary buyers of bonds, inflating the assets and fabricating money.

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone. And when even was now come, his disciples went down unto the sea, and entered into a ship, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was now dark, and Jesus was not come to them. And the sea arose by reason of a great wind that blew. So when they had rowed about five and twenty or thirty furlongs, they see Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing nigh unto the ship: and they were afraid. But he saith unto them, It is I; be not afraid. Then they willingly received him into the ship: and immediately the ship was at the land whither they went.” – John 6:15-21 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Saturday – January 27, 2018

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January 27th is commemorated at International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Never again!

o o o

This is also the birthday of the late Helen Chenoweth (born, 1938, died October 2, 2006). She was a controversial Republican congresswoman from Orofino, Idaho.

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As most SurvivalBlog readers are aware, we recently published the autobiography of Rynier Kruger, a Christian missionary in northern Thailand. It is titled: My Thailand Calling.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today features another entry for Round 74 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 Trekker IV™ Four-Person Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $250 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 74 ends on January 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.

Reindustrialization After The Fall- Part 2, By Redneck Granddaddy

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Yesterday, we took inventory of the situation two years after the balloon went up after the fall, and we realized that things could be pretty challenging. However, with charcoal and a forge, the problems we mentioned wouldn’t be such a dilemma. Yesterday, I shared several options for how to make charcoal. Today, I will share how to make a forge and more tips for smithing. So, let’s get started.

Masonry Forge

Boy you are ambitious to look at a masonry forge! That’s okay. Depending on your particular situation, this might be easier and or better for you. A masonry forge cannot be moved, so it needs to be built in a barn or a purpose built smithy. Whatever kind of charcoal forge you build, the thing will have the same four parts– the stand, the pan, the blower, and the pipes.

First, you need a blower pipe. I use black pipe (as in un-galvanized) if possible. This is the same stuff you will find in the wall behind the kitchen sink. Using a one and a half inch or two inch sized pipe is fine. You will need a tee, two caps, a nipple, and two runs about ten or twelve inches long and whatever you need to adapt to your blower. If you are building now, before the fall, twenty dollars at Ace Hardware gets you a two-speed bathroom blower and the aluminum hose. To build, size the base to fit your needs or the availability of materials, but leave access to your blower pipe. I recommend a three-sided box.

Continue reading“Reindustrialization After The Fall- Part 2, By Redneck Granddaddy”

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 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!  This week’s emphasis is on the use of indoor grow lights.

JWR

Dear SurvivalBlog Readers,
This week, I took the family out into the surrounding National Forest for a semi-tactical snowshoeing hike. This turned out to be a good shakedown.  It was only by getting our snowshoes on everyone living at the ranch that we learned that one of the bindings had a missing piece of hardware. That was soon corrected–using a small nut, bolt, and star lockwasher selected from the plastic drawers of hardware in my shop. We had plenty of snow camouflage ponchos. Those are still fairly inexpensive and plentiful. (The Bundeswehr must have switched to a different pattern, and they were all surplussed out.) But we discovered that we didn’t have a full set of white balaclavas and white watch caps.  Those that were needed are now on order.

Two days after our hike–after the snowshoes had fully dried–I did some touch-up spot painting with some flat white spray paint. We are now “good to go.”  Remember:  There is a huge difference between just owning gear and actually getting out there to use it. It takes time and practice to work all the kinks out.  And, of course, every piece of equipment comes with a learning curve.

By the way, many years ago I learned using long “trail” snowshoes in timbered areas just doesn’t work.  Most of our snowshoes are the quite short “modified bear paw” style. Our longest shoes are only about 30″ long, and sometimes even those get tangled up. Your mileage may vary.

Fire Kindling Practice

Part of that hike was having the kids practice kindling fires in a cleared spot in the snow. It has been a very wet winter, so it was tough finding dry tinder. The local Old Man’s Beard lichen was soaking wet. (We tried to look for that on trees with very full overhead cover.  No luck. Even our old standby of breaking dried twigs from tree trunks wasn’t working. We had to rely just on what was in our packs, for tinder and kindling.  Lesson learned:  Always carry plenty. Our favorites are clothes dryer lint, alcohol-based hand sanitizer, and of course some finely-split fatwood. Note that it is crucial to carry a waterproof match case and to double-bag all of your tinder materials, to keep them perfectly dry.

Continue reading“The Editors’ Preps for the Week”

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.  Today, JWR is filling in for HJL who is abed with the flu. The emphasis today is on The Black Rifle Buyer’s Market.

The Black Rifle Buyer’s Market

Ever since President DJT was elected, the U.S. gun market has been in the doldrums. That is just human nature.  We had eight years of a BHO-inspired gun-buying frenzy and then justifiable worries about Hitlery Clinton getting elected. But then everyone just breathed a huge collective sigh of relief, last November.  The market has been very slow ever since, especially for so-called Black Rifles. (Semi-auto rifles with anything other than wood stocks.) Yesterday, I saw some evidence that the Buyer’s Market has now hit a low ebb point:  Gun wholsaler/retailer CDNN just put Colt Expanse 5.56mm M4geries on sale for just $599. Concurrently, they are offering free shipping on all semi-auto rifles. Wow.

My advice: Take advantage of this low ebb. Buy low. Stack them deep. In a few years you can  sell off few of those guns at the top of teh market, whenever the inevitable Crise De Jour hits the headlines.

o o o

North American History Stood On Its Head

New Evidence Suggests Stone Age Hunters From Europe Discovered America. (A hat tip to H.L., for the link.)
Continue reading“The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my meditation.
Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray.
My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.
For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.
The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity.
Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the Lord will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.
But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple.
Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face.
For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue.
Destroy thou them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions; for they have rebelled against thee.
But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.
For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield. – Psalm 5, (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Friday – January 26, 2018

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January 26th, 1945 is the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz by the Soviet Army. Established in 1941 Auschwitz was composed of a group of three large and 40 smaller camps used for slave labor, unethical medical experiments and monstrous killing grounds where prisoners were gassed and cremated. As the Soviets headed for Auschwitz, the German Gestapo began a murder spree and began destroying the facility in an attempt to hide the evidence of their crimes. When the Soviets arrived, the encountered 648 corpses and more than 7000 starving camp survivors along with storehouses filled with hundreds of thousands of dresses, suits and shoes that the Germans did not have time to burn.

o o o

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today features another entry for Round 74 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 Trekker IV™ Four-Person Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $250 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 74 ends on January 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.

Reindustrialization After The Fall- Part 1, By Redneck Granddaddy

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Okay, the balloon went up, but you were prepared enough that two years later, you and your family are still alive at your retreat. Great! Right? Well, maybe. Let’s take inventory.

Post-Balloon Evaluation

Food Storage

Your food in storage is about gone. You have been gardening for the last ten years and thought you were golden, but the first year wasn’t near big enough. The second year you went way big and plowed more land while the tractor still ran, but you didn’t have the seed or fertilizer. Still, you carried on with composting and seed saving, but most of your heirloom varieties were really hybrids mislabeled and sold as heirlooms. That was a teachable moment.

It’s good to be frugal, but Gullible is the name of a large, vicious dog that sooner or later bites everyone in the butt, and if you had read the fine print you would have seen that they were sourced in China. Oh, you can hear that dog barking now! Birds, insects, squirrels, deer, and rabbits got more of the crop than you did anyway. One thing you got right was building the wood-fired dehydrator, because you can never have enough jars and lids!

Continue reading“Reindustrialization After The Fall- Part 1, By Redneck Granddaddy”