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”. Stranger Danger! Now drones are being used to lure children.

Communist in Cadet’s Clothing

It’s not just the American civilian population that is spinning out of control. The honorable West Point is having much of the same issue with lack of respect for authority and moral values that match those that founded this nation. Reader P.M. sent in this article: Army Opens Investigation Into West Point Grad For Promoting Communism. Of particular interest in one sworn affidavit. This sort of juvenile delinquent behavior is unbecoming of anyone, especially a West Point Cadet.

Tape Measures and Hammers

Home Depot is in a tough spot. They traditionally market to the “Do it yourself” (DIY), but now the next generation is coming of age. What do you do when you sell lumber, hardware and tools to someone who doesn’t even know how to hammer a nail or use a tape measure? They have spent millions creating a series of videos on how to do basic things like read a tape measure or even mow a lawn. It’s not just home repair companies either. “Do it yourself” seems to be morphing into “Do it for me.” Thanks to G.G. for the link.

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The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“[A] Winchester rifle should have a place of honor in every black home, and it should be used for that protection which the law refuses to give…” –  Ida B. Wells (1862–1931), African-American journalist, suffragist, sociologist, and Civil Rights leader

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday – October 11, 2017

On this day, in 732, at the Battle of Tours near Poitiers, France, Frankish leader Charles Martel, a Christian, defeated a large army of Spanish Moors, halting the Muslim advance into Western Europe. Abd-ar-Rahman, the Muslim governor of Cordoba, was killed in the fighting, and the Moors retreated from Gaul, never to return in such force.

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Long-Term Preparedness for Your Baby or Toddler, Part 1, by K.F.

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Feeding Your Baby or Small Child

Consider feeding your baby or small child in the midst of tropical storms, flooding, and with threats from nuclear testing. As world events are painting an increasingly grim picture, my husband and I have felt the urgency to set aside some backup resources in case of a long-term emergency. My husband is the “must-have-a-plan-for-everything” kind of guy. Therefore, he has excitedly mapped out our emergency storage space, along with the details of its contents. He is an avid “outdoorsman”, so many of the items that we would need for long-term preparedness are either already in our arsenal or familiar to him in some capacity.

But, when we found out we were expecting a baby, it added a whole other level of things to consider. How do you feed a baby or toddler in a long-term emergency? What about diapers? Medicine? With my background of farming, gardening, and canning, suddenly, my areas of expertise became valuable for our emergency storage preparation. Below are a few of the things that I find essential to have on hand when preparing to sustainably care for a baby or toddler in a long-term emergency situation.

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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 raising Tibetan Yaks. (See the Tangibles Investing section, near the end of this column.)

Precious Metals:

First, over at Seeking Alpha: Has Gold Found A Bottom?

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At MarketRealist: What Led to the Slump in Precious Metals on October 2?

Stocks:

Over at the leftist New York Post: Trump’s insane Dow Jones rally just keeps going. JWR’s Comment: President DJT’s rally is actually just a continuation of President BHO’s rally. This was all created by artificially low interest rates.  This cannot go on forever without seeing a sharp correction.

Commodities:

U.S. Oil Rig Count Falls As Prices Falter

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Most ‘Competitive’ Oil In The World Befuddles Analysts

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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 raccoon traps. (See the Gear section, near the end of this column.)

Books:

Killing England: The Brutal Struggle for American Independence (Bill O’Reilly’s Killing Series)

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Bushcraft 101: A Field Guide to the Art of Wilderness Survival

 

Movies and Television:

Passengers

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Blade Runner: The Final Cut – Blu-ray

 

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Homestead Design from a Practical, Tactical, Agricultural Survival Perspective, by C.F

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Let’s talk about practical, tactical, and agricultural survival principles and details that pertain to developing land in a way that will facilitate agricultural productivity, sustainability, and security.

Prepare thy work without, and make it fit for thyself in the field; and afterwards build thine house. Prov. 24:27.

Assessing the Land

The Land

First of all, we are likely to be constrained by property boundaries. Therefore, in selecting property, what are our priorities?

Not everyone has the same priorities, and priorities change as the world around us changes. For example, a property that is perfectly usable today may become untenable if grid power is cut off. This occurs because the ample well water is too deep to access effectively by primitive means. Or, it may be too public, or too inaccessible.

Agriculture being our focus, the first priority is soil. Meadow silt, especially when found on a bench partway up a mountainside, is nice. However, less hospitable ground can be utilized if it offers other advantages.

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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 B.A.S.E.  Camp USA

Idaho (B.A.S.E.  Camp USA)

I recently heard about an ammo loading company in Idaho.  It is called B.A.S.E. Camp USA. They make a wide range of ammunition–both newly manufactured and reloaded. The majority of their offerings are handgun calibers. They even make special subsonic loads. They recently opened a third retail store at 415 South Challis Street, in Salmon, Idaho. Their other stores are in Post Falls, Idaho, and in Murray, Utah. They also sell their loaded ammunition through distributors, and directly to the public at gun shows throughout the Intermountain West region.  At their retail stores they stock long term storage food, body armor, water purification and storage supplies, essential oils, and a variety of other survival supplies. Phone: (208) 303-7470. Stop by and check out any of their stores. Or contact them by phone for their gun show schedule. That way you can make a private cash purchase closer to where you live. That will avoid both a paper trail and shipping costs. Contact:  Heidi Zender, at (801) 550-2243.

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Meridian church helps one of their own after deadly home invasion, fire

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One man and 20 cows killed in semi crash

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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”. Yet another company is caught violating your electronic security and privacy.

Chainsaws

Reader T.J. sent in this article from Wranglerstar on chainsaw cutting for beginners. Many of us don’t really want to admit that we don’t know how to handle a chainsaw. Some of us think we know how to, but really don’t. This is a great little primer for getting started with this most useful homesteading tool. Even if you are an experienced faller, you might want to get this video link to give to those whom you know need it.

Electronic Security

Yet again, a company is caught red-handed, collecting user information and selling it without notifying the users that they are doing so.

Dictionary.com made several updates to their app that snuck in the data collecting code and did not make it obvious to it’s userbase that it was doing so. The only way these companies will learn that this is not OK is if people just quit using their apps. In the meantime, there is no way to disable the data collection and to ensure the code does not collect information, you have to delete the app entirely. Thanks to DSV for the link.

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Preparedness Notes for Monday – October 09, 2017

On this day in 1992, 18-year-old Michelle Knapp was watching television in her parents’ living room in Peekskill, New York when she heard a crash in the driveway. Alarmed, Knapp ran outside to investigate. A sizeable hole in the rear end of her car and a matching hole in the gravel driveway underneath the car. In the hole was what looked like an ordinary, bowling-ball–sized rock. It was extremely heavy for its size (it weighed about 28 pounds), shaped like a football and warm to the touch; also, it smelled vaguely of rotten eggs. The next day, a curator from the American Museum of Natural History in New York City confirmed that the object was a genuine meteorite.

SOG’s Power Grab Multi-Tool, by Pat Cascio

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SOG’s Power Grab Multi-Tool is under review today, and it is one of their newest and stoutest multi-tools they have produced to date.

Tools and Inventions

I’m always interested in some of the TV programs that show the top 100 tools or inventions that have made our lives easier. Some of the products featured are inventions that I’ve never heard of or used; some are strange, to say the least. I’m sure today’s generation probably thinks that the cell phone is the best invention ever! I would sure disagree with that. I wish the cell phone had never been invented. Just think of the untold lives that have been lost in car accidents because someone was busy trying to text while driving. Nothing is so important that you have to take your eyes off the road. Pull over to text or talk on your cell phone, but don’t do it while driving. Enough said!

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The Legislative Entrepreneur: Investing in Some Key AR Parts

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Binary Triggers In Your Future?

The recent terrorist attack in Las Vegas is spurring Federal lawmakers to introduce new legislation. These laws would ban any device or combination of parts that can “accelerate” the rate of fire of a semi-automatic firearm. This includes bumpfire stocks, Gat Crank triggers, Autoburst trigger, Hellfire and other gadget triggers, binary triggers, light match grade triggers, and 3 mode triggers. Sadly, the U.S. National Rifle Association (NRA) gave up on this issue without a fight less than a week after the tragic massacre.  This means that there is now a strong likelihood that some legislation will be passed within a month. Once passed, I suspect that it will be signed by President Trump and possibly go into effect on or before January 1st, 2018. The clock is ticking, folks!

In my blog writings, I’ve often mentioned the futility of  so-called “gun control” legislation.  In a country like the United States, with more guns in circulation than there are adult Citizens, enforcing gun laws is a Fool’s Errand.  Liberals are now in the habit of calling gun control laws “Gun Safety laws”, which is disingenuous. They don’t want safety. They want disarmed peasants. I refer to these laws as “civilian disarmament” laws. Because in essence that is what they truly are: An attempt to rob the citizenry of their God-given right to keep and bear arms.

I’ve also gone on record for my opposition to all government mandated “bans” and “freezes” as well as any attempts at wage and price controls. History has repeatedly shown that legislated or dictated bans and freezes don’t work.

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