Preparedness Notes for Wednesday – September 06, 2017

September 6th, 1757 is the birthday of Marquis de Lafayette (often known simply as Lafayette), a French aristocrat and military officer who fought in the American Revolutionary War. He was a close friend of George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and Thomas Jefferson. George Washington met him through his connections in the Free Masons and was impressed with him. After he offered to serve without pay, Congress commissioned him as a Major General and he was an integral part of the battle at Brandywine. He also endured the hardships with George Washington when encamped at Valley Forge.

Preventing Failure to Communicate- Part 2, by JMD

We’re continuing to evaluate how to prevent a failure to communicate in the event that our normal, electronic communications equipment are not available to us. Yesterday, we looked as some definitions and began defining our own communications requirements. With that in mind, let’s move forward.

Options

Now that you’ve (hopefully) thought a little bit about what your communications requirements might be, let’s take a look at some possible options for the various elements.

Sender/Recipient

As I mentioned earlier, the best starting point for figuring out a communications strategy is by making a list of everyone it will need to support. For a smaller group, like a family, this may simply involve a list of all of the people in the family. However, what if an emergency arises that requires you to call for help from your neighbors? Make the list as complete as possible, and allow for potential future additions. When the group starts getting larger, like a compound or a small town, you’re better off defining communications in terms of roles. For example, anyone involved with security should probably learn how to use tactical hand signals.Someone who never leaves the vicinity of the compound probably doesn’t need to know how to use a long-distance signal lamp.

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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 the Dollar Downturn. (See the Forex section.)

Precious Metals:

Gold Advances 2.5% on Week, Silver Surges 4.5%

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Gold Breakout & Upside Price Targets

 

Stocks:

Next, at Seeking Alpha, there is this: September 2017 Stock Considerations

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At CNBC: Dow closes more than 200 points lower, posts its worst day since August 17. (Warning: Has auto-start video.)

 

Commodities:

On to this piece at Platts: Key trends impacting commodity markets in 2017

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And at Market Oracle: When and how to invest in the commodity market – Taking a balanced step forward

 

Forex (Dollar Downturn):

The US Dollar Index (USDI) remains in a bear trend, just as I predicted.  Once again: President DJT wants a weaker Dollar, primarily to boost US exports. Plan accordingly. Diversify with a hedge out of US Dollars. That means both precious metals and selected foreign currencies. My current favorite is the Swiss Franc (CHF).

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The US dollar is in its worst losing streak in 14 years and the data aren’t helping

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JWR’s Recommendations of the Week

Here are JWR’s Recommendations of the Week for various media and tools of interest to SurvivalBlog readers. This week the focus is on the fiction anthology book Forged in Blood. It was edited and co-authored by  SurvivalBlog’s Editor At Large, Michael Z. Williamson.

Books (Forged In Blood):

Forged in Blood. This is an anthology of military short stories. Some of the  stories are directly or indirectly related to Michael Z. Williamson’s Freehold series. It was just released on September 5th. It features all-new stories by Michael Z. Williamson, Larry Correia, Tom Kratman, Tony Daniel, Micahel Massa, Peter Grant, John F. Holmes, and many others.) Note: There is some crude language and descriptions of violent combat, so this book is not for kids. The editors of Kliatt describe the book: “A fast-paced, compulsive read . . . will appeal to fans of John Ringo, David Drake, Lois McMaster Bujold, and David Weber.”

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The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness, by Dave Ramsey.

 

Movies and Television:

The Bomber: A Tale of Survival Behind Nazi Lines. This is a 2012 Russian mini-series now available on Amazon Prime. A bit sappy at times, but overall quite well made. The weapons and costumes used were surprisingly correct. The planes and vehicles were not quite so correct, but close enough to not be distracting. Note: It is mostly in Russian, with fairly good subtitles in English.   The portions spoken in German are poorly dubbed into Russian.  (Folks who speak German might find that annoying.)

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Wonder Woman (Presently available for digital download, but soon available on DVD and Blu-Ray.)

Music:

Hans Zimmer: The Power of One (soundtrack)

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Fairport Convention: Come All Ye – The First Ten Years (1968 To 1978) – a seven CD setContinue reading“JWR’s Recommendations of the Week”

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday – September 05, 2017

On September 5, 1774, fed up with the meddling of the crown and being mostly independent-minded, our nation’s founding fathers met together in the First Continental Congress, in Philadelphia, laying the foundation of what would become the world’s greatest nation.

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From Pat Cascio, SurvivalBlog’s Senior Product Review Editor:

It is with the heaviest of sad hearts, that I have to report the passing of a true Warrior over the weekend. Eugene Sockut in Israel fought the good fight, until the end. As you may know, Gene and I had been friends for 25 years, and he was a most trusted friend.

Gene Sockut, served as the chief firearms and sniper instructor in the Israeli Defense Force (IDF), for 26 years. He is also the author of numerous books and videos, and was a much in-demand speaker in Israel on self-defense techniques. Several years ago, Gene was still serving Israel as a sniper instructor with the Israel Border Police. And he was even going out with them on patrols, when he was well into his mid-70s. A major stroke cut him down, and he never recovered from it.

Sympathy cards and letters can be addressed to:

Cynthia Sockut
c/o Pat Cascio
P.O. Box 342
Sweet Home, OR 97386

Preventing Failure to Communicate- Part 1, by JMD

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Communications failure can be prevented, though it may not be in the form we’re expecting. Ever since the earliest cavemen grunted at each other and painted pictures on their cave walls, humans have been communicating in one form or another. Communications are critical to any multi-person activity. Many people consider having radios and other electronic communications devices a core part of living a prepared lifestyle. Virtually every survival- and preparedness-related forum or blog has one or more sections dedicated to this. Things like shortwave radio communications, protecting your radios from EMP, powering your radios in a grid-down scenario, et cetera.

Unless you’re a lone-wolf, having the ability to communicate effectively with your group, and potentially with other groups, is absolutely critical to maintaining a functioning society. But what about situations where you can’t, or shouldn’t, use wireless electronic communication devices? What if, post-SHTF, there’s a quasi-military marauder group operating in your area that you suspect has functioning radio detection gear? What if the batteries in your radio also die? Perhaps you’re sneaking up on an enemy and are overheard? What if a strong magnetic storm is interfering with radio signals? This article focuses on planning for and using alternate communications methods that don’t involve wireless electronic signals.

Elements of Communication

In order to effectively understand and plan for communications, it helps to first understand the elements involved in any communication:

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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 C&S Saddlery, in Idaho.

Idaho (C&S Saddlery)

I recently met a custom leatherworker from Bayview, Idaho who does excellent work at very reasonable prices. His name is Clay Ensley. Along with his wife Shelley, he operates C&S Saddlery. Clay has 30 years of experience as a commercial leatherworker. His main line is traditional Old West style holsters, gun belts, chinks, cuffs, and saddles.  Far from being stuck in the 19th Century, he also makes tooled smart phone cases, semi-auto pistol holsters, and pistol magazine pouches.

Clay told me that he is considering adding a new pistol magazine pouch to his line.  It would be quite similar to the classic Six Pack pouch that was formerly produced by Milt Sparks. I encouraged him to make a six-magazine pouch for single column M1911 magazines as well as a three-magazine pouch for Glock 21 magazines. Let him know via e-mail to candssaddlery@gmail.com if you’d like to be on the waiting list for either of those. Oh, and if you’d like to meet Clay to write up your specifications for some custom leather work, he will have tables at the Kalispell Gun Show on September 8th, 9th, and 10th.

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New path sought for high-voltage transmission lines in Idaho

 

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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”. We’ll start today off with the Bundy Trials.

An Explanation of the Bundy Trials

Federal prosecutors have a terrible record of convictions in the trials related to the Bundy conflicts. So far, after three trials, only two defendants have been convicted (and those convictions were on only a few of the charges thrown against them) Why is the Federal Government’s record so bad? This article sent in by DMS has some pretty good answers. It really doesn’t have anything to do with the whether the defendants are guilty or not, but the government, in its zeal to convict, has created it’s own hostile environment. Most people (even jurors) see the machinations that the Feds are going through to make sure that only part of the story gets told. The average American just doesn’t react well to that sort of railroading.

Finnish Defense Forces in Pictures (1939-1945)

The Finnish Defense Forces have released more that 160,000 war time photos from 1939 to 1945 of some of the most brutal conditions encountered in World War II. The 49 photos shown in this article encompass evacuation of civilians, airplane crashes, and armored columns and trains. Even pictures of pack Reindeer hauling provisions for soldiers. It’s an amazing capture of history and well worth the read. Thanks to reader T.R. for the link.

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Preparedness Notes for Monday – September 04, 2017

September 4, 1862 is the fateful day that General Lee invaded the North with 50,000 troops. Historians will banter back and forth about the real reasons for the civil war, but we will probably never fully understand. It is my personal belief that General Lee was gambling on a quick offensive because the South did not have the resources for a prolonged war. Whatever the case was, President Abraham Lincoln trampled the Constitution and created the foundation for the “Big Brother” government we have today.

Skeleton Optics, by Pat Cascio

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The Skeleton Optics sun glasses just might be the best sun glasses of its kind. They are sold by US Tactical Supply, and what a product they are! US Tactical Supply is the premiere provider of quality tactical accessories, serving military, law enforcement, first responders, and the public. Your mission matters.

US Tactical Supply

I’m not going to pretend I understand all the technical specs on the Skeleton Optics sun glasses, but I’ll lay out the specs as best I can in this article. Regular readers will know that the nice folks at US Tactical Supply in Albany, OR simply carry the best of the best for their customers and take no short cuts. They try to stock and sell as many products as they can that are made in the USA. Of course, in a global economy, this isn’t always possible. However, in my humble opinion, US Tactical Supply still carries the best products they can find for their customers. Excuse my grammar, but “They don’t sell no junk!”.

Skeleton Optics SCOUT Sample

US Tactical Supply recently sent me an e-mail with one of their brand new products— Skeleton Optics. I’ve never heard of them, but they’ve been around more than a year. And they have some serious endorsements by some well-known people. US Tactical Supply arranged for me to test the SCOUT version of the Skeleton Optics, and to be sure they have several different models and styles of eye wear, for men and women!

I’ve been a writer for 25 years now, and I’ve seen and heard all the hype on various products. A lot of it is hype, put out by the company’s marketing/PR division. However, when I was told by Kevin at US Tactical Supply just how great this eye wear was, I honestly had some doubts about what he was saying.

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Recipe of the Week: Brunswick Stew, by R.R.

Ingredients:

  • 1 (2 1/2 to 3 lb) Chicken, cut up
  • 2 qts water
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 cups cubed cooked ham
  • 3 potatoes, diced
  • 2 (16 oz) cans tomatoes, cut up
  • 1 (10 oz) package frozen lima beans, partially thawed.
  • 1 (10 oz) package frozen whole kernel corn, partially thawed
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp seasoned salt
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1/4 tsp. pepper

Directions:

  1. In a slow cooking pot, combine chicken with water, onion, ham, and potatoes.
  2. Cook covered on low for 4 to 5 hours or until chicken is done.
  3. Lift chicken out of pot and remove meat from bones.
  4. Return chicken meat to pot and add tomatoes, beans, corn, salt, seasoned salt, sugar, and pepper.
  5. Turn control to high, cover and cook for 1 hour.

Makes 8 servings.

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Do you have a favorite recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers? Please send it via e-mail. Thanks!

Review of MVT Combat Rifle Skills Class, by T.B.

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JWR & HJL,

Below is my review of the MVT Combat Rifle Skills that was held at MVT Romney. As with the Defensive Concealed Handgun class that I attended in early 2017, I was greatly encouraged and motivated by the class. Again, thank you both for what you do!

Past Experience

I attended the Defensive Concealed Handgun class at MVT Romney in 2017. I greatly benefited from the well thought-out, deliberate, and detailed training I received at that class. One of the attendees of that class had attended the Combat Rifle Skills that had been held earlier in 2017. He was quite enthusiastic in his evaluation of the training he received. I determined then and there to figure out a way to take the Combat Rifle Skills class in 2017. I was encouraged as it was taught by the same instructor (Scott David) who taught the Defensive Concealed Handgun class. The training I received there was exceptional.

The Course

I had little experience with a battle rifle, other than occasional trips to the range to punch holes in paper targets.  I appreciated the “layered” instructional approach. They. begin with the fundamentals, subsequent skills are built upon those previously covered and practiced. Scott started Day One with a thorough safety brief. He then gave us a detailed lecture of how the AR platform functions. This included a history of the weapon and a complete field disassembly and reassembly of his AR-15. He clearly explained how the AR functions, how each part works, how to clean it, and how to reassemble it.

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