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”. The Redoubt is beginning to prepare for the expected onslaught of visitors for the Solar Eclipse. If you are planning on attending, you should plan accordingly.

Glyphosate

Monsanto was its own ghostwriter for some safety reviews. Questions arose about the carcinogenic properties of Monsanto’s baby “glyphosate”. In response, they hired an independent consulting group to develop the supplement that countered those claims. Monsanto claimed that their only involvement was to hire the group. However, recent internal emails that have come to light. These suggest that Monsanto played a much more central role, even to the extent of editing the final document. So much for independent verification.

Obamacare

It’s pretty clear at that point that the Republican’s rhetoric about repealing Obamacare was just verbiage to get reelected and they most had no intention of every actually doing it. An interesting statistic came up a couple of days ago from Scott Rasmussen. While the stated purpose of Obamacare was to extend insurance to more people, we now know that over 6,500,000 Americans actually paid a fine rather than sign up for the coverage. Another 15 million would drop it if it were legal to do so. How’s that for a failing government program.

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The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Wherefore it shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these judgments, and keep, and do them, that the Lord thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which he sware unto thy fathers: and he will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee: he will also bless the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy land, thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep, in the land which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee. Thou shalt be blessed above all people: there shall not be male or female barren among you, or among your cattle. And the Lord will take away from thee all sickness, and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which thou knowest, upon thee; but will lay them upon all them that hate thee.” Dueteronomy 7:12-15 (KJV)

Getting Ready For the Long Walk-Part 1, by Lone Wolf and Cub

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As a preface to this article, I will say that my family consists of my son and me. He is the light of my life. He is my inspiration for survival. I have few good friends that I consider loyal and trustworthy. They take preparation seriously, although I know many people who do not. The following is based on a hypothetical situation in which society breaks down very quickly and violently. To me, it is a real possibility, and I draw upon my experience of living among different societies, which galvanizes this belief. I am not a doom and gloomer; I’m simply a survivalist. I am also a realist. Call me Lone Wolf and Cub.

Retreat Location

My retreat property is in a remote location three hours driving time away. I am currently unable to live there year round because I work in an urban environment. If my vehicle breaks down for whatever reason and I cannot effectively repair it, then we will be forced to walk. There may be no one willing or able to drive us. Then, we will be forced to continue walking, until we arrive at our retreat. In the event of a total collapse, I hope our retreat does not have unwanted guests when we arrive and that its well-stocked stores aren’t raided. At this point, I can only pray that is not the case and does not occur until the time when conditions improve through my efforts.

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Freeze Dried Friday:

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Welcome to Freeze Dried Friday on SurvivalBlog! We’ve been making so many things in the Harvest Right Freeze Dryer that we want to share some of them with you. If you have something wonderful you’ve prepared in your freeze dryer that you would like to share with SurvivalBlog readers, take a photo of it and send it in along with a description. We might just feature you here! The pride and joy of the week is our batch of genovese basil, but first:

Odds and Ends

it’s been a slow week this time around for freeze drying. We only ran five batches in total. One of the joys of the prepper mantra of multiple streams of income is that every once in a while, one of those income streams becomes like a dragon. Problems engulf and consume you. I tease my wife that I am a firefighter at home too— putting out the biggest fire, slathering grease on the loudest squeak— whatever it takes. It’s a good feeling when things get back to normal.

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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  investing on ultra low production number cars. (See the Tangibles section, near the end of this column.)

 

Precious Metals:

Clint Siegner at Activist Post: Preparing to Barter and Trade With Precious Metals Is NOT a Loony Idea

o  o  o

High Anxiety In Marketplace Propels Gold To Seven Week High

 

Commodities:

Natural Gas Prices Poised To Rise As Exports Boom

 

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Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Government-to-government foreign aid promotes statism, centralized planning, socialism, dependence, pauperization, inefficiency, and waste. It prolongs the poverty it is designed to cure. Voluntary private investment in private enterprise, on the other hand, promotes capitalism, production, independence, and self-reliance.” – Henry Hazlitt

International Travel Preparation- Part 2, by O.D.

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Yesterday, in Part 1, I shared about the importance of getting your vaccinations before travelling to international destinations. I also shared various preps, including some of the things I find helpful to carry, where I recommend a person stay, and what not to bother with. I also shared that from time to time when I was staying some place for awhile, I have purchased and stashed an old bicycle to have on hand in case I needed to “get out of Dodge” quickly and quietly. No matter whether you are having to get out of Dodge or you are just going about your normal business, you need to be able to walk comfortably. Let’s take a look at what is required for this.

Outfitting The Walkin’ Dude- The Essentials

  • Boots for walking. You need well broken-in boots with toe protection; they need to be tough enough to kick-and-stomp with if it comes down to that.
  • Water storage. I carry two empty Platypus flat-bag water packs in my carry-on luggage plus whatever water bottles I can pick up. Also, I take water purification iodine and a filter straw (I also always carry packets of oral rehydration powder, not just because I might end up despite this precautions with dirty water but in case I come across a child who is dying of dehydration. Some things can’t be passed by). (BTW, recipes for making a fair replica of ORS (oral rehydration solution) from commonly available ingredients are freely to be found on the net. This is absolutely worth knowing.)

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Letter Re: Plan “B” Power

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Hugh:

I got a little solar set up. I put most of the panels in a cabinet, leaving one up to “trickle charge” the batteries and keep them up. It did not work. In trying to save the batteries, I employed a Honda EU2000 with the dc charging feature. That EU2000 was how I was going to smooth over charging issues during consecutive cloudy days. The problem is, the measured voltage range between full capacity and the minimum you should tolerate is very small. The EU2000 does not have a charge controller. “Keeping an eye on the process” does not work. Personally, I bounce from project to project between work and family life. Does anyone out there have a suggestion for a charge controller that would work well with the EU2000? – RV

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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”. Make sure you read the article on the updated NIST recommendations for electronic passwords.

Incorrigible Bear

In Durango Colorado, a bear broke into an SUV and took it for a short joy ride. It yanked the steering wheel off of the column, ripped the radio out of the dash, released the emergency brake and rolled it down a driveway and into a mailbox and over some utility boxes at 5 A.M. It then busted the rear window in its escape. Authorities are sure it was a bear because it apparently defecated in the car (likely because it was nervous over the vehicle moving). I wasn’t sure for a while if we were talking about an incorrigible bear or a teenager. Apparently a late frost damaged the berry production and the bears are hungry. If you live in the area, make sure you take proper precautions. Thanks to H.L. for the link.

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International Travel Preparation- Part 1, by O.D.

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When the mushroom cloud goes up or the grid goes down, those of us preparing will be fortunate if we are home or at our pre-planned bug out location and with our family. But many of us work away from home, with a sizeable minority of us travelling out-of-country. What then? Are you prepared for international travel?

Getting All The Way Back Home

I’ve been flying to and from work for about three decades, usually not to places high on the “must-see for the party scene” list. On my second-ever expatriate assignment, I got a quick and extremely pointed wake-up call when I was hijacked on the taxi ride in from the airport. Now I may not be able to see ahead to the future, but I am a relatively quick learner from the harsh past. And now, everyday travel prep is second nature, especially when going to places where the rule of law still doesn’t apply or has been worsening.

Some of these places, for example, include the “Trashcanistans”, Sudan, or Brussels. So, I will share a few comments on what I have personally found to be useful. I have only needed some of it for real on two occasions in 28 years. However, during those two times I was very pleased to be my own backup.

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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 investing in  Trading Cards. (See the Tangibles section, near the end of this column.)

 

Precious Metals:

Investors Should Take Advantage Of Gold’s Summer Doldrums – Mickey Fulp

o  o  o

Stunning Results: Four Top Primary Silver Miners Production Plummets

Stocks:

When Will the Tech Bubble Burst?

o  o  o

Over at the CNBC Cheering Section: S&P 500 and Dow hit record highs, led by financials

 

Commodities:

I missed this interesting article when it ran back in April: Nickel Market Beware: Batteries can no Longer be Ignored – Roskill Information Services

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