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”. You might want to look at sorghum as a sweetener on your homestead.
Freeze Drying
Valley Food Storage, a SurvivalBlog advertiser, has posted an article on freeze drying food without the aid of a large expensive machine, using equipment that you probably already have. I will note that this is entirely possible and I have actually performed such an operation myself, though not intentionally. I will attest to the fact that it does work. However, be aware that since it is a long term process and not in a hermetically sealed and controlled container, there is a far greater chance that something will affect the food. I have never had food that came out of this process with an acceptable taste. Still, if you are looking for something that works without spending thousands of dollars and you don’t need a high volume, this can work.
Terror Threat
From Michael Z. Williamson, SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large:
The stories about the recent Toronto mass shooter all focused on him having a gun in a society that panics about firearms, and were slow to mention this:
42 KG of Carfentanil Found In House Of Faisal Hussain’s Brother (Enough to Kill Everyone in Canada)
Carfentanil is used medically for tranquilizing elephants and rhinos. It has no other medical uses. It is impossible to dilute to the point of being safe for human consumption. Carfentanil has an unknown LD50 but I found this on a reddit thread about that topic:
2.1± 0.3 ug/kg is the dose at which elephants become recumbent. That’s 2.1 micrograms per kilogram of body weight to sedate an elephant. That is *absurdly* low dosage. 8.4mg will sedate a 4000kg elephant. The RCMP claim as little as 20ug can be fatal to human beings. Skin contact can cause transference of a dose.
Even a kilogram atomized and put into the air of a large building would kill hundreds if not thousands depending on the size of the building,
In Toronto, the CN Tower still has an open air observation deck over 1000 feet up, allowing dispersal over literally hundreds of thousands of people. Each of the Commerce Court buildings, or CIBE or similar, use the elevator shafts for ventilation return, and in addition, those buildings connect to the GO train stations and to the underground mall in downtown. Distribution of powder through those avenues would kill tens if not hundreds of thousands.
If you hear any kind of warning about such an attack, take it very seriously, get inside a building that does not have a large central plenum, or into a small private dwelling.
Better, of course, is not to live or work anywhere near a large population center. Especially if it’s iconic and would make good headlines for a terror organization or deranged nutjob seeking perpetual fame with his own Wikipedia page, a made for TV movie, or other notoriety.
YAMAM
Pat Cascio, SurvivalBlog’s Product Review Editor, sent in this outstanding article on an Israeli anti-terrorism operation that is changing the game. YAMAM is an Israeli clandestine counter-terrorist special police force that recently allowed members of the press to tour their training facility. The group has developed methodologies for responding to terrorist incidents and mass shootings which is shares with partners around the globe. Even U.S. law enforcement agencies have used them as consultants. This article is a “must read”.
Sons of America
Reader DSV sent in this article that passes a warning on to America’s sons given the Supreme Court debacle that we’ve just witnessed. For those who live under a rock by choice, Judge Kavanaugh was a practically impeccable nomination for the recent Supreme Court vacancy and thought to be a shoe-in for the job. Senate Democrats had to go all the way back to his high school to find anything negative about him and even that was dubious at best. A man’s life and family were nearly wrecked over partisan politics. With the rules of conduct basically thrown out, even your sons walk a fine line between college preparation and jail.
Sorghum or Honey?
An American Homestead posted a video about why they use sorghum rather than honey as a sweetener on their homestead. While most of his reasons have to do with a neighbor that hasn’t had very good experiences with his hives, he does bring up some interesting points. I’m not sure I agree with his conclusions but I do agree that keeping honeybees requires skill and experience. Producing your own honey certainly goes down as one of those skills that you can’t just pick up after a crises and expect it to work (similar to gardening). Thanks to reader T.J. for the link.
Flu News
Reader DSV sent in this article on fake news that CDC uses to promote flu shots. I’m not anti-flu shot though I don’t get one. I do expect those who promote it to use accurate information when they push the shot though. Using fake news to advertise and promote is dishonest at best and gives credence to the claim that the true nature of the flue-shot business is about making money, not your health. A person should be able to sift through the information and make their own decision.
SurvivalRealty
If you are looking to expatriate, SurvivalBlog has a new listing in Equador that might interest you. This is a 38 acre retreat on a mountaintop that has two dwellings and is completely off-grid. There is a rain water collection system along with solar panels and wind turbines that supply electricity. The retreat is only an hour from Cuenca on the Pan American highway.
o o o
Please send your news tips to HJL. (Either via e-mail of via our Contact form.) These are often especially relevant, because they come from folks who watch news that is important to them. Due to their diligence and focus, we benefit from fresh “on target” news. We often “get the scoop” on news that is most likely ignored (or reported late) by mainstream American news outlets. Thanks!
Equador………….ummmm………….thanks, but no thanks. I don’t mind being “far from the madding crowd”, but I think that’s taking isolation a little TOO far.
92 lbs of Carfentanil is potentially a mass murder capability. While it can be used in the drug trade, the amount seems excessive for that. Then there is the name, Farad Hussein. Since this happened in June, lets hope the DEA, CIA, FBI and Army are on the case.
Noticed cowardly pro-abortion attacker had a pentagram necklace. How appropriate.
Sons of America:
The take-away lesson from the Kavanaugh hearings is, for young people, don’t do stupid things they may be ashamed of, or have to lie about, 30 years from now. And if you do stupid things anyway, don’t brag about them in your yearbook, or these days, on social media.
Always be a gentleman. Treat all women with respect at all times, the same as you would treat your mother of sister. And stay away from alcohol, especially if you’re not old enough to drink legally.
If Kavanaugh had lived like that in his youth, none of this controversy would have happened. I believe he did what Blasey Ford accused him of. If this was just dirty politics, then why weren’t such accusations made against Neil Gorsuch? Maybe because Gorsuch didn’t do such things?
Yes, Kavanaugh is good on the Second Amendment, but I think the character issues weigh against him. There must be other pro-2A judges who could serve on the high court.
And you have to wonder about that yearbook. Where was the faculty adviser? You would think a prep school like that would have a veto power over the yearbook content, both for the school’s reputation and for the reputation of the students. These prep schools are grooming future leaders, but they let them post content like that, which could clearly come back to haunt them?
Kids do stupid things. They don’t think like adults. That’s why they aren’t CONSIDERED adults. Calling into question what Kavanaugh may or may not have done when he was seventeen is a stretch, especially since there has been no similar pattern of behavior since that time. Also; looking at yesterday’s events through today’s optics is a favorite ploy of the Left. Today’s “sexual assault” may have been yesterday’s “boys will be boys.” ‘Not saying it was right, but it was what it was.
And then there was the testimony, where, when questioned, Kavanaugh looked DIRECTLY AT the questioner. Ford, on the other hand, looked down, right, left; anywhere BUT at the questioner. Kavanaugh’s actions projected confidence; truth. Ford’s projected “I hope they don’t catch me in this whopper.” Hiding her face with her hair and talking in that “little girl voice” didn’t lend itself to her credibility either.
Frankly, this whole thing lost me at Feinstein sitting on “the letter” for six weeks, and then having that letter mysteriously leaked to the media… at EXACTLY the right moment…
Don’t forget Ms. Ford had her yearbook wiped clean … and then there’s bad judgement and the “near occasion of sin” .
There was plenty to take out Kavanaugh over and never bring up teenage drinking. Do your own research on Kavanaugh. You will find the reasons the Democraps didn’t go there.
While you’re at it do a little research on Blasey-Ford. Her Swamp ties go back to her grandfather. Her abilities at psy-ops, to me, rules out her supposed honesty. I believed she went through something as a teen, now not so much. Her credibility has a rank odor to it. Her story stinks to high heaven.
Kavanaugh was no angel. Did a 17 year old boy with too much to drink cop a feel of a 15 year old girl with too much to drink? Possibly. What in blazes were these elitists doing drinking that much at that age. Where were the parents for both Kavanaugh and Blasey-Ford?
As for the SCOTUS, Kavanaugh will be as good on most issues as the rest of the supposed conservatives. He will be better than any liberal that could be put on the court. As for the court actually ruling with the Constitution, well, that rarely happens no matter the makeup of the court.
You know I’ve read the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and even the Articles of Confederation hundreds if not thousands of times. Where I’ve had difficulties in understanding I had the framers to fall back on, they were prolific writers. Through that research I have always been able to discern their original intent. Based on that alone, it is very difficult to understand the god-awful decisions that come out of the SCOTUS, no matter who controls the court.
RE: flu vaccines. When hundreds of thousands of medical records were studied by a reputable researcher, the flu vaccine was found to have ZERO effectiveness at preventing death in senior citizen (which is why they get it — to keep from dying in the winter).
You can read all the details in this excellent article that also points out the pressure tactics used by vaccine manufacturers to prevent exactly this type of study from being done: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2009/11/does-the-vaccine-matter/307723/
Dr. Brownstein’s article on “Fake News” regarding flu deaths each year is very misleading and in my opinion dangerous. I have been a nurse for 30 years, 25 of those in an Intensive Care Unit. I have seen many people die of the Flu. To say that most of the number of deaths each year are from pneumonia and not the flu is inaccurate, I would wager a large number of those people started out with the flu, and as a direct result of the flu attacking their lungs, their secondary diagnosis was pneumonia. In most normal years we deal with several different flu viruses either in the A or B subtypes. These subtypes have usually been around for years and go through some mutations from year to year, the vulnerable populations are the very young and the elderly. Occasionally we get a new subtype (or what is classified as a novel strain), these novel strains can be very deadly, as was the case in 2009 when we had H1N1 come on the scene. Unlike other common strains of flu there was no herd immunity, and this particular type struck down young people in their prime (15 – around 45 yr. olds), that flu season, I personally lost a 19 yr. old female and a 28 yr. old male. Both of these patients had no comorbidities, and were in excellent health. Something called a cytokine storm (from the H1N1 strain of flu) attacked their lungs and both died in days on ventilators. We had several others on vents that year from flu who thankfully survived. Flu vaccines are far from perfect, but I have seen MANY extremely sick patients every year with flu/pneumonia who survive simply because they did get their flu vaccine, they were still very ill, but at least survived. Dr. Brownstein’s declaration the he and his other practitioners in their combined 100 years of practice have never seen anyone die from the flu is in my opinion absurd….or they don’t ever practice in a hospital.
Let me dispel one myth I always hear….”I got the flu after I had the vaccine”. That is quite impossible as it is a killed virus. You many get a localized reaction at the site of injection, or feel a little off for a day or two, but that is your body making antibodies for some protection from the flu. Again the vaccine is not perfect and some years it is a mismatch from the current strains, but I do believe it helps with just how severe the flu can be, and help you not progress to pneumonia.
Just my 2 cents from seeing way to many flu deaths over the years.
As a physician who has treated many people with the flu, I have to agree with TXnurse. The flu vaccine is not perfect and no one, including the CDC has ever said it was. But it is the best prevention we have for those exposed. Dr. Brownstein’s article is very misleading. I have no investment in any pharmaceutical co and no financial benefit from the flu shot. You can get the flu after getting the shot because you don’t start developing imminunity for about 2 weeks after receiving the shot. Therefore, if you were exposed close to that time you may come down with it. But it is not caused by the shot.
As a clinical pharmacist of 36 years experience, I also agree with TXnurse. If Doc Brownstein had been around in 1918, he could have seem millions die from influenza (current estimates attribute 50-100 million deaths, worldwide, to the “Spanish Flu”).
Please remember folks: just as “natural” does not always mean it’s safe (e.g., rattlesnake venom, arsenic, hemlock, etc. are all natural), “recommended by the authorities” doesn’t always mean it’s bad!! Though I think we sometimes go overboard with vaccination, I believe firmly that vaccination is one of the most valuable breakthroughs in modern medicine (if you consider 1796 modern). I consider everyone who reads this blog a brother or sister of sorts, and would hate to see unnecessary suffering among any of you. Please trust YOUR doctor on this one!
Best Wishes from TX!
Hey SH in TX, are you anywhere near Central Tx? PM me if you like (TXnurse is my name I use)
Freeze drying should be innovated for better usage, not only for survival but also for cost-effective preservation and transporting of food.
I once read an essay regarding the fever reducing property of aspirin and the resulting high death rate during that epidemic. Is it possible the comforting effects of aspirin were improperly applied?