The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

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 “JWR”. Our goal is to educate our readers, to help them to recognize emerging threats and to be better prepared for both disasters and negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. Today, we take another look at Civil War 2.

Volcanic Activity May Cause Crop Failures

I recommend reading this piece at Cold Climate Change, which perhaps has some alarmist predictions: Hiding Volcanic Eruptions. But even if there is just an outside chance of this coming to pass, then it would be prudent to seriously stock up on storage foods!

Sam Culper: Breaking Down “Civil War 2”

Samuel Culper of Forward Observer has now posted two follow-ups with quite cogent analysis, to his Breaking Down “Civil War 2” video:

Part 2. American Balkanization. (He discuses the American Redoubt region, starting at the 15:50 mark.)

Part 3. The Fate of Emrpires.

Part 4. Insurgency vs. Civil War

Tolerance to Degeneracy

Devon at Black Pilled asks: How High is Your Tolerance?

$750,000 Settlement After SWAT Raiders Kill Family Dog

Reader DSV sent us this: Family Gets $750k After SWAT Raided Their Home, Killed Their Dog—Over Unpaid Utility Bill. A pericope:

“Nothing says Police State USA quite like a SWAT team raiding a family home and killing their dog because they are unable to pay their gas bill. The woman whose dog was killed and home destroyed by SWAT officers is Angela Zorich, and her story about her police state experience will shock the conscience. After fighting the system for nearly 5 years, Zorich’s family is finally being compensated.

According to the lawsuit, which was settled this week, Zorich was the victim of a massive military-style raid and subsequent puppycide. The raid was carried out because police said they needed ‘to check if her home had electricity and natural gas service.'”

Are We Really Free?

Over at Zero Hedge, there is this essay from Daisy Luther: Are We Really Free? Maybe It’s Time For A Personal Declaration Of Independence. JWR’s Comment: I’m not sure what to think of having my name conflated with that of Julian Assange.

An Off-Grid Olive Farm Southern Spain

A fascinating new listing, over at our SurvivalRealty.com spin-off site: Off-Grid Olive Farm Southern Spain

DHS Guidance Issued on Dirty Bombs

Over at Homeland Preparedness News:  DHS develops guidance for first responders in dealing with dirty bombs. The article begins:

“The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published guidance for first responders and emergency managers on how to respond in the first minutes of a radiological dispersal device (RDD), or “dirty bomb.”

The guidance was developed by the DHS’s Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) National Urban Security Technology Laboratory (NUSTL), in partnership with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA).

The guidance, called the Radiological Dispersal Device Response Guidance Planning for the First 100 Minutes, includes five missions and ten tactics to address initial response efforts.”

A Glitch in the Matrix

If you are concerned about the increasing left-right polarization into armed camps, then this documentary is worthy of 55 minutes of your time:  A Glitch in the Matrix.

The (Other) Portland Antifa Attacks

A recent video essay from Mat Christiansen: The (Other) Portland Antifa Attacks Last Weekend | Explain Away the Rest of Them

You can send your news tips to JWR. (Either via e-mail of via our Contact form.) Thanks!




25 Comments

  1. Re. Julian Assange

    With all due respect this old coot does not want my name conflated with TODAY’s US military. They do not represent what I fought for.

    Americans blindly parrot, ‘Thank you for your service’, and like zombies join the herd and stand up and sing ‘Proud to be an American’. Have they not seen this video (4:30-13:30) of the cold-blooded murder and maiming of at least 17 people (including obviously innocent people) including two children (15:55-16:15)? Yes, all the while their ‘heroes’ were whooping, cursing and exchanging verbal high-fives. No of course they haven’t seen it. It was censored by their government.

    https://collateralmurder.wikileaks.org/

    Julian Assange will rot in a US jail for the rest of his life for revealing this truth. These US soldiers (and their leaders) should be tried as war criminals. But instead they are free and treated like heroes! Today’s US military is America’s Golden Calf. Makes me sick….

    1. Montana Guy,

      With all due respect (yes, that usually indicates in the military that what follows isn’t) you paint with an extraordinarily wide brush.

      One tragic incident here that resulted from a couple of reporters carrying what appeared to be weapons in a hot zone and an incident where undetected children were riding in a van, and you turn your back on the US military in general?

      Sure, the video is certainly tough stuff, but the fog of war means that mistakes will be made, and everything in life looks clearer through the rearview mirror than it does through the windshield.

      Yet, you weren’t there and cannot make any assessment of the threat environment in which these soldiers were functioning that day.

      The fleeting glimpse through the door of a couple of kids was merely that, a glimpse. Had you watched the video without the assistance of Wikileaks highlights, I highly doubt that you would have picked up on their presence. Notice that no one in the video commented about the presence of children until after the van was hit.

      The post-event reaction of soldiers to such things is often a mixture of self-defense, anger, and a desire to subsume the memories in the psyche. That is the human condition.

      I volunteered to go to Vietnam. My son was a cavalry scout in Baghdad during the height of the insurgency. Neither of us, and I am confident that none of these soldiers in the video, volunteered to go to war in order to kill kids or innocent civilians. In war, however, s___ happens. Blame their deaths on the people who sent the soldiers there, if you wish, but don’t blame the soldiers for trying to get home in one piece.

      For every video like this, I’m sure that the military could come up with dozens of cases where US soldiers placed their lives on the line to protect civilians.

      [[[One brief, uncivil comment removed by the Editor.]]]

      1. Survivorman99,

        So you believe that the cold-blooded murder and maiming of at least 17 people (including obviously innocent people) including two children was justified?

        The first rule children wanting to use firearms is NRA Rule #1: “Know your target and what is beyond.” These were highly trained professions! Yet you not only make excuses for them violate this basic rule (no less God’s commandment), you hold them harmless for their crimes.

        And you completely avoided my point that a man has been incarcerated, probably for life for revealing the truth and attempting to seek justice for these victims.

        Thank you for making my points. Folks, that’s where this once-great, once God-fearing nation is at today.

        1. the NRA is a civilian Club, not a Military, so this rule doesn´t apply, it would be criminal stupid if it did.

          Was that murder or a tragic error ?

          1. ThoDan, the primary reason for this rule is protect the lives of innocent people. Can you answer 2 simple questions. Did these US military soldiers have a right to take these innocent lives? If ‘Yes’, specifically who gave them that right?

          2. First the NRA was initiated as a government encouraged (though not funded/sponsored) “club” to encourage small arms training for the expressed purpose of having trained rifleman should the regular military need them. Essentially training for the US militia members not in a formal militia. ( Militia defined here. https://codes.findlaw.com/us/title-10-armed-forces/10-usc-sect-311.html ) The CMP was initially the government funded/sponsored side of this although it is now a civilian organization.

            Second, this is not just the NRAs rules. I was taught to shoot by the military, not the NRA, and we were taught the exact same thing. Quite energetically. It is the rule in all shooting situations although, as you say, in a fire fight tragic things can happen through no fault of the soldier.

            That said, I have not seen the video being discussed and cannot comment regarding that particular situation. But the principle of knowing your target, always applies.

            It would be amusing to watch you say this rule does not apply to the Marines who taught me to finally shoot well. The fireworks would be marvelous.

          3. @Montana Guy

            Sorry, wrong question.

            Did the Soldiers believe the cause was just and honorable and what they did was an reasonable, justified act of war
            I believe it´s reasonable, that their Training worke against them and they made a mistake in identifying camera Equipment as weapons.
            An Error, a tragic error but not a crime

          4. I also learned to shoot in the Military and i learned that some rules go out of the window in war and combat Situation.

            You will not´ve in every skirmish the possibility to make sure nor are you personnally able to do, combat is a very stressful Situation is something i learned from todays soldiers.

        2. First, you are welcome to fire back, but I am leaving on a road trip in a few minutes, so, it’s not as if I won’t have a likely comeback when I remain silent after your next round of comments.

          You clearly are clueless about the difference between 1) “cold blooded” murder; 2) negligence that leads to the loss of life, and 3) simple mistakes.[[[Some unsupported allegations removed by The Editor, for the sake of civil discourse.]]]

          What background do you have regarding the individuals who were meeting with these reporters, one of whom was carrying an object easily mistaken for a weapon? If you look around on Netflix, you will find a program involving journalists who “embedded” themselves with Insurgents in Iraq to obtain their perspective, insurgents who were on their way to kill Americans if they could. Exactly what do you know about the Iraqi individuals these reporters decided to meet, and what do you know about the prevailing intelligence regarding insurgent activity in this very area?

          To support your “cold-blooded murder” allegation, please point out the exact part of the video any American is yelling, “Kill the civilians! Kill the kids!”

          More fuzzy thinking about Julian Assange. It is my understanding that Julian Assange was sought by British authorities due to a sexual assault allegation brought by a Scandinavian woman. The US was seeking him because he received thousands of secret emails from the now transgender private whose name I can’t recall. Charges have been lodged against him that may not stand up, as he was not an American citizen and did no more than what the NY Times would likely have done.

          I will leave it up to others on a different blog to fight over the issue of Julian Assange, as I have no interest in carrying water for him on this blog. I doubt that few here do.

          1. If this is the same case i know of, These were most likely Iraqi citicens carrying open.

            Cold blooded murder would it be if they thought or would be ordered to slaughter them indiscriminately including children

      2. The Question isn´t if a soldier volunteered to do so, but if he refused to do so?
        Mistakes do happen, Errors do happen and in war These can be tragic

        If there are dozens of cases of this Kind, why didn´t the US command publish them?

        To be fair one if this cases happened to my hometown in WWII, the commander of the unit to conquer it till nightfall refused to call an Airstrike and waited till the town was cleared and surrendered.

        1. ThoDan, you ask, “If there are dozens of cases of this Kind, why didn´t the US command publish them?”

          I have the answer to that question from none other than U.S. General Stanley A. McCrystal, Afghanistan. In his own words, “We’ve shot an amazing number of people and killed a number and, to my knowledge, none has proven to have been a real threat to the force.”

          Such is the mindset of today’s U.S. military from top brass to the soldiers in this video.

          ‘Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.’ Proverbs 16:18

    2. In regard to the great mercy of our God:

      Genesis 18:23-33 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

      23 Abraham came near and said, “Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will You indeed sweep it away and not [a]spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it? 25 Far be it from You to do [b]such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth [c]deal justly?” 26 So the Lord said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will [d]spare the whole place on their account.” 27 And Abraham replied, “Now behold, I have [e]ventured to speak to the Lord, although I am but dust and ashes. 28 Suppose the fifty righteous are lacking five, will You destroy the whole city because of five?” And He said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” 29 He spoke to Him yet again and said, “Suppose forty are found there?” And He said, “I will not do it on account of the forty.” 30 Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak; suppose thirty are found there?” And He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.” 31 And he said, “Now behold, I have [f]ventured to speak to the Lord; suppose twenty are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the twenty.” 32 Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak only this once; suppose ten are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the ten.” 33 As soon as He had finished speaking to Abraham the Lord departed, and Abraham returned to his place.

    3. I stand with you, Montana Guy. Here is a chilling quote from the Wikileaks link you offer: In this particular case, some of the people killed were journalists that were simply doing their jobs: putting their lives at risk in order to report on war. Iraq is a very dangerous place for journalists: from 2003- 2009, 139 journalists were killed while doing their work.

      Did our government report these? Did the MSM?

      Just more collateral damage…fathers, some mothers, all beloved by someone.

      Sigh.

      Carry on

      1. Once a Marine, it is heart-breaking. Our perpetual wars would extend back to Vietnam if journalists had not shown Americans the truth. Free journalists like Julian Assange showed us the My Lai Massacre, war atrocities, blunders like Operation Buffalo (where I lost a dear friend. For What? For Nothing!) torture, and of course defeat. Now we see the reach of evil extending to FOREIGN journalists such as Assange for persecution by the US for exposing the truth!

        Ah, but the US military would not allow Americans to see that again. They put their boots on the neck of freedom and censored the MSM. They banned embedded journalists reporting on the ground. They banned pictures by troops. They banned pictures of military caskets. They banned reporting on high suicide rates, abortion rates.

        Once a Marine, thank you for speaking out.

    4. I was reading some posters at work today covering famous military leaders like Patton, Nimitz, Halsey, etc and the bottom of each had writings from the leaders. Multiple leaders talked about how wars are won based on the will and character of the Soldiers and leaders to do what it takes. War is serious, its deadly, its chaotic, its a fog, its constantly changing, and (my belief) something to be avoided if it can be. Doing what it takes to win frequently includes actions one would never take in peace, and actions that in hind site were wrong but were the best decision at the time based on the incomplete information available. I can’t speak to any given actions on the battlefield or in Wikileaks. I know the military will have a few bad apples, its just too large not to. I would say the average Soldier today is no different than the Soldier of the past, patriotic, willing to serve their country and potentially die for their country. The military today is professional and much more likely to leave service alive with partial to full and serious disabilities compared to wars of yesteryear where so many more died. Twenty years in the military reminds me of football players who leave the game with damaged bodies, except the football players are paid significantly more for their sacrifice compared to Soldiers. Soldiers may live for decades in pain, with limps, with damaged backs, with knees that don’t work, with PTSD, the list goes on and on. I wouldn’t be too hard on them.

      1. greg, was there a poster quoting Smedley Butler? Butler, was a US Marine Corps major general, the highest ranking and the most decorated Marine in U.S. history. But precious few Americans have even heard of him.

        For $5 American students could read his wisdom in ‘War is a Racket’. Ah, but the Slave Masters are not going to let our children read such truth. Heaven forbid Americans learn the difference between ‘just wars’ and ‘unjust wars’.

  2. Regarding SWAT raid: Yet another example of the increasing hostility of the police state here in America.

    Regarding your status with Julian Assange: Not all Patriots or revolutionaries are going to wear the same hats or act in the same ways. Telling the truth should be one of their Paramount tasks, no matter who they are.

  3. The Fate of Empires is a very flawed and inaccurate account of how long Empires last. Glubb was overly selective in the dates he used, which do not match up with what historians tend to use. He obviously had an agenda where he wanted to fit all empires into a certain time frame, which was not really very accurate.
    Glubb lists the Roman Republic lasting from 260 to 27BC (233 years), yet historians list it as 509 t0 27 BC or 482 years. Glubb also lists the Roman Empire as lasting from 27BC to 180AD (207 years), yet historians list it as 27BC to 453AD (489 years).
    Glubb lists the Ottoman Empire as lasting fron 1320 to 1570 AD, yet historians list it as 1299 to 1923 AD (634 years). Plus the Eastern Roman Empire continued on until 1453 AD accounting for 1500 years.
    The Romanov Empire lasted from 1613 to 1917 (304 years)
    Carthage lasted from 575 BC to 146 BC, 429 years

    When you break down the 56 civilizations down into phases (for example, Ancient Egypt has three phases), the total number of “distinct” civilizations is 74. The average length of time that a civilization lasts is 349.2 years. The median is 330 years.

    The civilizations that lasted the longest seem to be the Aksumite Empire which lasted 1100 years and the Vedic Period of India which lasted 1000 years. The shortest period of time is the Third Dynasty of Ur at 50 years, the Qin Dynasty at 14 years, and the Kanva Dynasty at 45 years.

    It seems that most civilizations do not last more than 500 years. In fact, if these 40 civilizations are representative of all civilizations, then it seems that civilizations usually don’t last 400 years.

    https://owlcation.com/humanities/How-long-do-empires-last

  4. I am conflicted about Julian Assange.

    I have never went to the WikiLeaks site however I would never criticize those who do.

    I would never reveal the type of information that Assange has received but I find it hard to judge those who have revealed some of the things they did. We have learned so much about the misdeeds of our leadership through Assange and others in recent years.

    It is hard for me to decide whether Assange is a criminal or journalist. At times it seems to me that if Assange should be in prison, then so should numerous Pulitzer Prize winners. Many actions of the New York Times seem no different to me than what Assange and WikiLeaks do.

    I think espionage laws are important, but a lot of bad people are hiding a lot of bad things behind them. Two wrongs don’t make a right but should people be able to hide behind that? I don’t know.

    Fortunately my opinion on this matter does not matter. Like I said, I stay away from WikiLeaks so in that sense I do not support him. But I also pretty much refuse to condemn him as well.

  5. Re: Are we really free?

    No. And for as long as civilization remains we will not be entirely free.

    Are we freer than we were in the past? Yes. Monarchs assumed god-like authority over life and death in times past. While there are numerous abuses today, they pale in comparison to the accepted actions of past tyrants. How about being forced to give up your wife to some Nobleman on your wedding night at threat of a sword? How about being forced to give up your wife at a dinner party? How about being forced to give sexual favors yourself at a dinner party? These are just some of the things endured by people in the past.

    Are we less free than we were in recent past? Maybe, maybe not. Some ways. Some ways not. Regulation is more stifling in some ways and places but the draft is no longer in effect. The abuses of regulation during the Depression and WWII were astounding not to mention drafting millions and sending them to a potential death. 91% top marginal income tax rate in the 50’s. Some pretty ugly stuff. Some pretty ugly stuff being attempted right now however.

    Are our freedoms in danger? Always and forever. That is the human condition. We must always be vigilant and push back.

    1. The right of the first night never existed, at least there is no proof, not anything í´m Aware of.

      Sexual favors, assault etc.existed then as today and was and is justified by People here and elsewhere

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