SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods. This column is 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. In today’s column, and examination of the advent of government surveillance cameras on private property.
Government Cameras Hidden on Private Property
Reader Robert W. mentioned this piece at AgWeb: Government Cameras Hidden on Private Property? Welcome to Open Fields. Robert’s Comments:
“This would logically extend to mining operations, farms, feed lots, dairies, stream banks and bodies of water, airstrips, anywhere there is a “regulated” activity. It kind of boggles the mind how many agencies this gives license to trespass.”
Map Shows U.S. Population Shifts
Reader D.S.V. sent us this link, illustrating The Great Migration: Three Year Population Shift, By County JWR’s Comment: Note the flow of American families toward the American Redoubt.
Bay Area Airports: New Facial Recognition for Travelers
R.D. sent this: Bay Area Airports Adopt Facial Recognition to Process Travelers.
Survivalists Warn About H5N1 ‘Bird Flu’ Spread
Linked over at the Whatfinger.com news aggregation site: Survivalists warn about H5N1 ‘bird flu’ spread: ‘Threat is real’.
IDF Trys to Calm Fears of Iranian Attack
SurvivalBlog reader Pat A. sent this piece from Breitbart: Amid fears of Iranian attack, IDF says no need to ‘buy generators, stock food, get cash’. Pat A.’s Comment:
“These are the same government intel geniuses that told the population “not to worry we’ve got you covered” before the October 7th massacres.”
Cybertruck Limitations
Tesla Cybertruck Towing Range Updates — Range Issues? Misleading Concerns? JWR’s Comment: These 3.5-ton behemoths illustrate the fundamental difference in the energy density in gasoline or diesel fuel versus batteries, by weight. In essence, electric vehicles only make practical sense in cities and suburbs, with frequent charging. Forcing them on interstate truckers and rural dwellers who must cover vast distances would be a huge mistake.
Orewellian “Smart” Traffic Signs in Washington State
New smart traffic signs in King County will do more than just monitor speed. (A hat tip to Krissy, for the link.)
Norway Wants to Double Its Defence Budget
Reader C.B. sent this news item: ‘More of Everything’: Norway Wants to Double Its Defence Budget.
Elon Musk on Potential Dangers of A.I.
FBI Background Checks for 18–20-Year-Old Gun Buyers
FBI Conducting Non-Instant Background Checks for 18–20-Year-Olds in Compliance with 2022 Gun Control Law. Here is a quote from the FBI describing their now lengthy checks:
“[The BSCA] now requires NICS to go beyond the routine for under-21 gun buyers. In addition to running names through NICS databases, a select group of examiners is now reaching out to state juvenile justice, mental health, and local law enforcement agencies to see if their backgrounds contain potentially disqualifying information that isn’t in the databases automatically queried by NICS. Another provision in the new law extends, where cause to do so is established, the time examiners have to investigate under-21 cases from 3 to 10 business days.”
Annoying Fake Preppers & Survivalists
Reader E.S. suggested this video: Five Most Annoying Fake Preppers & Survivalists.
A Near-Miss Cyberattack
Our own Tom Christainson sent this news link: Why a near-miss cyberattack put US officials and the tech industry on edge. The article begins:
“German software developer Andres Freund was running some detailed performance tests last month when he noticed odd behavior in a little known program. What he found when he investigated has sent shudders across the software world and drawn attention from tech executives and government officials.
Freund, who works for Microsoft out of San Francisco, discovered that the latest version of the open source software program XZ Utils had been deliberately sabotaged by one of its developers, a move that could have carved out a secret door to millions of servers across the internet.”
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