Why Switzerland Has 374,142 Bunkers. Poles Reject EU Plans.

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, we look at Switzerland’s extensive bunker infrastructure.

Why Switzerland Has 374,142 Bunkers

A fascinating half-hour YouTube video: Why Switzerland Has 374,142 Bunkers (and likely more). Full Disclosure: NordVPN is also one of SurvivalBlog’s affiliate partners.

How to Create a Food Forest in Your Backyard

A Piece by J.G. Martinez, from The Organic Prepper, by way of ActivistPost: How to Create a Food Forest in Your Backyard.

MG Vallely Leads Group Urging Ceasefire In Ukraine War

Linked over at the Whatfinger.com news aggregation site: Major General Vallely Leads Effort Of International NATO Patriots To Bring Ceasefire To War In Ukraine. JWR’s Comments: I agree that US involvement in the war in Ukraine should end. It is a war between quasi-communists and quasi-fascists, and we have no business taking sides in it. By doing so, we risk provoking conflagration into a regional war or perhaps a world war. Paul Vallely is a true patriot, and quite pro-gun. (Now retired from the Army, he is the president of NEMO Arms — an AR manufacturing company headquartered in Kalispell, Montana.) I first met him in the late 1980s when I was in the Army Reserve. At the time, he was commander of a USAR Psychological Operations Group. That Group’s Headquarters was a tenant in the same USAR Center in Mountain View, California as my unit, the 519th ASA Company.

National Divorce: Have The Three Conditions Been Met?

A very interesting hour-long podcast from Nick Freitas: National Divorce: Have The Three Conditions Been Met? JWR’s Comment: Their conversation gets very interesting, starting at the 32-minute mark.

New Survey Shows Poles Reject EU Plans

Reader H.L. sent us this: Poland Vs EU: New Survey Shows Poles Reject Cashless Society, Ban On Combustion Engines, & Restrictions On Meat Sales. A quote:;

“Poles are opposed to the EU’s policy of banning combustion engine vehicles and to ideas circulating in the EU on forests, meat, clothes and a cashless economy, according to a poll carried out by the European Policy Research Center (CBPE)

The poll reports that 67 percent of respondents are opposed to an EU rule that will ban Europeans from registering combustion engine vehicles starting in 2035. The idea of the EU ban is supported by only 28 percent of Poles.”

Geofence Surveillance Progression: You’re Next

At The Rutherford Institute site: Geofence Surveillance: First, They Spied on Protesters. Then Churches. You’re Next.

Biden Calling Up Reservists to Stop Drug Trafficking

At the White House website: Executive Order on Authority to Order the Ready Reserve of the Armed Forces to Active Duty to Address International Drug Trafficking. JWR’s Comment: If the president can call up troops from the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) whenever he feels like it, then we can expect to see both enlistments and reserve office commissioning decline.

Colorado Gov. Signs Four New Gun Control Measures

Over at Zero Hedge: Colorado Gov Signs Four New Gun Control Measures Into Law.

The Crusade Against ‘Malinformation’

From Reason: The Crusade Against ‘Malinformation’ Explicitly Targets Inconvenient Truths. Here is a pericope:

“As illustrated by internal Twitter communications that journalist Matt Taibbi highlighted last week, malinformation can include emails from government officials that undermine their credibility and “true content which might promote vaccine hesitancy.” The latter category encompasses accurate reports of “breakthrough infections” among people vaccinated against COVID-19, accounts of “true vaccine side effects,” objections to vaccine mandates, criticism of politicians, and citations of peer-reviewed research on naturally acquired immunity.

Disinformation and misinformation have always been contested categories, defined by the fallible and frequently subjective judgments of public officials and other government-endorsed experts. But malinformation is even more clearly in the eye of the beholder, since it is defined not by its alleged inaccuracy but by its perceived threat to public health, democracy, or national security, which often amounts to nothing more than questioning the wisdom, honesty, or authority of those experts.”

Permanent U.S. Garrison in Poland

Over at the Global Security web site: Permanent Garrison of the US Forces in Poland.

Ukraine: The People’s Fight

A fascinating recent documentary that has a few propaganda elements: Ukraine: The People’s Fight. Watching their ad hoc intelligence cell was interesting. The scenes showing drone observation and adjusting mortar fire made me cringe. I could see just what would happen. Oh well, they are learning.

Smart Meters Hacked and Disconnected

Several Cases Have Already Been Documented of Smart Meter Hacking and Disconnection. An excerpt:

“One of the most significant risks of Smart Meter hacking is the potential for large-scale power outages. Smart Meters allow utilities to monitor energy usage in real-time, which means that they can quickly identify and respond to power outages. However, if a cybercriminal gains access to Smart Meter systems, they could potentially use this information to disconnect power to an entire city.

A widespread power outage would have far-reaching impacts on public safety and the economy. Hospitals, emergency services, and other critical infrastructure would be severely affected, potentially leading to loss of life and damage to property. Businesses would also be impacted, with many forced to shut down operations until power is restored. The longer the power outage, the more significant the economic impact would be.”