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 “HJL”. Venezuela is back in the news again. Now that the hurricanes have taken a break from their destruction, man-made disasters are being paid attention too.


Venezuela continues it’s slide into oblivion and now it is becoming apparent that the country is becoming cut-off from the rest of the world. Nearly every major air carrier has discontinued service to the country due to security concerns. Now foreign governments are putting barriers in place to keep Venezuelans out. Even if you are able to obtain a visa to exit the county, flight costs are prohibitively expensive. Thanks to S.B. for the link.

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Venezuela’s annual inflation rate just dropped — to 2,276%. it is so bad that the average Venezuelan has lost at least 20 pounds since this started. Dieting may be a fad in America where the majority of the population is obese or borderline obese, but there it is about survival.

Puerto Rico

Wondering why experts almost always recommend that you keep three months worth of cash on hand? Puerto Rico was devastated by multiple hurricanes and most of the infrastructure on the island was destroyed or severely impaired. Now there are reports of armed gangs roving the streets posing as police. Cash is king as no one wants to (or can) take credit cards or extend credit to individuals. The ATMs are running out of cash and the basics are tough to get.

North Korea

As North Korea threatens electromagnetic pulse attack, questions over lapses in US grid security rise. the U.S. power grid is considered one of the most vital pieces of infrastructure, but there is no authoritative organization that can direct how power companies are to protect themselves frum such an event. As a result, no one really has any idea how such an attack would impact America even though they have studied the problem for more than 15 years. Thanks to A.D. for the link.


Reader H.L. sent in this article on what to do if you have been caught by the Equifax data breach. If you think about it, there were more than 150 million accounts that were compromised. With less than 350 million people, if you remove those who are too young to work and those who just don’t work, you reach a similar number. It is possible that every person who currently works or has some sort of credit has been compromised.

Your Bicycle is the Spy

Tomes Software and Ford Motor Company are collaborating on devices and software for your bicycle. under the guise of safety, the software will keep nearby automobiles alerted to the presence of bicycles to cut down on collisions of this sort. Of course this means that the NSA or any other alphabet agency as well as certain private companies) know where your bicycle is at all times.

Long Term Storage

Reader M.H. wrote in to update us on some information from his long term storage. He had a sealed can of navy beans that was at least 9 years old. In attempting to use them, he discovered that they would not cook up soft enough to eat. They were able to use them for their hogs though. he is thinking about grinding the rest up for flour.

Antifa Timeline

Reader B.B. sent in this article showing the timeline of antifa violence in 2017. You can clearly see where police and university authorities did not shut the violence and as a result, the violence has continued to escalate. Note that the antifa movement is seems to use contradictory ideologies such as Marxism and anarchism.

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News Tips:



  1. I have been watching the actions of AntiFa for over a year now and have even debated some of their members online. They are Anarcho-Communists that see violence as the only way to achieve their political goals. Their plan is to destroy the foundation of our country and within the resulting anarchy install a communist regime. Thus, you have the dual ideologies that are seemingly at odds with one another, but in this case anarchy is simply a means to an end. They dress the same and wear masks (called Black Bloc) so that they can assault people and destroy property without the risk of being identified. It allows them to strike and then run back into the AntiFa crowd in order to disappear and eliminate consequences to their actions. These commies [and their Fellow Travelers] have infiltrated our schools (Eric Clanton, Yvette Felarca, etc) our government (Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin), and even the military (Spenser Rapone). They’re a direct threat to our Constitutional Republic.

    1. DMV is 100% correct. The election of DT derailed their ever advancing plans for the next eight years. A number of them have decided to try the “advanced” violent methodology but if they continue….. it will be their doom. The majority of the commies will opt to chip away at the USA until it becomes another Venezuela. The young antifas will not be “players” when the REAL COMMIES take over.

    2. I agree with all the above. I recommend Marx & satan by Richard Wurmbrand. He was a Romanian pastor who was in prison and tortured for his faith for years. He founded Voice of the Martyrs. His expose on Marx shows his connection to satanism and the tenant of constant revolution. Communism ultimate goal is destruction, the only one who benefit are those few at the top.

  2. The bicycle software is also preparation for the coming self driving vehicles. It is here, very soon. I think eventually, they will outlaw human driven vehicles on major highways.

  3. Humans driving vehicles is part of States budgets and an “in” for police to further assert their control over the masses. Without human error to capitalize on traffic stops will become obsolete. and states will have to come up with other ways to interfere with our lives in order to glean money from us.

  4. I have debated with a co-worker over what has been going on. As a person who served in the Marines, I am surprised of his thought process. He said there is nothing wrong with violence as Dr. MLK’s dream was sabotaged and ignored. He also called Farrakahn a “good Muslim brother” and thinks there is absolutely nothing wrong with what he says, and proposes. To see all of these come together is disturbing at the least. Happy to say my Faith is in Christ, continue to prepare as they did when rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem.

  5. On the electric grid and EMP preparedness. Two large chunks of the US receive their electricity from Federal Corporations, the Bonneville Power Administration in the Pacific Northwest and the Tennessee Valley Authority in the Southeast. Since Washington and Oregon are fairly lefty, their politicians are unlikely to push the BPA to do anything. But Tennessee and its surrounding states are pretty conservative and libertarian, so calls or emails to your State and Federal representatives might work in pressuring the power generation folks to harden their part of the Grid. Next, the power distributors.

  6. Re: bean storage. In 2009 I put away many pounds of beans, rice, and pasta. They were all vacuum-sealed with an oxygen absorber in the packages, and stored in plastic totes in the house. To date: we have eaten almost all the pasta. I had 1 pkg. that seemed to taste a little “off”, but 99% of it was perfectly fine. The rice: every pkg. has been fine. It appears we now have a lifetime supply of rice. The beans: the quality is the same as if store-bought today, though they are taking longer to cook. A batch that used to be falling-apart tender in 4 hours now takes 10. I just have to plan ahead when beans are on the menu. And we probably have a lifetime supply of beans now too. Overall, I consider that my methods were a success.

  7. We had some ancient lentils that were still hard even after a loooong soak and a loooong cooking. But we tried again with a pressure cooker and then they were soft enough to be food again. It is worth trying a pressure cooker before tossing them out.

  8. Pontia, since pigs’ll scarf down coal like its candy, 5 year old beans shouldn’t be any trouble for them to chew up and digest. They’ll even eat chicken feathers!
    (yeah, I know they were trying to catch the chickens, but there were never any feathers left in the pen)

  9. WRT cash being king, it should be noted that only 1%(!) of what we laughingly call “money” in this country consists of actual *cash*. Plan accordingly. When TSHTF, prices will drop to reflect this reality. Not right away, mind; but as soon as people realize how little actual *cash* exists.

  10. I have pressure canned beans that we purchased before Y2K that we had just stored in 5 gallon buckets lined with plain trash bags and stored in a outside shed. They turned out just fine. I have only had one time when pressure canning didn’t soften them and that was with a dried mixed bean mix. But bean flour is a great way to use up old dried beans. It’s easy to make refried beans out of pinto or black bean flour. That combined with seasoning and Homemade tortillas made from corn or flour makes a tasty and nutritious meal.

  11. Jim Allen, I’ve seen pigs chew up whole hickory nuts. They also, swallow grains that will pass through intact. I guess the “proof is in the pudding” (manure).

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