March 12, 2009, hedge-fund investment manager Bernie Madoff pled guilty

On March 12, 2009, hedge-fund investment manager Bernie Madoff pled guilty to various crimes related to his operation of a Ponzi scheme that was one of the largest in the world; he was sentenced to 150 years in prison.

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Today is the birthday of science fiction author Harry Harrison, who is best known for his Deathworld trilogy. (He was born in 1920 and died in 2012.)

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On March 12, 1850 the first US $20 gold piece was issued.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 105 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

1. The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000.
2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
3. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
4. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
5. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
6. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.

Second Prize:

1. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three-day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
2. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
3. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
5. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

1. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
3. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

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More than $800,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. We recently polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 105 ends on March 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.