Crisis What Crisis? Is my friend over doing the stockpiling and am I too? Continuation thread (2)

[RedToothBrush]

Continuation of the AIBU to think my friend is overdoing emergency stockpiling thread for discussion about the government advice to stockpile for an imminent emergency and what the heck that emergency might actually be.

I'm moving it over to chat from AIBU as it makes a bit more sense to be there at this point.

Previous thread
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5576816-aibu-to-think-my-friend-is-overdoing-emergency-stockpiling?page=1

Spoiler: it's more of a perfect storm of lots of factors coming together to potentially form one great clusterfuck from economic woes, global energy shortages (mainly diesel), potential food shortages, war and madmen to crazy weather patterns rather than a clear identifiable singular thread.

This is a practical thread and a bit of a handhold thread to make sense of events and how they may affect you. This is not an end of the world thread.

We are however going through a period where various governments throughout Europe think there is an elevated risk of some kind of problem due to global instability and we should start to get our heads around the possibility of needing to be ready for anything.

Remember an emergency can range from a temporary unexpected event to a much longer crisis but the underlying principles generally stay the same.

So this is for everything from tips and considerations about what might be a good idea to do /save minimise potential risks to just straight old political bollocks talk about how things are developing.

This is the official government information and advice, if you want further details on what the actual recommendations are:
https://prepare.campaign.gov.uk/get-prepared-for-emergencies/

This does actually explicitly say to write a personalised plan for your household which everyone knows and understands and to talk about the issues you may face to help you be able mobilise for any situation which might arise. Which is exactly what this thread is ultimately for.

Big earthquake in Panama 7.7 magnitude.

Followed now by a 5.5 mag aftershock

Oof and a 5.8 aftershock. That's going to cause damage.

Reuters
Denmark’s IKEA stores are preparing to serve as emergency shelters and temporary hospitals during crises, with plans to use display beds for accommodation, restaurants for food and generators for backup power

I want to play hide and seek at IKEA after hours. This is my dream.

What diesel?!

Oh 'American' diesel.

The idea of this is not to bring diesel prices down. The idea is to stop Ukraine from striking russian refinaries and safe russian energy sector.

Now every strike on russian refinaries by Ukraine will be treated as attack on American energy supply.

This is bad. The waffles houses are known for never closing unless it's really really bad.

Jim Cantore uh oh and closed waffle houses = very bad hurricane.

Yes the diesal pact is extraordinary but since we all buy from Russia probably a neccasery evil.

What diesel? Russia is struggling to supply itself.

Anyway.

Ukraine responds to Trump’s deal with Putin by striking russian fuel export terminal in Rostov.

Oh dear you think it's a fake deal ?
Ukraine doesn't understand the energy crisis

From twitter
Lifting the ban on Russian diesel is yet another classic Trump moment, and Trump is ready to jump on anything that might help them in the midterms. The idea probably came from the Kremlin, Trump made up some numbers in his head and just went with it.

But when looking at the facts, the idea is just ridiculous.

First, due to Ukrainian deep strikes, Russia has little diesel available for export.

Second, even if Russia could export diesel to the US, the amount would only last a few days.

Third, I suspect the whole thing is a Russian plot to pressure Trump into forcing Ukraine to stop striking Russian oil refineries. These strikes are seriously damaging Russia's war economy, and Putin is doing everything in his power to stop them, even activating Agent Krasnov.

Axios is now reporting that the US will stop sharing intelligence if Ukraine doesn't halt its deep strikes. However, Ukraine is no longer as dependent on this intelligence as it once was. My guess is that the next step will involve restricting Starlink access for Ukrainian forces.

For the first time, Zelenskyy has openly called US decision-making weak. That's saying a lot, considering how carefully he has avoided criticizing Trump and his administration.

Darth Putin AT DarthPutinKGB
Donald has lifted sanctions on Russian diesel. This means we can help Iran even more. Who are fighting the USA.

Donald is paying us to help kill American soldiers.

Not only that:
Trump, 2025: China and India are the primary funders of the ongoing war by continuing to purchase Russian oil. But inexcusably, even NATO countries have not cut off much Russian energy…I wasn't happy. They're funding the war against themselves. Who the hell ever heard of that?

Trump by his own admission knows he's funding a war against Europe doing this. For little benefit at the gas pumps as the deal simply isn't enough to bring down prices.

Roman Sheremeta
Trump’s deal with Putin is illegal.

In 2022, the US Congresses passed the Ending Importation of Russian Oil Act, explicitly prohibiting the import of russian energy resources into the United States.

Legally, Trump is not allowed to make a deal with Putin. But I guess MAGA have passed the point of no return a long time ago. So, I have no hope that anyone will oppose the Fuerer.

Peter Althaus
Trump's announcement is above all a calculated taboo break.
- 300,000 tons cover the US demand for about 14 hours.
- Russia is facing a severe oil shortage and is even importing from India.
- Ukraine is massively destroying refinery capacities in Russia.

What Trump really means:
- Persuade Zelenskyy to cease the attacks. Hence the reference to the state of Russian refineries. An attack on Russian energy capacities then becomes an attack on American interests.
- Influence the markets on Friday (there’s a pattern for that).
- Lure the voters with the motto: Look, I’ll get you cheap gas.

The irony of it all:
- The Lindsey Graham Bill, which was supposed to impose new sanctions on Russia and punish countries buying oil and gas from Russia, expands Trump’s powers to invoke national interests. Some members of Congress note that this is exactly what could now be used for that purpose. Will the US have to sanction itself soon?

Completely unrelated and just for amusement as this real story seems to sum up the insanity of the world right now:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cmdxwn9dr42yo
A man named Hitler Mussolini elected mayor in Peru. He beat rival candidate Lenin Vladimir Rodríguez Valverde to win.

Why would Ukraine give a shit about an energy crisis? Have you seen what's been going on in Ukraine recently? Like the last four years?

Meanwhile, just as there's an election in the US:

Anthropic reveals its AI agents went rogue during testing, attempting to access multiple U.S. government websites without authorization, including federal, state, & local agencies.

What a complete and utter wanker.

Trump on the midterms: "We're going to elect a Republican House and a Republican Senate, stop the Dumocrats and the communists and we're gonna do a number like nobody has ever seen. They have a big surprise coming."

Many rumours already about suspect behaviours around voting. From problems with the mail system (noting some states are 100% postal voting) and a military presence at ballot drop sites (which is illegal) particularly in blue areas.

It's all going to kick off isn't it?

Yeah...unsurpringly.

Have just been listening to my weekly This Week in Virology Clinical Update podcast, it really is depressing what's going on in the US re vaccinations and how RFK Jr has indirectly caused so many deaths, not just from measles but other illnesses as well that are preventable by vaccination. Plus, despite him banging on about finding cures for chronic illnesses, he's actually reduced the number of people working in that area.

See attached graph of all the cuts.

They did mention the Siberian 'plague' but because they're decent scientists they said because you have a country where you can't trust what they say, saying there was no plague, yet somewhere a rumour started that there was plague involved - where do we end up? We simply don't know what's going on! So they're honest that we just have to wait for something more concrete. There was one interesting factoid I learned - that cats can get pneumonic plague! 👀

Thanks for all the updates RTB. Very interesting as usual.

Very windy here today in Scotland. Not saying we are getting a hurricane or anything but just thought I'd mention it.

In my own little bubble I didn't have a shower or bath yesterday due to illness. I felt so disgusting and 'dirty' that I couldn't wait to have an extra long, extra hot bath this morning. Can you imagine if the gas/electricity/water goes off and so we have no baths or showers to have. Washing with a sponge at the sink with cold water and no heating on in the house. It's not going to be pleasant. Yet I don't see how I could avoid it as feeling unwashed is just such a revolting feeling.

Also in my own little bubble the internet was down for about 10 hours. Now it was planned and we got a letter about it warning us. Despite that you have no idea how lost I was when I couldn't watch anything off my tv (amazon firestick), couldn't use the internet for any shopping, banking, reading news, social media. Tried my kindle but couldn't download any books either. I have lots of samples on there but I must download a bunch of books that I want to read in case we lose internet access over the winter. We are so dependant on it now. You feel so cut off and 'bored' I guess without it.

So that was my little taste of what this winter might be like.

I feel you.
Some suggestions. A supply of wet wipes to wash with in case of water shortages.
Re the Kindle: if ever a serious Internet outage happens, I don't think the books on your Kindle will 'work'. Remember you never own them, Amazon still do and can revoke your use of them.
I suggest having some actual books. Candles, wetwipes, books, snuggles under the duvet with a good book and pretend the 21st century never happened is my plan.
Edited to add hope you're feeling better today. 💐

We’re out driving and have so far met about 20 armored troup carriers. Must be on their way to practise.

Lurking,happily stocked up with essential provisions thanks to these threads.
I've been really ill (flu thing) since last Monday and what a relief not to have to struggle out to the shops.Had plenty of soup and paracetamol etc put by.
My adult children,who laugh at me for being prepared,did phone to ask what I needed,and went a bit quiet when I said "nothing,I've got everything I need".Hopefully the penny drops!

I'm very pleased to say I've finally managed to replace my gas bottle for my camp stove which is really useful. Its only taken me 2 years to find one and turns out the butchers down the road had them!
Won't last long but hey ho. I've got cans in the cupboard and dried food etc. Just thinking about how to get hold of antibiotics 🤣 i think I probably need to take a step back...

Apparently the first shipment of diesel on board the Minerva Zen is approaching the US East Coast and due to arrive within 24 - 48 hours. It left St Petersburg on 22nd September.

Wow.

22nd Sept was the day Zelenskyy last met Trump. The deal over the diesel was already done before that meeting.

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/zelenskiy-meet-trump-un-push-energy-truce-with-russia-2026-09-22/

Article dated the 22 Sep.

Note here that
The US leader announced last week that Ukraine and Russia had agreed not to strike energy targets, but any semblance of a truce disappeared when Russia hit petrol stations in Kyiv the following day and Ukraine bombed a Russian oil refinery.

More strikes in Saudi.
Ghawar Oil Field apparently hit. Its the largest oil field in the world.

More strikes in Russia.
This time the Linear Production and Dispatch Station Samara - its one of the largest oil tank farms in Europe

Flight tracking is apparently showing that US refuelling tankers have started to return to European bases (from the US) since talk of more US strikes started. This suggests that there will be more bombing soon because they go before the jets.

Rumours are theres been a 'mass casualty' event at Riyadh Airport. Nothing concrete on this yet. It sounds like Terminal 3 may have been hit. Reuters Chief Saudi Correspondent Timour Azhari is reporting that loud explosion in the proximity of the airport have been heard. He also says that dozens of ambulances have rushed to the scene, travelers evacuated, flights diverted and possible air ambulances seen. This would be the third attack on the airport in a week - four people were killed in the previous attacks. AP is also saying that the airport has been attack, but no further details.

I think if there was quiet, that's just about to end.

Trump is such a vile traitorous back-stabbing bastard.
I feel so sorry for Zelenskyy and all of Ukraine and I fervently wish Europe (including us in the UK) would bloody step up our support of them.

Well, been there done that wrt no bathing when I put my back out and yeah, not fun (don't have a shower). I was thinking this morning, first thing I like is a nice, hot drink and if there was a power failure I'd be waking up in a cold room and would have to likely trek up the garden to put the camp stove on just to heat water, probably in the dark mid winter and maybe in rain. Then I opened my supply cupboard and thought, guess I'd have to start the day with a cold tin of something. Really miserable. Survivable, sure, depressing absolutely.

Agenda Free TV is covering the Riyadh airport hit but he's not saying any of it is legit as yet (makes me wonder why he's covering it)!