AIBU to think my friend is overdoing emergency stockpiling?

[bagpuss90]

I get that we have been advised to stock up on essentials, though I think it will encourage panic buying. I will probably get a few days worth of stuff at some point . My friend however has, at least in my opinion gone ott about it. She’s stocking up a six month supply of food. She’s bought head torches, a camping gas stove and various other stuff. She thinks I’m being naive …Am I missing something here ?

It’s being reported as only giving them what they had previously anyway but it’s different. Trump cannot be trusted and simply takes what he wants. Particularly interesting is the provision that the Americans can take action against anyone who is not in their side. That may well include the whole of Europe/Canada etc

Is it possible Denmark agreed because they’ve been promised US protection if there is war? It’s one of my favourite countries but since they behaved like real arses when covid started, each to their own, I wouldn’t be surprised if there is something in it just for them and nobody else. But who knows. Well, Trump does.

Who would sign anything with Trump and pretend to themselves it was worth the paper it's written on?

Maybe a carrot and stick approach, carrot is protection from the US if things really go south and a stick 'well you'll be on your own and we know that Russia is planning blah blah blah...'. I can just imagine trying to deal with Trump, he won't let up till he gets his way.

I hate how we are all just pawns in this huge game of Risk they have going on.

They are trying to say there is nothing more to it, Denmark is fooling Trump into believing he has gained something. But I am not so sure, it must be something..

Eventually, officials in Denmark and Greenland came to see the agreement as serving their own security interests, and the three parties reached a deal that satisfied all sides, a source familiar with the negotiations told Fox. 'They recognize at the end of the day that they have a national security concern here as well,' Rubio explained to the outlet.

Yeah, that's a fair point (both points actually).
Ukraine is a huge food producer/grower so yeah.
But then again, if they had nuclear weapons, wouldn't they had better weapons overall. It's been like 5 years of them struggling in Ukraine.

He's been on the political scene for decades now, and probably has as many fans as haters. He's been accused of selling Poland out to Brussels and being more pro EU than pro Poland. Which as you can imagine people in Poland don't like.

Personally I don't know that much nor care. No disrespect to Poland but I don't pay great deal of attention to what going on there. I don't vote or interfere in any way. I don't live there, haven't for decades and never will again.

I'm more interested in what's going on in Britain as this is my home, my country of residence and nationality. So fingers crossed we won't get blasted off 🤞🏼

More than 300 security incidents recorded near MoD locations in the year to August
Source: Telegraph

Reuters reporting that Saudi Arabia's King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh has been hit by drones. It's thought that the main jet fuel tanks tanks were hit. No one will be flying in or out the airport for a while then. It is likely that there will be a change of government before too long as the Saudi aren't capable of defending themselves. That changes the stability of the entire region.

There are reports of lots of petrol stations being out of fuel in France. I've checked but I give a caveat to this. Yes it's true, but it's Total stations and they are effectively subsidised for price by the state. We were really worried about the same thing in April. What really happens is there has been panicking buying to get fuel at that price but there is still fuel everywhere else, although not necessarily as cheap. It's supposed to force prices down across the board but my experience was it seemed to drive spikes in buying to get a bargain leading to all the Totals closing rather than solve any kind of issue. It just made it frustrating trying to find one with fuel. I don't think the situation currently is anymore of a problem at this stage though.

Let's see what Chuck Holton has to say about it, maybe we'll get some insight into what happened with Denmark. Starts in 25 mins.

Well apparently the new Denmark-US agreement doesn't add much more than the US already had with the US (their 1951 deal):

https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/04-806-Denmark-Defense.done_.pdf

I also found an upgrade to the 1951 agreement, the Thule Upgrade agreement, (August 6, 2004) which allowed the US to go ahead with upgrades to the Thule radar in Greenland that would enable the US to develop its missile defence programme.

https://www.acronym.org.uk/old/archive/docs/0408/doc02.htm

It’s just weird!?

Just watched this with DH. Very good, very glad to have watched it.
Brought up a couple of useful practicalities.
But mostly a well made drama. Shocking ending.

I watched it yesterday and it's very good. Quite a twist in a couple of places, too.

Good follow on Twitter
Lucy Easthope AT LucyGoBag

She is a highly respected disaster and contingency planner who has worked in the aftermath of many disasters around the world.

FOLLOW HER.

She wrote an article for Good Housekeeping about preparedness and what you should have.

It's really really good and raises a good point. You don't know where you are going to be in the event of a disaster - don't assume you will be at home.

Instead she has a few useful tips.
https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/uk/health/a64618387/prepemergency-disaster/

You should have stuff in your handbag, in your car and at home. Three simple lists which make sense. Nothing scary or unusual either.

https://x.com/HorrorCarnival/status/2101385840819642497
One of my favorite bits in Shaun of the Dead (2004) is Shaun’s morning trip to the shop.

Edgar Wright fills the background with signs that the zombie apocalypse is already underway, but Shaun is so locked into his daily routine that he barely notices anything around him.

Developments overnight

Middle East:
U.S. Embassy alert in Jerusalem warning Americans in the country of increased risk.
Then warning for Oman.
Then the entire Middle East.
Netanyahu cut short his US Tour flying back to Tel Aviv from New York missing a planned trip to Texas.
Trump returned from Camp David to Washington. He was not supposed to do this until tomorrow.
Iran has been mobilising groups for some time, but put them on their highest alert last night.
Saudi Arabia has quit the Chinese-led currency border platform that is supposed to reduce reliance on the US dollar.

Europe:
There was a big attack on Moscow by Ukraine. An oil refinery which supplies a significant share of Moscows fuel market was hit as well as a warehouse complex.

Thoughts and suggestions about what this means
It's been suggested that there may be a US ground assault on Iran by some. This is frankly nuts given numbers on each side - the us doesn't have enough men. Which also begs the question though, why does Iran need the size of the mobilisation it has? It's a million. The thought process is think Yemen v Saudi. The Saudi's have been useless in defence. The thought process here is that Iran might not be planning to defend itself but potentially attack. As it stands, it possibly doesn't have much to lose. Others are suggesting that the US is about to step in against Yemen.

How many oil tankers are there? Only the suggestion is they keep getting hit and this is what is putting up insurance costs.

How does Russia, run a ground campaign if there's no diesel in Moscow? Interesting.

Some reflections about France....
This morning Emmanuel Macron stated that France wants "to prepare for everything" and "to be sure not to run short" of gas, diesel, or aviation fuel. Apparently gas stocks have been replenished and they are securing the country's supplies.

Coffe Report AT coffereport
France is moving its hybrid-threat preparations down to the local level.

From next week, every French department will reportedly be required to establish a local security and defence command structure under its prefect - the senior state official responsible for coordinating government services, security and crisis response in the area.

According to RTL, police, intelligence services, businesses and civil-protection organisations will be brought together to identify potential targets and map essential personnel at strategic infrastructure, including nuclear plants and telecom operators.

A senior French official describes the shift simply:

“We are moving to another level.”

In response to this particular tweet Disaster Contingency planner Lucy Easthope replied:
The UK already does this but it does not get nearly enough love, recognition or money. BIG UP TO MY LOCAL PLANNERS

Wow!

Also:

Diesel cars percentage
Montenegro: 80%
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 78%
Albania: 73%
Latvia: 66%
Lithuania: 65%
North Macedonia: 63%
Serbia: 56%
Croatia: 56%
Ireland: 54%
Portugal: 54%
Spain: 53%
Romania: 51%
Bulgaria: 49%
France: 49%
Austria: 49%
Slovenia: 48%
Italy: 41%
Luxembourg: 40%
Czechia: 38%
Norway: 36%
Moldova: 34%
Türkiye: 34%
Belgium: 32%
Hungary: 32%
Sweden: 32%
United Kingdom: 31%
Germany: 30%
Liechtenstein: 29%
Malta: 28%
Switzerland: 28%
Finland: 24%
Denmark: 23%
Cyprus: 21%
Georgia: 13%
Netherlands: 7%

The % of diesel car also surprised me given the charge point infrastructure in France compared to the UK. 6% of car in the UK are electric compared to 2% in France (so you can work out the petrol percentages from this too).

The announcement about local mobilisation in France sounds really scary - until you are told the UK ALREADY has had this built into our system for years. The worry is local budget cuts and how different this might be across the country.

We, however, are an independent island that France is not responsible for that relies on a tunnel to France for food.

On the note of local councils having a contingency plan, you can Google what your local council says you should have.

My council was updated in July:

Be informed
To prepare for an emergency, take time to find out:

Where and how to turn off water, gas and electricity supplies in your home
The emergency procedures for your children at school
The emergency procedures at your workplace
How your family will stay in contact in the event of an emergency
If any elderly or vulnerable neighbours might need your help
How to tune in to your local radio station
If you are a tenant and rent your property, do you know who your landlord is and how to contact them in an emergency? Have you discussed with your landlord what arrangements they have in place to support you if you are evacuated?
If you are a homeowner, does your insurance cover you for emergency accommodation if you are evacuated?

Be prepared
Make an emergency grab-bag of things you could need.

Prepare together
Involve the whole family.
If you have young children, there are a few things you can do to make sure they are prepared too. Check that children:

Know their first and last name
Know their full address
Can say and dial their home phone number
Know who to contact in an emergency
The chances of you and your family being caught up in a major emergency are low. However, it is very important that you have made the necessary preparations to protect yourself, your family and others.

Here are some additional steps and information that you can use to prepare for and emergency.

It then goes on to saying you should have a
Household Emergency Life-Saving Plan (HELP), a Grab Bag and a Car Grab Bag (similar to what Lucy Easthope says above).

Madly, even though I've thought about stuff and I knew there was national government advice, I wasn't aware of this!

Makes sense regardless of whether there's an imminent war or there's a minor emergency tbh.

Useful stuff @RedToothBrush .

Guardian this morning on further emboldening of Russia.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/20/the-rules-have-changed-has-russia-begun-to-order-assassinations-on-us-soil

One theory about Greenland:

Was this the smartest con in Arctic history?

The Danes and Greenlanders know perfectly well that the Trump regime is staffed by high school dropouts and people who move their lips when they read, and they know that nobody in this failed administration has the faintest idea that a 1951 agreement exists.

So Copenhagen takes the old treaty out of the drawer, blows off the dust, changes the date to 2026 and adds a clause banning China and Russia, neither of whom was ever going to be invited anyway. Trump, who sincerely believes he is the sharpest mind in a movement where that is not a demanding title, promptly launches himself into orbit with a triumph he imagines will win him the midterms.

He demanded an island, was sold his own lease back with a fresh cover page, and could not be more thrilled.

This, weirdly, seems plausible.

😂Laughing not at the idea but at Trump's team being totally hoodwinked! 😂It does sound very plausible!

Oh yes I saw that theory in a couple places yesterday, certainly made me see the whole thing in a new light!
Let's face it neither the Danes nor the Greenlanders are stupid, whereas the whole Trump administration is totally bleeding batshit and clouded by the obscuration of their own immense and ridiculous egos. 😂

The Lib Dems have called for Andy Burnham to create an "emergency register" for civilians to voluntarily sign up for war

Crikey. Considering the Lib Dems evolved out of the Liberal Party, weren't they pacifist inclined? Rum times. I may be remembering wrong or conflating something though.

By for war does he mean for contributing to civil resilience? Or for fighting? Seems a bit premature if it's the latter.