Joe Biden just sent a message to the World in general, and Russia in particular, saying:
“Get rid of Putin, and we can all be friends again”.
That’s left Putin with absolutely no way out. He has to stay in power, and he has to win.
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Kinda depends on just how loyal those around him really are. Interesting to note, Biden said they were not seeking to change Russia or take control of it, just get rid of Putin.
It does make one a bit nervous. Nothing worse than cornered rabid dog.
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Or how scared?
Biden’s speech was a thinly coded message to the wealthy and powerful in Russia, saying “If you get rid of Putin, we won’t hold you responsible for the things he did. Once he’s gone, it’s back to business as usual”. Putin must realise this. He can’t trust anyone around him. Quite the conundrum for the man who ordered polonium in people’s tea, and novichok on their doorknobs.
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What goes around, comes around
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It is now being reported that Roman Abramovitch, Russian billionaire oligarch turned British football impresario, along with a group of Ukrainian negotiators, attempted peace discussions with Russians in Kiev in early March. After the meeting, Abramovitch and the Ukrainians were taken ill, and hospitalised, where they were eventually diagnosed as suffering from nerve agent poisoning. They have since recovered.
British government advice to anyone involved in talks with the Russians is now “Do not eat or drink anything, and be careful who you shake hands with”.
Absolutely true. You couldn’t make it up.
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Hmmmm…I believe those talks happened in Belarus. The next talks are supposed to take place in Turkey. That could explain the move in venue but still…we all know very well how Putin operates.
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For the first time in my life, I’m concerned. One wrong decision on either side and this could escalate not just to war but to the use of weapons of mass destruction.
For the first time in my life, I’ve started ‘prepping’. Over the past few weeks I’ve started stocking up on supplies - toilet rolls (obviously, after 2020), food, bottled water, a water filter, water purification tablets, a large medical kit, face masks, crank radio, crank torch, candles, solar chargers, camping stove and gas, potassium iodide, painkillers, antibiotics, etc.
For me, it became a simple decision - a few hundred pounds could be the difference between survival or not. Maybe I’m being overly paranoid. Maybe everyone is right - nobody is crazy enough to start that shit, even Putin.
What do you guys think - have I overreacted or are you taking/intend to take similar precautions?
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No you have not overreacted. The things you have gathered should really be gathered by everyone. We should all have bags ready for any type of emergency. It may not be war but could be a natural disaster or a violent event in the area where we live. We live in unpredictable times. Being ready for whatever comes is not a bad idea. At the same time though, don’t worry about something that may never happen. Just prepare and then you will know that you did the best you could.
In addition, what is really expected next from Putin is to cause as much chaos as possible thru cyber attacks. So the possibility of power outages, banks down, boiling water because the plants are down, these are realistic things that he will likely try for. Being prepared for that kind of stuff will help IF they happen and food shortages are also a very likely event coming. At the least, we know prices will continue to rise. So prepping to a certain extent is a very good idea.
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That’s the intention - rather than thinking “I could have done this”, I’d prefer to know that I’ve done what I can and whatever happens happens. If it does happen, we can almost guarantee power outages and long lasting food (canned stuff, rice, pasta, etc) will be life savers. Your frozen food will be worthless after a couple of days.
At the very worst, if everything blows over anyway, I’ll have cheaper food bills in the future and a bit of stuff I will never need, which I could always resell.
It’s kind of an investment. I think. I still feel as though I’m going a bit batshit nuts tho.
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I have several containers of dehydrated food and several boxes of water. The food lasts 25 years and tastes really good. It is very filling. The water has to be replaced every 5 years. But I also keep in mind that the possibility exists that I won’t be able to get to my stash so I keep a duffle bag with essentials in my car and I have a backpack in my bedroom. The backpack is grabbed and taken with me to the basement every time a storm comes through which has become a frequent event. I feel like it is practice for whatever does or does not happen. Just don’t sit up nights sweating it out. Breathe. 
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I don’t - I already have a sleep disorder but it’s nothing to do with current events - I’ve had it for 20 or more years.
I’m curious about the dehydrated food and how your water is stored. I really am new to this whole way of thinking so I’m guessing or going with advice from the interwebs.
Talking of which, you’ll be able to play steam games that have an offline mode, but you’ve got to have them installed first. So, get downloading your favourites 
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The food I ordered is in packages that are in a plastic container. Wise Foods is what I have. Meals, desserts and dried fruit. Just remember it takes water and preferably a heat source to heat it, though it is not a must. So I purchased a backpack that came with a number of essentials like a small candle heated stand for warming food and a cup and plate/bowl which are collapsible and easily stored. Most companies offer a pre-packed deal. Prices have risen quite a bit though since the pandemic hit. Glad I grabbed my stuff prior to that. Water can be bought in cans but take up a lot of space. I purchased some in packets. You don’t get as much and it does not last as long but it is easier to pack into a backpack. I also have a life straw which supposedly allows me to drink out of a mud puddle and not get sick…I have not tested that. 
A thermal blanket, which basically looks like tin foil and a poncho are good additions. I will see if I can come up with a list.
A good rule of thumb even without Putin around, is to keep 2 weeks of food and water on hand. Just rotate and restock basics on a regular bases, things like peanut butter, canned goods etc…should always be on hand for numerous reasons. Look at the pandemic, it could come back around. Let’s please not repeat the toilet paper thing. 
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I’ve only bought bottled water and stored it in a dark place (apparently it can go bad with bacteria if left in the sunlight).
I’ve seen something like a life straw but it was like a cup - I can’t remember exactly what it was called but they cost about £90 and were apparently getting popular in Africa and such places. That’d be useful. Water can be deadly, especially if it has Giardia.
Strangely I used to love watching survival programs and learned a lot from those in the past. I think the potassium iodide is also a great thing to know about (also Prussian blue) - it’s not exactly something people talk about a lot and I’ve even watched youtube episodes about nuclear survival and they don’t even mention it.
So far I have about two months worth of food, water and toilet rolls supplies. I’m a quick learner
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Same here. Except toilet paper continues to be something in short supply, not sure why. I guess it is the one thing people are terrified of being without. However, if you don’t have much to eat… 
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A list would be great - can’t beat the voice of experience.
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Texas has a list with some things a person may not think of. A roll of plastic and tape for sealing doors and windows is something a lot of people may not have.
One good rule of thumb, never let your car run below a half tank of gas. If you have an electric car, keep it charged. The idea being, if you need to evac, you can get a good distance away before needing to refuel/recharge. And I would like to add, from personal experience, DO NOT wait until the order is given to evac a situation. If you see a bad situation brewing, leave ahead of the crowd. I experienced this while living in New Orleans years ago. I left early in the day with a hurricane 2 days away. Just 1 hour later, there were 1.5 million people flooding onto the highway behind me. I was so glad I was long gone. And if you have an emergency alert system where you are, have a radio for it and see if it has a setting that applies to your local area. We have them here for severe weather. I can set it to the county I live in and get alerts with details on where the system is headed and what dangers it brings with it. It is loud and will wake me in the night.
Once you kit is ready, talk to everyone in your home.
Talking points are provided for some, though most questions are to spark conversation.
- Where in your home will you store your preparedness kit? Why?
- The best place to store the kit is somewhere that you will go to take shelter (basement, interior room/closet, etc.)
- It should also be kept easily accessible (i.e. don’t bury it under other boxes or tubs) so that if you do need to evacuate your home, you can easily grab the kit and put it in the car to go with you to your next shelter.
- What items do you think are most important and why?
- This question is very subjective and more to spark conversation.
- It is good to discuss all of the items on the list, not just the highlighted items recommended for this activity.
- What items in your kit expire?
- Go through these items with the group. Make a list of each item’s expiration date and tape the list to the lid of your kit.
- Let the group know that you should check your kit at least once every 6 months to ensure that all items are still up to date. When something expires it should be replaced immediately.
- In what situations would you take shelter in your classroom or school?
- Discuss different disasters such as thunderstorms or flood events where students may be kept in their classrooms instead of being allowed to go outside. You should also discuss other events such as tornadoes that may require them to go to a shelter outside of the classroom.
- In what situations would you need to leave your classroom or school to be safe?
- Discuss different disasters that might cancel school such as winter storms or hurricanes. Explain that sometimes based on the weather forecast students may be sent home early to make sure they do not end up trapped at school due to poor road conditions. Early dismissals are becoming common with increased severe weather threats as well so this is another aspect you can discuss with students.
- How would this kit be helpful if your home was impacted by a flood/tornado/hurricane/etc?
- Having all your materials in one place and storing them in your shelter location means that you don’t have to worry about getting prepared when a warning is issued. You’re already prepared and can just focus on getting yourself to your shelter.
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All good advice. I pretty much had everything in the list except duct tape - just ordered some.
Some of it doesn’t apply - I live in the uk and we don’t have tornadoes, but the general idea is understood.
Thank you Sheral.
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I shouldn’t worry too much about nuclear war - at least, not in the short term. I would (and I do) worry about coming food shortages. Global prices for just about everything are rising in an unprecedented way, and Ukraine is one of the world’s largest food producers. There will be no Ukrainian harvest this year.
It seems likely that in the coming year there will be mass starvation, especially in poorer countries, who could barely afford to feed themselves before the prices rose. That will cause food riots, the collapse of governments, floods of refugees, and a general global destabilisation.
I suspect things are going to get ugly in the next year. I fear for my grandchildren.
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To add insult to injury, poorer countries will see more price increase faster, because they have fewer running contracts and lack the means to enforce them against the powerful richer nations, and also because people know what’s coming and are trying to hoard before it happens, leading to shortages and price increase even earlier.
Bosnia is already experiencing a shortage in plant oil and grain, and the price for natural gas (predominantly used for heating in larger cities) has already more than doubled. It’s luckily the end of winter, but the way I know the country, they’re going to deforrest heavily towards next winter (most of it illegally)…
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Fertilizer is also going to be a big issue. Russia is the world’s largest supplier. Less fertilizer means lower yielding crops.
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