Potential SHTF scenarios & tinfoil hat thread (Please read post 1)

Sun spits a giant fireball :eek::D
http://edition.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp_c3#/video/bestoftv/2012/04/17/ac-sun-fireball.cnn

http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/site/?pageid=event_desc&edis_id=VW-20120427-35026-UKR

Terror Attack in Yemen
http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/site/?pageid=event_desc&edis_id=VW-20120521-35175-YEM

A suicide bomber dressed in a military uniform killed at least 47 soldiers Monday at the central security headquarters in Yemen, two intelligence officials said.The soldiers were preparing for Tuesday's National Day of Unification ceremonies when they were attacked in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa. The blast wounded 36 other soldiers, the officials said.The day celebrates the union of South Yemen and North Yemen on May 22, 1990, to form Yemen.
The attack took place about 200 meters (218 yards) away from the presidential palace."We heard a massive explosion. Minutes later, there were so many emergency vehicles, it seems as if hundreds were injured," said resident Ali al-Husseini, who was near the attack.The defense ministry said the defense minister was at the scene of the attack but escaped unharmed. The country's chief of staff, Ahmed al-Ashwal, was also present.No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.Last week, al-Qaeda's leader called for the Yemeni people to rise up against the country's new president, portraying him as the stooge of the unpopular former president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, and the United States."So, Ali Abdallah Saleh is gone, and his successor Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi has taken over," al Qaeda's chief commander Ayman al-Zawahiri said in a video posted on jihadist forums.Saleh, who led Yemen for 30 years, relinquished power last year after an extended popular uprising in a transition agreement that was supported by the United States. But because Hadi was Saleh's vice president, al-Qaeda has exploited the connection to stir resentment against the new government.Last year, Ansaar al-Sharia, an offshoot of al Qaeda, took over the majority of districts in the southern Abyan province, benefiting from the political turmoil in the country. Numerous military bases were evacuated, making it easier for the militants groups to grow in power and territory.On Sunday, fierce clashes between government troops and al Qaeda fighters left 21 people dead, two local security officials said.The officials said the violence erupted when hundreds of troops attempted to sweep through areas around the district of Jaar, the main stronghold for al Qaeda in Abyan province.Al Qaeda fighters fought back, kicking off clashes that continued for nine hours, the officials said. Fourteen militants and seven troops were killed in the fighting, they said.

Irish Earthquake: http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/site/?pageid=event_desc&edis_id=EQ-20120607-35354-IRL

A leading seismologist has said yesterday’s earthquake off the west coast was “unexpected” and poses “very interesting questions for geologists”. The earthquake, which registered a magnitude of four on the Richter scale, was recorded as 60km west of Belmullet, Co Mayo, at a depth of 3km, at 8.58am. It was the largest local seismic event ever recorded, according to Tom Blake of the Irish National Seismic Network (INSN) and the Dublin Institute of Advanced Studies. It was also the second-largest local earthquake on record in either Britain or Ireland, he said – the first being of 5.4 magnitude on July 19th, 1984, off the west coast of Wales and felt in Waterford and Wicklow. A 2.7 magnitude tremor was recorded in Lisdoonvarna, Co Clare, in May 2010. The Irish Coast Guard recorded instances of structural damage to houses in Erris, Co Mayo, yesterday and the British Geological Survey said the impact was felt in Galway, Mayo and Sligo.

The Geological Survey of Ireland said earthquakes of this magnitude at this depth were “not very unusual although not common”. However, Mr Blake said that while the earthquake was classified as “moderate”, it was “significant” in that it challenged existing information about seismic activity off the west coast. The location, just 23km south to southeast of the Corrib gas wells, prompted a call by Sinn Féin councillor for Mayo Rose Conway-Walsh for reassurance that this was not connected to seismic testing Shell EP Ireland was due to initiate on the Corrib gas field last Friday. She also said many concerned residents wanted to know whether the existing Corrib gas infrastructure had been damaged. North Mayo hostel owner Betty Schult said the earthquake had shaken the foundations of her 250-year-old stone cottage and she was concerned about the impact on the offshore pipeline for the Corrib gas project and the refinery, situated on bog. Mr Blake said he had examined the seismic traces and they were “caused by earthquakes and nothing else”. Shell EP Ireland said the seismic survey had not started and it had “no reason to believe that this event has had any impact on the sub-sea infrastructure”.

“However, as a precautionary measure, a visual inspection of the offshore infrastructure will be carried out in the coming days,” it said. Phil O’Hara of Aclare, Co Sligo, reported a chunk of her chimney on the ground, while in Westport, Co Mayo, Lorella Errani said she was reading about the earthquake near her mother’s home in Ravenna, Italy, when she heard a “deep rumbling noise”. The seismic activity was tracked in the Cliffs of Moher visitor centre in Co Clare and on the INSN network of permanent recorders. The tremors had caused “no unusual wave activity”, said Irish Coast Guard officer Ray Malanaphy. The Coast Guard said it had confirmed this with two vessels working on the Corrib gas field. Dr Brian McConnell of the Geological Survey said there could be some small aftershocks.

I cannot believe the Spanish financial situation has not got you guys going on the potential shtf situation.

any thoughts on how much food I should store up for a possible currency change chaos?

honestly I wish I was trolling

sheesh wrote: »

I cannot believe the Spanish financial situation has not got you guys going on the potential shtf situation.

any thoughts on how much food I should store up for a possible currency change chaos?

honestly I wish I was trolling

Impossible to know. We're not talking "The Road" type situation but if the whole thing goes whallop and we go back to the Punt there will be chaos for a few weeks followed by crippling austerity for a few years followed by growth in a decade or two. Think Argentina in 2001/2002. There would be panic buying at the start for a few days/weeks, followed by price gouging by bastard shopkeepers followed by a slow return to reliable supply of food. Expensive food but food. But we aren't going to have a situation where a loaf of bread costs trillions of punts. More likely the devaluation will be 50% so prices will be roughly twice what they are now which certainly adds up and will have you looking to the cheaper own brand options in aldi and lidl.

So it is probably worth adding a few extra staples (rice, pasta, tins etc) to your weekly shop. Put them aside and over a few weeks you will find you have enough to get you through a month of initial panic, closed banks/atms and empty shelves (sort of like in Argentina). You may not dine like kings but with a little meal planning you won't starve.

You could not store enough food to get you through the years of austerity that will follow so don't bother trying. Instead spend some money on garden tools and learning how to grow veg in your back garden. If you go to east european countries like Poland, Bulgaria etc most houses in the countryside have large vegetable plots just like our grandparents used to. You may not be completely self sufficent but a little investment now in the equipment and know how will allow you grow your own carrots, parsnips, beetroot, onions, garlic, herbs, salad greens, cabbage, potatoes, rhubarb, fruit bushes, etc so you have more to spend on things you can't produce yourself like milk, meat, fish, etc (of course if you have the space you could well have a cow, pig, hens etc to give you these things but most people don't).

Given the power of the public unions in this country you have to assume that any state dependent services will be off line for a while also. Water, Electricity/Gas (ESB/Bord Gais mean even with competition the state is still the main supplier), Gardai, Hospitals, Schools etc will all shut down for a few weeks as their unions do a King Canute and try to hold back the waves of cutbacks. Once they realise the mob outside their offices are not there to support them the Unions will come around but you should at least have an idea of how to get by for a few weeks. Water/Gas piped supply relies on electric pumps so may go out. If you have an electric hob or oil fired central heating they will go out. So stock up on some Candles, Batteries, wind up radios/torch, a camping gas cooker & drum. If you have oil/gas central heating how will you heat your home if the strike happens in winter (remember not all modern fireplaces have proper surrounds/backs etc to be used with real fires). How will you get water home if you have to depend on a tanker or friends with their own well.

Finally crime will spike. There are many scumbags that our modern judicial system has kept out of jail so expect them to run riot if the lights are out and the Guards are on strike. Look what happened in England last August when the scumbags realised the police couldn't cope. Argentina saw a wave of riots and gun crime in the initial weeks and today crime levels are very very high but they were starting from a much worse position in terms of social inequality and associated criminality. In most cases neighbours will band together and help one another (think of the floods a few years ago where the government seemed paralised to act but local communities helped out). But don't rely completely on the good nature of others and make sure you have good locks on your doors and windows.

I wonder if keeping cash,of any currency, would help a family survive a sudden economic crash.
Food, fuel and other essentials might have a more immediate real value.