Thread: Hell: Buy Duct Tape and Plastic Sheets, and Stockpile Goods But Don't Panic?!? Board: Limbo / Ship of Fools.


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Posted by Laura (# 10) on :
 
How are you responding to the increased threat of Terror?

[ 19. June 2003, 18:01: Message edited by: Erin ]
 
Posted by RuthW (# 13) on :
 
Who was recommending duct tape and plastic? The Red Cross? Or some weirdo sex therapist?

As it is, if we get nuked, I'm a goner. There isn't a single door or window in my apartment that closes properly, and I don't see duct tape and plastic doing me much good.

I voted for stocking up on wine and chocolate, but actually it'll be liquor. Whisky in the winter, gin in the summer.
 
Posted by Eanswyth (# 3363) on :
 
This might make me finally put together the emergency kit I've been meaning to do for a couple of years, but [shrugging smilie] who knows. We already have the AM/FM/police-band-radio-spotlight-red-flashing-beacon-siren thingy with solar and hand-crank power for camping. Oh, and a 60 year old gas mask.
 
Posted by Erin (# 2) on :
 
As I've said before, I couldn't be more alert, and I'm just about to shut down and say "fuck it all". There ain't a damn thing I can do about any of it, so I'll just watch The Proud Family and syndicated Buffy episodes while waiting for the wave of radiation/nerve gas/smallpox to pass over.
 
Posted by Laura (# 10) on :
 
I don't know what they're recommending in London (where they've been warned of a 9/11 level attack possibility), but here, they're telling people to seal off one room in case of biological or radiological attack, and put disaster supplies at the ready. I did buy batteries and I have duct tape and shower curtains to cut up if need be. But mostly, I'm drinking. [Big Grin]
 
Posted by nicolemrw (# 28) on :
 
i'm from new york city. if we get hit again, with a nuke or bios, i'm probably a gonner anyway, so why sweat it?

ya' know i live very close to laguardia airport. in flushing, the planes come over and they're so low some times that, long before 9/11, i would get scared, thinking it was gonna' crash.

now i don't get half so scared. i feel like "hey the worst has already happened". i know thats not logical or sensible, i know theres lots worse that coud happen, but its a gut reaction thing. been there, done that, didn't buy a tee shirt (to tacky) but bought the key chain.

as the viking kittens say "valhalla i am coming". see ya' there.
 
Posted by daisymay (# 1480) on :
 
Laura,
We haven't been told to do anything except be vigilant - in other words to grass on anyone who leaves a bag unattended, keep an eye open for anything odd or suspicious.

All this is similar to what we've been doing for years because of the IRA, so everything seems fairly normal.

OTOH, tanks and hundreds of army bods at Heathrow is a bit extra. I've got to go there on Friday to meet my husband, so I'll let you know what it feels like - assuming they let me through!
 
Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
It just seems totally surreal watching pictures of tanks at Heathrow and armed soldiers patrolling the corridors. Roadblocks at Windsor and heavy security. Birmingham and Leeds airports also under military protection. And yet life goes on elsewhere in the towns and cities as if this is a million miles away and not happening. And nobody has said anything to the rest of us - if they have I haven't heard anything. I feel uneasy in public places, but it isn't going to stop me going anywhere.
 
Posted by David (# 3) on :
 
You guys not lucky enough to live in Australia are doing it really tough. If you lived here, you would have received a fridge magnet in the mail, together with a signed letter from the Prime Minister.

So, I don't need to do anything at all. The fridge magnet is in pride of place on the freezer door, I'm alert but not alarmed, anyone acting suspiciously is immediately reported to the authorities, and all's right with the world.
 
Posted by Laura (# 10) on :
 
It sounds like we're hearing more about whatever the threat is to London than you all are! Not that they're actually telling us anything in particular.

Except that we should do things only people in terrible danger of imminent horrifying attack should do, but definitely not get upset.
Red Cross Guide to Preparedness (based on Alert level)
 
Posted by Eanswyth (# 3363) on :
 
If anyone is actually motivated to make emergency preparations, the FEMA (the US Federal Emergency Management Agency) has produced this disaster preparedness guide. Since I live in earthquake country and a few hundred yards from a huge wilderness preserve that frequently burns, I really ought to have a kit on hand anyways.
 
Posted by Laura (# 10) on :
 
David,

Does the fridge magnet say "Don't Panic" in big friendly letters?
 
Posted by Erin (# 2) on :
 
So Ruth, Laura and I are the only ones who are using this as an excuse to eat and drink until we pass out? I am very disappointed in the rest of you. [Frown]
 
Posted by Joyeux (# 3851) on :
 
I wanted to pick two options (if you number's up and forget the diet!), but it wouldn't let me.

About 7 years ago, I went to Israel with a large group of people. We saw tanks, soldiers, etc., as well as smoke from missile/gunfire. My aunt was soooo worried about me when she heard that my mom was letting me go. Mom's response: "When it's your time to go, it doesn't matter where you are." Aunt: "That doesn't mean you throw her in front of a bus!" I'm not doing much differently... of course, being in a Texas suburb and not on a coastal city might have something to do with it.
 
Posted by Erin (# 2) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Laura:
It sounds like we're hearing more about whatever the threat is to London than you all are! Not that they're actually telling us anything in particular.

Except that we should do things only people in terrible danger of imminent horrifying attack should do, but definitely not get upset.
Red Cross Guide to Preparedness (based on Alert level)

I am psychic. They just drained a liter of blood from me a week ago. [Big Grin]
 
Posted by ChastMastr (# 716) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Erin:
So Ruth, Laura and I are the only ones who are using this as an excuse to eat and drink until we pass out? I am very disappointed in the rest of you. [Frown]

Well, I have been putting on weight...

I have done precisely nothing new to protect from God knows what horror awaits.

Because of car trouble (and periodic snow), however, I have bought some extra groceries.
 
Posted by Ultraspike (# 268) on :
 
Well, I'm actually going to get more duct tape, but no plastic. Duct tape always comes in handy even in peace time. And I will be stocking up on liquor and other home remedies. [Big Grin] I am tempted to start carrying a gas mask around, but that's a slippery slope. Next thing you know I'll be carrying a survival backpack to work every day. As if I don't carry enough crap around already. I will probably just rely on the kindness of strangers, and always wear my Miraculous Medal, as I have every day since 9/11/01.
 
Posted by Erin (# 2) on :
 
Now, I'm looking at the terror alert link that Laura put up, and I have to say I'm laughing my ass off here. I can NOT be the only one who's picturing Bush as the lucky charms leprechaun.

Please tell me I'm not the only one...
 
Posted by Sine Nomine (# 3631) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Ruthzilla:
There isn't a single door or window in my apartment that closes properly, and I don't see duct tape and plastic doing me much good.

THANK YOU! My thought exactly. And if you could, the radon gas would build up in the house and then where would you be.

It's scary but unbelievable in a way. Although I remember my sister coming back from Italy in the 1970's and saying "there were soldiers with machine guns in the airport in Rome!" and we thought "Oh how awful to live like that."

[tangent]Of course I also remember being told as a child that one of the reasons the godless commies were godless was because all the wives and mothers had to go out and work while the children were kept in state-run nurseries. Thank God we weren't like that in America. Hmm.[/tangent]
 
Posted by Fr. Gregory (# 310) on :
 
I wouldn't be too happy flying at the moment ... other than that there's nothing I can do.
 
Posted by Christine (# 330) on :
 
It's not even a very strong fridge magnet! As various people have pointed out, you get better ones from the local pizza shop.
This debate does rather remind me of a conversation I had with an American colleague who, like me, was at primary school during the height of the cold war. In UK the threats were little discussed - we all knew that if nuclear war broke our we'd had it, and we tried to think about it as little as possible. He, however, had drills at school about hiding under desks.
I'm afraid I'm also sceptical enough to wonder who is benefitting from all this ratcheting up of panic. Aussies are a laid-back lot - the 'terrorism kit' seems to have been the butt of many jokes, and thousands have sent them back to the govt as a waste of money. No evidence of anyone changing their wayt of life. But of course we've still got all our batteries etc out
from the bushfire crisis.
If you did seal up a room, how long would it be before the occupants were in danger of suffocation? (thinking of the Balck Hole of Calcutta)
 
Posted by Tom Day (# 3630) on :
 
I voted for doing nothing really, but on second thoughts drinking until I don't care would be a better option. I'm sitting watching News24 just in case something happens.

If we go into heaven pissed as a fart, does that mean we were spirit led?

tom
 
Posted by Laura (# 10) on :
 
Re: suffocation -- good point.
 
Posted by Wm Duncan (# 3021) on :
 
Deciding today that it's time to put the kit together: food, water, batteries, radio ... for work, for home, for car. These are good for our earthquake preparedness too.

The plastic / duct tape thing is a decent idea, I suppose, but that requires really taking the rumors of wars seriously, AND taking seriously the U.S. intelligence folks' ability to predict what's coming. (Before 9-11, who would've predicted 4 airliners hijacked & crashed?)

Wm D
 
Posted by Laura (# 10) on :
 
You guys definitely aren't drinking enough, especially those who've donated blood. See this alarming story about Unsual Clumping in Blood Supply.
 
Posted by grunthel (# 3466) on :
 
I hate, I hate, I hate media-induced panic. [Mad] I think this stuff is such nonsense. Bring it on, I say!
 
Posted by Ultraspike (# 268) on :
 
Yikes, people are really on edge around here. On the subway home there was a panic after some kind of loud backfire sounds were heard. There was a stampede to the last car but I don't know what happened since I got off at the next stop! It was probably nothing but is this how it's going to be from now on, jumping at every loud noise? I must get louder headphones. And now on the news they're telling us to have one room that's totally sealed off (I guess I'd be going into the closet [Eek!] ) with 3 days supplies of food and water. But what about air?? [Eek!] They said not to worry, you'd be evacuated within hours since they have these fancy new detectors going up. [Paranoid] I can see it now: me and 6 cats in the closet. [Eek!]
 
Posted by Regina Shoe (# 4076) on :
 
Well, we already had an emergency supply shelf in our fairly well-protected basement, and it's right next to the rec room, so we would have the most important essentials right there (namely, legos for the kiddies). The down side there is that we would have to live for X number of days on little more than somewhat antiquated cans of Dinty Moore beef stew.

I think we'd be in "the living will envy the dead" territory before too long....
 
Posted by Mamacita (# 3659) on :
 
I heard on the radio this afternoon that stores are just about sold out of duct tape. So maybe I'm screwed. I do have a crank-up radio (my one concession to the Y2K foolishness). In fact, this all reminds me of the Y2K frenzy, people stockpiling canned goods, buying generators, etc.
 
Posted by kingsfold (# 1726) on :
 
Are we suppposed to be doing something? That seems to have passed me by!
 
Posted by Moo (# 107) on :
 
I am assuming that the area where I live would be very far down on the terrorists' priority list.

What, me worry?

Moo
 
Posted by Gracia (# 1812) on :
 
I'm always alert, but i have to say i don't have much confidence that citizen reports of suspicious circumstances will be taken seriously.
About 2 mo. ago, my cousin received at his Post Office Box, a package which had been delivered by mistake.
It contained some cassette tapes which, when he played them (as a musician, he thought they might be music)- were a lot of verbage in what sounded to him like a Middle Eastern tongue (he's not a linguist but he has a really excellent ear).
So, he tried to be a good citizen, by bringing them back to the post office.
They threw them in the garbage in front of him, didn't even give him a phony "Thank you for your vigilance, sir", - or waiting til he was out of sight before disposing of them.
 
Posted by Christine (# 330) on :
 
'The Guardian' is now reporting that British ministers are having to deny publicly that the deployment of troops etc is a stunt. So sceptism is rife.
 
Posted by Eanswyth (# 3363) on :
 
I don't know that I'm at any greater-than-average risk of terrorist attack but I'm in a probable target area for military tactical attack, if it were ever to come to that. I work a little over a mile from a US Marine Air Station and my husband is surrounded by targets; navy bases 3 miles north, 3 miles south and one mile west, including a nuclear sub base.
 
Posted by RuthW (# 13) on :
 
I live and work within spitting distance of the country's biggest port. I have long thought that if the bad guys really want to fuck up the US economy, they'd bomb the Long Beach/Los Angeles port. Or sink a few ships at the harbors' mouths.

What, me, a worse-case scenario thinker? Nah ...
 
Posted by golden key (# 1468) on :
 
Erin, provided there's electricity, I'll be watching Buffy, too--I have enough off-air tapes of that and many other things to stay busy for about a month! And I have tons of books.

BTW, I'd go for intravenous chocolate, rather than wine.

I have some supplies on hand--I live in earthquake land. But I don't want to live in constant panic--went through that during the aftershocks of the '89 quake.

Re: "Don't Panic" in large, friendly letters--maybe it's time to get out our Electronic Thumbs and hitch a ride with the Vogons? (Note to self: take earplugs to keep out the Captain's poetry!)
 
Posted by Lou Poulain (# 1587) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Erin:
So Ruth, Laura and I are the only ones who are using this as an excuse to eat and drink until we pass out? I am very disappointed in the rest of you. [Frown]

Nope, I'm with you also. Not that I need an excuse to open a good red at dinner.

Lou
 
Posted by Wm Duncan (# 3021) on :
 
Just bought batteries, canned food, and to keep hydrated, four nice but cheap bottles of red wine.
 
Posted by Rowen (# 1194) on :
 
Some of us Oz folk were talking in the Chaplaincy Department today. We opened MY packet from the PM, noting the oh-so-important fridge magnet. But the others in this little group figured they might send theirs back- let the Government deal with subsequent waste disposal. Apparently, they are being returned in droves already....
I love the examples given in the booklet about the terrorists caught so far. They begin with the setting of the scene- "In England/London/Wales blah blah"...Mekes me think you English are a naughty lot. Someone rented a garage there and made bombs in it even, so we must be suspiciouis of renters here, or so I gather... and men in gloves... blah blah blah...
I KNOW it is a serious situation. I appreciate that. But how much money did the government spend of FRIDGE MAGNETS!?
 
Posted by Island Exile (# 1340) on :
 
And of course if nothing bad happens (or if you get bored waiting for something bad to happen) there are plenty of other things you can do with Duct Tape
 
Posted by PeterY (# 3962) on :
 
This may seem like a really dumb question, but would like to know how people in the UK and US are feeling about all of this?

Being in Japan my only real contact with the 'outside world' is the internet, especially news; so I've seen all the reports about tanks at Heathrow (what are they going to do with a tank???) etc, but little about what people are really feeling.

Any responses?
 
Posted by anglicanrascal (# 3412) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by David:
You guys not lucky enough to live in Australia are doing it really tough. If you lived here, you would have received a fridge magnet in the mail, together with a signed letter from the Prime Minister.

I am VERY annoyed not to have received one of those - I bet my landlord (with whom I share a letterbox) has nabbed it [Mad] .

Is it possible to ring up and get a pack from somewhere, does anyone know? I really like fridge magnets.
 
Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
quote:
This may seem like a really dumb question, but would like to know how people in the UK and US are feeling about all of this? ... I've seen all the reports about tanks at Heathrow (what are they going to do with a tank???) etc, but little about what people are really feeling.
I for one am bemused at the surreality of it, unnerved by the sight of it all, and feeling somewhat cynical. As you say what can they do with a tank at the airport when you have someone some miles away in a car with a rocket launcher. Also, unless you keep this up forever, the terrorists will just wait until the fuss dies down then have a go. It's all very well for Blair to say that sanctions will kill innocent people so we're better off just having a war. What kind of logic is that?

I find the scenes in America equally hard to take in. I watched the news last night trying to convince myself that what I was seeing was real.
 
Posted by Clyde (# 752) on :
 
I saw a photograph in a newspaper yesterday which made me smile. It showed a couple of tanks moving along a road outside an airport terminal buildimg at Heathrow London.
The tanks had stopped to let two people cross a zebra crossing. (The tank commander in the first tank was looking at those crossing and they were
looking at him)
Somehow I found it amusing. These powerful tanks courtiously waiting for the people to cross.
"After you Claude, No after you Cecil"
 
Posted by ken (# 2460) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by PeterY:
I've seen all the reports about tanks at Heathrow (what are they going to do with a tank???) etc, but little about what people are really feeling.

Any responses?

THey aren't tanks they are armoured cars, not that that makes any difference.

The prevailing feeling in London is "nice show lads, next time do it in Earl's Court and charge admission"

The only alternative view I've heard to that from a real person (i.e. not a radio presenter interviewing a politician) is that it is meant to frighten people away from the anti-war demonstration on Saturday.

My ex-wife used it as a reason to stop our 13-year-old daughter going to the demo with schoolfriends. But it also roused her to go herself with her new husband and take all her kids...

On the BBC radio news this morning the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police replied to the question "what is it all for?", and I think I more or less quote:

quote:

A combination of circumstances arose which allowed us to mount a very effective combined operation

In other words "it was a practice, but I don't want to say that because it will embarrass my boss".

Government came out at the last minute with a claim that "al Qaeda" had surface to air missiles

The problem here is that

- we already knew that, after all we sold some of them to them

- so have the IRA & we've had them around here for decades

- WTF are Scorpions at the airport going to do about it anyway? If someone has smuggled one into Britain they proibably intend to fire it from their back garden, or a truck in the street.
 
Posted by Kitten (# 1179) on :
 
On the on hand I feel the government may be promoting the threat of terrorist attack to try to get more public opinion behind their war plans.

On the other hand, a very dear friend has to be in London next week and I'm worrying like hell.

(and I do have a small roll of duct tape in my pocket)
 
Posted by sophs (# 2296) on :
 
i may have missed this but what is on the fridge magnets?

Personally i'm not really panicing, just slightly worried...

Even more now that stuff happening in other countries is more personal now, because i "know" people there.
 
Posted by Tom Day (# 3630) on :
 
Well, me made it through the night over here...

Seems to me as though we're just waiting for something to happen now, both countries are on such a high alert that its almost like everyone is expecting an attack. Is it a good idea to have the population quite panicky?

tom (wondering if it is too early to start on the whisky)
 
Posted by Rowen (# 1194) on :
 
A summary of what Australians need to know about terrorism and reporting suspects.... plus phone numbers and space to write any others you need.... pizza delivery and such like....
The government spent a fortune on the crummy, not very prof.-looking things.
But still, a magnet is ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmm kinda ummm er fun...... Isn't it?
Gosh, but it makes me feel safe... And how tragic for anglican rascal to not have one of his oqn..... [Big Grin]
 
Posted by Rowen (# 1194) on :
 
Sorry, the above answer is to sophs' question....
 
Posted by Erin (# 2) on :
 
How come my government doesn't ever do anything cool like manufacture kitchen magnets? All they do is come up with a stupid terror alert system that means jackshit.

I want a magnet!
 
Posted by sophs (# 2296) on :
 
Well, you could shelter under the fridge magnet during an attack?
[stupidness]
And why doesn't the UK get them!?! I'm jealous now...the US gets told to stockpile, Austrailia gets fridge magnets and all the UK gets is troops in an airport...It's not fair!
[/stupidness] [Roll Eyes]
 
Posted by sophs (# 2296) on :
 
Maybe we should manufacture SoF magnets...

"What to do in case of a troll"
 
Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
Will swop. 1 tank (or armoured car) for fridge magnet.
 
Posted by Rowen (# 1194) on :
 
Dear Erin, send me much money- and buy mine, k?
Alternitively I could scan into the computer and send you a piccy as an attachment.
This would make you all feel better, hey? A nice magnet, hmmmmmmm? [Big Grin]
 
Posted by Nunc Dimittis (# 848) on :
 
Well. I count myself as EXTREMELY blessed.

Because. I got TWO whole fridge magnets. (For some reason the pack got delivered to us twice; they obviously felt we hadn't imbibed it properly.)
 
Posted by Lots of Yay (# 2790) on :
 
Ah I only got one magnet! I was pretty disappointed with it - I was hoping for something a bit more robust... I mean it has to withstand a nuclear bomb and we need to be able to wash all the biological agents off it... and Australia is fairly fire prone too - it should be fireproof!

I am excited about the terrorist alert hotline though! I'm going to put it in the speed dial on my phone in case I see anything suspicious. In fact, today two cars went the wrong way down my street - if that isn't suspicious I don't know what is.
 
Posted by sarkycow (# 1012) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Nunc Dimittis:
Well. I count myself as EXTREMELY blessed.

Because. I got TWO whole fridge magnets. (For some reason the pack got delivered to us twice; they obviously felt we hadn't imbibed it properly.)

If you've got two, the only decent thing is to auction one off to your Shipmates.

Hey, maybe all the Aussies contingency could stockpile the magnets, then sell them off around the world? [Big Grin]

And Erin - I would say fuck the diet and I'll drink the place dry, but that was my New Year's resolution [Wink] So far I'm doing well at keeping it.

Viki
 
Posted by Rowen (# 1194) on :
 
No, Yay, dear.... remember you have to also check them for false number plates ... as if you could tell just by looking.... Or maybe we should ask!
"Scuse me, you have a lot of money on you, and are wearing gloves. You rent your garage- but what I really wanna know - are those false number plates on your car?"
[Big Grin]
 
Posted by babybear (# 34) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Rowen:
Dear Erin, send me much money- and buy mine, k?

Tis probably teason to sell a magnet sent to you by your government!

I heard of a woman who used to have a collection of fridge magnets. Instead of keeping them on the side of her fridge, she put them on the side of her computer. She couldn't understand it when her heard drive started playing up!

bb
 
Posted by Lots of Yay (# 2790) on :
 
Ah yes. Numberplates. Hmmm the handy government terrorist handbook doesn't state a protocol for misdirected vehicles as far as I remember... ARGH! I can't find the handbook! What should I do? [Help] [Help] [Help]
 
Posted by Fantine (# 3985) on :
 
I don't know whether this is me just being thick but can I ask why they have brought tanks into Heathrow airport but kept the place open. How is that going to help in the event of mass terrorist action!
I don't know are they hoping to crush terrorists, if so how will they know who is a terrorist and who is a passenger!

Is it me or is the world going mad!
 
Posted by Rowen (# 1194) on :
 
Make it up....

When discovering cars going wrong way down my street, wearing false number plates,and worried that they may be naughty cars, grab the One Ring and obliterate them. Then send One Ring to me, John Howard, (the charming leader of this country) and I am likely to obliterate us all, or at the very least, raise taxes. [Big Grin]
 
Posted by Gill H (# 68) on :
 
Notice they didn't bother with the other airports. Obviously terrorists don't use cheapie airlines.

I remember all the panic in the 80s about nuclear bunkers, and then walking around fearing Skylab would drop on our heads. There's always something to panic about. Me, I just head for the nearest chocolate.
 
Posted by Rowen (# 1194) on :
 
Above answer was responding to Yay.... memo to self- be quicker off mark.....
 
Posted by Tom Day (# 3630) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Fantine:
I don't know whether this is me just being thick but can I ask why they have brought tanks into Heathrow airport but kept the place open. How is that going to help in the event of mass terrorist action!
I don't know are they hoping to crush terrorists, if so how will they know who is a terrorist and who is a passenger!

Is it me or is the world going mad!

Im assuming there are a few reasons

tom
 
Posted by Moo (# 107) on :
 
quote:
A summary of what Australians need to know about terrorism and reporting suspects.... plus phone numbers and space to write any others you need.... pizza delivery and such like....
How large is this thing, if it has all that information on it?

Moo
 
Posted by Lots of Yay (# 2790) on :
 
Well... I don't have a rule handy but it's a chunk of cardboard a handspan (my handspan is an octave and one note on a standard piano) long and from the base of my thumb to the top of my long finger wide.

It's just a piece of carboard with a little magnet stuck on the back really (hence the complaints about how dodgy it is).
 
Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Gill H:
Notice they didn't bother with the other airports. Obviously terrorists don't use cheapie airlines.

I had just made that very remark to my mother a few months ago saying that we would be quite safe going by Ryanair as they wouldn't use cheapie airlines, and that very night it was on the news that someone had tried to hijack a Ryanair plane to Stockholm.
 
Posted by Nunc Dimittis (# 848) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Rowen:
Make it up....

When discovering cars going wrong way down my street, wearing false number plates,and worried that they may be naughty cars, grab the One Ring and obliterate them. Then send One Ring to me, John Howard, (the charming leader of this country) and I am likely to obliterate us all, or at the very least, raise taxes. [Big Grin]

Spray-painted on the fence of Royal Randwick Racecourse:

quote:
Gollum-Howard, Lord of the Rich
[Snigger]
 
Posted by Gambit (# 766) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Tom Day:
tom (wondering if it is too early to start on the whisky)

It is never too early to start on the whisky.

Gambit
(Really needs to be faster responding)
 
Posted by Beethoven (# 114) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Ultraspike:
...And now on the news they're telling us to have one room that's totally sealed off (I guess I'd be going into the closet [Eek!] ) with 3 days supplies of food and water. But what about air?? [Eek!] They said not to worry, you'd be evacuated within hours since they have these fancy new detectors going up. [Paranoid] I can see it now: me and 6 cats in the closet. [Eek!]

OK, so you need to take 3 days' worth of food & water, but not to worry, you'll be out within hours. Hmmm... Is it just me, or does that not quite seem to add up? [Paranoid]
 
Posted by Qestia (# 717) on :
 
How did I miss all this? I stopped taking Rummy seriously a long time ago, I guess. But if something's really going down, why on earth am I on a diet right now? I haven't had chocolate for two days! Now that is a REAL emergency.
 
Posted by bessie rosebride (# 1738) on :
 
I'll have no money to go out and buy any of these supplies until my next paycheck. Even then, I really can't afford to be buying a stockpile of food. Batteries aren't cheap either. I have one roll of ducktape; I know where a second one is at work. Plastic sheeting? Yeah, right. Where do you buy that and it sounds costly too.

I haven't noticed my marvelous government direct depositing any funds into my bank account to assist me with my preparations. Once again, the wealthy will be snug and cosy and the rest of us will survive 3 minutes or 3 days at most. (I heard on NPR someone say we'd suffocate in our little sealed off rooms in about 3 days.)

I don't relish the idea of spending the rest of my life sealed away in a small windowless bathroom with Fearless and her litter box. [Disappointed]

I'm joining Erin's group, I've decided. We can sit online til they pull the Big Plug and eat chocolate cake and drink wine. [Roll Eyes]
 
Posted by Clyde (# 752) on :
 
I'm not too familiar with the term 'duct' tape.
(I know of sellotape of course)
Reading this thread I get the impression that duct tape seems to be used for 'all sorts of purposes' other than taping up Ducts. Can anyone clarify please.
 
Posted by Erin (# 2) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by bessie rosebride:
I'll have no money to go out and buy any of these supplies until my next paycheck. Even then, I really can't afford to be buying a stockpile of food. Batteries aren't cheap either. I have one roll of ducktape; I know where a second one is at work. Plastic sheeting? Yeah, right. Where do you buy that and it sounds costly too.

You're right, batteries are not cheap and I refuse to waste my battery money on such frivolous items as flashlights and radios when I need to power other things that give me FAR greater pleasure. [Big Grin]
 
Posted by CorgiGreta (# 443) on :
 
I must say that the latest news about N.Korea possessing an ICBM or two is making me a bit nervous, not that they would pick Los Angeles as a likely target. I'm fairly confident they would rather take out some place like Bucks Creek, Oregon.

Greta
 
Posted by Clyde (# 752) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by CorgiGreta:
I must say that the latest news about N.Korea possessing an ICBM or two is making me a bit nervous, not that they would pick Los Angeles as a likely target. I'm fairly confident they would rather take out some place like Bucks Creek, Oregon.

Greta

Are they not most likely to target all the Duct Tape factories first, wherever they may be.
 
Posted by Ultraspike (# 268) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Clyde:
I'm not too familiar with the term 'duct' tape.
(I know of sellotape of course)
Reading this thread I get the impression that duct tape seems to be used for 'all sorts of purposes' other than taping up Ducts. Can anyone clarify please.

Clyde, here is all you'll need to know about duct (or duck as some say) tape. It's a wonderfully strong and water resistant tape useful for many things such as taping mouths shut, taping hands together, and also for sealing up ducts and windows. You can also use it for emergency repairs of leaky pipes and I'm sure many other things.
 
Posted by Clyde (# 752) on :
 
Thanks Ultraspike.
 
Posted by maleveque (# 132) on :
 
Okay you Brits and Aussies - I will see your tanks at Heathrow and fridge magnets and raise you anti-aircraft guns mounted on Humvees all over Our Fair City. I actually haven't seen any yet, but there are pictures in the paper (don't watch TV - too scary). I do hear the air patrols over us - loud noises all night long.
Seriously, the thing that worries me most is being separated from my near and dear in the event of a panic (much less an attack). Cell phones were useless here on 9/11 - I'm told the networks were purposely shut down to prevent hypothetical remote-controlled bombs being detonated.
DH and I have decided that the children may not go on planned field trips to the Mall (that's where the U.S. Capitol, Washington Monument, and Smithsonian Museums are for those of you not from here). I'm surprised that the schools haven't cancelled said field trips!
Other than that, we're not doing a whole lot of preparation for attack. It seems rather pointless.
Anne L.
 
Posted by Smudgie (# 2716) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Clyde:
I'm not too familiar with the term 'duct' tape.
(I know of sellotape of course)
Reading this thread I get the impression that duct tape seems to be used for 'all sorts of purposes' other than taping up Ducts. Can anyone clarify please.

In the absence of Chris this afternoon, I suppose I am going to have to be the one to post this URL to help you in your understanding of duct tape
 
Posted by heathen mama (# 3767) on :
 
We haven't made any preparations. Instead, I am responding to all of this by becoming an internet news junkie...all day long I am clicking on my news links to see if some town somewhere has blown up. I feel like such a vulture. I don't know that I will actually make any preparations until something happens, at which point it will be too late, and any duct tape left will be $50 a roll.

To you Aussies: be sure to hold on to those magnets, as they will be lovely momentos to hand down to future generations! I'd love to have some of those old pamphlets on the proper way to secure yourself under a desk in case of communist nuclear invasion.
 
Posted by nicolemrw (# 28) on :
 
my favorite duct tape story: i was watching an imax film about the international space station with my daughter. they discussed the problem of getting parts made in different countries to fit together properly. i whispered to my daughter "duct tape". the next scene was of the astronauts on the space station... and sure enough, each one had a roll of duct tape on their belt! [Big Grin]
 
Posted by heathen mama (# 3767) on :
 
Sudden paranoid thought: what if all of the duct tape factories are financing al-Quaida? Oh the irony!
 
Posted by Ultraspike (# 268) on :
 
Did you know you can also use duct tape to get rid of warts? So in your spare time there in your sealed room ...

It just occurred to me that the terrorists really don't have to do anything (although they probably will) but sit back and watch us panic and go broke paying for all the defenses we're going to need. [Mad]
 
Posted by zephirine of the roses (# 3323) on :
 
sealed in a small room with 3 flatulant males. o great. should i mention what time of month it is? [Mad]
 
Posted by tomb (# 174) on :
 
Duct tape and plastic wrap.... Wasn't there a book that came out in the 70s or 80s that recommended those items as part of a strategy for women to use to put "spice" back in their marriage?
 
Posted by ChastMastr (# 716) on :
 
The Sensuous Woman.

Google, Google, Google, people... [Roll Eyes]
 
Posted by bessie rosebride (# 1738) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Erin:
You're right, batteries are not cheap and I refuse to waste my battery money on such frivolous items as flashlights and radios when I need to power other things that give me FAR greater pleasure. [Big Grin]

Well, exactly.

Especially in anxiety provoking times such as these, pleasure is everything. (... must add to chocolate and wine list...) [Wink]
 
Posted by OgtheDim (# 3200) on :
 
Hmmm...well some guy from Venezuela had a live grenade at Heathrow, but apart from him...nothing big yet.

The panic watch continues... get your regular updates on CNN and Google news. [Wink]
 
Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
I'm certainly not going to Guatemala - someone from my choir was murdered there whilst he was on holiday. I think in Cream Tealand you are more likely to get mown down in the lanes by a speeding driver, than bumped off by a terrorist. But you never know...... [Paranoid]
 
Posted by Kyzyl (# 374) on :
 
Just got back from three glorious days "up north" along Lake Superior. Would have been perfect had it not been for four F-14's playing Top Gun over the lake. Damn noisy sons-a-bitches and really, really close to supersonic. I wonder if they set off boomers over the lake for grins?

In my past visits up there I have never seen/heard the jets. I guess they're just keeping us safe from the Canadians [Paranoid]
 
Posted by Vague (# 2398) on :
 
I give up. The thought of being sealed into a room with my kids for weeks on end whilst a government who can't even run an integrated public transport system tries to deal with the end of the world is too much to bear. [Eek!]

Has anyone remembered to stock up on contraceptives? There might not be too many ways to keep you and your loved one occupied, and who would want to bring children into what ever is left of the world? [Wink]
 
Posted by Ken Osis (# 2999) on :
 
I'm responding to the increased threat of Terror by going to central London to: (delete as appropriate)

a. form a massive terrorist target with 500k+ other people.
b. be kept in Hyde Park for hours against my will by the police & military [Embarrassed]
c. have a major attack of agoraphobia
d. tell the chimp & his monkey (no offence to simian friends) that attacking a country that has not attacked us is immoral
e. visit Tate Modern
f. be vilified by the right-wing press and New Labour leadership
g. have a "£$%ing long walk home cos the Tube isn't running.
h. exercise my democratic right to be a pain in the £$%& from time to time.

See you there......... [Smile] [Smile]
 
Posted by Ultraspike (# 268) on :
 
According to this article the sealed room strategy is only good for certain types of chemical attacks, and then only for a limited amount of time, since eventually either the oxygen will run out or the fumes will seep in within a few hours. For a radiological attack it would do no good at all. In that case your church basement might be the safest place, or a subway tunnel. [Eek!]
 
Posted by SirJeff (# 4089) on :
 
I honestly am not terribly worried about anything happening here. At work yesterday they bought the plastic sheets and duct tape just in case. How exactly that is going to make me feel more secure I don't know.

However, my parents are on their way to London for a week. This, after seeing the tanks at Heathrow, is freaking me out. I've become a worrywart in spite of myself.
 
Posted by Laura (# 10) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by maleveque:

DH and I have decided that the children may not go on planned field trips to the Mall (that's where the U.S. Capitol, Washington Monument, and Smithsonian Museums are for those of you not from here). I'm surprised that the schools haven't cancelled said field trips!
Other than that, we're not doing a whole lot of preparation for attack. It seems rather pointless.
Anne L.

I work near the Capitol. I'm more worried about *me* than that anything will go wrong in the frankly, please-God-not-a-terribly-attractive-as-a-target neighborhood in which I live. It wouldn't be the eye-catching news story the bastards are usually angling for. "Small gas bomb thrown near a modest Cape Cod. This being daytime in an area where everybody works, nobody was at home. Fuzz-pie is expected to make a recovery. Services will be held Saturday at Faithful Companions' Eternal Rest for Fluffy and Cleopatra, the latest American victims of Terror."
 
Posted by coffee jim (# 3510) on :
 
I'm basking in the little irony that Belfast is probably a safer place for me re: terrorist attack than most major English cities (and isn't it interesting how the word 'terrorist' has been redefined?).
 
Posted by CorgiGreta (# 443) on :
 
I have found that the only item that is more useful than duct tape is earthquake tacky. It seems that everything I possess is held together by duct tape or earthquake tacky. Oh, and I think a chopstick is the world's most useful tool. Armed with these three items, I am ready for anything.

Greta
 
Posted by nicolemrw (# 28) on :
 
my presonal favorite all purpose stuff is dental floss. the waxed kind. amazing what you can do with it.
 
Posted by David (# 3) on :
 
I have decided that anyone who knows the second verse of the Australian national anthem is acting suspiciously, and should be reported immediately.
 
Posted by multipara (# 2918) on :
 
Even more suspicious behaviour-knowing all the words of the first verse....
 
Posted by David (# 3) on :
 
Right, I'm off to report my children's entire school.
 
Posted by Lots of Yay (# 2790) on :
 
Australians all like ostriches
For we are young and free...

 
Posted by multipara (# 2918) on :
 
"Australians all like ostriches"????!!!!

Jeez,the perversity of some people.

Speak for yourself, mate.
 
Posted by David (# 3) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Lots of Yay:
Australians all like ostriches
For we are young and free...

I'm a bit suspicious of this.
 
Posted by anglicanrascal (# 3412) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Lots of Yay:
It's just a piece of carboard with a little magnet stuck on the back really (hence the complaints about how dodgy it is).

Oh good - my lusting after the fridge magnet has subsided after that news. Now if it were a proper fully-magnetised printed magnet, that would be a different story.

I was at a home for the elderly this morning and there was a whole pile of the letters (presumably with the "fridge magnets" still inside) on the table - it was all I could do not to stick a few copies up my jumper (not that I was wearing a jumper - it's just how the saying goes) and try to act innocent. But I restrained myself. Thank goodness, huh? All that guilt over a wannabe cardboard-stuck-to-a-magnet kinda frige magnet.
 
Posted by zephirine of the roses (# 3323) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Kyzyl:
Just got back from three glorious days "up north" along Lake Superior. Would have been perfect had it not been for four F-14's playing Top Gun over the lake. Damn noisy sons-a-bitches and really, really close to supersonic. I wonder if they set off boomers over the lake for grins?

In my past visits up there I have never seen/heard the jets. I guess they're just keeping us safe from the Canadians [Paranoid]

they used to do that over lake ontario in the summer. shook the house, rattled the teacups and scared the sh*t out of the aging flowerchild puttering in the garden. i think enough people complained that they stopped creating the sonic booms.
 
Posted by jedijudy (# 1059) on :
 
Imagine my surprise to find out that this pastic/duct tape thing was for real. I thought it was a sneaky way to stimulate the economy. If "they" are really serious about readying our homes for a possible attack, wouldn't you think they would have added WD-40 to the list? I mean, come on. How are we supposed to take the sticky off the windows and doors after unsealing our homes?

Can I come to the wine and chocolate party, instead?
 
Posted by Laura (# 10) on :
 
Well, and if you really did manage to seal off a room, that'd be good for a bit, but you'd need to scrub the carbon dioxide after a while, right?
 
Posted by boyinthebands (# 4040) on :
 
I was fine in Our Fair City until I drove into Virginia to get everyday groceries, and had the car radio on. By the time I got to Trader Joe's (a quick prayer of thanks from all who know the pleasures of Trader Joe's, please) I was a wreck.

It was enough for me to drop a bottle of wine in the buggy (but no water). And a box of Carr's Ginger Lemon Cremes.

And -- forget the duct tape -- I wonder, under what wrethced conditions would we cancel worship? What if the church gets irradiated? I don't even want to think about it all.

Writing sixteen blocks from the White House
 
Posted by Duo Seraphim (# 3251) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by sarkycow:
quote:
Originally posted by Nunc Dimittis:
Well. I count myself as EXTREMELY blessed.

Because. I got TWO whole fridge magnets. (For some reason the pack got delivered to us twice; they obviously felt we hadn't imbibed it properly.)

If you've got two, the only decent thing is to auction one off to your Shipmates.

Hey, maybe all the Aussies contingency could stockpile the magnets, then sell them off around the world? [Big Grin]


I'm feeling generous, sarkycow. You can have mine for free.
 
Posted by Rowen (# 1194) on :
 
Ok, fellow-Aussies, I need to confess my suspicious behaviour. When I was a chaplain at a church school, we sang the whole anthem every day. I didn't want to, but it kind of got in my brain and, sadly, stayed there. So now, I can think of all the verses of the song- again sadly, without even trying.
What are you folk gonna do about that, hmmm?
PLUS- I used to know the Crocodile Man- whose family occasionally attended a church I was minister of, long ago.
Is this a worse crime than the anthem....? Like, knowing him?
[Big Grin]
 
Posted by Sine Nomine (# 3631) on :
 
I was relieved to see on the local news last night that an area dam is being guarded by the old retired codgers who regularly fish at the lake. They assured the perky TV interviewer that they were watching for anything suspicious. Like somebody in a Lawrence of Arabia costume with a bundle of dynamite, I guess. They did report a hiker whose dog was wearing a backpack. Now that's suspicious.
 
Posted by The Charientist (# 2269) on :
 
As I heard one radio commentator say, in the face of chemical or biological weapons, all your plastic and duct tape will only be useful for wrapping up your rigid corpse.

Yay's mention of wrong-way drivers has inspired me to report the guy -- well, the three guys -- who ran a red light in front of me this morning.

Luckily for us all, there are plenty of survival tips posted on Friday's edition of Something Awful.
 
Posted by nicolemrw (# 28) on :
 
zepharine:

quote:
they used to do that over lake ontario in the summer. shook the house, rattled the teacups and scared the sh*t out of the aging flowerchild puttering in the garden. i think enough people complained that they stopped creating the sonic booms.

yeah, i remember hearing one once on vacation. not nice!

had a conversation last night with the mother of one of my daughters school-mates while we waited for the bus. we pretty much agreed that the whole duct tape and plastic thing was rediculous, and if we went, we went. i suspect this is general ny feeling... we've grown fatalistic.
 
Posted by nicolemrw (# 28) on :
 
oh and sorry to double post, but i should have added, even the mayor is poo-pooing the duct tape and plastic sheeting idea. here's a link:

buy metro-cards not duct tape
 
Posted by ChastMastr (# 716) on :
 
I'm hoping this report means things are less bad than they have sounded...

ABC News: False Alarm? Terror Alert Partly Based on Fabricated Information

Here's hoping, anyway.

David
 
Posted by ken (# 2460) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Ken Osis:

b. be kept in Hyde Park for hours against my will by the police & military

I think they'll just buzz us low with helicopters to stop us hearing the speeches. The place to avoid is Trafalgar Square after about 16:00 - and the whole Whitehall/St. James/Picadilly/Green Park area of course.
 
Posted by ken (# 2460) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by coffee jim:
isn't it interesting how the word 'terrorist' has been redefined?

It used to mean people who attack 3rd parties in war in order to intimidate them.

Then it meant people who did that as long as they weren't told to do it by their government

Now, in the USA it means "Arabs". In Britain it means "Refugees".
 
Posted by daisymay (# 1480) on :
 
I've just came back from Heathrow, Terminal 4, (not Terminal 2 which they evacuated earlier today apparently) and I am so disappointed because I did not see a single tank. [Frown]

There were the usual armed security police, and then - three camouflaged, armed with machine guns, soldiers. [Big Grin] They walked through the arrivals area in that way of waving the guns and covering each other and looking all around.

Loads of security announcements, but everything seemed normal! [Cool]
 
Posted by ChastMastr (# 716) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by boyinthebands:
By the time I got to Trader Joe's (a quick prayer of thanks from all who know the pleasures of Trader Joe's, please)

[Not worthy!]

quote:
Writing sixteen blocks from the White House
Five here. [Frown] In the Old Post Office Building for those who know it.

Right, I'm off to lunch break at Filene's Basement, which is having a sale. And perhaps the ABC (liquor) shop on the way back...

David
currently my car does not run, so if something happens, I'm trapped, trapped like a rat, O the humanity of it
 
Posted by Qestia (# 717) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by ken:
quote:
Originally posted by coffee jim:
isn't it interesting how the word 'terrorist' has been redefined?

Now, in the USA it means "Arabs".
Yet another news item I missed! I thought it referred to people who deliberately targeted civilians in their attacks. Boy, am I out of touch!
[Roll Eyes]

Sheesh--and I work for a university with hundreds of Arab students. Better get on my hotline to the FBI!
 
Posted by George (in Montreal) (# 3964) on :
 
In today's Montreal Gazette, Aislin, our editorial cartoonist, came up with the best use of duct tape I've seen to date. Try this: web page

And no, I haven't bought any duct tape or plastic sheeting...
 
Posted by Joan Rasch (# 49) on :
 
I've been using plastic and duct tape recently, but only because I live in a flat with a luke-warm-water "heating" system and swiss-cheese window frames.

Joan [chilly in Boston] Rasch
 
Posted by IconiumBound (# 754) on :
 
Oh Well, Fumble Bumble Inc (FBI) has just admitted that the informant that caused the elevatiuon of the threat level was lying. Seems they released his story and got the panic started before they bothered to give the guy a lie dectector test which he failed.
So...nevermind.
 
Posted by Elizabeth Anne (# 3555) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by ken:
quote:
Originally posted by coffee jim:
isn't it interesting how the word 'terrorist' has been redefined?

Now, in the USA it means "Arabs".
I have a Muslim surname. I suppose my telephone's already bugged, my e-mail address on file, and my home under CIA surveillance. I guess it's only a matter of time before I get shipped off to a relocation camp in the desert somewhere.
 
Posted by heathen mama (# 3767) on :
 
(whispers)
**shh everybody...Elizabeth Anne is one of 'them'. I knew it! shhhh!**
 
Posted by clare (# 17) on :
 
Can some-one scan in and link to their fridge magnet? Large tracks of the non-australian world are developing an unhealthy obsession with them. I know I am.

Action? Off to buy some shares in duct tape.

clare
 
Posted by Clyde (# 752) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by George (in Montreal):
In today's Montreal Gazette, Aislin, our editorial cartoonist, came up with the best use of duct tape I've seen to date. Try this: web page

And no, I haven't bought any duct tape or plastic sheeting...

Thanks George, very amusing.
 
Posted by bessie rosebride (# 1738) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by IconiumBound:
Oh Well, Fumble Bumble Inc (FBI) has just admitted that the informant that caused the elevatiuon of the threat level was lying. Seems they released his story and got the panic started before they bothered to give the guy a lie dectector test which he failed.
So...nevermind.

It figures. My taxes at work! Idiotic! [Mad]

Well at least I didn't buy plastic sheeting. Everything else can be used during hurricane season... [Disappointed]
 
Posted by Mamacita (# 3659) on :
 
Here's more silliness:

Earlier this week our local news reported on a young pilot who had completed his basic training and while returning to base (or whatever) the route took him over his home town of Geneseo, Illinois - a small town on the prairie. He decided that for laughs he would buzz his hometown. Many of the residents were terrified at the sight of a low-flying plane, went screaming into the street, general mayhem ensued, etc.
An ill-advised stunt, yes, but calm down, people!

PS: Welcome, boyinthebands, and hooray for Trader Joe's!
 
Posted by Zach82 (# 3208) on :
 
I don't live in a big city, so I don't worry about terrorist attacks.

Zach
 
Posted by Christine (# 330) on :
 
I note that the 'Rapture Index' - as cited on the front page of SoF - had been going DOWN for the last few weeks. As the rest of the world increases its concern about war, terrorism etc, the masters of paranoia are getting less worried !
 
Posted by Lots of Yay (# 2790) on :
 
I'd have to restart my computer to scan in my magnet however I've just taken a photo with my digital camera - fairly bad quality (after the great hard drive catastrophe of 2003 things haven't been working quite the same... I'd say terrorists are to blame) but it does the job. However I don't have a website to put it on... now what do I do? Panic!!!
 
Posted by Lots of Yay (# 2790) on :
 
Okay, have located scanned in magnet here .
 
Posted by clare (# 17) on :
 
Thank-you kindly. That must be a HUGE fridge magnet (as fridget magnets go). However, I'm concerned that there are not enough lines for recording numbers for pizza deliveries, and nowhere does it ask you to specify the location of the duct tape.

clare
 
Posted by David (# 3) on :
 
We don't do duct tape here. You don't need it if you've got a fridge magnet.
 
Posted by RuthW (# 13) on :
 
I feel much better now. We don't have a fridge magnet, but we have a website:

www.ready.gov
 
Posted by RuthW (# 13) on :
 
Here's a good bit:

quote:
Be prepared to improvise with what you have on hand to protect your nose, mouth, eyes and cuts in your skin. Anything that fits snugly over your nose and mouth, including any dense-weave cotton material, can help filter contaminants in an emergency.
So if Saddam or OBL put some nasty stuff in the air, everybody be prepared to pull up your shirt over your nose.
 
Posted by David (# 3) on :
 
Problem is, if you do that shirt-pulling-over-the-face thing, people might think you're acting suspiciously and start yelling "Terrorist" and pointing in your general direction.
 
Posted by clare (# 17) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by RuthW:
So if Saddam or OBL put some nasty stuff in the air, everybody be prepared to pull up your shirt over your nose.

In that case I'm doing a sort through my underwear, weeding out those bras 'not suitable for exposure' in case of terrorist attack.
 
Posted by heathen mama (# 3767) on :
 
LOL David!

We're also advised to have in our kits a few pairs of sterile latex gloves...but in Australia, wearing gloves is considered suspicious behavior.
I'm beginning to think that the Australians are profiling us! "Kangaroo Jack" may have been the final straw.
 
Posted by Lots of Yay (# 2790) on :
 
I'm sure we're supposed have latex gloves too! I'll just get our anti-terrorist manual from it's central location in the house (it has to be accessible) and look that up... Yes, on page 12 it states that our emergency kit should include "a torch, a battery operated radio, a first aid kit including DISPOSABLE LATEX GLOVES, and copies of important personal documents."

However if I saw someone wearing their latex gloves down the street I would call 1800 123 400 because that is suspicious behaviour. Although it could just be a literal interpretation of "Prepare an emergency kit and keep it where you can find it easily".
 
Posted by golden key (# 1468) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Christine:
I note that the 'Rapture Index' - as cited on the front page of SoF - had been going DOWN for the last few weeks. As the rest of the world increases its concern about war, terrorism etc, the masters of paranoia are getting less worried !

Either that, or they think God's thoroughly sick of us.
 
Posted by Amos (# 44) on :
 
Those looked like tanks to me when I passed them at Heathrow on my way to the States (on the 11th), though I have only dinky models to compare them to. We also saw teenaged soldiers with machine guns (their hands must have been freezing--it was a cold morning). The airport security was fairly tight too--nowhere more so than in Minneapolis where every passenger had their checked baggage swabbed (for traces of explosives?) xrayed, and escorted to the counter by a security guy. You can imagine what the lines (queues) were like.

Among the people I met, nobody was going the plastic sheeting and duct-tape route, and everyone was curious as to whether anyone else was. The family remembered all too well how Aunt Hannah had stockpiled sugar through both World Wars, and how one grandmother had kept the various Civil Defence recommendations to the letter for fifty years, with a closet full of nonperishables kept carefully up to date. My English spouse has always been a skeptic with respect to duct tape anyway. He says it doesn't stick very well. The only hardware store I stopped at was doing a blazing business in snow shovels and salt, but the duct tape was barely moving, and they'd not bothered to order any extra plastic sheeting.

IMO this thread has a heavenly twin in the old 'Why do people stockpile toilet paper in the event of a blizzard?' thread. In the event of a terrorist attack, my guess is that people would do as they do when the forecast is for snow!
 
Posted by Icarus Coot (# 220) on :
 
Well, ya know we are a laid back kinda mob what with the fridge magnet an' all. But yas all can bow before our latest effort:

700 sheilas and 250 blokes go starkers to spread the anti-war message.

We do maintain certain standards of decorum though, the events were separated by 2 weeks and the girls were in a paddock and the boys on tha footy field.
 
Posted by Tom Day (# 3630) on :
 
Well, did your nude protesters make shapes, ours did bbc news

And it was the middle of winter tom shivers just thinking about it

Tom
 
Posted by Ultraspike (# 268) on :
 
Yes, we had nude women spelling out "No Bush" or some such curious message in the blizzard last week in Central Park. Sorry I missed it. [Roll Eyes]

As for the many practical uses for duct tape, Here is one from that always practical state of Texas.
 
Posted by David (# 3) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Ultraspike:
Yes, we had nude women spelling out "No Bush" or some such curious message in the blizzard last week in Central Park. Sorry I missed it. [Roll Eyes]

They went for the full Brazilian?
 
Posted by Laura (# 10) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by David:
quote:
Originally posted by Ultraspike:
Yes, we had nude women spelling out "No Bush" or some such curious message in the blizzard last week in Central Park. Sorry I missed it. [Roll Eyes]

They went for the full Brazilian?
[pained smilie]

Ouch!

[/pained smilie]
 
Posted by Eanswyth (# 3363) on :
 
I hope they didn't use duct tape as the depilatory. [Eek!] And I thought wax was bad.
 
Posted by RuthW (# 13) on :
 
On the radio today they're saying the threat alert level is going back down a step here in the US. Good thing, too - my stockpile of chocolate and single malt is getting dangerously low.
 
Posted by bessie rosebride (# 1738) on :
 
Yes, I've been munching my way through my stash, too. Last night, I ate all the dried fruit and the cheese curls.
 
Posted by heathen mama (# 3767) on :
 
Does this mean I can take off the decontamination suit I've been wearing for 3 weeks? And I've just figured out how to accessorize it.
 
Posted by Rowen (# 1194) on :
 
I was at a friend's last night, and asked where the loo paper rolls were kept. She pointed to the Australian government terrorist pack on the table and we fell about laughing. I had not seen this couple for some weeks- since before the arrival of the pack... but it is nice to know that we are all taking it seriously, and that households round the nation are joking about it, uninfluenced by each other... [Big Grin]
 
Posted by Lots of Yay (# 2790) on :
 
My brother wanted to throw out our terrorist pack yesterday! I didn't let him. He'll be sorry when we have emergency kit inspections and his is missing the latex gloves.

I am a bit concerned that there is no chapter on weapons of mass destruction however. There was an article in the paper last week saying that Australia is a likely target of a WMD. What do they expect us to do? Buy an umbrella?

I'm pleased to report though that the fitting rooms at David Jones (department store) are now terrorist proof! I went to try on a shirt a couple of weeks ago and they were all locked. Eventually a lady came and asked if I wished to try the top on and took me to a fitting room where she proceeded to fiddle around with a PIN on the specially installed panel. I asked her if it was to keep the terrorists out and she said yes. And sure enough, there were NO terrorists in there!
 
Posted by The Charientist (# 2269) on :
 
A pointed little mini-update by Don MacLeod of the New York Press: Death, American style.

We have met the enemy, et cetera.
 
Posted by David (# 3) on :
 
I'm copying this in from the ABC website, because the stuff there is pretty ephemeral.

quote:
UK rejects Australian-style terrorism awareness campaign

Britain has rejected an Australian or US-style education campaign on terrorism saying it could be mocked as being simply ridiculous, or lead to panic.

Britain's Home Secretary David Blunkett who today announced that London's ability to respond to a catastrophic terror attack will be tested in the next few weeks, has rejected an Australian or US-style public awareness campaign.

"We do not intend to replicate what has happened in the United States and to some extent in Australia where the equivalent of protect and survive, which older members will remember from the 1960s, was simply mocked as being ridiculous," he said.

Such campaigns the Home Secretary suggested could also lead to panic buying of things like ducting tape.

Instead the UK Government will create a new web site with information about terrorist hazards.


You people in the UK are in terrible danger now that your government has refused to issue fridge magnets.

(I highlighted the duct tape part too, for your enjoyment)
 
Posted by Erin (# 2) on :
 
[Killing me]

I dunno... without your duct tape and fridge magnets you UK people are up shit creek.
 
Posted by Rowen (# 1194) on :
 
Yeah, when you are dead and gone, Lots of Yay and I will still be out there, buying shirts in department stores, looking out for wicked foreigners and such like, not wearing suspicious-looking clothing and daily thanking the powers that be for our magnets.... And then you'll all be sorry you made fun of them all, won't you? [Big Grin]
 
Posted by clare (# 17) on :
 
I shouldn't write us off so quickly. We've got a TERROR ATTACK EXERCISE planned.

It's like aerobics, but involves fake smoke.
 
Posted by Rowen (# 1194) on :
 
Interesting article, yucky piccy... but where oh where are your magnets. Survival without them will be darn hard, believe me!
 
Posted by daisymay (# 1480) on :
 
I hope this terror practice won't impact on life in London too much. Will we all have to put up with even less easy commuting on the tubes? And it's already so noisy in Paddington with the police helicopter taking off and landing on the roof of the nick (where the dungeon for terrorists is). Not that we've had as many terrorists since the IRA has given up bombing us.

I was vaccinated against smallpox as a baby; does that still work?

And I want a new fridge magnet; we've got a Sol Campbell one that lets you undress him to his underwear and we've lost one of his trainers....
 
Posted by Laura (# 10) on :
 
Daisymay,

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control has this FAQ for Smallpox, which indicates that smallpox vaccine is effective for 3-5 years. There is some evidence that old vaccinations may confer longer protection, but they aren't quite sure for how long. Also, those who were vaccinated before tend to have less reaction to the vaccine.
 
Posted by daisymay (# 1480) on :
 
So some of us have been carrying around these nasty vaccination scars on our arms all these years and they're no use to us! [Frown]
 
Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Erin:
I dunno... without your duct tape and fridge magnets you UK people are up shit creek.

Rubbish. We're getting a website. In the event of a terrorist attack, we can log in and email somebody about it. There might even be an online complaints form we can fill in and submit.

[Cool]
 
Posted by David (# 3) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Ariel:
quote:
Originally posted by Erin:
I dunno... without your duct tape and fridge magnets you UK people are up shit creek.

Rubbish. We're getting a website. In the event of a terrorist attack, we can log in and email somebody about it. There might even be an online complaints form we can fill in and submit.

The website will only be of use if you're allowed to Dob In a Terrorist, which is of course the real reason for the FridgeMagnet™. It has the Dob-In phone number on it.
 
Posted by Clyde (# 752) on :
 
In the UK we keep things simple.

Throughout nuclear and terrorist threats of the past, our Government's instructions have remained the same.

"At the first sign of danger, hide under the table"
 
Posted by daisymay (# 1480) on :
 
Clyde's right, and it works. My mother was bombed as a toddler in WW1, somewhere like Lowestoft, and her mother grabbed all three little girls who were there at the time and dived under the table. No-one got hurt, but they all remembered it for future circumstances.
 
Posted by Laura (# 10) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by daisymay:
So some of us have been carrying around these nasty vaccination scars on our arms all these years and they're no use to us! [Frown]

[Preachy-Listen-With-Mother Voice]
They were *extremely* useful in the only successful eradication of a disease from the human population of the earth. This is still rightly regarded as one of the top public health achievments of all time. Five years of immunity for everyone until nobody else had the disease was what was needed to ensure this. I'd say such a scar is a proud badge of our membership in the group of people who took part in that great undertaking. Besides, there are many vaccinations that have to be renewed periodically, like Tetanus. Plus, there may be some residual immunity, indeed, but because they can't say for sure how much, they use the low-end estimate.
[/Preachy-Listen-With-Mother Voice]
 
Posted by clare (# 17) on :
 
HA! We should all live in East Sussex, where the residents have no need of fridge magnets or duct tape, for they have...

Fireman Armed with Washing-up Liquid.

Oh yes. If this doesn't count as an esculation of the arms race I don't know what does.

"Each East Sussex firefighter has been issued with one bottle of washing-up liquid, two car sponges, six bleach tablets and four bucket liners to decontaminate terror attack victims."

(The Post, 19/2/03, cited in the Guardian).

I am curious as to their method of calculating the appropriate quantities.

clare
 
Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
That assumes that each victim conforms to a standard size.
 
Posted by clare (# 17) on :
 
Possibly. I am assuming they are working on a babes in arms vs very large blokes quota.

But do firefighters in East Sussex have three arms? I make it one for each sponge, and one to squeeze the Washing-up liquid.

::out to sell my duct tapes shares, and buy ones in Fairy::
 
Posted by daisymay (# 1480) on :
 
Dear Educating Mother Laura,

I will now go out and have glittery tattoos inked into my spinning wheel scars so that I can flaunt them - any other takers?

And BTW, does Ecover washing up liquid work as well as Fairy? Does the latter have a spiritual element we don't know about?
 
Posted by Apothecary (# 3886) on :
 
Clyde writes
quote:
In the UK we keep things simple.

Throughout nuclear and terrorist threats of the past, our Government's instructions have remained the same.

"At the first sign of danger, hide under the table"

Aren't we meant to remove all of the doors in the house, and use them to make a shelter under the table, and pile up mattresses for extra protection. As students we used to keep our 'protect and survive' screwdriver on the meters so we all knew where it was! Cynics have suggested that the advice was never changed so that the clear up job would be easier - they'd just have to find the tables! [Big Grin]
 
Posted by daisymay (# 1480) on :
 
And there were bomb-shelter tables with wire protection all round. People I knew from London said they all slept in them as children so they must have been big enough for a whole bunch of kids' beds.
 
Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
Without wishing to spread a note of gloom, taking off all the doors isn't going to help much in the event of a poison gas or biological warfare attack.
 
Posted by Tom Day (# 3630) on :
 
new bomb shelter

Whatever you say about the British not having any magnets or duct tape - we get these! Made by a steel firm in Scunthorpe no less

(admittedly they cost £50 000)

tom
 
Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
Somehow I feel my bank might not give me a mortgage for one.
 
Posted by daisymay (# 1480) on :
 
I had a good look around in the tube today and all I saw was a notice saying "The Usual Suspects" and bearing a picture of a set of bags and luggage left abandoned on their own. With the usual instructions not to touch them and to wait till we reach the station before we report them to staff.

Bit boring. [Snore]
 
Posted by CodeJunkie (# 4086) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by daisymay:
And there were bomb-shelter tables with wire protection all round. People I knew from London said they all slept in them as children so they must have been big enough for a whole bunch of kids' beds.

Seen one in Devon, at the Cobbatton Combat Collection - a private collection open to the public. Table was about 6 by 4 (feet), four-inch thick wood with a sheet of metal attached underneath, on top of metal legs with what looked like chickenwire around three of the sides.
 
Posted by David (# 3) on :
 
We Won! Hooray! the FridgeMagnet beat the Duct Tape!

The citation is here. Scroll down to #38.

I am so proud.

[sp]

[ 10. April 2003, 23:38: Message edited by: David ]
 
Posted by Rowen (# 1194) on :
 
I vow to always honour my magnet.... if I can remember where the heck it is..... [Big Grin]
 
Posted by Lots of Yay (# 2790) on :
 
I'm so glad I didn't sell mine off earlier. Think how much it'll be worth now! And if I make a package deal with the anti terrorism book... retirement here I come!
 
Posted by babybear (# 34) on :
 
A little quote from clare about the Ark:
quote:
"Esther, Job and the rest are now living in blacked-out rooms sealed with duct tape and plastic sheeting in order to prepare mentally, physically and spiritually for the voyage ahead!"
I was wondering if they have been issued with fridge magnets too.

bb
 
Posted by Erin (# 2) on :
 
It is indeed a glorious day here in the deep South -- I FINALLY HAVE MY MAGNET!! That's right, folks, a kind and generous Australian brother in Christ sent me his, clearly at great risk of harm to himself -- after all, without your magnet, how will you know what to do in the event of a terrorist attack?

Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you, Icarus Coot, for the centerpiece of my refrigerator magnet collection. You shall be rewarded in (the real) Heaven.
 


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