Free Republic

When computers go wrong, we tend to assume it's just some software hiccup, a bit of bad programming. But ionising radiation, including rays of protons blasted towards us by the sun, can also be the cause. These incidents, called single-event upsets, are rare and it can be impossible to be sure that cosmic rays were involved in a specific malfunction because they leave no trace behind them. And yet they have been singled out as the possible culprits behind numerous extraordinary cases of computer failure. From a vote-counting machine [?!?!} that added thousands of non-existent votes to a candidate's tally,...

Powerful Solar Storm Likely Detonated Sea Mines During Vietnam War By Brett Carter | November 9, 2018 3:46 pm Solar flares captured on sun. (Credit: NASA/SDO)On Aug. 4, 1972, the crew of a U.S. Task Force 77 aircraft flying near a naval minefield in the waters off Hon La observed 20 to 25 explosions over about 30 seconds. They also witnessed an additional 25 to 30 mud spots in the waters nearby.Destructor sea mines had been deployed here during Operation Pocket Money, a mining campaign launched in 1972 against principal North Vietnamese ports.There was no obvious reason why the mines...

Congress was warned Thursday that North Korea is capable of attacking the U.S. today with a nuclear EMP bomb that could indefinitely shut down the electric power grid and kill 90 percent of "all Americans" within a year. At a House hearing, experts said that North Korea could easily employ the "doomsday scenario" to turn parts of the U.S. to ashes. In calling on the Pentagon and President Trump to move quickly to protect the grid, the experts testified that an explosion of a high-altitude nuclear bomb delivered by a missile or satellite "could be to shut down the U.S....

Aside from the 20,000 artillery pieces North Korea has, an EMP attack by the US on North Korea would render the majority of North Korea's Defense capability useless: jet fighters, missiles with any sort of electronics, communications, etc. But if a submarine is submerged, is it vulnerable to an EMP (Electromagnetic Pulse) and does water/depth the submarine is at limit the EMP weapon. It is possible that an EMP attack on submarines might cause it to blow up as no telling what would happen. Plus the fact the submarine might have trouble surfacing. Here is an interesting report on Global...

I have been aware of the serious effect an EMP attack would have on our country for some time. I recently read a most terrifying book, One Second After, and am now motivated to better prepare my family for this possibility. My question regards the viability of a 1987 Toyota 4x4 truck with a 22r carbureted engine. I have been told there is a vulnerable component in the non electronic ignition system. My understanding was that old coil, distributor system was safe. I have the opportunity to purchase this vehicle and would like to be sure that it can be...

The highway bill that emerged from House-Senate conference committee includes much that doesn't have much to do with surface transportation, including a section which could save millions of lives in the event of an electro-magnetic pulse attack. ... Here's the section on the Strategic Transformer Reserve: SEC. 61004. STRATEGIC TRANSFORMER RESERVE. (a) Finding.--Congress finds that the storage of strategically located spare large power transformers and emergency mobile substations will reduce the vulnerability of the United States to multiple risks facing electric grid reliability, including physical attack, cyber attack, electromagnetic pulse, geomagnetic disturbances, severe weather, and seismic events. ... (c) Strategic...

Amid growing fears of a massive electromagnetic pulse hit from either a solar flare or a terrorist nuclear bomb, House Republicans on Tuesday will unveil a plan to save the nation's electric grid from an attack that could mean lights out for 300 million Americans. Dubbed the Secure High-voltage Infrastructure for Electricity from Lethal Damage Act, the legislation would push the federal government to install grid-saving devices such as surge protectors to protect against an attack. "It is critical that we protect our major transformers from cascading destruction. The Shield Act encourages industry to develop standards necessary to protect our...

Enemies' doctrines include devastating blow as part of 'strategic operations' WASHINGTON – Warnings from U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano that enemy nations are carrying out cyber attacks on the U.S. are on the rise. The target? The U.S. electric infrastructure. Even President Obama has pointed out that “our enemies are also seeking the abilities to sabotage our power grid, our financial institutions and our air traffic control systems.” But that may not be the worst of it. Those same adversaries – China, Russia, Iran and North Korea – also incorporate in...

The Pokémon Plot: How One Cartoon Inspired the Army to Dream Up a Seizure Gun In 1998, a secret Army intelligence analysis suggested a new way to take out enemies: blast them with electromagnetic energy until their brains overload and they start to convulse. Amazingly, it was an idea inspired by a Pokemon episode. Application of "electromagnetic pulses" could force neurons to all fire at once, causing a "disruption of voluntary muscle control," reads a description of a proposed seizure weapon, contained in a declassified document from the Army's National Ground Intelligence Center. "It is thought by using a method...

Congressman Trent Franks' (R-AZ) H.R. 668 calls for protecting America's electrical grids from electromagnetic pulse (EMP). The legislation is known as The SHIELD Act. "SHIELD" is an acronym for "Secure High-voltage Infrastructure for Electricity from Lethal Damage." If you've ever given a thought to how you retrieve funds from your bank, either from inside the lobby or from and ATM, in the event of a major attack on our electrical grids - when everything automated and computerized goes down, then you know why this is important legislation. And there are consequences far beyond my somewhat minor example above, as you...

The threat 1. Today's society places an ever-growing reliance on technology. Modern infrastructures such as power, telecommunications and water systems, businesses, industries and services are now interdependent to a very significant degree, and disruption can therefore spread very quickly as the effects cascade through connected systems. A failure of the national grid for example, would inevitably have repercussions for a wide range of businesses and services, from energy supplies, water processing, traffic control and logistical systems and even parts of the finance sector. Similarly a growing reliance is placed on satellite-based technology such as GPS (global positioning system); for instance...

A Dangerous Gap in Our Defenses?An EMP attack is a terrible threat, but countering it is affordable. For several days in early November, a series of U.S. government agencies were either unable or unwilling to explain what had produced a vapor trail that had illuminated the Southern California skies. Public speculation abounded, first that it was a missile, then that it was in fact the condensation trail (contrail) of a plane. Controversy continues in the blogosphere and elsewhere. The absence of a cogent official explanation reveals a dangerous gap in our defenses, specifically in our warning systems. Our surveillance systems...

There is renewed alarm about the possibility of an EMP attack – electromagnetic pulse – on the United States because of Iran's work on a multi-stage Space Launch Vehicle, according to a report from Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin. And experts forecast if such an attack were a success, it effectively could throw the U.S. back into an age of agriculture. "Within a year of that attack, nine out of 10 Americans would be dead, because we can't support a population of the present size in urban centers and the like without electricity," said Frank Gaffney, president of the Center for...

National Security: An unclassified Defense Department report says an Iranian missile could strike the U.S. by 2015. If only we were working as hard to defend ourselves as they are to destroy us. In any discussion of the Iranian nuclear threat, the assumption is always that Tehran's target is Israel. Iran's quite mad president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has pledged to wipe Israel off the map as part of his grand scheme to usher in the age of the 12th Imam. Tehran may have a bigger fish that it wants to fry, namely us. "With sufficient foreign assistance, Iran could probably develop...

A nuclear weapon explodes high above the US, unleashing a deadly electromagnetic pulse (EMP) that almost instantly knocks out much of our electrical grid. The electronic control systems in our water, oil, and gas distribution systems fail, and other infrastructure such as telecommunications and transport grind to a halt. While it would be far too high up in the atmosphere (40–400 kilometers) to directly kill people by blast and heat, such an attack would have “the capability to produce significant damage to critical infrastructures and thus to the very fabric of US society”, according to the congressional “Commission to Assess...

Power Shortages Loom by: Evan Sumortin, August 10, 2009 William Forstchen’s latest New York Times bestseller, One Second After, is a cautionary tale that explores the consequences of an Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) attack on the United States. An EMP explosion over the continental United States would have devastating consequences for our country. According to General Eugene Habiger, Former Commander-in-Chief of the U. S. Strategic Command, “Our technologically-oriented society and its heavy dependence on advanced electronic systems could be brought to its knees with cascading failures of our critical infrastructure. Our vulnerability increases daily as our use and dependence on electronics...

I have just finished reading William R. Forstchen's new novel One Second After. Briefly, it is about the instantaneous breakdown of American way of life as the result of an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) which disables the nation's electrical grid as well as all sophisticated electrical components in cars (they stop), planes (they crash), telecomunications of every sort, etc. leaving the population in a world similar to that of the Eighteenth Century. Shortages of every variety create societal strains, chaos, death and destruction in a matter of weeks and months. Forstchen's book (with a forward written by Newt Gingrich), while fiction,...

While the detonation of a nuclear weapon in the United States is considered highly unlikely, Los Angeles and other U.S. cities are preparing for such a disaster by assessing old bomb shelters and preparing emergency response plans, the Los Angeles Daily News reported Monday.

Security: An Iranian mullah once said "a world without America and Zionism" was a real possibility. Our sellout of Eastern Europe and missile defense brings that dream closer to reality. It would take only one warhead."Is it possible for us to witness a world without America and Zionism?" Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad asked at a "World Without Zionism" conference in Tehran in 2005. "But you had best know that this slogan and this goal are attainable, and surely can be achieved." He added that Iran had a strategic "war preparation plan" for what it called "the destruction of Anglo-Saxon civilization." A...

Strategic Defense: A new report says the United States must develop robust missile and space defenses to counter China. If you think the current economic crisis is something, imagine the effects of a nuke over Iowa.Imagine a world in which you can't get money from your bank or can't get a loan. You can't get money from your ATM even if it's within walking distance. You can't drive to one because your car won't work. No, it's not what would happen if the Congress doesn't pass a bailout bill. This is a small snapshot of what would happen if a...