Posted on 08/27/2007 11:00:56 AM PDT by Sender
Most of the networks that we rely on for city life—communications, electricity, transportation, water—are overused, interdependent, and extremely complex.
...In practice, this means that a very small number of attacks on the critical hubs of a scale-free network can collapse the entire network.
(Excerpt) Read more at city-journal.org ...
ping
I've long believed that cities are very destructive themselves. Not only are they vulnerable to small-scale attacks that can be very destructive, but by definition they cultivate the kind of citizenry that is utterly useless in anything but a highly-organized, orderly setting.
In other words, you and your homies in the neighborhood should plan to supply yourselves and protect yourselves for a few days. No services are guaranteed.
Wise advice IMHO. I'm glad I don't live in a big city.
So when do we see Kevin Costner as Postman?
In late 1998 or early 1999 Gov Pataki (NY) declared previously publicly available information on the NY State power grid made classified in an attempt to thwart any terrorist attacks on the substations on the west side of the Hudson River, and North side of the Harlem river, that provided something like 99% of the power to Manhattan. He subsequently lobbied to have removed what had been public information to the location of the aqueducts service entrances to prevent any attacks on the water supply. All of this was good public policy.
Civilization is based on a whole series of weak links in terms of infrastructure, and strong links in terms of family and community ties. Liberals attack both.
It is good policy to make critical infrastructure details unavailable, but I daresay that terrorists can find the substations without internet help.
Thats it we have no choice but to deport all mexicans, central americans, south americans and all muslims sarc/on.
(Thinking about them because I heard some NPR moron whining about all the injustice. Glad that at least these two anarchist bastards no longer need to be worried about.)
Hey, thanks for bringing that up. Good idea. < no sarcasm needed >
It was about then that I found four police cars by my company van that was parked in front of an NYC water pumping station in Westchester County. Someone said I was taking pictures of the pumping station. There was nothing to see of the station but a building.
As any law-abiding citizen of New Orleans will tell you, the biggest threat you face in a disaster of that kind is not the disaster itself, but the predations of all those neighbors of yours who weren't adequately prepared to deal with the disaster.
That's why my preparations for such a scenario involve fleeing the scene ASAP (I live in a nice town, but in an apartment/condo complex with a lot of neighbors) and living for up to a week (or longer) in the mountains of upstate New York, Pennsylvania, etc.
On the contrary, most utility networks, which people rely upon in metropolitan areas, are relatively simple, mundane, robust, and fairly redundant. They are designed that way to allow for relatively transparent maintenance of the distribution systems while providing commonly used commodities at least cost, hence their name, 'utility'.
In the case of third world countries where people have not engineered their uitlity systems for such robustness, nor enforce codes, or deny property rights of the utility owners, utility networks are frequently constructed with numerous weaknesses and chokepoints. Iraq ia a perfect example of such weaknesses and the US military perspective of treating utility systems as though they are generators or water bulls reflects a lack of professional wherewithal in utility system design at transmission, distribution and service levels.
This is also a major reason why the robustness of utility systems also frequently manifests the robustness of its people to respond to any adversity. Where the US utility systems are aging and failing, the populous of the area is also frequently controlled by socialists and opportunists who lack the love, patience, and wherewithal to elicit accountable leadership within their community. With this said, I fully anticipate any utility fostered by Hillary Clinton to undergo complete failure within 20 years of conception.
FR *bookmark*
Didn’t Erlichman or somebody write a book about this back in the 80s? iirc it was one of Reagan’s people.
The book id’d specific weak points and explained how a small group of people acting in concert could take down large areas including cities.
(I’d add that suburbanites better be prepared to support themselves and defend themselves from the marauding homies.)
Re #20, maybe Liddy?
Age-old preparedness question.
If you have to choose between them, shall it be Gold or Guns? Guns or Gold?
Answer: Guns.
Reason: You can probably find someone out there who has chosen Gold over Guns.
Oooops, forgot:
< }B^)
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