Posted on 08/14/2003 6:26:15 PM PDT by Brian S
Security tight in wake of blackout in U.S. and Canada
(Washington-AP, Aug. 14, 2003 8:42 PM) _ The U.S. military sent up extra air patrols in the eastern United States, and border security held strong in the wake of a blackout Thursday.
The air patrol was sent up as a precaution, even though there was no reason to believe there was a threat from the air, the National American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, said in a statement.
Most military bases have backup generators, and the outage did not cause any significant loss of military capability, Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Dan Stoneking said.
"NORAD has no reason to believe that there is an imminent airborne threat in the U.S. or Canada. However, purely as a precautionary measure, NORAD has launched at least one extra irregular air patrol over the eastern U.S. and has increased the readiness of our East Coast NORAD site," NORAD said.
NORAD did not release the numbers of aircraft or locations of air patrol for security reasons.
There was a minimal effect on border crossings between the United States and Canada, said Dennis Murphy, spokesman for the Homeland Security Department.
Some border crossings were delayed. For example, the Detroit-Windsor tunnel linking Michigan to Ontario was closed for about 30 minutes after the blackout occurred.
I have no information if it was a contributing factor however. It was only moderate activity and not a super flare, which has affected the grid in the past.
This event should not have happened with the loads they were having. There must be a reasonable explanation and I eagerly await it, as i really do not understand why they could not compensate before loosing so much of the grid.
looks to me like Entergy managed to catch the fault and the rest did not.
None of this would have happened if George W. Bush hadn't "unsigned" the Kyoto Protocol that President Clinton signed.
This power outtage is a direct result of global warming, most of which has occurred since Bush has taken office. The World Watch Institute (www.worldwatch.org) has predicted that if President Bush doesn't sign the Kyoto Treaty, then by 2020, earth's oceans will reach the boiling point, and by 2025, earth will be devoid of all life, except for cockroaches and a few viruses.
Women, children, minorities, homosexuals and the poor will be hardest hit.
This article is from "The Onion," isn't it?
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