Howdy, friends. Were any of you unfortunate enough, as I was, to see the newest incarnation of "War of the Worlds"? Jeeebus, that sucked.
But part of the premise was interesting. To soften up the world's infrastructure, the aliens employ this thing called an EMP blast. Knocks out every piece of electronic equipment for hundreds of miles and fries it. When that happens, of course, chaos ensues and the world is ripe for the plucking. No radio. Even the cars won't start. A flash in the heavens, and we're in 1889.
Maybe y'all weren't aware of this, but the EMP (Electromagnetic Pulse) isn't just science fiction. Any nuclear explosion in the atmosphere can make us go Dark Ages, and we're totally not set up to deal with it. Read this piece by Frank Gaffney in Imprimis, it'll get you up to speed.
Think about this: Let's say China wants to invade Taiwan and America has a President with some cojones who says, wait a minute, buster. Well, instead of incinerating an American city and provoking massive retaliation, China just lights off three megaton-range nukes way up in the sky--one over the east coast, one over the west coast, and one dead center to shut down NORAD and such like. Or skip the middle one, and light them off twenty miles from shore in international waters. "Wow, look at those nuclear tests we just launched!"
No American would probably even die as a direct result of the blast. (Fallout, rioting, etc. would cause a load of trouble, of course.) But by the time we get back online, and figure out what hit us, there's a PRC flag flying on Taipei.
Friends, this is one more reason we need to get serious about some sort of missile defense system for America. Land-based, space-based, whatever works. (I'm thinking space-based so we can tag incoming rockets in the boost phase, i.e., on the way up; however a lot of people don't think that a space-based system is practical.) We need to keep nukes out of the hands of terrorists, sure, but a lot of bad guys already have missiles that can reach our shores (including North Korea). And according to the article linked above, Iran is test-launching missiles in a manner consistent with EMP deployments.
Okay, back to terrorism.
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And all our computers are Made in Taiwan. So getting them replaced in that scenario becomes rather more difficult.
Posted by: IO ERROR at July 25, 2005 01:43 AM (HaVXj)
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Most military hardware is hardened against vulnerability to EMP's. You can bet your ass the communications channels for NORAD, etc are also.
Some equipment is still using tube amplifiers because the components are too massive to get fried by EMP induced surges.
Fiber optics are immune to EMP effects - although the electronic devices at the ends of the FO links may not be.
While the civilian infrastructure will certainly be AFU's by an EMP attack, the military? Not So Much.
Posted by: West at July 25, 2005 02:15 AM (hNOfU)
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Why the hell should we sacrifice ourselves over renegade provinces in China? Screw it, we don't need Taiwan to be capitalist, we need to stop screwing around in other people's business!
Posted by: Downing Street Memo at July 25, 2005 02:22 AM (ScqM8)
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We need to ask ourselves why we have so many entangling foreign alliances and foreign bases that devour our souls. I say screw it, send Klanooster over to work for Hellibacon as a truck driver and give the fighting man a break.
Posted by: Downing Street Memo at July 25, 2005 02:43 AM (ScqM8)
5
"A Theological framework undercuts reasoned debate, and reduces policy issues to a choice between Good and Evil, thus reducing the threat of democracy. Critics can be dismissed as “anti-American,” an interesting concept borrowed from the lexicon of totalitarianism. And the population must huddle under the umbrella of power, in fear that its way of life and destiny are under imminent threat…
N.C.
Yep, the fightin' 101st Chickenhawks huddling like rigidly obedient sheep under the umbrella of the (Good, invading, bombing, torturing)Bushist faith while the Ladens, French, Spanish and most of the world (Bad, surrendering, head-sawing) deserve punishment.
Emmanuel Goldstein is the enemy, Oceania - fight on for BUSH BROTHER!!
Posted by: Downing Street Memo at July 25, 2005 03:18 AM (ScqM8)
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"I remember the arrogance that accompanied the "shock and awe" bombing campaign that kicked off the war in Iraq more than two years ago. The war was supposed to be quick and easy, a cakewalk. The enemy, we were told, would fold like a dinner napkin. And then, in the neoconservative fantasies of some of the crazier folks in the Bush crowd, the military would gear up for an invasion of Iran."
An op-ed by Bob Herbert, titled "Ideological Madness"
Posted by: Downing Street Memo at July 25, 2005 05:09 AM (ScqM8)
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EMP is a popular fear mongering tool, but there is little public discussion of what an EMP strike is likely to destroy or interrupt.
To induce voltage, a magnetic pulse must move across a conductor and that conductor must be connected to a component in order to carry damaging voltage to it.
Posted by: EMP at July 25, 2005 08:30 AM (x2eX4)
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EMP - "conductor must be connected to a component" - you mean like every piece of computing equipment in the world is conected to the miles of copper wire that provides power to it? BTW - the longer the conductor is, the more of the EMP electro-magnetic wave is intercepted (cut through by the wire) and the larger the surge is.
DSM - you sure like the sound of your own voice, dont'cha? Maybe you could spare he rest of us & just scream at the mirror for a while....
Posted by: West at July 25, 2005 08:37 AM (hNOfU)
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The nice thing about being America is that whatever the Chicoms do to us we can do them a lot worse.
Posted by: Carlos at July 25, 2005 08:47 AM (8e/V4)
Posted by: The Uncooperative Blogger at July 25, 2005 09:42 AM (h2HXW)
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For a really scary EMP nightmare google "Flux Compression Generator" that is a type of homemade E-Bomb.
Popular Mechanics magazine says it would cost around $450.00 to make one.
Posted by: dave at July 25, 2005 09:48 AM (DO6vD)
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Carlos, I assume you are speaking of a China/USA military comparrison, cuz regarding dollars and cents they have us over a barrel and are getting the lube ready.
Posted by: Max at July 25, 2005 11:37 AM (HFKAk)
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I think we'd see those three air-nukes coming... long enough to erase China in the process. I understand the premise of the post but that scenario doesn't play well.
Posted by: Hoodlumman at July 25, 2005 12:22 PM (1iJzK)
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Yeah, what if... Now back to the real world...
Posted by: Professor Peter Von Nostrand at July 25, 2005 02:01 PM (REz6/)
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You
don't need a nuke to generate an EMP.
The effects of the EMP itself has long been isolated and weaponized, the "E-Bomb" that was shown in magazines/TV before the Iraq war is one example, the other is the "flux compression generator" I showed earlier.
Posted by: dave at July 25, 2005 04:21 PM (DO6vD)
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I suspect plans for Faraday Cages will be selling out soon.
Most military and national security sytems--including communications--is hardened. No consumer products, to my knowledge are hardened. That part of WoW wasn't too bad. But they had a little continuity problem when they allowed a digital video recorder to keep working. It make a very photogenic shot, but completely blew the premise of the scene.
Posted by: John Burgess at July 25, 2005 04:37 PM (wiywb)
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http://www.endtimesreport.com/faraday_cages.html
nice howto.
Posted by: dave at July 25, 2005 05:47 PM (DO6vD)
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Just wrap youself in aluminum foil and join the rapturists on their trek across Meopotamia!!
Posted by: Downing Street Memo at July 26, 2005 02:39 AM (ScqM8)
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EMP has been discussed extensively in misc.survivalism, but set your filters to eliminate anything posted to more than two ng's if you stop by. I suggest using Google, instead.
To hideously over simplify, a nuke has to be set off above the atmosphere to allow the Compton Effect to create a large enough virtual antenna to cause a damaging EMP. However, one nuke far enough above Dodge City, Kansas could wipe out all vulnerable electronics in the Contaminated 48. No need for more than one, except, perhaps, to create problems to someone trying to knock down the missile.
Protecting *stored* equipment is trivial; just put it in a metal container. Equipment in use can be much more a problem, as any sort of wire can bring a damaging spike into your equipment. Filtering that would allow desired signals (such as DSL or cable internet connections) and yet block the spikes, is not trivial.
The e-bomb cannot effect more than a few city blocks, and few of us are involved with anything that might be worth the trouble. I'd guess targets would include the Stock Market, big city police stations during a riot, a university where some kinds of research are being done, and things like that.
Posted by: Offbreed at July 26, 2005 03:13 AM (zNjIG)
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"Welcome to the human race"
Posted by: Downing Street Memo at July 26, 2005 03:48 AM (ScqM8)
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Since when does a monkey like Downing Steet Moron know anything about the human race. He's not a member.
Posted by: greyrooster at July 26, 2005 09:20 PM (CBNGy)
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Klanrooster, Screw you you racist twit, boared stroker of the most stagnant kind!
Posted by: Downing Street Memo at July 26, 2005 11:00 PM (ScqM8)
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Downing Street Moron is losing it.
Soon another one bites the dust.
Getting confused moron? Talking in circles? Can't focus? Losing control? Not much left in your traitorous ass.
Posted by: greyrooster at July 28, 2005 03:54 AM (CBNGy)
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Traitor Klanpigscrewingsantorumrooster, you can't handle me so you want me banned, just like anyone who's not white. Look in the mirror and see your hatred for what it is!
Posted by: Downing Street Memo at July 28, 2005 04:00 AM (ScqM8)
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