Saturday, November 29, 2008
How Can We Plan for This? Any Ideas?
EMP: A strategic threat to the US Mainland?
By Walid Phares
Over the past seven months I have been interacting with US Homeland Security and European defense officials and experts on a the potential next threat to the West, more particularly against mainland America. The signature of that strategic menace is EMP: Electro Magnetic Pulse; a weapon of the future, already available in design, construction and possible deployment. As eyes are focused on the Iranian nuclear threat, and as we began recently to understand that the missile advances are as important then the fissile material development, attention is now being drawn by private sector projects and some in the defense world to what can cause a wider circle of damages and thus more deterrence against US national security.
In short, and I borrow from the Project "Shield America.org," an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack could be triggered by a nuclear warhead detonated at high altitude over America. The resulting blast would create an EMP, a shockwave that could "cripple military and civilian communications, power, transportation, water, food, and other infrastructure." Even if a high-altitude EMP kills nobody at first, it would paralyze a large section of the United States. The lingering practical and economic effects would take anywhere from hours to years to resolve: when secondary effects are considered, an EMP could be even deadlier than a direct nuclear strike against the mainland. Indeed, Rep. Roscoe Bartlett has written: "Where the terrorist airliner attacks of 9/11 killed thousands, a terrorist EMP attack could indirectly kill millions and conceivably cause the permanent collapse of our entire society."
By realizing how fundamental and irreversible is the reliance of the United States on electronics for every aspect of its citizens' lives, we can also realize how this makes the U.S. vulnerable to an emerging threat.Which brings about the issue of identifying the origination point of such a menace. Many indicators direct us to Iran. In previous articles on CTB and other outlets I have focused on the "missiles threat" as a dossier by itself independently from the "Nuclear" file for a rational consideration: Missiles can be used to deliver nuclear weapons, but also "other weapons" including chemical and biological. In the case of Hezbollah's mini war of July 2006 with Israel, large rockets and small missiles were conceived as classical but were strategically aimed at chemical sites as well. Hence the missile threat is diverse. In the case of the EMP weapon system, we need to look at Iran's missiles capability also from the perspective of delivering a blow, not just to Israel or US and Western targets in the region, but also across large bodies of water.
Geopolitical projections, including developments which may take place in Iraq and Afghanistan, tell us that Iran may find itself free from constraints to equip itself with long range missiles able to reach US mainland at some point in the near future, not only from mainland Iran, but also from other locations closer to America, including at the hands of terrorist forces.
As a result of these geopolitical consideration I believe it is pressing for the defense and counter terrorism community to increase the level of efforts in this emerging field of threat and begin a public awareness campaign to educate citizens in this regard.
I would like to draw the attention of our readers to a recently developed project in the private sector, (www.shieldamerica.org) as a platform for discussion and analysis.
Dr Walid Phares is the Director of Future Terrorism Project at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies.
October 30, 2008 10:38 PM
By Walid Phares
Over the past seven months I have been interacting with US Homeland Security and European defense officials and experts on a the potential next threat to the West, more particularly against mainland America. The signature of that strategic menace is EMP: Electro Magnetic Pulse; a weapon of the future, already available in design, construction and possible deployment. As eyes are focused on the Iranian nuclear threat, and as we began recently to understand that the missile advances are as important then the fissile material development, attention is now being drawn by private sector projects and some in the defense world to what can cause a wider circle of damages and thus more deterrence against US national security.
In short, and I borrow from the Project "Shield America.org," an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack could be triggered by a nuclear warhead detonated at high altitude over America. The resulting blast would create an EMP, a shockwave that could "cripple military and civilian communications, power, transportation, water, food, and other infrastructure." Even if a high-altitude EMP kills nobody at first, it would paralyze a large section of the United States. The lingering practical and economic effects would take anywhere from hours to years to resolve: when secondary effects are considered, an EMP could be even deadlier than a direct nuclear strike against the mainland. Indeed, Rep. Roscoe Bartlett has written: "Where the terrorist airliner attacks of 9/11 killed thousands, a terrorist EMP attack could indirectly kill millions and conceivably cause the permanent collapse of our entire society."
By realizing how fundamental and irreversible is the reliance of the United States on electronics for every aspect of its citizens' lives, we can also realize how this makes the U.S. vulnerable to an emerging threat.Which brings about the issue of identifying the origination point of such a menace. Many indicators direct us to Iran. In previous articles on CTB and other outlets I have focused on the "missiles threat" as a dossier by itself independently from the "Nuclear" file for a rational consideration: Missiles can be used to deliver nuclear weapons, but also "other weapons" including chemical and biological. In the case of Hezbollah's mini war of July 2006 with Israel, large rockets and small missiles were conceived as classical but were strategically aimed at chemical sites as well. Hence the missile threat is diverse. In the case of the EMP weapon system, we need to look at Iran's missiles capability also from the perspective of delivering a blow, not just to Israel or US and Western targets in the region, but also across large bodies of water.
Geopolitical projections, including developments which may take place in Iraq and Afghanistan, tell us that Iran may find itself free from constraints to equip itself with long range missiles able to reach US mainland at some point in the near future, not only from mainland Iran, but also from other locations closer to America, including at the hands of terrorist forces.
As a result of these geopolitical consideration I believe it is pressing for the defense and counter terrorism community to increase the level of efforts in this emerging field of threat and begin a public awareness campaign to educate citizens in this regard.
I would like to draw the attention of our readers to a recently developed project in the private sector, (www.shieldamerica.org) as a platform for discussion and analysis.
Dr Walid Phares is the Director of Future Terrorism Project at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies.
October 30, 2008 10:38 PM
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Don't be an evolutionary dead end
In my journey of transformation, I often wonder where all the evolving I'm going through will end. Here is a short clip to put some, or all of it, into a memorable perspective for us.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
There's Still Time to Pardon All Turkeys!
Hey George W.!-I'd like to see if you could give 'em all a pardon. Just one isn't enough.
Go to www.AdoptaTurkey.org
Thursday, November 13, 2008
What Now!
People who are loosing their homes are also having to give up their pets!????
More to follow.
In the meantime, check out what's coming this Thanksgiving.
Bolt Movie Trailer
More to follow.
In the meantime, check out what's coming this Thanksgiving.
Bolt Movie Trailer
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Use Your Head (strong, poignant words of advise off the pages of Skinny Bitch)
"...there's no point in being gorgeous if your life is a mess. End your co-dependent relationship, quit your dead-end job, and ditch your toxic friends. Make a list of goals and start chipping away at them. THIS IS YOUR LIFE! Live it to the fullest with reckless abandon. Seize the day. And do it again tomorrow. Live. Go get your dream job. Search for your dream man. Fear nothing. Try everything. Be excited. Dance. You'll never get yesterday back, but today is yours for the taking. Make it great."
If anyone would like to borrow my copy of this book, please notify me. In the meantime check the GoVeg.com website.
MORE EXCERPTS TO FOLLOW.
If anyone would like to borrow my copy of this book, please notify me. In the meantime check the GoVeg.com website.
MORE EXCERPTS TO FOLLOW.
Friday, November 7, 2008
A Little Diversion-Thank You Christine...
From Christine's, Welcometomyreviews Blog:
"Wall-E is coming to a stocking near you
I have a really bad habit. I forget about Christmas stockings until ... oh, I don't know ... CHRISTMAS EVE! Well, this year I'm trying to get a jump on things.I do, however, have one requirement. You've always got to have something sticking up out of the top of that stocking. It's my little way of bringing my twelve hours of advertising courses into the real world. Those stockings have to have a teaser. So, what to do this year? A Wii game? Candy canes?Heck, no, my friends (very John McCain of me, I know). Wall-E is hitting DVD and Blu-ray November 18th!I am very particular about the movies that I allow my kids to view. Not only do I prefer that they NOT get a regular dose of the S-bomb, but I have children with special needs. I have adopted children. I have children that have experienced trauma. Some movies are simply too much for them.What I love about Wall-E, however, is how very therapeutic it can be for my children. My "hurt" kids have great difficulty expressing their feelings. We spend hours and hours talking about and evaluating our non-verbal communication. Sound boring? Well, that's probably because it IS! Well, little Wall-E does not use any actual human words. He is the king of non-verbal communication (outside of his beeping, which still must always be accompanied by facial expressions). There are a few human characters in this film, but Wall-E is the main honcho throughout. My kids can have FUN while getting perfect examples of expressing themselves.It also carries a theme that is huge in our house. Wall-E spent 700 years alone. Then, someone comes into his life - someone that can connect to him, can love him and he can love back. Don't have to tell you that this touches my children deeply, and gives them a safe and entertaining way to experience some of these feelings.Okay, okay. Enough about the therapeutic benefits of this movie. It's just plain FABULOUS to boot. PIXAR has done what they always do - made animation seem unbelievably life-like. The humor is, once again, something that makes the entire family laugh. We moms get really tired of "kid humor." We live it. We eat it. We breath it (heck, we probably even FART it!). So, we need something a little more advanced. We need the giggles, but it has to be smart humor. Wall-E is clever. You will laugh!There are fabulous talking points that can arise between you and your kids: the film addresses topics such as the harm we are doing to our planet (think: trash, trash, TRASH!). There is a love story, but it's with robots, so my your 12-year-old son won't roll his eyes too much.Still not sure? Just think it might be another animated movie? Fine. Check out the trailer. I promise not to say I told you so."
I found this on YouTube
"Wall-E is coming to a stocking near you
I have a really bad habit. I forget about Christmas stockings until ... oh, I don't know ... CHRISTMAS EVE! Well, this year I'm trying to get a jump on things.I do, however, have one requirement. You've always got to have something sticking up out of the top of that stocking. It's my little way of bringing my twelve hours of advertising courses into the real world. Those stockings have to have a teaser. So, what to do this year? A Wii game? Candy canes?Heck, no, my friends (very John McCain of me, I know). Wall-E is hitting DVD and Blu-ray November 18th!I am very particular about the movies that I allow my kids to view. Not only do I prefer that they NOT get a regular dose of the S-bomb, but I have children with special needs. I have adopted children. I have children that have experienced trauma. Some movies are simply too much for them.What I love about Wall-E, however, is how very therapeutic it can be for my children. My "hurt" kids have great difficulty expressing their feelings. We spend hours and hours talking about and evaluating our non-verbal communication. Sound boring? Well, that's probably because it IS! Well, little Wall-E does not use any actual human words. He is the king of non-verbal communication (outside of his beeping, which still must always be accompanied by facial expressions). There are a few human characters in this film, but Wall-E is the main honcho throughout. My kids can have FUN while getting perfect examples of expressing themselves.It also carries a theme that is huge in our house. Wall-E spent 700 years alone. Then, someone comes into his life - someone that can connect to him, can love him and he can love back. Don't have to tell you that this touches my children deeply, and gives them a safe and entertaining way to experience some of these feelings.Okay, okay. Enough about the therapeutic benefits of this movie. It's just plain FABULOUS to boot. PIXAR has done what they always do - made animation seem unbelievably life-like. The humor is, once again, something that makes the entire family laugh. We moms get really tired of "kid humor." We live it. We eat it. We breath it (heck, we probably even FART it!). So, we need something a little more advanced. We need the giggles, but it has to be smart humor. Wall-E is clever. You will laugh!There are fabulous talking points that can arise between you and your kids: the film addresses topics such as the harm we are doing to our planet (think: trash, trash, TRASH!). There is a love story, but it's with robots, so my your 12-year-old son won't roll his eyes too much.Still not sure? Just think it might be another animated movie? Fine. Check out the trailer. I promise not to say I told you so."
I found this on YouTube
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Happy Anniversary to Me!
This Thanksgiving wouldn't it be great if we could follow in the steps of our President and PARDON A TURKEY! You know, the exact one you guys were planning on consuming. Hell, maybe Oboma will start a trend and pardon them all in 2009! Well, I just think it would be awesome. I can see the headlines in Newsday...Family Pardons Turkey and Eats Moussaka for Thanksgiving!
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Power a moving train for one second
Crowd Farming
How can we find alternative energy from simple human movement? Well, the idea for this alternative energy source came from a pair of MIT students Tad Juscyzk and James Graham. The duo announced their ideas at the Holcim Forum 2007 awards ceremony where they won top honors.
The project seeks to convert the energy of human movement in places where it is abundant and dense, like in urban settings, to energy suitable for consumer use. Juscyzk and Graham's crowd farm was based in Boston's South Station terminal. The floor of this popular railway destination would contain a responsive sub-flooring system made up of blocks. These nodes would depress slightly when stepped upon and would be in station's main lobby. The friction of the blocks as people walked would generate power through a dynamo, or a device converting energy of motion to this new form of alternative energy. One human step can only power two 60W light bulbs for one flickering second, but the entire crowd in South station, or 28,527 steps, can power a moving train for one second. In experiments, the partners proved how the sitting down on a stool can work up enough energy to turn on four LED lights.
As the debate over enthanol from corn, from switchgrass and the like begins to heat up, perhaps truly sustainable energy methods will emerge as the next big thing. Will the economists find fault in this clean technology? Well, right now its hard to employ economically on a large scale, but it may be the next big clean tech boom of the future. Could we see Exxon or Chevron funding crowd farm projects some day?
How can we find alternative energy from simple human movement? Well, the idea for this alternative energy source came from a pair of MIT students Tad Juscyzk and James Graham. The duo announced their ideas at the Holcim Forum 2007 awards ceremony where they won top honors.
The project seeks to convert the energy of human movement in places where it is abundant and dense, like in urban settings, to energy suitable for consumer use. Juscyzk and Graham's crowd farm was based in Boston's South Station terminal. The floor of this popular railway destination would contain a responsive sub-flooring system made up of blocks. These nodes would depress slightly when stepped upon and would be in station's main lobby. The friction of the blocks as people walked would generate power through a dynamo, or a device converting energy of motion to this new form of alternative energy. One human step can only power two 60W light bulbs for one flickering second, but the entire crowd in South station, or 28,527 steps, can power a moving train for one second. In experiments, the partners proved how the sitting down on a stool can work up enough energy to turn on four LED lights.
As the debate over enthanol from corn, from switchgrass and the like begins to heat up, perhaps truly sustainable energy methods will emerge as the next big thing. Will the economists find fault in this clean technology? Well, right now its hard to employ economically on a large scale, but it may be the next big clean tech boom of the future. Could we see Exxon or Chevron funding crowd farm projects some day?
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
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