Is US vulnerable to EMP attack?

Here is a good article from the Army Times. An EMP event would devastate our way of life. Read on an you judge for yourself.  How prepared are you should something like this occur?

"Is US vulnerable to EMP attack? A doomsday warning, and its skeptics

Former CIA Director Woolsey tells Congress of a doomsday scenario in which a nuclear-blast-triggered electromagnetic pulse takes down the US power grid, leading to starvation and death. Some experts decry 'hysteria' over EMPs. This artivle was posted on Christian Science Monitor and you can click on the linbk to watch the video.

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Military/2014/0801/Is-US-vulnerable-to-EMP-attack-A-doomsday-warning-and-its-skeptics-video

It is an unsettling doomsday scenario: A ballistic missile is launched from a freighter near America’s shores, setting off a nuclear explosion in the atmosphere. The blast generates electromagnetic pulses (EMPs) that could take out the nation’s electrical grid and bring civilization as we know it “to a cold, dark halt.”

This warning comes from the former director of the CIA, James Woolsey, in little-noticed testimony recently before the House Armed Services Committee.

A nuclear weapon would be detonated in orbit “in order to destroy much of the electric grid from above the US with a single explosion,” he told lawmakers last week. “Two thirds of the US population would likely perish from starvation, disease, and societal breakdown. Other experts estimate the likely loss to be closer to 90 percent.”

This dire forecast included warning of an “increasing likelihood that rogue nations such as North Korea (and before long, most likely, Iran) will soon match Russia and China in that they will have the primary ingredients for an EMP attack: simple ballistic missiles such as SCUDs that could be launched from a freighter near our shores.”

Mr. Woolsey sprinkled in a bit of intelligence as well. “In 2004,” he noted to lawmakers, “the Russians told us that their ‘brain drain’ had been helping the North Koreans develop EMP weapons.”

So, how plausible is this sort of scenario? A number of defense analysts take issue with the idea that an EMP attack on the US is imminent, or even particularly likely. They also suggested the outcome of the attack would not be so dire.

“I think the wild hysteria that’s greeted EMP attacks lately is wildly overstated,” says James Lewis, director of the Strategic Technologies Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

“So if you’re North Korea, and you’ve got a nuclear weapon, and you detonate it over the United States, what’s going to happen next? The answer is hundreds of nukes will descend on you from the US,” he says. “So why would you waste the round? If they’re going to shoot a nuke at us, they’re not going to bother with this EMP stuff.”

What’s more, although Woolsey told lawmakers that “modern electronics are a million times more vulnerable to EMP than the electronics of the 1960s,” Mr. Lewis argues that radiation hardening has been built into many modern electronics, through chips that have become more sophisticated. “Before, there were vacuum tubes, and now you’re using a chip that can withstand a fair amount of radiation,” Lewis says.

So what’s the bottom line? If a country or terrorist group “were crazy enough to shoot a nuclear weapon up over Washington, D.C. [to try to create an EMP], you might be able to fry 30 percent of the electronics in the city,” Lewis says.

Solar flares can create EMPs as well, Woolsey noted, citing a 1989 solar-generated pulse that, he told lawmakers, “effectively destroyed Quebec’s electric grid.” According to an article on a NASA website that looked back at the event 10 years later, the power was out in Quebec for 12 hours.

While an EMP attack may not be likely, the possibility raises some interesting strategic questions, says Paul Scharre, project director for the 20YY Warfare Initiative at the Center for a New American Security.

“If a nuclear-armed actor, instead of actually killing civilians with a nuclear weapon, lights it off at a high altitude,” he asks. “Does that cross the nuclear threshold? What’s the appropriate response? How would we respond? There’s not really a good answer for that.”

Urban Man

Long Lasting Prepping Foods.

 

 

 

 

Article from Minq.com on long lasting foods for the prepper. Or as they say "Indestructible Foods That Would Outlast The Apocalypse".

http://www.minq.com/food/4337/16-indestructible-foods-that-would-outlast-the-apocalypse?cont=6884337f#slide/1/0

Ramen Noodles. You'll find Ramen noodles in any college dorm room, and if he wanted to, a freshman could buy a pack and not eat them until graduation and be fine. Ramen noodles last for ten years or more, because these pasta noodles are completely dried. Flavoring can be added, similar to other soup dishes.

Urban Man's comment: Ramen is cheap and comes with itr's own flavoring packet. Great base for added vegetables or edible plants foraged in the wilderness. Tip - dump Ramen and flavoring into a zip lock bag; place in patrol pack and eat cold at the end of the day.

Maple Syrup. If your maple syrup is 100% pure, it will last forever. Like honey, it may crystallize over time but it will still taste amazing. You can even freeze it in an air-tight container. Now we just need to find a way to make pancakes last forever too.

Urban Man's comment: I'll have to think about this.

Bouillon. If you ever need to hide out in a bunker for a while you can use bouillon cubes to flavor your food. Beef, chicken, and other flavors of bouillon can be stored for years!

Urban Man's comment: I have Bouillon coming out of my ears. One of the best things to stockpile. Can simply use to make a soup. Can add edible plants or vegetables harvested.

Hot Cocoa. This favorite drink will definitely keep up morale. Instant hot chocolate will last forever if it is kept in a dry air-tight container. The same goes for instant coffee!

Urban Man's comment: Stock both!

Alcohol. Unopened bottles of wine or other distilled spirits can be stored for up to 30 years or more. Some alcohols tend to age and acquire a taste improvement over time, but still require proper storage.

Urban Man's comment: Great item to have for barter, especially hard liquor.

Peanut Butter. Some types of peanut butter available on grocery shelves do not need refrigeration. This type of peanut butter can last a long time, for a year or longer. The oil in this food helps to keep it fresh.

Urban Man's comment: Every stand along bucket of mine has PB in it.

Salt. Salt is a mineral that has long lasting qualities. It is often used as a preservative, that draws in moisture from other foods. Salt's dryness prevents bacteria from spoiling food.

Urban Man's comment: I also have tons of salt strored, both plain salt and table salt.

Hard Tack. Hard tack is a type of cracker, that is used by military troops. It is a tough cracker, that stays edible for long periods of time. Although hard tack has a bland flavor, it is very filling.

Urban Man's comment: Learn how to make this item. Stock flour!

Rice. Rice is a staple, that you can store indefinitely. Your long term storage environment needs to be oxygen free and cold to allow your rice to stay fresh for up to 30 years. Be sure to keep your storage containers sealed air tight, and use storage lids that are made for this type of long term storage.

Urban Man's comment: Nothing needs to be said about rice - every prepper in the U.S. has stored rice.

Soy Sauce. Soy sauce is one of the most versatile flavor enhancers today. Your soy sauce can be stored indefinitely, and should remain unopened until you are ready to use it.

Urban Man's comment: I prefer to have other seasoning like Garlic Salt, Black Pepper, and other meat seasoning.

Honey. Honey is a whole food, that can be easily stored. You will need to properly seal your storage containers in order to avoid any humidity. The low water content in honey allows it to preserve naturally.

Urban Man's comment: Honey - the only food that won't spoil.

Dried Beans. Beans that are properly dried can last up to 30 years. You can store your beans in number ten cans with the oxygen removed. Your storage areas should be dark and away from outside air.

Urban Man's comment: Nothing needs to be said about beans - every prepper in the U.S. has stored beans as well.

Powdered Milk. Powdered milk is a food staple that has an indefinite shelf life. It can be stored easily for emergencies. Powdered milk is a decent cooking and baking ingredient.

Urban Man's comment: I have powdered milk in vacuum sealed container.

Corn Syrup. Corn syrup can last indefinitely, if you keep it stored in an air tight container. This type of sweetener is a whole food that can be added to your other stored dishes. It has its own nutritional qualities, including daily carbohydrate requirements and antioxidants.

Urban Man's comment: Well, this is one thing I don;t have - corn oil, but it makes sense as corn oil is 100% disgestible energy.

Canned Foods. Canned foods today can last for over 30 years, but you need to keep your cans sealed completely. Foods that are preserved in cans can be used for emergencies. Once the can is open, you will need to cook the food inside.

Urban Man's comment: Stored in pantry - use the concept first in, first out (to cook/eat). Everyone should, at a minimum, quadruple what they normally keep in can goods. This will be the first foods eaten as they are heavy and hard to move in bulk, and generally won't last as long.

Vinegar. Some varieties of this condiment can be stored for long periods of time. It contains a low pH content, and it is often used as a preservative for other foods. Vinegar can be an effective cleaning agent.

Urban Man's comment: Good idea. I don’t have vinegar stored, but now I will start.

Sugar. Cane sugar can be stored for extended periods of time as well. Bacteria does not grow on sugar because its content has little moisture, and cane sugar is a natural sweetener for other foods. You can remedy any lumps in your stored sugar, by heating it in a microwave on a low power setting, for one to two minutes per cup of sugar.

Urban Man's comment: What serious prepper doesn’t have sugar stored?

Corn Starch. Corn starch is used to thicken sauces and gravies. You can use it in puddings, and it stays fresh for a long time with proper storage. It needs to be stored in a cool and dry space, with a tightly sealed top on its storage container.

Urban Man's comment: Another thing I don’t have and will have to think about.

Pure Vanilla Extract. Vanilla extract is a dried plant that can last for a long time in storage. You will need to seal your vanilla extract and place it in a cool dark location. This form of flavoring is added to your other foods, for an improved cooking taste.

Urban Man's comment: Another thing I don’t have and will have to think about.

America & Islam: A Brief History

 

 

 

 

 

America & Islam: A Brief History

By Guido Volante

 

The following is a little history lesson most Americans do not know. The enemy

we face today is the same enemy we've faced before. We were at war with the Islamists

once before, and it was Thomas Jefferson who defeated them when he became

President. Where are the Thomas Jefferson's of today? He would be turning over in his

grave if he knew that they now have a foothold on our shores. Please read and share

with others.

 

Most Americans are unaware of the fact that over two hundred years ago, the

United States had declared war on Islam, and Thomas Jefferson led the charge!!! Here

is a little history. Including how the term ‘Leatherneck’ came to be.

 

At the height of the eighteenth century, Muslim pirates were the terror of the

Mediterranean and a large area of the North Atlantic. They attacked every ship in sight,

and held the crews for exorbitant ransoms. Those taken hostage were subjected to

barbaric treatment and wrote heart breaking letters home, begging their government and

family members to pay whatever their Mohammedan captors demanded.

 

These extortionists of the high seas represented the Islamic nations of Tripoli,

Tunis, Morocco, and Algiers – collectively referred to as the Barbary Coast – and

presented a dangerous and unprovoked threat to the new American Republic.

Before the Revolutionary War, U.S. merchant ships had been under the

protection of Great Britain. When the U.S. declared its independence and entered into

war, the ships of the United States were protected by France. However, once the war

was won, America had to protect its own fleets. Thus, the birth of the U.S. Navy.

Beginning in1784, seventeen years before he would become president, Thomas

Jefferson became America’s Minister to France. That same year, the U.S. Congress

sought to appease its Muslim adversaries by following in the footsteps of European

nations who paid bribes to the Barbary States, rather than engaging them in war.

 

In July of 1785, Algerian pirates captured American ships, and the Dey of Algiers

demanded an unheard-of ransom of $60,000. It was a plain and simple case of extortion,

and Thomas Jefferson was vehemently opposed to any further payments. Instead, he

proposed to Congress the formation of a coalition of allied nations who together could

force the Islamic states into peace. A disinterested Congress decided to pay the ransom.

In 1786, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams met with Tripoli’s ambassador to

Great Britain to ask by what right his nation attacked American ships and enslaved

American citizens, and why Muslims held so much hostility towards America, a nation

with which they had no previous contacts.

 

The two future presidents reported that Ambassador Sidi Haji Abdul Rahman

Adja had answered that Islam "was founded on the Laws of their Prophet, that it was

written in their Quran, that all nations who should not have acknowledged their authority

were sinners, that it was their right and duty to make war upon them wherever they could

be found, and to make slaves of all they could take as Prisoners, and that every

Musselman (Muslim) who should be slain in Battle was sure to go to Paradise."

 

Despite of this stunning admission of premeditated violence on non-Muslim

nations, as well as the objections of many notable American leaders, including George

Washington, who warned that caving in was both wrong and would only further

embolden the enemy, for the following fifteen years, the American government paid the

Muslims millions of dollars for the safe passage of American ships or the return of

American hostages. The payments in ransom and tribute amounted to over twenty

percent of the United States government annual revenues in 1800.

 

Jefferson was disgusted. Shortly after his being sworn in as the third President of

the United States in 1801, the Pasha of Tripoli sent him a note demanding the immediate

payment of $225,000 plus $25,000 a year for every year forthcoming. That changed

everything.

 

Jefferson let the Pasha know, in no uncertain terms, what he could do with his

demand. The Pasha responded by cutting down the flagpole at the American consulate

and declared war on the United States. Tunis, Morocco, and Algiers immediately

followed suit. Jefferson, until now, had been against America raising a naval force for

anything beyond coastal defense, but having watched his nation be cowed by Islamic

thuggery for long enough, decided that is was finally time to meet force with force.

 

He dispatched a squadron of frigates to the Mediterranean and taught the Muslim

nations of the Barbary Coast a lesson he hoped they would never forget. Congress

authorized Jefferson to empower U.S. ships to seize all vessels and goods of the Pasha

of Tripoli and to “cause to be done all other acts of precaution or hostility as the state of

war would justify”.

 

When Algiers and Tunis, who were both accustomed to American cowardice and

acquiescence, saw the newly independent United States had both the will and the might

to strike back, they quickly abandoned their allegiance to Tripoli. The war with Tripoli

lasted for four more years, and raged up again in 1815. The bravery of the U.S. Marine

Corps in these wars led to the line “to the shores of Tripoli” in the Marine Hymn, They

would forever be known as “leathernecks” for the leather collars of their uniforms,

designed to prevent their heads from being cut off by the Muslim scimitars when

boarding enemy ships.

 

Islam, and what its Barbary followers justified doing in the name of their prophet

and their god, disturbed Jefferson quite deeply. America had a tradition of religious

tolerance, the fact that Jefferson, himself, had co-authored the Virginia Statute for

Religious Freedom, but fundamentalist Islam was like no other religion the world had

ever seen. A religion based on supremacism, whose holy book not only condoned but

mandated violence against unbelievers was unacceptable to him. His greatest fear was

that someday this brand of Islam would return and pose an even greater threat to the

United States.

 

This should bother every American. That the Islams have brought about womenonly

classes and swimming times at taxpayer-funded universities and public pools; that

Christians, Jews, and Hindus have been banned from serving on juries where Muslim

defendants are being judged, Piggy banks and Porky Pig tissue dispensers have been

banned from workplaces because they offend Islamist sensibilities. Ice cream has been

discontinued at certain Burger King locations because the picture on the wrapper looks

similar to the Arabic script for Allah, public schools are pulling pork from their menus, on

and on in the news papers….

 

It’s death by a thousand cuts, or inch-by-inch as some refer to it, and most

Americans have no idea that this battle is being waged every day across America. By

not fighting back, by allowing groups to obfuscate what is really happening, and not

insisting that the Islamists adapt to our own culture, the United States is cutting its own

throat with a politically correct knife, and helping to further the Islamists agenda. Sadly, it

appears that today’s America would rather be politically correct than victorious.

Dont' Register Your Guns!

Here is a story I just read that makes a lot of great sense. Read and you be the judge.

"Gun control and further infringements of the Second Amendment are a dangerous and controversial topic in America.  There are those that wish to control people, but an armed populace is not easily controlled.

The pro-gun control liberals in Washington seek to disarm the citizenry.  One of the first steps in disarming people is gun registration.  Second Amendment supporters know that registration leads to confiscation, and confiscation in America will lead to a Second American Revolution.

So gun owners across the nation, but particularly in Connecticut and New York right now, are defiantly opposed and resistant to gun registration.

Now a respected voice on the right, one that has previously been in favor of some gun control, has come out in staunch resistance to gun registration schemes.  Dr. Ben Carson said he no longer believes in gun registration because America’s insane national debt could turn the nation into a third-world country under martial law, a situation in which law-abiding and good people will need to be armed for protection.

Carson, the retired neurosurgeon who has been getting buzz in conservative circles, said that he changed his mind and was against gun registration because of the “sinister internal forces” that could surface in that scenario. He said he “used to think they needed to be registered, but if you register them they just come and find you and take your guns.”

“If we were only concerned about external forces, then we would be okay,” he said. “But there are some pretty sinister internal forces.”

Dr. Carson asked the audience to consider a scenario in which countries around the globe have dropped the dollar as the reserve currency, making note that Russia has threatened to do just that in retaliation for sanctions imposed upon them.

“We have a national debt that is so high, and it’s being raised even higher,” he said. “Now, the only reason we can do that is because we are the reserve currency for the world. What if that changes?”

“What if other people come along?” Carson asked, saying China and the U.N have mentioned doing the same. “We would become a third-world nation overnight. Occupy Wall Street would be a walk in the park. And all of a sudden, the things that would be going on in this country which would necessitate marital law… all this could happen very rapidly. We should be really concerned.”

James Taranto, of The Wall Street Journal, asked Carson about his previous stance on gun registration, in which he supported gun control in urban areas to keep “crazy people” from having semi-automatic rifles in high-density cities.

“Do you think the Supreme Court was wrong when it found that the Second Amendment guarantees the right to keep arms in Washington, D.C., and Chicago?” Taranto asked.

“I truly believe in Second Amendment rights,” Carson said. “I would never advocate anything to interfere with Second Amendment rights; however, I do think we have to be intelligent.”

He said his point in saying that was to address situations–like in Detroit–where people with AK-47s are mowing people down.

“We need to engage in a discussion about, ‘Is there something we can do?'” Carson said before saying that “we have to keep in mind that law-abiding American citizens absolutely should have gun rights.”

Dr. Ben Carson is of course correct, the American people must never register their guns.  The people have an inherent and natural right to keep and bear arms, for the direct purpose of keeping their “leaders” in check.  The Framers were well aware of the dangers of a tyrannical government versus an unarmed population, and did their best to ensure such a situation would never occur in America.

Unfortunately, over the years our government has indeed infringed upon our natural right to be armed, and intends to infringe even more.  As stated before, registration leads to confiscation.  A list of registered guns in this country, in the hands of our current “gestapo-like” administration, would certainly result in confiscation and the disarming of law-abiding and good citizens.

Of course, criminals don’t follow laws, so they won’t register their guns, and will remain armed.  And the government will most definitely remain armed, otherwise how will they enforce their gun control laws?

[source: conservativetribune.com]"

Urban Man