North Korea Tests 'Super-EMP' Nuke

I believe that the Swiss have their comm systems backed up by the old type (tube) system. There was huge sunspot that would have shut everything down in the early/mid '1900s. Date probably wrong. The Aurra borialas (sp) was seen in Florida for days. Not good an dates nor locations, just a memory, cloudy at best. I am sure someone here knows alot more about it than I.

 

Even tube gear could have problems. The filaments in the tubes are wee 'antennas' that would draw in the pulse, and feed right through the radio. The aluminum cases had shielding (the 'Tempest' program) to prevent such problems. Still, I liked the old tube gear I worked on in the Navy. 'Repair' was often just a matter of smacking it upside the case. I had my custom trimmed basswood tweakers and could have those capacitive plates adjusted PDQ! It was gear that could be repaired with normal tools too. They were like an old car - a bit cranky at times, but you could always patch 'em up enough to work even when parts supply got tight.
The new solid state stuff - great when it works, but when it breaks, it DOES NOT work, period!

 

I actually think a successful wide scale EMP attack will be more of a shotgun blast to the gut, with the country dying slowly. While there are a lot of things that I (and presumably a lot of you) either are disappointed about with society or outright hate about it, do any of you really want a future where you can never again have a peaceful night's sleep in your lives, living out your remaining days with hard subsistence farming, getting older and not having access to modern medicine and dentistry in your older (and more painful) years? I think that's the worst it can get.

Something like a big flu epidemic like in the 20th century or even a government collapse, failure then restructuring can still be lived through, though it will be very tough. But having the nation, possibly the continent or the world instantly forced back to the Wild West within a few seconds is terrible. Within a few weeks after that we'll be back in the Dark ages and continue reverting back into outright barbarism from there. I don't see how it could get worse than that. If the majority of people were prepared, had some old world skills, I would think differently, but not this generation of Jersey Shore watchers and American Idol viewers. If the generation that lived during WW2, the Victory Gardeners and fighters of that age were around today, then I think we as a nation could struggle through it a lot better and hold together, but no way with this generation could we make it en masse.

 

I've been concerned about an EMP strike ever since I read "One Second After" and "Lights Out". I can't think of a more effective way that a small group of terrorists (or small country) could strike out and cripple the US, especially if they were unconcerned with consequences. Our electrical grid is an aging mess as it is; it wouldn't stand a chance against an EMP. Our politicians have been too busy spending our money on propping up corporations like GM and passing worthless "economic stimulus packages" to consider actually doing something worthwhile like hardening our grid. God help our country if we are ever struck by an EMP; it would set the US back to the 18th century within a couple days.

 

I've a suggestion to keep you all occupied
Learn to swim
Learn to swim
Learn to swim...

 

Always remember: Noah started building the ark before it started raining.

 

Dear leader Kim has nothing to lose. He may be planning to go out with a big bang. If any of this is true, a pre-emptive strike is the only answer. Frankly, turning North Korea into a sheet of radioactive glass would be a mercy to their enslaved, starving masses. The Korean "War" never ended, it just became a Mexican standoff that has lasted half a century. My father was at Chosin Reservoir and survived, but many didn't. We've never pressed the pay-back button because we fear the Chinese. I pray we find a leader with some balls ... and soon.

 

As mountainous as NK is, it'd need many nukes to root all of them out! Just nail their ports and power plants, ring them with steel, nothing goes in or comes out - in a year they are all dead.

 

I've wondered how effective a EMP would really be. Have there been extensive tests to see what would actually be damaged beyond quick repair and how far reaching a blast would be?

Would this affect simple electrical items like a lamp, stove or generator or just stuff with circuit boards?

I agree though, if it really damaged a lot of electronics over a huge portion of the country it would be devastating.

 

Yeah, I'm thinking that unless some 'other guvmint agency' actually gets the specs on what the Russians helped the NKs to build, no one here can really know.(in "One second after" it only takes 3 moderate yield weapons to take out North America, but you usually can't judge the real world on a work of fiction of course).

With the Dear Leader in charge over there, I'm sure he spent the most $ he had to get the most devastating weapon possible, maybe even a series of them. That's what's scary is because the Russians can make some pretty effective stuff. Then you have to ponder who else in turban-wearing land might be a customer as well.

 

I was just a lowly computer technician in a previous life with a rudimentary understanding of watts and volts and circuits, but my most recent career was as clerk for a staff of electrical engineers who design power centers for the coal mines and the transportation industry (subways and high speed trains). Years ago when Light's Out was first .pdf'd here (warts and all) I printed it up and passed it around and had many conversations with the big brains about it. Unanimously they agreed the scenario was completely feasible and perhaps understated. (Remember in the first drafts of Light's Out, Arabs launched two atmospheric nukes over both coasts from the decks of false flag steamers off-shore. I've often wondered why David omitted that from the final and sort of left the cause up in the air).

At any rate, the chief engineers were crazy about the Half Fast manuscript and agreed that such an attack (or even a major solar flare) would crash the current power grid (HARD) and have global repercussions that would last many decades. If every transformer on every light pole in the country blows, it would take years to replace them and that doesn't even consider that there is no surplus in reserve, and even if there were, they would likely not be shielded in Faraday cages so they would be expensive boat anchors as would every computer, cell phone/tower, timer and circuit board that was not shielded.

If somehow, new transformers could be produced (unlikely in a powerless country) the sheer numbers required are staggering and the workload of replacing them incalculable. The lack of power would be the least of our problems. Almost all transportation, communication, sanitation and infrastructure for delivering food and water would be history or severly compromised. The economy would not just crash, but would become non-existent in an instant.

The engineers actually "war-gamed" the advantages of starting from scratch rather than attempting to rebuild the current infrastructure. My boss was very keen on trying Tesla's theories of transmitting electricity wirelessly. They all felt that David Crawford's vision of riots in major population areas was understated and that roving bands of MZBs would be the new norm and he was overly generous in the number of working vehicles still on the roads and the number of survivors. Unchecked disease alone would wipe out large segments of the population. I was so used to the engineers solving problems that for the first time, when I saw their eyes glaze over and shake their heads I had an epiphany.

To the last man, these engineers were already, or quickly became preppers. By my reckoning, there's more guns and ammo buried in these West Virginia mountains than in all the Government arsenals. With all that said, the bottom line I took away is that our current grid is so delicate that even a near strike and a partial crash would probably overload the whole system. What happened in New York in the sixties was a wake-up call, but no one woke up and most of the same old equipment is still in use today. After a few BS sessions with the engineering staff, I started hanging out here (in lurk mode) full time and made damn sure that worst case, I'll have food stores and a sizable garden, can cook, have clean water and make a reasonable effort to defend myself. "Light's Out" was my personal wake-up call and thanks to Survival Monkey for hosting it years ago. I bow to all you Monkeys that have tutored me in survival and self-defense.

​

 

In sort of related news, a group of Russian scientists that helped Iran with their nuke plan have all suffered an 'accident':

Nuclear experts killed in Russia plane crash helped design Iran facility - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News

That's just too bad, ain't it?!

 

Pay no attention to the guy on the plane wearing a keffiyeh and a suicide vest.

 

I'd be more suspect of an Israeli 'mechanic' doing something to the plane.

 

"technical malfunction"

If the condition of RusAir's Tu-134 was similar the ones I've seen on TV transporting the nature show crews; mechanical or structural failure is easily believable. I'm not a pilot so I don't know how to pre-flight an aircraft; but, I do have eyes... lol

Perhaps with US funding?

I've often wondered if their need and willingness ever paired up with our desires, funds and surveillance abilities?


http://en.rian.ru/russia/20110622/164766177.html

Other pilots say in bad weather they also mistook the same road for the airport; maybe their air traffic controllers do the same as ours??