This page has been archived and commenting is disabled.

Sounding The Alarm On The Country's Vulnerability To An EMP

Tyler Durden's picture




 

Last year, Elliott Management's Paul Singer highlighted "one risk that stands way above the rest in terms of the scope of potential damage adjusted for the likelihood of occurrence" - an electromagnetic pulse (EMP). As Michael Snyder previously details, our entire way of life can be ended in a single day.  And it wouldn’t even take a nuclear war to do it.  All it would take for a rogue nation or terror organization to bring us to our knees is the explosion of a couple well-placed nuclear devices high up in our atmosphere.  The resulting electromagnetic pulses would fry electronics from coast to coast.

 

 

As PeakProsperity.com's Chris Martenson explains, the country is extremely vulnerable to an EMP...

In the past here at Peak Prosperity, we’ve written extensively on the threat posed by a sustained loss of electrical grid power. More specifically, we've warned that the most damaging threat to our grid would come from either a manmade or natural electromagnetic pulse (EMP). 

A good friend of mine, Jen Bawden, is currently sitting on a committee of notable political, security and defense experts  -- which includes past and present members of Congress, ambassadors, CIA directors, and others -- who are equally concerned about this same threat and have recently sent a letter to Obama pleading for action to protect the US grid.

Before we get to that letter, here’s a snippet from what we wrote on the matter roughly a year ago:

We talk a lot about Peak Cheap Oil as the Achilles' heel of the exponential monetary model, but the real threat to the quality of our daily lives, if not our lives themselves, would be a sustained loss of electrical power. Anything over a week without power for any modern nation would be a serious problem.  A month would lead to chaos and many deaths.

 

When the power goes out, everything just stops. For residential users, even a few hours begins to intrude heavily as melting freezers, dying cell phones, and the awkward realization that we don't remember how to play board games nudge us out of our comfort zone.

 

However, those are just small inconveniences.

 

For industrial and other heavy users, the impact of even a relatively short outage can be expensive or even ghastly. Hospitals and people on life-assisting machinery are especially vulnerable. Without power, aluminum smelters face the prospect of the molten ore solidifying in the channels from which it must be laboriously removed before operations can be restarted.

 

Many types of nuclear power plants have to switch to back-up diesel generators to keep the cooling pumps running. And if those stop for any reason (like they run out of fuel), well, Fukushima gave us a sense of how bad things can get.

 

And of course banking stops, ATMs are useless, and gas stations cannot pump gas. Just ask the people of New Jersey in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

 

A blackout of a few hours results in an inconvenience for everyone and something to talk about.

 

But one more than a day or two long? Things begin to get a bit tense; especially in cities, and doubly so if it happens in the hot mid-summer months.

 

Anything over a week and we start facing real, life-threatening issues. National Geographic ran a special presentation, American Blackout, in October 2013 -- it presented a very good progression covering exactly what a timeline of serious grid disruption would look and feel like. I recommend the program for those interested.

 

We're exploring this risk because there are a number of developments that could knock out the power grid for a week or more. They include a coronal mass ejection (CME), a nuclear electromagnetic pulse (EMP) device, a cascading grid failure, and malicious hacking or electronic attacks.

Others Are Waking Up To The Danger

Recently, we've been contacted by a well-connected group of powerful people who have formed a commission to study the matter, and have recently made a public and urgent appeal in an open letter to President Obama to take this threat seriously.

This letter was sent to the President over the Memorial Day weekend.  It begins (emphasis mine):

Dear Mr. President,

 

We need your personal intervention to provide for the protection of the American people against an existential threat posed by natural and manmade electromagnetic pulse (EMP). The consequent failure of critical infrastructure that sustain our lives is a major national security threat and would be catastrophic to our people and our nation.

 

The national Intelligence Council, which speaks for the entire U.S. Intelligence Community, published in its 2012 unclassified Global Trends 2030 report that an EMP is one of only eight Black Swan events that could change the course of global civilization by or before 2030. No official study denies the view that an EMP is a potentially catastrophic societal threat that needs to be addressed urgently. America is not prepared to be without water, electricity, telephones, computer networks, heating, air conditioning, transportation (cars, subways, buses, airplanes), and banking.

 

All the benefits of our just-in-time economy would come to a deadly halt, including the production of petroleum products, clothing, groceries and medicine. Think about cities without electricity to pump water to their residents.

(Source)

Given the deadly drama that would accompany a such major and sustained grid-down event, you’d think that the US would be spending lots of money to safeguard against one happening. But you’d be wrong.

A bit further in the letter they warn about the vulnerability of nuclear reactors, a risk that causes me a lot of personal concern:

We urge you immediately to issue a Presidential Study Directive (PSD) directing your National Security Advisor to lead a focused interagency effort to provide, in connection with your current budget execution activities and future budget requests, a specific program to address this natural and manmade threat. In particular, this PSD should direct that hardening technology, well known in the Department of Defense, be exploited by all agencies with responsibility for maintaining the electric power grid. It is imperative that plans are immediately implemented to protect America’s at least 100 nuclear reactors and their co-located spent fuel storage facilities from an EMP. 

As Fukushima taught the world, if nuclear plants lose grid power, they rely on diesel generators to keep the cooling water circulating.  Lacking grid power, they can keep everything working for as long as the diesel generators run. Of course, in a grid-down event nothing works, including refineries and the ability to pump and move refined fuel.  After the diesel runs out (assuming the generators themselves were not completely ruined by the EMP), the nuke plants will experience various forms of distress as cooling systems are compromised, up to and including complete meltdowns as a possibility.

Nature Can Play This Game, Too

As a reminder, an EMP can also come from a natural cause such as a coronal mass ejection from our sun -- something we’ve covered in detail here in repeated interviews with NASA scientist Lika Guhathakurta (here and here) as well as in numerous reports centered on the electrical grid and/or warfare:

A coronal mass ejection from the Sun can generate a natural EMP with catastrophic consequences. A geomagnetic super-storm in 1859 called the Carrington Event caused worldwide damage and fires in telegraph stations and other primitive electronics, which at the time were not necessary for societal survival. In contrast, today a Carrington-class geomagnetic super-storm-expected every century or so-could collapse electric grids and destroy critical infrastructure everywhere on Earth.

 

We know it will happen; we just don’t know when, but we know humanity can’t risk being unprepared. In July 2012, we missed a repeat by only a few days when a major solar emission passed through the Earth’s orbit just after planet Earth passed. NASA recently warned that the likelihood of such a geomagnetic super-storm is 12 percent per decade; so it is virtually certain that a natural EMP catastrophe shall occur within our lifetime or that of our children.

We covered the July 2012 event here at PeakProsperity.com because it was a very narrow miss for Earth. Had it instead hit, I seriously doubt I would be typing this or that you’d be reading it. Instead, more likely, we’d be writing letters by candlelight (assuming someone had a pony available to deliver them).

Now, a 12% per decade chance of a natural EMP occuring per is a pretty high risk. Statistically, it translates into a pretty safe bet that sooner or later on is going to strike. Despite all our advanced technology, we’ll only have, at best, a couple of days advance warning. And that’s assuming that the government decides to tell us, risking a mass panic before the CME arrives.

EMP As A Tool Of War

But the bigger risk, in my mind, is that a military confrontation induces one (or several) players to use an EMP as a means of warfare. With the US poking the Russian bear, and now considering military options to confront China over the islands they are building in the South China Sea, it's not out-of-the-question that one of these world powers could consider using an EMP as a means of retaliation..

The letter to Obama continues:

As we have known for over a half-century from actual test data, even more damaging EMP effects would be produced by any nuclear weapon exploded a hundred miles or so above the United States, possibly disabling everything that depends on electronics for control or operations within a line of sight from the explosion.

 

Electricity networks could be shut down indefinitely until major repairs could be made, and this could take months, even years. Cascading failures from even a lower altitude nuclear burst over the northeastern U.S. could indefinitely shut down the electric grid that produces three quarters of the U.S. electric power. Computers would be incapacitated. Supply chains would shut down. Imagine Hurricane Sandy affecting a much larger area without the immediate physical damage but also without any hope for relief supplies.

 

Russia and China have already developed nuclear EMP weapons and many believe others possess EMP weapons including North Korea and soon Iran - and likely their terrorist surrogates. For example, they could launch nuclear-armed short or medium range missiles from near our coasts, possibly hiding the actual sponsor from retaliation. North Korea and Iran have tested their missiles in ways that can execute EMP attacks from ships or from satellites that approach the U.S. from the couth where our ballistic missile warning systems are minimal.

A nuclear EMP device is thought to have the potential to completely ruin an unhardened electrical grid for as long as it takes to repair/replace all the ruined electrical items affected.  This is especially concerning in the case of large scale transformers, which are specially made in just a few places with very low manufacturing throughput capacity that could take a year or more (and that’s assuming the plants are still up and running after the attack).

There is one quibble I have with the letter: I'm not at all concerned about Iran at this stage. Iran has never physically threatened the US nor funded any terrorists that have directly attacked the US like, say, Saudi Arabia.  Perhaps we should be more concerned about the Saudis:

Saudis ‘to get nuclear weapons’

May 17, 2015

 

SAUDI ARABIA has taken the “strategic decision” to acquire “off-the-shelf” atomic weapons from Pakistan, risking a new arms race in the Middle East, according to senior American officials.

 

The move by the Gulf kingdom, which has financed much of Islamabad’s nuclear programme over the past three decades, comes amid growing anger among Sunni Arab states over a deal backed by President Barack Obama, which they fear could allow their arch foe, Shi’ite Iran, to develop a nuclear bomb.

(Source)

So, yes, I’d personally be more concerned about a volatile and increasingly unstable Saudi Arabia having a few nukes in their hot little hands than I would Iran. But that's just me. And it's a small point relative to the main message of the letter.

I do agree, though, that the US has plenty of enemies. And its relationships with major powers Russia and China are clearly deteriorating and becoming more hostile:

China state paper warns of war over South China Sea unless U.S. backs down

May 21, 2015

 

A Chinese state-owned newspaper said on Monday that "war is inevitable" between China and the United States over the South China Sea unless Washington stops demanding Beijing halt the building of artificial islands in the disputed waterway.

 

The Global Times, an influential nationalist tabloid owned by the ruling Communist Party's official newspaper the People's Daily, said in an editorial that China was determined to finish its construction work, calling it the country's "most important bottom line".

(Source)

It’s a far leap from a general risk of ‘war’ to panicking about a nuclear EMP device being detonated on our soil, but reasonable and prudent individuals cannot entirely discount the possibility. I agree that our government should have plans in place for such a shock, and a program to firm US national weaknesses in advance.

As long as I'm making demands, it would also be my wish that the US practice more diplomacy and issued fewer blustery ‘my way or the highway’ ultimatums to major nuclear superpowers. Sadly the current State Department seems to be fully occupied by extremely hawkish Neocons who have a differnet point of view.

China has a very strong interest in the South China Sea (where lots of oil is thought to be found, by the way) and they are very much unlikely to back down to US demands or even direct military confrontation. Both national pride and critical resources are at stake (things that the US should understand quite well).

Protecting Yourself

I'm glad that there is a group of concerned and well-connected individuals that are seeking both to raise awareness at the top of government and to encourage more direct action to insulate our electrical grid from the impact of an EMP. We applaud those efforts.

But as with nearly every major societal risk we face, we don't recommend pinning your hopes on the government to ride to the rescue. Instead, we’ve been carefully and consistently raising awareness among our readers to the threat posed by a loss of grid power (especially due to an EMP event, because the duration of the outage in that case is likely to be long).

It turns out there are plenty of steps you can take to insulate yourself from the worst effects of a loss of power.  We’ve covered everything from building your own Faraday cages, to installing solar and other electricity-generating systems that might themselves withstand an EMP or other acts of warfare and still function in providing essential power during dark times.

In Part 2: Reducing Your Risk To A Grid-Down Event, we reveal the vulnerabilities mostly likely to cause prolonged outages of the national power grid: cyber attacks. The current system in the US has a disconcerting number of failure points that can -- and are, the data shows -- being targeted by malicious agents. 

And more importantly, we lay out the specific steps concerned individuals should take at the home level to have backup support and protection should the grid go down. The cost of such preparation is very low compared to the huge magnitude of this low-probability, but highly disruptive, threat.

Click here to read Part 2 of this report (free executive summary, enrollment required for full access)

 

- advertisements -

Comment viewing options

Select your preferred way to display the comments and click "Save settings" to activate your changes.
Tue, 06/02/2015 - 23:07 | 6157963 Publicus
Publicus's picture

We live in the end times. Let us take what is ours, chew and eat our fill.

 

Tue, 06/02/2015 - 23:12 | 6157971 ZerOhead
ZerOhead's picture

< EMP

< Hillary 2016

The biggest threat to the planet is...

Tue, 06/02/2015 - 23:23 | 6158007 Money Boo Boo
Money Boo Boo's picture

the ENTIRE world outside the USSA wishes and hopes for a long lasting and deeply penetrating EMP, that way we might not have WW3 in the near future

Tue, 06/02/2015 - 23:43 | 6158038 ZerOhead
ZerOhead's picture

An EMP resulting from an earth directed x-class flare/CME or nuclear war would be truly devastating.

Still I can't disagree with the above ZH poll findings...

Tue, 06/02/2015 - 23:47 | 6158047 Four chan
Four chan's picture

upside, people would stop looking at their phones.

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 00:21 | 6158109 Billy the Poet
Billy the Poet's picture

"if nuclear plants lose grid power, they rely on diesel generators to keep the cooling water circulating. Lacking grid power, they can keep everything working for as long as the diesel generators run. Of course, in a grid-down event nothing works, including refineries and the ability to pump and move refined fuel. After the diesel runs out (assuming the generators themselves were not completely ruined by the EMP), the nuke plants will experience various forms of distress as cooling systems are compromised, up to and including complete meltdowns as a possibility."

 

Nuclear power plants produce power. That power could be used for the cooling systems.

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 00:43 | 6158145 wee-weed up
wee-weed up's picture

 

 

The odds of the explosion of "a couple well-placed nuclear devices high up in our atmosphere" actually happening is probably quite low...

But Iran, North Korea, and other rogue nations and terror organizations know they don't even have to come close to "frying electronics from coast to coast"...

They know our dangerously stretched and fragile economy unfortunately is on such a hair-trigger of possible collapse that all it would take is only one marginally placed nuclear explosion in the atmosphere over DC or NYC to bring this country completely to its knees...

Just one rusty old ship (or sub) with a nuclear-tipped missile fired from somewhere off the Atlantic coast... and boom!...

TEOTWAWKI!

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 00:59 | 6158176 Condition 1SQ
Condition 1SQ's picture

You don't even need a nuke to produce an EMP.  LANL developed an EMP a few decades ago - you can find the whitepaper online.  All you need is an extremely high current circuit broken with an explosive.  Breaking that current results in a magnetic field impulse which will then couple into closed circuits, developing high voltages.  That being said, if EMPs were really that effective, we would have seen adversaries utilize them in the field by now.

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 06:41 | 6158393 Keyser
Keyser's picture

I call bullshit... A single, high-altitude nuke detonation WILL NOT generate an EMP pulse strong enough to disrupt electrical power coast to coast... Just more fear-monger crap...  

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 06:47 | 6158398 Headbanger
Headbanger's picture

COSMIC GAMMA BURST COMING!

NOWHERE TO HIDE!

SO DRINK UP!

AND GET LAID FAST!

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 09:27 | 6158735 FEDbuster
FEDbuster's picture

Our Air Force just succesfully tested an EMP Pluse  drone that can fry electronics while flying over an area.  

The threat is real, and Rep. Trent Franks ,R AZ, has a bill to improve our infrastructure  defenses against EMP or solar flares.  The estimated cost was about 2 billion which might be funny money well spent given other waste in government?

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 09:37 | 6158777 ATM
ATM's picture

I bet that $2B would be used to harden government electronics but not the infrastructure that we poor citizens use everyday.

Gotta protect the rulers.

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 09:46 | 6158818 gimme soma dat
gimme soma dat's picture

That isn't hard to believe.  I'm in the city but a little bit of wind knocks out my power.  

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 06:59 | 6158408 Urban Redneck
Urban Redneck's picture

We have seen EMPs used in the field for decades, what do think happened each time the US invaded Iraq?  

Anti radar missiles use much smaller EMPs to destroy localized electronic circuits and diminish the adversary's capability to mount a coordinated and effective response to US imperialism.

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 09:39 | 6158792 marathonman
marathonman's picture

Nukes dropped on Yemen by Israel for Saudi Arabia.  It's gettin' real out there.

http://www.veteranstoday.com/2015/05/28/nuclear-war-has-begun-in-yemen/

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 02:17 | 6158268 Hobbleknee
Hobbleknee's picture

It's so easy, and yet these things never happen.  In fact, the only country to ever nuke anyone is the US.

 

"The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary."

H. L. Mencken

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 03:35 | 6158313 commander gruze?
commander gruze?'s picture

Bitcoin users only marginally affected.

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 06:44 | 6158395 Keyser
Keyser's picture

Hmm, not sure how you figure that, considering bitcoin exists strictly in an electronic format... No electricity, no bitcoin... Pretty simple, even for a caveman to understand... 

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 07:42 | 6158474 commander gruze?
commander gruze?'s picture

Bitcoin is a fully decentralized network. Each node holds a complete record of all atransactions ever conducted by everyone. When a new device comes onto network it pulls and revalidates those records from nearby nodes thus replicating entire history from scratch. As a consequence, it is enough for just one computer to survive in order to recreate the entire network just as if nothing happened. Resilience stemming from decentralization is hugely underappreciated, but it's what makes bitcoin nearly impossible to kill.

Plus, bitcoin can run without internet (via peer-to-peer bluetooth, HAM radio, even Morse code if needs be), and you can keep your cryptographic keys on paper. In fact, paper backups of bitcoin wallet are great way of storing your bitcoin wealth off-line, hackin proof.

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 08:25 | 6158579 angryBuddhist
angryBuddhist's picture

So - let me get this straight, without a functioning electrical grid in the northern hemisphere, you are saying that I can walk into my local grocery store with my ham radio or morse code clicker and walk up to the register (which is not operational, BTW) and somehow convince the clerk there that this is a perfectly valid form of payment?

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 10:26 | 6158948 commander gruze?
commander gruze?'s picture

Don't be silly. The devices within EMP zone are dead. You will have to haul new ones from other parts of the world. But the data in the network is not affected and assuming you have off-line backup of your cryptographic keys (which is bitcoin security 101) you can access your funds no problem.

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 13:51 | 6159837 angryBuddhist
angryBuddhist's picture

Phew! That's a relief! I'll be sure to have a printed copy of my bitcoin crytographic keys safely stored in my bug-out bag for when civilization puts itself back together.

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 05:29 | 6158361 Rakshas
Rakshas's picture

....Hitlery is imaginary??

 

.....phew what a relief..... hope I wake up from my coma soon.....

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 02:50 | 6158287 squid
squid's picture

Bill!

 

It doesn't work that way.

The first thing that will happen in a grid down event is the reactors will scram. They will do this because the transformers down the line will have all been blown by the EMP or, if the immediate transformers are still ok, the load form further down the line will disappear. The generator coils will need to be disconnected immidiately else the line voltage will skyrocket with no load. Since there is no load any longer on the turnbines the steam will have to be vented and the heat source producing the steam stopped. The reactors will scram, meaning a fast shutdown. This involves dropping all the cadnium control rods into the reactors to stop the fission. And it will, stop the fission.

 

The problem is, the reator, even though the fission has stopped, will stay hot for 2-5 years. I mean REALLY FUCKING HOT. Similar to your car engine, you stop the engin but its still hot for quite a while. So even though the reactor is off technically, its still hot as hell. Not hot enoughto heat the coolant which heats water to produce super heated steam that drives the turbines but hot enough that they will combust if not cooled.

 

As you can see, a bit of a problem. 

 

Poor design, OF COURSE! But its what's there and what's operating today so it has to be dealt with.

 

Squid

 

 

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 04:02 | 6158330 winchester
winchester's picture

nuke plant is just steam machine, nuke make water boil then pipes into turbines for dynamo.

 

99% ppl think nuke is very complex plants, but  technically it is 7 years old. it's just a fucking dynamo.

 so, technically, yea, you can plug out the dynamo to any fridge.

 

 

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 04:49 | 6158346 cookies anyone
cookies anyone's picture

Nuclear power plants are controled by intricate electronic systems, good luck with the generators...

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 07:00 | 6158409 Cloud9.5
Cloud9.5's picture

Bill on the surface what you suggest seems reasonable.  Unfortunantly the problem is a little more complicated tan that.  The plants will melt down.

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 07:15 | 6158426 RadioactiveRant
RadioactiveRant's picture

Isn't the whole issue of EMP that it would destroy/cause problems with system controls. The nuclear power station wouldn't run for a few days because the systems that start the backups would be just as likely as the primary plant to have suffered from the EMP.

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 00:31 | 6158131 Rearden-Steel
Rearden-Steel's picture

How about one for each coast and save middle America?

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 04:03 | 6158332 winchester
winchester's picture

double it in dc.  just to be sure, and ny too pls.

 

tnx

 

 

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 06:38 | 6158390 THE 4th Quadrant
THE 4th Quadrant's picture

Martenson the Free Range Economist, as usual, has no idea how good an EMP disaster would be for the USSA economy.

Why?

Martenson is one of those stupid doomers. The guy has free range chickens roaming his outpost fcs, probably pecking at his keyboard and laying waste in his computer chair.

Dear Mr. President,
Please retrofit HAARP so it can cause a targeted EMP then have NASA claim it was the sun that attacked us. Then we can finally have our War on the Sun.
Kind regards,
THE 4th Quadrant

Tue, 06/02/2015 - 23:53 | 6158061 TBT or not TBT
TBT or not TBT's picture

Current doctrine would have us do a lot of indiscriminate pro active nukings around the globe.   Sea water is damned good shield from EMP, and our boomers still prowl, tubes full of MIRVed SLBMs.   

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 00:24 | 6158116 Balanced Integer
Balanced Integer's picture

Yup. I never served on a boomer, but as a mustang who did serve on fast attack boats you can bet that we would've unleashed some serious noise in the event of an EMP.

Harpoons can be nuked-up, too.

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 09:46 | 6158817 GeezerGeek
GeezerGeek's picture

"our boomers still prowl, tubes full of MIRVed SLBMs."

Before I got to the part about MIRVs and SLBMs I thought this was another baseless attack, as intermittently seen on ZH, on Baby Boomers. I thought "so what if use old geezers are still out prowling?" Then I read the remainder. Attacks on Baby Boomers, EMP or other, should be restricted to those in politics.

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 00:01 | 6158070 NoDebt
NoDebt's picture

The movie "Fight Club" was patterened after a similar event (taking out the banking/redit system).  A hard reset, basically.  It stopped when the banks were leveled, but what happened after was almost certainly not going to be as fun as the movie.

There is no way to protect from an EMP blast.  If it happens, the system is toast, exactly as the article says.  If you are a prepper, this is why you did all that work.

It's not that the lights would be out for a few months, it's that the entire debt/credit mechanism on which our society is REALLY built, breaks.  Nobody knows who they owe money to.  Nobody knows who they are owed money by.  The entire thing comes to a fucking grinding halt.  Every bank goes bust.  Every credit card goes unpaid.  Everyone who had money in an electronic account no longer has any with which to pay anybody else.  All electronic money basically dies.  Long enough to kill the institution in which is is housed anyway.

9/11 exposed a very basic vulnerability in our credit system- clearing paper checks.  When they shut down air travel for a week after the incident, paper checks couldn't be moved to their clearing banks for processing.  And that TINY little part of our financial system almost brought everthing down.  They "fixed" it by forcing electronic clearing of all checks.  Which is fine.... as long as the electronic systems aren't taken down.

And that doesn't even cover what could happen if a nuke plant or two goes critical in the middle of all of this (they run on electricity and are plugged into the grid, too).

Part of me thinks the government secretly looks forward to such an event because it gives them the authority to take COMPLETE control over the country.  What's left of it, anyway.  The other part of me thinks they're just so incompetent they'll just leave everything exposed because preparing for the unthinkable is just too expensive (like Fukushima).

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 00:26 | 6158108 ZerOhead
ZerOhead's picture

Farm credit simply evaporates and the infrastructure necessary to seed and harvest shuts down. Steaks become rare in a totally different sense of the word.

Note to self : Buy more fishing line and hooks and 500 pounds of tartar sauce...

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 02:20 | 6158270 Hobbleknee
Hobbleknee's picture

As if they don't already have complete control over the country.

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 00:37 | 6158142 Kirk2NCC1701
Kirk2NCC1701's picture

IMO, it can't be big enough and soon enough to end this entire shit-show that has become USSA.

Please, Ra you SunGod, give us a super-massive CME, and time it just right for its arrival in N. Am.

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 01:42 | 6158235 Dave Thomas
Dave Thomas's picture

Kirk I would, but that flying flapjack episode you starred in was too much! You're entiled to another 1500 years of chicanery!

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 13:02 | 6159571 Not Too Important
Not Too Important's picture

"The biggest threat to the planet is..."

The small group of occult whackos that have made both of the above possible, and most likely a given.

Tue, 06/02/2015 - 23:22 | 6158005 This is it
This is it's picture

Someone PLEASE forward this article to the Iranians, Chinese, Russians, North Koreans, etc.

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 13:03 | 6159577 Not Too Important
Not Too Important's picture

They all have a 'Samson Option'. Some just need intercontinental missiles, some are already throughout the Western world.

Tue, 06/02/2015 - 23:11 | 6157969 MonetaryApostate
MonetaryApostate's picture

Fearmongering Hyperbowl....

If the US was so "Vulnerable", wouldn't they have done something about it by now?

They've known about this technology for many years now. (Fact)

Tue, 06/02/2015 - 23:13 | 6157972 Publicus
Publicus's picture

Everything is right on schedule as the story unfolds towards the end times.

Tue, 06/02/2015 - 23:14 | 6157978 autofixer
autofixer's picture

Who is "they?"  The TSA?  

Tue, 06/02/2015 - 23:19 | 6157985 Seek_Truth
Seek_Truth's picture

The goal of TPTB is to destroy the US.

If the goal were to keep it thriving, they would have investeted in infrastructure rather than trillions in wars and bailouts.

Not to mention putting all the factories overseas, outsourcing, open boarders, LGBT "rights", Affirmative Action, NAFTA, TPP, open borders, Bruce Jenner, Obama the homo Prez and his TG "wife", gay "marriage", roundup, Atrazine ...

Get the picture?

Tue, 06/02/2015 - 23:28 | 6158001 ZerOhead
ZerOhead's picture

You are more correct than you are letting on. Think NWO, CFR, Trilateral Commission, Bilderberg Group. It's all publicly available information.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ba9wxl1Dmas (29 seconds of Clinton clarity)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOAk-7F1EVU (14 seconds of Cheney clarity)

Tue, 06/02/2015 - 23:41 | 6158033 Seek_Truth
Seek_Truth's picture

Indeed. The CFR is owned by TPTB, and everything is going according to plan.

What TPTB don't realize, however, is that what has been done before will be done again- on a much larger scale:

"In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire." - Jude 1:7

Tue, 06/02/2015 - 23:58 | 6158063 ZerOhead
ZerOhead's picture

Back in the glorious days of David and Solomon King David had  8 wives and King Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines.

Yep... makes me long for the good old days when women were plentiful and sheep were scared...

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 13:17 | 6159653 Not Too Important
Not Too Important's picture

But guys didn't marry guys, God damnit! Now bring me my concubines.

Maybe the Mormons did get it right, Biblically speaking.

No wonder Utah is also a 'Hostile' area for Jade Helm. Round up all the literal 'Bibleists' for . . .

Speaking of good Jews and their hundeds of wives and concubines, how many were under 18?

The Old Testament had that shit edited out. Now the kids are all raped in secret. Well, not so secret in the UK.

 

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 07:50 | 6158494 jerry_theking_lawler
jerry_theking_lawler's picture

I think your 'destroy' the US is slightly off...they want to destroy our current system. They want to keep thep populace (or some portion of it) to maintain their power....they just want to control us. So, they want to destroy what we had, many, many years ago and have been going at it for some time now. The end is very near as there isn't much else they can take without the lead starting to fly....

Good luck and God bless to all.

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 13:19 | 6159663 Not Too Important
Not Too Important's picture

North America cannot survive Fukushima, let alone whichever nuclear power plants are next with all the earthquakes and previous damage.

The end is near, that's why Jade Helm is ramping up.

 

Tue, 06/02/2015 - 23:32 | 6157986 ZerOhead
ZerOhead's picture

Hyperbole

If TEPCO had thought that their nuclear plants were at risk from tsunamis they would have certainly done something as well. Provided it wouldn't have cost any money of course...

http://japandailypress.com/tepco-knew-6-years-ago-about-tsunami-risk-to-...

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 13:21 | 6159678 Not Too Important
Not Too Important's picture
'Censored US gov’t emails reveal proposed plan to test West Coast residents for Fukushima fallout — “Many cases of cancer may end up being attributed to exposures” — Doses could exceed EPA’s emergency levels — UC Berkeley Nuclear Dept.: “Prompt action should be taken”

http://enenews.com/govt-emails-reveal-proposed-plan-test-west-coast-resi...

Just the tip of a very large iceberg, about the size of North America.

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 16:17 | 6160450 ZerOhead
ZerOhead's picture
  • Kathy Gibson (NRC), Mar 23 @ 3:03p: Please confirm that you are looking at this…
  • Gibson @ 5:46p: Are they talking about members of the public in US or Japan?
  • Stephanie Bush-Goddard (NRC) @ 5:54p: … the public in the US
  • Gibson @ 6:07p: Do we think it is a bad idea
  • Bush-Goddard @ 6:12p: … Yes, setting up additional monitoring stations for the public (without detecting anything) could cause additional alarm… I think they are responding to the public RASCAL run that shows very high doses to the Thyroid.
  • Gibson @ 6:35p: [NRC's Radiation Protection and Health Effects Branch] think it’s a bad idea for people in the US because there (so far) isn’t measurable iodine in the US… They think this may be a funding opportunity for the entities making these proposals.

There are not measurable levels because they probably aren't measuring the  levels.

Tue, 06/02/2015 - 23:15 | 6157979 ChargingHandle
ChargingHandle's picture

I have a hobo stove

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 04:25 | 6158339 August
August's picture

I have a quality water filter... so let's roll!

Tue, 06/02/2015 - 23:15 | 6157980 antidisestablis...
antidisestablishmentarianismishness's picture

Yeah but  we can trade our gold coins and ammunition for electricity while the dummys who own dollar bills will be helplessly sitting in darkness.

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 10:09 | 6158883 GeezerGeek
GeezerGeek's picture

I thought you could burn FRNs to generate light.Just who is going to be generating the electricity you mention?

Hurricane Wilma knocked out my power for nearly two weeks. People in S. Florida hadn't seen so many stars (in the heavens, that is) since Edison invented the light bulb.

Tue, 06/02/2015 - 23:15 | 6157981 NoWayJose
NoWayJose's picture

You should have ar least one of anything electrical that you think you will need in order to survive post-EMP stashed inside a couple layers of aluminum foil (separated by plastic or paper or cloth between layers), then placed into a cardboard or cloth lined metal trash can (or similar). Just basic stuff will do - flashlight and batteries, solar charger, a short wave receiver, etc.

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 00:03 | 6158081 TBT or not TBT
TBT or not TBT's picture

Key electronic items would be flashlights and radios and maybe a half decent NVD.  Stuff you need to defend your stuff and your band.   Plus solar panel kit and chargers.  Alkaline and lithium and lead acid  batteries you dont need to shield.   Those would laugh off an EMP.   Lithium ion rechargeables you might want to shield.  Dont put paper between your aluminum foil layers.  (Trust me, or ask any EE or physics graduate)   do insulate whats inside from your foil.  

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 00:31 | 6158123 ZerOhead
ZerOhead's picture

Fuck the radio

It's just going to keep telling me how great the economy is...

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 10:13 | 6158898 GeezerGeek
GeezerGeek's picture

I think I need a dumpster, not just a metal trash can.

Tue, 06/02/2015 - 23:25 | 6157983 i_call_you_my_base
i_call_you_my_base's picture

This shit is all over the place.

I was in midtown manhattan at work in 2003 when the grid went out in the north east. Everyone got drunk. I walked through public housing on my way home. No one bothered me. It was a good day.

Tue, 06/02/2015 - 23:17 | 6157989 ufos8mycow
ufos8mycow's picture

I have enough candles to survive any extended Armageddon.

Tue, 06/02/2015 - 23:19 | 6157997 wendigo
wendigo's picture

In the long run, an EMP might be good for America. Make us strong again. Sweep away most of the bullshit. Force us to retreat into our own communities and give up the idea of globalization. Might even cure us of war fever for a generation or two. 

 

It would also be bloody awful, and I'm not sure I'd live through it. One thing I do know is that I don't have it in me to push the button. 

Tue, 06/02/2015 - 23:30 | 6158023 Seek_Truth
Seek_Truth's picture

The US is NOT going to continue.

The days of its reign are numbered.

It has been weighed in the balances and found wanting.

It's days are numbered.

Its kingdom is divided and given to the next superpower.

MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Daniel+5%3A23-28&version=NI...

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 03:42 | 6158306 gonetogalt
gonetogalt's picture

Yes, the timeline is this:

Rev 5 v1 And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals.

(relevent thing is the scroll written front and back)

  Rev 6 v1  Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, "Come and see."

(This happened in 1889 by my reckoning, an unpublicised meeting of wealthy men, bankers, Jews, who shook hands on the Zionist agenda, essentially puttting in motion everything from WW I, Bolshevik revolution, etc, (just check the Protocols).

2 And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.

(So, as on one side of the scroll everything that Cahn describes as related to the economic effects of the Shemitah are happening, on the other side of the scroll this is happening. The result of the 1st horseman is the Russian Revolution. This took 28 years (4 Shemitahs corresponding to the 4 legs of a horse) to come to completion.)

3 When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, "Come and see."

4 Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword.
(The great sword being the atomic weapons age, 4 Shemitahs later, 1945)
5 When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come and see." So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. 6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, "A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine."
(Corrosponds to the end of Bretton Woods, (1973, 4 Shemitahs from 1945) when the great disparity of wealth between the elites and the working people began to grow, (well documented on ZH & others) and advent of 3rd world famines.)
7 When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, "Come and see." 8 So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.     ( 911, naturally, 4 Shemitahs from 1973)
9 When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. 10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" 11 Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed. (So now that the 4 horsemen are finished, this thing progresses at the rate of the Shemitah, this seal opened in 2008, same time as the 2008 meltdown/Lehman Bros Bankruptcy.) 12 I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. 13 And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. 14 Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. 15 And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, 16 and said to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?" So, if you've followed me so far, you see the 6th seal opens in about 3 months...I love the smell of napalm in the morning... With the 70th week of Daniel opening in 2022... (And as an added bonus, The year of Jubilee starts in September of this year and runs through September of 2016, you know, the 49 year cycle of land redemption from the Jewish Lunar Calander...This time it's shaping up to be a doozy of a war.) I also just realized this weekend how ISIS and the Anglo American Zionist empire is specifically mentioned , check this... Rev 17 v1 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me, "Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, 2 with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication." 3 So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication. 5 And on her forehead a name was written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. 6 I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement.

(A careful reading of this chapter shows a remarkable description of the US's relationship with Jihadism in general. Whoever said "The natural enemy of Judiasim isn't Islam, it's Christianity" was right on. Did the Zionists inflame this divide to have Christianity destroy the Islamic nations for Israel's security. or did the Zionists inflame this divide to have the Islamists destroy Christiandom for Israel's future world dominance? Or Both???) Rev 17 v15 Then he said to me, "The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues. 16 And the ten horns which you saw on the beast, these will hate the harlot, make her desolate and naked, eat her flesh and burn her with fire. 17 For God has put it into their hearts to fulfill His purpose, to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled. 18 And the woman whom you saw is that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth."

(And if one were to wonder the why of all of this, consider what God said concerning this time 2600 years ago...(and a bunch more on the same subject in this chapter) Ezekiel 36 v21 I had concern for my holy name, which the house of Israel profaned among the nations where they had gone. 22 "Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone.  

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 06:10 | 6158381 Lurk Skywatcher
Lurk Skywatcher's picture

Religion - Start with the conclusion and arrange the facts to fit it.

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 10:26 | 6158949 Seek_Truth
Seek_Truth's picture

Unfortunately, what you say is very often the case.

More's the pity.

It's one of the reasons that there are so many denominations.

One must get rid of preconceived conclusions before engaging in Biblical exegesis.

Agreed.

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 10:30 | 6158917 Seek_Truth
Seek_Truth's picture

I believe Cahn is a charlatan looking to make a buck. Jesus said for us to look for the signs of the times of His return. The emphasis is not on some obscure religious practice, but on Him. I am very concerned that yet another book by someone who claims to be "hearing God’s voice" will point Christians away from God’s Word and become distracted by a man who is a self-proclaimed prophet. The prophets have spoken and yet most let their Bibles collect dust while they chase after modern-day authors.

https://davemosher.wordpress.com/tag/jonathan-cahn/

Having said that, there is clear proof that the Sixth seal opens this year, and this fall is a likely time for WW3 to begin in earnest.

Revelation chapters 17 & 18, describe Babylon the Great- the Great Whore- which is the global financial system. Pay attention to the clues and you will find that to be the only possible identity:

5937841 

5938326 

The primary clues as to the identity of Babylon the Great are that the merchants of the earth and the "ships" (transportation industry) would beat themselves in lamentation whe she is destroyed. But most importantly, it is this clue: "By her magic spell (sorcery) all the nations were decieved". (Revelation 18:23) What greater magic spell is there than fiat currency, fractional reserve banking, and all forms of financial wizardry? Since those are the primary clues as the the identity of Babylon the Great, It follows that Babylon the Great is:-The Global Financial Elite and their Babylonian Financial System, the Worship of Mammon.

That is the only possible correct interpretation of all the Biblical clues.

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 00:25 | 6158117 Calmyourself
Calmyourself's picture

How many fools have opined our reactors would be just fine no worries got diesels to run the pumps.  Forget it, all of it until those diesel pumps are hardened or hopefully the plants themselves 120 reactors and their  cooling pools full as Yucca was blocked by Dems will melt down and they will be the TEOTWAKI.  No rational actor uses and EMP it kills the world, "On the Beach" Style..

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 13:25 | 6159707 Not Too Important
Not Too Important's picture

All the NPP diesel backup generators are the wrong design, anyway. Corners were cut, and the wrong diesel gen sets installed. None of them will work in a real emergency, the shafts sieze when their spooled up.

Luckily, the gen sets at Fukushima were all below sea level, so the tsunami swamped them before the world could find out they were the wrong units for the application.

'The Road' is our future.

Tue, 06/02/2015 - 23:23 | 6158008 kchrisc
kchrisc's picture

More FUDD (Fear, Uncertainty, Dread, and Division).

I'm rightfully more concerned about the thugs driving around with "serve and protect" emblazoned on their cars.

Liberty is a demand. Tyranny is submission.

Tue, 06/02/2015 - 23:24 | 6158013 NoWayJose
NoWayJose's picture

Don't underestimate the effects of an EMP - it's pretty much an extinction event for the US. No food production or distribution, no banks or stores, no electricity, no gasoline, etc. Millions of starving coming for your preps. You are going to have to grab some gold, guns, and food - and hope you can reach a place with electric power.

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 13:26 | 6159715 Not Too Important
Not Too Important's picture

When Guccifer found the plans to nuke Chicago, what if those plans were a nuke in the air over Chicago? Similar to the drawing above???

Tue, 06/02/2015 - 23:28 | 6158016 Evil Bugeyes
Evil Bugeyes's picture

Well, at least we wouldn't have to worry about the NSA monitoring our telephone calls and internet traffic.

Killing all our electronic gadgets would be a really clever ploy for the Chinese. They could make a mint by selling us new ones to replace them.

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 05:40 | 6158366 Rakshas
Rakshas's picture

....they got that covered already...... iPhuk 7 on the way.....

Tue, 06/02/2015 - 23:28 | 6158019 Arthur Schopenhauer
Arthur Schopenhauer's picture

I could get bit by a cottonmouth, or a rattler, or I could get sprayed by a skunk in the next 5 minutes. My wife could could go crazy and shoot me. The Russians or the Chinese could launch those missiles any minute now... Holy crap! Oh no!

Or Obama's jack booted thugs could kick down my front door any minute and drag me awaaaaaaaaaaaay!

I'm falling apart. Oh my God! I'm in a cold... dark... place. I have no hope. I want to die.

Shit.

Michael Snyder? Why you do this?

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 00:15 | 6158097 ZerOhead
ZerOhead's picture

To give us all hope.

EMP = technological dark ages.

Therefore... the ICBM missiles and launch systems won't work plus the jack booted thugs would never be able to find your place without Google maps and GPS even if they could manage to siphon enough mouthfuls of gas out of the tanks to fill their MRAPs with the fried electronics...

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 01:43 | 6158197 Arthur Schopenhauer
Arthur Schopenhauer's picture

I live in an acreage subdivision 75 miles away from a metropolitan area (minimum five acres). There are about 230 families living in this subdivision, which is basically for all intents and purposes "off the grid".

Now... there's a family that lives right next to me, who had built one of those metal storage buildings. This thing is about 120' x70'. It is HUGE. They are preppers, and they have completely filled that damn building full of supplies, ammunition, guns... you name it. They even have a 50 caliber machine gun. Every couple weeks or so they shoot their pistols and guns and shit all day on a Sunday... all fuckin' day long, gettin ready for the apocolypse.

Believe me. I know these people. I talk to them all the time. They are dead fucking serious.

Should some shit like this go down? The only thing these neighbors of mine DONT prepare for is this: They don't take into account the 230 other families in this subdivision who know everything about their activities, and their 120' x 70' storehouse of 'stuff'.

Its human nature. Everyone will will be waiting for their asses to go to sleep. And they will have to go to sleep... sooner or later.

Fact is... they will probably be the FIRST to die, because they have made themselves a target.

 

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 13:29 | 6159728 Not Too Important
Not Too Important's picture

And you just let .gov know, and a drone stike eliminating the whole neighborhood is the most cost-effective solution.

Good on ya', mate.

Tue, 06/02/2015 - 23:34 | 6158026 Moccasin
Moccasin's picture

Popular Mechanics, September 2001, The Ultimate Terrorist Weapon, Ebomb. They explain the basics and give you a basic howto build yourself an EMP bomb. They emphasize in the article on how cheap it would be to build one. The coincidence of that issue coming out when it did was the reason I bought a copy and still have it! Check it out at backissues.com .

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 01:25 | 6158202 johansen
johansen's picture

and that issue was edited no doubt, at least 2 weeks before september, right?

 

amazing isn't it.

Tue, 06/02/2015 - 23:33 | 6158027 bigrooster
bigrooster's picture

When, not if, an EMP happens you have at most 3 months to live.  Enjoy your life now.

China and Russia have probably figured out that they can hit us with one and get out of their shit ass geographical locations and relocate to California beaches...oh wait they are alredy buying up the real estate.

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 13:31 | 6159742 Not Too Important
Not Too Important's picture
'Scientists warning of mass die-off along California coast — Official: Seafloor littered with dead fish, washing up “as far as I could see” — Toxin has spread all up and down West Coast — Experts: “Very, very unusual… Really extraordinary”

http://enenews.com/tv-scientists-warning-mass-die-ocean-california-offic...

California is fucked with radiation for a few billion years. As is the rest of North America.

If an EMP takes out most of the US, it's pets after a week, and long pig after two weeks. Proven research.

Good luck, folks.

Tue, 06/02/2015 - 23:37 | 6158030 fascismlover
fascismlover's picture

The bigger problem is the sustained current loss of brain power and will power.  The lights going out would hopefully push those two to the top.  

Tue, 06/02/2015 - 23:42 | 6158039 Bazza McKenzie
Bazza McKenzie's picture

Sothey wrote yo Obama asking him to "provide for the protection of the American people against an existential threat".

They obviously haven't got past the "hope" bit.

Tue, 06/02/2015 - 23:43 | 6158040 MarkGoldman
MarkGoldman's picture

I'm confused, how does this relate to current Qs results?

That's about all the attention span TPTB have got for what-ifs, no matter how likely they are to occur over the decades. 

Hedge accordingly. 

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 00:50 | 6158045 JuliaS
JuliaS's picture

George Carlin outlined the scenario point by point:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqfHxc6d6r0&t=33m23s

Tue, 06/02/2015 - 23:48 | 6158048 Arthur Schopenhauer
Arthur Schopenhauer's picture

How to Stop Worrying and Start Living, by Dale Carnegie

 

http://www.amazon.com/How-Stop-Worrying-Start-Living/dp/0671733354

Tue, 06/02/2015 - 23:51 | 6158049 Totentänzerlied
Totentänzerlied's picture

Synopsis: ignore the thousands of the real, present, ongoing, deadly serious problems and predicaments humanity faces and cower in fear.

ISIS is in your closet right now!!! Putin is already underneath you bed!!! The ChiComs are reading your texts as we speak!!!

The Japanese government and TEPCO have been operating a nuclear reactor with NO containment for over FOUR YEARS but this is what you should be worrying about. Got it.

Tue, 06/02/2015 - 23:52 | 6158058 gwar5
gwar5's picture

A microwave oven is a Faraday Cage, just get an old one and use it like a box to put your electronics. For the cognitively challenged, no, you don't have to plug it in and turn it on for it to work.

Tue, 06/02/2015 - 23:58 | 6158069 buzzy_the_pirate_dog
buzzy_the_pirate_dog's picture

....Or do they?

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 01:52 | 6158244 JuliaS
JuliaS's picture

It takes a pretty strong EMP to fry electronics. Older devices with thick traces and metal can transistors may weather quite a wave. To disable a car... well, that all depends on the make. I think Mythbusters or some other similar show did a test where they knocked out vehicle ignition with a focused beam. However for the test they had to replace the metal hood with a plastic cover. Otherwise the metal would've offered sufficient protection for the internals.

With modern cars full of delicate circuits knocking the systems out is much easier. Fuel injection systems will burn out like matches. However any old car or motorcycle with a carburetor will do just fine. For the unfortunate ones I advise raiding Jay Leno's garage and getting a couple of'em Stanley Steamers.

I keep a pair of old Japanese radios the size of bricks that I found at a garage sale. They're built so well - you could be crawling out from underneath Hiroshima rubble the day of the bombing to call-in sick.

They're so powerful, I'm pretty sure the FCC doesn't even allow their use. I keep'em in storage just in case. If an EMP hits, FCC will be the first agency to go out of business.

Tue, 06/02/2015 - 23:53 | 6158059 Dixie Flatline
Dixie Flatline's picture

An EMP is pretty much in the bottom 10 things I worry about.  Talked to a relative who works in the regulated utility industry and he scoffs at this as well.

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 00:01 | 6158077 Seek_Truth
Seek_Truth's picture

That would explain why the grids are so vulnerable.

Nothing like scoffing at a likely event- either man made or natural.

I count on it happening- the grid going down.

Either an EMP event or a targeted attack on critical infrastructure will make it happen.

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 00:02 | 6158078 falconflight
falconflight's picture

I don't know, I think EMP/Infrastructure hacking is potentially on par with a limited nuclear strike, and reasonably with plausible deny-ability.  

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 00:08 | 6158088 JuliaS
JuliaS's picture

I lived on a farm with no electricity or telephone, drinking out of a well, collecting rainwater for irrigation, fertilizing crops with natural compost and wood ash from a brick stove that I built with my own two hands. EMP is the last of my worries. That being said, I don't think I'd last long if SHTF. I don't own weapons. Never fired a gun in my life. Quoting Bill Burr: "If you don't know how to defend yourself all you're doing is gathering supplies for the toughest guy on the block".

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 00:13 | 6158100 falconflight
falconflight's picture

Yikes, that's even more fatalistic than the EMP gambit.

Tue, 06/02/2015 - 23:56 | 6158065 falconflight
falconflight's picture

Seems like the surest way back to the American Dream.  Only 1/2 sarc

Tue, 06/02/2015 - 23:57 | 6158066 buzzy_the_pirate_dog
buzzy_the_pirate_dog's picture

oh shut up.  Not everybody needs or wants shit that is an  EMP target.  My fucking axe, water filter, carbine and my fucking ass wipes don't care about CPU/RAM.  Fuck.

However...can I still do E-Minit PUTS with out that there Inernets?

Tue, 06/02/2015 - 23:58 | 6158068 InanimateCarbonRod
InanimateCarbonRod's picture

Heck..if that were the case, AAPL and TSLA would be all over doing that shit. Everyone would have to reload with a new phone/zapmobile.  

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 00:00 | 6158075 Jack Burton
Jack Burton's picture

We have known about this since the first H bomb tests. It's part of a nuclear war. We have been aware for decades. The military hardens what it can for nuclear war fighting. But I don't see anyone other than a major nuclear power using EMP on this scale, at that point, all bets are off, the nukes will be sailing across the globe and the real end of us will be at hand. So why worry so much?

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 00:16 | 6158103 TBT or not TBT
TBT or not TBT's picture

Why worry?   Because launchers and nukes are available on the market.  Keep in mind the first nukes were made back before there were electronic computers, transistors, or oscilloscopes.  Thats all commodotized now, and, awesome compared to what they had to work with to get the math and electronjc detonation right.   Physics is an open book.    Plenty of IRBMs and designs and parts available.  

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 01:27 | 6158152 JuliaS
JuliaS's picture

I'd hate to be among the last few ISS astronauts, watching flashes of light from outer space, knowing that the last ship has literally sailed.

But they won't be the last survivors. Pretty much every submarine not directly targeted will be able to surface and float for weeks or even years, unable to find a port... watching marine life quickly disappear from all of the oceans.

There'll be a number of people in those underground marble and concrete bunkers - the rich folks as well as the generals responsible for launching the attacks. Despite having enough supplies to live out the rest of their lives inside the well insulated human-sized ant farms they won't last long. They'll be stabbing eachother with sharpened caviar spoons by next morning, following the blasts.

There'll be few people on remote islands, probably wondering why their radios no longer work and why the rain turned red all of the sudden, as well as why their hair and teeth fall out when as much as a single drop touches their heads. But they won't be wondering for long.

There'll be no cockroaches left. They might survive the neutron radiation, or even live without their heads for a while, but they won't last long when there's nothing out there to eat. When the whole planet is nothing but poisonous ash.

What might survive actually is all the life beneath the Chernobyl sarcophagus. I've heard there's some kind of mutated fungus that thrives on radiation. With the cover blown off, it'll be free to explore its newly created paradise.

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 09:39 | 6158786 samsara
samsara's picture

Rent the movie "On the Beach"  by Nevil Shute

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 11:19 | 6159115 JuliaS
JuliaS's picture

I will. Thank you for the recommendation.

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 13:36 | 6159763 Not Too Important
Not Too Important's picture

It's available on YouTube.

And don't forget 'The Road'. That book/movie was prophecy, not fiction.

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 19:15 | 6161083 JuliaS
JuliaS's picture

Absolutely loved "The Road". It did the book justice (leaving those who came for gore and action disappointed).

Another movie I like from the genre is The Trigger Effect (also available on youtube for free). Slow paced, relationship driven, simple and non-epic, just like the real life. Oh, and Michael Rooker of "The Walking Dead" is in it. I worked with him in 2006. He's such a great guy. Very professional, unlike most drama queen personalities I encounter in my line of work.

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 00:05 | 6158083 the not so migh...
the not so mighty maximiza's picture

is it me or does that red thing look like a vagina

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 00:24 | 6158113 q99x2
q99x2's picture

An EMP is better than what they have planned for you.

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 00:29 | 6158125 masisishot
masisishot's picture

puhlease herp me. dis here um zeromahedge be telling me dat my gubmint be fear peddlin but den day push shite like dis nonsense artikle down me throat. me thinks dis um zeromahedge should be sticking to their book no? it seems dey panderin to the people who be paying for their artikles...same shite different website. Sometimes I think (and dis not oftern) dat I be bettah off readin CNN..

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 00:40 | 6158147 luckylogger
luckylogger's picture

kind of a joke............

It may happen but  who cares..............

We have bigger issues and risks and by the way I am used to living in the woods................

Would probably be a good thing for me in the long run.

The rest of the country except for about 1 million of us would not know how to live without all this tech bullshit

It might be fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bring it on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 00:42 | 6158153 JetsettingWelfareMom
JetsettingWelfareMom's picture

I was in Toledo, Ohio during a massive East coast grid failure in 2003. My town was fine but my then boyfriend was with his family in Detroit and they had no power. So I was asked to bring supplies since our gas stations and whatnot were open--ice and batteries and beer and lots of it! Charcoal and drinking water even though the taps were still working.

The little neighborhood wasn't apocalyptic at all. Neighbors talked to each other for the first time in it seemed like years and everybody started grilling all the meat that was going to go rotten in the melting freezer. It was like a block party with the battery operated radios telling us that the power would come on anytime. There were no carryouts, gas stations, banking, anything. 

When the power finally came on four days later I felt a deep sadness in my heart...

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 01:15 | 6158189 zebrasquid
zebrasquid's picture

Deep sadness ? In another week or two these same warm feelings of brotherhood would have turned to feelings of deep hunger and... cannibalism....

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 09:11 | 6158685 Farmer Joe in B...
Farmer Joe in Brooklyn's picture

It's all fun and games until it's not anymore. If you live in any major metro area, you had best be high tailing it out into the countryside by day 2...

When social order breaks down and martial law is imposed, you are too late. 

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 00:47 | 6158159 Wild E Coyote
Wild E Coyote's picture

"Dear Mr. President,

We need your personal intervention to provide for the protection of the American people against an existential threat posed by natural and manmade electromagnetic pulse (EMP). The consequent failure of critical infrastructure that sustain our lives is a major national security threat and would be catastrophic to our people and our nation."
......
But more importantly, NSA will not be able to collect more data about citizens' private life and business secrets.

And we say it might be a Black swan event by 2030 so, you can allocate enough money for us to do clandestine research for next 2 decades.

It is more important than allocating enough money to pay workers a decent wage.

Money is better spent on paying corrupted foreign Dictators, unworkable super fighter aircrafts, and a couple of people in Israel who refuse to make peace with their muslim brothers.

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 19:17 | 6158160 JuliaS
JuliaS's picture

I remember watching an episode of Sliders - one where an asteroid is about wipe out all life on Earth. Television reports are coming in from all over the world, showing people putting aside their differences to spend the last moments together in peace. Then they cut to Gaza Strip. Nope! The Israelis and Palestinians are still fighting.

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 00:49 | 6158162 stormsailor
stormsailor's picture

need to keep 800 feet of det cord around, just in case

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 03:24 | 6158308 DirkDiggler11
DirkDiggler11's picture

Carefull sailor, VERY few know of the many uses for det cord....

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 00:52 | 6158167 Wild E Coyote
Wild E Coyote's picture

1. Threat of EMP being pushed into public discussion.

2. Push for electronic money and ban against cash.

3. Talk about Black swan event.

Put them together, you get a potential conspiracy to make trillions dissappear from economy.

 

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 00:55 | 6158170 joego1
joego1's picture

S.O.S. I'm on a ball of rock spinning around the sun in space someplace in the milky way being terrorized by a bunch of nuts with bombs.

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 01:23 | 6158201 onmail
onmail's picture

Is North Korea listening.

EMP is the way to go forward to destroy western powers which enslave other nations without killing human lives.

What I would like to have is a space based EMP laser gun powered by a nuclear reactor on a large satellite, which can fry whole cities electronics.

I think a powerful maser (microwave laser) can also do the job to some extent.

 

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 01:31 | 6158212 Seek_Truth
Seek_Truth's picture

"without killing human lives"

Apparently you don't realize how deadly an EMP event will be.

Estimates of 90% death rate sound reasonable.

http://www.naturalnews.com/045197_EMP_attack_power_grid_American_deaths....

 

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 01:37 | 6158224 zebrasquid
zebrasquid's picture

As far as the good ole U.S.A. is concerned, Obama was the well-placed EMP.

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 01:42 | 6158233 Joe A
Joe A's picture

After an EMP takes all the electronics out, some nuclear power might take benefit of that and launch a full nuclear attack to make sure nothing is left.

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 10:05 | 6158871 Huh Reeeally
Huh Reeeally's picture

'After an EMP takes all the electronics out'

More likely all electronic devices, including cars, will just be turned off or disabled, but not by an EMP. Ask yourself, why do cell towers that require about 1000 watts power have 50 000 watts of power? Intel has been compromised and sold out, just like the rest of the IT industry, their chips are in everything, including your vehicle. Search for reliable sources of information that provide their research links and documentation, then YOU can make a more informed decision. After all, that's what brought us to ZH.

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 01:42 | 6158234 JoJoJo
JoJoJo's picture

HERF or High energy radio frequencies can do similar to nuclear emp but on smaller scale http://www.military-sf.com/Electronics.htm

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 09:29 | 6158733 PleasedToMeatYou
PleasedToMeatYou's picture

It would be interesting if they were available with sufficient mobility and power to install on a vehicle for periodic activation in the direction of certain license-plate-reader vehicles and highway surveillance equipment, etc. 

Turn them off like as with a toggle switch.  heh heh.  Actually, I'm surprised nobody with the appropriate technical competence and inspiration has come up with this, and deployed it. 

Well, then I guess we'd all need special licenses to buy microwave ovens - for our own protection. 

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 02:48 | 6158266 bid the soldier...
bid the soldiers shoot's picture

Thank God some people had the brains to write a letter to 'Bombs Away' Obama.

 

Problem solved.

 

 

I ask unanimous consent to open another bottle of Pinot Noir.

Hearing no objection, it is so ordered.

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 02:29 | 6158275 GoinFawr
GoinFawr's picture

Oh, for a sec there I thought the illustration was of the proper placement of an IUD, nm.

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 03:00 | 6158288 socalbeach
socalbeach's picture

Where did the rumor originate that the Saudis funded the 9-11 "hijackers", as in,

"I'm not at all concerned about Iran at this stage. Iran has never physically threatened the US nor funded any terrorists that have directly attacked the US like, say, Saudi Arabia..."

My pre-teen newphews could have funded the supposed hijackers with money from their piggy bank.  It's not like you need a financial super power with trillions of dollars to buy box cutters and airline tickets.  Come to think of it you wouldn't need any money at all since you could just charge it to a credit card and stiff the bank.  It's not like the supposed hijackers would be concerned with their credit score after the operation was completed.

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 08:09 | 6158545 NoBillsOfCredit
NoBillsOfCredit's picture

9/11 was a false flag run by U.S. gvt. employees. That kind of operation requires expert planning and great financial resources not to mention a decoy to blame it on.

 

The power plants should replace the diesel generators with steam engines and pumps run by them since the heat generated by the nuclear reaction will not be affected by an EMP. How hard was that dto think of?

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 05:25 | 6158359 The Darwin Mode
The Darwin Mode's picture

At least with a nuke EMP over America we've already got the guilty parties sorted out: Iran, North Korea, China, or Russia. I mean, we all know such a thing couldn't possibly be a false flag event... right?

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 06:57 | 6158406 Bagbalm
Bagbalm's picture

Illustration is for scale I know - but lousy targeting.

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 07:04 | 6158414 THE 4th Quadrant
THE 4th Quadrant's picture

Oh noz. If EMP then how will israel spy on 'merican serfs to root out the anti-semites? Or whatever...

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 07:06 | 6158418 pine_marten
pine_marten's picture

After the initial releases from Fukushima,  the lethal doses of just plutonium in the biosphere jumped to 7000 billion.  And the releases are ongoing and will worsen for the next 200 years.  The end of life event has already occured, it is just taking time for it to become apparent.   In the near future we will begin to describe history as either pre or post Fukushima. I already do that at the liquor store when I search for 2010 or earlier California wines.

On a positive note, the end of world is when you die so stop worrying so much.

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 07:33 | 6158458 HenryHall
HenryHall's picture

Nothing new here. It has been well known for a long time that a repetition of the 1858 solar storm (the Carrington Event) will bring down electricity supply for most of the world. Heck, stupid politicians have allowed Western society to become so fragile that it will be in major difficulties without the internet, let alone wihout GPS and grid electricity.

Those who still have an old valve aka vacuum tube radio - don't get rid of it. And do put a spare battery powered transistor radio in a metal box and keep it there until the solar event has passed. Together with an old CB radio.

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 08:58 | 6158653 Caleb Abell
Caleb Abell's picture

Interesting article.  It reminded me of all the terrible things that were going to happen when Y2K arrived.

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 13:41 | 6159788 Not Too Important
Not Too Important's picture

Tens of billions of dollars were spent to prevent any Y2K disaster from occurring. I was deeply involved in it.

What is being spent to prevent an EMP in the Western world? Nothing that I know of.

But the Russians and Chinese still use/build a lot of tube equipment. Impervious to an EMP. Hmm.

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 09:04 | 6158665 22winmag
22winmag's picture

Will my 100-can cases of sardines and beans still work?

 

Will my rifles still work?

 

If so, I'm good to go.

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 09:41 | 6158798 Huh Reeeally
Huh Reeeally's picture

There have been many nuke tests, some of them surface tests over the years and none have disrupted any power grid anywhere. All this EMP talk is just propaganda, they want people to think that a nuke or dirty bomb can create a Carrington event like in the 1800's (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_storm_of_1859), but it cannot. Small nuclear weapons exist and have been used with no impact on the local grid, unless of course it got blown up, but that's a little different.

"We'll know our disinformation program has been successful when everything the American people believe is false." William Casey, former CIA Director 1981.

There's scary sh*t out there, but what I find truly deplorable are the good people who know they are being used to do pure evil and allow themselves to be used. I understand that these people need a paycheck but they have few redeeming characteristics and, because their work is 'secret' they are presumed to be doing 'good work' and are respected in their communities. What a f%$&#@n joke. They are a blight, modern day Brown Shirts, Gestapo and SS all rolled into one.

 

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 09:44 | 6158810 BoPeople
BoPeople's picture

Getting tired of "fear-porn".

Maybe it is time to stop reading ZH.

Wed, 06/03/2015 - 10:53 | 6159042 khakuda
khakuda's picture

This almost happened the other day when Kim Kardashian's dress caught fire.  Fortunately, Pharell was there to put it out because had her rear gone critical and blown, it would have had the same EMP effect as a nuclear explosion.

Do NOT follow this link or you will be banned from the site!