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Electromagnetic pulse could send us back to the dark ages
Imagine you're a terrorist with a single nuclear weapon. You could wipe out the U.S. city of your choice, or you could decide to destroy the infrastructure of the entire U.S. economy and leave millions of Americans to die of starvation or want of medical care.
The latter scenario is the one envisioned by a long-running commission to assess the threat from electromagnetic pulse, or EMP. The subject of its latest, and little discussed, report to Congress is the effect an EMP attack could have on civilian infrastructure. If you're prone to nightmares, don't read it before bedtime.
An EMP attack occurs when a nuclear bomb explodes high in the Earth's atmosphere. The electromagnetic pulse generated by the blast destroys all the electronics in its line of sight. For a bomb detonated over the Midwest, that includes most of the continental U.S. Few, if any, people die in the blast. It's what comes next that has the potential to be catastrophic. Since an EMP surge wipes out electronics, virtually every aspect of modern American life would come to a standstill.
The commission's list of horribles is 181 pages long. The chapter on food, for instance, catalogs the disruptions up and down the production chain as food spoils or has no way to get to market. Many families have food supplies of several days or more. But after that, and without refrigeration, what? The U.S. also has 75,000 dams and reservoirs, 168,000 drinking water-treatment facilities, and 19,000 wastewater treatment centers -- all with pumps, valves and filters run by electricity.
Getting everything up and running again is not merely a matter of flipping a switch, and the commission estimates that many systems could be out of service for months or a year or more -- far longer than emergency stockpiles or batteries could cover. The large transformers used in electrical transmission are no longer built in the U.S. and delivery time is typically three years. "Lack of high voltage equipment manufacturing capacity represents a glaring weakness in our survival and recovery," the commission notes.
Many industries rely on automated control systems maintained by small work forces. In emergencies -- say, during a blackout -- companies often have arrangements in place to borrow workers from outside the affected area to augment the locals and help with manual repairs. After an EMP attack, those workers would be busy in their home regions -- or foraging for food and water for their families.
The commission offers extensive recommendations for how industry and government can protect against the effects of an EMP attack and ensure a quicker recovery. They include "hardening" more equipment to withstand an electromagnetic pulse; making sure replacement equipment is on hand; training recovery personnel; increasing federal food stockpiles; and many others.
If not, our vulnerability "can both invite and reward attack," the commission's chairman, William Graham, told Congress last month. Iran's military writings "explicitly discuss a nuclear EMP attack that would gravely harm the United States," he said. James Shinn, an assistant secretary of defense, has said that China is developing EMP weapons. The commission calls an EMP attack "one of a small number of threats that can hold our society at risk of catastrophic consequences." The threat is real. It's past time to address it. Imagine you're a terrorist with a single nuclear weapon. You could wipe out the U.S. city of your choice, or you could decide to ... more -
Modern office distractions cost billions
According to the received wisdom, computers are a godsend for productivity. Word processors relieve us of the burdens of flawless typing; digital files zip onscreen faster than the paper kind can be found and are easily mined for the smallest detail; and the Internet, with its document sharing and virtual conferencing, offers new paths to smooth workplace collaboration.
But the practical experience of working in a modern office can be remarkably frazzled. Instant-communications technology and the natural impatience of co-workers and bosses can create an unholy alliance designed, it seems, to rob the workday of any sustained interval of unbroken attention to a particular task. Social life, allegedly enhanced as networks of acquaintances wire themselves over networks of computer hardware, can be equally jumpy, with constant "friend requests" and "status updates." From email to instant messaging to Twitter - an update service devoted to what-are-you-doing-at-this- moment inanity – the interval between interruptions appears to be approaching zero.
In "Distracted," the free-lance writer Maggie Jackson takes a searching look at this trend, especially the distractions that technology has helped to bring about. The result is a scattershot tour that ranges from anthropology and neuroscience to fast food and the rites of meditating monks. Along the way, Ms. Jackson samples from the thinking of a series of experts – often described as visionaries or mavericks – who study our habits of attentiveness and diversion. The result is more reverie than argument, but "Distracted" does concentrate the mind on a real problem of modern life.
In the workplace, a distracted knowledge worker is a fallow asset. Thus current research into worker habits is especially valuable. In the spirit of Fredrick W. Taylor's scientific management, Ms. Jackson reports, researchers have found that workers "typically change tasks every three minutes" and "take about twenty-five minutes to return to an interrupted task . . . usually plugging into two other work projects in the interim." By one estimate, "interruptions take up to 2.1 hours of an average worker's day and cost the US economy $588 billion a year." Many distractions turn out to be self-initiated: It appears that we just can't wait to read the next email or blog entry or check to see what might be happening in an online discussion.
So what to do? In "Distracted," self-discipline proves the key to the attention puzzle. Martin Seligman and Angela Lee Duckworth, two psychologists at the University of Pennsylvania, recently adapted a famous experiment that tested the willingness of young children to defer gratification: If you put them in a room with some prize – a toy, a marshmallow, an envelope full of money – will they take the prize immediately or hold out for a greater future reward?
In the end, Ms. Jackson makes her way to a Buddhist monastery, where people are learning to practice samatha – that is, to exercise voluntary control over their attention. Mountain retreats may not be for everyone, but the spirit of such an effort makes obvious sense in an era of information glut and tech-driven interruptions. Of course, if samatha – or something like it – turns out to be a good idea, it will be blogged about, praised in group emails, discussed online and debated in instant messages. Work will just have to wait. According to the received wisdom, computers are a godsend for productivity. Word processors relieve us of the burdens of flawless typi... more -
Joe Biden praises Obama; blasts Lieberman, McCain and Bush on diplomacy
'At the heart of this failure is an obsession with the "war on terrorism" that ignores larger forces shaping the world: the emergence of China, India, Russia and Europe; the spread of lethal weapons and dangerous diseases; uncertain supplies of energy, food and water; the persistence of poverty; ethnic animosities and state failures; a rapidly warming planet; the challenge to nation states from above and below.
Terrorism is a means, not an end, and very different groups and countries are using it toward very different goals. Messrs. Bush and McCain lump together, as a single threat, extremist groups and states more at odds with each other than with us: Sunnis and Shiites, Persians and Arabs, Iraq and Iran, al Qaeda and Shiite militias. If they can't identify the enemy or describe the war we're fighting, it's difficult to see how we will win.
Because of the policies Mr. Bush has pursued and Mr. McCain would continue, the entire Middle East is more dangerous. The United States and our allies, including Israel, are less secure.
The election in November is a vital opportunity for America to start anew. That will require more than a great soldier. It will require a wise leader.
If Mr. McCain has ruled out talking, we're stuck with an ineffectual policy or military strikes that could quickly spiral out of control. Here, the controversy over engaging Iran is especially instructive.
Sen. Obama is right that the U.S. should be willing to engage Iran on its nuclear program without "preconditions" – i.e. without insisting that Iran first freeze the program, which is the very subject of any negotiations. He has been clear that he would not become personally involved until the necessary preparations had been made and unless he was convinced his engagement would advance our interests.
President Nixon didn't demand that China end military support to the Vietnamese killing Americans before meeting with Mao. President Reagan didn't insist that the Soviets freeze their nuclear arsenal before sitting down with Mikhail Gorbachev. Even George W. Bush – whose initial disengagement allowed dangers to proliferate – didn't demand that Libya relinquish its nuclear program, that North Korea give up its plutonium, or even that Iran stop aiding those attacking our soldiers in Iraq before authorizing talks.
Our allies and partners need to know that the U.S. will go the extra diplomatic mile – if we do, they are much more likely to stand with us if diplomacy fails and force proves necessary.
It's amazing how little faith George Bush, Joe Lieberman and John McCain have in themselves – and in America.' 'At the heart of this failure is an obsession with the "war on terrorism" that ignores larger forces shaping the world:... more -
Hillary's concession speech
Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York has decided to end her historic quest for the Democratic presidential nomination after she received an extraordinary petition from senior members of the Democratic Party.
The petition, asking her to withdraw, was signed by every Democratic member of Congress, every Democratic governor, all current and former elected Democratic officials still living, the trustees of the estate of Martin Luther King Jr., and all but one member of the New York Times editorial board. The superdelegates remained undecided.
A draft of Mrs. Clinton's concession speech was obtained from persons close to the campaign.
Text of draft:
Thank you, thank you very much. (Pause). Thank you! Yes. Oh, yes! Thank you all so much!
Let me just begin by congratulating Sen. Obama (pause for screams of "No!") on obtaining the presidential nomination of the Democratic Party. For the past six months, Sen. Obama and I have traveled to every state of this great country. He will be the party's standard-bearer in November. I wish him only the best.
This has been the most gratifying experience of my life. Together, we sent a message into this political system that will not be forgotten. (Pause for cheers.) That's right. You will not be forgotten. Your hopes, your needs, your dreams. [Shout this line]: They know about them now, don't they? (Pause for cheers.)
Wherever we went – at an auto factory in Lordstown, Ohio; at Bronko's Bar in Indiana (yup Crown Royal!); at a day-care center for single moms in Altoona – wherever we went, you told me how politics was failing you, and I ran to see that the American system would finally work for you. Some day it will! That's my promise. Some day it will!
We came up a little short. (Pause for booing.) But boy, we came close. Or should I say: Boys and girls, we came close! (Pause to smile.)
Let me take this final opportunity in 2008 to thank the great states whose wonderful people voted to support my candidacy.
Our victories began in the legendary primary state of New Hampshire. Then the voters supported this Democrat in Nevada, Tennessee and Oklahoma. Then Super Tuesday arrived, and oh what a day to remember it was: New York, California, New Jersey, Massachusetts – what an honor to win the support of states that carry so much weight in the history of our party's presidential successes.
The media said we were losing, which – let's be honest – meant You were losing. But as I traveled this great land, I listened to you, and what I heard you say was: Keep going! Keep fighting! And we did!
We took our fight to Ohio, a state so vital to the Democratic cause. And we won. (Cheers.) To Texas. And we won. To Rhode Island! To Pennsylvania! I will never forget Pennsylvania! And we won! (Pause for crowd to begin chant: "And we won!")
In Indiana, the industrial heartland took us to their heart, and we won't forget that. West Virginia – a state I will always associate with the historic primary victory of John F. Kennedy – honored me with 67% of its vote. In Puerto Rico we deepened our ties to the Hispanic community, as in New Mexico. Kentucky – the media wrote you off as "meaningless." You will never be meaningless to me. We will not forget you. Ever! Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York has decided to end her historic quest for the Democratic presidential nomination after she received a... more -
Ann Coulter Naked
My Wall Street Journal, a parody of the Wall Street Journal features a full-page spread of a topless Ann Coulter (in WSJ stipple-style), a gossip section called "Page Sex," headlines like "Cleaning Lady Sees Virgin In Merrill Lynch Q4 Loss," and "Obitcharies," wishful-thinking obituaries for people vilified by the far right, including Susan Sarandon and Paul Krugman My Wall Street Journal, a parody of the Wall Street Journal features a full-page spread of a topless Ann Coulter (in WSJ stipple-style... more
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Congress vs Army
"Deputy Secretary of Defense says layoffs will negatively affect base operations and training and critical support for civilian employees"
...i wonder how this article would have looked before Murdoch's acquisition... "Deputy Secretary of Defense says layoffs will negatively affect base operations and training and critical support for civilian e... more -
Moving on up
Hard work intelligently applied is still the key to improving your lot in life.
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