Showing posts with label Terrorists. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Terrorists. Show all posts

July 19, 2021

Ben and Jerry's Can Drop Dead!

 
Just wanted to express my firm sentiment that:

Ben and Jerry's can drop dead!

The anti-Semites at Unilever/Ben and Jerry's decided that they would boycott selling their ice cream in the West Bank in Israel. 

Gee, why don't they boycott selling their crappy ice cream to the murderous Assad Regime in Syria or to the radical Mullahs in Iran or the terrorists organizations Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon and so many more outrageous dictators and human rights abusers in the world? Will Ben and Jerry's boycott China where they detain a million Uyghurs in "reeducation" camps or Russia for invading and annexing Crimea? But as we all know, these corrupt bureaucrats wouldn't dare! 

I am convinced deep down that we are dealing simply with hard core anti-Semitic hate-mongers playing executives at Ben and Jerry's. 

Honestly though, it is no loss what-so-ever, since Haagen-Dazs is about a million times better ice cream than Ben and Jerry's ever was or will be.  ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)


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June 13, 2021

When Compromise Means Death

Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called "When Compromise Means Death."
The nations of the world look on with horror at the “plight of the Palestinians,” but they turn a blind eye to the chants of “death to Israel” and as the Palestinians turn billions of dollars of aid into relentless homicide bombs and send thousands of missiles into Israel civilian population centers. The compromise that Israel has shown would end the Palestinian “victim status” and thus endanger their endless money and support that flows freely from the UNRWA to prop up the corrupt Palestinian leadership. The reason that the Palestinian leadership doesn’t want an agreement is that they want the Jews dead “from the river to the sea!”
Israel has shown that is willing to make difficult and painful decisions and support Palestinian autonomy for the sake of peace, but will the Palestinians ever compromise at all? As Golda Meir said:
Peace will come when the Arabs will love their children more than they hate us.
Please G-d, the day will arrive soon, when reason will overcome hate, and peace will prevail over prejudice, and Jews and Palestinians can live side-by-side, as neighbors and as friends.

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

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June 1, 2020

Our Cities Are Burning

I like the saying on this guys knapsack:
Discipline equals freedom.

The opposite is true too:

From the violent riots across the country the last week, even a modicum of discipline has gone out the window, and with that comes a curtailment of freedom through deployment of the National Guard, Military, and imposition of curfews and more. 

There was a time that peaceful protests led by leaders with integrity held sway...but now it's anarchy out there!

Today, the cities are burning, the stores are being looted, people are afraid, and our republic is being torn asunder by racism and filthy election politics. ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
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April 18, 2019

Impeach + AOC


I saw these two photos separately.

But I instantly realized that they belong together. 

Like peanut butter and jelly. 

Who is a bigger pee brain than AOC?

* She impulsively lost 25,000 jobs and $5 billion investment in NYC from Amazon (as well as about $27.5 billion in tax revenue over 25 years). 

* Her ridiculous Green New Deal wanted to rid us of farting cows and airplanes and didn't get a single yes vote in the Senate (even from her own party). 

* AOC stated that the three branches of government are the "the presidency, the senate, and the house" (Uh, wrong!). 

* Ocasio-Cortez boasts insanely that government deficit-spending doesn't really matter (hmm, I wonder is that how she handles her personal finances too?).

* She allies herself with fellow anti-American and anti-Semites like:
- Ilhan "(Schmilhan) Somebody Did Something [on 9/11]" Omar
- Rhasida "(Israel-Hater) They Forgot What Country They Represent" Tlaib
- Linda "Muslim Brotherhood" Sarsour

How did anyone actually vote for (or support) people like these to run this amazing country?  ;-)

(Source Photo: AOC is from Facebook and Impeachment is from me)
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February 11, 2019

The New Faces Of Hate

Representative Illhan Omar claims Congressional lawmakers are bribed to support U.S. friend and ally, Israel:
"It's all about the Benjamins baby".

Representative Rashida Tlaib said about congressional representatives supporting Israel in a bill  that would punish companies that participate in Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) to further Israel's destruction. 
"They forget what country they represent."

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez stated about Israel's defending their sovereign border with Gaza amidst terrorist organization, Hamas-led violent protests, terror attacks, and infiltrations into Israel:
"This is a massacre. I hope my peers have the moral courage to call it such. No state is absolved of the mass shooting of protesters."
"Silence" around the Palestinian cause "has been a little interesting to me." 

Perhaps, the most concerning thing is where is the Democratic Party leadership in calling out these anti-Semitic hate-mongers in their ranks?
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October 15, 2018

The United Nations At Work For You!


In case you wondered why the United Nations is always so full of sh*t?

- When the U.N. is done aimlessly sitting around watching on the sidelines while weapons of mass destruction proliferate, millions are being killed, maimed or made into refugees, and genocide and war crimes are occurring...

- When the U.N. is done elevating dictators, sponsors of terrorism, and human rights abusers...

- When the U.N. is done denigrating and making endless anti-Semitic resolutions against the democratic and Holy Land of Israel...

- When the U.N. is done laughing at the President of the United States and his accomplishments...

This is what the UNjust United Nations spends our valuable time and dollars on. 

This photo of a U.N. garbage truck say it all.

Perhaps, this is the only thing that the U.N. is actually good at!

(Thank you to a good friend for forwarding this photo to me)
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January 20, 2016

Why Would ANYONE Close Gitmo?

So over and over again, we read about the desire and promise by some to close Guantanamo Bay ("Gitmo")--the prison for terrorists against the U.S. 

What are the reasons given and do they make any sense?

1) It's costly--Yeah, it's costly to house prisoners, especially incredibly dangerous ones like terrorists who commit mass murder like in 9/11, but what is the cost of letting them go free, especially when the known recidivism rate of the released detainees is close to 29%!

2) It inspires other terrorists--Really, since when does imprisoning bad apples inspire other bad apples. Isn't one of the well-recognized and intended purposes of incarceration is to dissuade and deter bad behavior, as well as to rehabilitate. Even according to those who question the effectivenss of the deterrent capability of prison, studies show that it should be used to "incapacitate offendors (particularly, those of a chronic, higer risk nature)." In other words, we need to take and keep the terrorists off the battlefield!

Can an argument be made to bring the terrorists into prisons on American soil? Sure, but it makes a lot more common sense not to bring terrorists into the American heartland and risk further violence and danger to our citizens from known terrorists and their jihadist associates. 

Additionally, after 9/11 and the loss of almost 3,000 people, our brave U.S. serviceman and women spent a lot of time and hard work and risked their own lives to capture these dangerous terrorists...why would we want to release the terrorists endangering our military and our citizens all over again (especially when the threat has not abated--see below)?

Has the threat of terrorism gone away that we can say the war on terror is over and so let's send the terrorists home (the question itself almost sounds ludicrous for anyone living in the age of ISIS, Al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Boko Haram, and more)?  Well, according to the RAND research experts, "there has been an INCREASE in the number of Salafi-Jihadist groups, fighters, and attacks." 

And after the recent attacks in Paris, San Bernardino, the downing of the Russia airliner, and many other terror strikes, it is no surpurse that "Americans name terrorism as the No. 1 U.S. problem."

Perhaps, this helps us understand why Congress is blocking the closing of Gitmo, and why none of us should be able to understand why violent, dangerous terrorist detainees are continuing to be released to hurt U.S. citizens again.

(Source Photo: here with attribution to JBrazito)
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August 7, 2015

Why Can't We Just Stay As Superman?

So when we're young, we think we're Superman, Batman, or whatever superhero comes to mind. 

Our bodies are beautiful, supple, strong, and heal quickly. 

We are taught by our helicopter parents and philosophic teachers that "You can do anything you set your mind to!"

In our fantasies, we surely can do amazing things--we lift unbelievable weight, fly around at the speed of light, do karate better than Bruce Lee, outthink Einstein, save the world, and then make off with the beautiful damsel to boot.

Kryptonite is no problem--we are (seemingly) invincible.

Then we hit middle age--40 something--and all of a sudden what do you know?

Oh, this doesn't work right and that doesn't feel right.

The Yiddish expression, "Oy vey" seems about it.

And off to the doctors we go.

After the exam and tests, doc says, "Mr. (or Ms.) [whatever], you have [fill in the blank]."

You respond, "Is that normal--at my age--already?"

Doc says, "Absolutely, this is what happens as you get older."

I say, "Doc, does anything good happen when we get older."

"Of course not"--we both laugh. 

This reminds me of when my dad used to sing this song in this funny mock Irish accent, "You're not as young as you used to be you're getting old and gray!" 

This week, a colleague was coming down with something--possibly something not good. 

I told him how I hoped this turns out well for him and how sorry I was for what he was going through.

Writing off the illness, he says to me, "We all end the same anyway" (i.e. we all end up dead!)--ah, another unhappy notion that is. 

I joked back, "But we all don't end up in the same place."

I got a few laughs at that too (some of my father in me). 

Well anyway, I thought about this after--about some of the special subhuman beings out there--and the very special place that I am certain G-d has in store for them:

- Serial murders and other violent criminals

- Rapists and child abusers

- Terrorists and their sponsors

- Megalomaniacs, bullies, and corrupt officials

- Thieves, cheats, and liars.

And guess what about these schmendricks--they get old too, they go to the doctor too, and then they are going somewhere warm, very warm, and it's not to the Caribbean. ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
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January 14, 2015

Lobbying Will Get You...Where?

In Washington, D.C., lobbying is a way of life. 

Just walking from the State Department to the Metro means you'll get accosted by somebody wanting action on some issue. 

I took this photo in action today of this guy obviously not in favor of the Keystone XL pipeline. 

He equates it with "Climate Chaos!"

He is holding a sign up to me and trying to hand me some literature.

Whether or not piping tar sands oil from Canada to the Gulf Coast is net good for the economy and national security or bad for the environment and global warming, is of course a matter of debate. 

But like all issues, there are two sides to everything--so prove your case!

Maybe the point to free speech is that everyone can not only have an opinion, but also express it and advocate for it. 

There can be open and amble discussion, vigorous debate, compromises, and ultimately a vote and decision--that hopefully gets us to the best course of action. 

Unlike countries run by dictators or religious fanatics who attempt to quell all opposition--where bloggers are flogged and jailed and authors and satirists are threatened and murdered--we try to make our best case and not condemn those who simply think different than us. 

In expressing ourselves here, someone may occasionally joke and say, "now don't chop my head off for saying this," but in other countries they really mean it! 

Tyrannical dictatorships and Jihadists terrorizing and imposing their will on the masses just won't cut it anymore. ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
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September 17, 2014

Super Military Sentry


Awesome robotic sentry being deployed by South Korea along the DMZ.

Ubergizmo reports that the Samsung SGR-A1 costs just $200,000 and supports all weather detection, a 5.56 mm machine gun, grenade launcher, surface to air missiles, and has an illuminator, laser range finder, heat infrared and motion detection, and can track multiple targets. 

Moreover, the human operator remains safe at a remote command location, while this robot at the front line targets the enemy at over 2 miles away. 


I would think this needs to be augmented with a bunker, camouflage, and/or additional sophisticated anti-air defense system to protect these stationary devices or perhaps add some mobility to these. 

Can you think of other countries that could benefit in protecting their borders from terrorists and military incursions with such a robot? ;-)
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September 11, 2014

9/11 Remembrance

"Never Forget Project" - 13 years after the tragic events of 9/11.

2,977 American flags at local university in Washington, D.C. 

Question: With all the weighty terror threats aroud the world, including the latest and largest from ISIS--is never forgetting the same as doing everything possible to make sure it doesn't happen again?  

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
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July 11, 2014

Even Tolerance Has Limits

This torn down sign in Washington, D.C. caught my eye.

It's about ending bullying and teaching tolerance. 


This poster specifically has to do with LGBT, but the universal message of acceptance is more broad. 


While each of us has our own beliefs, we should allow others to have theirs as well. 


My father used to tell me basically (within G-d's law), "You can do whatever you want in life as long as you don't hurt yourself or anyone else."


However, I am reminded this week that not everyone lives by the same common sense and decency. 


I read in the Jerusalem Post about Palestinian Media Watch posting a Hamas video yesterday threatening "stabbing attacks [in Israel] everywhere...[and] suicide attacks on every bus, cafe, and street."


Moreover, Arutz Sheva tells how a female Egyptian lawyer "recommended that Arab men begin sexually harassing Jewish women" as a mean of fighting Israel. 


Then watching the news and seeing Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists from Gaza shooting missiles and intentionally aiming to try to hit major Israeli cities and population centers, airplanes, ports, and other critical infrastructure like the nuclear facility in Dimona that could potentially spread radiation and kill untold numbers of people--I am reminded morality is not universal. 


While Israel calls the residents in Gaza to vacate before an attack on then empty buildings--the terrorists that Israel is fighting try to kill as many civilians as possible--at which time, they would presumably sing, dance, and hand out candy to the kids to celebrate as is their custom.


Like the sign calling for tolerance that was essentially torn from the pole, we have to remember tolerance for others is one thing, but there are limits when they actively seek to harm (themselves or) others. 


(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

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August 20, 2013

Choosing Between Democracy and Freedom

This is a photo I took in the Metro in Washington D.C. 

It is an advertisement for a cessation of hostilities in Syria where estimates are over 100,000 people killed in civil war, so far. 

Now in Egypt, you have about 1,000 killed in the overthrow of the Muslim Brotherhood and violence continues there as well. 

What is really confusing is that in both cases you have terrorists and extremists fighting more secular societies--yet, we do not unequivocally support the secularists in their battle again Jihadists.

At the same time, we went to war for a decade in Iraq and Afghanistan to fight a "war on terror" and to this day it continues with somewhat regular drone attacks. 

While I understand that as a Democracy we need to support fair and free elections, does this mean we have to buttress up fundamentalists, extremists, and terrorists--just because they got voted in. 

Sometimes, people don't know or understand what they are voting for until its too late, which seems to be what happened in Egypt when the people elected the Muslim Brotherhood. 

Similarly, the Nazi party in Germany in the 1930's won many seats in the Reichstag, and we know the ten of millions murdered and the destruction that this led to. 

Democracy, does not mean good always prevails, but when evil is rightfully elected what are we to do--simply support free elections or support good over evil? 

Perhaps, the notion of good and evil is a little simplistic (especially when neither side may be very good), but the idea is the same, are we fighting for free elections or the better candidate in terms of overall freedom, human rights, and world peace.

Can we really afford to straddle the fence here?  ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
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August 17, 2013

The Keys To Good Government

Peggy Noonan hit it right on the head in today's Wall Street Journal.

The fear of giving up privacy, she said, is of a "massive surveillance state," and this is not overblown. 

The crux of this concern is that if Government (or I would add hackers) can intrude on citizen's private communications and thoughts, then eventually people will self-censor. 

No privacy does mean government control.

As Noonan makes clear, violations of citizen privacy is not just a threat to the Fourth Amendment protecting against unreasonable search and seizure, but is a bona fide danger as well to the First Amendment guaranteeing free speech. 

People should not be afraid to think critically and creatively because of what the government may do to them (and their families) for disagreeing with fraud, waste, abuse, special interests, and stupidity.

Rather, politicians should fear being criticized and not re-elected for violating the duty to rule justly and as true representatives of the people. 

However, when government and politicians can listen in, see, and know what the lawful opposition in thinking and doing, then they are given virtually absolute power.

And absolute power does corrupt absolutely.  

We should not change our underlying values of freedom and become a nation of routine digital interrogation of everyday John Doe's.

Terrorists, traitors, anarchists, and hostile nation states should be pursued and given no rest or privacy from our intelligence, law enforcement, and warfighters. 

But well-meaning citizens should be free to think, feel, and say what they believe in the best interest of the country. 

Upright citizen's should never have to fear an unjust government, but rather corrupt politicians should be concerned about violating the fundamental rights of the people. 

At least two keys to good government are privacy and free speech. ;-)

(Source Photo: here with attribution to Empirical Perception)
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January 26, 2013

Liar, Liar, Pants On Fire


To catch a terrorist, you have to think like a terrorist or at least be able to get behind their lies and deception.

Terrorist want to gain entry, surveil their targets, plan their attack, assemble their weapons and tactics, avoid their pursuers, and execute maximum human, economic, and political damage. 

To succeed, terrorists have to use lies and deceit to make their way through all the obstacles that the good guys put up.

Wired Magazine (February 2013) addresses some new interrogation technology being tested by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to catch the lies and the liars. 

First of all, "people are really good at lying, and it's incredibly hard to tell when we're doing it."

Moreover, most people "lie 10 times a day," so it is routine and comes naturally to them. 

In terms of detecting lies, we are not very good at it--in fact, we're just better than chance--able to tell when someone is lying only 54% of the time.
Apparently, even with polygraph exams--their success is dependent more on the experience and finesse of the examiner and less on the polygraph tool. 

However, with new research and development, DHS has come up with an automated interrogator--that enhances the success of catching a liar by combining multiple detection technologies. 

The "interrogator bot" has three different sensors in use by the Embodied Avatar Kiosk.

- Infrared camera--"records eye movements and pupil dilation at up to 250 times per second--the stress of lying tends to cause the pupils to dilate"

- High-definition video camera--"captures fidgets such as shrugging, nodding, and scratching, which tend to increase during a deceptive statement"

- Microphone--"collects vocal data, because lies often come with minute changes in pitch" as well as "hesitation, changes in tempo and intonation, and spoken errors"

In the future, a additional sensors may be added for:

- Weight-sensing platform--to "measure leg and foot shifts or toe scrunches"

- 3-D camera--to "track the movements of a person's entire body"

Aside from getting better deception-detection results from multiplying the sensing techniques, the interrogation kiosk benefits from communicating in multiple languages and being "consistent, tireless, and susceptible to neither persuasion not bribery."

Another very cool feature being tested is tan interrogation avatar that actually resembles the person being interrogated using a camera and morphing software and making it look uncanny and "disturbing" at the same time--this can be quite familiar, disarming and unnerving.

By aggregating data points from many types of sensors and using behavioral analysis as a first line of defense followed by human questioning of those found to be lying, homeland security can proverbially light a fire under the pants of would be infiltrators and terrorists--and catch them before they make it to their next target. ;-)

(Source Photo: here with attribution to Cosmic Jans)

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March 24, 2012

Where Is The Outrage?

This past week a self-professed Al Qaeda jihadist, trained in the militant camps of Pakistan and Afghanistan murdered in cold blood three Jewish children and a teacher (who happened to be the father of the two boys killed, ages 3 and 6).  

The 8-year old girl pictured above was the beautiful daughter of the school's headmaster and was yanked by hair while the killer reloaded his gun and then shot her in the head, point blank. 

A fifth victim, another student, a boy age 17 is critically wounded in the hospital.

The Killer, Mohamed Merah had just the prior week, in two attacks, murdered 3 black French solders as well. 

So why did he do it?  He tells us it was to avenge Palestinian children and for the French foreign interventions, as he said on the video "you kill my brothers, now I kill you."

So now this terrorist with an extensive rap sheet (as many as 18 prior acts of violence) is dead, and yet insanely, the terrorists consider him a martyr.

And while condolences are heard to all victims, is there sufficient outrage at the murder of innocent school children and terrorists' complete disregard for human life and societal norms? 

More than a decade after the tragedy of 9/11 with nearly 3,000 murdered, followed by almost 6,400 U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, we still cannot fully come to terms with the enemy we face and the threats they pose.   

The people killed in terrorist attacks around the world--whether in a school yard in Toulouse, a luxury hotel in Mumbai, train attacks in London and Madrid, a nightclub attack in the Philippines, a plane flight over Lockerbie Scotland, a truck bomb at the U.S. Marine Barracks in Beirut, a homicide attack at a pizza parlor in Jerusalem, and countless others around the world have stained our consciences with the blood of innocents, so that the girl pictured, killed this week with a bullet to the brain is no longer special to anyone except her family, friends, and people who loved her. 

The blood of the victims of terrorism is not cheap and neither is that of Jewish children--it is high time for outrage at the enemy that takes human life so gleefully. 

(Source Photo: here)

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May 22, 2011

Peace and Security

With all the questions about peace in the Middle East, there is a lot of enthusiasm for a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians, living side-by-side in peace.
This is a practical vision that would resolve a lot of suffering and enable us to move constructively forward.
It may be hard to understand why Israel needs very specific conditions to protect itself, but this video sent to me by a friend explains it very well.
In a historical perspective, I think it is important to be aware of the context of the Jewish security concerns as well:
1) Six million Jews (ONE out of every THREE men, women, and children) were murdered in the Holocaust just last century.

2) Tens of thousands more were lost in numerous wars to overtake Israel (in 1948, 1956, 1967, 1973, 1982, 2006, 2008 and in the Intifada's).

3) Mid-East neighbors (that support terrorist organizations--like Hamas, Hezbollah and more) do not even recognize Israel's right to exist, and are chartered to their ultimate destruction.
As a Jewish American, I too share, pray, and hope for peace in the Middle East...let it be so as a genuine and lasting one.
While Middle East peace often seems impossible, G-d can do what we think is impossible.
(All opinions are my own)

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May 21, 2011

The Information Blanket

On July 4, 1976--the 200th anniversary of our free and democratic nation, something incredible was happening in Uganda--Operation Entebbe, a rescue operation to free over a hundred hostages at Entebee Airport.

This rescue operation became the basis for the movie Operation Thunderbolt, one of of my favorite movies (aside from Rocky).

The movie portrays the heroic and miraculous raid at Entebbe Airport in Uganda by the IDF to save the hostages of Air France flight 139, with 248 passengers and 12 crew (the Jews were later upon landing separated from the non-Jews and held captive, while the others were released). IDF Commandos with only a week of planning and preparation, travelled 2,500 miles in a daring operation that resulted in the rescue of the 103 hostages in a 90 minutes raid. Only three hostages and the commander of the mission, Lt Col Yonatan Netanyahu (the older brother of the Prime Minister of Israel today) were killed in the battle.

Despite, Uganda's support of the terrorists in this event 35 years ago (a long time yes, but still pretty awful), today to help innocent people of this country and others that can benefit, I write about...The Information Blanket.

BMB, an independent advertising consumer PR company launched The Information Blanket this month to fight infant mortality.

According to Fast Company (June 2011), the Blanket is targeted for a country like Uganda where "on average 77 of every 1,000 Ugandan babies will die before they reach their first birthday."

The creative director of BMB worked with UNICEF to "determine which health facts would best educate mothers and hopefully prevent infant death" and then they designed The Information Blanket with easy to read and understand information such as:

1) Vaccinations--"Get your baby vaccinated: 6, 10, 14 weeks."
2) Feeding--"Breast-feed 8-12 times a day."
3) Doctors--"Don't forget to schedule your doctor appointment."
4) Temperature--"38 degrees Celsius."
5) Growth--"Growth chart (months)."
6) Warnings--"Warning signs: unconsciousness, convulsions, fever, diarrhea, vomiting, eye discharge, poor appetite, fast breathing, dehydration."

These days, when going paperless and making everything digital is practically a mantra, I find The Information Blanket not only an effort to help people save lives, but a refreshing reminder that information can be delivered in many ways. And whether on a rock, a tree, bits and bytes, or a blanket, getting information out there to people is education, growth, and life for humanity.

Also, the role of design in effective communications and information technology is critical. Apple gets it...heck, they practically invented it. The more we incorporate good design and innovation into our communications, the more effective they have a chance to be.

(Source Photo: BMB)

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September 29, 2009

Turning the Tables on Terrorists

Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md) said that an Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP)—“it would bring down the whole [electrical] grid and cost between $1 trillion to $2 trillion” to repair with full recovery taking up to 10 years!

“It sounds like a science-fiction disaster: A nuclear weapon is detonated miles above the Earth’s atmosphere and knocks out power from New York City to Chicago for weeks, maybe months. Experts and lawmakers are increasing warning that terrorists or enemy nation state could wage that exact type of attack, idling electricity grids and disrupting everything from communications networks to military defenses…such an attack would halt banking, transportation, food, water, and emergency services and might result in the defeat of our military forces.” (Federal Times—September 21, 2009)

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) says “the U.S. is ill-prepared to prevent or recover from an EMP”—they are asking Congress for authority to require power companies to take protective steps to build metal shields around sensitive computer equipment.

It is imperative for us to protect our critical infrastructure so that we are not vulnerable to the devastating effects of a potential EMP blast. We must think beyond simple guns and bullets and realize that our technological progress is on one hand a great advantage to our society, but on the other hand, can be a huge liability if our technical nerve centers are “taken out”. Our technology is a great strategic advantage for us, but also it is our soft underbelly, and whether, we are surprised by an EMP or some hard-hitting cyber warfare, we are back to the stone age and it will hurt.

It also occurs to me that the same tools terrorists use against others can also be used against them.


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