The War in Israel may be at it's end.

[zil2]

4 hours ago, Traveler said:

Iran had children run through the mine fields promising the children and their families places in heaven for their sacrifices.

This, all by itself, if true, warrants any and every requirement to remove the entire leadership structure of Iran - whether by assassination or bomb, I really don't care. Whoever would carry out this plan earns their own death.

4 hours ago, Traveler said:

The obvious weakness and greatest vulnerability of the USA is our mistrust and hatred of each other

Just look at the war chapters in the Book of Mormon - this is always the downfall - when the Nephites are internally divided, their enemies succeed.

6 hours ago, JohnsonJones said:

They have declared death to the USA.  They are one of the biggest backers and formentors of world wide terrorism today.  I do not think it takes a great deal of imagination to think of what they may have done if they got nuclear weapons, and the damage they may attempt to do at US targets with such things.

I watched a video - heaven knows how close to truth it might have been - describing a plan where Iran would provide the nuclear warhead to go on a North Korean missile, with the intent to explode it over the center of the US, causing an EMP that would take out sufficient to render us essentially helpless.  All anyone would have to do is wait while we destroyed each other trying to get food.  If this was something these nations were planning, I can't say I'd find fault with anyone who did whatever was necessary to prevent it.  I wouldn't even wish this fate on Iran or North Korea.  The vast, vast majority of the modern world depends too heavily on electricity for even imagining such an attack to be tolerable, let alone trying to carry it out.

Edited Monday at 01:49 AM by zil2

[NeuroTypical]

16 hours ago, zil2 said:

explode it over the center of the US, causing an EMP that would take out sufficient to render us essentially helpless. 

Golden Dome is all about that particular threat.  

I'm a little worried about an EMP attack, but I'm more worried about shipping containers of drones heading to random cities and popping off all at once.

 

 

[Traveler]

1 hour ago, NeuroTypical said:

Golden Dome is all about that particular threat.  

I'm a little worried about an EMP attack, but I'm more worried about shipping containers of drones heading to random cities and popping off all at once.

 

 

A number of years ago I met with FBI agents about a scheme that could be carried out by a sleeper cell of no more than 5 individuals with access to minimal critical resources that could carry out a clandestine operation that could kill as many as 20 million unsuspected civilian men women and children.  We are a very vulnerable society because of our liberties and access to vast resources.   There are estimated 2 million got-a-ways just from the Biden administration alone.  Every effort by the Trump administration to mitigate “peaceful” but unvetted immigrants is being throated by every means possible by the majority of democrats in the house, Senate and left leaning judges.  

Our little planet also resides in the vicinity of a sun that quite regularly experiences both super massive solar flairs and super massive coronial ejections – either of which if ever pointed directly at earth would globally wipe out all electrical components – including power lines and household wiring.   We know that such events have happened to earth in the not to distant past but because our dependence on electricity is less than 150 years ago – beyond which there was no noticeable impact.  A super massive coronial ejection will also carry with it other problems beyond electricial.

I am of the mind that we are literally held by G-d in the palm of his hand.  I believe that having faith in Jesus Christ is critical for all things to turn for our good.  However, I still remain more concerned with the hearts and minds of individuals in our own country – especially of our elected and appointed officials as well as critical bureaucrats in our great nation.  I am particularly concerned with the resistance of transparent audits of funds spent and actions being taken.  For those interested – here is a link to H.R.1 – One Big Beautiful Bill Act https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1/text

Good luck figuring it all out if you can spare the time to read all of it.  At least it is available.

 

The Traveler

[Vort]

18 hours ago, zil2 said:

This, all by itself, if true, warrants any and every requirement to remove the entire leadership structure of Iran - whether by assassination or bomb, I really don't care. Whoever would carry out this plan earns their own death.

The Middle Eastern mullahs and political leaders seem, to a man, deeply corrupt. Not so different from the Western leaders, but the overt nature of their striving for power is a thing which all but the most leftist abhor.

When even those who maintain their dislike of Trump openly admit that the Iran attack was the only reasonable way forward, you know that the mainstream media is utterly lost in their hate-fueled wanderings, and are exceedingly unlikely ever to return to anything resembling reason.

Edited Monday at 04:49 PM by Vort

[Vort]

18 hours ago, zil2 said:

I watched a video - heaven knows how close to truth it might have been - describing a plan where Iran would provide the nuclear warhead to go on a North Korean missile, with the intent to explode it over the center of the US, causing an EMP that would take out sufficient to render us essentially helpless

I have worried for years about the brittleness of the US power grid, a worry that has been fueled by the every-few-years collapse of sections of the grid—the northeast, Texas, etc. We need our grid to be much more dispersed, much more redundant, much more interconnected but less interdependent.

Having said that, the EMP threat has been recognized since the 1950s. I think the fantasy of bringing the US to its knees by a high-altitude nuclear burst is just that: Fantasy. Our grid is not "hardened" in the military sense, but there are numerous failsafes and autodisconnects in the grid that would limit the catastrophic effects of such an airburst.

I would think (not being any sort of expert) that even if power were interrupted, it would be restored to most people within hours or days, maybe a couple of weeks at worst. And most critical infrastructure has backup generators available. Such an attack during a snowy, stormy, frigid winter might greatly complicate matters, but on the whole, I think that particular threat is overblown in public perception.

tl:dr—US public security has many things to worry about. I really don't think that a nuclear airburst leading to months-long power outages is one of those things.

Edited Monday at 04:51 PM by Vort

[zil2]

39 minutes ago, Vort said:

I have worried for years about the brittleness of the US power grid, a worry that has been fueled by the every-few-years collapse of sections of the grid—the northeast, Texas, etc. We need our grid to be much more dispersed, much more redundant, much more interconnected but less interdependent.

Having said that, the EMP threat has been recognized since the 1950s. I think the fantasy of bringing the US to its knees by a high-altitude nuclear burst is just that: Fantasy. Our grid is not "hardened" in the military sense, but there are numerous failsafes and autodisconnects in the grid that would limit the catastrophic effects of such an airburst.

I would think (not being any sort of expert) that even if power were interrupted, it would be restored to most people within hours or days, maybe a couple of weeks at worst. And most critical infrastructure has backup generators available. Such an attack during a snowy, stormy, frigid winter might greatly complicate matters, but on the whole, I think that particular threat is overblown in public perception.

tl:dr—US public security has many things to worry about. I really don't think that a nuclear airburst leading to months-long power outages is one of those things.

If EMPs work as described, someone could restore power, but I personally would have no ability to make use of it - no communication (TV, computer, radio), no car, no refrigeration, no AC, no heating (gas for heat, but electric to force the air), not sure about hot water (it seems to be all gas)...

The larger question from that is whether the surrounding businesses would be able to recover - particularly grocery stores - and how would we pay them (sure, I have cash, but the store and most people rely on cards or other electronic forms of money).

I have wondered just how expensive a house-sized Faraday cage would be.

(Meanwhile, I'm sure it's not related, but something somewhere just went boom - enough to rattle the garage door and shake the house a little.  I'm sure it's nothing.  Whoa, and there's another.  The army national guard are probably firing practice rounds somewhere......)

[zil2]

2 minutes ago, zil2 said:

(Meanwhile, I'm sure it's not related, but something somewhere just went boom - enough to rattle the garage door and shake the house a little.  I'm sure it's nothing.  Whoa, and there's another.  The army national guard are probably firing practice rounds somewhere......)

Hmm.  May (and there's another!) Maybe @mirkwood got a new toy...

(ETA: There was a double.  Kitties are now disturbed. The army should have to warn me when they're gonna do stuff like this.  Hoping it's just the army... And there's another.)

Edited Monday at 05:35 PM by zil2

[zil2]

OK, it's the Tooele Army Depot:

(link to their X post)

[zil2]

19 minutes ago, zil2 said:

OK, it's the Tooele Army Depot:

Meanwhile, as long as we're talking about wars and stuff, I wish to point out that there are 19+ miles (as the bomb flies) and an entire mountain range between me and the Tooele Army Depot. But them blowing stuff up (presumably in as safe a manner as is reasonable) still rattles my house.

Anyone celebrating this (blowing stuff up) actually happening to anyone anywhere is disturbed. The warmongers who make a profit and encourage groups of people to do this sort of thing to each other ought to be under one of their own profit-making devices when it goes.  I comprehend that sometimes we need to do things like bomb the heck out of Iranian nuclear facilities, but no one should be happy about any of it.  (If you think no one is, you should go read more on X - some people are rejoicing at Israel's suffering, others are rejoicing at Iran's suffering - there's just way too much rejoicing and not enough repenting.)

[Carborendum]

1 hour ago, zil2 said:

I have wondered just how expensive a house-sized Faraday cage would be.

Not too much more than standard sheathing.

Roofing for house:

Standard 10-yr roofing baseline: $10,000 for X sf of roof.
Higher quality roofing for 20-yr roof: $20,000 for the same area.
Metal roofing for 30 yr roof: $25,000 for same area.

Doors can have metal sheathing for only a nominal premium over a standard exterior security type door.

Windows can have lattice work.

Aluminum siding can be cheaper than vinyl.  But it is more subject to damage.  It dents more. Vinyl is more flexible, so it can absorb hits without permanent deformation.

So, you could do it.  But the vulnerability would be any glass (doors and windows).  You'd need metal fiber curtains or something.  And I have no idea how well that would work.

It does depend on the source of the EMP.

• A solar flare would induce a very long wavelength EMP as it interacts with the magnetosphere.  So, that is easier to defend against.  But the infrastructure would be more vulnerable.
• But a nuclear bomb or other man-made EMP device would have shorter wavelengths (if done correctly).  So, they would penetrate gaps more easily.
• The bomb would have to be detonated at the correct elevation in the magnetosphere to affect a large area.
• An EMP device would not be powerful enough to affect a large area.  We simply don't have that technology.

Edited Monday at 06:47 PM by Carborendum

[mikbone]

The war is over.  Iran just warned us about an incoming barrage of missiles into our military base in Qatar.  

All were intercepted and Iran spent a great deal of time apologizing to the Qatar nation.

Qatar has reserved the right to respond in equivalent force.

Edited Monday at 07:11 PM by mikbone

[Vort]

2 minutes ago, mikbone said:

The war is over.

Why has the US refused a Congressional declaration of war since the end of WWII? What exactly are the politics involved? Has this been nothing more than a naked power grab by presidents since Truman/Eisenhower, or is there more subtlety than that? Will an increasingly divided and partisan Congress simply refuse any declaration of war?

[mirkwood]

14 minutes ago, Vort said:

 Will an increasingly divided and partisan Congress simply refuse any declaration of war?

 

This is a legitimate concern.

[mikbone]

19 minutes ago, Vort said:

Why has the US refused a Congressional declaration of war since the end of WWII? What exactly are the politics involved? Has this been nothing more than a naked power grab by presidents since Truman/Eisenhower, or is there more subtlety than that? Will an increasingly divided and partisan Congress simply refuse any declaration of war?

Never was WW3.

Iran’s current regime has been decimated.  The tools for refining Uranium have been destroyed.

Hopefully, the people of Iran can take back their country and become a democratic land of freedom.

I like the USA attack.  Israel paved the way for us to finish the job.

Edited Monday at 07:16 PM by mikbone

[mikbone]

We dropped 14 GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator 30K pound bombs and 30 tomahawks.

Iran sent 10 missiles with a forewarning.  

Not really equivalent.

Hezbollah has been noticeably silent.

I can read the room.

[mikbone]

38 minutes ago, Vort said:

Will an increasingly divided and partisan Congress simply refuse any declaration of war?

Since World War II, no formal declarations of war have been issued, but Presidents have initiated over 125 military actions without prior congressional approval, relying on Article II powers, AUMFs, or emergency justifications. Examples include Korea (1950), Vietnam (1960s-70s), and recent strikes in Yemen and Syria.

[mikbone]

And Israel is destroying the guard posts of the Iranian prisons holding political prisoners.  /chuckle

[mikbone]

Reports out that the ayatollah, his family and senior leadership are preparing to flee the country.

[NeuroTypical]

Oh wow.  Those must have been some wild leaflets we dropped.

[Ironhold]

I was just reminded that World Wrestling Entertainment has a scheduled program in Riyadh this Saturday. 

Reports are indicating that production crew members and perhaps office staffers were already in the country to begin setting up the venue, and so it's in the air as to whether or not the show will go on as planned (depressingly likely, as Saudi's government is paying the WWE gobs of money) or if it will be rescheduled somehow. 

[LDSGator]

https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/iran-news/article-858739
 

we’re all friends again 

[Vort]

29 minutes ago, LDSGator said:

https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/iran-news/article-858739
 

we’re all friends again 

Did I mention that most Israelis love Trump? Like LOVE love him. Like want to have his babies. No wonder undisguised antiSemitism is on the rise among Democrats.

[mikbone]

Maybe Trump should send some bombers to Russia too?

Spread some world peace while we are at it.

Edited yesterday at 12:29 AM by mikbone

[Traveler]

There are several ways to collapse a power grid.  I do not want to say too much to give any shady elements ideas.  But there are certain critical elements of our power grid that are difficult to replace because we no longer make such things here in the USA.   If someone knew what they were doing, they could take down large sectors of our grid that would take years to replace and get back up. 

There are other soft targets in our utilities such as water, sewer, natural gas, public transportation in densely populated areas and things like fire protection and health services to name some of many possibilities.  We have seen in Hawaii and California how fire mitigation can be overrun.  I think we have been blessed that such minds had relied mostly on turning demonstrations into riots, break-ins and property destruction.  Such things can be turned into civil war and regime collapse (local, state or federal).

Currently drugs and human trafficking (an alternate term for slavery) are mostly underground and still considered unlawful but somewhat ignored in highly progressive cities and states.  I am under the impression that such activities are mostly supported or allowed for profit, but all such vices can be utilized by foreign interest to create havoc with our freedoms and liberties. 

@zil2 is right to realize the problems emphasized in the Book of Mormon with the failing societies of the Nephites and Jaredites.  The failure to be moral and law abiding is never a good idea.  To quote Alma with a twist of my own, “Wickedness never was happiness – but it was sure fun while it lasted.”

 

The Traveler

[Traveler]

1 hour ago, mikbone said:

Maybe Trump should send some bombers to Russia too?

Spread some world peace while we are at it.

Unfortunately, Russia has nukes – lots and lots of them.  Enough that it does not really matter if they never even hit any intended targets.

 

The Traveler