As BMO said, even a simple terrorists could not get it right. Explosives are HARD. VERY HARD. handle them wrong, and they blow up early (plenty of ppl are proof of that). Do not do them right, and they do not blow up at all (ask the shoe and underwear bombers). Things like Military made explosions work because they were built under lab and factory specs. The chemicals went in PRECISELY. IOW, the chemists and techs know exactly how they will behave. But homemade explosives from every-day chemicals? Lots of work and easy to get wrong.
OTOH, doing a viral attack the way that I describe allows the terrorists to do all of the hard work in say pakistan, somalia, indonesia, China, Iran, North Korea, or Venezuela. Once they are done, it is trivial to get small ampules back into a multiple of nations. And no explosive weapon shy of a nuke can be so small and kill 100K to 100M ppl to potentially 1B all in several weeks, and without leaving a trace.
That is actually a LOT harder. They are trying to teach ppl REMOTELYhow to manufacturer bombs from multiple household chemicals that require loads of works to get them pure enough. Then you have to build a detonator (actually, the easy part). You have to explain how to sneak it into the airport and handle the stuff CAREFULLY (best way is to have somebody else do all of these steps since detectors can pick up a number of chemicals on clothing/skin). Finally, you are taking a person that is NOT really ready to sacrifice their life (only 9/11 ppl were really ready to give it their all) and putting them on the plane and trying to get them to do this. The ones in the camps and the guys on 9/11 PRACTICED all of this for DAYS. The underwear bombers did not practice. They just HOPED to make it through it.
OTOH, with this approach, somebody can do the hard part IN PRIVATE. Nobody watching. Then they calm themselves, say their goodbyes, and 1-2 days later start walking around the malls. Go into bathrooms, sneeze on their hands and wipe it on handles all over. Be a hotel maid and wipe their snot all over remote controls and wash basins (next day do the mall). Go to bars/clubs for the next couple of nights and have a GOOD TIME(you have 72 virgins coming your way). No, this is so much easier and can hit hard and fast compared to what 9/11 did. By doing this during flu season, it will actually make it worse since so many fools will go to work sick. But by mixing it with more variants of other flus, they spread it faster.
Weird to think about it, but this was all from when I worked at CDC back in 1980 (soviet commies). We discussed it on other bugs, but this works even better than the bugs that we were discussing. The reason is that if you have say 20 ppl spread around the nation and another 20 around Europe and perhaps another 20 around other nations such as Russia and China, it will be 2 weeks before the medical teams realize that they have been hit.
Note that AQ has a widely distributed army (and yes, it IS an Army). Smart on their part. They can hide all over with us unable to hit them. And if they take out 100K or more in several weeks, then they will get 100K following them. Sad, but true.
other terrorists to make this? IT IS TRIVIAL. In fact, it is CHEAP to do, esp. compared to all of their other ideas.
So, how do you do it? You get allies to work in chicken farms in Indonesia, China, Vietnam, etc. These are all the places in which H5N1 variants are active. Wait until the farm has it (and right now, about 5-10% of the farms get it EACH YEAR). Once a place has it, take samples from the various chickens and take it back to Pakistan. spin down the blood, removing the blood cells and then inject it into a person (oddly, better to inject it into a child or old person; Avian operates different than other virus). Once they have it, expose them to normal airborne human flu. IOW, you are turning a human into a viral incubator. At that time, take samples of the person to hold aside, while you have 10-15 humans (knowing AQ, probably women) wait on the incubator. Spend a lot of time with them for the next 5-10 days. If somebody becomes infected, draw a number of samples from them, while allowing them to infect several other ppl. If the first set of waitors die from the infection, then you very likely have an airborne avian flu.
At that time, keep the infections going for a bit, but ideally, add in swine flu. The spanish flu that stopped WWI, was apparently a combination of Avian, Swine, and Human flu. Regardless, the original mixture is enough, but if you go with several more levels, you can make it even more lethal.
At that time, draw blood over the course of a couple of days from current incubators, spin it down to remove blood cells, mix, and then break apart into 1MM vials. That is enough to turn any human that is injected with it into a typhoid mary. Send them into airports, sporting events, malls, etc. Do it during the early phase when it is shedding, but not showing much symptoms of morbidity. Upon the person showing too many signs, pull them in, allow them to die in a quiet apartment and then dispose. Repeat with new person.
So, why did I post this? To point out how trivial it is to create this. More importantly, to point out that AQ has some nice and easy means of doing this. The question is, what stops them? Their enmens (sp). These ppl will say no to this. At some point, as AQ gets to the end of losing their war, they will disregard and do this. At that time, I hope that we are ready. Otherwise, it is possible that the spanish flu will be nothing more than a sniffle compared to what this will do.
We capture small asteroids every so often which will orbit earth for a month to several years. We can speed up to those speeds, land, control the asteroid, and then either send it on its way, or slow it down to the ISS speed.
For those that will get nervous, the moon also captures some.
The issue is that once the playbook dies, so will the apps for it. Few will develop to it since it did not have a large enough market. Basically, unless you have a NEEDED app on it, OR unless Android/Linux is ported to it, there is no real incentive to buy one.
So, you think that by TALKING to the NSA, who added a nice security module to Linux, they will put a back door into medical equipment?
If you are going to make wild assertions, you might want to look up what NSA's mission is: listen to other system AND SECURE OURS.
NSA has some of the best security ppl on-board. I would trust them to handle my medical devices, before I continue to trust the idiots at MS and those that use Windows.
Seriously, the smart thing is to develop an Open platform on Linux, with libraries for equipment to use. Likewise, offer up secured ways of updating the equipment. If FDA was smart, they would talk to NSA.
If we are sending a manned mission to an asteroid, why not put a small unit on these asteroids, with carmera, drill, etc. and let it continue with the asteroid. The other idea would be to catch one and try to manuvuer it. By doing that, we can come up with ideas on how to take on one that will hit us, but also how to mine them.
Well, I have to say that both major parties suck. I can not stand either one. The real problem is that presidents do not really make that many decisions. Most are made by the men/women that they surround themselves by. Best example, is that Griffin pushed NASA's 90's program, that the neo-cons killed. Griffin really is the one that got private space moving fast. Sadly, he just wanted it as a back-up, and never fully realized that private space is EXACTLY what is needed to stop CONgress from killing things like going BEO.
As such, I note that romney has surrounded himself with some of the worst that came out of reagan's and W's admins and no doubt will pick up more of that kind of trash. It is the LAST thing that America needs. Now, I am not a fan of O's, but I think that he is doing a better job than what the neo-cons have done to America. this is probably the best illustration of that.. Now, our biggest 2 issues are keeping the economy going, rebalancing the budget, AND stopping CONgress from being so corrupt. And yes, CONgress is CORRUPT. Horribly corrupt. All of them.
They are working hard to stop private space. They finally relented to allowed a small amount of money for 2.5 crafts, but they insist that 5x or more money flow to their jobs Bill: The Senate Launch System (SLS). Now, they are blocking NASA from helping Bigelow from getting off the ground. Yet, if Bigelow is off the ground around 2014, we will go back to the moon within 4 years or so.
What is needed is for us to GUT SLS on the next budget, but create a COTS II for SHLV. Then create 2 launchers of which they both get max 5B to develop it, and must launch for under.5B with over 120 tonnes to LEO. In addition, at the end of it, a new contract will be opened to pay for 5 launches per year for 4 years (2 from one and 2 from another, with a 3rd going to the lowest bidder). By doing something like this, we end up with similar launch vehicles with similar costs structures. Lose one, and we are still going.
Note, that we allow the current builders of the SLS to put it up for bid. If they can do it for that cheap and that quickly, then they get the contract.
But, the real priorities must be human launch AND private space stations. That gives multiple locations, and allows us to fully test equipment in space prior to going to the moon BEFORE 2020.
that does not mean that this company is going down the wrong path. In fact, far from it. Pre-fab is how you get things done quickly. We do it in software. You buy libraries to work with. The hope is that it means that the bulk of the code is tested by many. Same principle in OSS. Now, this company is doing pre-fab, hopefully, with loads of testing on the pieces, followed up with testing after they install the piece. Done right, this will be cheaper and faster.
Supercomputing is currently based on having the most cheap chips with a faster and faster network between them. While USA is developing these faster networks, China simply 'borrows' the tech and then have access to the REAL CHEAP chips. Why? Because they put an export tariff on EVERYTHING that is exported, while manipulating their money against western money. Basically, they will shortly have the larger systems.
No, it will not. All windows systems are currently subsidized by MS. This system is obviously very heavily subsidized. My guess is that MS is paying about 100-150 to try and get ppl hooked on it.
Actually, many things require gov. funding. The question becomes, is it 100% gov. funding, or is it just partial, and only for results.
As it is, we have thrown 10B at Constellation, of which most of that went into Ares I. And what do we have to show for it? Nothing.
So, now, we start again with the Senate Launch System. How much will this take? ANOTHER 20B, and nearly 10 years before a human flies. And that is only for 70 tonnes with actual launch costs of 1-2B.
OTOH, 'private' space CAN put humans into space BEFORE the SLS, and at a fraction of the costs. The issue becomes, how soon do we want human launch back? IN addition, how much are we willing to pay for the development and future launches. Finally, how MANY launchers do we want? Do we want to return to the days of having ONLY ONE launch system so that we must depend on other nations? Or do we want multiple launchers here so that we not only do not depend on other nations (but work with), but can deal nicely with accidents (and there will be more)?
Private space, such as SpaceX, is making great use of their toys. The f9 is launching sats and cargo. The dragon will be used for cargo, bio-labs, human launchers, remote planet landers with any of the prior. Basically, SpaceX, and hopefully Blue Origin will make huge in-roads into space because they will lower the costs of doing missions.
While the republicans are working hard to gut private space, it is near certain that it will continue. The reason is that both SpaceX and Blue Origin are going forward. My guess is that with the 'new' agreement between the neo-cons and NASA (basically, funds 2.5 private space, however, it requires that NASA not attempt to remove the republican job's bill), that we will see private space continue.
Probably what is far more important, is that we need to get Bigelow (and hopefully, IDC Dover) going.
China is working on a military base space station, but the big todo is that they launched a female soldier.
Amazing that we focus on such BS.
I think that SpaceX should launch a woman or two on the first launch just so that they can claim that they are willing to send women on the first launch, esp. of private space.
The vast majority of China is NOT capitalistic. The gov. controls the vast majority of the economy there. The ONLY place that is even a little bit capitalistic, are businesses that export or interface with the outside, esp. the west.
However, 100% Chinese owned companies that produce goods for exports, have a max wage. Those have up to 49% foreign ownership, have a minimum wage, which is much higher than the max wage that the Chinese owned have.
Likewise, any company that is 100% owned by the Chinese gov (which is most of them), are controlled by their gov. Simple as that.
Oh, I full agree with it. In fact, I think that America/NASA should do the same. For example, our funding of a private launcher should be based on being American products, or at least American/partners only.
Slashdot Mirror
Spoken by a man who stole many an ideas over his time (and note, that I liked jobs)
As BMO said, even a simple terrorists could not get it right. Explosives are HARD. VERY HARD. handle them wrong, and they blow up early (plenty of ppl are proof of that). Do not do them right, and they do not blow up at all (ask the shoe and underwear bombers). Things like Military made explosions work because they were built under lab and factory specs. The chemicals went in PRECISELY. IOW, the chemists and techs know exactly how they will behave. But homemade explosives from every-day chemicals? Lots of work and easy to get wrong.
OTOH, doing a viral attack the way that I describe allows the terrorists to do all of the hard work in say pakistan, somalia, indonesia, China, Iran, North Korea, or Venezuela. Once they are done, it is trivial to get small ampules back into a multiple of nations. And no explosive weapon shy of a nuke can be so small and kill 100K to 100M ppl to potentially 1B all in several weeks, and without leaving a trace.
That is actually a LOT harder. They are trying to teach ppl REMOTELYhow to manufacturer bombs from multiple household chemicals that require loads of works to get them pure enough. Then you have to build a detonator (actually, the easy part). You have to explain how to sneak it into the airport and handle the stuff CAREFULLY (best way is to have somebody else do all of these steps since detectors can pick up a number of chemicals on clothing/skin). Finally, you are taking a person that is NOT really ready to sacrifice their life (only 9/11 ppl were really ready to give it their all) and putting them on the plane and trying to get them to do this. The ones in the camps and the guys on 9/11 PRACTICED all of this for DAYS. The underwear bombers did not practice. They just HOPED to make it through it.
OTOH, with this approach, somebody can do the hard part IN PRIVATE. Nobody watching. Then they calm themselves, say their goodbyes, and 1-2 days later start walking around the malls. Go into bathrooms, sneeze on their hands and wipe it on handles all over. Be a hotel maid and wipe their snot all over remote controls and wash basins (next day do the mall). Go to bars/clubs for the next couple of nights and have a GOOD TIME(you have 72 virgins coming your way). No, this is so much easier and can hit hard and fast compared to what 9/11 did. By doing this during flu season, it will actually make it worse since so many fools will go to work sick. But by mixing it with more variants of other flus, they spread it faster.
Weird to think about it, but this was all from when I worked at CDC back in 1980 (soviet commies). We discussed it on other bugs, but this works even better than the bugs that we were discussing. The reason is that if you have say 20 ppl spread around the nation and another 20 around Europe and perhaps another 20 around other nations such as Russia and China, it will be 2 weeks before the medical teams realize that they have been hit.
Note that AQ has a widely distributed army (and yes, it IS an Army). Smart on their part. They can hide all over with us unable to hit them. And if they take out 100K or more in several weeks, then they will get 100K following them. Sad, but true.
other terrorists to make this? IT IS TRIVIAL. In fact, it is CHEAP to do, esp. compared to all of their other ideas.
So, how do you do it? You get allies to work in chicken farms in Indonesia, China, Vietnam, etc. These are all the places in which H5N1 variants are active. Wait until the farm has it (and right now, about 5-10% of the farms get it EACH YEAR). Once a place has it, take samples from the various chickens and take it back to Pakistan. spin down the blood, removing the blood cells and then inject it into a person (oddly, better to inject it into a child or old person; Avian operates different than other virus). Once they have it, expose them to normal airborne human flu. IOW, you are turning a human into a viral incubator. At that time, take samples of the person to hold aside, while you have 10-15 humans (knowing AQ, probably women) wait on the incubator. Spend a lot of time with them for the next 5-10 days. If somebody becomes infected, draw a number of samples from them, while allowing them to infect several other ppl. If the first set of waitors die from the infection, then you very likely have an airborne avian flu.
At that time, keep the infections going for a bit, but ideally, add in swine flu. The spanish flu that stopped WWI, was apparently a combination of Avian, Swine, and Human flu. Regardless, the original mixture is enough, but if you go with several more levels, you can make it even more lethal.
At that time, draw blood over the course of a couple of days from current incubators, spin it down to remove blood cells, mix, and then break apart into 1MM vials. That is enough to turn any human that is injected with it into a typhoid mary. Send them into airports, sporting events, malls, etc. Do it during the early phase when it is shedding, but not showing much symptoms of morbidity. Upon the person showing too many signs, pull them in, allow them to die in a quiet apartment and then dispose. Repeat with new person.
So, why did I post this? To point out how trivial it is to create this. More importantly, to point out that AQ has some nice and easy means of doing this. The question is, what stops them? Their enmens (sp). These ppl will say no to this. At some point, as AQ gets to the end of losing their war, they will disregard and do this. At that time, I hope that we are ready. Otherwise, it is possible that the spanish flu will be nothing more than a sniffle compared to what this will do.
Ours? Is Linux yours?
secure ours, means secure the west's OSs. Linux is just closer to being a secured system, and much easier, than trash would be.
We capture small asteroids every so often which will orbit earth for a month to several years. We can speed up to those speeds, land, control the asteroid, and then either send it on its way, or slow it down to the ISS speed.
For those that will get nervous, the moon also captures some.
Oh, I have coded on QNX. Great OS. Good company.
The issue is that once the playbook dies, so will the apps for it. Few will develop to it since it did not have a large enough market. Basically, unless you have a NEEDED app on it, OR unless Android/Linux is ported to it, there is no real incentive to buy one.
Listening on communications, is a different issue than securing a box.
So, you think that by TALKING to the NSA, who added a nice security module to Linux, they will put a back door into medical equipment?
If you are going to make wild assertions, you might want to look up what NSA's mission is: listen to other system AND SECURE OURS.
NSA has some of the best security ppl on-board. I would trust them to handle my medical devices, before I continue to trust the idiots at MS and those that use Windows.
Seriously, the smart thing is to develop an Open platform on Linux, with libraries for equipment to use. Likewise, offer up secured ways of updating the equipment. If FDA was smart, they would talk to NSA.
I would buy it in a heartbeat.
If we are sending a manned mission to an asteroid, why not put a small unit on these asteroids, with carmera, drill, etc. and let it continue with the asteroid. The other idea would be to catch one and try to manuvuer it. By doing that, we can come up with ideas on how to take on one that will hit us, but also how to mine them.
Well, I have to say that both major parties suck. I can not stand either one. The real problem is that presidents do not really make that many decisions. Most are made by the men/women that they surround themselves by. Best example, is that Griffin pushed NASA's 90's program, that the neo-cons killed. Griffin really is the one that got private space moving fast. Sadly, he just wanted it as a back-up, and never fully realized that private space is EXACTLY what is needed to stop CONgress from killing things like going BEO.
As such, I note that romney has surrounded himself with some of the worst that came out of reagan's and W's admins and no doubt will pick up more of that kind of trash. It is the LAST thing that America needs. Now, I am not a fan of O's, but I think that he is doing a better job than what the neo-cons have done to America. this is probably the best illustration of that.. Now, our biggest 2 issues are keeping the economy going, rebalancing the budget, AND stopping CONgress from being so corrupt. And yes, CONgress is CORRUPT. Horribly corrupt. All of them.
They are working hard to stop private space. They finally relented to allowed a small amount of money for 2.5 crafts, but they insist that 5x or more money flow to their jobs Bill: The Senate Launch System (SLS). Now, they are blocking NASA from helping Bigelow from getting off the ground. Yet, if Bigelow is off the ground around 2014, we will go back to the moon within 4 years or so.
.5B with over 120 tonnes to LEO. In addition, at the end of it, a new contract will be opened to pay for 5 launches per year for 4 years (2 from one and 2 from another, with a 3rd going to the lowest bidder). By doing something like this, we end up with similar launch vehicles with similar costs structures. Lose one, and we are still going.
What is needed is for us to GUT SLS on the next budget, but create a COTS II for SHLV. Then create 2 launchers of which they both get max 5B to develop it, and must launch for under
Note, that we allow the current builders of the SLS to put it up for bid. If they can do it for that cheap and that quickly, then they get the contract.
But, the real priorities must be human launch AND private space stations. That gives multiple locations, and allows us to fully test equipment in space prior to going to the moon BEFORE 2020.
Amazing, was it not? Just amazing.
That money was wired to Colorado, where the Vasseurs allegedly collected it, took their 10 percent and wired the remainder back to Nigeria, according to a Colorado state Grand Jury indictment handed down today.
that does not mean that this company is going down the wrong path. In fact, far from it. Pre-fab is how you get things done quickly. We do it in software. You buy libraries to work with. The hope is that it means that the bulk of the code is tested by many. Same principle in OSS. Now, this company is doing pre-fab, hopefully, with loads of testing on the pieces, followed up with testing after they install the piece. Done right, this will be cheaper and faster.
Supercomputing is currently based on having the most cheap chips with a faster and faster network between them. While USA is developing these faster networks, China simply 'borrows' the tech and then have access to the REAL CHEAP chips. Why? Because they put an export tariff on EVERYTHING that is exported, while manipulating their money against western money. Basically, they will shortly have the larger systems.
No, it will not. All windows systems are currently subsidized by MS. This system is obviously very heavily subsidized. My guess is that MS is paying about 100-150 to try and get ppl hooked on it.
Actually, many things require gov. funding. The question becomes, is it 100% gov. funding, or is it just partial, and only for results.
As it is, we have thrown 10B at Constellation, of which most of that went into Ares I. And what do we have to show for it? Nothing.
So, now, we start again with the Senate Launch System. How much will this take? ANOTHER 20B, and nearly 10 years before a human flies. And that is only for 70 tonnes with actual launch costs of 1-2B.
OTOH, 'private' space CAN put humans into space BEFORE the SLS, and at a fraction of the costs. The issue becomes, how soon do we want human launch back? IN addition, how much are we willing to pay for the development and future launches. Finally, how MANY launchers do we want? Do we want to return to the days of having ONLY ONE launch system so that we must depend on other nations? Or do we want multiple launchers here so that we not only do not depend on other nations (but work with), but can deal nicely with accidents (and there will be more)?
Private space, such as SpaceX, is making great use of their toys. The f9 is launching sats and cargo. The dragon will be used for cargo, bio-labs, human launchers, remote planet landers with any of the prior. Basically, SpaceX, and hopefully Blue Origin will make huge in-roads into space because they will lower the costs of doing missions.
While the republicans are working hard to gut private space, it is near certain that it will continue. The reason is that both SpaceX and Blue Origin are going forward. My guess is that with the 'new' agreement between the neo-cons and NASA (basically, funds 2.5 private space, however, it requires that NASA not attempt to remove the republican job's bill), that we will see private space continue.
Probably what is far more important, is that we need to get Bigelow (and hopefully, IDC Dover) going.
BINGO.
China is working on a military base space station, but the big todo is that they launched a female soldier.
Amazing that we focus on such BS.
I think that SpaceX should launch a woman or two on the first launch just so that they can claim that they are willing to send women on the first launch, esp. of private space.
The vast majority of China is NOT capitalistic. The gov. controls the vast majority of the economy there. The ONLY place that is even a little bit capitalistic, are businesses that export or interface with the outside, esp. the west.
However, 100% Chinese owned companies that produce goods for exports, have a max wage. Those have up to 49% foreign ownership, have a minimum wage, which is much higher than the max wage that the Chinese owned have.
Likewise, any company that is 100% owned by the Chinese gov (which is most of them), are controlled by their gov. Simple as that.
Oh, I full agree with it. In fact, I think that America/NASA should do the same. For example, our funding of a private launcher should be based on being American products, or at least American/partners only.