Ok, so why is there consensus amongst the HA readership that this story has ANY merit whatsoever? I’m calling BS on this one.

Krydor on May 29, 2008 at 11:35 PM

This response is coming up close to 20+ hrs. later and let me say that: YOU’RE A FOOL!!!and btw….nmynwte.

Ok, so why is there consensus amongst the HA readership that this story has ANY merit whatsoever? I’m calling BS on this one.

Krydor on May 29, 2008 at 11:35 PM

One might be able to argue that the blackouts weren’t caused by a cyber attack (although I am inclined to believe they were). However, everything else that is laid out in this story sounds very credible indeed and we ignore the threat at our peril.

Are you one of those people complain that we are spending too much money on the military, when we have so many other priorities, like government funding of preschool?

But hey, why worry? If Barry is sworn in in 2009 all our problems will be solved and Barry will charm the Chinese into submission.

Comes a time when the failures of past leaders catch up with you. May have taken fifty odd years, but it would seem they’ve arrived and at the worst possible time.

Even if a power outage were the only potential outcome, it is serious–how many people depend upon power for survival? We just read the story of the lady who lived in the iron lung for 50 years, and died when the power went out–how many other people are on life-supporting machines? How many people have frail health that places them in danger when the temperature is too high? In the South, we hear warnings every summer about the elderly protecting themselves from the heat, and I’m sure there are similar warnings everywhere.

But losing power isn’t the only ramification. We can bet that attacks are not limited to our electric systems (e.g., computer hackers trying to access the Pentagon). And the evidence indicates that these ramifications will not be taken seriously, either–Tim Russert was completely baffled by the indifference of our country to Bill Clinton’s sale of secrets to the Chinese.

BryanS is right–this should be treated as an act of war and responded to, at the very least, with an economic pounding. It won’t be, though, because 1) It won’t be reported, certainly in any thoughtful or significant way, 2) Washington is loaded with opportunistic cretins whose only response will be to dismiss this as unimportant if they can’t politicize it to attack the other party, and 3) heaven forbid we should do anything that could be viewed as a restriction on “free trade.” And, quite apparently, the American public will moo contentedly until they realize the milking barn is actually a slaughterhouse.

Ok, so why is there consensus amongst the HA readership that this story has ANY merit whatsoever? I’m calling BS on this one.

Krydor on May 29, 2008 at 11:35 PM

I second your recommendation for caution. Unfortunately for China’s “brand,” the story is quite plausible given their demonstrated willingness to poison their customers with lead paint (toys), antifreeze (toothpaste and counterfeit medicines), known hacking and officially-sanctioned cyber mischief/warfare, etc.

Having dealt with complex computer systems for many years, though, I’d like much more solid confirmation of this story before pointing the conclusive finger of blame.

Why are we only now hearing about this?

Entelechy on May 29, 2008 at 11:07 PM

Because someone decided it would be useful to release this information at this time

Therefore, your question is the key question

It is also the only question we cannot answer. even with web searches

I consider the blatant free trade status given tyrant China to be the most craven form of appeasement. It beats the kow-towing to the OPEC oil barons many fold.

The muslim oil barons intend to colonize the world using their oil soaked privileged immigration status in all oil hungry nations.

The Chinese fascist capitalists have a drive to subjugation based more upon cultural-racial superiority beliefs that makes them the new Nazis. The Chinese generals have studied Hitler, his successes and failures. They have taken the same intial path as Hitler who for years gathered information on the world he intended to conquer.

Hitler had a Ministry of Information that collected all the stats on the docks, factories, refineries, stockpiles, and external raw material requirements of the enemy. Hitler had sleeper agents planted across the world.

Nazi Germany was like China, short of oil, and other raw materials. Nazi Germany also craved seaports. However the Nazis were underpopulated while China is overpopulated and considers the populations currently grazing in foreign lands to be wasters of resources that could be better utilized by the superior Chinese nation.

Tibet is Poland, with the ores and waters of the Himalyas instead of Polish seaports and shipyards.

Many of the American upper crust admired Hitler for his ‘innovation’. Today’s equivalent are the wealthy distributors of Chinese made American brand names who think we cannot win the coming war with China and so hope that by facilitating the transfer of technology and customers to the new Nazis they will be allowed to retain their distributorships in the new Chinese Empire.

Fools

Trying to cut a deal with locusts

Is it going to be “blame China” instead of “blame Bush?”

Are we preparing ourselves so when 2009 comes it will be “blame China” era?

I’m not here to defend China, but shouldn’t we verify the information to make sure that China has Weapons of Mass Destruction before invading it?

I will wait for more info on this one.

Bring it on…

China is a Pirate State.

And should be trusted about as far as we can throw the Great Wall with one hand.

Boy, it really helped that Jimmy Carter helped them get control of the Panama Canal too.

funky chicken on May 29, 2008 at 10:49 PM

And the man who was behind the Torrijos-Carter Treaties (relinquishing U.S. control of the Panama Canal after 1999) is now an advisor to Obama. Really.

His name is comrade Zbigniew Brzezinski

Zbigniew Brzezinski thus spent some of his earliest years witnessing the rise of the Nazis. From 1936 to 1938, Zbigniew’s father Tadeusz Brzeziński was posted to the Soviet Union during Stalin’s Great Purge.

General T’so wins every time.
SouthernGent on May 29, 2008 at 11:26 PM

Or at least makes some mighty fine tastin’ chicken.

Ok, so why is there consensus amongst the HA readership that this story has ANY merit whatsoever? I’m calling BS on this one.

Krydor on May 29, 2008 at 11:35 PM

Whether or not the blackouts were the result of Chinese action, rest assured that the Chinese military is aggressively working on hacking US security and infrastructure networks, for reasons of both intelligence gathering and, perhaps, future sabotage.

The reasons you can be utterly certain this is happening are: A) China easily has the technical capability and personnel to do this, and B) it is objectively in China’s strategic interest to do this. Simply put, they can do it, and if they aren’t doing it, they are fools.

So who will finally get to have overlord status of the earth, the Chinese or the muslims? Figuring that out would make for some mighty interesting handicapping.

Bishop on May 29, 2008 at 11:22 PM

Muslims. The Chinese are aborting too many of their females, and will suffer a stunning demographic collapse within the next 50 years. Muslims, not limited to one child per family, don’t gender select and are therefore capable of replacing themselves, or even expanding their demographic.

SCADA systems are our biggest threat. I would almost bet my salary that this is the culprit in this case.

Yeah. I buy it.

Entelechy on May 29, 2008 at 11:07 PM

Hah LOL!

is anyone surprised? why? Its out there everything i mentioned about the chinese in my comment above is happening now or has happened in the past 2 years. add to the list the fact that the Chinese, as a rising strategic antagonist, are probing our military defenses every minute of every day.

I knew it was coming. This time we need China Russia, Iran and Syria, one country just won’t due.