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Monday, October 28, 2013

We've reached the end of antibiotics



'We've reached the end of antibiotics': Top CDC expert declares that 'miracle drugs' that have saved millions are no match against 'superbugs' because people have overmedicated themselves


By SNEJANA FARBEROV

PUBLISHED: 00:30 EST, 26 October 2013 | UPDATED: 01:17 EST, 26 October 2013

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Health crisis: Dr Arjun Srinivasan, the associate director of the CDC, told PBS' Frontline that misuse and overuse of antibiotics over the years have rendered them powerless to fight infections



A high-ranking official with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has declared in an interview with PBS that the age of antibiotics has come to an end.


'For a long time, there have been newspaper stories and covers of magazines that talked about "The end of antibiotics, question mark?"' said Dr Arjun Srinivasan. 'Well, now I would say you can change the title to "The end of antibiotics, period.”'


The associate director of the CDC sat down withFrontline over the summer for a lengthy interview about the growing problem of antibacterial resistance.


Srinivasan, who is also featured in a Frontline report called 'Hunting the Nightmare Bacteria,' which aired Tuesday, said that both humans and livestock have been overmedicated to such a degree that bacteria are now resistant to antibiotics.


‘We're in the post-antibiotic era,' he said. 'There are patients for whom we have no therapy, and we are literally in a position of having a patient in a bed who has an infection, something that five years ago even we could have treated, but now we can’t.’.


Dr Srinivasan offered an example of this notion, citing the recent case of three Tampa Bay Buccaneers players who made headlines after reportedly contracting potentially deadly MRSA infections, which until recently were largely restricted to hospitals.


About 10 years ago, however, the CDC official began seeing outbreaks of different kinds of MRSA infections in schools and gyms.


‘In hospitals, when you see MRSA infections, you oftentimes see that in patients who have a catheter in their blood, and that creates an opportunity for MRSA to get into their bloodstream,’ he said.




Nightmare superbug: Srinivasan said that about 10 years ago, he began seeing outbreaks of different kinds of MRSA infections, which previously had been limited to hospitals, in schools and gyms



‘In the community, it was causing a very different type of infection. It was causing a lot of very, very serious and painful infections of the skin, which was completely different from what we would see in health care.’


With bacteria constantly evolving and developing resistance to conventional antibiotics, doctors have been forced to ‘reach back into the archives’ and ‘dust off’ older, more dangerous cures like colistin.


WHAT ARE ANTIBIOTICS?



Antibiotics, also known as antibacterials, are types of drugs that destroy or slow down the growth of bacteria.

Antibiotics are used to treat infections caused by bacteria. Bacteria are microscopic organisms, some of which may cause illness.


Before bacteria can multiply and cause symptoms, the body's immune system can usually destroy them. But if white blood cells fail to fight off the infection, antibiotics can help.


The first antibiotic was penicillin, which was discovered in 1928 by Scottish Professor Alexander Fleming.


Such penicillin-related antibiotics as ampicillin, amoxicillin and benzylpenicilllin are widely used today to treat a variety of infections.

Source: Medical News Today

‘It’s very toxic,’ said Srinivasan. ‘We don’t like to use it. It damages the kidneys. But we’re forced to use it in a lot of instances.’


The expert went on, saying that the discovery of antibiotics in 1928 by Professor Alexander Fleming revolutionized medicine, allowing doctors to treat hundreds of millions of people suffering from illnesses that had been considered terminal for centuries.




More...
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Major new hurdle in the hunt for an AIDS cure: Research shows dangerous 'dormant' HIV remains in the body after treatment



Antibiotics also paved the way for successful organ transplants, chemotherapy, stem cell and bone marrow transplantations - all the procedures that weaken the immune system and make the body susceptible to infections.


However, the CDC director explained that people have fueled the fire of bacterial resistance through rampant overuse and misuse of antibiotics.


‘These drugs are miracle drugs, these antibiotics that we have, but we haven’t taken good care of them over the 50 years that we’ve had them,’ he told Frontline.


Srinivasan added that pharmaceutical companies are at least partially to blame for this problem, saying that they have neglected the development of new and more sophisticated antibiotics that could keep up with bacterial resistance because ‘there’s not much money to be made’ in this field.


Read more:
Hunting the Nightmare Bacteria ¿ FRONTLINE
Dr. Arjun Srinivasan: We¿ve Reached ¿The End of Antibiotics, Period¿ ¿ Hunting the Nightmare Bacteria - FRONTLINE

Friday, October 25, 2013

Obama wants Marines to wear ‘girly’ hats

Obama wants Marines to wear ‘girly’ hats

By Jeane MacIntosh

October 23, 2013 | 10:30pm

Modal Trigger


The old hats (left) compared to the new ones (right).


A change to the Marine Corps’ uniform hats could take the hard-nosed Leathernecks from the Halls of Montezuma to the shops of Christopher Street.

Thanks to a plan by President Obama to create a “unisex” look for the Corps, officials are on the verge of swapping out the Marines’ iconic caps – known as “covers” — with a new version that some have derided as so “girly” that they would make the French blush.

“We don’t even have enough funding to buy bullets, and the DoD is pushing to spend $8 million on covers that look like women’s hats!” one senior Marine source fumed to The Post. “The Marines deserve better. It makes them look ridiculous.”

The thin new covers have a feminine line that some officials think would make them look just as good on female marines as on males — in keeping with the Obama directive.

“The Marine Corps is being ‘encouraged’ by DoD to standardize on a unisex/universal dress and service cap,” Marine brass noted in an internal memo obtained by The Post.
Modal Trigger

One of the new hats worn by a female Marine.

Male and female Marines currently wear gender-specific caps.

The controversial covers have been dubbed the “Dan Daly” hat, after a World War I sergeant from Long Island who twice won the Medal of Honor.

But some Marines love the old hat, which has been in use since 1922 and think the new hat is a glorified “porter’s cap.” The new Daly model is based on a style the Marines used from 1904 to 1918 – and then jettisoned.

“The Dan Daly cap looks too French, and the last people we want to associate our Marines with would be the French military,” wrote one commenter on the Marine Times Web site.

As of now, the new covers are only in the proposal stage.

Marines have until Friday to cast their votes on whether to adopt them or keep the old hat with modifications. Marine Corps head Gen. James Amos will make the final decision.

According to the memo obtained by The Post, requiring all troops to use the Daly cover will cost $8,221,958. Going with the traditional cap will save $284,043, because the current female caps are more expensive.

“Why are we even focused on this while we are laying troops off for no budget?” another Marine Times commenter asked.

“None of the [members] liked the idea of a universal cover for all Marines,” the internal memo noted. “The group members did not like the appearance of the Dan Daly cap on the male Marine.”


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Joe Williams11 minutes ago




Government p1ssing away more money... freakin liberals...
FlagShareLikeReply


Bruce22 minutes ago




Perhaps this will finally put Benghazi in the back seat.
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JAQUEBAUER27 minutes ago




The Faggotization of the marine Corps. A likely scenario is that as Obama gets ferried around in Marine 1 daily, and being the latent homosexual that he is, has been engaging in fantasies of sex in a foxhole with Chesty Puller. Obama, ...whose alter ego is a clothing designer, has been sketching designs for girly Marine service caps for the last 5 years, and has been often observed ignoring intelligence breifings as he sketches cartoon like serials of scenes he calls "The President and his Marine." I pray that the Corps push back on this hard, and tell Obama to go back to his dreams of being with little boys and leave the USMC alone.
FlagShare1LikeReply



Ron Erskine11 minutes ago




@JAQUEBAUER "in a foxhole with Chesty Puller" ... priceless.
FlagShareLikeReply


Greg Brett32 minutes ago




What It really means is this; Obama is trying to hide a new scandal.

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B W49 minutes ago






Good grief, is this really a frickin' priority for the DOD??? They couldn't pay the vets' families death benefits but they have money for this crap?

And why should the majority of the Marine's, which are men, have to change for the minority of women? The change will cost over $8 million. If they went with a unisex and kept with the men's version, it would only cost around 250K. The individual cost would be about $35 for the man's version but $82 for the woman's(unisex) version. Again, government just cannot keep itself from blowing money! But why change at all? Just leave it the hell alone.


FlagShareLikeReply



Ummm ok19 minutes ago




If you were truly interested in fiscal responsibility, you wouldn't be harping on th$8million but advocating doing away with a second standing army. The Whether the cult of the Corps wishes to acknowledge it, the time has come to shrink this service to guarding embassies. The Army is more than capable of performing expeditionary missions, future wars will not require amphibious landings, the Navy is capable of performing the deployed afloat duties. C'mon who wants to save a good portion of 22 billion- and not continue to pretend there is a purpose for the Corps in the future.
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richard weber2 minutes ago




@Ummm ok , you don't have the slightest idea what you are talking about. You have the right to your opinion, but it sure would be nice if people like you would STHU until you really know what you're talking about. The Marine Corps is NOT a second army, and the Army is NOT capable of many of the same missions as the Marines. Not to mention, if you want to cut the waste, then look at the other services first. We could probably fund the USMC with the wasted money alone.
FlagShareLikeReply


opaque/13131886-3d3c-11e3-8f54-000f2098044054 minutes ago




maybe next he will want the Marines to wear skirts
FlagShareLikeReply


Greg Hawkins1 hour ago






Hahahahahahhahahahahahahah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

.


FlagShareLikeReply


Robert Brown1 hour ago




It's ABOUT TIME our Marines looked more gay, or at least more effeminate. These new hats will do the job quite nicely!

FlagShare1LikeReply


Robert Price1 hour ago




First and foremost, the Marines are a "fighting force". This is just another example of this President and his Administration's end around for turning this country into a "socialist state"! Uniformity is the hallmark of socialism-to conform all citizen's into one robotic class of uniformity and a class of sheep.
FlagShare1LikeReply


Rador1 hour ago




With all due respect to Capt. Maureen Krebs, it was the DOD that requested the unisex uniform. The last time I checked, the DOD was up the chain from the Commandant. Is nobody curious why the DOD made a request for the Marines to change their uniform? Why just the Marines? You don't really think that a supplier going out of business has the slightest thing to do with this do you? There's more to it than public affairs will tell you and perhaps more than they know.

FlagShareLikeReply


RomyMon1 hour ago




How typically Obama1 The nation is in a financial crunch and he wants to spend millions to change a beloved tradition to what? Please the gays in the military? But Obama who can't tell a squad from a platoon need not bother. A Marine, male, female, gay or straight is a Marine, and as such will never agree to something that could degrade their beloved Corps! I'm glad this stupidity will be voted upon by the Mariines. I can see now how that majority of them, if not all of them will vote!
FlagShare4LikeReply


Ummm ok1 hour ago




Can you earn the CMH what you think it is like the soccer award you got for showing up to the park? You think it is handed out for writing uninformed comments in the Post. Yes, it is earned, by blood by sweat by sacrifice.
FlagShareLikeReply



Rador58 minutes ago




@Ummm ok You make many assumptions for such an innocuous question.

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Ummm ok1 hour ago




Haha thecover is called the Dan Daly, after SgtMaj Daly, A man who earned not onebut two Congressional Medals of Honor,I especially love the comments from the former Marines, who don't know their own heritage!! Oh wait, I guess that means Daly was feminine, french, also strangely enough a modernist-since he wore the cover ahundred years before it was new annnnd like Barry probably a muslim.http://badasshistory.com/daly.html
FlagShare1LikeReply



The JillyBean1 hour ago




@Ummm ok Good luck. photographic proof didn't help these people. but I guess denial is hard state to leave.

FlagShare1LikeReply


Rador1 hour ago




Can you earn a medal?
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DirtyLeg1 hour ago




@Rador You can earn a medal by merit and valor, it's up to the people writing it up to award the medal. That or you can be awarded a medal you didn't earn. Take your pick. I only write up my troops who have earned theirs.
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Rador1 hour ago




Thanks for the clarification. I have a close friend who was awarded The Distinguished Flying Cross and he preferred to say received. He felt uncomfortable with the term 'earned' and since he said that it sort of troubles me to hear it expressed that way.
FlagShareLikeReply


Airborne Witt1 hour ago




@Ummm ok You could name pink bonnet after Sgt York and it would still be wrong to make our service personnel wear it.
FlagShare1LikeReply


Marco DeNola1 hour ago




@Airborne Witt @Ummm ok Exactly. I'll bet Dan Daly would be among the first to call that thing what it is, a P*ssy Cover.
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Airborne Witt1 hour ago




@Marco DeNola @Airborne Witt @Ummm ok You can tell you have worn a uniform. AIRBORNE/ALL THE WAY
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Rador1 hour ago




You say, "I especially love the comments from the former Marines, who don't know their own heritage"
I have a hunch, you didn't know their heritage either and you still don't.

FlagShare1LikeReply


Marco DeNola1 hour ago




@Rador He and Obama. There isn't much about American tradition and heritage that Obama does like.
FlagShare1LikeReply


Conservative sniper1 hour ago




@Rador No such thing as a former Marine. Once a Marine, always a Marine.

FlagShare2LikeReply


Rador1 hour ago




To be sure 'sniper' I was quoting someone else. I would not use the term "former Marine".
FlagShareLikeReply


Clarity and Research1 hour ago






"As a Marine veteran who knows how these changes actually happen, I can tell you the story is 100% B.S. The bottom line: The President doesn't involve himself in what troops happen to be wearing.

But just to make sure, I called Headquarters Marine Corps and a spokesperson confirmed that the process for making changes to Marine uniforms hasn't changed since I last left the service in 2010. Every year, a board (made up of senior enlisted Marines) meets and goes over things that they may want to change with uniforms. In 2007 for example, the board made a change that outlawed "sleeve" tattoos — and I don't remember thinking that was all President George W. Bush's fault.

"The President in no way, shape, or form directed the Marine Corps to change our uniform cover," said Capt. Maureen Krebs, a spokesperson for the Marine Corps. "We're looking for a new cover for our female Marines for the primary reason that the former manufacturer went out of business. The Marine Corps has zero intention of changing the male cover."

If there's someone to blame about a change in a uniform, the buck would stop at Marine Commandant Gen. James Amos, who has the final say.

To clarify, I made sure to ask whether President Obama had suddenly joined the uniform board of the Marine Corps.

"Not that I know of, but that would certainly be newsworthy," Krebs said."-Paul Szoldra

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/obama-marines-girly-hats-2013-10#ixzz2ihu4PQny


FlagShare1LikeReply



Airborne Witt1 hour ago




@Clarity and Research This President surrounds himself with people just as incompetent as he is.
FlagShare1LikeReply


Clarity and Research1 hour ago




@Airborne Witt @Clarity and Research You mean the Tea Party :-D
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Airborne Witt1 hour ago




@Clarity and Research @Airborne Witt I mean clueless libs, not constitutionalests
FlagShare2LikeReply


Marco DeNola1 hour ago




@Clarity and Research @Airborne Witt - Right Obama surrounds himself with Tea Party members. What an idiot, you are. You'd better clarify your research.
FlagShare1LikeReply


Airborne Witt1 hour ago




@Marco DeNola @Clarity and Research @Airborne Witt the first sign you are looking a discussion about facts is you start calling people names. Just listen to any Oboma press conference.
FlagShareLikeReply


Clarity and Research1 hour ago




@Marco DeNola @Clarity and Research @Airborne Witt I'm not sure you understand the subtleties of a joke, so I'll explain: In referencing the Tea Party, I was making an assumption that Airborne Witt was likely a staunch republican (a constitutionalist if you will) and would thereby believe that unlike President Obama, House Speaker Boehner would only surround himself with the best: Tea Party members. It's funny because they are the primary factor in the government shutdown.... :-D
FlagShareLikeReply


Clarity and Research1 hour ago




@Airborne Witt @Clarity and Research What is a constitutionalest? Are they, like, diluted constitutionalists? Thanks for giving me a chuckle.
FlagShareLikeReply


Clarity and Research1 hour ago




@Marco DeNola @Airborne Witt OOO, and let's take this joke a little further: Really the laugh-because-otherwise -you'll-cry moment comes with the realization that all but a very few elected officials are mostly concerned with maintaining their power instead of doing their job. Some are better at hiding it (moderates and independents) but really, the old adage fits: "Power Corrupts, Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely" -Lord Acton, 1887
FlagShare1LikeReply


Rador52 minutes ago




@Clarity and Research @Marco DeNola @Airborne Witt *Chuckle* What shutdown?

FlagShareLikeReply


Airborne Witt1 hour ago






When the Army did the same thing with the black baret it was because a General from the Pentagon came to Fort Bragg for a change of command. He felt infearier because he hadn't earned the right to wear a baret (reserved for Airborne, Special Forces, and Rangers) So the General went back to be Pentagon and changed the black baret to be worn by non-specially trained Army personnel. This just turned the oldest symbol of highly trained Army heroes and made it stand for nothing. The same solders feeling infearier for not wearing a baret, can now feel infearier for wearing a black baret.

The main difference between the Army and the Marines is it's now the Commander in Chief that has no clue. Obama's timing is perfectly wrong when the Corp is commemorating the 30th anniversary of the bombing in Beirut.

This is very typical of liberal thinking: just make people feel good, not actually be good.


FlagShareLikeReply


Ptolomy Jones2 hours ago




In the fist image you show a woman wearing a man's cover-that is incorrect-derp-get it right -the second image has the woman's cover

FlagShareLikeReply


opaque/e3366bc8-3d30-11e3-bc6a-000bcdcb29962 hours ago




Perhaps flintlocks are in order as well.
FlagShareLikeReply


Rador2 hours ago




A little more education for people like JillyBean that are way too impressed with themselves. Daly may have worn one of those old style covers but it does not impress the Marines today.

FlagShareLikeReply


Dedrianne Hartgers2 hours ago




Wow! A person who has never served, never worn a uniform, who smoked pot and is proud of it humiliating our Marines?! What is American thinking allowing this to happen?
FlagShareLikeReply



Dazz Rat2 hours ago




@Dedrianne Hartgers -- humiliating the whole country -- and driving us into the ground and "putting us overfed rabble in our place" -- is apparently the primary objective of ol' Dear Leader and his cohorts. Commie subversion is not a "theory."

FlagShareLikeReply


Obama wants Marines to wear 'girly' hats



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Wednesday, October 23, 2013

China Developing Super Electromagnet Pulse Bomb To Use In War Against U.S. (Photos)



China Developing Super Electromagnet Pulse Bomb To Use In War Against U.S. (Photos)
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Declassified Intellegence Report Details China's Plans For War Against U.S (US government)

Alexander HigginsJersey City Civil Rights Examiner
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Once only a futuristic envision, China is developing a Super EMP bomb like the one in this Future Weapons Series report. (Future Weapons)
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July 24, 2011



China is gearing up for war against the United States and their top weapon is a super electromagnetic pulse bomb that can blanket the U.S. and send America back to the dark ages in less than one second.

Past reports from Chinese military websites and Asian newspapers have outlined a several attacks that China could launch to win a war against the more technologically and militarily advanced United States.

These strategical attacks, as a MITRE research report reveals, are part of an arsenal known as shashoujian or the assassin's mace.


Demystifying Shashoujian: China's 'Assassin's Mace' Concept

Interestingly, very few modern definitions of shashoujian can be documented. The most comprehensive Chinese military statement about shashoujian―that resembles a formal definition―comes from a PLA Air Force (PLAAF) officer, Senior Colonel Yang Zhibo, who, in 2002, served as a deputy researcher at the PLAAF Command College in the Office for Planning and Management Research. According to Yang, shashoujian can be “weapon systems and equipment” and/or a certain type of “combat method.” In a Kongjun Bao article, he wrote:


Basically, it is whatever the PLA needs to win future local wars under modern high-tech conditions. It includes two aspects: (1) weapon systems and equipment (e.g., hardware); and (2) every type of combat method (e.g., software). Weapons and equipment are the systems needed to deal with the enemy’s electronic warfare and information warfare, and to counter every type of weapon and equipment the enemy can use for firepower attack. [Shashoujian] [c]ombat methods include attacking different types of weapons, such as early warning aircraft, stealth aircraft, and cruise missiles, as well as the combat principles to deal with different situations.

To build a shashoujian, China must first complete a development program. It is a difficult, systematic process and not just one or two advanced weapons. It is something that all the services will use. It is an all-army, all-location, composite land, sea, and air system. It must also be a Chinese program that can use advanced foreign technology, but should not be purchased as a full system from abroad. One reason for not purchasing it from abroad is that these types of technology and tactics are common knowledge to everyone else, including the enemy. Second, other countries may not want to give China those types of technology and tactics, which are secret. Third, during wartime, political and foreign affairs (diplomacy) could possibly cut the flow of technology off from China In developing new combat methods research, combat methods constitute the full development of weapons and equipment technical and tactical capabilities, and the effective methods of raising combat effectiveness. The development of weapons, equipment, combat methods, and training must go hand-in-hand for them to be effective.

Source: MITRE

Military strategists have long predicted that the top attack in China's assassin's mace arsenal would be an Electromagnetic pulse bomb.

Watch: Future Weapons Series Report On The Threat Of Aa EMP

Now declassified defense intelligence reports reveals is already building the EMP super bomb according to a two page Washington Times report.


Report: China building electromagnetic pulse weapons for use against U.S. carriers

China's military is developing electromagnetic pulse weapons that Beijing plans to use against U.S. aircraft carriers in any future conflict over Taiwan, according to an intelligence report made public on Thursday.

Portions of a National Ground Intelligence Center study on the lethal effects of electromagnetic pulse (EMP) and high-powered microwave (HPM) weapons revealed that the arms are part of China’s so-called “assassin’s mace” arsenal - weapons that allow a technologically inferior China to defeat U.S. military forces.

EMP weapons mimic the gamma-ray pulse caused by a nuclear blast that knocks out all electronics, including computers and automobiles, over wide areas. The phenomenon was discovered in 1962 after an above ground nuclear test in the Pacific disabled electronics in Hawaii.

The declassified intelligence report, obtained by the private National Security Archive, provides details on China’s EMP weapons and plans for their use. Annual Pentagon reports on China's military in the past made only passing references to the arms.

“For use against Taiwan, China could detonate at a much lower altitude (30 to 40 kilometers) … to confine the EMP effects to Taiwan and its immediate vicinity and minimize damage to electronics on the mainland,” the report said.

The report, produced in 2005 and once labeled “secret,” stated that Chinese military writings have discussed building low-yield EMP warheads, but “it is not known whether [the Chinese] have actually done so.”

The report said that in addition to EMP weapons, “any low-yield strategic nuclear warhead (or tactical nuclear warheads) could be used with similar effects.”

“The DF-21 medium-range ballistic missile has been mentioned as a platform for the EMP attack against Taiwan,” the report said.

According to the report, China’s electronic weapons are part of what are called “trump card” or “assassin’s mace” weapons that “are based on new technology that has been developed in high secrecy.”

“Trump card would be applicable if the Chinese have developed new low-yield, possibly enhanced, EMP warheads, while assassin’s mace would apply if older warheads are employed,” the report said.

According to the report, China conducted EMP tests on mice, rats, rabbits, dogs and monkeys that produced eye, brain, bone marrow and other organ injuries. It stated that “it is clear the real purpose of the Chinese medical experiments is to learn the potential human effects of exposure to powerful EMP and [high-powered microwave] radiation.

[...]

Source: The Washington Times

As the Asia the Asia Times reports, an EMP strike launched from outer space would cripple the United States and "send it back into the dark ages" in a single strike.

WATCH: Video produced by the Center for Security Policy warning about the dangers of an EMP attack


AMERICA'S ACUPUNCTURE POINTSPART 1: Striking the US where it hurts

A noted Chinese theorist on modern warfare, Chang Mengxiong, compared China's form of fighting to "a Chinese boxer with a keen knowledge of vital body points who can bring an opponent to his knees with a minimum of movements". It is like key acupuncture points in ancient Chinese medicine. Puncture one vital point and the whole anatomy is affected. If America ever goes to war with China, say, over Taiwan, then America should be prepared for the following "acupuncture points" in its anatomy to be "punctured". Each of the vital points can bring America to its knees with a minimum of effort.

I) Electro-magnetic Pulse (EMP) attack

China and Russia are two potential US adversaries that have the capability for this kind of attack. An EMP attack can either come from an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), a long-range cruise missile, or an orbiting satellite armed with a nuclear or non-nuclear EMP warhead. A nuclear burst of one (or more) megaton some 400 kilometers over central United States (Omaha, Nebraska) can blanket the whole continental US with electro-magnetic pulse in less than one second.

An EMP attack will damage all electrical grids on the US mainland. It will disable computers and other similar electronic devices with microchips. Most businesses and industries will shut down. The entire US economy will practically grind to a halt. Satellites within line of sight of the EMP burst will also be damaged, adversely affecting military command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR). Land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles will be rendered unserviceable in their silos. Anti-ballistic missile defenses will suffer the same fate. In short – total blackout. And American society as we know it will be thrown back to the Dark Ages.

Of course, the US may decide to strike first, but China and Russia now have the means of striking back with submarine-launched ballistic missiles with the same or even more devastating results. But knowing China's strategy of "active defense", when war with the US becomes imminent, China will surely not allow itself to be targeted first. It will seize the initiative as mandated by its doctrine by striking first.

China has repeatedly announced that it will not be the first to use nuclear weapons. But as an old Chinese saying goes: "There can never be too much deception in war." If it means the survival of the whole Chinese nation that is at stake, China will surely not allow a public statement to tie its hands and prevent it from seizing the initiative. As another saying goes: "All is fair in love and war."

Source: Asian Times

The Asia Times article goes onto list cyber attack , interrupting the US foreign oil supply, an attack on the US dollar, and diplomatic isolation as other means of crushing the Untied States and goes into a detail on each of the methods of attacks.

But the most powerful attack, termed the Trump card, is development of a super EMP.

Here of some more of the attacks China may use in a war against the U.S.


AMERICA'S ACUPUNCTURE POINTSPART 2: The assassin's mace

If America ever goes to war with China, Chinese military doctrine suggests the US should expect attacks on a number of key points where it is particularly vulnerable - where a single jab would paralyze the entire nation. China would aim at targets such as the US electricity grid, its computer networks, its oil supply routes, and the dollar. Other vital "acupuncture" points are outlined below.
1) A powerful triumvirate - [The Alliance of Russia, China, And Iran]

No one ever imagined before 1991 that China and Russia would come together to form a close-knit alliance politically, diplomatically and, most important of all, militarily. For more than three decades before the break-up of the Soviet Union, China and the USSR had been bitter rivals, even going into a shooting war with each other along their common border.

[...]

Add to that the announcement of President George W Bush that the US would come to the aid of Taiwan in the event that China uses force against it; the sending of two aircraft carrier battle groups to waters near Taiwan in 1995-1996; and the naval show of strength of seven aircraft carrier battle groups converging off the China coast in August 2004. All these aggressive moves by superpower America pushed China to embrace its former bitter rival, Russia.

[...]

If we add Iran to the equation, we have a triumvirate that can pose a formidable challenge to the lone superpower. Iran is the most industrialized and the most populous nation in the Middle East. It is second only to Russia in terms of gas resources and also one of the largest oil producers in the world.

[...] Modern bottom-rising, rocket propelled sea mines and supersonic cruise missiles deployed along the long mountainous coastline of Iran, manned by "invisible" guerrillas, could indefinitely stop the flow of oil from the Gulf, from which the US gets 23% of its imported oil.

Japan also derives 90% of its oil from the Persian Gulf area, and Europe about 60%. In a major conflict, Iran can effectively deprive the US war machine and those of its key allies of much needed energy supplies.

Imagine the war machine of the superpower running out of gas. Imagine also a US economy minus 23% of its imported oil. This 23% can rise considerably once Chinese and Russian submarines start sinking US-bound oil tankers. The triumvirate of China, Russia, and Iran could bring the US to its knees with a minimum of movement.

2) The US's geopolitical disadvantage

Another "acupuncture point" in America’s anatomy [...] the US will be crossing thousands of miles of sea lanes of communication (SLOC) that can easily become a gauntlet of deadly Chinese and Russian submarines lying in ambush with bottom-rising sea mines, supercavitating rocket torpedoes, and supersonic cruise missiles that even aircraft carrier battle groups have no known defense against. Logistic and transport ships and oil tankers are particularly vulnerable.

The air corridors above these sea lanes will also be put at great risk by advanced air defense systems aboard Sovremenny destroyers or similar types of warships in Chinese and Russian inventories. [...]
Of course, the US has "forces in being" and "logistics in place" in numerous military bases scattered around the world, especially those strategically encircling China, Russia, and Iran. But when the shooting war starts, these bases will be the first to be hit by barrages of short- and medium-range ballistic missiles and long-range land-attack cruise missiles armed with electro-magnetic pulse, anti-radar, thermobaric, and conventional warheads.

Following the missile barrages, the remnants of such weakened US military bases will easily be overwhelmed by blitzkrieg assaults from Russian and Chinese armored divisions in the Eurasian mainland. China, for instance, has four large armored units constantly on standby, poised to cross the Yili Corridor in Xinjiang province at a moment’s notice. The US base in Kyrgyzstan near the Chinese border would not stand a chance.

[...]

3) Asymmetric attack

Superpower America is particularly vulnerable to asymmetric attack. A classic example of asymmetric attack is the September 11, 2001, attack on America. Nineteen determined attackers, armed with nothing but box cutters, succeeded in toppling the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City and causing the death of some 3,000 Americans. Notice the asymmetry of casualty ratio as well - the most lopsided casualty ratio ever recorded in history.

China, Russia, and Iran also possess asymmetric weapons that are designed to neutralize and defeat a superpower like America in a conventional conflict. Supersonic cruise missiles now in their inventories can defeat and sink US aircraft carriers. The same is true for medium- and short-range ballistic missiles with independently targetable warheads, extra-large bottom-rising, rocket-propelled sea mines (EM52s), and supercavitating rocket torpedoes (SHKVAL or "Squall"). The US Navy has no known defense against these weapons.

Iraqi insurgents are conducting a form of asymmetric warfare. They use improvised explosive devices, car bombs, booby traps and landmines against the most modern army the world has ever seen. The US's huge advantage in weaponry is negated by the fact that its soldiers cannot see their adversary. They are fighting against a "phantom" enemy - an invisible army.

[...]

Connected to asymmetric warfare is asynchronous warfare, where the weaker side bides its time to strike back. And it strikes at a time and place where the adversary is totally unprepared.

For example, if the US were to strike Iran’s underground nuclear facilities with bunker-busting tactical nuclear warheads, Iran could bide its time until it develops its own nuclear weapons. It could then use its Kilo class submarines, equipped with supersonic "moskit" cruise missiles armed with Iran’s own nuclear warheads, to hit New York, or Washington, DC as a payback to the US for using nuclear weapons against Iran. Or the Iranians could infiltrate nuclear scientists into the US, where they would fabricate a "dirty" bomb to be detonated near the US Congress, in full session while the president is making his annual state of the nation address.

The possibilities for asymmetric and asynchronous warfare are limitless. Various weapons are available to the asymmetric or asynchronous attacker. If a simple box cutter produced such devastating results on September 11, 2001, imagine what chemical or biological weapons dropped from a private aircraft could do to a crowded city; or trained hackers attacking the US banking system and other key infrastructure and basic services; or man-portable surface-to-air missiles attacking US airlines taking off or landing in various airports around the globe; or non-nuclear electromagnetic pulse weapons hitting New York City or the US Capitol. No amount of even the best intelligence in the world can totally guard against and stop a determined asymmetric attacker.

[...]

4) Attack on US's command and control

[...]

China now has the capability to identify and track satellites. And for more than two decades they have been busy developing anti-satellite weapons. China has been developing maneuverable nano-satellites that can neutralize other satellites. They do their work by maneuvering near a target satellite and neutralizing the target by electronic jamming, electro-magnetic pulse generation, clinging to the target and physically destroying it, bumping the target out of orbit, or simply exploding to bring the target satellite down with it. Such nano satellites can be launched in batches on demand by road-mobile DF21 or DF31 booster rockets.

Another anti-satellite weapon in the works is a land-based laser that blinds the sensitive sensors of satellites or even destroys them completely. Of course, if worse comes to worst, China can always use its weapon of last resort, destroying adversary satellites with a high-altitude nuclear burst. But this will only be used if China has not yet fully developed the other options when major hostilities start. With the neutralization of its C4ISR, America would be like "a blind man trying to catch fish with his bare hands", to quote Mao Zedong. In short, America would be brought to its knees.

Monday, October 21, 2013

PCs fail. Be ready with the best boot-drive programs

























UTILITY SOFTWARE
utilities
PCs fail. Be ready with the best boot-drive programs

Jon L. Jacobi
Oct 21, 2013 3:30 AM
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When your PC stops booting, a boot drive is the electronic version of a defibrillator. If you can boot your PC, you can detect bad memory, chase bad sectors, change passwords, and recover data ... all the things you need to get the machine back to normal. I’ll show you how to make the boot drives you need.


The boot software you already have


In your Windows Vista/7/8 system

You may not need to install extra software to make your boot drive. Windows Vista, 7, and 8 can create a system-repair disk. In many cases it’s all you need when things go bad, and it’s the first place most users should start. If you can still boot to the operating system but it’s locking up, throwing error messages, or squirming in the grip of malware, the repair disk allows you to retreat to a safe system-restore point.A Windows 7 or 8 recovery disk is often the best place to start when your system fails.

The command prompt gives you access to useful tools such as Microsoft’s disk-partitioning utility and, of course, the venerable chkdsk hard-drive scanning and repair utility, which can fix file-system errors or map bad drive sectors. Don’t give up on a quiet hard drive with errors until you’ve tried chkdsk; it may fix the issues you’re having. (A noisy hard drive may be failing, in which case you’re better off backing it up before doing anything else, including running diagnostics.)

If you can’t recover using the aforementioned tools, the disk also allows you to restore the entire system partition (and other partitions, if you included them in the backup) from a Windows backup image file you’ve created. This is usually your second-best option, however, as you lose any data written to the hard drive since the image was created.Diskpart is Microsoft’s effective, but command-line-only, partition editor.


Unfortunately, Windows’ image-restore feature isn’t reliable at restoring to different hardware, such as a functioning hard drive brought in to replace a failing one. You can still recover data from the .vhd (Virtual Hard Drive) images by attaching them through Computer/Drive Management, but only after you’ve reinstalled Windows.

Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool

Windows won’t create bootable flash drives, but Microsoft provides a utility that will: theWindows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool. It’s simple and it allows you to create bootable flash drives from both recovery and installation .iso files.

To use it, first download the free InfraRecorder Portable to convert CDs and DVDs into the .iso files the utility requires. Windows also lets you create a password-recovery disk, though if you can remember to do this, the odds are good that you’ll remember your password. Still, it can be handy; you can create it from the User Accounts area.

If you work with lots of PCs, you’ll need both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of the recovery disk so you can match the system you’ll be trying to repair. The 32-bit one won’t work with 64-bit systems, and vice versa.
The big(ger) guns

R-Drive Image

If the Windows recovery disk won’t work for you (and it sometimes won’t), then you need to turn to something more capable, versatile, and reliable, such as one of the boot drives described below.R-Drive Image’s basic interface will make you want to gag yourself with a spoon, but it uses very little memory. Maybe it will challenge you to a nice game of chess.


The R-Drive Image image-recovery utility works with a minimal amount of memory and supports every modern file system: FAT, NTFS, Linux, Mac, and BSD types, and even the latest ReFS in Microsoft’s Server 2012. As of version 5.1, it supports the vast majority of SATA, USB, and network hardware. The basic interface (as low as 64MB) is an adorable back-to-the-’80s, character-based affair, but the program also has a modern interface with a more Windows-friendly look.R-Drive Image’s minimalist modern interface is easier for the less geeky to navigate.


Because it additionally offers a full-blown Windows version that mounts images as virtual hard drives, R-Drive has been my go-to boot-drive and backup tool for the past few years. It’s especially reliable.

Active Boot Disk

At $80, this boot drive may seem pricey, but it provides top-notch file and partition recovery in addition to the ability to create and restore images. Active (branded as “Active@”) also lets you change Windows passwords. I can’t even tell you the number of times that ability can save the day, whether by permitting you to log on to a computer for which you’ve forgotten the password, or by allowing access to data stored on a former employee’s PC. Just keep in mind that changing a password will kill your ability to recover data from Windows-encrypted accounts.

Active Boot Disk uses the Windows Pre-Install Environment (PE). PE’s major advantages are that it presents the familiar Windows GUI, and it lets you load oddball drivers at boot time—most handy with unusual older hardware, or when a new technology such as USB 3.0 shows up before Windows or Linux starts including drivers for it. Active Boot Disk is a great all-around toolkit. Its imaging abilities aren’t up to those in R-Drive Image, but they’re still more versatile than those in Windows.

Offline NT Password and Registry Editor

This little Linux-based beauty, written by Petter Nordahl-Hagen, is a free alternative to Active Boot Disk for resetting Windows passwords. Its command-line interface can be a little intimidating, but in most cases all you need to do is follow the prompts. If you’re locked out of an account or PC, Offline NT Password and Registry Editor is probably all you need.

Parted Magic

The free Linux-based, multifaceted repair and recovery disk Parted Magic has some great features, including secure erase (software- and firmware-based), a graphical partition editor, disk cloning, and a virus scanner.Parted (short for 'Partition Editor') Magic is a Live Linux tool that provides quick access to partition ops, and also has an excellent memory test (Memtest 86+).

Even better, one of the boot options (under extras) is Memtest 86+, the most capable memory-testing utility I’ve ever run across. If your computer is acting flaky or randomly freezing up, Memtest86+ will let you know if it’s because of bad memory. By noting where in memory the errors occur, you can even determine which stick is bad and replace it.

Hiren’s Boot CD

While I generally prefer separate boot drives dedicated to a task, other people like the all-encompassing toolkit approach, and that’s what you get with Hiren’s BootCD. The authors actively solicit suggestions for programs to include. The disc’s large and ever-changing lineup covers disk-imaging, antivirus, partition-editing, and hardware-status and reporting tools. You’ll also find a mini version of Windows XP, Linux (Parted Magic), and DOS environments and tools.Yes, it’s DOS-like. Scroll down one option in Hiren’s Boot CD, however, and you can run Windows XP.

The only real issue with Hiren’s is the time it can take to find any one tool. This package is not for occasions when you need to log in and out in a hurry. Still, if you were stuck on an island with only one boot drive, this is probably the one you’d want, as it can handle virtually any troubleshooting chore—and it’s free.

Ultimate Boot CD

As shipped, the Ultimate Boot CD contains a trove of command-line utilities, including many for your CPU, hard disk, peripherals, memory (again, Memtest86 and Memtest86+), malware, and so forth. It also includes Parted Magic and grub4dos.It ain’t pretty, but you can drill down into Ultimate Boot CD (UBCD) to find tons of useful utilities.

Like Hiren’s, it’s also highly configurable, and you may add your own stuff. I’ve seen versions that boot to Windows PE. It’s a little more work to create, but you wind up with your own custom-tailored product.
Looking at Live Linux

Sometimes it’s easier to browse, manipulate, and recover files from within a real operating system such as a Live Linux (runs from CD) distribution. It’s also great when you’re trying to remove malware manually from a PC (when you’re unable to do so from within Windows).

Slax Linux

The notably lightweight Slax Linux is a great choice: It has scant hardware requirements (48MB in text mode, 256MB for the KDE desktop), so it will work when other Linux distributions may not. It’s clean and simple, and it has basic command-line partition editing (Parted).Lightweight Linux Live distro Slax runs from CD or a flash drive, and it’s great for file operations.

However, Slax’s primary appeal is that it boots quickly and lets you speedily copy important files. When a hard drive is starting to go bad, every second can count, and Slax makes short work of it.

Ubuntu Linux

Ubuntu’s system requirements are steeper than those for Slax or Parted Magic, but if a system has enough memory, it’s a good Linux pick. Ubuntu is a full-blown operating system with lots of hardware support and applications.Running a full-blown OS live from a CD or DVD is great for recovering files and removing unwanted ones. Ubuntu is up to the task.


You can run it as a LiveCD (the OS will run, but you can’t save or install apps) or install it and run it from a USB flash drive. In the latter mode, you can install any Linux application that’s available, and a lot of Linux repair tools are available.

Slax and Ubuntu are my current top choices in Live Linux distributions, but you can find plenty of alternatives, including Backtrack, Fedora, Knoppix, and SUSE, that vary in size, features, and utility.
Antivirus boot drives

AVG, Avira, Bitdefender, F-Secure, Kaspersky ... take your pick. Nearly all the major antimalware companies provide a free Linux-based boot drive for scanning systems that won’t boot, or rescuing systems that are exhibiting malware symptoms that preclude scanning within the OS.Avira Rescue System is Avira’s free boot-disc software. Most antimalware companies offer their own version of this kind of utility.


I’ve used all of them with equal success—or lack thereof. Call it about a 50 percent chance that you can completely clean your system immediately, as many successful attacks predate antivirus vendors’ countermeasures.

Waiting a few days after your PC tragedy will typically mean that the antivirus folks have caught up with any brand-new attack you may have suffered. Generally speaking, you’ll need to keep your antivirus boot drives current, though most will automatically download the latest definitions given an Internet connection.
Creating bootable flash drives

You can use the aforementioned Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool for transferring Windows-based .iso files to flash drives; for Linux-based .iso files, there’s the Universal USB Installer from pendrivelinux.com.Universal USB Installer can even download the Linux distro to install to your USB drive.

It couldn’t be easier to use. Simply pick the distribution .iso file (such as Parted Magic, Slax, Ubuntu, Avira, or Bitdefender) from a drop-down menu and have at it.
Fruitless booting to UEFI

There’s one nasty exception to the boot-drive technique: UEFI-only systems. I’ve run across just a few PCs that boot exclusively from Unified Extensible Firmware Interface, as most vendors heard enough complaints early on to allow a BIOS boot. But they’re out there, and the workaround is tricky. Windows 8 installation or repair disks will boot from UEFI, so you might want to keep one in your toolkit.
What I carry to the rescue

Currently I carry Windows Restore 32-bit and 64-bit, Slax, Ubuntu, Parted Magic, Active Boot Disk, Hiren’s, and R-Drive Image, so I’m covered in nearly all situations. But when disaster strikes, the first out of the bag are Parted Magic for partitioning, Active Boot Disk for passwords, R-Drive Image for backup and recovery, and Ubuntu for file operations.

I break out the others when my top choices don’t work or prove to be incompatible with a particular PC or operating system. For the same reasons, I have .iso files for all the other utilities on an external USB 3.0 drive. I also carry a spare flash drive, a USB optical drive, and a DVD-RW disc, so I can create whichever one I might need in a pinch.

Worth their weight in gold when a PC’s hard times arrive, boot drives will help you explore, recover, and repair hard-disk contents. Now that you know how to make the ones you need, you’ll be ready for PC emergencies.