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Was an EMP Attack Just Tested on the United States?
American Thinker ^ | 05/08/2014 | Jason Kissner

Posted on 05/08/2014 6:56:23 AM PDT by SeekAndFind

An unsettling series of events arguably bearing on national security transpired last week that the MSM hastened to paper over.  On April 30, the FAA, as a consequence of “computer glitches”, halted outgoing flights at LAX as well as other airports including PHX, SFO, SJC, SLC, LAS, and SAN.

An NBC  report May 2 remarked:

A relic from the Cold War appears to have triggered a software glitch at a major air traffic control center in California Wednesday that led to delays and cancellations of hundreds of flights across the country, sources familiar with the incident told NBC News.

On Wednesday at about 2 p.m., according to sources, a U-2 spy plane, the same type of aircraft that flew high-altitude spy missions over Russia 50 years ago, passed through the airspace monitored by the L.A. Air Route Traffic Control Center in Palmdale, Calif. The L.A. Center handles landings and departures at the region’s major airports, including Los Angeles International (LAX), San Diego and Las Vegas.

On May 6, Mac Slavo, writing at SHTFplan (linked at Drudge), followed NBC’s reporting with:

The Air Force officially denied that it was a U-2 spy plane, claiming they found the glitch but provided no reason for what caused it:

It’s still not clear why the U-2 flew into the L.A. Center’s airspace, or why it didn’t give advance warning of the flight, as per usual. According to NBC News, the nearby Edwards Air Force Base and NASA’s Neil A. Armstrong Flight Research Center (located at Edwards) “have been known to host U-2s.”


(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: attack; emp
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To: SeekAndFind

Did anyone witness the removal of the broken hardware? The EMP would have destroyed the hardware (you know, where the actual electronic components are found), not simply glitch the software.

All of the hardware would have had to be replaced if EMPs actually do what they are purported to do.


21 posted on 05/08/2014 7:45:47 AM PDT by dmz
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To: Kartographer

“there is NO such thing as EMP it just something that was made up to scare us.”

You guys scare yourselves. One Internet poster driving the posts of the next. Repeat a rumor or lie often enough and it becomes fact to some people.


22 posted on 05/08/2014 7:46:32 AM PDT by CodeToad (Arm Up! They Are!)
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To: IMR 4350
The first one was on April 22 or 23. That one screwed up my computer.

Look into Pure Sinewave UPS Systems to protect your computer investment.
Since I went to SSD-HD this choice was a mandatory option. My high end computer
can stay active up to 19 min. And has a safe auto shutdown.

Regular battery backups most likely will not protect the SSD drives if you have them.

23 posted on 05/08/2014 7:47:11 AM PDT by MaxMax (Pay Attention and you'll be pissed off too! FIRE BOEHNER, NOW!)
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To: Cboldt; SgtBob; Chode

I want some...


24 posted on 05/08/2014 7:47:49 AM PDT by mabarker1 (Please, Somebody Impeach the kenyan!!!! Once again dingy hairball, STFU!!! You corrupt POS!!!)
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To: StolarStorm

Just as my power went out I got a notice from my computer there was a massive power surge, and I’ve got a surge protector.

I’m on ‘Entergy” where I am.


25 posted on 05/08/2014 7:48:04 AM PDT by IMR 4350
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To: Kartographer

It is far more likely that a large solar flare would damage infrastructure than a small airplane.
It takes a great deal of energy to create a EMP pulse and range is limited by the inverse square law.

I’d be more worried about a container ship floating into San Francisco bay with a load of Cobalt 60 and high explosives.


26 posted on 05/08/2014 7:49:21 AM PDT by Zathras
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To: SeekAndFind

Not EMP. GPS jamming. The ATC computer glitch is a cover story. Many commercial airliners lost their GPS receivers, which led to SoCal approach shutting down traffic in So California. It was not just a loss of GPS reception either: it caused damage to many airborne GPS systems.


27 posted on 05/08/2014 7:49:58 AM PDT by Tzfat
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To: MeshugeMikey

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Explosively_pumped_flux_compression_generator


28 posted on 05/08/2014 7:52:56 AM PDT by mad_as_he$$
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To: SeekAndFind

Wouldn’t an EMP have taken down ALL electronics in the vicinity of LAX and not just a few specific air traffic control systems?


29 posted on 05/08/2014 7:55:38 AM PDT by Buckeye McFrog
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To: MaxMax

I don’t know what it is.

I’m taking it in next week.

Let somebody knows what they are doing fix it.

When you “wake” it up it doesn’t want to load anything and I have to shut it off and on several times.

It will also run slow like I’m on a dialup connection.

I have satellite connection, it’s not super high speed but it’s faster than dial up.


30 posted on 05/08/2014 7:56:11 AM PDT by IMR 4350
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To: SeekAndFind
Whoa...back up, all you conspiracy chasers.

This was caused by computer error, prompted by controller error.

The U-2 was flying above 60,000', where they operate in a manner similar to VFR/OTP. When a controller took the flight plan, he entered the altitude as 600/OTP in error, instead of just 600. This confused the computer, causing it to process the flight information at all altitudes from ground to 60,000. This caused the computer to enter 'loops' and eventually crash.

Palmdale Center is using a newish ATC computer system called ERAMS. This was probably the first time the computer had seen this error (controllers can be very inventive).

I was an enroute controller for 35 years, started in Chicago before there were ANY computers. I have seen dozens, possibly hundreds of similar computer crashes, and can assure you all there is nothing sinister (other than incompetence) behind it.

31 posted on 05/08/2014 7:58:12 AM PDT by diogenes ghost
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To: aegiscg47; All

When I was in the air force an F16 pilot forgot to turn off his electronic jamming equipment when he returned to base. It burned out quite a bit of the radar and air traffic control equipment.

Or maybe one of the bandaids/bubble gum fixes fell off the LAX equipment.


32 posted on 05/08/2014 7:58:50 AM PDT by driftdiver (I could eat it raw, but why do that when I have a fire.)
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To: IMR 4350
Sounds like the HD. The operating system can scramble and not start.
Had that happen to me several times in the past.
33 posted on 05/08/2014 8:02:36 AM PDT by MaxMax (Pay Attention and you'll be pissed off too! FIRE BOEHNER, NOW!)
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To: SeekAndFind

I thought the U2 story was a little far fetched.


34 posted on 05/08/2014 8:02:43 AM PDT by Georgia Girl 2 (The only purpose o f a pistol is to fight your way back to the rifle you should never have dropped.)
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To: mad_as_he$$

Thank you!


35 posted on 05/08/2014 8:03:10 AM PDT by MeshugeMikey ( "Never, never, never give up". Winston Churchill)
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To: G Larry
Uh...NO!

EMPs are not that narrowly targeted.

Law enforcement has for years used EMP RCC's (Radio Controlled Cars) that "detonate" near or under the car being chased to blow out the car's electronics. Not used very often because of the expense of a one-shot RCC because it too "blows up" electronically.

36 posted on 05/08/2014 8:03:16 AM PDT by USCG SimTech (Honored to serve since '71)
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To: Tzfat

I was just going to ping you...


37 posted on 05/08/2014 8:23:58 AM PDT by null and void ( They don't think think they are above the law. They think they are the law.)
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To: MaxMax

“Sounds like the HD”

Same thing the computer repair guy told me.

Just full of good news aren’t you.

It definitely happened with a power surge.

What caused the surge I don’t know, but it wasn’t a quick spike. It took several seconds to build up until my computer notified me of the surge.


38 posted on 05/08/2014 8:34:42 AM PDT by IMR 4350
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To: SeekAndFind

Probably not - throughout California, the daily operating imperative is simply: SNAFU.


39 posted on 05/08/2014 8:43:39 AM PDT by Jack Hammer
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To: SeekAndFind

The story implies that at U-2 by it’s very presence, can disrupt air traffic control?????? Are you kidding? Is this an onion article?


40 posted on 05/08/2014 9:00:16 AM PDT by pfflier
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