I bought one for $ 30 as a novelty several years ago. Works great.
Posted on 03/12/2009 6:20:23 AM PDT by 1curiousmind
The U.S. Homeland Security Department warned in a secret 2006 document that victims of a potential WMD attack might be few in number relative to people who imagine injuries resulting from the event, United Press International reported today (see GSN, May 1).
The document states that low confidence in the leaders of an affected area could amplify public panic following a chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear attack.
"Mass psychogenic illness (can) spread rapidly throughout a population," the document says, describing the ailment as a “phenomenon in which social trauma or anxiety combines with a suspicious event to produce psychosomatic symptoms, such as nausea, difficulty breathing and paralysis.”
To make its case, the report referred to past incidents of mass panic in California and Chechnya.
Former Homeland Security Undersecretary George Foresman told UPI he was uncertain the public would "trust what the government tells them about the likelihood that they've been exposed or not been exposed to a certain pathogen or a chemical."
"The trust between the American people and those who are in positions of authority and responsibility is not as strong as it needs to be," he said, adding that panic would likely be more widespread following attacks involving biological agents or other materials “where you cannot see easily whether you've been affected or not."
"The antidote to that fear is guidance and information," Foresman said. "Government (communication) has got to be direct, it's got to be quick and it's got to be exact" (United Press International/Washington Times, Sept. 24).
(Excerpt) Read more at gsn.nti.org ...
All it would take is another major attack, especially a biological attack, and this country could tear itself to shreds.
At least Obama would not have to worry about a legacy then.
The good news is, most on the right would take care of themselves.
I bought one for $ 30 as a novelty several years ago. Works great.
Yes I agree, until the Dims among them broke down their door in a desperate search for bottled water or a latte.
I worry about this too. But at more local levels won’t real leaders rise to the occasion?
Yep! The Japanese, after we dropped the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, imagined that they had all kinds of injuries . . . . . like radiation burns, radiation sickness and death!! Phhhfffftttt!!! Bunch of crybaby whiners!!
/sarc
That the Department of (Lack of) Homeland Security would even think this should give us all pause for very deep concern about their response to a potential future terrorist attack. This is a rather stunning and frightening revelation.
“low confidence in the leaders of an affected area”
“Mass psychogenic illness”
“the report referred to past incidents of mass panic in California and Chechnya”
You’ll note the author doesn’t DARE to mention New Orleans and Katrina??
Why, THAT would be...(wait for it...).... (Wait for it...).......... RACIST!!!!
We’ve seen how all this plays out before.
I've already had these symptoms. They started November 4th of last year.
There will be food shortages and high prices for any number of reasons.
What struck me was the word “Trust”.
Is there anyone not employed in Washington who trusts the governemnt anymore?
Is there one FReeper who would trust the government’s response to a major attack right now?
Today I read about anti-war anarchists calling for massive civil disobedience.
Meanwhile, people are arming and readying for an attack on the right to own firearms.
It’s all sides. The common thread...NO ONE trusts the government anymore.
“I worry about this too. But at more local levels won’t real leaders rise to the occasion?”
Remember New Orleans??
Where the “Local Leaders” like the Governor were too busy playing political games at the expense of thier citizen’s LIVES??? Where potential Civil Liability was a greater concern to officials than actually RESCUING PEOPLE?
Unless the local leadership is trained, and WILLING to respond in a responsible manner, chaos will ensue.
And as New Orleans shows us, you don’t want to be around when the Democrat Voters start feeding on each other.
If they break down MY door they will get something they probably didn’t bargain for.
I have very low expectations from the local bureaucrats and the hoodites. I was thinking more along the lines of people joining together and helping themselves. I do remember some photos from New Orleans and outlying areas where people did join together to protect themselves and make things better in their own corners of the world.
Thanks, that gave me a good laugh. Also gives me a great idea for bait if we're ever invaded by city-dwelling zombies.
Ala’ Jericho?
The first two months of 2009 are the driest start of any year since the USA began keeping records over a century ago,
It was the wettest February here in California I have on record.
In California, NOAA reports the snowpack is at 80% of normal and much of the state is under severe drought.
Since when is 80% of normal abnormal? Wouldn't one think that was well within the normal range of variation? We've already had over 150% of what we got in all of 2006-07 and we still have over two months in the season to go.
No, what this is about is that Arnold's jackbooted fascist minions are CLAIMING it is a drought year and USING it to curtail water deliveries so that their globalist buddies in the food business can cash in on a food shortage while his globalist buddies in the real estate business pick up the pieces, especially Eli Broad.
Practically speaking, the odds of a WMD attack amounting to more than an annoyance are small.
1) Nuclear fission bomb. It is very hard to make a small bomb. Only a few countries can make one smaller than 1 ton in weight. The Coast Guard regularly scans vessels well off our coasts to prevent smuggling, and even aircraft can detect a suspect radiation signature from a long way away. We have been ready for this since the 1980s.
2) Dirty bomb. Nuclear material blow into dust by high explosives. The trouble with this is that long lasting nuclear material is heavy, so quickly falls to the ground. Lighter isotopes have shorter half lives so “burn up” quickly, so have to be used shortly after being obtained. The middle isotopes, optimal for dirty bombs, are watched *very* carefully.
3) Biological weapons. By far the greatest WMD threat to the US, after a nuclear missile exchange. The #1 threat is natural influenza. The flu kills between 30-50,000 Americans every year, and up to 100k in a bad year. The Avian influenza is a critical threat, and could kill up to 30 Million Americans. No other biological weapon, even militarized ones, come close to that lethality. The Avian flu strain H5N1 continues to develop in Asia, and could kill 1 Billion people worldwide.
4) Chemical weapons. Industrial accidents are far worse than anything terrorists could pull off. W. Bush spent a lot of money to monitor and protect US water supplies, but there are still threats out there, some of which are almost unavoidable.
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