Forgot A Couple of Things...

... in my last post.

Of course, there were a number of lawsuits files after the Triangle fire. Due to the way the Triangle Company was structured, and the legal maneuverings after the fire, the lawsuits were settled... for about $75 per death.

The lessons learned from the Triangle Fire were soon forgotten... or at least ignored. Since 1911, the same problems -- insufficient fire exits, overcrowding, lack of fire safety equipment or training -- have occurred time after time: Cocoanut Grove, the Winecoff Hotel, the LaSalle Hotel, Our Lady of the Angels School, Beverly Hills Supper Club, the Station Nightclub, even the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. One of the cruelest reminders was a fire at a chicken processing plant in Hamlet, NC, in 1991: 25 employees died... because the exits were locked to prevent pilferage and unauthorized breaks. Another cruel reminder: on the 79th anniversary of the fire (1990), arson struck the Happy Land Social Club in the Bronx, NY, killing 87. Internationally, the record is even worse, including a fire in a Bangkok, Thailand, toy factory in 1993 that killed 188.

The Triangle Fire is the 14th worst single-building fire in United States history... and that includes the 9-11 terrorist attacks.

This Date in Fire History: March 25

Today marks the 96th anniversary of one of the most tragic fires in history, the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire.

The Triangle Shirtwaist Company, owned by Isaac Harris and Max Blanck, occupied the top three floors (the eighth through tenth) of the Asch Building, located at the corner of Greene Street and Washington Place in Manhattan. Like most garment factories of the day, Triangle was a slightly-improved sweatshop: hundreds of workers -- many of them young immigrant girls -- working long hours for low wages in abysmal conditions. The girls, some of them as young as twelve or thirteen, worked fourteen-hour shifts during a 72-hour workweek, and made about $1.50 per week.

The Asch Building had two narrow stairwells, two freight elevators, one passenger elevator (which wasn't in use on that fateful Saturday), and a rickety iron outside fire escape. When the building was started in 1900, fire codes were in their infancy; even then, however, the architects and builders cut some corners - to get the necessary permits, they promised authorities to make some changes to the blueprints... changes that were never incorporated into the finished building. Nevertheless, the building was considered "fireproof", which was effectively true: the building itself sustained only minor damage. It was the human beings within the building that paid the price.

The eighth and ninth floors were crowded with long tables, each containing about 25 sewing machines. The tables stretched from one wall almost to the opposite wall, leaving only a narrow aisle. The rows of tables were so close to each other that only one employee at a time could move to or from her machine.

Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

Illustration by Nick Rotondo ©2005,

URL:http://www.nickrotondo.biz

(Used by permission)

Fire sprinklers had been in use in warehouses for about twenty years, and their value had been proven time and again, but they weren't installed in the Asch Building. A standpipe system (fire hoses attached to plumbing in the stairwells) was in place, but apparently did not work. Fire safety was provided by about 30 leather pails of water on each floor. To make matters worse, the longest ladders on fire apparatus of the day only reached to about the sixth floor.

Triangle was one of many companies that manufactured the "shirtwaist" blouse made famous by Charles Dana Gibson's "Gibson Girl", an idealized woman, both liberated (by the standards of the day; they still couldn't vote) and feminine. The shirtwaist was the epitome of women's fashions in the early years of the 20th Century. Shortly after World War I, however, the soft, elegant gowns and shirtwaists of the Gibson era were supplanted by the more mannish fashions of Coco Chanel and others.

Of course, in 1911, a "World War" was inconceivable. A musical style called "ragtime" was sweeping the nation, exemplified by Scott Joplin's magnificent Maple Leaf Rag, which had sold over one million copies. Prohibition was still in the future, although the temperance movement was gaining strength. The growth of major cities brought educational, professional, and cultural advances to more people than ever before.

The future looked bright. America was becoming the "shining beacon" of hope and progress, not only to the undeveloped countries, but also to Europe. Immigration was swelling the United States population, and the mix of new cultures, languages, and customs made American culture far richer.

The industrialization of America was well underway. Henry Ford was cranking out cars in Detroit, factories like the Triangle were replacing the smaller family shops of the past, and the unionization of workers was beginning: a 1909 strike by women's shirtwaist makers, known as the "Uprising of 20,000," started with a spontaneous walkout at Triangle.

Saturday, March 25, 1911, was a warm spring day, and about 4:45 PM, the roughly 700 Triangle employees were getting ready to quit for the day when a worker spotted smoke curling from one of the scrap bins under the sewing machine tables on the eighth floor. Within seconds, the flames had spread to the tables themselves, and then to the flimsy patterns hanging overhead. One employee used a "teleautograph" -- an early ancestor of the fax machine -- to alert other workers but was unable to transmit the message properly. A telephone call to the offices on the tenth floor warned the employees there, but the alarm was not passed to those on the ninth floor. Almost all of the workers on the eighth floor were able to escape, as were most of those on ten (who climbed across ladders stretched from the adjacent New York University School of Law, across the alley from the Asch Building).

The workers on the ninth floor did not learn of the fire until it blew in through the windows. Again, the fire fed hungrily on the fabric scraps, paper patterns, oil-soaked wood and other combustibles. Women raced for both stairwells, but found one of the locked (in an effort to prevent theft). The door to the second stairwell opened into the work area; the crush of fleeing girls prevented the door from opening. The operators of the freight elevators made several trips to the ninth floor and were able to rescue several dozen workers. Others attempted to go down the exterior fire escape, but steel shutters over the ladders obstructed their passage. This may have been a blessing in disguise, for the escape could not support the weight of the girls, and collapsed, spilling many into the courtyard nine floors below.

With nowhere else to go, hundreds of girls crowded the windows, trying to escape the fire. Some fell, some may have been pushed, but many decided to jump. In a scene eerily prescient of 2001, they plunged to the pavement, choosing the quick and relatively painless death of jumping over the slow and agonizing death by suffocation due to smoke, or the excrutiating pain of burning to death. Others threw themselves down the elevator shafts, crashing themselves against the tops of the cars.

FDNY Engine 72, which was quartered only a few blocks from the Asch Building, was on the scene within five or six minutes, even before the fire had fully engulfed the ninth and tenth floors, but there was nothing they could do. Their ladders didn't reach the trapped workers, and their hoses couldn't shoot water high enough to protect them. Firefighters set up safety nets, but victims tore right through them. Their only viable option was to mount an interior attack, and try to fight their way to the trapped victims.

Despite having gotten the fire under control in about twenty minutes, 146 people had died, about one-third of them having jumped or fallen to their deaths. At least 60 bodies were recovered from the upper floors, primarily the ninth floor; many were burned beyond recognition, making subsequent identification impossible in some cases (seven unidentified bodies were buried).

As is often the case after a multiple-fatality fire, numerous investigations were launched, most with the laudible goal of "ensuring this never happens again." Manslaughter charges were filed against Blanck and Harris, but they were acquitted after a brilliant performance by defense attorney Max Steuer. The city created the "Factory Invesigating Commission" to examine the need for new legislation to prevent future fire disasters. The members of the Commission included State Senator Robert F. Wagner (who went on to the United States Senate, where he was instrumental in passing many labor-friendly laws), State Assemblyman Alfred E. Smith (a future candidate for President), and Samuel L. Gompers, founder and president of the American Federation of Labor (AFL). All three were profoundly affected by what their Commission learned.

The Commission inspected 1836 businesses and interviewed 222 witnesses. The City of New York enacted over 30 new fire and occupational safety laws, in part due to the Commission's work.

The fire ushered in "the golden era of remedial factory legislation," greatly expanding occupational safety, fire safety, and worker's rights. In many ways, the Triangle Fire could be considered one of the progenitors of much of Franklin Roosevelt's "New Deal" legislation.

One witness to the fire, Frances Perkins of the New York Consumer's League, became FDR's Secretary of Labor (and was the first female Cabinet member, as well as the first woman in the presidential line of succession). Years after the fire, Perkins said in an interview that the fire sharpened her focus on labor issues.

The last known survivor of the Triangle Fire, Rose Freedman, died on February 22, 2001, at age 107; she was a lifelong crusader for worker safety.

This post is dedicated to the memory of
Becky Reines and her 145 coworkers who

perished in the Triangle Fire.

Friday Oopsdate

The always gracious Anntichrist S. Coulter has two posts up, written in her own inimitable style, that pretty much cover the world in a nutshell. She discusses Louisiana politics, the budget, Abu G., and all the rest.

If you're the kind of weenie who gets the vapors from... ummm... colorful language, avoid her like the plague.

On the other hand, if you are that kind of person, you wouldn't be here, never mind there.

WMD: A British Report Applied to the US

I ran across a very interesting paper on the Internets a few weeks back. The UK’s Chatham House – more formally known as The Royal Institute of International Affairs – released a study called The CBRN System: Assessing the threat of terrorist use of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear weapons in the United Kingdom.

In about forty pages, researcher Paul Cornish not only provides a layman’s guide to weapons of mass destruction, but also examines how, why, and when each category of weapon might be used. Cornish also makes critical distinctions between military philosophies of use (and the conventional wisdom associated with those philosophies), and the philosophies to which terrorist groups might subscribe.

While Cornish’s report is aimed at a British audience, most of what he says is equally applicable to the United States. In this article, we will look at a brief history of terror and terrorism in the United States. We’ll examine Cornish’s study and apply his lessons to the situation here in the US. We will also compare and contrast Cornish’s study with other available research. Quotes from the paper will retain the British spelling.

REPORT OVERVIEW

Cornish’s report examines the four main types of WMD – chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear – and, to a certain extent, the precursor materials required to manufacture these weapons. Additionally, he discusses the complexity, construction, delivery and effect of different types of weapons.

Cornish makes the same claim as many other WMD/CBRN experts: that weaponizing these materials is complicated and expensive and therefore unlikely. But Cornish – and the others – miss one very important point: the goal of the terrorist is to instill terror, not necessarily to cause mass casualties (although that is certainly one way to achieve his goal). Given the right combination of commitment, materials, and resources, weaponization may be an unnecessary refinement.

TERROR, TERRORISM AND WMD IN U.S. HISTORY

The Federal Bureau of Investigation defines terrorism as, "the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a Government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.” [Emphasis added] Note there is no reference to casualties.

It is important to remember, however, the aphorism “One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.” For our purposes, a terrorist is a member of an identified terror group like al-Qaeda, or a group that is not an acknowledged, recognized component of a sovereign state. This includes religious, nationalist and revolutionary groups. In terms of the history of terrorism in the United States, our definition also includes home-grown extremist groups like militias, neo-Nazis, and other hate groups.

Of course, terrorism existed in the United States prior to September 11, 2001, as did the use of CBRN-type weapons: there were the bombings of the World Trade Center in 1993 and the Murrah Building in 1995, as well as at least one biological attack (Oregon, 1984). Earlier “terrorist” activities included the anarchist movement in New York City in the 1920’s (epitomized by Emma Goldman) and bombings by groups such as the Weathermen, the Ku Klux Klan, Black Panthers, and others in the ‘60’s and ‘70’s. While the US has so far been spared from chemical attacks, the Tokyo Metro was the target of a Sarin gas attack in 1995. Domestic terror groups that have not (yet) used “weapons of mass destruction” include anti-abortion activists, environmental and animal-rights activist groups like the Earth Liberation Front and Animal Liberation Front.

In fact, terrorism in the United States is older than the nation itself. The Boston Tea Party and other colonial actions leading up to and during the American Revolution could properly be described as terrorist in nature, as could occurrences like the Haymarket and Draft riots in 19th century Chicago and New York respectively.

A prime example of the difference between terror and casualties is the 2001 anthrax attacks: five dead and seventeen sickened (not mass casualties in the commonly-accepted use of the term), but even now – more than five years later – local or regional paranoia results any time a “white powder” shows up in a business, post office, or mail room. This instills terror in the populace, even when the powder is determined to be harmless. (The main reason we no longer have national paranoia with these cases is that they no longer garner national attention)

Moreover, one could look at the 1938 broadcast of H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds for a classic example of widespread terror without any associated casualties. Needless to say, the broadcast was not intended to cause terror, nor was there any criminal intent behind the program. According to Wikipedia.org, “Hand cites studies by unnamed historians who ‘calculate[d] that some six million heard the Columbia Broadcasting System broadcast; 1.7 million believed it to be true, and 1.2 million were 'genuinely frightened'". The following morning, the New York Times reported:

A wave of mass hysteria seized thousands of radio listeners between 8:15 and 9:30 o'clock last night when a broadcast of a dramatization of H. G. Wells's fantasy, "The War of the Worlds," led thousands to believe that an interplanetary conflict had started with invading Martians spreading wide death and destruction in New Jersey and New York.

The broadcast, which disrupted households, interrupted religious services, created traffic jams and clogged communications systems, was made by Orson Welles…. This time at least a score of adults required medical treatment for shock and hysteria.

This “mass hysteria” resulted from a fictional radio play. In this day and age, even a small RDD (radiological dispersion device, or “dirty bomb”) could cause a nation-wide panic potentially involving tens of millions. For that matter a carefully crafted and placed rumor could start a panic – the gullibility of the American public has not decreased markedly in the last 70 years.

The most prevalent terrorist weapons in the United States have been assassination, arson and conventional explosives, not WMDs.

According to the FBI report Terrorism in the United States – 1999, the “modern era” of terrorism in the United States began in the 1960’s. Many of the terrorist acts that occurred during the 60’s were related to America’s involvement in the Vietnam War or the burgeoning Civil Rights movement and were committed by left-wing groups[1].

Domestic terror groups can represent right-wing orientations (Aryan Nations, militias, the “patriot” and “sovereign citizen” movements), left-wing (Weather Underground) or special interests (anti-abortion extremists, Animal Liberation Front, Earth Liberation Front).

CHEMICAL WEAPONS

Chemical weapons have been used in combat since World War I, when the Germans used mustard gas on American and British forces in the trenches of France. Agents may be persistent or non-persistent. Cornish lists the types of agents, examples of each, and how the agent attacks the victim:

• Nerve Agents (e.g. tabun (GA)[2] , sarin (GB), soman (GD), cyclosarin (GF)), and Thickened (or Persistent) Nerve Agents including VX and Russian VX (RVX). Nerve agents act by ‘switching off’ the body’s central nervous system. Nerve agents pose very difficult challenges in manufacture, weaponizing and delivery;
• Blood Agents (e.g. hydrogen cyanide (AC), cyanogen chloride (CK), and arsine (SA)). Blood agents prevent absorption of oxygen;
• Blister Agents (e.g. sulphur mustard, nitrogen mustard, phosgene oxime (CX) and lewisite). Blister agents attack the skin and airways, forming large contaminated blisters. Large quantities are required for a successful attack;
• Choking Agents (e.g. phosgene (CG) and diphosgene (DP)). Choking agents attack lung membranes, leading to pulmonary oedema;
• Vomiting Agents (e.g. adamsite (DM)). Vomiting agents cause a violent emetic reaction, which can be especially debilitating when used against troops wearing chemical protection equipment and masks, causing them to remove their protection and thereby expose themselves to other, lethal agents;
• Incapacitants (e.g. hallucinogens such as LSD and BZ, as well as sleeping and laughing gas);
• Irritants (e.g. tear gases such as CS, CN and CR).

Although it was not an act of war, the 1984 Bhopal leak of 40 tons of methyl isocyanate, a pesticide, is the best-known example of the toxicity of many chemicals. The leak ultimately killed approximately 28,000 people, and is still the worst accident in the chemical sector globally.

On the terrorist front, the most notorious use of chemical weapons was the simultaneous attacks on the Tokyo Metro by the Aum Shinrikyo religious sect in 1995. The attacks left twelve dead and hospitalized nearly five thousand others (although some researchers believe many of the illnesses were psychosomatic in nature). A year earlier, Aum Shinrikyo had killed seven people in a sarin attack in the city of Matsumoto. According to the Council on Foreign relations, however, the sarin used by the sect was a low-lethality batch. The Council’s “backgrounder” on sarin added:

…the sarin was disseminated poorly; the perpetrators left punctured packages of liquid sarin in subway cars and stations, which gave officials time to seal off the affected areas. If purer sarin had been released, particularly as an aerosol, the attack might have been much worse.

In discussing chemical weapons (CW), Cornish writes:

The general availability of toxic and precursor chemicals has led to CW being described as ‘the easiest of all catastrophic weapons to produce’. ‘Easiest’ although not ‘easy’: the production of CW remains challenging, scientifically and logistically.

This is, at best, disingenuous. While manufacturing true chemical munitions, such as those used by Saddam Hussein against the Kurds, might be beyond the means of many terrorist groups, there are plenty of ways for a committed terrorist or group to engage in chemical warfare against the US: detonating a rail car containing chlorine or a truck carrying propane; attacking a chemical plant, creating another Bhopal; contaminating a municipal water supply; or releasing hazardous chemicals into the ventilating system of an office building.

As I have noted before, security in the chemical sector is farcical. Even if one decides to pass up readily available materials for more esoteric precursors, it is not impossible that sufficient materials to build weapons have already been stolen and delivered to those with the knowledge and desire to produce weapons.

One consideration that is often overlooked is that virtually all counties – developed and developing alike – have their own chemical sector infrastructures; these facilities, regardless of their alleged purpose, can easily be retooled to develop and produce chemical weapons. This is particularly true for pesticide and pharmaceutical manufacturing sites, in that they are already designed with isolation and hazards in mind. Especially in those countries with animosities towards the United States, it is possible – if not likely – that chemical weapons research is being carried out as we speak. Groups such as al-Qaeda, while not nations themselves, often command the same level of dedication or even “patriotism”, with the possibility of sub-rosa chemical warfare research being carried on in purportedly neutral countries on behalf of such groups.

Chemical attacks may not be immediately recognized, due to the time required for agents to achieve full effect. This delay could result in the agent being inadvertently spread to previously uncontaminated areas.

While not chemical warfare per se, it is worth noting that two of the most prevalent chemicals in rural and agricultural America – ammonium nitrate fertilizer and diesel fuel – combine to form a potent explosive: such ANFO bombs were used in the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center and the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.



BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS

The deliberate use of disease-causing agents in warfare goes back almost to the dawn of recorded history, when the bodies of plague victims were catapulted into fortified cities, with the aim of killing or incapacitating defenders. In modern times, Aum Shinrikyo, in addition to carrying out the sarin attacks in Japan, was also working to weaponize Ebola, a hemorrhagic fever, and had attempted to use anthrax in yet another attack. Novelist Tom Clancy, in his book Executive Orders, described a terrorist attack on the US, using Ebola; the attack virtually paralyzed the nation.

In the section on biological weapons, Cornish claims that acquiring an agent would not be easy, that manufacturing a quantity of the agent is “not straightforward”, and that weaponizing the agent is even more challenging. Yet the Washington Post reported in September, 2006, that the anthrax used in the 2001 attacks – spores that killed five and sickened seventeen – was not weaponized.

Certain biological weapons are actually quite easy to obtain. When castor beans are processed into castor oil, ricin, a potent biological toxin, is part of the “mash” that remains. Anthrax may be recovered from manure on farms. Given the ease with which accidental E. coli outbreaks have spread, it is reasonable to assume that an intentional attack would also be relatively simple. Intentionally causing a pandemic (such as avian flu) would also constitute biological warfare.

“Recipes” for biological and chemical weapons can be located in a number of readily-available books such as The Anarchist Cookbook. The Internet also has virtually endless sources of information on chemical and biological weapons.

In the report’s Executive Summary, Cornish says:

Although the weaponization of a biological agent would be complex, requiring high-level competence in microbiology, pathology, aerosol physics, aerobiology and meteorology, for a terrorist group seeking a ‘single-shot’ biological attack, safety, reliability and predictability in both production and weaponization might not be of great concern. Delivery of a biological weapon could be a relatively straightforward matter, with a variety of dispersal means available and with more than enough suitable targets on offer.

Of course, the United States has thousands of students of Middle Eastern descent – some of whom have no reason to love America – and others whose sympathies may lie with disaffected Middle Eastern elements, majoring in those very specialties[3].

The first recognized biological attack in the United States occurred in 1984, in The Dalles, OR, when followers of Bhaghwan Shree Rajneesh intentionally contaminated salad bars in restaurants with salmonella; about 750 people were sickened.

As is the case with chemical attacks, biological attacks may not be recognized as such, due to incubation periods, etc. Again, this time lapse could allow the illness to spread far beyond the original point of release.

RADIOLOGICAL WEAPONS

Radiological Dispersal Devices (RDDs) spread radioactive material over a wide area, either in conjunction with a conventional explosive device or through some other means of dispersal. They differ from nuclear weapons in that the radioactive material is not an integral part of the device (what weapons scientists refer to as the “physics package”). Fission is not used to create the blast and thermal effects normally associated with nuclear weapons; the damage is caused by the ability of the radioactive material to contaminate an area and deny its use to those without proper protective equipment.

Radioactive materials are, unfortunately, not difficult to obtain. NBC Nightly News reported on March 12, 2007, that there were 85 reported losses or thefts of radioactive materials worldwide in 2006. The losses were mostly small amounts of materials, but sufficient in quantity for making dirty bombs. The problem – from the terrorist’s point of view – is obtaining materials that are sufficiently radioactive to be usable in a weapon. Suitable materials include cobalt-60, strontium-90, yttrium-90, cesium-137, iridium-192, radium-226, plutonium-238, americium-241, and californium-252. “Weapons-grade” uranium-235 or plutonium-239 are relatively difficult to obtain, but reactor-grade materials, such as spent fuel rods from nuclear generating facilities, may be used in weapons (with a noticeable increase in size and weight, and a decrease in efficiency). Small quantities of reactor-grade materials have been reported a number of times over the past few years. However, it is reasonable to believe that any explosion that showed measurable radiation would cause wide-spread concern, if not outright panic.
Cornish asserts that working with highly-radioactive materials is hazardous, but goes on to cite researchers who say,

Some of the major international terror groups, including al-Qaeda, have not only the resources to carry out such an attack, but also the willing martyrs, whose participation would significantly reduce the cost and complexity of any protective systems needed to allow the perpetrator to survive long enough to carry out the attack.

Using martyrs willing to die for the cause obviously eliminates the need for sophisticated protective gear, and hence, reduces the cost of such a program.

Another possibility for an RDD attack would be to target an existing nuclear facility. Despite assurances by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Department of Homeland Security, nuclear security is in desperate need of improvement. Recent studies by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and others have revealed glaring deficiencies in the security programs at nuclear plants. Simply crashing a commercial jetliner into a nuclear generating facility could create another Three Mile Island or Chernobyl.

A single RDD, detonated in, say, New York City, followed by a series of non-radioactive explosions in other major cities, would wreak havoc, in that every incident would have to be treated as a possible radiation incident until proven otherwise. Given the allegations of lying and prevarication lodged against the current administration, such proof would have to be conclusive indeed.

The political consequences of an RDD attack would include public panic, rampant rumors, conspiracy theories, and mistrust of government assurances that decontamination had been completed. Again, the Bush administration’s reputation for dissembling and their proven lackadaisical response to disasters could lead to accusations of malfeasance or even complicity in such an incident.

NUCLEAR WEAPONS

Much of what Americans know about nuclear weapons comes from fiction: movies such as Dr. Strangelove (1964), The Day After (1983), and The Sum of All Fears, novels like Robin Moore’s The Trinity Implosion (1976), or the occasional documentary on Hiroshima, Nagasaki, or Bikini Atoll.

Cornish stresses that the technology and equipment required to fabricate a nuclear device are hard to come by and extremely expensive. This is hogwash. Tom Clancy, in the “afterword” to the book version of The Sum of All Fears, notes he was able to obtain detailed schematics and specifications by mail, at minimal cost and apparently without any verification of the uses to which he was to put the information. Many of the technologies developed in nuclear weapons research have found widespread use in non-weapons applications (Clancy mentions electronic firing circuits being slightly modified and used in stereo speakers). The chemistry involved sounds incomprehensibly convoluted, but is (apparently) readily understood by anyone with a couple of college-level physics courses under his or her belt. The Sum of All Fears describes a small band of terrorists assembling a make-shift nuclear bomb using materials recovered from an Israeli weapon, with the bomb being detonated at a Super Bowl game.

The development of nuclear weapons since the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs have resulted in devices that are many orders of magnitude more powerful than the WWII weapons, with yields measured in megatons, rather than the kilotons achieved with the earlier devices, yet smaller, simpler, and much less expensive to construct. The physics and chemistry involved are thoroughly understood. The computational requirements of the original Manhattan Project can now be met by even the cheapest home computers. Manufacturing equipment is readily available. Assuming a group could obtain suitable radioactive materials, constructing a nuclear device would not be as difficult or cost-prohibitive as some would have us believe.

As is the case with RDDs, obtaining the necessary radioactive materials is far from impossible. University of Alaska researcher Jason D. Brown, in a study entitled Catastrophic Terrorism: An Examination of Literature Concerning the Possibility of Terrorist Use of Weapons of Mass Destruction, points out that a mere 10 kilograms of plutonium-239 or 52 kilograms of uranium-235 will create an efficient fission weapon.

Much easier than trying to build a nuke, however, is buying or stealing one. Rumors have been rampant for years that the former Soviet Union has “misplaced” (i.e., lost or possibly sold) an undetermined number of existing nuclear weapons – some as small as a large suitcase. According to Cornish, “The Soviet nuclear arsenal was estimated, in late 1991, to include the following: 9,357 strategic warheads; 15,000–30,000 tactical warheads; a stockpile of HEU [highly-enriched uranium] in excess of 1,000 tonnes; and a stockpile of Pu-239 in excess of 100 tonnes.”

Smuggling a nuclear device into the United States would present no problem for a dedicated terrorist group. Given that less than ten percent of the cargo containers entering the country are screened in any manner, and that most major cargo ports are in or near densely populated urban areas, it makes sense that terrorists would chose that method.

Another possible method (although one that would require the cooperation of a major corporation) would be to conceal the device(s) in consumer goods brought into the country. Novelist Clive Cussler, in his book Dragon, describes small nuclear devices concealed in automobiles being imported into the United States.


POTENTIAL IMPACT ON THE UNITED STATES

What are the chances of a terrorist group using or attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction against the United States? In the phrase used by almost every crisis management professional, “It’s not a question of ‘if,’ it’s a question of ‘when.’” Given the history of terrorist attacks on American soil – a history going back to the earliest days of the United States – it would be foolish to assume that we will not be hit again, especially in light of worldwide response to the American military actions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

On a homeland security basis, we are woefully under-prepared. Despite the assurances of the US Department of Homeland Security, the government is not taking effective, cost-efficient steps to secure our nation. The Transportation Security Administration, a component agency within DHS, is completely incapable of securing commercial aircraft, never mind airports, the general aviation sector, and road or rail transit systems. The Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement units are charged with securing America’s borders, and are given billions of dollars for “high-tech” solutions, yet the best idea they can develop is a 12-foot fence along the Mexican border? The security postures of the chemical and nuclear sectors are riddled with holes, including proven allegations of collusion between inspectors and facilities to falsify “penetration test” results. Federal funding for terrorism prevention is distributed based on political concerns, rather than on a risk-analysis basis. The much ballyhooed “REAL ID” program – touted as a major security breakthrough – is nothing more than standardized driver’s licenses; as security expert Bruce Schneier has often noted, the whole program is predicated on the faulty notion of positive identification being able to identify a person’s intentions. Schneier also notes that DHS, by and large, is so busy “defending against the last attack,” they cannot effectively anticipate or plan for the next.

The medical and public health communities, which would be the first line of defense in a bioterror attack, would be unable to handle the expected surge of patients, nor would they be able to effectively distribute the severely-limited stockpiles of medications and vaccines that have been so pain-stakingly (and expensively) accumulated. Additionally, there are no plans for prioritizing administration of these medications, no plans for safeguarding the health and safety of medical responders, nor plans for caring for the families of responders (many of the police officers and firefighters who “deserted” in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina did so because they were evacuating their families, or searching for missing family members).

On a state and local level, things are no better. Interoperability of communications between emergency response agencies first came to national attention after the 1993 WTC attack, when it was reported that police, fire and EMS agencies could not talk to one another due to incompatible radio systems. New York City spent millions of dollars implementing an interagency radio system, but the radios went unused on 9-11, due to long-standing rivalries between the FDNY and NYPD. A recent study of communications interoperability conducted by the Federal government indicated that no major cities, and only a few mid-sized ones – have any sort of intercommunications ability available in disaster situations. Urban area mass evacuation plans – also recently studied by the US government – revealed similar shortcomings: the only cities awarded passing grades were those that deal with large scale evacuations on a regular basis, such as hurricane-prone communities in Florida.

Most businesses do not have business continuity or disaster recovery plans; many of the companies that do have plans in place have never tested them and hence, have no idea if they would be effective. Yet a well-practiced evacuation plan is critical to business continuity. After the 1993 WTC bombing, Richard Rescorla, vice president of security for Dean Witter/Morgan Stanly, instituted a comprehensive emergency plan, including mandatory evacuation drills for all employees on the twenty-two floors leased by Morgan Stanley. On 9-11, only six of Morgan Stanley’s 3700 employees at the Trade Center perished; those who died were security personnel (including Rescorla himself) who were assisting in the evacuation of other less-prepared WTC tenants.

Individually, we are also totally unprepared for another terrorist attack. Most families do not have stockpiles of food, water, and other necessities (which may be due to economic issues, a lack of concern, or other factors). Very few families have their own emergency plans, and fewer practice them. The families that do have “72-hour kits” and emergency plans tend to be the families of first responders.

What does all this doom-and-gloom mean?

It means that when a terrorist group – either domestic or foreign – decides to attack the United States, we will not be prepared. We will be unable to cope, whether on a personal, family, community, state, or national level. Panic will ensue in affected areas and possibly nationally, depending on the type of attack. Many may die unnecessarily. We will descend into a panicky, frustrated need to strike out; a lack of specific knowledge at whom we need to strike out may cause retaliation against innocent persons or groups. The political and economic impacts would be considerable.

If a terrorist group were to use a weapon of mass destruction against the United States, the actual impact would depend on a number of factors, among them:

• The type of weapon used;
• The size or strength of the weapon;
• The number of weapons used;
• The location attacked; and
• Weather conditions.

Chemical Weapon

Depending on the type of agent used, the immediate effects would probably be localized, but the psychological effects could potentially be national in scope. For instance, if a nerve or choking agent (such as sarin or phosgene) were released in the Javitts Convention Center in New York City during one of the many large conventions or trade shows held there, there would be hundreds or perhaps thousands of initial casualties. First responders would be encumbered by protective gear, and would find their efficiency greatly reduced. Again, depending on the type of agent, victims may flee the scene, spreading the agent beyond the scene of release. Inauspicious weather conditions could also spread the agent beyond its original position, again enlarging the contaminated area. If the nature of the attack could not be promptly determined, medical facilities might not implement appropriate isolation techniques in time, thereby contaminating the very facilities and personnel most critical to an effective response. Delayed or improper decontamination at the scene would endanger rescuers. Scene decontamination and other mitigation efforts could turn into a long-term process, effectively denying the use of possibly critical infrastructure.

Politically, the backlash would be considerable. The populace might assume that the government was “asleep at the wheel”, especially in light of all the activities undertaken by various government agencies in the name of terrorism prevention. The current administration, based on its history thus far, would probably respond with further restrictions on personal freedoms, civil liberties and legal rights, bringing the nation one step closer to the police state that many on the left are already predicting.

Biological Weapons

Because many biological weapons have significant incubation periods before symptoms present, there is a much greater risk of the contaminant being spread far beyond the initial release point. Again, medical facilities would be overwhelmed, especially if the specific antigen were not immediately identified; unfortunately, this is likely to be the case, as most American physicians do not have much knowledge of, or experience with, biological warfare agents, nor are they trained to think in those terms when confronted with unfamiliar symptoms.

Tom Clancy’s novel Executive Orders postulates a terrorist attack against the United States using the Ebola virus, which is a virulent hemorrhagic fever, with a mortality rate of approximately 80%. The delay in identifying the agent was due, in part, to physicians initially diagnosing patients with flu or similar semi-benign ailments. By the time a correct diagnosis was made, victims had dispersed across the country, infecting virtually all parts of the nation.

Even if someone were to simply re-create the 1984 salmonella attacks, the effects would still be considerable. As we have seen with the recent E. coli outbreaks in restaurants, correct diagnosis of the condition may be delayed, with possibly tragic results. The economic consequences alone could potentially be staggering.

Again, the likely political implications would be significant, with many of the same responses as noted above for a chemical attack.

Radiological Weapons

Ever since the beginnings of the Cold War, Americans have learned to think of radiological attack in terms of nuclear weapons; the current administration drives this point home even today, with comments about “the smoking gun being a mushroom cloud.”

A relatively simple radiological dispersion device, detonated in a major urban area, would cause widespread panic, with thousands or millions trying to flee the area. Rioting, looting, and a complete social breakdown would almost certainly ensue causing additional fatalities and injuries.

Fortunately, such a weapon would be readily identified, thanks to DHS’s emphasis on terrorist use of WMD. The drawbacks include a significant lack of expertise in the first responder and medical communities, insufficient protective gear, and lack of sufficient medical resources.

Additionally, the more sensationalist sectors of the media would almost certainly blame Islamic extremists and thereby fan the already considerable fear and hatred of Moslems in their audience.

Nuclear Weapons

Should a terrorist group manage to detonate a functional nuclear weapon in the United States, we would see reactions similar to the above, but multiplied many times over. Surviving first responders and social service agencies would be overwhelmed almost immediately; medical facilities would be swamped with thousands of victims, most of whom would remain untreated. Societal norms would be discarded, and we would descend to a Darwinian survival mode. The government would almost certainly be unable to restore any semblance of order without imposing martial law.

Decontamination and mitigation efforts would be delayed and possibly ineffective. The scene of the attack could be rendered uninhabitable for years or possibly centuries (the area around the Chernobyl reactor will be unsafe for human entry for hundreds of years).

The economic and political consequences would be virtually incalculable, depending on the specific location attacked. Local governments – even if they were to survive the attack – would cease to function, and would have little or no recourse other than some version of martial law. State governments in the affected area would probably experience similar paralysis. Based on proven deficiencies in response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, expecting prompt, effective Federal assistance is a pipe dream.

CONCLUSION

No expert believes that we have seen the last of terrorist attacks on American soil, and most experts agree it is only a matter of time before some terrorist group develops or obtains a weapon of mass destruction and uses it against the United States. When that time comes – and it is “when”, not “if” – American society will be unprepared and will not be able to effectively cope with the attack, or its aftermath.

In fact, it is entirely conceivable that the only segment of American society that would survive is the “survivalist” movement, composed primarily of far right wing anti-government extremists, white supremacists, and militia groups. As the main segment of American society left intact, they would guide the recovery efforts and, hence, change the face of America into something completely different from what it is today.

[1] There has been little terror activity from the left of the political spectrum since the 1980’s, due in part to the effectiveness of the government in infiltrating these organizations. The decline of the worldwide Communist movement may also have robbed some left-wing groups of their ideological foundation and patronage.

[2] The two-letter abbreviations are military codes, based on the country of origin (first letter) and position in a development sequence; For example, tabun was developed in Germany (Gx) and was the first agent developed by the Nazis (xA), and was followed by sarin, or GB.

[3] This is not meant to imply that only the Middle East breeds terrorists. As we have seen with Jose Padilla, John Walker Lindh, Richard Reid, and others, terrorists and their sympathizers can come from any cultural or ethnic background. Reference to individual members of any political, ethnic, or religious group does not imply that all members of that group are terrorists. Terrorists represent a small minority in any larger social context.

[4] There were 2700 employees in the South Tower, and another 1000 in 5 World Trade Center.

I'm Spartacus

Once again, the rabid wombats of the mouth-breathin', Bible-thumpin', hooker-humpin', rifle-rack-in-the-pickmup neocon wingnuts idjit crowd have tried to silence any voice raised against them.

Once again, they have succeeded... but only temporarily. And in this temporary success, they may have lost the greater battle.

As Marcotte (I think) pointed out, she no longer has to abide by the civil discourse rules of a campaign organization.

This whole thing was apparently started by Driftglass - sort of a "one for all, all for one" deal to show the fascists of the right that if they screw with ONE blogger, they screw with ALL bloggers.

Judge Gilman v. Reality

Judge Ronald Lee Gilman, of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, is a man in the mold of george w. bush: completely disconnected from those of us in the "reality-based community."

Earlier today, I was reading a decision from the Court, regarding a sexual harassment case. It seems that an assistant manager for a Flying J travel plaza was hit on by his manager. He rebuffed her approach, and was fired/rehired/suspended for two weeks/suspended for one week/suspended until he could move to another Flying J 120 miles away. He sued, claiming that the transfer to a location 120 miles from his home was an "adverse employment action."

The guy could not simply pack up and move to the new town, as his wife had a debilitating back injury, according to the Court, so I'm guessing she needed to stay relatively close to the Cincinati, OH, medical centers.

The Court ruled for the plaintiff (the assistant manager), but in his dissent, Judge Gilman posed an interesting question:

If a 20-minute increase in daily commute time, an extra 100 miles of driving on 12 additional days per month, and a 60-mile increase in a daily commute are not “objectively intolerable” changes in the terms and conditions of employment, what makes the 120-mile transfer in the present case an adverse employment action?

Let's see if we can help the judge out, shall we?

120 miles is roughly the distance from the Court's location in Covington, Kentucky, to Muncie, Indiana.

120 miles to and from is an extra 240 miles per day, roughly from Covington to Ypsilanti, Michigan.

240 miles per day times five days is an extra 1,200 miles per week (Covington to Millinocket, Maine). I'm assuming the guy works five days a week.

1,200 miles per week times 50 weeks (assuming a two-week vacation) is an extra 60,000 miles... twenty times the distance from Boston, MA to San Diego, CA.

Bear in mind this is ADDITIONAL driving for the guy. If his car gets 20 miles per gallon (and a lot of convenience store assistant managers cannot afford a car that gets that kind of mileage), that's an additional 3,000 gallons of gasoline per year. At $2.25 per gallon (which is what we're paying in the Detroit metro area), that's an additional $6750.00 per year -- you heard me, SIX THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED FIFTY DOLLARS PER YEAR -- just for gas (never mind the wear and tear on his car).

At a speed of 60 MPH, 120 miles is an extra 2 hours on his daily commute. Each way. At 70 MPH, it's an extra one hour forty minutes. Each way.

If the guy works 7:00 AM to 3:00 PM, he has to leave his house at 5:00 AM, get to work at 7:00, leave work at 3:00, and get home at 5:00. If he's like me, he has to get up an hour before he leaves for work (shower, shave, dress, make coffee, find keys, etc.), so he gets up at 4:00 AM. To get the recommended eight hours sleep (getting up at 4:00), he has to be in bed by 8:00 PM... leaving him a munificent three hours with his wife (the one with the bad back, remember?).

Each week, he gets to spend an extra 16 hours, forty minutes in the car... when he could be taking care of his wife's bad back.

Each year, he spends an extra 833 hours in the car... an extra five full weeks (at 168 hours per week)... when he could be taking care of his wife.

Yeah, I would say costing this poor guy $6750 per year (just in gas, mind you), and 833 hours of commuting time, would constitute an "adverse employment action."

Wouldn't you?

Notable Quotes

The other night, I decided against being a productive member of society, so I parked it and watch a few re-runs of "Law and Order."

As a born and bred New Yorker, I can understand and appreciate the quaint phrases New Yorkers use to show respect and admiration for each other. In the first episode, Detectives Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) and Green (Jesse L. Martin) are dealing with a pompous wannabe novelist with a bad attitude. At one point, Green refers to the "novelist" as "F. Scott Fitz-stupid."

I almost fell off the sofa.

In the second episode, D.A. Branch (former US Senator Fred D. Thompson [far right-wing R, TN]) is complaining about "five Supreme Court justices subverting the will of the populace," by doing something relatively liberal. I, of course, was screaming at the set, "What about when five justices subverted the will of the populace by annointing george bush preznit, you stupid, frickin' MO-ron?!?"

The lovely yet talented Mrs 618 has blocked "Law and Order."

This morning, WOMC radio host (and Radio Hall of Famer) Dick Purtan -- who was the Detroit DJ in "Beverly Hills Cop II" -- was discussing "pimply-faced" 'N Sync perpetrator, alleged actor/singer and definite oxygen thief Justin Timberlake. Purtin said, "He looks like Chris Hansen* should walk into his kitchen."

Unfortunately, I was driving at the time. I almost parked in the ditch.

* For those who may not be as glued to the tube as Mrs 618 and I, Hansen hosts MSNBC Dateline's "To Catch A Predator," confronting and apprehending on-line pedophiles. If you have children at home, you owe it to yourself to watch this series.

"The Decider" Rides Again... Sort Of...

I heard a radio commercial the other day for Equal (the sweetener). It features some woman putting Equal into only the coffees that are "worthy" of such extravagant treatment. The guy says something to the effect of, "You make that determination?"

She says, sweetly*, "I'm the decider."

*No, the pun was not intended. As someone else (maybe Drum) said the other day, I groaned as I typed it.

Broder LIES

And this is new... exactly how?

Via Atrios, Oliver Willis on David Broder: [original emphasis]

David Broder Libels Democrats

David Broder, the most insider of Washington insiders, perpetuates a lie and smears the Democratic party in "reporting" on this past weekend's meeting of the DNC.

One of the losers in the weekend oratorical marathon was retired Gen. Wesley Clark, who repeatedly invoked the West Point motto of "Duty, Honor, Country," forgetting that few in this particular audience have much experience with, or sympathy for, the military.

That's just a boldfaced lie by Broder, no two ways about it. I happened to be in attendance at the speech in question, just a stone's throw away from General Clark when he gave it. What David Broder is saying here is an absolute lie. The crowd in attendance stood on their feet, clapped their hands loudly and strongly time and time again when speakers - including Gen. Clark - invoked the service and sacrifice of America's fighting men and women.

In fact, in the very speech Broder cites as his reasoning for Democrats not supporting the military, Gen. Clark asked for a moment of silence (see the video here) to reflect on the sacrifices being made by the troops currently serving. The auditorium was silent, and many bowed their heads in prayer.

David Broder is a filthy liar, and the Washington Post ought to correct the slander he's published in their pages. For too long the Republican party and the conservative movement has smeared Democrats and liberals as not supportive of the troops, when time and time again it is the right who does not look out for their interests as Democrats and liberals time and time again fight for good foreign policy, veterans benefits, and the basics of body armor for our troops.

Again I say, David Broder is lying.

MORE: David Broder is, like much of the media establishment, no stranger to deception.

I don’t know why Willis is surprised that Broder is lying about this. After all, the Republicans, their sycophantic media lapdos, and the mouth-breathin’, Bible-thumpin’, hooker-humpin’, sister-marryin’, rifle-rack-in-the-pickmup neocon wingnut idjits have brought lying into mainstream political discourse.

Can anyone think of anything the Rethuglicans have claimed in six years that wasn’t a lie? Iraq? The economy? Global warming? Evolution? “Culture of Life”?



Of course, the Republicans have served honorably in the armed forces.

Haven’t they?

MILITARY SERVICE RECORDS

DEMOCRATS:

• Richard Gephardt: Air National Guard, 1965-71.
• David Bonior: Staff Sgt., Air Force 1968-72.
• Tom Daschle: 1st Lt., Air Force SAC 1969-72.
• Al Gore: enlisted Aug. 1969; sent to Vietnam Jan. 1971 as an army journalist in 20th Engineer Brigade.
• Bob Kerrey: Lt. j.g . Navy 1966-69; Medal of Honor, Vietnam.
• Daniel Inouye: Army 1943-47; Medal of Honor, WWII.
• John Kerry: Lt., Navy 1966-70; Silver Star, Bronze Star with Combat V, Purple Hearts.
• Charles Rangel: Staff Sgt., Army 1948-52; Bronze Star, Korea.
• Max Cleland: Captain, Army 1965-68; Silver Star & Bronze Star, Vietnam. Paraplegic from war injuries. Served in Congress.
• Ted Kennedy: Army, 1951-53.
• Tom Harkin: Lt., Navy, 1962-67; Naval Reserve, 1968-74.
• Jack Reed: Army Ranger, 1971-1979; Captain, Army Reserve 1979-91.
• Fritz Hollings: Army officer in WWII; Bronze Star and seven campaign ribbons.
• Leonard Boswell: Lt. Col., Army 1956-76; Vietnam, DFCs, Bronze Stars,and Soldier's Medal.
• Pete Peterson: Air Force Captain, POW. Purple Heart, Silver Star and Legion of Merit.
• Mike Thompson: Staff sergeant, 173rd Airborne, Purple Heart.
• Bill McBride: Candidate for Fla. Governor. Marine in Vietnam; Bronze Star with Combat V.
• Gray Davis: Army Captain in Vietnam, Bronze Star.
• Pete Stark: Air Force 1955-57
• Chuck Robb: Vietnam
• Howell Heflin: Silver Star
• George McGovern: Silver Star & DFC during WWII.
• Bill Clinton: Did not serve. Student deferments. Entered draft but received #311.
• Jimmy Carter: Seven years in the Navy.
• Walter Mondale: Army 1951-1953
• John Glenn: WWII and Korea; six DFCs and AirMedal with 18 Clusters.
• Tom Lantos: Served in Hungarian underground in WWII. Saved by Raoul Wallenberg.

REPUBLICANS (and these are the guys sending people to war):

• Dick Cheney: did not serve. Several deferments, the last by marriage.
• Dennis Hastert: did not serve.
• Tom Delay: did not serve.
• Roy Blunt: did not serve.
• Bill Frist: did not serve.
• Mitch McConnell: did not serve.
• Rick Santorum: did not serve.
• Trent Lott: did not serve.
• John Ashcroft: did not serve. Seven deferments to teach business.
• Jeb Bush: did not serve.
• Karl Rove: did not serve.
• Saxby Chambliss: did not serve. "Bad knee." The man who attacked Max Cleland's patriotism.
• Paul Wolfowitz: did not serve.
• Vin Weber: did not serve.
• Richard Perle: did not serve.
• Douglas Feith: did not serve.
• Eliot Abrams: did not serve.
• Richard Shelby: did not serve.
• Jon Kyl: did not serve.
• Tim Hutchison: did not serve.
• Christopher Cox: did not serve.
• Newt Gingrich: did not serve.
• Don Rumsfeld: served in Navy (1954-57) as flight instructor.
• george w. bush: failed to complete his six-year National Guard; got assigned to Alabama so he could campaign for family friend running for U.S. Senate.
• Ronald Reagan: due to poor eyesight, served in a non- combat role making movies.
• Bob Dornan: Consciously enlisted after fighting was over in Korea.
• Phil Gramm: did not serve.
• John McCain: Vietnam POW, Silver Star, Bronze Star, Legion of Merit, Purple Heart and Distinguished Flying Cross.
• Dana Rohrabacher: did not serve.
• John M. McHugh: did not serve.
• JC Watts: did not serve.
• Jack Kemp: did not serve. "Knee problem, " although continued in NFL for 8 years as quarterback.
• Dan Quayle: Journalism unit of the Indiana National Guard.
• Rudy Giuliani: did not serve.
• George Pataki: did not serve.
• Spencer Abraham: did not serve.
• John Engler: did not serve.
• Lindsey Graham: National Guard lawyer.
• Arnold Schwarzenegger: AWOL from Austrian army base.

PUNDITS and PREACHERS:

• Sean Hannity: did not serve.
• Rush Limbaugh: did not serve (4-F with a 'pilonidal cyst.')*
• Bill O'Reilly: did not serve.
• Michael Savage: did not serve.
• George Will: did not serve.
• Chris Matthews: did not serve.
• Paul Gigot: did not serve.
• Bill Bennett: did not serve.
• Pat Buchanan: did not serve.
• John Wayne: did not serve.
• Bill Kristol: did not serve.
• Kenneth Starr: did not serve.
• Antonin Scalia: did not serve.
• Clarence Thomas: did not serve.
• Ralph Reed: did not serve.
• Michael Medved: did not serve.
• Charlie Daniels: did not serve.
• Ted Nugent: did not serve. (He only shoots at things that don't shoot back.)

* Although, to be fair to Lush Bimbo -- not that he knows squat about fairness -- I too have a pilonidal cyst, and I can tell you it isn't fun. It's a great big painful cyst at the base of the spine (which sounds less disgusting than 'at the top of your ass') that gets inflamed on a regular basis, ruptures, bleeds and oozes pus, and makes it almost excrutiatingly painful to put any pressure on the butt... say, in sitting, lying down, or even bending over.

Molly Ivins Has Passed Away

Her voice will be sorely missed. Her sense of humor, coupled with her disgust at the shenanigans of george w. bush, brightened many a day for me. Just yesterday, I finished my umpteenth re-reading of both "Shrub" and "Bushwhacked."

And of course, I'd be willing to bet either the White House will remain completely mum, or smirkmonkey will make some "charming" little "funny-ha-ha."

Rest in Peace, Molly.

Playing Catch Up...

No, not "ketchup", ya bone-heads...

Anyway, miscellaneous news, notes, and comments, gathered from the furthest reaches of the Internets, the "tubes", and the Googles...

I. Return of "The Decider"

george w. bush has apparently opted to reprise his boffo performance as "The Decider". Declaring himself "the decision-maker" on Friday, he challenged doubters of his "practicing escalatio" (as Tom Lehrer put it once) on the Iraqis to come up with their own ideas to win the war. Two small problems with that, though: (1) the war isn't winnable by any reasonably acceptable means (yeah, we could nuke Iraq and declare victory, but that wouldn't go over so well, would it?), and (2) bush would just ignore whatever plans were submitted. Citing the little voices in his head, bush claimed, "I've picked the plan that I think it most likely to succeed." No mention of how this surge is going to work any better than the previous surges, except that he apparently has decided that this one just plain really has to work, because he decided it would.

II. Two Sentenced in Fatal Fire at Seton Hall

Two idiots who started a fire in a Seton Hall University dorm lounge -- a fire that killed three students -- were sentenced to five years each.

"I want you to know I am very, very sorry for your losses," Sean "Biff" Ryan said. "I hope you can move on."

Why do I get the feeling that Biff was thinking to himself, "You'd better move on, cause I sure as hell have"?

Ryan and his playmate Joseph LePore pleaded guilty to arson and witness tampering.

Their lawyers claimed the insanely-reduced sentences were "appropriate" because the school did not have "adequate systems to keep the blaze from spreading."

To summarize:

• The dormitory, built in 1952, met the fire codes as they existed at the time of construction (sprinklers were not required)
• Seton hall did not retrofit the building with sprinklers (probably due to the cost, and engineering concerns)
• LePore and Ryan start a fire in an occupied college dormitory
• Three people die, NOT because these two assholes played with fire, but because the university couldn't foresee that these two assholes would play with fire.

In other words:

"It's not my fault!"

III. Update From the war on Terra

A leading Olympic security expert believes it is "just a matter of time" before terrorists target a major sports event like the Olympics.

Hello? Munich? 1972?

IV. Crocodile Hunter, meet the Nigerian 419 Scam

There's an email circulating through the tubes that claims to be from Terri Irwin, widow of "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin. The message claims a US bank has $11 million in family funds, and that "the bank is planning to use the money for nuclear weapons." For helping her get the money out of the US, "Terri" will give you 40% of the money.

Yeah, right.

Who would be stooo-pid enough to fall for that?

Uh-oh....

Book Review: Keeping Cool on the Hot Seat

Since it is apparently illegal, or at least immoral and/or fattening, to review a book without awarding it a certain number of stars, I give this one:

*****

five out of five

You may have noticed the link to "Judy Hoffman: Crisis Communications" in the left sidebar. I was first introduced to Judy through a guest column she did for Jonathan Bernstein's Crisis Manager newsletter (which is also linked over there). Judy is a media training consultant, and spent 16 years in the chemical industry as a media relations specialist. She also has a newsletter, Keeping Cool, which should be mandatory reading for everyone.

Judy's book, Keeping Cool on the Hot Seat, should also be required. It covers how, when, and what to communicate to the media during a crisis. In a superbly-written volume, Judy describes how Lee Iacocca and Rudy Giuliani handled crises that might well have had calamitous consequences, had both men not been such gifted communicators. Of course, there are dozens of other examples too, but these are the ones where you'll recognize the players.

As is the case with almost every volume I've ever seen on crisis management, Judy points out that the Chinese character for "crisis" -- wei ji -- is a combination of the characters for "danger" and "opportunity." While some may argue the point, there is no denying that a "crisis" does, indeed, have elements of both danger and opportunity.

Looking at the dictionary definition of "crisis" -- "a stage in a sequence of events at which the trend of all future events, esp. for better or for worse, is determined; turning point" -- we see that the situation can get better or worse. In the business world, one of the critical factors in deciding which way the crisis will go is how it is communicated to the affected stakeholders.

For examples of how effective communications can reduce the impact of a crisis, Judy cites the 1987 case in which Chrysler was implicated in selling pre-driven vehicles as new cars: Lee Iacocca accepted responsibility, made amends and rectified the situation to the satisfaction of the consumers affected. She also discusses how Rudy Giuliani (1), faced with the incredible carnage of 9-11, used effective communication skills (among other skills, of course) to reassure a shattered city and a shell-shocked nation.

Ineffective communications can vastly increase the impact of a crisis: Judy cites the Firestone/Bridgestone/Ford tire fiasco as a prime example of piss-poor communicating. The poor skills showed by the owners and operators of the Three Mile Island nuclear plant did absolutely nothing to reassure those potentially affected by the TMI disaster. One could also argue that, had the administration been more open in its communications regarding the "war on terror," "signing statements," and the like, the bush administration might not have such abysmal approval ratings.

Judy continually drives home the concept that there must be a crisis communications plan in place before you need it, and it must be practiced.

Judy also presents a concept she calls "The Ten "C's" of Good Crisis Communications." This list, all by itself, is worth the complete purchase price of the book.

"But Mr 618, I don't expect to ever have to communicate with the media in a crisis," I hear you say. Okay, maybe you're not the CEO of your company. Maybe you're not the senior elected official in your community.

But when Little Johnny smacks a line drive through the Widow Jones' plate glass window, do you think that would be a crisis? Especially if the Widow Jones isn't the nicest, coziest, neighborhood granny you wish she were? And while the Widow Jones may not be the New York Times, the points Judy makes in her book can save your bacon there too.

If you think you may ever have to deal with a crisis -- whether at work or at home -- stop by her website, read what she has posted there, and sign up for her free newsletter. I can guarantee you won't regret it.




The book is available through her website, and also through Amazon.

(1) If you haven't done so, you should also read Giuliani's book Leadership.

BadTux 4 Preznit!

My good friend, the gentlebird from Kah-lee-forn-yah, has announced the formation of an exploratory committee to investigate becoming the preznidential candidate of the Birthday Party.

BadTux originally thought about enlisting Opus as his running mate; I, however, thought that would overload the ticket toward the penguin constituency, and suggested he ask Bill the Cat instead. Yes, I am taking credit for the recommendation, despite what the gentlebird says about his campaign advisors talking him into it.

One of the many things we'd never have to worry about (image swiped from Atrios' "The bestest most funniest blog post ever"):

Would that be this turkey?

I urge you all to welcome...

The Next Preznit of the United States.

An Open Letter to DTE Energy and An Apology

I apologize for the light posting the last few days. In addition to the problems laid out previously, the spacious yet luxurious Chez 618 -- like many thousands of others -- lost power as a result of the Sunday ice storms. In fact, we lost power at 5:15 AM Monday, while yr obt svt was standing in the shower (helluva place to be with no lights!). "Mr. Preparedness", of course, did not have a flashlight in the bathroom. He does now.

Now, like most other people (virtually everyone I know, in fact), I bitch and moan mightily when I get my monthly power bill, and I tend to begrudge DTE every penny I have to send them.

But, as is always the case when the sh*t hits the fan, DTE (and the other utilities, of course) were right there in the thick of it, replacing lines before the storm abated, working 24 hours a day, calling in out-of-state and private crews, the whole nine yards.

The most common estimate I heard for power restoration was either very late Wednesday, or early Thursday.

Nope, the power was back on Tuesday evening, and had been on for a while: the sump pump had drained the basement and the house was once again warm.

So, to the folks at DTE, ATT/SBC/Ameritech/whatever it is this week, and all the rest of the hard-working utility crews:

THANK YOU.

The Passing of Another Giant

Political satirist Art Buchwald -- one of the funniest and most gifted writers this country has ever produced -- is dead. Buchwald died yesterday at the age of 81.

Buchwald had refused dialysis treatments for his failing kidneys a year ago and was expected to die within weeks of moving to a hospice on Feb. 7, where he held court as a parade of luminaries and friends came by to say farewell. But he lived to return home and even write a book about his experiences.

One of my favorite Buchwald lines, from an article about a series of prostitution raids in DC, where the brothels were calling themselves "massage parlors":

"Is there anyplace I can get a massage without getting laid?"

Rest well, old friend.

SCHTICKS OF ONE...

... A HALF-DOZEN OF THE OTHER[1]


MEMORABLE LINE OF THE DAY: “Butyl acetate is commonly used as a solvent or as a synthetic fruit flavoring.” (From an AP article about a train derailment in Kentucky)


ANOTHER MAKE-BELIEVE TEXAN:

“A burger battle is brewing between a Texas state legislator and the owner of Louis’ Lunch[2], a restaurant established in 1895, where it has been claimed the hamburger was invented.

“However, with the new session of the Texas legislature now under way, Republican State Rep. Betty Brown has proposed a resolution declaring Athens, Texas, is the original home of the hamburger.

[. . .]

“’It’s a well-known and established fact that New Haven is the home of the hamburger. In fact, New Haven’s claim to the hamburger is even supported and documented in the Library of Congress,’ [New Haven mayor John] DeStefano said.

“DeStefano notes that New Haven has been a cradle of creativity, as the birthplace of the cotton gin, the first rubber tires, the corkscrew, the Frisbee, lollipops, Erector Sets and pizza.[3]

“’We are even the birthplace of [george bush], who wants people to think he’s from Texas. So yes, the hamburger is as much a New Haven original as President [bush],’ DeStefano said. ‘Get over it, Texas.’” (AP article on the dispute)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU: Fire Engineering magazine is celebrating its 130th anniversary. Editor Bobby Halton on firefighters:

Firefighters do not regard themselves as heroes because they do what the business requires. They know that walking on the critical boundary of extreme fire behavior is potentially if not predictably fatal, but the rewards are so great that the men and women of the fire service risk it anyway.

Quoting another expert on firefighters:

Firefighters are going to get killed. When they join the department, they face that fact. When a man becomes a firefighter his greatest act of bravery has been accomplished. They were not thinking of getting killed when they went where death lurked. They went there to put the fire out, and got killed.
-- FDNY Fire Chief Edward F. Croker, in February, 1908, on the death of a deputy chief and four firefighters

[1] Stolen from one of Allan Sherman’s collection of pieces he didn’t feel like expanding into full-length song parodies.
[2] Located in New Haven, CT. Full disclosure statement: I have had many a fine burger at Louis’, when I lived in New Haven.
[3] New Haven was also the home of the first telephone exchange and the first telephone directory.

Mustang Bobby: Double Play!

Mustang Bobby has consecutive postings that are well worth reading: the first on Bigus Dickus and the Pentagon's "terrorist credit checks", and the second on "Spocko", a blogger who's fighting with MouseCo, ABC (as one wag put it, "Assimilated By Conservatives"), and KSFO, over the "extreme" comments by the station's neocon hosts.

In the Pentagon controversy, Bobby makes this observation:

Perhaps the most outrageous part of this maddening assault on our rights and our intelligence (pun intended) is the last one where the Vice President suggests -- hell, he proclaims -- that the opponents of the president and his divine revelations are playing into the hands of al-Qaida and other evil-doers. The truth is that it is the Bush administration who has lent encouragement to the terrorists with their weak and vacillating approach to fighting them, not to mention accomplishing their putative goal of destroying America from within by letting us do it ourselves with anti-democratic tactics like spying on our own citizens and bellicose bullying by the neocons like Dick Cheney.

Of course, the "bellicose bullying" is going to continue until (a) Cheney, bush, and company are impeached by the House, tried by the Senate, and removed from office, or (b) bush's successor is sworn in.

As for the Spocko saga, Bobby says:

Those of us who have supported Spocko, either with blog support or financial aid, know that this is just the start, and getting the attention of a major media outlet like the Times is a good step forward. Spocko also encourages bloggers to become well-informed about how they can defend themselves against the attacks of the likes of the trolls at KSFO and their minions in the legal profession. Education is the ultimate weapon and a bulging-biceps defense of bloggers' rights under the copyright law's Fair Use doctrine is part of that.

The mouth-breathin', Bible-thumpin', hooker-humpin', sister-marryin', rifle-rack-in-the-pickmup neocon wingnut idjits have gotten away with their shit -- aided and abetted by the bushtards -- for so long, they see absolutely nothing wrong with it. Civility just does not work with these morons:

KSFO’s Lee Rodgers: “Well I haven’t apologized for anything and I am not going to start with you. How the hell do you like that, creep?”

We're supposed to reach out to these oxygen thieves to promote bipartisanship? I call bullshit.

I wish I thought we would reach out to them as they "reached out" to us in 2000 and 2004... with the same vitriol and hatred, the same lack of respect, the same sarcasm and cynicism they showed us.

But we won't, and I know it.

Because WE are better than that.

Trevor Blake: bush and the Rule of Law

Trevor Blake at American Samizdat links to the george bush "60 Minutes" interview... and then makes this comment:

Very few people read American Samizdat [618 comments that more should read AmSam... daily]. But many, many people watch 60 Minutes. In no way is the fact that George Bush considers himself not subject to the Constitution of the United States a difficult to find fact. Why is it that most Americans aren't up in (metaphorical) arms that the rule of law has been suspended in their country? Where's that 'class consciousness' the left speaks of, the correcting mechanism that is activated by oppression and that causes oppressed groups to act in their own best interest, not in the interest of the rulers?

Two very good questions, indeed.

Schneier on the Automated Targeting System

I've cited Bruce Schneier a number of times in the past, but this time around, he really hits the nail on the head.

An article in the current issue of his newsletter CryptoGram -- and also appearing on his blog -- discusses the Automated Targeting System, the "terrorism score" program that was revealed in early December.

Schneier makes two crucial points:

The idea of feeding a limited set of characteristics into a computer, which then somehow divines a person's terrorist leanings, is farcical. Uncovering terrorist plots requires intelligence and investigation, not large-scale processing of everyone.

...and:

There is something un-American about a government program that uses secret criteria to collect dossiers on innocent people and shares that information with various agencies, all without any oversight. It's the sort of thing you'd expect from the former Soviet Union or East Germany or China. And it doesn't make us any safer from terrorism.

If you value your freedoms as an American you'll go read the entire article. Hell, read the entire issue. And his archives.

I can guarantee you, it will open your eyes.

On-Line Extortion E-Mail Scam

This is verbatim from the FBI website:


ONLINE EXTORTION E-Mail Scam Includes Hit-Man Threat
01/15/07
The scam e-mail, which first appeared in December, threatens to kill recipients if they do not pay the sender. It's a scam. FBI officials recommend you don't reply.

A new scam cropping up in e-mail boxes across the country is preying not on recipients’ greed or good intentions, but on their fears. The scam e-mail, which first appeared in December, threatens to kill recipients if they do not pay thousands of dollars to the sender, who purports to be a hired assassin.

About 115 complaints have been filed with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) since the scam emerged, according to special agent John Hambrick, who heads IC3. He said the extortion scam does not appear to target anyone specifically and that IC3 has not received any reports of money loss or threats carried out.

“This is a hoax, so do yourself a favor and don’t respond,” Hambrick said.

Replying to the e-mails just sends a signal to senders that they’ve reached a live account. It also escalates the intimidation, Hambrick said.

In one case, a recipient responded that he wanted to be left alone and threatened to call authorities. The scammer, who was demanding an advance payment of $20,000, e-mailed back and reiterated the threat, this time with some personal details about the recipient—his work address, marital status, and daughter’s full name. Then an ultimatum:

“TELL ME NOW ARE YOU READY TO DO WHAT I SAID OR DO YOU WANT ME TO PROCEED WITH MY JOB? ANSWER YES/NO AND DON’T ASK ANY QUESTIONS!!!”

Bill Shore, a special agent who supervises the computer crime squad in the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office, said recipients should not be overly spooked when scammers incorporate their intended victims’ personal details in their schemes.

“Personal information is widely available,” he said. “Even if a person does not use the Internet or own a computer, they could still be the victim of a computer crime such as identity theft.”

The extortion scam is a less subtle variation of some other e-mail scams designed to trick recipients into turning over money or personal information. Nigerian Letter schemes, in which recipients are offered the "opportunity" to share in a percentage of millions of dollars if they would first front some of their own money, are among the most prolific, along with phishing scams where recipients are asked in unsolicited e-mails to “update” their personal information.

The new extortion e-mails vary in style and content and generally contain misspellings and some broken English. But the underlying message appears to be the same: pay the sender or risk the alternative. A scam e-mail in December said as much:

“I have followed you closely for one week and three days now … Do not contact the police or F.B.I. or try to send a copy of this to them, because if you do I will know, and might be pushed to do what I have being (sic) paid to do.”

IC3 recently noted a new twist in the scam. Now e-mails are surfacing that claim to be from the FBI in London and inform recipients that an arrest was made in the case. The e-mail says the recipient’s information was found on the suspect and that they should reply to help further the investigation. This, too, is a scam.

The scams, agent Shore said, “are an opportunity to raise awareness about Internet fraud.” The best defense is to protect your personal information as best you can and to delete—unopened—unsolicited SPAM e-mail.

For more information on scams, visit our Common Fraud Schemes page. IC3 also has information on Internet crime schemes and prevention tips.

To report Internet crime, contact IC3 or your local FBI field office.