Nuclear Attacks May Be More Likely In Coming Years and How To Survive One

The North Koreans have stated they are going to re-establish their nuclear capabilities. The Iranians are actively seeking nuclear material and believed to be seeking nuclear weapons. The Pakistanis already have what is believed to be 120-200 nuclear war heads.

In addition Pakistan has allegedly started making more weapons, though they publicly deny it, they also have the worst history as far as spreading nuclear knowledge and have assisted in nuclear proliferation in the past. Worse still Pakistan is being over-run by radical fundamentalists that would like nothing more than to destroy the United States and its allies.

Reportedly, though unconfirmed some of these radicals in Pakistan may already be in control of some of the nuclear sites within the country.

The likely hood of a nuclear attack inside the United States is increasing day by day, and I am not just talking about dirty bombs, but actual nuclear weapons.

Whether it is from a small suitcase type weapon, small nuclear device or bomb inside a truck, a missile launched from a ship close to our shore or even an ICBM launched by another state or group the threat is real.

Though I hope and pray I am incorrect this could happen in a time frame sooner than you may think, even in the next 3 to 10 years. In truth it may even happen tomorrow since I can't say when for certain, but you must know that the capability for it happening upon us.

The Missile Defense Program, which has seen much success has also taken a hit further reducing our capabilities to respond to several types of these attacks.

In addition we are completely unprepared right now for such an attack. Both from a national security stand point and in our private sector.

Think about it. If such an attack were to occur right now. Today. Would you even know what to do to survive? Most people do not know what to do.

Though there are a number of things you can do to prepare for such an attack, one thing is learning what you can do to better your chances for survival.

Below is a video from TED presented by Irwin Redlener on Surviving a Nuclear Attack. It is an excellent resource and a great place to start in learning what you can do to survive.

Hope you enjoy it.

Taliban May Already Hold Some Key Nuke Sites In Pakistan

According to a news story in the Times of India, the Taliban, Al-Qeada partnership and possibly other radical factions may already be in control of some of Pakistan's Nuclear sites.

The Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has allegedly told told the Obama administration the names of the sites in question and also warned the administration that "Pakistan is lost".

We have written several posts on the situation in Pakistan that you can view here:

Pakistan Near Collapse, Nukes Will Fall Into Terrorists Hands

Taliban Make Comeback Inside Pakistan, Shari'a Law Imposed

Taliban 60 Miles From Pakistan Capital, Collapse of Country May Be Imminent

The paper also reported and highlighted the disappointment of US experts at the administration and failure to take the threat seriously.

US experts have been greatly perturbed in recent days about what they say is Washington's misplaced confidence in, and lackadaisical approach towards, Pakistan's nuclear assets. The disquiet comes amid reports that Pakistan is ramping up its nuclear arsenal even as the rest of the world is scaling it down.

"It is quite disturbing that the administration is allowing Pakistan to quantitatively and qualitatively step up production of fissile material without as much as a public reproach," Robert Windrem, a visiting scholar with the Center for Law and Security in New York University and an expert on South Asia nuclear issues told ToI in an interview on Thursday. "Iraq and Iran did not get a similar concessions... and Pakistan has a much worse record of proliferation and security breaches than any other country in the world."

Lessons From The 1918 Pandemic and Emerging Pandemic Threats

In light of the current pandemic of H1N1 (Swine Flu) and the spread of H5N1 (Avian Flu, or Bird Flu) I thought posting this video from TED on a presentation from Laurie Garrett on lessons from the 1918 flu.

The Video is actually from around April 2007 before the current out-break of H1N1 but can shed some light on a number of things and is worth taking the time to view.

This video highlights the main preparedness issues around pandemics and is more relevant today than it was when Laurie Garrett gave the presentation at TED in 2007.

Swine Flu (H1N1) Spreading Across Globe, Time for Business Planning Running Out

As Swine Flu continues to spread at a rapid pace, the window of opportunity for preparedness is closing fast as well.

Initially I was putting out preparedness information through my business/blog newsletter, however the situation has evolved rapidly enough that I thought it best to post some important information directly here on my blog.

First and foremost, if you run a business REVIEW or quickly develop a pandemic plan now, before it gets too late.

With that said, don’t panic, remain calm. There is no reason at this moment to not send your kids to school or stay home if you are not having symptoms. You can also not get the Swine Flu from eating pork.

Currently and for the first time, the WHO has increased its phase level of pandemic alert and changed the definitions of the phases; it is currently at Phase 4.

You can read more about the WHO Pandemic Phases on the WHO website, but here is the current definition of Phase 4:

Phase 4 is characterized by verified human-to-human transmission of an animal or human-animal influenza reassortant virus able to cause “community-level outbreaks.” The ability to cause sustained disease outbreaks in a community marks a significant upwards shift in the risk for a pandemic. Any country that suspects or has verified such an event should urgently consult with WHO so that the situation can be jointly assessed and a decision made by the affected country if implementation of a rapid pandemic containment operation is warranted. Phase 4 indicates a significant increase in risk of a pandemic but does not necessarily mean that a pandemic is a forgone conclusion.

Breakdown of the new WHO definitions:

• Phase 1: No viruses circulating in animals that cause infections in humans
• Phase 2: Animal virus is circulating that is known to cause human infection
• Phase 3: Animal or human-animal reassortment virus causes sporadic cases or small clusters of disease in people but not sustained community level outbreaks
• Phase 4: Verified human-to-human transmission of a virus that is able to cause community level outbreaks and marks a significant upward shift in the risk for a pandemic
• Phase 5: Human-to-human spread of virus into at least two countries in one WHO region. This is a strong signal that a pandemic is imminent
• Phase 6: Pandemic phase
• Post-peak: Pandemic disease levels in most countries with adequate surveillance have dropped below peak levels
• Post-pandemic: Influenza disease activities has returned to levels normally associated with seasonal influenza

The current situation is extremely fluid and as of this posting a total of 64 cases have been confirmed inside the United States. I will not focus on cases outside the United States at this time, however you can find updates to this information by going to the CDC Swine Flu web page, it is currently updated once per day.

Recommendations:

• Communicate to your employees; review your plan with them.
• Consider sending out daily reminders, about proper hand washing, and proper sneezing and coughing techniques.
• Consider eliminating ALL business related travel to Mexico; utilize telecommunications, virtual meetings for business.
• If you considered implementing the prophylactic use of anti-virals, now is the time to review your plan. If you are considering them as an option, now is the time to sign up.
• Now is the time to consider telecommuting options for employees who can work from home, and getting them trained. Don’t wait allow them time to adjust so they will be ready if it becomes a must.
• Consider options for what telecommuting employees will do if working remotely fails. Many businesses are planning the same options. Reduced internet performance and even outages will be likely.
• Consider what to do if employees refuse to come in to work (from panic)
• Consider how to handle employees who may appear to be ill, but come to work anyway.

There will be many other options to consider.

Act now before it is too late.

If you need help planning for your business, have questions or concerns you can send me an email through my contact us page.

Or you can always call me directly on my business phone at:

877-565-TECH (8324)

URGENT UPDATE: CDC Says Too Late To Contain Swine Flu

URGENT UPDATE: CDC saying it is too late to contain the outbreak of Swine Flu H1N1

The information is coming in fast I was the total reported cases in MEXICO is now over 1000

The cases in U.S. is around 9, CA (7) TX (2)

For more information see the CDC Swine Flu page

THIS IS AN UPDATE TO THIS POST:

Mexican Swine Flu Epidemic Sparks Concerns In United States and Canada