Originally published October 20 2014
$25 billion hedge fund manager warns of catastrophic risk of EMP attack
by J. D. Heyes
(NaturalNews) The billionaire CEO and founder of Elliott Management hedge fund, Paul Singer, who manages $25 billion worth of client funds, is quite the prophet.
In 37 years, his fund has only had two down years. Indeed, on average, his fund has an annual return of 14 percent, and that compares very favorably to the 10.8 percent for the S&P 500 as a whole.
One of Singer's more recent claims to fame was his public warning about the housing crash and subsequent global economic and financial crisis; he warned of this as early as 2006. The following year, he met with finance ministers of the G7 nations to warn them of the coming economic tsunami, but his warnings fell on deaf ears.
As further reported by BioPrepper.com:
Clearly he knows a thing or two about managing and protecting assets, and about accurately predicting future risks, and people everywhere would be well advised to listen to his advice.
'Unimaginable consequences'
And just recently, Singer wrote in his standard investment update letter that he sends to clients: "There is one risk that is head-and-shoulders above all the rest in terms of the scope of potential damage adjusted for the likelihood of occurrence."
What is that risk? A man-caused electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack would be worse for the U.S. and the world than nuclear war, a solar storm or even an asteroid strike:
It would not cause any blast or radiation damage, but such an attack would have consequences even more catastrophic than a severe solar storm. It could not only bring down the grid, but also lay down a very intense, very fast pulse across the continent, damaging or destroying electronic switches, devices, computers and transformers across America.
In addition, according to CNBC, Singer wrote, "(A natural EMP event) today would cause a massive disruption to the electric grid, possibly shutting it down entirely for months or longer, with unimaginable consequences.
"Only two years ago, the sun let loose with a Carrington-magnitude burst, but the position of the earth at the time prevented the burst from hitting it. The chances of additional events of such magnitude may be far greater than most people think," he said.
'Congress is aware of the threat'
Singer also called for a politically bipartisan effort to make America and the world better-protected from EMP risks. He says it is important to begin stockpiling spare parts to repair or replace key components of the nation's electrical grid, as well as other essential elements of society in the Digital Age (such as transportation, finance and logistics grids). Singer also said the federal government and private industry should begin to develop coordinated emergency plans for how to deal with and respond to such events.
"Why are we writing about this topic? Because in any analysis of societal risk, EMP stands all by itself. Congressional committees are studying this problem, and federal legislation is laboriously working its way through the process," said Singer. "We think that raising people's consciousness about what should be a bipartisan push to make the country (and the world) safer from this kind of event is a good thing to do."
CNBC reported that Congress was aware of the threat and has recently held hearings on the subject.
"The consequences of such an attack could be catastrophic; all electronics, power systems, and information systems could be shut down," Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., said in prepared remarks during a May hearing by the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security. "This could then cascade into interdependent infrastructures such as water, gas, and telecommunications. While we understand this is an extreme case, we must always be prepared in case a rogue state decides to utilize this technology."
Sources:
http://www.bioprepper.com
http://www.cnbc.com
http://www.naturalnews.com
All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. Truth Publishing LLC takes sole responsibility for all content. Truth Publishing sells no hard products and earns no money from the recommendation of products. NaturalNews.com is presented for educational and commentary purposes only and should not be construed as professional advice from any licensed practitioner. Truth Publishing assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. For the full terms of usage of this material, visit www.NaturalNews.com/terms.shtml