Criminal attack (was Vandalism) Knocks out power to 40,000 in North Carolina; Jan 6 Protestor claims God was chastising county for drag show

[essentialsaltes]

[Sheriff] Fields said investigators “have not been able to tie anything back to the drag show,” which was scheduled in the town of Southern Pines at 7 p.m. Saturday, around the time the power went out.

The head of the LGBTQ+ group that helped organize the drag show said Monday she was unaware of any threats to the event before the attacks. Lauren Mathers, the executive director of Sandhills PRIDE, told CNN they received a lot of “hateful comments” on social media, but nothing that could be considered a threat.

 

[Pommer]

“Then regular people will hate the gays again! We’re saving society!”—on an NSA server, probably.

 

[Nithavela]

No, specifics. Better security? How? Redundancies? What sort?

I don't think I'm qualified to lay out the specifics of a resilient electrical infrastructure. Nor do I think is that required of me.

 

[Tuur]

don't think I'm qualified to lay out the specifics of a resilient electrical infrastructure. Nor do I think is that required of me.

Required? No, not at all. Yet to say the US needs to do "something" implies a specific "something" that the US isn't doing. I'm amazed at two specifics:

1. I know of another utility that has portable substations. Duke has none?
2. I know of substation transformers changed out in less that 24 hours, including bringing in the crane. Duke can't do that?

Those are my specific "somethings."

 

[Tuur]

I was going to say. I can't imagine a MORE clearcut case of domestic terrorism. I wonder if people who agree with her about divine punishment for a dragshow will ALSO consider it domestic terrorism.

Acts of God are one thing; acts of idiots are quite another.

 

[Tuur]

In Ukraine, they have cruise missiles flying at their power infrastructure every couple of days, and usually they have most things running within 24 hours. And the US can't deal with a couple of bullet holes?

I don't know if the Ukrainians have.

 

[JosephZ]

1. I know of another utility that has portable substations. Duke has none?
2. I know of substation transformers changed out in less that 24 hours, including bringing in the crane. Duke can't do that?

"Somebody with a high-powered rifle puts a bullet through the case of a transformer and once it goes into the case of the transformer it hits the coils of the transformer, shorts it out, and it's gone; That that device is no longer operable," said Wellinghoff. "It can't be fixed, it needs to be replaced. It cannot be repaired."

"A lot of these transformers also are sort of one-offs. It's not like you can cookie-cutter replace them with another one from some other utility in the next county or the next state," said Wellinghoff. "They have to be made sort of custom for the particular substation that they're in. So if they don't have spares for that particular substation, it could take a considerable amount of time."

Search warrants issued, FBI applies to retrieve cell phone records in search of power grid attack suspects

The country was warned about terror attacks that could target U.S. infrastructure and certain groups days before shootings that knocked out Moore County's power grid, leaving tens of thousands without heat or electricity.

www.wral.com

Following the Metcalf sniper attack on a substation in 2013, it took over three weeks to make repairs and bring the substation back online. If Duke Energy is able to get the substations that were attacked over the weekend back online by Thursday, that will be a commendable achievement.

 

[Nithavela]

"Somebody with a high-powered rifle puts a bullet through the case of a transformer and once it goes into the case of the transformer it hits the coils of the transformer, shorts it out, and it's gone; That that device is no longer operable," said Wellinghoff. "It can't be fixed, it needs to be replaced. It cannot be repaired."

"A lot of these transformers also are sort of one-offs. It's not like you can cookie-cutter replace them with another one from some other utility in the next county or the next state," said Wellinghoff. "They have to be made sort of custom for the particular substation that they're in. So if they don't have spares for that particular substation, it could take a considerable amount of time."

Search warrants issued, FBI applies to retrieve cell phone records in search of power grid attack suspects

The country was warned about terror attacks that could target U.S. infrastructure and certain groups days before shootings that knocked out Moore County's power grid, leaving tens of thousands without heat or electricity.

www.wral.com

Following the Metcalf sniper attack on a substation in 2013, it took over three weeks to make repairs and bring the substation back online. If Duke Energy is able to get the substations that were attacked over the weekend back online by Thursday, that will be a commendable achievement.

Sounds like the obvious solution is to make transformers bulletproof.

That should go for everything in the USA, really. I wouldn't want to live in a home in the USA where a stray bullet could kill me after going through the wall.

 

[Desk trauma]

Sounds like the obvious solution is to make transformers bulletproof.

Don’t be silly. It needs automated turrets to return fire.

 

[Nithavela]

Don’t be silly. It needs automated turrets to return fire.

What good is an active defense if the transformers go out and the turrets aren't powered? Or are you suggesting that the automated turrets run with a diesel generator?

Of course you still need an active defense, or a passive defense would only postpone the attacker and make them waste more ammunition that could be shot at people instead of infrastructure.

 

[Occams Barber]

Sounds like the obvious solution is to make transformers bulletproof.

That should go for everything in the USA, really. I wouldn't want to live in a home in the USA where a stray bullet could kill me after going through the wall.

You should probably start by bullet proofing the kids...

What size body armor should you buy for my kids?​

If you're looking for a soft body armor vest for your child (which is rated to stop bullets from a handgun) you are most likely going to need to purchase an Extra Small or Small vest.​

​

If you are looking for protection against rifle rounds such as .223 or 5.56 you are going to need to upgrade to hard body armor plates. These plates are generally thicker, heavier, and as their name suggests, harder than soft armor panels and vests. Children and smaller framed adults will generally need 8"x10" plates. ​

​

Be advised that hard armor plates will require the purchase of a plate carrier which allows the plates to be worn front and back. When purchasing a plate carrier, be sure to confirm that the carrier is designed to carry 8"x10" plates. ​

Bulletproof Vest For Kids - Here's What You Need To Know

With everything going on in our world today, it comes as no surprise that we are fielding more and more inquiries from parents looking for body armor for their children. It's truly sad to think that of all the things parents have to worry about today, buying their child a bulletproof vest is now...

www.221btactical.com

OB

 

[Aldebaran]

Don’t be silly. It needs automated turrets to return fire.

Equipped with solar powered backup power of course, to save the planet.

 

[Nithavela]

You should probably start by bullet proofing the kids...

What size body armor should you buy for my kids?​

If you're looking for a soft body armor vest for your child (which is rated to stop bullets from a handgun) you are most likely going to need to purchase an Extra Small or Small vest.​

​

If you are looking for protection against rifle rounds such as .223 or 5.56 you are going to need to upgrade to hard body armor plates. These plates are generally thicker, heavier, and as their name suggests, harder than soft armor panels and vests. Children and smaller framed adults will generally need 8"x10" plates. ​

​

Be advised that hard armor plates will require the purchase of a plate carrier which allows the plates to be worn front and back. When purchasing a plate carrier, be sure to confirm that the carrier is designed to carry 8"x10" plates. ​

Bulletproof Vest For Kids - Here's What You Need To Know

With everything going on in our world today, it comes as no surprise that we are fielding more and more inquiries from parents looking for body armor for their children. It's truly sad to think that of all the things parents have to worry about today, buying their child a bulletproof vest is now...

www.221btactical.com

OB

I think that the sensible design choice would be small pockets of artificial blood in front of the plates or amor resistant fabric. That way, the children look like they bleed out and become less interesting for a school shooter who is going for a high kill count.

Maybe also go for a shock pad that delivers a non-lethal but incapacitating jolt of electricity. You can't expect children to convincingly play possum when surrounded by their dead and dying classmates, at least before high school.

 

[Occams Barber]

I think that the sensible design choice would be small pockets of artificial blood in front of the plates or amor resistant fabric. That way, the children look like they bleed out and become less interesting for a school shooter who is going for a high kill count.

Maybe also go for a shock pad that delivers a non-lethal but incapacitating jolt of electricity. You can't expect children to convincingly play possum when surrounded by their dead and dying classmates, at least before high school.

That makes a lot of sense.

OB

 

[essentialsaltes]

At Sunday's news conference, [Sheriff] Fields said: "We had to go and interview this young lady and have a word of prayer with her and so, but it turned out to be nothing."

Asked how deputies had determined Rainey's posts were false, Fields said it was due to "good law enforcement," without elaborating.

[Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields and Emily Grace Rainey at a Back the Red White & Blue event in Southern Pines on Oct. 17, 2020.]

 

[Don't Panic]

Sounds like the obvious solution is to make transformers bulletproof.

That should go for everything in the USA, really. I wouldn't want to live in a home in the USA where a stray bullet could kill me after going through the wall.

Or we could work on our gun problem. Nah

 

[Tuur]

"Somebody with a high-powered rifle puts a bullet through the case of a transformer and once it goes into the case of the transformer it hits the coils of the transformer, shorts it out, and it's gone; That that device is no longer operable," said Wellinghoff. "It can't be fixed, it needs to be replaced. It cannot be repaired."

"A lot of these transformers also are sort of one-offs. It's not like you can cookie-cutter replace them with another one from some other utility in the next county or the next state," said Wellinghoff. "They have to be made sort of custom for the particular substation that they're in. So if they don't have spares for that particular substation, it could take a considerable amount of time."

Search warrants issued, FBI applies to retrieve cell phone records in search of power grid attack suspects

The country was warned about terror attacks that could target U.S. infrastructure and certain groups days before shootings that knocked out Moore County's power grid, leaving tens of thousands without heat or electricity.

www.wral.com

Following the Metcalf sniper attack on a substation in 2013, it took over three weeks to make repairs and bring the substation back online. If Duke Energy is able to get the substations that were attacked over the weekend back online by Thursday, that will be a commendable achievement.

I know of a utility that maintains an equipment yard the size of some small towns. Have circled it before on company business. So when the town I mentioned had a transformer go bad, they loaded a replacement on a flatbed and headed to the substation.

It the other instance, the bad transformer happened during an ongoing natural disaster, and the utility connected circuits to a different substations. That's not always possible, but they were able to do it for that one while a portable substation headed their ways. These are basically transformers permanently mounted on a flatbed ready to be connected. That was put into place before a replacement headed to the site, and it took the pressure off. I don't remember when the replacement arrived.

The key thing in both instances is that these utilities had spares. If they didn't have spares, they would have been left trying to scrounge one. That portable substation was handy, too, and was used when changing out transformers as part of normal upgrades as well as for emergencies. This old man is wondering why Duke doesn't have something similar.

 

[Tuur]

Sounds like the obvious solution is to make transformers bulletproof.

Transformers are already in metal shells, and the big transformers weigh into the tons. Use tonnes if you like. Transformers tend to get hot and need cooling, and that's a factor in their design as well.

 

[JosephZ]

That portable substation was handy, too, and was used when changing out transformers as part of normal upgrades as well as for emergencies. This old man is wondering why Duke doesn't have something similar.

They do.

 

[ThatRobGuy]

Perhaps I'm the wrong person to speak on this being an atheist...

But why is it that people insist on claiming that anything bad that happens in a place where something happened that they don't like is an "act of God"?

I remember some televangelists, and their followers, attributing hurricanes (the ones hitting the areas hurricanes have always frequently hit) as "God's punishment for people accepting homosexuality"


I get it, there's plenty to be "not to thrilled about" with regards to drag shows catered to children, but they're going on all over the place, so to find one example of an infrastructure issue happening in one of the many cities where these things go on, and claiming "see, that's proof God is angry and doesn't like it!" seems silly.


Makes about as much sense as:
"Hey, you see! Minnesota legalized certain forms of pot and we had a snow storm, that's proof God is angry with those hippies legalizing weed!"