"Beats me!" Topic

Seen on X:

If we assume that some of the unusual events of the last few days are related:

1. China naval drill off Taiwan;
2. Iranian spy roundup in the UK;
3. Uptick in hacking of European targets, esp France;
4. Sinking of Russian warship in the Gulf of Finland;
5. Evacuation of US bases in the UK;
6. FAA nationwide grounding order;
7. Revelation of NVIDIA spying;
8. Microsoft outage

then we are possibly witnessing the results of unsustainable complexity or a grim clandestine fencing match that is being played down by officialdom. The challenge for the analyst is never to get ahead of the data, but not to fall behind it either.

I think this is showing us the future. This could be the new combat.

Let's not forget the sudden death(s) of top Russian generals.
I'll wager it's happening there too.

Let's not forget the sudden death(s) of top Russian generals.

Did someone leave the windows open again?

Guys you don't have half of it.

Europe has experienced a coordinated wave of mass email bomb hoaxes and cyberattacks targeting schools, aviation, broadcasters, and retail infrastructure. While authorities confirmed the bomb threats were false alarms with no explosives found, the incidents triggered widespread evacuations and operational disruptions across multiple countries.

Mass School Bomb Hoaxes

• Italy. On Wednesday, November 11, approximately 6,300 state schools received an emailed bomb threat, prompting precautionary evacuations at more than 300 buildings. A second wave of similar messages hit 3,778 schools on Thursday, November 12, though Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni advised against evacuations without concrete evidence, limiting Thursday's closures to 77 schools.
• United Kingdom and Ireland. Hundreds of schools across Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland received matching threatening emails on Wednesday. Police quickly assessed the messages as hoaxes, avoiding widespread disruptions.

Transport and Media Disruptions

• Rail and Aviation. A bomb alert at a rail station in Calais, northern France, delayed national and international train services on Thursday morning. These alerts follow a multi-week campaign targeting commercial flights and airports across Europe, including routes linked to Lisbon, Rome, Prague, and Sofia.
• Broadcasters. Newsrooms in Ireland and the UK—including Irish broadcaster RTÉ, NewsTalkFM, TodayFM, and Britain's Sky—also faced bomb threats that disrupted broadcasting operations.

Cyberattacks on Retail and Infrastructure

• Supermarket Refrigeration Systems. Preceding this week's school threats, cyberattacks struck industrial control systems and refrigeration units at over 100 supermarkets across at least nine European countries (including Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Ireland, and Sweden).
• French Retail Sites. Over 700 retail sites in France were hit by cyberattacks, which French authorities attributed to Iranian hackers.

I posted about the supermarket refrigeration hacks around Halloween and warned it was minor compared to what is and can be done.

The bomb threats have been happening since at least the end of October.

Interested to see what the final cause of the collision of the riverboat and tanker yesterday. Pilot error, intentional or hack of systems.

FAA grounds all flights at U.S. airports due to air traffic control communications problems

link

Armand

Yes doc mentioned that as one item.

The system is antiquated and has been complained about for over 44 years now. They keep trying to get Congress to allocate 50 billion to revamp in total, but has not happened fully. Some fixes are being done with amounts allocated.

• 1982 to Present (over 44 years): The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) released its first comprehensive plan to reform and modernize the U.S. air traffic control (ATC) system in 1982, and government watchdogs and officials have noted persistent delays, cost overruns, and aging infrastructure ever since.

• Funding Actions: Congress has not completely ignored funding, though critics and administration officials argue it has fallen far short of what is needed. For instance, Congress previously allocated billions—including $9 USD billion for initial phases and a reported $12.5 USD billion more recently for aviation infrastructure and ATC upgrades. However, officials like U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy have stated that tens of billions more (such as an additional $30 USD billion requested) are required to fully replace legacy analog circuits, floppy disks, copper wires, and outdated voice switches.

Wow! "I know I am paranoid," said the king, "but am I paranoid ENOUGH?"