If the entire internet went down, who would benefit?

[babylonsister]

My husband just thought out loud and claimed this could be a tactic that could paralyze the US, and he theoretically attributed it to the evil forces of insurgents. Is it beneath the BFEE to do this, or would it not be in their best interests moneywise? They're in a free fall as it is, so what would their stakes be?

[proud patriot]

1. I don't think anyone would benefit

:think:

[Johnywolf]

2. Noone!

scumbags like terrorists also use the net!

[NAO]

3. The super-wealthy use the Internet to suck money away from working

people. It will not be allowed to go down, no matter what. The REAL "National Defense Strategy of the United States" is to keep the world safe and smooth for Capitalism.

A cursory look at the economic, diplomatic, and violent military interventions in the last 100 years makes that more than evident.

The Internet will be kept going for the benefit of the wealthy, even if it occasionally makes politicians look bad and helps get the truth out there.

[babylonsister]

5. Well, your answer makes me feel some relief.

Standard ops, in other words. But the truth getting out there comforts me.

[realFedUp]

4. how would Echelon track us anymore....

:shrug:

[babylonsister]

12. I give; who's Echelon? nt

[realFedUp]

20. What's Echelon....

Echelon is perhaps the most powerful intelligence gathering organization in the world. Several credible reports suggest that this global electronic communications surveillance system presents an extreme threat to the privacy of people all over the world. According to these reports, ECHELON attempts to capture staggering volumes of satellite, microwave, cellular and fiber-optic traffic, including communications to and from North America. This vast quantity of voice and data communications are then processed through sophisticated filtering technologies.

This massive surveillance system apparently operates with little oversight. Moreover, the agencies that purportedly run ECHELON have provided few details as to the legal guidelines for the project. Because of this, there is no way of knowing if ECHELON is being used illegally to spy on private citizens.

http://www.echelonwatch.org/

[napi21]

6. If anyone was capable of doing that, it sure would cripple the US!

Many, many businesses depend on the internet for all of their business, and the rest of us depend on it for almost everything else. I wouldn't expect ShrubCo to do anything like that because it would hurt too many of THEM, but if a terrorisr group could figure out as way to accomplish something that creative, they sure would shut down the country in one fell swoop!

Fortunately, I don't think that's a likely scenario.

[babylonsister]

11. 9/11 couldn't happen either, til it did. Just a thought.

This is a scary premise which I hope can't be done.

[dmr]

19. Banks are dependent on the internet

to process all our checks.

Remember the banking change called 'Check 21'? Where we can no longer float a check?

Instead of physically moving from bank to bank, a processed check will fly through cyberspace and clear within 24 hours
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/10/22/eveningnews/consumer/main650977.shtml

[Sick_of_Rethuggery]

7. Ever since moveon and the lefty blogs have gained

enormous memberships, I have been fearing this -- it would clearly be a benefit to the wing-nuts, since they have all the other media exclusively under their control...:grr:

[welshTerrier2]

8. pharmaceutical companies and psychiatrists

many would suffer severe emotional distress and would turn to little pills in little bottles (or some other medicinal pursuit) or their local shrinks ...

[babylonsister]

15. Sadly, soldiers with PTSD will suffer and need

drugs, as will anyone who is injured but makes it out alive.
This bogus war has got to go!

[stillcool]

9. I'm still reading....

'Crossing the Rubicon', and that Promis software thing just gives me the willies. If they could somehow infect just personal computers...they could take out the populace's access but leave major industries un=affected that would work... and to replace our computers they'd charge up the ying-yang and you would have to register it with the Homeland Security Dept.

[babylonsister]

14. Oh, please, tell us more. Seriously, stillcool47!

I haven't read these books, I'm on my way to bed, but I do check in! What more are we missing?

[Yupster]

10. local strip clubs

they'd do more business.

[autorank]

13. I was going to say "nobody" but your right, them and obstetricians...

9 months later:rofl:

[eridani]

16. The way businesses operate these days--

--makes them very dependent on the net's existence. If they try to take us down, they'll take themselves down too.

[Frederik]

17. First of all, it's impossible

so it's a rather hypothetical problem to worry about.

[CJCRANE]

18. Exactly -

the internet was originally designed as a decentralized communications system that could survive a nuclear war, so it's probably gonna be around for a while.

[mtnsnake]

21. In one way I think it would benefit us.

If the internet were to go down, we'd be forced into taking our protests to the streets, carrying signs for stopping the war and for impeaching the Chimp. Much more attention about Bush's atrocities would be seen, and public outcry would be on the increase. With the way things are now, it's sometimes too easy to sit in our chairs protesting among each other.