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DHS to Send Widespread Alerts
MarsGov writes "The Department of Homeland Security is gearing up to be able to periodic test 'alerts' to cable television stations, satellite radio, as well as any text-capable device — PDAs, cell phones, and web sites." From the article: Some glitches remain as telephone companies and other networks grapple with potentially trying to alert all of their customers at the same time without jamming their systems, Lawson said. But the alerts could be transmitted by text messages, audio recordings, video or graphics, he said, opening the possibility of sending out additional detailed information to specific sectors, like hospitals or emergency responders."
So, if the U.S. gets invaded I'll get an SMS saying "All our base are belong to them?"
My lack of God, it's Trotsky!
As much as I think this could help in the event of disaster, I hope that some legislation is passed to limit it's use. It would be very easy to abuse it for propogand purposes.
They have to push the fear buttons before the fall election. It will make the difference between winning and losing.
Religion is the main cause of atheism.
Great, all we need now is gov't spamming of cell phones...
There was an unusual "statewide administrative alert" broadcast to the TVs at the bar during lunch yesterday, and nobody knew what in the hell it meant. So much for my theory that DHS was buying the next round.
Eloi are stupid, throw morlocks at them!
A standard message format for disaster warning would be useful when prompt response could save lives. Tornado warnings come to mind as an ideal use for this. Not everyone is watching the boob tube or listening to conventional radio these days.
"This post is an artistic work of fiction and falsehood. Only a fool would take anything posted here as fact."
The truth is that these events will continue during the 2006 elections and we should start seeing a few Orange Alerts or even a planned attack here in the next several months. No, wait, I got it. There will be an attack immediately followed by news of Osama bin Laden's death. Yeah, that will do it.
--Chag
So does this mean that when I get an SMS pushed to me by the DHS via my cell carrier that I'll get charged $0.10 for the feature, or will it be a free-of-charge alert?
If this is supposed to be a war on terror, then why is it that all they seem to be doing is looking for new ways to make people terrified?
So when you get a text, remember to duck and cover. Hiding under desks also helps.
Remember kids, with great power comes great opportunity to abuse that power
The terrorists' goal is to spread fear to help them get to their political goals. They are going to be very happy everytime this alert system is used, they're going to reach a lot more people to scare them now. And with this no need to plan expensive real terrorist acts, you just have to convince the USA intelligences services that something big is going to happen. But who is spreading the most fear? Who's political agenda is pushed by this? Who are the terrorists?
We have always been at war with Eurasia.
that wonderful color-coded scale that was touted to alert people to the current state of readiness? You do remember that chart, don't you?
Me neither.
So tell me again how sending the entire nation into a tizzy everytime bin Laden sneezes is going to be any better? Don't we have enough dumbasses living in a swamp coming on tv and telling everyone how afraid they are that their double-wide will be bombed whenever they see someone whose skin isn't white?
Do we really need this crap other than to keep people in a state of panic?
We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower
...until some guy hacks that system to send out "Test Alerts" about his large penis.
Back in the cold war they started the EBS, "Emergency Broadcast System", so if the Russians fired their nukes, you'd have a good half hour to "duck and cover" and tremble in fear before you were vaporized in an atomic holocaust.
This was more intelligently re-worked as the "EAS", or Emergency Alert System, where they actually had a real use for it: it would sound when a tornado or other dangerous weather was coming. Anyone remember the hilarious episode of WKRP where there was a tornado about to hit Cincinnatti, and the radio station only had warnings for nukes, and Les Nessman had to substutite "tornado" for "communist" (warning of the "Godless Tornados")?
WTF is this damned pork? There is already as system in place. The EAS could warn you of a terror attack just as easily as a tornado... except they can't see terrorists on radar, or 9-11 wouldn't have happened! WTF is this actually supposed to DO? I mean, besides coddle the cowardly?
Speaking of weather vs Osama, we had two tornados rip through our town this year, no loss of human life (lots of dead animals) but incredible infrastructure destruction- houses, trailers, businesses, roofs, electricity, roads. Bin Laden couldn't DREAM of making a mess anywhere near as catastrophic. I can't imagine anyone here (or moreso New Orleans where a thousand people died) being the least bit scared of terrorists.
Is anybody else sick of our incredibly cowardly government? What can we do to get these yellow bellied chickenshits to grow a spine?
SURPRISE! The DHS & NSA (& CIA, FBI, DEA) already have your phone numbers!
Read the previous Slashdot articleshttp://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/05/11/1
http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/06/20/1
http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/06/02/1
-- phone companies have been giving over records and access to logs to the NSA, if not access stream of converstion itself, and acc. to the agencies, they routinely SHARE all secret intelligence information that they can with each other-- FBI, DEA, etc. It doesn't really matter WHAT the first agency used as a justification once info is SHARED with another agency either.
InfoportFROM: DHS
SUBJECT: omgwtfbbq
BODY: big missls cmg oshit run awy now pls kthx
Slashdot Burying Stories About Slashdot Media Owned
I've long wondered how many amber alerts are not for missing children. Train everyone to go "omg think of the children", and you can use it to find political dissidents at the drop of a hat.
It reminds me of a scene, I think from 1984, "Attention all citizens, there is a criminal running through the streets..."
Maybe this has happened; maybe it will happen; maybe it's just the muscle relaxants talking.
This is exactly the type of information broadcasting was intended for now we're going to try to distribute it on systems that are intended to reach single devices? WTF?!
They would be better off requiring all computers and phones to have a built in emergency broadcast radio receiver permanently fixed on the channel and on at all times. At least then they won't bog down general bandwidth.
You are checking your backups, aren't you?
Hopefully it will be an extension of the current Emergency Broadcast System - you know, the one that makes annoying noises on your TV you get your attention. I've only ever seen that used for occasional tests, and for weather storm warnings. EBS doesn't seem politicized to me. In fact, I think having an established way to notify "everybody" of something is a very reasonable idea. (Though I doubt it will be useful for terrorism, which typically strikes with even less warning than an ICBM.)
When Hurricane FEMA^H^H^H^HRita was due to hit the Texas coast, I received 3-4 phone calls in a 15-minute span telling me to leave. Forced evacuations mean the gov't won't allow individuals to plan for themselves. I've lived within 15 miles of the Gulf since 1967, and have never needed to leave for any hurricane. I could tell that Rita was going to weaken, from experience. Hurricanes that start up quickly in the Gulf also weaken quickly as they approach Houston.
I spent 5 days on the road for no good f******* reason.
That's abuse of power.
Pavlov wouldn't be so famous if he'd used a can opener instead of a bell.
I don't know about you, but this system actually has some appeal to me.
I wouldn't want to be receiving messages everytime Osama Bin Laden sneezes, or some vague insubstantial threat warning is released, but some type of good, reliable system for distributing information when there is a clear and present danger would be immensely helpful to our country.
An effective information distribution system would have done wonders for getting people out of New Orleans ahead of time, rather than at the very last minute.
Likewise, if such a system were activated during the big NYC blackout a few years ago, it would done a lot to let people know that there was no sort of terrorist attack or other emergency.
As long as such a system is kept under tight control to only be used in *extreme* emergencies, I have no problem with it, although I do agree that such a system could very easily be used for propoganda purposes...
-- If you try to fail and succeed, which have you done? - Uli's moose
I'm imagining that it's more like a "send to any phone listening in this region" kind of deal. They don't care what phone numebr you have, as long as it is communicating in a tower in a region they'd like to send a message to.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
reverse 911
That would be totally freaky. Skyscrapes being built all by themselves, followed by people madly jumping hundreds of feet off the ground in order to get to work. I'd run the fuck away from anything that scary.
Sounds like NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards Established infrastructure, works, and isn't that expensive for the end user. But that is the rub -- people have to buy a compatible radio. If there were any kind of demand, that could be cheaply added to clock radios, TVs, etc.
(Simultaneously received on my cell phone, my Blackberry, and my in-box)
Hello, esteemed Sir. I am Nageeb Prahook, with the Departmint of Honeland Security. We wounder if you would help us. We have $25 million in loose cash we do not know what to do with. If you could email me your bank account number, I will deposit most of it with you. Only you must send me by Western Union wire transfer a good faith payment to show you are sincere. I await your assistance. This is an official message, we did not hack into anyone's computers to send this.
Bah. Nobody in emergency comms relies on cell phones anyway.
/Emergency Coordinatory, Amateur Radio Emergency Service, Okaloosa County, FL
//73 from KI4IIB
Except the Red Cross. But that's another story.
'If you're flammable and have legs, you are never blocking a fire exit.'