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Presidential Inauguration Hardware and Other Challenges
holy_calamity writes "The FBI has released images of some of the kit that will be deployed to safeguard Obama's inauguration, including mine-proof armored trucks like those used in Iraq to protect against IEDs, and a large armored chamber that any bombs will be shoved inside to be transported away and perhaps detonated inside. Interesting, even though the really good stuff is presumably being kept under wraps." Relatedly, necro81 writes "The Inauguration of Barack Obama tomorrow is expected to put considerable stress on the cellphone network around Washington, DC. The expected crowd could top two million people, and many of them are expected to call, text, tweet, photo, and blog their way through the event. In response, the major wireless carriers in the area have spent millions of dollars upgrading their local networks and will bring in extra 'cells on wheels' (COWs) and 'cells on light trucks' (COLTs). They are also requesting that attendees limit their usage during the event, and avoid bandwidth-heavy activities — like uploading photos — until afterward."
Good luck with asking people not to upload photos during the event.
Twitter's service is likely to be as screwed as the cell network with millions of people around the country tweeting about how they just saw (on TV, Internet or in person) Obama swear in, etc. Expect the service to be down most of the day imo.
He is not actually in charge until after the ceremony. I don't think he has as much say in this as you imply he does, not that I see him complaining.
There's certainly been a vast advancement in technology [especially communications] since early 2001.
So that's technology like social networking, blogging, microblogging, webcasting, etc etc.
It'll be a memorable event.
If each mistake being made is a new one, then progress is being made.
PETA knows about the abuse these will get.
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I am a programmer. I am paid to produce syntax not grammar. Deal with it.
"Coronation ceremony" covers it. I am sick to death of the fucking "Rock Star" routine, especially since everyone seems to be sucking it up. All the guy has done since his state house days is run for president. Every time a controversial vote came up, he passed unless he had a carefully-polled stance already prepared. His entire campaign was based on taking the most popular position on everything.
It will be interesting to see what he does when he actually has to make an unpopular decision.
Do you think the media would allow anything less from the one they've appointed to be the next messiah?
Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. Or in this case, meet the new puppet, same as the old puppet.
Surely there is no need for two new buzzwords. The light trucks have wheels so they are also COWs. Or do COLTs only work for OMG Pink Pony calls.
Engineering is the art of compromise.
Maybe he wants to have the government spend money to stimulate the economy. Only part of the funding is public, much is private too.
He doesn't dictate his "coronation ceremony". A lot of the money is for security purposes. Millions of people are expected to be present for it and there are a lot of fears that someone will try to kill him, which is why he got Secret Service protection incredibly early during Primary season.
But I'm going to try to use up some bandwidth anyway, you know, just to make visitors' lives a little less fun.
Oh please, this cost myth is just your average right wind Drudge myth garbage. Check this article out. They are claiming the Obama inauguration will be 160 million. Well the 2005 Bush inauguration was 157 million. Not much difference folks.
Yes! I listen to NYC Speedcore and do math at 3AM. I suggest you try it too.
Why does the FBI need an MRAP? Cough "Poser!" Cough
I just really hope he doesn't get assassinated by some wacko gunman or other conspiracy ploy. Think of the massive backlash, Los Angeles would pretty much burn to the ground with the intensity of a thousand Laker games.
Every time a controversial vote came up, he passed unless he had a carefully-polled stance already prepared. His entire campaign was based on taking the most popular position on everything.
Not true. He voted to give the telecoms retroactive immunity which everyone was against. He voted for and was a major cheerleader for the banker bailout bill. Both bills were extremely unpopular.
He has also mentioned "sacrifice" and national service over and over again, which I doubt is very popular. Biden and Obama have both said their policies are not going to be popular but we should just trust them! I seem to remember the last administration saying the same thing. Except now if you don't like their policies you'll be both unpatriotic and racist.
It always seemed like people refused to look at what Obama says rationally because they are so blindsided by hatred for Bush and the repitition of "change" and "hope."
If you have something that you dont want anyone to know, maybe you shouldnt be doing it in the first place -Eric Schmidt
So Bill Clinton was a traitor, but not the guys who outed a CIA agent? I hate to point it out but your bias is showing. How embarrassing.
We hope your rules and wisdom choke you / Now we are one in everlasting peace
One would think that a new leader in today's economy, especially one who promotes "change", would have a dozen people together and maybe the press and swear in. Instead this "politics as usual" phony spends millions of dollars with his coronation ceremony.
If you want the kind of change Obama has promised, the best way for him to make it happen is to keep the public engaged, keep them thinking about presidents and politics and policy... instead of "American Idol" and "Ow! My Balls!"
A big inauguration ceremony will keep the public and the world in tune and talking about it. Your suggestion, on the other hand would engage the public less than "Home Improvement" reruns.
Be afraid, but we are here to protect you (but only from moderately large whoopee cushions, anything else you are on your own).
They could dig up Leni Riefenstahl and have her film the inauguration and then show it all over the world in huge sports coliseums!
I wish there was some sacrifice. All I see is two trillion in bailout/stimulus pork.
Do you even lift?
These aren't the 'roids you're looking for.
You can't stop a determined assassin.
Prepare for one thing and they'll use another, and never, ever underestimate the effectiveness of someone willing to trade their own life for the life of the target.
I'm not saying this to brew fear, i'm saying this to point out there is a reasonable point at which marginal returns to extra security diminish, and a point at which flexibility (hence my example) is more important than durability.
VLC FOR MAC IS DYING! IF YOU DEVELOP, PLEASE SAVE IT!!
Oh please, that link is just your average left wing Soros funded myth garbage.
no, no, no... he said mr. bill
It's so nice that the picture inside the mobile command center has a split screen monitor with the food network, themselves, days of our lives, and The Care Bears.
How cute.
If you do what you always did, you get what you always got.
Note the Care Bears on the monitor in the mobile command center in photo 8. Gives me the chuckles. :)
Ed R.Zahurak
You know, oblivion keeps looking better every day.
no, no, no... he said mr. bill
Oh no.
<Complete your profile by adding a signature!>
Clinton got a blow job from someone who wasn't his wife, and he is a traitor, yet Bush lied to the american public about every reason for invading Iraq and he isn't?
Al queda hated saddam as much as we did, and didn't move into Iraq until after we did.
i thought once I was found, but it was only a dream.
This coronation-like ceremony is getting out of hand. A quiet ceremony in the Capitol, broadcast on TV, would be sufficient. That's what was done during WWII, when there were concerns about an attack on FDR.
This is the first time an inauguration has shut down Washington, DC for two days. All the Potomac River bridges out to the Beltway are closed Monday and Tuesday. That's well beyond the impact of previous inaugurations.
My concern is what if something bad were to happen during the inauguration, and suddenly a million people whip out their cellphones all start calling 911, their family, news organizations, and generally broadcast an emergency to the world all at the same time.
Anyone want to watch one of those expensive cell-towers on a truck burst into flames?
My concern is what if something bad were to happen during the inauguration, and suddenly a million people whip out their cellphones all start calling 911, their family, news organizations, and generally broadcast an emergency to the world all at the same time.
Anyone want to watch one of those expensive cell-towers on a truck burst into flames?
Given their decision to go with silverlight for the event, I suspect the trucks would BSOD long before that happens.
VLC FOR MAC IS DYING! IF YOU DEVELOP, PLEASE SAVE IT!!
I wish there was some sacrifice. All I see is two trillion in bailout/stimulus pork.
No, see, the average person is the one expected to make a sacrifice so that the higher-ups can continue to afford their expensive lifestyles.
The point of all this security isn't to stop a serious, well funded attempt to assasinate this man. As many people have pointed out, unless they kept the person in a bunker or in a series of undisclosed locations, a well funded team could probably harm him or her.
Except...any sane organization has nothing to gain by killing this leader. Unlike a dictator, the president can be easily replaced with someone else, and routinely is swapped out ever 4-8 years. In fact, a reasonable person would expect a backlash. The real reason the U.S. government doesn't give two shits about the Palestinians is because they kind of seem like the same kind of guys who committed the 9/11 terrorist attacks. That's backlash.
Any group that killed the American president would be crushed, and would never get anything they wanted.
However, lone nuts and other poorly equipped people get mad at the President all the time. The secret service can probably stop such morons in almost all situations.
Also, a lot of the security is reactive. Presidents who were killed in the past were usually killed by some kind of small arms attack. Hence the bulletproof limo and the ring of armed guards. If some other form of attack ever succeeded, god forbid, then security precautions might change. Such as eliminating public appearances entirely and doing everything via teleconference and holograms.
Do they really need a mobile command center? What about their static command center http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Edgar_Hoover_Building
Matt Bors has it right!
Good. Cheap. Fast. Pick Two.
You don't follow politics much do you? Clinton got impeached for perjury, not for diddling the unattractive intern.
Bush made a judgment call about what the intelligence information meant.
"So Bill Clinton was a traitor, but not the guys who outed a CIA agent? I hate to point it out but your bias is showing. How embarrassing."
You mean Richard Armitage? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Armitage_(politician)#Role_in_Plame_affair
I especially like this part:
So, the guy who actually committed the crime was given a total pass, but they convicted Libby for "obstructing" a bogus investigation?
I won't excuse all or even most of the things the administration did, but the Plame affair isn't a very sturdy stick to beat them with.
"As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly." A. Carlson
Forgive me if I'm wrong, but doesn't spending money stimulate the economy? Beyond just the government spending in the area at the time, I'm sure the influx of millions of tourists will certainly help the local economy.
Technically it wasn't perjury by a LOOOONNNNG stretching of the rules. And, anyways, what did you expect : Mr. President, did you diddle the chubby intern?
"Uhhh.....no?"
Don't waste your time. Your statements are unpopular, and as such, you won't be heard. A shame, but true.
Its because of the NRA. As of lately they have been circulating propaganda saying Obama WILL make handguns illegal. Ask anyone who is a member or reads Guns 'N Ammo. I am all for private ownership of firearms and the second amendment but the NRA is overreacting here.
Only the State obtains its revenue by coercion. - Murray Rothbard
It does in the short term, but printing money in this manner is a very slipperly slope to deep government debt and inflation.
Ok, so beat him with the lying America into war stick, or the disregarding his sole sworn duty to protect the Constitution stick.
We hope your rules and wisdom choke you / Now we are one in everlasting peace
If you want to note the impact of flat-panels. Image that command center with CRTs that size. You'd be popping tires left and right.
Shai Schticks:"You don't make peace with friends, you make peace with enemies"
Setting aside the obvious fact that the investigation was a multi-million dollar partisan witch-hunt, Clinton was in the end found to be not guilty.
We hope your rules and wisdom choke you / Now we are one in everlasting peace
welcome our new holographic overlords!
"The ability to delude yourself may be an important survival tool" - Jane Wagner -
I feel safer already!
You know that being impeached is not the same as being found guilty, right? You do realise Clinton was acquitted, right? It's like comparing two people who the public believe did something wrong: one has been ordered to stand trial, and acquitted; the other has not even been ordered to stand trial.
He voted to give the telecoms immunity because they're so far in bed with the government nobody could risk discovery - it was a done deal and he voted for appearances. Bank bailout was impossible to vote against - collapse of the entire economy was at stake. He did made some noises so he could claim he was really against it if it all went to hell.
He's a coward at heart; during the primaries he was for an immediate pullout from Iraq, now he's following Bush's schedule for withdrawing the troops because that schedule actually makes sense. The list goes on and on. The man has no spine and no clue other than what the opinion surveys tell him.
Now, I'm a pretty young whippersnapper (almost 30) but I cannot even recall reading about another presidential election that's generated this much hoopla. From the primaries, to the election, to the inauguration, it's all been full-throttle excitement. And not just from the press, but people on the street as well. Even my bigoted father and step-mother think he's just great.
Is it because:
A) He's the first halfway intelligent president our generation has seen?
B) He has the most fucking fantastic marketing department ever?
C) He's the first not-exclusively-white guy to take office?
D) The Internet is enabling average people to express their opinions and reach out to each other more easily than ever before?
E) Pretty much everyone wants Bush out of the White House, even the most right-leaning republicans?
So are we witnessing history here (and not just because of the race thing) or has there been another presidential election with this much carnival atmosphere to the whole thing? This is a serious question. Ya know, for old people. (And historians.)
No, Bush lied. To Congress. And if they ever decide to call him out on it, he would actually be guilty of perjury, and for something that ultimately got a lot of people killed.
Instead, the majority party in congress is taking the high road, something the Republican majority during Clinton's term failed to do.
In 1996, Obama said that he "supported banning the manufacture, sale and possession of handguns"
He didn't say any such thing. You are referring to a questionnaire that a staffer filled out erroneously. You could try and argue that's a lie from the Obama camp, but then why should Ron Paul get a free pass on his racist newsletters that the good doctor has disavowed as someone else's work?
The NRA is a hack organization. Gun nuts ran saying how they couldn't vote for Gore or Kerry because they supported gun control, completely ignoring the fact that Bush said he supported existing gun control laws and would re-sign the assault weapons ban. Or how Rudy Guiliani, who backed gun control more than any other candidate this cycle, spoke in front of the NRA and wasn't booed out of town.
Sure, the NRA will stick up for your right to own a gun - but actually use the "ammo box" and you're on your own. The NRA doesn't lift a finger to help those who use guns in self defense against runaway law enforcement - see Randy Weaver and Cory Maye.
You mean Richard Armitage?
Or Scooter Libby? Or Karl Rove? You know, the other guys who were leaking Plame's identity left and right, but Bush's cocksucking fanboys would have you believe it was only Armitage.
You don't follow politics much do you? Clinton got impeached for perjury, not for diddling the unattractive intern.
Wrong. He was impeached because after the Republican Congress couldn't nail him for fraud (Whitewater) or murder (Vince Foster), or a parking ticket, they settled on a manufactured perjury charge.
And Clinton didn't even lie, much less commit perjury.
What I would give to be able to mod this +1, Crotchety
The future ain't what it used to be.
Just because I've had some wool removed...
Supposedly my new leader will lead a Green revolution and we will upgrade power, etc, to save the planet. Yet 2Million (est.) people flocking to one location and belching carbon along the way (directly or indirectly) seems to be rather counter productive to the message(s) put out their by the greenies that contributed a lot of grease to get this ball rolling...
I wonder for the record if anyone will state how much estimated carbon was used to gather... how much to protect those gathered, and last of all, how much trash they all leave behind.
I predict no coverage of these things other than thousands of "Ooohs and Ahhhs..." by the Genuflected masses... (And that is just the Media folks, not to mention the other people actually there to see this.)
Sure, Google searches heat tea, but wouldn't it have been better (and safer?) for everyone to stay home and watch it on TV/WEB?
Unless... Maybe the SUN and WATER vapor is the real source of 98% of all Greenhouse effects???
--- Relax, that mass muderer is just trying to reduce our carbon footprint, one fetus at a time...
Or maybe they can use the stick that is attached to the carrot that MoveOn.org is leading you with.
which one of the things he said was false, dickhead?
"Remember when the U.S. had a drug problem, and then we declared a War On Drugs, and now you can't buy drugs anymore?"
no, his statements are a weasley technciality. people who keep pointing this "clinton lied! perjury!!!!" bullshit out should have their nuts cut off.
"Remember when the U.S. had a drug problem, and then we declared a War On Drugs, and now you can't buy drugs anymore?"
I think a lot of calls of "traitor" had something to do with China, Missiles, and Money. Nothing illegal, but something that riled a few.
Well last I checked treachery is illegal. For someone to call it treachery when he did nothing illegal I would say is astoundingly ignorant, and that's only what I'd say if I'm in a remarkably generous mood.
We hope your rules and wisdom choke you / Now we are one in everlasting peace
Bush hasn't been found guilty either.
Leaving aside the fact that he probably should be. I'm not sure what of, but there has to be something on the statute books, right?
All intents and purposes. Not intensive purposes.
Attention everyone! There is a Silverlight 1.0 player available for PowerPC macs and Moonlight. Details here.
Bush hasn't been found guilty either.
But we know he's guilty. The law says X (warrantless wiretapping) and Y (torture) are crimes, and Bush has admitted to X and Y.
I'm not sure what of, but there has to be something on the statute books, right?
Yup, and it's possible that under a treaty signed by Reagan, we're even legally obligated to prosecute torturers.
Not if they can't open. There is a three block radius area closed to all traffic (IE foot & car) for three days around the convention center.
All these businesses are defaulted closed since even if they get in there is no one else going to buy anything.
That's just around the convention hall, not the entire dc, NOVA and MD area that is getting the old long and hard.
I voted for him, but I'll be glad when it's over.
"(I) have this unfortunate condition that causes me not to believe a single thing any politician says when a mic's on.
That's why this link is teh awesome.
Millions of people aren't showing up because it's a big event, it's a big event because millions of people are showing up. Freedom of Assembly, and all.
[insert owl pic here]O rly? Then pray tell why was Clinton disbarred? Oh, yeah b/c he lied under oath. Now as a good lawyer he should have found a way to avoid answer questions that weren't relevant to the case, but lying isn't one of them. So try your revisionist history somewhere else please.
I laughed at the weak who considered themselves good because they lacked claws.
I would have to agree...whats marring the inauguration is this constant venom and hatred for the previous administration. One might disagree and thats perfectly ok - but a facebook heading I saw "wish there was a statue of Bush, like there was Sadam, that we could knock down and pull through the streets". I also asked my brother-in-law what is it that you hate about Bush and where is the evidence to support your opinion...he replied "my opinion is evidence". Now there are some that can talk intelligently about what Bush has done wrong and cite evidence, but the overwhelming populace is riding on this hatred and when asked they don't seem to know why.
Oh, yeah b/c he lied under oath.
Read the link, bitch. The only way to prove he lied is to have literally read his mind.
Then pray tell why was Clinton disbarred?
Because after Whitewater didn't turn out, Vince Foster didn't turn out, and their bogus witch hunt didn't turn out, Republicans had to settle for something. Real justice would have been throwing Starr and the Republicans in Congress in jail for malicious prosecution.
So try your revisionist history somewhere else please.
That is the history. Clinton didn't lie, deal with it. In fact, if he had said he had "sexual relations" with Monica, that would have been a lie under the courts definition, as he didn't put his cock in her. Deal with it.
Finally, just to prove how full of shit Republicans were and continue to be on this issue, just look at Scooter Libby's perjury conviction next to Clinton's perjury acquittal . You had the exact same cocksucking Republicans who argued for Clinton's removal from office arguing for a pardon for Scooter Libby. Hell, Fred Thompson - who voted to convict Clinton in the Senate - gave a hilarious speech where he passionately called for the rule of law and passionately called for a pardon for Libby.
Seriously, Republican party membership should come with free visits to a proctologist, so you poor bastards can get some help pulling your heads out of your asses.
"The FBI has released images of some of the kit that will be deployed "
1. I thought everyone loved Obama?
2. Why would you release these photos? Wouldn't you want to keep the security secret?
Coder's Stone: The programming language quick ref for iPad
I think the best reform might be to integrate "Ow! My Balls!" into coverage of the workigns of the Federal government.
um under Bush we have given nearly 5 times the money to China that Clinton did.
on top of that both stimulus checks were backed not by the american government but essentially the chinese government, as the american government has no money yet spends it like a waterfall.
i thought once I was found, but it was only a dream.
WTF? Where is all this hate coming from? You're like the little kid in preschool who when asked if he wants to play with the blocks or the ball, freaks out and goes into some bizarre, deranged screaming fit about the dinosaurs and the slide and cheerios. Other than you, who brought up republicans or democratics?
I responded to a dumbass who said "clinton...blowjob...traitor" and "Bush... lied" with actual factual information. Nobody said Clinton is a traitor other than the original poster. He was however impeached for perjury. He was fined $90,000 for contempt of court. He did agree to give up his law license for five years. He did resign from the Supreme Court bar. He did pay Paula Jones $850,000.
There's been a Democratic majority in Congress for the last two years and they haven't seen fit to impeach Bush. So all the ranting about his lying, etc. is just BDS.
WTF? Where is all this hate coming from?
Once you've finished with that appointment with the proctologist, maybe you can read up on the last 10 years and see why people are tired of Republican bullshit.
with actual factual information. Nobody said Clinton is a traitor other than the original poster. He was however impeached for perjury.
No, this is factual information: he didn't lie under the courts definition. And even if he did lie, it wasn't perjury as perjury has to be relevant to the case at hand. As the judge ruled that whatever happened between Clinton and Monica was irrelevant to whatever happened between Clinton and Jones, it was completely impossible for Clinton to commit perjury over Monica. He could have said he had never seen her a day in life, and while it would have been a lie, it would not have been perjury.
He was fined $90,000 for contempt of court. He did agree to give up his law license for five years. He did resign from the Supreme Court bar. He did pay Paula Jones $850,000.
All of which he could have challenged given the facts. But he wanted to put the issue to bed, because who wants to worry about more lawsuits when you can start making $200,000 a speech?
There's been a Democratic majority in Congress for the last two years and they haven't seen fit to impeach Bush.
Their cowardice and complicity will be nice footnotes to Bush biographies in the future.
So all the ranting about his lying, etc. is just BDS.
Bush Fuctard Syndrome: the ability to pretend that the manufactured Clinton scandals were Very Serious Concerns, yet Bush admitting to violating habaes corpus and four Constitutional amendments is nothing to worry about.
That's a mirror of a website set up years ago by a lunatic named Steve Kangas, who, having traveled across the country to murder Richard Mellon Scaife, ended up killing himself in a bathroom across from Scaife's office.