Slashdot Mirror
FEMA, FCC Hope To Forestall Panic Over National Emergency Alert
Ars Technica has a piece on the "first-ever nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS)," slated for this Wednesday at 2 p.m. EST. An excerpt:
"This national system will look and sound much like the current (and local) emergency warnings often seen on TV or heard on radio, but the scope is larger and it can be put under the direct control of the President. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and the National Weather Service (NWS) will all coordinate the test, but it's FEMA that actually transmits the alert code. Concerned that such a test might alarm people, the agencies are going to extraordinary lengths to provide a heads-up. I first heard about the test in an e-mail newsletter from my city government, which told residents last week, 'Do not be alarmed when an emergency message will take over the airways... this is only a test.' The test will display a warning message on TV screens, though as my city helpfully noted, 'Due to some technical limitations, a visual message indicating that "this is a test" may not pop up on every TV channel, especially where people use cable to receive their television stations.'"
This will be the typical gubmint clusterfuck.
Hmmm... maybe the first Deus Ex was right.... FEMA was just the first layer of that conspiracy... now they're taking over the airwaves. :-)
I mean I would if they didn't decide to switch to all digital which for some reason doesn't seem to get to my tv since there are no tv stations close enough to get solid signal... Perhaps my weather radio will go off?
This is the Internet age. I have no TV or Radio service. How would I be alerted? Will they splash up an ad online Slashdot, that happens to bypass adblockers?
perfect time for my invasion fleet to make their move!
COBRA! COBRA! COBRA! COBRA!
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
Not FEMA exercising its legal right to form a shadow government and take over all government functions. It's not 2012 yet!
Who is watching TV and listening to the radio these days?
How will the system reach those of us that get 90% of our content online?
I guess it would work during a sporting event, but what about the rest of the time?
mov 101 1011
jp -1
Wouldn't an 'emergency broadcast' that interferes with America's God-given right to television constitute, in itself, an national emergency?
I imagine that anybody with the specialized equipment will be analyzing the transmissions to identifiy specific frequencies and or protocols used to control the broadcast system.
TV and radio? That's it? I do not have it at home and the radio channels in my car are unworthy.
I am already subscribed to a bunch of alerts from my county (text, email notifications) and it works already just fine.
Given that I am spending about 1 hour every day in my car, 8 hours at work (email access), and the rest at home (6 hours sleep - no access to email, texts + access to email and text for the rest of the home time), I would prefer text messages as the basic alert media. With the noted exceptions I always have access to my phone, so I would prefer "text" as a media.
I could not find any comparison in numbers between TV subscriptions and cell phones, but I suspect that more people nowadays have access to text messaging.
Another thing is that TV should be on when the emergency broadcast happens.
From the other hand, cell phones are more easily disrupted (voice, don't remember the anekdotes on messaging) during emergency situations...
I do not believe in karma. "Funny"=-6. Do good and forbid evil. Yours, Oft-Offtopic Flamebaiting Troll.
The real story here is that Fed.Gov can take over control of any media outlet without the consent of the media outlet.
Controlling the media is 90% of any coup...so who else is thinking of skipping an occupy rally today to hack this system?
"'Due to some technical limitations, a visual message indicating that "this is a test" may not pop up on every TV channel, especially where people use cable to receive their television stations.'"
So can we say in advance that that aspect of the test quite clearly FAILS? /facepalm
-Styopa
If our government really wants to reach the people, just take down Facebook for a 30 second window and watch the panic ensue. There is a mass of the population who will see this Nationally broadcast message, but unless they hit the internet and key sites, this is not broad enough to reach a majority of the people.
Just send a Tweet. I understand that Tweets actually beat the aftershock waves along the Eastern seaboard when the quake hit Virginia a few months ago.
And a free Text message broadcasted to all phones would also work, but you know they won't do that, it shows how much power our government has and they don't want to tip their hand too early with that one.
Life takes interesting turns, but the most interest is when you're off the beaten path.
Honestly, don't. The chances of an actual emergency occurring during an emergency test are infinitesimal.
All reactor core safeguards are now non-functional. Please prepare for reactor core meltdown.
Seriously, everything is fine.
WARNING: Core overheating. Nuclear meltdown imminent.
This is just a test. Please try to focus on the buttons and cubes.
'Due to some technical limitations, a visual message indicating that "this is a test" may not pop up on every TV channel, especially where people use cable to receive their television stations.'
Ah forgive me, I live up in Canada. Does anyone NOT receive their television from cable these days? Looking online (for what thats worth), it seems 72.7% of Canadians get their TV signal from cable, and 27% get it from Direct to Home (which is presumably referring to satellite TV) with 0.4% getting it from MDS Satellite (whatever that is), all as of 2005.
Is it not the same down there in the US? The fact that this might not pop up "THIS IS A TEST" on the majority of home TV systems would be enough for me to consider the entire system completely broken. There is no point in having a warning system that causes as much panic as a real event its intended to help warn against if you choose to test it.
In any given week it is entirely possible for me to not watch any TV (except perhaps downloaded content), or listen to the radio. I would likely read about it on the web but its quite possible I could miss the warning that a test was coming up. It wouldn't surprise me if a lot of other people managed to miss the notification that a test was happening, and then panic when the test happens. It would seem to me to be absolutely crucial that the fact that its just a test would be displayed on any warning sent out. I hope I am wrong of course, but I do hope no one dies from this test...
"The first time I got drunk, I got married. The second time I bought a chimpanzee, after that I stayed sober" Arian Seid
wanted it foolproof. You said every television in London.
But how is this Bush's Fault ?
How would you know the message is authentic?
Beta is broken and the link to classic doesn't work. Stop wasting our time or there won't be anybody left here.
I've hating this since my S3 tivo's decided that any of these alerts it must change the channel to them and make me watch it 2 times in English and in Spanish and disable all functionality till it's over. The bad part is it tells me about things a hundred miles away or local river flooding (I'm 150 feet above the nearest river about the thousand year flood mark). The random amber alerts. This is political theater to scare more people into voting these guys back in. The weather alert systems are cheap and reliable. I'm waiting for flashy the security threat level in you area is mauve random mandatory anal probes at all checkpoints until further notice have a nice day.
No sir I dont like it.
I can't wait to be alerted hours after the fact when I'll just have my show ruined because I have to fast forward through the annoyance.
Awfully pretentious of them to think that everyone watches and listens on frequencies that the FCC has made so unattractive that they're pretty much obsolete.
On September 11, 2001, the Emergency Alert System (that replaced the Emergency Broadcast System in 1998) did not alert anything. NYC and DC were under multiple attack by planes that immediately crippled the country, surging panic throughout the nation and the world, and driving the USA down the path of ruinous war. But there were no announcements, no sirens, no alerts. Emergency, but no alerts. Precisely the kind of emergency the system was sold to the public to address. After decades, finally needed, useless.
The official explanation is so much media coverage that it wasn't needed. As if any event requiring the system to work is going to go uncovered by the commercial media. That means the policy is for the system never to actually be used.
All those years of "testing" the system, all the money spent, all the alternate preparations ignored in favor of that one - all a total waste.
The weirdest thing is that it took years before I even heard someone mention that it didn't work. A forgettable comedian in about 2004-2005 had about 45 seconds about it
Now they'll spend a load of money on something else. It might even work. But since nobody even noticed, there'll be no reason for this new one to work. Except for those annoying tests that interrupt us. And leave us expecting we've built something necessary in an emergency, when we've just wasted more money on military contractors who delivered nothing.
--
make install -not war
All of the alerts I've seen are for severe weather. Hey, guess what? We're used to thunderstorms. We're already prepared for them. Yeah, if it were a tornado I'd be concerned, but not three days later.
What is really happening is the asteroid that is heading to earth is not really in a stable orbit and it may actually hit the Earth. So the NWO has scheduled this test so that they can get the word out to all the elites to proceed to the shelter stations. Now they have been saying that it is just a test so that the general public will not really pay any attention to what is said in the broadcast. However, the elites will be listening for the key words in the broadcast.
Undetectable Steganography? Yep, there's an app fo
After all, short of the Yellowstone supervolcano blasting ash over the whole coultry, what kind of emergency would involve the whole country at once?
When I used to have cable it sucked they cut out the sound even on the local channels so you can't even hear the local live weather report that is more detailed then then in there is a alert in $county.
I would not be surprised if there is a dirty bomb set off in America to galvanize public opinion into invading Iran... let's face it... 9/11 took place while a major air defence exercise was taking place, 7/7 in London took place while a major exercise was underway in the London Tube.
Donald 'Duck' Dunn: We had a band powerful enough to turn goat piss into gasoline.
so I am sure you will be covered.
If this were an actual emergency most slashdot subscribers would survive just fine being that the basement is a safe place to be. Please note, your mom may stop bringing you meals which means you might have to go upstairs to witness the disaster
* Winners compare their achievements to their goals, losers compare theirs to that of others.
It's not like the media has been spewing terrorist FUD for the last 10 years, or whittling down peoples psychological stability with "end of the world" financial FUD, or... well you get my point.
This is a nation prepped for panic.
"If any question why we died, Tell them because our fathers lied."
I no longer have a TV so I won't see it. I no longer have a radio so I won't hear it. I have a spam filter on my email so I won't read it. So while everyone else panics, I'll be getting RICH (after someone posts on Slashdot how to do it).
now we need to go OSS in diesel cars
In eight days, for the first time in the nation's history, all of the radio and TV stations in the country will be under the direct control of the federal government. At 2:00PM Eastern Time on Wednesday, November 9, 2011, the FCC and FEMA will commandeer the airwaves for a minimum of 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 minutes. For those of you old enough to remember CONELRAD or the EBS (Emergency Broadcasting System), they are the ones who broadcast that deafening tone while displaying a test pattern or "This Is Only A Test" slide. But in the 1962 book Seven Days in May, and the 1964 movie of the same name, the President and the Joint Chiefs of Staff were going to use this mechanism as the kickoff of a coup d'etat. Now, I have complete trust in the hierarchy of the military, and believe that they put their lives on the line every day to protect the health and welfare of the nation. But are you ABSOLUTELY sure of every component in the Command and Control system? IF the "Occupy" protestors were to be roiled to a fever pitch, become violent, and pose a clear and present danger to the nation's security, martial law could be declared and habeus corpus suspended. Then the protestors could be rounded up and interned. Finally, someone could suspend elections and the current bureaucracy could preside over the nation for the duration of the unrest. Does anyone else find this just a little unnerving? Or am I letting my Minor in Political Science get the better of me?
I'm confused. What's the point? I mean, I don't care that they are doing it, whatever, but why? When would you need to alert the entire country to get into thier basement? War and some kind of space event only two things that come to mind..
Bush appointees are worried about the Sun not rising tomorrow.
There's a book (and the movie with Burt Lancaster, et al) about an attempted military coup that depended on a national test of the emergency alert system...
It's actually pretty good, although a little dated because of technology improvements - it's actually kinda funny watching them doing a teleconference.....
FEMA uses that system regionally for hurricane and tornado alerts. It's not a big deal.
The problem with hyping a test of an emergency system is that its effectiveness drops nearly to zero around the time of the test. Even testing an alert system too often reduces its effectiveness. For a national alert system (and the September 11, 2001 attacks didn't even warrant an alert, apparently) it will probably end up being roughly useless. A propaganda tool at best.
... an app for that?
FINALLY! The governement seizes control of all communications, nationwide
Is it a coincidence that they're gearing up for a nationwide emergency "test" the day after an asteroid is supposed to have a "near miss"? I don't think so! Someone out there knows that we're going to need some serious emergency response the day after tomorrow, and they're trying to get everyone ready without causing a major panic. Duck and cover!
Chelloveck
I give up on debugging. From now on, SIGSEGV is a feature.
Back in the Ronnie Raygun years, when we were quite aware that Seattle was only about 20 minutes from launch sites near Vladivostok, a friend and I were listening to the radio one day when the Emergency Broadcast System alert came on. We hadn't heard anything about a test at the beginning of the alert (the station had forgotten), but Mark just pushed the button to change to another station.
Another Emergency Broadcast System tone.
I pushed another button, inadvertently sending us back to the first station. Mark took the next off ramp and we headed towards the waterfront. By the time that the announcer came on to say "This was only a test" we were consigned to our fate. When I later asked Mark where he was driving he said, "Well, I figured that the waterfront was probably the best place to watch the Bangor sub base go up before we were incinerated."
My nieces and nephews have never lived with that sort of certainty that the world was probably going to end soon, and I'm very glad of it.
"Think about how stupid the average person is. Now, realise that half of them are dumber than that." - George Carlin
If are only testing the system, why the hell does it have to be at 2 in the afternoon? Why not 2 in the morning?
It seems to me that the only realistic need for this would be in case of alien invasion, which means that the government denial of the ET/UFO petitions is clearly a bald face lie.
YOU warn Television!
This sig is not paradoxical or ironic.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=821
A 21st century issue: the irony of technologies of abundance in the hands of those still thinking in terms of scarcity.
I'd like to take a moment and provide a small reality check.
While it is de rigueur these days to proclaim all non Twitter or no-internet media long dead, the fact remains that television viewership eclipses BY FAR all other media. And, surprise surprise, even AM/FM radio listenership still exceeds Last.fm, Pandora, iTunes, Spottify and XM Satellite subscribers COMBINED.
So, while it seems that cool hipsters like you won't be getting the news about the reactor melt down, the vast majority of the population will. I"m very comfortable with that.
TTFN
... not to succumb to a "War of The Worlds" effect. If this had been an actual emergency, the terrorists would already have turned Poughkeepsie into a mushroom-cloud-covered obsidian lake bed. Everybody take deep breaths, think calming thoughts, and you can all go back to calling Snooki a skank after it's over with. Or so the voices in my head want me to assure you.
End of line.
@!#%$@%^@&& NO CARRIER
Network geek with a strong affinity for Telecasters
If this were merely a test, it would be done in the early morning when most people are asleep, so that it doesn't disrupt programming schedules.
I believe that the fact that it's being done when people are likely to be watching means that this is not just a test but a drill. Expect more "tests" like we have with the existing emergency alert systems.
What bothers me is that the government seems to have a way to cut off most television broadcasts if it chooses. They may start with emergencies, but technically they could use it to provide "important announcements" of a non-emergency nature. For example, they might also have an "alert" during a political debate, cutting off the broadcast when a candidate unfavorable to those in power starts to speak. With this system, at least we know why the revolution will not be televised.
In all seriousness, I don't truly believe that the above WILL happen, but I wouldn't put it past the US government. If you give someone a shiny new toy that gives them more control then they will want to play with it.
Stations have done weekly EAS tests, initiated locally, for years, All this means is that EAS tests can be initiated automatically on a nationwide level. EAS doesn't "cut off" a TV broadcast, it is a superimposed crawl and audio alarm. I honestly don't understand why people are making such a big deal about this.
FC Closer
The local EAS messages pop up all the time on my TV and radio. Are the FEMA one's going to have videos of aliens blowing shit up and people melting? Someone screaming "Run for the hills, we're all going to die!!!!!" ? It's a freaking annoying noise with someone blabbering, usually "This is just a test." Sometimes I hear about a Megan(?) alert.
Vote monkeys into Congress. They are cheaper and more trustworthy.
Well - the FEMA EAS test is happening:
0. One day after the IAEA delivers to the UN the report on Iran's uranium enrichment activities at Qom. ...
1. One Day after the Arizona State Emergency Management Office finishes their first nuclear terrorist incident scenario exercise
2. On the day that South Carolina has its annual earthquake response exercise starting at 9:30 am
3. On the first day of PACWAVE11 - the two-day military response exercise to a tsunami alert and recovery scenario involving PacRim countries.
4. Four days after incoming ballistic missile alert drills in Tel Aviv, Israel, to help the general public
practice shelter location and toxic chemical/biological/radiological containment procedures.
5. Six days after test firing of an intermediate range ballistic missile from Israel.
6. Three days after the major north-south strike fault running under El Hierro in the Canary Islands started to unzip
creating a chain of volcanic vents driven by a seismic energy release equal to over 600 tons of TNT since July 17th.
See: http://youtu.be/FFzZB9VuBlk
and: http://earthquake-report.com/2011/09/25/el-hierro-canary-islands-spain-volcanic-risk-alert-increased-to-yellow/
and: http://www.01.ign.es/ign/resources/volcanologia/html/eventosHierro.html
7. Three days after the Sparks, OK, 5.6 magnitude quake and aftershocks.
Anyone else can chime in here with other disaster preparedness training scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 9th, 2011.
Be safe out there!
DarkStarZumaBeachSurfinApocalypseWow