Daily Mail – by David Martosko
The Obama administration quietly announced on Tuesday that it intends to change the way Americans learn about natural disasters and other major emergencies during radio and TV broadcasts, giving the president the ability to flip a switch and address the entire nation at once.
The Emergency Alert System, the latest version of a program first established in 1951, blasts out emergency messages in the event of local weather emergencies, but can also be used to warn Americans about terror attacks and major natural disasters.
Every broadcaster in the country is required to participate in the EAS. Messages travel along a closed, private network, piggybacking from station to station. It can take up to 10 minutes for every radio, TV, cable and satellite provider to blare its alert.
Most messages in the system are restricted to specific states, counties or other geographic areas. But now the Federal Communications Commission has filed public notice of a rule change that would bypass the daisy-chain entirely and give the federal government instant access to all the nation’s airwaves at once, in the event of a national emergency.
Some Republicans fear a system that would give the White House a way to address the entire country at will could be abused.
‘Oh, great,’ a Republican Capitol Hill staffer told MailOnline on Tuesday. ‘Big Brother is talking to you.’
‘Call me crazy, but I have a feeling we’re going to see the definition of an “emergency” get looser and looser – especially as we get closer to an election.’
The FCC’s plan could also make the national EAS vulnerable to the sort of hacking that embarrassed broadcasters in Montana a year ago.
In July 2013 hackers there gained access to an EAS signal and broadcast a phony alert about a zombie apocalypse on a string of CBS television affiliates owned by the Montana Television Network.
‘Civil authorities in your area have reported that the bodies of the dead are rising from their graves and attacking the living,’ the fictitious message said.
‘Follow the messages onscreen that will be updated as information becomes available. Do not attempt to approach or apprehend these bodies as they are considered extremely dangerous.’
At least one radio station in Michigan also fell prey to the hack.
The congressional aide also said that with more and more Americans going online for information, social media is already replacing broadcast emergency messages as the best way to spread urgent news.
‘If we have another 9/11, the people who hear about it through an EAS message are going to be the last to know,’ he said. ‘By the time you hear that annoying “buzz” sound on the radio, all your friends will have tweeted about it.
But according to a notice published Tuesday in the Federal Register, the government continues to rely on EAS as its primary means of alerting Americans about emergencies in real time.
The Hill reported that the FCC believes the new system will help with ‘saving human lives, reducing injuries, mitigating property damage, and minimizing the disruption of the national economy.’
Most messages sent through the EAS are periodic tests designed to condition Americans to what a real alert would look and sound like.
The government has tested the system on a national basis just once, in November 2011.
The FCC also has a separate public alert system for smartphones in the works. It was first tested in 2013 on a statewide basis but hasn’t been fully deployed.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2693145/Big-Brother-talking-New-emergency-alert-Obama-power-flip-switch-airwaves.html#ixzz37dvLcwZj
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Didn’t they try this system earlier this year and the system failed to work? So now they want to say it’s all fixed and all’s well. What we’ll probably get is an old test pattern like we used to get when the stations were going off the air. Some of you that are old enough should remember those, when we only had three channels to chose from and you had to get up to change them.
Those were the days
WTF – just like Outer Limits – things continue to grow more insane by the day
First use of his new power? “My fellow gay Americans, I have decided to come out of the Oval Office’s closet to show my support for all you gay folk.” said President of the Sword Swallowing Club, Barack (make your mouth like an O)-bama! “Yes, half of these illegals have the potential for joining my Presidential LGBT Gala and Chorus Line Extra-Lippity licious Extravaganza!” “So I will hold my Tea cup with little finger in perfect gay position as I sign into law The Illegal Alien Gayness Exemption rule.” I would tell you how I really feel but I would have too many lines redacted by the Illegal Alien Gayness Presidential Task Force headed by Lindsey (gay as a 3 dollar bill) Graham, Al Franken the ass, and a plethora of c#*k*soakers from way back.
This is exactly like Orwells 1984. The big head on the monitors threatening everyone to comply. That book did not end well for the people.
I just watched 1984 on some movie channel. Still as scary as when it came out!
Yea, but we can’t let that stop us. We have to keep pushing and battling. NEVER GIVE UP! Live free or die!
Exactly NC!
This idea definitely needs a kill switch. These looney-tunes are out of control. Nobody but walmartians believes them.
All the more reason to unplug.
Here’s Obama this afternoon. If anyone argues, the “kill switch” will be deployed. “Israel has the right to defend itself ” (against bottle rockets) and will continue with the extermination of the people who’s land they stole. We need to deal these fu*ki#g Israelis and put them all in deportation centers at the bottom of the sea. These vermin were pointed out by Jesus and he was crucified for such by these heathen. Do you think Christ is going to feel any different about Satan’s spawn when he returns. MF jew bastards and our dual citizen bullshit should end at the end of a rope for all of them. The government is wholly own by Tel Aviv and everyone knows it. All major media outlets along with Hollyweird got the stench of a lowly jew. What really pisses me off is when I don’t capitalize “jew”, my spellchecker tells me I’m spelling jew wrong. Wrong! Behead everyone of these devil worshipping vermin straight out of hell, then burn their house, kill their dog, and wipe the planet of these vile creatures whose only ambition is to exploit and imprison us all. Only then can we begin to rebuild our country. Zionist jews gotta go, straight back to where they belong, home in hell.