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?
Lv 7
? asked in Politics & GovernmentPolitics · 10 years ago

Did You Know Feds Will Temporarily Cut Off All TV and Radio Broadcasts on Nov. 9?

If you have ever wondered about the government’s ability to control the civilian airwaves, you will have your answer on November 9th.

On that day, federal authorities are going to shut off all television and radio communications simultaneously at 2:00PM EST to complete the first ever test of the national Emergency Alert System (EAS).

This isn’t a wild conspiracy theory. The upcoming test is posted on the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau website.

Only the President has the authority to activate EAS at the national level, and he has delegated that authority to the Director of FEMA. The test will be conducted jointly by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through FEMA, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Weather Service (NWS).

In essence, the authority to seize control of all television and civilian communication has been asserted by the executive branch and handed to a government agency.

The EAS has been around since 1994. Its precursor, the Emergency Broadcast System (EBS), started back in 1963. Television and radio broadcasters, satellite radio and satellite television providers, cable television and wireline video providers are all involved in the system.

So this begs the question: is the first ever national EAS test really a big deal?

Probably not. At least, not yet.

But there are some troubling factors all coming together right now that could conceivably trigger a real usage of the EAS system in the not too distant future. A European financial collapse could bring down U.S. markets. What is now the “Occupy” movement could lead to widespread civil unrest. And there are ominous signs that radical groups such as Anonymous will attempt something major on November 5th- Guy Fawke’s day.

Now we know in the event of a major crisis, the American people will be told with one voice, at the same time, about an emergency.

All thats left to determine is who will have control of the EAS when that day comes, and what their message will be.

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/did-you-know-feds-...

11 Answers

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  • rowlfe
    Lv 7
    10 years ago
    Favorite Answer

    Well, the national test is the final step of the EAS conversion program. For years, station by station, the system has been added to and then tested once a week on a local level. This is just the next step, of testing ALL of the installations instead of randomly once a week on a local basis. YES, this is exactly like "big brother" and having the control in anyone's hands other than the president BOTHERS me, but, WHAT can I do about it? I am an amateur radio operator, MY radio if NOT part of the system. MY radio equipment is 100% completely under my control. Of course, the FCC knows about it because I am licensed. They know where I live and the location my transmitting equipment. One of the conditions of my license is that I volunteer for emergency services if needed as a public service. When Katrina blew into town and a whole bunch of people went dark, amateur radio operators were able to assist with communications in parallel with other emergency services. If there was some sort of conspiracy as you infer, you would think they would co-opt ME to participate along the party lines. What you fail to understand is that while there IS a national test, no one is forced to comply. When the system is triggered, it only will affect stations who have agreed to comply. No one will be holding a gun to anyone to force then to switch off their transmitter and only broadcast what the fed says to broadcast. You seem to think this system will disconnect things under remote control and the stations will not be able to do anything, and THAT is NOT the case. The system works like a "drop out" relay. A drop out relay drops iout, turns off on a loss of power. When the power comes back on, it does NOT turn itself back on. It takes pushing a reset button to reset the relay to turn the power back on. This is a safety device which protects equipment for a power surge when the power supply is restored. Anyway, sure, the fed can trigger stations remotely, but the station is not forced to DO anything. The system is currently set up to rebroadcast whatever the fed says to, but the operators can override that at will.

    Your posturing about conspiracy is not founded in any facts. You simply speculate on the worst case and assume THAT is the only case. The whole system is voluntary compliance, not mandatory with no intervention possible. You are asserting that this is equivalent to the scenario in the movie Failsafe where the system has no override to cancel an action taken by a single rogue individual pushing the button. Sorry, but I just do not see the conspiracy here, the ulterior motive that you infer is behind this national test. This is one thing I wish we had on 9/11... You DO realize that the 9/11 Commission recommended a country-wide emergency alert system exactly like this one, yes?

  • Anonymous
    10 years ago

    The Stock Markets usually hit their daily lows around Wednesday1:00- 2:00...

    "The War of the Worlds'?

  • 10 years ago

    I see no reason for alarm. Remember, that radio spectrum belongs to the public. These stations are licensed by the gov't with the goal of benefiting the public.

    Being required to broadcast emergency information in time of emergency certainly falls within the realm of being a requirement of that license.

    I for one would like these stations to provide information during an emergency, rather than keep showing repeats of Seinfeld.

  • ?
    Lv 4
    10 years ago

    "And there are ominous signs that radical groups such as Anonymous will attempt something major on November 5th- Guy Fawke’s day."

    It is more likely that radical groups such as the TSA, DHS, or FEMA will try something on that day, possibly blaming it on a staged false-flag radical group.

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  • 10 years ago

    I didn't know about that. I'd hate to see the day that a nationwide warning has to be put into real use, but it's a good system to have in place.

  • Anonymous
    10 years ago

    Yes. Rough times ahead.

  • 10 years ago

    this is a test

    this is only a test

    If this had been an actual emergency, you would have been instructed where to tune in your area for news and official information

  • Anonymous
    10 years ago

    Awesome, that's my birthday!

  • Randy
    Lv 7
    10 years ago

    Sigh!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Some people will make a conspiracy out of anything.

  • paul s
    Lv 5
    10 years ago

    not yet

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