DHS Warnings Through Twitter and Facebook?!

What exactly are you supposed to do differently in a day with a severe rating?

severely rant 

I hope not. It's bad enough listening to "The current National Threat Level is..." whenever I happen to be at the airport.

I can't imagine they'll choose a more meaningful replacement.

What are we supposed 'to get' from that system? "Things ain't good" or, "You aren't in Wonderland" would convey the same meaning. 

Are we supposed to get into a combat crouch? Crawl 60/60? Scope out the surroundings for Al Qa'ida disguised as Girl Scouts?

Maybe it's just to prod our fear and make us more malleable, and obedient.

In any case, if we have never been told what the levels actually mean and what the suspected threat is, it's far less informative than the "Walk/Don't Walk" on the corner.

You have to wonder. The Israelis live under more immediate threat, and I just can't see the Naval Commandos surfacing to check their tweets.

That tweet system is more compatible with a College notifying about a nut loose with a weapon. 

1) Not in a million years.

2) Last I heard, it was duct tape yourself inside your house.  Seriously.  Now if a person wants to do that, I wholeheartedly support his or her right to do so.  I also support anyone's right to curl up into a little ball underneath a school desk in the event of a nuclear blast.  Have fun.

Considering I stopped looking at my Twitter feed when I realized I just couldn't keep up with all the constant useless tweets of the majority of those on my list, I can't imagine how anyone will notice what could be considered a very important tweet in between all the crap that shows up on Twitter. Facebook is not as bad but the problem is still the same.

This would be the equivalent of putting front page news on page 42 of a 60  page newspaper.

I liked seeing those OLD OLD films about how they told kids to go underneath their desk or fall to the ground while out side in a Nuclear war..

that's as bad as putting a warning on Child's cough medicine.

“Do not drive a car or operate Machinery after taking this Medication.”

(We could do a lot to reduce the rate of accidents if we could just get Those 5-year-olds with head colds out from behind the wheel...)

Having been in that situation within the last year, text messages (for those subscribed to the college text alert system) were a much more effective and secure method. Facebook/twitter were mainly used for people discussing it and sharing pictures of Armored Personnel Carriers with SWAT teams pouring out of them.

Reply #7
DisturbedComputer

Member No.2,676,520
Karma+82
April 8, 2011 3:34:42 PM from WinCustomize Forums


Quoting DaveRI,
reply 5
I also support anyone's right to curl up into a little ball underneath a school desk in the event of a nuclear blast. Have fun.




I liked seeing those OLD OLD films about how they told kids to go underneath their desk or fall to the ground while out side in a Nuclear war..

that's as bad as putting a warning on Child's cough medicine.

“Do not drive a car or operate Machinery after taking this Medication.”

(We could do a lot to reduce the rate of accidents if we could just get Those 5-year-olds with head colds out from behind the wheel...)



not so funny, I WAS one of those kids.....

So was I. Growing up in the fifties and sixties during the height of the cold war was no joke. Especially when a Cuban fanatic parks a few nuclear tipped ballistic missiles ninety miles from home turf. Scary shit.

As was I.... but, what DaveRI was referring to was the absurdity of thinking one wouls be protected in any degree by hiding under the desk... how absurd that picture and the absurdity of DHS telling you "stay at home and seal your windows and doors as hermetically as you can".

Why not, "Wrap yourself in a white sheet and walk calmly towards the nearest cemetary. When there, remove all sharp objects from your shirt pocket and bend over and kiss your ass good bye."? 

Tuck your head between your legs. Yes ... absurd is right. As though a desk or anything else for that matter that isn't 6 feet thick, underground with an additional 6 inches of lead shielding is going to protect from one of them. Remember some years ago the US gov actually tested a device that was more or less harmless to equipment such as tanks, artillery and such but destroyed anything organic. The Neutron bomb. Absurd. Want another one. Back in the 70's the Soviet Union designed and built an earthquake machine. Basically a rocket engine strapped to a hardened rig and pointed downward. When the Iron Curtain fell good ole Uncle Sam bought the device and now the US has an earthquake machine. Upgraded of course.

Exactly.

Yes as a wee lad I spent my share of time in a ball under my desk too.   Can't say that I've ever duct taped myself in though.  Like I said though, if it makes a person feel better, go for it.

That sounds like a James Bond movie.  How bizarre.

Bizarre, but true. Nikola Tessla also patented an earthquake machine:

and so did The Acme Co. :  

But perhaps the best known one is the one we have in WC Oz branch:

Yep.... "Old Faithful" himself, starkers. 

What about those of us who don't use FaceBook or Twitter? (like me)

And no, using either Facebook or Twitter is not an option for me.  I find both of them to be useless.

I really don't understand this reliance on social websites like twitter or facebook for something so serious as threat warnings. Not that they've been all that helpful in the past...but to rely on giving people warnings through places like this just tells me what kind of idiots are running things these days. And what about people that don't have computers?

And what about those who don't use social networks like twitter or fb because of all the 'bugs' (virus's, trojans, et al). Kinda defeats the purpose I think.

Exactly to WG, VAX and Uvah. Exactly. 

It would most likely be a way to manipulate fear/obedience since these social sites are fluff. Really, how could anyone take such a warning seriously coming from such a site?

Do I hear a variation on a theme? Big Brother comes to mind. Manipulation through ersatz reporting or a deliberate inaccurate one. Half truths and such. Its called propaganda. Certain governments are good at putting the spin on things.

Personally, I think they should go back to the old Brit idea of a bell and the town crier: "Oh yea, oh yea, oh yea, all hear this, all hear this. The French are coming, the French are coming... hide under your beds, hide under your beds."

Though with all the traffic noise these days, he's gonna need a much bigger friggin' bell.

Seriously, the DHA must have rocks in its head if it thinks Facebook and Twitter is the way to convey emergency alerts.  I mean, there has to be a few million people like me who think both are a total waste of time and don't have accounts to either.

Yep, McCarthyism and "Reds under the Bed" come to mind.  See, it's much easier to control the populace if its living in fear... and Big Brother is there to protect it.

And what a waste of time, energy and resources the Cold War was!  Neither side was going to attack or invade the other, not with the threat of nuclear extinction hanging over their heads.  More to the point, when you have paranoid leaders, you have a paranoid people, and they can be manipulated to do just about anything... like go to wars that are NONE of their business, etc.  Sure it kept a lot of people gainfully employed making bombs and war machines, but surely they could have been gainfully employed making peace time machines.... harvesters and farm equipment, etc. 

War, it's a politicians game.... and like my dad used to say, there'd be no wars if the politicians had to actually fight them.

Come to think of it...I haven't seen or heard the "This is a test and only a test...had it been actual blah blah blah" thing for some time now. What was wrong with that? It came over the type of airwaves that "everyone" has...so why twitter or facebook? Between the reality shows and these "social networking" sites...society is quickly becoming a bunch of brainwashed morons. They should ban reality shows and social networking sites before it's to late.

as was I

I remember asking my dad about that... he said it was since we sat at the same desk every day it would be easier to identify my little pile of ashes

What a terrible thing to hear as a child.