Opening the Lines

While federal communications flopped, a small band of wireless technicians helped Katrina victims reconnect with the world

By Christopher Hayes

During a September 27 House hearing, discredited ex-FEMA chief and one-time horse-whisperer Michael Brown was asked about the profound failures of communication among those supposedly in charge of responding to Katrina. Many first responders were cut off from communication for days, and local elected officials were [RETURN TO ARTICLE]

  • Reader Comments

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    Rabbit has one thing to throw into the ring, right here and now.

    SPREAD SPECTRUM TECHNOLOGY.

    More soon. This is an important issue, communications after disaster. Forget the “official” solution, if there is one it won’t work. So we need to think about this.

    Rabbit assumes that only positive and practical postings will attend this thread. The issues involved have nothing to do with who beleives what about politics.  The Conservatives can either offer something useful for a change, or just stay away. Disasters, man made, natural or otherwise are always possible and chance seems to have increased that we are going to experience such at some time in our lives.  The above article is an object lesson in how to handle the problems in reality. Just as with the efforts of an ill-equipped and dis-organised resistance is giving lessons in how to defeat a powerful and ruthless adversary, there are lessons to be had from those who Did what had to be done when the time came, as in New Orleans. 

    Obviously sporadic and small scale as it was, lessons are there for the taking.

    Australia Posted by GhostRabbit on Oct 11, 2005 at 10:33 PM

    Nobody needs to define who the Ruthless adversary might be in the above post please. We all know, but saying it will attract trolls.

    Australia Posted by GhostRabbit on Oct 11, 2005 at 11:03 PM

    No technicians onboard then it seems…..Spread Spectrum Technology is in civialian use now, and it would be the way to go. Some car tracking sysems for example already use it.

    .....Rabbit hops away to look back later…..................................................^^....................................................

    Australia Posted by GhostRabbit on Oct 13, 2005 at 8:57 PM

    The connections between Chicago and Louisianna should be preserved. The Republican hegemony has awakened the citizens of rural America. While many are loyal conservatives, the progressives and class conscious rural folk have also been energized. Progressive should realize there is fertile soil waiting for seeds.

    Of all the political strategists I have read Kevin Phillips offer the best ideas for turning discontent into progressive votes

    United States Posted by natriley on Oct 14, 2005 at 8:51 AM

    Same in OZ, the country people are awake up, they are MUCH more prepared. One of the things they are prepared for is to keep mobs of City people descending upon them like Locusts When The Day Comes.

    Australia Posted by GhostRabbit on Oct 14, 2005 at 7:38 PM

    It was incidentally Rural Australia who supported One Nation in it’s meteoric rise to prominance a few years ago. Not for the Rascist cause which was falsely atrributed to Hanson, that was all MSM spin. Instead for the simple straightforward common sense approach.

    Australia Posted by GhostRabbit on Oct 14, 2005 at 8:40 PM

    I’ve been having orders-of-magnitude issues lately: I meant to say $60 billion, not $600 billion, in reference to the worth of the spectrum for digital television.

    Speaking of, McCain/Lieberman’s SAVE LIVES Act pushes the FCC to complete the transition to digital TV and recover the analog spectrum for public safety use. A step in the right direction.

    I’m guessing GhostRabbit means “ultrawideband” (or UWB), “spread spectrum” being a technique used for many years (patented by Hedy Lamarr, no kidding!). UWB is indeed a very promising technology that needs FCC approval. The iron’s hot right now for rethinking spectrum allocation, hopefully UWB can ride the wave.

    United States Posted by Paul Smith on Oct 16, 2005 at 5:14 PM

    Greetings Paul.  Rabbit speaks of Spread Spectrum, one time domain only of the military.

    http://www.sss-mag.com/ss.html

    Upon checking the term Ultra wide Band also seems to refer to the same thing.  Since it can be set up using pretty much any standing antenna it can be installed quickly and effeciently, even after the ‘event’ so to speak.  As Rabbit understands it, and he doesn’t know much personally, the antenna repeaters stations are no big deal. Brother owns a car tracking company who installs and monitors vehicles on the east coast of Oz using SST.

    Australia Posted by GhostRabbit on Oct 17, 2005 at 2:28 AM
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