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Communications Security The Military

Guam Radio Stations Accidentally Conduct Emergency Alert Amid North Korea Threat (theguardian.com) 50

the_webmaestro writes: A couple of radio stations in Guam conducted an unscheduled test of the Emergency Alert Broadcast System, sending some residents -- already on edge due to the back and forth between the North Korean regime and the tweets made by the President of the United States -- into a panic. From the Guam Homeland Security/Office of Civil Defense Facebook page: "The Offices of Guam Homeland Security and Civil Defense (GHS/OCD), in conjunction with the Mariana Regional Fusion Center (MRFC), our federal and military partners, continue to monitor the recent events surrounding North Korea and their threatening actions. Residents and visitors may have noticed at 12:25 a.m., an unscheduled test of the Emergency Alert Broadcast System (EAS) was triggered from KTWG/KSTO AM. The message read: 'A BROADCAST STATION OR CABLE SYSTEM HAS ISSUED A CIVIL DANGER WARNING FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES/AREAS: Guam, Guam; AT 12:25 AM ON AUG 15, 2017 EFFECTIVE UNTIL 12:40 AM. MESSAGE FROM KTWGKSTO.' The unauthorized test was NOT connected to any emergency, threat or warning. GHS/OCD has worked with KSTO to ensure the human error will not occur again. There is no scheduled test of the EAS or All Hazards Alert Warning System sirens today."

In addition, the Guam Power Authority (GPA) reported there were two scheduled outages, for emergency interruption of power, at 2:30 p.m. and 7 p.m., August 14: "Unrelated to the EAS unauthorized test, the Guam Power Authority (GPA) reported there were two scheduled outages, for emergency interruption of power, at 2:30 p.m. and 7 p.m., August 14 for customers located in Talofofo located along along Rte.17, Chalan J. Kindo, Vicente Borja Dr., Felix Dydasco St., Henry Simpson area to bus shelter by Bishop Street and other customers in these locations."

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Guam Radio Stations Accidentally Conduct Emergency Alert Amid North Korea Threat

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  • or broadcast?
  • by __aaclcg7560 ( 824291 ) on Tuesday August 15, 2017 @05:08PM (#55021215)
    Every Friday morning the civil defense alarm would go off at 10AM and everyone would duck underneath their desk. Except for the teacher, as she was eight months pregnant and ducked to the doorway. We didn't know who had the more edgier trigger finger on the red button: the Russians or Ronald Reagan.
    • by Psion ( 2244 ) on Tuesday August 15, 2017 @05:36PM (#55021439)
      Huh?

      I graduated high school just after Reagan took office, and never practiced the old 'duck and cover'. And that's after having been in nine different school districts in five different U.S. states during my stint in the public school system. What country were you living in back then?
    • by Gravis Zero ( 934156 ) on Tuesday August 15, 2017 @06:02PM (#55021595)

      We didn't know who had the more edgier trigger finger on the red button: the Russians or Ronald Reagan.

      Well as it would turn out, it was Reagan. In fact, Mikhail Gorbachev tried to to cut a deal with Ronald Reagan to get rid of nuclear weapons but Ronnie declined because he wouldn't keep his "STAR WARS" program inside the lab for 10 years. He didn't have to cancel the program, just keep it in the lab for 10 years. Just think, we could have ended all this bullshit decades ago but ego got in the way.

      • Ha! You seriously think they would have actually followed through on such an agreement?

        I'm sorry, but there was absolutely no way the Soviets were going to readily give up their nuclear weapons. The world
        really does not operate altruistically like that.

        Make no mistake, they would have kept an ace ...erhm nuke... in their back pocket. Whether you like him or not, Ronnie choosing otherwise was smart. Getting rid of ones nukes in this day and age is foolish and demotes the country down in the eyes of the UN se

        • Matter of fact, yes. Gorbachev basically dismantled the USSR anyway.

  • In other news, local hospitals report no cases of constipation for the prior 48 hours.

  • Reminds me (Score:1, Offtopic)

    by Tablizer ( 95088 )

    I once worked for a place where the top boss did the notification recordings. One morning the radio was doing a typical test and I was thinking, "Shit, my boss followed me home and is waking me up! Or, is this a bad dream?"

    I wonder if someday we'll hear:

    "This is a test of the American Emergency Broadcasting System. I am the Great President Donald J. Trump, who by the way won the popular vote if you discount the filthy illegals who work at milk places. If this were a bigly emergency, I'd tell you exactly wha

  • Is that the euphemism for Department For Responding to H-Bomb Attacks?

  • In addition,

    the Guam Power Authority (GPA) reported there were two scheduled outages, for emergency interruption of power, at 2:30 p.m. and 7 p.m., August 14:

    "Unrelated to the EAS unauthorized test,

    the Guam Power Authority (GPA) reported there were two scheduled outages, for emergency interruption of power, at 2:30 p.m. and 7 p.m., August 14

    What is a scheduled outage for emergency interruption, anyway?

    And when is it again?

  • We apologise for the accidental civil danger warning. Now here's a real one: don't swim in the water around Guam. Since the first civil danger warning it's gone a funny brown colour.

  • This is how war starts Guam, get your shit together.

  • Made for great late-night Twittering.
  • They say accident... However, this is exactly the type of thing you can gauge fear, reaction, doubt, and error checking on. "Let's see what people will do if it happens in a time of fear so we can modify the process to work better."

    Wait, I'm living in dream world again where people actually care. It was probably a mistake rooted in idiocy. ;>

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