LOGO: Truthdig: Drilling Beneath the Headlines. A Progressive Journal of News and Opinion. Editor, Robert Scheer. Publisher, Zuade Kaufman.   Exclusive Truthdig Merchandise: Mr. Fish T-shirts and Signed Prints
November 22, 2009
Log in / Register

 Choose a size
Text Size

Most Read

Intelligentsia Against Intelligence

Throw the Money Changers Out of the Temple

Obama's Job Approval Slips Below 50 Percent

Claire Wasserman on Europe's Islamic Immigrants

The Afghanistan Speech Obama Should Give (but Won't)

Most Comments
Most Emailed

Reports
Enough G-2 Talk Already
Despite Subsidies, Class Sizes Rise in California Schools

Ear to the Ground

A/V Booth

Arts & Culture
Freedom’s Fight: Part II

Digs
Financial Meltdown 101
Vetting Sarah Palin

Truthdig Bazaar
Ravens in the Storm

Ravens in the Storm

By Carl Oglesby
$16.50

more items

 
Ear to the Ground

Can You Hear Me Now?: Terrorist Edition

Email this item Email    Print this item Print   
Posted on Jan 9, 2009
ENTER_ALT_TEXT
Global Graphica / Ivan Corsa

New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly believes that the Mumbai attack is the new model for terrorist operations, and that cell phones play a large part in their plotting.

In a reactionary move against technology and the beasts who wield it, the NYPD has announced it wants to jam cell phone frequencies in case of a terrorist attack, citing Mumbai as an example of how mobile phones allowed attackers in that Indian city to micromanage their assault in real time.


Wired:

The New York Police Department wants to be able to shut down cell phones, in case of a terrorist attack.

During last month’s massacre in Mumbai, terrorist handlers ... micromanaged via mobile phone the assaults on the hotels, train stations, and Jewish center that killed more than 170 people.

In testimony [Friday] before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said he wanted to take out that “formidable capacity to adjust tactics while attacks are underway.”

Read more

More Below the Ad

Advertisement

Chrome Bag - Free Shipping

Elsewhere: .

Comments

Are you a Truthdig member yet? Login now, or register with Truthdig.

By PSmith, January 15 at 6:33 am #

PARANOIA, GONE MAD

“When guns are banned ... only criminals will have guns.” And when cellphones are blocked ... will only terrorists will be able to communicate?

This latest stupidity is yet another example of paranoid thinking on steroids. Of the cure being MUCH worse than the disease.

BushCheneyCo threw out civil rights, the rule of law, constitutional government, the Geneva Conventions against torture AND the rules of war in the name of opposing those who object to the US’s foreign policy of the past sixty years.

Illegal surveillance is rampant and completely out of control. The TIA and TALON program and others intended and have implemented a Stasi-like one informer for fifteen citizens. Given that not-American-enough states need more, what would that be there? One in six?

Laura Donohue of Stanford Law School was informed at Harvard Law School that any dissent with the Neocon government position on law would be taken as her resignation. Hence her tenure at Stanford. Laura Donohue, ‘The Cost of Counter-Terrorism,’ TIA and TALON programs. Cointelpro II. On steroids.  - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNPLPeuobss

We are in the very early stages of undoing this pathetic stupidity. But someone else is now proposing more of the same. How typical of the paranoid style of thinking of the Bush Cheney years.

Cheney at least has an excuse. He has had multiple heart attacks and heart bypasses that absolutely cause cognitive impairment in 100% of cases initially, while 42% of patients lose 20% of their cognition permanently. ‘Pumphead,’ as doctors cruelly name it, is cumulative and Cheney has had multiple heart attacks AND heart surgeries.

1% DOCTRINE
Hence the 1% doctrine. Or, really, the .0001% doctrine. Paranoid thinking par excellence.

“If an event is 1% likely we must act as if it were 100%.” Pity no one acted on the 99% likelihood that Cheney has ‘pumphead’ and should have had NO part in policy making, or in deciding on who got tortured. Let alone a say on whether it was productive to eliminate all the other norms of civilization that BushCheneyCo have wantonly destroyed.

OSAMA BIN CHENEY
Hence the line that the real Osama Bin Laden was parachuted into Wyoming decades ago, where he became a Congressman named Cheney. OBL could only have dreamed of achieving the destruction of his enemy’s way of life, morality and rule of law that Cheney has accomplished.

Goodbye and good riddance. Don’t let the door hit ya one the way out.

Report this

By Maani, January 11 at 3:01 pm #

As a NYer, I can tell you that since 9/11 our city has become the test site and poster child for the growing (but not yet quite here, purplewolf) proto-totalitarian police state.  This is only the latest example.  And, of course, even if this idea had some merit, the potential for its abuse is staggering.

Peace.

Report this

By palloliver, January 10 at 4:00 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

The turd Kelly just recognizes a good opportunity to tighten the screws on the populace and to heighten future false flag terror attacks.  If the turds control all communication then the populace is effectively atomized and much easier to control and lead like sheep.

Mumbai was an obvious false flag attack.  You think India’s top anti-terrorism officials investigating Hindu extremists just happening to be killed first thing was a big coincidence?

Report this

By Purple Girl, January 10 at 11:30 am #

That is exactly what caused th einablity to communicate between depts during 9/11. Good ol’ Rudy bought the cheapest, Non compatable communication devices he could find! People Died because of his ineptitude! Not to mention the lunacy of putting the Emergency HQ in the very buildings which had already been attacked 8 yrs earlier. One could summize, Rudy was aiding the Attackers with such obvious fuck ups.
do they test NY officials for Retardation? Is it a prerequiste to getting a high powered position in the State Gov’t? At the Very least we should be testing some of their officials for Lead Poisoning!

Report this

By blog dog, January 10 at 4:17 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

... it is not from foreign threats, but rather more like the home-grown ones from this administration.

BINGO!

“Deception is a state of mind and the mind of the state.” - James Jesus Angelton - Director of CIA Counter Intelligence (1954-74)

Report this

By Texacrat, January 10 at 2:41 am #

I’m sure that the Mumbai thugs would have been stopped long before they had a chance to kill as many as they did if they tried a similar tactic here since many of us are legally armed.  I’m not a right-wing wacko trying to spam this site, I agree with many of you, and this article shows how if we don’t defend our rights, we are going to be reduced to a population of helpless sheep that can do nothing but watch or run if something were to happen here.

Report this

By purplewolf, January 10 at 1:11 am #

We are now officially a police state. If they jam all the cell phones and land lines, what are people who need to call for say, an ambulance or fire emergency supposed to do? Use smoke signals, carrier pigeons, semaphore signals, Morse code? And how far will they jam these signals, a city, state, country, or all of North America? It would literally shut down the whole country if nation wide and would cause more harm by doing so, besides if a situation occured, the “bad guys” will no doubt have another backup system or plan in which to communicate.

No matter what these so called experts come up with, the criminal mind always overcomes or out smarts the experts.

Hasn’t this terrorist thing gone on long enough? It is like the boy crying wolf, after the trillionth time of these idiots in charge screaming terrorism, people tend to tune them out. It has become meaningless as it has been over used for everything to justify what this administration has taken away from the people of America. Like the rights we had when Bush entered the White House. Do you really feel safer after the last 2 terms of Bush? A country run by paranoid politicians who see boogeymen everywhere? I know I don’t, but it is not from foreign threats, but rather more like the home-grown ones from this administration.

Report this

By PatrickHenry, January 9 at 10:02 pm #

Sounds like a spark to fuse of a new American revolution.

Report this

By Anarcissie, January 9 at 8:32 pm #

The first instinct of Security Mind is to make others more helpless so that Security Mind will be more important and can pretend to take control of everything.  If the cell phones are jammed, then terrorists will simply resort to other forms of communication, like walkie-talkies (direct radio) or something else, whereas the honest, peaceable persons will be made suitably dependent on their masters.  An alert, active citizenry could use working cell phones to report hostile activity, to fight back as it were.  Security Mind would prefer you to be helpless.  Sound familiar?

Report this

By Shift, January 9 at 5:05 pm #

Are the police serving the interests of the people of New York by eliminating their ability to communicate?  To me it doesn’t seem so but that is up to New Yorkers.

Report this

By Major Domo, January 9 at 4:56 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

It should be obvious to the most casual of observers that by jamming all cell phone freq’s to inhibit terrorists from coordinating their attacks with other cells they also inhibit citizens from reporting suspicious activities to local authorities. Such activities that would give law enforcement heads ups where seemingly random attacks are moving towards a specific location(s) that may eventually create far greater injuries, deaths and hostage situations.

Report this

By whitebeard, January 9 at 4:41 pm #

That’s a kind way of saying Kelly is stupid (or, perhaps, hiding a sinister reason) for saying he wants to be able to jam cell phones at his whim. Not only would it not stop the terrorists from communicating, it would stop civilians from communicating and, perhaps, saving lives, as well as possibly interfering with community service communications.

This is an exemplar for “better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than open your mouth and remove all doubt.”

Report this

Add Your Comment

Posts by unregistered readers are moderated. Posts by members
are published immediately. Why wait? Register today!







Number of characters remaining: 4000

Notify you when others comment on this article?


Are you a human?
Retype the word you see here.


Please read and abide by our comment policy.
By submitting this comment, you agree to this site's terms and conditions.

 
 

 
Join the Liberal Blog Advertising Network
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A Progressive Journal of News and Opinion. Editor, Robert Scheer. Publisher, Zuade Kaufman.
Copyright © 2009 Truthdig, L.L.C. All rights reserved.