Posted on 11/02/2009 4:39:55 AM PST by GrandRussia
Call me crazy, but just in case Ogabe tries to shut down the Internet, how can we communicate? A friend suggested Freenet, but that still requires ISP's.
Someone else mentioned that the Eagle Forum etc. used to use faxes and phone trees back in the 80's.
Does anyone have any thoughts on where to put a phone number so I can get a call when if the unthinkable happens?
I have a question for the techies. How would the government go about “shutting down” the internet? Would they work through the ISP’s or the backbone providers?
It’s up to the people not to let it happen!
Lock it down via the backbone routers. Friend of mine used to work at Verizon’s Dallas NOC and he had a co-worker that ‘accidentally’ filtered out all traffic intended for AOL for several hours one day, for example.
Start a group or get involved in one personally. Most groups won’t give out numbers unless they have met you face to face.
There are various ways of setting up some go by giving you for example only 2 numbers and you don’t know the person that calls you only the 2 you are supposed to call, overlapping so word spreads but in a way it’s more difficult to track back & stop.
Part of the problem is that if a phone tree gets captured by an opponent, it points out just how to wrap up the entire organization unless it is memorized and never written down or stored *anywhere*.
So, the US government can “lock down” the internet domestically. How does that affect service outside the US? Like Canada and Europe? I know it would slow down. Is that all that would happen?
Depending on who or what they get access to, pretty much they can lock out all international traffic from the US, or at the very least segment the network to ‘contain’ information.
Internet service for the rest of the world might go down for a while until routers were updated to route around the US. Essentially, other than speed issues and not being able to access the US, the rest of the worldnet would be unaffected.
P2P requires an ISP, too.
==
A fall-back alternative would be to revert to the old BBS (bulletin board systems) that pre-dated the Internet.
BBS systems could be set up on a local computer and accessed via telephone modems.
For their time, they were a pretty good method. Of course, there were long-distance charges if out-of-phone-exchange numbers were accessed.
==
The Internet has become so expansive that it would be difficult for government to ‘shut it down’. Nearly every business depends on it.
If a catastrophic event occurred that would shut down the Internet, it would probably also shut down national governments.
If they go to lockdown mode there will be no phone, no cell phones, no internet. Or they will all be tapped.
Communication at that time will have to be person to person.
Saddle up a modern day Pony Express.
Will the "National Emergency" lead to the suspension of using money, admittedly one of the most germ-ridden items we all handle daily?
"Your money is no good here citizen. Why are you trying to spread the deadly flu virus? You must be a terrorist?"
Also, a phone tree is kind of useless. If the Internet gets locked down, it’s going to be kind of obvious.
Best to have a local ‘cell’ of people to rely on, and I’m not talking about the so-called “militias” running around out there. I’m talking about trusted friends who you can get together without having to use much if any communications. You basically want to have your own platoon-sized group with as much support as you can muster.
Most people would be unaffected as they would use “safe” plastic.
one if by land ... two if by sea
Get a HAM radio.
Unless you’re doing some *serious* encryption, that won’t help much - as many of the pirate software BBS style systems found out back in the 90s.
And, of course, it’s stupidly easy to decipher POTS modem transmissions.
Pretty amazing that it’s come to this, isn’t it?
Relax and carefully remove the tinfoil from your head. Hussein isn’t going to ‘shut down’ the Internet. Even he’s smart enough to know what kind of reaction that would bring.
What we need to stay focused on is bringing this Obamination down, and that means neutering him in the 2010 elections, and dispatching him and his ilk from the halls of power in 2012. That’s the best way of dealing with him.
I agree with that, but that doesn’t mean that our opponents *aren’t* crazy enough to blow a fuse if they start losing.
What’s the aphorism? Pray for the best, prepare for the worst?
You’re crazy.
I don’t think it’s very likely that they would shut it down. It would shut down e-commerce and impact a lot of other countries. People wouldn’t be able to work from home. The impact on the economy would be huge and there would be a lot of pressure from business and politicians to keep it going.
I have quite a few.
And the repair stuff.
I somehow get a feeling that America is going to feel like occupied France.
Or more to a timely point.....
Scientists will be monitored? No thats the movie series “V”, oh I have it now, its BIRTHERS!
If he shuts down the internet, I say we all meet in D.C., fully loaded, and I don’t mean with whiskey.
You have an “I give up” tone...
Obama cannot do whatever he wants unless we dont stand up.
Palin fired the first shot in our ‘pushback battle’ by endorsing Hoffman way before any national Republican figures.
Newt ripped his shorts by endorsing Scozzafava and then she drops out and endorses the Democrat.
Sarah’s shot was fired right across the bow of the national Republican party...
Dont give up on this country. Push back on unconstitutional activites.
Call your congressman, senators, call your governors office. Let them know you are out there and you are not happy.
We will vote them out soon enough, but now is the time for pushback.
They might believe they can do whatever they want. They only can if we let them.
Bulletin Boards..................
Funny. Seriously, the disruption could be due to some catastrophic events not involving a White House order to shut down communications. Ham radio is invaluable in those cases. I've never seen anything that represents a survey of hams' political leanings but I'd bet it's toward conservative.
also called “frost call” in the Old Corps—”back in the day” to you new age marines!
Semper Fidelis
(not semper fi)
Dick Gaines
**********
Follow the gunfire!
Now I think your onto the real issue. Control the money.
As the old general once said, “If you find yourself in a fair fight, you’ve screwed up.” If we get to the point of having to find alternative means of communications, then we’ve dropped the ball — big time!
We need to make sure the Internet and phone service DON’T go down. That means Patriots working in these industries must be vigilant and spread the alarm if unexplained weirdness appears.
But it would still be a good idea to have lots of face-to-face friends, not just chat buddies online. There is a reason why the Founding Fathers met at the tavern.
Lots of good ideas on this thread.
Some things to keep in mind. The Communist Chinese didn’t turn off their internet. Instead, they use it to limit, monitor, and capture dissidents who dare to use it. The people can still get online just fine for entertainment and commerce, if that is what you are worried about. If you are looking for a communication solution for a wartime or emergency scenario, then that is a different story. Best to look to the wars and emergencies of the past for the ideas that worked.
1. MESSENGERS. A new Pony Express is a great idea. Spies on foot used hidden in plain sight drop points for secret message exchange. Carrier pigeons. They may have a lot of cons, but when they work, nothing beats them.
2. CELLS. A group of like minded people who have a determined way to work together and communicate during any kind of event.
3. RADIO. Join your local ham radio club. Get your ham license (you need the knowledge). Did you know that a ham radio can transmit documents, pictures, and video? They can also run off the grid with marine batteries and solar panels. Weather permitting, a ham radio can reach anywhere in the world. Radio is like a big chat room where everyone can hear everyone else and everyone can talk. It is the closest thing to the internet we have.
Ham radio is used today in all emergency situations. They require no infrastructure to operate. They are priceless.
Radio transmissions can be easily triangulated, but it will take the enemy time. Keep your antenna mobile, or in an easily defensible area away from your position and set up a trap for would be enemies. Perhaps a fake house with a trap inside, or ground traps, or tree stands. Be creative.
If everyone on FR had a ham radio, the loss of the internet wouldn’t even dent our communications. Sure, radio signals can be jammed, but not nationwide and not 24/7. One important note here though. Just like the internet, the radio waves will be monitored.
What is really needed is an FR code. Perhaps a Freeper mathematician can come up with one. Or maybe a Freeper knows of a new generation of code talkers using an obscure language that is hard to learn and translate. Hopefully there is another indian tribe out there that is willing to lend a hand.
However messages are transmitted between parties, they will need to be in code. So get your equipment and start working on code ideas.
Join Alarm and Muster.
Seriously. Stuff tinfoil is made of.
If I recall correctly, Hams aren't allowed to use encrypted messages (whether voice or CW). So remember that you can't practice it on air legally... of course, if something big goes down, FCC policy is the least of our concerns.
For what that's worth....
Crazy
They are all tapped/monitored now.
I’m in!
You are exactly right.
There is currently no law against using codes for notes passed by means other than radio, though.
Being prepared never hurt anybody.
You can also use ham radio for passing pictures and video. There is no law against these having an unintended double meaning.
Ham radio can even be used to pass binaries.
Never happen... Obama's base uses the internet extensively ... especially younger folks (say, 30 and under). Shutting down the internet would be a political disaster.
I work c.o. for Verizon and they have a terrorist plan.
We get phone call and all power supplies are removed from the shelves. No questions.
Methinks many people _want_ it to come to this. Bored out of their minds with a luxurious existence, they seek an evil to rail against and a great battle to prepare for.
That’s not to diminish any real evils and realistic battle preparations, just to recognize some wish to make more of a situation than what it is.
The great threat to the ‘net is _congestion_. It’s designed to route data from point A to point Z via any viable permutation of B thru Y, working around any outages or disconnections ... but it’s NOT designed to handle more data than the sum of available routs can support. I forget specifics (it’s out there if you want to look), but something like 80% of ‘net traffic is routed thru a dozen or so backbone lines. Cut just a few of those lines, or even increase demand enough, and the resulting traffic jam wipes out most uses for a given period. Witness some of the great ‘net outages of the past, where demand or cuts shut down practical access for hours or days.
A deliberate shutdown need not be indefinite, just well-timed.
There is no “off switch”, but arrangements can be made.
Remember, war is about attrition, not extermination; communications need only be disrupted, not eliminated.
Methinks you may be interested in http://www.alarmandmuster.com
Also... it is perfectly legal to speak over the airwaves in any official language no matter how obscure it may be.
And it is perfectly legal to speak in plain English that doesn’t sound at all like it may contain a hidden message, because obviously it doesn’t.
If the Interent gets shut down, Ham radio, formally known as the Amateur Radio Service, will be the new ticket until they jam it.
Agreed. I'm glad ideas are being bounced around.
Messages embedded in video/images are an interesting strategy.
Agreed it is very dangerous.
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