NATIONWIDE ELECTRONIC FOOD STAMP SHUTDOWN REPORTED, COMPUTER SYSTEM UPGRADE BLAMED

The Blaze ^ | Oct. 12, 2013 3:51pm | by Dave Urbanski

[Lazamataz]

(TheBlaze/AP) — Major problems were reported Saturday all across America with the Electronic Benefits Transfer System, as consumers were stuck with no way to pay at registers, notes WBZ-TV in Boston.

WBZ reported that a computer-system upgrade was to blame, while the Associated Press reports that a routine check by vendor Xerox Corp. resulted in a system failure.

People in Ohio, Michigan and several other states found themselves unable to use their food stamp debit cards while shoppers from Maine to Oklahoma had to abandon baskets of groceries because they couldn’t access their benefits.

[Darksheare]

The toothpick accessory is always missing though.

[Gator113]

“Mostly”, yes, but in the end he will blame it all on the republicans.

[Army Air Corps]

But you have to love the fully automatic bottle opener.

[ZirconEncrustedTweezers]

I’d love to send him back. Buy him a one-way ticket to Heathrow and arrange for Jeremy Clarkson to pick him up.

[Darksheare]

The usage warning on it is terrifying.
“Keep fingers clear. This end towards bottle”

[Lazamataz]

Oh, puh-leeeeeeeeeeze!!! Just like the conspiracy theorists on this thread

I wish you the best.

[ctdonath2]

“Come on up 400 to Forsyth. Won’t be any problems here...”

I’m behind the Home Depot. Where you at?

[Squantos]

BTTT .... Thanks for the nooze Laz ...!

This could be interesting.

[Old Sarge]

Based on the states reporting the outages of EBT cards, this is what the map looks like:

There is NO solid region, it's scattered across the nation. The large Southern belt all went for Romney in the 2012 selection cycle; every other state went for Odinga.

The claim of "connectivity issues" is BS. For them to ALL go down at the same time is mathematically impossible.

SeeBS is also reporting that it was a result of "disaster recovery" drills. ALSO BS. Recovery drills are conducted offline in an isolated environment, so as to avoid this very thing.

My call: this was a deliberate act, a rough-draft rehearsal. Not a full dress rehearsal, like the Boston Bombing, but a practice exercise, nonetheless.

[Army Air Corps]

You’ll shoot your eye out...

[Vermont Lt]

It is not connectivity per se. They were doing something at a centralized data center. The connectivity part of it has to do with shutting down major servers, so indeed it would appear not to be connecting.

It’s not a conspiracy. It’s idiocy. It’s a low bid winner.

[Lazamataz]

I am a computer developer by trade. I am here to assure you that no upgrades, no backups, no 'drills', no 'testing' like this happens on active-users-on-system time. These sort of things occur only on off-hours. All the explanations offered so far DO NOT MAKE ANY SENSE to this computer developer with over 20 years in the field.

Furthermore, such a large system is NOT centralized. Have you ever heard of an entire large portion of a banking system going down? An entire branch of a phone system? No, you have not. That is because any large and complex system has many different branches or nodes of operability. The concept that one mistake brings it all down -- or even a lot of it -- is impossible.

This is clearly a deliberate act, even looking at it from a purely technical basis.

This will happen again. And soon. And nationwide.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[Lazamataz]

They were doing something at a centralized data center.

I am finding it very hard to believe that the data is purely centralized. A good data architecture would have many redundant copies in distributed servers, synched using normal synching tools. I've personally created much smaller systems with this redundancy and synching.

If, however, the data IS centralized, then that is SHEER computer architecture incompetence. It could happen that it is that poorly designed, but if so, then Obama really DOES have an off-switch.

[Lazamataz]

Who’s willing to extract me? Freepmail me pls.

[TEXOKIE]

Sarge, you speak of the CBS statement regarding recovery drills, and one thing that concerns me on top of all of this is the “drill” that is reportedly set for mid-November wherein US, Canada, and Mexico will be simulating(?) a grid-down situation.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

[Darksheare]

“Augh! I shot my eye out!”

[Vermont Lt]

There ya go. You answered your own question. I figure it’s a “regional” system not serving the entire country. If traffic rolled over to other centers, the volume would overwhelm them.

Lots of glitches going around these days. It’s as if someone from outside our system doesn’t like our toys working.

[Lazamataz]

It’s as if someone from outside our system doesn’t like our toys working.

My money's on someone INSIDE our system. A certain Commander in Chief.

[Travis McGee]

This was a test of the National EBT Shutdown System. This was only a test.

A test, and a very dangerous warning shot to the GOP to accede to Obama’s demands for an infinite debt limit increase, “or else.”

The “or else” is an EBT system shutdown, and cities on fire from coast to coast.

All blamed on those Evil White Racist Republicans, who wouldn’t give Obama his money, and made little babies go hungry. Damn those evil white racist Republicans!

That’s the game plan.

http://westernrifleshooters.wordpress.com/2012/09/03/bracken-when-the-music-stops-how-americas-cities-may-explode-in-violence/

“Will Obama stop the music this November?” (FR thread from last week about an intentional EBT shutdown.)

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/3076688/posts