I feel all Big Brother-y and unsettled by this because I think that it is another way that the government can spoon-feed fear to us. Also, ironically, I chuckled -which is sort of a male, pot-bellied word... so instead I'll say giggled - no that's no good either... um. I found it to be a bit humorous in a sarcastic way - when I read it. Go figure.
What are your thoughts, and will you be signing-up?
FBI Sends Citizens Terrorism Alerts by E-Mail
By Chitra Ragavan Fri Jan 19, 7:02 PM ET
The FBI has sent out 600,000 E-mail alerts to a base of 14,000 subscribers, the bureau tells U.S. News.
The E-mail alert program was launched in October to provide the public, businesses, and law enforcement agencies with timely information on everything from terrorists to fugitives, scammers, and crooks, as well as updated information on terrorist threats. John Miller, FBI chief spokesman, said the system can also be used for crisis communication during a disaster or terrorist attack.
To sign up, one clicks on red envelope icons on the FBI's main website or its 56 field office websites and provides an E-mail address. No personal information is required.
"The new FBI E-mail alert system lets us do several things," Miller says. "It becomes a high-speed information portal for anyone from local law enforcement to the media to the public. As you sign up for it, you can tailor what you want to be notified on based on your interests. It also can be used as a crisis communication tool in the event of a disaster or even a terrorist attack. By letting people know when our website is updated, we can tell them about developments in missing children investigations or most wanted suspects as well."
Miller said the FBI expects the alert system will also help them catch criminals.
"It's a fast, effective way of keeping our partners and the public informed," he said.
( article lifted from the US News and World Report, posted on Yahoo News)
1 comment:
Just another outlet for the fear-mongers. On the face of it, it doesn't seem like a bad thing. Amber Alerts save lives. But terrorist attack? "What was that huge explosion? No, don't turn on the TV or radio; I'll just check my e-mail right quick."
And I love that you can tailor it to your interests, so if you want to know about murderers, but not rape - click the box. Or if you think violent crime is 'icky' but you want to know about mail fraud - click the box. Or if you're just looking for effective con techniques - click the box.
Law enforcement agencies need to communicate. They damn well better be since about 9/12/2001. But does every idiot out there need to be instantly connected to the FBI? And what a great site to mirror and spam from. "It says here that if we don't buy 'Goldmark Industries' stock, the terrorists win. I know it's true 'cuz it's from the eff-bee-eye."
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