Hi,
Given the context, the reply is a bit surprising somehow.
Nonetheless, as I understand it, the police radio system has been
lost to flooding and lack of power so there is little or no
coordination 'on the ground' via those regular channels; e.g. police/
firefighters and the like in the streets are without radio contact.
(See http://www.fcw.com/article90541-08-31-05-Web .. which I just
found on a quick google search on the issue to somewhat verify what I
heard on CNN).
Additionally, it seems difficult if not impossible to get information
to the thousands wandering about or sitting on top of their roofs.
There are many without radios, no tv access (flooded and no power).
Oddly enough, I did hear some pay phones downtown were working, but
then again also that many cell networks were entirely out of
commission.
Yes, the media 'parachute in' with high-powered and working (e.g.
also not wet or out of power) satellite phones and videophones and
battery rechargers. They also have food, water, cans of gasoline, and
often travel in groups for added security. They don't seem to be (for
whatever reason) going into the projects or the heavily flooded areas
where many people live(d). And those not flooded or with sufficient
economic clout can likely do the same.
Helicopters with bullhorns might, maybe, work but it have you ever
heard the amount of noise those helicopters throw off? The rescue
crews working on the helicopters mainly communicate by hand signal -
not radio - because it is so loud.
So, I'd say it seems at least in part a technology issue as well.
There may be boats and truck loads full of technology. If the
technology isn't appropriate or functional in the context, I suppose
you can call that a system problem but it strikes me as also a
technological one. But then again making a distinction between
technology and social/political/economic systems is inherently
problematic to begin with.
However, I am quite sure that the communication issue, agency
crosstalk, you refer to is unfortunately rampant as well.
ap
Andrew Pleasant wrote:
New Orleans official (I think the chief of police but not entirely
sure) just told CNN, "The biggest problem we are having right now is
communications."
ap
I dunno. I'm seeing videophones capturing images on television, which
implies not only that cellular networks are up, but that they are
relatively undamaged. The communication itself seems like a system
problem. The National Guard is there, the Coast Guard is there, the
Police are there
(http://www.nola.com/hurricane/t-p/katrina.ssf?/hurricane/katrina/stories/html/LOOT31.html
) and so on. FEMA's there, the CDC, and of course the Department of
Homeland Security. With the amount of technology available through all
of these groups, it's hard to say that the communications problem is
technical. Helicopters with bullhorns would work, if you think about it.
Of course, the people with real problems that are still there - the
handicapped/sick/aged - would need to be looked for door-to-door, which
with the manpower available is not a very large issue, though time is of
the essence. But the people who are left behind... the
socio-economically disadvantaged - they don't have weblogs, they
probably don't have cell phones and they probably don't have access to
regular phones (if the landlines are still working).
Yeah, the problem is communication probably - but that's not a
technology issue, I think. I think it's all the crosstalk between all
the agencies. It might be a regular Charlie Foxtrot when it comes to
who's in charge of what...
--
Taran Rampersad
Presently in: Georgetown, Guyana
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.knowprose.com
http://www.easylum.net
http://www.digitaldivide.net/profile/Taran
"Criticize by creating." - Michelangelo
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