Ever heard of the "Kill Switch"? No, I'm not talking about a database blackout and I'm certainly not referring to a band. The concept of the "Kill Switch" is that of a means to cease mass communication across a globally significant region. Remember how the Joker, Cobra Commander and various other villians would hi-jack television broadcasts and make threats or demands to superheroes and the public masses? Well, the Kill Switch would be a means for them to do so. It blocks the sending and receiving of transmissions and allows for a single message to be relayed to all devices that would be sending or receiving those transmissions.
Now, that I have your attention, rest assured, I'm not saying that we have to worry about Magneto making a public announcement. Unfortunately, something a little more ominous is taking place at 2:00 PM EST on November 9, 2011. At that time, the EAS will be activated for, as stated, three minutes, to, as stated, test its performance.
"Only the President has the authority to activate EAS at the national level, and he has delegated that authority to the Director of FEMA. The test will be conducted jointly by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through FEMA, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Weather Service (NWS)."
When the EAS is activated, so begins the first test of the "Kill Switch". All radio and television; local, satellite or otherwise; will be interupted.
Here are some links to articles, including the FCC's annoucement:
The BlazeCanada Free PressFCC
