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  • From: B <beeline AT mindspring.com>
  • To: InterNetWorkers <internetworkers AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Wanna be a NET Guardian? (As tho you aren't already)
  • Date: Sat, 29 Sep 2001 19:29:21 -0400


Many of y'all would be left out of this, as many don't work for "major
and medium sized [IT] firms," but still....

Declan McCullagh wrote:
>
> http://wyden.senate.gov/9262001%20Tech%20Corps%20Statement.htm
>
> Remarks of Senator Ron Wyden to the United States Senate
> Proposing a National Emergency Technology Guard (NET Guard)
>
> Senator Wyden chairs the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Science,
> Technology and Space.
>
> "I am interested in discussing with the Senate a proposition that I
> think is important in light of the tragic events that unfolded on
> September 11, 2001. As all of us understand now, the communications
> infrastructure of New York, Washington, DC, and indeed the whole
> country, was severely challenged.
>
> "Wireless telephone networks were severely overloaded and crashed.
> Wireless Internet access was suspended. Telephone lines were cut, and
> communications, for people literally in communities around the East
> Coast of the United States, came to a standstill. Even the immediate
> communication needs of rescue workers, victims, families and aid
> groups were a struggle to coordinate. Survivors often could not let
> family members know they were safe. Families of victims had no
> immediate central clearinghouse to find information or file missing
> persons reports.
>
> "Hospitals were inundated with searches, requests for help and offers
> of aid, but no way to match them to each other. Even some of our
> nation's premier aid organizations, who have done such a marvelous job
> helping rescue workers, survivors and victims' families, faced
> immediate and severe challenges with respect to information technology
> infrastructure. The New York Times drew a conclusion that I strongly
> agree with: There need to be new ways to set up emergency information
> systems.
>
> "That's what I'd like to propose. What this country needs is
> essentially a technology equivalent of the National Guard: a National
> Emergency Technology Guard - NET Guard - that in times of crisis would
> be in a position to mobilize our nation's information technology, or
> IT, community to action quickly, just as the National Guard is ready
> to move during emergencies.
>
> "In our leading technology companies in this nation, there are the
> brains and the equipment to put in place this NET Guard, that could be
> deployed across this country when we face tragedies like we saw in New
> York City. A national volunteer organization of trained and
> well-coordinated units of IT professionals from our leading technology
> companies ought to be in a position to stand ready with designated
> computer equipment, satellite dishes, wireless communicators and other
> equipment to quickly recreate and repair compromised communications
> and technology infrastructures.
>
> "With Congressional support, the leaders of our nation's technology
> companies could organize themselves, their employees, and their
> resources for this purpose. Medium and small-sized businesses would be
> able to contribute once a national framework was put in place. The
> resources from the federal level need not be extensive; people could
> be designated from existing human resource pools at major and medium
> sized firms and these IT professionals would be trained to perform
> specific tasks in the event of an emergency.
>
> "I intend to use the Subcommittee that I chair to initiate a dialogue
> among Congressional, corporate, military and non-profit leaders to
> begin a new effort to mobilize information technology in times of
> crisis. As we seek to prevent future disasters, I believe the
> technology professionals of this nation, like most Americans, want to
> use their skills, their equipment, and their talents to this call and
> do their part. I propose we give leading information technology
> professionals a chance to use their ingenuity and creativity to insure
> greater safety and stability for our communities and our citizens in
> the coming days."
>
> ---
>
> http://wyden.senate.gov/9262001%20Tech%20Corps.htm
>
> Wyden Issues Call
> for Emergency Technology Corps
>
> NET Guard Would Repair, Restore Communications in Crisis
>
> Washington, DC
> - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) today called for the formation of a
> National Emergency Technology Guard (NET Guard) to mobilize as a
> technological equivalent of the military's National Guard in times of
> national crisis, including terror attacks and natural disasters. To
> complement other disaster response efforts, Wyden suggested that U.S.
> information technology (IT) companies could organize and lead a
> national volunteer response team to quickly reactivate and safeguard
> the nation's communication capability and infrastructure in times of
> critical need.
>
> "As we seek to prevent future disasters, we must still prepare to meet
> them. I believe the technology professionals of this nation, like all
> Americans, are ready to answer the call and do their part,"
> said Wyden. "The formation of a National Emergency Technology Guard
> will give them that chance, and insure greater safety and stability
> for our communities and our citizens in the coming days."
>
> The September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon
> temporarily crippled much of the communications infrastructure of New
> York, Washington, DC, and other parts of the nation, hampering rescue
> and response efforts. Wireless telephone networks were severely
> overloaded and crashed. Wireless Internet access was suspended.
> Telephone lines were cut, and communications, for many people, came to
> a standstill. Rescue workers, victims, families and aid groups
> struggled to coordinate their communication and technology needs.
>
> NET Guard would be a national volunteer organization of trained and
> well-coordinated units of IT professionals from U.S. technology
> companies. These units would stand ready with designated computer
> equipment, satellite dishes, wireless communicators and other
> resources to quickly recreate and repair compromised communications
> and technology infrastructures. Volunteers would be designated from
> existing human resource pools at major and medium sized firms and
> these IT professionals would be trained to perform specific tasks in
> the event of an emergency.
>
> Wyden, chair of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Science,
> Technology and Space, intends to initiate a dialogue among government,
> corporate, military and non-profit leaders to begin a new effort to
> mobilize information technology in times of crisis.
>
> # # #
>
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------
> POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list
> You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice.
> Declan McCullagh's photographs are at http://www.mccullagh.org/
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> This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------

--
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=====================================
"If you get to thinkin' you're
a person of some influence, try
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=====================================
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  • Wanna be a NET Guardian? (As tho you aren't already), B, 09/29/2001

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