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San Diego Implemented City-Wide Streetlight Surveillance

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Re: San Diego Implemented City-Wide Streetlight Surveillance

#252
post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But you know they won't. There is a lot of money to be made in going along. Heck, I probably wouldn't refuse big money from google for a few years. Maybe after having enough money I would eventually turn into a freedom activist, but who knows?

Would you have helped to build Auschwitz if you got paid enough money?

There's a quote by Polish nobelist Wiesława Szymborska:

"Tyle wie­my o so­bie, ile nas spraw­dzo­no"

Which translates roughly to:

"We only know as much about ourselves, as we've been tried"

During WW2 there was a lot of atrocities committed by people against their own. Not just Nazis against Poles or Jews, but Poles against Poles, Jews against Jews, Ukrainians against Ukrainians....etc etc. People who were given a choice to either hunt and kill their own, or have their families killed. Nazis frequently got the native population to do the most evil stuff(for the promise of being left alone in exchange), even documenting it on film and photos to show it back in Germany as "look at those barbarians killing each other".

Basically we don't know what we would do in case of extreme adversity until we actually face it. I personally wish with all my being that my test will never come.

Re: San Diego Implemented City-Wide Streetlight Surveillance

#253
post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Access to the video is very limited and subject to strict protocols for use in investigations." That's what they all say. It's an empty platitude at best. "the audio recording capability isn't live" Yet . It is still present, though, and could become live should San Diego decide it to be useful.

Yes exactly this. The "trust us, we are very careful with this ability to spy on you" should be taken with a grain of salt.

"Benevolent dictatorships" only last until the term of the politician is over. The successors didn't make any promises to not use the surveillance system to the fullest extent possible and therefore at least one of them will.

Re: San Diego Implemented City-Wide Streetlight Surveillance

#254
post #43

This is what so sad about tech, it gives those in power unprecedented abilities to control the population. Essentially heading back to slavery through technology with no way out for the slaves anymore.

> Essentially heading back to slavery through technology with no way out for the slaves anymore.

I wouldn't be so sure about that. Not with the many weapons circulating in the US.

Just look at what the French can do with basically stones and molotovs as weapons. No matter how brutal the French police act, the population is not afraid of telling their leadership how much they suck in terms that they can understand.

Now imagine a France Gilets Jaunes-level protest wave in the US, just with the demonstrators armed with AR15, proper bombs and a boatload of protective armor. That would be a bloodshed. Aside from "mowing down protesters" being very bad PR even for the most conservative media outlets, I doubt that the US government would risk something like that to happen.

Other countries with an unarmed population not used to protests that go beyond holding up signs like Germany, however, they're a different game. And it shows. Our politicians implement one authoritarian measure after another and the only thing people went on to the streets to protest is Article 13.

Re: San Diego Implemented City-Wide Streetlight Surveillance

#255
post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But you know they won't. There is a lot of money to be made in going along. Heck, I probably wouldn't refuse big money from google for a few years. Maybe after having enough money I would eventually turn into a freedom activist, but who knows?

Would you have helped to build Auschwitz if you got paid enough money?

Funnily enough, this isn't some outlandish hypothetical. American IT workers literally helped build Auschwitz.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_during_World_War_II

Re: San Diego Implemented City-Wide Streetlight Surveillance

#256
post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

More articles like this to raise awareness and importance of issues. Getting younger people who give a shit to vote, and to become immune to the bogus fear mongering. Hope the baby boomers die off of old age before the panopticon is built.

Why would you think that young people would be more inclined to not accept a surveillance state?

Good question. Younger people in general seem to be less fearful, presumably for reasons human nature (as your mobility, visual and mental acuity etc decrease the world simply becomes more dangerous, though most threats are things like bathtubs).

Also though the kids at the moment seem to understand better the risk/reward benefits of some technologies and have a better idea what actual risks they take. You see this in voting patterns.

Re: San Diego Implemented City-Wide Streetlight Surveillance

#257

Since the introduction of cameras used at intersections to penalize stop light violators (made famous by a former mayor who ran a red light while getting a blow job from his mistress), San Diego has always been experimenting with surveillance technology especially thereafter. Those intersection cameras have been minimized from county wide implementation at its height. Being a border city and a major military hub for…

> "Those intersection cameras..." Fun fact: Intersection cameras have been proven to cause more accidents, as more people slam on their brakes to avoid a ticket then coast through the light.

That sounds exactly like an urban myth along the same lines as 'seatbelts kill more people than they save'. Has it ever been proved?

Worth also noting that rear-end crashes are generally less dangerous than t-bones. For similar reasons, roundabouts can be preferable to standard crossroads even if they result in a higher number of collisions.

Re: San Diego Implemented City-Wide Streetlight Surveillance

#258

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Not sure what to do about it though. If my city ever decided to implement surveillance on that scale, vandalism is clearly on the table. Just try to sabotage the network first. Would help you not get caught, at least for a while. In essence: Increase the rate of criminality. They were asking for it.

What do you have to hide? Okay, bad joke, April 1 is over. In seriousness: please don't do that (yet). If you care deep enough to do all that, why don't you join the local government, the local media, start your own local media, become a counter-movement that doesn't go against the law?

Because the government never asked permission?

Yes, destruction of government property is a crime, but widespread deployment of surveillance dragnet is a far more clear and present danger to everyone.

It's one of those rare cases through which the government, by doing something, has made the place less "safe" for what? A bit of security? Boulderdash! If anything it's yet another test case on how far total public space information dominance can be pushed. It's a social engineering ploy that needed to stay in the pages of a book of speculative fiction.

Re: San Diego Implemented City-Wide Streetlight Surveillance

#259
post #43

This is what so sad about tech, it gives those in power unprecedented abilities to control the population. Essentially heading back to slavery through technology with no way out for the slaves anymore.

It also gives tech workers unprecedented abilities to fight it. Software engineers need to take social responsibility for what they create.

Just to play devil's advocate: Have you removed FAANG companies from your retirement portfolio? Including all indexes? Do you use zero FAANG products and/or services unless required by your job? ........ People need to take social responsibility for the companies they patron, support and benefit from. (It is really hard to be this black and white. Also, there are tons of evil companies like Nestle and Montesanto and ...)
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