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US customs and border protection is flying a surveillance drone over Minneapolis

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Re: US customs and border protection is flying a surveillance drone over Minneapolis

#21

Post by kec »

king_magic wrote: post #7

I don't really see the issue here with a surveillance drone to help keep the peace. I don't really care if it's "military technology" or not. Look, what happened was absolutely awful. People have a right to protest - and should, but peacefully. Riots, looting, burning buildings? Sorry, that's going to far. If the government starts firing rockets at people from that drone - well that's another story. But that is clear…

Predator drones can carry multiple air to ground missiles and guided bombs. This is the same model of drone which is used for drone strikes in the Middle East. There is no reasonable reason for a domestic civilian agency to own or use these drones over US soil vs models which are incapable of carrying armament.

Re: US customs and border protection is flying a surveillance drone over Minneapolis

#22

Post by pm90 »

This was very predictable. Tools invented for military operations abroad eventually, predictably find their way back domestically.

Despite that, its a dangerous thing to happen. I am aware of how unlikely it is for the current US Government to use the drone offensively, but once you have a massive fleet of drones flying over the US, patrolling "troubling" neighborhoods constantly, the temptation to use those abilities rises significantly.

I hope that Congress takes action to outlaw this practice, but I have little faith it will happen. It seems like everyday the country is falling further into the pit of becoming an authoritarian police state.

Re: US customs and border protection is flying a surveillance drone over Minneapolis

#23

Post by [deleted] »

chasd00 wrote: post #17
condesising wrote: post #4

I see that there’s a plausible connection, but the phrase “predator drone“ is a bit of a loaded phrase. While Minneapolis is embroiled in riots, I think this article may be Stokes paranoia a little bit.

iirc it's the equally poorly named Reaper drone that is armed and the one to be worried about. The predator drone is basically an R/C police helicopter. However, people have been freaked out about aerial surveillance for decades. It gets the clicks.

[deleted]

Re: US customs and border protection is flying a surveillance drone over Minneapolis

#24

Post by chasd00 »

daeken wrote: post #9
joshmn wrote: post #3

Native Minnesotan here — living in Minneapolis — that has lived on both coasts: With all that's happening the last few days, please don't generally associate Minnesotans with the violent riots that have captured the attention of everyone. The peacefulness of the protests and gatherings has been overshadowed by the violence. There are countless examples of Minnesotans standing up to those who choose to loot and destro…

> With all that's happening the last few days, please don't associate Minnesotans with the riots that have captured the attention of everyone. I understand what you're going for, but this is a bad approach. People aren't rioting because they want to destroy things, they're rioting because they don't feel like they're being heard. What you're saying here reads as "don't listen to them, they don't represent us" which i…

people do, indeed, riot and destroy things to steal and loot. That's the point. Notice it's not the police station being burned down.

Re: US customs and border protection is flying a surveillance drone over Minneapolis

#25

Post by dx87 »

cheschire wrote: post #8

Am I correct in assuming this is actively recording footage that will be processed later to identify the paths of criminals? edit: Interesting, I left this post an hour ago and it was getting upvotes, now it's negative with no negative responses. I wish the down arrow only worked on posts you replied to first.

I wouldn't be suprised. After the riots in Baltimore, a lot of people ended up getting arrested because they thought they police didn't care since they didn't stop the looting, but they just combed through footage afterward and arrested people in the following months.

Re: US customs and border protection is flying a surveillance drone over Minneapolis

#26

Post by Rebelgecko »

pera wrote: post #6
condesising wrote: post #4

I see that there’s a plausible connection, but the phrase “predator drone“ is a bit of a loaded phrase. While Minneapolis is embroiled in riots, I think this article may be Stokes paranoia a little bit.

That's the actual name of the aircraft: https://www.ga-asi.com/predator-b

It's usually called the Reaper, to distinguish from the original Predator

Re: US customs and border protection is flying a surveillance drone over Minneapolis

#27

Post by coldpie »

joshmn wrote: post #3

Native Minnesotan here — living in Minneapolis — that has lived on both coasts: With all that's happening the last few days, please don't generally associate Minnesotans with the violent riots that have captured the attention of everyone. The peacefulness of the protests and gatherings has been overshadowed by the violence. There are countless examples of Minnesotans standing up to those who choose to loot and destro…

Indeed. The riots and destruction are an unfortunate byproduct of the outpouring of pent up rage and grief. They are a distraction from the real issue, which is the summary execution by the state of people in the street. The police are 100% responsible for all destruction that has occurred this week. If they had not executed a man in the street, none of this would have happened.

Re: US customs and border protection is flying a surveillance drone over Minneapolis

#28

Post by king_magic »

kec wrote: post #21
king_magic wrote: post #7

I don't really see the issue here with a surveillance drone to help keep the peace. I don't really care if it's "military technology" or not. Look, what happened was absolutely awful. People have a right to protest - and should, but peacefully. Riots, looting, burning buildings? Sorry, that's going to far. If the government starts firing rockets at people from that drone - well that's another story. But that is clear…

Predator drones can carry multiple air to ground missiles and guided bombs. This is the same model of drone which is used for drone strikes in the Middle East. There is no reasonable reason for a domestic civilian agency to own or use these drones over US soil vs models which are incapable of carrying armament.

I'm aware of that, but it's extremely, extremely unlikely that this drone is carrying any sort of missiles. I can't prove that for certain, but let's be realistic here. The government could in theory drive a ballistic missile launcher hidden in an 18-wheeler into any major US city - should we not allow trucks on the road?

Re: US customs and border protection is flying a surveillance drone over Minneapolis

#29

Post by daeken »

chasd00 wrote: post #24
daeken wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> With all that's happening the last few days, please don't associate Minnesotans with the riots that have captured the attention of everyone. I understand what you're going for, but this is a bad approach. People aren't rioting because they want to destroy things, they're rioting because they don't feel like they're being heard. What you're saying here reads as "don't listen to them, they don't represent us" which i…

people do, indeed, riot and destroy things to steal and loot. That's the point. Notice it's not the police station being burned down.

> Notice it's not the police station being burned down.

A police station was burned today.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/protests-looting-erupt-...

https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/george-floyd-protest-update...

Re: US customs and border protection is flying a surveillance drone over Minneapolis

#30

Post by 49531 »

chasd00 wrote: post #24
daeken wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> With all that's happening the last few days, please don't associate Minnesotans with the riots that have captured the attention of everyone. I understand what you're going for, but this is a bad approach. People aren't rioting because they want to destroy things, they're rioting because they don't feel like they're being heard. What you're saying here reads as "don't listen to them, they don't represent us" which i…

people do, indeed, riot and destroy things to steal and loot. That's the point. Notice it's not the police station being burned down.

Well, also the fact that a police station is filled with armed police might also be a reason.
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