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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

#381

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find it really sad that Target and other stores damaged in the protests may never return. Insurance and risk assessment may unfortunately decide reopening in a certain area is too dangerous.

Target leaving is only a good thing - local business can regain ground in its absence.

I understand your meaning, SMBs, but Target is based in Minneapolis, so one could argue it IS a local business :)

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

#382
post #275
post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well this is what we get for not listening. If your family and friends were being executed constantly you'd give up and rage too. Everyone has a breaking point - republicans were about to riot over wearing a mask to protect their families; these people are rioting over being murdered and ignored. Disproportionate and inconsistent application are also a huge issue here - where were the drones when domestic terrorists…

If someone is unhappy about not being listened to and their response is to burn down half a neighborhood in my city maybe there was a good reason we weren’t listening to everything they had to say. They don’t seem interested in reasoning, only in taking what they want by force. The armed protesters in Michigan were being jackasses but afaik they didn’t start looting or committing arson (or even hurt anyone for that m…

> If someone is unhappy about not being listened to and their response is to burn down half a neighborhood in my city maybe there was a good reason we weren’t listening to everything they had to say.

They were saying “don’t kill me”. This argument is blatantly racist.

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

#383
post #365

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> democratic consent of the governed Just playing devil's advocate - but this is democratically consented to. Your elected politicians have specifically allowed the sale or transfer of retired military equipment to state and local police forces, for multiple reasons but the least-of-which was cost savings vs. scrapping all the prepaid equipment. Similar, but admittedly not quite the same, to the sale of demilitarized…

Yeah in the same sense of how we all democratically opted in to mass surveillance or encryption breaking. Let's be honest the people who are at the receiving end of this technology haven't been democratically decided anything in a long time. What this actually is, is what Sheldon Wolin called inverted totalitarianism and when it comes to these police measures that's not even an exaggeration. Just as a random question…

The solution is to vote-out the out-of-touch career politicians then, no?

I have a suspicion, being a Senator for 40 years sort of removes you from the concerns of everyday Americans.

These are the same Senators (and Representatives) that vote for these measures. They'll never be the target of these surveillance schemes... and when they are, they throw a huge fit[1] because they're supposedly above all of it. They're the same people who ban guns from the public, but own operate and illegally traffic them themselves[2].

They're the same ones that don't have to be strip searched every time they fly, but I digress...

[1] https://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2014/03/13/pelosi-alle...

[2] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/02/2...

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

#384

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> These protests are at least partly drummed up by out of state agitators This is a scary response. We saw, today, a black CNN reporter arrested by state police on live television. If that’s how an educated, gently-speaking, Constitutionally-protected member of the press is treated, there is a root issue festering. Blaming it on agitators deflects from introspection. A big part of the problem is Minneapolis’s moderat…

If you watched an of the live feeds from the last two nights there are plenty of people who announce that they're from e.g. Nebraska and part of some Antifa faction. >A big part of the problem is Minneapolis’s moderates have turned a blind eye to the problems in their police force for years. I don't understand how people can honestly think this is true. The Police Commissioner is literally the guy from Internal Affai…

I don't know if you've seen a map of the area, but outside of St Louis way to the south, Minneapolis is pretty much the only metro area near the states of ND, SD, NE, IA, MN. Many minorities in these states have felt marginalized for decades (particularly the Native American people, but that's a whole different story). Driving to the closest metro area in solidarity is the only choice for many people to be part of the cause they support without having to do it individually.

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

#385

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Remember, Obama order the extrajudicial killing of an American because he was a member of a terrorist organization. Terrorism is a crime in the United States. Hence there should have been an attempt to arrest.

I strongly disagree with drone striking, but arresting someone in an effectively hostile territory isn't a simple or safe job. Your only hope there is that he enters an airport, or international waters.

[deleted]

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

#386
post #224

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find it funny that we expect black Americans to peacefully protest. "Please use this system of peaceful protest that hasn't worked for you since forever." LA was 92, we're almost 30 years to the year. Has anything changed? Do you tell HK protestors to write a letter to the CCP instead? It's such a double-standard.

I'd argue the situation has gotten significantly worse since '92. Post-9/11, especially in the early to mid '00s, there was this fetishization of the military and military aesthetic in American culture that had changed the public's appetite towards militarized police. It is important to consider that a significant portion of the public thinks "the troops" aren't going far enough to end the protests in Minneapolis.

> It is important to consider that a significant portion of the public thinks "the troops" aren't going far enough to end the protests in Minneapolis.

It should be noted that most mainland Chinese shared that same opinion, with respect to Hong Kong.

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

#387
post #248

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think we first need to determine what is upsetting about this, specifically. Is it that they are flying a UAV that was originally designed for military use? Or is it that they are flying a UAV period? What if it was a new UAV, designed just for law enforcement? No problems then? Presumably this UAV has no weapons on it, so I'm unsure what the problem could be unless we just flat oppose former military equipment bei…

>So, what specifically is it that we don't like about this situation? The ongoing militarization of state level police forces without the democratic consent of the governed for a start?

> The ongoing militarization of state level police forces without the democratic consent of the governed for a start?

Are you living in the same country as me? The “governed” love this stuff, and keep voting for the people that do it. Civil liberties has always been something that has to be achieved through anti-democratic means.

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

#388
post #22

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 abilitie…

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

I've been saying for ages that these overseas actions are proving grounds for testing malicious tech - for it's eventual deployment against US citizens.

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

#389
post #9
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…

Your words almost exactly echo Marilyn Manson’s commentary on the columbine shootings. Interesting parallel. He was asked what he would say to the shooters and he said “I wouldn’t say a single word to them. I’d listen to what they have to say. And that’s what no one did.”

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

#390
post #383

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah in the same sense of how we all democratically opted in to mass surveillance or encryption breaking. Let's be honest the people who are at the receiving end of this technology haven't been democratically decided anything in a long time. What this actually is, is what Sheldon Wolin called inverted totalitarianism and when it comes to these police measures that's not even an exaggeration. Just as a random question…

The solution is to vote-out the out-of-touch career politicians then, no? I have a suspicion, being a Senator for 40 years sort of removes you from the concerns of everyday Americans. These are the same Senators (and Representatives) that vote for these measures. They'll never be the target of these surveillance schemes... and when they are, they throw a huge fit[1] because they're supposedly above all of it. They're…

It’s not clear to me that the Senators voting for this aren’t similarly situated to “everyday Americans.” Remember when armed civilians stormed the Michigan Capitol and nothing happened? They aren’t politically connected, etc. Maybe the folks who keep electing these senators correctly perceive that the power of the state won’t be used against them, so long as they belong to the majority.
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