WTF. Blinding lasers aren't even allowed in combat during war, they're considered inhumane and banned under international law.
African firm is selling pepper-spray bullet firing drones
31–40 of 51 posts
Re: African firm is selling pepper-spray bullet firing drones
#32The problem with the tools we are currently seeing created is this:
Nigeria (for example) doesn't derive its power from the people; but from its oil, currently being pumped by Western oil companies. The populace are simply an expense. The source of their money comes from Exxon and Shell; their military might from foreign weapons manufacturers. I know a number of people who work for said manufacturers.
Re: African firm is selling pepper-spray bullet firing drones
#33Unfortunately, I can imagine militarized police departments all over the U.S. getting excited about these kinds of anti-crowd weapons.
A few drones plus an 'armored riot-control vehicle': https://inkasarmored.com/armored-riot-control-vehicle/ with a built in water canon and those evil protestors won't stand a chance.
Re: African firm is selling pepper-spray bullet firing drones
#34Side note: I'm always a little bothered when people attribute something from "Africa". Africa has 54 countries, c'mon people
What about when they attribute it to "Europe"? Africa is a place, and the countries there are more similar to each other than to other countries, so combining them is natural.
> the countries there are more similar to each other than to other countries, so combining them is natural.
That seems like a very inaccurate generalization. If you think, say, Egypt is "similar to" Madagascar, Malawi, or Mozambique, that's difficult to agree with.
They're in rough geographic proximity, if that's what you meant. But downtown Manhattan and Ecuador are also the same distance apart and they're pretty different.
Re: African firm is selling pepper-spray bullet firing drones
#35Side note: I'm always a little bothered when people attribute something from "Africa". Africa has 54 countries, c'mon people
What about when they attribute it to "Europe"? Africa is a place, and the countries there are more similar to each other than to other countries, so combining them is natural.
> Africa is a place, and the countries there are more similar to each other than to other countries
In what sense (other than "being located in Africa") are North African countries like Egypt or Algeria more like, say, any countries in central or southern Africa than they are like countries in the Middle East?
Re: African firm is selling pepper-spray bullet firing drones
#36Earlier quoted context omitted.
What about when they attribute it to "Europe"? Africa is a place, and the countries there are more similar to each other than to other countries, so combining them is natural.
> the countries there are more similar to each other than to other countries, so combining them is natural. That seems like a very inaccurate generalization. If you think, say, Egypt is "similar to" Madagascar, Malawi, or Mozambique, that's difficult to agree with. They're in rough geographic proximity, if that's what you meant. But downtown Manhattan and Ecuador are also the same distance apart and they're pretty di…
I had a feeling someone would mention Egypt. But despite where it actually is Egypt is usually called Middle East, not Africa.
And you didn't reply about people combining Europe - to someone in Europe France and Germany could not be more different - to someone outside Europe they are more similar than they are different.
Re: African firm is selling pepper-spray bullet firing drones
#37Earlier quoted context omitted.
>> That said I don't see why these folks don't have drones of their own There's some important historical context here. The client was a South African mining company (I assume - it said mining company, and the company is in South Africa). There were recent riots in South Africa between a miner's union and the mine, and the miner's got slaughtered (literally). Most likely not the same company, but miner's in South Afr…
The use of UAVs for commercial use, including this application, is at present illegal in South Africa. So it's not at all certain that the client is a South African mining company. You're oversimplifying the events at Marikana, which were somewhat more complex. The shooting itself was preceded by days of violence in which striking miners armed themselves with pangas (machetes) and guns and massacred two police office…
I would just point out to you in your rush to condemn the miner's desires for increased compensation that a software developer, even one with a three-year degree, is unlikely to be crushed or killed or suffocated or maimed in the course of their work.
That laborers who risk life and limb should demand part of the prodigious wealth they are responsible for extracting sounds eminently sensible.
So yeah.
Re: African firm is selling pepper-spray bullet firing drones
#38Earlier quoted context omitted.
>> That said I don't see why these folks don't have drones of their own There's some important historical context here. The client was a South African mining company (I assume - it said mining company, and the company is in South Africa). There were recent riots in South Africa between a miner's union and the mine, and the miner's got slaughtered (literally). Most likely not the same company, but miner's in South Afr…
The use of UAVs for commercial use, including this application, is at present illegal in South Africa. So it's not at all certain that the client is a South African mining company. You're oversimplifying the events at Marikana, which were somewhat more complex. The shooting itself was preceded by days of violence in which striking miners armed themselves with pangas (machetes) and guns and massacred two police office…
Uh, so what if they earn more than a recent graduate? I'm sure their work is plenty dangerous and also no doubt extremely profitable for the mining company, so if they want to organize to get a reasonable wage then fair play to them in my book.
Re: African firm is selling pepper-spray bullet firing drones
#39I am surprised that anyone would be caught off guard by this sort of thing. After all it is going to be much more effective to fly over a crowd and shoot at them than to try to hit them from behind a riot shield. The Union outrage is interesting too, mostly because I agree that as your government (or companies) acquire tools for crowd control it certainly has a chilling effect on peaceful assembly. That said I don't…
>> That said I don't see why these folks don't have drones of their own There's some important historical context here. The client was a South African mining company (I assume - it said mining company, and the company is in South Africa). There were recent riots in South Africa between a miner's union and the mine, and the miner's got slaughtered (literally). Most likely not the same company, but miner's in South Afr…
>Most likely not the same company, but miner's in South Africa have a long, unfair history and it's getting worse.
Not much unlike the miners in the US:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludlow_Massacre
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlan_County_War
Re: African firm is selling pepper-spray bullet firing drones
#40Earlier quoted context omitted.
>> That said I don't see why these folks don't have drones of their own There's some important historical context here. The client was a South African mining company (I assume - it said mining company, and the company is in South Africa). There were recent riots in South Africa between a miner's union and the mine, and the miner's got slaughtered (literally). Most likely not the same company, but miner's in South Afr…
The use of UAVs for commercial use, including this application, is at present illegal in South Africa. So it's not at all certain that the client is a South African mining company. You're oversimplifying the events at Marikana, which were somewhat more complex. The shooting itself was preceded by days of violence in which striking miners armed themselves with pangas (machetes) and guns and massacred two police office…
>Their non-negotiable salary demand of approximately US$1170 in base pay plus another US$470 in benefits takes them into the upper percentile of all South Africans and is more than a software developer with a three-year degree earns on entering the workplace.
Well, miners in general create more value for their country and the world than the average "software developer with a three-year degree". Without modern computers you'd live in a 60s - 70s kind of society -- not very advanced technologically but tolerable. Without mining we'd live in a 1000 B.C. kind of environment (actually worse -- they still mined stuff back then).
Heck, without miners there wouldn't even be computers for the software developer to work on (CPUs, batteries etc materials very much tied to mining)!
>Those types of wages aren't sustainable
Says who? The mining companies? The same companies who used child labor ("coal breakers") and paid miners a pittance while making a killing throughout the 20th century, especially taking advantage of immigrant and black miners?