Man Dressed As Darth Vader Defends Flock Cameras to San Diego City Council (thehill.com) 59
A man dressed as Darth Vader used a Public Safety and Livable Neighborhoods Committee meeting in San Diego to mock the city's use of Flock surveillance cameras, sarcastically arguing that the technology would help the "emperor" track "rebel scum" and find Luke Skywalker. "This is what the emperor needs. This technology will help us find the rebel scum and the hidden base on Hoth," he said. The Hill reports: He urged that the cameras be used to surveil any "rebel scum as they move from playground to playground, from playground to pool, from pool to gymnasium, because we all know that the Flock cameras are not only following the license plate readers, they are following children." The plea for the cameras shifted to raising taxes to clear out storm drains and to the clearing of homeless encampments in the city. The man said the council members can use "doublespeak" to say the police department is humanitarian.
"And how will the people trust this City Council when this City Council continues to vote for surveillance technology that imprisons them? Ms. Campbell, you must work on your Jedi mind tricks," he said, addressing City Council member Jennifer Campbell, before waving his hand to the audience. "Do it like this." His last plea was for the Flock cameras to be used to "help us find Luke Skywalker as he traverses the universe in his X-wing." "This technology is a necessary, necessary force," he concluded. According to DeFlock, San Diego has more than 550 Flock cameras across the city.
"And how will the people trust this City Council when this City Council continues to vote for surveillance technology that imprisons them? Ms. Campbell, you must work on your Jedi mind tricks," he said, addressing City Council member Jennifer Campbell, before waving his hand to the audience. "Do it like this." His last plea was for the Flock cameras to be used to "help us find Luke Skywalker as he traverses the universe in his X-wing." "This technology is a necessary, necessary force," he concluded. According to DeFlock, San Diego has more than 550 Flock cameras across the city.
When Darth Vader is the voice of reason... (Score:5, Insightful)
I don't know who this guy is (Score:3)
Re: I don't know who this guy is (Score:2)
X-Wings have license plates? (Score:3)
Mr. Vader is right: the Empire needs better tracking technology to ensure order. It's for our own good!
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If you think they just track license plates you haven't been paying attention.
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Re: X-Wings have license plates? (Score:2)
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"Red 5" had five red stripes on the wings.
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... or do the orbital Flock cameras have some other kind of tracking technology? Imperial government contractors are highly sus since their systems accept older codes--especially when starships are being "flown casual".
Mr. Vader is right: the Empire needs better tracking technology to ensure order. It's for our own good!
X Wings have a color on their wings as well as a number of stripes to represent their "ID#". Guess how many stripes Luke's "Red 5" X-wing has?
Re:China virtually eliminated homicide (Score:5, Insightful)
So let me ask you .. approx. 4 deaths for every 100,000 people annually .. that's like 10,000+ per year people .. is it worth being able to go to a strip club secretly?
Yes
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So its really a combination of things..
1: Strong societal support in general (mental illness, jobs, food, health, etc..) means most of the pressure causes that lead to homicide are reduced.
2: Weapons l
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Most murder is premeditated
Eh? This is incorrect. Perhaps most fictional murders are premeditated, because that makes for a more interesting mystery to solve, but in real life, the vast majority murders are impulsive, spontaneous acts that happen during arguments, fights, or emotional outbursts (often with the help of alcohol and/or readily available weapons).
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It's not hard to kill someone with the bottle the alcohol came in. No need to go banning kitchen knives.
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So its really a combination of things..
1: Strong societal support in general (mental illness, jobs, food, health, etc..) means most of the pressure causes that lead to homicide are reduced.
2: Weapons l
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Re:China virtually eliminated homicide (Score:5, Insightful)
I'll take on a murder over cameras any day.
"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." - Benjamin Franklin
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"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." - Benjamin Franklin
I really need to attached a generator to Benjamin Franklin or something. The free energy from him spinning in his grave every time someone uses that quote could power Amazon's new datacentre.
The "essential liberty" Benjamin Franklin was talking about was the ability to levy taxes to build your own army, nothing to do with surveillance or freedom.
"Benjamin Franklin has got to be one of the most misquoted people on the internet." - Abraham Lincoln.
Re: China virtually eliminated homicide (Score:2, Troll)
No. I asked about surveillance, I didnâ(TM)t ask if we should have slave camps. The president of China wears socks, are you saying we shouldnâ(TM)t wear socks?
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China disappears people to concentration camps and widely uses slave labor.
And the US dissapears people to prison on trumped up charges and widely uses them as slave labour, so what's your point?
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Oh yeah btw, ICE has been capturing illegal immigrants that way by the thousands. You don't think they could do that to other "undesirables" when they run out of illegals?
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Oh yeah btw, ICE has been capturing illegal immigrants that way by the thousands. You don't think they could do that to other "undesirables" when they run out of illegals?
They've been sweeping up legal immigrants as well as citizens who look "wrong". That time has already come.
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"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety"
Benjamin Franklin
Re:China virtually eliminated homicide (Score:5, Insightful)
If eliminating homicide was the only effect the cameras had, I would consider it. But the cameras also enable all kinds of harmful abuse, as has been reported many times right here on slashdot.
Most crime, including violent crime, is a consequence of poverty driving people to desperation. Maybe we could find other ways of bringing that down. Like better education for the poorest areas and other forms of assistance that get people working again and eliminate the desperation. It might not be easy, but it's surely better than making ourselves so extremely vulnerable to the kinds of abuses that mass surveillance enables.
Re: China virtually eliminated homicide (Score:2)
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Most of the developed world has lower homicide rates than the US, and has had for a long time.
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So let me ask you .. approx. 4 deaths for every 100,000 people annually .. that's like 10,000+ per year people .. is it worth being able to go to a strip club secretly?
There's a lot wrong with your question.
Firstly, China's gun laws are among the strictest in the world. Private ownership of firearms is generally prohibited. You'll get better returns on matching China's homicide rates by matching their firearms laws than you will by catching up with them on surveillance.
Are you wiling to do that? I somehow doubt it. And to be a safe as china, you could do both -- give up your guns AND submit to a police surveillance state. What could go wrong?
China has done other things t
Re: China virtually eliminated homicide (Score:3)
Re: China virtually eliminated homicide (Score:2)
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Since you're keen to solve this problem you will agree with funding free mental health clinics? Social services to the poor and homeless? Education? I mean all those three are directly and causally linked to reduced homicide rates (and violent crime in general).
Why do you default to surveillance?
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So let me ask you .. approx. 4 deaths for every 100,000 people annually .. that's like 10,000+ per year people .. is it worth being able to go to a strip club secretly?
Absolutely. 100%.
But if you stop lying about surveillance being the reason and look at the fact they have socialized medicine, easy access to support for counseling and depression, near zero access to weapons, along with a strong culture of learning and education you quickly realize that many other things are at play.
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4.0 homicides per 100,000 people is the lowest rate since 1900 according to FBI data. That's a 44% decrease since 2021.
Canonically they were the good guys (Score:1)
Flock will change the contract (Score:2)
You can bet Flock will change the contract. And you'll like it.
These aren't the cameras you're looking for (Score:5, Funny)
It's funny to watch how people (Score:5, Insightful)
People like me have been warning people like that for years that eventually the psychopath doing this will get around to them. How George Carlin warned them.
And here we are and all I've got to say is I told you so.
Re:It's funny to watch how people (Score:4, Insightful)
> [People] who just spent the last 50 years blowing off democracy for nonsense moral panics and their particular interpretation of some dumb book somehow think that when the screws start to tighten on them that all of that machinery of democracy that they have cheerfully allowed to be dismantled is going to save them.
'I never thought leopards would eat MY face,' sobs woman who voted for the Leopards Eating People's Faces Party.
Great to see (Score:2)
We need more like this "Vader" and Count Binface [wikipedia.org] over in the UK to talk some _sense_ into our overlords.
Some heroes... (Score:3)
do wear capes and masks.... and helmets.
Exhausting (Score:1)
In Portland, Oregon... (Score:2)
https://youtu.be/cnVjkE87FDY?s... [youtu.be]
Watched, you are. (Score:2)
I don't get it (Score:2)
This fascination of grownups for children's movies is beyond me.