They must be getting ready for some pretty heavy-duty suppression of protests and/or riots. Here come the final nails in the coffin of totalitarianism. We are frighteningly complacent while they usher in their plans to have complete control. This is truly scary.
Just one more example of the extremes that we are now seeing in the USA. Sadly, even these will probably not extract any responses by the media (controlled as they are by the Vanguards, Blackrocks and government instrumentalities,) and even more frighteningly, will be ignored by the people.They have learnt to accept extremes in all aspects of their lives. Life goes on. It's what is now the new norm.
Complacency reigns supreme.
In past comments stimulated by the articles by Caitlin, I have mentioned that until events start to directly impact the daily lives of the American people, not the corrupt political class, nothing in that country will change. I can remember some years ago the voter turnout for a Primary in Arizona was less than 27%, so the voters ended up with a McCain…..again.
With reference to the geography of the USA, tucked away between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, enjoying as it is a complete isolation from all the US / Israel engineered wars in the Middle East and Europe, the people over the years must have developed a staggering level of complacency to have tolerated the presidents that have been elected, allowed the Neocon controls and the influences of the likes of Hilary Clinton, the present Biden /Blinken /Nuland shambles and to top it off, the well known control by Israel over both houses of US government.
Just think on that one for one moment. No wonder the UN has done nothing to cease the criminal occupying apartheid regime in Israel for 55 years.
Add to that , the proliferation of the Neocon and Jewish lobby groups occupying the halls of power in almost every US state, funding every election to suit their apartheid demands in Israel.”We own America” says Israel, and they do.
Now until that current country management structure is threatened (internally or threatened by an outside nuclear force) and the people can see clearly where the danger lies with the current regime and the one likely to follow in 2024, the tolerance of robots, the over-use of police powers, the emphasis on hegemonic pursuits throughout the whole world, the use of criminal sanctions and wars for the sake of American power and control, will continue, unfettered.
Nothing is going to change until the American people wake up and then understand the reality and values of their own present day America. Believing the media in the USA will never ever do it. Just check out the ownership.
It absolutely is. All the while the very people who will slide down into the pit cheer them on. People in this country still believe the police are here to protect them and anything to protect "These Heroes" is a good thing. This is a taught behavior since childhood. They are security for the rich and corporate communities NOT WE THE PEOPLE! They are paid through a corporation with taxpayers money! Remember driving into most any city or town in America and did you just glance at and ignore the sign that says "Incorporated"? There you go.
The basic problem is that people are not empathic enough. Some are, of course, but let me just tell a little story.
I have a friend who runs a grocery store in part of Kansas City, MO, where we live. She notes that they have sky-high murder and other crimes. The population has garbage schools, and if you call the police (in case of violence), they will arrive after about an hour or so.
I was listening to the "Deep Dives with Monica Perez" podcast, and she basically pointed out that if people had enough empathy, we wouldn't have sky-high murder, rape, assault, poverty, and despair in places like central city, KC, MO, USA, for literally 55+ years straight.
it is not the local population's fault. Here is why:
Political consultant Naomi Wolf, who worked for Al Gore, said that when things are shit, they just assumed that was because that was the way politicians wanted it to be that way. As Caitlin has pointed out on numerous occasions:
That is the purpose of propaganda. To sell us a great big shit sandwich, and make us think it is nutritious and delicious.
So, for 55+ years, it appears right to say: the people running KC want it to be poor, isolated, fat, sick, and depressed.
Why? Probably power and money and sex with minors, like Jeffrey Epstein, CIA.
Ultimately, while I realize there are sociopaths who run things (Biden, Pelosi, etc.), the truth of the matter is: if the rest of us had enough empathy, we would:
* Not allow murderous robots;
* Stop crime in places like KC, MO;
* Have real education. I'm a teacher. I can see 500 flaws in our bullshit system;
* Truly help people.
Related: we could probably end world hunger for $7 billion a year. Less if sociopaths would stop making it hard for people to farm.
My thesis is: we need more empathy. That is the root cause of all of these problems we face. Otherwise, how will we stop the sociopaths? And their propaganda?
True, but what people listen to and believe is being controlled. So how do you create "empathy" under those conditions. What I see in all of this is perhaps a "settling" where others who enjoy some "privilege" find themselves not enjoying that "privilege" any more. EU is "enjoying" mass uprising of their workers and France and others have long histories of working "class" people. I see a shit show, but I don't see the outcome. American people are too complacent. They lived too long off the blood of other nations. Why should they stop being vampires?
Yeah, we got a great deal of laptops warriors. Some of them, that I would not necessarily describe as laptop warriors. I love that they teach me things a public education does not teach. Like Patrick Lawrence who introduced me to the totally ironic idea of China inventing a peace plan that could work for the world in juxtaposition of the USA demonizing China. Honestly, learning this from Lawrence was huge.
I go out every Weds night in my small town and hold signs that I keep changing as I learn more. I get the middle finger a lot, but more honks in approval. I am both a life long learner and a life long teacher. Some things I learned late in life. One was The Five Principles of Peace written by Zhou Enlai in 1953. I tried to put those five principles on one board that a drive by public could read but the five principles were too long and a drive by public would not be able to read it. So I put the first principle on a huge lightly weighted board, and the second on the other side, which I flip so car drivers can see both.
I plan to put the remaining three principles of peace on another large board, but I need to afford a "stand" that helps me hold multiple signs at once, while I protect them against wind. I think in a small town, this is effective public education, but may need more "tools" for one person to handle all the messages and the principles that need be taught. It is "street" education. I often don't have the means because I could not "go for" the American dream when I saw long years ago what that cost other peoples in other nations. I am poor on purpose, and it frees me more than lots of money or home ownership ever would. I've tried to be a home owner even thru a gov't program, but they sold me houses full of mold, twice,; my children got sick, I got sick and smart too. As a first ever home buyer, I did not realize I should never let the bank making me the loan to provide the home inspection. On 9/11, same infamous day, I had another inspection and he found what a guy who ended up on the local school board did not: House was full of mold, had no moisture barrier or necessary vents. Sought legal aid, but said legal aid did not see making money off my case and after taking it up, they dropped it without explanation. Too much info, I'm sure, but you can see why I'm soured in more ways than one on those who left me and my family sick in a moldy house without recourse and my own ability to research what might save my kids and me. Doctors had no ideas for our symptoms but there was an online group who suffered the same and who said get GSE, which was much more powerful then.
I have no privileged education, but an MA in English and a BA in Communications. What I have is heart for truth and intuition about my country, love for my children and what they face in this future of financialization and militarization, and what comes after that. Been reading Michael Hudson and others that explain the rightness inside me that had no economic explanation. I see I have never been wrong and I am learning more reasons why I am right. It's a good thing to die with. It will be enough.
I think a big part of what you have written here is indeed called "Empathy" isn't it!? I am very much like you in that I gave up the fight for material goods over 30 years ago as I had the loss of many family members and learned the hard way "You Can't Take It With You"!
It's true, especially about the world hunger. More people die of starvation every year than ever were threatened by covid, yet no worldwide emergency has been declared to do anything about it. Isolating people with masks and social distancing is more effective a tool at controlling a population than feeding people appropriately.
I agree with you fully. The problem as I see it is that these Mass Murdering Sociopaths have absolutely no empathy. As they are devoid of it I do not see how it could be possible to inject it, force it or get them to feel it. It is obvious that the death of millions has not brought out one tenth of an ounce of empathy yet and they are not done working on the next billion or so. I think pain for these people is a far better teacher.
This is the part of the inherent problem in how we are brainwashed into the belief war is the answer. In fact I think it is a portion of the species which has this self destructive nature built into it's DNA. The only way past this is like trying to stop smoking long enough to overcome the urge! If that process could be promoted in our DNA it would fix the problem of Mass Murdering Sociopaths!
I would also agree with you that violence is not going to be our answer as look who has the robots and have prepared for this very event. This is their normal response "Death and Destruction".
I live in northern California not far from San Francisco and this is absolutely insane. The worst part is that this has only been lightly covered by the news here, if at all. When it is covered, people seem to shrug and not care ("I doubt a police robot would actually kill a person") or they are boot lickers and think armed robots controlled by the police are a fabulous idea.
Local governments like those here in northern California dump the majority of their budgets into police and the carceral system. All while there is no safety net at all for regular working taxpayers like me. It's disgusting.
I'm glad to see this article, Caitlin. I thought I was losing my mind by being the only one who's taken notice of this foolishness.
Yes, we have great power, but we are led not to believe in our power. And, so we don't, but might someday when it also might be too late to realize it. Read The Power of the Powerless.
6. Most billionaires live and roam incognito in SF. And financially wealthy Elder politicians.
The city does not care about solving the consequences of the organized street and drug criminals and hate crimes. The victims and residents are spoon fed with false promises with a smile.
Yes, SF & Oakland have an insidious plan in motion to protect only the very wealthy.
WhenI first read about the killbot "dogs" I thought, "Ah ha! Now police departments won't have to pay benefits to human officers and cover them for mallpractice. They've got robots to do all the dirty work like killing citizens." Then I thought, "We're really in trouble if we don't prevent them from implementing these killbots everywhere." Let's pray we all live long enough to put an end to these killing machines.
These abominations will become the norm. But what should follow is that citizens discover a way to fuck them up. Maybe by showering them with magnets, or drenching them in salt water to short circuit their electronic systems, who knows? One thing is for sure, these cop drones are the tools of tyranny, not guardians of Liberty. Much like police forces themselves, really.
You are right, Caitlin, to focus on the police use of killer robots. The core of the problem is their use by the military, for it is from there that the technology "trickles down" to the civilian arm of legalized force.
Just recently we have seen an attack on the Russian Naval port at Sevastopol by marine robots. The USA has just announced that they will station 100 robot boats in the Persian Gulf by 2023. The skies in Ukraine are littered with 'copters spotting the enemy or delivering explosive ordinance.
We have moved our technology for killing our fellow human beings along a line; fists, clubs, swords and arrows, muskets, machine guns and artillery, rocket and missiles. To really screw things up, people decided to put nuclear warheads on rockets. All of these required some human interaction. We are now moving towards autonomous robots.
Some positive news: Oakland shut down the lethal uses of the robot thanks to civilian police oversight ...
"OPD and Police Commission ad hoc committee on the equipment policy returned to the table and eventually developed a use policy that prohibits offensive use of any of the robot arm attachments, including the pan disruptor. The use policy specifically prohibits arming the pan disruptor with a live round or using it offensively against people. The ground robot can still armed with an OC—pepper—cannister capability, however—though the OPD is restricted on how it can use such weapons."
... thanks in large part to one supremely diligent volunteer member of the public.
"During Wednesday's ad hoc meeting—the last before the City deadline—OPD brought their use policies for various attachments to standard remote controlled ground robots, including the potentially lethal one, the “pan disrupter”. The pan disrupter is a breaching/explosives detonation tool that can be attached to the robot and uses a blank shotgun shell and water pressure system to breach door locks or detonate suspicious packages. During the meeting, a civilian ad hoc member, Jennifer Tu, asked if the device could use live rounds, which would effectively make it a shotgun. The acknowledgment by police representative, Omar Daza-Quiroz, that the device not only could, but that the OPD intended to keep the option of using the device on people in exigent circumstances visibly caught participants by surprise. Ad hoc committee member and Police Commissioner Jesse Hsieh described "shock" learning that the pan disrupter was capable of utilizing live ammunition. When Hsieh asked if the OPD planned on using the lethal capacity, Daza-Quiroz pushed back that the OPD wanted to hold on to that capacity as an ultimate contingency."
Two comments. one is that a feature of this technology is that when a bot kills someone, no one will get the badge number; there will be no chance of cop accountability. Yes, someone told the robot to shoot but it will be easy for the cops to hide that person 's identity. My related comment is that I'm more worried about killer drones. I visualize a day when powerful people will be able to track an enemy and have the drone turn the enemy into a puddle of goo. The person's friends, any onlookers, will complain and demand an investigation; then some of them turn into piles of goo. After that no one complains anymore. This is absolute power because the killers can't be brought to justice (but they may turn on each other). It could be that the killer "dogs" (I absolutely agree that making them look a little like dogs and calling them that was deliberate PR) are a practice run, perfecting the killing technology before using it on drones--already in use by the military, perhaps soon to be used by police and then private individuals and of course CORPORATIONS, which have already been involved in "fusion centers" with police in the US. By the time it's really out of hand, there won't be a meaningful distinction between cops, corporate security and private security. And mafia.
"By the time it's really out of hand, there won't be a meaningful distinction between cops, corporate security and private security."
I can tell you, from first hand personal experience, that we're already there and have been for several years.
Back in 2008, I was taking photographs of refineries along the Delaware River in NJ for a piece of journalism on pending legislation that would exempt them from the northeast region's carbon trading program known as RGGI. I was standing along the side of a public road (RT. 130), in the public right of way, taking photos, when I was set upon, first by two armed men in dark military garb in an unmarked black SUV (private security) and moments later, a group of State, County and local police officers. They detained and questioned me roadside for an hour, and later forced me out of my vehicle, illegally searched it, seized papers, and photographed and questioned me again a a local police station. I was 3 days later subject to a followup investigatory visit and more questioning at my home by FBI, Homeland Security and the County Prosecutor's Office. I later learned from FOIA that I triggered a "fusion center" regional terror alert and that I was photographing "critical infrastructure". After that, for many months, I was routinely stopped and questioned by police, including the use of digital license plate scanners.
Quite a story. But possibly fairly innocent; they could have been seriously worried that you were part of a cell with plans to blow up that refinery, which would have been very bad. But perhaps when you told them your actual plan, they didn't like that either--and I've herd horror stories about local cops deputized by pipeline companies to moonlight harassing protesters; one case where they had the company name on the other side of their police badge, others where the "public" police were sent in to defend the corporation against protesters. At Standing Rock, there were units from several states. During Occupy Wall Street there were fusion centers where cops, probably DHS and reps from Wall Street firms worked together to spy on the protesters.
Something interesting is happening with Matt Taibbi having apparently obtained twitter files. Greenwald reporting, Taibbi posting... Fun times are upon us:
Yeah, I was shocked when I saw a military tanker in our police compound while it was being remodeled. We are a way small town. What ever in the world could be a need for that? Well, seems MIC and 1% are planning their revolution and not to our benefit cause we are gonna die off of disease, starvation or drone attacks. Honestly, do not know what is going on in this craziness, but want to move to Russia or China who will at least let me live an "austere" life which is want I want to live anyways so others can too. Food, shelter, clothing, maybe a plot to grow my own vegetables. My ask for Christmas was for a book entitled The Sickness is the System by Richard Wolff. "God help us all for what we have become. God help us all to undo what we have done." From Five Times August.
They must be getting ready for some pretty heavy-duty suppression of protests and/or riots. Here come the final nails in the coffin of totalitarianism. We are frighteningly complacent while they usher in their plans to have complete control. This is truly scary.
Just one more example of the extremes that we are now seeing in the USA. Sadly, even these will probably not extract any responses by the media (controlled as they are by the Vanguards, Blackrocks and government instrumentalities,) and even more frighteningly, will be ignored by the people.They have learnt to accept extremes in all aspects of their lives. Life goes on. It's what is now the new norm.
Complacency reigns supreme.
In past comments stimulated by the articles by Caitlin, I have mentioned that until events start to directly impact the daily lives of the American people, not the corrupt political class, nothing in that country will change. I can remember some years ago the voter turnout for a Primary in Arizona was less than 27%, so the voters ended up with a McCain…..again.
With reference to the geography of the USA, tucked away between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, enjoying as it is a complete isolation from all the US / Israel engineered wars in the Middle East and Europe, the people over the years must have developed a staggering level of complacency to have tolerated the presidents that have been elected, allowed the Neocon controls and the influences of the likes of Hilary Clinton, the present Biden /Blinken /Nuland shambles and to top it off, the well known control by Israel over both houses of US government.
Just think on that one for one moment. No wonder the UN has done nothing to cease the criminal occupying apartheid regime in Israel for 55 years.
Add to that , the proliferation of the Neocon and Jewish lobby groups occupying the halls of power in almost every US state, funding every election to suit their apartheid demands in Israel.”We own America” says Israel, and they do.
Now until that current country management structure is threatened (internally or threatened by an outside nuclear force) and the people can see clearly where the danger lies with the current regime and the one likely to follow in 2024, the tolerance of robots, the over-use of police powers, the emphasis on hegemonic pursuits throughout the whole world, the use of criminal sanctions and wars for the sake of American power and control, will continue, unfettered.
Nothing is going to change until the American people wake up and then understand the reality and values of their own present day America. Believing the media in the USA will never ever do it. Just check out the ownership.
So right in every aspect.
It absolutely is. All the while the very people who will slide down into the pit cheer them on. People in this country still believe the police are here to protect them and anything to protect "These Heroes" is a good thing. This is a taught behavior since childhood. They are security for the rich and corporate communities NOT WE THE PEOPLE! They are paid through a corporation with taxpayers money! Remember driving into most any city or town in America and did you just glance at and ignore the sign that says "Incorporated"? There you go.
Yes ... and if they have enough robot police up and running, they won't even need the cooperation of the people. That crosses a terrifying line ..
The basic problem is that people are not empathic enough. Some are, of course, but let me just tell a little story.
I have a friend who runs a grocery store in part of Kansas City, MO, where we live. She notes that they have sky-high murder and other crimes. The population has garbage schools, and if you call the police (in case of violence), they will arrive after about an hour or so.
I was listening to the "Deep Dives with Monica Perez" podcast, and she basically pointed out that if people had enough empathy, we wouldn't have sky-high murder, rape, assault, poverty, and despair in places like central city, KC, MO, USA, for literally 55+ years straight.
it is not the local population's fault. Here is why:
Political consultant Naomi Wolf, who worked for Al Gore, said that when things are shit, they just assumed that was because that was the way politicians wanted it to be that way. As Caitlin has pointed out on numerous occasions:
That is the purpose of propaganda. To sell us a great big shit sandwich, and make us think it is nutritious and delicious.
So, for 55+ years, it appears right to say: the people running KC want it to be poor, isolated, fat, sick, and depressed.
Why? Probably power and money and sex with minors, like Jeffrey Epstein, CIA.
Ultimately, while I realize there are sociopaths who run things (Biden, Pelosi, etc.), the truth of the matter is: if the rest of us had enough empathy, we would:
* Not allow murderous robots;
* Stop crime in places like KC, MO;
* Have real education. I'm a teacher. I can see 500 flaws in our bullshit system;
* Truly help people.
Related: we could probably end world hunger for $7 billion a year. Less if sociopaths would stop making it hard for people to farm.
My thesis is: we need more empathy. That is the root cause of all of these problems we face. Otherwise, how will we stop the sociopaths? And their propaganda?
True, but what people listen to and believe is being controlled. So how do you create "empathy" under those conditions. What I see in all of this is perhaps a "settling" where others who enjoy some "privilege" find themselves not enjoying that "privilege" any more. EU is "enjoying" mass uprising of their workers and France and others have long histories of working "class" people. I see a shit show, but I don't see the outcome. American people are too complacent. They lived too long off the blood of other nations. Why should they stop being vampires?
I see your point. All I can say in reply is: it is up to the individual--you and me--to act with real compassion, and not just be laptop warriors.
Yeah, we got a great deal of laptops warriors. Some of them, that I would not necessarily describe as laptop warriors. I love that they teach me things a public education does not teach. Like Patrick Lawrence who introduced me to the totally ironic idea of China inventing a peace plan that could work for the world in juxtaposition of the USA demonizing China. Honestly, learning this from Lawrence was huge.
I go out every Weds night in my small town and hold signs that I keep changing as I learn more. I get the middle finger a lot, but more honks in approval. I am both a life long learner and a life long teacher. Some things I learned late in life. One was The Five Principles of Peace written by Zhou Enlai in 1953. I tried to put those five principles on one board that a drive by public could read but the five principles were too long and a drive by public would not be able to read it. So I put the first principle on a huge lightly weighted board, and the second on the other side, which I flip so car drivers can see both.
I plan to put the remaining three principles of peace on another large board, but I need to afford a "stand" that helps me hold multiple signs at once, while I protect them against wind. I think in a small town, this is effective public education, but may need more "tools" for one person to handle all the messages and the principles that need be taught. It is "street" education. I often don't have the means because I could not "go for" the American dream when I saw long years ago what that cost other peoples in other nations. I am poor on purpose, and it frees me more than lots of money or home ownership ever would. I've tried to be a home owner even thru a gov't program, but they sold me houses full of mold, twice,; my children got sick, I got sick and smart too. As a first ever home buyer, I did not realize I should never let the bank making me the loan to provide the home inspection. On 9/11, same infamous day, I had another inspection and he found what a guy who ended up on the local school board did not: House was full of mold, had no moisture barrier or necessary vents. Sought legal aid, but said legal aid did not see making money off my case and after taking it up, they dropped it without explanation. Too much info, I'm sure, but you can see why I'm soured in more ways than one on those who left me and my family sick in a moldy house without recourse and my own ability to research what might save my kids and me. Doctors had no ideas for our symptoms but there was an online group who suffered the same and who said get GSE, which was much more powerful then.
I have no privileged education, but an MA in English and a BA in Communications. What I have is heart for truth and intuition about my country, love for my children and what they face in this future of financialization and militarization, and what comes after that. Been reading Michael Hudson and others that explain the rightness inside me that had no economic explanation. I see I have never been wrong and I am learning more reasons why I am right. It's a good thing to die with. It will be enough.
I think a big part of what you have written here is indeed called "Empathy" isn't it!? I am very much like you in that I gave up the fight for material goods over 30 years ago as I had the loss of many family members and learned the hard way "You Can't Take It With You"!
It's true, especially about the world hunger. More people die of starvation every year than ever were threatened by covid, yet no worldwide emergency has been declared to do anything about it. Isolating people with masks and social distancing is more effective a tool at controlling a population than feeding people appropriately.
I agree with you fully. The problem as I see it is that these Mass Murdering Sociopaths have absolutely no empathy. As they are devoid of it I do not see how it could be possible to inject it, force it or get them to feel it. It is obvious that the death of millions has not brought out one tenth of an ounce of empathy yet and they are not done working on the next billion or so. I think pain for these people is a far better teacher.
I hate to say it but the pain I feel is something I wish for our oppressors. But isn't feeling someone else's pain "Empathy"!?
This is the part of the inherent problem in how we are brainwashed into the belief war is the answer. In fact I think it is a portion of the species which has this self destructive nature built into it's DNA. The only way past this is like trying to stop smoking long enough to overcome the urge! If that process could be promoted in our DNA it would fix the problem of Mass Murdering Sociopaths!
I would also agree with you that violence is not going to be our answer as look who has the robots and have prepared for this very event. This is their normal response "Death and Destruction".
That is very interesting. I will check it out.
I live in northern California not far from San Francisco and this is absolutely insane. The worst part is that this has only been lightly covered by the news here, if at all. When it is covered, people seem to shrug and not care ("I doubt a police robot would actually kill a person") or they are boot lickers and think armed robots controlled by the police are a fabulous idea.
Local governments like those here in northern California dump the majority of their budgets into police and the carceral system. All while there is no safety net at all for regular working taxpayers like me. It's disgusting.
I'm glad to see this article, Caitlin. I thought I was losing my mind by being the only one who's taken notice of this foolishness.
Because the citizens are so dangerous.
Yes, we have great power, but we are led not to believe in our power. And, so we don't, but might someday when it also might be too late to realize it. Read The Power of the Powerless.
Well put.
As I live in the city, I share some observations in the context of the AI killer toys:
1. Diane Feinstein and Nancy Pelosi will be retiring in their home city soon
2. VP Harris announced that SF will be hosting the 2023 APEC Summit (Nov)
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/11/18/statement-by-vice-president-kamala-harris-on-selection-of-san-francisco-as-host-city-for-2023-apec-leaders-meeting/
3. SF has a new Chief of Protocol, an Iranian born socialite https://sf.gov/news/mayor-breed-announces-appointment-maryam-muduroglu-new-chief-protocol#:~:text=San%20Francisco%2C%20CA%20%2D%20Mayor%20London,the%20late%20Charlotte%20Mailliard%20Shultz.
4. SF is home to most European oligarchs adult children and attend Hult International Business School https://www.hult.edu/lp/programs/?utm_source=GoogleAdwords&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=hult%20san%20francisco&utm_campaign=PSGG_ALL_MULTI_NORTHAM_US_TRADEMARK_exact&utm_device=t&utm_content=
5. SF & Oakland are creating a new public image to attract biotechnology industry https://news.theregistrysf.com/biotech-biopharma-and-medical-device-companies-are-booming-in-california-and-beyond-require-specialized-spaces/
6. Most billionaires live and roam incognito in SF. And financially wealthy Elder politicians.
The city does not care about solving the consequences of the organized street and drug criminals and hate crimes. The victims and residents are spoon fed with false promises with a smile.
Yes, SF & Oakland have an insidious plan in motion to protect only the very wealthy.
WhenI first read about the killbot "dogs" I thought, "Ah ha! Now police departments won't have to pay benefits to human officers and cover them for mallpractice. They've got robots to do all the dirty work like killing citizens." Then I thought, "We're really in trouble if we don't prevent them from implementing these killbots everywhere." Let's pray we all live long enough to put an end to these killing machines.
On Jan 6 a certain robot killed Ashli Babbitt. Looked like a human though.
Yeah, what happens when they "Blue Screen" and go on a rampage! But then it will indeed be too late.
These abominations will become the norm. But what should follow is that citizens discover a way to fuck them up. Maybe by showering them with magnets, or drenching them in salt water to short circuit their electronic systems, who knows? One thing is for sure, these cop drones are the tools of tyranny, not guardians of Liberty. Much like police forces themselves, really.
You are right, Caitlin, to focus on the police use of killer robots. The core of the problem is their use by the military, for it is from there that the technology "trickles down" to the civilian arm of legalized force.
Just recently we have seen an attack on the Russian Naval port at Sevastopol by marine robots. The USA has just announced that they will station 100 robot boats in the Persian Gulf by 2023. The skies in Ukraine are littered with 'copters spotting the enemy or delivering explosive ordinance.
We have moved our technology for killing our fellow human beings along a line; fists, clubs, swords and arrows, muskets, machine guns and artillery, rocket and missiles. To really screw things up, people decided to put nuclear warheads on rockets. All of these required some human interaction. We are now moving towards autonomous robots.
This is pure insanity.
We should be screaming so much louder.
Some positive news: Oakland shut down the lethal uses of the robot thanks to civilian police oversight ...
"OPD and Police Commission ad hoc committee on the equipment policy returned to the table and eventually developed a use policy that prohibits offensive use of any of the robot arm attachments, including the pan disruptor. The use policy specifically prohibits arming the pan disruptor with a live round or using it offensively against people. The ground robot can still armed with an OC—pepper—cannister capability, however—though the OPD is restricted on how it can use such weapons."
https://www.patreon.com/posts/oakland-politics-73091001
... thanks in large part to one supremely diligent volunteer member of the public.
"During Wednesday's ad hoc meeting—the last before the City deadline—OPD brought their use policies for various attachments to standard remote controlled ground robots, including the potentially lethal one, the “pan disrupter”. The pan disrupter is a breaching/explosives detonation tool that can be attached to the robot and uses a blank shotgun shell and water pressure system to breach door locks or detonate suspicious packages. During the meeting, a civilian ad hoc member, Jennifer Tu, asked if the device could use live rounds, which would effectively make it a shotgun. The acknowledgment by police representative, Omar Daza-Quiroz, that the device not only could, but that the OPD intended to keep the option of using the device on people in exigent circumstances visibly caught participants by surprise. Ad hoc committee member and Police Commissioner Jesse Hsieh described "shock" learning that the pan disrupter was capable of utilizing live ammunition. When Hsieh asked if the OPD planned on using the lethal capacity, Daza-Quiroz pushed back that the OPD wanted to hold on to that capacity as an ultimate contingency."
https://www.patreon.com/posts/oakland-politics-72455749
Proper reporting credit to Jaime Omar Yassin
https://twitter.com/hyphy_republic
Skynet
Two comments. one is that a feature of this technology is that when a bot kills someone, no one will get the badge number; there will be no chance of cop accountability. Yes, someone told the robot to shoot but it will be easy for the cops to hide that person 's identity. My related comment is that I'm more worried about killer drones. I visualize a day when powerful people will be able to track an enemy and have the drone turn the enemy into a puddle of goo. The person's friends, any onlookers, will complain and demand an investigation; then some of them turn into piles of goo. After that no one complains anymore. This is absolute power because the killers can't be brought to justice (but they may turn on each other). It could be that the killer "dogs" (I absolutely agree that making them look a little like dogs and calling them that was deliberate PR) are a practice run, perfecting the killing technology before using it on drones--already in use by the military, perhaps soon to be used by police and then private individuals and of course CORPORATIONS, which have already been involved in "fusion centers" with police in the US. By the time it's really out of hand, there won't be a meaningful distinction between cops, corporate security and private security. And mafia.
You write:
"By the time it's really out of hand, there won't be a meaningful distinction between cops, corporate security and private security."
I can tell you, from first hand personal experience, that we're already there and have been for several years.
Back in 2008, I was taking photographs of refineries along the Delaware River in NJ for a piece of journalism on pending legislation that would exempt them from the northeast region's carbon trading program known as RGGI. I was standing along the side of a public road (RT. 130), in the public right of way, taking photos, when I was set upon, first by two armed men in dark military garb in an unmarked black SUV (private security) and moments later, a group of State, County and local police officers. They detained and questioned me roadside for an hour, and later forced me out of my vehicle, illegally searched it, seized papers, and photographed and questioned me again a a local police station. I was 3 days later subject to a followup investigatory visit and more questioning at my home by FBI, Homeland Security and the County Prosecutor's Office. I later learned from FOIA that I triggered a "fusion center" regional terror alert and that I was photographing "critical infrastructure". After that, for many months, I was routinely stopped and questioned by police, including the use of digital license plate scanners.
It's here now. And all that was 14 years ago.
Quite a story. But possibly fairly innocent; they could have been seriously worried that you were part of a cell with plans to blow up that refinery, which would have been very bad. But perhaps when you told them your actual plan, they didn't like that either--and I've herd horror stories about local cops deputized by pipeline companies to moonlight harassing protesters; one case where they had the company name on the other side of their police badge, others where the "public" police were sent in to defend the corporation against protesters. At Standing Rock, there were units from several states. During Occupy Wall Street there were fusion centers where cops, probably DHS and reps from Wall Street firms worked together to spy on the protesters.
While the robots mentioned in the article will probably have SFPD markings, I, for one, appreciate your pointing out this larger danger.
These killer robots and drones do not necessarily have to be marked, so there would be little accountability of who actually sent them.
Also, they could be very stealthy, so no one would see them coming or going. Zap, someone's dead and no one would know what hit them.
Something interesting is happening with Matt Taibbi having apparently obtained twitter files. Greenwald reporting, Taibbi posting... Fun times are upon us:
- Greenwald: https://rumble.com/embed/v1vx6vs/?pub=puj9q (starts at about 20 minute mark)
- https://taibbi.substack.com/p/note-to-readers-8d4/
Yeah, was probably a plan all along and why they hate Assange so much.
Yeah, I was shocked when I saw a military tanker in our police compound while it was being remodeled. We are a way small town. What ever in the world could be a need for that? Well, seems MIC and 1% are planning their revolution and not to our benefit cause we are gonna die off of disease, starvation or drone attacks. Honestly, do not know what is going on in this craziness, but want to move to Russia or China who will at least let me live an "austere" life which is want I want to live anyways so others can too. Food, shelter, clothing, maybe a plot to grow my own vegetables. My ask for Christmas was for a book entitled The Sickness is the System by Richard Wolff. "God help us all for what we have become. God help us all to undo what we have done." From Five Times August.
Glenn Greenwald Shows Record (2022 -- ):
Dec 2 -- Third GG pre-launch show
https://rumble.com/v1yjc4a-secret-twitter-files-on-censorship-of-hunter-biden-story.html -- Secret Twitter Files on Censorship of Hunter Biden Story – (episode STARTS at 20 minute – IMPORTANT)
https://greenwald.locals.com/post/3148900/system-update-watch-tonight-12-2 -- two episodes:
-- Elon Musk's banning of Kanye West from Twitter
-- An OUTSTANDING interview -- the Assange case with WIkiLeaks' editor-in-chief Kristinn Hrafnsson.
Tucker Carlson: -- https://youtu.be/9RsedoC_PN4 - James Woods: “Elon Musk may have saved America”
-- https://youtu.be/fzc7o1zdhYw -- Twitter was permanently censoring users at the request of the DNC and Biden campaign
-- https://youtu.be/vDtUVkmm-oY -- Tucker Carlson Tonight 12/2/22 (not full – full is 45 minutres)
-- Tucker Carlson Tonight – Oct. 4 ( OUTSTANDING interview with Biden’s family former business partner – Tony Bobulinski) -- Oct. 4 -- https://odysee.com/@TheRepository:f/tucker-bobulinski2-1:d
Nov 29 -- Third GG pre-launch show
https://rumble.com/v1y5672-how-many-different-countries-should-the-us-now-be-fixing-changing-and-inter.html - How Many Different Countries Should the US Now Be Fixing, Changing, and Interfering In?
Q&A -- https://greenwald.locals.com/upost/3134215/post-show-q-a
Unedited (1.5 hour long) - https://greenwald.locals.com/upost/3132537/system-update-join-us-tonight-at-7pm-et
Nov 25 – Second GG pre-launch show
https://rumble.com/v1xbl8g-the-medias-deranged-hysteria-over-elon-musks-restoration-of-free-speech.html -- The Media’s Deranged Hysteria Over Elon Musk’s Restoration of Free Speech
Sub-stack transcript -- https://substack.com/inbox/post/87024368
Nov. 16 -- First GG pre-launch show
https://greenwald.locals.com/upost/3069918/pre-launch-q-a
Q&A -- https://greenwald.locals.com/upost/3069918/pre-launch-q-a
NO transcripts
I would encourage reading John Whiteheads Battlefield America. If you think that this sort of policing will not affect you, think again.