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#middleeast

82 posts55 participants4 posts today
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⬆️ @homohortus

There was much duplicity and a lot of thievery between #Russia, #Britain, and #France.

Russia hosted the #ThievesBanquet where the 3 parties carved out the #MiddleEast.

#SykesPicot was another secret agreement between Britain and France, but it was ratified by Russia and became a tripartite agreement.

However, Sykes-Picot was never implemented as the #Bolsheviks quit claim to the region and blew up the Sykes-Picot Agreement when they took over Russia.

⬇️

#ArmedPoliceDrones Are Coming

Feb. 15, 2022 by Anthony Accurso (originally published in Reason . com)

"It’s not just hobbyists who are exploiting the near-endless potential of unmanned aerial vehicles (#UAVs or '#drones'). Law enforcement from all over the country—most especially federal agencies—are using, or making plans to use, drones to conduct #surveillance and #subdue suspects.

"Americans first became widely aware of drone use by the government in the form of #PredatorUAVs deployed for intelligence and offensive purposes, almost exclusively in the #MiddleEast against 'terrorists.'

"But drone technology has come a long way in the last two decades, with drones getting smaller and being able to carry more added weight than before.

"These advances have allowed them to become the perfect platform upon which law enforcement builds its surveillance programs. Drones can carry sensors for GPS, radar, lidar, range-finding, magnetic fields, chemical and biological sniffers, and, of course, increasingly high-resolution cameras. Federal agencies often attach cell-site simulators to drones—calling them 'dirtboxes' in this use case—to collect digital and cellular data from all unsuspecting citizens in a particular area, not just suspects.

"Further electronics and software innovations have made these sensors more efficient and capable than ever. #PredatorDrones operated by Customs and Border Protection (“#CBP”) are known to use a system called Vehicle and Dismount Exploitation Radar ('#VADER'). VADER implements synthetic aperture radar, a tech trick that uses an aircraft’s motion to minimize the size of the antenna needed to create a high-res map of an area. By comparing these maps moment-by-moment, it creates a 'real-time ground moving target indicator' through 'detecting Doppler shift that moving objects produce in radar return signals.' Like the apex predator in Jurassic Park, these Predators rely on movement to 'see.'

"A company called #PersistentSurveillanceSystems has been operating a similar program, under contract by the #Baltimore olice Department ('BPD'), that uses software to construct a real-time image from photos captured by aircraft-mounted cameras. BPD can then track the (outdoor) movement of every pedestrian or vehicle in a 32-square-mile area. This is ostensibly to track fleeing criminals or generate leads after a crime has occurred.

"While only sensors have been attached to domestic drones so far, the addition of weapons systems appears to be coming. In 2015, #NorthDakota passed a law allowing police to equip drones with #TearGas and #RubberBullets. Also, documents uncovered by the #ElectronicFrontierFoundation show the CBP has suggested adding 'non-lethal weapons designed to immobilize' people to their drones.

"Laws have always lagged behind the constant march of technology, but the rapid development of drones and drone-mounted surveillance systems is set to pilot America into an omnipresent surveillance state where any and all outdoor activity—and maybe indoor ones if we get wall or roof penetrating sensors—is persistently monitored by police."

criminallegalnews.org/news/202

#PredatorClassDrone #ArmedDrones #USPol #PoliceDrones
#DroneWeaponization
#MilitaryState #ACAB #USPol #GlobalPol #Orwell #NineteenEightyFour
#SilencingDissent #Autocracy #Fascism #surveillance #SurveillanceState #PoliceState #WeaponizedDrones

The magnitude of the emotions sweeping Damascus cannot be overstated, as our correspondents are witnessing. Unbridled joy is replacing years of terror and unspeakable loss. But the task of restoring order, and faith in a peaceful future, is enormous. #Syria #Assad #MiddleEast

csmonitor.com/World/Middle-Eas

Posted into WHAT JUST HAPPENED IN YOUR WORLD @what-just-happened-in-your-world-csmonitor

The Christian Science Monitor · Waves of joy flood Damascus. But an undercurrent of distrust lingers.By Dominique Soguel
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⬆️ @homohortus

The decapitation and decimation of #Hamas and #Hezbollah, the ejection of #Russia from #Syria, and the isolation of #Iran — ALL of these happened under #Biden's leadership and with no small measure, by the hard work of Anthony #Blinken, who has made more than a dozen trips to the #MiddleEast since #Oct7.

But this will not stop #Trump from taking credit for reining in Iran and stopping other events of world-changing significance.

mastodon.social/@rameshgupta/1

The fall of Syria’s autocratic leader Bashar al-Assad has created challenges and opportunities for the United States. But the dissonance between the current and future U.S. administrations is confusing major players in the Middle East. #Syria #Assad #MiddleEast

csmonitor.com/USA/Foreign-Poli

Posted into WHAT JUST HAPPENED IN YOUR WORLD @what-just-happened-in-your-world-csmonitor

The Christian Science Monitor · How fall of Assad showcases the Biden-Trump policy divide in the MideastBy Howard LaFranchi

If anyone who reads this is curious about the #history behind the #news and you’re ready to face the fact that most people who talk about the #middleeast from a U.S. perspective are full of absolute shite, I hope you make time for “All the Shah’s Men,” by Stephen Kinzer. It’s about 1953 #iran. It’s a spotlight on the shady figures in #us and #british intelligence who installed the Shah. Vital, if you want to talk Middle East, in my opinion. #book #foreignpolicy #oil