Cellphone GPS Aides Illegal Border Crossings

[Saw7616]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34623708/ns/technology_and_science-innovation/

Now this is just too much... These three need thier funding yanked and put in jail.

No way we should be funding this project.



From the Article:

"There are many, many areas in which every American would say I don't like the way my tax dollars are being spent. Our answer to that is an in-your-face, so what?" says UCSD lecturer Brett Stalbaum, 33, a self-described news junkie who likens his role to chief technology officer.



Illegal crossing are illegal for a reason. If the US is serious about stopping it then get serious...


Nuts

[triumph]

What a roach. Here is his 'bio'

http://visarts.ucsd.edu/node/view/491/46

[mrwill]

And he thinks that USBP won't be aware that illegal crossers will be converging on these watering points once the phones are distributed?

[SOTB]

He's a tool. He probably uses this faux-sympathy for the illegal aliens shit as a ploy for fucking his students.

I'd love to read about someone passing out telephones with GPS waypoints to his house, his parking spot, his office/classroom, etc....

[Flying Pig]

bio
Past projects include Landscape Painting as Counter-Surveillance of Area 51, a collaborative site-specific performance at the border of the well known secret air base. As part of that performance, he instigated an investigation of his activities by the Department of Defense and the FBI after he spammed a large number of unpublished email addresses at Nellis Air Force Base.

I love reading about how the highly educated elite spend their free time.

[KidA]

What a roach. Here is his 'bio'



This person is what's known as a parasite.

[Horned Toad]

Here is why they need to be arrested.


They want to give the phone to shelters in Mexico. The want the shelters to give them out to people they know are going to commit a crime. And I understand it illegally crossing the border is a crime in Mexico also. The phones are supposed to have passwords so that they are not accessible by our LEOs and anti immigrations groups. This is actuvly providing aid to lawbreakers not just providing an open source map of water in the desert.

[MoonDog]

SOTB and LEO's...isn't that called aiding and abetting a crime?
I'm not LEO, but if I've been told helping someone commit a crime is illegal.

[Brianj]

Here is why they need to be arrested.
...



Except that these douchebag attention whores would absolutely LOVE that. They’d go off all hippie-civil-disobedient heroic on their blogs, and be the toast of academia for their arrests.

Better: I’d let it happen for a few weeks, then have BP send letters of appreciation and hold a press conference to award them all ‘honorary agent’ status for their deft assistance in the apprehension of those attempting to enter the U.S illegally...

[ComputerForensicGuy]

Perhaps the The Texas Border Sheriff's Coalition (http://www.blueservo.net/about.php) can use that same GPS data to deploy more cameras. I've been keeping a few of the cameras up on my second monitor and wouldn't mind it if they added these waypoints to the list.

[random]

Are they seriously under the assumption that passwords cannot be cracked?

As to the aiding and abetting, I'm not an LEO but I don't think providing someone with information about water would technically count. Crossing the border that is the illegal act, not drinking water before/after you've crossed it. Once they cross the border, they're just illegal immigrants, and it's not a crime to provide services to them. Again, I'm not an expert or LEO, just a student with a good dose of law courses, so don't take my word for it.

[SOTB]

Yeah, I don't know that providing info on water supplies is illegal. But assholes like this dude are likely to commit errors that CAN be called criminal. I would love to see a report about this idiot walking around Tijuana or Nogales (the Mexican one) with his bag full of phones and getting rolled.

That would be funny....

[Saw7616]

Maybe we could get Sat imagery of that. Put it on Utube and let it go viral.

Me being joe American citizen. I'd like them to secure the border. I'd much rather my tax dollars go toward that.

I'm not naive I realize what a large task that is but, if we can go to the moon. We CAN secure that border.


I'd like to see those cameras with a pay to play option. Attach a M2 to the thing and let the US populace assist in the control of the border. I honestly don't want people to die but, it does make a bold statement. If we're going to be serious then lets get serious

[SOTB]

If we're going to be serious then lets get seriousThe border can be secured without killing unarmed and essentially dumbass humans.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not even of the mind that capping mules is a bad thing (they knew THAT was an escalation in their criminal activities).

But shooting someone looking for a job, I just don't agree. I also don't agree that he should be able to so easily cross the fricking border -- that thing CAN be secured. It isn't impossible....

[MakoZeroSix]

I don't know, I'm kind of worried. What if some deranged individual programmed the phones with GPS coordinates that lead to....a pit with feces smeared punji stakes instead of water??!!

Oh, the humanity.

[Gypsy]

This person is what's known as a parasite.

Sharky has often used a term that fits...genetic debris.

[Tracy]

Soooo, these enlightened ones want to distribute exact locations of water sources; and vector illegals to them?

No sweat. A few hide sites, a few arrests and the BP publicly thanking UCSD for their assistance. Piece O' Cake. :smile:

Information Operations work both ways.

[Saw7616]

The border can be secured without killing unarmed and essentially dumbass humans.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not even of the mind that capping mules is a bad thing (they knew THAT was an escalation in their criminal activities).

But shooting someone looking for a job, I just don't agree. I also don't agree that he should be able to so easily cross the fricking border -- that thing CAN be secured. It isn't impossible....

You're of course right. I don't want them to die. I actually don't mind if they come here for the work. Just do it legally. Come get your tax ID like the rest of us.

[rangertough]

I think that we make it too damn hard to immagrate to our country. It is the 21st century how long does it actually take to perform a background check on someone, even internationaly? I am the grandson of immagrants on both sides and my family made good through hard work and sweat. I don't believe in denying that to someone else just because the bureaucrats have made it near impossible to come here legally.

So this is my proposal:

You want to immagrate and pay taxes like a proper citizen? We'll make it dead easy as long as there are no outstanding issues when we do the check. I figure that's about 50% of the border crossers.

You come in illeagaly we deport you the first time, after getting as much info on you we can (DNA, dental, prints etc.). The second time we put you in a forced labor camp so you can support yourself and your fellow chuckleheads by increasing our GDP. We still wouldn't out-produce China but we might take a chunk of their market in the US.

Tough

[bmbsqd]

At the end of the day we are not going to do jack shit about it except give them amnesty, medical care and rights as Americans. If we truly wanted to fix the problem, we could.

Go to any European country, break over the border without a passport, get caught, see what happens. I don't think it will be pretty. And I'll also bet they don't have entire cities on their borders that speak nothing but English.

12 million overnight citizens probably turn out to be about 1 million Democratic Party voters...that is what this is all about.

At a job I did out at Huachuca a few months ago my guys found backpacks with basic survival goodies all over the property that is the Sierra Vista airport (an old "alleged" minefield). My guess is these were gov't issued considering the volume. If so, there is no competing with that!

We have become a domestically weak country.

[Medic4070]

The fact of the matter is that most American's don't seem to care about securing the border. Mexico is fast approaching the status of "failed state" (if it's not there already) and presents a significant hazard directly bordering our country, yet most people don't seem to care at all...or even be aware of the problem. I'm sure SOTB has more accurate info regarding the situtation down south, but from what we're seeing here at work, it sure looks like the Mexican government no longer has the ability to project power in the border areas, and seems to be on the verge of completely losing a few border cities (Juarez for one).

Combine that sitatution with US voter ignorance/apathy regarding the state of affairs, and direct support by assclowns like these guys and we might as well just pave a damn freeway across the desert and run regular bus service!

Sorry, I'm a little grumpy this morning...need more coffee!

[SOTB]

The fact of the matter is that most American's don't seem to care about securing the border.That there is the most important point -- people don't care. Sometimes I honestly don't understand why -- as in, I'm admittedly shocked. Strange.Mexico is fast approaching the status of "failed state" (if it's not there already) and presents a significant hazard directly bordering our country....Mmmmm, that is a pretty strong term. I don't know that I agree with that. I do agree about the threat, though.....it sure looks like the Mexican government no longer has the ability to project power in the border areas, and seems to be on the verge of completely losing a few border cities (Juarez for one).My answer to this comment is a bit complicated. For decades, the Mex Govt has had locations where it has been difficult for them to "project power." In some instances, it has just been accepted as "life" and everyone just kinda rolls with it. Even when you see gov forces present in some of these places, no one presumes them to be anything more than what they are -- show, and with no ability OR desire to do anything else. But in other places, the gov has taken very strong stances and when badguy elements are identified, they are closed with and destroyed (or captured, kinda the same thing). I know that answer doesn't say shit, but the point is that this power projection problem has been going on at least as long as I have been here -- two decades.

As to the border towns, that is a great example of the confusion that Americans have of the situation. The gov is in no manner on the verge of losing any of those locations. Period. Their being unable (or unwilling) to halt crime, including violent crime, doesn't mean they are losing the towns. Again, a complex issue -- that most Americans don't understand, because it is a strange mix of cultural and logistical and even time-related issues. But no, the gov won't lose the border towns. Not in the sense I think you posed the comment.Combine that sitatution with US voter ignorance/apathy regarding the state of affairs, and direct support by assclowns like these guys and we might as well just pave a damn freeway across the desert and run regular bus service!Not sure about a paved freeway, but I would certainly agree with you that it looks an awful lot like an improved dirt-top....

[Tracy]

The fact of the matter is that most American's don't seem to care about securing the border. Mexico is fast approaching the status of "failed state" (if it's not there already) and presents a significant hazard directly bordering our country, yet most people don't seem to care at all...or even be aware of the problem. I'm sure SOTB has more accurate info regarding the situtation down south, but from what we're seeing here at work, it sure looks like the Mexican government no longer has the ability to project power in the border areas, and seems to be on the verge of completely losing a few border cities (Juarez for one).

Combine that sitatution with US voter ignorance/apathy regarding the state of affairs, and direct support by assclowns like these guys and we might as well just pave a damn freeway across the desert and run regular bus service!

Sorry, I'm a little grumpy this morning...need more coffee!

Very valid points; but from a counter-mobility standpoint, securing the border is darn near impossible.

Coupled with this is the Mexican Government not wanting a lasting peace; but a lasting piece of the action.

We (the USA) are very definitely a part of the problem. Our demand for illegal narcotics enables the cartels to continue destabilizing the the Mexican government and the border areas in order to dominate the market.

Personally, I think the USA needs to change their counter-drug strategy:

1. Leave the users alone. Cite with misdemeanors and include substance abuse counseling in the sentence. When President Nixon formed the DEA, fifty percent of it's budget was earmarked for drug-abuse counseling.

2. Target the logistics. Make manufacturing, transport and distribution of illegal drugs felonies with mandatory sentences starting at seven years per offense. No parole, all hard time. Start at the border and wait.

3. Remember Paraquat? Start poisoning the supplies and force the cartels to expend more capital in cleaning up their product.

[SOTB]

....but from a counter-mobility standpoint, securing the border is darn near impossible.I disagree, dude. But it has to be through policies and processes -- not through gadgets and people.Coupled with this is the Mexican Government not wanting a lasting peace; but a lasting piece of the action.While I don't agree that the "govt" wants a continued piece of the action, I do agree that there are many govt employees who do. Bottom line, you are 1000000% correct, the Mexican Gov is where to attack this thing -- that and removing the whole narcotics thing from the equation (that is for a different thread -- LOL).We (the USA) are very definitely a part of the problem. Our demand for illegal narcotics enables the cartels to continue destabilizing the the Mexican government and the border areas in order to dominate the market.Yup....

[HighDragLowSpeed]

Very valid points; but from a counter-mobility standpoint, securing the border is darn near impossible.

Coupled with this is the Mexican Government not wanting a lasting peace; but a lasting piece of the action.

We (the USA) are very definitely a part of the problem. Our demand for illegal narcotics enables the cartels to continue destabilizing the the Mexican government and the border areas in order to dominate the market.

Personally, I think the USA needs to change their counter-drug strategy:

1. Leave the users alone. Cite with misdemeanors and include substance abuse counseling in the sentence. When President Nixon formed the DEA, fifty percent of it's budget was earmarked for drug-abuse counseling.

2. Target the logistics. Make manufacturing, transport and distribution of illegal drugs felonies with mandatory sentences starting at seven years per offense. No parole, all hard time. Start at the border and wait.

3. Remember Paraquat? Start poisoning the supplies and force the cartels to expend more capital in cleaning up their product.

Fight it like a business problem rather than a war. Increasing costs of supply/logistics while raising the risks of doing business for the harder-to-replace low density/high skilled work force (like pilots and chemists) all while lowering demand will kill almost any business over time.

[Brianj]

...Increasing costs of supply/logistics while raising the risks of doing business for the harder-to-replace low density/high skilled work force (like pilots and chemists) all while lowering demand will kill almost any business over time.

To this end, maybe we could infiltrate cartel leadership with GM executives...

[SOTB]

....and seems to be on the verge of completely losing a few border cities (Juarez for one)....As an example of the point I was making above, there have been a large number of killings along the border. Many of these killed were what most of us would call "innocent victims" (caught in shootouts, mistaken identity, etc.), or straight-up victims of violent crime.

But LOTS of those killed, including in Juarez, were badguys (http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/12/31/mexico.violence/index.html). Yeah, the attached risk of violence outside of those killings cannot be ignored, but at the same time -- LOTS of badguys are off the streets. So that part is cool.

The ironic thing is that when the violence dies down (it won't for awhile), everyone is likely to forget about the whole thing. And then the narcos will go back to earning massive money, and enjoying it openly. Strange....