occupy wall street starting to piss off residents

[Chrs]

I agree 100% that police NEED to be accountable, but, for cryin' out loud, Chrs - EVERYBODY has a video camera in their pocket unless they have an ancient (or no) cell phone. And I wouldn't be so hasty to call it "incredibly rare" -- you'd just have to watch our local channel 13 news. This is TEXAS, mind you -- land of the free and home of the gun toters and amateur videographers!

Well, yes. But there are incidents of police forces actually arresting people for filming (which in this case was overturned with court action.) As well as a number of incidents (in the London riots recently) of people having cameras confiscated etc. This is a bad thing.

[Pilgrim]

Most cops carry mini video recorders now. I called the local constabulary two weeks ago to usher a vagrant of the church property and enforce trespass and after I was done explaining where the individual was camped out, the reached to their shoulders, said, "going live" flicked on the recorders and went to work.

[Mountain Man]

That way they have a record of the entire situation and not just the part when it starts to get rough and people whip out their cell phones to capture some provocative out-of-context video while screaming "Police brutality!"

[Cow Poke]

Well, yes. But there are incidents of police forces actually arresting people for filming (which in this case was overturned with court action.) As well as a number of incidents (in the London riots recently) of people having cameras confiscated etc. This is a bad thing.

But your country is a "camera on every corner" culture, no?

[Rational Gaze]

But your country is a "camera on every corner" culture, no?

fascism-demotivational-poster-pdf.jpg

[rogue06]

But your country is a "camera on every corner" culture, no?

Just the other day they were bragging about nearly completing a system linking traffic cameras and private cameras at businesses so the police could better monitor everything here in Atlanta.

Perhaps its time to start making some of those wonderful toys that so confound such surveillance (especially at night when infrared cameras are employed)

[Cow Poke]

Just the other day they were bragging about nearly completing a system linking traffic cameras and private cameras at businesses so the police could better monitor everything here in Atlanta.

Perhaps its time to start making some of those wonderful toys that so confound such surveillance (especially at night when infrared cameras are employed)

He who sacrifices freedom for security.....

[Thersites]

I'm gonna play devil's advocate here...

How different is this from the tea party, which was so angry about Big Government? Didn't they drive to the protests on roads paid for by the department of transportation and in cars certified by federal agencies? Don't their children attend schools run with the help of the Department of Education? Aren't they protected by soldiers from DoD?

In the end, the Tea Party just ended up as a way to mobilize the Republican base. No tangible good has come of it, no real change in policy direction except maybe a de-emphasizing of moral issues that the Republican leadership finds troublesome. If Occupy Wall Street ends up being just another way for the Democrats to mobilize their base and maybe draw in some younger voters, I guess it's only to be expected, though it is too bad that nothing good will come of this, either.

and then there's this little image...


Big Government and Big Business are not opposing forces, but rather collaborators seeking mutual benefit.

[Cow Poke]

Big Government and Big Business are not opposing forces, but rather collaborators seeking mutual benefit.

In an ideal world, perhaps.

[Thersites]

In an ideal world, perhaps.

That's hardly ideal. In a free market, we WANT companies to compete, but there is always a temptation to form a cartel- an effective monopoly on the market, meant to raise prices on consumers so that both companies can get fat off of the profits. If big business and big government are in cahoots, they're in a conspiracy against us.

[rogue06]

How different is this from the tea party, which was so angry about Big Government? Didn't they drive to the protests on roads paid for by the department of transportation and in cars certified by federal agencies? Don't their children attend schools run with the help of the Department of Education? Aren't they protected by soldiers from DoD?

Roads and defense just happen to be specifically enumerated in the constitution as responsibilities of the federal government.

[Cow Poke]

That's hardly ideal. In a free market, we WANT companies to compete, but there is always a temptation to form a cartel- an effective monopoly on the market, meant to raise prices on consumers so that both companies can get fat off of the profits. If big business and big government are in cahoots, they're in a conspiracy against us.

Government keeps stepping in and "helping". If Government actually ENABLED business (by staying out of the way any more than necessary) then businesses could grow. Unfortunately, business lobbies congress, and so often manages to get out of paying the additional tax revenue based on their profits. So governments steps in again.....

It's a vicious cycle.

[rogue06]

Government keeps stepping in and "helping".

Ask any farmer, rancher or large land owner and he'll tell you the most frightening phrase in the English language is: "I'm from the government and I'm here to help"

[Cow Poke]

Ask any farmer, rancher or large land owner and he'll tell you the most frightening phrase in the English language is: "I'm from the government and I'm here to help"

Oh, don't I know it! I've been visited by the friendly government agents about my horsies pooping too close to my fence line ... MY fence line --- INSIDE MY PASTURE... and they're currently trying to figure out how to meter and charge me for water I draw from my well. Oh, and there's the forms for how many cows you have on your land based on acreage, vs. timber, whether you have sufficient.....

[Der Kanzler]

I'll take OWS seriously when they figure out what they want besides vague terms like "end capitalism" and "end corporations".