The London Riots and Facial Recognition Technology 482
nonprofiteer writes "A bunch of vigilantes are organizing a Google Group dedicated to using recently revealed facial recognition tools to identify looters in the London riots. While Vancouver discussed doing something similar after the Stanley Cup riots, the city never actually moved forward on it. Ring of Steel London, though, is far more likely to incorporate FRT into its investigative work."
A related article points out how development of face-recognition technology has been kept under wraps by some organizations, but we're getting to the point where it'll soon be ubiquitous.
Really? Vigilantes? (Score:5, Insightful)
Could we find a more loaded term than that? I don't think so. Heaven forbid some folks actually try to glom together and do good.
Re:would somebody tell me (Score:4, Insightful)
Fuck off you racist piece of shit. There is no such word as "tolerasty" except as invented by European neo-Nazis so that they can pretend to be smart while treating blacks, Jews, gays, Muslims, and virtually everyone else as sub-human vandals in their precious homogenous society. It is a portmanteau of tolerant and pederast, created with the intention of implying that tolerant people condone pedophilia.
What is happening in London has nothing to do with "your colored cousins". I won't even bother arguing why, because frankly, you're a monster of the same sort that murdered all those children in Norway, and as such are impervious to reason. I wish only that you die before you hurt anyone, and that no one follow you down that road of hatred that you're on.
I'm only even responding so that people see you for what you are, and know to distrust your every word.
Re:Talking is not Doing! (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Talking is not Doing! (Score:2, Insightful)
If you can't see the obvious problem in your post, then you're retarded.
America has some of the most lax gun laws in the world.
America still managed to suffer far worse riots than the UK has.
As an aside, how many people did the rioters themselves shoot in those riots with legitimately owned guns? No? don't want to answer that? According to Wikipedia 53 people died. Thus far only one person has died in the UK and he was shot by a rival gang with an illegal firearm.
Oh, but because one guy defended one shop, it's worth opening the tide of higher murder rates, and greater burden on health care that accidental and intentional gun wounds cause.
Yeah, I think we'll pass thanks. That's a hell of a price to pay for one guy to be able to defend one shop.
Oh, and for what it's worth you can have guns here. Just not things like automatic rifles and easily concealed pistols. You can have things like shotguns, and hunting rifles, but, well, even having them legal has led to questionable benefits:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumbria_shootings [wikipedia.org]
Criminals will find weapons regardless, but much better that the chavs are busy with knives against which there is at least some ability to defend or run from or at worst passing round the odd, knackered old fire arm with limited ammunition than all armed up with well maintained fully automatic weapons, and as much ammunition as they'd ever want to buy.
No, you can keep your guns. With nearly 5 times our murder rate per head of population, most of which are a result of firearms incidents. As for Russia, well, their murder rate makes America's look good- at around 10 times our murder rate per head of population.
Perhaps you should take lessons from us instead? no? the NRA and tea party nut jobs wont let you? That's a shame.
Re:would somebody tell me (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:What is going on? (Score:5, Insightful)
It's not a justification. It's an explanation. I don't say I think it's the right thing to do, nor do I say that I think they're justified. I explain why it is happening.
Btw, while we're at "seeing always the same", I always get to see the same reasoning why these people are "bad" and how they could better their lives. Short answer: They can't. Long answer... well, let's see. Allow me to hold this conversation that I held many times before. Often enough that I can probably also play your part.
"They needn't riot. They could get a job and work their way up"
No. First of all, would you give them a job? You're looking at someone from a bad neighborhood, loaded with prejudice and a general resentment against it. Immediately he's seen as lazy, not dependable and probably more interested in stealing your goods rather than selling them. In an economy where jobs are rare, these are the ones that can't get one. No matter how minimum the wage.
"Then they should go and learn something to be more qualified"
I don't know about your country, in mine, learning as an adult costs money. And they don't have money to spare.
"Then they should have learned something while they were still in school"
Have you ever been in a school in such a ghetto? Be glad if you speak their language, they won't speak yours. You're looking at classes where the mob rules. Try learning something and you won't really have a life worth living. Not only inside, but also outside your school. If you get out alive and with all your teeth, you really have a career going. As a boxer, not as a scientist, though.
"They already get everything for free, why are they complaining?"
Would that satisfy you? Knowing that you have to live from handouts because you're unable to afford your own life? Personally, it would frustrate me greatly. Also, look at what they get. A flat, usually too small for the amount of people cooped up in it, in a neighborhood where you better don't own anything worth being stolen, an education in schools where... see above and health care where you better don't have a job because you'd miss quite a few days of work for waiting alone. What people miss is that they see "oh, free", and consider the quality level equal to what they are paying for. Hint: It's not. Not by a longshot.
It is actually someone else's fault that they can't get out of this ghetto. It's insanely hard to claw your way out of this hell, and I dare say facing the same level of hardships, most people would do exactly the same.
Ah what a load of left wing crap (Score:2, Insightful)
People like you have been excusing this behaviour for years blaming it on social ills and lack of this that or the other. Bollocks! Most if not all of the rioters have far more material wealth than a number of east european states yet you don't find mass rioting there. The problem is lazy feckless children brought up by lazy feckless parents with a liberal education system that doesnt' teach them any discipline or respect. And no , teachers shouldn't have the "earn" respect from a teenager, they should be given it automatically.
"Unfortunately, in any class struggle"
Oh grow up student boy and smell the coffee of reality. Class has nothing to do with it - most of the properties looted and burnt were owned and run by working class people. If there was any class in volved it was the workshy violent underclass.
In any other country a lot of those rioters would have been shot dead already , its only in namby pamby liberal britain run by hand wringing excuse everything muppets like you where we let them burn the place down.
Re:Really? Vigilantes? (Score:5, Insightful)
Nevertheless there is a significant number of people in this country who feel they have no voice - and that's not just those who resort to violence, but the hard working, law abiding too. Look at the way Blair ignored 1.5 million people turning up on his doorstep to protest going to war in Iraq. Look at the way there were thousands of students protesting tuition fees peacefully yet the media was dominated by the handful who decided to break things. If the people in power constantly refuse to acknowledge the voice of the masses (and people feel they have no real representation at the polls, when every party seems to have the same approach of empowering the powerful and taxing the poor and even the party they supported can volte face on their promises) then this is always going to be the end result sooner or later.
It doesn't legitimise their actions in any way, but it damn well helps to explain them. I see politician after politician on the news this week saying they can't understand why people would react this way - THAT is scary, it should be blindinly obvious why people are reacting this way and the politicians should be talking about how they deal with the factors that cause this reaction, not trying to blame it all on mindless yobs.
Re:Talking is not Doing! (Score:3, Insightful)
"America still managed to suffer far worse riots than the UK has."
ONLY in DISARMED areas. There are two Americas, reasonable as the US is vastly larger than the UK. There is a generally peaceful part, and there is the violent part you read about in the news. The culture and demographics of these areas differ. Many of the lowest-crime areas of the US are heavily armed.
The reason the LA riots weren't replicated in the Southern US is we would have cut the rioters to ribbons. The "goblins" (to use a fine Jeff Cooper phrase) tend to prey on each other instead. We have the right to kill in self-defense. We use it. You don't. When a thug breaks into a home in the US, their death at the hands of a homeowner is usually met with approval as it should be.
"Criminals will find weapons regardless, but much better that the chavs are busy with knives against which there is at least some ability to defend or run from or at worst passing round the odd, knackered old fire arm with limited ammunition than all armed up with well maintained fully automatic weapons, and as much ammunition as they'd ever want to buy."
You are confused about the real situation.
The US "chav" equivalent are poorly armed, and good citizens much better equipped. The riotous sort sell their weapons for drugs or can't afford them in the first place. The good citizens often have a military background and plan accordingly.
Trash, be they "chavs" or (insert epithet I'd get a troll mod for using) are merely a mob of beasts. In cases where the general public approve, massive force can be used against such people. We should remember that mobs can be destroyed by force, and get over the idea that mobs whose goal is mindless attack on the rest of us deserve mercy. What they deserve is ball ammo in the face.
Re:Really? Vigilantes? (Score:3, Insightful)
No, it doesn't help to explain them at all. Did 1.5 million people riot in London just because they were ignored? Nope. Because these were ordinary, civilized, and decent people.
The truth is, these rioters are hopeless waste-of-spaces that have no respect for anything or anyone, and are just looting and vandalizing for no reason other than "it's a bit of a laugh" or "I can get away with it, so why not". These really are the type of scum that you wouldn't piss on if they were on fire.
Re:Talking is not Doing! (Score:5, Insightful)
Difference is, we don't need guns to defend our homes, because when the sort of criminals who resort to crimes like burglary don't have guns, why would we need them? Or what, do you also believe burglars in the US don't have guns, when they know home owners do?
Guns give an individual of any strength or gender at least an equal chance against criminals, typically stronger, younger, and more numerous males who have spent their whole lives learning to take and administer beatings. Unless you are trained you will lose against a street thug in physical combat--and even if you are you will lose against two of them. On the other hand, burglary is a very unprofitable crime so the average burglar is not armed since guns cost hundreds of dollars. Forfeiting your right to a gun means you are trusting your life to the grace of criminals (who are practical enough to retain all their rights).
Re:Really? Vigilantes? (Score:4, Insightful)