With just a few days left in a turbulent year, we are looking back at some of the key discussions in European surveillance politics in 2020. A central theme were attempts to regulate & roll back existing, possibly undemocratic practices of industry & state security actors. (1/57)

One of these practices is big-data or predictive policing, a method of algorithmic risk mapping that has increasingly been used by law enforcement departments around Europe. Concerns include limited effectiveness & reproduction of bias with a veneer of objectiveness. (2/57)

So is predictive policing really a good idea? What advantages does it bring? How does it sit with the right to presumption of innocence and civil liberties? We asked academics, politicians, police chiefs & business leaders these questions:

Jamie Grace (@SHULawCrim) argues that data-driven policing can only be as good as the data feeding it. To ensure high data reliability & make predictive policing fair & ethical, a code of practice for data analytics in criminal justice is needed.

An independent ethics committee to mitigate the risk of bias is also endorsed by @ChrisToddWMP (@WMPolice). He says that with high quality data, predictive policing can be used for the public good & fight crimes like domestic homicide.

There are many (some with quite prominent followings) on social media with the view that the majors are tainted and push the message that both majors are the same. I argue that this is 100% a purely political agenda.

These people link Liberal and Labor together as one in the same and blame Labor for the Liberal’s Bills, practices, programs and behaviour. These people are minor party and IND supporters.

I don’t buy the position that “speaking up against the majors” is a pure non-political pursuit of social democracy, championed by people who are much better thinkers than the partisan aligned of the majors. I completely reject this idea and that is often the theme on Twitter.

I would argue it is a deeply entrenched political campaign based on the belief that Individualism should take prominence over collective platforms the major parties have based on their central ideology.

I would also argue that it is based on Individualism through ego, as they believe the minor parties and Independents will represent their view (often falsely represented as speaking for my community, which is a technical impossibility) or speaking for “my issue”.

Yesterday was traumatic, for so many people. Horrifying, awful trauma — to both watch the Capitol building teeming with people who wanted to besmirch it and take selfies on the Senate floor and to watch these people walk away free.

(Long thread coming.)

Yesterday was the culmination — so far — of four horrible years that have stolen away the lives of so many. And for so many others, it has stolen our feeling of safety in the world. And our brains.

If you survived a traumatic childhood, this all felt familiar from the beginning. Living through this administration has triggered millions of people. And it has felt, again, like what we learned from our childhoods did not matter.

Here are the dynamics of an abusive household — aka, our country.

Abuser. That guy is a narcissistic bully, intent on only telling the story that matters to him.

Only in an abusive family would someone who claims he won in a landslide — when the facts make it utterly clear that is not true — be allowed to continue spewing these lies.

Lots of stuff happened on Capitol Hill yesterday.

All sorts of reflexivity and fertile fallacies.

And, if you haven't figured it out yet, you are only allowed to believe one version of the story and are allowed to only have one response.

Just like in late May.

(2) Any "takes" that were outside of what the established majority had prescribed would instantly brand you a racist, a bigot, a white supremacist.

And you were hedged, deleted, and banned if you thought for yourself.

Just like in March.

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My predictions for US politics in the next 4 years.

No unity, more division, economic crash, war against crypto, charges against Trump, President Harris, the new Republican Party, Don Jr running in 2024.

The division in America will grow. The tech sector, news media and social media will be split even more between left and right. New alternatives will rise and the anger between left and right will escalate.

Over 30% of all US dollars were created in 2020 to stabilize the markets and pay for the Covid pandemic. The US economy will crash and USD currency will see a steep decline in value.

As a result of economic turmoil and failing fiat currencies crypto will rise around the world and governments will make a stand against it to protect their supply of printed money. Crypto will succeed because the people will accept it as new money outside of government control.

Donald Trump will fight tax evasion charges amongst other legal battles as he will be punished by the left and parts of the right for years to come. They will do anything in their power to prevent a comeback of Donald Trump.

As chair of the House Appropriations subcommittee that oversees the Capitol Police, I want to offer a few updates on the investigation taking place into Capitol Police and the violent insurrection that took place on Wednesday at our nation’s Capitol.
 
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First and foremost, I am very upset and heartbroken over the murder of Officer Sicknick who passed away after an altercation with violent protesters on Weds. It’s become increasingly clear that rank &file members of the Cap Police were lead into an incredibly dangerous situation.

The vast majority of Capitol Police officers bravely defended our nation’s Capitol and put their lives on the line to protect Members of Congress and our historic Capitol building.

Meanwhile, there was an epic failure of intelligence/ preparation among leadership in the department. The Capitol Police Chief & House Sergeant at Arms have resigned, an important step to fully uncover the failures of this event & reestablish trust in the security on Cap. Hill.

As for disturbing videos we’ve all seen that seem to show some officers letting rioters behind barricades & taking selfies with them: I can assure you these videos are being thoroughly investigated & there will be consequences for any deviations from proper training & protocols.

Truth: and this is going to hurt.

There are some of you who think that if Biden’s administration didn’t address your issue yet- that nothing has been done for black people.

The problem is you refuse to acknowledge black people that are not just like YOU.

How many of you ACTUALLY paid attention to the executive orders issued before you pontificated about how you knew this administration wasn’t going to do shit?

What black folks are you referring to?

You’re not talking about black folks in college.

You’re not talking about black folks who pay rent or own homes and are struggling to pay because of job loss or illness. Are you?

You’re not talking about black folks who live in communities that have poor quality of air due to the former administrations rampant abuses of our climate and rollback of basic climate rights right? Not those black folks?

You’re not talking about black folks who need racial equity in the healthcare system right?

Not those black folks either right?

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Lin Wood posted on Parler last night that Trump flew to the National Defense Command Center near Abilene, TX.

https://t.co/6lJSwWQlsb

@SW6life 3) these values are contradictory to what the rights stand, especially the republican party under trump, from here on now refered to as "Trumpists" - a new, US brand of Fascism.

4) Here is the lists of traits that make out fascist regimes commonly agreed, written by Umberto Eco, who lived under Mussolini. He explicitly stated that each country is prone to their own type of Fascism, let me go through this point by point.

The first two are actually the same; Irrationalism & Tradition over everything. You hold up a poster of what your country/ideal living once was and claim to bring it back.
Say; Make america great again. Ignoring hereby that Obama restored the economy which was hurt by Bush

Cult of Action; Killing a General on an Ally soil without informing anyone? Sueing even though there is no evidence.. and yeah, proud stance on anti-intellectualism!

Disagreement is treason; that is why every time the media fact checks something, its somehow misrepresenting him.
Which is why everbody who disagrees is a bad person inherently, without giving arguments *WHY*

THE HAPPENING - A TIMELINE

2020 Election Timeline of Events

(credit to timeline anon on /pol/)

With the @WhiteHouse as the backdrop, @POTUS about to take the stage at the #SaveAmericaMarch.

As 'God Bless the USA' plays, @POTUS now on stage.

"We have hundreds of thousands of people here," claims @realDonaldTrump. "These people are not going to take it any longer. Turn your cameras please."

"The media is the biggest problem we have," says @POTUS. "They rigged an election...Last night they didn't do a bad job either if you noticed."

#Election2020 being stolen by radical Democrats" and "the fake news media," claims @realDonaldTrump. "We will not take it any more...We will stop the steal."

1. We DO NOT have two presidents at the same time.  Biden's boorish conduct, holding policy press conferences, attending official events, discussing foreign policy with heads' of state, etc., is truly appalling.  And the media are encouraging this, of course.

2. Biden has no respect for the constitutional system, and it is HE is an embarrassment and defying the constitution and the law.  The electoral process -- with state canvassing, recounts, and litigation -- is not over.  It takes more than 8 days.

3. And the serious issues are ubiquitous due, in part, to the premeditated pre-November 3 litigation strategies of the Biden campaign, the Democrat Party, and their surrogates in over 300 lawsuits they brought to change the rules and weaken election safeguards.

4. Biden's "president-elect" declarations are truly the stuff of a tyrant.  God forbid, should he become president, it is clear he will govern the same way as it is the way of the radical Left.  While this is an uphill fight, it is a fight that MUST go forward!

To think that Northerners are Politically sagacious is the fallacy of the century. Since Nigeria gained independence (alleged) The leadership of this country both in the military and democratic span of it had always seen the Northern elites having higher clinch of power,

Control of major resources to their advantage, They say Politics is allocation of power,(human n material resources), as to who gets what,how and when;". especially to this modern day that the security architecture of this country is in their palms. Yet we have seen unpredictable

Slaughter of lives in our land under their gaze. To even, imagine that it happened once or twice is killing my spirit let alone becoming the norm we have to live with. Shameless to hear that farmers pay bandits for 'pass' to their farms/harvest is economic dilemma.

To even hear that their state governors paid and still pay them is out of this world. To even hear again that the arch spiritual/traditional ruler the Sultan is merely giving a news headline that Bandits now go door to door to kidnap is the height of shame with the amount of

Power that the so called political gurus are disposed to. It beats common sense to hear that minors enrol, are given PVC just to maintain voting strength.. You now claim power belongs to you all. Alright. The question is, Do you actually have the power? Look around you.

I'll tell you why the English have ignored the fact that Scotland voted remain.
It's because they're trying to subordinate the idea of Scotland to nominally the United Kingdom, but effectively to England.

The English dominate the United Kingdom in Parliament. The English have got a virtual monopoly on the government of the United Kingdom. They pretend they don't, but they do.

The thing is, Brexit is the only time the dominance of England over the United Kingdom has been tested.
And the English have quite evidently failed.

If there was any truth to the English illusion of the United Kingdom, they would have never imposed this English nationalist Brexit on Scotland.

And I don't think any previous government would have ever dreamed of doing this.

No. This is an outburst of English nationalism using the built-in dominance of England over Parliament to kick the other nations aside.

Some folks have asked me to explain what’s going on with @twitter locking the @nypost twitter account:

1. Post posted that story on Hunter Biden which twitter determined at the time contained materials (emails and photos) that violated twitter rules.

News Analysis🔎The firm hired by @GaSecofState to conduct an #Audit of #DominionVotingSystems is the same one that previously certified the #Dominion systems and also approved a last-minute system-wide software change. (Thread👇)