
Hundreds of surveillance experiments along the U.S.-Mexico border - danso
https://github.com/marcdacosta/border-radio-investigation
======
swalsh
Using github for what amounts to reporting from investigative journalism is a
fascinating use case.

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edm0nd
These are some of my favorites!

If anyone has anymore Githubs like this, please link them :)

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psychanarch
[https://github.com/fivethirtyeight/data](https://github.com/fivethirtyeight/data)

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threatofrain
With something as important as data at the border being farmed out to so many
parties, I can hardly trust information can be kept securely with so many 3rd
party relationships, especially with foreign firms.

~~~
gpm
Note that it looks like this technology is being deployed at the border _not_
at border crossings.

What threats are you worried about here?

Privacy of people in the process of illegally immigrating? I don't think the
people deploying these experiments share your concern.

Privacy of people who happen to live near the border? It seems unlikely that
they are collecting much data on them, just because it's not useful to
collect... I can see it being a real concern if they are collecting data on
them.

Privacy of troop movements? Are there serious adversaries who are more likely
to be aided by this data leaking than they are to be hindered by the increased
surveillance? If a real war broke out on the US border I'm sure we would
quickly become more selective about the providers, and where the data from the
instruments is going.

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save_ferris
> Privacy of people who happen to live near the border? It seems unlikely that
> they are collecting much data on them, just because it's not useful to
> collect... I can see it being a real concern if they are collecting data on
> them.

I could easily see an agency argue that it needs to collect data on everyone
near the border in order to track coyotes and others inside the country
assisting with border crossings, etc.

After Snowden, it's hard to envision any agency with surveillance powers
opting not to collect data for not being "useful". The justification is
definitely there for those who are adamant about collecting the data.

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cedivad
Fascinating. The article is talking about surveillance blimps and I can't help
but wonder if someone is working on repurposing that tech to detect fires at
their onset.

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SiempreViernes
Well, there are satellites that have far larger fields of view, so the
question is how much smaller fires you can see with a blimp compared to a
satellite.

~~~
giancarlostoro
How many satelites are devoted to reporting fires on the other hand?

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microdrum
[https://github.com/marcdacosta/border-radio-
investigation/bl...](https://github.com/marcdacosta/border-radio-
investigation/blob/master/jan2020-exports/USMX-Border-Experiment-Cos.csv)

Anduril doesnt even show up, which probably means that it's overstating its
progress.

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Tepix
A company called Ticom Geomatics has applied for the most experimental
licenses.

From their homepage: "we offer challenging projects where the results make a
difference globally"

Note: "Make a difference" can be double-speak.

They also mention their "diverse and collaborative environment". I wonder if
there are Mexicans on their staff.

~~~
bacondude3
This is a picture of their staff. It looks reasonably diverse:
[http://www.ticom-geo.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/tgi-
grou...](http://www.ticom-geo.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/tgi-group2.jpg)

Remember, legal immigrants (from Mexico or anywhere else) tend to be among the
strongest opponents of illegal immigration.

~~~
ikeyany
I don't understand how you look at that staff picture and say that it's
"reasonably diverse".

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corporate_shi11
Do you know their backgrounds? Do you know whether they were raised rich or
poor? Perhaps some come from the Eastern states, some from the West, others
from the south. Some are young and some are old. Maybe some like classical
music while others prefer rap. Some like long walks on the beach while others
like spending time hiking in the forest.

Lots of diversity is probably contained in that photo, just not the
superficial type you're most fixated on.

~~~
ikeyany
The comment I replied to said that they look diverse. So how do they look
diverse based on that picture alone?

~~~
corporate_shi11
Based on that picture alone? Some tall, some short, some old, some young, some
men, some women, some skinny, some fat, etc. Lots of superficial diversity in
that picture.

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GaryNumanVevo
Why are we spending presumably billions of dollars restricting movement of
people? It would be by far cheaper to open the border and allow working age
migrants to pay into our tax system legally....

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GaryNumanVevo
Follow up to this: First it's tested on the illegal citizens, then it's tested
on the legal ones.

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m0zg
What's an "illegal citizen"?

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GaryNumanVevo
I think I might need to clarify my point here. I'm not placing any blame on
migrant workers who come to the US to make a living, my biggest issue is with
companies that take advantage of this labor without taxes. Having an easier
system for migrant workers to have legal status here (i.e. able to bank in the
US, pay taxes, etc) would raise their income, and benefit the US as a whole.

~~~
m0zg
How would a massively increased supply of unskilled labor (which is already
abundant) raise anyone's wages? Say, for instance, tomorrow it became really,
really easy for companies to hire programmers. Do you think the wages would go
up or down?

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jariel
Defense paying for a lot of R&D that will be materially useful in a lot of
areas.

Now we just need a ton of legislation to protect us from entities using this
tech when they shouldn't.

