Texas implements virtual border control

TECH TUESDAY

Texas has recently installed several security cameras along the Mexican border which could be monitored online by civilians: (CNN Technology)  

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (AP) — Texas has started broadcasting live images of the U.S. border on the Internet in a security program that asks the public to report signs of illegal immigration or drug crimes.

A test Web site went live Thursday at texasborderwatch.com with views from eight cameras and ways for viewers to e-mail reports of suspicious activity. Previously, the images had only been available to law enforcement and landowners where the cameras are located.

“There is only one way to test it, and that’s open it up for business,” said Texas Homeland Security Director Steve McCraw.

Some civil rights groups have criticized the “virtual border watch,” saying it will instill fear in border communities and could lead to fraudulent crime reports and racial profiling.

The cameras will operate at hot spots for illegal activity, such as Amistad Reservoir in Del Rio and Falcon Lake in Zapata, and other active border areas such as highway rest stops and inspection stations, officials said. Information e-mailed by viewers goes to the state’s operations center and local law enforcement in that area.

McCraw said the project will eventually grow to include at least 70 cameras throughout South Texas, some with zoom lens and thermal capacity. The state is using $5 million in federal security grants that have been earmarked for the web camera program.images of the U.S. border on the Internet in a security program that asks the public to report signs of illegal immigration or drug crimes.

A test Web site went live Thursday at texasborderwatch.com with views from eight cameras and ways for viewers to e-mail reports of suspicious activity. Previously, the images had only been available to law enforcement and landowners where the cameras are located.

“There is only one way to test it, and that’s open it up for business,” said Texas Homeland Security Director Steve McCraw.

Some civil rights groups have criticized the “virtual border watch,” saying it will instill fear in border communities and could lead to fraudulent crime reports and racial profiling.

The cameras will operate at hot spots for illegal activity, such as Amistad Reservoir in Del Rio and Falcon Lake in Zapata, and other active border areas such as highway rest stops and inspection stations, officials said. Information e-mailed by viewers goes to the state’s operations center and local law enforcement in that area.McCraw said the project will eventually grow to include at least 70 cameras throughout South Texas, some with zoom lens and thermal capacity. The state is using $5 million in federal security grants that have been earmarked for the web camera program.

I SAY:

Technology is changing the way we do many things. It is about time people realize that in a couple of years everything will go digital and online and living without the E-Connection will be virtually impossible.

What a great idea to actually put cameras out there instead of risking more lives. And thumbs up to letting the public be a part of reducing crime. For the people who are online anyway, and actually enjoy sitting and waiting for the action, it is fun! for the Government, it is thousands of volunteers “manning” the borders 24/7, and for the lawbreakers and smugglers, another reason to stay away from our borders!

Saddam is Sentenced

POLITICS; WORLD; IN THE NEWS

Saddam Hussein was sentenced yesterday to death by hanging. The World expressed mixed reaction. while most agree that he certainly deserves this punishment, others worry about a possible retaliation by Suni Muslims and strong violence in Iraq and throughout the world: (CBS News)

The European Union welcomed the verdict but said Saddam should not be put to death. At the Vatican, Cardinal Renato Martino, Pope Benedict XVI’s top prelate for justice issues, called the sentence a throwback to “eye for an eye” vengeance.The death sentence automatically goes to a nine-judge appeals panel, which was expected to rule by the middle of January, the chief prosecutor said on Monday.“This is not the way to present the new Iraq to the world, which is different from Saddam, who was behind hundreds of thousands of deaths as well as death penalty sentences,” said Hands Off Cain, an Italian organization working to rid the world of capital punishment.“The hanging of Saddam Hussein will turn to hell for the Americans,” said Vitaya Wisethrat, a respected Muslim cleric in Thailand, which has its own Islamic insurgency in the country’s south.“The Saddam case is not a Muslim problem but the problem of America and its domestic politics,” he said. “Maybe Bush will use this case to tell the voters that Saddam is dead and that the Americans are safe. But actually the American people will be in more danger with the death of Saddam.”

Jubilant Shiites marched by the hundreds Monday, celebrating Hussein’s sentence as Sunnis held defiant counter-demonstrations, however, the surge in violence expected after the verdict did not materialize.Intervening militarily was “a grave error,” said Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, whose country withdrew its troops from Iraq, contending that conditions there have worsened since the U.S.-led invasion.Although some voiced doubts that Saddam would actually be hanged, the International Federation for Human Rights denounced the death sentence, warning that it “will generate more violence and deepen the cycle of killing for revenge in Iraq.” The Council of Europe called it “futile and wrong” to execute Saddam.

Louise Arbour, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, urged Iraq to ensure a fair appeals process and to refrain from executing Saddam even if the sentence is upheld.

I Say:

           Saddam is a tyrant. Let’s put the issue about whether or not the war in Iraq is right or wrong aside. If there would be no capitol punishment in the world, there would be so much violence. There would be no fear, nothing to keep them back. If Saddam will be hanged, this will be a very clear message to all of the world that no one will tolerate evil, and evil will be prosecuted to the full extent.

            Will Sunni Iraqis or others retaliate? Perhaps. We need to weigh the possibilities against each other. Should we rather not execute Saddam, which will empower other dictators to follow his paths, knowing that at worst, he will spend his life behind bars, or should we kill him and deal with those who terrorize and kill as a result of his execution in the same manner as we are dealing with him? Either way, there will be victims, war and a lot of unfortunate consequences.

             This is a good time for the leaders in the new, Democratic Iraq to show that they are indeed a Democracy. If they fear those who are trying to bring dictatorship back to Iraq, they will never succeed in being a free country. It is a now or never situation and SADDAM SHOULD BE KILLED FOR HIS CRIMES!