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Tech versus politics

Technology is a powerful tool that can be used to either reveal the truth or supress it.

In the USA this weekend, we saw a perfect example of how tech can challenge the claims of the highest powers in the land and despite what appears to be overwhelming evidence, those powers simply ignore the evidence that technology delivered.

I'm talking about the shooting of a US citizen by ICE officers in the streets of Minneapolis.

According to "official statements" from authorities, Alex Pretti "brandished" a 9mm pistol at ICE officers who defended themselves by shooting him 10 times.

Unfortunately, those claims seem completely at odds with the growing number of videos that were taken of the tragic event.

Analysis of these videos would seem to indicate that the agents had already disarmed Mr Pretti before he was shot.

It's also clear that while this guy was protesting, he did not deliberately provoke a confrontation with the agents -- he simply tried to prevent them from further assaulting a woman they had just pushed to the ground.

In return for his efforts he, and the woman, were pepper sprayed before Pretti himself was wrestled to the ground, disarmed and shot at point-blank range.

Now to be fair, Mr Pretti can only be described as a perfect candidate for the Darwin Awards for being stupid enough to carry a gun to a protest like this, even though he was legally authorised to do so by the US constitution and by way of a concealed-carry permit issued by the state.

The fact that anyone in the USA feels the need to carry a gun on their person when in public is a further sorry indictment of the state of that nation.

So who was in the right and who was in the wrong here?

Clearly there was fault on both sides but no matter what Mr Pretti did wrong, he did not deserve to have his life taken in this manner.

Perhaps the bigger crime however, is that US federal authorities would seek to mislead the public to the extent that they clearly have in this matter. For them to paint a picture where they claim Mr Pretti agressively confronted ICE agents while "brandishing" his 9mm automatic pistol is clearly an outright lie and something that must utterly destroy their credibility in the eyes of the US people.

I find it incredibly ironic that Donald Trump has been rattling his war-sabre at Iran for executing protesters in the streets when clearly, this is also rapidly becoming the modus operandi of his own federal agents, whether by intention or not.

If the Iranian's had half a clue they would issue a statement claiming that they're going to send an armada of their navy vessels to the coast of the USA and perform a military strike if these executions by ICE agents continue.

It has now been suggested that it's "case closed" in this incident. There won't be any official investigation and no censure against those who fired their weapons. The message this sends to other ICE agents is that they can act with impunity, provoking violent incidents and terminating the lives of protesters without fear of repercussions.

The world is so messed up right now.

And, in light of this, it becomes easy to see why governments are seeking to crack down on technology in the hands of the public and on social media platforms. The videos of what really happened in Minneapolis were circulating on social media even before federal officials began rolling out their lies. You can bet there will be much discussion behind closed doors in the halls of power on exactly how this can be avoided next time so as to protect the "official narrative".

Digital IDs? Heavy-handed government censorship? The use of AI to automatically block "offending" images or video? Penalties for those who dare to dispute the official narrative?

The future looks bleak.

Carpe Diem folks!

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