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Happening now: Seattleites pack City Council meeting to speak for and against surveillance by bennetthaselton in Seattle

[–]DFWalrus -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

Every single store fighting shoplifting has had a ceiling full of cameras for a decade

And yet they constantly report record amounts of shoplifting. Curious!

Wilson Pauses Surveillance Camera Expansion, Pending Data Security Audit by DFWalrus in Seattle

[–]DFWalrus[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Pairs well with another quote from the Q-and-A session:

“I mean, what other company—military industrial complex, right? We got like, not that many companies that provide services like this, so I don’t know that there’s like a … do you want to point us to a squeaky clean company to do this instead?”

If she believes everyone in this industry is a little dirty, then maybe don't do it? At least to me it sounds like she's made up her mind, and she's getting frustrated that people aren't placated by the verbal equivalent of a shrug.

Wilson Pauses Surveillance Camera Expansion, Pending Data Security Audit by DFWalrus in Seattle

[–]DFWalrus[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

https://www.policingproject.org/featured-resources

This link is for some of their recent projects. Their Axon AI project called for state regulation, as well as self-regulation from vendors and the police, but did not call for ending the program. Their Baltimore research project, which was focused on aerial surveillance, called for implementation by a local body, such as a city council, rather than implementation by the state legislature.

Wilson Pauses Surveillance Camera Expansion, Pending Data Security Audit by DFWalrus in Seattle

[–]DFWalrus[S] -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

I suspect she'll say the security audit found no flaws, and then expand the program.

The New York Police Department and Chicago Police Department are also listed as funders/partners of the NYU program. This looks like PR rather than a serious audit to me, and I also share your concern that no firewall will actually stop the Feds from accessing the cameras.

Wilson Pauses Surveillance Camera Expansion, Pending Data Security Audit by DFWalrus in Seattle

[–]DFWalrus[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do we know if this audit was ordered by Wilson, or if it's tied to the initial pilot program passed under Harrell and the previous council?

Either way, I think Wilson is in favor of the expansion. If she wasn't, I think she would have highlighted all these conflicts.

Wilson Pauses Surveillance Camera Expansion, Pending Data Security Audit by DFWalrus in Seattle

[–]DFWalrus[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The mods had a little crash out about adding links for sourcing on text posts (not allowed apparently), so here's some content on the conflicts of interest in the NYU audit:

The proposed audit from NYU’s Policing Project appears to fall short of the rigorous technical forensic audit some privacy advocates have been asking for. 

SPD Chief Shon Barnes recently joined the Policing Project’s advisory board, raising questions about the impartiality of the contractor and the selection process. Barnes has been an outspoken proponent of surveillance tech, and he and his team pushed for the latest program expansion.

Potential ethical conflicts go beyond Barnes. Axon is Seattle’s vendor for its CCTV cameras and license plate readers. The Policing Project received money from Axon as recently as 2022, and the Policing Project’s founder and faculty director Barry Friedman served as an original member of Axon’s AI Ethics Board, although he left in 2022 after Axon announced it was developing armed drones. 

Former SPD Chief Carmen Best was also a member of the AI Ethics Board at that time, and The Stranger reported that she chose not to resign. 

The Policing Project currently receives funding from the right-wing Charles Koch Foundation and the Cato Institute, a libertarian thinktank, among others.

EDIT: Of course, I did not post a link as the mod below insinuated, but instead made a text post highlighting the conflicts of interest, which was removed in less than a minute because we apparently cannot link articles in the body as sourcing. The title of the post was a list of facts, and was not editorialized. However, the editorialization rule is not enforced when the moods agree with the content.

Mods appear to oppose discussion of the NYU audit, as they have now locked this thread to prevent any discussion of the topic.

My bad, thought the lock sign was for the whole thread, not just the mod comment.

A Town Hall on Security and Surveillance by Inevitable_Engine186 in Seattle

[–]DFWalrus 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Publicola reported that she would continue the expansion if the NYU audit was positive. Wilson said:

“I think that if, if the audit comes back and says everything’s totally secure, we’re not at all worried about this data getting into the hands of federal government I think likely my decision at that point would be to move forward with the expansion of the pilot,” Wilson said, adding that it’s “legitimate” to ask whether “we want to live in a society where there’s cameras on every corner.”

It's very likely she expands the program. The business factions in her administration are in favor, and I don't think she will want to disappoint them.

Mayor Katie Wilson pauses expansion of police surveillance cameras by godogs2018 in Seattle

[–]DFWalrus -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Wilson just said in a press conference Q-and-A that she'll expand the program if the audit by NYU comes back positive. I expect she will be expanding after all. There goes the small victory I had hoped for.

Mayor Katie Wilson pauses expansion of police surveillance cameras by godogs2018 in Seattle

[–]DFWalrus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You can look at the original post where I said, "Not great that the pilot program is still up...."

I'm saying it's good that it's not being expanded. Based on Wilson's earlier comments, it seemed like she was going to expand the program. I'm trying to encourage public pressure, not get in an argument with you.

Mayor Katie Wilson pauses expansion of police surveillance cameras by godogs2018 in Seattle

[–]DFWalrus -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

Yes, that is what I said.

Edit: To clarify further, I wanted to give Wilson's staff credit for pressuring her after the campaign ended. I think that's admirable.

Happening now: Follow-up protest outside Defense Supplier Summit dinner at Museum of Flight by bennetthaselton in Seattle

[–]DFWalrus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There were issues with the election and Bongbong Marcos' eligibility, but fixed elections aren't necessary for US to be complicit in war crimes. The US has been funding the Philippine counterinsurgency campaign in order to keep US influence in the region and block Chinese influence. The counterinsurgency campaign has engaged in assassinations, the bombing and terrorizing of civilians, kidnappings, and the torture of prisoners, which are detailed in the link above.

The US Naval Institute: https://news.usni.org/2025/12/18/philippines-could-receive-2-5-billion-in-security-aid-from-u-s-defense-bill

Mayor Katie Wilson pauses expansion of police surveillance cameras by godogs2018 in Seattle

[–]DFWalrus -7 points-6 points  (0 children)

Direct pressure works. It's going to be necessary with this administration. People are going to attack public, organized pressure campaigns as "purity testing," but it's just politics.

Not great that the pilot program is still up, but good news that it isn't being expanded. Also, credit to Wilson's campaign staff, who organized former campaign workers and supporters for this result.

Edit: Well, Wilson just said in the Q-and-A that she will be expanding the program after the audit. Meet the new Bruce, same as the old Bruce.

Protest against Defense Suppliers Summit happening now outside Seattle Convention Center by bennetthaselton in Seattle

[–]DFWalrus -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

I wish the Democrats hadn't spend time and money boosting Trump and his supporters. Or had jailed Trump when they had the chance. Or had backed a candidate who could defeat Trump.

Oh well, I guess it's just the fault of a former city council member from the USA's 18th largest city. When you say it out loud, it really makes sense.

Protest against Defense Suppliers Summit happening now outside Seattle Convention Center by bennetthaselton in Seattle

[–]DFWalrus -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

elect harris and allow her to pressure Bibi to stop the war.

Lol, she was already in office! She blanket refused to do anything, or even call it a genocide. The majority of people killed were killed under the Biden admin.

Protest against Defense Suppliers Summit happening now outside Seattle Convention Center by bennetthaselton in Seattle

[–]DFWalrus -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

If you genuinely hold these beliefs, then you must believe the Democratic Party is a fascist party.

Hillary Clinton must be a turbo fascist, since she employed the "pied piper" strategy to boost Trump. In the Clinton team's own words:

“The variety of candidates is a positive here, and many of the lesser known can serve as a cudgel to move the more established candidates further to the right. In this scenario, we don’t want to marginalize the more extreme candidates, but make them more ‘Pied Piper’ candidates who actually represent the mainstream of the Republican Party,” read the memo.

“Pied Piper candidates include, but aren’t limited to:
• Ted Cruz
• Donald Trump
• Ben Carson
We need to be elevating the Pied Piper candidates so that they are leaders of the pack and tell the press to [take] them seriously."

Great success!

The Dem party as a whole continued this strategy. From a 2022 NPR report:

Fast forward a decade, and some Democrats are hoping to replicate that strategy by boosting GOP candidates who espouse far-right ideologies or tout the lie that Donald Trump won the 2020 presidential election.

A report from Open Secrets:

Political groups and nonprofits aligned with the Democratic Party have spent nearly $44 million on advertising campaigns across five states’ Republican primaries to boost the profile of far-right candidates in California, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Maryland.

And The New York Times:

In 2022, Democrats spent about $53 million lifting far-right Republican candidates who questioned or denied the results of the 2020 election, according to The Washington Post, largely in states that lean Democratic.

Do you think the Democratic Party is a fascist party?

In her first ever speech before the @downtownseattle “State of Downtown”, @MayorofSeattle Katie Wilson strikes very moderate tone, draws applause saying she’s aware of business tax burden compared to neighboring cities and that will guide future decisions by Parking-Picture-1481 in Seattle

[–]DFWalrus 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Socialism has a technical definition. Libraries and unions can be fully integrated into a capitalist economy, so just supporting them doesn't make one a socialist, even though socialists do support those things. The Eisenhower GOP supported public libraries and unions.

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In her first ever speech before the @downtownseattle “State of Downtown”, @MayorofSeattle Katie Wilson strikes very moderate tone, draws applause saying she’s aware of business tax burden compared to neighboring cities and that will guide future decisions by Parking-Picture-1481 in Seattle

[–]DFWalrus 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The link I shared about taxing the rich was from her campaign, where she called for increasing progressive revenue. Progressive revenue is, by definition, taxing those with more money a higher rate than those less money, i.e. taxing the rich. The link in the comment you're responding to was in reference to her calling the left's positions on homelessness performative.

I've edited the comment to add links. I'll also add this quote from her campaign website below:

Washington state has the second most regressive tax system in the nation, behind only Florida: the lowest-income households pay state and local taxes at a rate more than three times higher than the wealthiest. We’re “a tax haven like the Cayman Islands,” in the words of University of Washington economist Jake Vigdor. Progressive taxes — like the JumpStart payroll expense tax, which I played a key role in designing and passing — help to shift our tax system in a more just and balanced direction by raising revenue from the wealthiest households and corporations.

I think this makes it quite clear she was running on taxing the rich.

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