9 ms·
Seeing how drone warfare has become the new hot front in 21st century conflicts like Ukraine, it's hard not to speculate on the implications of this as politica
by Kapura 9mo ago
Seeing how drone warfare has become the new hot front in 21st century conflicts like Ukraine, it's hard not to speculate on the implications of this as political unrest continues to rise in the U.S.
It's no secret that the current U.S. regime views a sizeable portion of its own civilian citizens as enemy combatants. They are already shooting people in the face and not even putting up a pretense of acting shocked at the act. Historically, it is easier to win elections than revolutions; limiting access to game-changing technology puts the power advantage even more firmly in the corner of the regime.
- alex43578 9mo ago[flagged]
- goatlover 9mo agoThat's not what happened. Why does this keep getting repeated? The videos from different angles are out there for everyone to see.
- alex43578 9mo ago[flagged]
- Sohcahtoa82 9mo agoIt's absolutely wild to me that two people can watch the same video and come up with completely different conclusions as to what happened. > She sees he is there, puts it in drive, and pulls forward. The fact that her steering was cranked to the right is proof enough that she was not intending on hitting him.
- alex43578 9mo ago[flagged]
- leptons 9mo agoHe pulled his gun out before she moved the car anywhere. He was already intending to shoot her.
- alex43578 9mo agoYou do know that’s a lie easily refuted by all the video evidence, right?
- Sohcahtoa82 9mo agoNot at all. I watched the video from Ross's phone. At first, from that angle, it actually looks like he's lunging in front of Good's car, but then I remembered the other angle. He moved his phone from his right hand to his left hand so he could grab his gun. But the car is still traveling in reverse as this happens. And when Good starts moving, the wheel is cranked to the right -- away from Ross. I notice something important: Ross did not back away when the car starting moving. He stood his ground. If Good was intending to run over him, all she would have needed to do was center the wheel, maybe even keep it slightly to the left. But no, she was cranked to the right, away from him. Ross didn't move at all, and didn't get run over. From what I can see, Good hit reverse to execute a 2-point turn to leave, and Ross responded by moving his phone to his left hand so he could unholster his gun with his right. But the fact is, Ross failed to properly act according to training. If you do believe someone is trying to run over you, the proper response is to get the hell out of the way, not stand your ground and shoot the driver. Cars aren't exactly known for stopping just because the driver is dead.
- alex43578 9mo ago>He pulled his gun out before she moved the car anywhere So this is a lie, by your own admission. Her car is already moving before he reaches for his gun. -- The tactic of relocating is not a legal requirement. Failing to retreat doesn't prevent him from defending himself. While Minnesota absurdly has "duty to retreat" laws, since he is operating as federal law enforcement he is only required to have "reasonable belief that the subject of such force poses an imminent danger of death... to the officer", and he can reasonably believe that she is trying to run him over, given she puts it in gear and pulls forward towards him, from a stop, as he's right at her bumper.
- mikkupikku 9mo agoIts obvious that she was resisting arrest and trying to flee. But as for the ICE agent being in front of the car... barely. I don't believe he genuinely feared for his life, he could have simply stepped out of the way. I think he saw the woman fleeing, figured he was close enough to being in harms way to justify himself, and shot the woman because he was mad at her. I've been in situations like that in Walmart parking lots, where a car jolts forward and I have to jump out of the way, and maybe I say "That crazy bitch just tried to kill me" but while saying that I understand it to be a hyperbolic albeit justified anger at reckless driving, and that nobody was actually trying to kill me, and shooting the driver in the face instead of diving out of the way would be a suboptimal survival strategy even if homicidal intent was there.
- goatlover 9mo agoI don't understand what jurisdiction ICE has to enforce traffic laws. We see other vehicles drive around her vehicle, so at most it was a minor inconvenience for ICE. Call the local LE on her if you don't like how she's parked in the road and they can issue a ticket.
- mikkupikku 9mo agoFederal agents can arrest people for obstructing them, if you block the road they aren't obliged to defer to local cops and laws, because fucking with federal agents like that violates federal laws. Regardless, none of it justifies a murder.
- goatlover 9mo agoThe road wasn't blocked since we see other vehicles drive around her, which ICE could have done instead of escalating the situation as we see them doing in dozens of videos coming out of the Minneapolis area. Keep in mind that the administration is not acting in good faith. Trump has politicized ICE to go after blue cities he doesn't like. Stephen Miller started the escalations when he sent ICE to Home Depot parking lots in LA because his desired quoata wasn't being met.
- spiderfarmer 9mo agoIt's no secret that VC's are profiting massively from this administration. And all comments critical of the current regime are getting downvoted on HN. Something adds up.
- deleted 9mo ago[deleted]
- noonething 9mo agothere's also something weird going on with the posts, i swear i saw the thread change in-between logins.
- jasonjayr 9mo agoReminder: when you are logged out, HN will show static cached content. Since there's no login session it doesn't have to compute parts of the page unique to the user. When huge stories hit, and HN is overloaded, browing while logged out is the way to get through.
- noonething 9mo agooh k thank you.
- shuntress 9mo agoSaying "Something adds up" without elaboration is a dog whistle for conspiracy theory weirdos.
- spiderfarmer 9mo agoOne of many such services: https://upvote.club/ https://upvote.club/ It’s not a conspiracy, it’s a business model and PR companies use them.
- Alex2037 9mo ago>And all comments critical of the current regime are getting downvoted on HN. there's always r/politics
- justin66 9mo agoMerely the documentary function of small drones is a threat to the current US government - their game changing effect on the battlefield in Ukraine is (one hopes) less relevant here. Just the threat of people taking pictures of what's happening is enough for them to restrict flight over an entire large city when ICE moves in. https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/2025/10/02/faa-drone-zone-homeland-security https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/2025/10/02/faa-drone-zone-...
- deleted 9mo ago[deleted]
- ericmay 9mo agoMaybe, or maybe it’s just good policy to not import a network of drones from an adversary to democracies across the world, which includes the EU most importantly as China helps Russia with its invasion of Ukraine and is gearing up for some activity in Taiwan. People can just record all this stuff on their iPhones that they already have. You don’t need a DJI drone to record police malfeasance. Maybe you do in China or Iran though. In Iran they are just mowing people down. In China you get disappeared. Interesting that there are no protests about those things though. I guess they just have better social media marketing.
- watwut 9mo ago> as China helps Russia with its invasion of Ukraine America is helping Russia with its invasion of Ukraine.
- alex43578 9mo agoBy only giving Ukraine $175,000,000,000, instead of $500B? Or $1T and American boots on the ground? When has American done enough to fight Ukraine’s war for them?
- ceejayoz 9mo ago> When has American done enough to fight Ukraine’s war for them? I'm inclined to think Ukraine is fighting our war for us. The 1980s Cold Warriors would've been flabbergasted at how cheap taking out the Russian military at the knees would wind up being.
- joe_mamba 9mo agoIt was 30 years of rot, neglect, theft and corruption that did the majority of the damage to Russia's post-USSR military. The army they have today in Ukraine is only a fraction of what they were capable of in the 1980s.
- 9mo ago
- defen 9mo ago[flagged]
- buckle8017 9mo ago[flagged]
- Kapura 9mo agoidk if you know about bad apples, but the idiom isn't "one bad apple is fine and can be successfully isolated and removed." If we're speaking about the same incident, there was no mistake. it was intentional. there has been no apology from any official source, as one would expect in the case of a tragic mistake.
- rjtavares 9mo agoI guess you haven't read how the government reacted to the incident. Let's put it mildly and say: is wasn't treated as a mistake or bad-apple cop. Just an example: "Vance said the ICE officer was clearly justified in shooting Good. The officer was clearly acting in self-defense, Vance said. He framed Good as "a victim of left-wing ideology" who was spurred by an alleged network of politically motivated groups to interfere with law enforcement." https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-live-vance-joins-white-house-briefing https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-live-vance-joins...
- notyourwork 9mo agoAnd not one apology or sympathetic comment towards the deceased. Shame on everyone. What a sad timeline.
- JohnMakin 9mo agoHint: the current democrat establishment is also authoritarian. you're so, so close to it!
- bbddg 9mo agoWe don't even have to go that far to realize how quickly the democratic establishment would roll over in the face of a civil war. I don't think Chuck Schumer is going to be leading an armed resistance movement anytime soon.
- aeternum 9mo agoAh yes I'm sure it has nothing to do with the drones running closed proprietary software via OTA updates, with encrypted data connections back to China, while being outfitted with 8k cameras, gps, lidar, etc.
- radlad 9mo agoReading the article, it actually doesn't. Many US-made drones are also banned.
- badhackernews 9mo ago[dead]
- CursedSilicon 9mo agoYes. This administration obviously cares more about checks notes software privacy than political disobedience
- jameshart 9mo agoMuch like the TikTok ban this seems like something that could be handled through actually regulating what tech companies are allowed to do, rather than just picking on specific products and saying ‘stop that, it’s making us nervous’. Federal laws about data collection and retention, export, and algorithmic usage… as well as laws about software update channels for hardware devices, eg requiring that it be possible to replace firmware yourself… all sorts of regulations could be put in place that leave the software and hardware markets open, by making it clear where the boundaries are. If DJI or TikTok are doing something bad, prosecute and fine them and enjoin them from doing it again… but make it clear what specific behavior you have a problem with.
- techjamie 9mo agoWe're too busy taking car companies' lines that it's reasonable they don't want people going to a local mechanic because "The data your car collected on you might get hacked and sent to China!" rather than asking "What are cars doing collecting this data, if it's such a risk?"
- stickfigure 9mo agoTrump will be gone in 3 years. Maybe fewer depending on his health. It's unlikely that this change will have any meaningful effect on US democracy. On the other hand, little drones are effectively munitions now. That means drone manufacturing capacity is effectively munitions manufacturing capacity. We're giving potential adversaries economies of scale building things that may be used to kill us. I'm generally a pretty free market guy but the war in Ukraine has changed some things. My main complaint with this law is that it is so US focused; I'd be fine with drones built in Europe or Japan or other allied nations.
- jayd16 9mo agoThat logic also means they shouldn't be banned under 2nd amendment protections, no?
- aardvarkr 9mo agoNo, you can think of them more like unarmed artillery shells. Can you walk down the street to buy some artillery munitions? Even if they were considered arms for the purpose of 2a this isn’t a ban on drones but a specific manufacturer. They government can definitely refuse to grant a manufacturer license to sell on this country.
- toast0 9mo agoPretty sure you can find inert artillery shells for sale if you cjeck your thrift and military surplus store.
- 542354234235 9mo agoAfter Mcviegh, shouldn’t all U-Haul’s be seen as unarmed vehicular large IEDs? A drone isn’t like an artillery shell because an artillery shell is for putting in an artillery gun. A drone is for flying. Just because something can be modified to serve as some sort of weapon, does make it basically a weapon.
- 9mo ago
- jadedanalyst 9mo agoAgreed. They can’t control the narrative if journalists and activists can observe brutal state violence against citizens with their pocket drones. I picked up an older DJI model in December and am super glad I did with recent events.
- lazide 9mo agoWell, they can and they do. The core supporters just watch Fox where none of that ever shows up.
- simianparrot 9mo ago[flagged]
- poszlem 9mo agoHow about now: https://xcancel.com/TheRealThelmaJ1/status/2010542907695231016 https://xcancel.com/TheRealThelmaJ1/status/20105429076952310... https://xcancel.com/NewYorker/status/1910856874792046893 https://xcancel.com/NewYorker/status/1910856874792046893 https://xcancel.com/JusticeFwdVa/status/1914987893652705475 https://xcancel.com/JusticeFwdVa/status/1914987893652705475
- alex43578 9mo ago[flagged]
- poszlem 9mo ago"Vehicle attacks" is the lie part in your post.
- gruez 9mo ago"attacks" is a stretch when the officer didn't even get hit and the vehicle was turning away from him.
- iamflimflam1 9mo agoI would encourage you to do some more research. Maybe get out of your bubble. The world might not be as black and white as you think it is.
- ivell 9mo agoMy takeaway is that all previous U.S. administrations had pretense of morality and rules in both international and domestic politics (even when they did dubious stuff). The new administration has realized that there is no need for such pretense to stay in power. Previously Venezuelan attack would have been about "democracy" and "freedom" and "peace". Trump has made it clear that it is for oil. Overall it is probably better for the world society in general that pretense is gone and the realpolitics is laid bare. The risks are no longer ambiguous but real and clearly stated and the world can plan mitigation accordingly.
- AndrewKemendo 9mo ago> My takeaway is that all previous U.S. administrations had pretense of morality and rules in both international and domestic politics This is a perspective that continues to boggle my mind. Every record of the United States acting internationally has been either: Explicitly horrific (Invasion of Grenada, Vietnam, Firebombing then nuking Tokyo, Iraq etc…) Attempts to Subvert or ignore international law (IPCC, ICC, UN…) Or benefits some major industrial corporation (NAFTA, WTO etc…) Please point to any type of transcendent “morality or rules” that isn’t just straight up large scale international realpolitik and propaganda around maintaining global capitalism on behalf of American based owners.
- ivell 9mo agoActually I mentioned "pretense" in the sense of US pretending to be the good guy.
- AndrewKemendo 9mo agoWhat do you mean by pretense? The word pretense to me means “we’re gonna actually try this and let’s see how it goes” The United States has literally never done that and we know that because internal documentations for pretty much anything always have some kind of American benefit Nexus it is not based on any type of foundational belief that transcends the concept of “we’re gonna do whatever the people who are the loudest owners of the political system of the United States want to do” Everything else including: Powell going to the UN with a vile full of rice is just straight up unabashed unequivocal propaganda
- reactordev 9mo agoI wouldn’t call DJI game-changing technology anymore. We have a very healthy FPV community here in the states perfectly capable of building drones from parts just like Ukraine is doing.
- skeeter2020 9mo agothat's not really comparable with the commercial/hobbyist market that DJI serves. These are not people who are going to research & build their own drones, or seek out small manufacturers; they're the ones who buy of Amazon and want the use of a drone, not drones as a lifestyle.
- WinstonSmith84 9mo agoProbably so. Having the software and hardware built in the US facilitate installation of backdoors. This comes handy to control the population just at the moment when the population feels they had an hedge over ICE, the regime, etc.
- KolibriFly 9mo agoYou don't need a revolution narrative to criticize this ban. It's already bad policy on its own merits: it freezes innovation, hurts hobbyists and small businesses etc
- Kapura 9mo agoThese things are true, but they don't explain why the u.s. government would make it a priority to ban such technologies. saying "well, republicans are bad so they do bad things" robs us the ability to understand the world.
- bdavisx 9mo agoThe problem with your statement is there's no way to know - the reality is it could have been a bribe or lack of a bribe; it could have been an actual foreign policy decision based on facts; or some other reason. It's not hard to come up with reasons why it was done, but with this administration there's no way to know whatsoever unless you actually know someone on the inside.
- shigawire 9mo agoAnd reporters are not allowed to ask questions of the people inside. And the voting public wouldn't care if those questions were ignored anyway.
- klipklop 9mo agoInteresting that so many here are speculating that this ban is to stop "freedom fighters" in the US and not the obvious case that the US has wanted to reduce dependence on China in areas of critical technology. Drones are not going away in the US, they will just not be made by their primary political adversary. Let's not be hyperbolic, the US is nowhere close to having a revolution or civil War. People need to stop getting their primary world view from doom scrolling instagram or reddit.
- fn-mote 9mo agoI will believe this argument when everything else from domestic appliances to phones is not also made by “their primary political adversary”.
- klipklop 9mo agoSo Apple trying to move iPhone production to places like Vietnam does not count? Apple already makes some of their devices in Vietnam now (not iPhone yet.) These things can't happen over night. This decoupling might take decades. Or just be abandoned by the next administration. Who knows?
- eggnet 9mo agoWill Foxconn and other Chinese manufacturers be less involved in Vietnam? How much less?
- QuantumGood 9mo ago"the US is nowhere close to having a revolution or civil War." “It wasn’t Hitler or Himmler who abducted me, beat me, and shot my family. It was the shoemaker, the milkman, the neighbor, who were given a uniform....” —Karl Stojka, Auschwitz survivor (59 new detention facilities since inaugeration, 77 more reopened, $45 billion planned for 41,000+ beds targeting 100,000+ capacity, dozens of deaths reported.) The language of the goverment has shifted to "war" such as: • DHS New Year's Eve launch of the $100M "wartime recruitment" campaign. • Ads portray joining as a "sacred duty" to "defend the homeland" from "foreign invaders," using war-like imagery such as Uncle Sam posters and action movie-style videos. A few other factors from a choice of dozens: • The several lies from the administration about the shooting of Renee Good, such as that the shooter was run over and is recovering in the hospital, besides the actual shooting itself. • Minneapolis has thousands of volunteers for rapid response teams to show up wherever ICE shows us, militarized on both sides. • The biggest No Kings protests ranged from 5-7million. • Congress' check on presidential powers is not happening • Abducting, beating and dropping off those abducted far from where they were abducted. Recent lawsuits: • January 12, 2026, Mark Kelley vs. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the Department of Defense, and the Navy. • Minnesota AG Ellison et al. v. DHS/ICE (Jan 12, 2026): State, Minneapolis, and St. Paul sue over "Operation Metro Surge," alleging unconstitutional raids, excessive force, and viewpoint discrimination; seeks restraining order. • Illinois AG Raoul & Chicago v. DHS/ICE/CBP (Jan 12, 2026): Challenges violent tactics like tear gas use, warrantless detentions, and targeting sensitive locations; seeks prohibitions on enforcement practices I wouldn't say the US is "nowhere close", recognizing that "getting close" is not the same as "happening", and recognizing that "revolution" and "civil war" are not the only possible terms, and that it is a matter of degree.
- like_any_other 9mo ago> They are already shooting people in the face and not even putting up a pretense of acting shocked at the act. Are you talking about https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Justine_Damond https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Justine_Damond? Yes her killer got off with a slap on the wrist, but even in 2017 when that happened it was nothing new - there have been plenty of unjustified or dubious police killings before and since [1], so I'm confused by that "already" in your sentence - nothing has changed, has it? [1] https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/investigations/police-shootings-database/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/investigations/polic...
- m463 9mo agoHas anyone actually bought and used a DJI drone? it is horrible. You cannot fly them with the controller without installing the app, which reports all data to china and has automatic software update. I mean, all other software does this too, but your robot vacuum is not going to take off and fly into your local airfield or power substation. I wish we had MORE government pushback on this kind of thing. I'm just as surprised with texas and tv sets with ACR nonsense.