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U.S. Army Robots Break Asimov's First Law
buanzo writes "The US Army is deploying armed robots in Iraq that are capable of breaking Asmov's first law that they should not harm a human.
SWORDS (Special Weapons Observation Reconnaissance Detection Systems) robots are equipped with either the M249, machine gun which fires 5.56-millimeter rounds at 750 rounds per minute or the M240, which fires 7.62-millimeter rounds at up to 1,000 per minute.
" update this story refers to this article from 2005. But com'on, robots with machine guns! I don't get to think about that most days!
How is murdering people in Iraq "defending our country"?
Last I checked Iraq was not sending people over to the states to kill your civilians.
"defending it's principles"... are you fucking kidding me? You're defending oil fields, no more, no less.
Where were you guys in Rwanda? Somalia? Basically anywhere in Africa where a coup is actively going on?
If you're so righteous about defending apple pie and the american way why are you not fighting against the patriot act? The dmca? The private secret courts? Why are you not fighting for education funding, health care for all? etc etc etc.
It seems on the one hand you think murdering civilians in Iraq is "defending the USA" while on the other hand you'll sell out all that made your country so great in the process.
Tom
Someday, I'll have a real sig.
Where were you guys in Rwanda? Somalia? Basically anywhere in Africa where a coup is actively going on?
... so .... so long story short is when young kids sign up for the military to "fight the injustices" it's because they don't know better and the government takes advantage of it. The kids end up in some hellhole fighting people who live in utter squaller then they come home with nightmares to last a lifetime [if they come home alive at all]. At the end of the day you didn't "win" the war, you didn't liberate a country and you haven't saved any lives. You just made sure the "greatness of our empire" is maintained.
Where were you?
It's thinking like that I love. Because I don't endorse the misappropriation of the military I should go fight injustice myself.... Does that make sense?
First off, I'm Canadian so I'm not about to fix mistakes for the USA.
Second, I do my bit for the world [or at least I did] by writing public domain software that yes, even the military used.
Third, the big reason [after WMD] for fighting in Iraq is to liberate the people and bring democracy there. Or at least that's what CNN keeps telling me and you guys seem to be supporting. So my question about Rwanda was why the US [and the U.N.] didn't get involve? It's just a total fucking coincidence that Iraq has oil fields right?
That's my whole point. To the rest of the world it's fairly transparent that the military [even the British military] is used essentially to further the goals of capitalism. That is, protect oil fields.
If it really was about fighting injustice you wouldn't invent the patriot act, secret courts, etc, etc.
So
Tom
Someday, I'll have a real sig.
Besides, the average marine has about a high school education, no morals and a low threshold for the sanctity of life. They might as well be robots anyways.
Hmmm, I've got a couple of answers for you:
1) So Tom, why don't you sign up and raise the average level of education and bring your wonderful morals to the Corps? I'm sure they would appreciate your threshhold for the sanctity of life in the middle of a firefight.
2) Today's military is the highest educated it has ever been. Officers are frequently less educated than the men they command.
3) All soldiers and marines are grunts first. Even the doctors and engineers. They are all expected to know basic combat skills in addition to their primary job. None of the soldiers I was stationed with enjoyed the misery of others, none of us wanted to be shot at, and I'm pretty sure that most of us really didn't want to kill anyone. But failing to do your job doesn't just kill you, it kills the man next to you as well.
4) Oh, and fuck you, asshole. I may not have been a jarhead, but they were my brother's in arms.
--- This
Actually, far as I can tell, the war on terror is the US's excuse to enforce the acceptance of the US dollar for oil. Each time a country with oil resources has threatened to accept only, for example, euros for oil, they've gone on the terrorist watchlist.
Personally, I find this a bit despicable; the 9/11 attack was from afghani citizens that were disgruntled about our actions in the 1970's; we put a bunch of dicks in power, gave 'em weapons, told them to fight the russians, and kinda didn't want to know them afterward.
That's bad enough, but using this as an excuse to support your currency is really horrible.
That said, it's the most life-efficient war in world history, if you don't count bloodless coups.
Additionally, it has done some good; getting Hussein out of power WAS a good thing for the citizenry of Iraq. It's just a shame that it took selfishness to execute the liberation.
For example, it's appalling that our dependance on the stable influx of natural diamonds has prevented every nation on the planet from doing something about the shit DeBeers is pulling off in South Africa.
Unfortunately, such is the way of the world; if you want something done, you either have to make it profitable to do or make it threatening to not do. Even if that something is morally right.
For example, if DeBeers decided they wouldn't sell diamonds for US Dollars or Euros, and stay with only Kugerands (South African one-ounce gold coins) and their like, the UN wouldn't hesitate to have security forces move in to stop the 'sudden' atrocities.
I am not a liberal or a conservative (in fact, I think you're both idiots). I am a realist.
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Iraqi's don't value the lives of Iraqi's. When we'd get in a fire fight people would come out of their houses to watch. Would you come outside if there was a fight with machine guns going on in your front yard? They also like to blow each other up, indiscriminately. They attack each other as much as they attack us (US).
What a bunch of bullshit.
"I have never won a debate with an ignorant person." -Ali ibn Abi Talib