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Work Resumes On Virtual Fence With Mexico
Hugh Pickens writes "Work resumed this week on the five-year project to link a chain of tower-mounted sensors and other surveillance equipment over most of the 2,000-mile border with Mexico. The network of cameras, radar, and communications gear is intended to speed deployment of US Border Patrol officers to intercept illegal immigrants, drug smugglers and other violators, yielding greater 'operational control' over the vast and rugged area. A $20M pilot project for the Secure Border Initiative, or 'SBInet,' carried out in the Bush administration, was generally considered a colossal IT failure. Since that time the DHS has given the prime contractor, Boeing, another $600M. The government says it has learned many lessons and made many changes in the program since the previous pilot rushed off-the-shelf equipment into operation without testing. The Obama administration has lowered the cost estimate for the 5-year project by $1.1B, to $6.7B, mainly by deferring work on the most difficult 200 miles of the border, in southwest Texas."
A much cheaper way is to put up giant signs saying, "Welcome to Bush Country" with W and Cheney smiling like the devil himself.
Table-ized A.I.
The border patrol has approx 25,000 officers to cover the 2,000 mile border. Assuming each officer covers a 40-hour week, thats roughly 3 officers per mile. These guys must have awefully poor eyesight! You can't even make the case that one man isn't enough since you have another 29 within a 5-minute response time. Why the hell are we spending a huge chunk of money for a _detection_ system that still does nothing to prevent the intrusions? 6.7 billion would double the existing border patrol levels for 4 years. I think we also need to aggressively defend out borders. Enough with this detain and deport strategy. You don't see other countries doing this.
Seriously. Spend $500m to buy mines, and $100m to lay them. Mines are about $3-5 actual manufacturing cost and that would give you a fairly high density of mines. I guarantee that midnight crossing would slow way down. Right now there's almost no risk to crossing the border illegally. Worst case they get detained and deported.
Land mines? Are you fucking kidding me? You seriously suggest killing people who cross a god-damned border. And you're spared from this just because you happened to be born within said borders?
Oh no. You misunderstand. Your words were still stupid. I said I wouldn't have made fun of your degree.
Now. If you are "well-published in refereed journals" but don't know what average Hispanic IQ tests at, it's not worth my arguing with you.
Also re-read your first post, and note who started the "condescension." You can dish it, but you sure can't take it.
Sure be nice if you guys did go back to following the spirit of your constitution and lived up to your name, THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA instead of the way you are now.
Perhaps you would stop pressuring your neighbors to follow your industry specific laws.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_totalitarianism