mbassoc2003 wrote in Former Thoughts or OT Chit-Chat Thread:Is it true that the US are building concentration camps in every state in case they need to control the public?
Don't they have laws against that sort of thing written into the constitution?

My Google-fu is not strong, but I found some information about this on the internet.  One web-page was dated February 2010 and points a finger at Obama as to blame. It also suggests everyone forward this information to friends.  That sounds politically motivated to me  Another internet document lists all the detention centers.  The one they mention in Georgia that I know about is listed as unoccupied, but it sure appears to be in business to me.  I found other similar stories which were alongside stories about how the Sandy Hook Massacre was staged which reduces its legitimacy.  Whenever I hear something which doesn't sound right, I turn to snopes.com.  They indicated this kind of "news" is common and probably false:

snopes.com: Military Purge

That all being said, I personally think it is a good idea to have an emergency plan, facilities, and staffers to deal with emergencies.  Abraham Lincoln suspended the writ of Habeus Corpus during the Civil War, and the US imprisoned Japanese-heritage citizens during WWII.  Were these good ideas?  Maybe.  Were they legal?  Arguably not.

This strikes me a fear mongering and a silly conspiracy theory.  I guess I am just not a big conspiracy theory kind of person or afraid of much.  

mbassoc2003 wrote in Former Thoughts or OT Chit-Chat Thread:Is it true that the US are building concentration camps in every state in case they need to control the public?
Don't they have laws against that sort of thing written into the constitution?

Google "FEMA Camps" and you will find whatever "info" you want on this.  It is generally speculative nonsense, and on youtube many vids have been posted using Google Earth or similar to show these "camps," but most are debunked as only showing currently operating prisons or existing military installations.

M-
Yes, the concentration camp thing is garbage. But so is the story that the military rolled into Boston and declared martial law. The police asked people to stay inside while they searched for a guy involved in a running gun battle. The national guard was called in for help, but I don't think they actually did anything. The police handled the manhunt. They lifted the supposed curfew within 24 hours. No way they could have justified much longer.  This was more of a cooperative thing than rolling in with tanks and declaring martial law. The key point here is they were involved in a gun battle and lost contact. They immediately attempted to regain contact so they (police) could justify some very temporary curfew action. When it became evident that they completely lost contact, the curfew went away.

bbarsh wrote in Former Thoughts or OT Chit-Chat Thread:M-
Yes, the concentration camp thing is garbage. But so is the story that the military rolled into Boston and declared martial law. The police asked people to stay inside while they searched for a guy involved in a running gun battle. The national guard was called in for help, but I don't think they actually did anything. The police handled the manhunt. They lifted the supposed curfew within 24 hours. No way they could have justified much longer.  This was more of a cooperative thing than rolling in with tanks and declaring martial law. The key point here is they were involved in a gun battle and lost contact. They immediately attempted to regain contact so they (police) could justify some very temporary curfew action. When it became evident that they completely lost contact, the curfew went away.

Problem is your media sensationalise stuff like in films, and the Police make it easy with automatic weapons and ATVs. In foreign countries that looks a lot like martial law because we only have panda cars and pistols on the whole. Occasionally we'll see automatics at an airport, or a mobile phone shot of an impromptu drugs bust, but nothing in large numbers. The worst we've seen here is cops with hard hats and biscuit tin lids trying to control looters with no effect. I suppose if the public are willing then no harm done to be 'robust'. Caught something on YouTube by a guy called Alex Jones. He seems a bit nuts, like a redneck's dream guy, but I bet he's made millions doing what he does, which is pretty hypocritical given his apparent POV.

mbassoc2003 wrote in Former Thoughts or OT Chit-Chat Thread:Problem is your media sensationalise stuff like in films, and the Police make it easy with automatic weapons and ATVs. In foreign countries that looks a lot like martial law because we only have panda cars and pistols on the whole. Occasionally we'll see automatics at an airport, or a mobile phone shot of an impromptu drugs bust, but nothing in large numbers. The worst we've seen here is cops with hard hats and biscuit tin lids trying to control looters with no effect.

Good point - we're talking about government response to civil disobedience, but compared to Europe, no such thing exists here. We haven't seen riots or large-scale protests since the 1990s (LA anti-police riots, Seattle anti-WTO riots). Fact is, the American people are completely docile. We exhaust our rage upon surreal gun-nut fantasies which are never realized, & never will be. In the meantime you can do whatever you want to us, we won't even notice.

edit - this was written simultaneous to Lurker Below's post above, which states basically the same thing. BAAAAAAAA says the sheep.

I was last in Florida in 2005 and there was a gun show in Orlando when we were there. not a convention hall affair, but a couple of marques in a school playing field. it was pretty cool to go see, but my ex-wife got a bit freaked because you see the extremes of US culture as pertrayed by the media up close and personal, and I think some people scared her a little (I never took her to wargames cons, so she didn't meet all the beardy guys with their little soldiers). The only thing I didn't expect was the odd reseller selling fake/real nazi memorabelia, and even then it didn't offend. its just not something we could sell openly here in the UK.

I grew up in the military, so is kids all got to go .22 shooting in the holidays and play around on the tanks and stuff at shows every year, and when you're abroad on base, you get used to guys with guns on the gate and MPs with side arms anyways, so the steady increase of armed Police in the UK hasn't bothered me. We just don't have civilian Police with military hardware yet. The most we see on our TV is a Land Rover with a wire gate weded to the windows in A-Team stylee. So when you get coverage of the Boston lockdown and CNN saying it covers 400K homes for 10 hours, and pictures of the military with military vehicles, it looks pretty harsh for a 19yo kid with a gun and homemade explosives.

That said, no-one else dies, and we've had our own little rampages where guys have walked around villages shooting people at random, so if it saves a life and acts as a deterant, I can see the benefit. The cost must really be screwing your country's economy though. At least you make your prisoners work for their upkeep.

sauromatian wrote in Former Thoughts or OT Chit-Chat Thread:

mbassoc2003 wrote in Former Thoughts or OT Chit-Chat Thread: The only thing I didn't expect was the odd reseller selling fake/real nazi memorabelia, and even then it didn't offend. its just not something we could sell openly here in the UK.

That's the one thing America definitely gets right, freedom of expression whether you approve of something or not.

Wow, only one thing right and we have been around for 200+years. Dang! That has got to be some sort of record.

bbarsh wrote in Former Thoughts or OT Chit-Chat Thread:Wow, only one thing right and we have been around for 200+years. Dang! That has got to be some sort of record.

You're absolutely correct, that was an unjustifiable omission. Plus conservatism as a political activity for the mentally retarded so they won't feel left out. We have lots of that too. Good job Bill, high-five, alright!!

sauromatian wrote in Former Thoughts or OT Chit-Chat Thread:

mbassoc2003 wrote in Former Thoughts or OT Chit-Chat Thread: The only thing I didn't expect was the odd reseller selling fake/real nazi memorabelia, and even then it didn't offend. its just not something we could sell openly here in the UK.

That's the one thing America definitely gets right, freedom of expression whether you approve of something or not.

No credit for the NFL or bacon cheeseburgers, sheesh.

Mike B.