Angry Jesus writes:
Popular Science has a story about the Zetas drug cartel's deployment and use of a vast radio network across much of Mexico and hints at their use of Big-Data/NSA style analysis of thousands of data feeds.
The central character of the story is nondescript radio and car-alarm installer, but once he was captured by US authorities it appears that the Zetas kidnapped the IT talent they needed to keep their networks up and running.
This discussion has been archived.
No new comments can be posted.
How the Zetas Cartel Took Over Mexico With Radios
|
Log In/Create an Account
| Top
| 12 comments
| Search Discussion
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
(Score: 0, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 30 2014, @12:16PM
I highly doubt that. Looking around on a non-busy street I
see tons of "radio addicts".
The amounts of monies involved are obscene. Please perform a back of the envelope
calculation and you're going to send your next job application to ANY "mobile carrier".
"Have you microwaved your brain today yet?(tm)"
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 30 2014, @12:29PM
If you knew anything about the Zetas, you'd know they are in decline.
If you had RTFA, you'd know that they started their comms development in early 2000s, their main comms guy was captured in 2008. Of course it has been copied since then.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 30 2014, @01:15PM
Just legalise drugs already. The war on drugs is a joke. The suffering and destruction is in no way being mitigated by making drugs illegal.
Just legalise drugs and tax the hell out of them. If people want to take drugs and f*ck up their bodies, that's their business. Yes, the cost of providing health care for drug addicts and/or ex-drug addicts might increase, but the extra taxes should offset this somewhat. Regardless, this is a small price to pay in exchange for a significant reduction in drug-related violent crime.
(Score: 2) by xlefay on Sunday March 30 2014, @03:03PM
You're right in general, however, I wouldn't say taxing the hell out of them is a good thing, what's stopping them from simply going to a drug dealer then? Wouldn't it be more beneficial if those drugs first go through a Quality Assurance process and just be bought at your local pharmacy?
Sure, the price wouldn't be lower because of the QA, but it wouldn't be extremely high considering you're paying what it's "worth" with less health risks than say, getting it from someone who doesn't care about the quality at all. In that case, health care costs might rise for drug users and such but that wouldn't have to be absurdly high.
note: I'm not a drug user, but I can sure see the advantage of legalizing it.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Techwolf on Sunday March 30 2014, @05:09PM
You can tax the hell of them and still be below street price. The main reason drugs are high price is due to the drug war.
(Score: 2) by egcagrac0 on Monday March 31 2014, @01:08PM
The main reason drugs are high price is due to people being willing to pay it.
(Score: 3, Informative) by zim on Sunday March 30 2014, @05:23PM
There's ALOT of money in keeping them illegal.
From law enforcement (lawyers, judges, cops, dea, fbi, cia, border agents, customs agents, homeland security, prison guards, and the other millions of people to support them all.)
TO the drug cartels themselves. Right down to joe average dealer who's making bank busting up large chunks of drugs into little baggies of drugs sold at a 1000% markup.
Keeping stuff illegal gives a job to millions of otherwise useless people, many of which have no skills beyond being a thug with a gun.
Even if we did suddenly make it all legal... What the hell are we going to do with those now completely useless law enforcment peoples and all their related industrys?
And you think those on the illegal side will just suddenly go straight and accept making alot less? Unlikely. Other types of crime would skyrocket as they found new niches.
Personally i agree we should legalize it all. But i just don't see any way that's ever going to happen. We have built up too much money, power, and control around keeping stuff illegal.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Sunday March 30 2014, @07:42PM
And you think those on the illegal side will just suddenly go straight and accept making alot less?
Yes, because they're going to make a lot less whether they go straight or not. Nobody will buy street drugs when they can get better quality for a fraction of the cost. Drug dealing is the motherlode that enables a lot of other illegal activities.
I agree that it's going to be a tough sell to legalize drugs, but a lot of progress has been made in the last few years. People are getting tired of this mess. I think it will happen, perhaps even in the next ten years.
(Score: 5, Informative) by Angry Jesus on Sunday March 30 2014, @07:52PM
> And you think those on the illegal side will just suddenly go straight and accept making alot less?
> Unlikely. Other types of crime would skyrocket as they found new niches.
That is what happened after prohibition was repealed. It took at least an entire generation before the crime syndicates that prohibition created were mostly stamped out. But that doesn't mean repealing prohibition was the wrong move. Sometimes (often in fact) there are no good solutions, only the least worst choice. We shouldn't let the fact that we have to choose between two distasteful options blind us to the fact that one option is still best choice.
(Score: 2) by Taibhsear on Monday March 31 2014, @01:58PM
Get them to work security for the government or companies that are legally growing/making the now legal drugs? Or tell them to get a job where they aren't harassing people for victimless crimes...
(Score: 2) by etherscythe on Monday March 31 2014, @07:17PM
You know, we've gone to a lot of trouble to create a place to put useless thugs that are dragging society down. It's called "prison." I don't want to sound vindictive, but maybe since it's just so bloody convenient, they should have a taste of their own hell. Starting with the ones that have kicked doors down and shot dogs that were just doing their one job.
"Fake News: anything reported outside of my own personally chosen echo chamber"
(Score: 1) by black6host on Sunday March 30 2014, @09:19PM
Regarding the extra taxes taking care of the health issues..... Well, that was what we were told regarding tobacco. And people are still seeing the burden on health care with no regard for the money that's been taken in. I wonder if the taxes even go to health care.....