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#tampa — Public Fediverse posts

Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #tampa, aggregated by home.social.

  1. CRUELTY AS AUSTRALIAN POLICY 💎

    I’ve been watching a documentary on ABC iView about the Tampa affair. Twenty-five years later, what disturbs me most is not the argument about borders. It is the deliberate use of human suffering as political policy.

    In 2001, Tampa rescued 433 asylum seekers from a sinking boat. The Howard government refused to let them land in Australia and sent SAS troops aboard the ship. This wasn't happening in some political vacuum. It happened in the lead-up to a federal election, and a subsequent Senate inquiry described Tampa as providing an opportunity for a hardline political response that was well received in the polls.

    That matters.

    A Federal Court judge initially found that the Commonwealth had detained the people aboard the Tampa without lawful authority. That decision was later overturned by a majority of the Full Federal Court, and Parliament subsequently passed legislation retrospectively validating Commonwealth actions relating to Tampa.

    So I am not going to pretend the legal history is simpler than it is. But legality and morality are not the same thing. Governments make laws. Governments change laws. Governments can even retrospectively protect actions they have already taken.

    None of that answers the question that matters to me:

    WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A GOVERNMENT DECIDES THAT MAKING SOME HUMAN BEINGS SUFFER WILL SEND A USEFUL MESSAGE TO OTHERS?

    Call it deterrence if you like. The human being experiencing it still calls it suffering. I don't care whether the government doing it is left, right, Australian, American, Israeli, Chinese or anything else. Political office is not a moral exemption.

    Borders can be controlled. Laws can be enforced. Difficult decisions can be made. But the moment human suffering becomes useful to a political strategy, we should be frightened. Because people are no longer being governed.

    They are being used.

    @3goodthings@DigitalCoup@meditation@economics_that_works@disability@pwd@joinin

    #Tampa #Refugees #HumanRights #AustralianPolitics #CrueltyAsPolicy #AsylumSeekers #PoliticalAccountability #Compassion #JohnHoward

  2. St Pete, FL! You have the change to meet with others who are concerned about Flock tomorrow, Aug 15, at 11:30 AM. Connect with DeFlock St Pete and kick ALPRs out!

    deflockstpete.com/updates/educ

    #StPete #TampaBay #Tampa #Florida #DeFlock #Flock #ALPR

  3. DeFlock St Pete is doing a campaign kickoff on Saturday, August 15th @ 11:30am! Go and join up others who are concerned about the growing number of surveillance cameras.

    deflockstpete.com/updates/educ

    #DeFlock #StPete #Tampa #TampaBay #Florida #ALPRs #Surveillance

  4. RE: defcon.social/@fldigitalrights

    If you know folks in the City of Tampa, let them know about the hearing happening tomorrow about the Flock-aligned ALPR vendor RedSpeed. Someone from the FLDR Tampa Bay chapter will be giving public comment.

    #Tampa #TampaBay #Flock #ALPR #Florida #Surveillance #Privacy

  5. 🚨 Tampa to vote on expanding number of ALPRs in the city

    Tampa City Council is preparing for a second reading on a proposal to expand the RedSpeed school zone camera program from 6 to 18 schools citywide.

    We're asking the constituents of the City of Tampa to tell their council members to vote NO on the ordinance which would expand the number and geographical footprint of RedSpeed cameras.

    If you live in the Tampa Bay area, please share this around so that it hopefully gets in front of concerned residents of the City of Tampa.

    More info: fldigitalrights.org/tampa-city

    #Flock #ALPR #Tampa #RedSpeed #TampaBay #Florida #Surveillance #Privacy

  6. Food truck owner shares how they handle Tampa heat

    TAMPA, Fla. — With temperatures expected to reach the mid-90s in Tampa Bay this week, some local businesses are taking extra steps to stay cool, including workers inside food trucks. At Saucin Wings in Tampa, co-owner Dav…
    #dining #cooking #diet #food #Food #APPLocalBusiness #HillsboroughCounty #MattLackritz #news #tampa #TOPICLatestLocalBusinessStories
    diningandcooking.com/2694834/f

  7. Renting in Tampa or Hillsborough County? You could receive assistance for your first and last month's rent! #Tampa #RentalAssistance #HillsboroughCounty

  8. Choosing a rental within Tampa? You could get help with the first and last month's rent. Opting for a place in Hillsborough County? They might cover one month's rent. #Tampa #RentalAssistance #HillsboroughCounty