"Kroger stores, Safeway, Albertsons, Frys and more all owned by the same company."

A simple Google search or even paying attention to the news will reveal this is factually untrue.

You should be blaming the chipping away at, rolling back consumer protection laws as the fuel for distrust, not the movements that gave birth to them.

That has been a primary driver behind the technology for almost 2 decades.

China is getting its tentacles into western countries by way of business partnerships.

Google, Hollywood studios, Facebook, etc. don't want to endanger benevolent mother China's almighty cash-flow by upholding the free flow of information, basic human rights.

We are complacent .

If the police can't tell the difference between a prop Star Wars blaster carried by someone in a Storm Trooper costume in front of a Star Wars themed restaurant and a real firearm, they're:

A) Hopelessly incompetent
B) Unable to make reasonable decisions on the spot.

"They were just following procedure" is never a valid excuse. It means the procedure is wrong and/or the officers lack the mental facilities needed to understand when they should be put into action / followed.

The difference is that in the 60s, the majority of American Democrats were pro-segregation.

Pipe down boot licker. Stick to basement dwelling and the hopes that somebody else will protect your well being.

This is what happens when you treat firearms like evil death machines, drive fear and ignorance in the public.

Firearms are tools. They never jump up and bite anyone; it takes a human being making the decision to act out, injure or kill another with a firearm.

Instead of FUD, maybe education, rationality about firearms would be a good idea??

"Since 20 years ago crime rates have plummeted in this country. There's a lot more media coverage but far less crime. Maybe these crime prevention measures are working."

No, reported crimes have plummeted. That's a logical result of police focusing on "Non-crime incidents" instead of investigating actual crimes., pursuing actual criminals who have broken laws.

You mean small, racially, culturally homogeneous countries?

Your examples are completely unlike the United States in terms of geography, culture and diversity.

...between a real firearm and a Star Wars prop, they're incompetent and should not have firearms themselves.

I suppose being a British Subject should expect such behavior.

Amazon is a retailer AND a manufacturer AND a publisher.

If Apple is a manufacturer despite outsourcing actual production, so is Amazon - Fire Stick, tablets, Amazon Essentials.

If Microsoft is a publisher of software in IP, so is Amazon - AWS. Amazon Press.

Amazon is also a media conglomerate and an entertainment company.

Are boots that tasty? It's amazing how much some people love licking them.

You need optics that can take advantage of the sensor's resolution. No cellphone is ever going to have that.

So now we're back to Chrome/Google mining for user data.