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+--- Thread: Drones over America (/showthread.php?tid=150790)
Drones over America - davemchine - 04-04-2013
It seems inevitable that drones will begin being used over US soil soon. Without getting into an involved discussion regarding the use of drones I would like to ask what the most effective method of protesting their use would be?
I'm sure there are people on both sides of the political spectrum who feel as I do so I see no point in posting republican/democratic type responses. Thanks for any helpful thoughts.
Re: Drones over America - RgrF - 04-04-2013
The courts are the only likely refuge.
Re: Drones over America - Manlove - 04-04-2013
Nothing will prevent their impending omnipresence! We could all leave the country so there is nothing for them to see...that'd teach them.
Re: Drones over America - davester - 04-04-2013
davemchine wrote:
It seems inevitable that drones will begin being used over US soil soon.
What is this paranoia based upon?
Re: Drones over America - Uncle Wig - 04-04-2013
davester wrote:
[quote=davemchine]
It seems inevitable that drones will begin being used over US soil soon.
What is this paranoia based upon?
Paranoia you say?
"They can record video images and produce heat maps. They can be used to track fleeing criminals, stranded hikers — or just as easily, political protesters. And for strapped police departments, they are more affordable than helicopters.
Drones are becoming a darling of law enforcement authorities across the country. But they have given rise to fears of government surveillance, in many cases even before they take to the skies. And that has prompted local and state lawmakers from Seattle to Tallahassee to outline how they can be used by police or to ground them altogether."
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/16/technology/rise-of-drones-in-us-spurs-efforts-to-limit-uses.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
Re: Drones over America - davemchine - 04-04-2013
Basically what Uncle Wig said. I think it is reasonable to back my own convictions. If anyone else doesn't mind drones that is fine with me. I'm only asking how I can protest their use. I would think there would be organized citizen's groups legally fighting by now but my google fu is weak as usual. ;-) Thanks for any positive assistance.
Re: Drones over America - davester - 04-04-2013
Well, there are drones and there are drones. Currently the use of the term term "drone" is to identify something like the predator drone which is a robotic aircraft equipped with weapons that can be used for assassination. The use of other drone aircraft for a variety of purposes (including warfare) goes back a great many decades, to before WWI., and civilian drones have been used for a very long time. What exactly are you referring to when you talk about banning drones? As far as protesting their use...that horse left the barn probably before you were born. In any case, a drone is just a tool. It can be used for good or nefarious purposes. It makes no sense to ban a tool when other tools can easily take its place. That's like fighting a symptom rather than a disease.
Re: Drones over America - Uncle Wig - 04-04-2013
Currently the use of the term term "drone" is to identify something like the predator drone which is a robotic aircraft equipped with weapons that can be used for assassination.
Actually, no. Your definition is much too limited. Drones are unmanned, remotely controlled vehicles. For our purposes, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), whether they are armed or not. It isn't clear to me whether the OP is referring to unarmed surveillance drones used by law enforcement or armed drones.
This is a drone:
So is this:
This too:
Also this:
And also:
Re: Drones over America - mick e - 04-04-2013
mick e is surprised to see Davester - a notedly informed pragmatist - so willing to look the other way on the potential proliferation of invasive drone surveillance in the US skies.
Re: Drones over America - cbelt3 - 04-04-2013
Let's expand the discussion to surveillance as a whole. "Drones" are a nice little bugaboo, but there is pervasive government operated or government serving surveillance in place in many areas. CALTRANS ? NYC's "Domain Awareness" ? etc....
I know there have been some science fictiony movies and tv series (person of interest) that feature such technology, but the technology has been around for a LONG time. I recall reading (in the 1990's !) of a RAND Corporation proposal to turn the entire CALTRANS surveillance system into a giant traffic ticket generating machine by tracking every single vehicle in view of the system and issuing traffic tickets for any citable offense.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/04/nyregion/new-york-citys-police-surveillance-technology-could-bring-in-money.html?_r=0
Your governments have been and will continue to spy on you when possible.