Drones Over America: Tyranny at Home (Full Version)

All Forums >> [Community Discussions] >> Dungeon of Political and Religious Discussion



Message


pahunkboy -> Drones Over America: Tyranny at Home (7/4/2010 1:11:32 AM)

Drones Over America: Tyranny at Home

“A standing military force, with an overgrown Executive will not long be safe companions to liberty. The means of defence against foreign danger, have been always the instruments of tyranny at home.”—James Madison The U.S. government has a history of commandeering military technology for use against Americans. We saw this happen with tear gas, tasers and sound cannons, all of which were first used on the battlefield before being deployed against civilians at home. Now the drones—pilotless, remote controlled aircraft that have been used in Iraq and Afghanistan—are coming home to roost. [opinion] Drones, a $2 billion cornerstone of the Obama administration’s war efforts, have increasingly found favor with both military and law enforcement officials. “The more we have used them,” stated Defense Secretary Robert Gates, “the more we have identified their potential in a broader and broader set of circumstances.” Now the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is facing mounting pressure from state governments and localities to issue flying rights for a range of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to carry out civilian and law-enforcement activities. As the Associated Press reports, “Tornado researchers want to send them into storms to gather data. Energy companies want to use them to monitor pipelines.




State police hope to send them up to capture images of speeding cars’ license plates. Local police envision using them to track fleeing suspects.” Unfortunately, to a drone, everyone is a suspect because drone technology makes no distinction between the law-abiding individual and the suspect. Everyone gets monitored, photographed, tracked and targeted. The FAA, citing concerns over the need to regulate air traffic and establish anti-collision rules for the aircrafts and their operators, has thus far been reluctant to grant broad approval for the use of UAVs in American airspace. However, unbeknownst to most Americans, remote controlled aircraft have been employed domestically for years now. They were first used as a national security tool for patrolling America’s borders and then as a means of monitoring citizens. For example, back in 2006, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department was testing out a SkySeer drone for use in police work.



With a 6.5-foot wingspan, the lightweight SkySeer can be folded up like a kite and stored in a shoulder pack. At 250 feet, it can barely be seen with the naked eye. As another news story that same year reported, “one North Carolina county is using a UAV equipped with low-light and infrared cameras to keep watch on its citizens. The aircraft has been dispatched to monitor gatherings of motorcycle riders at the Gaston County fairgrounds from just a few hundred feet in the air—close enough to identify faces—and many more uses, such as the aerial detection of marijuana fields, are planned.” In 2007, insect-like drones were seen hovering over political rallies in New York and Washington, seemingly spying on protesters. An eyewitness reported that the drones “looked kind of like dragonflies or little helicopters.” Drone technology has advanced dramatically in the ensuing years, with surveillance drones getting smaller, more sophisticated and more lethal with each evolution. Modeling their prototype for a single-winged rotorcraft on the maple seed’s unique design, aerospace engineering students at the University of Maryland have created the world’s smallest controllable surveillance drones, capable of hovering to record conversations or movements of citizens.




Thus far, the domestic use of drones has been primarily for surveillance purposes and, as far as we know, has been limited in scope. Eventually, however, police departments and intelligence agencies will make drones a routine part of their operations. However, you can be sure they won’t limit themselves to just surveillance. Police today use whatever tools are at their disposal in order to anticipate and forestall crime. This means employing technology to attain total control. Technology, which functions without discrimination because it exists without discrimination, tends to be applied everywhere it can be applied. Thus, the logical aim of technologically equipped police who operate as technicians must be control, containment and eventually restriction of freedom.




In this way, under the guise of keeping Americans safe and controlled, airborne drones will have to be equipped with an assortment of lethal and nonlethal weapons in order to effectuate control of citizens on the ground. The arsenal of nonlethal weapons will likely include Long Range Acoustic Devices (LRADs), which are used to break up protests or riots by sending a piercing sound into crowds and can cause serious hearing damage; high-intensity strobe lights, which can cause dizziness, disorientation and loss of balance and make it virtually impossible to run away; and tasers, which administer a powerful electric shock. Since June 2001, over 350 people, including women, children and elderly individuals, have died in the U.S. after being shocked with “non-lethal” tasers.


“Imagine how incidents would skyrocket,” notes Paul Joseph Watson for PrisonPlanet.com, “once the personal element of using a Taser is removed and they are strapped to marauding surveillance drones, eliminating any responsibility for deaths and injuries that occur.” “Also available to police,” writes Watson, “will be a drone that can fire tear gas as well as rubber pellets to disperse anyone still living under the delusion that they were born in a democratic country.” In fact, the French company Tecknisolar Seni has built a drone armed with a double-barreled 44 mm Flash-Ball gun. The one-kilo Flash-Ball resembles a large caliber handgun and fires so-called non-lethal rounds, including tear gas and rubber impact rounds to bring down a suspect. Despite being labeled a “non-lethal weapon,” this, too, is not without its dangers.



As David Hambling writes for Wired News, “Like other impact rounds, the Flash-Ball is meant to be aimed at the body—firing from a remote, flying platform is likely to increase the risk of head injury.” One thing is clear: while the idea of airborne drones policing America’s streets may seem far-fetched, like something out of a sci-fi movie, it is no longer in the realm of the impossible. Now, it’s just a matter of how soon you can expect them to be patrolling your own neighborhood. The crucial question, however, is whether Americans will be able to limit the government’s use of such surveillance tools or whether we will be caught in an electronic nightmare from which there is no escape./snip
Drones Over America: Tyranny at Home




wittynamehere -> RE: Drones Over America: Tyranny at Home (7/4/2010 1:17:45 AM)

Yeeesh.

What did you think about the G20 protest footage, pahunk? Check it out on YT if you haven't already. Tyranny has reached Canada now. Protesting is now terrorism and punishable with instant beatings, arrests, detention without legal counsel, and pretty much everything else that a free country wouldn't allow. Students singing the Canadian anthem were charged and shoved to the ground, people were shot point blank with rubber bullets and pepper balls, groups were rounded up and tackled one by one by riot cops surrounding them with weapons, until they were all in jail. For nothing but standing on the sidewalk, or taking photos, or watching the protesters nearby. Really sick shit, and we paid $1.2B for them to do it, too.




pahunkboy -> RE: Drones Over America: Tyranny at Home (7/4/2010 1:26:21 AM)

Hi Wit,

I tried not to watch the g-20 this time around.  But yeah- this is a problem.

So what happens when working with in the system to effect preserving the quality of life-if working with in the system fails and is not possible?

Then what?




LadyEllen -> RE: Drones Over America: Tyranny at Home (7/4/2010 5:06:27 AM)

Amazing.

You have, do you not, firearms of all kinds including assault rifles? You are, are you not, fond of telling us how the people will rise and destroy any attempt at such oppression?

You do, do you not, make note of the tactics and strategies of the Taliban? You have noted, have you not, how millions of dollars worth of hardware may be rendered useless and thousands of troops may be tied down with nothing more than 10 dollar home made bombs?

You have observed, have you not, that these drones are employed against the Taliban and yet have not only proven largely ineffectual but even when effectual require the deployment of troops to deal with anything they find and actually secure the area?

If any of your paranoia is true then you are receiving right now valuable instruction on how to resist and win against your oppressors, regardless of their hardware. What you are missing, as ever, is any courage to your convictions.

E




jlf1961 -> RE: Drones Over America: Tyranny at Home (7/4/2010 7:07:06 AM)

The problem is that Hunk sees conspiracies in everything, which means his paranoia is always at a high level.  If it ever came down to fighting some form of oppression, he would probably hide under his blanket.




vincentML -> RE: Drones Over America: Tyranny at Home (7/4/2010 7:53:07 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: wittynamehere

Yeeesh.

What did you think about the G20 protest footage, pahunk? Check it out on YT if you haven't already. Tyranny has reached Canada now. Protesting is now terrorism and punishable with instant beatings, arrests, detention without legal counsel, and pretty much everything else that a free country wouldn't allow. Students singing the Canadian anthem were charged and shoved to the ground, people were shot point blank with rubber bullets and pepper balls, groups were rounded up and tackled one by one by riot cops surrounding them with weapons, until they were all in jail. For nothing but standing on the sidewalk, or taking photos, or watching the protesters nearby. Really sick shit, and we paid $1.2B for them to do it, too.



Yes indeed. Reminds me of The Democratic National Convention in Chicago, 1968, and the Kent State incident as well. That young "woman" in the iconic photo kneeling over the slain student at Kent State was actually a 13 year old (big for her age) who was a student in my class briefly a year or two later. She never stayed anywhere very long it seems. Oh hell, America has a long history of busting up peaceful protests. Have a look at the Hay Market Square "riot" in Chicago in 1870 (?) or the WWI veterans bonus march which MacArthur and Eisenhower disbursed from the National Mall during the Depression. On the other hand, some "demonstrations" have not been so peaceful, but just a good excuse for looting.




vincentML -> RE: Drones Over America: Tyranny at Home (7/4/2010 7:55:50 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: LadyEllen

Amazing.

You have, do you not, firearms of all kinds including assault rifles? You are, are you not, fond of telling us how the people will rise and destroy any attempt at such oppression?

You do, do you not, make note of the tactics and strategies of the Taliban? You have noted, have you not, how millions of dollars worth of hardware may be rendered useless and thousands of troops may be tied down with nothing more than 10 dollar home made bombs?

You have observed, have you not, that these drones are employed against the Taliban and yet have not only proven largely ineffectual but even when effectual require the deployment of troops to deal with anything they find and actually secure the area?

If any of your paranoia is true then you are receiving right now valuable instruction on how to resist and win against your oppressors, regardless of their hardware. What you are missing, as ever, is any courage to your convictions.

E


Well, you are right, E. We are all permitted firearms. I think we should all be permitted our own personal drones as well. Would come in real handy when those pesky neighbors carry on their drunken parties into the wee hours of the morning. ZAP them suckers.




Owner59 -> RE: Drones Over America: Tyranny at Home (7/4/2010 11:27:13 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: LadyEllen

Amazing.

You have, do you not, firearms of all kinds including assault rifles? You are, are you not, fond of telling us how the people will rise and destroy any attempt at such oppression?

You do, do you not, make note of the tactics and strategies of the Taliban? You have noted, have you not, how millions of dollars worth of hardware may be rendered useless and thousands of troops may be tied down with nothing more than 10 dollar home made bombs?

You have observed, have you not, that these drones are employed against the Taliban and yet have not only proven largely ineffectual but even when effectual require the deployment of troops to deal with anything they find and actually secure the area?

If any of your paranoia is true then you are receiving right now valuable instruction on how to resist and win against your oppressors, regardless of their hardware. What you are missing, as ever, is any courage to your convictions.

E


Not all drones are alike.

Many are to observe.They provide a platform that can stay aloft for 8,12 hours or more,depending in the fuel cell size.That means the operators can sit in A/C comfort,sipping a cool drink while watching the ground for whole work shifts.

I believe they use hot air blimps in your country,do they not,to do virtually the same thing during your peace loving soccer games or any other large gatherings.Yes Lady E?

That`s actually a great way to peep down with optics and cameras and be relatively discrete.Then there`s those cameras peeping into people`s business everywhere else in the UK.[&o]

There are killer drones.They don`t need hours and hours of fuel.They use their payload to carry a laser guided rocket,or two.Or eight.[:D]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mw80950e7JY&feature=PlayList&p=5A9D778E9CADD4FA&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1&index=12

As a gun loving liberal,I love this craft.

But the real plus is that it`s cheaper and safer than putting a manned aircraft into the air.Patrols can be done with drones.The ground operator then becomes the eyes in the skies,replacing what would otherwise be men in planes.

The ominous tone and inference that drones will be used to kill Americans is completely part of the lunatic fringe(to which PAhunk gladly associates himself with).We do patrols with military aircraft already without complaints or problems.Now, all of a sudden,drones are scary monsters?[8|]




vincentML -> RE: Drones Over America: Tyranny at Home (7/5/2010 7:17:13 AM)

quote:

The ominous tone and inference that drones will be used to kill Americans is completely part of the lunatic fringe(to which PAhunk gladly associates himself with).We do patrols with military aircraft already without complaints or problems.Now, all of a sudden,drones are scary monsters?


Yeh, think police heliocopters over California highways. Technology has its own imperative.

All I ask is a small model drone armed with a tiny nuke missle to inform the neighbors that their loud, drunken party has lasted too far into the wee hours of the morning. Second Amendment amendment for the right to bare drones. That's for me.




pahunkboy -> RE: Drones Over America: Tyranny at Home (7/5/2010 7:23:01 AM)

Silly E.,

The drones are to give you a ticket- which is taken from your account automatically.  Sorta like red light cams.




LadyEllen -> RE: Drones Over America: Tyranny at Home (7/5/2010 7:56:08 AM)

Give you a ticket for what Hunky?

Breaking the law perhaps?

E




pahunkboy -> RE: Drones Over America: Tyranny at Home (7/5/2010 8:02:18 AM)

Hundreds of households hit with bin fines bigger than those given to shoplifters

You country is so fucked.   Why would you not want a town to get rid of rubbish that attracks rats?




LadyEllen -> RE: Drones Over America: Tyranny at Home (7/5/2010 8:12:34 AM)

Well gee, I dunno. Maybe its something about recycling what can be recycled, you know, because we're running out of landfill or something?

Are you suggesting by the way that a throwaway economy and society is something that you dont feel is an issue?

Are you suggesting that aerial drones may even now be scanning the contents of my wheelybin for contraband plastics?

E




pahunkboy -> RE: Drones Over America: Tyranny at Home (7/5/2010 8:26:54 AM)

Lemme explain this.

Here in my town- we have an elderly population.  We also have a code office.   When a real life person assesses a property for infractions- he can note- does the party get along with the neighbors.  He can note- is there crippling arthritis that would hinder ones ability to scrape labels off of jars.

His family lives here and must be part of out community.

With a mechanized drone-  the goal is to pump out tickets - a revenue machine.

Yet- E., that is a world in which YOU want to live in.

Well I don't.




LadyEllen -> RE: Drones Over America: Tyranny at Home (7/5/2010 8:41:18 AM)

There is no talking to you is there?

Maybe its the likes of you that encourage the use of machines

E




pahunkboy -> RE: Drones Over America: Tyranny at Home (7/5/2010 8:45:29 AM)

What is there to talk about E.?

You wish to live by the camera.   He who lives by the cam- dies by the cam.

Your kind have us bogged down in 2 wars now.   The longest in US history.   So your kind needs a change of knowledge.


In your world- war is peace.    Wow.




LadyEllen -> RE: Drones Over America: Tyranny at Home (7/5/2010 8:51:08 AM)

My hovercraft is full of eels

E




pahunkboy -> RE: Drones Over America: Tyranny at Home (7/5/2010 8:52:14 AM)

E.,  have you ever received a ticket from a machine?




LadyEllen -> RE: Drones Over America: Tyranny at Home (7/5/2010 8:55:03 AM)

Of course not! I just install them and collect the revenues to pass to the queen, you know that

E




pahunkboy -> RE: Drones Over America: Tyranny at Home (7/5/2010 8:56:29 AM)

Now you are being silly.

At least it won't be too fucked with in my lifetime.




Page: [1] 2   next >   >>

Valid CSS!




Collarchat.com © 2025
Terms of Service Privacy Policy Spam Policy
0.078125