General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsCongress Passes Bill to Proliferate Drone Use in US Airspace (FAA says up to 30,000 by 2020)
http://techland.time.com/2012/02/08/congress-paves-way-for-unmanned-drones-in-u-s-commercial-airspace/Ready to see drones flying over your house? A new bill passed by Congress will give commercial, private and military unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) greatly increased access to U.S. airspace thats currently reserved only for manned planes. Right now drones are mostly limited to the U.S.-Mexico border and military airspace, as well as use by around 300 public agencies located far away from cities and airports. That is now scheduled to change by September 30, 2015.
The main focus of the bill is the FAAs adoption of NextGen, a program that will allow commercial aircraft to install and use GPS technology for steeper, more efficient take-offs and landings instead of the ridiculously outdated way things are done now. All in all, this should help make air travel a lot more time efficient. We shouldnt, however, ignore the implications of letting drones into airspace that was previously off-limits. While the military and local police forces have long been able to use UAVs in operations on U.S. soil, the prospect of commercial and privately owned drones presents plenty of new questions.
First, theres the issue of privacy. Rigging a cheap drone with a video camera was no problem for an Occupy protestor; http://techland.time.com/2011/12/21/occupy-wall-streets-new-drone-the-occucopter/ how hard would it be for someone with deeper pockets to finance a drone with even more powerful surveillance equipment to monitor, well, who knows what? How will we know what purposes any private citizen has for deploying a drone overhead?
Then there are the corporations. Forbes http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2012/02/07/congress-welcomes-the-drones/ points out that companies like Google could ditch their Street View cars and start deploying advanced, autonomous drones to roam the country for incredibly thorough mapping. If the idea of fleets of corporate-owned drones monitoring us from above doesnt scare you, then you are a much less paranoid person than I.
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Related to the same bill (passed with Democratic support, plus this is HARDLY a 'routine bill') :
Why Does a Routine FAA Spending Bill Include Harsh Anti-union Language?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/thom-hartmann/why-does-a-routine-faa-sp_b_1260653.html
The Republican strategy on Capitol Hill of legislating through hostage taking worked Monday -- and now unions are screwed.
House Republicans demanded that a routine FAA spending bill include harsh anti-union language that makes it harder for transportation workers to organize.
The change raises the threshold for seeking a union from 35 percent to 50 percent for transportation workers -- and Republicans basically said if Democrats don't agree to it then they'll shut down the FAA again -- just like they did last year.
Monday -- February, 6 -- despite 19 labor organizations writing a letter to Democrats calling on them to oppose the bill -- Democrats caved. A majority of Senate Democrats helped pass the bill and new anti-union law for transportation workers by a 75-20 vote.
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NBachers
(17,136 posts)marmar
(77,090 posts)nt
woo me with science
(32,139 posts)that this is not a blue versus red game anymore?
Will our Democratic President stop this? Hmmm?
Do you recognize America anymore?
We are witnessing a seizure of our country, our assets, and our liberties by the one percent. We need to wake the hell up and admit that it is bipartisan, because you cannot solve a problem until you are willing to acknowledge it. Get the damned money out of politics.
Occupy now, because they are putting structures into place to prevent occupation tomorrow.
woo me with science
(32,139 posts)tledford
(917 posts)...time to buy some missiles and a shoulder launcher.
SammyWinstonJack
(44,130 posts)stockholmer
(3,751 posts)crazy Russian
woo me with science
(32,139 posts)woo me with science
(32,139 posts)woo me with science
(32,139 posts)Leopolds Ghost
(12,875 posts)stockholmer
(3,751 posts)utterly legit. The other post used a source I would not post on here, that appears to be what happened.
An Act of the US Congress, and a statement by the FAA, on the other hand, is hardly CT.
'Conspiracy theory' is too often a perjorative slur/tactic used by the victims of normalcy bias to dodge out of things that do not fit their agendas or world views. IMHO
cheers
woo me with science
(32,139 posts)Rex
(65,616 posts)of liability I wonder? You think Progressive will carry Hellfire Accidental Discharge insurance?