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Aerial Drones May Be Coming To Your Town

November 29, 2011 by  

Aerial Drones May Be Coming To Your Town

Drones similar to those used by the military may soon be operated in civil airspace in the United States by law enforcement officials and civilians.

Police departments in Texas, Florida and Minnesota have expressed interest in using drone aircraft to spot runaway criminals on rooftops or to track them at night and conduct surveillance by using the robotic aircraft’s heat-seeking cameras.

A new drone, called Qube, which is designed specifically for civilian and law enforcement use, was unveiled last month at the International Association of Chiefs of Police conference in Chicago. The new aircraft weighs 5 1/2 pounds, fits in the trunk of a car and is controlled remotely by a tablet computer.

According to Los Angeles Times, widespread use of unmanned aircraft like the Qube in law enforcement and civilian applications is under review by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as the agency works to ensure that the machines can safely share airspace with one another and manned aircraft.

Beyond law enforcement applications, the drones could be available for a number of civilian uses. Many people have serious privacy concerns about the camera-laden, unmanned aircraft.

Filed Under: Liberty News, Privacy, Staff Reports
Sam Rolley

Staff writer Sam Rolley began a career in journalism working for a small town newspaper while seeking a B.A. in English. After learning about many of the biases present in most modern newsrooms, Rolley became determined to find a position in journalism that would allow him to combat the unsavory image that the news industry has gained. He is dedicated to seeking the truth and exposing the lies disseminated by the mainstream media at the behest of their corporate masters, special interest groups and information gatekeepers.

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  • Raggs

    I have to address something.

    When Christ returns.
    “When Christ returns” is a miss-statement.
    Christ has always been here.
    People are looking for his return?… But he never left.
    I don’t understand how to put this in words. Gods glory is within me.
    And I wish that you all will find him.
    Well anyway.. my brain is so flooded with the evil surrounding us that it is very hard to keep cool.
    Not so much as an evil thief rather than an evil government as a thief. Why do some of you stoop and give into a bullchit program that takes away your life in the return?
    You actually call yourself an American?

    My prediction.

    The USA will FAIL. ( post failure of the euro )
    The USA has to fail in order to usher in the NWO ( a set-up ). ( a crisis ). The euro has to fail in order for the control of the “leader”
    The “leader” of the NWO that I find is to be a “leader in the USA”.. The only one present at this time that hates Israel is oblama… Prehaps Newt?… I lean more towards oblama since he is a spilneless asre monkey that refuses to proclaim God… And we ALL know that POWER is all that he cares about… And not to mention more than once his hate of Israel.. So if he hates Israel than he HATES God… Oh I mentioned that more than once.
    Well maybe I’m writing a book here, but…
    The basturd that is given power over the world is in a monetary system so the collapse of the world economy is perfect sence. But that can only be done when you control the people. Am I getting through to anyone yet?

  • Think about it

    Now add this story to that story.
    Senate Moves To Allow Military To Arrest Americans Without Charge Or Trial
    Posted on November 28, 2011 by Conservative Byte

    The Senate is set to vote on a bill today that would define the whole of the United States as a “battlefield” and allow the U.S. Military to arrest American citizens in their own back yard without charge or trial.

    “The Senate is going to vote on whether Congress will give this president—and every future president — the power to order the military to pick up and imprison without charge or trial civilians anywhere in the world. The power is so broad that even U.S. citizens could be swept up by the military and the military could be used far from any battlefield, even within the United States itself,” writes Chris Anders of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office.

    Under the ‘worldwide indefinite detention without charge or trial’ provision of S.1867, the National Defense Authorization Act bill, which is set to be up for a vote on the Senate floor this week, the legislation will “basically say in law for the first time that the homeland is part of the battlefield,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who supports the bill.

    • Lost in Paradise

      If they pass this bill, and I’m sure they will, then we have lost the tiny bit of freedom left.

  • Beverly

    sounds like Orwell’s 1984 coming – only just at a later date.
    Everyone remember “absolute power corrupts”.
    They’re corrupted in DC and the police seem to get more corrupt with each new technological breakthrough also. Now tazoring people when talk used to work.
    I agree with whoever said, “We need employment not more Surveillance”
    I agree this could be useful for our borders – but, really, folks, do we average law-abiding people want to give up EVERY FREEDOM for the theoretical idea of total safety??? NOT ME. I’ve been safe all my 60 years – and all without police intervention! (And I have not had a sheltered life either.)

    • Raggs

      Amen to that…
      I am proud to call you an American!

  • Raggs

    What the hell is wrong with you people?

  • Raggs

    OH the world is falling apart!!!
    We cannot live without our government controlling everything that we do….

    Your REALLY an idiot if you believe that.. well some do…

    You have been warned that a controlled “crisis” IS what they expect.
    A crisis of their doing…

    A crisis that they created in order for them to gain their control over YOU.

    Oh didn’t I mention that it is to “keep you safe”.. ? I’m bumfuzzled at the stupidity and the total lack of regard for America.

  • One-Angel

    Wow. Our tax dollars at waste, I mean work. Somewhere some criminal mind drug lord is hatching ideas on how to make this technology work to their advantage. And we haven’t even begun discussing how these can also be weaponized.

    This is small potatoes. Check this on the Pentagon’s current project regarding cyborg insects:

    http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_11270.cfm

    • CoCowboy

      yup – and wait until you find project Constellation. Swarm technology. It’s pretty amazing shtuff… If you really want to TRY to keep up with what they’re doing, DARPA does allow access, albeit limited, but it is very fun and amazing to see the stuff they come up with. I visit at least once weekly… I like to be ahead of the “announcements”…

  • One-Angel

    Wow. Our tax dollars at waste, I mean work. Somewhere there is a criminal mind drug lord thinking how they can make this technology work to their advantage.

    This is small potatoes. Check this out on the Pentagon’s in-work project with cyborg insects:

    http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_11270.cfm

    • Raggs

      Yeah that cockroach in the white house.
      I think that someone needs to clip the wings.

  • bob wire

    Like it, don’t like it

    It’s inevitable!

    It’s all in the nature of people doing a dangerous job and attempting to “keep the peace”.

    Like anything else, subject to abuse.

    • Raggs

      ERRR bluh.
      I suppose that makes since to you huh?
      Too scared to do anything about it?
      Or prehaps you don’t care?
      Well maybe just accept it?
      So end of story?

      Why the hell would you do that?
      Are you SCARED?
      Are you afraid to die?
      Do you believe that the government is going to “fix” everything for you?
      Do you believe that you don’t have a choice?
      Do you believe that the government has a “right” to protect you?
      Do you think that the government without due cause has a right to spy on you?

      Answer anyone of those above question than I find you as a communist.

    • Raggs

      “keep the peace”…

      Thats code for rule over the people.

      In other words thats a way to control the people by force.
      To “keep the peace”… It is a scare tatic much in the same way as being arrested for jay walking… Liberals always use that tatic as a “feel good” and I’m mighty man so don’t fu-k with me momment.
      Just an excuse to show what little brains that they have …. They always have to protect the little ol lady when nobody in this world gives a chit what the little ol lady is doing.
      OK so forget about taking me for a fool please. you disgrace yourself when doing so.

  • Raggs

    Well regardless of my personal feelings ( which I have many of )..
    Also to no regard of this insainity of this conception of a police state. I find myself in woe.
    Does anyone understand that Christ himself was up against these odds?
    Does anyone but me understand that the control of man is the beast?
    The “power” of man yields destruction and hence the power of one man is absolute destruction. All “leaders” have this in common..
    America was founded on the principle that all people would be able to control what the government did… Now what we have is a government to control the people… So regardless of what most of you braindead spinelss sheeple think… This is NOT america.

    • bob wire

      Raggs, you are obsessed and feel threatened from all sides.

      Maybe a nice log cabin up in the Rocky Mountains would do you a world of good.

      Or maybe a round the world sea cruse in a dingy.

      Are you physically fit for such an adventure?

      I did it once, it works. You develop a new appreciation for life and all the things it’s full of.

      • Raggs

        I will take you up on that trip, we can go out together and rub nasties. LOL…

  • Native American

    SORRY, “Leon”…but “stanch conservative”???…WTF???….you’re full of it, dude…
    You “fought to keep communism from our shores”???…WTF…???…
    What kind of *DRUGS* are you *ON*, “…Leon”???…
    You’re so brainwashed, it’s almost funny…
    It isn’t a matter of “having something to hide”, NO!…
    It’s *HAVING * SOMETHING * TO * PROTECT* …
    Like, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness…
    Ever heard those words, “Leon”…???…
    For example, over 200 U.S.citizens have been *KILLED* by cops using tasers…Are you OK with that???…You musta been Coast Guard, or Navy…You sure as shinola ain’t a MARINE!…
    Semper Fidelis morbidus…

    • Raggs

      I would say that leon is a or has the mindset of a progressive liberal communist control freak. In otherwords a usefull idiot.

    • CoCowboy

      The greatest mistake that our military has made is in NOT teaching the constitution. Our guys today have multiple duty to the UN and the US… unfortunately, in that order. It’s bull. I hope we can trust our military guys when the time does come. We already have an domestic enemy I’m left to wonder where our guys are – OFTEN…

  • Raggs

    GENOCIDE…

    I will promise you that when this crap hits the fan all hell will break loose.
    I do not expect but maybe one or two people to understand that what is in the happening is a Global conspiracy.. Go and bury that little peanut in the sand if you want…
    To point at a context… I have a truck that WAS equiped with a GPS onstar… Two tickets later I removed it ( onstar ) and behold no more tickets… I somehow seriously doubt that if anyone here would get my point… So is police good? or is more police better? So what are you going to do when these son of a bitches camp out in your house?

    • CoCowboy

      LOL – Interesting. I will attest too your story. I was in an industry where we could not figure out why every now and then our people were in trouble with ridiculous kinds of things. Now this goes back to the very early days of OnStar, so we’re talking 90′s. Anyway, long story short, we had to contact the MFG and have them disabled until final destination.

  • CoCowboy

    I can already see where this is going… They’ll do the same thing they did with our military drones and arm these suckers.

    They’ll place some of their .22 cal guns or perhaps even lasers – maybe sound tech… maybe even rubber bullet machine guns…

    This is gonna be the start of more than one thinks. I’ve been thinking about this for quite some time and knew the day would come.

    So – It’s come…

    • CoCowboy

      Youo know, the funny part of this was, when I first conceived of all this I was in high school in the mid 70′s… and it involved elaborate plans to “get rich quick”… I became an honest man of course, but, I still often, smilingly ponder the irony…

  • Leon Arceneaux

    Aix,
    I resent your comment that I articulated Communist drivel. I am a veteran who fought for five years to keep Communism away from our shores. I am a stanch conservative who would give my life for the country that I love, but I also live in the real world. I have seen enough death to know that anything,(drones, robots, etc.)that would prevent soldiers, police, or anyone from getting killed should be used.

    • Raggs

      Oh.. well maybe than you don’t mind a police officer under your bed while you are having sex with your wife, but…
      You fight for freedom?… Oh really?
      So how MUCH freedom do you have now?.. you faught for someone else’s freedom and NOT the freedom of the USA.
      And I figure that you may think that fighting war’s in the far away nowhere land that is full of mooslims makes Amerika “FREE” ?

      All that I need to say is that 99% of you people are so fu-in stupid that you deserve to be treated like sheep.

      • Lost in Paradise

        Aman to that one Raggs. Freedom is a term they use to control the sheep. They will fight and die for the evil hoard, but to save America from further destruction they will choose to hide under their beds. If all these so called Patriots would stand up and fight, then we could have our republic back and run by the constitution. What a bunch of frikken Woosie’s.

    • Hoonahman

      “They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.” Ben Franklin

      Leon, you are emblemtic of 90% of Americans who are still asleep to what is happening to them. We are all being nudged into a police state where the rights you (as a veteran) took a Constitutional oathe to protect are being lost right before our eyes. Wake up brother!Time is short. We are all being manipulated by the overhyped War on Terror argument that we must all give up our rights to be secure.This is what Hitler did in Germany in the mid 1930′s. If it happened there it can happen here and it is. Wake up Leon, the analogy of the frog in the pot applies here…….he is happy swimming in the warm water until it turns to a boil and he croaks.

  • Sirian

    There are pros and cons to these drones but what I haven’t seen so far is anyone suggesting that they be used for target practice. Knock a few down and the city wouldn’t have enough money to replace them. As any other “high tech” surveillance equipment, they ain’t cheap!

    • Aix Sponsa

      Cheap? It’s all FREE government money that just gets handed out in grants. Everybody knows that government money is free and just grows on trees…. I mean printing presses.

      • Sirian

        Oh rats, you’re right, I forgot. . . :) Yep, Bernanke has so much fun with his printing presses and Congress just loves him to death.

  • SamAdams

    Well at least it is unmanned … so we aren’t charged with murder for
    shooting the crap out of the sky. I also wonder, are we as entitled to
    “no fly zones” above our property as much as the government ???

    • Aix Sponsa

      If we have no reasonable expectation of privacy from an aircraft specifically designed for spying, then we have no reasonable expectation of privacy from a peepint-tom looking into our windows, or someone looking up womens’ dresses when they go up the stairs at the mall. Soon 1984 will come to pass and video monitors will be everywhere. Did you know that all new cars from 2006 have black boxes in them, and that Florida already has sent a person to prison because his black box confirmed his vehicular homicide?

      • Aix Sponsa

        FYI it was a new Corvette doing 120 that never stepped on the brakes before killing someone. Look it up.

  • JimH

    Can we use drone aircraft to patrol the border? That would be more practicle than over a city.

    • Sirian

      Uh Jim, we’ve been using drones (Predators) over the border for quite some time.

      • JimH

        Sirian, Take the ones they want in the city and beef up the border drones. The ones we have apparently aren’t enough. Thanks for the snotty, condesending reply, I’m sure I deserved it.

      • Sirian

        Jim,
        There was no condescending intent at all. It merely struck me as if you may have not been aware. Nothing more, nothing less. There are plenty of people that haven’t the slightest idea as to what’s happening on our border especially that drones are being used. Snotty? No, not intended to sound that way at all.

  • Leon Arceneaux

    We have purchased one for the Conroe, TX. PD. It frees up police patrolmen and can triage a potential SWAT situation before putting police at risk.
    Also, it is not invading your privacy if you have nothing to hide. Not anymore than a pipeline patrolling helicopter who can look down and see you in your back yard.

    • Aix Sponsa

      Leon, please read again what you wrote.

      That is such communist, socialist, liberal crap thinking that I am apalled that anyone can ariculate such drivel. No wonder our Great Nation is so freken messed up. God Bless You in your liberal ignorance.

    • Brian

      You lost all credibility when you state “if you have nothing to hide.” Sounds like something a tyrant would say. It matters not if I have amything to hide or not. The sole legitimate purpose of government is to protect our liberty. This does no such thing.

  • Raggs

    Drones accompanied with S-1867…

    Think about it… Thousands of innocent people being thrown into a prison indefinitely without even so much as a lawyer…

    This is painting a very UGLY picture to give ANY “authority” this type of rule… Tyranny is what this is….

  • Elizabeth Sloot

    Right on Bob. All these guys know how to do anymore is write tickets for Speeding or DUI. Here in Northern Idaho all they do is sit out side a bar and wait for people to come out and get in their vehicles. Also they hid in the bushes along a highway and wait for a speeder.

    • Jeep

      I have seen the police waiting outside of bars too. I guess they could wait a few miles down the road to give a drunk driver the opportunity to kill someone before reaching a checkpoint. Would that be a better solution for you? Or, how about this? Don’t drink and drive, then you will have no problem or be subject to a DUI. And, if you are worried about speeding, then don’t! You people need a brain check…

      • Aix Sponsa

        AMEN

      • Raggs

        Jeep.. I didn’t know that you where a saint.
        Yeah and if frogs had wings?

        Well go live in your little box ( full of chit ) and when you get back ( or if you ever leave your little box ) give me your phone number so we can get in touch with hard facts once in a while.
        Or I guess that you havew the choice of being STUPID.

      • Bob in Boston

        Sad that our citizens have been brainwashed into thinking that just because you blow a .08 on some machine that you were 100% sure to kill someone on your ride home. If someone is truly driving drunk, then there are PLENTY of “reasonable suspicion” reasons to pull them over. Hell, anyone who crosses a double yellow or strays from their lane should get a ticket – it doesn’t matter if it’s because they were drinking or because they were texting on their cell phone.

        We’ve gotten to the point where we try to punish people for every little possible action that MIGHT cause harm to another person, instead of punishing them when they actually DO something. While I understand the wishes of some people to try to prevent harm to others before it happens, way too often this is abused by the government for things like revenue generation.

        A good example of this is speed limits. Our highway system was designed by engineers so that 50s-era military vehicles could travel safely at 75mph to deploy anywhere in the united states. If you’ve ever driven in a military vehicle, you know that 75mph is probably on the upper end of how fast a reasonable person would want to go. But is 75mph fast in a car? It’s not even CLOSE to being unsafe in many cars. And yet we’ve somehow allowed our government to convince us that anyone caught going over 65mph is “dangerous” and “will kill someone”. Not to even mention the fact that they are speed LIMITS, which are supposed to tell motorists the maximum safe speed – it doesn’t by any means say you HAVE to go that fast. The reality, long ago recognized by engineers is that the safest speed limit is WHATEVER speed 85% of the population travels naturally when there are no speed controls visible. In some locations that might be 65mph, but in others that may be 90mph or more. But our government has convinced us that THEY know what’s right, and anyone who doesn’t follow the law is “dangerous”. What’s dangerous is over-reaching government!

  • IAN NASCIMENTO

    ALL IN FAVOR OF THIS PROBABLY HAVE NEVER SEEN THE MOVIE ” BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU”.
    THIS IS ANOTHER SOCIALISTIC MOVEMENT. REMEMBER, KARL MARK SAID THAT SOCIALISM IS THE FIRST STEP TO COMMUNISM. INVADING OUR PRIVACY IS A SOCIALISTIC MOVE.
    SPYING ON BAD PEOPLE CAN BE A GOOD THING. SPYING ON GOOD PEOPLE CAN MAKE THEM LOOK BAD IF MANIPULATED BY BAD SPYS.

    • Jeep

      Ian is this any different than a police helocopter with FLIR, NVD and cameras? No, except that it is immediately available and cheaper then operating a chopper. Just sayin’.

  • Bob M

    Here’s a radical idea. How about the cops draging their fat a—s out of their cruisers and patrolling our neighborhoods.

    • http://na Jim

      You know the old saying, there’s never a cop around when you need one.

      • Aix Sponsa

        We have too many cops now. All they are for is revenue production for the municipalities.

        If the general public was allowed their 2nd amendment rights, criminals would rethink their career opportunities.

      • independant thinker

        Aix, I would say “many criminals” there are always gonna be some so smarts deficient that they will attempt crimes anyway. Of course many of them would be removed from the gene pool if we were allowed to truely defend ourselves.

      • Think about it

        (Allowed their 2nd amendment rights) What the hell is wrong with you ? This is your right, The problem is, is that people have let the government lead to to believe that this is not there right.

  • http://na Jim

    I saw a special on this very craft being used/sent to Libiya for the rebels. It helped them much.

    I wonder if it would of helped the Arizona USMC Vet that was murdered in his house in front of his family by the Sherrifs SWAT team this past year? I doubt it because they broke down his door and killed him inside his house. I just don’t know how to feel about this. On one hand I support Law Enforecment and on the other anyone can get corrupted and abuse there power. But when protecting your family goes I would have to side with the Marine.

  • http://www.youtube.com/user/MrMrEinstein?feature=mhee Lee

    What a great idea these lame brains come up with.Not bad if they were paying for it,But heh lets raise taxes the Country is already broke.We need employment not more Surveillance.What a bunch of clowns,The people don’t need to be watched over it is the government I would start worrying about.Go to youtube type in the Clinton Chronicles and see for yourself what great people we have running this country in the ground.

    • eddie47d

      Too many in this country love watching protesters get walloped by the police yet are shocked by the surveillance methods or equipment they use.

  • CP

    In answer to Gringo Infidel, that would be live, streaming data, as otherwise there would be little use in sending a quiet, stealth type unmanned vehicle into the area in the first place. Even so, I would assume it would be rather heavily encrypted, as you don’t want the bad guy to know you are looking at him.

    • Joe Mmm

      The footage could be programed to self destruct an instant after transmission. The unit itself would be easy for enforcement personel to retrive within min.’s of going down and would not be operational without the specific control pad that contained pairing software which could only be reassigned from HQ. All of this is cost efficent and could save lives.

  • Gringo Infidel

    Hmmm, what happens when one that is capturing footage goes down and is taken by some passer by. If the authorities do not encrypt the data and it remains on board – they may have a problem.

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