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Unmanned Aircraft Will Test Air Traffic Control

Posted by samzenpus on from the bumper-planes dept.

coondoggie writes "While the skies aren't exactly buzzing with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) just yet, experts are warning their explosive growth will require military and public officials to address the issue sooner than they might think. The four chiefs of service aviation and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) branches told the Army Aviation Association of America's unmanned aircraft symposium last week that the military should crystallize combat air control regarding UAVs, while domestic authorities must work out access and use of UAVs in domestic airspace. "I'm surprised we haven't had a collision yet," said Rear Adm. Joseph Aucoin, director of the Navy's aviation plans and requirements branch."

6 of 144 comments (clear)

  1. Re:let them eat cake !! by jimicus · · Score: 1, Offtopic
    Children who are raised in a mixed neighborhood, with both poor and wealthy see the economic disparity, and are exposed to the culture of wealth. They have opportunity to better consider their position, and will realistically evaluate the costs of becoming wealthier. They are far, far more likely to decide that they don't want to be poor as adults and exert the appropriate effort necessary to make this happen.

    Come on, that's been known for years. In the 1982 film Annie, for example:

    Warbucks: I was born in liverpool, in a railroad switchhouse. My younger brother died of pneumonia because we had no money for medicine. It was then and there I decided I would be rich. Very, very rich.
    Annie: Good idea.


    (Do I get bonus karma for backing up up my POV with a quote from a cheesy film?)
  2. Re:Drop the sexist language, please by bucky0 · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    It's not sexist. Part of the reason I enjoy speaking English more than, say, Portuguese or German (languages I'm also fluent in) is because there's no gender. Declining nouns/articles all the time in those other languages is a bitch, don't bring it here.

    My mailman happens to be a woman. Mailman does't have gender, so that works out fine.

    --

    -Bucky
  3. Re:let them eat cake !! by kiddygrinder · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Let me phrase it in terms you may understand. Computers can generate food, food in most cases does not, it simply feeds today and makes the production of food pointless, economically speaking. However you are not actually seeing the real truth here, these computers are not sent as a replacement for food; they are sent in addition to any other aid that is sent. The only way you can rightfully say that they are wrong to send these laptops over there is if you can either prove that it's decreasing other types of aid or you have a better way of stimulating their economy (the main goal of this laptop project) that you can prove is more efficient.

    --
    This is a joke. I am joking. Joke joke joke.
  4. Re:Drop the sexist language, please by JaredOfEuropa · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    My mailman happens to be a woman.
    In that case it's a "femailman" (according to Bart Simpson anyway).
    --
    If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
  5. Re:let them eat cake !! by CRCulver · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Due to its connection to the Internet, it becomes a replacement for an unlimited number of text books and reference material. Wikipedia, anyone?

    The first post already mentioned Wikipedia etc., namely the fact that there isn't much Wikipedia material in the languages of many impoverished people. Project Gutenberg isn't going to help a classroom of third-graders in need of instructional material in their own language.

    The only effect the OLPC project could have on these peoples if it were meant to flood them with Wikipedia-like resources for classroom use is language imperialism. There's nothing wrong with learning English, but for a language to survive the vast majority of classroom instruction across a community must be done in the native language of the community. The OLPC project has, though, given admirable attention to indigenous language issues.

  6. Re:let them eat cake !! by guisar · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Wish I had mod points- an excellent discussion. In addition, the OLPC has brought this discussion to the forefront- without the project nobody would be having these discussions. Would anyone argue that distributing OLPC among the poor of the Americas, Europe and industrialized Asia would be useful? The red herring raised as an objection to the OLPC always seems to be some hypothetical starving African in the bush- that's pretty much a very small demographic among the computer deprived.

    I was really glad to hear students in Alabama (http://www.jasonbradbury.com/jason_bradbury/2007/11/latest-developi.html) will be getting the OLPC. I was stationed in Montgomery, AL- not exactly the third world but there's a DoD school on the base. I found out why during orientation to the area. I actually though the Montgomery school (on the other side of the base fence from the DoD school) was the relic of the old DoD school and asked why it hadn't been demolished already. It was that bad. An OLPC won't give the students who had to attend that school better teachers, books or buildings but it might give them a better view of the wider world.