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Drone Photos Lead to Indictment For Texas Polluters
In January of this year, we posted news of a major pollution site in Texas that was the subject of some anonymous amateur sleuths with drones, who used their UAVs to document the release of a "river of blood" (pig blood, that is) into the Trinity River as it flows through Dallas. Now, garymortimer writes, that documentation has resulted in legal action in the form of an indictment from a Dallas grand jury. "The story went viral and continues to receive hits nearly a year later. I believe this is the first environmental crime to be prosecuted on the basis of UA evidence. Authorities had to act because of the attention the story was receiving."
Would have preferred to see: "Authorities had to act because it was the right thing to do". Not because it has become a public spectacle.
Red gold. Texas tea.
And most likely one of the last as new regulations pushed forth by corporate lobbies will restrict drone use or create "air space" restrictions over corporate land.
"If any question why we died, Tell them because our fathers lied."
You can't record a phone call or in-person conversation in non-public places without warning and use it as evidence but guess what, past a thousand feet above your property or whatever the hell it is, you don't own a damn thing so say cheese and see you in court.
Morality only applies to commoners. The first casualty of wealth is the soul.
Authorities largely exist to protect the wealth of the rich. Ostensibly they also protect the safety of the poor, but orders of magnitude more law-enforcement money is spent on protecting the rich from threats to their wealth.
I agree that this is not how the world should be. But this state of things is a natural consequence of human behavior. Our only defense against it is eternal vigilance (and that means you).
But I did, and then browsed around and ran across this totally offtopic but rather cool project. A range finding radar project using tin cans, candar?
http://www.suasnews.com/2012/12/20299/build-a-small-radar-system-capable-of-sensing-range-doppler-and-synthetic-aperture-radar-imaging/
Authorities need probable cause and a warrant to search your home. But, neither is required to recruit your neighbor to tell them what they see in your home.
See something, say something is just another small step toward tyranny, and we will all be the culprits.
Google-Funded Drones To Hunt Rhino Poachers : Thanks to a five million dollar grant awarded by Google on Tuesday, the organization is expanding its use of unmanned aerial vehicles to track and deter criminals who illegally hunt endangered animal species around the world. WWF spokesman Lee Poston is not calling these vehicles drones, because he doesn't want people to confuse them with the military kind. According to Poston, they are "sophisticated radio-controlled devices like hobbyists use" that can be "controlled from your iPad or other device." But the WWF website does call them "conservation drones."
The story is self-congratulatory and implies that the authorities only did their job because of the publicity on the issue. While it is true that the authorities only acted because of the original story, there is no evidence that once they were made aware of the story that they did not move at a deliberate pace in order to determine how widespread the infraction was and to prosecute it. The fact of the matter is that depending on how the plant was set up, there would have been no reason for a government official to observe the pollution. That is the only reason that they needed the original story in order to act. They had to know there was something to act on.
The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted. James Madison
This will soon come to the attention of legislators through corporate lobby groups who seek to undermine the power of people to be able to conduct affairs that protect the public good and limit profit.
My ism, it's full of beliefs.
Let's not forget they posted this cynical video on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-SGE5AHlns
Then instructed all their employees to like and put positive comments.
What next? They'll be claiming the breath you exhale is pollution too!
Any naturally occurring substance, if present due to the action or lack of action of a human being, is apparently a pollutant.
If you are not allowed to question your government then the government has answered your question.
He purposely flew high enough to see on private property and is now giving the business a bad name, endangering countless jobs. This should not be celebrated, he should be condemned to prison for a lengthy term for interrupting domestic commerce in a time of war. Life in prison would be a gift, given the circumstances.
Besides that, I doubt there was ever a regulation about dumping that specific substance into that specific river. Who are we, communists?
Way to Cherry Pick.
Reports on Madoff were disregarded by the SEC for nearly a decade, similar to this story.
Do your other examples illustrate my point as well? I frankly don't have time to do the research.
Good Night.
They feared that it could be used to suppress protest or support unpopular rule.
Get your facts right. They weren't an activist group. They were drone enthusiasts.
Activists would have just walked across the field, or paddled a canoe across the river into the stream mouth.
Neighbors were complaining about the smell. Any time you bring in live animals for slaughter it stinks. There were zero complaints about blood in the creek.
USDA inspectors were visiting that plant regularly, as were Texas Meat Safety Assurance Unit inspectors.
There were no activists. Stop making things up.
Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.