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US Senator Warns Against Political Surveillance By Drone
cold fjord writes "Politico reports, 'Sen. Dianne Feinstein says she once found a drone peeking into the window of her home — the kind of cautionary tale she wants lawmakers to consider as they look at allowing commercial drone use. ... she used the episode to implore lawmakers to "proceed with caution." Feinstein said she encountered the flying robot while a demonstration was taking place outside her house. She said she went to the window to peek out — and "there was a drone right there at the window looking out at me." ... "Obviously the pilot of the drone had some surprise because the drone wheeled around and crashed ..." she said. ... Feinstein, who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Wednesday that she has seen firsthand the surveillance capabilities of drones and called civilian privacy concerns "significant." She ... recommended a search warrant requirement. Feinstein said she is working on legislation with the Commerce Committee and urged senators to move swiftly to create "strong, binding enforceable privacy policies that govern drone operations before the technology is upon us."'"
She doesn't like it when it happens to her.
She is pretty sexy, after all.
The cow says "Moo." The dog says "Woof." The Timothy says "Thanks, valued customer. We appreciate your input."
My property line also extends upwards.
But Ms Feinstein, surely if you have nothing to hide then you have nothing to fear?
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
She should just shoot it down....oh wait....owning a gun makes you evil in her eyes...
1. Federal licensing and "oversight" for businesses = tax$
2. Exemptions for "national security" = hello FBI/TSA/NSA/DEA
3. Strong, enforceable privacy policy = Private use prohibited.
Watch for it.
Scruting the inscrutable for over 50 years.
DIFI had a $40 remote control helicopter fly by her house during a CODE PINK protest against her use of drones and her support of the endless wars she supports.
It still pisses me off that they call ALL of these devices "drones". I expect that almost NONE of these are actual drones... but just simple RC quad copters. WTF!?
... I don't see this covered in any of the mainstream media reports, but the 'drone' involved was a pink 'barbie' knockoff with no video capability. It's a $25 dollar think-geek type mini gyro. I'm amazed it made it to the 2nd floor window of a home outside. No wonder it crashed, those things have the stability of a paper airplane thrown into a fan.
Example of it:
http://www.amazon.com/33013-Concept-Alloy-Helicopter-Light/dp/B009VCHVJQ/ref=sr_1_3?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1389974986&sr=1-3&keywords=pink+gyro
Obviously the pilot couldn't see you because there's no cameras on it, so I doubt she was surprised you looked out the window....
They do that a lot.
The irony here is Feinstein over dramatization of this event given what she authorizes on the SIC. Using this incident to call for stricter drone laws is like being hit by a paper airplane and calling for the FAA to investigate.
-Malakai
A Dragon Lives in my Garage
How dare you spy on us !
How dare you try to listen in on privacies like political negotiations as we carve up all your reality and feed it back to you in exchange for votes! Do you know how hard it is to keep cover memes hiding the real reasons we do things in place?
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
Okay, I can on one hand understand the lack of love for the dear Senator. With the other, let us not miss an advantage to press an issue that till now did not seem important to our Surveillance Lady in Waiting. Finally a Senator gets a first hand taste (and let's assume it really happened*) of getting spied on and she's pissed off. Now she wants warrants and oversight so let's help in that direction to the full extent of what it means to have your privacy assaulted.
I think it is sad that one of the privileged needs to be affected before they react with more then a sniff. It would be grand if our elected officials actually cared a damn for the people they represent, but I for one welcome her "outrage" and hope she uses it to tighten privacy laws and get tough on those who ignore our Constitutional rights.
* all this noise of whether it was a real drone, it was made up, or did or did not carry a camera is plain stupid. If it happened then good, she got a taste of the future and does not like it. If it was fake or trumped up so she can cited a "legitimate" reason for her outcry, who cares. The story is her enlightened position.
Life is a great ride, the vehicle doesn't matter
Feinstein is probably amping up legislation to keep drones out of the hands of hobbyists and the general public.
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Here's a picture of the drone. I really did happen. Teh drones is shocking!
Image taken from this video.
Orwell's pigs suddenly come to mind.
"She ... recommended a search warrant requirement."
The requirement for a warrant is already there, right in the Constitution. I guess that is ancient history now.
Prove anything by multiplying Huge Number times Tiny Number
It really annoys me that everybody is calling these things drones. THEY ARE NOT. They are remotely piloted vehicles. A Drone has no pilot and follows a preprogrammed route or follows a set of programming and instructions and has no pilot. Such as the Drones that Amazon would use to deliver packages. Or creating a drone to follow a target based on a gps signal. Or to be launched and collect reconnaissance data of a specified area. I have a real problem with Drones being used by law enforcement or the military in the US.
A UAV or remotely piloted vehicle cannot be operated without the assistance of the pilot. It still requires a warm body to be involved and requires a similar amount of resources as if you actually had a pilot in the vehicle. I have less of a problem with this. I see little difference between this and a police helicopter or airplane which are both highly useful at actually catching criminals.
(a) Who needs drones when you have deep space telescopes pointed at the surface of the Earth?
(b) This is an attempt at distraction from the very real problem of the NSA intensively spying on ordinary Americans without a warrant founded on probable cause.
(c) Feinstein needs to be out of the Senate. I hope a good Democratic candidate challenges her.
It's not hypocracy if her position is consistantly that the elite and rich defense contractors (doesn't her husband own much of URS) are above the law, and everyone else must bow before them.
Her legislation could say "only senators, former senators, people with over $100 million, and defense contractors can use drones to spy on others" -- and it wouldn't be hypocracy. It'd just be evil.
When is California going to recall her?
Me and my GF just love to target practice!
Unlikely at the altitude they're likely to be at. An HERF gun would probably do the trick though.
I think in this case we can use the term "literally" rather than "ironic." This is "literally like calling the FAA because you got hit by a paper airplane."
To use "literally" (which indicates a non-figurative statement) in conjunction with "like" (which indicates the figurative form called simile) defies logic. "Literally" is not a flavoring word to be bandied about for emphasis. Or perhaps you were literally being ironic.
Fuck Feinstein
Ewww!!
At least as far as common sense goes she seems to always back the wrong horse. I think I disagree with her on every single issue I've ever heard her talk about.
Digging through TFA and links, it appears that the 'surveillance drone' was a toy RC helicopter. With something like a 6" blade diameter. Yeah, you could put a tiny camera on one. But they have a range of something like 100 feet. If one came up to my window, the operator would have to be on my lawn ......
I'd love to see Feinstein's response to some kid smacking a baseball through her window. She'd probably still be locked in her panic room.
Have gnu, will travel.
After her admission, one cannot help but wonder if peeping toms the world over are not weeping for joy of this new technology?
I have a drone (DJI Phantom) and it sounds like a small weed whacker - hardly a stealth device.
These politicians drone on about security, and we are less safe, they drone on about freedom, for others, not you. The only drones I see, are the elected and non-elected officials squeezing us into smaller and smaller boxes that they can be ignored and forgotten about. The corporate drones want us asleep or dead. The worst droning is silence.
The mind conceives, the body achieves, the spirit manifests.
It's not hypocracy at all, just an expression of the "might makes right" philosophy and she's offended that someone is challenging her might.
She'd fit in really well in China or Stalin's USSR.