Neither side can say that they are innocent of abusing power. How its reported in the media, is a different matter all together. Compare how ECHELON was reported on compared to the Patriot Act. ECHELON was a far greater invasion of privacy than the Patriot Act, but because of who introduced it, it was treated far differently.
Any time there is a new weapon system introduced, some starts working on a way to counter it. This is the way that that warfare has always progressed. The Predator, Global Hawk and the EOD bots are all great tools, but all have weaknesses. If someone found a way to crash the GPS network (high altitude nuke detonation anyone), the Global Hawk and Predator nav systems are gone. If someone figured out how to hack the control links, the Predator could be turned on friendly troops before anyone knew that there was anything wrong.
Another problem is the EM signature that a controller has to put out. For a scout, like I am, active transmissions could mean arty coming in on our head. Tight and burst transmissions are not practical for use as control links. Against an enemy like North Korea, who's commo network is almost completely wired, broad spectrum jamming is a probability. I can just imagine the havoc that would come about if someone figured out how to remotely alter IFF transponders.
Having a unarmed autonomous system for use in combat is still a long way out, I don't care what anyone says. I doubt that we will see armed autonomous systems, outside of an area denial operation, in our lifetime
From my high school days, I had a good friend that played Doom and other violent video games to the exclusion of most other forms of entertainment. He Kicks my ass in Halo other shooters now 3 out of 5 games that we play together.
Here's the kicker, I'm an Army Ranger and he's a pastor.
This is just one more example of how we're not smart enough to make decisions on our own. Our government must make these complicated decisions for us.
So what is the next step? Does the government try and ban violent content, or does it try and come up with a way to tax violent content? My vote is for the later. After all, it's for the children.
First generation hybrids are hyped a little too much for me. While they do improve on "in town" and stop and go mileage, their combined hi way and city mileage isn't all that impressive when compared with other economy vehicles. Right now, for single passenger commuting, motorcycles and scooters rein supreme in the mileage game.
I really like the idea of the Volt and other plug in hybrids. The engine powers a generator, which drives an electric motor. This is actually a proven technology as it has been used to power freight trains for a few decades.
My largest problems with Electric Only vehicles is the huge load that is needed to run things like climate control. I don't know about you, but many of us live in areas where we need heat for at least part of the year. A/C is an even larger drain. How far can a car that can drive 300 miles on a full charge make it when its below freezing and a heater needs to going full blast just to stay comfortable? How much do things like loads from radios and GPS systems and other electronic devices that we use on a daily basis shorten the range?
My other problem with EO vehicles is the recharge time. I mostly drive 20 miles one way, but do go on long road trips. I hate the hassle of flying. I've driven coast to coast before, sometimes going 18 hours or more at a stretch. Having to be stopped for longer than I would be driving really limits the appeal of an EO vehicle.
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Neither side can say that they are innocent of abusing power. How its reported in the media, is a different matter all together. Compare how ECHELON was reported on compared to the Patriot Act. ECHELON was a far greater invasion of privacy than the Patriot Act, but because of who introduced it, it was treated far differently.
Any time there is a new weapon system introduced, some starts working on a way to counter it. This is the way that that warfare has always progressed. The Predator, Global Hawk and the EOD bots are all great tools, but all have weaknesses. If someone found a way to crash the GPS network (high altitude nuke detonation anyone), the Global Hawk and Predator nav systems are gone. If someone figured out how to hack the control links, the Predator could be turned on friendly troops before anyone knew that there was anything wrong. Another problem is the EM signature that a controller has to put out. For a scout, like I am, active transmissions could mean arty coming in on our head. Tight and burst transmissions are not practical for use as control links. Against an enemy like North Korea, who's commo network is almost completely wired, broad spectrum jamming is a probability. I can just imagine the havoc that would come about if someone figured out how to remotely alter IFF transponders. Having a unarmed autonomous system for use in combat is still a long way out, I don't care what anyone says. I doubt that we will see armed autonomous systems, outside of an area denial operation, in our lifetime
From my high school days, I had a good friend that played Doom and other violent video games to the exclusion of most other forms of entertainment. He Kicks my ass in Halo other shooters now 3 out of 5 games that we play together. Here's the kicker, I'm an Army Ranger and he's a pastor.
This is just one more example of how we're not smart enough to make decisions on our own. Our government must make these complicated decisions for us. So what is the next step? Does the government try and ban violent content, or does it try and come up with a way to tax violent content? My vote is for the later. After all, it's for the children.
First generation hybrids are hyped a little too much for me. While they do improve on "in town" and stop and go mileage, their combined hi way and city mileage isn't all that impressive when compared with other economy vehicles. Right now, for single passenger commuting, motorcycles and scooters rein supreme in the mileage game. I really like the idea of the Volt and other plug in hybrids. The engine powers a generator, which drives an electric motor. This is actually a proven technology as it has been used to power freight trains for a few decades. My largest problems with Electric Only vehicles is the huge load that is needed to run things like climate control. I don't know about you, but many of us live in areas where we need heat for at least part of the year. A/C is an even larger drain. How far can a car that can drive 300 miles on a full charge make it when its below freezing and a heater needs to going full blast just to stay comfortable? How much do things like loads from radios and GPS systems and other electronic devices that we use on a daily basis shorten the range? My other problem with EO vehicles is the recharge time. I mostly drive 20 miles one way, but do go on long road trips. I hate the hassle of flying. I've driven coast to coast before, sometimes going 18 hours or more at a stretch. Having to be stopped for longer than I would be driving really limits the appeal of an EO vehicle.