Attack of The Drones Discussions - 12160 Social Network
2024-03-19T09:35:08Z
https://12160.info/groups/group/forum?groupUrl=attack-of-the-drones&feed=yes&xn_auth=no
FAA'S "INTEGRATION PILOT UAS PROGRAM" IS REALLY A NATIONAL POLICE SURVEILLANCE DRONE PROGRAM
tag:12160.info,2018-12-04:2649739:Topic:1853437
2018-12-04T17:20:44.329Z
Central Scrutinizer
https://12160.info/profile/H0llyw00d
<h2>SOURCE:<span> </span><a href="http://massprivatei.blogspot.com/2018/12/faas-integration-pilot-uas-program-is.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">BLOGSPOT.COM</a></h2>
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<p><span>This year was full of many disturbing stories, like the one about Bloomberg's role-playing workshops being used to convince the public to accept …</span></p>
<h2>SOURCE:<span> </span><a href="http://massprivatei.blogspot.com/2018/12/faas-integration-pilot-uas-program-is.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BLOGSPOT.COM</a></h2>
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<p><span>This year was full of many disturbing stories, like the one about Bloomberg's role-playing workshops being used to convince the public to accept </span><a href="https://massprivatei.blogspot.com/2018/11/bloombergs-role-playing-workshops.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">police drones equipped with microphones</a><span>. And another about politicians claiming police drones will help </span><a href="https://massprivatei.blogspot.com/2018/10/officials-claim-police-drones-will.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">revitalize a downtown and create community connections</a><span>.</span><br/><br/><span>None of that could have prepared me for what I discovered after looking into the FAA's drone program.</span><br/><br/><span>Last month an </span><a href="https://www.nextgov.com/emerging-tech/2018/11/surveying-public-city-being-used-federal-drone-testing-site/153037/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">article</a><span> in Nextgov caught my attention with the headline "Surveying the public in a city being used as a federal drone testing site." Those first three words "surveying the public, sounds an awful lot like surveilling the public.</span><br/><br/><span>Could that be what they are really saying? You be the judge.</span><br/><br/><span>The article claims the FAA plans to allow drones to be used for food deliveries like </span><a href="http://www.thedrive.com/tech/24359/ubereats-wants-to-deliver-your-meal-via-drone-by-2021" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Uber Eats</a><span>, blood and medical supplies and mentions police surveillance drones only once. Which seemed a little suspicious.</span><br/><br/><span>An </span><a href="https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/politics/sd-me-drone-survey-20181119-story.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">article</a><span> in the San Diego Tribune revealed that the FAA and 20 regional organizations are working together to convince residents to accept drones.</span><br/><br/><span>"San Diego was one of the regions chosen for the two-year test program because of the area’s unusually busy airspace, thriving technology industry and the presence of the international border with Mexico, city officials said."</span><br/><br/><span>“Since May, our partners have been busy evaluating possible drone uses that will benefit residents and businesses, </span><strong>as well as government agencies</strong><span>,” said John Valencia, executive director of the city’s Office of Homeland Security.</span><br/><br/><span>A 25-question online </span><a href="https://sdredc.typeform.com/to/mH8sqT" target="_blank" rel="noopener">survey</a><span> mentions privacy twice and police surveillance drones eight times if you include question #17 which asks if you are concerned about terrorism?</span><br/><br/><span>Nothing suspicious about that, right?</span><br/><br/><span>The city of San Diego also revealed that Qualcomm is working with the FAA to help with first responder drone communications.</span></p>
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<div id="newsdetail"><div>Qualcomm's partnership with the FAA should worry everyone. Qualcomm has been linked to spying <a href="https://massprivatei.blogspot.com/2016/07/10k-google-wi-fi-kiosks-are-collecting.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">public kiosks</a> that are popping up everywhere and their software has been installed in <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mattels-nabi-brand-introduces-first-ever-connected-kids-room-platform-in-tandem-with-microsoft-and-qualcomm---aristotle-300385221.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mattel's toys worldwide.</a><br/><br/>DHS and Qualcomm working together on delivery drones really? Do they really think we are that naive?<br/><br/></div>
<div><strong>FAA's plan to convince the public to accept police drones</strong></div>
<div class="separator"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZYoR2uSoHnY/XAWGMlqjqLI/AAAAAAAAKu4/-4X50Sx9gDIKYNXUdXQVicVK4ZqpuxV-ACLcBGAs/s1600/UAS.png"><img src="https://images.weserv.nl/?url=1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZYoR2uSoHnY/XAWGMlqjqLI/AAAAAAAAKu4/-4X50Sx9gDIKYNXUdXQVicVK4ZqpuxV-ACLcBGAs/s1600/UAS.png" width="220" height="180" border="0"/></a></div>
<p>The FAA's two-year program called the <a href="https://www.faa.gov/uas/programs_partnerships/uas_integration_pilot_program/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">"UAS Integration Pilot Program"</a> claims to be nothing more than a line of sight package delivery program that will benefit commerce and emergency management.<br/><br/>So what are the FAA's integration plans?<br/><br/>The FAA's plan is spelled out in their first sentence. "The Unmanned Aircraft System (<abbr>UAS</abbr>) Integration Pilot Program is an opportunity for state, local, and tribal governments to partner with private sector entities, such as UAS operators or manufacturers, to accelerate safe UAS integration."<br/><br/>Their integration plan, encourages law enforcement to partner with drone manufacturers to accelerate their usage.<br/><br/>A closer look at the FAA's <a href="https://www.faa.gov/uas/programs_partnerships/uas_integration_pilot_program/awardees/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">"Programs, Partnerships and Opportunities"</a> section revealed that San Diego's pilot drone program is ideally suited for police surveillance.<br/><br/><strong>"The proposal focuses on border protection and package delivery of food, with a secondary focus on international commerce, Smart City/autonomous vehicle interoperability and surveillance."</strong><br/><br/>And the Kansas Department of Transportation plans to use <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oklOTx_jnbA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GeoFencing</a> drones to spy on the public.<br/><br/>"Operations will use a range of technologies, such as detect and avoid, ADS-B, satellite communications and geo-fencing."<br/><br/>Another hint that this is really a national police drone surveillance program can be found by looking at Reno, Nevada's partnership.<br/><br/>The city of Reno claims they are testing a "nationwide scalable model for medical delivery operations." Last year, I warned everyone that DOT's like first responders claimed drones would only be used to <a href="https://massprivatei.blogspot.com/2017/03/dots-to-use-drones-to-spy-on-motorists.html?q=dot+drones" target="_blank" rel="noopener">respond to emergencies</a> and that proved to be a lie.<br/><br/>The FAA's, UAS Integration Pilot Program has been carefully worded so as not to cause public outcry. They appear to be following the script laid out in Bloomberg's role-playing drone workshops that act as though police drones will only be used for emergency response and not surveillance.<br/><br/>The old adage if it looks like a duck (police drone), flies like a duck (drone) then it must be national police surveillance drone program, certainly appears to be the case here. </p>
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Google Officially Partners With Pentagon to Create Terminator-Style AI Drones to Spy On Everything
tag:12160.info,2018-03-08:2649739:Topic:1758662
2018-03-08T15:31:48.139Z
DTOM
https://12160.info/profile/DTOM
<h1 class="entry-title">Google Officially Partners With Pentagon to Create Terminator-Style AI Drones to Spy On Everything</h1>
<p class="td-post-sub-title">Google has quietly signed a contract with the Department of Defense to militarize Artificial Intelligence by creating an autonomous drone fleet that will detect faces, images, and behavior patterns.</p>
<div class="td-module-meta-info"><div class="td-post-author-name"><div class="td-author-by">By…</div>
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<h1 class="entry-title">Google Officially Partners With Pentagon to Create Terminator-Style AI Drones to Spy On Everything</h1>
<p class="td-post-sub-title">Google has quietly signed a contract with the Department of Defense to militarize Artificial Intelligence by creating an autonomous drone fleet that will detect faces, images, and behavior patterns.</p>
<div class="td-module-meta-info"><div class="td-post-author-name"><div class="td-author-by">By <a href="http://thefreethoughtproject.com/author/tftp/">The Free Thought Project</a></div>
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<span class="td-post-date td-post-date-no-dot">March 7, 2018</span></div>
<div class="td-module-meta-info"><span class="td-post-date td-post-date-no-dot"><a href="http://thefreethoughtproject.com/googe-dod-pentagon-ai-drones/">http://thefreethoughtproject.com/googe-dod-pentagon-ai-drones/</a></span></div>
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<div class="td-module-meta-info"><span class="td-post-date td-post-date-no-dot"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1800345171?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1800345171?profile=original" class="align-full" width="696"/></a></span><p></p>
<p>Washington, D.C. — <a href="https://www.rt.com/usa/420667-google-drones-ai-pentagon/">(RT)</a> Ubiquitous IT giant Google has silently inked a partnership with the Department of Defense to militarize artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies, reinvigorating fears of a Terminator-style apocalyptic scenario.</p>
<p>Google has been secretly working with the Pentagon in order to help its 1,100-strong fleet of drones to detect images, faces, and behavioral patterns, and plans to scour through massive amounts of video footage in order to improve bombing accuracy for autonomous drones. The endgame is to improve combat performance by automating the decision-making process in locating and targeting combatants, The Intercept <a href="https://theintercept.com/2018/03/06/google-is-quietly-providing-ai-technology-for-drone-strike-targeting-project/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reported</a> on Tuesday.</p>
<p>Project Maven was launched in April 2017 to establish an <em>“Algorithmic Warfare Cross-Functional Team,”</em> which advocates using sophisticated algorithm-based technologies to combat rising <em>“competitors and adversaries”.</em></p>
According to a Pentagon <a href="http://dodcio.defense.gov/Portals/0/Documents/Project%20Maven%20DSD%20Memo%2020170425.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">memo</a>, dated April 26, 2017, its objective is to accelerate the process of using big data and machine learning together during combat situations and speed up the process of analyzing collected data. Former Secretary of Defense Robert Work signed off on the initiative.</div>
<div class="article__text text"><br/><p>Project Maven also aims to <em>“augment or automate Processing, Exploitation and Dissemination (PED) for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)”</em> in order to <em>“reduce the human factors burden of [full motion video] analysis, increase actionable intelligence, and enhance military decision-making,”</em> he wrote.</p>
<p>The Pentagon has become increasingly worried that it will become displaced as the world’s top AI developer. At a February 13 hearing, Senators Jack Reed (D-Rhode Island), Mark Warner (D-Virginia) and others <a href="https://www.rt.com/usa/418719-senate-intelligence-russia-china/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">lamented</a> Chinese efforts to develop artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing, leaving the US behind.</p>
<p>Another DOD <a href="https://www.defense.gov/Portals/1/Documents/pubs/DOD-USRM-2013.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">report</a>, <em>“Unmanned Systems Integrated Roadmap”</em>, notes that there are three primary impetuses driving the push towards AI, which are <em>“department budgetary challenges, evolving security requirements, and a changing military environment.”</em> The report reflects another US Government Accountability Office (GAO) report which addressed <a href="https://www.rt.com/usa/us-drone-pilots-exhausted-demoralized-512/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">problems</a> with human-piloted drones, including fatigue, human error, and demoralization.</p>
<p><em>“Downward economic forces will continue to constrain Military Department budgets for the foreseeable future. Achieving affordable and cost-effective technical solutions is imperative in this fiscally constrained environment,”</em> it also pointed out.</p>
<p><em>“People and computers will work symbiotically to increase the ability of weapon systems to detect objects,”</em> Marine Corps Colonel Drew Cukor said during a 2017 Defense One Tech <a href="http://www.defenseone.com/feature/defense-one-tech-summit-2017/#speakers" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">summit</a>. <em>“Eventually we hope that one analyst will be able to do twice as much work, potentially three times as much, as they’re doing now. That’s our goal.”</em></p>
<p>Cukor also mentioned the program would help to identify 38 classes of objects essential to detect in warfare, especially when <em>“fighting”</em> Islamic State militants. He also addressed <a href="https://www.defense.gov/News/Article/Article/1254719/project-maven-to-deploy-computer-algorithms-to-war-zone-by-years-end/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">plans</a> to carry out Project Maven by the end of last year.</p>
<p><em>“We are in an AI arms race […] It’s happening in industry [and] the big five Internet companies are pursuing this heavily. Many of you will have noted that Eric Schmidt […] is calling Google an AI company now, not a data company,”</em> he said.</p>
<p>Google is no stranger to the Department of Defense. Eric Schmidt, former CEO of its parent company Alphabet, <a href="http://innovation.defense.gov/Media/Biographies/Bio-Display/Article/1377390/dr-eric-schmidt/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">chaired</a> the DOD Defense Innovation Board under the Obama administration.</p>
<p>Some Google employees were outraged that the company would share its technology with the military, according to Gizmodo, while others said the project raised ethical questions about machine learning.</p>
<p>A company spokeswoman told Bloomberg that Google was sharing TensorFlow API with the military for <em>“non-offensive uses only.”</em></p>
<p><em>“Military use of machine learning naturally raises valid concerns. We’re actively discussing this important topic internally and with others,”</em> the unnamed spokeswoman said.</p>
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British Govt caught 'censoring' report that suggests it’s using drones to assassinate people
tag:12160.info,2018-02-07:2649739:Topic:1750329
2018-02-07T13:47:56.055Z
DTOM
https://12160.info/profile/DTOM
<h1 class="article__heading">Govt caught 'censoring' report that suggests it’s using drones to assassinate people</h1>
<div class="article__date">Published time: 6 Feb, 2018 11:09 Edited time: 7 Feb, 2018 08:53</div>
<div class="article__short-url"><div class="short-url"><p><a href="https://www.rt.com/uk/417985-drone-assassinate-defence-strike/">https://www.rt.com/uk/417985-drone-assassinate-defence-strike/…</a></p>
<a class="short-url__link" href="https://on.rt.com/8yip"></a></div>
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<h1 class="article__heading">Govt caught 'censoring' report that suggests it’s using drones to assassinate people</h1>
<div class="article__date">Published time: 6 Feb, 2018 11:09 Edited time: 7 Feb, 2018 08:53</div>
<div class="article__short-url"><div class="short-url"><p><a href="https://www.rt.com/uk/417985-drone-assassinate-defence-strike/">https://www.rt.com/uk/417985-drone-assassinate-defence-strike/</a></p>
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<div class="article__cover"><div class="media"><img class="media__item" src="https://cdni.rt.com/files/2018.02/article/5a79820bfc7e9394358b4567.jpg" alt="Govt caught 'censoring' report that suggests it’s using drones to assassinate people"/></div>
<div class="media__footer media__footer_bottom"><div class="media__title media__title_arcticle">© koto_feja / Getty Images</div>
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<div class="article__summary summary">The British Ministry of Defence (MoD) attempted to censor a document showing it has assassinated people outside of armed conflict zones using drones, it has been reported. The government is now under pressure to come clean.</div>
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<div class="article__text text"><p>The ministry removed a passage from its report on drone use, titled ‘Joint Doctrine,’ which was published in September 2017, according to <a href="https://www.thecanary.co/uk/2018/02/05/the-mod-is-caught-censoring-a-report-that-said-it-was-assassinating-people-around-the-world/">the Canary</a>. In the report, it acknowledged that critics have raised concerns about the legality of unmanned and remotely piloted aircraft missions and their potential for misuse.</p>
<div class="arcticle__read-more read-more"><div class="read-more__title">Read more</div>
<a class="read-more__link" href="https://www.rt.com/uk/414986-raf-drone-strike-ruling/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="read-more__cover" src="https://cdni.rt.com/files/2018.01/thumbnail/5a4e28a1fc7e93ce738b4567.jpg" alt="© Josh Smith"/> </a></div>
<div class="arcticle__read-more read-more"></div>
<div class="arcticle__read-more read-more"><a class="read-more__link" href="https://www.rt.com/uk/414986-raf-drone-strike-ruling/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span class="read-more__footer">Drone strikes cannot be hidden in total secrecy, tribunal tells British govt</span></a></div>
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<p>The MoD acknowledged it was targeting people outside of war zones, and said arguments against drones <em>“may also arise from the recent UK practice of targeting suspected terrorists outside of the armed conflict itself, and the meaning and application of a state’s right to self-defence.”</em></p>
<p>This passage was missing, however, in the updated doctrine that the department uploaded late last year. Scottish National Party (SNP) spokesperson Stewart McDonald wrote to the MoD in December about the issue.</p>
<p>Minister of State for the Armed Forces Mark Lancaster responded by saying that the September document contained <em>“erroneous drafting.”</em> He claimed the report had <em>“misleadingly”</em> noted that MoD policy was to use drone strikes outside of armed conflicts.</p>
<p>The head of human rights organization Reprieve said the government appears to be in <em>“complete chaos”</em> over the issue. Head of Reprieve’s Assassinations team Jen Gibson told the Canary: <em>“We had a long overdue, official document saying the government have a ‘practice’ of killing people outside of armed conflict zones.</em></p>
<p><em>“And now we have a minister claiming there is no policy at all and their own document was ‘misleading.’ The public has a right to know the government’s policy on taking lethal strikes in our name,”</em> she said.</p>
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<p>Leaks have revealed that drone strikes have an appalling record in terms of accuracy. During one five-month period of a US operation in Afghanistan, for example, nine out of 10 people killed in airstrikes were not the intended targets.</p>
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RIPSAW - The drone TANK that US Army bosses reveal has already been tested
tag:12160.info,2018-01-18:2649739:Topic:1745202
2018-01-18T15:25:55.325Z
DTOM
https://12160.info/profile/DTOM
<h1 id="ext-gen83">The drone TANK that could soon lead US troops into battle: Army bosses reveal robotank has already been tested</h1>
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<li class=""><font style="font-size: 1.4em;"><strong>Trials allowed tank to be controlled by soldier 1km behind</strong></font></li>
<li class=""><font style="font-size: 1.4em;"><strong>Could be sent first into highly dangerous areas</strong></font></li>
<li class=""><font style="font-size: 1.4em;"><strong>Tank can reload and…</strong></font></li>
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<h1 id="ext-gen83">The drone TANK that could soon lead US troops into battle: Army bosses reveal robotank has already been tested</h1>
<ul class="mol-bullets-with-font">
<li class=""><font style="font-size: 1.4em;"><strong>Trials allowed tank to be controlled by soldier 1km behind</strong></font></li>
<li class=""><font style="font-size: 1.4em;"><strong>Could be sent first into highly dangerous areas</strong></font></li>
<li class=""><font style="font-size: 1.4em;"><strong>Tank can reload and change weapons using specially developed systems </strong></font></li>
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<p class="mol-para-with-font"><font style="font-size: 1.2em;"> </font></p>
<p class="author-section byline-plain">By <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=&authornamef=Mark+Prigg+For+Dailymail.com" class="author" rel="nofollow">Mark Prigg For Dailymail.com</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/follow?screen_name=@markprigg&tw_p=followbutton" class="twitter-follow-author"></a></p>
<p class="byline-section"><span class="article-timestamp article-timestamp-published"><span class="article-timestamp-label">Published:</span> 19:58 GMT, 18 May 2015</span> | <span class="article-timestamp article-timestamp-updated"><span class="article-timestamp-label">Updated:</span> 08:20 GMT, 19 May 2015</span></p>
<p class="byline-section"><span class="article-timestamp article-timestamp-updated"><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3086753/The-drone-TANK-soon-lead-troops-battle-Army-bosses-reveal-robotank-tested.html">http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3086753/The-drone-TANK-soon-lead-troops-battle-Army-bosses-reveal-robotank-tested.html</a></span></p>
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<h1>‘The most obnoxious vehicle ever built': Ripsaw reveals special single seater, 1500 horsepower edition of its offroad 'sports tank'</h1>
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<li class=""><strong>Originally developed to help to avoid IEDs, has become a hit with car enthusiasts</strong></li>
<li class=""><strong>New single seater version has a hugely updated 1500 horsepower engine and improved suspension</strong></li>
</ul>
<p class="author-section byline-plain">By <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=&authornamef=Mark+Prigg+For+Dailymail.com" class="author" rel="nofollow">Mark Prigg For Dailymail.com</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/follow?screen_name=@markprigg&tw_p=followbutton" class="twitter-follow-author"></a></p>
<p class="byline-section"><span class="article-timestamp article-timestamp-published"><span class="article-timestamp-label">Published:</span> 19:39 GMT, 17 January 2018</span> | <span class="article-timestamp article-timestamp-updated"><span class="article-timestamp-label">Updated:</span> 00:29 GMT, 18 January 2018</span></p>
<p class="byline-section"><span class="article-timestamp article-timestamp-updated"><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5280847/Ripsaw-reveals-special-edition-sports-tank.html">http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5280847/Ripsaw-reveals-special-edition-sports-tank.html</a></span></p>
The Gremlins Program - DARPA Is Building A Flying Aircraft Carrier
tag:12160.info,2018-01-03:2649739:Topic:1741839
2018-01-03T01:06:26.742Z
DTOM
https://12160.info/profile/DTOM
<h1 class="page-title"><span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">DARPA Is Building A Flying Aircraft Carrier</span></h1>
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<div class="submission-wrapper"><div class="node__submitted"><div class="submitted-username">by <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><a href="https://www.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden">Tyler Durden…</a></span></div>
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<h1 class="page-title"><span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">DARPA Is Building A Flying Aircraft Carrier</span></h1>
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<div class="submission-wrapper"><div class="node__submitted"><div class="submitted-username">by <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><a href="https://www.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden">Tyler Durden</a></span></div>
<div class="submitted-datetime"><span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden">Tue, 01/02/2018 - 03:30</span></div>
<div class="submitted-datetime"><span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><a href="https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-01-01/darpa-building-flying-aircraft-carrier" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-01-01/darpa-building-flying-aircraft-carrier</a></span></div>
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<div class="node__content"><div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p><br/> The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency – more commonly known as DARPA – is moving ahead with a project to create <strong>a flying aircraft carrier.</strong> According to the Navy Times, <strong>the so-called “Gremlins” program involves building a transport and bomber-style aircraft capable of launching swarms of fighter drones mid-flight.</strong></p>
<p>Here’s the <a href="https://www.navytimes.com/newsletters/daily-news-roundup/2017/12/18/darpa-hopes-to-swarm-drones-out-of-c-130s-in-2019-test/">Navy Times:</a></p>
<blockquote><p><strong>The Defense Advanced Research Project Agency plans to demonstrate the ability to launch and recover swarms of drones from a C-130 sometime in 2019,</strong> according to statements by the agency and by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, one of two companies contracted to design prototype of the drones. The other is Dynetics.</p>
<p>The test would serve as a major leap into the next phase of testing for DARPA’s Gremlins program.</p>
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<p>Since drone warfare is such an important component of contemporary US foreign policy, DARPA is expected to begin testing the program next year. The initiative – which DARPA says is named after the imaginary, mischievous imps that became good luck charms for British pilots in WWII - is intended to give the military “improved operational flexibility at a much lower cost than is possible with today’s expensive, all-in-one platforms,” according to a DARPA statement.</p>
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<p><a href="https://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/2018.01.01navy.JPG"><img alt="Navy" src="https://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/2018.01.01navy.JPG" width="461" height="240"/></a></p>
<p>Once dispatched, the drones would be outfitted with different payloads in order to accomplish an assortment of missions, to include ISR, electronic warfare, signals intelligence and even kinetic effects.</p>
<blockquote><p><strong>“When the gremlins complete their mission, a C-130 transport aircraft would retrieve them in the air and carry them home, where ground crews would prepare them for their next use within 24 hours,”</strong> the DARPA statement reads.</p>
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<p>The program seeks to one day launch the drones from smaller fixed-wing fighter aircraft while still keeping those manned platforms out of the range of enemy air defenses. <strong>The program’s first phase concluded in March, and showed the program was not just feasible, but “would require minimal modification to the host aircraft,”</strong> said Scott Wierzbanowski, the DARPA program manager, in a statement.</p>
<p>During the second phase, DARPA hopes to have a preliminary design completed, which would enable it to finish preliminary designs for full-scale technology demonstrations, Wierzbanowski said.</p>
<p>Each drone would have a range of 300 nautical miles while carrying a 60-pound payload.</p>
<p>DARPA is incorporating commercial technology to drive down the cost of the gremlins. <strong>The goal is for each drone to cost less than $500,000.</strong></p>
<p>So far, there are two options for recovery systems. The first can be mounted on the wings of an aircraft, while the second is loaded in the cargo bay. DARPA wouldn’t say how many drones would fit on the aircraft’s wings.</p>
<p>The hope is that the gremlins could be reused up to about 20 times. In the end, the goal is for the drones to provide a cheaper alternative to larger aircraft platforms with heavier payloads and higher maintenance costs over their lifetimes.</p>
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Trump signs bill reinstating the FAA’s drone registration requirement
tag:12160.info,2017-12-13:2649739:Topic:1737473
2017-12-13T11:15:10.340Z
DTOM
https://12160.info/profile/DTOM
<h1 class="alpha tweet-title">Trump signs bill reinstating the FAA’s drone registration requirement</h1>
<div class="title-left"><div class="byline">Posted 15 hours ago by <a href="https://techcrunch.com/author/brian-heater/" rel="author" title="Posts by Brian Heater">Brian Heater</a> <span class="twitter-handle">(<a href="https://twitter.com/bheater" rel="external">@bheater</a>)…</span></div>
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<h1 class="alpha tweet-title">Trump signs bill reinstating the FAA’s drone registration requirement</h1>
<div class="title-left"><div class="byline">Posted 15 hours ago by <a href="https://techcrunch.com/author/brian-heater/" title="Posts by Brian Heater" rel="author">Brian Heater</a> <span class="twitter-handle">(<a href="https://twitter.com/bheater" rel="external">@bheater</a>)</span></div>
<div class="byline"><span class="twitter-handle"><a href="https://techcrunch.com/2017/12/12/trump-signs-bill-reinstating-the-faas-drone-registration-requirement/">https://techcrunch.com/2017/12/12/trump-signs-bill-reinstating-the-faas-drone-registration-requirement/</a></span></div>
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<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Back in late-2015, the Federal Aviation Administration introduced <a target="_blank" href="https://techcrunch.com/2015/12/21/the-faas-drone-registration-site-is-now-up-and-running/" rel="noopener">new rules</a> requiring owners of<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span> small drones to submit their devices to a database and attach a registration code to the side of the product. In May of this year, a judge in the D.C. Circuit shot down the rule, and the FAA began the process of returning the $5 registration fee. </span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Now the registry is back on, courtesy of a bill signed into law earlier today by President Trump. The reinstated rules were one small piece of the $700 billion National Defense Authorization Act, about which the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-signs-national-defense-authorization-act-live-stream/" rel="noopener">president reportedly said</a>, “We need our military, it’s gotta be perfecto.” Likely the bit about drone registration didn’t even register a blip on the president’s radar.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">In a statement to TechCrunch, an FAA spokesperson unsurprisingly gave the rules the thumbs up. “We welcome the reinstatement of registration rules for all small unmanned aircraft,” the FAA said. “Ownership identification helps promote safe and responsible drone operation and is a key component to full integration.”</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">The initial ruling was shot down this spring after the appeals court determined that the FAA didn’t have the authority to regulate model aircraft; 838,620 people registered drones in that first go-round. </span><span class="s1">The FAA anticipated that 2.3 million consumer drones would be sold this year in the U.S. alone, adding that it was going back to the drawing board with the regulation.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">“The FAA put registration and operational regulations in place to ensure that drones are operated in a way that is safe and does not pose security and privacy threats,” It said in a statement at the time. “We are in the process of considering our options and response to the decision.”</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">The <a target="_blank" href="https://registermyuas.faa.gov/" rel="noopener">registry</a> requires all drones weighing between 0.55 and 55 pounds be entered in the database. The full run down of rules <a target="_blank" href="https://www.faa.gov/uas/getting_started/" rel="noopener">can be found here</a>.</span></p>
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WATCH: Barack Obama Just Admitted to Killing Innocent Civilians with Hellish Drone Program
tag:12160.info,2016-04-05:2649739:Topic:1619206
2016-04-05T10:43:19.731Z
DTOM
https://12160.info/profile/DTOM
<h1 class="name post-title entry-title"><span>WATCH: Barack Obama Just Admitted to Killing Innocent Civilians with Hellish Drone Program</span></h1>
<p class="post-meta"><span class="post-meta-author"><a href="http://thefreethoughtproject.com/author/tftp/" title="">The Free Thought Project</a></span> <span class="tie-date">April 3, 2016…</span></p>
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<h1 class="name post-title entry-title"><span>WATCH: Barack Obama Just Admitted to Killing Innocent Civilians with Hellish Drone Program</span></h1>
<p class="post-meta"><span class="post-meta-author"><a href="http://thefreethoughtproject.com/author/tftp/" title="">The Free Thought Project</a></span> <span class="tie-date">April 3, 2016</span></p>
<p class="post-meta"><a href="http://thefreethoughtproject.com/watch-barack-obama-admitted-killing-innocent-civilians-hellish-drone-program/">http://thefreethoughtproject.com/watch-barack-obama-admitted-killing-innocent-civilians-hellish-drone-program/</a></p>
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<div class="article__summary summary"><a href="https://www.rt.com/usa/338132-obama-drones-civilian-casualties/" target="_blank">(RT)</a> — US President Barack Obama has said there is “no doubt” that innocent civilians have been killed in drone strikes worldwide, despite intelligence on the targets being “checked, double-checked, triple-checked.”</div>
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<div class="article__text text"><p>Drone warfare has become a symbol of post-9/11 wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and other countries. The Obama administration has continuously expanded the drone program over two presidential terms, drawing heavy criticism for the extent of civilian deaths – also known as <em>“collateral damage.”</em></p>
<p>Speaking at a press conference on Friday, President Obama was asked to comment on the rising death toll in US drone strikes in the Middle East and beyond.</p>
<p><em>“In the past, there was legitimate criticism that the legal architecture around the use of drone strikes wasn’t as precise as it should have been,”</em> he said, as cited by AP.</p>
<p><em>“There’s no doubt that civilians were killed that shouldn’t have been.</em></p>
<p><em>“In situations of war, you know, we have to take responsibility when we’re not acting appropriately,”</em> Obama added.</p>
<p>He claimed that, in general, the US military and CIA – the main drone operators – use <em>“vigorous criteria”</em> to gather the intelligence used in targeting, and that this intelligence is <em>“checked, double-checked, triple-checked before kinetic actions are taken.”</em></p>
<p>The president’s straightforward acknowledgment of civilian deaths caused by drone strikes stands out among his previous statements on the issue. To date, Washington has preferred to downplay public criticism by making formal apologies or denying any wrongdoing.</p>
<p>Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been actively utilized by the Pentagon and CIA for more than a decade of the so-called war on terror. At first, drones were used to gather aerial intelligence, but later turned into an effective remote-controlled weapon to eliminate high-value figures in Al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations.</p>
<p>However, drone strikes have never been a precision weapon. In one recent notorious case, two Serbian embassy workers abducted in Libya were killed in a February US airstrike on a suspected Islamic State training camp. The Pentagon, which saw the attack as <em>“very successful,”</em> denied any wrongdoing.</p>
<p>In January 2015, another drone strike in Pakistan killed two US citizens linked to Al-Qaeda, but also American development expert Warren Weinstein and Giovanni Lo Porto, an Italian aid worker.</p>
<p>In Pakistan alone, CIA drones strikes have killed nearly 2,400 people since 2004, according to a <a href="https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/2014/10/16/only-4-of-drone-victims-in-pakistan-named-as-al-qaeda-members/">report</a> by the London-based Bureau of Investigative Journalism. Despite US claims it just hits <em>“confirmed terrorist targets,”</em> only 84 of the victims have been named Al-Qaeda members.</p>
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Israeli drones are about to take over the world's skies
tag:12160.info,2016-03-16:2649739:Topic:1617191
2016-03-16T15:58:43.626Z
DTOM
https://12160.info/profile/DTOM
<h1>Israeli drones are about to take over the world's skies</h1>
<h1><span class="font-size-2"><a href="http://www.genesispartners.com/#/team/" target="_blank">Barak Rabinowitz, Venture Partner at Genesis Partners</a></span></h1>
<p><span class="font-size-2"><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/israel-the-land-of-drone-startups-2016-3">http://www.businessinsider.com/israel-the-land-of-drone-startups-2016-3…</a></span></p>
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<h1>Israeli drones are about to take over the world's skies</h1>
<h1><span class="font-size-2"><a target="_blank" href="http://www.genesispartners.com/#/team/">Barak Rabinowitz, Venture Partner at Genesis Partners</a></span></h1>
<p><span class="font-size-2"><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/israel-the-land-of-drone-startups-2016-3">http://www.businessinsider.com/israel-the-land-of-drone-startups-2016-3</a></span></p>
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<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/56e8aad952bcd024008b6951-1500-1125/airmule-drone.jpg" alt="UrbanAero Airmule drone"/><span class="source"><span>UrbanAero</span></span><span class="caption">UrbanAero AirMule drone</span></div>
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<p>Israel is by far the largest exporter of military drones in the world.</p>
<p>Take the AirMule from <a href="http://www.urbanaero.com/">UrbanAero</a>. It could have flown right off the pages of a Batman comic book.</p>
<p>Designed to take off and land vertically with up to 1,400 pounds of cargo and zip through the air at over 100mph, this drone is set to transport injured soldiers from urban war zones where standard helicopters simply cannot fly.</p>
<p>When it comes to military drones like the AirMule, Israel is by far the largest exporter in the world, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2015/mar/16/numbers-behind-worldwide-trade-in-drones-uk-israel">shipping over 61% of worldwide volumes</a>, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri).</p>
<p>But Israeli startups account for less than 1% of the $1.1 billion invested in commercial drone startups worldwide. Still, angel backed Israeli startups like <a href="http://www.flytrex.com/">Flytrex,</a> <a href="http://dronomy.com/">Dronomy</a> and <a href="http://www.percepto.co/">Percepto</a> are punching above their weight to tackle distinct segments of the drone market. <em>(Disclosure: I am not an investor in any of the companies mentioned in this article, nor is my company, Genesis Partners.)</em></p>
<h2>Drones that deliver</h2>
<p>Flytrex for instance, is a delivery drone startup getting ready to take on UPS, Fedex and DHL. The company is led by Yariv Bash, best known as the co-founder of SpaceIL – Israel’s entry for the Google XPrize to put a spacecraft on the moon.</p>
<p><span class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><span><span class="image on-image"><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/56e8ab6952bcd01d7b8b65be-1500-1125/flytrex.png" alt="Flytrex drone"/><span class="source"><span>Flytrex</span></span><span class="caption">Flytrex drone</span></span></span></span></p>
<p>Backed by Joey Low, the angel behind WeWork and Taboola, Flytrex has already sold $700,000 worth of connected devices for drones to track flight paths, weather conditions and statistics like speed and distance over the cloud.</p>
<p><span>Flytrex will </span>use the data it collects from these connected devices to build routes for autonomous drone deliveries, Bash says. Think of this like Waze maps for drones.</p>
<p>Flytrex is preparing to deliver everything from consumer goods to vaccines at a fraction of the time and cost of traditional ground delivery, and is currently in talks with design partners in emerging markets.</p>
<h2>Drones that can 'see'</h2>
<p>For drones to make the leap from gimmicks to mainstream services, experts agree the key is autonomy – or the ability for drones to fly beyond our direct line of sight and perform tasks automatically.</p>
<p><span class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><span><span class="image on-image"><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/56e8abc952bcd01d7b8b65bf-1251-938/dronomy.png" alt="Dronomy drone"/><span class="source"><span>Dronomy</span></span><span class="caption">Dronomy drone</span></span></span></span></p>
<p>Just as Google is investing heavily in autonomous capabilities for self driving cars, Dronomy is bringing similar obstacle detection and avoidance capabilities to drones.</p>
<p><span>Dronomy, b</span>acked by executives from Skype, offers an operating system that functions as a drone’s eyes and ears. It uses sensors to help drones avoid dangerous collisions with everything from birds to projectiles.</p>
<p>Founders Ori Afek and Guy Raz previously developed missile detection systems and advanced vision sensors for the Israel Defense Forces so they are well accustomed to any conditions a drone may encounter midair.</p>
<p>Another startup, Percepto, is using similar computer vision and sensor fusion technology to offer drones for the alternative energy sector.</p>
<p><span class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><span><span class="image on-image"><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/56e8ad6c52bcd05b008b698f-1500-1125/percepto%20module.jpg" alt="Percepto drone module"/><span class="source"><span>Percepto</span></span><span class="caption">The Percepto drone module</span></span></span></span></p>
<p>Backed by former Citibank and TimeWarner chairman Richard Parsons as well as billionaires Mark Cuban and Xu Xiapong, Percepto operates fleets of drones to autonomously fly and inspect huge windmills located literally in the middle of nowhere.</p>
<p>Other Israeli startups like AiRobotics and Parazero are still flying under the radar and pioneering methods to extend the distance of drone flights and land safely under any circumstances.</p>
<p>These companies claim demand is already outpacing supply for their enabling technologies that could play a key role in mainstream adoption and compliance with new regulations.</p>
<p>All of these startups are converting military expertise into commercial applications. While Israel's distance from the global giants has given them room to be wildly creative and kept valuations sensible for investors. Launching at the dawn of the drone age, we can expect this crop of Israeli startups and others to soon fly in a sky near you.</p>
<p><em>Barak Rabinowitz is a Venture Partner at Genesis Partners, a $600 million early stage Israeli venture capital fund.</em></p>
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<div id="categorypromo" style="border: 1px solid silver; min-height: 114px; padding: 4px;"><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/intelligence/research-store?IR=T&utm_source=House&utm_term=CtgrPr-Drones&utm_campaign=CtgrPr#%21/THE-DRONES-REPORT/p/47962272/category=11987294"><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/54f86d1a6bb3f7d9276eb46a-150/drones-4.png" style="float: left; margin-right: 8px;"/></a> <strong>Get THE DRONES REPORT now!</strong> Commercial drones are already a reality. <strong>BI Intelligence</strong> takes an in-depth look at the most important aspects, including market forecasts for commercial applications, regulatory process, and the leading players. <strong><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/intelligence/research-store?IR=T&utm_source=House&utm_term=CtgrPr-Drones&utm_campaign=CtgrPr#%21/THE-DRONES-REPORT/p/47962272/category=11987294">Get the Report Here »</a></strong></div>
Federal Judge May Release New Documents Related to Obama’s Targeted Assassination Program
tag:12160.info,2016-03-07:2649739:Topic:1616279
2016-03-07T11:37:51.147Z
DTOM
https://12160.info/profile/DTOM
<h1 class="entry-title">Federal Judge May Release New Documents Related to Obama’s Targeted Assassination Program</h1>
<p class="entry-meta"><span class="entry-meta-date updated"><a href="http://www.activistpost.com/2016/03/federal-judge-may-release-new-documents-related-to-obamas-targeted-assassination-program.html">http://www.activistpost.com/2016/03/federal-judge-may-release-new-documents-related-to-obamas-targeted-assassination-program.html…</a></span></p>
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<h1 class="entry-title">Federal Judge May Release New Documents Related to Obama’s Targeted Assassination Program</h1>
<p class="entry-meta"><span class="entry-meta-date updated"><a href="http://www.activistpost.com/2016/03/federal-judge-may-release-new-documents-related-to-obamas-targeted-assassination-program.html">http://www.activistpost.com/2016/03/federal-judge-may-release-new-documents-related-to-obamas-targeted-assassination-program.html</a></span></p>
<p class="entry-meta"><span class="entry-meta-date updated">March 6, 2016</span></p>
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<p><a href="http://www.activistpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/drone-assassination.jpg" rel="attachment wp-att-121543"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-121543" src="http://www.activistpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/drone-assassination.jpg" alt="drone-assassination" height="437" width="777"/></a>By <a href="http://truthinmedia.com/author/derrickbroze/">Derrick Broze</a></p>
<p>On Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Colleen McMahon <a href="https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/field_document/65._order_directing_government_to_produce_three_documents_2.25.16.pdf">ordered</a> the Obama Administration to hand over three documents related to the targeted assassination program for the court’s review and possible release to the public. The three documents relate to the law and policy that govern the controversial program.</p>
<p>Judge McMahon said she will give the government “time to vet opinions and orders for classification issues that might escape the notice of a reader of news media in which information that the Government considers to be classified routinely appears.”</p>
<p>The first document relates to the Presidential Policy Guidance, or PPG, “a classified record that sets out the law and policy that the government must follow when it carries out targeted killings,” according to the ACLU. President Obama issued the PPG in May 2013, but did not make the document public, instead only releasing some of its most <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/uploads/2013.05.23_fact_sheet_on_ppg.pdf">general standards</a>.</p>
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<p><a href="https://www.aclu.org/blog/speak-freely/court-considers-releasing-key-documents-governing-secretive-targeted-killing">The ACLU writes:</a></p>
<blockquote><p>Those vague standards raise as many questions as they answer: When does an individual pose a “continuing and imminent threat” to the United States? How does the government decide when capture of a target is “feasible”? What informs the government’s determination that there is a “near certainty that non-combatants will not be injured or killed”? As the government has described it, the PPG answers these questions. And as we’ve argued to the court, the government has no right to withhold this kind of document — one that regulates government officials by providing substantive and procedural rules that govern their actions — from the public.</p>
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<p>The other two documents are reports from the Department of Defense which were submitted to Congress in 2014. The two reports detail the legal and policy standards of the PPG, as well as an assessment of groups that the U.S. government is waging war against. The reports also explain the legal differences between “associated forces,” “affiliates,” and “adherents” of al-Qaeda.</p>
<p>The ACLU was provided these documents in the past, albeit heavily redacted versions, and is now seeking to learn more about what the Obama Administration is hiding.</p>
<p>Without being able to read the standards by which the U.S. government is running their lethal program the public will remain in the dark. The public also deserves to know under which legal authority the U.S. government believes it is operating.</p>
<p>The ACLU states that Judge McMahon indicated that “a final decision would likely arrive in the next several months.”</p>
<p>Interestingly, McMahon has previously called out the federal government for creating acts of terrorism. In the case of the “Newburgh Four” terrorists, <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/judge-men-convicted-bronx-synagogue-bomb-plot-25-years-prison-lambasts-government-article-1.125706">Judge McMahon wrote</a> that the FBI “created acts of terrorism out of his fantasies of bravado and bigotry, and then made those fantasies come true.”</p>
<p>The ACLU has also been fighting to uncover new information related to the Presidential Kill List, also known as the disposition matrix. The <em>Washington Post</em> first <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/plan-for-hunting-terrorists-signals-us-intends-to-keep-adding-names-to-kill-lists/2012/10/23/4789b2ae-18b3-11e2-a55c-39408fbe6a4b_story.html">reported</a> on the disposition matrix in 2012:</p>
<blockquote><p>Over the past two years, the Obama administration has been secretly developing a new blueprint for pursuing terrorists, a next-generation targeting list called the ‘disposition matrix.’</p>
<p>The matrix contains the names of terrorism suspects arrayed against an accounting of the resources being marshaled to track them down, including sealed indictments and clandestine operations. U.S. officials said the database is designed to go beyond existing kill lists, mapping plans for the ‘disposition’ of suspects beyond the reach of American drones.</p>
<p>Although the matrix is a work in progress, the effort to create it reflects a reality setting in among the nation’s counterterrorism ranks: The United States’ conventional wars are winding down, but the government expects to continue adding names to kill or capture lists for years.</p>
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<p>For the last four years, <em>New York Times</em> journalist Charlie Savage has waged a legal battle against the Obama administration, seeking to reveal the government’s legal justifications for assassinating terror suspects without a trial. Specifically, Savage sued the Obama administration in an attempt to obtain details about the murder of al-Qaeda affiliated cleric, Anwar al-Awlaki. Al-Awlaki was born in New Mexico and eventually found himself on the U.S. government’s radar under suspicion of terrorism.</p>
<p>On September 30, 2011, drones sent by the CIA and Joint Special Operations Command flew into Yemen and bombed al-Awlaki and al-Qaeda propagandist Samir Khan. The case drew public criticism not only because al-Awlaki was an American citizen, but because several weeks after his death, another American drone <a href="http://www.salon.com/2011/10/20/the_killing_of_awlakis_16_year_old_son/">killed</a> al-Awlaki’s 16-year-old son, Abdulrahman. He was also a U.S. citizen living in Yemen.</p>
<p>A 2014 <a href="https://www.aclu.org/legal-document/aclu-v-doj-foia-request-opinion">ruling by Second Circuit court</a> forced the release of a <a href="https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/assets/2014-06-23_barron-memorandum.pdf">memorandum</a> from the Office of Legal Counsel. The <em>New York Times</em> and the American Civil Liberties Union fought for the release of 11 other OLC memos, but the court protected 10 of them from release. The Times and the ACLU appealed the decision, but a three-judge panel from the Second Circuit recently <a href="http://theantimedia.org/court-obama-can-continue-assassination-program-in-secret-even-against-americans//">denied the release of the documents.</a></p>
<p>What this means is that the public continues to live in ignorance when it comes to understanding how the U.S. government is waging its War on Terror. The average U.S. citizen is likely unaware that the President operates a targeted assassination program and maintains a kill list. This is because the corporate media is doing their best to keep you in the dark.</p>
<p>However, we must remember that all truth eventually comes to light and the targeted drone assassination program and disposition matrix are no different. While the U.S. government would like to maintain a veil of secrecy over the American people— it is simply no longer feasible. The American people are waking up and with that new awareness tyrants will find it difficult to continue their march towards secrecy and control.</p>
<p><em>This article first appeared at Ben Swann’s <a href="http://truthinmedia.com/federal-judge-may-release-new-documents-related-to-obamas-targeted-assassination-program/">TruthInMedia.com</a>.</em></p>
<p><em>Derrick Broze is an investigative journalist and liberty activist. He is the founder of the <a href="http://TheConsciousResistance.com">TheConsciousResistance.com</a>. Follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/DBrozeLiveFree">Twitter</a>.</em></p>
So It Begins: American Police Start Pushing to Weaponize Domestic Drones
tag:12160.info,2016-03-04:2649739:Topic:1615893
2016-03-04T12:37:54.765Z
DTOM
https://12160.info/profile/DTOM
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<h1 class="entry-title">So It Begins: American Police Start Pushing to Weaponize Domestic Drones</h1>
<div class="entry-tags clearfix"><a href="http://www.activistpost.com/2016/03/so-it-begins-american-police-start-pushing-to-weaponize-domestic-drones.html">http://www.activistpost.com/2016/03/so-it-begins-american-police-start-pushing-to-weaponize-domestic-drones.html</a></div>
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<p class="entry-meta"><span class="entry-meta-date updated">March 2, 2016…</span></p>
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<h1 class="entry-title">So It Begins: American Police Start Pushing to Weaponize Domestic Drones</h1>
<div class="entry-tags clearfix"><a href="http://www.activistpost.com/2016/03/so-it-begins-american-police-start-pushing-to-weaponize-domestic-drones.html">http://www.activistpost.com/2016/03/so-it-begins-american-police-start-pushing-to-weaponize-domestic-drones.html</a></div>
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<p class="entry-meta"><span class="entry-meta-date updated">March 2, 2016</span></p>
<p><a href="http://www.activistpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/DroneProtest.png" rel="attachment wp-att-105531"><img class="size-full wp-image-105531 aligncenter" src="http://www.activistpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/DroneProtest.png" alt="DroneProtest" height="406" width="777"/></a>By <a href="http://theantimedia.org/american-police-start-pushing-to-weaponize-domestic-drones/">Claire Bernish</a></p>
<p>Police are now voicing their concerns about domestic drone use — specifically, they want the option to be able to employ weaponized drones in the future, should the need arise.</p>
<p>As if police brutality and aggression weren’t already an epidemic in the United States, police departments in Connecticut oppose a bill to outlaw the weaponization of drones. The bill also addresses unmanned aerial vehicles fitted with cameras, and their potential to violate the privacy rights of individuals. But law enforcement departments in the state appear far more concerned with being deprived of the possibility of arming them with weapons, rather than cameras.</p>
<p>As <a href="http://fox61.com/2016/03/01/police-appeal-to-lawmakers-for-future-options-on-arming-drones/">FOX 61 reported</a>, bills currently being considered would both restrict drone use and classify arming them with any weapons — such as firearms or flamethrowers — as a Class C felony. Employing drones to set off explosives, deadly weapons, tear gas, and the like would be <a href="http://fox61.com/2016/02/29/legislature-to-hold-hearing-on-weaponi/">punishable</a> by ten years in prison — and, at the moment, that would include law enforcement. As written, the bill would require law enforcement to procure a warrant prior to using a drone for any reason.</p>
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<p>Connecticut legislators seem to be taking practically the opposite route of those in North Dakota.</p>
<p>In 2015, North Dakota passed a law granting police the right to arm drones with “less than lethal” weaponry. Quietly slipping under the radar of the public and the media, the bill as originally written by its sponsor, Representative Rick Becker, banned all weapons on police drones — until a powerful police lobby had its way with the original draft.</p>
<p>“Bruce Burkett of the North Dakota Peace Officer’s Association was allowed by the state house committee to amend HB 1328 and limit the prohibition only to lethal weapons. ‘Less than lethal’ weapons like rubber bullets, pepper spray, tear gas, sound cannons, and Tasers are therefore permitted on police drones,” Justin Glawe <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/08/26/first-state-legalizes-armed-drones-for-cops-thanks-to-a-lobbyist.html">reported for The Daily Beast</a> in August.</p>
<p>Of course, ‘less than lethal’ is quite a misnomer. Besides maiming and seriously injuring people, many of those options can also be fatal — particularly Tasers.</p>
<p>“This is not one I’m in full agreement with. I wish it was <strong>any</strong> weapon,” Becker rued at a <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/08/26/first-state-legalizes-armed-drones-for-cops-thanks-to-a-lobbyist.html">hearing</a> in March. “In my opinion, there should be a nice, red line: <strong>Drones should not be weaponized.</strong> Period.”</p>
<p>He noted the potential for police to mimic U.S. use of drones abroad, as in fighting ISIL — particularly because, he added, “When you’re on the ground, and you’re making decisions, you’re sort of separate. Depersonalized.”</p>
<p>North Dakota may have succumbed to Big Drone’s wishes — as the Daily Beast described the booming industry and its lobbyists — but it’s almost inevitable that privacy rights groups, legislators, concerned citizens, and law enforcement will point to its and Connecticut’s laws as reference precedents. Depending on which turn the <a href="http://fox61.com/2016/02/29/legislature-to-hold-hearing-on-weaponi/">bills</a> before the Connecticut legislature take, that state could be added to what will likely be a growing list of laws for how to deal with weaponized drones.</p>
<p>Joining the battle to prevent police spying by drone, the ACLU was slated to testify about the Connecticut bill on Tuesday.</p>
<p>For now, the prospect of law enforcement arming drones remains a legal gray area — at least, in most areas of the U.S.</p>
<h3>Also Read:<br/> <a href="http://www.activistpost.com/2015/04/india-becomes-first-country-to-approve.html">India to Use Weaponized Drones For Crowd Control</a><br/> <a href="http://www.activistpost.com/2011/12/orwellian-non-lethal-war-waged-against.html">The Orwellian ‘Non-Lethal’ War Waged Against Peaceful Citizens</a><br/> <a href="http://www.activistpost.com/2015/08/5-things-you-need-to-know-about-this-weeks-drone-wars.html">5 Things You Need to Know About This Week’s Drone Wars</a></h3>
<p><em>This article (<a href="http://theantimedia.org/american-police-start-pushing-to-weaponize-domestic-drones/">So It Begins: American Police Start Pushing to Weaponize Domestic Drones</a>) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">Creative Commons</a> license with attribution to <a href="http://theantimedia.org/author/claireb1/">Claire Bernish</a> and <a href="http://theantimedia.org/about">theAntiMedia.org</a>. <a href="http://theantimedia.org/radio/">Anti-Media Radio</a> airs weeknights at 11pm Eastern/8pm Pacific. If you spot a typo, email <a href="mailto:edits@theantimedia.org" target="_blank">edits@theantimedia.org</a>.</em></p>