Big Brother

[witness23]

Okay, so a couple of weeks ago my wifes family get's together on the golf course to celebrate father's day for her step dad. We're all having a friendly chat in the clubhouse over a couple of beers about nothing really except the friendly back and forth and who's coming back to the house for dinner, how's things going, jobs, social life, what's new, you know, friendly idle chit chat here and there.

I don't know why or how it even came up in conversation but my "Tea Party", "Don't Tread on Me", one of Beck's biggest fans, "Right-Wing" brother-in-law whom I love like a brother, literally out of nowhere say's to me, "You know big brother is out there watching." Now I know how maniacal my brother-in-law can be and since I hang out here in the soapbox where there are quite a few that match my brother-in-laws view on politics, nothing he can say is surprising unfortunately and he just likes to be confrontational like most "Tea-Baggers". This time it was different, I fealt like I was dealing with a unhinged, deranged person and had to tread lightly so that I wouldn't arouse him or make him angry.

He's been like this before but this time it was weird, I mean, the conversation around us had nothing to do with politics, Obama, the plight of the world, the sky is falling, how kid's are nowaday's, nothing like that at all. I did notice that he really didn't say it loud enough for other's to possibly join in on the conversation, but I entertained him and said, "No, how do you mean?"

Oh boy, I should've acted like I didn't hear him and ignored him. He starts talking about how police departments are buying and using drones to spy on people and how the government is all behind it. Then he say's, "Before you know it they'll be the size of golf balls "buzzing" around and asking you for your papers." I really thought he was kidding but no, he was dead serious. Then I happen along this little article from the Blaze.

After reading the article, watching the video and then reading the comments, I knew then why I had the awkward moment with my brother-in-law and why it all made sense. Scary. I wonder if anyone here in the soapbox also comment on The Blaze website. If you do, please share with us your I.D.

Did Party-Goers Spot a Miami-Dade Police Drone Spying on a Beach Party?

Link: YouTube Video Shows Drone Monitoring Miami Beach Memorial Day Party | Video | TheBlaze.com

Posted on June 25, 2012 at 11:54am by Liz Klimas


In 2011, the Miami-Dade Police Department received the first permit in Florida from the Federal Aviation Administration to operate unarmed drones as local law enforcement. The department was ready to unleash these drones earlier this year, but just what are they being used for? According to a video that’s surfaced recently, there’s talk at least one was spying on a beach party. But is that true?

The YouTube video raises the question of whether the drones are being used to monitor a Memorial Day weekend party on Miami beach. In the video, a party-goer spots the drone and says, “That’s the police.”

Is it, though? As previous media reports on the law enforcement drones note, such as one by the Miami New Times, the Miami drones are generally reserved for more drastic or potentially dangerous situations where monitoring with technology would be safer:

“We pretty much have to wait for a situation where we’ve got a shooter with a long rifle in a standoff,” says Sgt. Andrew Cohen, of the MDPD’s aviation unit. “That’s really the optimal situation we have to use this technology.”​

Cohen said in a separate occasion to NBC Miami that the drones would not be “sneaking up on someone” and only used in limited situations.

Additionally, the two drones acquired by the city through a 2009 grant — a system worth $200,000 — have been described as looking like an office wastebasket. The drone seen in the recent YouTube video appears slightly different, which is not to say it is or isn’t one used by law enforcement, but that it should be noted private citizens could have been the ones operating it. One commenter even says he thinks it is a private “hobby quadcopter.” That’s certainly possible, as The Blaze has also reported on instances where the media has used drones to capture aerial footage. and private use is on the rise.

With more law enforcement units investing in drone technology, the FAA was tasked this year to create new rules that would open up the sky by 2015 for more military, private and civilian drone use.

Watch this footage of the Miami-Dade Police Department testing out its drones:

Technology

Did Party-Goers Spot a Miami-Dade Police Drone Spying on a Beach Party?
Posted on June 25, 2012 at 11:54am by Liz Klimas Print »Email »
Comments (49)In 2011, the Miami-Dade Police Department received the first permit in Florida from the Federal Aviation Administration to operate unarmed drones as local law enforcement. The department was ready to unleash these drones earlier this year, but just what are they being used for? According to a video that’s surfaced recently, there’s talk at least one was spying on a beach party. But is that true?

(Related: Where are the 63 drone sites approved by the FAA in the U.S.?)

The YouTube video raises the question of whether the drones are being used to monitor a Memorial Day weekend party on Miami beach. In the video, a party-goer spots the drone and says, “That’s the police.”


Miami beach partygoers speculated this was a police drone, while others think it was a private, hobby drone. (Image: YouTube screenshot)
Is it, though? As previous media reports on the law enforcement drones note, such as one by the Miami New Times, the Miami drones are generally reserved for more drastic or potentially dangerous situations where monitoring with technology would be safer:

“We pretty much have to wait for a situation where we’ve got a shooter with a long rifle in a standoff,” says Sgt. Andrew Cohen, of the MDPD’s aviation unit. “That’s really the optimal situation we have to use this technology.”

Cohen said in a separate occasion to NBC Miami that the drones would not be “sneaking up on someone” and only used in limited situations.

Additionally, the two drones acquired by the city through a 2009 grant — a system worth $200,000 — have been described as looking like an office wastebasket. The drone seen in the recent YouTube video appears slightly different, which is not to say it is or isn’t one used by law enforcement, but that it should be noted private citizens could have been the ones operating it. One commenter even says he thinks it is a private “hobby quadcopter.” That’s certainly possible, as The Blaze has also reported on instances where the media has used drones to capture aerial footage. and private use is on the rise.



This drone was shown being tested by the Miami police. (Image: NBC Miami screenshot)
With more law enforcement units investing in drone technology, the FAA was tasked this year to create new rules that would open up the sky by 2015 for more military, private and civilian drone use.

Watch this footage of the Miami-Dade Police Department testing out its drones:



Here is video footage of what was allegedly a police drone taken over a Memorial Day beach party in Miami (Note: The drone makes about a short appearance at 3:30 into the clip. The majority of the clip focuses on bikini-clad partygoers and fancy cars cruising the strip):

 

[Turtle]

The story at The Blaze is pretty lame, typical paranoid nutjob type stuff. The stories from reputable sources that talk of these drones, who is applying for FAA approval and buying them, those stories are much scarier. Much scarier.