No one likes drones. The unmanned death machines float above Pakistani towns and Yemeni mountain ranges like hateful mechanised pterodactyls, seeming to destroy innocent civilians more often than they do their intended targets.
But it's not just killer war drones making us uncomfortable; this year has seen vast advances in the domestic use of surveillance drones, with the UK spending £2 million to police the skies above the G8 conference and the US approving their use for commercial purposes. In the post-Snowden landscape, many are understandably pissed off at the idea of their government flying cameras above their homes whenever they like, and some have decided to do something about it. One of those people is Philip Steel, from the town of Deer Trail, Colorado.
Philip has drafted an ordinance that aims to allow Deer Trail residents to shoot down drones, and actively reward them for doing so. The ordinance first came before the town committee in August and was stalled at a vote of 3-3 for and against. With a new vote set for October the 8th, the story has since gone viral, not least because the town clerk Kim Oldfield has said that she expects the ordinance to pass at the second election.
Even if Steel's calls for civil war, love of killer weapons and anti-Obama rhetoric make him seem like the kind of NRA-loving right-winger whose views would usually infuriate me, the prospect of a bunch of guys chasing drones around the Wild West with shotguns is kind of romantic. I gave Philip a call to learn more about his proposals. Full story...
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But it's not just killer war drones making us uncomfortable; this year has seen vast advances in the domestic use of surveillance drones, with the UK spending £2 million to police the skies above the G8 conference and the US approving their use for commercial purposes. In the post-Snowden landscape, many are understandably pissed off at the idea of their government flying cameras above their homes whenever they like, and some have decided to do something about it. One of those people is Philip Steel, from the town of Deer Trail, Colorado.
Philip has drafted an ordinance that aims to allow Deer Trail residents to shoot down drones, and actively reward them for doing so. The ordinance first came before the town committee in August and was stalled at a vote of 3-3 for and against. With a new vote set for October the 8th, the story has since gone viral, not least because the town clerk Kim Oldfield has said that she expects the ordinance to pass at the second election.
Even if Steel's calls for civil war, love of killer weapons and anti-Obama rhetoric make him seem like the kind of NRA-loving right-winger whose views would usually infuriate me, the prospect of a bunch of guys chasing drones around the Wild West with shotguns is kind of romantic. I gave Philip a call to learn more about his proposals. Full story...
Related posts:
- Domestic drones and their unique dangers...
- 10,000 drones in the sky by 2020...
- Students fear for privacy as universities apply for drone-flying permits...
- Lethal buzz: US Air Force developing insect-size drones...
- Spy drones to swarm over Britain by 2012?
- Congress OKs 30,000 flying drones spying on Americans across U.S. cities...
- Send in the drones: the predator state goes domestic...
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