Drone Surveillance in Houston

[chump]

I was trying to find a thread to put this in and I probably overlooked it. I thought it was interesting; via WRH:

http://eclipptv.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=9305

[elfismiles]

Hiya Chump,

In 2002 I witnessed from my front yard a drone aircraft flying over South/Central Austin. No lights, no sound and because of its height I could see no markings. It appeared to be greyish black and following main roadways.

Then in 2007 I began to read reports that Houston was "secretly" experimenting with drones for police surveillance and even for traffic / speeding ticketing:

Unmanned Drone On L.I. Sparks Terror Investigation (videos)
By Jonathan Dienst / August 22, 2008
http://www.wnbc.com/news/17266645/detail.html
http://video.wnbc.com/player/?id=287130

UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS
Federal Actions Needed to Ensure Safety and Expand Their Potential Uses within the National Airspace System
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d08511.pdf

Report Finds New Concerns For Police Use Of Drone Aircraft
Click 2 Houston.com, TX – 14 hours ago
Houston police say drones are still being studied with FAA and they are far from beginning patrols with the aircraft.
http://www.click2houston.com/investigat ... etail.html

Houston Police Work To Address Drone Safety Concerns
December 6, 2007
http://www.click2houston.com/investigat ... etail.html

Pilots Worry HPD Drones Could Cause Danger In Air
December 5, 2007
http://www.click2houston.com/investigat ... etail.html

Local 2 Investigates Police Secrecy Behind Unmanned Aircraft Test (video gone)
By Stephen Dean / November 21, 2007
http://www.click2houston.com/investigat ... etail.html

CNN: ‘Houston police use drone planes’ Katie Baker (video)
Published: Sunday November 25, 2007
http://rawstory.com/news/2007/CNN_Houst ... _1124.html

AOPA renews call for UAV regulations
http://www.aopa.org/advocacy/articles/2 ... 26uav.html

More UAV Flights For Law Enforcement In US Airspace Planned
Other Unauthorized Flights Reported Following Houston Incident
http://www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?Cont ... f44247babc

Houston, Texas to Deploy UAV Speeding Ticket Drones
Nov 23, 2007 … Unmanned spy planes could issue speeding tickets in Houston, Texas by June 2008.
http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/20/2084.asp

Houston Police Department Drone in Iraq – Insight UAV
Nov 28, 2007 … The company that built a UAV for an FAA-approved test in Texas has confirmed that the model was the Insight, a 44-pound, long-endurance …
http://www.popularmechanics.com/science ... 34272.html

Civilian UAVs: Five More Unmanned Aircraft
By Erin McCarthy / Illustrations by Transluszent.de
Published in the April 2007 issue.
Bell Eagle Eye:
http://www.popularmechanics.com/science ... tml?page=2
Killer Bee: (video)
http://www.popularmechanics.com/science ... tml?page=3

Then in 2008 we learned of Predator drones being used to map the Texas coast before the approaching hurricane:

Predator drone being used to map hurricane damage | AP Texas News
Sep 5, 2008 … An unmanned drone equipped with sophisticated radar capabilities that’s normally used … Houston residents get what they need to stay or go …
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/5986181.html

In the wake of learning about the coastal drones my co-host Mack White spoke with someone close to him about their strange Predator Drone sighting over Round Rock, Texas neighborhood:

PsiOp Radio 56 – 080916
http://psiopradio.com/media/2008/PsiOp% ... 080916.mp3

PsiOp Radio: Spy Drone Over Austin?



PsiOp Radio returns tonight, live, with an exclusive report: two eyewitnesses have reported to me that last night at 3 am a strange aircraft matching the description of a Predator drone was seen circling over north Austin. My co-host SMiles Lewis and I will discuss the details of this disturbing incident, as well as a bunch of other news stories tonight starting at 7 pm CDT / 0100 UTC. The show is two hours long and is carried on Anomaly Radio and Revere Radio. Don’t miss it, and be sure to call in. We’d love to hear from you …

posted by Mack White at 5:08 PM
http://mackwhite.blogspot.com/2008/09/p ... -over.html

[chump]

From my observations, revelations like this don't usually come out in the news until many years after the fact. I remember hearing about drones along the Texas border, but to use them to hand out speeding tickets, etc? It sounds like Houston has been gearing up for a long time.

I know how it is in the Lone Star State though. (I grew up in Dallas before I moved to Colorado, and have been back to visit a number of times.) There always seems to be a lot of cops. It used to make me paranoid. I guess ya'll were ahead of your time.

I haven't seen or heard any mention of drones in operating Colorado, but it wouldn't surprize me. They just haven't told us yet. I'm waiting for the day that I get a speeding ticket from a drone. That's my guess as to why the authorities are prepping Houstonians in the media.

Thanks for the links.

[82_28]

From my observations, revelations like this don't usually come out in the news until many years after the fact. I remember hearing about drones along the Texas border, but to use them to hand out speeding tickets, etc? It sounds like Houston has been gearing up for a long time.

I know how it is in the Lone Star State though. (I grew up in Dallas before I moved to Colorado, and have been back to visit a number of times.) There always seems to be a lot of cops. It used to make me paranoid. I guess ya'll were ahead of your time.

I haven't seen or heard any mention of drones in operating Colorado, but it wouldn't surprize me. They just haven't told us yet. I'm waiting for the day that I get a speeding ticket from a drone. That's my guess as to why the authorities are prepping Houstonians in the media.

Thanks for the links.

I can speak with first hand knowledge, speaking of Colorado, don't even have so much as a single beer and think you won't be targeted anywhere in suburban Denver, walking or driving. They used to "pull me over" for walking home from the bar back in the day. Doncha know, streets aren't meant to be walked down? Arapahoe county is crazy for their hero cops. Back when Patrick Sullivan was running the show it made me think of Maricopa county and that insane fascist that handles the crime profiteering biz down there, whatever his name is. And you know, I always envisioned Dallas to be not much different.

No triangulatory details, chump, but where do you hail from in the old 303? I moved out of Littleton just as Harris and Klebold were putting it on the map.

[Hugo Farnsworth]

I remember the hubbub in Houston when this got aired. As for the D-FW area, expect them soon.

[chump]

From my observations, revelations like this don't usually come out in the news until many years after the fact. I remember hearing about drones along the Texas border, but to use them to hand out speeding tickets, etc? It sounds like Houston has been gearing up for a long time.

I know how it is in the Lone Star State though. (I grew up in Dallas before I moved to Colorado, and have been back to visit a number of times.) There always seems to be a lot of cops. It used to make me paranoid. I guess ya'll were ahead of your time.

I haven't seen or heard any mention of drones in operating Colorado, but it wouldn't surprize me. They just haven't told us yet. I'm waiting for the day that I get a speeding ticket from a drone. That's my guess as to why the authorities are prepping Houstonians in the media.

Thanks for the links.

I can speak with first hand knowledge, speaking of Colorado, don't even have so much as a single beer and think you won't be targeted anywhere in suburban Denver, walking or driving. They used to "pull me over" for walking home from the bar back in the day. Doncha know, streets aren't meant to be walked down? Arapahoe county is crazy for their hero cops. Back when Patrick Sullivan was running the show it made me think of Maricopa county and that insane fascist that handles the crime profiteering biz down there, whatever his name is. And you know, I always envisioned Dallas to be not much different.

No triangulatory details, chump, but where do you hail from in the old 303? I moved out of Littleton just as Harris and Klebold were putting it on the map.

I am about two degrees separated from two people who were profoundly affected by the shooting at Columbine. My older brother used to talk regularly with Klebold's mother. He described her as a sweetheart. (Whatever. I never met her) But I'll never forget when I sat and listened to a Denver SWAT team member (we regularly ate at the same north Denver restaurant) as he mesmerized a group of us with what he experienced at the school the week before on the day of the shooting. He described how his team searched inside the school. The sprinklers were all on and the alarrms were blaring as they sloshed through the water expecting another bomb to explode or for someone to start shooting. They didn't know how many shooters there were.

That part of Littleton has been described as an "intelligence community" by the author of a website called Columbineconspiracy which my cable Internet provider informs me is no longer available. As most RI'ers probably know here, Columbine is a spooky, spooky story. But other than what I've read, that's all I know.

I don't live in Littleton, but I could ride my bike there as easily as I can and do ride my bike to North Denver and beyond. I have done various types of construction throughout the front range for the last thirty years. I've met a lot of people here and I know the the area well. I was born in Denver on a blustery three dog night back in the same year DDE was elected president. I've lived here all of my life except for the 11 years that I lived in Dallas; going to eleven different schools before I finally got my GED back in Denver.

[82_28]

Oh Jesus. The first person I met at my friend's bachelor party a couple years ago was Rachel's brother. My best friend is good friends with him. I got one degree. (No more details insofar as not giving search engines data)

[Uncle $cam]

Parrot AR.Drone : Augmented Reality Video Games Demo (HD version)


AR.Drone : The First quadricopter that can be controlled by iPhone and iPod touch. Learn more on http://www.parrot.com/parro...


Yay! make it a fun corporate police state and the youngun's will embrace it. Reminds me of a recent cartoon, I unfortunately didn't grab, which depicted people rushing to an airport scanner with the caption saying something like, "slap an 'apple'© logo on it and people will flock to it.' Augmented Reality or Psycho-neuro-reality of the State, a generated consciousness of syntactic transformation. STATE consensus crimes. State Apparatuses. Like something out of a PKD novel.

Until now all human history has been only a perpetual and bloody immolation of millions of poor human beings in honour of some pitiless abstraction -- God, country, power of state, national honour, historical rights, judicial rights, political liberty, public welfare. -
Mikhail Bakunin, God and the State, p. 59

[elfismiles]

Clean, quiet eye in the sky
Winnipeg Free Press - Barry Prentice - ‎Jan 5, 2010‎
... but in UAV mode they can loiter or traverse areas of interest for more than 24 hours. The Moscow police have proven that airship technology can operate ...
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinio ... 85312.html

Border Agencies to Fly Maritime Unpiloted Aircraft in Caribbean
National Defense Magazine - Stew Magnuson - ‎Dec 14, 2009‎
Along with patrolling the border, the UAVs have been used in humanitarian missions as well, such as the Red River floods last year in North Dakota. ...
http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/ ... bbean.aspx

Will a robot be the next great humanitarian?
MinnPost.com - William Dowell - ‎Jan 6, 2010‎
Draganfly, a Canadian company based in Saskatchewan, produces several light UAV (un-manned aerial vehicles) that can carry a small TV camera. ...
http://www.minnpost.com/globalpost/2010 ... manitarian

WallstreetStockReview.com MNDP Subsidiary in New Partnership
India Business Blog (blog) - ‎Jan 6, 2010‎
COM, January 06, 2010 ) Del Mar, CA MNDP subsidiary, Airstar is in business with Altitude Inc. to supply UAV's and services for geological survey for the ...
PINK:MNDP
http://trak.in/india/wallstreetstockrev ... omy-48389/

[elfismiles]

Local development agency looks to hire full-time UAV coordinator
Grand Forks Herald - Kevin Bonham - ‎Jan 6, 2010‎
A recent survey indicated the Grand Forks region has 72 people working in the unmanned aerial system field, from education to law enforcement and private ...
http://www.grandforksherald.com/event/a ... id/146742/

Airplanes are still a vital tool in law enforcement
Police News - ‎Dec 14, 2009‎
That is hardly the case, as airplanes are still extensively used in a wide range of airborne law enforcement operations. Helicopters are excellent law ...
http://www.policeone.com/airborne-marit ... forcement/

[Uncle $cam]

The Predator War: What are the risks of the C.I.A.’s covert drone program?
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009 ... fact_mayer

by Jane Mayer

On August 5th, officials at the Central Intelligence Agency, in Langley, Virginia, watched a live video feed relaying closeup footage of one of the most wanted terrorists in Pakistan. Baitullah Mehsud, the leader of the Taliban in Pakistan, could be seen reclining on the rooftop of his father-in-law’s house, in Zanghara, a hamlet in South Waziristan. It was a hot summer night, and he was joined outside by his wife and his uncle, a medic; at one point, the remarkably crisp images showed that Mehsud, who suffered from diabetes and a kidney ailment, was receiving an intravenous drip.

The video was being captured by the infrared camera of a Predator drone, a remotely controlled, unmanned plane that had been hovering, undetected, two miles or so above the house. Pakistan’s Interior Minister, A. Rehman Malik, told me recently that Mehsud was resting on his back. Malik, using his hands to make a picture frame, explained that the Predator’s targeters could see Mehsud’s entire body, not just the top of his head. “It was a perfect picture,” Malik, who watched the videotape later, said. “We used to see James Bond movies where he talked into his shoe or his watch. We thought it was a fairy tale. But this was fact!” The image remained just as stable when the C.I.A. remotely launched two Hellfire missiles from the Predator. Authorities watched the fiery blast in real time. After the dust cloud dissipated, all that remained of Mehsud was a detached torso. Eleven others died: his wife, his father-in-law, his mother-in-law, a lieutenant, and seven bodyguards.

Pakistan’s government considered Mehsud its top enemy, holding him responsible for the vast majority of recent terrorist attacks inside the country, including the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, in December, 2007, and the bombing, last September, of the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad, which killed more than fifty people. Mehsud was also thought to have helped his Afghan confederates attack American and coalition troops across the border. Roger Cressey, a former counterterrorism official on the National Security Council, who is now a partner at Good Harbor, a consulting firm, told me, “Mehsud was someone both we and Pakistan were happy to see go up in smoke.” Indeed, there was no controversy when, a few days after the missile strike, CNN reported that President Barack Obama had authorized it.

However, at about the same time, there was widespread anger after the Wall Street Journal revealed that during the Bush Administration the C.I.A. had considered setting up hit squads to capture or kill Al Qaeda operatives around the world. The furor grew when the Times reported that the C.I.A. had turned to a private contractor to help with this highly sensitive operation: the controversial firm Blackwater, now known as Xe Services. Members of the Senate and House intelligence committees demanded investigations of the program, which, they said, had been hidden from them. And many legal experts argued that, had the program become fully operational, it would have violated a 1976 executive order, signed by President Gerald R. Ford, banning American intelligence forces from engaging in assassination.

more@link

[General Patton]

Man, when they start running them in DFW I'm so going to see about getting access to the video feeds. It's usually not too hard to break closed-source security systems. Get a birds eye view of traffic in style before I leave. Awesome.

[82_28]

Thing is, what are these "drones" surveilling? Most people I know, like me, merely walk down the street, go to where we're going and then go back. Our cellphones and Internet fingerprints are already out there in the wild. While we walk around, we worry about those we love, worry about our "jobs", say hi to people, think about what we want for dinner etc etc.

It seems this drone bullshit is nothing more than that -- bullshit. Somebody is stepping up and saying we are here and you will be going down before we do. Merely projection of power. An assertion of oh, I dunno, an illegitimate authority that has never existed, only the perception of such.

[General Patton]

Thing is, what are these "drones" surveilling?

That's why you check the feeds man. And get some popcorn. Besides, if it's anything like the governments other measures, it'll bring in so much information that most of it won't be of any damned use at all and they won't be able to tell the difference between the useful and not useful. Unless of course they need to disrupt a protest, then they'll be out in full force.

[elfismiles]

The Houston Police Drones Meme is spreading.

Here is a recent news article adds nothing new but rehashes the November 2007 news reports that Mack and I covered back when the story broke.

http://newsjunkiepost.com/2010/01/08/do ... iscovered/
http://www.infowars.com/domestic-espion ... iscovered/