Invisible US death machines spy on Canadians from the air
With the blessing of the Harper government, the United States will start operating unmanned Predator drone flights tomorrow from Grand Forks, N.D. to spy on Canadians from the air. The drone is equipped with high-definition sensors that can spot an object as far as 35 kilometres away, and will fly as close as 15 km to the Canadian border, giving it the ability to spy on everyone and anything in Canada within 20 km of the border. The drones are invisible to people on the ground.
Four more border locations will be used later for operation of a fleet of the drones.
So far, the Predator drones are unarmed, but they are the same devices used by the US to launch illegal missile strikes from Afghanistan against alleged terrorist targets in Pakistan.
How long will it be before the US declares its "right" to kill suspected "terrorists" in Canada by similar means?
Equipped with radar and optical sensors, the Predators are capable of flying up to 260 miles per hour at altitudes up to 50,000 feet for more than 18 hours.
The drones are operated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. They transmit their images and data to operators who can alert border agents on the ground.
Operators of the border agency's fully loaded, $10.5 million Predators use the drones' radar imaging and infrared capabilities to "light" a target at night with a laser visible only through the night-vision goggles of helicopter crews who intercept some of the people crossing the Mexican border. Source
The drones are invisible to people on the ground.
Damn those cloaking devices.
______________________________________________________________________________________________ We are like cloaks, one thinks of us only when it rains.
Homeland Stupidity feds wanna make sure we're not dumping softwood in America as per free trade access to their markets?
Reported two months ago here:
Drone planes to begin on Canada US border.
Why are you calling unarmed drones "death machines"? How are they going to kill people? Fly into them?
_______________________________________
Eleutherophobics of the World...Unite!!!
I don't know Sven. How about we listen to your reaction had the situation been reversed. Perhaps we could fly war planes over the US, for a little spying.
What, it wouldn't go over well? It wouldn't be what the American people want? Respect us, and we'll respect you, and this is no sign of respect. We are not a dumping ground for the US' war play toys. Period.
I don't know Sven. How about we listen to your reaction had the situation been reversed. Perhaps we could fly war planes over the US, for a little spying.
Oh. The drones are flying in Canadian airspace? The article did not make that clear.
Quote from the OP:
"The drone is equipped with high-definition sensors that can spot an object as far as 35 kilometres away, and will fly as close as 15 km to the Canadian border, giving it the ability to spy on everyone and anything in Canada within 20 km of the border. The drones are invisible to people on the ground."
I know, the american military would NEVER spy on Canada.
What choice does Canada have seeing as these drones are not intruding over Canada's air space?
I don't know Sven. How about we listen to your reaction had the situation been reversed. Perhaps we could fly war planes over the US, for a little spying.
What, it wouldn't go over well? It wouldn't be what the American people want? Respect us, and we'll respect you, and this is no sign of respect. We are not a dumping ground for the US' war play toys. Period.
I didn't say anything about the drones not being "spy machines". Rather, I was asking why an unarmed drones were called "death machines".
_______________________________________
Eleutherophobics of the World...Unite!!!
What choice does Canada have seeing as these drones are not intruding over Canada's air space?
And, as far as "spying" goes, the US has had "spy satellites" covering the world, including Canada, for many decades.
_______________________________________
Eleutherophobics of the World...Unite!!!
Isnt Canada using similar drones in Afghanistan?
Why are you calling unarmed drones "death machines"? How are they going to kill people? Fly into them?
It's a far bigger step, in term of logistics, to deploy these drones, than to take the additional (small) step of adding weapons to them.
Given the usage history of these devices, I am concerned that they might be deployed over the Continental US, and to hear that they have been deployed over Canada.
The organizations that typically deploy these war-toys have a long history of not being concerned about people's health.
It's basically a flying gun with infrared & daylight cameras attached - but no bullets - yet.
As far as the kind of infrared cameras - for example
http://www.l-3com.com/seo/products/mx12.htm
http://www.irconnect.com/noc/press/pages/news_releases.html?d=42683
There was a blog article about a year and a half ago about these war toys being deployed in a base near Yuba City (near Lake Tahoe, Ca & Nevada).
I look to the hobbyists known as plane-spotters (who did some key work regarding CIA renditions, amateurs though they may be) to provide more info.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
http://LASIK-Flap.com ~ Health Warning about LASIK Eye Surgery
No. The Canadian drones are windup devices with limited range.
But maybe we're one up on the days when B52s with Dr. Strangelove bomb loads flew to the Arctic and back, always a few in the air. Used to watch them fly up the Moisie River valley near you, Boom Boom - 1959-60.
Farley Mowat got on the U.S. deep dung list (no humour there), for saying he fired his .22 at them eight miles up(he's changed the story lately to say it was a shotgun - but that's our Farley).
And I guess these death dealers don't do bad weather. Something about thermal detectors not worth a fart in rain, cloud, fog, snow. Doesn't sound like they're built for Canadian weather, really. Only deserts.We're safe for the time being.
It's up to USA citizens to protest if they do not like them over the USA, but the news report did not say they were being deployed over Canada.
It's a far bigger step, in term of logistics, to deploy these drones, than to take the additional (small) step of adding weapons to them.
Hmmm. I'm not sure it's that big of a deal to "deploy" the drones. All that is happening is that they are sent up in the air from Grand Forks. In other words, I'm not sure it's any more difficult to "deploy" the drones than to take the additional step of arming them.
Besides, if Canadians are concerned about the US military firing missles from drones (thus turning them into "death machines"), the US military could do that just as easily today with cruise missles and, near as I can tell, no one in Canada is up in arms (pun intended) about the U.S. having the ability to launch cruise missles into Canada.
_______________________________________
Eleutherophobics of the World...Unite!!!
This is a picture of a death machine:
Is it loaded with ammo? Does that make a difference as to whether it is a death machine?
Maybe you could advise your military in Afghanistan that they are wasting their time using Predator drones to kill Pakistanis, when they could just as easily be using cruise missiles for the same purpose. I'm sure they will slap their foreheads and thank you for your insight.
No. And if I didn't have a couple of cousins down that way, having the border hermetically sealed would be ok too. The cruise missile was first tested over Canadian territory (the Yukon) and I have never forgiven Stephen Lewis who, as Canadian ambassador to U.N. (a Mulroney appointee), did not object.
They were hard times - and yeah, I guess he's forgiven.
It's up to USA citizens to protest if they do not like them over the USA, but the news report did not say they were being deployed over Canada.
Maybe you missed these points:
1. The whole purpose of using these drones is to spy on movement of people and things along the Canadian side of the border. They want to spot the "terrorists" before they get onto US soil.
2. The technology is such that they do not need to fly directly over Canada in order to spy on Canada.
3. In the event of hostilities, what makes you think the US will respect Canadian air space? They certainly don't in Pakistan.
4. The whole program is a testing ground for the improvement of surveillance technology, that will provide useful data to allow the development of even more powerful tools for Big Brother to watch you.
5. Your government doesn't give a shit because they are allied with the US government against you.
This is a picture of a death machine:
Is it loaded with ammo? Does that make a difference as to whether it is a death machine?
I suppose, using your definition, a commercial airliner is a "death machine" because it could potentially be used as a weapon. Likewise, a butcher's knife is a "death machine" in the wrong hands.
I'm just saying that applying the term "death machine" to these drones is to hyperventilate with hyperbole.
_______________________________________
Eleutherophobics of the World...Unite!!!
3. In the event of hostilities, what makes you think the US will respect Canadian air space? They certainly don't in Pakistan.
Yep. Canada is just like Pakistan. :rollyeyes:
_______________________________________
Eleutherophobics of the World...Unite!!!
I didn't say Canada is just like Pakistan. But there are some similarities.
We both share borders with countries that are occupied by US armed forces.
We are both eyed with suspicion by the US government as safe havens for "terrorists".
We both have governments that are compliant allies of the US and wouldn't dare compalin about these assaults on our privacy and sovereignty.
We are both of geopolitical strategic importance to US imperialism, and any attempt to break out of the griop of US imperialism will be met with threats and hostility.
Besides, if the US doesn't respect the air space of Pakistan, why would it feel compelled to respect the air space of anyone else? It's not as if they have never violated the air space of dozens of countries - even when not officially "at war" with them.
I didn't say Canada is just like Pakistan. But there are some similarities.
I wouldn't say that a lamb and a grizzly bear are identical, but there are some eerie similarities:
They both have four legs.
They are both mammals.
Neither of them can fly.
Both are inferior killing machines relative to humans.
So, yeah, I can understand why Canada should be just as concerned about the U.S. military as Pakistan.
_______________________________________
Eleutherophobics of the World...Unite!!!
I guess we will have to have our wedding parties at least twenty miles inside our border. Poor Niagara Falls, it could mean a serious loss of revenue for them.
Would be funn to drive up to the border with a few aluminum tubes strapped to the roof racks.
Speaking of Niagara Falls.
I visited Niagara on the Lake a year or so ago. From Canadian soil, you can *see into the United States and spy on everyone there* . . . within a couple of hundred meters.
I suppose if you stood amongst the trees, you would also be invisible.
Of course, people are also capable of being armed.
I wonder when M. Spector is going to make a hysterical thread to the effect that "Invisible Canadian death machines spy on the U.S. from the ground"?
I don't have a problem with MS's OP. I think Harper's gov't is in complicity with the US on the question of "homeland security" on the Canadian side of the border - I believe Harper and crew would love to see arrests on the Canadian side attributed to the spy efforts of these US drones, as a prelude to Canada launcing its own drones all along the border and elsewhere. The govt probably sees these things as cheap and more effective security, and also as effective for spying on our civillian hotspots, and probably the vast expanses of the north as well, including the Northern Passage. We probably don't have enough planes as it is to do regular and routine surveillance along our impossibly long coastlines and maybe the govt will use drones there as well.
The MQ-1's primary mission is interdiction and conducting armed reconnaissance against critical, perishable targets. When the MQ-1 is not actively pursuing its primary mission, it acts as the Joint Forces Air Component Commander-owned theater asset for reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition in support of the Joint Forces commander.
Features
The MQ-1 Predator is a system, not just an aircraft. A fully operational system consists of four aircraft (with sensors), a ground control station, a Predator Primary Satellite Link, or PPSL, along with operations and maintenance crews for deployed 24-hour operations.
The basic crew for the Predator is one pilot and two sensor operators. They fly the aircraft from inside the ground control station via a line-of-sight data link or a satellite data link for beyond line-of-sight flight. The aircraft is equipped with a color nose camera (generally used by the pilot for flight control), a day variable-aperture TV camera, a variable-aperture infrared camera (for low light/night), and other sensors as the mission requires. The cameras produce full-motion video.
The MQ-1 Predator carries the Multi-spectral Targeting System which integrates electro-optical, infrared, laser designator and laser illuminator into a single sensor package. The aircraft can employ two laser-guided AGM-114 Hellfire anti-tank missiles.
The system is composed of four major components which can be deployed for worldwide operations. The Predator aircraft can be disassembled and loaded into a "coffin." The ground control system is transportable in a C-130 Hercules (or larger) transport aircraft or installed in a fixed facility. The Predator can operate on a 5,000 by 75 feet (1,524 meters by 23 meters), hard surface runway with clear line-of-sight. The ground data terminal antenna provides line-of-sight communications for takeoff and landing. The PPSL provides over-the-horizon communications for the aircraft.
[dead link removed by M.S. June 2011]
I am no fan of Harper but seriously what can Canada do about the USA flying drones over their side of the border.
Dick all!!!
The two major political parties in Canada are trying their best to merge us with the USA, so the best I can do politically is to vote for the NDP. Unfortunately not enough Canadians support my choice.
Do you seriously think that Harper objects to this?
And if he did, do you seriously think he would keep quiet about it?
And if he didn't keep quiet about it, do you seriouisly think the US would go ahead with their spy program over Harper's objections?
The reality is that Harper is completely on board with this. This is all about the agenda for continental integration of the military, security, and economy as promoted and thoroughly discussed in the Security and Prosperity Partnership. This is all about Canada becoming the 51st state in all but name.
Libs, Tories, what's the difference?
- Tariq Ali
Fully in agreement, MS.
I am no fan of Harper but seriously what can Canada do about the USA flying drones over their side of the border.
Dick all!!!
Do you seriously think that Harper objects to this?
And if he did, do you seriously think he would keep quiet about it?
Do you think that if the NDP was in power that the U.S. would refrain from flying unarmed drones in U.S. airspace?
_______________________________________
Eleutherophobics of the World...Unite!!!
Is that a trick question?
Why would Canada want to hitch a ride onto the failing American Empire? Canada needs to connect more with the rest of the planet. You know, diversification. It's not good economics to have too many eggs in one basket.
Is that a trick question?
Not at all. My point is that, with respect to drones flying in U.S. airspace, I don't think it matters if Harper or Layton is the P.M. of Canada.
_______________________________________
Eleutherophobics of the World...Unite!!!
Do you think that if the NDP was in power that the U.S. would refrain from flying unarmed drones in U.S. airspace?
No, I think they would be flying armed drones.
Sven does have a point. The US will do what it wants to do. That much is clear.
Sven:
"So, yeah, I can understand why Canada should be just as concerned about the U.S. military as Pakistan."
------------------------------------------------
You talk about lambs, grizzlies and other irrelevancies, Sven.
The real reason for our concern is drawn from experience - the great unread of the U.S. are so dumbed-down that Sarah Palin would be vice-president today if the bankers had not fucked up in their greed, gone overboard, or if their mendacity had come to light only in 2009.
We can't trust a people so dumbed down and greedy to do the right thing with such incredible military technology, Sven. Certainly not those drawing on such loopy "logic" as yours.
The real reason for our concern is drawn from experience - the great unread of the U.S. are so dumbed-down that Sarah Palin would be vice-president today if the bankers had not fucked up in their greed, gone overboard, or if their mendacity had come to light only in 2009.
We can't trust a people so dumbed down and greedy to do the right thing with such incredible military technology, Sven.
Right. Canadians would never make decisions like that. Never. Just those "dumbed down and greedy" Amerikans.
Certainly not those drawing on such loopy "logic" as yours.
It wasn't intended as "logic". It was simply unadulterated snarkiness.
_______________________________________
Eleutherophobics of the World...Unite!!!
Even if it's uncomfortable, if the shoe fits, Sven, wear the damned thing.
Don't look around for excuses. Read Jacoby and Gore on the subject of the American view of a responsible citizenry, Sven. You'll have trouble finding people who see themselves as something more than consumers and taxpayers.
Go for self analysis, not the big copout of the conservative, "human nature."
Even if it's uncomfortable, if the shoe fits, Sven, wear the damned thing.
Don't look around for excuses. Read Jacoby and Gore on the subject of the American view of a responsible citizenry, Sven.
Can you direct me towards a link, please?
_______________________________________
Eleutherophobics of the World...Unite!!!
Al Gore, The Assault on Reason.
Susan Jacoby, The Age of American Unreason.
Okay. I thought you might be referring to Susan Jacoby's book. I was just reading many of the reader comments about her book on Amazon.com. Looks quite interesting, actually. Also, a predecessor book that many highly rreviewers ecommended was Richard Hofstadter's 1963 book called "Anti-Intellectualism in American Life". I may be inclined to start with that book.
_______________________________________
Eleutherophobics of the World...Unite!!!
This is a picture of a death machine:
Is it loaded with ammo? Does that make a difference as to whether it is a death machine?
I suppose, using your definition, a commercial airliner is a "death machine" because it could potentially be used as a weapon. Likewise, a butcher's knife is a "death machine" in the wrong hands.
I'm just saying that applying the term "death machine" to these drones is to hyperventilate with hyperbole.
There's a military term that is applicable to the discussion -
"Force Multiplier"
There's a reason the US military doesn't drop pallets of teacups on their targets - it doesn't work very well.
The UAV's are a force multiplier for the US military.
Given the record of the US military - a long history of attacks on civilians - the relevant question for Canadian (and American) civilians is, "how can we prevent these war toys from attacking us ?"
The UAV's are essentially large radio-controlled airplanes. That should provide a hint.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
http://LASIK-Flap.com ~ Health Warning about LASIK Eye Surgery
It's not just about defending the border against illegal aliens, of course. It's about providing eye-in-the-sky surveillance capability to keep tabs on the movements of civilians in their own country.
Like when the Olympics comes to Canada.
For now, the South Dakota drone will be confined to a 370-kilometre stretch along the Manitoba border to test how it holds up to Prairie winters. By 2010, however, U.S. border officials hope to see the $10.5-million unmanned aircraft monitoring both sides of the B.C. border during the Winter Olympics.
"If the RCMP or Canadian government believes they can make use of the aircraft for support during the Olympics, we will be more than willing to provide it," said Juan Munoz-Torres, spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Already the agency has established five bases to act as launch sites for the drones in Bellingham, Wash., Great Falls, Mont., Grand Forks, N.D., Detroit and Plattsburgh, N.Y.
The plan, called the Northern Border Air Wing, is a holdover from the 9/11 Commission Report, which recommended that the United States shore up security along borders with Mexico and Canada....
Flight restrictions prevent the drone from flying any closer than 16 km to the Canadian border. That still leaves a roughly 24-km swath of Canadian borderland open to U.S. government eyes.
"There is no reason for Canadians to be concerned about this," Mr. Munoz-Torres said. "This is a military weapon adopted for civilian purposes."
But that relationship to bomb-ready military hardware is too close for some, who say the Predator challenges the border's distinction as the longest undefended border in the world.
"Post-9/11, there has been a significant militarization of the border," Dr. Muller said. "This certainly fits in with that."
More than a public-safety measure, the drone buzzing 20,000 feet over the prairies represents the clout of certain American political constituencies, Dr. Muller says.
"There has been a lot political pressure suggesting that these technological solutions will fix the security problem," he said. "They have this idea that if it's watched, we're all safer, but I'm very skeptical. They are the same people rolling out over and over again these examples that supposedly prove Canada is a terrorist hotbed."
Globe and Mail
Sven:
"Okay. I thought you might be referring to Susan Jacoby's book. I was just reading many of the reader comments about her book on Amazon.com. Looks quite interesting, actually. Also, a predecessor book that many highly rreviewers ecommended was Richard Hofstadter's 1963 book called "Anti-Intellectualism in American Life". I may be inclined to start with that book."
-------------------------------------------------------------
It is an interesting look at the birth of the anti-intellectual "movement" from McCarthy's time, but Jacoby will tell you how the Heartland of 'Merica was created in period since then.
Not sure you are going to understand your situation today without seriously pursuing Jacoby...today. Gore is more on about the news media's surrender.
Sven:
"Okay. I thought you might be referring to Susan Jacoby's book. I was just reading many of the reader comments about her book on Amazon.com. Looks quite interesting, actually. Also, a predecessor book that many highly rreviewers ecommended was Richard Hofstadter's 1963 book called "Anti-Intellectualism in American Life". I may be inclined to start with that book."
-------------------------------------------------------------
It is an interesting look at the birth of the anti-intellectual "movement" from McCarthy's time, but Jacoby will tell you how the Heartland of 'Merica was created in period since then.
Not sure you are going to understand your situation today without seriously pursuing Jacoby...today. Gore is more on about the news media's surrender.
Well, I've already ordered a copy of Hofstadter's book (I found a 1963 copy of the book in hardcover for three bucks online). I want to read the standard-setter in understanding the history of anti-intellectualsim. Jacoby's book may be next for a current look.
By the way, I found an interesting review of Jacoby's book on salon.com. And, as I said above, there are some well-written reviews of her book by readers on Amazon.com. It certainly sounds intriguing.
_______________________________________
Eleutherophobics of the World...Unite!!!
Enlightening.
This is pure theater. Since there are no hoards of evildoers streaming across the border from Saskatchewan to force white christian girls to wear burkhas, and we know that the national security state knows that, they must have some other reason in mind.
Likely, this is more about keeping americans in, than terrorists out.
Also, like someone commented on commondreams, they only allow us to see what they want us to see. What else is really going on?
The lines between law enforcement and military are so blurred now as to be meaningless. This is just one more thing added to the mix of kevlar helmets, APCs patrolling inner cities, automatic weapons for beat cops, and the constantly reinforced culture of the police/military who believe themselves to be at war against the citizen they ostensibly serve.
This brings to mind the story from a couple of years back about KBR building concentration camps around the US, for things like "immigration emergencies", or "civil unrest". Considering the implosion of the world economy, and the millions of Americans unemployed, homeless, and without any social supports, that decision to build those camps begins to look mighty prescient. Almost crystal ballish. But I'm sure it's all purely coincidence.
Heating of the North American climate has not yet reached the point where migration across borders is from south to north at this latitude.
I liked your first explanation. "Theatre." For the edification of voters with the malleable imagination of the great unread. And "spooks" do not like their names or schemes up in lights.
They're probably just looking for drug smugglers. I don't know what other kind of 'spying' they could possibly do that would mean anything. I have no fear of them launching attacks on Canadian soil, like they do in Pakistan.
I mean, c'mon. Everyone knows that Americans only kill mostly brown countrymen with impugnity.
The way I see it, they need their money for way more important things, right now. And the deeper in debt they go just to show that they're still the big 'I am', the better.
Give it a few years. They'll be selling those predators off on Ebay when they can't afford to import any more oil
"War is a racket" - Gen. Smedley Butler, USMC
They're probably just looking for drug smugglers.
No, they are looking for anyone trying to sneak into the paradise on Earth known as the United States of America.
So what was that reference to offering to help out with the Olympics?
Yeah, that's what the Pakistanis were saying ten years ago.
What do you suppose they would do in the event of widespread civil unrest in this country? If Stephen Harper asked his new pal Obomba to help him maintain domestic order by using the drones to keep an eye on suspicious movements of civilians within Canada, do you think O would refuse?
Maybe you haven't noticed, but there are a lot of brown people in Canada.
And the US doesn't just kill people out of racism; it will kill anyone, regardless of skin colour, who they believe is a threat to their hegemony and their profits.
Like escalating the war in Afghanistan and giving million-dollar retention bonuses to the robber barons who precipitated the stock market crash.
Yeah, they're being real careful with their money these days...
As if none of that economic pain ever rubs off on us...
As far as looking for drug smugglers, my own using days are far far in the past, but I recollect the traffic moving north rather than south. Things have come to a sad pass indeed if there's actually a USian market for my buddy in Penetang's home grown.
I think it's an instinctual knee-jerk paranoia. There are still a lot of ostensibly well educated people at higher levels who think at least some of the 911 perps came in through Canada. This paranoia has no doubt been hightened when one of these geniuses was briefed on 'Little Mosque on the Prairie'.
Yeah.
Fortunately, we have other trading partners. Because they aren't going to be able to afford much of anything, pretty soon. Let alone to keep flying predators through our airspace.
Thank Harper and his willingness to get into bed with Bush over the 'North American Defense' shizzle, or whatever it was they called it.
Hey, maybe someday they'll invade. That'll be tough on them.
Meanwhile, this is just more of America playing the infant, and trying to rule a world that it can't control.
Meanwhile, this is just more of America playing the infant, and trying to rule a world that it can't control.
On that point, specifically, I would think you would be praising the USA for doing something within its borders for a change.
_______________________________________
Eleutherophobics of the World...Unite!!!
It comes with difficulty, but that was a cool summation...right on, Sven. We used to think that an isolationist America was bad (1939-41), but it looks better today. Now let's see it go all the way.
As far as looking for drug smugglers, my own using days are far far in the past, but I recollect the traffic moving north rather than south. Things have come to a sad pass indeed if there's actually a USian market for my buddy in Penetang's home grown.
That used to be the case but now the flow is south for pot to bring north cocaine and guns.
Nah, they do plenty within their own borders, already. They didn't get that nifty police state by magic, you know.
I'm not inclined to 'praise' them for much of anything, if it's all the same to you, Sven.
I didn't say Canada is just like Pakistan. But there are some similarities.
We both share borders with countries that are occupied by US armed forces.
Ah, there are Canadian military stationed in the USA. Is the USA occupied by Canada?
From the article:
The drones are operated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
In order for US Customs to use lethal force there has to be a threat to individual life. There is no way US Customs is going to launch an attack inside Canada on just someone just trying to cross the border.
From the article:
The drones are operated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
In order for US Customs to use lethal force there has to be a threat to individual life. There is no way US Customs is going to launch an attack inside Canada on just someone just trying to cross the border.
Well, I don't disagree with that. But, do you think that explanation will satisfy those who, apparently, feel the US may launch a military attack against Canada with these flying "death machines"?
_______________________________________
Eleutherophobics of the World...Unite!!!
Maybe the drones over the Canada-USA border will soon be passe. Pentagon plans blimp to spy from new heightsThe giant dirigible would use radar to closely and constantly monitor activity on the ground from 65,000 feet.http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-spyblimp13-2009mar13,0,4608400.storyThe giant airship's military value would come from its radar system. Giant antenna would allow the military to see farther and with more detail than it can now.
"Being able to observe threats [and] understand what is happening is really the game-changing piece here," Dahm said.
The dirigible will be filled with helium and powered by an innovative system that uses solar panels to recharge hydrogen fuel cells. Military officials said those underlying technologies -- plus a very lightweight hull -- were critical to making the project work.
"The things we had to do here were not trivial; they were revolutionary," said Jan Walker, a spokeswoman for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Pentagon's research arm.
The Air Force has signed an agreement with DARPA to develop a demonstration dirigible by 2014. The prototype will be a third as long as the planned surveillance craft -- known as ISIS, for Integrated Sensor Is the Structure, because the radar system will be built into the structure of the ship.
While the military says the craft is closer to a blimp than a zeppelin -- which has a rigid external structure -- officials usually call the project an airship. Blimps get their shape from helium gas pressure.
Not to be outdone by what's taking place in the air I suppose. Is this what we can expect on the ground eventually along our border with the USA?
Border plants to be killed to reveal smugglers
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6335446.html
Although Border Patrol and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officials say the chemical is safe for animals, detractors say the experiment is reminiscent of the Vietnam War-era Agent Orange chemical program and raises questions about long-term effects.
“We don’t believe that is even moral,” said Jay Johnson-Castro Sr., executive director of the Rio Grande International Study Center, located at Laredo Community College, adjacent to the planned test area.
“It is unprecedented that they’d do it in a populated area,” he said of spraying the edge of the Rio Grande as it weaves between the cities of Laredo and Nuevo Laredo, Mexico.
This might be my favourite babble thread title ever.
The only conceivable improvement would be:
"Invisible US death machines flown by Elvis spy on Canadians from the air"_______________________________________
Eleutherophobics of the World...Unite!!!
Personally, I think of certain Babblers as invisible death machines.
I hear from a secret source that the first targets will be the CBC headquarters and vast areas of the Annex in Toronoto.
30,000 Domestic Drones to Fill U.S. Skies; Civil Liberties at Risk
----------
ETA: Alternative link for article that was cited in the Opening Post
As should now be obvious to all, the PTB's fences are being moved in ever tighter, ever closer upon us: 'Full Spectrum Dominance' is well underway. Popular resistance to it, considerably less so.
Is the USA officially a 'police state' now? Are we?