20
Jun
Privacy concerns unwarranted because you have no privacy
“You shouldn’t be worried about being spied on by your government,” says a Los Angeles County sheriff, because you already are.
Commander Sid Heal offered those words of consolation to privacy advocates worried about the possible misuse of a surveillance drone, called the SkySeer, launched by his department over the weekend. “These days you can’t go anywhere without a camera watching you, whether you’re in a grocery store or walking down the street.”
Heal’s argument takes “you have nothing to fear if you’re not doing anything wrong” one step further to “you don’t have any privacy anyway so one more camera won’t matter.” But the thing about stationary cameras is that they can’t follow you around and you’re unlikely to find one circling over your home.
According to The Independent, the clunkily-named drones, which Heal says are “virtually silent and invisible,” cost between $30,000 and $45,000; the sheriff’s department could launch about 100 of them for the price of a single helicopter.
Like most large law enforcement agencies, the department has a Homeland Security division which cooperates with federal agencies. And they have a little list.
City of Angels indeed. Smile for the camera …
UPDATE: Want to keep tabs on the LA County Sheriff? You can buy your own SkySeer™ from Octagon, Inc. Ask about quantity discounts: you may need more than one, since they can stay aloft only 45-60 minutes.
UPDATE2: The little buggers have been grounded because the sheriff’s department didn’t get FAA authorization for the flights.
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I always get confused … are we at war with Oceania or Eurasia these days?
June 20th, 2006 at 1:56 pmYes we are, and we always have been.
June 20th, 2006 at 3:37 pmHaving lived in L.A. for ten years, the two most chilling things I’ve ever experienced were (1) living in Hollywood, behind an AA meeting place that was next to a crack HO-tel the LAPD/LASD ‘ghettobird’ used to shine its light into my baywindow almost nightly, drawn to the gathering of AAers outside smoking cigarettes and (2) now living in a predominantly Mexican district northeast of LA, I’ve twice heard the co-pilot over the loudspeaker from the ‘ghettobird’ advising people to get in / stay in their houses because the LAPD/LASD has released the dogs into the neighborhood to apprehend a fleeing suspect.
Anyone remember “Blue Thunder.”
June 21st, 2006 at 8:29 amIts “1984″ just 22 years late! Goodbye democracy, hello neo-con empire!
June 25th, 2006 at 1:00 am