Drones

Drones, Foreign Affairs, Military

The New Drone War, Same as the Old Drone War?

President Bush started the drone wars, but Mr. Obama vastly expanded them. Almost entirely on his watch, United States strikes have killed as many as 5,000 people, possibly 1,000 of them civilians. The president approved strikes in places far from combat zones. He authorized the C.I.A. to carry out “signature strikes” aimed at people whose identities the agency did not know but whose activities supposedly suggested militancy….

Via The Next President’s Drone War @ American Civil Liberties Union.

Drones, War

The Drone Papers

The Intercept has obtained a cache of secret documents detailing the inner workings of the U.S. military’s assassination program in Afghanistan, Yemen, and Somalia. The documents, provided by a whistleblower, offer an unprecedented glimpse into Obama’s drone wars….

Via The Drone Papers @ The Intercept.

Drones, Foreign Affairs, Military

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Via Obama Apologized for the Drone Killings of Two Western Victims. What About Everyone Else? @ American Civil Liberties Union

Drones, Liberty

Drone Shield: A Private Solution to Government Drone Surveillance

On Tuesday, an ambitious aerospace engineer from Washington, DC began seeking donations on Indiegogo to create an “open-source drone detection system.” The Drone Shield would combine a Raspberry Pi, a signal processor, a microphone, and analysis software to scan for specific audio signatures and compare them against what known drones sound like (because obviously a Predator…

Crime, Drones, Law, Liberty

The common sliver on which left and right can agree

William Jacobson nicely summarizes the appeal of Rand Paul’s filibuster of those who support drone killings of Americans on American soil: ….Paul’s filibuster on the specific and narrow issue of using a drone to kill an American on American soil who was not engaged in an imminent and substantial threat of violence was the perfect…

Drones, Law, Liberty

The Good Words

Here’s Sen. Rand Paul’s first hour of a filibuster against John Brennan’s nomination to be CIA director. Of course, Paul’s concern is about the use of drones on American soil against…Americans. The first of thirteen good hours, of good words:

Drones, Police

Only makes sense if rhetorical: Can Police Be Trusted With Drones?

By their nature, domestic drones are untrustworthy in anyone‘s hands. No better time to protest than now: Earlier this month, the Seattle Police Department grounded two drones it had purchased in response to privacy concerns, and Charlottesville, Virginia became the first American city to ban drone flights within city limits. California and 11 other states…