If the Polk County, FL Sherrif's office has the resources to send deputies to Colorado to arrest a guy, they obviously could stand for some budget cuts. Money's tight everywhere, after all, and they obviously have a surplus.
Why is law enforcement so uninterested in getting warrants?
I'd assume that, considering the warrant application goes before a judge in a courtroom type setting, there is a penalty for perjury on a warrant application.
Note that I'm not saying that I believe law enforcement is lying about why they want to track someone, just saying they'd be a lot less willing to track someone on a "hunch" if there was a possibility of being penalized later because the court decides their assumptions were more like fabrications.
Of course, that's the whole point of the warrant process: to make sure extraordinary measures are only used in cases where they are warranted.
By "basic safety protocols weren't followed" he means oil-soaked rags were piled up and placed under a tarp on top of an asphalt roof on a cloudless, 90-degree day. Next to propane tanks.
Then the company tasked with the cleanup (as he said, same one that blew it up), hired laborers without any background check to come into a "secured" federal facility and haul the computers to storage. Cabinets were broken into, purses stolen, anything remotely valuable on desks vanished. This happened the weekend after the explosion, before employees were let back in to leave their personal effects. Then, they brought in another group to move out the furniture/filing cabinets/etc. and bring them to temporary storage. Those cabinets were all broken into while in storage. Unsurprisingly, this was followed by a sudden rash of identity theft.
THEN, after all that, they were awarded the contract to repair the roof.
Unmanned aircraft can only operate in controlled airspace with a Letter of Agreement from whoever in the FAA owns that airspace. And then, only one UAS can be operating in that airspace at one time.
That being said, the Falcon is just a big R/C plane. It's not the sort of UAS that would operate in controlled airspace anyway. It most likely flies well below what the FAA is in charge of.
As to FEMA's authority... Go read the executive orders that empower them sometime. They can do anything they want, including drafting civilian "consultants" and forcing them to perform services without compensation during an emergency. They are a very scary group of people who I wouldn't want to ever have anything to do with.
After just finishing up a little over five years working "with" (note I didn't say "for") the Federal Government, I can kinda understand. If there's no line item in the budget for a replacement fax machine, they are being honest that they can't do anything about it until October. Someone could, quite literally, make a federal case about it.
I remember throwing $600 graphics cards in the trash because we didn't have a budget for shipping them back for repair/replacement, but we DID have a budget for buying new ones.
Well, if our government actually worked like it was supposed to, Congress could hold that member of the Executive Branch in "Contempt of Congress" for lying to them... But Congress is totally cool with the NSA doing this, so that would be silly on their part.
Members of Congress are SERIOUSLY CONCERNED about the sort of privacy implications people wearing internet connected cameras on their faces will have...
F. That.
The only way to fight back against abuse of power in America is documenting it. Pervasive surveillance of Big Brother.
As a "paywall", I agree, these subscription channels are doomed. But they don't have to be a paywall.
Instead, you could have something like "Geek and Sundry Insider" that gives you early access to content, back-stage and/or making of, etc. to dedicated followers of the FREE channel who would like to show their support and get a little something more. I pay $5/mo for one "channel" of content here, so I don't see how paying $2/mo for additional access to a great YouTube channel is that far fetched.
Mike Rogers: See, I never just did things just to do them. Come on, what am I gonna do? Just all of a sudden jump up and give your data to the NSA like it’s something to do? Come on. I had a little more sense than that. [short pause] Yeah, I remember saying the NSA could have your data...
Reminds me of my hometown. They rolled out fiber a few years back. For some reason, the local cable company hasn't raised its rates there since, even though they've gone up a dozen or so times elsewhere in the country...
You know, they could take free Android, change it to use all their services instead of Google's, and not give Google anything, if the "Free Operating System" is what's giving Google some sort of unfair advantage.
Of course, the problem is others have ALREADY TRIED THAT and the results have been less than spectacular.
Maybe it's just that Google's offerings are a more compelling?
Makes sense, actually. Actors tend to hire personal trainers. Porn stars probably have even more of a vested interest in their physique than an average actor.
On the post: Newegg Brings Out Whit Diffie, Ron Rivest & Ray Ozzie To Debunk Patent Troll's Claim; Troll Attacks Diffie's Credibility
Questioning the credibility of *Diffie*?
On the post: Charges Dropped On Both Students Charged In Connection With Classmate's Suicide
Re:
Is that the duty of a Sheriff in Florida? To cross state lines and arrest people for writing books?
The road to hell is paved with good intentions, and "For the children!" is a damn good intention...
On the post: Charges Dropped On Both Students Charged In Connection With Classmate's Suicide
Hey you know what?
On the post: Appeals Court Says Feds Need To Get A Warrant To Attach GPS Device On A Car
I'd assume that, considering the warrant application goes before a judge in a courtroom type setting, there is a penalty for perjury on a warrant application.
Note that I'm not saying that I believe law enforcement is lying about why they want to track someone, just saying they'd be a lot less willing to track someone on a "hunch" if there was a possibility of being penalized later because the court decides their assumptions were more like fabrications.
Of course, that's the whole point of the warrant process: to make sure extraordinary measures are only used in cases where they are warranted.
On the post: Why Healthcare.gov Sucks? Because They Hired Political Cronies, Not Internet Native Companies To Build It
Re: Government Contracts...
Then the company tasked with the cleanup (as he said, same one that blew it up), hired laborers without any background check to come into a "secured" federal facility and haul the computers to storage. Cabinets were broken into, purses stolen, anything remotely valuable on desks vanished. This happened the weekend after the explosion, before employees were let back in to leave their personal effects. Then, they brought in another group to move out the furniture/filing cabinets/etc. and bring them to temporary storage. Those cabinets were all broken into while in storage. Unsurprisingly, this was followed by a sudden rash of identity theft.
THEN, after all that, they were awarded the contract to repair the roof.
On the post: FEMA Grounds Private Drones That Were Helping To Map Boulder Floods, Threatens To Arrest Operators
Re: Authority?
Unmanned aircraft can only operate in controlled airspace with a Letter of Agreement from whoever in the FAA owns that airspace. And then, only one UAS can be operating in that airspace at one time.
That being said, the Falcon is just a big R/C plane. It's not the sort of UAS that would operate in controlled airspace anyway. It most likely flies well below what the FAA is in charge of.
As to FEMA's authority... Go read the executive orders that empower them sometime. They can do anything they want, including drafting civilian "consultants" and forcing them to perform services without compensation during an emergency. They are a very scary group of people who I wouldn't want to ever have anything to do with.
On the post: Defense Department Can't Afford To Buy A Fax Machine To Receive FOIA Requests
I can feel for their IT department
I remember throwing $600 graphics cards in the trash because we didn't have a budget for shipping them back for repair/replacement, but we DID have a budget for buying new ones.
On the post: NSA Says It Doesn't Spy On Americans As Obama Administration Defends Letting NSA Spy On Americans
On the post: Man Butt Dials 911 While Discussing Murder Plot
:P
On the post: If You're Going To Illegally Seize Citizens' Cell Phones, At Least Make Sure You're Grabbing The Right Ones
Meanwhile, in DC....
F. That.
The only way to fight back against abuse of power in America is documenting it. Pervasive surveillance of Big Brother.
Let the camera lens be a Fair Witness.
On the post: AT&T Continues To Mock The Concept Of Net Neutrality; This Time With Google Hangouts Block
Re: Re: Wait, what?
On the post: AT&T Continues To Mock The Concept Of Net Neutrality; This Time With Google Hangouts Block
Hangouts didn't come pre-loaded on my S3. I had to add it myself. So is it blocked? No? What? Bueller? Bueller?
On the post: Silliest Argument Ever: Just Because A YouTube Paywall Launches It Means More Money Is Made
I still say it could work
Instead, you could have something like "Geek and Sundry Insider" that gives you early access to content, back-stage and/or making of, etc. to dedicated followers of the FREE channel who would like to show their support and get a little something more. I pay $5/mo for one "channel" of content here, so I don't see how paying $2/mo for additional access to a great YouTube channel is that far fetched.
On the post: Why Do Politicians Continue To Insist That A Magic Button Can Make Porn Disappear Online?
Re:
On the post: CISPA's Sponsor Can't Even Keep His Story Straight About NSA Having Access To Your Data
Charlie Murphy's Real Washington Stories
Cocaine is a hell of a drug.
On the post: Hours After Google Announces Google Fiber In Austin, AT&T Pretends It, Too, Will Build A 1 Gigabit Network There
Reminds me...
On the post: Google Competitors File Ridiculous EU Complaint Arguing That 'Free' Android Is Anti-Competitive
Of course, the problem is others have ALREADY TRIED THAT and the results have been less than spectacular.
Maybe it's just that Google's offerings are a more compelling?
On the post: No, Sim City Debacle Doesn't Mean Gamers Need A Bill Of Rights
Then again, my wife has recently been pointing out I have a serious habit of holding grudges...
On the post: As Prenda Hearing Nears, We Discover Allan Mooney Has No Clue That He's Listed As Representing Prenda Shell Companies
Re:
On the post: European Parliament Considers Banning All Pornography, Blocks Emails From EU Citizens Protesting Against Censorship
Re:
America is pretty much the only country that views Freedom of Speech as an absolute, sacred right.
And that view is, of course, steadily eroded every day in the U.S...
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