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Drone Dilemma Discussed


drone

Sen. Feinstein calls for regulation after drone spies on her through window

“This is a whole new world now and it has many complications.”

March. 17 (UPI) –

During an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes as part of a segment on the growing controversy surrounding the use of drones for law enforcement as well as commercial and private enterprise, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. called for the federal government to regulate unmanned aerial vehicles, describing privacy concerns associated with drones as “very, very major.”

The Senator shared a personal experience: “I’m in my home and there’s a demonstration out front. And I go to peek out the window and there’s a drone facing me.”

The 60 Minutes segment, “Drones Over America,” evokes a sci-fi cityscape, the sky above abuzz with unmanned aerial vehicles — taking bird’s eye photos, shooting video, delivering packages, even medevac’ing patients.Not to mention enforcing the law.

“This is a whole new world now and it has many complications,” Senator Feinstein said. “When is a drone picture a benefit to society? When does it become stalking? When does it invade privacy? How close to a home can a drone go?” she asked.

Feinstein has been a supporter of the NSA’s surveillance programs in the past. Her concern about drones invading privacy echoes her recent concerns about government espionage, in the immediate wake of her heated head to head with the CIA last week, in which Feinstein accused the agency of spying on the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Congress and the FAA have already passed a bill to welcome commercial drones to the U.S. by 2015, and some people think that’s not soon enough. The FAA released its first drone “roadmap” last November.

Unmanned aerial vehicles have a growing presence in the military and in law enforcement, but no one knows quite yet what the reality of having a sky full of UAVs will be like.

“And the question is,” Senator Feinstein asks, “how does it all get sorted out? What is an appropriate law enforcement use for a drone? When do you have to have a warrant? When don’t you have to have a warrant? What’s the appropriate governmental use for a drone?”

The Senator’s answer?

“It’s going to have to come through regulation, perhaps regulation of size and type for private use. Secondly, some certification of the person that’s going to operate it. And then some specific regulation on the kinds of uses it can be put to.”

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2014/03/17/Sen-Feinstein-calls-for-regulation-after-drone-spies-on-her-through-window/3011395087011/#ixzz2wLrD7ne5

Hmmm…

What do we do about drones?
Their numbers have really grown,
Will they be as prolific as cell phones?
Diane spoke in worried tones.

Will they monitor each one of us,
When in our cars or in a bus?
It’s causing a lot of fuss,
Who is it we have to trust?

Should the government keep on spying,
Then when asked, they keep on lying?
And continue with denying?
It is something we’re not buying.

It is something complicated,
And it now must be debated,
Cause we are quite aggravated,
Some in fact are agitated.

Looks like we need some new laws,
With a specific drone law clause,
Drones may be the one last straw,
And it’s stiffening our jaws.

© 2013 Ronald J. Yarosh
All rights reserved

Brief Browsing Brews Blues


In a recent study (probably for a Masters or PhD) it was determined that surfing the web randomly can lead one to suffer from depression.

It revealed that depressed surfers changed between sites more frequently than others who stayed on a site longer.

I know for a fact that certain sites depress me more than others.

But, I don’t think that necessarily leads to depression.

However, not having chocolates while surfing can really become depressing.

Hmmm…

Random surfing can make an impression,

That one is suffering depression.

They surf without aim,

Not like playing a game.

And they do it session after session.

Hurray for Handy Household Helpers


The makers of robots are making big strides. It won’t be long before we see bots capable of helping us around the house.

That will be great for those who are physically challenged.

The robots will be programmed to do whatever we think they should do. You want yours to sweep the floor, just think that. You want one to cook dinner for five? Think of it.

One word of caution. We don’t know how far they will go in responding to our thoughts. Will they commit a crime if we should think of one? If they did, who would be responsible and be jailed for it?

If you were with someone and you thought you’d like to punch them in the face, would the bot start swinging?

Would the bot reveal your thoughts about your family, friends, co-workers, or boss in their presence?

The possibilities are endless?

It reminds me of robots in the Woody Allen film, Sleeper. They were spectacular.

Hmmm…

A robot that can read our mind,

Will be useful for our daily grind;

Controlled by our thoughts,

It’s the best of the bots,

It’s something I wish I could find.

 

Will they do everything you think?

Will they wash the dishes in the sink?

Will they tell you boss off?

Will they take your socks off?

Will they put colors in the wash with the whites and make them pink?

Cloud Company Compromised


Dropbox, a cloud storage company revealed that an undisclosed number of their clients have had their accounts hacked.

I’ve seen elephants in clouds but never hackers.

I think it was a disservice to deserving servers.

 

Hmmm…

They say that Dropbox was cracked,

Some accounts were silently hacked,

They went to the cloud,

Though they weren’t allowed,

I imagine some people were sacked.

The wi-fi gets the wrong guy.


A police SWAT team raided a house where threats were being made via wi-fi. It turned out to be the wrong house.

The guy apprehended wasn’t making the threats. He was just stealing the wi-fi from a neighboring house where the threats were really being made.

I guess stealing wi-fi put the first guy in double jeopardy, legally speaking. It’s best to buy your own wi-fi. Give it a try.

Hmmm…

The cops followed somebody’s wi-fi,

It turned out to be the wrong bad guy;

They moved on a threat,

It was a bad bet,

They did get the perp on their next try.

Surfing Study Suggests Secret Searches


A survey by McAfee, a security company, found that 70 percent of children visit web sites which contain dangerous material.

And, the kids hide that fact from their parents.

That’s disturbing, but not a surprise. Kids will be kids.

Remember when surfing just mean riding the waves? That was pretty safe, save for a shark bite every now and then.

Hmmm…

We must watch our kid’s web activity,

We cannot stand by with passivity;

It’s dangerous out there,

We must be aware,

We must curb their natural proclivity.

Security Scares Suitors


Recently, a popular computer dating site admitted that it had a security breach.

As a result, a number of user passwords were leaked on-line.

As a precaution, the matchmaking firm has reset user passwords.

Hmmm…

A date site was recently breached,

A number of passwords were reached;

This nefarious antic,

Was not so romantic,

Security is now being preached.

I Hope Symantec XPedites a Quick Fix…


Symantec is at it again.

Their update to fix the SONAR virus has caused a blue screen in computers using Windows XP.

I know some of you are asking, “What the heck is XP?”

Others query, “Didn’t XP go out with the dinosaurs?”

Actually quite a few people still use it because it’s sooo gentle on the skin and the mind. I was sorry to se it go.

Hmmm…

Symantec has caused a blue screen,

Not yellow, or orange or green;

An update’s at fault,

Some shout, oy gevalt,

I can’t wait ’till my registry’s clean.

Streaming Shots Stop Screaming Tots…


M.I.T. is working on a more painless shot experience.

Instead of using needles, the serum is delivered by a high-pressure stream.

I remember those painful shots my kids got. I don’t know what was worse. The piercing needle or the piercing screams.

Hmmm…

Will sharp needles become quite passé?

If so, I can’t wait for that day.

A less painful shot,

Not like one that I got,

When that happens I’ll sure shout hurray.

Hackers Hefty Heist


Imagine this:

Some beady eyed hackers have stolen around 78 million from banks using a malware virus called Zeus.

Of course that doesn’t beat the trillions of dollars the U.S. government is wasting. Who’s the bigger crook?

See, your mother was right. Hiding your money under your mattress is safer.

Hmmm…

Hackers are stealing from banks,

They get money without saying thanks,

They use what’s called Zeus,

It’s pure banking abuse,

They get Deutsche Marks as well as French Francs

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