Uhm, how versed are you in that political sphere?

I don't see allying yourself with a brutally oppressive theocracy as a very socialist thing to do or a sign of great leadership. Isn't that where many criticisms of US leadership come from?

US leaders use US natural resources and everyone else's to improve the lives of the top 1%.

Long live Chavez!

and kicking capitalist butt!! I hope he lives long enough to enforce more major changes for his people.

Just like our Constitution needs to be tweaked from time to time to keep up with modernity, so do all those outdated "empire" doctrines and treaties. Folks will wake up soon, I hope.

A drone is nothing more than a remote control aircraft. There are tons of these around and have been for 40-50 years.

planes ?

At some point, someone decided to call remote control planes "Drones" and then everyone went crazy. I cannot tell you why that is.

This is an international directory of remote control plane clubs http://www.rc-airplane-world.com/rc-airplane-clubs.htm

But I sir salute you.

I think they are implying armed drones there, but I could be mistaken.

Yeah, OK.

[IMG][/IMG]

Keep trying though! LOL

No matter how stupid it shows you to be.

"Drone" is a dog whistle.

It's meant to stimulate animalistic emotional responses, not rational thought.

Turns off all higher brain functions.

What's less readily available are the systems that remove all the jitter from the camera.

Imagine taking a video using a handheld camera. You have to keep the picture still enough for somebody firing a missile to aim the missile and fire it. That means you have to keep the image on the tv screen from moving much more than an 1/8 of an inch or so. Not so easy.

Now imagine walking. Same task.

Now imagine that your camera is mounted to a bicycle. Every bump, every turn, and not only does the target move, it moves out of the screen.

Now tack on the vibration from a motor. Have you ever held a remote plane? They're jittery. Any vibration can easily make the image you're trying to aim at move back and forth across half the screen 100+ times per second. And the vibrations are in 3 dimensions

The upshot is that you have to have software that can ID the limits of an object on screen, even at night; you need to integrate that with servo motors that can adjust the camera and move it just right to completely remove any effect of vibration from the motors or from the wind. You then need to make sure a targeting computer gets all the information fast enough to target and fire in real time. And, finally, you need to make sure the software and hardware that flies can be looped back with the camera software so that the pilot can easily use that information to fly the remote.

This requires some fast software and very fast, very accurate, very precise servo motors that work to correct the missile orientation, camera orientation, aileron, and thrust.

They worked on this for years back in the 70s. The first working drone prototypes were a bit later. Took years to get the missile targeting accurate enough.

this is all the technology you need.

[IMG][/IMG]

He knows as much about aviation as he does about politicky-type stuff. And he's not afraid to say it.

The same tech that you are talking about had to be developed to put cameras on spy satellites. In terms of targeting, air to air missiles have also needed the ability to maintain precision in their targeting surfaces while flying at Mach 2+ and dealing with all kinds of vibration, wind and friction. The first Air to Air missiles were deployed in the late 1950s.

is not to be taken seriously.

Anyone who would consider launching an airstrike against Iran over a lost, top-secret Sentinel drone is not to be taken seriously.

U.S. Made Covert Plan to Retrieve Iran Drone
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204770404577082822643123332.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

U.S. officials considered conducting a covert mission inside Iran to retrieve or destroy a stealth drone that crashed late last week, but ultimately concluded such a secret operation wasn't worth the risk of provoking a more explosive clash with Tehran, a U.S. official said.

~snip~

But the U.S. official said the drone developed mechanical difficulties and remote pilots lost control of the aircraft, and said officials knew immediately it had crashed in eastern Iran.

~snip~

Under one plan, a team would be sent to retrieve the aircraft. U.S. officials considered both sending in a team of American commandos based in Afghanistan as well as using allied agents inside Iran to hunt down the downed aircraft.

Another option would have had a team sneak in to blow up the remaining pieces of the drone. A third option would have been to destroy the wreckage with an airstrike.

with one of them chewing gum to attach the engine on with.

Oh, yeah, this is a job creation plan even the GOP would get behind...

I take it you've never flown a drone? They're cheap and easy to make at various scales.

...but in this one you defend drones.

He's not talking about run of the mill surveillance drones.

Being a horrible person at governance doesn't mean you can't have a hobby.

Are you worried that he will weaponize his RC planes?

They're going to be armed drones.

You start with this:

I think they are implying armed drones there, but I could be mistaken.

He's not talking about run of the mill surveillance drones.

They're going to be armed drones.

There was a reason it was announced at the military factory.

since it's all over the place.

I've conclude that Chavez, by announcing his drones at the military factory, wanted to send a stronger message.

Although, I suspect you might have a similar opinion, but are arguing a point about double standards.

Though I do have a different take on "sovereignty." ie, I think if a country wanted to invade us with a special forces team to take out one of their terrorists (we are hosts still to Latin American terrorists) they would be within their right. I just accept it's unviable for them...

For what it's worth I am extremely skeptical of anyone who has or uses drones and I think that they are horrific except perhaps in the hands of scientists or corporate whistle blowers (not technically whistle blowers since they'd be outside looking in to the actions of a corporation but you get my drift and I can't think of the term to use here).

We use drones to survail our own population but we're going to assume that the Venezuelan government wouldn't. I think that's preposterous.

We (the US) have been flying stealth recon since the 60's. Taking a human out of the cockpit was something we started 60 years ago, as well.

Are you bothered by "drone satellites"?

Totally different technologies. Let me know when spy satellites are adaptable to murdering people directly via munitions.

PS I hate any kind of armed drones and I despise "surveillance drones." I do advocate "drones" for personal use, but not for corporate or for profit or government use.

"Let me know when spy satellites are adaptable to murdering people directly via munitions. "

Already old hat. Turns out to be a *huge* waste of money. Hence, drones, cruise missiles, etc.

No need to put that stuff out of the atmosphere and bring it back, if you can keep the munitions low, and/or incredibly difficult to shoot down.

I realize the problems that come with that, especially WRT privacy.

Can you be free if you are monitored? I know I can.

For what it's worth most American's are fine with "monitoring" drones.

As long as they're not used to catch you speeding.

U.S. prosecutors can't be bothered to "investigate" our own home-grown war criminals, i.e. Cheney/Bush and their ilk, but they fancy they have some sort of jurisdiction over another sovereign country?

"What's sauce for the goose" etc.

I swear....the hubris of the U.S. govt. just boggles the mind.

Probably some more sanctions for PDVSA are in order as the US is importing less and less Venezuelan oil. Unfortunately for Venezuela we're the largest importer of that nasty crap because we're one of the few who can refine it.

Once they have the USA stamp on them, it'll all be good and righteous again. It's just about who is getting a profit from the business, it's a competition for the world's market share. That's one angle to regard these media blurbs as promoting.

In investigating Bush, etc., countries don't try their own presidents. Their only punishment internally is to be voted out in elections. It takes other countries to do the judging on the scale that people want for Bush, etc. The Nuremberg tribunals were not set up by the Nazis, but a conquering army. If Hugo could invade the USA and had the country cowering at his feet, he might try Bush and Cheney and the rest. None of these things are done voluntarily as long as there is a standing government or army in place.

But let's get back to drones. Drones are popular. Greenpeace was cheered when it used a drone to follow the Japanese whaling fleet to Antartica; Tim Pool who covers OWS using Twitter and livestream to create his Timcast channel, built his own drone to follow the action in NYC during the demonstrations, but hasn't perfected it yet, and probably wouldn't be legal in crowed NYC airspace.

Everyone can make one, and they are less costly than a manned flight dropping bombs. The intention is to kill someone cheaper than an army trooper, air force pilot, or a missile with a payload.

The intention is death. It doesn't matter how it is delivered. People who perfect their skills in games can perform the killing with no danger to themselves by wireless communication a continent away, just as satellites send images around the globe to show a world leader where that next bomb is going.

That's the world we are eager to live in, or else we wouldn't be doing it in our 'peacetime' activities. A lof of human ingenuity goes into all this stuff.

I don't say I approve of any of it, I'm just describing how this evolved. Mankind embraced killing at a distance a long time ago. It's all a matter of perspective whether it's a threat or a crime or not.

Here we stand on this planet and make use of our lives and our time, wisely or not we don't know. The choice is ours. If we believe the choice has been taken from us and say the responsibility is not ours, we will have to re-assess who and what we are in relation to each other.

Not offense is being made to any on any side of these arguments. Just some observations to employ if you want.

Tekhnology seems not there.

To supply the know how, workers and manufacturing for them. The Saudis love buying our planes and weapons.

I see peace at last between the socialist paradise of Hugo and the capitalist oligarchs of America. Whoopee!




Okay, I'll shut up now. Welcome to DU. I'm not always such an ass, hope you enjoyed it...

....how does Venezuelan drone production fall under U.S. jurisdiction?....how about prosecuting the chimp and his administration?

"We are doing this with the help of different countries including China, Russia, Iran, and other allied countries,"

....Hugo has become a very popular fellow now that he's sitting on the worlds' largest oil reserves....soon Hugo and Venezuela will be able to party with the best of OPEC....Socialism pays....

...for any reason whatsoever. Because we've embargoed Iran we can disagree with Venezuela getting drone technology from them and sanction them and whatnot.

And we are some serious pussies. Leave Venezuela alone.

Damn those elected socialist governments - they make exploitation of
minor countries so much harder than if they just put up with the USA's
choice of dictator!




This has more to do with the recent drum-banging about Venezuela than
anything that Chavez may or may not be planning with RC aircraft ...


> In a televised speech to military officers at Venezuela's Defense Ministry,
> Chavez said the aircraft only has a camera and was exclusively for
> defensive purposes. "We don't have any plans to harm anyone," he said.

If only that could be said of the major drone producer and user ...
you know, the one that is so often killing random people in several different
countries around the world (excluding their own, of course).

Your blanket support of a man who, yes, having some good ideas to help his people, instead screwed it up by surpressing press freedom, pitting parts of middle-class Caracas against the entire country, and letting his thugs get away with murder, or the fact that Chavez essentially wants drones with cameras to -spy- on his own people.

> Chavez essentially wants drones with cameras to -spy- on his own people.

The fact that you don't give a shit about your own government doing exactly that.

I quite expected that you wouldn't give a shit about your own government being
the world's largest producer of drones or about your own government being the
world's only (AFAIK) user of drones to kill & maim citizens of foreign countries.

The usual talking points about "surpressing (sic) press freedom" and "his thugs"
were practically a given from your previous post.

It's just that big word "hypocrite" that tells you what is worse: whinging about
some foreign leader doing the same things that you have accepted for years
from your own leaders.

good luck DU

You're in good company, the majority of American's don't mind them either.

As long as they aren't used to catch speeders.

And no I don't like either but it is laughable to think any politician would do anything about it.

Whether employed by leftists or rightists.