Drones Arrive in Austin

August 11th, 2012

(AJC) – As the Nationwide the surveillance drone rollout kicks into high gear Alex Jones runs into one being operated on the roads on his way to work

Nationwide, the surveillance drone rollout is causing a stir and heads to turn as government, flush with an endless supply of taxpayer money, rapidly introduces the technology. “Some are as large and fast as commercial airplanes,” Scientific American wrote in January. “Some are blimps that sit in the sky, surveying broad swaths of territory. Others flit around imperceptibly, like birds or insects, recording videos and landing themselves.”

During his morning commute in Austin, Texas, Alex Jones noticed the kind of drone favored by police about 120 feet above the roadway. Traffic slowed, backed up and pulled off the road to see what appeared to be a UFO as the small helicopter-like machine circled overhead photographing traffic. A contract worker for the highway department stood to one side of the road maneuvering the machine with a handheld control box.

With his iPhone video camera running, Alex engaged the pilot in friendly conversation. He mentioned a number of disturbing events, including the ominous prospect of police outfitting the devices with weapons and the EPA spying on cattle ranchers in Nebraska and Iowa. Alex also mentioned the unnerving experience of journalist and publisher Joseph Farah, an outspoken Obama critic, who was the victim of drone surveillance at his remote home in northern Virginia.

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