Author Topic: Senator recounts personal run-in with drone  (Read 515 times)

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Offline happyg

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Senator recounts personal run-in with drone
« on: January 16, 2014, 01:26:57 pm »
Sen. Dianne Feinstein opened her testimony at a hearing on unmanned aerial vehicles Wednesday by recounting the time she made a drone crash.

Mrs. Feinstein, California Democrat, said there were some protestors demonstrating in front of her house, and one of them must have been flying a small drone.

“I went to the window to peek out and see who was there, and there was a drone right there at the window, looking out at me,” the senator said. “Obviously the pilot of the drone had some surprise because the drone wheeled around and crashed. So I felt a little good about that.”

Mrs. Feinstein has called for rules to govern drone use, both for civilians and for the government, citing both the potential benefits and privacy or security pitfalls of using the new technology.


Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/inside-politics/2014/jan/15/senator-recounts-personal-run-drone/#ixzz2qZGABd3d

Offline mountaineer

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Re: Senator recounts personal run-in with drone
« Reply #1 on: January 16, 2014, 02:39:33 pm »
It wasn't a drone. It was a tiny pink helicopter, according to The Wire.
Quote
...  The Wire spoke by phone with Feinstein's spokesman Brian Weiss, who confirmed that the incident happened at the senator's house in San Francisco several months ago. At about the time, it seems, that Code Pink showed up to protest Feinstein's support for the NSA.

On June 15, the anti-war group held a protest focused on Feinstein, which included activists in disguises and, yes, two remote-controlled helicopters, which might creatively be described as drones. Here's video of the event.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=e5N3Tlmefys

If you skip ahead to the one-minute mark you can see the two helicopters that were at the scene, including one very similar to the small pink helicopter at right. Photos taken that day show the helicopter more clearly. Steve Rhodes, who took the photos, confirmed to The Wire that the helicopters flying around outside Feinstein's home didn't have any cameras, so they weren't "looking in" anywhere.

Code Pink's Tighe Barry, coordinator for the group in D.C., told The Wire that flying these toy helicopters is common at their protests. He participated in one such protest in San Diego at the home of the president of General Atomics, makers of the much-more-scary Predator and Reaper drones. The toy helicopter, Barry said, was purchased on Amazon, as this one might be. And Feinstein is a regular target for the group. "We've held many, many, many vigils there over the years," he said.

So was this the drone that frightened Feinstein so much? Weiss, the senator's spokesman, didn't know what kind of drone the senator was describing. But if it was a blind one the size of a crow, the Senate Commerce Committee can sleep a bit easier tonight.

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Offline happyg

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Re: Senator recounts personal run-in with drone
« Reply #2 on: January 16, 2014, 02:51:09 pm »
I bought helicopters similar to that picture for my grandkids.  Feinstein is a drama queen and makes everything about her.

Offline flowers

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Re: Senator recounts personal run-in with drone
« Reply #3 on: January 16, 2014, 06:31:01 pm »
Sen. Dianne Feinstein opened her testimony at a hearing on unmanned aerial vehicles Wednesday by recounting the time she made a drone crash.

Mrs. Feinstein, California Democrat, said there were some protestors demonstrating in front of her house, and one of them must have been flying a small drone.

“I went to the window to peek out and see who was there, and there was a drone right there at the window, looking out at me,” the senator said. “Obviously the pilot of the drone had some surprise because the drone wheeled around and crashed. So I felt a little good about that.”

Mrs. Feinstein has called for rules to govern drone use, both for civilians and for the government, citing both the potential benefits and privacy or security pitfalls of using the new technology.


Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/inside-politics/2014/jan/15/senator-recounts-personal-run-drone/#ixzz2qZGABd3d

 :thud: