#StandwithRand: Hitching a Ride on the Hashtag Liberty Political Activist Train

“Are we so afraid of terrorists that we are willing to throw away our rights and our freedoms?” Rand Paul

While the power of social media is indeed becoming a potent political and activist force that is acutely threatening the information monopoly of mainstream media, the power of Twitter was vividly visible last night during Senator Rand Paul's incredible nearly 13 hour filibuster of the CIA Brennan nomination over the use of drones to murder American citizens on US soil.   I wasn't the only person glued to Twitter last night and the hashtag #StandwithRand, and it seemed like everybody who cares about politics and civil liberties was glued to Twitter for many, many hours.  Last night became a defining moment in the power of social media.

While I'm of the opinion that the Republicans who showed up (late) to Stand With Rand were mostly frauds politicizing the event for their own political benefit because most of them did in fact vote for NDAA, indefinite detention, the Patriot Act and other horrors, what is most fascinating is the liberal response that clearly groaned disappointment with the Democrats.

I do, however, give much deserved credit to Republican Senator Mike Lee and Democrat Senator Ron Wyden who stood with Rand early because they've mostly been at the forefront in the battle for civil liberties and have decent voting records to prove it.

For whatever reasons, Rand Paul made the Republicans look good last night and many liberals and Democrats were utterly appalled and shocked that only one Democrat had the courage and conviction to Stand With Rand.

Glenn Greenwald, a liberal anti-war icon of civil liberties and a constitutional attorney tweeted:

Glenn Greenwald @ggreenwald "Fascinating day: Tea Party Senator filibusters torture-supporting CIA nominee over civil liberties, while Dem establishment mocks & fumes"

Liberal leaning and very popular pundit/commedian Jon Stewart praised Rand Paul.

JON STEWART: Rand Paul Used The Filibuster 'The Way It's Meant To Be Used'

"The Daily Show"'s Jon Stewart opened his show Wednesday night by praising Sen. Rand Paul, who was at airtime still in the midst of a nearly 13-hour filibuster of John Brennan's nomination as CIA Director.

It's significant coming from Stewart, the left-leaning host of "The Daily Show" who has recently been on a crusade against what he sees as hypocritical policies from the Obama administration on its targeted killings through drone strikes.

"I can't say that I agree with Rand Paul about everything, but as issues go, drone oversight is certainly one worth kicking up a fuss for," Stewart said.

Another very popular and respected liberal TV show host,Cenk Uygur, tweeted:

Cenk Uygur @cenkuygur Courageous effort by Rand Paul today. He made believers out of some people and shined a light into the darkness. #StandWithRand

Now 15 Senators have joined Rand Paul in his #filibuster in its 13th hour.Only one Democrat. Progressive Dems, where are you? #StandWithRand

If anything, liberals, progressives and Democrats have traditionally claimed and held the moral high ground on civil liberties.  It's understandable that many astute and well meaning Democrats are literally sick over the unwillingness of congressional Democrats to oppose drone murders.  Moreover, to bear witness to Obama and his administration effectively out-Bushing the Bush gang on horrifying civil liberties abuses is unspeakable as well as unbearable for civil liberty minded Democrats.

If anything, the big winners land night were Rand Paul, Senators Wyden and Lee, and civil libertarians of all political stripes who absolutely know how to sift through the Republican and Democrat garbage pile of hallow and shallow talking points to get to the truth.  And that's precisely what happened last night:  the truth was courageously distilled to its absolute and raw essence by the people and truth tellers.

In an age of vanishing civil liberties and increasing government oppression, that's not insignificant.  It's a monumental leap!

Meanwhile, Senator Rand Paul is doing his part to fire up the smoldering embers of liberty and that's a very good thing.

Fat Cat Defense Contractors, the Police State and the $400 Billion Drone Business

Is privacy a thing of the past?  To what extent will government be following us everywhere we go and recording all of our activities, including the most intimate of private activities?  Defense contractors are gearing up for huge profits in the exponentially growing drone business.  Besides photographing you, drones can also shoot you and bomb you.  The globalized militarized police state is taking a giant leap and it won't bode well for human life, liberty and privacy.

Military drones zero in on $400 billion civilian market

(Reuters) - Military drone technology, which has revolutionized warfare over the last decade, will be ready for civilian use within four years and could create a market worth more than $400 billion.

That's the prediction from a UK research project backed by the government and top aerospace companies hoping for a windfall as many of the dull, dirty and dangerous jobs done by manned aircraft are replaced by drones.

The consortium behind the program, which includes BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce, sees potential uses for drones from search and rescue to checking oil pipelines, jobs currently done with expensive aircraft flown by pilots who get tired and often in treacherous conditions.

Unmanned aircraft are already being used in niche areas. They were flown over the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan to check the damage and the British Antarctic Survey has put them to work checking ice and snow conditions.

"You'll be able to do a lot of things you simply can't do with manned aircraft," said Lambert Dopping-Hepenstal, an engineering executive from BAE who is project director at the ASTRAEA program (Autonomous Systems Technology Related Airborne Evaluation & Assessment).

"We are in the hands of the regulators but within three to four years the technology will be at the right maturity levels," he said.

Dopping-Hepenstal predicted that overcoming public concern about a sky full of autonomous aircraft will probably mean drones are first used in areas away from towns and cities, for sea rescue searches and monitoring fishing grounds.

Chris Elliott, an engineer and barrister who is a consultant to the ASTRAEA project, acknowledged there will be a lot of work needed to win public acceptance but added: "The Pandora's Box is open".

The use of drones in war zones has thrown up difficult ethical issues, particularly on accountability for mistakes, and the shift into civilian use is likely to be just as controversial.

"There is a public perception that has to be understood and correctly informed," said Elliott, arguing that the industry needs to demonstrate safety and address the question of who is accountable should there be an accident.

The research program is working with the Civil Aviation Authority, which regulates UK air space, to demonstrate that the systems for controlling unmanned aircraft make them at least as safe as those with pilots.

Drones would always be controlled from the ground, as they are in military use, but complex systems for detecting terrain and other objects, from aircraft to skydivers, will mean they can fly themselves if communication links with the ground go down.

"This is in some respects the scary bit" as far as public perception is concerned, said Dopping-Hepenstal.

ASTRAEA estimates that broader use could be worth as much as $62 billion a year to the global aerospace industry by 2020.

Ruth Mallors, director of the UK aerospace Knowledge Transfer Network, said a report this year on the value of all the potential services drones could provide bumps that figure up to over $400 billion a year.

Legislators on both sides of the Atlantic are preparing the ground.

The U.S. Congress passed a bill in February requiring the Federal Aviation Administration to integrate unmanned aircraft systems into regulation by 2015. The European Commission wants to do the same by 2018.

ASTRAEA plans flight tests over the North Sea later this year using a Gulfstream aircraft. It will be set up to fly itself but the test plane will also carry a pilot, for now.

How advanced is drone camera technology? It's very advanced, here.

The powers that be... are spending YOUR tax dollars (millions) on Civil Air Patrol Drones. Also known as CAPD, and pronounced the same. CAPD will have access to your whereabouts, where you shop, eat, and play. IF you and your sweetie are using a public park and are laying nude under the moonlit sky...and think you just saw a UFO...guess again. The drone has recorded in 10,000 high resolution pixels your romantic interlude, and, sent those photos digitally to the NSA Spy center out west to be stored indefinitely in case needed for National Defense. And this my friends is NOT a joke.

For an incredible learning and viewing experience on high resolution giga pixel photography, click here.