Monday, July 21, 2014

The Senseless killing of Eric Garner and Our Police State


New York, NY—Selling cigarettes on the street cost a man his life.  Think about it for a moment.  Trying to make a meager living in a miserable economy by selling a legal product deserves death now in New York.
That’s precisely what happened to an obviously overweight (350 lbs.) and unhealthy man last week.  A squad of cops investigating this tax transgression approached Eric Garner. Garner actually begged the cops to leave him alone.   Soon Garner began to shun the cops and resist being handcuffed and the cops piled on him.  All too quickly, Garner was dead.
Was it the long banned chokehold?  I don’t think so.  I suspect positional asphyxia was the actual cause of death.  Does it really make any difference how they killed him?  Garner was killed not by policemen in the true sense of that noble occupation but a gang of government extortionists. 
This was not about anything more than the attempted evasion of an outrageous tax on a legal product that millions consume in America.  
Our greedy politicians expand their power and the government monster by overtaxing anything they can.   We all know that this was about money rather than evil, violence or simple public safety. 
Cops used to be there to protect and help us from evil.  They all signed up to help their fellow man, not to become extortionists.  However politicians changed the game decades ago by feeding the government monster with fines for minor offenses. 
Along the way our politicians stayed wide-awake nights dreaming of the creation new petty offenses and raising the fines on the ones already on the books.  They all need to bribe contractors for crap we don’t need for reelection campaigns.  That takes money and new creative ways of taking it from the public.
Parking enforcement and meters led the extortion parade.  Today unconstitutional Photo traffic enforcement has provided billions of illicit dollars to local governments. 
Most Americans don’t have a clue that they only way to convict people with photo enforcement and collect fines flagrantly violates our Sixth Amendment rights to confront and cross-examine witnesses against us. 
Where there is no live witness to a transgression courts must rely on long banned hearsay testimony to admit photo and computer data evidence into court.  You can’t cross-examine and ask the photograph about errors or equipment malfunctions.  Was the equipment actually tampered with to make it appear there was a violation by greedy equipment manufacturers selling government on this garbage?  
The whores in local politics appoint the judges and they know they better side with those that feed them.  Again, those sworn to defend it have trashed our Constitution. 
You can of course appeal the fines to higher courts where the judges owe nothing to local politicians.  However that red light ticket conviction will cost as much as a house to appeal to your state Supreme Court and a couple of million more to get a shot at the U.S. Supreme Court. 
The cost of court appeals denies all of us justice facilitating the tyranny of or politicians.  If we somehow had the money it still takes decades for these cases to be litigated and decided by the courts.  It’s truly a case of justice both denied and delayed. 
The only real remedy is through unimaginable self-help by violent revolution.  The Second Amendment was designed to that we the people would have arms parity with the government.  We’ve allowed the government to disarm the population and any arms we do have are not remotely comparable to those military grade arms.   
Today Americans could not stop a rogue President much better than Germany or Russia could stop Adolf Hitler or Josef Stalin.   
As long as it’s only the government breaking the law that’s seems okay with today’s Americans.
Politicians know Americans cannot possibly afford to seek justice against rogue politicians and they expect us all to simply shrug off the tyranny.   Our forefathers would have simply found and killed all these bastards. 
How soon we forget that we revolted against the British over a 3% tax on tea.  Have we forgotten that Americans began to kill those that dare extort from them?  Have they forgotten that they became free of their corrupt oppressors by chasing the ones that survived back to the UK? 
Cops are not nor should they be they ever become hated tax collectors.  However the Communists and Socialists we’ve elected have a different idea and like in every totalitarian society the cops are never on the side of the population.
The very reason we demanded our politicians and public officials take an oath to the Constitution was to prevent what we’ve allowed our nation to become. 
We now have a full-blown police state.  We have more people imprisoned per capita than any other nation on earth that proves the point.   
Slowly they’ve promoted the snitch system where our neighbors and children can be rewarded to turning us in to the authorities.
It’s only a matter of time before the death penalty will be used against anyone criticizing politicians or government tyranny.  They of course will claim this is necessary for public safety and a large percentage of the population will actually believe it. 
Those that love the idea of giving politicians to power of the death penalty need to rethink their position. 
We better get used to the idea of many more killings like Eric Garner’s.  That’s even if they prosecute those NYPD officers for excessive force.  The cops are no longer here for public safety but simple extortion.

Saturday, July 19, 2014

To My Friends in the Netherlands…


Amsterdam, NL--It’s with a heavy heart that I mourn with you the loss of so many of your best and brightest people that were killed by the senseless destruction Malaysia Airlines flight #MH 17.
I have such fond memories of my visits to your nation rich with beauty, art and some of the friendliest people anywhere. 
I can’t wait for my next visit to Holland where I’m sure I’ll visit with old friends and make some new ones. 
I deeply respect the legendary Dutch heroes that risked torture and death resisting the Nazis during their brutal occupation. 
Few nations in the world can boast such an artistic, well-educated and productive population. 
I’m horrified that the remains of your loved ones are decomposing in the field of wreckage after being robbed of jewelry and other valuables.  This just adds to the misery for the friends and families of these innocent victims. 
I beg that the International Community demands that these human remains be treated respectfully and returned to the families without further delay.
There is of course no way to undo this insanity.  If there were a way for me to somehow help make things better I would not hesitate.
I want you all to know that you have my support, prayers and love as you have to deal with this horrific crisis.  
As for my fellow American friends please put a visit to beautiful Amsterdam and other Dutch cities on your summer travel plans.  You’ll be glad you did.  The incredible flowers, canals, museums are breathtaking.  The Anne Frank House is still there waiting for your visit. 



Thursday, July 17, 2014

Why is the Media is Falling For Fake Drone Stories?


Los Angeles, CA—The latest technology tool for newsgathering is taking a propaganda beating from the media.  As incredible as it seems the media is promoting ignorance about camera drones rather than enlightening their audience! 
The little drones are indeed amazing.  They can take sophisticated yet tiny cameras to incredible heights to get inexpensive video and still images in near absolute safety!  
They are definitely a novelty and local police have zero training about these devices.  They have not been around long enough for police and procedures to be developed.  The obvious best policy is to simply leave the drone operators alone. 
Cops seem to want to make arrests for drone use because they know right now they will get substantial news coverage.  However those highly publicized recent arrests of drone pilots have turned out to be absolutely bogus.
Two police helicopter pilots in New York spotted a little plastic drone in the area of the George Washington Bridge.   They chased it and then arranged for the felony arrests of two young men claiming these drone operators endangered the police helicopter!  Their own recorded radio transmissions were solid proof that the cops lied! 
Yesterday a drone pilot was arrested as a Peeping Tom when his drone was “too close” to a medical center where people were believed to be possibly undressing inside.  The fact was that this proved impossible because of reflective material on the glass window.  There certanly were no images of undressed people on the drone's camera!
Since when do people that don’t close their drapes have any reasonable expectation of privacy?
As for the camera drones they have the ultimate “black box” that will show the world in high definition video exactly what it was doing!  We can count on liars being exposed when the images are viewed. 
Many helicopter and fixed wing pilots stand to lose their livelihoods as drone operators replace them.  They have an obvious conflict of interest when it comes to making reports about drone activities.  They want them outlawed for very understandable but ulterior motivation. 
It’s simply about cost and safety.  Even if the little drones crash nobody is going to neither die nor will there be remarkable injuries or property damage.  These traditional pilots can be counted upon to hate multi-rotor drones and their operators.
Propaganda is feeding fear and loathing by the ignorant public.  Nobody stands to gain more from the camera drones that the media and the public that will be able see the world as birds do.  Why is the media falling for the deception of the drone detractors?
Drone journalists are going to be broadcasting and publishing images that were impossible until now.  The camera drones are already bringing us art, beauty, and truth.  There are really no negatives.
People are beginning argue that terrorists will use them for attacks.  They are far less powerful and destructive to aircraft or people than ordinary firearms.  People are letting their over-active imaginations rule over common sense.
The FAA is trying to deal with government concerns that these devices are dangerous.   In the hands of the media that’s true because they may discover waste, mismanagement and questionable behavior of government employees.
Cops are already in a goldfish bowl with millions of cellphone cameras waiting to catch them making missteps.  Now they are being observed from drones too!  Will cops be making arrests of drone operators to intimidate and prevent them from documenting their behavior?  History says that’s a guarantee!
We know from experience that cops have arrested thousands of photographers and cellphone users until the courts ruled that the cops were dead wrong.  Police tyranny may well be a fact of life for many camera drone pilots.  
Cameras are very dangerous instruments because they expose the naked truth.  Camera drones are a new danger that may bring us yet more truth than we can handle.   Human being have shown over and over again that they can’t handle the truth!






Monday, July 14, 2014

Hollywood Met My Drone Today!


Hollywood, CA—I have to blame my dear friend Pablo Lewin for my obsession with camera drones.  Lewin is a film director who discovered this marvelous and incredibly creative filmmaking tool and got me hooked and empowered with the latest high tech toy.
I’ve done a number of drone stories but today I was going to film a scene for Lewin’s latest film offering. I thought I'd let you in on the experience.
I can still remember that horrible accident in the early morning hours of July 23, 1982, actor Vic Morrow along with two children, My-Ca Dinh Le (age 7), and Renee Shin-Yi Chen (age 6), died in a nasty helicopter crash during the filming of the Twilight Zone  movie.  We've taken any safety risk out of our production! 
Helicopters can be deadly and they are too expensive for some filmmakers. Not to worry, the camera armed drones are here!  Today it was me and my drone that eliminated any dangers along with the impossible expense for a helicopter for our low budget film!
Here is the scene. We have not selected necessary music or voiceover for this yet.  I put up Patti LuPone’s version of Calling You from the film Baghdad Café. It’s very fitting for that video.  I love Patti's great work but we don't have the $$$ to put her great voice on our film.  Of corse donations will be accepted!
Stay tuned for this film from Pablo Lewin Productions.  He’s got some great actors and he also has done the principal photography.   
Here is the video scene that was shot using a DJI Phantom 2 and a GoPro Black Edition 3+ camera.  YouTube compresses the video too much but the film DVD be so much more cinematic!





Saturday, July 12, 2014

Guidelines and Advice for Independent Drone Journalists

Phoenix, AZ—This geographical area is considered a medium size TV market.  Not every TV station here can afford a helicopter at $1,500.00 plus per hour.   Still they need plenty of quality video and of course that means aerial coverage of newsworthy events. 
Smaller TV markets have smaller budgets and no choice but to use drones if they want aerial video. 
As a former cop, long time licensed private investigator and investigative TV news producer I have advice to offer about drone journalism.
The video-capturing drone is still a relatively new but very exciting technology.  It’s perfectly suited for use in Phoenix, AZ.  Now there is suddenly a new job to fill in the news industry, the drone, multimedia journalist. 
To do this job you need four skills, operating the drone, photography, video editing and writing news stories.  Nobody said it was easy!    
Police officials initially may be hostile over the fact that we can quietly and easily observe and record them as they perform their duties.  They are simply going to have to accept the reality.  Are the camera-armed drones really any different than helicopters being used now? 
There is one significant difference and that is that the little drones have never been involved in a fatal accident or even caused a remarkable injury.
Our tiny cameras have their limitations and the altitudes we operate the best in are usually below 250 feet.  Rather than fly higher adjust your camera for wide angle.  This will help avoid possible contact with other aircraft.
I use a GoPro3+ Black Edition camera.  During daytime I set the camera at 1080P and 60 FPS.  At night I drop the setting to 24 FPS for better light gathering.  On bright sunny days use of a neutral density filter is advised. 
Breaking news brings helicopters in from different sources.  Medical evacuation, police and news choppers routinely show up at these events.  My advice here is when they do it’s time to discontinue flying until they leave. 
Police and medical choppers can be counted upon to fly at very low altitudes and must even land at these scenes.   Common sense dictates that you always yield to them.
The various general aviation helicopters are in radio communication with each other and the nearest airport control tower.  Drone operators are not and that means they may not be aware of your drone and potential collisions are possible.
Try to control your drone from an area of concealment.  There will be far fewer distractions from nearby people.  In other words, don’t fly from the edge of police yellow tape or across the street from the incident.  Go around the corner and get your video from there. 
Should you have to park your drone, work on gathering information and locating witnesses for those needed interviews.
Always record the actual addresses of these incidents and license plate numbers of involved vehicles. 
You really need to capture your video and quickly get it to the TV news ENG department.  You can physically deliver it to your TV news live truck, the news department or send the video files over the Internet. 
Because of the FAA regulation confusion TV stations are understandably afraid of becoming embroiled in some investigation.  That means for now you should never tell them the method you use to get aerial video. 
You could have used a traditional aircraft, kite or a balloon on a string to get the video.  Why put some news director in the middle with too much information?
I suspect that the FAA will never succeed in preventing drone journalism because the right we all have to gather news.  There is no significant history of safety issues to bring legitimate prohibitions.   
None of us want to see our drone damaged because of carelessness or inattention.   That in and of itself provides plenty of motivation us to be careful! 
Public relations with your community are essential for drone journalists.  Please spread the word that they are GPS connected and that they will hover in place by simply letting go of the controls.  Our unblemished safety record is a huge selling point.
As for privacy invasion let the public know that current laws adequately protect them including the laws prohibiting stalking. 
We must learn to coexist with our neighbors and conventional aircraft.