A video has been popping up on Facebook and, for one
reason or another, it is sticking in my craw.
Here, look for yourself: http://www.hlntv.com/articles/2016/02/03/dutch-police-use-eagles-to-battle-unwanted-drones
Who defines "Unwanted"?
The headline reads, “Eagles vs. drones: A low-tech
solution to a high-tech problem”. Basically a Dutch company, “Guard from Above”,
is training eagles to ‘take down’ drones.
The pompous music starts as a stoic gentleman with a trained eagle on
his arm sics the bird on a hovering drone.
The text states, “A low-tech solution to a high-tech problem”. Problem? Are the Dutch lousy with drones to the point
that this needs to be a thing or is it a question of their government picking
which drones are wanted (trust me, the ones run by the police or the government)
or the unwanted ones run by, well, people with drones. It begs the question, who defines "Unwanted"?
Now look, I’m not talking about voyeuristic intention
or invasion of privacy territory here – I’m talking about your casual, run of
the mill, drone user. The user who is responsibly
taking video of all the beauty that the Dutch landscape has to offer.
Look, a windmill!
In addition to the whole, man
keepin’ you down thing, this can’t be good for these birds, right? “Soar mighty eagle! Strait into the whirling
propellers of that legally operated drone!”
Then there is the unexpected problem of retaliation that does not seem
to have been taken into account. There
are those out there who will booby-trap their drones just to keep the aggressive
eagle population at bay. A modified Taser
unit would probably do the trick. 50,000
volts, a flash in the low ceilinged sky, the eagle drops like Icarus who flew
too close to the sun. Too bad. Such a majestic bird. Such a medium-tech solution for a low-tech
problem. I bet the unscrupulous drone user
would be carrying a lot of extra 9 volt batteries for the rig to set it again
and again and again. I wonder, how long
does it take to train an eagle from a hatchling to snatch a whirling piece of
plastic out of the sky? Probably a lot
longer than it takes to buy a box of 9 volt batteries.
I would never advocate such behavior but it is clear to
see how it could happen.
What’s good for the goose is good for the gander. In order to stave off the Orwellian skies of
the future the everyday Joe should be able to fly them too. Otherwise it’s just one more tool only to be
utilized by any police state. You can cry,
“it’s all for our security” all you want but without probable cause you are
being watched consistently and categorically monitored. This is no longer tin-foil hat wearing banter
– this is the real deal. This is life in
the twenty-first century.
Prior to this happening, keep smiling for the cameras,
learn to fly the friendly skies, and charge up your EMP discharge device. You just may need it.
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