The Morning Roar: FAA Investigates Legality Of Flying Drones, Snowden’s Russian Asylum Has Almost Expired, Bitcoin Is Difficult To Buy
Welcome to your Thursday edition of The Morning Roar!FAA Investigates Legality Of Flying DronesA few weeks ago I went to a Pittsburgh Pirates’ baseball game with my wife and some friends. The evening was going as one would expect a baseball game to go. Right after the 7th inning stretch every set of eyeballs in the stadium shifted focus from the players on the field to a drone in the sky.A drone with a camera attached hovered above the centerfield wall, shocking the easily excitable crowed. Little kids screamed “UFO” and adults snapped pictures and recorded the incident on their phones.This incident at PNC Park in Pittsburgh has prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to launch an investigation. According to the FAA, unmanned model aircrafts owners are permitted to fly small aircrafts without FAA approval for hobby or recreational use only, and the drones must be kept in sight and flights over densely populated areas are to be avoided.Based on the FAA’s edict it appears that the owner of the drone that captivated a sellout crowd in Pittsburgh is in trouble with the FAA because a baseball stadium would seem to meet the criteria of a densely populated area.Placing aside an argument over the fairness of this rule, let’s examine another potential pitfall for drone enthusiasts from the FAA’s statement. The FAA declares that drones operated as a hobby or recreationally are fine, but commercial operation is another animal altogether. This uncertain wording has led the FAA to question if drones utilized to photograph or record fireworks over the Fourth of July holiday were operated legally.Business Insider reports:
While recreational model aircraft don’t require FAA approval to fly, people must still operate them within the guidelines of the law. And that’s the issue here — whether or not these drone flights follow the law. Since the FAA’s rules are quite stringent, it would seem these in-the-middle-of-the-action fireworks flights wouldn’t fall under the hobbyist or recreational category.This throws them into commercial use, which is next to impossible to gain approval for. Not only do you require a certified aircraft, you also need a licensed pilot and operating approval. These strict rules have made it so only two commercial drone flights have been approved thus far, both of which were restricted to the Arctic. The Puma AE, for example, monitors BP’s oil pipeline.
The FAA’s law may be stringent, but it is also ambiguous with regard to drone operation. What person or court is supposed to differentiate between what qualifies as a hobby or recreational activity? The law is left wide open to interpretation and fails to include a very important aspect.The FAA’s drone regulations ensure that property rights are not used to regulate usage. If an individual has permission from land owners to fly a drone over a fireworks show, then how is it any different from a photographer gaining permission to take pictures of a fireworks show from the ground? It should all come down to property rights. If a baseball stadium chooses to ban drones in their stadium, then that is their right. Likewise, if a rancher wants to use drones to keep an eye on livestock as they graze their property, then they should be free to do so. It should not matter one lick if a drone operator is flying for recreation, hobby, or to aid in business operations.Snowden’s Russian Asylum Has Almost ExpiredNational Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden’s one-year reprieve in Russia is set to expire July 31. According to Snowden’s lawyer Snowden has submitted the necessary documents needed to extend his asylum in Russia. Thewire.com reports on Snowden’s efforts to extend his controversial stay in Vladimir Putin’s country.
"The procedure is very simple if a citizen of any country would like to stay and live in Russia. In this case we are talking about Snowden, so we have fulfilled the procedure to receive temporary asylum," Snowden's lawyer Anatoly Kucherena said Wednesday. "We have submitted documents to prolong his stay in Russia... The decision lies with the Federal Migration Service."
Snowden’s struggles to extend his stay in Russia are occurring while one of his most damning revelations was unveiled this week by Glenn Greenwald at The Intercept. The new findings revealed the NSA and FBI covertly monitored the emails of prominent Muslim-Americans. These distinguished individuals worked across a gamut of American professions including political candidates, civil rights activists, academics, and lawyers.The Obama administration promptly denied allegations insinuating individuals were targeted based on their political or religious beliefs, but came off sounding like an irrational teenage girl. They essential said, "other countries are way worse than us!" Here’s an excerpt from the White House response taken from Business Insider.
It is entirely false that U.S. intelligence agencies conduct electronic surveillance of political, religious or activist figures solely because they disagree with public policies or criticize the government, or for exercising constitutional rights.Unlike some other nations, the United States does not monitor anyone’s communications in order to suppress criticism or to put people at a disadvantage based on their ethnicity, race, gender, sexual orientation or religion.
So back off citizens, those other countries are obvi more ridic!Bitcoin Is Difficult To BuyDo you want to own Bitcoin?A lot of people like the idea of owning Bitcoin and I must admit that I’ve thought about acquiring the widely circulated cryptocurrency. But there is a common issue that is holding some people back from jumping onto the Bitcoin bandwagon. It turns out that it is not that easy to wake up one day and decide to start transacting in Bitcoins.Rob Wile at Business Insider shares some of the pitfalls he encountered while trying to acquire Bitcoins.
There may be a simple reason for why we the next big breakout has been put on hold: It remains exceedingly difficult to purchase Bitcoin.Much of this is related to the regulatory difficulties Bitcoin sellers are still encountering. Very few U.S. states allow money transmitting businesses that can sell Bitcoin to operate without a license. As a result, American prospectors are confined to from the handful of exchanges operating in the U.S., or must take their chances with an overseas exchange.But not all encumbrances are the result of government restrictions. Simply because of its recent vintage, having a totally secure Bitcoin wallet — one that only you control access to, because remember, you are supposed to not have to use a bank anymore — remains elusive. There continue to be reports of compromised Bitcoin wallets at even the most reputable firms, although not all of these are the firm's direct fault.So one's options for a safe purchase are limited. And attaining that security has created a contradiction for the cryptocurrency: The most trusted sites require you to give up your anonymity, which was supposed to be one of Bitcoin's principal virtues.
At the onset, user anonymity was the calling-card driving the Bitcoin boom. Now with help from governments and banks across the globe, opening a Bitcoin account is becoming just as painful and tedious as opening a bank account.And it’s only going to get worse. The Winklevoss twins are hard at work to bring Bitcoin to Wall Street in the form of an E.T.F. and the IRS is getting ready to sink their teeth into Bitcoin value increases.Don’t get me wrong, Bitcoin does have attractive qualities. It’s portable, potentially more secure than alternatives, and the Federal Reserve can’t diminish the value of the cryptocurrency by magically printing more…..yet. If Bitcoin is to go main stream, then it’s going to have to overcome the same obstacles that fiat monies and precious metal competitors have dealt with for a long time.Read The Morning Roar every weekday Monday-Friday!The Lions of Liberty are on Twitter, Facebook & Google+Receive access to ALL of our EXCLUSIVE bonus audio content – including “Conspiracy Corner”, “Degenerate Gamblers” and the “League of Liberty Podcast” by joining the Lions of Liberty Pride and supporting us on Patreon!
