Sramana Majumdar

"Violence, Identity and Self-determination: Narratives of conflict from the Kashmir Valley" 4:15 PM, Monday 18 Nov Room 239, BYC Bryn Mawr College

Exposure Index

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UAH unveils drone-like UAVs to aid police with campus safety

College campuses have long been centers of unmanned vehicles development and testing, making the sight of such things less surprising than elsewhere. Between that and the weekly pulse of inebriated students wandering around at night it’s easy to see why campus police would be interested in trying out something new.

Ex-Lawyer in State Department Criticizes Drone Secrecy

Part of the problem with the secrecy is that most of the laws and court decisions regulating the use of drones are also classified. It’s hard for citizens to trust when it’s impossible to verify – or to even know what standards drone use is supposed to be tested against.

Ex-Premier Is Set to Regain Power in Pakistan Vote

One of Premier-elect Nawaz Sharif’s main campaign planks was stopping the U.S. drone strikes, which are overwhelmingly hated by the people of Pakistan. It has also been argued that the drone strikes play into the hands of Taliban propaganda by making it easy to portray the U.S. as a faceless, distant, and uncaring imperial power.

Former Air Force Pilot Has Cautionary Tales About Drones

As drone pilots are never personally at risk and are often thousands of miles away it is easy to forget that they can still suffer psychological damage. Their very safety – the inequality/”unfairness” of their position versus their targets’ – could even make the stress greater.

Falcon UAV Puts Deer Trail Colorado on the Map…..Literally….Sort of….

In the continuing saga of Deer Trail, Colorado, the proposal for bounty on drones will go to a special vote for all residents. Falcon UAV is trying to turn this into a PR coup by showing residents (and those watching the town) how useful drones are. It remains to be seen whether this effort is […]

Are Surveillance Blimps the New Drones?

In combination with developments such as the Argus Camera, the author’s privacy fears of surveillance blimps are not baseless. Note also the negative connotations in the title’s use of the word “drone.”

Paul finds drone he likes

Even Rand Paul can appreciate a drone if it does something for him and isn’t invading his privacy. This example underscores how truly necessary it is for unmanned vehicles to not be restricted to military/police uses.

Some surveillance drones, but not all, grounded under N.C. law

With privacy concerns mounting as domestic drones become reality, North Carolina took pre-emptive steps to prevent public outcry. Depending on how drones are used, this could be seen as either anachronistic or prescient.

Drones In Yemen: Does the U.S. Pay Families When Strikes Kill Innocent Yemenis?

This is yet another piece of information on the use of drones that is classified. It is known that there are documents on the subject, which implies the answer to be ‘yes’, however.

CIA Refuses to Acknowledge Drone Targeted Killings

The use of drone strikes is public known, extensively documented, and – bizarrely – still classified and officially secret.