The Predator drone and “fire surveillance”

The Predator drone is an unmanned aircraft that has been in service with the US military for a few years now. They fly extensive reconnaissance missions in Iraq and other countries, and allegedly play an important role in the Iraq occupation.

Here’s a 60 Minutes report from 2002 about a Predator being shot down in Iraq prior to the invasion:

As of last year the Predator is being used to look for wildfires and to observe fires in progress. Technically the one being used is the NASA version of the Predator, which is called “Ikhana,” but friendly name or not, it’s still an unmanned surveillance plane. Oh, and it can carry weapons as in the video above. Interesting, no?

I don’t know about you, but I am not exactly a fan of unmanned surveillance vehicles being flown over my house. They’re not flying over your house, you say? Well then how are they getting from the airport to the mountains to watch the fires? That’s right, by flying over someone’s house. Or many someones houses.

And who’s to say that they aren’t snapping pictures on the way to and from the airport? If our phones are being wiretapped and our mail can be opened without a warrant, what is keeping them from taking a picture or two of us from the air on their way to look for fires?