Brinworld++ U.S. Vigilantes Test Drones on Mexican Border
MONTERREY, Mexico (Reuters) - An Arizona vigilante group is testing homemade "drone" reconnaissance planes on the U.S.-Mexican border to monitor illegal immigrants entering the United States in lonely desert areas. Glenn Spencer, head of the American Border Patrol vigilante group, said on Tuesday the group has been testing two Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for about a month and plans to have a fleet making passes over the border by early July. "We want to show how the application of this technology can solve the border problem," Spencer told Reuters. Police and residents say they are aware of the drones, similar to unmanned U.S. military aircraft used in Iraq. Hundreds of thousands of illegal Mexican immigrants cross the border in search of work every year. Three vigilante groups, some of them armed, have sprung up in Arizona in the last three years to monitor the border and hand over any illegal immigrants they find to U.S. Border Patrol agents. The groups say U.S. authorities allow too many Mexicans to flout U.S. immigration law. Since the Sept. 11 attacks, some have also said unrestricted immigration poses an unacceptable security risk. Area residents say the drones invade their privacy and foster poor cross-border relations. "The Mexican populations along the border are indignant," said Miguel Escobar, a Mexican Foreign Ministry official based in Arizona. Ray Borane, mayor of the border town of Douglas, Ariz., said the group's activities are racist. "BORDER HAWK" The vigilantes say they plan to outfit each UAV with a global positioning device to pinpoint migrants, and then forward hose coordinates to the Border Patrol. Dubbed the Border Hawk, the $5,000 drone has a wingspan of 5-1/2 feet and flies at an altitude of 300-400 feet -- under the 500 feet mandated for aircraft that need certification by the Federal Aviation Administration. The craft are made by members of the vigilante group with experience in electronics, Spencer said. Mario Villarreal, spokesman for the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection in Washington, said: "We appreciate the community's efforts in notifying us of suspicious activities... We encourage them to call the Border Patrol or law enforcement but those efforts should be within the law." He refused to comment directly on the vigilantes or their planned use of drones. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A51414-2003May13.html
On Wednesday 14 May 2003 18:55, Major Variola (ret) forwarded the following Al-Reuters dreck:
...vigilante group... ... vigilante group... ... Three vigilante groups, some of them armed... hand over any illegal immigrants they find to U.S. Border Patrol agents. ...vigilantes... forward those coordinates to the Border Patrol... ... vigilante group... ...vigilantes...
_Some_ of these "vigilantes" are armed, and they plan to send the location of illegals to the Border Patrol? Has "vigilante" been defined down, like "assault weapon"? I'm surprised Al-Reuters isn't calling these guys terrorists. "Terrorist" is currently unused in their various news reports, as they generally refer to not-so-smart bombs as "radicals". -- Steve Furlong Computer Condottiere Have GNU, Will Travel Guns will get you through times of no duct tape better than duct tape will get you through times of no guns. -- Ron Kuby
On Wednesday, May 14, 2003, at 04:42 PM, Steve Furlong wrote:
On Wednesday 14 May 2003 18:55, Major Variola (ret) forwarded the following Al-Reuters dreck:
...vigilante group... ... vigilante group... ... Three vigilante groups, some of them armed... hand over any illegal immigrants they find to U.S. Border Patrol agents. ...vigilantes... forward those coordinates to the Border Patrol... ... vigilante group... ...vigilantes...
_Some_ of these "vigilantes" are armed, and they plan to send the location of illegals to the Border Patrol? Has "vigilante" been defined down, like "assault weapon"?
I'm surprised Al-Reuters isn't calling these guys terrorists.
Every time I see that weirdo Curtis Sliwa, with his red beret and his "Guardian Angels" posse, I think "domestic terrorists." The notion that people on the street could be stopped and questioned by some illiterate Puerto Ricans (Sliwa doesn't sound PR, but his girlfriend/wife "Lisa Sliwa" is undeniably PR) and then allowed to pass or not is a good reason to carry a gun and pop them. And, yes, I would object just as strongly if _literate_ PRs, or literate Europeans, or anyone, stopped me and demanded to know my business. The point about them being illiterate PRs is that it's crystal-clear this is just a gang with a nominally "pro law and order" slant. Exactly as if the Bloods or the Crips became enforcers for the power structure. They look like Hitler Youth, although both Curtis and Lisa are getting old. The issue of whether a group like Sliwa's or the border ranchers is a posse, a gang, a neighborhood watch group, a vigilante force, or a right-wing militia is all in the act of naming. If they're keeping out wetbacks from crossing their lands, more power to them. Shoot to kill, night vision, all that good stuff. If they stop me from walking on a public street and tell me I have to explain to them to their satisfaction what I am doing in "their" neighborhood, they have earned killing. It's as simple as that. --Tim May "To those who scare peace-loving people with phantoms of lost liberty, my message is this: Your tactics only aid terrorists." --John Ashcroft, U.S. Attorney General
participants (3)
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Major Variola (ret)
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Steve Furlong
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Tim May