Looking for a new career path? According to NBC, colleges are now ramping up their
drone piloting programs:
While most jobs flying drones currently are military-related, universities and colleges expect that to change by 2015, when the Federal Aviation Administration is due to release regulations for unmanned aircraft in domestic airspace. Once those regulations are in place, the FAA predicts that 10,000 commercial drones will be operating in the U.S. within five years.
Although just three schools currently offer degrees in piloting unmanned aircraft, many others – including community colleges – offer training for remote pilots. And those numbers figure are set to increase, with some aviation industry analysts predicting drones will eventually come to dominate the U.S. skies in terms of jobs. [...]
Among the possible applications: Monitoring livestock and oil pipelines, spotting animal poachers, tracking down criminals fleeing crime scenes and delivering packages for UPS and FedEx.
So there ya go. Although I'm not eager to be on the receiving end of a drone-based UPS delivery, thanks.
Blast from the Past. At Daily Kos on this date in 2010—Blair Defends Iraq Invasion at Chilcot Inquiry:
Two weeks ago, it was revealed that a year before the invasion of Iraq, Jack Straw, the British foreign secretary at the time, had warned Prime Minister Tony Blair that the case for war was of questionable legality. He sent Blair a letter in March 2002, just 10 days before the prime minister met with President George Bush. The letter indicates that Blair was already on a course for military action at a time when he was telling the British public that no decision had been made. Among 11 points Straw included:
If 11 September had not happened, it is doubtful that the US would now be considering military action against Iraq. In addition, there has been no credible evidence to link Iraq with [Osama bin Laden] and Al Qaida. Objectively, the threat from Iraq has not worsened as a result of 11 September. What has however changed is the tolerance of the international community (especially that of the US), the world having witnessed on September 11 just what determined evil people can these days perpetuate.
A January survey commissioned by the Times (of London) found that 52% of Britons believe Blair misled the nation, and 23% want him tried as a war criminal. |
Tweet of the Day:
Congratulations to @JohnKerry on his confirmation as SecState. Looking forward to working closely with him on the national security team.
— @AmbassadorRice via web
On today's
Kagro in the Morning show,
Greg Dworkin joined us to talk about the Republican efforts to become the non-stupid party, and how they're faring. David Brooks thinks they're doing a lousy job, but he'll fix it by complaining. We also caught up with the latest crazy gun stories, the remaining possibilities for Senate rules reform, and even some old but still surprising news about which presidents were responsible for the biggest and smallest rates of growth in government spending. It's a shocker for people who hate Obama and love Reagan. Know anyone like that?
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