Police turn to drones for domestic surveillance

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/surveillance/2011-01-13-drones_N.htm

Lol the Vets are pushing for the use of drones by the police departments.
And the DoJ is trying to speed up the process to make it happen.

Police agencies around the USA soon could have a new tool in their crime-fighting arsenal: unmanned aerial vehicles inspired by the success of such drones on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan.
Local governments have been pressing the Federal Aviation Administration for wider use of unmanned aircraft — a demand driven largely by returning veterans who observed the crafts' effectiveness in war, according to experts at New Mexico State University and Auburn University.Police could use the smaller planes to find lost children, hunt illegal marijuana crops and ease traffic jams in evacuations of cities before hurricanes or other natural disasters.

One of the chief obstacles to widespread use of UAVs is their inability to "see and avoid" other aircraft as required by federal regulations, a key to flight safety. Davis says he believes operators on the ground can comply with federal rules if they can see the aircraft and the surrounding environment. Wesley Randall, principal investigator on an FAA grant awarded last year to researchers at Auburn University to study the risks associated with unmanned aircraft, predicts drones will be used by police departments in five to 10 years. Randall predicts that much larger unmanned aircraft will be used to transport cargo within 15-20 years.

Drone may be coming to Miami-Dade

http://www.wsvn.com/news/articles/local/21003198189967/


Oh the sickness of it all and how easily it seems to spread.
The toys of war shall now be sanctioned for use on it's own citizens, brought to you as well as bought by you, and paid for by yet another grant from the United States, who is so god damned broke that little Timmy had to ask for another higher credit limit again today.

Hey lets ask Pakistan or Afghanistan or Iraq how great it is to have drones flying over your head. They not only take picture they kill people to. They can tell us all first hand the mistake ratio, I hear it pretty high.

A new piece of technology may soon be coming to South Florida, but is already raising concerns from residents.

The Miami-Dade Police Department recently finalized a deal to buy a drone, which is an unmanned plane equipped with cameras. Drones have been used for years in Iraq and Afghanistan in the war against terror.

Many residents are concerned that the new technology will violate their privacy.

Florida Foreclosure Auction Cancellations `Frustrating' to Judge

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-10-26/florida-foreclosure-judge-criticizes-lenders-amid-cancellation-of-auctions.html

Which pretty much tells you the banks still don't have their shit together, because it's impossible to put together the documentation of something they don't own.

The Miami judge managing a backlog of 80,000 foreclosures said it’s “frustrating” that lenders including Bank of America Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. continue to cancel foreclosure auctions.

Circuit Judge Jennifer Bailey in Miami-Dade County, which has the most foreclosures in Florida, recently set up a system to clear the logjam. She also chaired a state Supreme Court task force last year set up to address the volume of foreclosures in the state’s courts.

Bailey said banks are canceling foreclosure sales every day. They canceled at least 20 yesterday in front of one judge, saying they had to review the affidavits used to seize homes.

The cancellations came as Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America and Detroit-based Ally Financial Inc.’s GMAC Mortgage unit said they were moving to complete pending foreclosures.

Medicare to cap payments amid rampant fraud

Medicare to cap payments amid rampant fraud

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http://www.miamiherald.com/460/story/1171663.html

How will this effect Hospice billing, because I'm pretty sure it is billed for under Medicare. I personally have had the use of their services twice regarding both my parents. Had it not been for them I really can't imagine how I would have been able to provide the proper care my parents needed in their last days.

Fueled by massive fraud, home healthcare providers in Miami-Dade County are raking in more Medicare money than their colleagues in the rest of the country combined -- thanks to bogus billings for patients with diabetes, authorities say.

Now, Medicare is taking tough steps to stop agencies from filing hundreds of millions of dollars a year in false claims.

The federal agency is proposing a nationwide cap that would reduce Medicare reimbursements to any agency treating homebound patients with diabetes or other chronic ailments. The proposed limit: 10 percent of the bill.

Though national in scope, Medicare's plan is really aimed at shutting down hundreds of home healthcare agencies in Miami-Dade suspected of submitting phony claims for twice-daily insulin injections by a visiting nurse, officials said.

``We looked at [Miami-Dade] as an albatross because it was weighing us all down,'' said William Dombi, a vice president at the National Association for Home Care and Hospice, a Washington trade group that pitched the 10 percent cap to Congress. ``It's beyond an embarrassment -- it's harmful to everyone across the country.''