The Next Ten Years: NMA Weekly E-Newsletter #520
We wanted to do something special for Issue #520 because it marks ten years of uninterrupted weekly NMA e-newsletters that, we hope, have provided entertaining (if not thought-provoking) perspectives. To carry on that tradition, NMA and NMA Foundation directors were asked to provide mini essays for the occasion. No one likes homework but they tackled […]
FAA’s “Integration Pilot UAS Program” is really a national police surveillance drone program
From guest writer Joe Cadillic of the MassPrivatel.com Blog This year was full of many disturbing stories, like the one about Bloomberg’s role-playing workshops being used to convince the public to accept police drones equipped with microphones. And another about politicians claiming police drones will help revitalize a downtown and create community connections. None of that could […]
Covert Facial Recognition Street Lights—Coming Soon to a Neighborhood near You?: NMA Weekly E-Newsletter #514
From guest writer Joe Cadillic of the MassPrivtel Blog A recent Reuter’s article revealed that ST Engineering has been awarded $5.5 million to install facial recognition street lights in Singapore. ST’s smart street lights come equipped with sensors, LED screens and covert cameras already installed. Incredibly, ST claims their spying street lights can bring “healthcare benefits to residents.” […]
To Record or Not to Record, That is the Question: NMA E-Newsletter #512
An interesting phenomenon is being reported by some members. Police officers approaching their vehicles during routine traffic stops are asking an opening question different than the traditional, “Do you know why I stopped you?” Rather, in this day of rising popularity of dashcams and the ubiquitous presence of smartphones, the opening query is just as […]
Are We Really Ready for RoboCars?
By the end of the year, Waymo plans to release upon the world (in Arizona specifically) robotaxis that can be summoned with the press of a button. Are we ready to forgo our personal vehicle and step into a transportation pod that controls us in an intimate and even perhaps a provocative way? Probably not. […]
Connected Cars Need to First Get Connected
Connected cars will likely happen long before autonomous vehicles (AVs) are fully adopted. Not only will automakers need to master the nuances of V2X (vehicle-to-everything), the industry will also need to adopt standards that every automaker uses along with city and state governments. These standards not only will need to be robust but also protect […]
No more Policymaking by Procurement
Privacy Groups and Cities fight back against Pervasive Surveillance This article first appeared in the NMA Foundation quarterly magazine Driving Freedoms Summer 2018. With no checks and balances, local law enforcement should not be spying on citizens. A number of cities, with the help of privacy groups and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), are […]
The Carrot and the Stick Approach to Vehicle Tracking: What’s wrong with congestion pricing and Vehicle Miles Traveled Tax Schemes?
This article first appeared in the NMA Foundation quarterly magazine Driving Freedoms Winter 2016 edition. Smart Growth supporters claim their transportation fixes will reduce congestion and lead to more accessible roads for all users. In practice, the opposite may be true. In the winter 2015 Driving Freedoms, a California NMA member described how congestion and […]
The Hidden Danger of Buying a Used Connected Car
The media has made much ado about remote car hacking and it is a serious concern but there is another concern that could potentially be more devastating for a new used car owner: Buying a used car whose connectivity is still controlled by the previous owner. More than likely, the owner forgot that they needed […]
Carrot and Stick
Reinhard Heydrich, who was the Reichsprotektor of Bohemia and Moravia — formerly Czechoslovakia, until the Nazis decided it wasn’t anymore — was probably the smartest Nazi. He knew how to wheedle his victims into cooperating in their own victimhood. “His Czechs” — as he styled them — would be rewarded with extra rations and less […]