Jones a Standout Supporter of Call for Drones Transparency. (Where Are NC Democrats?)

Republican Rep. Walter B. Jones (NC-3) took a principled stand as the first co-sponsor of Adam Schiff's "Come Clean on Drones Killing" bill, now pending in Congress.  To date, nine (9) additional co-sponsors have gotten on board - all Democrats.

As documented in the National Interest, Jones has stood up as a critic of U.S. militarism, and lived to tell about it.  He is a symbol to many of the possibility for a future for the GOP that actually involves thinking, and resisting imperial overreach. (Though there are plenty in the party who dread the possibility.)

Meanwhile, where are the other members of the North Carolina congressional delegation on this bill? Especially the Democrats?

People nationwide who have been protesting drones are contacting their representatives to encourage support for H.R.4372: the Targeted Lethal Force Transparency Act. If passed, the bill will require the Obama administration to come clean about the killings it has carried out using drones -- killings that, up until now, the administration has been able to pretend don't exist.

So now's the time: write or call your member of Congress today. 

To determine what district you live in, go to http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/

To see an example of a constituent letter, see An Open Letter to Congressman Mike Quigley on H.R.4372: the Targeted Lethal Force Transparency Act 

[SEE: hub page for all Resources to SUPPORT the "Come Clean on Drone Killings" Act (Schiff/Jones HR 4372: the Targeted Lethal Force Transparency Act)]


Related posts

First Reps. Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ) and Keith Ellison (D-MN) called the U.S. on the carpet for dodging the call from the international community to come clean about its drone killings. Then Reps. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Walter Jones (R-NC) submitted a bill calling for drone transparency. So ... are we finally going to get the truth?

(See REAL Progressives Demand that the U.S. Come Clean on Drone Killings)

A 2013 U.N. report makes it clear that the U.S. has to report fully on all its drone attacks.

(See 2014: The Year of Transparency (for U.S. Drone Use)?)

The reason the Administration is hiding truth about drones is that they don't have a satisfactory answer for how decisions about drone strikes are made.  As we have known all along, we need the public to think about how crummy the whole drone program is, and then they will be ready to be on our side. The best way to get them really thinking is to shine a spotlight on the secrecy, evasiveness, and deceit involved in the U.S. drone program.

(See Drone Killings: Come Clean )

CODEPINK's Medea Benjamin in NC in August -

The updated edition of Drone Warfare: Killing by Remote Control by Medea Benjamin has been published! Medea will be holding numerous book events with no drones activists in North Carolina during the last week in August, 2013:

August 26, 7pm, Carol Woods Auditorium, 50 Dairy Weaver Road, Chapel Hill, NC

August 27, 7pm, Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Raleigh, 3313 Wade Avenue, Raleigh, NC

August 28, 7:30pm, Quaker House of Fayetteville, 223 Hillsdale Ave., Fayetteville, NC 28301

August 29, 12:00pm, Unity Church of Charlotte, 401 E Arrowood, Charlotte NC

7pm, Malaprops Bookstore, 55 Haywood St, Asheville, NC

August 30, 1-3pm, Firestorm Cafe & Books, Asheville, NC
7:30-9pm, Common Light Meeting House, 137 Center Avenue, Black Mountain, NC

Please share these events widely!

April Days of Action Against Drones in Fort Bragg

A demonstration Saturday at Fort Bragg drew extensive media attention to the increasingly widespread use of domestic military site as bases in the international Drone War.

Sophisticated drone model suspended in midair at the entrance to the
 base makes explicit the increasing dedication of American military
 infrastructure to drone warfare.

Signs broadcast stark messages to passersby:
"DRONES=DEATH WITHOUT TRIAL"

The protest, which was organized by the Quaker House of Fayetteville, was covered in the fayobserver. It was one of many demonstrations across the country last weekend to kick off the April Days of Action Against Drones.

April Days Drones Protest at Ft. Bragg North Carolina

The Quaker House of Fayetteville is protesting outside Ft. Bragg this Saturday, 4/6 at 11 AM. This protest highlights the fact that over 100 sites across the continental U.S. have been proposed by the Department of Defense as future drone staging areas.

Line Up Against Drones

A PEACEFUL VIGIL TO CALL FOR A BAN ON MILITARIZED DRONES

Drone attacks are illegal, immoral, breed hostility and acts of revenge

Where: Line up on the sidewalk at the entrance to Fort Bragg on Yadkin Rd.

When: 11:00 AM-Noon on Saturday April 6

Sponsored by Quaker house

Information: 910-323-3912

Call for "No Drones" in North Carolina Colleges, Universities, and Research Institutions

Friends,

A national call has been made for “April Days of Action” to focus on three key components of U.S. drone work: Drone Manufacturers, Drone Bases in the U.S., and Drone Research. (See the list about nationwide actions and post your own planned actions for April.)

Given the fact that drones are now the primary weapons of warfare used by the US, and for surveillance both domestic and abroad, the research and development of this warfare is growing rapidly at academic institutions, in our towns and neighborhoods. Drones are the perfect instrument for endless war that kills civilians, even as they target “militants” in Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, and Afghanistan.

Academic institutions often receive large grants from the U.S. Department of Defense, enabling them to build labs within schools of engineering, for instance. We are well aware that without this research in robotics, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), and the accompanying accessories, these drone warfare projects would probably not take place. So there is an interdependent relationship between the universities and the U.S. government and or its Department of Defense and CIA. (CIA drones are used in countries with which the U.S. is not “at war”, ie Yemen, Somalia, Pakistan, Mali, and others.)

While universities tend to publicize some information on their respective websites regarding the drone work, it is most often said to be for non-military purposes. And there are students working in the labs who are convinced that all the research is for humanitarian purposes. However, history has told us that non-military can quickly and easily become military. Moreover research has shown drones make mistakes on recognizing their targets.

We are therefore asking organizations and individuals, nationwide, to explore any drone research that might be going on at their local university. We are calling for local actions between April 16 and 18, 2013 (Suggested actions are listed below) Our limited research into University and Academic UAV programs indicates that at least one research center is operating in North Carolina:

North Carolina State University - Raleigh

Before those dates in April we will need to know what information you have acquired about the research and what actions and events your group is planning.This will be shared among groups in the Network. You can send this information to us at notodrone@gmail.com.

We will have a press committee that will receive your press release and any articles you are able to publish before or after the event.

This project will complement other outreach, education and action projects that will be launched in April, focusing on drone bases, April 27-28 and drone manufacturers , April 4-6.

Suggested actions:

1. Learn what research is being done by searching on a university website. Look especially at the Engineering Dept. 
2. Organize a forum, preferably on campus, with speakers and discussion. Be sure to publicize in campus newspapers, and possibly include a professor as one of the speakers. Also include local activists.
3. Plan a small meeting with the appropriate persons in the department working on drone research, both professors and students.
4. Hold vigils and leaflet on or close to the campus, as well as in town.
5. Let us know if you need further tools for your research.

Thanks in advance for your reply to notodrone@gmail.com.

With all good wishes,

Marge Van Cleef, WILPF, Philadelphia
Leila Zand, For USA
Kathy Kelly, co-coordinator, Voices for Creative Nonviolence

Elders for Peace Stage "The Predator"

Members of Chapel Hill’s Elders for Peace staged a reading of Jack Gilroy’s new play “The Predator” during their weekly meeting at Carol Woods Retirement Center on Dec 10. Following the reading, audience members asked questions of the performers, who remained in character for a spirited discussion of the play’s content. Author Gilroy is making the script available to groups interested in reading and/or performing the two act play, which features an Air Force officer (and drone operator) who is a widow of a Marine officer killed in Iraq, her daughter, who is beginning to question the new age of drone warfare, a pro-drone US senator and a peace activist who has witnessed the devastation of drone attacks first hand.

For information, contact John Heuer at heu93@aol.com, or call 919-444-3823.

Read more about Jack Gilroy's play, The Predator.
Read more about playwright Jack Gilroy's anti-drone activism.

DNC Ends, NC Drone Protests Accelerate: Chapel Hill, Durham and Beyond

The week of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Charlotte was marked by protests against drones -- both in Charlotte itself, in Chicago (the site of Obama 2012 campaign headquarters), and in other locations.

The convention came to a climax last night with Barack Obama accepting the party's nomination for a second term, but not before a story began to spread about a reporter who was ejected from the convention hall for asking questions about drone killings in Pakistan.

Notably, the Charlotte protests against drones were heightened by the presence of a new drone replica (1/5 actual size MQ-5 Reaper from Know Drones in New York State). For more photos and video of the drones protests in Charlotte, see the World Can't Wait website.

Protests in North Carolina continue today and tomorrow in the Research Triangle area, and in the days and weeks ahead, and will continue on through the North Carolina Peace Action presence at the NC State Fair, where they will be collecting signatures on a petition to end the drone warfare.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 7

5:00 p.m. -- Protest drones in Chapel Hill at the weekly antiwar vigil at Franklin and Eliot.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 8

7:00 p.m. -- Protest drones at the Amy Goodman book appearance in Durham at the Eno River Unitarian Universalist Fellowship.