UPDATE: April 4-7: National Anti-Drone Days of Action

The National Days of Action are rapidly approaching and we’re excited about the schedule that is shaping up! The events below show what the host committee and other organizations have lined up so far! There are still some time slots for other actions if your organization would like to plan something! We’re also looking for groups and individuals who would like to do workshops. Please join us in San Diego!!

(NOTE: The San Diego call was the impetus for the subsequent call for anti-drone actions to take place nationwide throughout the month of April, 2013.)

Join the Facebook event page and invite friends!

April Days in San Diego
April 4-7, 2013
Day-by-Day Schedule

April 4 - Thursday

3PM - SDVFP demonstration at General Atomics Predator drones production site along with an Overpss Light Brigade Action nearby

April 5 - Friday

Morning: Demo at General Atomics Headquarters coordinated by CodePink

Afternoon: Demo at Northrup Grumman site coordinated by CodePink

Evening: Assembly with socializing and movie (location TBA) (Also, Overpass Light Brigade Action)

April 6 - Saturday

Mid-day: Peace Train riders arrive from LA will join us at the Midway Aircraft Carrier Museum for an afternoon demonstration

Evening: Speaker's Forum at First Church of the Brethren, 7 p.m./dinner before

April 7 – Sunday (ending by 3 p.m.)

General Assembly – Workshops, next steps

Call for National Anti-Drone Days of Action

April 4-7, 2013

The Drone Diego Coordinating Committee invites organizations and individuals to come to San Diego on April 4-7, as we protest and bring attention to the dangers drones present to the people of the world. Join us for nonviolent actions, workshops, street theater and more, or organize your own activities.

Our opposition to drone warfare is based on our stand for peace and justice. We believe that:

• Armed drones are weapons of terror. They kill combatants and civilians, children and adults, men and women, alike. Their presence overhead terrorizes entire communities.
• Extrajudicial assassinations by killer drones violate U. S. and international law.
• Surveillance drones threaten our liberties, spying on communities and borders, invading our personal privacy.
• Drones make our families less secure by making it easier for military and paramilitary agencies (like the CIA) to continue endless war without limits in either space or time.

Why come to San Diego? San Diego is the drone production capital of the world. San Diego is home to General Atomics, builders of the killer Predator and Reaper drones (which may be armed with Hellfire missiles), and Northrup Grumman, maker of the Global Hawk surveillance drone. Surveillance drones also regularly fly along the border between San Diego and Mexico.

A strong presence in San Diego will draw attention locally and nationally to the hazards posed by these robotic killers and spy craft. We hope that this will be the first of many actions in San Diego.

Of course not everyone has the resources to come to San Diego. We encourage those who cannot come to make April 4-7 days of action against drones in their own communities.

Kickoff day is Thursday, April 4, with a demonstration at the General Atomics drone production facility in Poway, just north of San Diego. The San Diego chapter of Veterans for Peace is holding a weekly vigil there and we will join them.

We invite other organizations to develop workshops, forums and actions during the four days of action. If you or your organization would like to plan an event, please contact our host committee so we can provide information about locations, venues, and schedule coordination. We also welcome sponsoring organizations (which provide financial or organizational resources) and endorsing organizations (which express their public agreement with our goals) to contact the host committee.

Our host committee will work to provide housing in San Diego for activists who need it. We are also working to establish an encampment, with more details to follow.

Join the Facebook event page and invite friends!

For more info about the National Days Against Drones Actions in San Diego, or if your organization would like to become a sponsor or endorser, please contact info@sdcpj.org, nodrones@prcsd.org, or dpatterson998@yahoo.com. We can also be found on the web (sdcpj.org).

Tax-deductible donations to support this action can be made online through the Peace Resource Center of San Diego, www.prcsd.org (specify anti-drone action from the drop-down list). Checks should be made payable to the Peace Resource Center and mailed to 3850 Westgate Place, San Diego, CA 92105.

Drone Diego Coordinating Committee

Initial sponsoring organizations:
Peace Resource Center of San Diego
San Diego Veterans for Peace
San Diego Coalition for Peace and Justice
CODEPINK
Global Exchange
Canvass for a Cause
Af3irm
A Future Without War.org
Committee Opposed to Militarism and the Draft (COMD)
San Diego International Socialist Organization
SAME Alliance
Peace Fresno
Fresno Light Brigade
Peace Madera
ANSWER San Diego
San Diego Party for Socialism & Liberation
San Diego Committee Against Police Brutality
International Action Center San Diego
San Diego Libertarian Party
Environmentalists Against War
Al-Awda San Diego
ANSWER Coalition
San Diego Boycott
Divestment and Sanctions (BDS)
Okupi Damsels in Distress (Palm Springs)
Women Occupy-San Diego
United Nations Association-San Diego Chapter
Women's Equity Council-UNA-SD
San Diego Overpass Light Brigade
San Diego Faith Leaders for Peace
San Diego Democratic Socialists of American
Residents Organized for a Safe Environment (ROSE)
National Lawyers Guild, San Diego Green Party
International Action Center

(List updated 2/24/13)

Call for "No Drones" in California 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 research centers are operating in California:

California Polytechnic - San Luis Obispo
Girvan Institute of Technology - Santa Clara
Stanford University - Palo Alto
University of California - Berkeley
University of Southern California - Los Angeles

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

Become a part of No Drones California!

 

Thank you for interest in connecting with other members of No Drones California. We're making big plans for the April Days of Action to Stop the Drones!

Please provide contact info and a volunteer coordinator will contact you.

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Locale:

Sacramento
San Francisco/Berkeley/Oakland
Palo Alto
San Jose
Fresno
Los Angeles
San Diego
Other

Comment: