Thursday, April 4, 2013

April Days of Action Against Drones in SAN DIEGO

Aprils Days of Action Against Drones receives worldwide media coverage:





April Days of Action Against Drones in SAN DIEGO: Sunday, 4/7 Update
This just in: a video showing the evocative die-in demonstration at General Atomics Headquarters on Friday, 4/5. Speaking in the video is Medea Benjamin of Code Pink, discussing the perverse incentives of war profiteers such as General Atomics.



Day 2 demonstrations led by CodePink at the La Jolla home of General Atomics CEO Neil Blue (coverage by local media here), at GA HQs in Torrey Pines (featured on NBC) and at Northrup Grumman’s plant in Kearny Mesa continued to shine the light on their war profiteering, the civilians killed and maimed by their products, and the invasion of Americans’ privacy. They emphasized the need for Congress to set the rules for this unbridled technology NOW. 

The early-morning demonstration at the home of Neil Blue shed 
a light on the intimate relationship between Washington politicians 
and the drone-industrial complex, which makes fabulous wealth 
from the profits of drone warfare possible.
Northrop Grumman, another war-profiteer dependent on drone warfare
 to protect its bottom line, was targeted in day 2 of the demonstrations.

Day 2's protests also highlighted civilian fatalities
 as a result of drone warfare.

An evocative display of what murder by drone looks
 like, brought to the drone industry's doorstep.



END THE EMPIRE

            "The US government has lost its moral compass," said Carol Jahnkow, Director Emerita, Peace Resource Center of San Diego. "Over 4,000 lives have been lost to American Drones made right here in San Diego, yet only 2% of those hit were considered high-level targets. The deaths of these innocent people is reprehensible.  And, the deaths of the other 2% without due process of law makes a sham of international law."

 Day 3 of the San Diego Anti-Drone Days of Action saw the unveiling of “Children At Play” on the grass in front of the U.S.S. Midway Museum in downtown San Diego, with music by the socially-conscious youth rap/hip-hop band, Vibe, as well as Women Occupy San Diego’s acapella chorus, the Occupellas, with brief speeches by local artist and activist, Doris Bittar, and Faith Leaders for Peace co-founder, Rev. Beth Johnson.   

The "Children at Play" display delivered a stark message: the illusory 
economic benefits of the drone industry in San Diego are delivered at
The Occupellas chorus paid further tribute to children killed by drone strikes.

Day 3  concluded with a forum featuring Medea Benjamin, author of Drone Warfare: Killing by Remote Control (2012) and co-founder of Global Exchange and CodePink, Pedro Rios of the American Friends Service Committee, U.S/Mexico Border Project, personal testimony from a former worker in the drone military-national security-indusrial complex, and other speakers on what drones mean for the U.S. and the world. Throughout the evenings, the Overpass Light Brigade continued to propagate the anti-drone message to the people of San Diego:



  Our San Diego Anti-Drone Days of Action concluded on Sunday, April 7, 2013, with a General Assembly and Workshops:
Topics included "Using New Media for Protest," "The Changing Face
of Empire," and"Drones in the Middle East and Africa."




April Days of Action Against Drones in SAN DIEGO: Day 2 Update

La Jolla- Code Pink led another demonstration at the General Atomics Headquarters this morning, April 5th, at 10 AM.



The demonstration featured a graphic simulation of the effects of a fatal drone strike on U.S. soil, implicating General Atomics and other war-profiteering corporations in similar carnage happening abroad.
Medea Benjamin leading reenactment of civilian and rescue
 worker kills by General Atomics Predator and Reaper drones. 
This protest followed an early morning demonstration in which 50 people showed up at the La Jolla home of General Atomics CEO Neal Blue.

CodePinkers performed a billionaire cocktail party skit/street theater at which Blue and his buddies chatted about why it is sooo good for their class to have drones making money for them and it only affects terrorists anyway.


Get involved in San Diego or in your state!



More images of yesterday's demonstration at General Atomics were just posted here :

Code Pink and San Diego Veterans for Peace came together to
protest at the headquarters of General Atomics 
Media was there in force to cover the demonstration.


Realistic model Predator Drones simulate the experience of drones 
flying overhead, targeting families and children.



The weekend-long event is still in full swing! Click here for a description of today's program, and here for a full schedule of the weekend's demonstrations.




Day 1 update:

Day 1 saw a coalition of citizens representing San Diego Veterans for Peace and Code Pink come out to demonstrate at the headquarters of General Atomics.
That evening, the message was passed to San Diego at large with a demonstration by the Overpass Light Brigade

More details and a preview of Day 2 can be found here. A schedule for the full weekend can be found here.

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