Protest over drones draws many after civil rights activist Cornel West energizes crowd in Syracuse

After speaking to a crowd of about 500 at Syracuse's Tucker Missionary Baptist Church, academic Cornel West joined upwards of 300 in a massive demonstration at the nearby Hancock AFB in the town of Dewitt, from which the 174th Attack Wing of the Air National Guard operates killer drones. Police and soldiers were present in large numbers, but no arrests were made.

Cornel West melted into the crowd, joining the People
 in speaking out against the drone atrocities being
 perpetrated at Hancock and elsewhere.

The theme of the protest was the delivery of a "People's Order of Protection" against all those complicit in U.S. drone terror. After West drew connections between racism, poverty, and drone killing, the Peoples' Order of Protection allowed those taking part in the protest to ally themselves with the victims of drone killing as part of a global 99%, standing up against murder and surveillance by the wealthy and powerful. It also made a mockery of the recent ludicrous abuse by Dewitt town judge Gideon of the Order of Protection against those engaging in peaceful protest at Hancock.

Demonstrators stood in vigil to remember
 those killed by U.S. drone strikes.

As West said: "We're seeing the unfolding of a movement in Syracuse to view drones -- which kill children especially -- as a crime against humanity," West said during the march. "It's a moral and spiritual awakening with political consequences."

Major sponsors of the event were the Syracuse Peace Council  and the Upstate Coalition to Ground the Drones and End the Wars.

Read more at PopularResistance.org

The Spring Days of Drone Action are in full swing!
 CLICK HERE to learn more.

Cornel West to Speak on Poverty, Racism, and Drones in Syracuse

Dr. Cornel West- “Connecting the Dots: Poverty, Racism and Drones”

April 27, 2014 at 2 pm (doors open at 1:30)

Tucker Missionary Baptist Church

515 Oakwood Ave, Syracuse, NY.

 The Upstate Coalition to Ground the Drones and End the Wars is pleased to present Dr. Cornel West, a prominent and provocative populist intellectual.  Dr. West will be speaking at the Tucker Missionary Baptist Church, in Syracuse, NY on the links between poverty, racism, and killer drones.  The event is free and open to the public.

Dr. Cornel West will present:
 "Connecting the Dots: Poverty, Racism and Drones."

Following the talk we will have Rally and a short Walk to Hancock Air National Guard Drone base** themed "The People’s Orders of Protection Against Drone Terror".  The rally will begin at 4:30pm at the BOCES parking lot (6820 Thompson Rd, Syracuse, NY, near the east gate of the base.)

*Dr. Cornel West is a Professor of Philosophy and Christian Practice at Union Theological Seminary and Professor Emeritus at Princeton University. He has also taught at Yale, Harvard, and the University of Paris. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from Harvard in three years and obtained his M.A. and Ph.D. in Philosophy at Princeton. He has written 20 books and has edited 13. He is best known for his classics Race Matters and Democracy Matters, and his memoir, Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud. - See more  here. 

"There is a cloud of witnesses that say that those innocent persons, especially the precious babies, who are killed by US drones in Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen have exactly the same value as those priceless white children who were killed in Newtown, CT; as those black brothers and sisters in the south side of Chicago; brown brothers and sisters in barrios; red brothers and sisters on reservations; yellow brothers and sisters.  We are here to bear witness and to say we will not allow the kind of callousness toward catastrophe and indifference to criminality to become the norm and routine in America... We remember the legacy of Dorothy Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Philip Berrigan, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, Grace Boggs; these are names that constitute figures in movements that say, it's time to straighten our back up, it's time for us to try to awake our fellow citizens; No More Sleep Walking in America when it comes to  militarism, when it to comes to consumer market materialism, when it comes to racism, antisemitism, anti arab, anti muslim, homophobia any form of xenophobia, and most importantly when it comes to imperial crimes that emanate from Washington, DC around the world." 

                              -Dr. West, International Drone Summit.   Washington, DC  11/10/13

  

**Hancock Airfield is just outside of Syracuse, NY in the Town of Dewitt. It is the home of the 147th Attack Wing of the Air National Guard and the national maintenance and training center for the MQ9 Reaper drones. These drones are operated by remote control from the base, and are used to carry out attacks in Afghanistan and possibly other countries. Over the past 4 years there have been on- going demonstrations at the base by The Upstate Coalition to Ground the Drones and End the Wars, an organization made up of groups from Upstate NY including Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Binghamton, Albany, Ithaca and other towns.

For more info, visit The Upstate NY Coalition to Ground the Drones and End the Wars

For Flyers, click here.

         

Syracuse: Carol Baum at the Syracuse Peace Council, (315) 472-5478

Rochester: Judy Bello, (585) 733-4058

Buffalo: Vicki Ross, (716) 884-0582

Ithaca: Ellen Grady, (607) 279-8303

Binghamton: Jim Clune (607) 773-0246

Sponsored by: The Upstate Coalition to Ground the Drones and End the Wars; The Syracuse Peace Council, The Buffalo Peace Center, The Ithaca Catholic Worker, etc.

The Spring Days of Drone Action continue! Click here to learn more about events nationwide!

Drones & Dirty Wars: Prelude to Drone Days of Action 2014

While the Spring Days of Drone Action are already well underway in New York with events in Syracuse, the Hudson Valley, and elsewhere throughout the state, their beginning will be marked on Wednesday, April 2 at 7 PM with a web-cast & live event in Manhattan. The event will take place at the Community Church at 40 E. 35th Street

In attendance will be:

Madiha Tahir, film maker, Wounds of Waziristan

An independent journalist reporting on conflict,
culture and politics in Pakistan, she has
 followed the U.S. drone attacks there for years.

   

  Maria LaHood, Senior Staff Attorney, 
Center for Constitutional Rights who
 specializes in international human
 rights litigation, seeking to hold
 government officials and corporations
 accountable for torture, extrajudicial
 killings, and war crimes abroad.

  

    Carl Dix, Vietnam War resister and member of  the Revolutionary Communist Party.  A leader of protests against police brutality, stop-and-frisk, and founder, with Cornel West, of the Stop Mass Incarceration Network.
















    
The event will be sponsored by Knowdrones, World Can't Wait, the Action for Justice Committee of The Community Church of New York Unitarian Universalist

For more information, check out the Facebook event page.

The nationwide Spring Days of Drone Action are just beginning! Click to learn more about events in New York and throughout the nation!

Spring Days of Drone Action 2014

Attack Drones, Cyber-Weapons and Autonomous Robots: Law and Morality

7 p.m., Wednesday, March 26
Panasci Family Chapel, LeMoyne College, Syracuse

The computer revolution has made possible the development of extraordinary new weapons. Although our current legal and moral principles do not permit force in any but the most serious situations and as a last resort, government officials and certain academics are arguing for new interpretations of the rules.

Mary Ellen O’Connell, professor of law and research professor of international dispute resolution at the University of Notre Dame, will address these arguments, which she believes are inconsistent with the fundamental right to life. 

Mary Ellen O'Connell, who will argue that
 attempts to reinterpret legal and moral principles to
 expand the use of force are incompatible with the
 fundamental right to life.

This lecture is part of “The Faith That Does Justice Series” sponsored by the College’s Office of Mission and Identity.

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE NATIONWIDE SPRING DAYS OF ACTION AGAINST DRONES.

Spring Days of Drone Action 2014

NYC Screening of Wounds of Waziristan in NYC

Join Amy Goodman of Democracy Now and Madiha Tahir, the film's maker, for a screening of Wounds of Waziristan, a documentary chronicling the impact of the U.S. drone campaign in the tribal regions of Pakistan, this Wednesday March 12 from 6-8 PM at Lerner Hall on the campus of Columbia University. 

Wounds of Waziristan: to be screened 3/12/14, 6 pm at Columbia University

While the event is free, seating is limited, so click here to reserve a spot.

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE UPCOMING SPRING DAYS OF ACTION AGAINST DRONE WARFARE!

Relentless Anti-Drone Action this month in the Hudson Valley!

Drone-Alert Hudson Valley is hosting a series of what promise to be powerful opportunities to educate the public more about drone killing and surveillance this month.

A rally and sidewalk march will be held on Saturday, March 22 at 3 pm in Peace Park (behind Village Hall) in New Paltz. Bring signs, kites, balloons, drums, and any other means to get attention and educate passersby about drone injustice and atrocities.

Wounds of Waziristan to be screened 3/23 at 4:30 PM in the Elting
 Library Community room in New Paltz

A screening and discussion of Wounds of Waziristan, Madiha Tahir's powerful 25 minute documentary about the impact of drone strikes on people in the tribal areas of Pakistan, will take place on Sundaym March 23 at 4:30 pm in the Elting Library Community Room in New Paltz.  This documentary features Karim Khan, a Pakistani who was recently kidnapped and tortured by his government for his attempts to speak out about drone atrocities in his community and subsequently released after great public protest.

Kareem Khan, tortured and detained by the Pakistani government for
 speaking out against the American drone war.

On Sat March 29 at 2:45 pm there will be a rally and march on the Walkway over the Hudson in Poughkeepsie. We will gather at either end of the Walkway and set off at 3 pm, to meet at the flagpole for a rally. No signs are allowed on the Walkway so wear buttons/slogans on clothes (tape signs, bumper stickers on clothing). Bring kites, balloons, your well-behaved dog on a leash!(Heavyrain/snow date: Sun March 30, 2:45pm) 

The flagpole in the middle of the walkway will
 remind us to speak out forcefully against the perversion
 of American ideals that is drone killing.

For more information about these events, please e-mail Barbara Kidney of Drone-Alert Hudson Valley at bask999@yahoo.com

To learn more about the upcoming nationwide Spring Days of Action against Drone warfare and surveillance, visit http://springdaysofdroneaction.org

Oct 23: Albany "No Drones" Workship with Rafia Zakaria

Workshop for Anti-Drone Activists

with Journalist Rafia Zakaria

 

Pakistani-American journalist for DAWN, Pakistan’s largest English-language paper. Also featured in NY Times, Huffington Post, The Nation & Al Jazeera. Lawyer & Director of Muslim Women’s Legal Defense Fund representing domestic violence survivors.   Rafia will also speak on:   Wed Oct 23, 2013   3:30-5 pm   The Impact of the War on Terror and Pakistani Women Assembly Hall, Campus Center University at Albany (Uptown Campus)   Co-sponsors: UAlbany Department of Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies; UUP Albany Chapter (Peace & Justice Committee); UAlbany Peace Action     Thurs Oct 24, 2013  1- 2:20 PM   Women in Pakistan Bush Memorial Auditorium, Russell Sage College, Congress and First St., Troy Student Assembly - Public Welcome   Co-sponsors: The WORLD General Education Program and the Department of History and Society at Russell Sage College

Wed Oct 23, 2013   7 pm   Debunking the Myths of Drone Warfare: A Workshop for Activists   Westminster Presbyterian Church 85 Chestnut St. Albany   Co-sponsors: Fellowship of Reconciliation, Grannies for Peace, Bethlehem Neighbors for Peace,   Interfaith Alliance of NYS Justice Committee of the Sisters of St. Joseph, Albany Province Muslim Solidarity Committee Palestinian Rights Committee Project SALAM UAlbany Peace Action Upper Hudson Peace Action Veterans for Peace         Rafia Zakaria’s Visit Organized by Women Against War Info@WomenAgainstWar.org

April Days of Action Against Drones in NEW YORK STATE

Upstate New York State has long been the center of resistance to drone militarism in the United States. The Upstate NY Coalition to Ground the Drones has led protests at Hancock Air Force Base and other locations for years.

Now, actions throughout New York State will be instrumental in a nationwide month of resistance to drone killing and drone surveillance - the April Days of Action Against Drones. In addition, events will be taking place in New York City, and elsewhere in the state. Find an event near you in the list below and GET INVOLVED!

UPDATE: Judy Bello of Upstate NY Coalition to Ground the Drones and End the Wars appeared with Noor Mir of CODEPINK on Clearing the Fog Radio to discuss the impacts of drone warfare and promote the upcoming Convergence for Inspiration and Actions in Syracuse!

SYRACUSE - April 26, 2013 - Resisting Global Wars, Drones and Empire, A Convergence for Inspiration and Actions: April 26-28: Syracuse NY Friday evening we will come together Saturday we will have speakers and activities throughout the day Chris Hedges, Ann Wright, Kathy Kelly, David Swanson, Bruce Gagnon, Debra Sweet, Nick Mottern are among our speakers Sunday we will protest at Hancock National Guard Air Base Refer to http://upstatedroneaction.org for updated information

UPDATE: Hancock Air National Guard Base commander requests restraining order against peaceful anti-drone demonstrators.

GREENLAWN - April 30, 2013 - Not In My Neighborhood! Expose BAE's Drones! Street Theatre Actions: Looking for MORE participants! DATES/TIMES: whatever's good for all participants! (ACTUAL DATES/TIMES is NOT NECCESARILY APRIL 30). Across the street from BAE on the public grass buffer strip along the south side of Pulaski Rd in Greenlawn. We have done this before in this same location, with an installation of a mock graveyard of drone victims, complete with headstones and dark-clothed mourners and message signs, on the buffer strip facing commuter traffic. It was a really successful head-turner/car-stopper! Contact Occupy Huntington at 631-486-4818 or woodge1'at' hotmail.com

NEW PALTZ - April 13, 2013 - Drone Protest: Join our picket line with signs visible to busy traffic at 10:30 a.m. in front of the Elting Library (Main St. across from Starbucks). At 12 noon, march with signs and leaflets through the business district (about a half hour). Organized by the Hudson Valley Activist Newsletter. Info jacdon@earthlink.net, activistnewsletter.blogspot.com/. Two public parking lots on Plattekill Ave., including at Village Hall.

NEW YORK CITY - April 3, 2013 - Peace Grannies Anti-Drone protest: All New York City peace grandmothers and supporters and other interested parties will met April 3 from 5 to 6 p.m. at the Grandmothers Against the War vigil site at Rockefeller Center, the west side of 5th Ave. between 49th and 50th Sts. So far, Col. Ann Wright has agreed to speak. We will have drone models, banners and signs and, hopefully, some media. Participants will include the Granny Peace Brigade, Raging Grannies, Grandmothers Against the War, Grey Panthers, and many others.

April 9, 2013 - Protest Cornell-Technion Partnership in NYC: New Yorkers Against the Cornell-Technion Partnership will conduct their monthly protest, which will include a protest of Technion's development of drones. See: http://nyact.net/

April 25, 2013 - DRONE PROTEST L-3 COMMUNICATIONS: Join the protest at the headquarters L-3 Communications, of one of the 10 largest military contractors, 600 Third Avenue, calling out their work on attack drones and drone surveillance.

PORT JEFFERSON - March 30, 2013 - A March to End War and Violence: Join the North Country Peace Group as we march to end war and violence and to end the killing of innocent people using drone warfare.

ROCHESTER - April 10, 2013 - Ground the Drones: We will protest drone murders, around the world, at our bi monthly anti drone vigil. Our model Reaper will hover over us, as we hold signs with photos and names of some of the drone murdered. We will hand out informational flyers, and talk to people who are only now finding out about drone warfare. 12 Corners, at Monroe Avenue, Brighton

(Add additional New York State events to the master list of national April Days of Action actions.)

Read about ALL the ways YOU can be involved 

in the April Days of Action Against Drones!

April Days of Action Against Drones Culminates with a conference in SYRACUSE and a massive demonstration at Hancock AFB- 31 arrested

Following the Convergence to Action, a weekend of workshops, panels, and organizing meetings in Syracuse headed by the Upstate NY Coalition to Ground the Drones and End the Wars, nearly 300 activists came out to Hancock AFB on Sunday (4/28) in a massive demonstration that helped to cap the nationwide April Days of Action Against Drones, which included events all throughout the state.

Over 275 people marched in a solemn funeral
 procession to demand that Hancock Air National Guard
 Base cease drone strikes. 

People carrying banners and coffins identified countries
 where U.S. drone attacks have killed over a thousand innocent civilians.

Vivid reminder that many of the civilians
 killed by drone strikes are children.

Demonstrators came from all over the country to raise an outcry against the proliferation of drone strikes abroad, including in countries with whom the US is not "officially" at war. Drone use violates article 6 of the US Constitution as well as International Law. Demonstrators also objected to the militarization of the police and the growing domestic use of drones. The protesters raised the issue that drone use globally actually perpetuates terrorism by stoking anti-American sentiment.

"STOP KILLER DRONES"

Veterans for Peace played a significant role in the demonstration,
as it has throughout the April Days of Action Against Drones.

The history of  demonstrations against the use of
 drones at Hancock apparently created the
 perceived need for a large police presence.

An account by Bruce K. Gagnon describes what happened next:

"After we had moved to the base in a slow funeral procession four of us from Veterans For Peace (VFP) stood next to the yellow crime scene tape the military and the local police used to mark the point we were not allowed to pass without risk of arrest. 

"A large number of activists crossed this line and
 performed a die-in blocking the entrance to the base.
  They covered themselves in white sheets smeared in red."

"While a policeman was issuing a warning with a bullhorn
 the four of us from VFP began reading the names of children
 killed by US drone strikes in Pakistan."

  "Once we finished reading the names we stepped over the line
 and were quickly grabbed by the cops, handcuffed, and
 escorted to the waiting big black police bus."  

Demonstrators delivered a war crimes indictment to the base. It reads:

"We, the people, charge the US President, Barack Obama, and the full military chain of command, to Commander Colonel Greg Semmel, every drone crew, and service members at Hancock Air Base, with crimes against humanity, with violations of part of the Supreme Law of the Land, extrajudicial killings, violation of due process, wars of aggression, violation national sovereignty, and killing of innocent civilians."

Even with 31 demonstrators arrested, hundreds remained to
 deliver the message that "We STILL Will not be Complicit"
 in war crimes committed in the name of U.S. imperialism.

The thirty one arrestees were arraigned in De Witt Town Court before Judges Benack, Gideon, and Jokl, who imposed bails ranging from $500 - $3500, totalling $34,000. As Bruce Gagnon notes, the bails were punitively high and were accompanied by abusive treatment of those in jail and waiting for arraignment. Some of the defendants were released with appearance tickets   Others are refusing to post bail and will be held in jail until the next court date of May 7th & 8th.

Those Arrested:

Beth Adams, Levertt, MA

John Amidon, Albany, NY

Cynthia Banas, Vernon, NY

Ellen Barfield, Baltimore, MD

Russell Brown, Buffalo, NY

Kate De Mott Grady, Ithaca, NY

Beatrice Dewing, New York City, NY

Max Farhi, Ithaca, NY

Sandra Fessler, Rochester, NY

Daniel Finley, Ithaca, NY

Bruce Gagnon, Brunswick, ME

Jack Gilroy, Binghamton, NY

Charlie Heyn, Damascus, PA

John Honeck, Hamlin, NY

Rae Kramer, Syracuse, NY

Joanne Lingle, Indianapolis, IN

Mary Loehr, Ithaca, NY

Bonnie Mahoney, Buffalo, NY

Harry Murray, Rochester, NY

Valerie Niederhoffer, Buffalo, NY

Julienne Oldfield, Syracuse, NY

Jules Orkin, Bergenfield, NJ

Elizabeth Pappalardo, Crystal Lake, DE

Joan Pleune, Brooklyn, NY

Beverly Rice

Grace Ritter, Ithaca, NY

Matthew Ryden

Andrew Schoerke, Shaftsbury, VT

Mary Snyder, Johnson City, NY

Eve Tetaz, Washington, DC

Patricia Wieland, Northampton, MA

Donations may be sent to the Syracuse Peace Council, with checks made out to Syracuse Peace Council, note: Upstate Drone Action Bail Fund.  2013 E. Genessee St., Syracuse, NY 13210.

For more information:

Carol Baum, Syracuse Peace Council, 315-472-5478, 315-383-5738

Ellen Grady, Ithaca Catholic Worker, 607-279-8303

To see the report in local news, click here.
For video of the demonstrations, click here.

April Days of Action Against Drones are only the beginning of the fight against U.S. imperialism and the illegal killing that perpetuates it.

To get involved, check out the No Drones Network or subscribe to get e-mails about impending anti-drone actions.