Kathy Kelly: "Let's rehabilitate CREECH!"

As many of you know, Kathy Kelly of Voices for Creative Nonviolence recently began a prison sentence for participating in protest against murders being conducted by the U.S. government using drones.

Kathy's sentence was for a protest at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri. In March, protesters will gather at another base from which the U.S. directs its drone killings -- Creech Air Force Base in Nevada.

Kathy has created the video below to urge all of us to participate in the March 4-6 action to Shut Down Creech!

Please share this widely!

For more information, see shutdowncreech.blogspot.com/

May 9 in Chicago: Drones, Dirty Wars, & Guantanamo

Join the event on Facebook and invite friends!

When: 4:30 PM, Fri., May 9
Where: Federal Plaza, Adams & Dearborn, Chicago

Around the country, people are speaking out against - and acting to stop - drone wars and surveillance. Over 80 actions have been announced, from Hawaii to Maine, during the Spring Days of Action 2014. Here in Chicago, we will add our voices Friday, May 9.

We will have a model drone (as pictured here) and we will have photos and read the names of some of the thousands of innocent civilians killed in the US war OF terror in Pakistan, Yemen, Afghanistan, and Somali.

Moazzam Begg, a British citizen held for years without charge or trial at Guantanamo and since released, has noted that Obama seems to prefer assassination over indefinite detention, moving to directly terrorize whole areas of countries with which the US is not officially at war.

World Can't Wait, Voices for Creative Non-Violence, and the Chicago Coalition to Shut Down Guantanamo are joining together to take this message to the public. Drones, indefinite detention, and the dirty wars they are integral to are immoral and illegitimate!

Join the event on Facebook and invite friends!

Related posts

Today, people in Illinois protesting drones are contacting their representatives to encourage support for H.R.4372: the Targeted Lethal Force Transparency Act.

For example: see An Open Letter to Congressman Mike Quigley on H.R.4372: the Targeted Lethal Force Transparency Act . Mike Quigley representatives the 5th Congressional district, on the north side of Chicago.

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.

(See Write or Call Your Member of Congress Today: Make the U.S. Come Clean on Drone Killings )

Voices for Creative Nonviolence is making preparations to set off on a 160-mile protest walk from Chicago to Michigan Air National Guard Base in Battle Creek between June 3 and 14, 2014. 

(See June 3-14 - Join Voices for Creative Nonviolence - On the Road to Ground the Drones!)

On May 23rd of last year, President Obama again promised to close the detention facility at Guantánamo. His pledge came in response to the mass hunger strike by men protesting their indefinite detention and to the renewed, global condemnation of the prison. One year later, far too little has changed: few detained men have left the prison and hunger strikes and forced feeding continue. 



(See May 23 - Not Another Broken Promise! Not Another Day in Guantanamo! )

Activists Challenge Boeing to Disinvest from Drone Research

As reported on local TV news, at Fight Back News, and by Progress Illinois, Dozens of activists came to the Field Museum in Chicago last Monday (4/28) to speak out against Boeing's involvement in developing the next generation of killer drone.  

You're looking at the next incarnation of
 drone terror: Boeing's Phantom Ray.

They braved cold and rain to stand on the steps of the Museum and hold a press conference admonishing Boeing for its involvement in drone terror. 

"The U.S.'s use of drone warfare has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of children, many of whom live in countries where we have not declared war, yet Boeing has decided to pursue a Navy contract for the prototype for the next combat drone. This is unacceptable", said Kait McIntyre of the Chicago Anti-War Committee (AWC). 

McIntyre had applied for a spot on Boeing's board of directors but was pronounced ineligible due to a paperwork technicality. Several who had purchased Boeing stock then entered the meeting to address shareholders directly.

 Newland Smith proclaimed: “Drone strikes as conducted by our government, according to the Geneva conventions, are illegal and immoral and inflict terror on civilian populations.”  

Kait Mcintyre and Richard Berg also spoke out at the meeting. Also present were members of the 8th Day Center for Justice, veterans of the Vietnam-era Students for a Democratic Society, and members of Voices for Creative Nonviolence.

The death of innocent people is a viable investment
 strategy for Boeing CEO James Mcnerney.

 CEO James Mcnerney reportedly responded to the statements of stockholders with the expression of a belief that there is some common ground between their views and the current goals of the company. While patently absurd, this statement showed Mcnerney to have felt himself in a defensive posture when confronted with the unavoidable consequences of his company's investments.

While several took the opportunity to speak truth directly
 to the rich and powerful gathered inside, others
 addressed the public, bearing witness to the consequences of
 Boeing's policy of killer drone R&D.

To see video regarding the Boeing campaign, and to purchase t-shirts in support of the actions against it, visit the Chicago AWC here.

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

Campaign Against the Boeing Killer Drone Program

April, 2013, saw the intensification of a major campaign against the expansion of Chicago-based military contractor Boeing into drone production:

April Days of Action Against Drones: Protest Against the Boeing Killer Drone Program on Saturday April 6th

Demonstrators make a resounding appearance at Boeing's annual stockholder meeting

This followed demonstrations in May and December, 2012.

Boeing will be the focus of the Midwest Action Against Drones (MAAD) September 28-29, 2013, in Chicago.


RELATED POSTS

What If Illinois Became a "War-Profiteer-Free Zone" ?

April Days of Action Against Drones: Protest in downtown Seattle

April Days of Action Against Drones 2013: Protest Against the Boeing Killer Drone Program on Saturday April 6th

Local news reported Saturday on the demonstration by Chicagoans from all walks of life against the next generation of drone warfare: Boeing's new Phantom Ray, which is expected to be unveiled later this year. This event was a part of the national April Days of Action Against Drones.



Joe Iosbaker of Antiwar Committee Chicago talked to local radio ahead of the event, noting that although drones are nominally cheaper, they will ultimately be much more damaging to the national budget, as more enemies will be created via rampant civilian casualties. The result: perpetual war. "The United States war-making machine has to be stopped," thundered Joe.

"Money For Schools, Not War!": highlighting the perversity of pouring
 federal money into the perpetuation of war in a time of crippling debt.

Passersby were regaled with Star Wars-themed street theatre,
 in which Boeing was represented by Darth Vader.

"I’ll call it the Phantom Ray!
We’ll arm them with missiles made of depleted uranium, 

which will cause instant and long term damage.

And what the people of Chicago don’t know is that the money 

we, Boeing, make from tax breaks could be used to fund jobs, 

education, and health care.

You don’t know the power of the empire! Of the dark side!"

"I felt a great disturbance in the force, as if millions of voices suddenly
 cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced."

"The drone strikes on my planet have killed at least 178 children!
Please join us in our fight to stop the next phantom ray!"

Person X:  "I can't get involved. I've got work to do. It's not that

 I like the empire,I hate it, but there's nothing I can do about it right now.
It's such a long way from here."

"When schools are floundering, public intergalactic transportation
 has become less accessible, and jobs are becoming scarce,
we are told there is no money for people’s needs. But where do you
think that money goes?"
"For killing those in other star systems so the empire
maintains galatic domination?"

Yes. So you see, fighting to improve your planet means showing
 solidarity with those whose planets are being destroyed by the empire.
 Together can we defeat it."

Picketing continued at the Chicago Lyric Opera

"Drones make killing Quick and Easy.
That doesn't make killing Legal or Right"  

A show of solidarity from veterans of the United States' most recent war.

The bottom line: "DRONES KILL INNOCENT PEOPLE."

The groups then marched across the river to Boeing HQ 

Kids came out in solidarity with children across the
world who are threatened by U.S. drone warfare

Speakers affiliated with Antiwar Committee Chicago came out to
inflame the crowd once it reached Boeing's headquarters.

Boeing heard the message loud and clear.

"Hands off Syria!" Repudiating the use of drones
to expand the sphere of American influence

The demonstration ended with a die-in, representing those
doomed to death by Boeing's Phantom Ray.

More information and pictures can be found at fightbacknews.org

THE APRIL DAYS OF ACTION AGAINST DRONES CONTINUE! GET INVOLVED IN YOUR CITY!

All photos courtesy FJJ.

Dec 20 in Chicago: Protest Boeing Drone Warfare

Protest outside Boeing Headquarters

(corner of Randolph Street and the Chicago River)

Thursday, December 20th, 4:00 – 6:00 pm
 

Sponsored by: Anti War Committee, American Friends Service Committee, 

Muslim Task Force and Protest Chaplains of Chicago

Join the event on Facebook and invite friends!

Boeing spy drone over Iran
US threatens war in the Middle East

On November 6th, a spy drone made in the United States by Boeing Corporation was captured by Iran after violating their air space. Called a Scan Eagle, this is further evidence that the US government is making moves toward war with Iran.

The peace movement opposes the US spying on and threatening Iran. Most people in the US are against new wars with Iran and Syria, and want the US to get out of Afghanistan. Most people opposed the disastrous war on Iraq that killed over 1,000,000 Iraqis, as well as thousands of US troops. The US government is pointing fingers at Iran and Syria as countries that want war. But the Iranians don’t have spy drones 16 miles off Miami Beach.

Chicago based Boeing Corporation is the second largest weapons manufacturer in the US, and has a growing role in the drone industry. The Scan Eagle is mainly used for surveillance, but they are also deployed in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, used for targeting for bombings and for assassinations.

In addition, most of Israel’s war planes are made by Boeing; and many of the missiles used in Gaza last month are provided by Boeing. These include some bombs that are made of depleted uranium, which is linked to increases in birth defects in Gaza since being used in 2008.

Boeing: $63 million in tax breaks from the people of Chicago and Illinois

Boeing HQ in Chicago

Another reason people in Chicago and Illinois should care about what Boeing builds: Boeing received millions of our tax dollars to move to Chicago. The incentives to move Boeing here are dollars being taken from our communities. This is an additional war tax, on top of the trillions of dollars of our taxes already spent on the war budget in the US.

As a company, Boeing is largely dependent on government contracts. However, Boeing received a $605 million tax refund in 2011. In fact, they paid more to their CEO than in federal taxes: Boeing CEO James McNerney received $18.4 million in pay. This is a corporation that had $10 billion in domestic pre-tax profits between 2008 and 2010.

The tax money being given to Boeing and spent to wage wars – from Iraq to Palestine - should be brought home to fund jobs, education and health care. We call for Boeing to stop providing drones – for spying on Iran, or for assassinations in Afghanistan, Iraq or Pakistan. And we demand an end to wars by the US government.

Stop Threats of War Against Syria and Iran
Money for Jobs, Healthcare and Education, Not for War

Chicago: Protesting Obama's Drone Wars - The Death of Hope and Change

At the same time that attendees at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Charlotte were getting ready to hear Michelle Obama explain why her husband deserves a second term, people in Chicago gathered at Obama 2012 Headquarters to protest Obama's drone wars and lay "Hope" and "Change" to rest.


The protest, on Tuesday, September 4, was part of a week of protest called by Occupy Chicago during the DNC. Members of Occupy Chicago and others gathered from Jackson and LaSalle -- the drone replica from Know Drones formed a powerful statement, with the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) as a backdrop.

The "funeral procession" progressed from Jackson and LaSalle to Obama's National Campaign Headquarters on East Randolph, carried 10 coffins marked "Hope" and "Change."

Together with the coffins, we "delivered" the drone replica which we have used at recent actions in Chicago, prominently labeled:

Delivery Order

ONE (1) DRONE:
MQ-5 Reaper, with full array
of Hellfire and PAVE missiles

DELIVER TO: Obama 2012 Campaign HQ
ORDERED BY: The White House, Barack Obama, President

Special Instructions:

Display in reception area (in place of copy of U.S. Constitution).
Send the bill to the American people.

The overall thrust of the Chicago action was to say that we are no longer fooled by the spectacle of the two main American political parties.  We know  we are not being offered any real choice, and we're not keeping quiet any longer.

(Meanwhile, in Charlotte, it was business as usual, with the word "drones" off limits.  Read Michael Tracy's account of how he was evicted from the convention for asking Valerie Jarrett to comment on the drone killings.)

At the end of the Chicago action, we took the drone model with us. But the coffins stayed -- to remind people of what Obama has done.




PRESS COVERAGE

Lee Klawans on examiner.com: Chicago protesters rally against Obama's drone attacks. View the full Lee Klawans slideshow.

CBS: Occupy Activists Protest Outside Obama Campaign HQ During DNC

Chicagoist: Activists Leave Coffins In Front of Obama Campaign Headquarters

Occupied Chicago Tribune: Breaking with Convention: Chicago Protests GOP in Tampa, Democrats at Home

MORE . . .

Read about the protests in Charlotte against the Obama administration's drone warfare during the DNC.

Learn more about other recent drone protests in Chicago.

These Are Your Drone Victims, OBAMA!

Barack Obama was in Chicago yesterday.

We were there to meet him.

Below is the text of our flyer distributed to the crowds of hundreds at the Chicago Cultural Center prior to and during the Obama 2012 fundraiser.

Is this the change we wanted?

Drone strikes &
secret kill lists?

“Mr. Obama has placed himself
at the helm of a top secret
‘nominations’ process to designate
[suspected] terrorists for kill or
capture, of which the capture part
has become largely theoretical ….”

We can’t keep turning a blind eye!

On Tuesday, May 29, 2012, The New York Times published a 3-page exposé* of Obama administration drone killings:

Mr. Obama has placed himself at the helm of a top secret “nominations” process to designate [suspected] terrorists for kill or capture, of which the capture part has become largely theoretical ….

Extrajudicial execution is a crime!

[T]he administration’s very success at killing terrorism suspects has been shadowed by a suspicion: that Mr. Obama has avoided the complications of detention by deciding, in effect, to take no prisoners alive.

Drone strikes are killing people unlawfully – including huge numbers of civilian men, women, and children. Independent investigators estimate that between 479 and 811 civilians have been killed by U.S. drones in Pakistan between 2004 and 2012 – of which an estimated 174 were children.

Learn more: Learn the facts for yourself. See the reports of the Bureau for Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) at thebureauinvestigates.com.

Take action: Work with others who are trying to stop drone killing and drone surveillance. More information at:

No Drones Illinois Grassroots Network
http://nodronesillinois.blogspot.com
Twitter: @NoDronesIL
Email: nodronesillinois [at] gmail.com

* “Secret ‘Kill List’ Proves a Test of Obama’s Principles and Will,” New York Times, May 29, 2012

Tell Obama: Enough Is Enough!

When Barack Obama was in Chicago for the NATO summit, we made the drones killings 100% VISIBLE and said it's time to STOP!

Obama will be back in Chicago on Friday, June 1, and we will tell him again: Enough Is Enough!

Join us to protest at 5 p.m. at the Chicago Cultural Center before the Obama fundraiser.

For more information email nodronesillinois [at] gmail.com