FUND APPEAL: Help Support No Drones Illinois

No Drones Illinois recently acquired a drone replica from Know Drones in New York State. The replica is 8' long, has an 11' wingspan, and is displayed on a heavy-duty lifter that makes it widely visible.

We will be using the drone replica as part of our education and outreach campaign to raise public awareness of the menace of drones killings and drones surveillance. One major event was our effort at the Air & Water Show in Chicago, August 18 (see image above).

In support of these ongoing efforts, we are seeking 10 "founding coalition partners" to each contribute $50 toward defraying the first $500 of cost we incurred in procuring the model and transporting it to Chicago. (In fact, that only covers about half of the actual costs; Know Drones itself helps cover a portion of the cost through its own funding sources.) If your organization wants to support resistance to drones in Illinois, please email us at nodronesillinois [at] gmail.com.

THANKS! to Chicago World Can't Wait for becoming the first "founding coalition partner" with a $50 contribution toward the cost of the No Drones Illinois drone replica!

We're grateful to the Bill of Rights Defense Committee (BORDC) for becoming our second "founding coalition partner" with a $50 contribution!

THANK YOU "founding coalition partner" Pakistan Federation of America Chicago (USA) for your $50 contribution.

About a dozen drone replicas have been obtained by drones resistance groups throughout the country, including No Drones Wisconsin and antiwar groups in Indiana. Among the many reasons that the replicas are so important to our work are:

* The model attracts attention. It can be clearly seen -- especially when it is up on a lifter. It attracts curious people. Even at a crowded public event, people will be aware we are there and will come to talk to us.

* The model helps get a real conversation going. People of all different persuasions can get involved in the discussion. That makes for better interactions with members of the public.

* The drone arouses people's feelings. People begin to think about the significance of drones when they feel the model hovering over them. They can begin to get a sense of the size of the drones. They start to ponder the facelessness of the drone when they are looking at it and realize that there are no windows, that there is no on-board pilot. Most important, they get it into their heads that this problem is REAL, and they become unable to shake that thought.

We're grateful to Know Drones, and to everyone who has been contributing to make the resistance to drones a success.

Support the efforts of the many people who are working to end the drones! (What are you prepared to do?)

Read more about our efforts at the 2012 Chicago Air & Water Show (shown above).

A Modest Proposal: Make Your Town or City a "No Drones Zone"

Earlier this spring, a drone was videotaped flying in Elgin. People in Peoria have sighted drones in the skies in the past few days. Will Chicago be "treated" to a drone flyover during the Air & Water Show?

Meanwhile, neighboring states brace themselves for the coming of drones. (Read more about the protests against drones testing in Wisconsin and Ohio activists' response to drone tests there.)

The time has come for Illinois towns and cities to draw a line in the sand and say no drones here! Below is a sample resolution supplied from Drones Watch.

City ordinances against drones, similar to the one below, are now under consideration in Berkeley, CA, Eugene, OR, and Binghamton, NY, and likely others. Isn't it time for Illinois towns and cities to stand up against the drone menace?

ORDINANCE of the City (Town, Village, County) of________________________________________
PROTECTION OF THE PUBLIC AGAINST USE OF UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES (DRONES)

Whereas:
1. United States airspace is the busiest in the world, with up to 87,000 flights per day, including commercial airliners and freight haulers, air taxis and private and military aircraft.

2. Unmanned aerial vehicles (referred to in the remainder of this ordinance as drones) are not now allowed in United States general airspace because of the threat they present to other aircraft. Under the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 the FAA is directed to create regulations that will enable drones to fly throughout US airspace by September 2015.

3. Small drones, 25 pounds or under, are now permitted to fly in general airspace below 400 feet for the use of police and first responders, with FAA permission.

4. Drones have limitations in “vision” compared to the vision of human pilots, do not have the same capability to avoid other aircraft as aircraft piloted by humans, and there has been at least one instance outside the United States of a drone collision with an aircraft with a human pilot on aboard and as well as a near miss. These instances occurred in airspace much less crowded than that of the United States.

5. Drones have at times gotten out of human control, in at least one instance having to be shot down, and drones are susceptible to having control seized electronically by unauthorized operators.

6. Drones have the capability of carrying a variety of weapons, including 12-gauge shotguns, tear gas, rubber bullet guns, bombs and missiles, but drones have significant limitations in identifying specific individuals and groups.

7. Unmanned aerial vehicles have the capability to watch individuals, groups and populations on a 24-hour basis, following and recording their movements for days and weeks in an unprecedented way.

8. Unmanned aerial vehicles have the capability to continuously monitor cellphone and text messaging of individuals, groups and populations.

9. Drones are being developed that will use computerized facial images to target individuals and, once launched, to operate, autonomously, without further human involvement, to locate and kill those individuals.

We find therefore that:

Drones present an unreasonable and unacceptable threat to public safety in the air and to persons and property on the ground in the City of________________________ due to limitations in drone “vision”, capability to avoid other aircraft and adequate control,

and

Armed drones and surveillance drones present an unreasonable and unacceptable threat to the rights of individual privacy, freedom of association and assembly, equal protection and judicial due process in the City of _______________________.

Therefore:

1. Drones are hereby banned from airspace over the City of__________, including drones in transit. Flying of a drone within the airspace of the City of_____________shall be considered a gross misdemeanor carrying a penalty of up to one year in jail and a fine not to exceed $5,000. More than one offense of flying a drone within said airspace will beconsidered felonies, with jail time and fines based on the number of violations. (Specificson misdemeanor and felony classifications and penalties will vary by locality.)

2. Drones will not be purchased, leased, borrowed, tested or otherwise used by any agency of the City of_____________________.

Help Us Do "No Drones!" Education

We are planning public events for the weeks and months ahead - including a major public outreach effort at the Chicago Air & Water Show on August 18 & 19.

We are making arrangements to obtain a drone replica from the Know Drones tour in New York State. The replicas that they produce have proved to be an important tool in illustrating the problem of drones during public education events.

We are pleased to be joining "No Drones!" groups in Ohio, Indiana, and Wisconsin who will all be obtaining drone replicas in order to carry out public education efforts this summer and beyond.

No Drones Illinois is raising $350 to pay for the cost of the replica itself, as well as working out arrangements for storage and transport ...

... AND we are developing a schedule of teach-ins everywhere in Illinois!

If you want to contribute to this effort, please email us at nodronesillinois [at] gmail.com.

* * * * *

Photo: Brooklyn Eagle, April 13, 2012, describing a leg of the Know Drones tour in New York: "Reaper Drones Hover Around Brooklyn Courts"

Chicago Area Religious Leaders Tackle the Drones Problem

Numerous leaders of faith-based groups in the Chicago area are taking on the problem of drones, as more and more people seek an understanding of these weapons and the moral issues involved.

At this year's Good Friday Walk for Justice, sponsored by the 8th Day Center for Justice in Chicago, at the station of the cross corresponding to "execution," members of Voices for Creative Nonviolence presented a dramatization of a drone strike at a wedding. They stressed that "drones are Empire's weapon of choice for execution today, just as the cross was in the time of Jesus."

St. Luke's Lutheran Church Logan Square (Chicago) held a study session on drones as part of its May adult study series on issues of war and peace: NATO: A Mighty Fortress is Our God?

A blog post on Scarry Thoughts examines the trial of Jesus and asks, Was the Crucifixion a "signature strike"?

The Rev. Loren McGrail, leader of the Chicago Protest Chaplains, has convened a group of religious leaders in a dialog on the theological issues related to drones.

Pastor McGrail will lead a service on Sunday, July 1, at Wellington Avenue UCC (Chicago) that deals with issues relating to drones. The service begins at 10:30 a.m.. Read Pastor McGrail's sermon, "Warring Madness or Life".

Illinois Congressmen Demand Drone Answers

Illinois congressmen Jesse Jackson, Jr., and Luis V. Gutierrez were among the 26 signatories on a June 12 letter to President Obama demanding answers about the combat drone program.

According to the press release on Rep. Dennis Kucinich's website, the letter "demands the White House’s legal justification for 'signature' drone strikes, which could significantly increase the risk of killing innocent civilians or those who have no relationship to a potential attack on the U.S., further enflaming anti-U.S. sentiment abroad" and states:

“We are concerned that the use of such ‘signature’ strikes could raise the risk of killing innocent civilians or individuals who may have no relationship to attacks on the United States,” write Kucinich et al. “Our drone campaigns already have virtually no transparency, accountability or oversight. We are further concerned about the legal grounds for such strikes under the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force. . . . The implications of the use of drones for our national security are profound. They are faceless ambassadors that cause civilian deaths, and are frequently the only direct contact with Americans that the targeted communities have. They can generate powerful and enduring anti-American sentiment.”

In addition to Rep. Kucinich, the full list of signers includes John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL), Rush Holt (D-NJ), Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), Charles Rangel (D-NY), Fortney Pete Stark (D-CA), Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ), Michael M. Honda (D-CA), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Bob Filner (D-CA), Henry C. “Hank” Johnson (D-GA), Lynn C. Woolsey (D-CA), Luis V. Gutierrez (D-IL), Ron Paul (R-TX), James P. McGovern (D-MA), John Lewis (D-GA), George Miller (D-CA), Jim McDermott (D-WA), Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY), Peter A. DeFazio (D-OR), Peter Welch (D-VT), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Keith Ellison (D-MN) Walter B. Jones (R-NC), and Donna Edwards (D-MD).

Provisional Charter: No Drones Illinois

(1) To stimulate a state-wide conversation in Illinois about the problem of drone killings and drone surveillance.

(2) To encourage the widest possible public participation in the Illinois conversation about drone killings and drone surveillance.

(3) To assure that diverse voices and constituencies join the Illinois conversation about drone killings and drone surveillance.

(4) To foster effective mass resistance throughout Illinois to drone killings and drone surveillance.

(5) To work closely with other No Drones entities in the rest of the Midwest, and nationwide.

June 2012 - Editorials & Op-eds Question Obama Drones Killings

ILLINOIS
Chicago Sun-Times, "Do drone attacks go too far?" (June 6, 2012)

Chicago Tribune, "The grim reaper" (June 18, 2012)

Chicago Tribune, "Even drones need checks and balances", By Clarence Page (June 17, 2012)

++++ ELSEWHERE IN THE U.S. ++++

CALIFORNIA
L.A. Times, "The problem drones don't solve: Technology has improved since Vietnam and Cambodia. But we still can't bomb our way to victory.", By Terry McDermott (June 17, 2012)

MISSOURI
Kansas City Star, "Droning on and on", commentary by Glenn Garvin, The Miami Herald (June 9, 2012)

OHIO
Akron Beacon Journal, "Drone Warrior" (June 10, 2012)

PENNSYLVANIA
Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Dan Simpson, "Is Obama committing crimes? He might someday be prosecuted for ordering drone attacks" (June 6, 2012)

NATIONAL
USA Today ran a pro-drones editorial together with an opposing view from Hina Shamsi, director of the ACLU's National Security Project:
"Drone kills should continue" (June 13, 2012)
"Drones are unlawful and dangerous" (June 13, 2012)

INTERNATIONAL
BBC, Mark Mardell, "Is Obama's drone doctrine counter-productive?" (May 30, 2012)