Thursday, April 4, 2013

National Anti-Drone Group Calls for April Protests

A coalition of peace and justice groups -- the Network to Stop Drone Surveillance and Warfare (NSDSW) -- has made a call for national protests against drones in April, 2013. The "April Days" include events in dozens of cities nationwide, as well as a range of ways for people to participate wherever they are. (Read more about the continuation of this campaign: Summer Days Against Drones .)

April Days of Action nationwide
ACTIONS NATIONWIDE

Dozens of actions have been planned nationwide, and new events are being added daily. Events are planned for Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, DC, Atlanta, Dayton, Ft. Wayne, Chicago, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Des Moines, Seattle, Tucson, San Francisco, Sacramento, San Diego, Honolulu, as well as in dozens of other locations, including many of the communities that host the estimated 100 drone basing sites in the U.S.

See the full list of vigils, protests, lectures, and other actions that are part of the April Days nationwide.


#AprilDays on Twitter
 #APRILDAYS ON TWITTER

As part of the April Days of Action Against Drones, anti-drones activists will be tweeting throughout the month, using the hashtags #AprilDays and #nodrones.

Read about how you can be part of the #ApilDays campaign on Twitter.





The "No Drones" bible
"NO DRONES!" EDUCATION

The April Days of Action Against Drones is just the beginning of an intensive campaign to educate people nationwide about the menace of drone surveillance and drone killing.

Through books, videos, studies, and a host of other resources, people will be learning -- and teaching -- about drones and how to bring an end to their use.

Read more about education tools YOU can start using TODAY!




LOCAL REGULATION

Drone bases across the country
The April Days of Action Against Drones are coinciding with a groundswell in local efforts to control or ban drones.

Major drivers in the move to ban drone use at the local level are (a) acquisition of drones by local sheriff and other law enforcement departments; and (b) the Department of Defense (DoD) plan to base drones in over 100 locations nationwide.

Read more about the movement to regulate drones on a local level.



FAITH GROUPS RESPOND

Chicago die-in
A vital group of allies in the April Days of Action Against Drones in city after city have been faith-based groups. Indeed, faith-based groups are longstanding stalwarts in the antiwar movement, and a growing number of faith groups are entering the struggle for human rights, peace, and justice.

Group letters, blogs, vigils, and denominational resolutions have all been part of the faith response to drones so far.

Nonetheless, there is much, much more work for the faith community to do in addressing the problem of drones.

Read more about how the faith community is getting involved in the problem of drones.



WILL POLITICIANS WAKE UP?

Drones caucus members
A big problem is that U.S. congressmen have been convinced that (a) the American people support the President's campaign of drone killing, and (b) drones are good for the economy. Many of them participate in the drones caucus in Congress, a.k.a the "Unmanned Systems Caucus."

The "April Days" should start to make members of Congress question these assumptions.

Maybe 2013 will be the year that members of Congress will realize they can no longer hide from the drones issue, and from their larger responsibility to control U.S. militarism.

Read more about the work people are doing to get Congress to do their job and stop the drones!


Drones Quilt Project
APRIL DAYS EVERYWHERE!

There are actions happening all over the country during the April Days. But no matter where you are, you can be actively involved in the movement to resist drone surveillance and drone killing.

Through a diverse range of activities -- dramatic productions, the Drone Quilt Project, poetry, postcard projects, and more -- people are contributing to this massive, world-changing effort.

Read more about ways you can resist drones wherever you are.



APRIL DAYS IN THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA

Breaking news in The Guardian
The April Days were off and running when the Guardian reported on March 27:
Military bases, universities and companies involved in Barack Obama's drones programme are to be targeted in a month-long series of protests by activists keen to build on the renewed public focus over the president's controversial policy.

Dubbed "April Days of Action" by participants, organisers are hoping to capitalise on a series of recent controversies that have thrust the use of drones – especially when it comes to targeted killings of suspected terrorists – into the heart of American political debate.
Read all the press coverage of the April Days of Action Against Drones.


VOLUNTEER

A vitally important part of the April Days is the development of a strong anti-drones, antiwar movement. That means organizing.

Reach out to activists in your area and make a commitment of time, energy, and imagination.

Need help getting connected? Use the No Drones Network volunteer form and we'll put you in touch with organizers in your state.


MORE ABOUT THE APRIL DAYS

The April Days of Action Against Drones arose out of a call by the Network to Stop Drone Surveillance and Warfare (NSDSW) for a month of action during April, 2013, including protests against drone manufacturing, drone research and/or training of drone pilots at colleges and universities, and drone bases.

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

April Days of Action Against Drones: HIGHLIGHTS!

The April Days of Action Against Drones have been imaginative, colorful, powerful, and inspiring!

We're encouraging people to look through the images below, and click through to learn more about the ones that you want to know more about. We hope you'll look at them all! And we'll be keeping an eye on which pages get the most views, so please share your favorites widely!

And when you're done: get in touch with your local "no drones" group and get involved!

SAN DIEGO: Not your grandmother's antiwar movement!
CHICAGO: April 6 Street theater protests Boeing's newest killer drone.
BOSTON: April 6 "Drone Death Walk"
NEW HAMPSHIRE: April 5 Protest at Elbit Systems
SACRAMENTO: Tapestry depicting children killed by U.S. drone strikes.
SEATTLE: home to Boeing and hotbed of drone development and production.
AUSTIN: UT rally against drones.
WHITEMAN AFB, MISSOURI: Strong VFP presence at protest.
FT. WAYNE: Union counter-protesters came out
against anti-drone protest at BAE Systems!
FT. BRAGG, NC: Protest organized by Quaker House.
MCLEAN VA: Protesters at CIA Headquarters.
WASHINGTON DC: Protest at the White House.
TALLAHASSEE: Broad coalition against drones at FSU.
GAINESVILLE: In "Pin the Drones," UF students in the
Plaza of the Americas were challenged to find a country
that the U.S. had not invaded bombed, or occupied within
the last 10 years. This proved a difficult task.

April Days Against Drones Actions in Cities Nationwide

In response to a call for national protests against drones in April, 2013, dozens of actions have been planned nationwide, and new events are being added daily.

Full event list on the Know Drones website

To date, actions and events have been listed in these locations:

EAST COAST

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Washington (ANSWER Coalition March and Rally at the White House), Washington (Cato "New Way of War" forum)
FLORIDA: Gainesville, Tallahassee
GEORGIA: Atlanta
MAINE: Brunswick
MARYLAND: Baltimore, Towson
MASSACHUSETTS: Boston
NEW HAMPSHIRE: Merrimack
NEW JERSEY: Pompton Plains
NEW YORK: Greenlawn, New Paltz, New York City, Port Jefferson, Rochester, Syracuse
NORTH CAROLINA: Fayetteville
PENNSYLVANIA: King of Prussia, Philadelphia
TENNESSEE - Nashville
VIRGINIA - McLean (CIA Headquarters)

MIDWEST

ILLINOIS: Carbondale, Chicago (The Predator performance), Chicago (protest Boeing killer drone program), Palatine
INDIANA: Ft. Wayne, Terre Haute
IOWA: Des Moines
MICHIGAN: Battle Creek
MINNESOTA: Minneapolis
MISSOURI: Whiteman Air Force Base, St. Louis
OHIO: Dayton
WISCONSIN: Eagle River, Janesville, Madison, Milwaukee, Mt. Pleasant, Volk Field

TEXAS AND SOUTHWEST

ARIZONA: Tucson, Douglas
NEW MEXICO: Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Taos
TEXAS: Austin

WEST COAST

CALIFORNIA: multi-day action in San Diego (including associated events in La Jolla and Poway), plus Linda (Occupy Beale AFB), Sacramento, San Francisco (April 3 and April 13 protests), Studio City
COLORADO: Denver
HAWAII: Honolulu, Pohakuloa, Wahiawa
NEVADA: Creech Air Force Base
WASHINGTON: Seattle

CANADA

BRITISH COLUMBIA: Vancouver

UNITED KINGDOM

Horsham: Drone Free Horsham

GERMANY

VARIOUS CITIES: Berlin, Bremen, Essen, Munich, Stuttgart, Trier


For additional information -- and to list your event -- go to the full, up-to-date list of anti-drone initiatives.



Read about ALL the ways YOU can be involved 


Tuesday, April 2, 2013

#AprilDays Against #Drones On Twitter

NEW! #APRILDAYS #SYRACUSE HASHTAG

Join us to promote the major convergence happening April 26-28 in Syracuse, NY.


Here are some Twitter addresses for speakers and other participants:
Kevin Zeese (ClearingTheFog Radio) @KBZeese @ClearFOGMedia
Col. Ann Wright @AnnWright46
Nick Mottern (KnowDrones) @KnowDrones
Mark Johnson (FOR) @FORPeace
Debra Sweet (WCW) @dsweetwcw @worldcantwait
Rafia Zakaria (AI) @rafiazakaria
And Twitter addresses for event supporters:
ANSWER Coalition @ANSWERcoalition
Band of Rebels, Rochester @Band_of_Rebels
Bill of Rights Defense Committee @BORDC
Brooklyn for Peace @brooklyn4peace
Christian Peacemaker Team @cptchicago
CODEPINK @CodePink
Commission on Peace and Justice, Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany @PeaceJustice1
Cynthia McKinney @cynthiamckinney
JustForeignPolicy.com @justfp
KnowDrones.com @KnowDrones
Metro Justice of Rochester @MetroJustice
New York City War Resistor’s League @resistwar
Occupy Albany @occupy_albany
Pax Christi USA @PaxChristi
Peace Action New York @PeaceActionNY
Peace Action (National) @PeaceAction
Syracuse Peace Council @syracuse_peace
Voices for Creative NonViolence @info_from_vcnv
WarIsACrime.org @davidcnswanson
Western NY Peace Center @WNYPeaceCenter
World Can't Wait @worldcantwait
Read more about Resisting Drones, Global War and Empire: A Convergence to Action!


#APRILDAYS HASHTAG

As part of the April Days of Action Against Drones, anti-drones activists have been tweeting throughout the month, using the hashtags #aprildays and #nodrones.


#APRILDAYS ACCOUNTS TO FOLLOW

Please follow and retweet the accounts of these April Days coordinators:

@KnowDrones
@CodePink
@NoDronesNetwork
@WorldCantWait
@Antiwar2
@jslives
@thedronalisa
@leilaFORpeace
@info_from_vcnv
@amanimtu
@davidcnswanson

And all the other state accounts:

California: @SDCPJ
Florida: @NoDronesFL
Illinois: @NoDronesIL
Maryland: @NoDronesMD
Michigan: @NoDronesMI
Minnesota: @WAMMWoman
Missouri: @NoDronesMO
Nevada: @NVDesertExp
New Jersey: @NoDronesNJ
North Carolina: @NoDronesNC
Ohio: @NoDronesOH
Oklahoma: @NoDronesOK
Pennsylvania: @NoDronesPA
Texas: @NoDronesTX
Virginia: @NoDronesVA
Wisconsin: @NoDronesWI

#NODRONES TUESDAYS

Every TUESDAY there will be an intensive focus on promoting the April actions in cities across the country.


When there's important news, Twitter is a great way to get the word out:


Read about ALL the ways YOU can be involved