Know Drones Tour to Highlight Choice: Green Energy or Non-Stop War for Resources?

As part of the No Drones! education tour in Ohio in September, representatives of New York State-based Know Drones held an event at the Green Energy Information Center in Brookville on Saturday, September 15, 2012. They were joined by other tour sponsors: members of Dayton Anti-War Now (DAWN), Veterans for Peace, and others.

There was a press conference to address the choice between developing renewable energy and materials versus non-stop war to control non-renewable resources, such as oil and minerals. (Read more below.)

Members of the tour displayed a 1/5 actual size model of a Reaper drone, and stayed through the afternoon to talk with visitors to the Center.

Green Energy Information Center
10404 National Road
Brookville, OH
(near the Dull Homestead Farm)

For information, contact Steve Fryberg at steve [at] missingpeaceart.org .

More information on the entire No Drones! education tour in Ohio.

THE CHOICE: ENDLESS WAR FOR RESOURCES? OR RENEWABLE ENERGY?

The Race for What's Left by Michael Klare describes the increasing struggle among industrialized nations for access to oil with the full intention of burning up as much of it as possible. Klare calls for a crash plan to develop renewable energy sources and other basic materials. Clearly a dramatically urgent program to cut burning of fossil fuels is needed.

In spite of this, the US is bent on using its military to gain and hold access to oil resources worldwide. The drone has a unique role in this drive for control because unlike any other weapon, it can monitor the lives of individuals and groups for days on end and kill at a moment's notice. Government and business leaders around the world are well aware of this and must certainly be influenced in their decisions by the knowledge they can be easily assassinated by drones.

If we are to begin a serious, effective mobilization to get off fossil fuels, we must close the door to the use of the military to "capture" oil. The military option for access to oil must no longer be an option.

The removal of the military option for acquiring resources would, of course, be revolutionary in the history of the world. A ban on drone surveillance and weaponized drones worldwide can be and must be the first step in that direction, and by describing the ban as such, we may be able to encourage people to think about the existential choices that we are now making on a daily basis, at this point by default. The advent of the drone may help us to understand where we are headed and where we want to go.

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Image: American Legacy by Steve Fryburg: "The cloud of an atomic bomb in the background, a weapon that allows the near annihilation of an enemy without exposure to the horror and suffering inflicted. The Predator Drones flying in the forefront, today’s latest way of extending the distance between us and the 'enemy'; so that the horrors of war can be isolated to those who we inflict it upon.

"It has been said that the A-Bomb saved the lives of 50,000 or more soldiers and today the killer drone is said to keep soldiers out of harm’s way. If we can impose our wrath without exposure or apparent risk, the easier it is for war and state terrorism to continue with the blessings of the citizens.

"The oil rig is an icon for the resources US corporations have, and are still pillaging from other countries under the shadow of America’s military might. And the cross for the pseudo-Christians that wallow in self-righteousness in the US, but fail miserably to live up to the ideals of the man who died on that cross after teaching such things as 'Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God' …"

Wittenberg to Perform Gilroy's "The Predator" September 16

Members of the Wittenberg University community will perform Jack Gilroy's play, The Predator, as part of a series of events about drones on September 16. (For performance details, see Wright State, Wittenberg to Participate in No Drones Education.)

Jack Gilroy is a full time human rights/peace activist and former Prisoner of Conscience for the School of the Americas Watch. Gilroy’s two novels of young men who refused to be part of the United States military, "Absolute Flanigan" and "The Wisdom Box", received gold medal awards by OMNI Center for Peace & Justice.

The Predator is part of a dramatic trilogy about moral challenges and conscience, especially related to war and violence. The Pax Christi website (where the full plays can be downloaded) provides brief summaries of the three plays:

The Predator: A Jesuit college junior is being encouraged to serve the country in the military by her mother, an Air Force Major Drone Pilot, and a US Senator. Her mother pushes for an Air Force career path and her Senator visualizes drones as an economic answer to unemployment. Is there a relevant moral question?

Sentenced to Death For Not Killing: The Ben Salmon Story: Ben Salmon, a WWI, Denver, Colorado Catholic, refused to partake in the killing of another human being. He was arrested, sentenced to death (reduced to 25 yrs hard labor) and tortured for his humanitarian and religious belief that killing is immoral.

Render to Caesar? The Story of Franz Jagerstatter: Franz Jagerstatter, an Austrian Catholic peasant was the only person in his village who, in 1938, refused to support Nazi annexation. When he said no to induction into the German Army in 1943, Franz knew the justice of his conscience would be challenged by the power of the state.

Past performances of The Predator have included:

Georgetown University, Washington, DC - during November, 2011, Ignatian Family Teach In
Pebble Hill Presbyterian Church, Syracuse, NY
St Lucy's Church, Syracuse, NY - a performance in which Kathy Kelly took a reading role, since she was in town facing charges for an anti-drones action at the Syracuse drone base
Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY - part of a Spring, 2012, workshop in a peace studies conference.

The Predator will be performed at the Wittenberg Student Union on Sunday afternoon, September 16, time TBA. (For performance details, see Wright State, Wittenberg to Participate in No Drones Education.)

Wright State, Wittenberg to Participate in No Drones Education

As part of the No Drones! education tour in Ohio in September, to be carried out by Know Drones, members of Dayton Anti-War Now (DAWN), Veterans for Peace, and others, there will be several events on Ohio college campuses.

WRIGHT STATE UNIVERSITY - Thursday, September 13, 2012

In collaboration with Occupy Wright State, Know Drones will display their 1/5-actual size Reaper drone replica and do a teach-in.

Time: 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Venue: Wright State Student Union

Join the Facebook event page for the drone day at Wright State and invite your friends!



WITTENBERG UNIVERSITY - Sunday, September 16, 2012

Display and informal discussion: Know Drones will display their 1/5-actual size Reaper drone replica and answer questions about drones, drone warfare, and the movement to stop the drones.
Time: 11:00 a.m.
Venue: Wittenberg Student Union



Presentation: Current and future drone use, particularly as drones relate to controlling resources, labor and populations.
Time: 1:00 p.m.
Venue: Wittenberg Student Union

Performance: The Predator, a play by Jack Gilroy. Discussion to follow.
Time: TBA
Venue: Wittenberg Student Union
Read more about Jack Gilroy and The Predator.

Note: Just a few miles from Wittenberg University is the Springfield National Guard Air Base, one of bases from which Predator drones are controlled.

Join the Facebook event page for the drone day at Wittenberg and invite your friends!

Contact Peggy Hanna (phanna [at] wittenberg.edu) for more information on the Wittenberg events.

To get involved with either of these events, contact Steve Fryberg at steve [at] missingpeaceart.org .

Support No Drones Ohio As We Procure a Drone Replica

No Drones Ohio plans to acquire a drone replica from Know Drones to support our September campaign of public education and protests about drones in Columbus, Cincinnati, and Dayton/Springfield . The replica is 8' long, has an 11' wingspan, and is displayed on a heavy-duty lifter that makes it widely visible. You can see an example of a Know Drones drone model in use by No Drones Wisconsin at the EAA Airventure 2012 in Oshkosh and by Mr. Robert Rast in Indiana. Drone replicas from Know Drones are also in use by drone opponents in Illinois, New York, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and soon in Delaware, Oregon, and Hawaii.

We need your support to help us defray the cost of buying and transporting this important part of our public education effort. We need to cover costs of $500 we will incur in procuring the model and transporting it to Dayton. (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.) We welcome your contribution in any amount. If you or your organization wants to support resistance to drones in Ohio, you can make a donation direct via Unitarian Fellowship for World Peace on PayPal or email Steve Fryberg at steve [at] missingpeaceart.org .

Thanks for your support!

Dayton Drones Protest Features AFSC Art

Members of Dayton Against War Now (DAWN) demonstrating on Saturday, August 4, adapted images from a recent gallery exhibition to dramatize the nightmare of drone warfare.

The exhibition -- Windows and Mirrors: Reflections on the War in Afghanistan, a project of the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), was held April 2 through June 29 at Quaker Heritage Center on the Campus of Wilmington College in Wilmington, OH, and then from July 6 through July 29 at Missing Peace Art Space in Dayton. The exhibition is a traveling mural exhibit that "makes a powerful statement on a nearly invisible reality." The exhibit consists of more than 45 large scale paintings by artists from all over the country that memorialize Afghan civilian casualties. The exhibit also includes images collected from Afghan high school students by Dr. Zahir Wahab, a professor at Lewis and Clark College, who asked young Afghans to draw images from their daily reality.

The picture at left shows a member of DAWN with a placard bearing the words "When Drones fly the Innocent Die" and using the image by Chicago artist Lillian Moats entitled Foreshadowing. As Moats explains in the exhibition catalog, "In Afghanistan and Pakistan, unmanned drones have become the weapons of choice of the U.S. military and C.I.A. Operators, who sit at computer screens thousands of miles from their targets. An appalling number of civilian men, women and children have become unintended casualties of such "targeted killings" in this one-sided robotic warfare. The painting grew out of the artist's efforts to imagine what the presence of unmanned drones must be like for people on the ground."

DAWN holds monthly demonstrations against the war and the use of drones.