Reports from Hancock and Beyond – Page 2 – The Upstate Coalition to Ground the Drones and End the Wars

The Environmental Consequences of the Use of Armed Drones

December 7, 2017 ucgdew Leave a comment

It is suspected that a small drone carrying a thermite grenade may have caused a massive arms depot blast near Balakliya, Ukraine in March 2017. The 350 hectare site near Kharkiv is around 100km from the frontline of the conflict in the eastern Donbas area. 20,000 people were evacuated and the blast is likely to have left a significant environmental footprint of heavy metals and energetic materials. by Doug Weir and Elizabeth Minor, Originally published on Toxic Remnants of War

Standing Up to the National Anthem

December 6, 2017 ucgdew Leave a comment

This Nation’s anthem was composed by Francis Scott Key, a racist, white supremacist, anti-abolitionist lawyer. He felt that black people, free or slave, were genetically inferior to white people. That perception was the foundation of his legal pursuits. When he was the District Attorney for the City of Washington, he defended slavery and prosecuted those in the abolitionist movement. He argued in court that the institution of slavery should be continued, continued ad infinitum, I suppose, as there is no known cure

Mary Anne Grady Flores OOP Appeal

October 15, 2017 ucgdew Leave a comment

On October 11th, the appeal of Mary Anne Grady Flores conviction for violating her Order of Protection was argued before the New York State Court of Appeals in Albany by Attorney Lance Salisbury. For those who are interested in better understanding the issues, I have posted a video of the press conference they held after leaving the courtroom below. The court will return a decision within 60 days from October 11, when the appeal was heard. Video by Heriberto Rodriguez

PR: Mary Anne Grady Flores OOP Appeal

October 11, 2017 ucgdew One comment

PRESS RELEASE: October 10th, 2017 Contact: Mary Anne Grady Flores 607-280-8797 Ed Kinane 315-478-4571 upstatedroneaction.org knowdrones.com Wednesday October 11th Grandma Drone Protester, Mary Anne Grady Flores, Appeal to be heard by NYS Court of Appeal 2pm Ithaca, N.Y. On Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2017, the long-awaited appeals case of Mary Anne Grady Flores, one of many grandma drone protesters at NYS Hancock MQ-9 Reaper Drone Base, will be heard by the N.Y.S. Court of Appeals, 20 Eagle Street, Albany, NY 12207. Depending on the

Protesters Speak Out at Hancock (Video)

October 6, 2017 ucgdew Leave a comment

Hancock is a Reaper Drone hub on the US mainland which is focused on training drone pilots and technicians, and flies deadly Reaper drone missions over Afghanistan and Pakistan. Hancock is scheduled to increase it’s personnel by half over the coming year. Upstate Drone Action members have been engaging in civil resistance at Hancock since 2011. On September 26th, activists delivered a People’s Indictment to the base and stood in the inbound lane of the main entrance to Hancock with

Gallery of Images from Hancock Resistance, 9/25/2017

September 29, 2017 ucgdew Leave a comment

Here is a gallery of images from “Rich Man’s War, Poor People’s Blood“, a civil resistance action by Upstate Drone Action at Hancock Air National Guard Base that resulted in 7 arrests on September 25, 2017. Click on an image to see it enlarged in a frame. The photographer’s name is highlighted on hover. Right click on an image to see it full sized for download. You can click through the framed images as a slideshow.

People’s Indictment (Update with video)

September 29, 2017 ucgdew Leave a comment

FOR WAR CRIMES PERPETRATED BY THE 174TH ATTACK WING OF THE NEW YORK NATIONAL GUARD AT HANCOCK AIR FORCE BASE, SYRACUSE, NY Video recorded by Charley Bowman of Buffalo, NY. Speaking: Ed Kinane, Julianne Oldfield, Dan Burgevin. Since 2010 the 174th Attack Wing, via satellite, has been remotely piloting weaponized MQ9 Reaper drones over Afghanistan – perhaps the poorest and most vulnerable nation in the world. U.S. weaponized drones are also known to target people in Pakistan, Iraq, Libya, Somalia,

PR: Rich Man’s War; Poor People’s Blood (Update with Video)

September 28, 2017 ucgdew Leave a comment

UpstateDroneAction.org Livestream on Youtube by Other Voices, Other Choices Rich Man’s War; Poor People’s Blood 7 Arrested at Hancock Reaper Drone Base with Giant Bloody Dollars Monday, 25 September 2017 at 9 AM, 7 members of the grassroots group Upstate Drone Action once again were arrested as they delivered a citizen’s war crime indictment to the chain of command at Hancock Air Force Base. Upstate Drone Action also placed a huge dollar sign [$] dripping with “blood” in the main

Ed Kinane Talks to David Swanson

August 23, 2017 ucgdew Leave a comment

Ed Kinane was featured on David Swanson’s Talk Nation Radio show this week. It’s a great interview drawing on our local actions as well as Ed’s knowledge of the drone program and his compassion for the victims of US drone wars. If you have half an hour to listen you can go to David’s page or if you would like just to listen here, use the player below:

Grandma Drone Protester Appeal Hearing Scheduled

August 21, 2017 ucgdew Leave a comment

Press Release Ithaca, N.Y. The long-awaited appeals case of Mary Anne Grady Flores, one of many Grandma drone protesters at Hancock MQ-9 Reaper Drone Base, will be heard by the panel of judges of the N.Y.S. Court of Appeals in Albany, on Oct. 11, 2017. Depending on the verdict, Grady Flores, who has already served 56 days, may have to complete 65 days in Jamesville, Onondaga County Jail, E. Syracuse. On Feb. 13th, 2013, Ash Wednesday, Ithaca Catholic Worker Grady Flores took