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Medea Benjamin in Albany!
By maudeaster on 2012-04-19 11:45:34
I’m excited that Medea Benjamin, the co-founder of Code Pink and author of a major new book on
drones, will be here in Albany this Sunday, April 22. Medea will speak about the spread of drone warfare globally and the
increasing use of drones for surveillance in this country, as well as internationally.11:45 AM-1PM at the First Unitarian
Universalist Society of Albany, 405 Washington Ave. Free and open to everyone. Women Against War is a local affiliate of
Code Pink, so we are especially happy to have her here! I know I really need to know more about drones - -I think we all do,
because they and special forces are the new face of the US military global presence. Drones and the civilian deaths they
cause are rupturing our relationship with Pakistan, infuriating the Afghan government and delaying progress toward peace
talks. Drones are critical to the Pentagon’s plan to keep an indefinite US military presence in Afghanistan, and the plan to
put drones under CIA control will remove them even further from public scrutiny. Medea’s new book, Drone Warfare:
comprehensive look at the growing menace of robotic warfare — who is profiting from producing them, where they are being
used, who are the game-boy-like “pilots” of these unmanned aircraft, and who are their victims. She speaks eloquently of the
legal and moral implications of drone use. Medea’s concerns range from the human costs of civilian deaths, the legality of
drone use in countries like Yemen with which we are not at war, and their impact here in the US where police departments
are starting to use them. Medea is a leader in the growing international movement to ground these drones and will share
what activists, lawyers and scientists are doing to stop their use.
—
Have you seen and heard Medea before? Have you
been watching the news, seen women garbed in pink, using courage, humor, and strong voices to interrupt business as usual
in Washington - to protest US war-making or support of repression? If so, chances are you heard the sweet, but soaring voice
of Medea Benjamin, co-founder and leader of Code Pink. See more about Medea and a great video interview at
Newsday described her as “one of America’s most committed - and most effective — fighters for human rights”. She is a
force for peace and human rights across the globe — in Tahrir Square during the Egyptian uprising in 2011, organizing the
Gaza Freedom March in 2010 and meeting with women in Afghanistan on multiple trips. Medea is a former economist and
nutritionist with the United Nations and the World Health Organization. We are glad Albany is on her 2012 itinerary!
