Drone Warfare: The Brutal Reality [video included]
By A new study from Stanford University and New York University shows that the highly spoken of drone warfare, praised by both military and political officials, is pure fantasy:
In the United States, the dominant narrative about the use of drones in Pakistan is of a surgically precise and effective tool that makes the US safer by enabling “targeted killing” of terrorists, with minimal downsides or collateral impacts.[1]
This narrative is false. (Stanford/NYU, Living Under Drones.)
U.S. drones have been killing countless innocent civilians in Pakistan and elsewhere. Those killings are rarely acknowledged by the U.S. government, if only to make tasteless jokes. We may recall President Obama making fun of the efficient killing machine two years ago:
“The Jonas Brothers are here; they’re out there somewhere. Sasha and Malia are huge fans. But boys, don’t get any ideas. I have two words for you, ‘predator drones.’ You will never see it coming.” (Barack Obama at the White House Correspondents Association Dinner, May 1, 2010. Click on the link to view the video)
Reporting on the study, the The News International (Pakistan} wrote the following:
Just one in fifty victims of the CIA programme of “targeted” drone strikes in Pakistan’s tribal areas are known militants, while between 2,562 and 3,325 people were killed in Pakistan between June 2004 and mid-September this year – of whom between 474 and 881 were civilians, including 176 children. (The News International (Pakistan), Pakistan. CIA Annihilation From The Air: Drone Warfare’s Invisible Dead, September 26, 2012.)
The Stanford/NYU study states further:
First, while civilian casualties are rarely acknowledged by the US government, there is significant evidence that US drone strikes have injured and killed civilians. In public statements, the US states that there have been “no” or “single digit” civilian casualties.”[2] It is difficult to obtain data on strike casualties because of US efforts to shield the drone program from democratic accountability, compounded by the obstacles to independent investigation of strikes in North Waziristan.
The report concludes that:
- US drone strike policies cause considerable and under-accounted-for harm to the daily lives of ordinary civilians, beyond death and physical injury.
- publicly available evidence that the strikes have made the US safer overall is ambiguous at best.
- current US targeted killings and drone strike practices undermine respect for the rule of law and international legal protections and may set dangerous precedents.
What we are dealing with is a process of “remote killing” of civilians.
We bring to the attention of our readers a selection of Global Research articles regarding drone warfare.
Living Under Drones, Global Research News, September 26, 2012
Pakistan. CIA Annihilation From The Air: Drone Warfare’s Invisible Dead, Stop NATO, September 26, 2012
GRTV: Living Under Drones: The Brutal Reality of “Targeted Killing”, GRTV, September 26, 2012
ACLU Sues CIA Over Drone Killings, Stephen Lendman, September 23, 2012
Spying on Americans: 64 Drone Bases on US Soil, Global Research, September 22, 2012
UN Human Rights Rapporteur Calls on US to End the CIA’s Drone War in Pakistan, Farooq Yousaf, September 19, 2012
Legal action over US Drone Strikes, Drone Wars UK, September 20, 2012
Mapping Drone Proliferation: UAVs in 76 Countries, Drone Wars UK, September 18, 2012
- Articles by: Julie Lévesque
Related content:
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SPEAKING OUT AGAINST DRONE WARFARE: The cost and consequences of exposing the drone wars
As secret and unaccountable US and British drone strikes continue in remote corners of the globe, closer to home (but firmly behind closed doors), the drone industry continues to research and develop a drone-filled future.
Bristol billboard exposes drone conference
Over the past couple of weeks, protesters in the UK and the US have gathered to turn the spotlight on the increasingly secret use and development of armed drones.… -
Pakistan. CIA Annihilation From The Air: Drone Warfare’s Invisible Dead
After nine months of research and more than 130 interviews, in what is being called one of the most exhaustive attempts by academics to evaluate Washington’s drone wars, the Stanford and New York universities’ law schools have finally put out a damning report.…
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A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF DRONE WARFARE: The 2012 Drone Wars Briefing
Click image to download PDF
Today we are publishing the first, of what we hope will be an annual briefing.
The Drone Wars Briefing explores some of the key issues arising from the growing use of armed unmanned drones in a detailed, yet, accessible way. Examining current UK and US military drone operations, as well as looking at future developments and legal issues, the fully-referenced briefing will be of use to both those new to the issue as well as those with a long-term interest.… -
DRONE WARFARE: US Military Releases Information on Drone Slaughter of Afghan “Non-combatants”
US military investigation damns drone operators
28/03/2012
We’re reposting this short report, together with the links to further information, that we have just received today:One of the trucks after the Hellfire strike in Feb 2010
Centcom.mil released on 22 March 2012 a declassified 2,100-page report on slaughter of 23 Afghan non-combatants – men, women, children – in February 2010, blamed on Creech drone pilots over-enthusiastically calling in Hellfires on a 3-vehicle civilian convoy.… -
Obama admits drone strikes in Pakistan as US drone strikes Yemen
For the first time, the United States has confirmed that it is undertaking drone strikes in Pakistan.
Many may feel that this has long been an open secret as unnamed officials regularly take to the press about CIA drone strikes. However the admition by President Obama during a ‘Google online hangout’ will no doubt have legal and political implications.…
Russia halts imports of Monsanto corn over cancer fears
CounterPsyOps
September 26, 2012
AFP Photo / Philippe Huguen
Russian authorities temporary suspended the import and sale of Monsanto’s genetically-modified corn after a French study suggested it may be linked to cancer.
The Russia’s consumer-rights regulator Rospotrebnadzor asked scientists at the country’s Institute of Nutrition to review the study. The watchdog has also contacted to European Commission’s Directorate General for Health & Consumers to explain the EU’s position on GM corn.
The report prepared by France’s University of Caen and published last week, claimed that rats fed over a two-year period with Monsanto’s genetically modified NK603 corn, developed more tumors and other pathologies than a test group fed with regular corn. The NK603, sold under the Roundup label, is genetically engineered to withstand glyphosate weed killer.
The company criticized the study, saying it “doesn’t meet minimum acceptable standards for this type of scientific research” and the data was incomplete.
Monsanto also said Russia’s ban will have little effect on its business as the country import small volumes of corn from the US. Besides that, the Russian government doesn’t permit farmers to plant GM crops. “Russia is a net exporter of grain, so the actual impact of their temporary suspension, if any, is likely to be small,” the spokesman said in a statement.
Meanwhile, France announced it will uphold the ban on genetically modified crops in the country. It has asked the national food-security agency Anses to examine the study of Monsanto’s corn. If other countries follow the examples of Russia and France it could be a severe blow to the major US biotech.
In California, activists are fighting to have GM products removed from the food supply. They are also pushing to pass Proposition 37, a law that would legally require genetically modified foods to be labeled as such. Monsanto is opposing the law and it has donated over $4.2 million to lobby against it. Over 2,000 farmers have petitioned the US government to more thoroughly investigate the impacts of the genetically modified corn crop from Monsanto.
Source: Russia Today
Health Canada to review GM corn study
by Sarah Schmidt, POSTMEDIA NEWS
MontrealGazette.com
September 20, 2012
OTTAWA–Health Canada said Thursday it will take action if its review of a new study that found Canadian-grown genetically modified corn is linked to elevated risks of cancer, organ damage and premature death in rats “demonstrate a risk” to Canadians.
The first-ever GM food safety study to test the entire life span of laboratory rats, newly published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Food and Chemical Toxicology, also found health impacts for rats exposed to Monsanto’s herbicide Roundup, the widest selling herbicide in the world.
The French study, while challenged by some experts, is being taking seriously by the French government. On Thursday, it ordered an urgent review of the study assessing the safety of GM corn and said it will work for a Europe-wide ban of imports of the crop if the findings were found to be conclusive.
In Canada, where the GM corn is grown and used for animal feed and processed food ingredients, Health Canada said Thursday it would be premature to offer its assessment, saying departmental scientists are currently reviewing the findings.
“Should our review of this new study demonstrate a risk, Health Canada will take appropriate actions to protect the health and safety of Canadians,” the department added.
The study of Monsanto’s GM corn NK603, approved by Health Canada in 2001 and engineered to withstand sprayings of the company’s herbicide Roundup, found that rats fed the GM corn or Roundup developed tumours faster and died earlier than rats fed non-GM corn.
The study involving 100 female rats and 100 male rats were split into groups and fed different amounts of either GM corn, Roundup herbicide or both, over two years. There was also a control group, which was fed regular corn and plain water.
Up to 50 per cent of males fed GM corn or Roundup and 70 per cent of females died prematurely, compared with only 30 per cent and 20 per cent in the control group, the study found. And overall, rats fed GM corn or Roundup developed two to three times more tumours. Females developed fatal mammary tumours and pituitary disorders, while males suffered liver damage, developed kidney and skin tumours and problems with their digestive system, the study states.
[READ MORE…]
[hat tip: Press For Truth]
Consciousness Beyond Chemtrails Conference – Sofia Smallstorm Preview [video]
YouTube — ChemtrailsConference
September 9, 2012
To Get All 15 Presentations From The Historic “Consciousness Beyond Chemtrails Conference” Visit The Main Website (DVDs or Digital Downloads Available): http://www.consciousnessbeyondchemtrails.com/
August 17th – 19th, 2012 marked the largest stand ever against Chemtrails! Over the course of 3 days in Los Angeles, and live online around the world, 16 leaders in Geoengineering research met to show the Unity and Collective efforts we are now taking against these “Aerosol Crimes!”
It was a historic turning point for the movement – now you can catch anything you missed at: http://www.consciousnessbeyondchemtrails.com/
**If you get a DVD or digital download we encourage you to burn it and hand them out in your local communities. You can share in the DVD format far and wide!**
Study Confirms BPA is Making You Fat, Fueling Obesity
by Lisa Garber
Natural Society
September 19, 2012
If you know about bisphenol-a (BPA), the estrogen-mimicking chemical found in plastics and other produce, then you probably know it isn’t safe. Well, a study out of NYU School of Medicine links BPA to obesity. The study involved analyzing surveys from 2,938 young people, and is another of a long list of studies coming to the same conclusions.
While taking important factors like the children’s race, age, gender, family income and education, activity level, and calorie intake into consideration, the researchers found that obese children made up 22 percent of individuals with the highest BPA levels in their urine. Of those with the lowest BPA levels, however, obese children represented only 10 percent.
Chemical Used in Teflon & Non-Stick Cookware Linked to Heart Disease
by Elizabeth Renter
Activist Post
September 16, 2012
Further presenting non-stick cookware dangers, a new study published in this month’s Archives of Internal Medicine reveals a relation between PFOA (the chemical in Teflon, used in non-stick pans among other things) and heart disease. While scientists are cautious, as they always are, to say they are definitively linked, some say that steering clear of the chemical “just in case” wouldn’t be a bad idea.
Cooking up Heart Disease
According to the study published in the journal The Jama Network, researchers looked at PFOA presence and incidence of heart disease, heart attack, or stroke. About 98 percent of Americans have traces of PFOA in them; those with the highest levels of the chemical were found to have double the odds of heart disease when compared with those having the lowest levels.
Also, those with higher PFOA, had a 78 percent higher risk of peripheral heart disease—where arteries narrow and harden.
Researchers say there is no hard evidence that the PFOA causes heart diseases or otherwise increases someone’s risk, merely that the conditions “co-exist.”
‘What we are finding is that high levels of PFOA and cardiovascular disease coexisted for some reason. That is all,’ said lead author Dr. Anoop Shgankar with the West Virginia University School of Public Health. ‘It is possible that we are seeing something that is just a bystander and is there because of confounding associations.’
But this isn’t the first time perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) has been associated or found co-existing with other health problems. The Environmental Working Group has it classified as a “likely carcinogen,” meaning it could lead to cancer. Even the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said it was likely to cause cancer.
So, if something causes mutations in cells, as in cancer, wouldn’t it make sense that it could lead to a whole host of other health concerns?
Along with the increasingly well-known knowledge that the toxic fumes emitted from non-stick cookware can make a bird drop dead if it’s in the same room, PFOA has also been shown to cause conditions such as low birth weight and organ-specific oxidative DNA damage.
What can you do? If you haven’t already, stop using non-stick pans. Cast iron is a far better choice, and will last a lifetime.
Additional Sources:
CNN
Explore More:
Toxic BPA Now Linked to Leading Killer Heart Disease
Non-Stick Cookware Dangers – Why You Should Avoid this Cookware
A Non-Stick Cookware Released Toxin May be Damaging Your Health
Sleep Chemical Melatonin Linked to Weight Loss, Heart Disease Prevention
Soda Consumption Tied to Increased Coronary Heart Disease Risk
Possible Link Between Common Consumer Products and Thyroid Disease
This article first appeared at Natural Society, an excellent resource for health news and vaccine information.
Consciousness Beyond Chemtrails Conference – Jeffrey M Smith Preview [video]
YouTube — ChemtrailsConference
September 9, 2012
To Get All 15 Presentations From The Historic “Consciousness Beyond Chemtrails Conference” Visit The Main Website (DVDs or Digital Downloads Available): http://www.consciousnessbeyondchemtrails.com/
August 17th – 19th, 2012 marked the largest stand ever against Chemtrails! Over the course of 3 days in Los Angeles, and live online around the world, 16 leaders in Geoengineering research met to show the Unity and Collective efforts we are now taking against these “Aerosol Crimes!”
It was a historic turning point for the movement – now you can catch anything you missed at: http://www.consciousnessbeyondchemtrails.com/
**If you get a DVD or digital download we encourage you to burn it and hand them out in your local communities. You can share in the DVD format far and wide!**
PN 