Medea Benjamin

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WASHINGTON -- Even Medea Benjamin was surprised she managed to get into President Barack Obama's major national security address at National Defense University on Thursday. The long-time Code Pink protestor (and HuffPost blogger ) is a fixture on Capitol Hill and well known to most D.C. reporters. "I had my head down for about two hours and was talking on the phone for about two hours.

Medea Benjamin Surprised Obama Drones Speech Protest Worked

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/23/medea-benjamin-obama_n_3328321.html
http://www.codepink.org/article.php?id=6413

Press Coverage: Medea Benjamin Disrupts Obama's Speech on Guantanamo

May 23, 2013 Obama heckled during Guantanamo Speech , Video, NY Times Obama limits use of U.S. drone strikes, offers steps to close Guantanamo, Haaretz
"You're not really going to Pakistan, are you?" http://www.opednews.com/articles/Americans-Take-Anti-Drone-by-Medea-Benjamin-120926-690.html

Americans Take Anti-Drone Stance Directly to Pakistan

One could be forgiven for thinking there's anything honorable or honest about Colin Powell. https://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/06/05-7

Colin Powell: Another War Criminal Cashes In

Medea Benjamin: Drones kill innocent civilians and antagonize whole populations - April 27, 2012 Bio

Drone Warfare: Killing by Remote Control

http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=8253

Drones and the Dream of Remote Control in the Borderlands

http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/05/03/drones-and-the-dream-of-remote-control-in-the-borderlands/ Drones along the U.S. boundaries with Mexico and Canada are coming under criticism from an unexpected source: the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)—or, more specifically, the department’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG). The critique helps open the door to those who oppose not only the increasing “eyes in the sky” in the borderlands, but also the larger apparatus of state surveillance and repression. The OIG, charged with promoting “effectiveness, efficiency, and economy in the Department of Homeland Security’s programs and operations,” has undertaken an audit of the “unmanned aerial vehicle” program of U .S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
http://dissenter.firedoglake.com/2012/04/27/building-opposition-to-the-obama-administrations-expanded-use-of-drones/

Building Opposition to the Obama Administration’s Expanded Use of Drones

CODEPINK press conference at National Press Club on Drone Summit
http://mondoweiss.net/2012/05/shame-on-you-why-i-interrupted-obama-counter-terrorism-adviser-john-brennan.html

Medea Benjamin speaks truth to power 'Shame on You': John Brennan on US Drone Warfare

Counterterrorism adviser John Brennan spoke at the Woodrow Wilson International Center in Washington DC on April 30 to mark the one-year anniversary of the killing of Osama bin Laden. It was the first time a high level member of the Obama Administration spoke at length about the U.S. drone strikes that the CIA and the Joint Special Operations Command have been carrying out in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia. “President Obama has instructed us to be more open with the American people about these efforts,” Brennan explained. I had just co-organized a Drone Summit over the weekend, where Pakistani lawyer Shahzad Akbar told us heart-wrenching stories about the hundreds of innocent victims of our drone attacks. We saw horrific photos of people whose bodies were blown apart by Hellfire missiles, with only a hand or a slab of flesh remaining.
An undated handout photo of a US Air Force MQ-9 Reaper, a drone aircraft aimed with laser-guided munitions and Hellfire missiles.

Drones Flying Under the Radar

First Lady Michelle Obama , accepting an anti-war petition at a fundraiser in San Francisco last week, told the CodePink member who presented her with 20,000 signatures, ”Keep up the great work,” the organization’s co-founders say.

CodePink on Michelle Obama’s message to them in SF: “Keep up the great work” | Politics Blog

US Drone Warfare: Robots Kill, But The Blood Is on Our Hands

Even if you’ve been reading everything you could about drones, attending peace conferences, and protesting in the lobbies of drone companies like General Atomics, you will learn a great deal from this book. In fact, I’m willing to bet that even if you “pilot” drones from a desk for a living you will learn a great deal from this book. And if you have not been paying attention to drones, then you really need to read this book.

Drones’ new weapon: P.R.

Afghan villagers flee U.S. drone strikes An inside look at two villages ravaged by American aerial assaults
While no mass arrests took place, downtown loop fully militarized - Transcript VOICEOVER: While protesters denounced U.S. militarism abroad during the 2-day NATO summit, the city of Chicago found itself the target of a robust campaign of militarization.

NATO Protests In Fortress Chicago