AS PROMISED yesterday, today we tackle the subject of predator drones (UAVs) again. It is no longer relegated to daily links; there is a lot of commentary worth making now that we know about the NSA's role (cracking computers and using back doors) in assassinating people, based on lists it gathers. It has a lot to do with technology, and by technology we mean even software, not just aviation and physics/chemistry (producing explosives for Hellfire missiles). The NSA helps tracking targets by their devices that they carry and it also helps select targets, based on who they communicate with, what Web pages they visit, etc. The NSA has already participated in the assassination of thousands of people this way. Those who want us to naively believe that all those people deserved this punishment should read [1] and those who think that US citizens support it should read [2]. Most US citizens still have compassion [3], but not the corporate media which calls each person dead "militant" (meaning adult male) as if to blindly justify each assassination. Germany has just quit what might be perceived as complicity [4] and in Pakistan, where the NSA participated in thousands of murders, Imran Khan (a friend of Wikileaks) leads protests [5,6] which include, potentially, blocking of NATO [7]. Techrights will continue to cover such news because now we know the large degree to which software plays a role (mostly tracking), never mind the drones' embarrassing use of Linux. ⬆
Related/contextual items from the news:
Why do you trust that this secretive government is only killing "people who need to be killed"?
Anti-drone activists will march from the White House to the headquarters of drone aircraft manufacturer General Atomics on Friday ahead of a rally to "discuss strategies to stop the proliferation of drones" used for military purposes around the world, organizers said.
In our global fight for self preservation, we must remember, all the time, that we are all Afghans, we are all Filipinos, we are all Haitians, we are all Iraqis, and more, who struggle against the same forces and share the identical desire for self determination.
Berlin has suspended the purchase of armed drones on the grounds that it “categorically rejects illegal killings.” This follows a report by Amnesty International that accused Merkel’s government of aiding the US with drone strikes in Pakistan.
A draft agreement between the Social Democrats and the Conservatives obtained by Der Spiegel condemns the use of drones for targeted attacks.
Thousands rally in Peshawar, amid fears the CIA will aim unmanned anti-Taliban strikes deeper into Pakistani territory
“We are holding the biggest ever anti-drone protest in Peshawar, where we could decide to block NATO supplies permanently,” Khan, who leads the Pakistan Tehreek Insaf (PTI), told IPS ahead of massive protests planned by the party for Nov. 23.