Syracuse, N.Y.  Four anti-drone resisters were sentenced last night in Judge Joseph J. Zavaglia’s DeWitt (NY) Town Court for alleged trespass at a “die-in” on April 28, 2013 at Hancock Air Base, home to the 174^th Attack Wing of the NY National Guard, just north of Syracuse, NY. At their four-day trial this past June trial the six-person jury acquitted the four of disorderly conduct and obstruction of government administration.

The four are members of Upstate Drone Action Coalition – a scrupulously nonviolent, loosely-knit grassroots network which, since 2009 has actively opposed the Hancock Reaper drones flying missions over Afghanistan. The Reaper, an unmanned robot, is notorious for violating international law by killing, maiming and terrorizing civilians in several U.S. undeclared wars.

The Air Force announced cutbacks in drone surveillance and targeted killing operations, saying they can't train and retain drone operators. From The New York Times June 16, 2015:

Letter Reinforces Call Made in National TV Ad Campaign

Hastings on Hudson, NY – An increasing number of United States military veterans are counseling United States military drone operators to refuse to fly drone surveillance/attack missions – the veterans are even helping sponsor prime time television commercials urging drone operators to "refuse to fly."

"I profoundly regret what happened," Obama said, apologizing to the families of the deceased.  When a U.S. citizen, Warren Weinstein, and a European were killed by a U.S. drone strike, Obama apologized. 

When four other U.S. citizens who were Muslims, including the 16 year old Abdulrahman al-Aulaki. were targeted and killed, he not only didn't apologize, he didn't acknowledge them for years.  When he did, it was to make vague pledge of transparency.

The media don’t tell us that drones, with their Hellfire missiles and 500 lb. bombs, dismember and incinerate human beings with far less “precision” than any ISIS beheading.

Our theme this morning is terror and terrorism. For me that means drone terror and terrorism.

I’ll begin by noting that most terrorism has not been perpetrated by Islamic-identified people.

Faisal bin Ali Jaber, together with his family members, has brought a case against the German government for allowing the U.S. to use Ramstein Air Base for the U.S. drone killings. In NYC Tuesday, the Granny Peace Brigade, KnowDrones.com and World Can't Wait protested outside the German consulate to the United Nations. The latest on German case is that the court denied the lawsuit, but the Yemenis can appeal.

A few points on the U.S. drone war which will not surprise you, but should be in your arsenal of arguments for people who think drones are an acceptable form of mass murder:

As the Obama government attempts to justify its drone program, Staff Sergeant Shane R. Owens, a drone sensor operator suffering from PTSD from having been involved with drone killing, assigned to the 11th Reconnaissance Squadron at Creech AFB, has been confined by the Air Force without charges since March 5 at nearby Nellis AFB in Nevada.

U.S. airstrikes and drone attacks against rebels in Yemen came to the world's attention in 2009, though CIA drone strikes first started in 2001. None of the U.S.'s “interventions” have provided any support to the masses of people who joined the Arab spring protests in 2011 against the ruling government.

World Can't Wait endorses actions to Shut Down Creech Air Force Base, the primary home of killer drones. We received this from activists:

Possibly 200-300 activists from 16+ states will converge at Creech AFB in early march, to unite against this horrendous and unconscionable practice: Executing people remotely from the desert of Nevada, without providing any evidence of guilt. This has got to stop! Won't you join us to  SHUT DOWN CREECH?  (Caravan leaving Bay Area Feb. 28)

On Dec. 10, 2014, International Human Rights Day, Kathy Kelly and Georgia Walker were found guilty of trespass by a US magistrate for their attempt to serve an indictment for war crimes on the commander of Whiteman Air Force Base, which is a drone base. In her statement to the court, Kathy recounted the story of an Afghan mother whose son was killed by a drone and the anguish these weapons cause.