Visit Faslane Peace Camp from Camcorder Guerrillas on Vimeo.

Inside the RAF were ceremonially ’standing up’ 13 Squadron, its new drone unit.   13 Squadron has been reformed to operate an additional  five new armed Reaper drones ordered in 2010 by David Cameron.  RAF 39 Squadron will continue to operate RAF Reaper drones from Creech AFB in Nevada for the time being but eventually it is expected that all ten will be controlled from RAF Waddington.

Helen John continues to maintain her peace camp against the drones at Waddington.  Go say hello if you can.

More info on Helen’s anti-drone camp at RAF Waddington

When we discovered that he was making his retirement speech at an elite tax avoidance conference, we couldn’t resist popping in. We donned our best Goldman Sachs and Vodafone costumes, bought some flowers and knocked up a fake award. This is what happened.”

Fabulous, inspirational action. Congratulations to ‘The Intruders’!

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The Intruders

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The breakaway protest at the DWP saw campaigners gain entry to the government building. Channel 4 News’s Alex Thomson reported that 10 protesters in wheelchairs were inside the building with a 200-strong blockade outside forcing staff to use a side entrance.

A spokesman for the department confirmed that protesters had gained entry.

It followed a demonstration organised by Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) and UK Uncut outside the headquarters of Atos aimed to highlight opposition to the work capability assessments (WCA) that Atos carry out on behalf of the government.

Campaigners claim these assessments are destroying the lives of sick and disabled people.

Atos have come under fierce scrutiny for their handling of the DWP’s £100m a year contract to assess whether claimants for incapacity benefits are “fit for work”.

More than 700 protesters from across the UK were expected to descend on Atos’s headquarters in the Euston area of London.

‘Creative direct action’

The two groups have promised “creative direct action” at what is billed as The Closing Atos Ceremony, which completes a week of protests against the company.

Performers who took part in the Paralympic opening ceremony – who, due to contracts, have been unable to speak out against Atos – will be at the protest, along with high-profile entertainers with disabilities and celebrity supporters.

The seven-times Paralympic medallist Tara Flood, who has herself recieved a letter notifying her that she will be assessed, is one of those expected to attend.

Last week, she took part in a spoof opening ceremony where she was stripped of her Paralympic medals after a mock Atos assessment.

Lanyard protest?

The protests follows speculation that ParaGB athletes decided to hide the Atos logos on their accreditation lanyards at the opening ceremony on Wednesday evening.

This speculation has been played down by Locog, which said on Thursday that it was unaware that athletes had concealed the branding and defended its use of Atos as a sponsor.

Officials have also suggested that ParaGB tucked their lanyards into their jackets to avoid them blowing about in the wind.

Atos has supported the Paralympics movement since 2002, sponsoring the 2004, 2008 and now the 2012 Games. It was appointed the official worldwide IT partner of the International Paralympic Committee in 2008.

Disability campaigners claim that Atos is running a flawed process to assess disabled people’s rights to benefits and is therefore an inappropriate sponsor of the Paralympic Games.

The UK Disabled People’s Council has said it has received many reports from members who have been assessed and lost benefits and added that many people have appealed their decision.

‘Beyond a joke’

One protester said that many people were confused about how Atos could on one hand sponsor the Paralympics, and on the other align themselves with those who deny people their benefits through “inhuman tests”.

He added: “I accept they say that they are only carrying out orders but they are being paid handsomely to carry out these orders. Anyone one with any common sense who was allowed to look at the computer system would immediately say ‘that is wrong, that is immoral, that is inhuman’.”

Another protester told Channel 4 News that the involvement of Atos is “casting a cloud over the whole Paralympics” for many disabled people.

She urged more current Paralympians to speak out adding that it was difficult to see them celebrating when they should be criticising Atos. “They owe a debt to the other people in the disability movement who have made the way for them and for what they have achieved now,” she said.

A spokesperson for UK Uncut defended the decision to protest during the Paralympics adding that they had deliberately held their demonstration away from the Olympic Stadium to avoid detracting from Paralympians’ achievements.

But she added that the Games provided a perfect opportunity to highlight the “hypocrisy of the government”.

She said: “How are we to support disabled athletes in fulfilling their potential, if their benefits are being cut?”

Ms John, 74, a founder of the Greenham Common protests, is demonstrating against the use of unmanned military aircraft.

Accompanied by her “Heinz 57″ dog Charlie, who is nearly 17, she anticipates being there indefinitely. She cooks meals on a camping stove and pegs her socks out to dry on an awning’s guyline.

Banners are displayed from her pitch which include the words: “Grim reaper drones smash flesh and bones in oil rich lands far away, guided by geeks, computer freaks.”

Ms John is opposed to RAF Waddington’s involvement with Reaper drones, which are used in Afghanistan.

The aircraft – remotely controlled by pilots on the ground – are used for surveillance and armed with 500lb laser-guided bombs and Hellfire missiles.

Ms John accuses the military of being assassins and claims that killing by remote control is a Nazi trait simply brought up to date.

She says the origins of drone aircraft lie in the V1 rockets which the Germans used to terrorise Britons in the Second World War.

“What’s happening now is history repeating itself but we have to stop making the same mistakes,” said Ms John, who stood against Tony Blair on a No Star Wars ticket in the 2001 General Election.

“Another generation of young men and more lives lost.

“Doing things by remote control is like playing a game. At least the men of Bomber Command put their lives on the line when they were killing civilians in the Second World War.

“I lived through the Second World War and it was not unusual to have a friend not turn up after an air raid.

“I have been a nurse and a midwife so I have this capacity to save lives.

“Here I am in Lincolnshire in this green and pleasant part of the world – can we not move into the 21st century peaceably?”

Crews from 39 Squadron, which has its headquarters at RAF Waddington, have been piloting drones from a base in Nevada, USA, for several years.

No 13 (Reaper) Squadron is expected to become operational at the base in November this year, which means the planes will be controlled from the UK for the first time.

Ministry of Defence spokesman Suzanna Brookner said: “The MoD only operates its unmanned aircraft in Afghanistan to support UK and coalition forces.

“Reaper is the only remotely piloted aircraft that is armed.

“The vast majority of unmanned aircraft flying is surveillance and reconnaissance in support of our front-line troops.”

This is Lincolnshire

Helen John’s tent and banner Credit: ITV Calendar

The banner on the outside of her tent reads:

RAF Waddington (Murder Inc) Peace Camp. Grim reaper drones smash flesh and bones in oil rich lands far away guided by geeks, computer freaks, assassins.

Killing by remote control is a Nazi trait simply brought up to date breaking international humanitarian law. Fact. Murder is always unlawful.

The banner on Helen John’s tent Credit: ITV Calendar

Source: ITV.com

The RAF has responded to a demonstration by veteran peace campaigner Helen John outside its base at Waddington in Lincolnshire. The 74 year old has set up camp in a caravan and tent to voice her opposition to the use of unmanned drone aircraft by the military.

The Royal Air Force insists that that while the air base will be used as a ground control station, there are no plans to fly the RAF Reaper in the UK. A spokesperson explained that the system is not autonomous and their use in Afghanistan is as closely controlled as regular planes.

“It is operated remotely by trained aircrew. Their use of the aircraft’s weapons is in accordance with the same international law and the same rules of engagement as apply to the RAF’s Tornado aircraft also operating in Afghanistan. Every weapon released is precision guided and every effort is made to minimise harm to civilian people and their property. Royal Air Force Reaper plays a vital role supporting military operations in Afghanistan. It is undoubtedly helping to save the lives of our forces, our allies and those of countless Afghan civilians.”

– ROYAL AIR FORCE SPOKESPERSON

More than 200 black cabs arrived in Parliament Square just before 2pm blaring their horns to onlookers’ bemusement. Their demonstration is targeted at Games organisers who developed the so-called Zil lanes available only to Olympics officials, athletes and other approved vehicles.

Jonathan Myers, of the United Cabbies group union, said: “There will be no access to these lanes for any traffic apart from the Olympics family. “Taxis are excluded, which is unacceptable and wrong. This is a working city and we need to get around and do our job.”

Parliament Square quickly ground to a halt as the drivers descended on central London for what they plan to be a two-hour protest. Traffic soon snarled up Whitehall, Millbank and over Westminster Bridge as car horns and traffic fumes filled the air. Mr Myers said: “We’ve come to Parliament so MPs can wake up and hear what we’re talking about.” He believed it would “absolutely impossible” for cabbies to carry on ferrying commuters around the capital during the Games when the full lane restrictions take effect on July 25.

Motorists who stray into Games lanes face a fine of £130. Mr Myers said: “London is going to be gridlocked and today we are showing them what it is like when it is gridlocked.” Taxi drivers plan further demonstrations on Monday and on July 27 — the day the Olympics officially open.

Mr Myers fears his members have been betrayed by officials who, he said, hailed the city’s famous cabbies as one of the reasons London should be awarded the Games. He said: “London taxis are held up as iconic throughout the world. “It turns out the only people who think we are not are our own transport authorities.”

Waddington Anti-Drone Campaign

HSBC

SORT CODE: 40-26-01

ACCOUNT NO: 91487299

36 North Street

Keighley

BD21 3SF

Helen’s statement about why she’s protesting against drones is here: Helen’s Statement

Please visit, join or support Helen at Waddington. Her phone number is 07971675776

A good first stop for info on drone, or UAV use can be found in the below publication, Convenient Killing, Armed Drones and the Playstation Mentality, click image to open .pdf

Some early pics from the new camp….

View from the camp towards the A15 and perimeter fence of RAF Waddington….

Behind the camp, looking towards the old nuclear weapons store…

RAF Waddington & how to get there

Waddington Peace Camp – all posts…

Recent protests throughout Sudan are the latest in an ongoing trend of protest movements around the world, from Muslim Brotherhoodsupporters in Egypt to oil workers in Norway and opposition parties in Thailand. Protests have proved an effective strategy against autocratic regimes, political repression and austerity measures. As with insurgency strategy, protests rely on underlying support from the population rather than on superior weapons. Both insurgency and protests are forms of asymmetric opposition in which the insurgents or protesters cannot succeed by using force to overwhelm the state but must find (or create) and exploit specific weaknesses of the state.

However, protest movements are not as aggressive as insurgencies. Violence is integral to insurgent strategy, but protest movements may be simply a negotiation tactic to extract concessions from a state or a corporation. Strikes are one of the most common forms of protest used to leverage labor resources for higher wages or more benefits. Thousands of protests, such as strikes, occur around the world every week. Most are small and insignificant outside the protesters’ community. In order to address the geopolitical importance of protest movements, this analysis will focus on protests intended to create political change…….

Click here to read article at Stratfor