3 thoughts on “Al Jazeera piece on the human face of drone warfare…”
Instead of being horrified that only 5 of 430 representatives attended, should we applaud the five that did? The meeting was organized by Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.), and Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ) and Rep. Rick Nolan (D-Minn.) attended. (http://www.commondreams.org/news/2013/10/29/congressional-no-show-heart-breaking-drone-survivor-hearing) Born and raised in the great state of New Jersey, I looked up Holt first, and found – not surprisingly – that he is an outspoken critic of the drone program. Still, I can’t help but focus on the 425. The rampant, blatant hypocrisy is disgusting to me and this is my country. If I were Nabila, looking out at the empty congressional seats, how might I feel? Not wanting to be placed on a no-fly list, I think I will stop here.
It really is a tragedy to hear of innocent people falling victim to such acts. Off topic, but I’ve been watching wayyy too much of the show Homeland and they use drones in basically every episode (mostly for surveillance and spying purposes) and throughout the show the CIA stresses that they are against terrorizing and murdering innocent people-like Nabila’s grandmother. Of course this is just a TV show, but their portrayal of the CIA is terribly off! I can’t imagine what it would be like if another country was doing this to our homeland. That poor girl and her family will forever be changed…No wonder some people hate America.
My husband and I have been enjoying Homeland, too…which in the context of the reality of drones and the “war on terror” feels strange to say. The character Peter Quinn, at least so far, shows the inability of even the most respected/trusted members of such a team to keep blinders on to the reality of their missions. I wonder about the cooperation between Hollywood and Washington regarding such shows/films…particularly if it is contentious at all.
All the bairns o' Adam 
Instead of being horrified that only 5 of 430 representatives attended, should we applaud the five that did? The meeting was organized by Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.), and Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ) and Rep. Rick Nolan (D-Minn.) attended. (http://www.commondreams.org/news/2013/10/29/congressional-no-show-heart-breaking-drone-survivor-hearing) Born and raised in the great state of New Jersey, I looked up Holt first, and found – not surprisingly – that he is an outspoken critic of the drone program. Still, I can’t help but focus on the 425. The rampant, blatant hypocrisy is disgusting to me and this is my country. If I were Nabila, looking out at the empty congressional seats, how might I feel? Not wanting to be placed on a no-fly list, I think I will stop here.
It really is a tragedy to hear of innocent people falling victim to such acts. Off topic, but I’ve been watching wayyy too much of the show Homeland and they use drones in basically every episode (mostly for surveillance and spying purposes) and throughout the show the CIA stresses that they are against terrorizing and murdering innocent people-like Nabila’s grandmother. Of course this is just a TV show, but their portrayal of the CIA is terribly off! I can’t imagine what it would be like if another country was doing this to our homeland. That poor girl and her family will forever be changed…No wonder some people hate America.
My husband and I have been enjoying Homeland, too…which in the context of the reality of drones and the “war on terror” feels strange to say. The character Peter Quinn, at least so far, shows the inability of even the most respected/trusted members of such a team to keep blinders on to the reality of their missions. I wonder about the cooperation between Hollywood and Washington regarding such shows/films…particularly if it is contentious at all.