The Drones Club Bristol

drones (mentioned elsewhere in this blog) – the pilotless aircraft, usually controlled by operators thousands of miles away –  ‘deliver’ death and destruction to people all over the world. In Afghanistan, Pakistan, Gaza, Yemen and Somalia they are regularly used against the local populations. They were used in Libya and the UK government, along with the USA, is probably getting them ready to use in Syria and Iran. The Iranians last year successfully captured one that had been flying over their country.

Not many casual readers of the evening paper will be aware  that Bristol is hosting an International Drone ‘Conference’. Thinly disguised as the Bristol International UAV Systems Conference, it brings together academics, manufacturers and users of these weapons to discuss not only how they can be 'further improved' for use in foreign wars but also how they can be used increasingly for surveillance systems at home. In fact 2012 sees the 27^th conference in Bristol. Until this year it had been given added respectability through being hosted by Bristol University. Given the increase in bad publicity attaching to drones, no great surprise to hear that the university now seems to be distancing itself from the conference to an extent, although according to Stop the War Coalition it’s happy to have its name kept in the advertising. 

The conference takes place in central Bristol on Monday 2^ND and Tuesday 3^RD of April  – with a big dinner at Ashton Court on Monday evening. Although uninvited, Bristol Against Arms Trade, Bristol Stop The War Coalition, Bristol Palestine Solidarity Campaign, and several other campaign groups plan on attending.

On a more positive note: Bristol Against The Arms Trade are holding a 'DOWN THE DRONES' conference on Sunday afternoon, APRIL 1^ST. Some well-informed people will explain about the use of drones throughout the world. It runs from 1pm to 6pm at the Arc Cafe Bar, Broad Street Bristol, BS1 2HG
illustration: courtesy of Wikipedia