Some Thoughts on Drone Warfare

There is a drone in my backyard, and I don't mean figuratively, but literally speaking! It's a very expensive vehicle, the Euro Hawk at Manching Airport, about 16 kilometers from where I live. It must be lonely there, in a hangar all by itself. This unmanned aircraft has been the cause of many a debate regarding certain advances in war technology and the moral implications of killing under modern (and improved) circumstances.

What sometimes happens in public discussion forums, besides things getting blown way out of proportion is that we're quickly getting ahead of ourselves. This particular drone is a surveillance aircraft, specifically aimed at gathering intelligence via high resolution radar and infrared sensors, it is not designed to be a killing machine. It could be one, with the proper development and investment by the ministry of defense, but the there are some other fundamental flaws until we'll get there, having to do with the flight control system, and the pending approval for air space itself.


But for the sake of argument, let's just assume, we were actually talking about an unmanned armed drone, aimed to kill people in war zones. Sure, why not.

There are several problems with the principles of a "clean" warfare, meaning operations to precisely kill targets. Firstly, the act of killing itself. My thoughts do not revolve around the wrong or right of killing, and although it oftentimes comes down to that, the whole argument shouldn't be misconstrued as pacifists versus militarists. Pacifists per definition will always find fault in killing no matter how it's done. The act of killing, to them is not a variable to consider as the deed itself is inherently amoral. I'm not sharing this point of view, but I do understand it. In my, I guess more utilitarian, world view there are military actions that are morally justified with all their consequences, but ideally with as little casualties as possible.

Killing with a gun, a knife or killing with a joystick control - are there any differences in how we feel doing it? For all it's worth, in drone warfare like in any other act of killing, there will still be someone in charge, deciding about when it is the right place and time to strike. The drone is the eyes and ears, and the trigger, at least for now, remains in the hands of a human pilot. (We'll have to talk a bit more once there will be automated combat drones) The pilot not actually being inside the vehicle and on-scene is a lot safer for him.

The more interesting question is if the fact that a pilot is not present will somehow change his feelings about the mission, or rid his sense of responsibility. Considering the act of killing, is it necessary to have someone in that piloting position who weighs the pros and cons, given that the power of command even factors in such personal considerations?


You can find answers to these questions with the help of an interesting case study which shows that the rate of both drone pilots and combat pilots suffering from the ramifications of their job, mainly PTSD, depression, and anxiety disorders is roughly about the same. No matter where and when a trigger is pulled, there are similar reactions in present and absent pilots to the act of killing. It shouldn't surprise us as much as it does. As lame as that sounds, they are all humans, and as such they find it hard not to think about the moral implications of what they are doing.

That factor may not always stop them or us from doing things that may be morally questionable, but it will play a part in how we decide before we do what we do. That is how we are built. The preconception that anyone in that line of work immediately loses their conscience, or thinks they're playing a game of chess instead of what actually happens, seems ridiculous. The assumption that the physical distance to an act immediately creates emotional distance is shortsighted.

 

It's the act of killing itself that causes the (moral) response, not how it's done. But for some reason we still don't believe we're morally guided beings. Sure, our understanding of moral responsibility and the feeling of guilt are directly linked to an action and a sense of locality. We still have trouble even imagining our conscience remaining intact while our bodies are absent from the place of action. It is though.

We know what is right and wrong, even when we're physically removed from a moral realm. That's when our laws come into play. Being a tourist in a foreign country, we still retain a sense of law and right-doing, knowing that we can't commit crimes just because we're somewhere else (except for persons like Charles Manson, but he proved to have no regard for laws or morals, no matter where he went).


That moral connection remains binding for all of us non-sociopaths, no matter where we are, and it is binding for all our lives. I'm almost certain that with the help of our inbuilt compass we'll manage to safely navigate on shaky ground, through all kinds of predicaments, even the ones caused by advances in technology and warfare. But maybe that's just me, for once in my life thinking that we are not as bad as we think we are.

Keeping Up with the Kardashians reviewed: Perfectly normal, perfectly healthy

I'm truly happy to have access to pay TV, and some of the American based cable network. I feel like it helps me keep in (cultural) touch with my peeps across the great pond. The Sky package includes great things, such as Cinema in addition to documentary channels, which I love. I feel like a kid in the candy store being able to watch Game of Thrones Season 3 the same time it's on HBO, and Sky Atlantic was one of the best things that ever happened - eeeever!

Not to speak of NatGeo, and TNT and, ooh, I could rave about this all day long. What a sensible mix of infotainment or edutainment, or whatever flattering label they thought of to market themselves..

As of April 30 this year, the infamous entertainment network E! has joined the game.
Yay ... right?!! I quickly discovered that having access to E! is like having a batch of heroin lying around the coffee table. I hate myself a little bit, for being powerless to resist getting sucked into their vortex of fashion ins and outs, gossip and Kardashianisms.

Correction: E! is like being hit with a tranquilizer gun AND a highly addictive substance at the same time. OK. Time to speak of the Kardashians, and what a wonderful family they are...

Keeping up with the Kardashians sets a perfect example for the newly rich, the self-proclaimed elite of society, and why we should all hate them. Before E!, I have only known of this family from tabloids, and I was unaware why Kim Kardashian had become a sudden style icon and "it" personality, even here in our parts. Now I know. Now, since I have been to their houses, their bedrooms, their cars and their bathrooms, I feel like I really know them.

The family itself is not that bad, they are not animals or something. They have speech. They look after one another, well, on the condition that they're related. In-laws are considered parasites, leeches, unless they themselves have acquired a certain social standing before they join the clan.

But the thing I find truly appalling is that everyone in the family claims to be the number one plowhorse as for the reason why they have become famous, when in fact, their actual work consists of self-marketing with the sole purpose of keeping the spotlight. After all, they have been a household name ever since their father, Robert Kardashian defended O.J. Simpson.

But thanks to reality TV they have become a media phenomenon, and consider it their family responsibility to compulsively give back to society. You see the deviancy behind that. "Give back" to the society which they sell themselves to. Their fashion label and stores are run by their minions, their charity events get organized for them by other people.

I mean, having your life televised in every gory detail is definitely strenuous. Having cameras at their side each and every day, having to act out half-scripted conflicts deprives this family of a real life. Privacy. Time. That is what they actually put in the balance. How sad this is. How can anyone even enjoy this lifestyle when they don't have a life. Yes, sad. So from now on, I promise to only watch them reluctantly...but watch them I will!!!



A MADtv parody. The part about helping the blind is spot on.


Keeping Up With The Kardashians season 8 promo
A day in the life of..the new season

Weekend Writing Warriors: Easy Confidence

Hey and welcome, warriors, this week I'm finally back with a snippet from Anoethau. Wheew! For plot reasons, I have to skip ahead a little. Last time, the mysterious woman Artie met in Southampton asked him to take her dog with him on his journey to Wales. For understandable reasons Artie declined, but out of compassion he now agrees upon watching her dog Cabby for a little while, in order for Eloise to run some errands...



“Let me give you some money for the day, so Cabby doesn’t eat you out of house and home.” She digged deep inside her handbag for coin, but Artie waved his hand at her, “you can pay me later if you want to, after I have done my job.” 
“I live over there in the house by the corner,” Eloise said, pointing past the busy street café. 
Artie immediately knew it when he saw it; the quaint, lilac house with the white balustrades and overgrown iron gate strangely met his expectations of this woman. 
“Well then, at least, let me give you this,” she said, holding a door key out to him.  
“You can take a bath or a shower, and wash your clothes instead of having to go back to your seedy motel. The fridge is well-stocked, and there are cans of Cabby's favorite food in the pantry; he likes to eat from his bowl, you know.” 
The dog regarded each of them with easy confidence, a sentiment that Artie himself did not share.

Click for more info

Quick Story Update

While revising I have started to outline the plot for a new story, which will be a prequel to Anoethau. The story focuses on Eloise, one of the supporting characters. As I was writing Anoethau, an idea for Eloise's back story took shape, and with each day it got more extensive and detailed. Those of you who read my Weekend Writing Warriors snippets have briefly met Eloise - she's the woman who tries to convince Artie to take her dog along on his journey. In the new story, working title Aned and Aethelia, I'll focus on young Eloise and her adventure. Just as in Anoethau, there will be a lot of references to Arthurian legend and Welsh mythology. I'm very excited about this story! And of course, as the story progresses, there will be more of my sketches of characters and locations.

Aned

WiF(e)i - Wife of Nerd

Me being married to a ginormous computer enthusiast - you'd sure take me for someone who speaks "nerd" fluently. Well, now I do, but I didn't when me and hubby first met.

Good old Toshiba - my first laptop

I was a late bloomer, I didn't have a computer until the year 2000. That was when I bought my first laptop, a Toshiba Satellite. A sad little brick, that ran hot and noisy against my desk. I regarded old clunky as a high-class typewriter for writing term papers, and at first I didn't use it for anything else. Oh, but then of course the internet found its way into my daily life, and that changed everything.



I remember using the Word processing power by day, and the dark side of LAN by night, in chat rooms. I met people who called themselves -°;*~Neo~*;°- or TylerD666 in obscure chat rooms. I didn't think much about the digitized world back then, although basically, it was already there and I was a part of it.

Hubby came into my life a little while after I had purchased my Tosh. There was no doubt he was a technophiliac. His apartment appeared to be hardly a notch above an office with a bed. Large, yellowed bed sheets covered windows, the cabinets were crammed with piece parts, and countless empty board boxes piled their way up to the ceiling.

David's former work desk

There was no sofa, but a designated cable cabinet. Back then, I thought that the on/off blinking was what the inside of a computer was supposed to look like. At night the PC and Mac consoles flashed in yellow, red and blue lights. The life signs of the machines. If it hadn't all been behind firm walls, we could have easily been mistaken for the landing strip of an airport. It was kind of romantic though, the good old days of humming CPU fans and blinking lights.



I remember it being a strange sight the first few times, but it all became normal pretty quickly. It was obvious that the computer was both his passion and his livelihood, so there was no dividing line between job and hobby. A jobby. And consequently I realized that what he does is how he lives. Like a writer, surrounded by piles of books. When I think about it, it had an artsy flair to it, that sort of living in the - mostly virtual - moment, which I liked. And it made me rethink other living arrangements.

Like nowadays, living spaces that don't look like people really live in them can freak me out. For me, there needs to be some kind of proof that people really exist, not only the ideal they want to see portrayed to the outside world. Pointy black figurines on end tables tell me nothing. Battered tables, steamrolled rugs on the other hand, that kind of thing I find inviting. Things that are in use. Vintage, but authentically so. I guess it must attribute to the whole idea behind caveman drawings. I lived here, I left my marks. Human habitation, and what a cool concept that is.

You see, I think that over time I got bitten by that same radioactive spider: nerdmaker. It must have built its lair in our apartment...And now it's official. A home, a hubby, a PC - I'm having my cotillion and I'm coming out nerd!