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<h1 class="title-news"> Apple Drones App Banned: Politicians And
Campaigners Step Up Fight </h1>
<div class="comments_datetime_new border_none relative v05">
<p> <b>The Huffington Post UK</b> | By <a
href="http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/jessica-elgot"
rel="author">Jessica Elgot</a> <span
class="follow-author-mini"> </span> <span style="display:
block;" class="posted-and-updated"> Posted: <span
itemprop="datePublished">04/12/2012 12:00 GMT</span>
Updated: <span itemprop="dateModified">04/12/2012 12:41 GMT</span>
</span> </p>
</div>
Politicians and activists are continuing to put pressure on Apple to
publish a controversial app which monitors drone strike locations -
after the company blocked it.
<p>The app is also the subject of a growing US petition, <a
href="http://act.rootsaction.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=6750"
target="_hplink">launched last week on Roots Action</a>, calling
on company to reconsider.</p>
<p>The App Store rejected the product, calling it "objectionable and
crude". </p>
<p>Roots Action, which is run by the left-leaning Action for a
Progressive Future, launched a petition last week asking Apple to
reconsider.</p>
<p><img alt="drone" src="cid:part3.06060307.00050806@gmail.com"><br>
</p>
<center><strong>American citizens rally in Islamabad, Pakistan
against drone attacks in the tribal belt</strong></center>
<p><br>
The campaigners said in a statement attached to the petition:
"Drone wars continue because the US public is unaware what is
being done in our name with our money. We are interested in
knowing where our government is using drones and has killed
people, not in celebrating that killing.</p>
<p>The people in Pakistan and Afghanistan and elsewhere living under
the drones can't ignore what's being done to them. Neither should
we, as it's done with our money and in our names.</p>
<p>"Drones+ is an application that shows no depictions of the
carnage of war and reveals no secret information. It simply adds a
location to a map every time a drone strike is reported in the
media and added to a database maintained by the UK's Bureau of
Investigative Journalism."</p>
<p>Hilary Stauffer, Deputy Director of Reprieve's drones team, told
The Huffington Post UK: "The CIA's drone programme is terrorising
civilian communities across North West Pakistan. </p>
<p>"All the drones+ app seeks to do is pull together
publicly-available information to keep its users informed about
when and where these strikes are taking place. </p>
<p>"Banning this app is therefore inexplicable, and smacks of
censorship. </p>
<p>"Given that one of Apple's most famous adverts warned against an
Orwellian future, it is deeply ironic that their actions are now
halting the spread of information about the CIA's secret war."</p>
<p>Josh Begley, a graduate student at New York University, developed
the app, called Drones+, to show the location of strikes, using
reports collated by the London-based Bureau of Investigative
Journalism. </p>
<p>He insisted there are no national security issues in showing the
date. </p>
<p>Apple company received around £4.5m in Pentagon contracts last
year, according to Action for a Progressive Future, the left-wing
group running to campaign to instate the app.</p>
<p><a
href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/13/dennis-kucinich-apple-drone-app_n_2124230.html"
target="_hplink">The cause has been taken up by one of the House
of Representatives most outspoken critics</a> of President
Obama's drone police, Ohio Democrat Dennis Kucinich. </p>
<p><a
href="http://thehill.com/blogs/global-affairs/terrorism/267525-kucinich-champions-drone-strike-app-blocked-by-apple"
target="_hplink">Kucinich told US politics site The Hill</a>:
"What is ‘objectionable and crude’ are the drone strikes
themselves.</p>
<p>“I strongly support any effort to bring increased transparency to
our combat drone program. This program continues to operate
without transparency and accountability.”</p>
<p>The rejection of the app is all the more controversial because of
the other apps Apple allows to appear on its site, like <a
style=""
href="https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/uav-fighter/id317680035?mt=8"
target="_hplink">the UAV Fighter app for iPhone.</a></p>
<p>TransLumen Technologies, a military defence contractor, and
Entertaining Games have built an app, which allows you to play at
piloting a drone, "the Grim Reaper Predator, Raven, and Proteus
Prototype."</p>
<p>It's described on the site as "you haven't lived until you have
launched a perfect volley of 4 laser guided air-to-surface
missiles, 4 shots - 4 kills, while using ECM to deflect incoming
surface-to-air missiles, and dodging incoming tank shells and
air-to-air nose-cannon fire!</p>
<p>"Everyone will notice the look of evil glee that comes across
your face as you unleash the terrifying power of the Plasma Laser
equipped Proteus Prototype! No wonder our enemies want us to kill
work on this recently declassified weapon!"</p>
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