Where is the difference when it comes to civilian deaths, human rights and war costs?

Oh wait, I forgot….

Filling the Skies with Assassins

by Tom Engelhard

is an article I highly recommend everyone to read.

It is an article about Drone Warfare that has become one of the military’s favorite weapons and has contributed to a new thinking inside the Pentagon about how to develop and deploy new weapons systems.

Obama’s Budget calls for Billions in new spending for Drones according to Jason Leopold no wonder that it is not possible to afford universal health care for Americans…

War by robot may be reducing U.S. fatalities (in case of Afghanistan/Pakistan NATO fatalities) which many patriots at home will appreciate. Who really cares about the message it is sending… the message of an imperial power that kills brutally, indiscriminately and impersonally.

And then… who really has the authority to kill in America’s name? Blackwater soldiers, the CIA? Or StratCom that with its Space, Intelligence/Surveillance/Reconnaissance and Global Strike missions, is integrally involved at every stage of these missions-from the intelligence-gathering to the targeting to the actual ‘flying’ of these satellite-controlled aircraft.

In 2009, there were almost weekly drone attacks in Pakistan, killing up to 550 people, many of them innocent civilians, including children, which has fed anti-American sentiment in that country, threatening not only the stability of the 1-year-old elected government and its stockpile of nuclear weapons, needless to say that it also has served as a recruiting tool for Al-Quaida and the Taliban.
SPIEGEL ONLINE correspondents have investigated this new method of warfare and conducted research in the US, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Germany. Articles that are related to this topic can be found here.

The US has two drone programs operating out of two command centers. CIA drone pilots are located on the east coast, in the catacombs of CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, a suburb of Washington, DC. They are 11,000 kilometers (6,800 miles) away from Kabul. The US military’s drone pilots are even further west, at Creech Air Force Base in the deserts of Nevada, about an hour’s drive northwest of the gamblers’ paradise Las Vegas.

Both flight control centers look alike — they’re computer rooms that are sterile, insular and above all secure. Members of the Air Force’s 42nd Attack Squadron, who operate drones in Afghanistan from the base in Nevada and mostly live in Las Vegas, call themselves “combat commuters”. They perform their military duties for the day, then drive home.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unv9C2t7f5c

Well, this illegal War on Terror continues with higher costs and high-tech-warfare… again – where is the outrage?

Based on a True Story….

The movie tells the story of a man who lost his wife and child after joining the Church of Scientology. The drama, which is based on a true story, was filmed in secret to prevent the organization taking legal action against the project.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,675298,00.html

One can only hope that this film turns out to be a good one and if so gets real international attention although in most European countries Scientology is considered as one of the most aggressive totalitarian sects and is under observation and hopefully will be banned sooner or later.

http://www.xenu.net/archive/world_without/#w10

Funny though, that still too many people believe that Scientology is a “religous group”… maybe the name “Church of Scientology” is too misleading or better…. was a smart choice
Beyond it’s status “religion” in the US, which gives it extraordinary benefits (I just mention their tax-exempt/charitable/religious status) Scientology is also a multinational criminal racket.

But not in France… there this sect was indicted for its crimes: The courts say it’s just a good old con game. The French courts saw through their religion ruse. According to the French court’s verdict, they’re guilty of organized fraud, and the court fined the “church” $600,000 for its criminal activities. For the first time, the church itself (in addition to a number of individuals) has been convicted of a crime.

This was only possible in France because Scientology couldn’t hide behind the special protection that “religion” gets in the United States. In France (and most European countries) Scientology is classified as a cult, not a religion.

Scientology is a secret organisation (structured like a business and not a church)
On the few occasions that they have managed to leak on to the internet, the organisation quickly follows with lawsuits and threats. If you search for the OT level documents now, you will not find a copy (except for the first two which are available as court records). The swift and calculated responses from the group have managed to do what no other organisation or government has done – censor certain information from the internet.

You can find out how to make a bomb on the internet, but you can not find out what you have to do to pass OT level VIII in the Church of Scientology.

Unlike “religions” Scientology charges for information on everything pertaining to its teachings.

Walk into a mosque, church or synagogue and ask about Islam, Christianity or Judaism and you will receive answers, free of charge or strings. Walk into a Scientology Org and ask about their religion and you will be asked to take a ‘Free Personality Test’ where they will likely find many things ‘wrong’ with you, all of which can only be ‘cured’ by Scientology’s teachings, which are described in books and classes you have to buy. And it’s not cheap by any means.

And here a message to American taxpayers….  Scientology’s secret IRS deal

Was it God that created man or did men create God?

Perhaps out of fear, because the universe is so large and infinite that people once thought and still think they need a father  or a “higher being” to protect or guide them or to give them a reason for whatever  they don’t understand?

Or perhaps because some smart people found out how to control the masses?

Yesterday’s religion is today’s mythology… just think about the many, many ancient temples and mythologies and religions in various parts of the world…  think about the Greek Gods and Goddesses the Gods in Egypt or the Gods of the “northern hemisphere”. ..

Just a myth – a fairytale?

Why are so many people so confident that our “today’s God” is real? Maybe today’s religion will be tomorrow’s mythology.

I grew up in a very religious (catholic) family – no need to go into more details, everyone knows what that means… but I had way too many questions which no one could answer. I was told to read the Bible and that this would answer most of my questions, but unfortunately I had more questions than before.

I always looked at the Bible as a book written by men, a book of philosophy, a collection of different philosophical writings inspired by beliefs and the circumstances that existed at that time, a written record of beliefs that made it through thousands of years, translated in all languages many times…

As every text it can be interpreted in many ways and my interpretation was very different than that of my family. But no one could ever prove me wrong. Not my family, nor other people whose religious beliefs were different. Most often I was told to prove that God doesn’t exist. How could I, since those who believed in God couldn’t prove his existence either…

But then… the word “belief” or “faith” explains itself pretty well, it is something for which we have no evidence.

Some people need a “guide” to deal with their lives; hope, while the have do deal with difficult situations or challenges… others do not. Where is the problem?

Well, the problem starts if I tried to convince you that YOU are wrong and I am right and that my way is the only acceptable way by forcing my belief and my moral onto you or others. The problem grows when those with different beliefs are seen as enemies or “less human” with “less moral” with the worst result that people get killed because of something called “faith”.

The Bible as well as the Quran are soaked in blood… we just have to read the history books and we should be able to recognize that they are full of dead people, who had to die because of religious beliefs and we continue to let these numbers growing.

In contrast, science is becoming  something that “common” people can not understand, due to its supposed complexity and distance from life. Math is literally THE Horror for almost each pupil and his parents; many will even question its necessity for everyday life. Some of the most significant scientific theories of today are considered “just another theories”, although firmly confirmed by strong evidence.

It seems that many people are afraid of science, forgetting how much it already improved our lives and longevity. It seems that science is becoming a monster while the simple answers and “truths” of religion, the rules of superstition, the astrology revelations and transcendental swindling seem much more attractive and easier to understand.

Like I said above… the universe is so large and infinite that some people probably need a father or a “higher being” to protect or guide them or to give them an easy answer or hope for whatever they don’t understand…

But science is no monster. It is one of the most beautiful achievements of free human spirit and persistence. Its basic principles can be understood by everybody, its methods we unconsciously apply to our surroundings every day, and its countless results we wear, use and live with, without ever thinking about it. When properly taught, math, physics, astronomy, linguistics, history and philosophy, to name just some faces of science, can be deeply thought provoking and influential. It is our duty as intelligent beings to examine and understand the world around us. It is in our nature to ask questions, to be curious, to look for interconnections in the reality we live in. The only requirement is to have the courage to wide open the eyes and see the world as it is, and not as we would like it to be.

It makes me sad to see that the wave of faith is seriously threatening to drown the remarkable achievements of human curiosity for knowledge.

Science cannot disprove the existence of “a God”, but it does prove that the Bible is wrong in many of its chapters… well, for me no problem since I always looked at it as a book of philosophy…of times long gone.

Against all previous challenges in history, of which some had thrown us backwards again, human curiosity, courage, and the quest for logical explanations brought us here today, in spite of dictators who were and are thirsty of nuclear power and in spite of leaders whose most important book was or is the Bible/Quran. History books are proof of what happens if the majority in one society dismisses reasoning in favor of faith.

That’s why it is so important to encourage discussion, ask questions, exchange knowledge… And we must never stop discovering the beauties of the universe around us revealed through science, while religion and the belief in it, is something that should stay in the privacy of one’s home, then b science, reasoning and personal beliefs can go hand in hand.

The Dubai assassination is still one of the top news in the media coverage in most countries. No wonder because new details are made public every day. With all this new information on a daily basis, the confusion is growing, so let us use “Occam’s razor” and put those facts together that are available for the moment.

It is believed that Israel’s Mossad is behind the assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, a former Hamas leader in January. Like I said, it is believed but there is no evidence, a fact however is, that since then Israel has neither denied nor confirmed (what would be not very smart) its involvement and was also not very supportive in regard to investigations, especially when we consider that Israeli identities were used for this assassination.

While countries like Australia, Ireland, Germany, France and Britain were outraged that the suspects used their European dualcitizenship passports to enter Dubai, Israel still remains silent and doesn’t seem to care that all suspects that were identified so far, have Israeli identities.

First, let us take a look at the Mossad. The Mossad is well known for its assassinations.

Formed in 1949, Mossad is a small but notorious intelligence agency. It developed its reputation after it discovered Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann living in Argentina in 1960 under the name of Ricardo Klement. He was captured by a team of agents and smuggled to Israel where he was executed.

After tensions increased with Arab neighbours, Israel changed tack and created the kidon – the Hebrew word for bayonet – assassination squads.

They came to the world’s attention after striking back at the terrorists who had killed 11 Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics in 1972 and later after they mistakenly murdered a Moroccan waiter in Lillehammer. Six Mossad agents, including two women, were captured by Norwegian authorities while the rest of the team fled.

The scandal forced Israeli leader Golda Meir to end these assassinations. But just five years later it was revived under orders of new Prime Minister Menachem Begin. BTW, any Mossad assassination has to be approved by the Israeli Prime Minister.

However, those who are researching the way the Mossad operates are confident that also the Dubai assassination was a Mossad operation, although the more information we get the more doubts arise.

So is former Mossad agent Rami Igra quite sure, that due to the assassins’ failure to disable CCTV cameras at key moments and their use of passports belonging to ordinary people living in Israel, the Mossad cannot be behind it. He has been quoted: “It was so stupid, it couldn’t be Israel. You don’t go over the speed limit in a place where there are going to be cameras, because you are going to be photographed. The whole thing shows that whoever did it was very unprofessional”

Also, the claim of the Dubai police, that nearly 30 persons are involved (17 of them are already convincingly tied to this assassination), are rather a proof that this operation doesn’t take the fingerprints of the Mossad.

So let us look at that what can be proved so far…

Whoever is behind this assassination knew, that this operation couldn’t take place with absolute anonymity – it is nearly impossible to operate in today’s world, without leaving some kind of electronic trace (the data generated when someone takes a flight, crosses a border, uses a credit card or makes a call) not to mention, the well known fact that cameras will be tracking most of their movements.

Indeed, the Dubai police were able to use CCTV cameras from the airport, hotels and a shopping center to trace back all kinds of “agent movements” which made it possible to establish their identities according to the passports and credit cards they used.

In this connection it is important to mention that no camera was able to track what happened to Al-Mabhouh. According to the Dubai police and mentioned by Stratfor, the selection of the room that was booked was a very intelligent move… “it was directly across the hall from Al-Mabhouh’s room, giving the team a perfect spot from which to monitor his movements. And the room was just behind the video camera for that floor while the camera was trained on the emergency stairwell exit, which allowed the assassination team to carry out the attack on his room without being filmed.”

This is not the only evidence to suggest that this operation was very well planned, there is evidence that some of the suspects were in Dubai before… and if you look at all the details it is anything but unprofessional.

Stratfor wrote in its report that “the passports  also turned out to be extremely well-made fraudulent passports that were discovered only after video surveillance prompted closer scrutiny; customs officials were unable to detect this when the operatives were arriving or departing.

And that some credit cards used by several members of the operation team were linked to a company called Payoneer based in New York. The company’s CEO ,Yuval Tal,  is a former member of Israel Defense Forces special operations (who appeared on Fox News in 2006 during the Lebanon War) and Payoneer has financial backing from a company based in Israel ….”

Other credit cards that had been used to book hotel rooms or to pay air travel, could be linked to Meta Bank, a small bank based in the US state of Iowa. A MetaBank spokeswoman told the Associated Press news agency that the bank was trying to confirm the reports.

Investigations and researches, in case of the man who used the German passport with the name “Michael Bodenheimer” indicate, that in summer 2009 a man requested a national identy card and a German passport in Cologne. According to Spiegel Online (that did some own research too) he claimed to be an Israeli citizen that moved to Germany in June.

He offered proof in form of an Israeli passport that had been issued in Tel Aviv in November 2008. As proof of his eligibility for German citizenship, he provided the marriage certificate of his parents, who had fled Germany to escape the Nazis. According to the Article 116 of the German constitution, “former citizens of Germany, and their descendants, are entitled to German citizenship.”

On June, 18^th 2009 he picked up his passport, with which he entered the UAE eight months later as a member of this operating team that killed Al-Mabhouh.

The name “Michael Bodenheimer” was never heard, neither in Cologne, nor in Liman, this little town near Tel Aviv, which he named as his birth place.

Stratfor points out that “the high level of complexity involved in this assassination, along with the smoothness with which it was carried out, is evidence that the operation was undertaken by an elite covert force, the likes of which could only be sponsored by a nation-state. The ability to conduct preliminary intelligence collection, to muster a large and coordinated team of skilled operatives, to fabricate passports to an exacting degree, to successfully exfiltrate all members of the team — all of this requires a significant and well-funded effort that” they believe, “exceeds the current capabilities of any non-state terrorist group. They found it worth noting, that the most impressive aspect of the operation was the team’s tradecraft and demeanor so that all the members of this team must have been professionals. And that, with so much time having already elapsed(assumed that the operation was sponsored by a nation-state) it would be highly improbable that any of the operatives involved will ever be caught.”                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

They also try to make clear that “Al-Mabhouh was hardly a likable character and as a senior Hamas military commander, arms smuggler with liaison to Iran, he was already on the terrorist watch lists in the countries that have complained about the use of fraudulent passports so that very “few would seriously want to punish Israel if there is an involvement. They point out that this public indignation is a necessary and expected reaction to save a diplomatic face, similar to the efforts of the police of Dubai and the UAE who have to save face in the Arab world….

However…  in the meantime, while  in Israel  “Mossad-support-shirts” are selled, Dubai police chief asked the Federal Bureau of Investigation for help, hoping to get financial records associated with the fraudulently issued credit cards, things like the original credit card applications, which requires a delivery address (to mail the card to), social security numbers, dates of birth, employment information, some handwriting samples and even fingerprints (if the applications were made on paper)

It is still not sure whether or not the US will help. The Emirates are a friendly country to the US and a member of Interpol. They have also been a key country used by the US administration to apply pressure on Iran, so there should be no reason why they should not help…

However

Fact is, that the widespread introduction of CCTV, biometric identification data and interconnected immigration control centres provide a very different situation than decades ago… but  this game of espionage will not go out of business because of this…and as intelligence agencies did in the past, they will simply find a way… the Dubai assassination is an example that everything is still possible even if – at first glance – it looks “ so stupid” and “unprofessional” but in the end… in this business “the end justifies the means”.

Sources: Spiegel Online, Stratfor, BBC, FAZ, AlJazeera, RadioLibertyEurope,

After I read posts on Alternet about right wing hate groups and religious welfare groups and while I was searching the web I stumbled upon this article about anthropomorphism and dehumanization and people’s behavior to attribute human characteristics to non-human beings and inversely, our capacity for dehumanization, when we treat fellow humans as animals or objects. A quite interesting article worth reading….

Quote:

 ”… from pets that can seem considerate and caring, to gods that have goals and plans for one’s life, to computers than can seem to have minds of their own. People show an impressive capacity to create humanlike agents—a kind of inferential reproduction—out of those that are clearly nonhuman… People ask invisible gods for forgiveness, talk to their plants, kiss dice to persuade a profitable roll, name their cars, curse at unresponsive computers, outfit their dogs with unnecessary sweaters, and consider financial markets to be “anxious” at one moment and “delirious” the next.”

Cruel examples of dehumanization aren’t difficult to find throughout human history either….

The Khmer Rouge, for instance, described their victims as ‘worms,’ Nazi propaganda depicted Jews as vermin or rats, and Rwandan Hutus described the Tutsi as ‘cockroaches, in Abu-Ghraib and all these “terrorist-prison camps”, prisoners are just numbers and the “lynching” of African American as well as the ongoing violence between Palestinians and Israelis are other examples of what dehumanization can do to people.

The Lucifer Effect by Philip Zimbardo describes very well why good people can turn evil….

Dehumanization is one of the central processes in the transformation of ordinary, normal people into indifferent or even wanton perpetrators of evil. Dehumanization is like a “cortical cataract” that clouds one’s thinking and fosters the perception that other people are less than human. It makes some people come to see those others as enemies deserving of torment, torture, and even annihilation. ….three examples of forms that dehumanization has taken: Nazi Comic Books against the Jews; Faces of the Enemy—world-wide propaganda images of the “enemy,” and “trophy photos” of American citizens posing with African Americans who had been lynched or burned alive—and then portrayed in post cards mailed to family and friends.

Also worth reading and watching….

While the implications of framing people, animals and objects in terms of humanity are evident in our day to day lives, it is rather seen as a harmless comfort what some people find in dressing up a pet….

In contrast to the more dangerous and cruel examples of objectifying fellow humans by developing an “enemy image” with feelings of anger, fear, and distrust that shape the way people (groups or parties ) perceive each other….

With this negative stereotype to view a group as different, less than human or evil (in contrast to one’s own side) effectively justifies wrongdoing against them also outside of overtly violent conflicts, as in political debates or just think about homeless people and gays.

Sociologists and historians often view dehumanization as central to some or all types of wars. Democratic governments sometimes present “enemy” civillians or soldiers as less than human so that voters will be more likely to support a war they may otherwise consider mass murder. Dictatorships use the same process to prevent opposition by citizens. Such efforts often depend on preexisting racist, sectarianor otherwise biased beliefs, which governments play upon through various types of media, presenting “enemies” as barbaric, undeserving of rights, and a threat to the nation. Alternately, states sometimes present the enemy government or way of life as barbaric and its citizens as childlike and incapable of managing their own affairs.

Anthropologists Ashley Montaguand Floyd Matsonfamously wrote that dehumanization might well be considered “the fifth horsemen of the apocalypse” because of the inestimable damage it has dealt to society. When people become things, the logic follows, they become dispensable – and any atrocity can be justified.

I just can second that!

If you really think about it… do we not dehumanize one another daily? The examples I mentioned above are dehumanization on the biggest scale. But in our small, quiet lives do we recognize the human in one another? Do we recognize the human in people who are homeless or gay, are we able to see the human in a killer or terrorist? Do we recognize the human in politicians, in our opponents and in those that are presented as “enemies”?

Apparently those people mentioned in the “hate-group-articles” do not but what is with you and me…. ? Do we recognize the human in each other?

Last week I read that China is no longer America’s leading lender and that Japan now is the new creditor-in-chief. China sold about $34 billion of Treasuries in December, taking its holdings to $755 billion, while Japan increased its purchases and now is on top with $768 billion.
Besides that US companies might face sanctions because of US arms sales to Taiwan, if we can believe the statement of Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang.

The United States is spending approximately $1 billion a day overseas on oil, depending on oil imports from foreign countries.
A recent report on the November 2009 U.S. trade deficit found that rising oil imports widened the deficit, increasing the gap between imports and exports. Link

Then I read that Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal – a nephew of the Saudi king – owns the fourth largest stake in News Corp – the parent company of Fox News – making him the largest shareholder outside the family of Rupert Murdoch.
According to the Financial Times, News Corp announced Monday that it is purchasing a $70 million dollar stake in Prince Alwaleed’s Rotana Media.

Here you can read more about the “Saudi’s global agenda”

Saudi prince al-Waleed bin Talal has been described by Forbes as the worlds fifth richest man and is known for his financial ties to the Bush family and the Carlyle Group and for owning a fair-sized stake in Disney and in Citigroup ($4.3 billion dollar). Link 1 Link 2

Prince Alwaleed has publicly acknowledged that he has forced Fox News to edit the coverage he disliked. In September 2005, he acquired 5.46% of voting shares in News Corp., and just a few months later, when Fox reported about riots in Paris and was using the term “Muslim Riots” to describe rioting by Muslims, Prince bin Talal claims that just a call had Fox change the title of the story to “Youth Riots”.  (source)

It seems this partnership is growing even closer, since News Corp was able to aquire a 10% stake in al-Waleed’s “Rotana”, along with an option for another 10%. Rotana already broadcasts Fox programming in the Middle East (producing films, television, recordings, and magazines) and it is believed that Murdoch is hoping to get a toehold in the growing Arab market through the deal.

Conservative activists have attacked the business partnership as “really dangerous for America.”

Like I mentioned above, Prince Alwaleed owns a $4.3 billion dollar stake in Citigroup, and has openly announced that he opposes President Obama’s financial reforms like the banker speculation tax. On Fox News, the bank tax and other financial reforms have been smeared with misinformation and lies.
In an interview with Fox News’ Neil Cavuto last month, Prince Alwaleed spoke about the importance of the “strategic alliance” of America’s reliance on Saudi oil. Other Saudi officials have called efforts to build a clean energy economy in America Saudi Arabia’s “biggest threat.” Saudi Arabia’s economy depends on oil exports and would be the biggest losers in any pact that curbs oil demand by penalizing carbon emissions.

Although little is known about the influence Prince Alwaleed has on Fox content, Fox News dedicates much of its coverage to attacking clean energy legislation that could lead to American energy independence. They do not mention new analysis and facts that (to name just one specific example) the US has three times more wind electricity potential than previously thought… (source)

And then there is this 5-4 Supreme Court ruling in the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision. This ruling for example allows Saudi Arabian-owned subsidiaries (or any other foreign owned subsidaries) operating in the United States to spend unlimited amounts in elections advocating their own interests…

“Freedom of the press belongs to the man who owns one.” A. J. Liebling

But then, it is not really new. The corporate influences are already known… Corporations themselves are not the problem , lack of regulation (ethics) and their intrusion into the democratic process is . This is the single biggest flaw in American democracy .

Corporations and their boards can actually be sued if they behave in any fashion other than to create as much profit as possible for the stock holder… this leaves all ethical questions, war, hunger, pollution, worker rights, an impending climate disaster, health care, entirely outside their abilities to address.

Which makes them very dangerous and anti democratic by nature.

For the first time, the EU is envisaging a program that targets the entire Iranian economy. In order to maximize the impact, these sanctions are supposed to hit the energy and financial sectors…
Spiegel Online has obtained a 13 page catalogue on political and economic context of sanctions against Iran.

Meanwhile Western Countries including Israel trying to seek China’s support in regard to UN sanctions against Iran. “China Daily” has published an article about that.

Besides that, relations between Beijing and Washington are far away from healing.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang confirmed this week that sanctions against American companies would go ahead, because of U.S. arms sales to Taiwan.
In addition, China is angry over U.S. positions on a number of different issues. Qin, however, refused to say when sanctions would come into effect but he did not speculate on whether Beijing’s stance toward North Korea will be affected by the rift, saying China will continue to seek peace and stability in the region.

He urged further negotiations in regard to Iran’s nuclear program – calling on Tehran, the U.S., Britain, France, Germany and Russia to “show flexibility” but he also mentioned that Beijing had “taken note” of the International Atomic Energy Agency report that says Tehran could be working on a nuclear warhead.

The airline, Europe’s biggest by sales, said yesterday that despite the strike organized by the Cockpit pilots union, it was maintaining many domestic flights and short-haul routes across Europe though many of its long-haul flights to the U.S., including New York and Denver, were canceled.

Other flights to Africa, South America and Asia were still scheduled to operate.

“Usually we have 1,800 flights a day,” Deutsche Lufthansa AG said early Monday. 800 flights are expected to be cancelled per day. (A list of flights Lufthansa plans to operate can be found on the firm’s website (www.lufthansa.com).

Lufthansa owns or holds significant stakes in airlines including Swiss International Airlines, Austrian Airlines, JetBlue of the U.S. and Britain’s BMI.

Those are not affected.

The pilots are seeking increased job security and want German labor conditions to apply to Lufthansa pilots hired abroad, in an effort to prevent their jobs from migrating to neighboring countries with cheaper conditions.
Many of Lufthansa’s pilots have been working without a contract since March and more than 90 percent of the union’s members voted to strike, said Jorg Handwerg, a pilot and representative for the union.

Germany’s economic recovery stalled at the end of 2009, and workers are becoming increasingly concerned that they could lose their jobs.
Fears of unemployment are spreading to other sectors of the German economy and workers are looking to employers for job security in exchange for pay concessions like carmaker Volkswagen has done.
Engineering sector workers have also accepted moderate wage increases to help secure jobs.

The action by Lufthansa pilots signaled growing labor unrest across Europe. The industrial action by the pilots started the same day that British Airways cabin staff were expected to announce the outcome of its strike vote. On Wednesday in Greece, a mass public and private sector strike is being planned to protest the government’s austerity plan.

European airlines have been fighting for survival for several years as they battle with the triple whammy of budget airlines poaching customers with low prices, soaring high fuel costs and the worst global recession in decades.

In response, they have sought to consolidate, as seen in Air France’s mega-merger with Dutch KLM and BA’s tie-up with Iberia, and by attempting to cut costs wherever they can, including by slashing jobs and levels of service.

BA is currently slashing almost 5000 jobs and has scrapped all free meals except breakfast on short-haul flights, Air France-KLM is cutting 2700 staff and Lufthansa is cutting overheads by a billion euros.

However… they will find a compromise.

In the end it is not only about job security of pilots. It is about my security (as customer) as well.

And if you want to know what it can mean to “fly cheap”, then go to PBS and watch this video… “Flying Cheap”