WL Central Petitions
"FREE ASSANGE! FREE MANNING! FREE SPEECH!"
"FREE ASSANGE! FREE MANNING! FREE SPEECH!"
Four Days of Action announced for Julian Assange and Bradley Manning 4th, 5th, 7th and 8th February.
Cyber, anti-war and human rights activists will today descend on the Australian High Commission and on Monday/Tuesday on the Woolwich magistrates court, while on Saturday there will be a public meeting in Harringay, north London.
FOUR DAYS OF ACTION ANNOUNCED
"FREE ASSANGE! FREE MANNING! FREE SPEECH!"
Friday 4 February: Cyber, anti-war and human rights activists will today descend on the Australian High Commission and on Monday and Tuesday 7 and 8 February on the Woolwich magistrates court, attached to the Category A Belmarsh Prison, to demand freedom for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, presently on restrictive bail and facing extradition, and also for Bradley Manning, the young soldier who is being held in solitary confinement in Quantico Marine Base in USA. The activist groups will join others from WikiLeaks London Support group outside the court.
Saturday 5 February: a public meeting will be held at Harringay's Giuseppe Conlon Hall, which also serves as a 'house of hospitality' for refugees and others in need of help and support. Speakers will include former political prisoner of the US, Ciaron O'Reilly, and a speaker from the support group 'UK Friends of Bradley Manning'. Footage from the 'Collateral Murder' video Manning is accused of leaking will be shown and there will also be live music.
IRISH DISARMAMENT ACTION MENTIONED IN WIKILEAKS
Irish/ Australian anti-war activist Ciaron O'Reilly served 13 months in US prisons for his part in disabling a US B52 Bomber at the now defunct Griffiths Air Force Base in upstate New York on the eve of the 1991 Gulf War. In December 2010 WikiLeaks published secret cables which had been sent from the US embassy in Dublin following the 2006 acquittal of O'Reilly and four other activists of criminal charges in relation to $US2.5 million damage to a US war plane being refuelled at Shannon Airport en route to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. A Dublin jury had unanimously acquitted the activists on all charges but the cables show that US authorities were considering further legal action against the activists through the civil courts. The cables also quoted Irish government making apologetic and dismissive statements about the Irish legal system.
"REPORTING WAR CRIMES SHOULD NOT BE A CRIME"
O'Reilly has said: "Reporting war crimes should not be a crime. The war on Iraq is the crime. I should know a crime when I see one. I have a 30 year criminal history in a wide variety of jurisdictions! The persecution of Julian Assange and Bradley Manning are the great anti-war show trials of our era. They echo the persecution of Daniel Ellsberg, the Chicago 8, the Berrigans and the Catonsville 9 during the Vietnam period. We need to be on the streets protesting as loudly as we can while these two men are in the docks and in the dungeons for their opposition to these criminal ongoing wars on the people of Afghanistan and Iraq."
MANNING'S PRISON CONDITIONS AMOUNT TO TORTURE
"I was talking to a British Iraq combat veteran recently and he reflected on the sophistication of the war machine in prosecuting wars, marketing wars domestically and persecuting anyone who has the courage to oppose these wars. When I was a prisoner of the United States government, they did to me what they are doing to Manning: they isolated me. I was arrested and sentenced in upstate New York and was transported by Con Air to the Mexican border, then driven hours into the Texas outback to do my time in an overcrowded isolated county jail in Pecos. Manning, a US Army intelligence analyst, has been buried alive in solitary confinement in the largest US marine base in the world. His present prison conditions amount to torture in anyone's terms of reference."
BOGUS CHARGES NOTHING NEW
"Many believe that Assange has been hit with bogus charges that will eventually evaporate as a holding action before the British government hands him over to the Americans. At the end of my sentence, I was moved from Texas to Louisiana. I was rearrested on release on a minor immigration charge and was also charged with 'being guilty of a crime of moral turpitude' and an exorbitant $50,000 bail was placed on my head. This is a charge they had previously used effectively against their political target Charlie Chaplain to banish him from the United States. In my case the charge evaporated, as these proposed charges with Assange will also evaporate."
BRADLEY MANNING IS A UK CITIZEN
UK Friends of Bradley Manning have been campaigning for the UK to recognise Manning as a British citizen on account of his Welsh-born mother, and to take steps to protect him as such.
WikiLeaks London Support group have maintained a consitent presence outside of all Assange's bail hearings.
DETAILS OF ALL EVENTS
Friday Feb. 4th 4.30pm-6.30pm Vigil and Speak Out at the Australian Embassy on The Strand, central London.
Saturday Feb. 5th, 3pm Public Meeting at Giuseppe Conlon Hall 49 Mattison Rd. Harringey London N4.
Monday and Tuesday Feb. 7th and 8th, 9am-5pm Vigil outside Julian Assange's extradition hearing at Woolwich Courts, Belmarsh Rd. London SE28.
'These actions are being co-ordinated by the London Catholic Worker, an organisation which offers hospitality to the destitute as well as taking part in nonviolent resistance to war.'
For further information, please contact: Ciaron O'Reilly
Phone 079 392 90576
Email: ciaronx [at] yahoo.com
Solidarity
- Homepage: http://www.collateralmurder.com/
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Additions
Bristol Event
04.02.2011 19:24
we intend to hold a lively vigil with films. Tuesday February 8th - opposite the hippodrome 4.30pm - 7.00pm
KEEP INFORMATION FREE
FREE BRADLEY MANNING - GIVE JULIAN ASSANGE A FAIR TRIAL.
Usual Suspect
home Homepage: http://www.bristolagainstarmstrade.wordpress.com
Act Now to Stop Mubarak's Thugs From Killing More!
Act Now to Stop Mubarak's Thugs From Killing More!
WL Central's clayclai outlines on the following terms a campaign to bring a halt to anti-protest state violence in Egypt:
‘The chant is يسقط يسقط حسني مبارك – Tell the world he is killing us’
As the Sun rises in Cairo on the tenth day of the Egyptian uprising, the protesters opposed to the government of Hosni Mubarak still hold Tahrir Liberation Square. They still hold it in spite of a night of horrific violence by pro-Mubarak thugs that attacked the peaceful protesters with machine guns, other guns and fire bombs. Overwhelming evidence is already mounting that this murderous gang was composed of police in plain clothes, NDP functionaries and loyalist and hired thugs. The army, which in previous days made sure all the protesters that entered the square were unarmed, stood by and did nothing while the assault took place.
The goal of the thugs was to drive the protesters from the square. In this they were not successful.
An Appeal for WikiLeaks
2011-01-06: An Appeal for WikiLeaks
The German activist group www.bewegung.taz.de has posted an "Online Aktion Unterzeichner liste" (on-line petition) "Appell gegen die Kriminalisierung von WikiLeaks" (An Appeal Against The Criminalization of WikiLeaks)
"Allgemeine Erklärung der Menschenrechte der Vereinten Nationen Artikel 19: "Jeder hat das Recht auf Meinungsfreiheit und freie Meinungsäußerung; dieses Recht schließt die Freiheit ein, Meinungen ungehindert anzuhängen sowie über Medien jeder Art und ohne Rücksicht auf Grenzen Informationen und Gedankengut zu suchen, zu empfangen und zu verbreiten."
"Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers "
There are already over 15 K signatories on the list; please join us in our support by signing the petition here
Arrest Obama on Irish Soil for Torture-related Charges
ARREST OBAMA ON IRISH SOIL FOR TORTURE RELATED CRIMES
This campaign and petition is for the arrest and prosecution of Barack Obama pursuant to international law on the prevention of torture and cruel and inhumane treatment of human beings, during his state visit to Ireland on May 22nd. Visit the site here.
Basic goals and principles
From the petition page:We the undersigned, wish to express our support for the following statements: That, pursuant to a universal respect for human rights, and pursuant to the written law in the U.N Convention Against Torture and other international humanitarian treaties, torture, in any form, or its enablement, or the failure to prevent it or prosecute those responsible, is one of the worst crimes possible, and anathema to the values of our political order. That the wrongness of torture is amplified, and not lessened, by power and influence, and that pragmatic interests must not intervene in the rightful prosecution of those responsible for torture, however inconvenient that may be politically. That Barack Obama has now successfully assumed responsibility for the failure to prosecute torture, and that he is responsible, by omission, for the failure to prevent torture occurring under his own administration, and that this is illegal by international law. That Ireland’s obligations under international and domestic law are clear, and that we must prosecute torturers whenever it is possible to do so. That Barack Obama should be arrested when he sets foot on Irish soil, and made to face the consequences of his acts and of his failures to act.
Avaaz petition in support of WikiLeaks
2010-12-08: Avaaz petition in support of WikiLeaks
Global activist organization Avaaz has launched a petition titled Wikileaks: Stop the crackdown. The text reads:
"Whatever we think of WikiLeaks, the massive campaign of intimidation against it is sending a chill through free speech and media advocates everywhere. Top US politicians has even gone as far as calling WikiLeaks a terrorist organization and suggested assassination of its staff, and the organization has come under massive corporate attack to shut it down.
Right now, dozens of governments and corporations are being heavily pressured to join the crackdown -- we urgently need the public to take a stand and make sure our governments protect our democracies and rule of law.
Sign the petition to stop the crackdown below and forward this email to everyone -- let's get 1 million voices against the crackdown this week!"
"To the U.S. government and corporations linked to Wikileaks:
We call on you to stop the crackdown on Wikileaks and its partners immediately. We urge you to respect the democratic principles and laws of freedom of expression and freedom of the press. If Wikileaks and the journalists it works with have violated any laws they should be pursued in the courts with due process. They should not be subjected to an extra-judicial campaign of intimidation."
Please join us in signing the petition here.
BLOW THE WHISTLE! on TWITTER
"BLOW THE WHISTLE! on TWITTER"
@Carwinb has compiled a list of Senators, who are on Twitter, and who have not yet responded to: "Did you place an anonymous hold on the Whistleblower Protection Act?" Now you can tweet them, and ask them yourself.
On December 22, 2010, the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act Bill S.372) was killed by an unknown United States Senator, who placed an anonymous hold on the bill (reported here on WL Central).
WNYC, On the Media and the Government Accountability Project have joined forces to uncover the identity of the mystery senator.
WNYC has posted a table, "containing the names, states, and contact information for the 87 [United States] Senators still serving that could have put the anonymous hold on this bill." You can find it here.
They are asking the American public to "call, write, [or] email their Senators and ask them 'did you kill this bill?'” Then, regardless of the Senator's reply, they request you email blowthewhistle@wnyc.org with an update.
Here are some tips about "How To Track Down Anonymous Holds" from Tom Devine, legal director of the Government Accountability Project
Source: WNYC: Blow the Whistle
Call to Action in support of Julian Assange / WikiLeaks in Monday's London Extradition Hearing
Call to Action in support of Julian Assange / WikiLeaks in Monday's London Extradition Hearing
Auto-emailing United Kingdom media, their Embassy and Consulates in support of Julian in his extradition hearing. There are 5 individual identical emails each with 25 addresses. PLEASE sign all 5. Click here to go there.
EFF: Join EFF in Standing up Against Internet Censorship
2010-12-07: EFF: Join EFF in Standing up Against Internet Censorship
December 7, 2010
Call to Action by Shari Steele
"Over the past few weeks, we here at EFF have watched as whistleblowing website WikiLeaks has fueled an emotionally charged debate about the secrecy of government information and the people's right to know. We have welcomed this debate, and the fact that there have been myriad views is the embodiment of the freedom of expression upon which this country was founded.
However, we've been greatly troubled by a recent shift in focus. The debate about the wisdom of releasing secret government documents has turned into a massive attack on the right of intermediaries to publish truthful information. Suddenly, WikiLeaks has become the Internet's scapegoat, with a Who's Who of American and foreign companies choosing to shun the site.
Let's be clear — in the United States, at least, WikiLeaks has a fundamental right to publish truthful political information. And equally important, Internet users have a fundamental right to read that information and voice their opinions about it. We live in a society that values freedom of expression and shuns censorship. Unfortunately, those values are only as strong as the will to support them — a will that seems to be dwindling now in an alarming way.
On Friday, we wrote about Amazon's disappointing decision to yank hosting services from WikiLeaks after a phone call from a senator's office. Since then, a cascade of companies and organizations has backed away from WikiLeaks. A public figure called for the assassination of Assange. PayPal, MasterCard, and Visa axed WikiLeaks’ accounts. EveryDNS.net pulled Wikileaks’ DNS services. Unknown sources continue to cripple WikiLeaks with repeated denial of service attacks. Even the Library of Congress, normally a bastion of public access to information, is blocking WikiLeaks.
There has been a tremendous backlash against WikiLeaks from governments around the world. In the United States, lawmakers have rashly proposed a law that threatens legitimate news reporting well beyond WikiLeaks. We expect to see similar efforts in other countries. Like it or not, WikiLeaks has become the emblem for one of the most important battles for our rights that is likely to come along in our lifetimes. We cannot sit this one out.
Join EFF in standing up against Internet censorship.
Download our No Censorship button to display on your websites and social networking profiles. Show the world that you are committed to free expression and denounce censorship."
End the punitive detention of Bradley Manning
End the punitive detention of Bradley Manning
Take Action On This Issue
Amnesty International is concerned that the conditions inflicted on Bradley Manning, the soldier accused of leaking information to Wikileaks, are unnecessarily severe and amount to inhumane treatment by the US authorities. Bradley Manning has not been convicted of any offence, but military authorities appear to be using all available means to punish him while in detention. The conditions under which Bradley Manning is held appear to breach the USA’s human rights obligations. Urge the Secretary of Defense to review the conditions under which Bradley Manning is confined and take effective measures to ensure that he is no longer held in 23-hour cellular confinement or subjected to other undue restrictions.
Message Recipients
Robert M. Gates (Republican), Barack Obama (Democrat) - President
Customize Your Letter (optional)
Subject Line:
Dear [Recepient's Name],
I am writing to urge you to review the conditions under which Private First Class (PFC) Bradley Manning is confined at the Quantico naval brig and take effective measures to ensure that he is no longer held in 23 hour cellular confinement or subjected to other undue restrictions.
I understand that, since July 2010, PFC Manning has been confined for 23 hours a day to a single cell, measuring around 72 square feet and equipped only with a bed, toilet and sink. There is no window to the outside, the only view being on to a corridor through the barred doors of his cell. All meals are taken in his cell, which has no chair or table. He has no association or contact with other pre-trial detainees and he is allowed to exercise, alone, for just one hour a day, in a day-room or outside. He has access to a television which is placed in the corridor for limited periods of the day. However, he is reportedly not permitted to keep personal possessions in his cell, apart from one book and magazine at a time. Although he may write and receive correspondence, writing is allowed only at an allotted time during the day and he is not allowed to keep such materials in his cell.
I understand that PFC Manning’s restrictive conditions of confinement are due to his classification as a maximum custody detainee. This classification also means that – unlike medium security detainees–he is shackled at the hands and legs during approved social and family visits, despite all such visits at the facility being non-contact. He is also shackled during attorney visits at the facility. I further understand that PFC Manning, as a maximum custody detainee, is denied the opportunity for a work assignment which would allow him to be out of his cell for most of the day. The United Nations (UN) Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (SMR), which are internationally recognized guiding principles, provide inter alia that "Untried prisoners shall always be offered opportunity to work" should they wish to undertake such activity (SMR Section C, rule 89).
PFC Manning is also being held under a Prevention of Injury (POI) assignment, which means that he is subjected to further restrictions. These include checks by guards every five minutes and a bar on his sleeping during the day. He is required to remain visible at all times, including during night checks. His POI status has resulted in his being deprived of sheets and a separate pillow, causing uncomfortable sleeping conditions; his discomfort is reportedly exacerbated by the fact that he is required to sleep only in boxer shorts and has suffered chafing of his bare skin from the blankets.
I am concerned that no formal reasons have been provided to PFC Manning for either his maximum security classification or the POI assignment and that efforts by his counsel to challenge these assignments through administrative procedures have thus far failed to elicit a response. I am further concerned that he reportedly remains under POI despite a recommendation by the military psychiatrist overseeing his treatment that such an assignment is no longer necessary.
I recognize that it may sometimes be necessary to segregate prisoners for disciplinary or security purposes. However, the restrictions imposed in PFC Manning’s case appear to be unnecessarily harsh and punitive, in view of the fact that he has no history of violence or disciplinary infractions and that he is a pre-trial detainee not yet convicted of any offence. The conditions under which PFC Manning is held appear to breach the USA’s obligations under international standards and treaties, including Article 10 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) which the USA ratified in 1992 and which states that "all persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person". The UN Human Rights Committee, the ICCPR monitoring body, has noted in its General Comment on Article 10 that persons deprived of their liberty may not be "subjected to any hardship or constraint other than that resulting from the deprivation of liberty; respect for the dignity of such persons must be guaranteed under the same conditions as for that of free persons ...".
The harsh conditions imposed on PFC Manning also undermine the principle of the presumption of innocence, which should be taken into account in the treatment of any person under arrest or awaiting trial. I am concerned that the effects of isolation and prolonged cellular confinement - which evidence suggests can cause psychological impairment, including depression, anxiety and loss of concentration – may, further, undermine his ability to assist in his defense and thus his right to a fair trial.
In view of the concerns raised, I urge you to review the conditions under which PFC Manning is confined at the Quantico naval brig and take effective measures to ensure that he is no longer held in 23 hour cellular confinement or subjected to other undue restrictions.
FAIR: We Support WikiLeaks
2010-12-15: FAIR: We Support WikiLeaks
FAIR (Freedom and Accuracy in Reporting) has published a petition in support of WikiLeaks, signed by Daniel Ellsberg, Noam Chomsky, Glenn Greenwald, Barbara Ehrenreich, Arundhati Roy, Medea Benjamin, Tom Morello, John Nichols and more. The text reads:
As journalists, activists, artists, scholars and citizens, we condemn the array of threats and attacks on the journalist organization WikiLeaks. After the website's decision, in collaboration with several international media organizations, to publish hundreds of classified State Department diplomatic cables, many pundits, commentators and prominent U.S. politicians have called for harsh actions to be taken to shut down WikiLeaks' operations.
Major corporations like Amazon.com, PayPal, MasterCard and Visa have acted to disrupt the group's ability to publish. U.S. legal authorities and others have repeatedly suggested, without providing any evidence, that WikiLeaks' posting of government secrets is a form of criminal behavior--or that at the very least, such activity should be made illegal. "To the extent there are gaps in our laws," Attorney General Eric Holder proclaimed (11/29/10), "we will move to close those gaps."
Throughout this episode, journalists and prominent media outlets have largely refrained from defending WikiLeaks' rights to publish material of considerable news value and obvious public interest. It appears that these media organizations are hesitant to stand up for this particular media outlet's free speech rights because they find the supposed political motivations behind WikiLeaks' revelations objectionable.
But the test for one's commitment to freedom of the press is not whether one agrees with what a media outlet publishes or the manner in which it is published. WikiLeaks is certainly not beyond criticism. But the overarching consideration should be the freedom to publish in a democratic society--including the freedom to publish material that a particular government would prefer be kept secret. When government officials and media outlets declare that attacks on a particular media organization are justified, it sends an unmistakably chilling message about the rights of anyone to publish material that might rattle or offend established powers.
We hereby stand in support of the WikiLeaks media organization, and condemn the attacks on their freedom as an attack on journalistic freedoms for all.
Please join us in signing the petition here.
Fund WikiLeaks Billboards in the United States
If this campaign does not reach $5,200 by 15 Apr 08:32 UTC, no credit cards will be charged.
UPDATE: Great job guys! With your support we have been able to fund one WikiLeaks billboard in Los Angeles and hope to fund more. This particular campaign is to fund a billboard in Chicago to further spread the WikiLeaks cause throughout the nation.
It is my sincere hope that everyone who believes in freedom of speech and transparency in government will take action by supporting this billboard campaign. Our government is treading in dangerous waters on this issue. We need to show our elected officials that we defend WikiLeaks, and demand adherence to the 1st Amendment and transparency in government. I stand behind WikiLeaks. Many Americans do. And though we all love our country, we want the facts and deserve the truth.
Our billboard will demand attention and entice news outlets to cover it. It will compel our elected officials to take notice, as we loudly express our support for WikiLeaks. We have a tremendous opportunity here. We can actually make our voices heard. It's up to us to spread this message.
I am extremely passionate about this campaign, but know that with the help of my fellow Epic Steppers, we can make it even better. I came up with this message: "In a time of universal deceit - telling the truth is a revolutionary act! - George Orwell." While I like this message, I think there could be a better one out there. So, I'd like to ask all you amazing designers and writers out there to come up with witty messages and creative designs. We need to have the best options possible to choose from in order to make our billboard really stand out and capture the hearts, minds, and news cameras this cause so desperately needs.
This campaign is a reflection of all who support WikiLeaks. It isn't mine, it's ours. Let's start changing the world together. Los Angeles has been funded, now let's make Chicago a reality.
Donate here.
Get Up! Action for Australia: Petition in support of WikiLeaks
2010-12-09: Get Up! Action for Australia: Petition in support of WikiLeaks
Get Up! is hosting a petition in support of WikiLeaks. The campaign organizers also plan to take out ads in The New York Times and Washington Times. The petition reads:
"Dear President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder:
We, as Australians, condemn calls for violence, including assassination, against Australian citizen and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, or for him to be labeled a terrorist, enemy combatant or be treated outside the ordinary course of justice in any way.
As Thomas Jefferson said, "information is the currency of democracy." Publishing leaked information in collaboration with major news outlets, as Wikileaks and Mr. Assange have done, is not a terrorist act.
Australia and the United States are the strongest of allies. Our soldiers serve side by side and we’ve experienced, and condemned, the consequences of terrorism together. To label Wikileaks a terrorist organisation is an insult to those Australians and Americans who have lost their lives to acts of terrorism and to terrorist forces.
If Wikileaks or their staff have broken international or national laws, let that case be heard in a just and fair court of law. At the moment, no such charges have been brought.
We are writing as Australians to say what our Government should have: all Australian citizens deserve to be free from persecution, threats of violence and detention without charge, especially from our friend and ally, the United States.
We call upon you to stand up for our shared democratic principles of the presumption of innocence and freedom of information."
Please join us in signing the petition here.
Italy: Il Fatto Quotidiano Petition
2010-12-08: Italy: Il Fatto Quotidiano Petition
7 dicembre 2010
Salviamo il soldato Assange!
Firma la petizione
Julian Assange è stato arrestato il 7 dicembre, per accuse scandalose oltre che incredibili: un rapporto sessuale consenziente, un preservativo che non ha funzionato. La verità è un’altra: Assange è stato catturato come un micidiale terrorista (un «uomo che vuol distruggere il mondo», dixit il ministro Frattini) perché nella sua qualità di direttore di WikiLeaks ha fatto luce su politiche, misfatti, crimini che dovevano restare segreti, custoditi nelle segrete di cancellerie e ambasciate, inaccessibili all´opinione pubblica mondiale che sta prendendo forma nel web. Chiediamo che sia immediatamente liberato. Allo stesso modo chiediamo chiarezza sul caso di Bradley Manning, il soldato che rischia 52 anni di carcere per aver rivelato a WikiLeaks i crimini contro i civili commessi dall´esercito Usa in Iraq. I soldati che appaiono nei video da lui trasmessi a Wikileaks, colpevoli di massacri di civili, sono stati elogiati dal comando militare Usa per il loro «giudizio sensato».
Saving private Assange
Julian Assange was arrested on December 7th, on the basis of absurd and unbelievable accuses: a consensual sexual relationship and a broken condom. We believe the truth is different: Assange has been captured as a dangerous terrorist (a “man who wants to destroy the world”, says Italian Minister for Foreign Affairs Franco Frattini) because the founder and director of Wikileaks has brought to light all sorts of crimes, misdeeds and political acts that had to remain secret, protected into diplomatic offices and embassies, inaccessible to the world’s public opinion that is taking shape on the web. We ask for his immediate release. In the same manner we ask for the truth for Bradley Manning, the young soldier who is risking 52 years of jail for disclosing to Wikileaks a video showing crimes against civilians committed by the American army in Iraq. The soldiers appearing in the video, guilty of the indiscriminate slaying of over a dozen civilians, were praised by US military for their “reasonable judgment”.
Please join us in signing the petition here.
Letter of support for Julian Assange
The following letter of support for Julian Assange and WikiLeaks will be available for signing at the Minneapolis, MN: Demonstration supporting Julian Assange and Wikileaks and will be delivered. Any group in one of the other 27 cities with British Consulates (or UK Embassy in Washington DC) is free to copy our letter as a model:
February 7, 2011
Honorary United Kingdom Consul William R. McGrann:
Today Julian Assange stands before a court that will decide if he will be extradited to Sweden. Our concern is the same as that of Mr. Assange's lawyers - that this is just the first step in his being rendered illegally from Sweden to the United States. We hope and stress that the laws of the United Kingdom be upheld. Political rendition is unlawful in the United Kingdom, but there are several indications that extradition to Sweden would serve as false cover to effectively render him illegally to the United States.
The seven major points of law (see Guardian article: "WikiLeaks: Julian Assange 'faces execution or Guantanamo detention'") outlined by Assange's attorneys need to be fairly evaluated without any of the extra-legal political pressure from the United States that has, unfortunately, occurred during the Chilcot Inquiry or vis a vis Spanish authorities' inquiries into Iraq War crimes and the Bush Administration's use of torture and illegal renditions.
We note that United States' interference in other countries' justice systems, including the justice system of England, runs against the international wisdom of how we honor each other as nations.
On this day, Feb. 7, 2002, our country became a rogue state when President Bush dropped the protections of the Geneva Conventions for those we had taken prisoner. We stand in solidarity with WikiLeaks supporters in London this day and ask that you not collaborate in those and other crimes. We are thankful for the people who have revealed war crimes that have been committed. And, we are thankful that the secrets of war are made public to the people whose name is on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan - we the people of the United States.
We are ashamed as United States' citizens that our government has held back information about crimes committed in our names, only to have it marked "Secret" for "national security reasons." A nation of laws cannot be secure if its laws are broken with impunity. It is a wretched irony that our previous president openly brags that he ordered waterboarding and other torture, yet our current president, despite public claims that he is opposed to torture and favors the rule of law, is doing nothing to investigate and prosecute this hideous crime.
As longtime partners, it would cast a terrible pall on our relationship were the United Kingdom to participate directly or implicitly in the same crimes the United States has embraced, such as illegal rendition. Mr. Assange has bravely participated in a great public service to the United States and the world through his journalism. He has broken no U.S. laws. As a nation that lifts high the right of freedom of speech and the virtue of transparency of government, we advocate for the freedom of the press, including that of WikiLeaks. Exposing war crimes is no crime...NOT exposing war crimes is the crime.
Sincerely,
(please email tacklingtorture@gmail.com if you'd like to sign this letter being delivered to the UK Consulate in Minneapolis)
*here is a site with 28 UK embassy/consulate locations in the U.S. -- http://united-kingdom.visahq.com/embassy/United-States/. They are D.C., San Juan (PR), Chicago, San Francisco, Orlando, Miami, Denver, Glendale (AZ), Houston, Charlotte (Nebraska), Boston, Nashville, Salt Lake City, Atlanta, Anchorage, Pittsburgh, Seattle, New York, La Jolla (CA), Philadelphia, Dallas, Chesterfield (Missouri), Portland, Kansas City (Kansas), San Jose, Los Angeles, and New Orleans. [DC of course is the Embassy; all the others are Consulates.]
NOMINATE MOHAMMED NABBOUS FOR 2011 CNN HERO
NOMINATE MOHAMMED NABBOUS FOR 2011 CNN HERO
Mo Nabbous is thought by many to be the most inspiring journalist we have seen in a very long time. We feel that he ought to be a CNN 2011 hero. Please go here to nominate him.
Everyday People Changing the World
From Wikipedia: NPR social media strategist Andy Carvin called Nabbous "the face of Libyan citizen journalism;" Nabbous was the primary contact of many international media outlets looking for information regarding the situation in Libya.[citation needed] Nabbous was also the founder of the independent internet tv station in Libya: Libya Alhurra TV, broadcasting on Livestream.com.
Nabbous' online news station, Libya Alhurra TV, was the only broadcast coming out of Benghazi when Muammar Gaddafi shut down internet lines when the February 2011 uprising began.[4] Using an illegal satellite connection, Nabbous was able to bypass government blocks on internet in order to broadcast live images from Benghazi across the world. As the independent voice for a Libyan population during the 2011 Libyan uprising, Der Spiegel reporter Clemens Höges called Nabbous "the man who just might be the most important person in the revolution."
One of the first videos WL Central posted when we began our live blog on Libya on February 17th, was a livestream video from Mo (shown below). The video, entitled "Tell The World What Is Happening To Us!" (first link below) was the first real live voice out of Benghazi, aired on February 19th. From the 15th forward there had just been tweets and frightening disjointed street filming to counteract the message from Libya state TV. Mo continued to provide livestream coverage for the next month, which we linked to as a primary source for the 'ceasefire' situation in Benghazi a few hours ago before he was shot. His broadcasts are below.
Open Letter in Defence of WikiLeaks' Right to Publish
A letter in support of WikiLeaks from Frontline and others:
We believe that free societies everywhere are best served by journalism that holds governments and corporations to account. We assert that the right to publish is equal to, and the consequence of, the citizen's right to know. While we believe in personal privacy and accept a need for confidentiality, we hold that disclosure in the public interest is paramount. Liberty, accountability and true democratic choice can only be guaranteed by rigorous scrutiny. We defend the right to publish the truth responsibly without obstruction and persecution by the state. The primary duty of journalists everywhere is to advance the cause of understanding, not to assist governments and powerful interests in suppressing information, and never to defer to ingrained habits of secrecy.
With these principles in mind, we declare our support for the publication of documents released through leaks. They have cast significant light on the behaviour of governments and corporations in the modern world. WikiLeaks has done the world great service. We strenuously denounce the threats of death and criminal prosecution of its director for publishing, together with many organisations throughout the world, information that is clearly in the public interest.
Those in authority routinely oppose such disclosure, as they have done since the struggle to publish the proceedings of the British Parliament over two hundred years ago right through to the release of the Pentagon Papers. We believe no democracy has ever been harmed by an increase in the public's knowledge and understanding.Therefore, we, the undersigned, declare our unyielding support for the principles of journalistic inquiry and openness, and condemn the forces that threaten both.
To sign the letter, please go here.
For other petitions in support of WikiLeaks, please go here.
Petition to Obama on WikiLeaks
2011-01-15: Dear President Obama,
I am outraged by the abuse of power by your government I have been witnessing against WikiLeaks and Julian Assange.
It is very clear to me that actions in those regards are NOT designed to protect the people, but to keep information about corruption and deceit by the government covered at all cost.
I ask you to stop all action against WikiLeaks and Julian Assange. I ask you to expose the corrupt individuals in your government and those who are protecting them. I ask for them to bear the consequences of their actions. Lastly, I ask you to assume personal responsibility for the humane and just treatment of Bradley Manning.
Sincerely,
Dagi Cueppers (on behalf of anybody who signs this petition)
Please join us in signing the petition and tweeting the message to Barack Obama here.
Petition to Visa, Mastercard and Paypal
Translated from German
The massive intimidation by corporations such as Visa, Master Card, Paypal and Amazon against Wikileaks is a frontal attack on press freedom. Subscribe to our appeal to the company!
To those in charge of Visa, Mastercard, Paypal and Amazon
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Your notice to Wikileaks provide a massive attack constitutes at the press freedom at risk with this approach a cornerstone of democracy. Quit now your obviously politically motivated attempts to block and take the business to Wikileaks again!
Yours sincerely,
Please join us in signing our petition here.
Rally4WikiLeaks
2011-01-06: Rally4WikiLeaks has created an email form that lets people send an email message to up to 12 Australian Federal MPs at a time.
Sign the Open Letter to the United States Government, Demand that they Stop Prosecution of Assange and WikiLeaks
Sign the Open Letter to the United States Government, Demand that they Stop Prosecution of Assange and WikiLeaks
Sign RevolutionTruth's open letter in defense of WikiLeaks and Julian Assange. Let the US Government know the world is watching, and we don't approve. Go here.
Open Letter to the United States Government Regarding WikiLeaks, Julian Assange and the Fundamental Tenets of Democracy and Open Societies.
To President Obama, US Senators and Congressmen and women, Attorney General Eric Holder, the Department of Justice, and all of those involved in the attempt to prosecute Julian Assange, founder of the nonprofit news organization WikiLeaks.org:
We are a diverse group of people from around the world who have come together for a common purpose: to defend WikiLeaks, to ask the United States to cease its attempts to manufacture a case against Julian Assange, and to defend democratic principles and our fundamental rights guaranteed therein. We are professionals, homemakers, activists, students, and others who believe that government derives its power from the consent of the governed, as stipulated in the Declaration of Independence, but that citizens can only give meaningful consent if they are fully informed about their government's actions. Nothing more violates American principles, which inspire both those of us who are and are not American citizens, than the idea that "government knows best" and has the right to deceive its own people.
The WikiLeaks documents have revealed that the US government has been keeping enormously important information secret from the American people, such as the fact that the US government knew of the mass murder of civilians in Iraq even though it claimed it did not; that the US government failed its legal responsibility as an occupying power by handing civilians over to Iraqi police units knowing they would be tortured and killed, even though it claimed it did not; that US officials believe the Afghan government is corrupt and unpopular, even as they falsely claim to be fighting for democracy in Afghanistan; and that US officials are extremely worried about the safety of Pakistan's nuclear stockpile, a potential matter of life and death that they have kept from the people of the world.
When the NY Times released the WikiLeaks "Afghan Logs" on 25 July, the headline read: "View Is Bleaker than Official Portrayal of War in Afghanistan". This revealed, according to America's "newspaper of record," that the US Government was hiding the truth from its own people. Is it really right that the proud citizens of America should need WikiLeaks to discover vital truths denied them by their own government?
US officials claim they have a right to deceive the American people, and prosecute WikiLeaks and Julian Assange, on the grounds of "national security". But this information is clearly known to America's enemies. It is the American people who have been denied it, information critical to their ability to make an informed decision as to whether or not to support their government's war-making, including putting their sons and daughters at grave risk of death or crippling injuries.
The US Government claim that WikiLeaks has endangered national security has been invalidated by its own Defense Secretary, Robert Gates, who has stated "is this embarrassing? Yes. Is it awkward? Yes. Consequences for US foreign policy? I think fairly modest." The German Interior Minister has stated that "WikiLeaks is annoying, but not a threat", and the BBC has reported that "WikiLeaks: US allies unruffled by embassy cable leaks."
The result of any US government prosecution of WikiLeaks and Julian Assange will be to restrict the truthful information American citizens receive about their government's foreign policy. But the US cannot promote democracy abroad by limiting it at home.
We urge you to halt your undemocratic prosecution of WikiLeaks; and to instead learn from it by providing the public with the honest and truthful information upon which democracy depends.
Stop the Massacre - Save the Libyans
Stop the Massacre - Save the Libyans
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To: His Excellency Ban Ki Moon, the Secretary General of the United Nations
The international news organizations are broadcasting atrocities that are being committed against unarmed civilians in Libya that could be considered crimes against humanity.
This country has been ruled with an iron fist for the past 42 years by the notorious regime of Muammar Gaddafi. While claiming to have a unique form of direct democracy, the regime has never tolerated any dissent, and has carried out many atrocities over the decades it has been in power oppressing its people, including public hangings, long-term imprisonments without trial, and the infamous massacre of 1270 prisoners in the Abusleem prison in Tripoli in 1996. Libya has no constitution, parliament, elections or free press. All political activities and parties are banned.
The Libyan people have risen in a wide wave of protests since February 15th that are turning into a bloodbath due to the vicious repression of these protests that the rulers of Libya have unleashed on its citizens. Hundreds of deaths and thousands of injuries are being reported, with graphic evidence posted all over the Internet. This has got to stop. Nobody believes the denials and feeble excuses of the Libyan government's representatives.
We demand that all free world governments and international organizations take immediate action to:
• Condemn all military actions against civilians all over Libya, and demand that the Libyan regime immediately stop all such actions and stop repression of any free peaceful protests
• Demand that the Libyan rulers allow international media and international humanitarian organizations free, unhindered and safe access to all parts of the country
• Demand that the Libyan government resume provision of food, medicines and medical supplies and permit the delivery of such supplies as humanitarian aid to the eastern region of Libya through all border points and airports
• Immediately put in place an embargo on export of any materiel or equipment of any military or security nature to Libya to limit loss of life and casualties
• Conduct an International inquiry into recent events and hold all responsible to international Justice.
Click here to sign.
Support WikiLeaks
2011-01-07: I read WikiLeaks. I support freedom of speech and our free press, not torture, military coups, or drone strikes on civilians.
I support WikiLeaks because government secrecy is used to protect powerful criminals, not to protect the people.
My government has no right to threaten me or to frighten me or to lie to me to protect the guilty.
I read WikiLeaks.
Please join us in signing the petition here.
Support calls for an international investigation into allegations of abuse in #Bahrain. VOTE in the BBC Arabic Poll.
Do you support calls for an international investigation into allegations of abuse in #Bahrain? VOTE! in the BBC Arabic Poll. In Arabic, here. In English, here.
Survey on Public Trust in WikiLeaks, the Media and Government
"The purpose of this survey is to measure public opinion and trust in WikiLeaks, the government and the mainstream media.
The central question investigated in this dissertation will be: ‘Will WikiLeaks publications lead to a more transparent government in the eyes of the public?’ Please keep in mind that questions on the media and government are the media and government from the country you have lived most of your life in (as indicated in Question 3). There are 81 questions. Advertising will appear in the middle of this survey - please continue past this advertising.
Participants of this survey must be over 18 years of age and willing for the results of the survey to be published. You will remain anonymous, as there is no intention of collecting your name or personal details apart from basic demographics such as age, level of education, cultural background and so forth. If you do not feel comfortable answering a question, you may simply leave it blank. You may elect, at any point, to abandon the survey by either closing the online survey portal or destroying the paper copy of the survey."
To the UN Security Council:
To the UN Security Council:
We urge you immediately to impose a no-fly zone on Libya to stop aerial bombings, attacks and the movement of Qaddafi's troops and weapons, which are inflicting a terrible toll on civilians, and to protect the needs and interests of the Libyan people.
As Libyan government jets drop bombs on the civilian population, the UN Security Council will decide in 48 hours whether to impose a no-fly zone to keep Qaddafi's warplanes on the ground.
Two weeks ago Avaaz members sent 450,000 emails to the Security Council, reportedly stunning the President of the Council's office and getting a public response from the US ambassador. Then, we helped win serious targeted sanctions on the Libyan regime - now, to stop the bloodshed, we need a massive outcry for a no-fly zone.
As long as Qaddafi's gunships are in the air, the civilian death toll will rise. Many European and Arab nations support a no-fly zone, but the politics of the Security Council requires unity to pass a resolution. A powerful public demand from all corners of the planet can push all the governments on the Council to take action. We have just 48 hours left -- sign now and forward this email widely.
Note from WL Central
Previously, US defence secretary Robert Gates gave a press conference: "There’s a lot of frankly loose talk about some of these military options and let's just call a spade a spade. A no-fly zone begins with an attack on Libya to destroy the air defences, that’s the way you do a no-fly zone, and then you can fly planes around the country and not worry about our guys being shot down. But that’s the way it starts. But it also requires more airplanes than you would find on a single aircraft carrier. So it is a big operation in a big country."
Please ensure that you are making an informed decision if you choose to sign this petition.
Video Protest to the US government about WikiLeaks and Julian Assange
Support Julian Assange Our Freedom Depends on it.
2011-01-19 Video Protest: This is a simple and direct open letter to the US government about WikiLeaks and Julian Assange spoken on video by people from around the world. We presently have approximately 12 countries and 35-50 people on board. The video will include your voices as part of a collective message as well as other relevant imagery and quotes that provide a full picture to help us meet our objective. The goal is for this video to be powerful, intelligent, moving and straightforward.
The objective of this project is two-fold. First, it is to interrupt the US government’s attempts to villainize and prosecute Julian Assange and bring down WikiLeaks. Second, it is to assist in shifting public opinion in the US by strategically highlighting the potential loss of key freedoms including free speech and a free press and the implications this could have on open societies everywhere. This video will be uploaded onto YouTube, highlighted on the www.support-julian-assange.com site, and loaded onto our new site (in construction) called www.nomino.org.
Open letter to be read