President Obama recently announced that the vast NSA spying
will continue, with a few restrictions. Edward Snowden and the journalists
who are still releasing stories from the files he made available are being
called spies and being threatened with assasination by members of the US
Congress. Once again, the role of those commiting crimes, and the victims, are
reversed.
Tuesday, February 11 is The Day We Fight Back against mass surveillance.
Organizations, companies and online platforms are joining in to say, "This
moment is whatever we, the broad community of people who care about the
Internet, make of it. Post a comment with a link to every NSA-related story.
Make and share a meme. Build a website. Organize an event. Then tell us about it
so we can spread the word."
Some organizations are directing people to support
bills in Congress, like the "USA Freedom Act" put forward by James
Sensenbrenner, a sponsor of the USA PATRIOT Act in 2001. But, the most
decisive factor that the people can take to defeat the outrageous mass
surveillance is to build mas resistance, not by "limiting" or "mending"
illegitimate actions of the government.
HOW INTERNET USERS CAN
HELP:
- Visit TheDayWeFightBack.org
- Sign up to indicate that you'll participate and receive updates.
- Sign up to install widgets on websites encouraging its visitors to fight
back against surveillance. (These are being finalized in coming days.)
- Use the social media tools on the site to announce your participation.
- Develop memes, tools, websites, and do whatever else you can to participate
-- and encourage others to do the same.
World Can't Wait's message for February 11:
The Day We Fight Back
We in the US have a government that relies
on terror and repression to maintain its rule, here and around the world. We
live in a country whose government assassinates thousands with drones. Our
government, driven by the relentless pursuit of profit, is plundering the earth,
exploiting humanity, and imperiling our planet's very viability. This government
tortures people while holding them indefinitely without trial and uses
warrantless surveillance over all of us to try to identify those who might pose
a threat to their agenda.
When Obama talks about “national security” he
means securing the US government's right to commit crimes with
impunity.
A government that commits such crimes should be ridiculed and
opposed whenever they tout their supposed “freedom” and “democracy.”
Mass
surveillance is unacceptable and we must say NO to it.
Government
officials won't stop this without mass protest. Why should we rely on those who
started the crimes to stop those same crimes?
We draw inspiration from
and stand with Edward Snowden, Chelsea Manning, the hunger strikers at GTMO and
domestic US prisons, and other courageous resisters who have illuminated the
truth about what this government does. This is what the U.S government correctly
fears.
It is on us, the millions of people living in this country, acting
together with people around the world, to stand up, tell the truth, and say no.
February 11, make it known to the world that we will not accept mass
surveillance or any other crime committed by the US Government in the name of
“national security."
NATO 3 Case Goes to Jury Friday; We Support the Rights of the NATO 3
On Saturday February 1, about 20 people braved a snow storm to gather at a
church in Evanston, Illinois, to hear Kevin Gosztola talk about the NATO 3 trial
that he has been covering on Firedoglake.com. Sponsored by World Can’t Wait
Chicago, 8th Day Center for Justice, Neighbors for Peace, and Occupy Evanston,
the afternoon succeeded in raising funds and discussing some of issues posed by
this important trial...read more
On Trial for Protesting US Drone
Wars
Ed Kinane Tells Judge Why He Protests Drone Killing Verdict
Expected Friday February 7 at Trial of Hancock Air Force Base Protesters from
October 2013 action
“Each of our testifiers spoke out of their
consciences, some suggesting that their consciences were shaped by their own
personal faith tradition.
Others cited personal experience as impelling
them to gather outside the Hancock drone base on October 25, 2012.
I
myself in my Opening alluded to having survived the murderous 2003 bombardment
of Baghdad, Iraq -- an ancient city of several million non-combatants widely
viewed as a cradle of civilization.
It was that bombardment which the
Pentagon boastingly and terrifyingly called “shock and awe.”
It would be
impossible to count the number of “shock and awe” casualties – the Pentagon
expressing supreme indifference to such numbers.
So I speak from
analogous firsthand experience when I say that airborne killing and destruction
typified by the weaponized drone – whether in Somalia, Yemen, Pakistan or
Afghanistan -- are terrifying.
And I speak first hand when I say that the
Trespass and Disordered Conduct of those drones are not a defense against
terrorism, but rather embody terrorism and may well generate retaliatory
terrorism – an endless cycle of violence...”
Drone protesters found guilty of trespassing at Beale AFB
California Judge Sentences 4 to Probation & Community Service
“A Sacramento federal judge Monday found four
people who protested the Obama administration’s use of killer drones outside a
gate at Beale Air Force Base last spring to be guilty of
trespassing.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Allison Claire sentenced the four to
90 days of unsupervised probation, which will end for each defendant after he or
she completes 10 hours of community service...”
Thank you Tom Tomorrow:
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Tonight: World Can't Wait
Conversation
New participants welcome.
We'll be talking, planning, questioning, digging into what's most important to
work on in 2014.
Nick Mottern of KnowDrones.com will be on, as well as
others working on the April/May protests of
drones.
We will also discuss
the Tuesday February 11 The Day We Fight
Back, protesting NSA surveillance on
the anniversary of the death of Aaron Swartz.
Register for dial-in info.
Friends, the fall Kickstarter fund campaign for the
new e-book Redact This: Artists Respond to Torture did not reach
its goal. Those of you who made donations were not charged, as is Kickstarter's
practice. David Schwittek, editor of Redact This is leading in a new
effort to raise $15,000 for production costs, this time on Indiegogo, which will
allow the campaign to access the funds donated. We hope you'll help him reach
the worthy goal.
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