Re: Project PM meeting in 30 minutes: North Africa assistance.

On Thu, Jan 27, 2011 at 12:35 PM, Gabriella Coleman <biella@nyu.edu> wrote:

Thanks for this and sorry I could not make it. I often have
meetings/events here in NYC wed nights but might be able to at times.
Thanks so much for the press release information as well. I will PEN
this in.

All best,
Biella

On 01/26/2011 06:30 PM, Barrett Brown wrote:
> We'll be having our weekly Project PM meeting at irc.freenode.net

> <http://irc.freenode.net>, #projectpm, to discuss our current operations

> in support of Tunisia and Egypt. Please attend if you can. Additionally,
> Campbell Vertesi has created http://commons.projectpm.org to better
> organize our efforts as we continue to provide tools and expertise to
> our contacts in North Africa. And the latest version of our press
> release in advance of the rally and press conference at City Hall, NYC,
> on April 7 is now out; link here, text pasted
> below: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/1/26/939078/-Rally-for-North-Africa,-Wikileaks,-Bradley-Manning,-Anon
>
>
> Thanks to everyone for their hard work so far.
>
>
> Press Release
>
>
> For Immediate Distribution
> January 13th, 2011
>
>
> An unprecedented coalition of information activists and organizations
> have come together in an effort to advance the ongoing campaign against
> the informational tyranny that has been on view as of late in the
> context of Wikileaks, Julian Assange, and Bradley Manning. All three of
> these parties have been subjected to state oppression, without due
> regard for the alleged "rule of law;" all three have been maligned in
> dishonest and often bizarre ways; all three have earned such treatment
> by way of having together ensured that all of humanity may, for the
> first time in history, together learn how it is that their wealth,
> loyalty, and lives are being used by those who plead national security
> while having provided no such thing to their own citizens and even
> seizing it from those living elsewhere (and the effects may be seen in
> North Africa and particularly Tunisia, where Anonymous-affiliated
> activists have been successful in establishing a freer government to
> replace the prior tyranny).
>
> In response to these latest outrages against competence and decency, and
> in support of the ongoing digital reformation, our coalition - comprised
> of veterans and anti-war groups, a faction of the Anonymous movement,
> the distributed think-tank Project PM, and a loose network of
> journalists, media professionals, scientists, former intelligence and
> government officials, and related organizations - announces a stepped-up
> campaign of information and direct action which will culminate in a
> rally and press conference on the steps of New York City Hall on April
> 7th at 3:00 pm. This event, the Rally for Information Freedom, will be
> supplemented by a campaign on the part of Anonymous, Project PM, and
> related entities to bring attention to the dozens of significant stories
> that have been largely ignored due to the unfortunate dynamics by which
> too many media have come to operate. The New York conference - conceived
> by longtime resident activist, Navy veteran, and acclaimed photographer
> John Penley - will feature about a dozen speakers including Penley,
> author and Project PM founder Barrett Brown, key Anonymous activist and
> Chanology co-instigator Gregg Housh, former civil litigator and
> author/blogger Glenn Greenwald, and National Lawyers Guild executive
> director Heidi Boghosian. Messages from other figures in the
> pro-transparency movement will also be presented in lieu of their
> ability to attend.
>
> Never in human history has mankind endured a period in which so much of
> the terminology employed at its end would have been unrecognizable at
> its beginning. The last twenty years have changed the landscape in which
> man operates, expanding the potential for human collaboration in such a
> way as to eliminate the barriers that rendered the nation-state a viable
> institution. As those barriers fall, so too does the primacy of the
> world's governments, which in turn have increasingly found themselves
> unable to maintain the secrecy through which they have run a great
> portion human affairs with results that may be politely characterized as
> mixed. The various states have responded to these developments with a
> collective message to the effect that such secrecy is necessary if they
> are to continue operating without the informed consent of their
> respective populations, though this has generally been expressed in
> slightly different words. Meanwhile, several such governments have,
> through their specific conduct in the wake of the last year, provided a
> timely reminder as to why it is that many of those who truly value
> liberty and morality have lost faith in those same governments.
>
> This event is part of an effort to counter the dishonesty and injustice
> of the states which have reacted to such emergent phenomena with
> censorship and persecution while also forging greater coordination among
> the various parties that have been fighting on behalf of the cause of
> informational liberty. To this end, a series of meetings both formal and
> otherwise will be held throughout the first week of April; further
> information will be relayed in a second press release in late March.
>
>
> Confirmed Speakers
>
>

> John Penleyis a Vietnam era Navy vet who was put in solitary confinement

> in 1984 by the U.S. government for a past protest at the Savannah River
> Nuclear Weapons Plant. A 59-year-old veteran of New York City housing,
> anti-war and civil rights activism, Penley is also a longtime
> photojournalist whose work has been pubilshed by most NYC major media
> outlets; his photo archive is housed at New York Universitys Tamiment
> Library.
>

> Barrett Brownis a writer and author as well as the founder of Project

> PM. His work has appeared in Vanity Fair, Huffington Post, The Guardian,
> The Onion, New York Press, Skeptical Inquirer, American Atheist, and
> other outlets. He has been active in the Anonymous movement for several
> years and serves as an advocate for efficient, ethical alternatives to
> traditional methods of governance.
>

> Gregg Houshis an Internet activist involved with the online non-group

> Anonymous. His work has included coordinating global demonstrations
> against human rights abuses in the Church of Scientology and assisting
> Iranian members of the Green Movement in reaching the global media.
> Having built a strong sense of trust among several disparate subgroups
> of Anonymous, Housh now acts as a media interpreter for major online
> initiatives such as Operation Payback.
>
> Glenn Greenwald is a former constitutional and civil rights litigator,
> the author of two bestselling books on the American socio-political
> environment, and a longtime blogger who currently writes for Salon. He
> now serves as one of the nations most formidable advocates of
> Wikileaks, Bradley Manning, and information freedom in general.
> Depending on his location on the day of the event, hell be speaking
> either in person or via relay.
>

> Barry Eisleris a former employee of the CIA's Directorate of Operations

> who now acts as a critic of that and other intelligence organizations.
> He's the author of two bestselling series of novels drawing on his own
> intel background and blogs for a number of outlets. He'll be speaking
> either via relay or a pre-written message to be read at the event.
>

> Heidi Boghosianis the executive director of the National Lawyers Guild,

> a progressive bar association established in 1937. She is co-host of the
> weekly civil liberties radio program Law and Disorder on WBAI, New York
> and over 30 national affiliate stations. She has published several
> articles and reports on policing, protest, and the First Amendment.
>
> Professor Jonathan Farley is a mathematics professor whom Seed Magazine
> named one of 15 people who have shaped the global conversation on
> science since 1995, with a career including stints at MIT, Vanderbilt,
> and Johannes Kepler University. His work has appeared in Time, The
> Guardian, Huffington Post, and other publications; hes also appeared on
> the BBC and NPR and occasionally serves as a political advisor in
> addition to his anti-war activism and related pursuits.
>
> Bill Quigley is the Legal Director for the Center for Constitutional
> Rights, a national legal and educational organization dedicated to
> advancing and defending the rights guaranteed by the United States
> Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Bill joined
> CCR on sabbatical from his position as law professor and Director of the
> Law Clinic and the Gillis Long Poverty Law Center at Loyola University
> New Orleans. He has been an active public interest lawyer since 1977. He
> has served as counsel with a wide range of public interest organizations
> on issues including Katrina social justice issues, public housing,
> voting rights, death penalty, living wage, civil liberties, educational
> reform, constitutional rights and civil disobedience. Bill has litigated
> numerous cases with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.,
> the Advancement Project, and with the ACLU of Louisiana, for which he
> served as General Counsel for over 15 years. Bill received the 2006
> Camille Gravel Civil Pro Bono Award from the Federal Bar Association New
> Orleans Chapter. Bill received the 2006 Stanford Law School National
> Public Service Award and the 2006 National Lawyers Guild Ernie Goodman
> award. He has also been an active volunteer lawyer with School of the
> Americas Watch and the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti.
> Bill is the author of Ending Poverty As We Know It: Guaranteeing A Right
> to A Job At A Living Wage (2003) and Storms Still Raging: Katrina, New
> Orleans and Social Justice (2008). In 2003, he was named the Pope Paul
> VI National Teacher of Peace by Pax Christi USA and is the recipient of
> the 2004 SALT Teaching Award presented by the Society of American Law
> Teachers.
>

> Vagabond Beaumontis a writer, artist and filmmaker. He's worked in the

> Puerto Rican independence movement since 1997 and has organized rallies,
> protests and marches and created murals, pamphlets and agitprop in
> support of thatcause with the artist collective RICANSTRUCTION Netwerk.
> His work has been featured in Blu Magazine, AWOL, SALVO and Left Turn.
> His first feature film, MACHETERO,covers the ongoing struggle for Puerto
> Rican independence and has screened at festivals around the world,
> winning awards in South Africa, Wales, England, Thailand, Ireland and
> New York.
>
> Sebastian Gillen is a 21-year-old graduate of Tufts University. When he
> was eight years old, he was diagnosed with Stage IV Neuroblastoma, a
> rare form of pediatric cancer, and given two weeks to live. More than
> ten years later, he is still cancer-free and an active advocate for
> childhood cancer research. He has spoken at rallies on Capitol Hill and
> Greg Norman's Shark Shootout, among other places. He thinks science is
> totally awesome and runs a blog at Weareinthefuture.com and
> administrates Project PMs Science Journalism Program.
>
> Faith Laugier is a musician, artist, activist, and New York native whos
> worked with many of the citys human rights organizations, art &
> cultural non-profits and homeless centers in an effort to advance the
> inherent right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. -And she
> believes in government that is for the people and by the people.
>
>
> General Press Inquiries
>
>
> Barrett Brown

> barriticus@gmail.com <mailto:barriticus@gmail.com>
> (512) 560-2302
> irc.freenode.net <http://irc.freenode.net/>#projectpm
> projectpm.org <http://projectpm.org>

>
> John Penley
> (917) 204-0857
>
> --
> Regards,
>
> Barrett Brown
> 512-560-2302

--
Gabriella Coleman, Assistant Professor
NYU, Department of Media, Culture, & Communication
On Leave 2010-2011, The Institute for Advanced Study
http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/faculty_bios/view/Gabriella_Coleman