1. @ioerror (Jacob Appelbaum) gave this speech on Twitter on August 18th 2012. It is part reminder, part plea and part instruction manual for freedom fighters everywhere.
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5. One of the most inspiring things about Julian is that he knew the risks & took action for the benefit of all *humanity* #wikileaks
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7. Julian's actions are not based in egoism or megalomania - they are based on principles of universal justice brought through truth telling.
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9. Julian's willingness to take a stand in public is dismissed as "not required" by people who have yet to show anonymity alone could work.
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11. Daniel Ellsberg is not an egotistical guy either - he could have leaked the Pentagon Papers anonymously & wanted to take a stand for change
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13. Every person inspired by JA/DE's courage in public leads others to be inspired to at least take action anonymously, if not publicly.
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15. We must not create idols for worship but we must not denigrate those who make or take risks merely because we know their name or story.
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17. Nor should we discredit the positive actions of people, merely because they, like all people, are imperfect, flawed or sometimes wrong.
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19. Nelson Mandela is a great example of a guy who, while imperfect, brought about great change worthy of praise, while having a healthy ego/id.
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21. So many great people, working for justice are imperfect and so easily people forget the smears & attacks they faced in their struggle.
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23. Pick someone working for social justice, against unjust wars, against oppressive forces of almost any kind - they are attacked mercilessly.
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25. These attacks, even if there is a shred of truth to them, must not be used to discredit the positive goals & results of such struggles.
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27. Point out that some founding fathers of the US were racists and that they were right to fight against British tyranny - we must carry it on
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29. Nelson Mandela used tactics that we can improve on, as did the US revolutionary forces against the UK - #wikileaks has never used violence
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31. The fact that #wikileaks has managed to make such an impact by building on the lessons of past struggles is precisely why so many attack it.
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33. Without a single bullet, #wikileaks has turned elections, exposed murders, shown massive corruptions - it has uncovered and enabled action.
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35. #wikileaks would have never have mattered without Julian Assange and everyone involved, taking these risks knowingly for a better world.
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37. Even if you personally dislike Julian, we must not let him hang. Humanity benefits from #wikileaks work. He hasn't hung you, he has helped.
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39. Some say #wikileaks doesn't need him and that he's a risk to #wikileaks but that is exactly the wrong lesson. We cannot disregard his needs.
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41. When I spoke at HOPE in Julian's place, I quoted Solzhenitsyn "And mankind's sole salvation lies in everyone making everything his business"
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43. Solzhenitsyn (continued): "in the people of the East being vitally concerned with what is thought in the West,"
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45. Solzhenitsyn (continued): "the people of the West vitally concerned with what goes on in the East."
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47. This is what #wikileaks and Julian Assange have done - they have made it possible for us to do exactly as Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn hoped.
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49. We now know almost exactly how many people the State has killed by their own hands - when it refuses to be accountable for war and lies.
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51. We now know the tactics of corruption from Kenya to Iraq. from Libya and Tunisia - from the West, the East, & the Global South.
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53. Julian's action with #wikileaks was not to end up dead or exiled or famous - his actions create opportunity for all of us to take action.
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55. When Howard Zinn talked about Democracy, he showed that it is more than simple voting, it is knowledge, culture, discussions, accountability
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57. When Julian talks about Democracy, he takes action to enable knowledge, culture, to foster discussions, to create avenues for accountability
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59. We must not forget that Julian has taken steps to fight against the creeping authoritarianism that come from any exploitable govt structure.
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61. In the "West" we speak of dissidents and activists, such as those in Bahrain without issue - the State department even speaks out for them.
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63. We must not forget that the people oppressed in Bahrain deserve freedom not because they're in Bahrain but because they are alive & feeling
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65. All across the world, Julian and many others have enabled and connected struggles to evidence for what they often knew but could not prove.
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67. What is created next must come from the all of us not wasting our generation. No martyrs and no losing ourselves to be crushed by the State.
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69. We must remember that the State will lie to us - each state involved in hunting Julian has lied to its people. This is a structural issue.
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71. The structure of modern governments takes otherwise good people and puts them into impossible situations. A feedback loop we can reset.
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73. The structure of these governments was an improvement on what came before but we must improve the structure to improve the outcomes.
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75. Many of the modern governments, partially as a result of scale, have lost people's faith in doing the right thing, in representing us.
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77. We must remind everyone one of those people in those structures that justice does not merely appear for people in Julian's place.
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79. How will we do this? How will communicate these goals? How will we communicate our shared points of unity and our goals of justice?
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81. We will do this with actions. Individual actions and actions taken together as a whole, in the pursuit of those points of unity, those goals
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83. We must start by letting everyone in a position of power know: what happens to Julian, we believe it will happen to *all* of us eventually.
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85. What we must also impress on their minds is that if it happens to Julian as suspected, it will happen to them before it happens to all of us
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87. We must find the names and ranks of all of responsible and refuse to let them off the hook. File lawsuits, block doors, print leaflets.
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89. We must find those who know, who knew and are silent - from drone assassination to hunting Julian Assange - they must be held to account.
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91. I have been held by the US Army/ICE/DHS on US soil - denied a lawyer, my property taken, my life threatened - is this the world we want?
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93. These things do not represent progress towards justice, when police are legally protected about lying - when the military has no limits.
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95. These issues are concrete examples of tyranny, of injustice, of systems that are structurally flawed.
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97. These very systems that #wikileaks has sought to inform us about; we must not waste this chance and we must not let the world waste Julian!
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99. Every single person impacted by the US Grand Jury should speak out about their experiences - we cannot let people say it isn't happening.
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101. Every single person who can take a stand against the NDAA section 1021 - no indefinite detention without a trial anywhere, ever.
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103. We must speak out, we must speak loudly, we must write in when we see lies printed by the New York Times or the Washington Post.
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105. We must not be crushed by fear or of fear of reprisal - we must refuse to be silenced and expose those who pressure and try to harm us.
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107. When people say that Julian is unreasonably paranoid - we must show them that the US is breaking its own rules, our rules, to pursuit him.
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109. In the next few years, if we do not fix our structural problems, we will have the technology for total totalitarianism - just waiting for us
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111. Silence will not protect us - only standing strong and standing together, despite our own misgivings - against injustice, any injustice.
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113. File an amicus brief in Jewel vs NSA to fight against the tyranny of general warrants. File an amicus brief in the case against sect 1021.
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115. File a FOIA for anything and everything - create trouble with the truth - hold the bastards accountable for misusing our power against us.
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117. If you're in London, now is the time for you to occupy the embassy of Ecuador - be eyes for the world, against the tyranny of the UK.
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119. For every person like Julian or Bradly Manning, there are dozens whose names we do not know - we must support all of them in their struggle.
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121. Do not despair that we can't win every struggle, we must not be discouraged. The moral action is right even absent a chance of winning.
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123. Do not despair that some are cowards; show them they are welcome to change their minds and support them in the struggle when they're ready
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125. This generation can overcome the apathy and the failures of the last few decades. We reject the notion that the State is perfect or honest.
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127. Julian Assange's fate is in our hands; now is the time for action! Take it before it is too late for him and too late for the rest of us.