I wanted to chime in on one aspect of your call to action - in particular around *"**And I am equally sick of seeing the community shy away from them when that happens."*..
As you already noted that is, in part, the hoped for effect - however, I am not sure how many people realize exactly how many different ways people are punished for showing support. Not just in these type of activist situations but in any Federal Prosecution. A good starting point on the wider topic is http://www.harveysilverglate.com/Books/ThreeFeloniesaDay.aspx .. I'd like to see more people share their stories about harassment they faced just for providing a legal reference, or character testimony at sentencing, donations, even room-and-board.. Cheers, -Ali On Tue, Jan 15, 2013 at 4:02 PM, Griffin Boyce <[email protected]>wrote: > There is also a petition to remove Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Heymann > for his heavy-handed tactics.[1] In addition to Aaron Swartz, he also led > the case against Jonathan James, who tragically passed away at age 24. Two > weeks after his home was raided by Heymann's team. > > I know that there is insistence to not vilify these people, but they > must be shown that they are not above reproach. These tactics are not only > ineffective, they are designed precisely to make life harder for people. > Jonathan James proclaimed his innocence until the day he died, but was > denied his day in court because of harsh treatment and the history of > fiercely one-sided conspiracy cases. > > I am absolutely *sick* of seeing the best minds of my generation being > put through the spin cycle by overzealous investigators. And I am equally > sick of seeing the community shy away from them when that happens. When > AIDS activists go to jail, they organize from within. When they get out of > jail, they are supported by friends and allies and are able to continue > their work. This paranoia that pervades our community hinders people who > might want to organize effectively -- which is exactly the point. Do not > think for a moment that this is not intentional. > > Some of the most successful companies in America have been founded by > hackers, and yet the climate is such that legal activities like > cryptography, anonymity, or high-level computer science make people > nervous. Why is that something we've been putting up with? > > So yes, sign these petitions, but also write letters in support of your > stance. Call people. Send faxes. Talk to the media. Hold vigils. Make > trouble. Do not let these people take away your rights of protest and > intellectual curiosity. > > Stay safe out there, > Griffin Boyce > > [1] Heymann petition: > https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/fire-assistant-us-attorney-steve-heymann/RJKSY2nb > > On Tue, Jan 15, 2013 at 2:50 PM, Jordan McCarthy > <[email protected]>wrote: > >> >> https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/remove-united-states-district-attorney-carmen-ortiz-office-overreach-case-aaron-swartz/RQNrG1Ck >> >> The probably efficacy of this effort is questionable, of course. But it >> seems like a somewhat more appropriately-targeted effort than the >> petition being aimed at MIT >> (http://open.scripts.mit.edu/blog/petition/), which has already showed >> clear signs of contrition (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-21011663 >> ). >> >> < Jordan >> >> -- >> Sent from a computer running Free and Open Source Software >> My GPG Public Key (0xDE1C1B53) <https://seasprites.net/0xDE1C1B53.asc> >> -- >> Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password at: >> https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech >> > > > > -- > "What do you think Indians are supposed to look like? > What's the real difference between an eagle feather fan > and a pink necktie? Not much." > ~Sherman Alexie > > PGP Key etc: https://www.noisebridge.net/wiki/User:Fontaine > > -- > Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password at: > https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech >
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