Join a New Video Project in Defense of WikiLeaks | MichaelMoore.com

Join a New Video Project in Defense of WikiLeaks | MichaelMoore.com


Tangerine Bolen
Tangerine Bolen is a consultant and free-lance writer specializing in health policy and US health system reform
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January 28th, 2011 10:23 PM
Join a New Video Project in Defense of WikiLeaks

By Tangerine Bolen

Hello World-Wide Wiki Citizens!

The following is a brief description of this project with instructions on how to participate and submit your video clips. Julian Assange’s extradition hearing date is set to occur on either Feb 7th or 8th, 2011. Our goal is to release this video on the day of his hearing. With your help it will be a very powerful message that will be heard by many people around the world. Due to our very tight deadline we ask that you submit video clips back to us by February 1st.

Project Overview

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 30 countries and 100 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. The end of our video will direct viewers to sign on to this letter. The goal is to collect as many signatures as possible.

Revised Video Clip Participation Instructions

1. Each participant is asked to read one paragraph of this letter that we have selected for you. So, if your last name begins with:

A-C: Read paragraph 1
D-G: Read paragraph 2
H-K: Read paragraph 3
L-O: Read paragraph 4
P-S: Read paragraph 5
T-V: Read paragraph 6
W-Z: Read paragraph 7

First state your name and the country in which you reside, then “speak” your portion of the letter.

Tips for being on video:

• Make sure you are looking directly at the camera. You can put the words behind the camera to make this easier.

• Try to speak (not read) the letter. You can break it down into sentence by sentence. Remember, we can edit, so pauses are fine! Take your time!

• Put your heart into this! This is OUR message about OUR rights and freedoms.

• Just be you. You are great just the way you are. You are so brave!!!!

2. You are also welcome to submit a brief general message to our potential audiences (US government, US media, US public, global public). Or, you may wish to cite a specific fact that you think is relevant to this open letter and our overall objective. For example, you may wish to offer facts about the Iraq or Afghanistan war, powerful quotes about freedom, democracy, truth, or government, a personal statement about protecting our rights, about misuse of information to set policy agendas, or about our need as citizens to have access to accurate information. If you or someone you know has been personally affected by these two wars, you may wish to say something brief about this. As long as your message is respectful, factual, relevant, and brief, it may be included in this video project.

The goal here is to function as a powerful reminder of the critical need for governments to do the RIGHT thing. While we realize we will all have our own thoughts, feelings and ideas on this complex situation, we have come together over a common understanding: citizens need access to accurate, truthful information.

Submission Instructions

Video Clip Format: Quicktime.mov

Deadline for Submission: Feb 1, 2011 (sooner if possible)

1. Name your video file first name, last name, country (ie, Tangerine Bolen USA)

2. Go to www.dropbox.com and download the free drop box software for uploading your video clips. Dropbox.com will send you an email with instructions guiding you on how to share a folder with others.

3. Follow the instructions for uploading your video clips and then for sharing your new folder. Upon doing so, please add Cliff Sargent and Tangerine Bolen to the shared folder using the email addresses below:

Cliff: refractingfolds@gmail.com Tangerine: tangerinebolen@gmail.com

Note: Upon submitting your video messages, you are agreeing to release your video clips into the public domain

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me (Tangerine) at my email address.

I can’t thank you all enough for your support, your participation, and your willingness to come together to do this. We all know how critical it is we get this message across. So…let’s do it! Let’s change our world!

Best,

Tangerine

* * * * *

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 U.S. government has been keeping enormously important information secret from the American people, such as the fact that the U.S. government knew of the mass murder of civilians in Iraq even though it claimed it did not; that the U.S. 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 U.S. officials believe the Afghan government is corrupt and unpopular, even as they falsely claim to be fighting for democracy in Afghanistan; and that U.S. 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 N.Y. Times released the Wikileaks “Afghan Logs” on July 25, its headline read: "View Is Bleaker than Official Portrayal of War in Afghanistan." This revealed, according to America’s “newspaper of record,” that the U.S. 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?

U.S. 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 U.S. 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 U.S. 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 U.S. 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 U.S. 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.

Tags:
Julian Assange,Wikileaks
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Comments27 0 comments pending Comment FAQ Leave a comment
Mr. LincolnPosted January 31st, 2011 10:35 PM
I can tell you this as being a Qui Tam Relator from the 1980's your not going to get the truth on
Main Stream Media. I didn't get my name on the Major List of Whistleblowers for just sitting back and keeping my mouth shut when I saw some real evil going on within our Defense Industry it took me over 20 years of silence before I said anything but at that time in the middle to late 1990's it was a very serious situation that occured and I too action under the False Claims Act as a Qui Tam Plantiff and then stayed silent about it until lately. We have a tremendous problem United States and it involves our three branches of government and they play it like a football game. There is no more truth from the all three branches and like the gentleman from the movie "Network" the 1970's movie said "Were In A Lot Of Trouble." The movie was telling us back then in the 70' how it was going tomeorkmout with our news networks, inthink it was pretty clear what they were tring to tell us. If the taxpayer is footing the bills they have a rite to know "Everything". Was Jim Garrison right in his closing arguments that our government sees us as children who can't deal with the truth or was Jack Nicholson right that we can't handle the truth. You decide !
Reply Flag
worldlyplacePosted January 31st, 2011 9:57 PM
And Doctor Strangelove is wondering?

Why do we need a WikiLeaks, Bill Maher, Michael Moore, etc to get some bearing on reality and the truth. Could it be that not the politicians suck but people do? Maybe their mediocre, lazy, little lives and wives are too important to worry about the nation and its health.

Maybe we are on to something -- 24 flavors of jelly beans but no real and official reliable news source. Propaganda media by the worst offenders!

Freedom of speech? Enjoy it as long as it lasts--the "Thought Police" is on to you!
Reply Flag
JonathanTothfromHothPosted January 31st, 2011 9:53 PM
"Interview of the Year" starring Julian Assange [VIDEO]
http://vimeo.com/19417278

"Interview of the Year" starring Julian Assange [SONG]
http://jonathantothfromhoth.bandcamp.com/track/interview-of-the-year
BUY: ALL PROCEEDS GO TO WIKILEAKS

Produced, mixed and mastered by Jonathan Toth from Hoth at The Cooler in St. Louis, MO for TheFrozenFoodSection.com
Reply Flag
pachangelPosted January 31st, 2011 2:05 AM
This is a great idea!
Reply Flag
glocoPosted January 30th, 2011 7:59 PM
I have reserved the steps of City Hall in New York City for a press conference in support of Bradley Manning and Wikileaks and the current 40 people who were recently raided by the Feds in connection to the Wikileaks investigation. Follow link to press release.http://m.dailykos.com/stories/2011/1/26/939078/-.html
Reply Flag
TEApolloniusPosted January 30th, 2011 5:35 PM
Thanks Tangerine, I'll make a point to do this tomorrow. This is a great idea!
Reply Flag
EyemNotFreePosted January 30th, 2011 4:51 PM
I want to know why Black water can get away with war crimes
Reply Flag
Tangerine-BolenPosted January 31st, 2011 9:09 PM
Me too:(.
Reply Flag
EyemNotFreePosted January 30th, 2011 4:41 PM
another one banned
Reply Flag
EyemNotFreePosted January 30th, 2011 4:40 PM
I want information about a device they stuck in my back when the Reagan administration kidnapped me in 1982. The cruelty America has forced down my throat trying to get this information is downright Unconstitutional. I have received multiple death threats and both physical and mental attacks. Most all American Mdeida has banned my speech and my immediate government representatives have taken steps to destroy my life.
American Since 1730 Maryland Militia
Reply Flag
hummingbird2uPosted January 30th, 2011 4:31 PM
A small typo glich in your instructions. So what about the last names that begin with "W"? Which paragraph does the "W"s read?
Reply Flag
7sMomPosted January 30th, 2011 2:51 PM
As a mom of seven daughters I am insulted with the actions of the American and Swiss Governments using the "woman scorned" as the tool to do what appears to be their dirty work. (Ridding the world of Wikileaks.) Why is it always women that are the undoing of great men- if they are so much more powerful then today's government maybe more of them should be elected? All women should be insulted, with the way this is going down. I am.
Reply Flag
cc-writerPosted January 30th, 2011 1:40 PM
To Michael Moore and Staff -

I was Also under the impression that Jullian Assange had a 1.2 Gigabyte file named insurance.AEC256. Mike in addition to
supporting bandwidth to the oppressed Egyptions and elsewhere in the world through Tor,
perhaps setting up a "miiror" download spanning at least 26 countries through the interent which could be translated into various languages
could be set up, so if a password is released because of his extraditionthe file could could be decrypted on various web sites.

However, because of the potential embarrassemnt to the US Governmment, it would be imperative to release the videos or the video
project. and the US reconsider extradition. I think the White House should also be advised of this folly of considerating extradition. !!!!! Just wait and see. Good Luck
Reply Flag
alfredoPosted January 30th, 2011 11:25 AM
We need leaks about: John Kennedy, Luther King, Bob Kennedy, Olof Palme and other assassinations.
about: everyone knows that 90% of drugs coming from Peru, are shipped in Peruvian ports. We need a new "Serpico" on a large scale. (Serpico, the guy who revealed the entire police-corruption from New York in the seventies.)
Reply Flag
oldivoryPosted January 30th, 2011 11:03 AM
YO!
WHAT ABOUT PEOPLE WHOSE NAMES START WITH 'W'? Y'ALL MOVED FROM T-V TO X-Z!
DO YOU NEED MUSIC OR SOUND EFFECTS?
Reply Flag
sashamendesPosted January 30th, 2011 10:59 AM
Hi my name is Vitor Mendes – from Portugal

I am supporting Wikileaks and the Julian Assange simply because he risking his life to set us all free from tyranny and suffer. Therefore I do the same to protect my family and friends from same reason that we all fighting for today.

“Unless your heart, your soul, and your whole being are behind every decision you make, the words from your mouth will be empty, and each action will be meaningless. Truth and confidence are the roots of happiness.”

thank you all