I have started a fundraiser using Kuno. You can donate Monero there to get stickers printed which will be handed out at a protest on February 20th in London.
Donate to Sticker fund here:
Julian Assange, who has been imprisoned in the UK for over ten years, faces his final court case in England. Having passed through several rounds of kangaroo courts, being faced with no legal charge, he is still held in maximum security prison in Belmarsh, London. Febrary the 20th (and 21st) will see him at the highest court in the land, pleading with the judge to not be extradited to the USA. It has already been shown that, if extradited, he would face cruel and unusual punishment at the hands of the US government and would likely be disappeared and never seen again. Read more about the campaign here: dontextraditeassange.com
I wouldn't usually post a findraiser here but I think it intersects with Monero well. Firstly, Wikileaks were an early adopter of crypto. When they were booted off Paypal in 2011 for posting Afghan War Logs, they began accepting a bunch of cryptocurrencies. Assange has also spoken out on the dissident use of cypherpunk technology at length. I also used Kuno for the fundraiser, which only accepts Monero. The experience was good, it was simple to set up and hopefully works well. I did have to learn about secret view keys which was useful, would recommend the site to others.
Every little helps, even a few minero. I will be getting 100 stickers printed off my own back, it costs 0.26 ish XMR for 100 stickers and the fundraiser is only open for 3 weeks. I appreciate your reading this and hopefully we can make some difference. Will post 'proof of stickers' when the first batch is printed. Will also post any good photos of the stickers in action in London. If you are in the UK and dnoate, direct message me and I will post a sticker or two in the post.
Peace!
Can you post any thoughts on how the day went? Did you snap any photos of the stickers or anything else? I'd be interested to get some details from you as on-the-ground reports or impressions. The entire Assange and Wikileaks saga has been a wild ride and had a profound impact, and I feel the details and outcome of all this now will also have profound impact moving forward.
Hey Terry, I didn't snap any pics myself. However see pic related of Vincent de Stefano - founder of Assange Defense - wearing one up on the stage at the protest. (1:26 https://inv.tux.pizza/watch?v=7hrtcOfHhms)
Reflections on the protest: It was a good day, with lots of high energy. It felt like the amount of people turning out (the highest for any Assange court case so far) combined with a large turnout of media (at least 25 separate camera,mic,presenter setups) will have lead to widespread awareness. In this case I think that awareness is key - as the prosecution is political, Assange's freedom will rely on political pressure. Needless to say that his lawyers put forward great arguments on the day. We
I actually got inside the Royal Courts of Justice (and put a secret sticker inside) however, as reported by Kristinn Hrafnsson (Wikileaks editor in chief), the court chose the smallest courtroom (5) for the hearing, meaning only about 20-25 people in the courtroom, with an overflow room for journalists with a dodgy video connection. This meant there were no spaces for public access to the kangaroo court. Julian wasn't in attendance as he broke a rib coughing, having fallen ill in solitary confinement in prison. So I dipped from the courtshouse. I must add the staff were really friendly - even the one that confiscated my fork (from my packed lunch) - the uk fork license meme is too real.
Outside the spirits were generally good. I met a wicked mix of people, and giving out stickers is a great way to chat to a lot of people. I noticed that the crowd was hugely international, not just European. Iraqi guys had a banner, big bunch of Italians and a battalion of French. A representation from South Africa plus Aussies too. Most people were really engaged with the issues and seemed intellectual, compared to other protest i've been to. I also met 3 open bitcoiners (one with a genesis block tee, one with a luminous orange hoodie and balaclava). Didn't meet any overt monero-ers but at least one was in attendance (@alphonse :) ).
Obviously as monero and the fundraiser are anonymous I don't know who donated but wanted to once again express thanks for them helping it happen. Plenty of people put high-qual glossy 'Free Assange' stickers on their phones, lapels and all over London thanks to you guys, I hope each one can prompt at least one conversation in the real world. Lastly;
FREE ASSANGE
These reflections give some good perspective on the day to someone who wasn't able to be there. It is appreciated.
Happy to hear there was support, and thoughtful engaged support from multiple regions at that.
"One of the best ways to achieve justice is to expose injustice."
Cheers for doing your part to shed light on the injustices heaped upon Julian Assange and promoting the cause of true justice being done with your message. Keep up your worthwhile efforts to prompt those conversations.