Noam Chomsky Human Rights Award speech Global Exchange’s 2013 Human Rights Awards took place on May 9th 2013, and the evening included a number of inspiring speeches.

Tears were shed. Hearts were lifted. Audience members adjourned for the evening poised to act.

Good news! Videos of the Human Rights Award speeches are now online here and also viewable below. Special thanks goes out to John Hamilton, KPFA and Democracy Now! for the filming.

Here’s a rundown of 2013 Human Rights Award Recipients and Presenters:

chomsky-2005-62-150x150Human Rights Award: Global Exchange honored the life work of political critic and activist, Noam Chomsky. Randall Wallace, of the Wallace Action Fund, introduced Prof. Chomsky.
PWikiLeaks-Website-Logo-150x150eople’s Choice Award: Wikileaks/Julian Assange was presented the award by Kiki Kapany of the Julian Assange Legal Defense Committee, and the award was accepted by whistleblower hero, Daniel Ellsberg.

crystalGrassroots Award: Crystal Lameman received the Grassroots award. She was introduced by Global Exchange Executive Director Carleen Pickard.

 

 

The Speeches:

Noam Chomsky

Noam Chomsky – 2013 Human Rights Award Honoree from Global Exchange on Vimeo.

Wikileaks

Wikileaks & Julian Assange – 2013 People’s Choice Award Winner from Global Exchange on Vimeo.

Crystal Lameman

Crystal Lameman – 2013 Grassroots Human Rights Awards recipient from Global Exchange on Vimeo.

More about the Awardees:

Noam Chomksy’s insightful and sharp analysis of corporate capitalism reveals the underpinnings of class warfare. His searing critique of U.S. military interventions, support for undemocratic regimes, its foreign policy and ambitions for geopolitical dominance has educated, challenged, and inspired millions for over 50 years, making him both a controversial and beloved figure for social change.

Crystal Lameman, is a member of the Beaver Lake Cree First Nation. With infectious dedication and passion, Crystal is fighting for her community and land, for the rights of First Nations in Canada and to stop the tar sands.

Wikileaks is a valuable tool for human rights activists the world over. Wikileaks helps whistle blowers bring forth information that is vital to public debate and have helped push stories hidden by secretive governments or ignored by corporate oriented media to the fore.

 Take-ActionTAKE ACTION!

If you’ve watched the speeches above, you know that together we have a LOT of work to do.

Noam Chomsky had this to say about Global Exchange: For 25 years, this organization has been at the forefront of the struggle to put people and planet first, and I am proud to call myself a supporter of their work.

Please consider supporting Global Exchange and making a donation today. As our special way of saying thank you, with your gift today of $50 or more, you’ll receive a book signed by Noam Chomsky.

 

Truth-tellers like Edward Snowden dispel a mythology constructed by the corporate cinema, the corporate academy and the corporate media.

Truth-tellers like Edward Snowden dispel a mythology constructed by the corporate cinema, the corporate academy and the corporate media.

In June 2013, US former NSA technical contractor and CIA employee turned whistleblower Edward Snowden shared details of top-secret US and British government information to the press, revealing  information about a variety of classified intelligence programs.

Speaking of whistleblowers, one month before Global Exchange presented Wikileaks and Julian Assange with the People’s Choice Award at our 11th Annual Human Rights Award, along with Human Rights Award recipient Noam Chomsky and Grassroots award winner Crystal Lameman.

Wikileaks/Julian Assange’s award was presented by Kiki Kapany, of the Julian Assange Legal Defense Committee, and accepted by whistleblower hero, Daniel Ellsberg. You can listen to Julian Assange’s speech (read by Daniel Ellsberg) in the following video:

So back to Edward Snowden; the following post written by renowned investigative journalist and documentary film-maker John Pilger originally appeared on The Tyee:

Why Edward Snowden Is a Hero: NSA leaks illuminate US government at edge of new kind of fascism

In his book, Propaganda, published in 1928, Edward Bernays wrote: “The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country.”

The American nephew of Sigmund Freud, Bernays invented the term “public relations” as a euphemism for state propaganda. He warned that an enduring threat to the invisible government was the truth-teller and an enlightened public.

In 1971, whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg leaked U.S. government files known as The Pentagon Papers, revealing that the invasion of Vietnam was based on systematic lying. Four years later, Frank Church conducted sensational hearings in the U.S. Senate: one of the last flickers of American democracy. These laid bare the full extent of the invisible government: the domestic spying and subversion and warmongering by intelligence and “security” agencies and the backing they received from big business and the media, both conservative and liberal.

Speaking about the National Security Agency (NSA), Senator Church said: “I know that the capacity that there is to make tyranny in America, and we must see to it that this agency and all agencies that possess this technology operate within the law … so that we never cross over that abyss. That is the abyss from which there is no return.”

On June 11, following the revelations in the Guardian by NSA contractor Edward Snowden, Daniel Ellsberg wrote that the U.S. had now reached “that abyss”.

Snowden’s revelation that Washington has used Google, Facebook, Apple and other giants of consumer technology to spy on almost everyone, is further evidence of modern form of fascism — that is the “abyss”. Having nurtured old-fashioned fascists around the world — from Latin America to Africa and Indonesia — the genie has risen at home. Understanding this is as important as understanding the criminal abuse of technology.

Google and the White House

Fred Branfman, who exposed the “secret” destruction of tiny Laos by the U.S. Air Force in the ’60s and ’70s, provides an answer to those who still wonder how a liberal African-American president, a professor of constitutional law, can command such lawlessness. “Under Mr. Obama,” he wrote for AlterNet, “no president has done more to create the infrastructure for a possible future police state.” Why? Because Obama, like George W Bush, understands that his role is not to indulge those who voted for him but to expand “the most powerful institution in the history of the world, one that has killed, wounded or made homeless well over 20 million human beings, mostly civilians, since 1962.”

In the new American cyber-power, only the revolving doors have changed. The director of Google Ideas, Jared Cohen, was adviser to Condoleezza Rice, the former secretary of state in the Bush administration who lied and said Saddam Hussein could attack the U.S. with nuclear weapons. Cohen and Google’s executive chairman, Eric Schmidt — they met in the ruins of Iraq — have co-authored a book, The New Digital Age, endorsed as visionary by the former CIA director Michael Hayden and the war criminals Henry Kissinger and Tony Blair. The authors make no mention of the Prism spying program, revealed by Edward Snowden, that provides the NSA access to all of us who use Google.

Control and dominance are the two words that make sense of this. They are exercised by political, economic and military designs, of which mass surveillance is an essential part, but also by insinuating propaganda in the public consciousness. This was Edward Bernays’s point. His two most successful PR campaigns were convincing Americans they should go to war in 1917 and persuading women to smoke in public; cigarettes were “torches of freedom” that would hasten women’s liberation.

It is in popular culture that the fraudulent “ideal” of America as morally superior, a “leader of the free world”, has been most effective. Yet, even during Hollywood’s most jingoistic periods there were exceptional films, like those of the exile Stanley Kubrick, and adventurous European films would have U.S. distributors. These days, there is no Kubrick, no Strangelove, and the United States market is almost closed to foreign films.

Targeted for state vengeance

When I showed my own film, The War on Democracy, to a major, liberally-minded U.S. distributor, I was handed a laundry list of changes required to “ensure the movie is acceptable”. His memorable sop to me was: “OK, maybe we could drop in Sean Penn as narrator. Would that satisfy you?” Lately, Katherine Bigelow’s torture-apologizing Zero Dark Thirty and Alex Gibney’s We Steal Secrets, a cinematic hatchet job on Julian Assange, were made with generous backing by Universal Studios, whose parent company until recently was General Electric. GE manufactures weapons, components for fighter aircraft and advance surveillance technology. The company also has lucrative interests in “liberated” Iraq.

The power of truth-tellers like Bradley Manning, Julian Assange, and Edward Snowden is that they dispel a whole mythology carefully constructed by the corporate cinema, the corporate academy and the corporate media.

WikiLeaks is especially dangerous because it provides truth-tellers with a means to get the truth out. This was achieved by Collateral Damage, the cockpit video of an U.S. Apache helicopter allegedly leaked by Bradley Manning. The impact of this one video marked Manning and Assange for state vengeance. Here were U.S. airmen murdering journalists and maiming children in a Baghdad street, clearly enjoying it, and describing their atrocity as “nice”.

Yet, in one vital sense, they did not get away with it; we are witnesses now, and the rest is up to us.

Noam ChomskyTAKE ACTION!  A message for you from Noam Chomsky:

“I recently had the opportunity to spend an evening in San Francisco celebrating 25 years of human rights activism with Global Exchange at their annual Human Rights Awards. I had a wonderful time celebrating the work of Global Exchange and my fellow honorees – Crystal Lameman, fighting to stop the tar sands, and Julian Assange and Wikileaks, exposing government and corporate secrets.

For 25 years, this organization has been at the forefront of the struggle to put people and planet first, and I am proud to call myself a supporter of their work.”

Please consider supporting Global Exchange and making a donation today. As our special way of saying thank you, with your gift today of $50 or more, you’ll receive a book signed by Noam Chomsky.

Human-Rights-Awards-GX-staf

Global Exchange staff at 2013 Human Rights Awards gala Photo Credit: Global Exchange

Wow, last Thursday was quite a night!

Global Exchange celebrated its 11th annual Human Rights Awards on May 9, 2013.

Photos from the event are below, plus lots more are posted on Facebook and Flickr.

We had a great time with everyone who came to the Palace of Fine Arts, and we’re grateful for the support of our donors, sponsors, and volunteers.

Together, we helped shine a spotlight on the work of our amazing honorees; People’s Choice Awardee Julian Assange and Wikileaks (chosen by online voters by a wide margin), Grassroots Awardee Crystal Lameman, and Human Rights Awardee Noam Chomsky.

It’s hard to deliver highlights from the night because there were so many! And this, coming from a woman who has been to almost every annual Human Rights Awards gala since its inception.

Human-Rights-Awards-2013-27

Grassroots Award Winner Crystal Lameman Photo Credit: Global Exchange

Ok, but if I HAD to pick one, I’d say it was the speeches. They were moving and honest and left listeners wanting to act.

Grassroots Honoree Crystal Lameman delivered a sobering account of how her community and First Nations in Canada is impacted by the Tar Sands and how through determination they’re fighting to stop the Tar Sands.

Human-Rights-Awards-Speech-

Daniel Ellsberg accepting award on behalf of Julian Assange and Wikileaks Photo Credit: Global Exchange

 

Daniel Ellsberg and Jacob Appelbaum accepted the People’s Choice Award on behalf of Julian Assange and Wikileaks. We were excited to welcome back Daniel Ellsberg who accepted Bradley Manning’s People’s Choice Award last year.

Daniel read Julian Assange’s acceptance speech which you can read here. The part about spies in the audience gave attendees quite a chuckle, and this snippet really stood out for me, referring to Human Rights Award Honoree Noam Chomsky:

Noam, you are the sea; relentless and enduring. Crashing wave after wave of understanding into towering cliffs of lies, eroding them at their base. The rotten foreshore of empire has a precipitous overhang as a result. You have inspired and continue to inspire many, including me.

Human-Rights-Awards-Servers

Day of the Dead themed catering staff Photo Credit: Global Exchange

Besides the inspiring speeches, the evening included a silent auction, a Day of the Dead altar with catering staff from Work of Art catering who dressed the part, and musical entertainment by Rupa and the April Fishes.

Human-Rights-Awards-Carleen

Global Exchange Executive Director Carleen Pickard speaking at the 2013 Human Rights Awards Photo Credit: Global Exchange

The 2013 Human Rights Awards gala was also an opportunity for us to celebrate our 25th anniversary with many of those who have contributed to our successes over the years. Executive Director, Carleen Pickard, spoke from the podium about Global Exchange’s vision, victories and called for our collective action for climate justice.

Holding the event at the Palace of Fine Arts was perfectly fitting; the first Global Exchange Human Rights Awards gala was held there 11 years ago, adding a full-circle element to the evening.

As we take stock of Global Exchange at 25, despite the daunting challenges we still face, we look forward to celebrating more successes in the years to come.

Global-Exchange-25-Year-AnnTAKE ACTION!

Human-Rights-Award-Noam-and

Human-Rights-Award-Crystal-

Human-Rights-Award-Jeff-FurHuman-Rights-Awards-CrystalHuman-Rights-Awards-Day-of-Human-Rights-Awards-Design-Human-Rights-Awards-FoodHuman-Rights-Awards-KirstenHuman-Rights-Awards-Ladan,-Human-Rights-Awards-MichaelHuman-Rights-Awards-Noam-ChHuman-Rights-Awards-Rupa-anHuman-Rights-Awards-ShannonHuman-Rights-Awards-silent-Human-Rights-Award-Staff,-GHuman-Rights-Awards-Walter-Human-Rights-Award-Ted-NoamHuman-Rights-Award-Wanda-WhHuman-Rights-Awards-Zarah-H

 

Human-Rights-Awards-2013--3Global Exchange’s Human Rights Awards honor the achievements of groups and individuals whose work embodies the principles of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights: peace, justice, and equality.

We celebrated the 2013 Human Rights Awards on Thursday May 9th in San Francisco. This year’s Honorees are:

  • People’s Choice Award: Julian Assange and Wikileaks
  • Grassroots Award: Crystal Lameman
  • Human Rights Award: Noam Chomsky

The award to Julian Assange and Wikileaks was presented by Kiki Kapany of the Julian Assange Defense Fund and accepted by Daniel Ellsberg and Jacob Applebaum.

If you missed this special night, (or were there and want to re-visit a few moments from the program) below is Julian Assange’s acceptance speech (as read by Daniel Ellsberg), along with Kiki Kapany’s introduction.

Human-Rights-Awards-Kiki

Kiki Kapany, Julian Assange Defense Fund, speaking at 2013 Human Rights Awards Photo Credit: Global Exchange

Introduction delivered by Kiki Kapany:

Good evening! My name is Kiki Kapany, and I’m here on behalf of the Julian Assange Legal Defense Committee. In 2010, Global Exchange–in true grassroots spirit–decided to add the People’s Choice Award to this event to shine a spotlight on the sung – and unsung – heroes and heroines working for peace, justice and sustainability, as determined by the global community.

This year’s event is particularly important to us because it’s Global Exchange’s 25th anniversary. The response in previous years has been tremendous, and the honorees, from Mu Sochua from Northern Cambodia, to Javier Sicilia from Mexico, to Bradley Manning in prison in Kansas – are all inspiring examples both of this award and the values for which our movement stands. This year, 108 amazing activists were nominated. This year’s honoree won by an overwhelming majority.

In my mind there is no greater pursuit than defending the rights of the defenseless. But in order to right wrongs, in order to alleviate wrongdoing and defend those who need defending, we first need to know about that wrongdoing.

Today governments have unprecedented power to keep their wrongdoing secret. Julian Assange has shown the way to smash through that secrecy and to bare the face of all wrongdoing to the world. Whether exposing Ben Ali’s corruption in Tunisia or releasing secret diplomatic cables — or videos of airstrikes on innocent civilians, Assange and WikiLeaks have made it possible for the people to know about and have proof of these wrongs, and sometimes even to right them—as the Tunisians did when they drove Ben Ali out of power.

The creation of WikiLeaks is a truly revolutionary act and indeed represents a revolution in human rights. By using the internet to shatter the power of governments and large institutions to do their depredations in darkness, in secrecy, Assange has taken a giant step toward the protection of human rights.

Kofi Annan has said, “Business as usual is not an option… No nation can be prosperous without respect for human rights and law. Disruption is the wrecking ball that we must swing against inertia.” And what better exemplifies the swinging of that wrecking ball than the release of critical information?

A few years ago, Julian explained the impetus behind WikiLeaks to by saying, “I looked at something that I had seen going on with the world, which is that I thought there were too many unjust acts. And I wanted there to be more just acts, and fewer unjust acts.” Well, if you don’t imagine change – it won’t happen.

Human-Rights-Awards-2013-Da

Kiki Kapany and Daniel Ellsberg at 2013 Human Rights Awards Photo Credit: Global Exchange

One person who is living proof of that axiom is here with us tonight: Daniel Ellsberg, whose release of the Pentagon Papers to The New York Times and other newspapers was an act of outright bravery that changed the entire course of history.

So who better to accept Global Exchange’s 2013 Peoples Choice Award to Julian Assange and WIKILEAKS–and to read a statement by its exiled editor in chief, Julian Assange–than another hero of transparency, Daniel Ellsberg.

Julian Assange’s Acceptance Speech read by Daniel Ellsberg

Human-Rights-Awards-Daniel-

Daniel Ellsberg speaking on behalf of Julian Assange at 2013 Human Rights Awards Photo Credit: Global Exchange

Thank you for this honor.

I am very happy to be sharing it with Noam Chomsky whose generosity and
strength of character I know personally. Noam, you are the sea; relentless and enduring. Crashing wave after wave of understanding into towering cliffs of lies, eroding them at their base. The rotten foreshore of empire has a precipitous overhang as a result. You have inspired and continue to inspire many, including me.

Thank you to the people in this room for supporting this award. I’m going to thank you and Dan in the best way I know. By keeping this speech short. Then you can go and do the important thing. Make alliances to fight for WikiLeaks, Bradley Manning and me. Don’t think you can escape just because I am not there. We have a lot more spies in this room than the FBI.

San Francisco and the Bay Area is important to us. Ideologically, personally and practically. We fought our first big court case in the San Francisco federal courts in 2008; That was no-coincidence. If we were going to have a fight, anywhere in the world, then I wanted it to be in San Francisco. I structured WikiLeaks to encourage attacks on us to be drawn to San Francisco (sorry about that). The EFF, FPF and many of our other defenders are based here. If any state of the Union is going to save the United States from itself, it will be California. Washington sees that too–that’s why we’re being prosecuted in Virginia and Maryland.

Human-Rights-Awards-2013-26Noam’s presence in this room –useful, even if from the east coast–reflects something very special. Cross generational solidarity. From Dan and Noam to Michael Ratner, from Kiki to me, from Jacob to Bradley Manning. The issues of each demi-generation are being understood as a continuation into the present. My fight is right now. But so is Bradley Manning’s. So is Jacob’s. I want Dan, Noam and Jacob, and all of you here, together with me in this fight because I know you understand. Our conflict tests every aspect of character, but it has also brought out the best in many and I am proud of them.

Remember that Bradley Manning’s trial starts on June 3. It’s scheduled to run for 12 to 16 weeks. The prosecution is bringing 141 witnesses. It is a show trial. A 12 week off-Broadway extravaganza being performed at Fort Mead. Its legal and political result will directly feed into the larger prosecution of WikiLeaks.

What is to be done? The answer is easy. It has always been easy. Stop saying “not in my name” and start saying “over my dead body”.

Take-ActionTAKE ACTION!

Re-visit the 2013 Human Rights Awards, check out the photos from the evening on our Facebook page.

 

WikiLeaks-Website-Logo

At the 2013 Human Rights Awards gala on May 9th, 2013, Global Exchange will be honoring Julian Assange/Wikileaks as its People’s Choice winner.

Tickets are no longer available online. For tickets, please contact Chelsea Weaver at 415-255-6341. Event details: http://humanrightsaward.org/event/ Ticket Price: $115.

Julian Assange Calls on Public to Support Bradley Manning

I had an opportunity to interview WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where he has been granted political asylum since June 2012. Assange is wanted for questioning in Sweden over sex allegations, although he has never been charged. Assange believes that if sent to Sweden, he would be put into prison and then sent to the United States, where he is already being investigated for espionage for publishing hundreds of thousands of classified diplomatic and military memos on the WikiLeaks website.

Bradley Manning has been in prison for over 3 years now. His trial will begin on June 2. Bradley already pleaded guilty in February to ten charges, including possessing classified information and transferring it to an unauthorized person. Those pleas alone could subject him to 20 years in prison. On top of that, the government has added espionage charges that could put him in prison for life.

What do you think the trial will be like?

It will be a show trial where the government tries to prove that by leaking the documents, Bradley “aided and abetted the enemy” or “communicated with the enemy.” The government will bring in a member of the Navy Seal team that killed bin Laden to say that he found some of the leaked information in bin Laden’s house.

But it’s ridiculous to use that as evidence that Bradley Manning “aided the enemy”. Bin Laden could have gotten the material from The New York Times!

Bin Laden also had a Bob Woodword book, and no doubt had copies of articles from The New York Times.

The government doesn’t even claim that Bradley passed information directly to “the enemy” or that he had any intent to do so. But they are nonetheless making the absurd claim that merely informing the public about classified government activities makes someone a traitor because it “indirectly informs the enemy”.

With that reasoning, since bin Laden recommended that Americans read Bob Woodward book Obama’s War, should Woodward be charged with communicating with the enemy? Should The New York Times be accused of aiding the enemy if bin Laden possessed a copy of the newspaper that included the WikiLeaks material?

What are some things that Bradley Manning supporters can do to help?

They should pressure the media to speak out against the espionage charges. The Los Angeles Times put out a good editorial but other newspapers have been poor. A Wall Street Journal column by Gordon Crovitz said that Bradley should be tried for espionage, and that I should be charged with that as well because I’m a “self-proclaimed enemy of the state.”

If Manning is charged with espionage, this criminalizes national security reporting. Any leak of classified information to any media organization could be interpreted as an act of treason. People need to convince the media that it is clearly in their self-interest to take a principled stand.

What are other ways people can help Bradley Manning’s case?

People could put pressure on Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. These groups briefly protested the horrible conditions under which Bradley was detained when he was held in Quantico, but not the fact that he’s being charged with crimes that could put him in prison for life.

It’s embarrassing that Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch—Amnesty International headquartered in London and Human Rights Watch headquartered in New York—have refused to refer to Bradley Manning as a political prisoner or a prisoner of conscience.

To name someone a political prisoner means that the case is political in nature. It can be that the prisoner committed a political act or was politically motivated or there was a politization of the legal investigation or the trial.

Any one of these is sufficient, according to Amnesty’s own definition, to name someone a political prisoner. But Bradley Manning’s case fulfills all of these criteria. Despite this, Amnesty International has said that it’s not going to make a decision until after the sentence. But what good is that?

What is Amnesty’s rationale for waiting?

Their excuse is that they don’t know what might come out in the trial and they want to be sure that Bradley released the information in a “responsible manner.”

I find their position grotesque. Bradley Manning is the most famous political prisoner the United States has. He has been detained without trial for over 1,000 days. Not even the US government denies his alleged acts were political.

Human Rights Watch doesn’t refer to Bradley Manning as a political prisoner either. These groups should be pushed by the public to change their stand. And they should be boycotted if they continue to shirk acting in their own backyard.

Another way for people to support Bradley Manning is to attend his trial in Ft. Meade, Maryland, which begins on June 2, and the rally on June 1. They can learn more by contacting the Bradley Manning Support Network.

Thank you for your time, Julian.

Medea Benjamin is cofounder of www.codepink.org and www.globalexchange.org, and author of Drone Warfare: Killing by Remote Control. She interviewed Assange on April 18, 2013. Here’s more information about Assange’s case.

Rupa-and-the-April Fishes

Rupa and the April Fishes

The 11th Annual Human Rights Awards gala is happening next week in San Francisco, and I’m excited to share with you the latest addition to our stellar lineup of special guests.

The global alternative sounds of Rupa and the April Fishes will support the Human Rights Awards on May 9th!

Back from a whirlwind world tour spanning North America, Europe and Asia, Rupa & the April Fishes will bring their global alternative sound to Global Exchange’s Human Rights Awards. The band has been touring heavily over the past 6 years, documenting the mix social upheaval and hope they witness around the world, from Central America to Greece, from the slums of India to their own Mission district of San Francisco.

Whether singing in French, Spanish, English, Romany, Tzotzil or Hindi, the April Fishes’ sound is “ecstatic and powerfully evocative” (LA Times) led by Rupa’s voice, which is “saucy, mysterious, and comparable in power to the late Amy Winehouse” (BUST Magazine). Their latest album BUILD, called “soulful and sensuous” by Relix Magazine, was produced with Todd Sickafoose (Ani DiFranco, Andrew Bird) and shows off the breadth of the band’s diverse chops.

We’re thrilled to have Rupa and the April Fishes as our special guests to help celebrate Global Exchange’s 25th anniversary. It’s going to be quite a night, as we honor the life’s work of Noam Chomsky, political theorist, writer, and activist, along with Grassroots Honoree Crystal Lameman and People’s Choice Winner Julian Assange and Wikileaks.

2013-Human-Rights-AwardGet your tickets now! They will sell out.

Questions have been rolling in about our upcoming Human Rights Awards Gala happening on May 9, 2013 in San Francisco. So we came up with this Top Five list to help:

chomsky-2005-62

2013 Human Rights Awards Honoree Noam Chomsky

1. Will Noam Chomsky actually be there in person?

Why yes, 2013 Human Rights Awards Honoree Noam Chomsky WILL be there at the Palace of Fine Arts on May 9th, in the flesh!

Also being honored this year; Grassroots Award Honoree Crystal Lameman, member of the Beaver Lake Cree First Nation, and People’s Choice Awardee Julian Assange and Wikileaks.

How cool is that?!

2. Do I need to get my tickets now?

If you want to make sure you are able to attend, then yes, we strongly urge you to get them now to secure your spot(s). They are selling faster than ever before, and this year is extra special as we celebrate our 25th Anniversary.

Tickets ARE expected to sell out, so pick up your Human Rights Awards gala tickets soon.

Work of Art platter from 2012 Human Rights Awards gala

Work of Art platter from 2012 Human Rights Awards gala

3. Will there be food and drinks?

Yes! Work of Art Catering will be providing beautifully presented, scrumptious eats and Frey Vineyards will be available for you fans of delicious-tasting organic, biodynamic, sulfite-free wines.

For you cocktail lovers, as a follow up to the wildly popular Justice n’ Ginger signature drink served at last year’s gala, this year we will be mixing up Caipirinhas, the national cocktail of Brazil, featuring organic, hand-crafted Novo Fogo cachaça.

Annie Leonard Human Rights Awards speech

Annie Leonard delivering her 2012 Human Rights Award acceptance speech

4. What happens at a Human Rights Awards Gala?

Where to begin?! A good place to start is this wrap up post about last years’ Human Rights Awards Gala.

In addition to delicious appetizers and drinks, guests can expect inspiring speeches by the Honorees, a silent auction filled with unique items, dancing to a live band, schmoozing with fellow guests, and a whole lot more.

5. Is there anything else I need to know?

There’s one more surprise guest who will be attending the 2013 Human Rights Awards gala, but we can’ divulge who it will be until April 29th, so stay tuned!

Still have questions?

Hope to see you there!

Oh, and if you want a double-dose of Noam Chomsky, our friends at Meca are celebrating their 25th anniversary and will have Prof. Chomsky speak at the Paramount Theatre in Oakland on May 8th.

WikiLeaks-Website-LogoGlobal Exchange is pleased to announce that Julian Assange and Wikileaks have won the 2013 Human Rights Awards People’s Choice Contest by receiving the most votes from supporters of Global Exchange and human rights around the world.

Thank you for participating in the 2013 People’s Choice Award contest in advance of our 11th Annual Human Rights Awards and 25th Anniversary celebration on May 9th in San Francisco, CA. Once again this contest had tremendous nominees and thousands of voters from around the globe.

Wikileaks is a valuable tool for human rights activists the world over. Wikileaks helps whistle blowers bring forth information that is vital to public debate. It has helped push stories hidden by secretive governments or ignored by corporate oriented media to the fore.

Examples include exposure of insider trading at JP Morgan and the censorship of UK media outlets including BBC and The Independent. Wikileaks also revealed the inner dysfunction of Copenhagen climate negotiations and gave content to discontent that sparked the early Arab Spring protests. The shocking ‘Collateral Murder’ video depicted alleged war crimes by U.S. airmen, who appear to knowingly shoot innocent Iraqis from the air.

To learn more about Wikileaks, here’s a video clip of Bill Maher interviewing Julian Assange:

Crystal Lameman

Grassroots Award Winner Crystal Lameman

Introducing our Grassroots Award Winner!

Crystal Lameman, member of the Beaver Lake Cree First Nation, will receive the 2013 Grassroots Human Rights Award.

So please join us to honor Julian Assange and Wikileaks, Noam Chomsky and Crystal Lameman on Thursday, May 9 from 6:30PM to 8:30PM at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco for a night of inspiration, celebration, and fun.

2013-Human-Rights-AwardGet Your Human Rights Awards Gala Tickets Today

Tickets On Sale NOW! Special Early Bird price available until April 11th.

Bradley Manning Support Network guests with People's Choice Award and Carleen Pickard

Bradley Manning Support Network guests with People’s Choice Award and Carleen Pickard

After nearly 1,000 days, PFC Bradley Manning is still in jail awaiting trial. The following is a message from Nathan Fuller of the Bradley Manning Support Network about upcoming protests in solidarity with Wikileaks whistleblower Bradley Manning.

PFC Bradley Manning has been in jail awaiting trial for nearly 1,000 days for exposing war crimes, corruption, and widespread abuse. When he returns to court in Fort Meade, MD, for a pretrial hearing from February 26 to March 1, Judge Denise Lind will rule on the defense’s motion to dismiss charges for lack of a speedy trial.

As defense lawyer David Coombs said in the motion, “PFC Manning’s statutory and constitutional speedy trial rights have been trampled upon with impunity.” In court, he laid out the ways in which the government has made an “absolute mockery” of Manning’s right to a speedy trial by violating the 5th and 6th Constitutional Amendments, Rule for Court Martial 707, and Uniform Code of Military Justice Article 10. Prosecutors were supposed to arraign Manning within 120 days but took well over 600.

They’re also supposed to remain actively diligent throughout the proceedings, but Coombs has showed substantial periods of their inactivity and needless delay. Manning’s due process rights have been clearly violated, and the only legal remedy is to dismiss charges. Judge Lind could dismiss charges with prejudice, if she determines the government intentionally delayed Manning’s trial, which would set the young Army private free. She could also dismiss without prejudice, which would allow the government to simply retry the case and restart the speedy trial clock. If she dismisses the motion altogether, she will condone the government’s unconstitutional delays and the deprivation of Manning’s due process rights. Manning would then proceed to trial, currently scheduled to start June 3, 2013 — over three years after his arrest in May 2010.

We’ll also hear Manning’s updated plea offer, in which he’s expected to offer to plead guilty to several lesser-included offenses, which could carry a maximum punishment of 20 years in prison.

Map of upcoming events in support of Wikileaks whistleblower Bradley Manning.

Map of upcoming events in support of Wikileaks whistleblower Bradley Manning.

“This allows Bradley to accept responsibility for exposing these documents to public scrutiny, and debate the merits and impact of these releases, while fighting the most serious charges against him at court martial,” noted Jeff Paterson, project director of the Bradley Manning Support Network.

The government can still charge as planned, including using the Espionage Act and UCMJ Article 104, alleging Manning indirectly “aided the enemy” simply because he knew Al Qaeda could access WikiLeaks. By the time that pretrial hearing begins, Manning will have been in jail for over 1,000 days. In response to this historic abuse, supporters around the country and around the world are planning demonstrations, rallies, and marches on February 23. From California, to Florida, to Italy, to Germany, supporters of PFC Manning will make their protests known.

U.S. Events

Tucson, AZ Feb 23, 11am-5pm

Tempe, AZ Feb 23, 5:30-6:30pm

Guerneville, CA Feb 23, 12-1pm

Cahuenga (L.A.), CA Feb 23, 9-11am

Los Angeles, CA Feb 23, 5:30-6:30

Long Beach (L.A.), CA
Feb 23 at 1pm until Feb 24 at 2pm

Montrose (L.A.), CA Feb 23, 5:30-7pm

Studio City (L.A.), CA Feb 22, 6:30-7:30pm

San Francisco, CA Feb 23, 1-4pm

San Diego, CA Feb 23, 7-9pm

Denver, CO Feb 23, 12-3:30pm

Washington, DC Feb 24, 6:30-9pm

Ft. Lauderdale, FL Feb 23, 12-1:30pm

Pensacola, FL Feb 23, 5:30-6:30pm

Tallahassee, FL Feb 23, 12-1pm

Honolulu, HI Feb 22, 4-5:30pm

Chicago, IL Feb 23, 12-1:30pm

Ft. Leavenworth, KS Feb 23, 1-3pm

New Orleans, LA Feb 23, 2-6pm

Boston, MA Feb 23, 1-2pm

Augusta, ME Feb 23, 11:30am-12pm

Portland, ME Feb 23, 12pm

Detroit, MI Feb 23, 3-8pm

Minneapolis, MN Feb 23, 9:30am-12pm

Wilmington, NC Feb 23, 12-1:45pm

Eatentown, NJ Feb 23, 12-1:30pm

Albuquerque, NM Feb 23, 10am-12pm

New York, NY Feb 23, 2-4pm

Rochester, NY Feb 23, 10am-12pm

Toledo, OH Feb 23, 12pm

Corvallis, OR ongoing

Philadelphia, PA Feb 23, 2-4pm

Newport, RI Feb 23, 1-2pm

Austin, TX Feb 23, 10:30am

Houston, TX Feb 23, All Day

Bristol, VT Feb 23, 10am-12pm

Seattle, WA Feb 23, 12-4pm

International Events

Melbourne, Australia Feb 22, 2-4pm

Sydney, Australia Feb 23, 11am-2pm

Brussels, Belgium Feb 23, 1-2pm

Vancouver, Canada Feb 23, 1-5pm

Paris, France Feb 23, 3-5pm

Berlin, Germany Feb 23, 12:30-3pm

Kaiserslautern, Germany Feb 23, All Day

Rome, Italy Feb 23, 4-5pm

Oslo, Norway Feb 23, 10am-12pm

Oporto, Portugal Feb 23, 3-6pm

Seoul, South Korea Feb 23, 11am

Kampala, Uganda Feb 23, 10am-12pm

Dublin, Ireland Feb 23, 1-3pm

Birmingham, UK Feb 23, 2pm

London, UK Feb 23, 2pm

Peterborough, UK Feb 23, 12-2pm

Yorkshire, UK Feb 23, 11am

Fairford, UK Feb 23, 9:30am-12pm

Bangor, Wales, UK Feb 23, 11am-2pm

Cardiff, Wales, UK Feb 23, 10:30am-2:30pm

Wales/Ireland/Scotland/England ongoing

Slovakia

With over 2,900 votes, the people have chosen PFC Bradley Manning as the 2012 People’s Choice Award winner.  Global Exchange is proud to honor Bradley Manning, and we hope you’ll take a moment to read more about this year’s winner.

It takes great courage to stand for what you know is right.  Bradley Manning, a 24-year-old Army intelligence analyst, joined the army at age 19.  Before deploying to Iraq, when a friend asked that he “stay safe,” Bradley replied, “I’m more concerned about making sure that everyone: soldiers, marines, contractors, even the local nationals, get home to their families.”

Bradley is accused of leaking a video showing the killing of civilians, including two Reuters journalists, by a US Apache helicopter crew in Iraq.  He is also charged with sharing the documents known as the Afghan War Diary, the Iraq War Logs, and embarrassing U.S. diplomatic cables, with the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks.  The video and documents have exposed the true number and cause of civilian casualties in Iraq, human rights abuses by U.S. funded contractors and foreign militaries, and the influence that corporate interests have on U.S. foreign policy.  Journalists have credited the release of these documents with helping to motivate the democratic revolution in Tunisia as well as the final withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.

In chat logs attributed to Bradley by the FBI, he explains what motivated him to act:

“I can’t separate myself from others…I feel connected to everybody…like they were distant family…I…care?  I prefer a painful truth over any blissful fantasy.  I think I’ve been traumatized too much by reality, to care about consequences of shattering the fantasy…God knows what happens now.  Hopefully worldwide discussions, debates, and reforms…I want people to see the truth…regardless of who they are…because without information, you cannot make informed decisions as a public.”

Although Bradley has not yet been tried, he was held in solitary confinement for the first 10 months of his incarceration.  During this time he was denied meaningful exercise, social interaction, sunlight, and was occasionally kept completely naked.  In one week in April 2011, over a half million people signed a petition to end his illegal treatment, as those conditions serve as “a chilling deterrent to other potential whistleblowers committed to public integrity.”  His supporters include famous whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg, over 300 top legal scholars, veterans, and civilians around the world.

If the military continues refusing to acknowledge Bradley as a whistleblower, he may become the first person in U.S. history to be convicted of “Aiding the enemy through indirect means,” a crime punishable by life in prison or the death penalty, for telling the public the truth.

To learn more about how to support Bradley Manning, please visit the website of the Bradley Manning Support Committee: bradleymanning.org

Join us on Thursday, May 10, 2012 as we honor  Human Rights Award Honorees Bradley Manning and Annie Leonard at the Tenth Annual Human Rights Awards in San Francisco.  (Note that Bradley’s award will be accepted by a representative)

For more information about the Human Rights Awards, and to purchase tickets, please visit humanrightsaward.org.