Episode 41 - #OperationOpenAccess or Effective Urgency Radicalizes

This week marked 3 years since Aaron Swartz was indirectly murdered by Carmen Ortiz and others at the Department of Justice. 

We celebrate his genius, his knowledge, his generosity, his compassion, his ingenuity, his logic and his life. 

Aaron's death should radicalize us. 

If you do not know the story of Aaron Swartz, watch the crowdfunded documentary about him 

The Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz

by Brian Knappenberger

Guerilla Open Access Manifesto

Information is power. But like all power, there are those who want to keep it for themselves. The world's entire scientific and cultural heritage, published over centuries in books and journals, is increasingly being digitized and locked up by a handful of private corporations.

There is no justice in following unjust laws. It's time to come into the light and, in the grand tradition of civil disobedience, declare our opposition to this private theft of public culture. We need to take information, wherever it is stored, make our copies and share them with the world.

We need to fight for Guerilla Open Access. With enough of us, around the world, we'll not just send a strong message opposing the privatization of knowledge — we'll make it a thing of the past. Will you join us?

Aaron Swartz July 2008, Eremo, Italy