Long Overdue

Well, it's been nearly 3 months since the raid on the Free Talk Live studio, and, as you might imagine, we've all been pretty busy. Until very recently, Ian Freeman was still detained; Nobody (also known as Rich Paul) remains in detention, with a hearing pending.

Ian is now free, but under very tight restrictions. In fact, all of the Crypto Six are under pretty tight restrictions, although, luckily, the restrictions on myself seem to be the least limiting. My supervisory officer has proven to be very fair.

Free Talk Live was back to operating in some sort of normal capacity, but then Ian was released, and everything crashed. The terms of release prohibit Ian and I have from having contact with one another. Seeing as we've both become critical to the back-end of Free Talk Live, you can imagine how this made things difficult. While we have filed motions to amend these conditions (because it's silly for my conditions to demand me to maintain employment while prohibiting me from having contact with my employer), it is a slow process. Mark also is not allowed contact with Ian, so the only solution before us was to build a second broadcast studio.

So that is what I did.

Free Talk Live will still be at the Porcupine Freedom Festival, and at Forkfest--in fact, I'm giving a presentation Saturday morning at the Porcupine Freedom Festival about the long-term impact of the case against the Crypto Six. While I'm still looking forward to the festivals, it will be a muted celebration for me at best. I learned true sadness when Bonnie delivered me the equipment that will be needed to do the show from the festivals and without Ian. The government ripped apart friendships here, and the only one that has any chance of being bridged is the one between Ian and myself, solely because of my role in Free Talk Live. I miss the rest of my friends, though, and I'm sure they miss their friends, too. I'm not really here to wax at length about that, but keep in mind as Free Talk Live carries on that it isn't just a matter of technical issues; there is a heavy emotional burden on all of us.

Your support sustains us. Knowing we have an army of supporters at our backs is invaluable at this time, so thank you all for your support, love, and kindness. I look forward to seeing you in a few weeks.

Peace, love, and liberty.

Aria