- This event has passed.
Super-Secret Brunch With Julian Assange!
May 15, 2016 @ 11:00 am – 4:00 pm EDT
On Sunday May 15th, a portal will open between The Sanctuary for Independent Media in Troy and the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. The inimitable Julian Assange, founder of Wikileaks, will be piped in from his place of exile to tell participants about the latest and most twisted stories from the bleeding edge of journalism: the exciting business of information liberation in the public interest. This will be the highlight of a brunch experience hosted by the Yes Men. The ingredients will be hand-gathered by Anonymous food-hackers and prepared using secret recipes collected by the Yes Men from notable privacy activists.
Assange’s appearance will be introduced by Mike Bonanno from the Yes Men, who will also show an exclusive, never-before-seen film from the time The Yes Men learned from Assange that they were being spied on by a private spy firm called Stratfor – and they were invited inside the wikileaks machine to help with the release five million emails that had been liberated from the firm by Anonymous hackers.
The super secret, VIP brunch preceding the Assange appearance will be a totally unique experience. A year in the making, the menu will feature free-flowing “Adirondack Champagne” (apple cider fermented with sparkling wine yeast) as well as locally gathered flora and fauna – hunted by Tito Ybarra and members of the Sanctuary board. The menu (which will have plenty for vegetarians) will include many of the foods hidden in plain sight in the woods around us including ramps, fiddleheads, wild rice, duck eggs, and locally landed striped bass. It will be prepared with traditional methods and musical blessings by Tito Ybarra, who is coming in from Red Lake Minnesota for this event, and to participate in the Albany hub for protests against fossil fuels. At the end of the event Tito will lead a delegation from the Sanctuary to the ongoing blockade of the oil trains in Downtown Albany.
MORE ABOUT SUPER SECRET GUESTS and HOSTS
More about Tito Ybarra
Peter Ybarra, also known as “Tito.” is an enrolled member of the Red Lake band of Ojibwe.
For years he has traveled the powwow trail as a powwow singer competing with many drum groups across Indian Country. But for the last 4 years, comedy has been his focus. Tito has built quite a following in the U.S.A. and Canada via his YouTube channels, “Tito Comedy” and “The Powwow Friends.”
Tito loves to role play as many different characters in his videos, which is uncommon in the Native Comedy community. “I enjoy doing stand up comedy and have performed at schools, conferences, banquets, graduations and casinos. My goal is to continue to travel and visit different communities showing how I use humor as healing and as a way to teach young people what can happen when a person ventures out of their comfort zone.” Please keep Tito Ybarra Comedy in mind for future gatherings or events.
More about Julian Assange
Born on July 3, 1971, in Townsville, Australia, Julian Assange used his genius IQ to hack into the databases of many high profile organizations. In 2006, Assange began work on Wikileaks, a Web site intended to collect and share confidential information on an international scale. The information his organization released earned him strong supporters and powerful enemies. For his efforts, the internet activist earned the Time magazine “Person of the Year” title in 2010. After arriving at the Ecuadorean Embassy in London in June 2012, seeking to avoid extradition to Sweden, Assange was granted political asylum by the Ecuadorean government in August 2012. Julian will visit us all at the Sanctuary via Skype!
More about Yes Man Mike Bonnano
Mike Bonanno is a writer and director, known for The Yes Men Fix the World (2009), The Yes Men (2003) and The Yes Men Are Revolting (2014). In these films, they impersonate entities that they dislike, a practice that they call “identity correction.”
The Yes Men are a culture jamming activist duo and network of supporters. Through actions of tactical media, the Yes Men primarily aim to raise awareness about what they consider problematic social and political issues. The Yes Men operate under the mission statement that lies can expose truth. They create and maintain fake websites similar to ones they intend to spoof, which have led to numerous interview, conference, and TV talk show invitations. They espouse the belief that corporations and governmental organizations often act in dehumanizing ways toward the public.
We are committed to lowering the barriers to access for events at The Sanctuary for Independent Media. For people who are hard of hearing or deaf, blind or low-vision, or whose physical limitations can interfere with a satisfying experience, let us know two weeks in advance so we can make appropriate arrangements.
Google Calendar 
