Tomorrow, on Wednesday Jan 18, Wikipedia will hold a blackout to protest the SOPA/PIPA legislation in Congress that poses a serious threat to the open Internet:**

**http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/English_Wikipedia_anti-SOPA_blackout

More locally, on Wednesday from 12:30-2 PM, the NY Tech Meetup is hosting a 'Rally for the Future of Tech' in front of 780 Third Ave, at 49th street, in Manhattan:

http://nytm.org/sos/

These speakers have been confirmed for the rally: Clay Shirky, Alexis Ohanian, Scott Heiferman, John Perry Barlow, Andrew McLaughlin, Eli Pariser, Tim Karr, and David Segal.

Bring a sign on why Wikipedia and similar projects need an open Internet to thrive, and maybe we can also find each other, and go get lunch as a wiki-group afterward.

Also, I'd like to welcome everyone of our upcoming Wiki-Conference at NYU on Jan 28, where SOPA certainly promises to be a hot topic:

http://bit.ly/wikiday2012

**Thanks, Richard (User:Pharos) Wikimedia NYC