tagged w/ Freedom of the Press
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The NYT's fact-checking question was absurd, but the real problem is that the press has lost its credibility
http://politics.salon.com/2012/01/19/newspapers_truth_vigilantes_no_more/
Time was when newspaper journalists prided themselves on being working stiffs: skeptical, cynical and worldly-wise. “If your mother says she loves you, check it out.” I’ve always preferred the unofficial motto of my native New Jersey: “Oh yeah, who says?”
Fact-check politicians? Here’s how H.L. Mencken saw things in 1924: “If any genuinely honest and altruistic politician had come to the surface in my time I’d have heard of him, for I have always frequented newspaper offices, and in a newspaper office the news of such a marvel would cause a dreadful tumult.”
Mencken could recall no such excitement. “The unanimous opinion of all the journalists that I know, excluding a few Liberals who are obviously somewhat balmy,” he added “… is that since the days of the national Thors and Wotans, no politician who was not out for himself, and himself alone, has ever drawn the breath of life in the United States.”
Alas, such attitudes went out of fashion with snap-brim fedoras, smoke-filled rooms and bottles of rye in desk drawers. Today’s national political reporters have attended fancy colleges, regard their professional affiliations as valuable status symbols, hence give every sign of identifying more with Washington courtiers and political professionals than the great unwashed.
To the extent they may share Mencken’s exuberant disdain for hoodwinker and hoodwinked alike, ambitious reporters are well-advised to keep it to themselves. As a career strategy, thoughtful circumspection is advised. The uphill path to a sinecure on “Meet the Press” must be trodden carefully.
Many readers, for example, can probably identify a name-brand journalist such as Judith Miller, who fell into disrepute for parroting Bush administration propaganda about Saddam Hussein’s WMD. But can you name anybody whose skeptical reporting made them famous? No, you cannot.
Columnists have more leeway, but even there it’s safer (and easier) to stick to anodyne topics such as dorky clothes, bad hair, which candidate resembles what character in “Pride and Prejudice,” and who mistreats his dog. To me, it’s significant that an honorable exception like Paul Krugman — my nominee for progressive MVP — is not a product of newsroom culture.
So now comes New York Times “public editor” Arthur Brisbane with maybe the most disingenuous question of the year: Should Times reporters be “truth vigilantes”? When politicians lie, should reporters call them out?
And if so, how?
Brisbane’s two columns on the subject drew widespread astonishment and hilarity from readers and journalists alike — partly because journalists love talking about ourselves as much as the average Hollywood starlet. They also drew a sharp rebuke from Times editor Jill Abramson, who insisted that the “kind of rigorous fact-checking and truth-testing you describe is a fundamental part of our job as journalists.”
Abramson gave instances of the newspaper supplying proper context for politicians’ statements such as Mitt Romney’s preposterous charge that President Obama wants “to replace our merit-based society with an entitlement society.” (Wink, wink. Nudge, nudge. Know what he means?) She said that the Times reported that “the largest entitlement programs — Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid — were all enacted before Mr. Obama entered grade school.”
Of course, that’s not what Romney’s really saying. Look, as somebody who spent more than a decade waging a quixotic war of words against the New York Times over its role in the Whitewater hoax, the subsequent “War on Gore,” and its shameful (and acknowledged) role in “catapulting the propaganda” that led the U.S. to invade Iraq, I have two observations.
First, the Times has rebounded since those dark days of 2003. Far less unmediated government propaganda and make-believe scandal characterizes its news columns. Abramson’s 2011 appointment as executive editor gives further reason for optimism.
Second, the answer to Brisbane’s real question — exactly how reporters are supposed to go about calling Mitt Romney a liar — has no good answer. Because the more forcefully it’s done, the more the GOP candidate’s apt to like it.
Take Romney’s oft-repeated charge that Obama goes around apologizing for America. The Washington Post’s Glenn Kessler did this one to a fare-thee-well, showing conclusively that the allegation is completely false — an absurd mix of misrepresented circumstances, doctored quotes, etc. And it took him 1,800 words.
And who read them? Certainly nobody who’d already swallowed the lie on Fox News, Rush Limbaugh or any of a hundred right-wing websites. So the Washington Post says it’s a lie. Well, they would, wouldn’t they? The Times agrees? Even better.
Romney’s not talking to reporters, but over and through them, seeking not nuanced news stories, but five-second video clips and TV ads. Reporters who ask confrontational questions can be ignored, or worse, made characters in the story. Well-paid operatives can make their editors’ lives miserable.
The uncomfortable truth is that no newspaper today has the power and moral authority the New York Times so thoughtlessly squandered, and it ain’t coming back. Obama will have to defend himself.
BY GENE LYONS
Picture:
(Credit: Library of Congress/U.S. Farm Security Administration)The NYT's fact-checking question was absurd, but the real problem is that the... more
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On Monday, we reported a final settlement has been reached in a lawsuit filed by Democracy Now! Host Amy Goodman, along with producers Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar, challenging the police crackdown on journalists at the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota. We play excerpts of a news conference of our announcement, held yesterday in Zuccotti Park in Lower Manhattan, where hundreds are camped out with the Occupy Wall Street protest. We were joined by our attorneys to announce the settlement, Steven Reiss of Weil, Gotshal & Manges, and Anjana Samant of the Center for Constitutional Rights. “There is a reason why freedom of the press is in the First Amendment. Because without freedom of the press, there is no democracy,” Reiss says. “That is a lesson that applies not just abroad. We have seen many times in recent months abroad, it applies here as well.” [Transcript to come. Check back soon.
Video at the link..... http://www.democracynow.org/2011/10/4/press_freedom_victory_democracy_now_winsOn Monday, we reported a final settlement has been reached in a lawsuit filed by... more
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Vietnam then - just another day.
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MPs have released a letter from the News of the World's former royal editor Clive Goodman, who was jailed for phone hacking, alleging that senior figures at the paper knew what was going on.
Goodman wrote the letter to News International as he appealed against his dismissal in 2007, saying hacking was "widely discussed" at the paper and that he had been promised his job back if he did not implicate it in court.
In a separate move, the Commons culture committee may recall James Murdoch.
Committee chairman, Tory MP John Whittingdale, said that it might recall Mr Murdoch to give further evidence because it needed to ask more questions about what he knew about hacking.
Other former News International executives are already expecting to be called to give evidence to MPs in September.
Goodman is the only journalist so far to have been convicted of intercepting voice mail messages.
He was jailed for four months in January 2007 after pleading guilty to hacking phones.
News International said at the time that Goodman had acted alone and no other journalists were involved in hacking.
In early February of that year, Goodman was told he had been dismissed for gross misconduct, prompting his appeal to News International's director of human resources, dated 2 March.
The letter, published on the MPs' committee website, was copied to Les Hinton, News International's then executive chairman, and Stuart Kuttner, the then managing editor of the News of the World.
Appealing against his dismissal, Goodman wrote: "The decision is perverse in that the actions leading to this criminal charge were carried out with the full knowledge and support of [redacted] … payment for Glen Mulcaire's services was arranged by [redacted].
"The decision is inconsistent because [redacted] and other members of staff were carrying out the same illegal procedures.
"This practice was widely discussed in the daily editorial conference, until explicit reference to it was banned by the Editor. As far as I am aware, no other member of staff has faced disciplinary action, much less dismissal."
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14541848MPs have released a letter from the News of the World's former royal editor Clive... more
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Following in the footsteps of New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, Senator John Kerry (D-MA) called on the media to censor Tea Party ideas that he and others like him consider "absurd" or "not factual."
"The media has got to begin to not give equal time or equal balance to an absolutely absurd notion just because somebody asserts it or simply because somebody says something which everybody knows is not factual, it doesn't deserve the same credit as a legitimate idea about what you do," Kerry said while appearing on MSNBC's Morning Joe Friday.
As Noel Sheppard writes at Newsbusters, this is exactly what Krugman wrote last week, but Kerry wasn't finished.
We have to, have to find a way to get some of these people in Congress, who are locked in to just one view about where we can go, and, and that’s really what’s hampered us. You know, when I have a top Senator in the Republican leadership tell me that he’s been calling members of his delegation and he can’t persuade them to do something reasonable here, that all they’re focused on are cutting, cutting, cutting, we got a problem.
What Kerry and so many of his fellow liberals fail to understand is that the nation's economy is on a very fast train to a very hot place, and the Tea Party Republicans were elected to bring fiscal sanity back to Washington.
The Senate has not passed a budget in over 820 days, and the only budget submitted by President Obama was so radical and extreme it got no votes in the Senate whatsoever.
Continue reading on Examiner.com Senator John Kerry: Media should ignore Tea Party because I disagree with it - Spokane Conservative | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/conservative-in-spokane/senator-john-kerry-media-should-ignore-tea-party-because-i-disagree-with-it#ixzz1UB16nQfHFollowing in the footsteps of New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, Senator John... more
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http://wikileaks.info /
Dylan talks reality world politics! Outrage over Anthony Weiner silence over Wikileaks revelations.
"I agree, if the media isn't talking about Sheen, they are talking about Lohan... Really folks what a bunch of BS!!!"http://wikileaks.info /
Dylan talks reality world politics! Outrage over Anthony... more
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KB723
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added this
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8 months ago
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The hip, transparent and social media-loving Obama administration is showing its analog roots. And maybe even some hypocrisy highlights.
White House officials have banished one of the best political reporters in the country from the approved pool of journalists covering presidential visits to the Bay Area for using now-standard multimedia tools to gather the news.
The Chronicle's Carla Marinucci - who, like many contemporary reporters, has a phone with video capabilities on her at all times - pulled out a small video camera last week and shot some protesters interrupting an Obama fundraiser at the St. Regis Hotel.
She was part of a "print pool" - a limited number of journalists at an event who represent their bigger hoard colleagues - which White House press officials still refer to quaintly as "pen and pad" reporting.
But that's a pretty Flintstones concept of journalism for an administration that presents itself as the Jetsons. Video is every bit a part of any journalist's tool kit these days as a functioning pen that doesn't leak through your pocket.
In fact, Carla and her reporting colleague, Joe Garofoli, founded something called "Shaky Hand Productions" - the semi-pro, sometimes vertiginous use of a Flip or phone camera by Hearst reporters to catch more impromptu or urgent moments during last year's California gubernatorial race that might otherwise be missed by TV.
The name has become its own brand; often politicians even ask if anyone from Shaky Hand will show at their event. For Carla, Joe and reporters at other Hearst newsrooms where Shaky Hand has taken hold, this was an appropriate dive into use of other media by traditional journalists catering to audiences who expect their news delivered in all modes and manners.
That's the world we live in and the President of the United States claims to be one of its biggest advocates.
Just the day before Carla's Stone Age infraction, Mr. Obama was at Facebook seated next to its founder, Mark Zuckerberg, and may as well have been wearing an "I'm With Mark" t-shirt for all the mutual admiration going back and forth.
"The main reason we wanted to do this is," Obama said of his appearance, "first of all, because more and more people, especially young people, are getting their information through different media. And historically, part of what makes for a healthy democracy, what is good politics, is when you've got citizens who are informed, who are engaged."
Informed, in other words, through social and other digital media where videos of news are posted.
The President and his staffers deftly used social media like Twitter and Facebook in his election campaign and continue to extol the virtues and value. Except, apparently, when it comes to the press.
So what's up with the White House? We can't say because neither Press Secretary Jay Carney nor anyone from his staff would speak on the record.
Other sources confirmed that Carla was vanquished, including Chronicle editor Ward Bushee, who said he was "informed that Carla was removed as a pool reporter." Which shouldn't be a secret in any case because it's a fact that affects the newsgathering of our largest regional paper (and sfgate)and how local citizens get their information.
What's worse: more than a few journalists familiar with this story are aware of some implied threats from the White House of additional and wider punishment if Carla's spanking became public. Really? That's a heavy hand usually reserved for places other than the land of the free.
But bravery is a challenge, in particular for White House correspondents, most of whom are seasoned and capable journalists. They live a little bit in a gilded cage where they have access to the most powerful man in the world but must obey the rules whether they make sense or not.
CBS News reporter, Mark Knoller, has publicly protested the limited press access to Obama fundraisers, calling the policy "inconsistent." "It's no way to do business," wrote Politico's Julie Mason, "especially [for] a candidate who prides himself on transparency."
A 2009 blog by the White House Director of New Media states that "President Obama is committed to making his administration the most open and transparent in history."
Not last week.
Mason referred to the San Francisco St. Regis protest as "a highly newsworthy event" where "reporters had to rely on written pool reports..."
Except, thanks to Carla's quick action with her camera, they didn't.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/bronstein/detail?entry_id=87978The hip, transparent and social media-loving Obama administration is showing its... more
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Last time we checked in with PayPal, it, along with MasterCard, Visa and others had blocked its services with regards to donations to WikiLeaks foundation.
Today it is being reported that PayPal has taken further action against another WikiLeaks-related fund, in freezing the account of the Courage To Resist foundation which, in conjunction with the Bradley Manning Support Network, gives donations to the Bradley Manning legal defense fund. The imprisoned Manning is allegedly the source of the US Embassy cables leaked by WikiLeaks.
In a phone call earlier today, PayPal representative Anuj Nayar told me that this action is not WikiLeaks related and that PayPal has only temporarily restricted the fund, “This has nothing to do with WikiLeaks.”
Courage To Resist and PayPal are still in talks, and according to Nayar the former is infringing against PayPal’s policy on 501 3c non-profits, which hold that a non-profit needs to have a bank account associated with their PayPal account. “For the vast majority of none profits this is not an issue,” says Najar.
Nayar also takes up CTR’s claim that PayPal would not un-restrict the account unless CTR authorized PayPal to withdraw funds from the checking account by default, “We can’t do that without the authorization of an account holder, so a) We can’t do it b) We don’t do it c) Even if we did the bank would resist the charge.”
So why make this a WikiLeaks issue? “That’s a question for them,” he says.
The company’s official statement, below:
“Today’s temporary limitation of the Courage to Resist organization’s PayPal account is due to PayPal regulations requiring non profits to associate a bank account to their PayPal account. It is nothing to do with Wikileaks. Back in December 2010, we permanently restricted the account used by WikiLeaks due to a violation of the PayPal Acceptable Use Policy, which states that our payment service cannot be used for any activities that encourage, promote, facilitate or instruct others to engage in illegal activity. We’ve notified the account holder of this action. This is not the case with Courage to Resist”
GO TO STORY:
http://techcrunch.com/2011/02/24/paypal-on-cutting-off-courage-to-resist-this-has-nothing-to-do-with-wikileaks/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Techcrunch+%28TechCrunch%29Last time we checked in with PayPal, it, along with MasterCard, Visa and others had... more
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"It is easer for a Camel to go through the eye of a needle, that it is for a Rich Man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven." Or, maybe you just need to buy a bigger needle?
It's official: as Egypt was burning, Mubarak was stealing the gold. When we reported, presumably jokingly, two weeks ago that the Egyptian Central Bank may have been plundered, it turns out we were pretty much accurate once again. For all those wondering why Mubarak was refusing to hand over power for the past two weeks as hundreds of people were dying, we now have the answer - it was all just to make sure he transferred his assets, especially gold, to safe regimes (in the process paying tens of millions in commissions to that most noble of jobs - the banker class). The Telegraph reports: "A US official told The Sunday Telegraph: "Hosni Mubarak used the 18 days it took for protesters to topple him to shift his vast wealth into untraceable accounts overseas, Western intelligence sources have said...There's no doubt that there will have been some frantic financial activity behind the scenes. They can lose the homes and some of the bank accounts, but they will have wanted to get the gold bars and other investments to safe quarters. The Mubaraks are understood to have wanted to shift assets to Gulf states where they have considerable investments already – and, crucially, friendly relations. The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have frequently been mentioned as likely final destinations for Mr Mubarak and possibly his family."As usual, we remind readers that according to the World Gold Council, Egypt had 75.6 tonnes of gold at the end of 2010. Should this number not be reduced following Mubarak's plundering, we will know just how pervasive Tungsten is in the world central banking cartel.
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From Telegraph: ---
The former Egyptian president is accused of amassing a fortune of more than £3 billion - although some suggest it could be as much as £40 billion - during his 30 years in power. It is claimed his wealth was tied up in foreign banks, investments, bullion and properties in London, New York, Paris and Beverly Hills.
In the knowledge his downfall was imminent, Mr Mubarak is understood to have attempted to place his assets out of reach of potential investigators.
On Friday night Swiss authorities announced they were freezing any assets Mubarak and his family may hold in the country's banks while pressure was growing for the UK to do the same. Mr Mubarak has strong connections to London and it is thought many millions of pounds are stashed in the UK.
But a senior Western intelligence source claimed that Mubarak had begun moving his fortune in recent weeks.
"We're aware of some urgent conversations within the Mubarak family about how to save these assets," said the source, "And we think their financial advisers have moved some of the money around. If he had real money in Zurich, it may be gone by now."
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Perhaps Goldman Sachs can take a proactive PR step and disclose to the population that the flow trade-frontrunning hedge fund had nothing to do with facilitating the transfer of Mubarak's billions in stolen wealth from point A to point B. And perhaps all other banks can follow suit. Either that, or we can all just wait for Mubarak's sworn deposition when he is put on trial for crimes against the Egyptian people some time in 1-2 months. Doing text searches for "Goldman" in those thousand page PDFs will be breeze...
GO TO STORY:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/egypt/8320912/Egypt-Hosni-Mubarak-used-last-18-days-in-power-to-secure-his-fortune.html
Story By: Philip Sherwell, in New York, Robert Mendick, and Nick Meo in Cairo
Shadowy Cabal: Tyler Durden
Illustration & Art Work: Gérard Angé"It is easer for a Camel to go through the eye of a needle, that it is for a... more
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After flying into a roiling Egypt, Wael Ghonim, a Google marketing executive for the Middle East, tweeted earlier this week that "we are all ready to die." He was already missing by the time he sent that.
Ghonim is thought to be held by the Egyptian government, and they've indicated they wish to speak to the opposition leaders.
So one of the opposition groups, the "6th of April" movement, has named him a spokesperson, so as to help gain his release from government authorities, according to CBS news.
The opposition movement made their intention very clear: if the government's leaders "want to talk to us, talk to Ghonim."
Ghonim has been missing since Jan. 25. As of Wednesday, Google says it has no new information.
Ghonim's family told CBS that they received a call in the middle of the night, purportedly from government offiicals, telling them he is "being taught a lesson."
BY JASON MIDDLETON // 3 MINUTES AGO
GO TO STORY:
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/blogs/press-here/Egypt-Missing-Google-Exec-Now-Opposition-Spokesman-115283009.htmlAfter flying into a roiling Egypt, Wael Ghonim, a Google marketing executive for the... more
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She was happy, liberated and relieved she told the BBC. She couldn't handle it anymore, as the deputy head at Egyptian state owned Nile TV. They did not want her to report the truth, and she couldn't see herself being part of the farcical propaganda machine. So, she quit.
Egyptian society is delivering heroes on a daily basis it seems, since the popular uprising against Hosni Mubarak's regime started on January 25, 2011.
Coincidentally, Amin walked out on a day that witnessed many reporters being assaulted by pro-Mubarak thugs. Some of the international news most famous faces were seen on footage, including Katie Couric, Christiane Amanpour, Anderson Cooper and dozens of others. They were being shouted down, and in the case of Cooper, he was beaten twice.
Continue reading on Examiner.com: The heroine of the day is Egyptian Shahira Amin - she quit Nile TV - National Foreign Policy | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/foreign-policy-in-national/the-heroine-of-the-day-is-egyptian-shahira-amin-she-quit-nile-tv#ixzz1CxDncjGGShe was happy, liberated and relieved she told the BBC. She couldn't handle it... more
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Headlines are finally making front page news in MSM like the New York Times who published no less than 3 articles on the Qatar based channel. Below:
* Al Jazeera English Finds an AudienceWith its Egypt coverage drawing praise, Al Jazeera said it planned to renew efforts to be carried in the United States.February 1, 2011 - By BRIAN STELTER - World / Middle East
* Al Jazeera Finds New Paths In U.S.Al Jazeera's live-feed from Egypt is showing up on YouTube, satellite service and public television.February 1, 2011 - Mediadecoder Blog
* Channels Join Fight To Broadcast Al Jazeera In Egypt
* Ten regional channels are simulcasting Al Jazeera in Egypt, where the network says it has been blocked.February 1, 2011 - Mediadecoder Blog
As platforms for news delivery change, the New York Times and other outlets, such as the Daily Beast and the Huffington Post may not have realized that many in the United States have been following al-Jazeera for a long time from our Internet connections. It is with their coverage and invaluable use of locals on the ground that we are able to get 'real' stories.
US leading cable channels such as CNN and MSNBC relied heavily on dialogue with al-Jazeera to keep their audiences informed about developments. The Egyptian government's move to ban al-Jazeera, and renege their license is testimony to the importance of their broadcasts. The network managed to continue reporting.
Continue reading on Examiner.com: Al Jazeera's 'Inside Story" looks at disparity in coverage of events in Egypt - National Foreign Policy | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/foreign-policy-in-national/al-jazeera-s-inside-story-looks-at-disparity-coverage-of-events-egypt#ixzz1CpOoM3wFHeadlines are finally making front page news in MSM like the New York Times who... more
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The Egyptian authorities are revoking the Al Jazeera Network’s licence to broadcast from the country, and will be shutting down its bureau office in Cairo, state television has said.The Egyptian authorities are revoking the Al Jazeera Network’s licence to... more
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OPEN LETTER FROM ANONYMOUS TO THE UK GOVERNMENT
Dear UK government,
We are Anonymous. It has come to our attention that you deemed it necessary
to arrest five of our fellow anons for their participation in the DDoS
attacks against PayPal, Mastercard, and others, that have been carried out
in our name in retaliation for those organisations’ actions against WikiLeaks.
We understand you are planning to charge these fellow anons with offences
under the 1990 Computer Misuse Act, which prohibits impairing the operation
of a computer or the readability of data. Anonymous believes, however, that
pursuing this direction is a sad mistake on your behalf. Not only does it
reveal the fact that you do not seem to understand the present-day political
and technological reality, we also take this as a serious declaration of war
from yourself, the UK government, to us, Anonymous, the people.
First and foremost, it is important to realize what a DDoS attack exactly is
and what it means in the contemporary political context. As traditional means
of protest (peaceful demonstrations, sit-ins, the blocking of a crossroads
or the picketing of a factory fence) have slowly turned into nothing but an
empty, ritualised gesture of discontent over the course of the last century,
people have been anxiously searching for new ways to pressure politicians
and give voice to public demands in a manner that might actually be able
to change things for the better. Anonymous has, for now, found this new
way of voicing civil protest in the form of the DDoS, or Distributed Denial of
Service, attack. Just as is the case with traditional forms of protest, we block
access to our opponents infrastructure to get our message across. Whether
or not this infrastructure is located in the real world or in cyberspace, seems
completely irrelevant to us.
Moreover, we would like to take this opportunity to set the record straight
on the difference between a DDoS attack and hacking, as these concepts
often seem to be confounded when media and policy-makers talk about
Anonymous. Hacking as such is defined by the law as ‘unauthorised access
to a computer or network’, whereas a DDoS attack is simply a case of
thousands of people making legitimate connections to a publicly accessible
webserver at the same time, using up the entire bandwidth or processing
power of the given server at once and thereby causing a huge ‘traffic jam’.
ANONYMOUS PRESS RELEASE
January 27, 2011
It is clear then, that arresting somebody for taking part in a DDoS attack
is exactly like arresting somebody for attending a peaceful demonstration
in their hometown. Anonymous believes this right to peacefully protest
is one of the fundamental pillars of any democracy and should not be
restricted in any way. Moreover, we have noted that similar attacks have
also been carried out against Wikileaks itself, yet so far, nobody has been
arrested in connection with these attacks, nor are there even any signs
of an investigation into this issue at all. Yet, we know exactly who was
responsible for that attack. Anonymous believes it is unfair and hypocritical
to attempt to put these 5 arrested anons to trial without even attempting to
find those who DDoS’ed a website which you oppose. We can therefore
only assume that these arrests are politically motivated, and were being
carried out under pressure from the US government. Anonymous can not,
and will not, stand idle while this injustice is being done.
Furthermore, the maximum sentence these 5 anons could be given under
the Computer Misuse Act is 10 years imprisonment and a fine of up to
£5000. We want you to realize just how ridiculous these sentences are,
especially given the exact nature of a DDoS attack and its lack of permanent
damage to the target website. To hand out these kinds of harsh sentences
(even to minors!) would effectively ruin their life, taking away their chance
at higher education or even any kind of proper future, simply because they
participated in a peaceful cyber-protest and stood up for their rights. A fine
as high as £5000 would also put an incredible strain on the minors’ families.
We hope that you consider changing the legal framework for what is, at
worst, a minor offense.
And last but not least: The fact that thousands of people from all over the
world felt the need to participate in these attacks on organisations targeting
Wikileaks and treating it as a public threat, rather than a common good,
should be something that sets you thinking. You can easily arrest individuals,
but you cannot arrest an ideology. We are united by a common objective
and we can and WILL cross any borders to achieve that. So our advice to
you, the UK government, is to take this statement as a serious warning from
the citizens of the world. We will not rest until our fellow anon protesters
have been released.
Awaiting your action,
Anonymous
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anony_Ops
Attention all media: OPEN LETTER FROM ANONYMOUS TO THE UK GOVERNMENT 27-01-2011 http://bit.ly/fWfioF #AnonymousOPEN LETTER FROM ANONYMOUS TO THE UK GOVERNMENT
Dear UK government,
We are... more
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http://is.gd/hogVd3
By Gerard Ange'
This is a News Story about a new platform of protest. Similar to the civil rights marches and anti-war marches & protests of the past ~ people in the streets voicing their support of a worthy and valiant cause. A combined humanistic call to action to temporarily block traffic... To let the world know..... that they should pay attention to what is going on...
Today... nothing is changed The same ideals the same objections the same people trying to do something good! The same solidarity... The same look in their eyes... The sound of people marching... shouting to let the world know that they should pay attention to what is going on...! The only difference is the in 2011 is.... the people marching are on the "Cyber Streets" these are just as meaningful and just as valid as the Marches of people of the past... These are the marches and the protests of today 2011 Virtual Marches of tens of thousands of people blocking "Cyber Traffic" protesting against Fascism and Oppression... Anywhere it exists...
The word today is... Join the March!!! This is the future.... This is Our Future...
Our Future in NOW.... Not Tomorrow...
"Join AnonymousIRC now ~ protect freedom!"
STAND UP FOR THE TRUTH!
Protest Against Fascism!
Protest Against Oppression!
Protest Against Corruption!
Support Freedom of Speech!
Support Freedom of the Press!
Support Freedom of the Internet!
=== STAND UP FOR THE TRUTH! ===
#OpTunisia: 272 users
#OpAlgeria 161 users
#OperationPayback 155 users
TO GO THE ORIGINAL NEWS STORY CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW:
http://search.mibbit.com/channels/AnonOpshttp://is.gd/hogVd3
By Gerard Ange'
This is a News Story about a new... more
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MEDIA ALERT: = THE NEWS YOU DON'T SEE IN THE USA !!!!
Today our television media news in the USA is a joke - The News coverage to the American people is nonexistent causing it's population to argue nonsense topics amongst themselves... Blinded with nonsense, and fueled with distractions it is easy to divide a population and control a population.
It should be a wake-up call: When the people outside of our US borders know more about what happening inside our country than it's own citizens do.... Then we should all realize that we have a big problem! The Main stream Media ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, CNBC & FOX...all design what news you watch and listen to.
The insert a large amount of "Fluff Stories" and edit out many topics = NOT reported and NOT broadcast.
The citizens have lost their independent media... The Media has been taken over and is controlled by Corporations .... The Corporations decide what you hear in the news...
QUESTION: Why do you think Julian Assange & Wilkleaks was targeted and Attacked and insulted by the media? Because if the media were doing their jobs... Wikileaks wouldn't have any secrets to leak! The media is not doing their jobs.
( I work in the news media = I know!)
AMERICA TODAY.... Time to Follow the Money!
As we all now all look around us... Look at all the hard working American families all being foreclosed on and forced out into the streets as the Corporate Royalty award Billions to themselves as; A Job Well done! 1.3 million more foreclosures scheduled in 2011 to come! Look at all of us today....We all sit fighting between ourselves for only the basic fundamental things in life like affording to buy (safe food to eat), healthcare, a warm place to live to sleep at night....or an affordable good education for our Children....
If we are fighting amongst ourselves.....We all don't see that all we are only fighting for the crumbs left after the 98% of our countries wealth has been stolen and hoarded by the ultra Wealthiest 2-3%.... I guess that is the plan....if we are so busy arguing with ourselves we are not looking up and seeing what is really going on.... Maybe it time we all look up and ~ Follow the Money!
Okay now what?
So now we all go back to sleep? Back to business as usual & doing nothing?
Doing nothing is stupid!
Doing something is courageous...
WIKILEAKS IS A WAKE-UP CALL !!!
Wikileaks is a global "Virus Protection Software" that has shown all of us that our systems are infected.... That there is a trojan virus running in the background - doing things against the interests of the People of the Country that the government is mandated to represent.
This is a real wake-up call for people everywhere.... that Corporations have taken over all our government systems... Stealing all our freedoms and making us slaves of their corporate system.
LEARN FROM HISTORY.....
Mussolini quote: " Fascism should be appropriately called Corporatism because of a merger of State & Corporate Power."
That is what is going on here...
This is a wake-up call for everyone.. and
Wikileaks is the Alarm Bell !!!
Truth is courageous...MEDIA ALERT: = THE NEWS YOU DON'T SEE IN THE USA !!!!
Today our television... more
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The following summarizes the unfolding of events surrounding the arrest of Julian Assange, as recounted in an article entitled "The European Arrest Order Against Julian Assange," originally published here by Brita Sundberg-Weitman, retired Swedish judge and author in the areas of legal and civil rights. Sundberg-Weitman also expresses concerns about media coverage of the event and about the possible extradition of Julian Assange in this article, which I received via email by a source who also reports that Sundberg-Weitman translated the piece herself. Quotations refer directly to this English translation received.
The article has 3 parts: Background, justification of extradition fears and clarification of related political considerations under Swedish law. Each is summarized here.
Background
On Friday, August 20, 2010, the decision was made by Maria Häljebo Kjellstrand to arrest Julian Assange, in absentia, on grounds of “suspected rape. This decision was made upon a telephone report by a police officer.” As we know, the police had interviewed the two women concerned. However, Sundberg-Weitman points out that the arrest decision was made “before the police interviews of the two women concerned were finished.”
It was also previously known that “[s]omebody leaked the decision to the Swedish tabloid Expressen, and it was made public all over the world,” and that the decision “was overruled within 24 hours by chief prosecutor Eva Finné. She stated that Assange was no longer suspected of rape.”
Claes Borgström, a lawyer known for feminist activism, lodged an appeal on behalf of the two women. The appeal was examined by Marianne Ny, chief of a prosecution “development center” specialized in, among other things, sexual offences.
[Ny] decided to overrule Finné’s decision and reopen the case of suspected rape. Like Borgström Ny is a feminist. She is known to have said that when a woman alleges she has been a victim of assault by a man, it is a good idea to have the man detained, because it is not until he is arrested that the woman has time to think of her life in peace and realize how she has been treated. According to Ny the detention has a good effect as protection for the woman ”even in cases where the perpetrator is prosecuted but not found guilty”.
Sundberg-Weitman then notes that despite the belief that an accused man should be detained irrespective of innocence, Ny did not arrest Julian Assange, who was in Sweden at the time. “[Nor] did [Ny] interview him about the allegations under investigation.”
When Assange had left Sweden (his application for a residence permit was rejected) Ny decided to arrest him in absentia and applied to the Stockholm District Court to confirm her decision. The District Court granted her application and, after appeal, its decision was confirmed by the Svea Court of Appeal. However, even before the Court of Appeal had had time to examine the appeal, Ny issued a European Arrest Warrant against Assange.
It is also noted that “[t]he Court of Appeal was chaired by its President, who was until recently National Prosecutor General.”
The question Sundberg-Weitman raises is that of why Ny did not take the opportunity “to interview Assange whilst he was still in Sweden” and “why she did not accept Assange’s proposal to be interrogated in England,” which is a legitimate request, in accordance with “rules valid in both Sweden and Britain on Mutual Legal Assistance.” She goes on to explain that The Handbook on International Legal Assistance, published by the Swedish National Prosecutor General, provides various means by which to proceed with interrogations in such cases. This detail is highlighted because Ny had claimed that “it would not be compatible with Swedish law to interrogate Assange in England.” Sundberg-Weitman notes that this “obviously is not true.”
In later interviews Ny answered that in the case of where it turned out after an interrogation of Assange that he should be immediately arrested, that would not be possible unless he was in Sweden. Possibly we see here a reflection of her view that it is a good thing to have a ”perpetrator” (!) locked up even in cases where he is subsequently acquitted in a court of law.
Assange’s fear of being extradited from Sweden to US
Sundberg-Weitman points out that Assange was opposed to the idea of being surrendered to Sweden because his fear was “that Sweden would in its turn extradite him to US, where he would be likely to be put away in jail or even murdered as a result of the anger Wikileaks has caused in US.” She reminds us that “there are prominent persons who have expressed the view that he should be treated as a terrorist and sentenced to death,” due to the perception that Assange “violated US law on espionage.” She adds that arguments have been raised to the effect that “it would be legally easier for US to have him extradited from UK than from Sweden.”
However, Sundberg-Weitman notes that this argument overlooks some important points. She states that Assange “has much more popular support in UK than in Sweden” and concludes that an extradition from the UK to the US would be less probable, on a political level, than an extradition from Sweden to the US.
[H]aving him extradited from Sweden would probably not cause much protest amongst Swedes. All the mass media in Sweden have a rather biased view on the case to the detriment of Assange, and they express great confidence in Sweden’s judiciary in the present case.
Sundberg-Weitman points out 2 facts that justify, in her own view, Assange’s “fear of being extradited from Sweden to US.”
[T]here are extremely strong interests in US who want him delivered because of Wikileaks.
[R]eports from the US embassy in Stockholm published by Wikileaks have revealed that the Swedish Government has gone out of its way to be helpful to US in various controversial matters.
She goes on to ask, in closing: “So why would the US not make use of its influence to put pressure on Sweden in order to have Assange extradited to the US?"
Political considerations under Swedish law
Continued...
To Go To The Rest Of The Story Click Below:
http://wlcentral.org/node/1015The following summarizes the unfolding of events surrounding the arrest of Julian... more
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http://sourceforge.net
By Marius Bosch and Georgina Prodhan
JOHANNESBURG/LONDON (Reuters) - If anyone needed proof that cyber activists can create havoc in the real world, the last few weeks have provided evidence in megabytes.
Rallying behind WikiLeaks, the thousands of internet activists who made headlines in December by bringing down the websites of MasterCard and Visa have been branching out.
Operating under the banner "Anonymous", their other forms of action have included hacker defacements of websites, real-life protests such as mass leafleting, and a role in Tunisia's "Jasmine Revolution".
Anonymous activists attacked and shut down several government websites before the ouster of former President Zine al Abedine Ben Ali. They have also targeted governments they see as enemies of free speech. Last month the website of Zimbabwe's finance ministry was hacked and the homepage replaced by a message from Anonymous.
A report by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) this week said such attacks on computer systems are unlikely to cause a global shock on their own, though could do if launched in the midst of a natural disaster such as a large solar flare that wipes out satellites and other key communications hardware.
But this misses the point. Global chaos is not Anonymous' aim. As the WikiLeaks and Tunisia cases show, the group targets specific institutions and its attacks are designed to temporarily delay more than destroy. Think of them not as acts of cyber war but as high-profile guerrilla strikes.
1> CATALYSTS
A look inside some of the main online forums suggests that those behind the WikiLeak-inspired attacks are patient, coordinate almost organically, and remain wary of outsiders. That all means that their next moves remain unpredictable.
In the Internet Relay Chat (IRC) channels -- chat rooms where up to 3,000 participants at a time can discuss strategy and plot attacks -- reporters are treated with suspicion. Over the past few weeks, though, a few Anons -- as activists refer to themselves online -- agreed to talk to Reuters.
There is anecdotal evidence that Anonymous is growing stronger. Several Anons told Reuters the arrest of Assange and the distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks against Visa and Mastercard -- in which company websites were bombarded with so many requests they crashed -- inspired them to join the group.
"Saw it on a news article, joined the IRC, and things went on from there. 4 months ago," one Anon nicknamed "tflow" told Reuters in a private message on the IRC channel.
"I was angry at the arrest of Assange and how the credit card companies shut down WikiLeaks' accounts. Been here since," said another, going by the name of Noms9001, referring to the arrest of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in Britain.
"I'm not a rebel, I can say that. For me, it's been an issue of governments and corporations attempting to control what we say and hear online."
One said they had been involved with Anonymous since the group's Project Chanology protests against the Church of Scientology in 2008. Another blamed a failed late December attack on Bank of America on a splinter group of Anonymous, and said an expected drop by WikiLeaks of documents related to the bank could provide an opportunity for a renewed effort to bring down its site.
2> MONITORING
Targets are chosen by consensus and can be attacked by as many as 10,000 computers simultaneously. Communication is mainly through IRC but supporters also use micro-blogging site Twitter and video-sharing site YouTube to release information.
The activists claim to come from all over -- Europe, the United States, China and elsewhere in Asia -- and share an almost paranoid concern with covering the tracks left by the software they use.
During the attacks on Tunisian government websites over the past couple of weeks, activists warned Tunisian citizens in the OpTunisia IRC channel against joining an assault on local internet hosting organisation ATI.
"If you are Tunisian, do not participate in the DDoS attack. Chances are that you will get traced and arrested. Unless you have means to conceal your IP and know what you are doing, do NOT attack," warned one activist.
"Do NOT give out any personal information on this IRC network. This is a public chat and you can be sure that it is monitored," the activist added.
There's a good reason for the caution. Two Dutch teenagers were arrested in December in connection with cyber attacks by WikiLeaks supporters. Both have been released and are awaiting trial.
And the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation raided a Texas server-hosting company last month looking for evidence that Anonymous had used its servers to launch attacks on PayPal, according to an affidavit obtained by The Smoking Gun website.
Some activists hope their sheer numbers will prevent authorities from trying to trace them. "Imagine tracking 9,000 plus computers across the planet for an arrest," Calgarc said in the IRC channel in reply to a question on how an attacker can hide his tracks.
3> FIRE YOUR CANNON
All you need to wage cyber war is a fast-paced internet forum packed with hundreds of determined activists and a simple piece of software called a Low Orbit Ion Cannon. Activists download the LOIC -- initially developed to help internet security experts test website vulnerability to DDoS attacks -- and start firing packets of data at the targeted website.
If enough people join in, a DDoS attack prevents the overloaded server from responding to legitimate requests and slows the website to a crawl or shuts it down totally.
Attackers can even listen to a dedicated internet radio station, Radiopayback, during attacks.
A quarter of a million copies of the LOIC software have been downloaded from sourceforge.net so far, more than half of them since November when Web hosting and banking organisations began withdrawing support from WikiLeaks.
One in five downloads since the start of November was in the United States, with a few hundred in Tunisia, and a handful in bandwidth-deprived Zimbabwe.
Users of the software can be traced. A study by Dutch researchers found last year that the tool did not mask the host computer's internet protocol (IP) address.
Barrett Lyon, a security expert who specialises in protecting companies against denial of service attacks, said the LOIC program is fairly rudimentary but effective if used by thousands of people. "It doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles. It's not as focused as it could have been. If they got their software together in a more sophisticated kind of way, this kind of thing could have gotten easier with more violence."
Lyon said depending on the time of day there were 500-10,000 computers involved in the attacks.
"10,000 people have quite a bit of fire power," he added.
4> CREDIBLE COUNTERFORCE
TO GO TO NEXT PAGE CLICK BELOW :
http://in.mobile.reuters.com/article/idINIndia-54257020110119?ca=rdt
http://www.enduringamerica.com/home/2011/1/6/tunisia-cyber-special-anonymous-takes-down-the-government.htmlhttp://sourceforge.net
By Marius Bosch and Georgina Prodhan
JOHANNESBURG/LONDON... more
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Please support Wikileaks by donating.
Click here: http://213.251.145.96/support.html
Please sign the petition: https://secure.avaaz.org/en/wikileaks...
If you would like to become even more involved, then there may be a "support Wikileaks protest" near you.
Click here for details: http://wlcentral.org/events-protests
Here is a list of Wikileaks mirror sites:
http://wikileaks.ch/mirrors.html
After Effects template for opening by Kenzei via Video Hive.
The statistics of how many have died as a result of the war on terror is an estimate taken from http://www.unknownnews.net
It is hard to pin pinpoint just how many have died due to the fact that this information isn't released. estimates have the toll somewhere between
800,000 and 1,200,000
Requests under freedom of information act denied by Obama Administration should read 49% - for more info
http://hotair.com/archives/2010/03/16...
Another point to make is that the clip of Obama talking about different terrorists was an except taken from an interview with Bill O'Reilly where he was explaining the difference between terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan.
However, i thought it was relevant as so much of the terminology in the media is focused around labelling wikileaks and it's people terrorists.
The song "Your the Voice" was by Coldplay featuring John Farnham - song was originally by John Farnham.
The clip was taken from a concert in Sydney "Sound Relief" where many bands came together to support people who were devastated by the Black Saturday fires. - of whom Coldplay were amongst them.
PLEASE POST THIS AROUND.
CheersPlease support Wikileaks by donating.
Click here: http://213.251.145.96/support.html... more
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Targeting Political Terrorism = LETS START HERE...
http://www.peopleokwithmurderingassange.com
Wikileaks today offered sympathy and condolences to the victims of the Tucson shooting together with best wishes for the recovery of U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords. Giffords, a democrat from Arizona's 8th district, was the target of a shooting spree at a Jan 8 political event in which six others were killed.
Tucson Sheriff Clarence Dupnik, leading the investigation into the Gifford shooting, said that "vitriolic rhetoric" intended to "inflame the public on a daily basis ... has [an] impact on people, especially who are unbalanced personalities to begin with." Dupnik also observed that officials and media personalities engaging in violent rhetoric "have to consider that they have some responsibility when incidents like this occur and may occur in the future."
WikiLeaks staff and contributors have also been the target of unprecedented violent rhetoric by US prominent media personalities, including Sarah Palin, who urged the US administration to “Hunt down the WikiLeaks chief like the Taliban”. Prominent US politician Mike Huckabee called for the execution of WikiLeaks spokesman Julian Assange on his Fox News program last November, and Fox News commentator Bob Beckel, referring to Assange, publicly called for people to "illegally shoot the son of a bitch." US radio personality Rush Limbaugh has called for pressure to "Give [Fox News President Roger] Ailes the order and [then] there is no Assange, I'll guarantee you, and there will be no fingerprints on it.", while the Washington Times columnist Jeffery T. Kuhner titled his column “Assassinate Assange” captioned with a picture Julian Assange overlayed with a gun site, blood spatters, and “WANTED DEAD or ALIVE” with the alive crossed out.
John Hawkins of Townhall.com has stated "If Julian Assange is shot in the head tomorrow or if his car is blown up when he turns the key, what message do you think that would send about releasing sensitive American data?"
Christian Whiton in a Fox News opinion piece called for violence against WikiLeaks publishers and editors, saying the US should "designate WikiLeaks and its officers as enemy combatants, paving the way for non-judicial actions against them."
WikiLeaks spokesman Julian Assange said: "No organisation anywhere in the world is a more devoted advocate of free speech than Wikileaks but when senior politicians and attention seeking media commentators call for specific individuals or groups of people to be killed they should be charged with incitement -- to murder. Those who call for an act of murder deserve as significant share of the guilt as those raising a gun to pull the trigger."
“WikiLeaks has many young staff, volunteers and supporters in the same geographic vicinity as these the broadcast or circulation of these incitements to kill. We have also seen mentally unstable people travel from the US and other counties to other locations. Consequently we have to engage in extreme security measures.”
“We call on US authorities and others to protect the rule of law by aggressively prosecuting these and similar incitements to kill. A civil nation of laws can not have prominent members of society constantly calling for the murder and assassination of other individuals or groups.”
More Examples:
http://townhall.com/columnists/JohnHawkins/2010/11/30/5_reasons_the_cia_should_have_already_killed_julian_assange/page/2
http://www.peopleokwithmurderingassange.com/Targeting Political Terrorism = LETS START HERE...... more
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