Arbor Update

Ann Arbor Area Community News

Bush calls bloggers terrorists??

13. February 2006 • David Boyle
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See today’s Daily Kos, Bush Tags Bloggers As Terrorists! ,
“Homeland Security completed its ‘Cyber Storm’ wargame to test how our government “would respond to devastating attacks over the Internet from anti-globalization activists, underground hackers and bloggers. ...’Participants confirmed parts of the worldwide simulation challenged government officials and industry executives to respond to deliberate misinformation campaigns and activist calls by Internet bloggers, online diarists whose “Web logs” include political rantings and musings about current events.’ ...”


  1. Funny how the government is so busy worrying about bloggers that they can’t seem to go after the criminals anymore.

    Friends of Liberty , [their server crashed from all the commotion the article generated], a right-wing anti-Bush-tyranny blog reported that several prominent anti-war bloggers have been getting death threats from an identified source:

    The *64 function on his phone brought back a Toronto, Canada phone number (416-785-4574) owned by Dr. Laurence B. Shiff, 327 Cortleigh Boulevard, Toronto, Ontario MSN 1R2 CA. Friends assisted Hall in some Google sleuthing, and which reveals Dr. Shiff an officer of the Kaspu Corporation. When relaying the events to longtime SARTRE publisher Jeff Rense, Rense said: “That’s the same number I’ve been getting threats from, and two of my other writers.”

    Mike Rivero, who frequently notes that the government is doing little to nothing to stop hackers, added on whatreallyhappened.com :

    “Larry has been an annoyance to this web site as well. When Larry first started attacking my site, hacking the servers, email bombing me, sending death threats, and other assorted dirty trucks, I reported him to both the FBI and to Interpol. Interpol is still investigating him as of my last contact with them, but interestingly enough the local FBI claims that the US Attorney for Hawaii ordered them not to investigate the case. I am putting that on the public record in case Mssrs Hall, Nimmo, Mortellaro, & Rense run into “bureaucratic resistance” in seeking to prosecute this minor irritation. The FBI has known about Larry for years now, because I tracked him down and reported him to the FBI in 2003, and the FBI failed to act to protect US citizens from what the USAPATRIOT act clearly identifies as terroristic activity.

    “The ball is in your court FBI. What are you going to do now? Look like total failures yet again?”

    WHY isn’t the FBI going after these people making death threats?

    ...Maybe this is why: John Kaminski writes in an open letter to the FBI:

    “In Ray Bradbury’s famous sci-fi novel “Fahrenheit 451,” firemen didn’t put out fires, they started them. They burned books – which were banned – and the houses that held them, and then giggled salaciously as the dreams of innocent people went up in flames.

    “This is an apt portrayal of what today’s FBI has become, a cowardly secret police protecting the evil interests of the powers that be at the expense of ordinary citizens trying to live decent and honest lives.”

    Tell me that isn’t why the Homeland Security people are conducting wargames in preparation for “devastating attacks over the Internet” (which could only possibly mean spreading information).

    Is this what it’s come to, the government calling bloggers “terrorists?” What law have we broken? WAKE UP AND SMELL THE FASCISM!!!


       —Adam    Feb. 13 '06 - 03:16AM    #
  2. Hmm,

    Homeland Security sets their sights on bloggers.

    The Arbor Update server crashes.

    Coinicidence?

    first they came for the bloggers…


       —Chuck    Feb. 13 '06 - 03:36AM    #
  3. Har… even a conspiracy nut like me wouldn’t go THAT far…


       —Adam de Angeli    Feb. 13 '06 - 12:02PM    #
  4. Since when did anti-globalization activists and, more importantly, bloggers, ever commit cyber-terrorism?

    Just another example of Bush trying to discredit his critics, oy vey. Because all of us here, with our blogs and commenting back and forth, we’re the REAL terrorists.


       —Jared Goldberg    Feb. 13 '06 - 01:14PM    #
  5. This article raises another important question:

    Why are anti-globalism activists being “lumped together” with bloggers in this war-game scenario?

    I will offer my conspiracy-nut answer here, and challenge readers to come up with a more mundane explanation:

    The Powers That Be have a globalist program (because it is easier to rule the world when power is centralized), and they depend on mass deception to sell their program, hence the blogs (particularly anti-globalist blogs such as those owned by people noted in Comment 1) are enemies for disseminating the truth. The “underground hackers” line was thrown in for good measure, associating bloggers and anti-globalists with criminals, but inadvertantly implying that there is such a thing as “non-underground hackers” ostensibly working in favor of DHS.


       —Adam de Angeli    Feb. 13 '06 - 01:40PM    #
  6. Now that our Vice President is out shooting people, this all makes me even more nervous (as a blogger and a global justice activist. Alas, not a hacker though).

    Now, if you want to address a real cyber-threat, let’s talk about the people that forward urban legends and cutesy Jesus emails. Talk about spreading misinformation (and bad theology). Yes, sometimes the enemy is within our own families.


       —Chuck Warpehoski    Feb. 14 '06 - 02:24AM    #
  7. Thanks Chuck,

    This is a great time to remind people to attend the 11 AM Tuesday ICPJ Steering Committee meeting, at 730 Tappan, and to urge ICPJ to enforce its own divestment resolution, which calls for divestment action at Ann Arbor City Council:

    .
    .

    “Arms Divestment and Cessation of U.S. Military Aid to Israel

    “A resolution of the Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice and its Middle East Task Force”

    Adopted May 13, 2003

    (Excerpts quoted below)

    For the full resolution, see Web page at:

    http://www.icpj.net/metf/divestment_res.htm

    ICPJ Divestment Resolution excerpt:

    ”...We are equally dismayed by the continual military occupation and virtual colonization of Palestinian territory by Israeli armed forces and settlers, the human rights abuses against Palestinians, and the destruction of the Palestinian economy. Devastation of the physical and social infrastructure in the West Bank and Gaza—including the forcible eviction from and demolition of homes—does not quell terrorism. It engenders more. Such actions fuel deeper hatred of Israel in surrounding countries, while causing a major humanitarian disaster among Palestinians. And they leave Palestinians continually vulnerable to expulsion from the land in which they have been deeply rooted for generations. U.S. weapons and military funding are being used in these violations of human rights and international agreements. Americans of conscience must protest.

    “We do not have faith that governments alone will take the necessary actions to bring about a change in the Israeli government policies described above. We therefore believe that nonviolent civilian action is needed, aiming to limit the present intense funding of Israeli military activities.

    “Accordingly, we will work with those groups who are calling on the governing bodies of our religious institutions, the City of Ann Arbor, the University of Michigan, and our fellow citizens to use their influence to encourage the United States government to end its complicity in these violations of human rights by suspending its military aid and arms sales to Israel, and to divest themselves from all companies that manufacture or sell arms and other military hardware to Israel, in order to bring about:
    Israel’s compliance with United Nations Resolution 242, which calls for “the
    withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territories occupied in the recent (1967) conflict”;
    Israel’s compliance with the United Nations Committee Against Torture Nov. 2001 Report (paragraph 53), which recommends that Israel’s use of “the crime of torture and other acts of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment” must be prevented;
    Israel’s cessation of settlement building and expansion, and its vacating of existing settlements in the Occupied Territories in compliance with the Fourth Geneva Convention, which states “The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of
    its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.”

    (Article 49, paragraph 6, 1949);

    Israel’s acknowledgment of the applicability of United Nations Resolution 194 (1948) with respect to the rights of refugees, and acceptance that refugees should either be permitted to return to their homes and property or be justly compensated for their losses.
    ————————————————————————————————————————


       —-Blaine. (Palestine)    Feb. 14 '06 - 02:38AM    #
  8. And of course, there are the radical militant librarians who are right up there with the bloggers in supporting terrorism.


       —Juliew    Feb. 14 '06 - 03:25AM    #
  9. It surprises me that more people haven’t figured this out by now, but the reason why the government is labeling bloggers and librarians and Muslims and gun owners and Constitutionalists as “terrorists” is simple.

    Because, THEY ARE the terrorists!

    THEY ARE the ones with the mob ties. THEY ARE the same people that were caught in Iran Contra, using drug deals to fund war crimes. THEY ARE the very evil they claim to be trying to hunt down.

    The greatest acts of terrorism are not committed by furtive gangs of masked desperados in foreign lands. The most horrific acts of terrorism in world history have always been committed by governments and their militaries.

    Official FBI definition of terrorism:

    “Terrorism is the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.”

    Even by its own definition the hypocrite U.S. government is guilty of terrorism — on a massive, international scale. And for over 100 years!

    The U.S. government has broken international law and the Geneva Convention many times with its brutal use of force and horrific violence against persons and property, to intimidate and coerce governments, civilian populations, and many segments thereof, in furtherance of political, social and especially economic objectives.


       —Adam de Angeli    Feb. 15 '06 - 04:21AM    #
  10. MoveOn.org has noted this very recently,

    “Hi,

    Do you buy books online, use Google, or download to an Ipod [sic]? These activities will be hurt if Congress passes a radical law that gives giant corporations more control over the Internet.

    Internet providers like AT&T and Verizon are lobbying Congress hard to gut Network Neutrality, the Internet’s First Amendment. Net Neutrality prevents AT&T from choosing which websites open most easily for you based on which site pays AT&T more. Amazon.com doesn’t have to outbid Barnes & Noble for the right to work more properly on your computer.

    Politicians don’t think we are paying attention to this issue. Many of them take campaign checks from big telecom companies and are on the verge of selling out to people like AT&T’s CEO, who openly says, “The internet can’t be free.”

    The free and open Internet is under seige[sic]—can you sign this petition letting your member of Congress know you support preserving Network Neutrality? Click here:

    http://www.civic.moveon.org/save_the_internet

    A list of all the ways you might be affected by Net Neutrality is located on the bottom of this link: http://civic.moveon.org/alerts/savetheinternet.html

    Thanks!”

    Something to chew on. If you like.


       —David Boyle ("Save the Internet")    Apr. 26 '06 - 02:10AM    #