Not One Reason Given: FBI Seize Indymedia Servers in UK: 20 Sites Affected

by indymedia.org Thu Oct 07, 2004 20:53

indymedia under attack
The FBI issued an order to Rackspace (Indymedia's provider with office in the US and London) to remove physically our server. The order was so short term that Rackspace had to give away our hard drives, both in the US and the UK.

The servers hosted numerous local IMCs: the Belgian and African imcs, Palestine, UK, Germany, and Brasil and italy

The reason of this are not known.

by Chekov - 1 of Indymedia Ireland Thu Oct 07, 2004 21:11

The FBI's latest anti-free-press actions began at the beginning of October when they visited Indymedia's ISP demanding the removal of identifying information from photographs of undercover police officers that was posted on the Nantes Indymedia website. When asked what the US government was doing requesting the removal of information from a French-run website that contained information about Swiss police actions, the FBI stated that this was a "courtesy" to the Swiss government. The FBI agents stated that no laws had been broken, and no crimes had been committed. However, because no identifying information was posted on the website in question, it was unclear what actions the FBI was requesting.

The article in question is/was posted here:

http://nantes.indymedia.org/article.php3?id_article=3910

On Tuesday October 5th, Indymedia received the following message from Rackspace:

"I apologize for the delay in responding. I have been trying to get a hold of the FBI agent I spoke with before, but haven't been able to at this time. As the request originated with the Swiss police, I can only speculate on what they saw or what they were concerned about. However, at this time, I have received no further communications from either the FBI or the Swiss authorities, so I feel like we can close this this issue."

Today the FBI ceased Indymedia servers.

by Terry Fri Oct 08, 2004 00:46

Does this mean the actual sites were shut down, i.e. not functioning?

The list taken from www.Indymedia.org is:
'The list of affected local media collectives includes Ambazonia, Uruguay, Andorra, Poland, Western Massachusetts, Nice, Nantes, Lilles, Marseille (all France), Euskal Herria (Basque Country), Liege, East and West Vlaanderen, Antwerpen (all Belgium), Belgrade, Portugal, Prague, Galiza, Italy, Brazil, UK, part of the Germany site, and the global Indymedia Radio site.'

If this is so, then it's just all surreal. It's like Germany in the 1930s, except this time it going global!

by R. Isible Fri Oct 08, 2004 02:11

7 October 2004

FBI Seizes IMC Servers in the UK

US authorities issued a federal order to Rackspace's office in the US ordering them to provide Indymedia's hardware located in London to the requesting agency. Rackspace is one of Indymedia's web hosting providers with offices in the US and London. Rackspace complied, without first notifying Indymedia, and turned over Indymedia's server in the UK. This affects some 20+ Indymedia sites worldwide.

Since the subpoena was issued to Rackspace and not to Indymedia, the reasons for this action are still unknown to Indymedia. Talking to Indymedia volunteers, Rackspace stated that "they cannot provide Indymedia with any information regarding the order." ISPs have received gag orders in similar situations which prevent them from updating the concerned parties on what is happening.

It is unclear to Indymedia how and why a server that is outside the US jurisdiction can be seized by US authorities.

At the same time a second server was taken down at Rackspace which provided streaming radio to several radio stations, BLAG (linux distro), and a handful of miscellanous things.

The last few months have seen numerous attacks on independent media by the US Federal Government. In August the Secret Service used a subpoena in an attempt to disrupt the NYC IMC before the RNC by trying to get IP logs from an ISP in the US and the Netherlands. Last month the FCC shut down community radio stations around the US. Two weeks ago the FBI requested that Indymedia takes down a post on the Nantes IMC that had a photo of some undercover Swiss police and IMC volunteers in Seattle were visited by the FBI on the same issue. On the other hand, Indymedia and other independent media organisations were successfull with their victories for example against Diebold and the Patroit Act. Today however, the US authorities shut down IMCs around the world.

The list of affected local media collectives includes Ambazonia, Uruguay, Andorra, Poland, Western Massachusetts, Nice, Nantes, Lilles, Marseille (all France), Euskal Herria (Basque Country), Liege, East and West Vlaanderen, Antwerpen (all Belgium), Belgrade, Portugal, Prague, Galiza, Italy, Brazil, UK, part of the Germany site, and the global Indymedia Radio site.

End press release

by R. Isible Fri Oct 08, 2004 02:26

2001 April Seattle IMC: FBI tried to obtain IP logs based on a planted post with false and inaccurate information about Cheney's whereabouts which was used as a "security/terror" pretext. Attempted to use a _sealed court order_ which imposed a _gag order_ on the IMC.
http://www.indymedia.org/fbi/

2004 Sept: NYC IMC: Secret Service (SS) tried to obtain IP logs after a post listed the (publically available) details of delegates by attempting to intimidate the ISP (Calyx) which stood firm and told them to get knotted:
http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2004/08/295874.shtml

2004 Sept: Santa Cruz Freak Radio: Federal Communications Commission (FCC) raid. (It was an unlicensed "pirate" radio station supported by most of the community including the mayor).
http://santacruz.indymedia.org/feature/display/11595/index.php


2004 Oct: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) seizes hard drives from ISP (Rackspace) who are much larger than Calyx, but obviously don't want any business. This current incident affecting multiple regional IMCs
http://nyc.indymedia.org/feature/display/126066/index.php

What we're looking at here is a blatant attempt to gather information that has _no_ links to any ongoing criminal investigations. It's a fishing expedition pure and simple to find out who uses IMCs. It's completely illegal in the US and violates (yet again) fundamental rules about how the State is supposed to operate.

by Biploby Fri Oct 08, 2004 10:06 biploby at hotmail dot com

What about the Palestine/Jerusalem Indymedia? The CIA and Mossad blocked it.

by don't have to say Fri Oct 08, 2004 14:08

100 different species of a crop is more secure than planting all one single species. If a disease hits, then some of the 100 will survive, but the mono-crop will be totally destroyed.

Thousands of small windmills, solar panels and other energy generators will continue to operate even if there is a war int he middle east, or if a large refinery is destroyed. Dependency on one central power grid is much less secure.

And many different servers holding many different Indymedia sites is also much, much more secure than having many sites hosted in one place.

Diversity IS security.

by Spiff Fri Oct 08, 2004 14:21

Then check this out :

http://www.irishexaminer.com/pport/web/ireland/Full_Story/did-sgQiufwiqJulMsgadLjt5C321I.asp

by redjade Fri Oct 08, 2004 14:45

http://jebba.blagblagblag.org/index.php?p=107

by SDR Fri Oct 08, 2004 14:58

They were in a country which is, supposedly, not under the jurisdiction of the USA. So there was no obligation on them to hand over these hard drives. They should have refused and taken the matter through the courts in Britian.
Rackspace, I suggest you pack up your involvement in the Internet business, you are not cut out for it.
Open a fast-food joint or something.

by merrovinginvanjan Fri Oct 08, 2004 15:05

the cockney twins must be delighted. (If they've got back yet). Ok all you sunday indo readers believers in the "indymedia is a nest of dangerous radicals"-

This has fuck all to do with swiss police and everything to do with limiting the chances of doing Haliburton when the Bush regime leave the white house.

The servers of Swiss, Barcelona and NYC imc were attacked by the FBI earlier in the year, in connection with a US complaint of voter intimidation. Complete bullshit, but it gave agent smith a taste for more and is usual it's a smokescreen for extended extra-judicial attacks on freedom of information.

We can not allow agent smith to get his way.
You've all seen the movie, and know what happens when he get's his way.

Which is why ALL THE EVIDENCE YOU SEEK
has been burnt on cds long ago, and etched into metal plates and buried in many global locations including a forest in western Utah (your CIA pals back yard).

and as well, I do believe the relevant articles and links were crossposted to many other sites not only indymedia (where they were dutifully edited for being slightly conspiratorial crossposts) and so as always the evidence remains. You too can play your part by downloading all the best or weirdest information you can today, printing it out and posting it "with a pretzel" to the illegitimate incumbent of 1600 Penn ave.

by curious Fri Oct 08, 2004 15:17

do the irish indymedia use the same server company?
is the irish indymedia server in the USA or in Ireland?

by 1 of indymedia Fri Oct 08, 2004 15:27

no, not the same server in question

yes indymedia.ie's server is in the USA

by redjade Fri Oct 08, 2004 17:03

http://www.ucimc.org/feature/display/20764/index.php

by etz Fri Oct 08, 2004 17:23

Yankees Fuck off!
for over two years, the people of the Basque regions of France and Spain have supported an indymedia collective which has transcended political differences and helped introduce political and social and cultural normality into one of the most troubled regions of Europe.
Today, acting on an order in the USA, a computer service provider in the UK surrendered to the FBI the hard-drives of that site.

In the computer are the articles, comments, photos and the background of the last three years of life in the Basque.

Euskal Herria imc holds a very tolerant editorial policy, and thus offered students of politics, politicians, historians, and journalists an extensive data base.

All of this was carried out under the ever watchful eyes of the Spanish State security forces who found no satisfactory reason to stop the democratic, free speech and free political association project which is Euskal Herria Indymedia.

In the last week, the leadership of ETA have been arrested, and the political and cultural effect of having a national online archive confiscated by an American security agency can only be guessed at.

FUCK OFF FBI !

by just us. Fri Oct 08, 2004 18:06

These articles were held on open source on several of the indymedia sites which have now been closed.
The names are available through the Wiesenthal institute and have not been "erased" but are now a little harder to find, just like the old men themselves who are mostly dead.
Also information linking several of these individuals to members of the present political establishment in the USA has now "dissappeared" from the open source network.

by redjade Fri Oct 08, 2004 18:07

FBI seizes Indymedia servers

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/10/08/1097089554894.html?oneclick=true
username: Joe_Smith2004 password: pass

Rackspace complied with the FBI order, without first notifying Indymedia, and turned over Indymedia's server in the UK. This affects over 20 Indymedia sites worldwide, the group said.

Indymedia said it did not know why the order had been issued as it was issued to Rackspace. Rackspace told some of the group's volunteers "they cannot provide Indymedia with any information regarding the order." ISPs have received gag orders in similar situations which prevent them from updating the parties involved on what is happening.

Indymedia said a second server was taken down at Rackspace. This provided streaming radio to several radio stations, BLAG (a Linux distribution), and a handful of miscellanous things.

by redjade Fri Oct 08, 2004 19:05

Diebold Loses Copyright Case Against Indybay ISP

Electronic voting machine maker Diebold, Inc., today became the first company to be held liable for violating section 512(f) of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which makes it unlawful to falsely threaten ISPs for copyright violation when the copyright holder knows that infringement hasn't occurred. US District Court Judge Jeremy Fogel ruled [PDF] that Diebold had misused the DMCA and ordered the company to pay damages and fees to Indybay's internet service provider, OPG, as well as students at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania.

by - Fri Oct 08, 2004 21:20

statement by Rackspace
read in english at link-
http://barcelona.indymedia.org/newswire/display/126819/index.php
and some questions which were asked and the replies they got.

in addition there is an "indymedia" section in barcelona, on the right hand column you can trace all the stories related to imc activity. Some of these naturally about barcelona, but lots more dealing with the previous problems the global collective has had in the exercise of it's
US constitutional amendment rights, it's UN human rights, and it's EU human rights to-
freedom of opinion.
freedom of speech.
freedom of political association.
and the one you don't always remember-

The US constitutional right guaranteeing freedom to communicate anonymously in public media.

that category is-
http://barcelona.indymedia.org/?category=indymedia

by - Fri Oct 08, 2004 21:41

Euskal Herria has returned to the web!

You may now read articles and check the archives for any winston smith type tampering rewriting or editing in three languages, euskera, castilian and french.

Andorra (and el seu de urgell) an often forgotten annexe is still sadly offline, there you can normally read about things in catalan and english and familiarise yourself with the tiny catalan speaking principality and tax haven which interestingly doesn't have a mosque yet.

Italy has come back screaming about being under FBI attack, and well, let's just say they have papal blessing.

All french traffic is going through Paris, which interestingly enough for all you history fans, spent almost a year offline when someone ran off with the url and passwords!!!

Germany is back in text form, but with no images or photos and the radio streaming has ended.

Brazil is back with a twist on the story, they alledge the photos were posted on a french media site. They're celebrating being back by digging out their swiss fotos. Their fellow language imc, portugal is not however.

so offlibe are -
West Vlaanderen, Antwerp, Belgrade, Portugal and Galiza.
(I have not checked the american sites)

So if agent smith is messing up european media (in many places at sensitive times) sniffing out a terror network / money laundering / kidnapping then this trail leads from tiny Galicia/portugal to Serbia to the Pyrennes and back to Antwerp through flemish belgium.

by R. Isible Fri Oct 08, 2004 21:49

is here:

by meraviglia Sat Oct 09, 2004 01:24 meraviglia at inventati dot org

Italian and Swiss authorities request the seizure of Indymedia's hard disks
WASHINGTON (AFP) - A website billed as a grassroots news source for the anti-globalization movement and other issues said one of its Web servers was shut down after the FBI served a subpoena.

The Independent Media Center said the FBI issued an order to hosting company Rackspace "to remove physically one of our servers."

The FBI acknowledged that a subpoena had been issued but said it was at the request of Italian and Swiss authorities.

"It is not an FBI operation," FBI spokesman Joe Parris told AFP.

"Through a legal assistance treaty, the subpoena was on behalf of a third country."

The FBI spokesman said there was no US investigation but that the agency cooperated under the terms of an international treaty on law enforcement.

Rackspace, a US Web hosting company with offices in London, said it complied with a court order "pursuant to a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty, which establishes procedures for countries to assist each other in investigations such as international terrorism, kidnapping and money laundering." The company declined to elaborate.

"The order was so short-term that Rackspace had to give away our hard drives in the UK," the Independent Media Center said.

Italian news reports said access to Indymedia had been cut as a result of an FBI operation at US and British locations.

Mauro Bulgarelli, a member of Italy's Green party, called it a "provocation and intimidate effort" against the alternative media.

The website was established by organizations during the 1999 World Trade Organization (news - web sites) protests claiming the mainstream media failed to adequately cover the news.

It calls itself "a network of collectively run media outlets for the creation of radical, accurate and passionate tellings of the truth."

Indymedia said in a statement it "had been asked last month by the FBI to remove a story about Swiss undercover police from one of the websites hosted at Rackspace."

The statement added, "It is not known, however, whether Thursday's order is related to that incident since the order was issued to Rackspace and not to Indymedia. According to Rackspace, they 'cannot provide Indymedia with any information regarding the order.'"

by R. Isible Sat Oct 09, 2004 04:34

Statement issued by the IFJ (membership approx 500,000 journalists) called this "an intolerable and intrusive international police operation against a network specialising in independent journalism" and said it looked like it had more to do with "intimidation of legitimate journalistic inquiry".

Is this the first publically witnessed crime carried out by a US Federal government agency on UK soil?

by iosaf Sat Oct 09, 2004 11:45

I'm the source of one, you all know another, two haven't got much publicity, so here they are (in no particular order) -[my theory is the first]

1. The servers of French indymedia (and neighbouring Germany, Belgium, Basque and Andorra) were seized the day of a plutonium transit by road to prevent any terrorist theft of nuclear material. A trident ploughshares action proved last year the ease of demonstrating and stopping a shipment of nuclear material through Scotland, an event which was organised and reported on UK imc.

2. The swiss asked for a photo of one of their undercover policemen to be erased, and when it wasn't they asked the FBI to pull the plug on 20 different national imcs. (this is the most popular- probably coz it has "cops" in it)

3. The FBI wanted a look in on basque affairs and seized the hardward of euskalherria imc against the backdrop of the most serious international collaboration against ETA ever.

4. The FBI were investigating a international money laundering operation which spanned from a coca plantation just off the amazon (which was cunningly disguised in imc as a "save the rainforest" campaign) via boats to Galicia and Antwerp and the money was banked in Andorra.

Now number 4 would make a good movie but not good criminal practise, I wouldn't entrust multi-million dirty money operation "secret cryptic messages" to the vagaries of an indymedia editor- and the FBI wouldn't need to confiscate the equipment to investigate anything. Number 3 is exactly how lots of basque people see it, but is more the style of the CIA than the FBI. Number 2 is the most popular yet somehow seems the most silly.

I think number 1 is the most sensible theory, which is why I started spreading it. - If it's disinformation then I'm very sorry.

by eeekkkk Sat Oct 09, 2004 19:00

http://info.interactivist.net/comments.pl?sid=3597&cid=1681

by eeekkkk Sat Oct 09, 2004 23:44

and/or

http://www.uk.indymedia.org

by holdyournoses Sun Oct 10, 2004 01:02

If Switzerland are involved then we should take a closer look. I'm sure we will find that it is rotten to the core. I did a search on Yahoo for 'Switzerland AND corruption' and got 379,000 results:

"Search ResultsResults 1 - 20 of about 379,000 for Switzerland AND corruption - 0.16 sec."

This needs a closer look....

by Al Sun Oct 10, 2004 01:45

I think its unfair to show an undercover police officers face on the net. You are expossing him/her to harm alongwith their family, do you believe a young child should be harmed for what the parent does?
And besides that, the question of equality comes into play. You dont see the cops putting suspects pictures on the web.

by Indymedia surfer Mon Oct 11, 2004 14:13

As per the hypothesis 3 presented by Iosaf, the top man in ETA that was recently arrested, he had lived quite close to the 'Spanish' border for years carrying out a normalised life with his also detaineed wife and their 8 year old child. Honestly, it is not like a great intelligence investigation was needed to locate him and arrest him. The Spanish State needs ETA to remain together (there are lots of seccesionist movements within the Spanish State, it is not only the Basques, Catalans and Galizians who want to be independent, typical for an imperialist state), and the last thing they'd want, I would link, is to stop the organization but just to keep an eye on it and provoke them here and there so they can get it fat or thin as it suits them.

Since the Bush admin needs a terrorist attack to call off the elections, who knows, a 5th hypothesis could be that they are trying to provoke some needed terrorists to carry out the dirty job for them. That seems to be the Spanish tactics with ETA anyway, closing down newspapers and banning democratically elected parties, etc.

by Colm Mon Oct 11, 2004 19:17 shockabsorber at hotmail dot com

FBI Closes down Indymedia sites
The FBI has shut down some 20 sites which were part of an alternative media network known as Indymedia.
I didn't see any mention of this here so I thought I would post it... It's copied and pasted from the BBC website

=====================
A US court order forced the firm hosting the material to hand over two servers in the UK used by the group.

Indymedia says it is a news source for the anti-globalisation movement and other social justice issues.

The reasons behind the seizure are unclear but the FBI has reportedly said the action was taken at the request of Italian and Swiss authorities.

Legal action

The servers affected were run by Rackspace, a US web hosting company with offices in London.

It said it had received a court order from the US authorities last Thursday to hand over the computer equipment at its UK hosting facility.

"Rackspace is acting as a good corporate citizen and is cooperating with international law enforcement authorities," said a statement by the company.

It said it was responding to an order issued under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty. Under the agreement, countries assist each other in investigations such as international terrorism, kidnapping and money laundering

The reasons behind the action against the Indymedia websites are unclear.

The group said the servers affected had hosted the sites of more then 20 local collectives and audio streams for several radio stations, as well as several other projects.

"Indymedia had been asked last month by the FBI to remove a story about Swiss undercover police from one of the websites hosted at Rackspace," said the group in a statement.

"It is not known, however, whether Thursday's order is related to that incident since the order was issued to Rackspace and not to Indymedia."

'Intolerable and intrusive'

A FBI spokesperson told the AFP news agency that it was not an FBI operation, saying the order had been issued at the request of Italian and Swiss authorities.

The seizure has sparked off protests from journalist groups.

"We have witnessed an intolerable and intrusive international police operation against a network specialising in independent journalism," said Aidan White, general secretary of the International Federation of Journalists.

"The way this has been done smacks more of intimidation of legitimate journalistic inquiry than crime-busting."

The UK site of Indymedia is back up and running but several of the other 20 sites affected are still offline.

In the US, the civil liberties group, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) said it was working with Indymedia over how to react to the seizures.

"The constitution does not permit the government unilaterally to cut off the speech of an independent media outlet, especially without providing a reason or even allowing Indymedia the information necessary to contest the seizure," said EFF Staff Attorney Kurt Opsahl.

=====================

by eeekkk Mon Oct 11, 2004 19:55

'In the seized servers there were all the information related to Genoa events. We are very worried,'' Laura Tartarini from the Genoa Legal Forum said. The Legal Forum is the group of lawyers set up before the G8 meeting to deal with legal consequences of the protests.

Together with the Legal Forum, some Italian Indymedia activists are currently examining the videos recorded during the protests to help those activists accused of vandalism now being processed in Genoa court.

''Ironically this violation of the freedom of speech comes while the United Nations World Summit on the Information Society, begun in 2003 in Geneva and to be concluded in Tunis in 2005, is still ongoing,'' said Italian senator Fiorello Cortiana.

by iosaf Mon Oct 11, 2004 19:57

in the last 24hrs the servers of barcelona and switzerland have gone off line. The swiss have commented on this their feature page. They do not use a Rackspace server.The bcn bunch (who use the same server as the swiss) won't be intimidated by agent smith, and if you'd like to look in on the site you'll see the banner with a sweet little cat saying -"keep on" and the question "quin és la velocitat del somni?" which is catalan for "what is the speed of a dream?".
Andorra is still offline.
Lots of people today received text messages from the mobile service providers in BCN asking for "personal detail registration" so that call records could be passed on to "interested third parties" and the very ominious threat of a fine for non compliance.

This is the sort of thing that ought cause your mammy a lot of stress if she's the one who pays the internet bill. It might be time to sit her down and explain the script of the matrix to her, and re-assure her that even if you have spent four hours a day in front of the PC she bought you for christmas a few years back "being an editor", you're not really up to your neck in international terror, money laundering and x files. Once you've practised this on your mammy, you'll be ready for the moment agent smith comes through the office doors where you work and takes away your mouth. And yes it will be too late then to go munching any pills, hassling morpheus or trying to say sorry.

by Eoin Mon Oct 11, 2004 23:17

There's no need to cluster Indymedia content together on one server, or even with one hosting company. I think it started that way because the Indymedia admins could roll out a fresh IMC site with sub-domain like cityname.indymedia.org or eventname.indymedia.org in just a few minutes. These days most Indymedia software and other Content Management Systems (CMS) can be setup in under 10 minutes.

At one end of the spectrum of possible alternatives is to follow the lead of people who swap warez, mp3 songs and movies online: Spread it out like crazy. "Indymedia dot whatever" would just be a place to see content which is spread across different sites and internet protocols (web, ftp downloads, gnutella file sharing, instant messaging, and IRC chat). That's what the web was made for.

by toneore Tue Oct 12, 2004 10:53 toneore at eircom dot net

you know why this happened. But I doubt anyone gives a flying fiddler's about ETA, basks, etc. Other points:

1) "yes indymedia.ie's server is in the USA". Why? Because you're allowed freedom of speech? Or is it the tech support? (All information on it is subject to the PATRIOT act anyway. Well done, whoever made this strategic decision.
2) I agree it's wrong to publish pictures of law enforcement officials OR ANYONE else in a situation that would endanger their lives. It's pretty much a web-based version of scribbling gossip on a toilet door anyway.
3) Your software architecture is crap. Losing your data and your web server because you've got it in the same location or on the same disk is just dumb. You can buy a server for 500 EURO for Fuck's Sake.

by seedot Tue Oct 12, 2004 11:13

to toneore

1) the only material on the server is the freely available content and the hidden posts. Since IP addresses are not collected the Patriot Act has nothing to seize.

2) given your opinion of Indymedia you seem fairly content to hang out in toilets adding your scribbling

3) The overall network is fairly resilient - multiple servers, locations, software solutions. The centralisation of some European nodes was a weakness - however even here there was a range of solutions in place with UK having a full site back in 4 hours due to mirrors etc. Indymedia.ie is not centralised and is on the more resilent end of the spectrum (we hope) since changes made during Mayday. There are improvements and lessons which are being taken on board.

Eoin - yes , distributiion of content adds resilience but there is always a balance (need to ensure availability, tech resources and transparency which p2p doesn't really offer yet).

Overall

on the spectrum of: dismiss and mock -> repress and attack -> accept the new model
Indymedia seems to be now in phase 2.

by blurred Tue Oct 12, 2004 12:13

there are still no concrete answers as to how and why the fbi can do this ?
ok. under the patriot act. but why for what reasons?
No server is secure, this smells like the beginning of a difficult time for indymedia, the fbi would be well aware of our capabilities in getting back up but they would not tke such an action on it's own without some thought for the long term!

by Someone Tue Oct 12, 2004 21:36

Why would the CIA or Mossad block their own Indymedia? Have you seen the people that write in it? Always the same three or four claiming anyone who doesn't like zionists are nazis. Not Palestinians writing in it certainly!!!

by Internet surferer Tue Oct 12, 2004 21:55

Iosaf, ups!, I mean, agent smyth's more common but often overlooked disguise: psychiatrist or psychologist claiming you're mad.

Dear Iosaf, you'll have to change your Indymedia name, cos we know already you are working for some Government from previous threads. You can't hide it, lots of 'fat' children in front of computers have already guessed. You said we were children, right?

They say there's a low in the Universe, that what goes around comes around. I don't know if it is true, but I hope it is, cos there has to be some justice of some kind.
Will you get offended by it? Are you bothered by what computer children or crazy people have to say about you?
You can try and take our mouths away, but you're in a worse position, you're black and sticky where the heart is supposed to go.

by Chekov Wed Oct 13, 2004 14:15

More speculation. Village Voice "FBI-led seizure of Indymedia computers in U.K. may be tied to U.S. election": http://www.infoshop.org/inews/stories.php?story=04/10/12/8399513

What is very clear, however, is that this operation was not intended to gather information. That would have been easy as all the information is publicly accessible on the sites and no logs or other secret information is retained. Even if the feds had thought that there was secret information on the servers, they could have just copied the disks without interfering with the service. This was intended to simply damage the network, the modern equivalent of raiding a publisher, taking lump-hammers to the printing press and setting fire to the archives.

by dunk Wed Oct 13, 2004 18:11

with the use of above quote from poster above a serious amount of argument has broken out on europes student architectural website, EASA with the original post being edited.
heres link
http://easa.antville.org/stories/941049/

by iosaf - (not many people know this - but I am actually an "x-gov. employee" Wed Oct 13, 2004 19:37

Rackspace were given the confiscated hard disks back this morning and they are now in the servers.
´
If you goto this link you will find the wonderful little site of the indymedia collective of Andorra and "el seu de Urgell".
http://andorra.indymedia.org/

The infamous Bush Regime most wanted cards are not however available. It will take some time before we know what has been removed. For the moment the servers are thus being treated as "cracked or hacked".

In the new "post FBI" climate it is worth remembering that articles on el seu de Urgell IMC with titles like "I'll piss on his fucking grave!" or probably tongue in cheek and not meant to incite any actual urination on the graves of any acting or ex president of the USA.

Finally the long weekend in Spanish jurisdiction land, meant that techie problems with the servers of BCN, Switzerland and Madrid / sindominio were not solved as quickly as possible, and the temporary loss of those sites was not in any way related to Agent Smith. But like the paranoia does wonders for readership and self-esteem.

:-)
I was joking about the kiddie editors. But I'm sure there are some in the States. "Hank? wot shu doin?" "I'm been an editor ma!" "Well you come down here now you're meatloaf 's ready".

by BP Thu Oct 14, 2004 13:22

To help get our heads straight about what has happend here, consider the following parable:

You have something you value, let's say your wallet - stuffed with cash - but you don't want to carry it around because it might get stolen - what do you do?

Pay somebody else to carry your wallet?

If you do that, you'd want to be sure he's the kind of character prepared to withstand a straightforward 'hey, I need your wallet' request from any thug on the street.

Rackspace is the type of 'good corporate citizen' anxious to protect it's bottom line and thus happy to collude with any 'authorities' to bend you over a barrel - maybe that is not the type of 'service' Indymedia needs.

Nota bene:

1 The FBI did not 'seize' anything - they politely asked for it and it was immediately all handed over gift-wrapped. Some accuracy in reporting here, please, even though not necessarily flattering to oneself.

2 'Not One Reason Given' - you hand over your wallet as a gift, and when the guy runs off with it you blurt out, "Hey, you never told me WHY you wanted it!" - that's just pathetic - that is NOT YOUR PROBLEM, you should not even be interested in that question (the answer to which is patently obvious but does not further you in solving YOUR PROBLEM).

3 So now get to work on solving YOUR PROBLEM as opposed to crying about it - as a first step, take a large wooden mallet and self-administer a fair old knock to the head - good, you have learned your lesson and will remember this one - second, read the fine-print before signing up with spineless bastard server companies. If they do exactly what they promise to do in the contract - ie cave in at the first whiff of a 'compliance request' from the state - don't blame them, you agreed to it!

SO NOW WHAT?

More and smaller IMC servers physically located among people prepared to fight to hold on to them sounds like a lot better idea if staying online in this atmosphere of intense corporate/state collusion is a priority - with real-time mirrors in another jurisdiction even better.

Then how about adopting the Cryptome maxim - "Don't even talk to us about taking down stuff unless it's in the form of a written and valid court order binding in this jurisdiction" Then we can go into court for a LEGAL BATTLE against that order - while raising a public hue-and-cry at the same time.

Indymedia, of all entities on the net, should be under no illusions as to the nature of its enemies.

Crying over spilt milk is an admission of defeat, a diversion and a terrible waste of energy.

by iosaf Thu Oct 14, 2004 14:02

an excerpt from the text of editorial analysis by Alistair Coleman of BBC Monitoring Media Services on 13 October-

"The seizure of London-based web servers used by the anti-globalization news organisation Indymedia has drawn sharp criticism from media watchdogs and human rights groups. These groups view the use of far-reaching international treaties to close several web sites as a politically-motivated denial of free speech with global implications for the freedom of expression."

[ I think the last commentator will agree that the BBC are considered to be generally reliable in their use of english terminology. ]

Meanwhile the "post-FBI" situation in the UK continues-

Richard Allan, Liberal Democrat MP for Sheffield, Hallam, has tabled a Parliamentary question to the Home Office asking David Blunkett the British Interior Minister-

"what recent discussions he has had with US law enforcement agencies concerning the seizure of material from UK-based internet hosting providers; and if he will make a statement."

This is to be dealt with later today. MPs in the National Union of Journalists' Parliamentary Group are also tabling questions. The answers (if any) will be posted here.

***.:.***
meanwhile - if you've got something really valuable, and you don't want to carry it around with you, best thing to do is found a hermetic and esoteric order bury your valuables somewhere safe but remember to move them every third generation at least, encrypt the co-ordinates and instructions and leave them as palimpsets in public places of worship, and only ever allow four living souls to share conflicting versions of the pin code to a swiss or andorran safety deposit box, the keys of which ought be safely dsitributed between other members of the order unknown to the keepers of the pin.
Works for us. Faling that, just send me an email and your secret and i'll keep it for you.

by No 6 Thu Oct 14, 2004 19:57

Dunk why do you think anyone would care about the fact that you're having a tiff about this with a bunch of architecture students from europe? How is that relevant?

Furthermore by the sounds of the posts on that board they seem as pissed off at your meandering clueless posts are we are over here.

by iosaf Fri Oct 15, 2004 14:05

This is a petition from indymedia (all of us - readers - writers - users - collectives - editors - techcrew - photographers - journalists using the site as source or inspiration - those who fund - even the detractors - friends - all of us)
which will be sent (Oct 31) to
The Rt Hon David Blunkett, MP (UK); Attorney General John Ashcroft (USA); The Director of the FBI; The US Department of State; Appropriate officials in the government of Italy; Appropriate officials in the government of Switzerland.

you can sign up at
http://solidarity.indymedia.org.uk/

you may choose to hide your details from the public viewing the signature list if you want.

*************************
or you may like to help the EFF, ( Electronic Frontier Foundation ) a nonprofit group of passionate people — lawyers, technologists, volunteers, and visionaries — working to protect your digital rights.
They are handling the IMC legal defence are responsible for the injuction which has prevented the removal of IMC information from british jurisdiction.
http://www.eff.org/

by redjade Thu Oct 21, 2004 12:59

Was the seizure of Indymedia's servers in London unlawful or did the UK
government collude?

http://www.statewatch.org/news/2004/oct/04uk-usa-indymedia.htm

- "A trail that started in Switzerland and Italy has now ended fairly and
squarely in the lap of the UK Home Secretary to justify"

On Thursday 7 October a US subpoena was issued ordering the London office of
Rackspace (a US company) to take down and hand over Indymedia's web servers
which it hosted. An FBI spokesman, Joe Parris, told AFP (link) that: "It is
not an FBI operation. Through a legal assistance treaty, the subpoena was on
behalf of a third country". The subpoena he confirmed had been issued at the
request of Swiss and Italian authorities. He further said that there was no
US investigation but that the agency had cooperated under the terms of an
international treaty on law enforcement.

On Friday 8 October Rackspace put out the following statement:

by eeeekkkkk Fri Apr 01, 2005 17:10

Don't I recognize that address - struggle?

by chekov Fri Apr 01, 2005 17:42

the server flag.blackened.net which hosts the struggle.ws collection of Irish radical sites among other well known radical sites such as infoshop.org is being investigated by the FBI.