Hacktivists target Stratfor to expose US crimes

1. By Barrett Brown
   via Twitter
   http://pastebin.com/WPE73rhy
   
   
   In the wake of the recent operation by which Stratfor's servers were compromised, much of the media has focused on the fact that some participants in the attack chose to use obtained customer credit card numbers to make donations to charitable causes. Although this aspect of the operation is indeed newsworthy, and, like all things, should be scrutinized and criticized as necessary, the original purpose and ultimate consequence of the operation has been largely ignored.
2.  
3. Stratfor was not breached in order to obtain customer credit card numbers, which the hackers in question could not have expected to be as easily obtainable as they were. Rather, the operation was pursued in order to obtain the 2.7 million e-mails that exist on the firm's servers. This wealth of data includes correspondence with untold thousands of contacts who have spoken to Stratfor's employees off the record over more than a decade. Many of those contacts work for major corporations within the intelligence and military contracting sectors, government agencies, and other institutions for which Anonymous and associated parties have developed an interest since February of 2011, when another hack against the intelligence contractor/security firm HBGary revealed, among many other things, a widespread conspiracy by the Justice Department, Bank of America, and other parties to attack and discredit Wikileaks and other activist groups. Since that time, many of us in the movement have dedicated our lives to investigating this state-corporate alliance against the free information movement. For this and other reasons, operations have been conducted against Booz Allen Hamilton, Unveillance, NATO, and other relevant institutions. The bulk of what we've uncovered thus far may be reviewed at a wiki maintained by my group Project PM, echelon2.org.
4.  
5. Although Stratfor is not necessarily among the parties at fault in the larger movement against transparency and individual liberty, it has long been a "subject of interest" in our necessary investigation. The e-mails obtained before Christmas Day will vastly improve our ability to continue that investigation and thereby bring to light other instances of corruption, crime, and deception on the part of certain powerful actors based in the U.S. and elsewhere. Unlike the various agents of the U.S. Government, the hacking team that obtained this information did not break down the doors of the target, point guns at children, and shoot down any dogs that might have been present; Anonymous does not resort to SWAT tactics, and this is simply one of many attributes that separate the movement from the governments that have sought to end our campaign and imprison our participants. Of course, such points as these will not prevent our movement from being subjected to harsher scrutiny than is given to those governments which are largely forgiven their more intrusive tactics by virtue of their status as de facto holders of power in a world that has long been governed in accordance with the dictate that might makes right.
6.  
7. Incidentally, many of us are more than happy to proceed according to that amoral dictate if we find it to be necessary. And, increasingly, we have found it to be so.
8.  
9. Barrett Brown
10. Project PM
11. irc.project-pm.org

Russell Means: New Thinking for Protests

New Thinking for Protests

Twitter and the menacing hashtag subpoenas

Twitter and the menacing hashtag subpoena

Anonymous to Boston Police Department: 'You are chasing a ghost'

By Brenda Norrell
Censored News
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com/

The big joke at Twitter is: “Are you a hashtag?” Those of us who are low-tech are now relieved that we were too computer-challenged to grasp the full meaning of the hashtag #. But, according to Anonymous, the Boston Police Department didn’t fully understand the hashtag either when it began issuing the now infamous: Hashtag subpoenas.

Unfortunately, either because I’m in Twitter’s doghouse now, or Twitter is frozen to honor Christmas, I can’t access the Boston hashtag subpoena, or the Harry Potter cartoon: “Are you a hashtag?” or the message from Anonymous explaining how the Boston Police Department was subpoenaing the wrong hashtag. I can however, give you the Night Before Hashtag Christmas.

The Twitter hashtag subpoena was issued after Anonymous allegedly published personal information on Boston police officers. This was in reaction to the brutalizing of members of the Occupy movement.

On the lighter side, we have this:

THE NIGHT BEFORE HASHTAG CHRISTMAS

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through Twitter
Not a tweeter was stirring, not even a troll mister;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that Anonymous Tweeters would soon would be there;
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-tweets danced in their heads;
And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled down for a long winter's nap,
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But the Boston Police Department helicopter with a basket of hashtag subpoenas and little plastic handcuffs,
With little old drivers, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be the Boston Police Department
More rapid than eagles their coursers they came,
And they whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;
"Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! on Cupid! on, Donder and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now hashtag away! hashtag away! hashtag away all!"
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney the Boston Police Department SWAT Team came with a bound.
They were dressed all in SWATgear from their heads to their feet,
And their armor was all tarnished with pepper spray and soot;
A bundle of hashtag subpoenas they had flung on their backs,
And they looked like peddlers just opening their teargas packs.
Their eyes -- how they twinkled! their dimples how merry!
Their cheeks were like roses, their noses like cherries!
Their droll little mouths were drawn up like bows,
And the rim of their gas masks were as white as the snow;
The stumps of their hashtag pipes they held tight in their teeth,
And the smoke it encircled their heads like a wreath;
They had broad faces and little round bellies,
That shook, when they laughed like a bowlful of doughnut jelly.
They were chubby and plump, right jolly old elves,
And I laughed when I saw them, in spite of myself;
They spoke not a word, but went straight to their work,
And filled all the stockings with hashtag subpoenas;
And laying their fingers aside of their noses,
And giving a nod, up the chimney they rose;
They sprang to their SWAT helicopter and gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard them exclaim, ere they drove out of sight,
"Happy hashtag subpoenas to all, and to all a good night!"
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Twitter Hashtag #
1. Definition: The # symbol, called a hashtag, is used to mark keywords or topics in a Tweet.
Ok, if that message looks Sci-Fi to you, and you haven’t been on Twitter, a Tweet is just a short message posted on Twitter. The hashtag is meant to make it easier for you to find things.
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Anonymous responds to hashtag subppoenas
Posted on Christmas eve on Twitter

i would like to respond to the recent subpoenas on multiple people. My first and most important point is that this subpoena is illegal do to the fact that the acts leading up to it were not illegal, plain and simple.

lawyers have confirmed that it is legal to compile and release publicly available information on people. This "doxing" is in fact legal and we will undoubtedly protect till the bitter end.
second, since you spelled d0xcak3 wrong, it makes your subpoena a legally void; a spelling error is enough to dismiss it in court.
third you subpoena the word “guidofawkes: which is Italian for guy fawkes who is a historical figure. It is not specificied whether the historical figure or the hashtag is being subpoenaed.
fourth is the fact that you cannot subpoena a hash tag because it invades the privacy of tens of thousands of people without just cause
fifth the occupyboston account you are have subpoenaed is not affiliated with anything and hasn't tweeted since 2010.
if you try to subpoena tens of thousands of people based of a subject you may be liable for a class action lawsuit (in which you will lose)
many people are outraged for the following reasons,your subpoena on a subject,your illegal subpoena on law abiding citizens and lack of consideration for the "law" in which is your field of practice "allegedly"
also take note that on top of massive work and effort you will not obtain useful information
besides vpn and tor exit node ip's so the "bounty" of your investigation will be unfruitful.
as besides taking illegal measures of investigating legal acts and invading privacy of thousands and getting nothing but ips which will do you no good you are investigating nothing
you are chasing a ghost,which if you did manage to summon anyone for court is MASS. it would not be a federal issue so you could not even extradite anyone to your state.
many people are outraged and seek retaliation but we do not support their actions, for we abide by the law
please stop these actions and this colossal embarrassment on yourselves and minimize the fallout.
yours truly, anonymous and our 9000 lawyers
....ps
come at me bro
you state you are investigating a a ongoing criminal investigation,my lawyers would like to know what you are deeming a criminal act due to the fact no laws where broken.Which is slanderous to accuse my organization and defamation under the certain pretenses.As we are big supporters of the law and are very aware of our rights,as you may not have yet noticed.
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Update: Copy of subpoena: Boston to Twitter: Don't tell anyone:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/76393350/Subpoena-on-p0isAn0n-OccupyBoston-BostonPD-d0xcak3
.
Update Dec. 30, 2011: Could this getting any weirder:
ACLU: Judge seals hashtag subpoena documents:
http://www.aclum.org/news_12.29.11

The New Journalism: Get out the barf bag

The New Journalism: Get out the barf bag

By Brenda Norrell

Censored News
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com

Normally I don't read the newspapers at the library, especially if I don't have a bottle of Pepto Bismo handy. But since the bus driver thought the city bus might be on fire, and we all had to disembark, I found myself wandering through those menacing aisles at the downtown library.

Unfortunately, I picked up a copy of Indian Country Today and saw a revolting Playboy style spread in what was once a great newspaper that I worked for. ICT has hired a former Playboy editor as its editor and the newspaper is now worse than I could have ever imagined.

Quickly tossing that aside, I picked up the glossy magazine Native Peoples. In the first few pages, my vision was assaulted by an entire full page advertisement for the CIA.

There really could be no better case made for the degeneration of journalism, and the demise of Indian country journalism, than these two items.
Besides these forms of the plummeting of the integrity in journalism, there is also the new journalism offering unexpected nausea.

The New Journalism: Plagiarism and the 10 minute phone call
The new journalism is actually the old plagiarism. It is disguised at times with a 10 minute phone call, and a courtesy photo, or a stolen photo, but it is still plagiarism. It is easy to spot. Just type the key words into Google News or Google Web, and you'll see the original stories that the highly-paid thieves are plagiarizing.
Anyone, including preteens these days, can shoot a decent news photo with a digital camera or cellphone. If there's no photo, it is very likely that the reporter wasn't there. And if you think the newspaper is doing you a favor by using your photo for a coverup, without paying you, rethink this. If they have advertising, they are making money and you should be getting paid.

The Parasite: The armchair journalist

This is the reporter who sits in an easy chair and plagiarizes. Most of their time is spent trying to deceive you. First they want readers to believe they were actually out on a news story. Next, if you're one of their victims, they want you to know how lucky you are that they are writing about you. They spend more time spending their paychecks, acquired by stealing the hard work of others, than undertaking journalism.

The 'Bore Me to Death' Reporter

There's another type of journalist who is not hard at work these days. This one comes under the category of "Bore me to death." This reporter writes about the same topic, year after year, because they never leave the comfort of their home or office.

The Drive By
Yes, there's still non-Indians who drive out to Indian country once a week to write about how bad it all is. And thanks to the good ole boy editors, those hit-and-run reporters still capture headlines.

As long as people are preoccupied with the never-ending political corruption, they will not focus on the melting of the Arctic from the local coal-fired power plants, the depletion of the pristine aquifers, the poisoning of the rivers, or the young people who are being recruited to die in the bogus wars of corporations and politicians.

Don't kiss and tell

Editors, if you want people to be test cases for experimental drug research, or consent to strip searches by anthropologists, don't admit it.

The Sell outs

Finally, for the corporate media, we know the advertisers pay your salary. We know your bosses are afraid of the US and local politicians, and are either in bed with them or are having lunch with them.
We know they want you to cheerlead for drones at the borders, conceal the truth of Wikileaks and to shun the actions of protesters.
We know your editors want us all to be distracted, placated and hypnotized by non-news and Walmart shopping, and paralyzed by fear.
Why not put a disclaimer at the end of your article: 'Bought and paid for by ...'

Brenda Norrell, news reporter in Indian country for 29 years, is publisher of Censored News.