>Return-path: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Date: Thu, 31 Jul 1997 18:59:38 -0700 (PDT) >From: Raleigh Myers <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: (XPN) IGC/Basque Censorship Issue >Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >X-Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >Computer underground Digest Wed July 23, 1997 Volume 9 : Issue >58 > ISSN 1004-042X > > Editor: Jim Thomas ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) > News Editor: Gordon Meyer ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) > Archivist: Brendan Kehoe > Shadow Master: Stanton McCandlish > Shadow-Archivists: Dan Carosone / Paul Southworth > Ralph Sims / Jyrki Kuoppala > Ian Dickinson > Field Agent Extraordinaire: David Smith > Cu Digest Homepage: http://www.soci.niu.edu/~cudigest > >CONTENTS, #9.58 (Wed, July 23, 1997) >... >File 5--More on IGC/Basque Censorship Issue >... > >------------------------------ > > >[Centerfold article in this week's The Irish People] > >No Ceasefire on the Web: Basque Website Under Attack. >Are Irish Republican Sites Next? > >by Eugene McElroy >July 26, 1997 > >As this article is being written, the IRA is announcing its plan for a >cease-fire in conjunction with Sinn Fein becoming a full partner of >the talks process. But while the six counties take a step back from >the >precipice and the world looks on in hope, the war in cyber-space is >heating up to unprecedented levels. > >In a development that has serious and direct implications for the >work of Irish Republican cyber-activists the world over, the Institute >for Global Communications (IGC) on Friday, July 18th, suspended a >World Wide Web site supporting Basque independence in Spain, the >Euskal Herria Journal (EHJ) site. > >Euskal Herria Journal is a New York-based organization supporting >Basque independence in Spain and France. The Journal's goal was to >publish "information often ignored by the international media and to >build communication bridges for a better understanding of the >conflict." > >The site also contained articles on human rights, politics, language, >and lawful Basque groups working for autonomy, as well as a >collection of hyperlinks to sites with views opposed to the ETA. > >EHJ has been victimized by a world-wide campaign inspired and no >doubt organized by the Spanish government in an attempt to muzzle >the voice of the Basque independence movement in the wake of the >killing of a hostage, Miguel Angel Blanco, by ETA guerrillas last >Tuesday (July 15th). Blanco had been taken prisoner by ETA, who >demanded the release of Basque political prisoners, or at least >grouping them together in a few prisons in the Basque Country in >exchange for Blanco's release. In a highly charged atmosphere that >riveted the attention of the entire Spanish-speaking world, the >government's predictably refused ETA's demands. Blanco was found >severely wounded. He died a short time later in the hospital on >Tuesday. > >By Thursday, reports were coming out from Spain that a systematic >campaign, conducted under the auspices of the Spanish government, >was underway to isolate not only ETA and the political party Herri >Batasuna (HB), but also anyone identified as an "accomplice of ETA." > >It came to my attention on Thursday morning, July 17th, while >reading the electronic version of El Pais, a newspaper of record in >Montevideo, Uruguay. El Pais ran an article from the Spanish news >agency EFE saying that ETA and HB were now totally banned from the >Spanish media. But more than that, a group called El Movimiento por >la Paz, el Desarme y la Libertad (Movement for Peace, Disarmament >and Liberty-MPDL) was that day beginning a campaign to drive >"immediately" off the Internet web site any pages containing ETA, HB >or Basque independence material, such as the EHJ site. Pressure was to >be applied on web-site servers to deny these pages their facilities. > >Within an hour after reading the article in El Pais, a message turned >up on the mailing list for Club Atletico Penarol, the premier soccer >team in Uruguay, whose fortunes I follow with interest. Normally, >the list is for soccer-related items only. But there appeared from a >site >in Hong Kong an anonymous message that was very long. > >Without any explanation and with many hysterical references to >terrorism, the message urged readers to inundate, or mail-bomb, the >Basque web sites and the sites of the servers that host these pages. > >By the next day, Friday July 18th, IGC received a huge number of >protest e-mail messages asking for the removal of one of its Web >sites. >Marta, from the EHJ office, reported that Peacenet was choked with >over 7,000 messages demanding the removal of the EHJ page. >Protestors said that the site "supported terrorism" because it >contained >material sympathetic to Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA), the armed >independence group that has committed widely denounced political >violence in Spain. > >This volume was far more than anything IGC-Peacenet could ever >accommodate, and their hand was quickly forced. "It is only under >protest that we have suspended the Euskal Herria Journal site, so that >we can continue to provide basic Internet services to our other >clients," said IGC acting executive director Scott Weikart. "We call >on >all those concerned that legal political speech can be forcibly >censored >by Internet attacks to stand with us and protest these tactics. If it >can >happen to one web site, it can happen to any web site," he said. > >During the past week, IGC reported that "...[our] system has suffered >from organized, malicious attacks designed not to communicate with >anyone, but simply to make [our] computers unusable. These included >'mailbombings,' or a large volume of repetitive e-mail messages >intended to overwhelm the computers handling e-mail, and 'denial >of service' assaults aimed at overwhelming IGC connections to the >Internet." > >Program coordinator Maureen Mason added, "Whether IGC is right >or wrong to publish this site, the Internet community should not >tolerate censorship by e-mail-bombing. It's like vandalizing a >bookstore to protest a book." > >Audrie Krause, director of the Internet policy and educational >organization NetAction, responded to the call for support. She urged >the Internet community to "mirror" the controversial site, saying >"IGC is under attack by cyberspace vigilantes because the organization >provided a forum for proponents of a controversial political >viewpoint." > >Aiding the attack was the Spanish government's own official request, >tendered to the American news service CNN, to de-link the EHJ web >site from CNN's main page. CNN has refused to do this. What lends >suspicion to the notion of a government coordinated "peace >movement" is that although the small IGC server was "bombed," the >"bombing campaign" was coordinated enough that no attempt has >been made to mail-bomb the CNN offices. This would have been a >public-relations disaster for the government and the movement. It >implies a high degree of coordination to make sure that the campaign >did not spin out of its makers' control; rather astounding, given the >highly-decentralized nature of the Internet. > >Starting to sound familiar? To any Irish activist, it should. A "peace >movement," with seemingly endless resources and media access (i.e., >in cooperation with the government and no doubt the intelligence >services), springs to life after a tragic incident, isolates that >incident >outside of the wider conflict it is part of, and mobilizes sectors of >a >war-weary people, as well as a world-wide audience, with dramatic >visual images and verbal appeals without context but loaded with >vague references to "peace" and about "terrorism," to attack the >insurgent side of the conflict. And if you don't hysterically and >unequivocally condemn the terrorists, then you, too, are a terrorist. > >We've seen it in Ireland more than once: the so-called "Peace >Women," "Peace People," "Peace Trains," and later incarnations, such >as "Peace Movements" whose sole demand is the surrender of the >other side. And if surrender is not forthcoming, they call on >"responsible forces" to "eliminate" the problem. It is a page right >out >of Frank Kitson's counter-insurgency bible, Low Intensity Operations: >Subversion, Insurgency, and Peacekeeping. > >This kind of "peace movement" calls on everyone to "cooperate with >the police" but neglects police and army brutality. In the case of the >Basques, the very week that the MPDL was carrying out its >mail-bombing campaign the former Spanish prime minister Felipe >Gonzalez admitted in the New York Times on July 17th that his >government authorized secret death squads against ETA and HB >members. He admitted to 27 deaths caused by the squads, some being >cases of mistaken identity. No doubt the actual number is far higher. >All this escaped MPDL's attention. > >No one wants violence or wants war, and the decision to enter into >one is fraught with danger and pain. The desire for peace and order is >universal. But a clear distinction must be made between a genuine >desire for peace, and the manipulation of peace rhetoric, imagery and >symbolism for the purpose of hiding the political goals of the state >sponsors of the conflict. > >The implications for Irish Republican cyber-activists are obvious. How >long will it be before a motley collection of Workers Party/Democratic >Left functionaries, Fine Gael, Tories, Loyalists, "peace people," >"peace >trains," and assorted clergy, no doubt with the invisible hand of a >number of security and intelligence psy-ops departments showing the >way, seize on a real or imagined tragedy and are mobilized to >"mail-bomb" the servers of the various Republican web sites or Irish >pages that have links to The Irish People or APRN, or mailing lists >like Ireland_list? > >Indeed, Ireland_list is under attack this very week from a number of >loyalist disrupters whose names and e-mail addresses are by now well >known to the hundreds of Ireland_list subscribers. > >It is well known that in the cyber wars, Republican activists have >beaten the loyalists and the British Information Services to the >punch. > >An Phoblacht and The Irish People, to name only two sources, are >now widely distributed over the net. The quality of these various >pages and lists, commented on here weekly, is well known and stands >in marked contrast to the racist, jingoist bigotry that passes for the >loyalist lists. Just check the UDA Home page or Conrad Bladey's >Unionist-L mailing list for yourself and see. > >What's more, they know they've been beaten to the draw, and they >don't like it one bit. The mail-bombing of lists, the threats to >subscribers and activists, are really all that's left to them. > >What's more, the Republican cyber-activists don't have to engage in >such tactics. We don't have to engage in mail-bombing, threats or >other acts of intimidation. We have such confidence in our own >argument that we will meet the loyalists or British head to head >on-line. But that's the last thing they want. > >Further, Republican cyber-activists encourage everyone to view the >loyalist/Orange/British web sites. Far from wishing to prevent their >dissemination, Republicans want as many persons as possible to read >for themselves, confident that any fair-minded person, any democrat, >will soon be repelled by the bigotry they will see. Ireland_list >welcomed news postings from loyalist sources, but the light of day >proved too much for the cyber-bowlers and they began to disrupt the >list the way a poor-sport chess player might scatter the pieces when >s/he realizes a defeat. > >You won't find links to Republican sources on Orange/loyalist pages, >and you won't find loyalist mailing lists accepting postings from >AP/RN. That should tell you something. > >No one can know for sure how the next swing on the cyber-war will >strike. The example of the suppression of the Basque list is extremely >ominous. Our turn might be next. Take it as a warning: When the >time does come and Republican cyber-activists call out for your >support to defend a list or a web site, you must be ready to give it. >Whether you own a terminal or not, Irish Republicans cannot >relinquish the hard-won ground on the Internet. > >Please support our Basque friends. Contact Peacenet today and >demand they stand by EHJ and not cave in to state-sponsored >cybermania. > > Who are IGC and APC? > >The Institute for Global Communications is a California-based >10-year-old nonprofit organization that provides Web hosting, e-mail >access and other Internet services primarily to activists working for >peace, economic and social justice, human rights and environmental >sustainability around the world. > >Since 1986, when PeaceNet was founded in Palo Alto, Cal., IGC has >been growing and expanding, to bring Internet tools to organizations >and individuals working on peace, justice, human rights, >environmental protection, labor issues, and conflict resolution. > >IGC is the American member of the Association for Progressive >Communications, a global partnership of computer networks that >link activists around the world. > >In its own words, "The Association for Progressive Communications >(APC) is a global network of networks whose mission is to empower >and support organizations, social movements and individuals >through the use of information and communication technologies to >build strategic communities and initiatives for the purpose of making >meaningful contributions to human development, social justice, >participatory democracies and sustainable societies." > >Composed of a consortium of 25 international member networks, >APC offers vital links of communication to over 50,000 NGOs, >activists, educators, policy-makers, and community leaders in 133 >countries. > >APC member networks' main purpose is to develop and maintain the >informational system that allows for geographically dispersed groups >who are working for social and environmental change to coordinate >activities on-line at a much cheaper rate than can be done by fax, >telephone, or for-profit computer networks. APC is committed to >making these tools available to persons from all regions in the world. > >IGC's mission statement gives its purpose: "To expand and inspire >movements for peace, economic and social justice, human rights and >environmental sustainability around the world by providing and >developing accessible computer networking tools." > > Statement of IGC-Peacenet on Basque website > >"Until July 18, 1997, [IGC] was the homepage of the Euskal Herria >Journal, a Web site hosted by the Institute for Global >Communications. > >"IGC was forced to suspend the site, as a result of a sustained >campaign of e-mail 'mailbombing,' a large volume of repetitive >e-mail intended to make our computers unusable. It is only under >protest that we suspend the Euskal Herria Journal site, so that we can >continue to provide basic Internet services, like e-mail, for our >nearly >13,000 subscribers. We call on organizations and individuals >concerned about freedom of expression on the Internet to stand with >us in protest of these tactics, and join the statement of support >below. > >"The Institute for Global Communications is a 10-year-old nonprofit >organization that provides Web hosting, e-mail access and other >Internet services primarily to activists working for peace, economic >and social justice, human rights and environmental sustainability >around the world. > >"IGC hosted a Web site for the Euskal Herria Journal, a New >York-based organization supporting Basque independence in Spain >and France, whose goal was to publish 'information often ignored by >the international media, and to build communication bridges for a >better understanding of the conflict.' > >"This month, IGC has received a huge number of protest e-mail >messages asking us to remove the Euskal Herria Journal site because >of sections protestors say supported Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA), the >armed independence group that has committed widely denounced >political violence in Spain. The site also contained articles on human >rights, politics, language, and other Basque groups working for >autonomy, as well as a collection of hyperlinks to sites with views >opposing ETA. > >"Many, many messages to IGC were legitimate expressions of protest. >We respect the people who wrote them and, as a humanitarian >organization, we take their views into account. > >"For almost two weeks, however, IGC's system has suffered from >organized, malicious attacks designed not to communicate with us, >but simply to bring its servers to a standstill. These 'mailbombings,' >or >a volume of e-mail intended to render our computers unusable, >include: > >Hundreds of duplicate messages sent over and over again - huge >message files containing garbage or one phrase repeated thousands of >times. > > Mail with no return address, automated to go out continually to >bog down our mail system. > > Large volumes of mail with forged return addresses routed through >random Internet providers, so they can't be answered or traced. > >"This destructive campaign has overwhelmed our ability to keep our >system running, and we have made the difficult decision to suspend >the Euskal Herria Journal Web site--under protest--so that we can >continue to serve the many other individuals and organizations who >depend on our services. While the site is suspended, we call on all >those concerned that legal political speech can be forcibly censored >by >"mailbombing" attacks to protest the tactics used against us. > >"If it can happen to us, it can happen to anyone." > >STATEMENT OF SUPPORT > >Statement from NetAction (San Francisco, Cal.) > >July 18, 1997 > >"IGC is under attack by cyberspace vigilantes because the organization >provided a forum for proponents of a controversial political >viewpoint. This is precisely why free speech in cyberspace is so >important. It's crucial that the Internet community demonstrate >support for IGC by mirroring the site that prompted this unwarranted >attack. The mailbombers need to know that vigilante censorship is >just as unacceptable as government censorship." > >Audrie Krause, Executive Director > >Contact IGC/Peacenet and tell them to restore the Basque websites. >When you call them, identify yourself as an activist in the struggle >for >a united Ireland. Ask IGC: If this can happen to our Basque comrades, >is this the type of treatment we can also expect at some point when >some MI5/Special Branch "Peace Movement" is mobilized to knock >Irish Republican sites off of the Internet? > >Please remember that IGC are not the enemy. However disappointig >their action was, they had the proverbial gun to their head. They >hosted EHJ originally and in my experience with them were always >supportive of the efforts of cyber-Republicans. It's though by some >activists that even though IGC backed down in the face of the >mail-bomb onslaught, IGC certainly objects to it. The action was taken >under protest and "duress." Let them know you support them in the >struggle for freedom of expression on the Web, as in this case with >EHJ. > >Scott Weikart, IGC Acting Executive Director, [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >IGC Advisory Board: Charlie Metzler, Barbara Giuffrey, Mutombo >Mpanya, Drummond Pike, Joanne Kliejunas, Hal Harvey, Gil Friend, >China Brotsky, Nathaniel Borenstein > >Institute for Global Communications (IGC)--Internet Host >PeaceNet/EcoNet/ConflictNet/LaborNet/WomensNet >Presidio Building 1012, First Floor >Torney Avenue >PO Box 29904 >San Francisco, CA 94107, USA >Tel: +1 (415) 561 6100 >Fax: +1 (415) 561 6101 >E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >WWW: http://www.igc.apc.org >User Support: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >EcoNet: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >PeaceNet: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >ConflictNet: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >LaborNet: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >WomensNet: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >IGC East Coast Office >1731 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 400 >Washington, DC 20009 >ph. 202-588-5070 fax 202-588-5210 >[EMAIL PROTECTED] > >Here's the information on APC (http://www.apc.org/): > >APC International Secretariat >Avenida Presidente Vargas 3131, Room 406 >20210-030 Rio de Janeiro >Brazil >Tel: +55 (0) 21 515-0500 >Fax: +55 (0) 21 515-0505 >E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >And the data for APC in Spain: >Spain >Ipanex - Internet Host >Plaza de Manises, 2-10 >E: 46003 Valencia, Spain >Tel: +34 (3) 401 5664 >+34 (1) 522 8091 >+34 (4) 824 8697 >+34 (6) 392 2106 >Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >WWW: http://www.ix.apc.org > >I regret to say that it is not possible at this time to give out the >phone >number and e-mail address of EHJ to those wishing to extend support. >The BASQUE-L mailing list being run from CUNY was also >mail-bombed and discontinued by the server. > >Thanks to Marta from EHJ and to Peter Urban from the IRSC for >providing materials and quotes for this article. > >(c) 1997 The Irish People. Article may be reprinted with credit. > >------------------------------ > >Date: Thu, 7 May 1997 22:51:01 CST >From: CuD Moderators <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: File 6--Cu Digest Header Info (unchanged since 7 May, 1997) > >Cu-Digest is a weekly electronic journal/newsletter. Subscriptions are >available at no cost electronically. > >CuD is available as a Usenet newsgroup: comp.society.cu-digest > >Or, to subscribe, send post with this in the "Subject:: line: > > SUBSCRIBE CU-DIGEST >Send the message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >DO NOT SEND SUBSCRIPTIONS TO THE MODERATORS. > >The editors may be contacted by voice (815-753-6436), fax >(815-753-6302) >or U.S. mail at: Jim Thomas, Department of Sociology, NIU, DeKalb, IL >60115, USA. > >To UNSUB, send a one-line message: UNSUB CU-DIGEST >Send it to [EMAIL PROTECTED] >(NOTE: The address you unsub must correspond to your From: line) > >Issues of CuD can also be found in the Usenet comp.society.cu-digest >news group; on CompuServe in DL0 and DL4 of the IBMBBS SIG, DL1 of >LAWSIG, and DL1 of TELECOM; on GEnie in the PF*NPC RT >libraries and in the VIRUS/SECURITY library; from America Online in >the PC Telecom forum under "computing newsletters;" >On Delphi in the General Discussion database of the Internet SIG; >on RIPCO BBS (312) 528-5020 (and via Ripco on internet); >CuD is also available via Fidonet File Request from >1:11/70; unlisted nodes and points welcome. > > In ITALY: ZERO! BBS: +39-11-6507540 > > UNITED STATES: ftp.etext.org (206.252.8.100) in /pub/CuD/CuD > Web-accessible from: http://www.etext.org/CuD/CuD/ > ftp.eff.org (192.88.144.4) in /pub/Publications/CuD/ > aql.gatech.edu (128.61.10.53) in /pub/eff/cud/ > world.std.com in >/src/wuarchive/doc/EFF/Publications/CuD/ > wuarchive.wustl.edu in /doc/EFF/Publications/CuD/ > EUROPE: nic.funet.fi in pub/doc/CuD/CuD/ (Finland) > ftp.warwick.ac.uk in pub/cud/ (United Kingdom) > >The most recent issues of CuD can be obtained from the >Cu Digest WWW site at: > URL: http://www.soci.niu.edu/~cudigest/ > >COMPUTER UNDERGROUND DIGEST is an open forum dedicated to sharing >information among computerists and to the presentation and debate of >diverse views. CuD material may be reprinted for non-profit as long >as the source is cited. Authors hold a presumptive copyright, and >they should be contacted for reprint permission. It is assumed that >non-personal mail to the moderators may be reprinted unless otherwise >specified. Readers are encouraged to submit reasoned articles >relating to computer culture and communication. Articles are >preferred to short responses. Please avoid quoting previous posts >unless absolutely necessary. > >DISCLAIMER: The views represented herein do not necessarily represent > the views of the moderators. Digest contributors assume >all > responsibility for ensuring that articles submitted do not > violate copyright protections. > >------------------------------ > >End of Computer Underground Digest #9.58 >************************************ > > > >In Solidarity > >Raleigh Myers >Ra Energy Fdn >[EMAIL PROTECTED] >http://www.igc.apc.org/raenergy/raenergy.html > >Don't forget to get some bumper stickers printed. >"DIRECT DEMOCRACY REPLACES REPRESENTATIVE OLIGARCHY" > > wojtek sokolowski institute for policy studies johns hopkins university baltimore, md 21218 [EMAIL PROTECTED] voice: (410) 516-4056 fax: (410) 516-8233 POLITICS IS THE SHADOW CAST ON SOCIETY BY BIG BUSINESS. AND AS LONG AS THIS IS SO, THE ATTENUATI0N OF THE SHADOW WILL NOT CHANGE THE SUBSTANCE. - John Dewey
