"Small Worcester group plays large role in online protest" January 26, 2012|By Michael B. Farrell
Last week’s Internet protest over proposed antipiracy laws, which pit the likes of Google Inc. and Wikipedia against Hollywood titans, got a big boost from a tiny group in Worcester.
A four-month-old online advocacy effort called Fight for the Future, with a staff of five, helped orchestrate the national Jan. 18 blackout of 115,000 websites to protest two congressional bills giving the government new powers to regulate the Internet. Opponents of the legislation said it would hinder freedom of speech. Backers said tougher laws are needed to halt the illegal downloading of music, movies, and other content.
The blackout attracted worldwide attention and had an immediate impact: The antipiracy legislation was promptly shelved, at least temporarily....
Alex Fowler, head of privacy and public policy for the Mozilla Foundation, said Fight for the Future helped make it “a watershed moment for online advocacy and public policy.’’
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Groups such as the Recording Industry Association of America and the Motion Picture Association of America, two major backers of the bills now stalled in Congress, say they are frustrated by the position of online-advocacy groups such as Fight for the Future.
“We have been told repeatedly that the tech community agrees that something needs to be done,’’ Cary Sherman, RIAA’s chairman, said in a statement. “We take them at their word, and continue to hope that we can sit down with responsible leaders from that community to devise a solution that will address counterfeiting and theft and, yes, bring the rule of law to the Internet.’’
Fight for the Future certainly did not go it alone in bringing about last week’s demonstration. A coalition of grass-roots online organizations, tech companies, and advocacy groups has been working to oppose the two bills - the House of Representative’s Stop Online Piracy Act, and the Senate’s Protect Intellectual Property Act.
But the Worcester organization was a key participant in the one-day revolt, building much of the technology that made it possible, according to Elizabeth Stark, Internet activist and visiting lecturer on the future of technology at Stanford Law School....
And while the subject of Internet freedom is a serious one, Fight for the Future sometimes lightens the mood to get its message across. For instance, its first project last year was FreeBieber.org, a satirical site that took aim at Senate legislation, which it suggested would make it a felony to perform copyrighted material in online videos. They used Justin Bieber, who gained attention by singing Chris Brown songs on YouTube, to make a point about what the bill could mean to aspiring artists.
“Using humor is a good way to approach these issues, because it’s more interesting and compelling and it’s not someone lecturing you about what’s wrong with the world,’’ said the group’s other cofounder, Holmes Wilson, 32. “It contributes to the debate in a new way.’’
I try having a sense of humor, but the paper only makes me angry.
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Also see: Mass. group fighting EU piracy bill
Word on the web is March 8th will be the day the web and blogs such as this one will be shutdown. Some have speculated because of a monstrous false flag attack or attack on Iran, others an assassination of the president.
Don't fall into the trap, readers.
"Boston police address hack with humor; Boston police show humorous side in video response to ‘Anonymous’" by Billy Baker, Globe Staff | February 11, 2012
Boston police apparently have a sense of humor.
Days after the notorious hacking group “Anonymous’’ took over its news website, the police department responded with a tongue-in-cheek YouTube video mocking the attack.
“Normally I sleep pretty well,’’ Deputy Superintendent Colm Lydon says in the video. “But since the site went down, I haven’t slept a wink.’’
“In the days after the hacking,’’ a voiceover says, “fans of the page struggled to make sense of a world without BPDnews.com.’’
Police spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll said the video was created as a lighthearted way to engage the community about what had happened to BPDNews.com.
“It made sense to take the opportunity to present our lighter side to the community, to show that we, too, have a sense of humor,’’ Driscoll said, “which people aren’t often accustomed to from law enforcement, so it can be confusing.’’
Indeed, there has been much confusion about the video; commenters on YouTube ranged from impressed to dismayed. “Good to see a sense of humor,’’ one wrote, while another called the video “scary.’’
“These are the people that are supposed to be out in the streets fighting crime,’’ the person wrote.
The video riffs on the original hacking, which took place on Feb. 3. The news releases and photos that normally make up BPDNews.com - which is known for occasionally mixing silly headlines in with what is often grim news - were replaced by a message from Anonymous criticizing the department’s handling of the Occupy Boston demonstration. The hackers also included the music video for the 1993 song “Sound of da Police’’ by the rapper KRS-One, which include lyrics that criticize police oppression....
Some wondered whether the video will simply antagonize “Anonymous,’’ a loose collective of activist computer hackers who are believed to be responsible for digital mischief around the world.
The video seems to acknowledge the possibility when the narrator says, “A future disruption is by no means out of the question.’’
As the Boston police video began its march across the Internet, it has attracted raised eyebrows from many who do not expect such lighthearted behavior from what is normally a very buttoned-down organization.
“Wow, who knew the BPD had this type of swag?’’ Dave Portnoy wrote on the controversial humor website Barstool Sports. “I had no idea the Boston Police had this type of game. I may have to start checking out BPD.com[sic] on the regular if this is how they do it. I got a fever, and the only prescription is more BPD.com[sic]!’’
Yesterday at the Dorchester Youth Collaborative, a community center in Fields Corner, a dozen teenagers gathered around a computer to watch the attempt at humor.
Some shook their heads. Others chuckled. Most respected the attempt....
Yeah, the cops are a barrel of laughs when they aren't beating you with a club, tasering you, or shotting at you.
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I'm sorry, readers, it's just not funny anymore.
Update:
"Hackers post W.Va. police officers’ personal info" by Associated Press | February 09, 2012
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Hackers affiliated with the Anonymous hacking group obtained more than 150 police officers’ personal information from an old website for the West Virginia Chiefs of Police Association and posted it online.
William Roper, the association’s president, told the Charleston Gazette that the FBI is investigating. Roper is also the police chief of Ranson, W.Va.
Roper said a group called CabinCr3w hacked the website Monday and obtained the home addresses, home phone numbers, and cellphone numbers of current and retired police chiefs.
“It’s a tragedy someone was able to hack our website and obtain information that is useful to our members,’’ Roper said.
In an online message by CabinCr3w addressed to “citizens of West Virginia,’’ the hacking group says it has been monitoring cases of police brutality.
“We are here to remind you that we the taxpayers pay your exorbitant salaries, and those salaries of your officers,’’ the message says. “Your job is to protect and serve, not brutalize the very people that pay your wages. Muzzle your dogs of war, or we will expose more of your sensative [sic] information.’’
The geniuses don't know how to spell?
Critics like me don't need their kind of help, thanks.
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