New info available: the request to seize the server running 20+ Independent Media Centers originated with agencies in Italy and Switzerland (see the comments attached to the story for more good info); the FBI and UK authorities were only complying out of respect for a multi-lateral law enforcement assistance treaty. Still, the treaty in question was written to cover some specific crimes, like “international terrorism, kidnapping, and money laundering” – none of which the targeted IMC was involved in.
The application of law for the sake of convenience strikes again….
Month: October 2004
Indymedia Under Attack (Again)
Today FBI agents seized a server that hosted several Independent Media Center sites. None of the story makes any sense: the actual confiscation took place in London – reportedly as a matter of “professional courtesy” that originated with a request from Swiss law enforcement officials. That request has something to do with pictures posted to an IMC of undercover Swiss police working a protest in France.
In a single strike several IMCs in Europe and South America, as well as IMC-Radio, were wiped out (although some have since been restored thanks to quickly-rigged backups). It was a nicely-timed raid, too, as the European Social Forum takes place next week. Continue reading “Indymedia Under Attack (Again)”
LPFM: The Mess in Madison; Further Footnotes to FRSC Raid
When Congress initially eviscerated the FCC’s LPFM service four years ago, I was living in Madison, Wisconsin. There, with the stroke of President Clinton’s pen, the number of open frequencies available for new LPFM stations went from something like 16 to three.
Of the applicants to tender requests for an LPFM license in Madison: one individual applied for one open frequency; a church applied for another; and seven groups applied for the third channel.
The FCC has finally granted construction permits to those entities eligible to go on the air. However, as the seven groups essentially came to a draw in the FCC’s “points system” for determining the winner in competitive situations like theirs, the license will be divided up between each group. Continue reading “LPFM: The Mess in Madison; Further Footnotes to FRSC Raid”
Freak Radio Update: Mobilization for Microradio?
This excerpt from FRSC’s “response to our supporters“:
The outpouring of support, donations, equipment and kind words has been overwhelming, but each e-mail, each letter, and each phone message from you, our listeners, is what keeps us going through these dark times. Please, keep it up!….
Perhaps the most important thing you can do is spread the word about this repression of dissent, and loss of free speech. Tell everyone you know; family, friends, lovers, teachers, doctors, politicians, etc… Write letters to the editor of your daily or weekly paper, call radio and cable access talk shows, spread the news on internet chat rooms, and listserves. Continue reading “Freak Radio Update: Mobilization for Microradio?”
Preemptive Collage: First Debate
John Kerry is deleted from the picture and replaced by Wordsworth, speaking for the hip hop generation. Produced and online nearly two months before the debate actually took place:
Slam Bush (1:51, Quicktime required)
By the time the weekend is through Truthful Translations will crest the 200 GWB collage mark. Part of me hopes it helps oust this f*cker; another part says “four more years” just so the creativity keeps flowing.