In the aftermath of the indymedia server seizure, animal rights activists involved in the Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC) campaign now face the possibility of being deprived access to open publishing on indymedia.
With SHAC activists now serving a total of 60 years in prison for crimes relating to little more than running a campaign website, it is not surprising that there is a sense of panic and paranoia in the air. Last months seizure of an indymedia server in Manchester and the subsequent arrest of a man in Sheffield have worried even people unrelated to animal rights struggles. Now the divide and rule tactics of the police are starting to bare fruit as one long time indymedia admin 'garcondumonde' has proposed blocking SHAC activists posts from the open publishing newswire.
In his proposal to imc-uk-process list (
http://lists.indymedia.org/pipermail/imc-uk-process/2009-February/0221-46.html) he accuses animal rights activists of having "overstepped the line" and blames them for the arrest of a server sysadmin. His issue with the SHAC campaign predates both the server seizure and arrest, frequently raising objections against proposals for feature articles about the campaign. In one recent email ( http://lists.indymedia.org/pipermail/imc-london/2009-February/0221-x8.html) he refers to SHAC activists motives as "despicable".
Given just 24 hours for debate the proposal could set a dangerous legal precedent for indymedia if agreed and raises serious questions about who is administering the UK indymedia site.
In his proposal to imc-uk-process list (
http://lists.indymedia.org/pipermail/imc-uk-process/2009-February/0221-46.html) he accuses animal rights activists of having "overstepped the line" and blames them for the arrest of a server sysadmin. His issue with the SHAC campaign predates both the server seizure and arrest, frequently raising objections against proposals for feature articles about the campaign. In one recent email ( http://lists.indymedia.org/pipermail/imc-london/2009-February/0221-x8.html) he refers to SHAC activists motives as "despicable". Given just 24 hours for debate the proposal could set a dangerous legal precedent for indymedia if agreed and raises serious questions about who is administering the UK indymedia site.
Comments
Hide the following 32 comments
no way!
22.02.2009 15:36
whens the deadline and how do we object?
one struggle
It's time to unite not fight
22.02.2009 15:42
Now is the time to come together an unite against this police intimidation, not turn against each other.
@ctivista
Lets act
22.02.2009 15:56
Mandy
too late dealine passed
22.02.2009 16:04
crosses fingers
It's not Animal Activists - Just SHAC
22.02.2009 16:17
A very sensible suggestion
Guusje ter Horst
I can hardly believe what I am reading
22.02.2009 16:18
associated with SHAC I do support the animal rights movement and see them
as fighting at the front line of dissent against repressive
authoritarianism and making considerable sacrifices to that end. Does Indy
UK really want to alienate all animal rights activists? The seizure of the
server is due to the police overstepping the line, not the ARAs.
Presumably you do not support State censorship, or do you? Maybe it is
just your paranoia at play here.
Thank you though for bringing to my attention the buzz word
'autofiltering', aka euphemism for automatic censorship. No doubt the
tardiness in promoting, due to an understandable lack of admins, will also
manifest itself with unhiding, to the point where the unhidden item from
SHAC is just about to disappear below the bottom of the newswire column.
Very convenient!
That said I do really think that Indymedia mostly does a wonderful job,
and so do some of its admins, but I would hate to see it giving in to
pressure and ending up as just another docile addition to the mainstream
media.
Doug
Yet more proof Indymedia supports the state
22.02.2009 16:30
Me thinks the Indymedia admin that proposed this is working for the other side.
No gods, No masters!
WTF?
22.02.2009 16:33
!
Autofiltering and IP logs
22.02.2009 16:44
That would backup what Tony Gosling has been saying about ALF arrests being down to IP addresses obtained from indymedia.
Tor
Homepage:
http://torproject.org
Deadline not yet passed
22.02.2009 16:49
This is not state or Indymedia cencorship, but one volunteer's desire for it over SHAC.
I've just signed up to the IMC Process lists and have placed an objection:
>>>
PS, after realising that 24 hours is not up, I would like to object.
"we reject all systems of domination and discrimination" - Mission Statement
This is clear discrimination against the campaign Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC).
Unless similar measures are proposed for all campaigns, topics, issues and articles that have at one time, knowingly or unknowingly, stepped over the mark, this is quite obviously systematic disrimination against a group of individuals; shactivists.
The Shactivist / Animal Rep
>>>
PS, for anyone interested in helping/writing the SHAC / animal liberation features (or any other for that matter), it would be much appreciated! There are only a few of us working on them, so please join us! Click the link to the features list where you'll find links to wiki pages for collective editing - this is where the features are written and you can propose them from.
Animal Rep
Lies and damn lies
22.02.2009 17:03
No activists in the UK have been arrested as a result of IP data from indymedia, animal rights or otherwise!
%£$&
This is not the place to raise these issues
22.02.2009 17:35
Please also note that only the opinions of recognised members of the editorial collectives are considered when testing for consensus on these proposals.
This article and comments will be hidden.
imcista
Shame the volunteer in question knows so little about history
22.02.2009 17:36
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.
When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.
When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.
When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I was not a Jew.
When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out."
Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984)
Krop
Me thinks too
22.02.2009 17:40
Probably. The same admin blocked proposals to buy a new server for indymedia UK a couple of years ago which according to the mailing list archives caused major splits and delays after the 2004 server seizure.
sam
I agree, wtf!
22.02.2009 17:42
.
Sam
22.02.2009 18:09
Ah yes I'd forgotten that episode, thanks for reminding me. It just seems to be one issue after another with them, suspicious most definitely!
No gods, No masters!
So start your own indymedia...
22.02.2009 18:36
While we're at it, hey students when you gonna pull together your own indymedia?
IMCista
solidarirty
22.02.2009 18:57
`brutus
Yeah, great idea
22.02.2009 18:59
what a great idea
NOT
No Gods No Masters
22.02.2009 19:18
{
Ironic then that this person should be complaining about the disruption bought down on indymedia by the cops when he has personally been so disruptive to the entire indymedia network over the years. This latest incident is an outrage and it's time something was done about these disruptive elements within the network.
gdm > /dev/null
A disinfo attack?
22.02.2009 19:37
I note that this email is not signed and has immediately been cross posted to the newswire -
Previous email to this list from gdm has been signed, eg
I suspect this is a forged email intended as an attack on indymedia.
I will wait for an email from gdm signed with his usual GPG key - 912F963C
- before believing this email is genuine.
mish
On Sat, Feb 21, 2009 at 06:23:50PM -0500, garcondumonde wrote:
> hello,
>
> over the past month or so, there have been numerous articles posted by
> animal rights activists that have overstepped the line - so much so, they
> have resulted in the seizure of a server and also the arrest of a
> sysadmin. therefore, i am proposing an auto-filter on 'SHAC' be
> implemented. such posts that are then _within_ guidelines may be unhidden,
> as is done with other posts that are autofiltered.
>
> solidarity,
>
> --gdm
sir spam alot
Pull the other one.
22.02.2009 19:56
Mind you, it's amazing this thread has stayed up so long without even a single comment being hidden which is unheard of recently. At least some admins must be starting to pay attention to our concerns over the secrets and cover ups.
Sammy
Yup, looks like a hoax
22.02.2009 20:02
So it looks like a hoax, a blatant attempt to divide us down 'good' activist vs 'bad' activist lines and further alienate animal rights campaigners.
Hold strong everyone, we're all under attack here.
Jeff
Stay calm! was always good advice
22.02.2009 20:02
One arrest and losing a PC isn't the worst excesses of British justice, unjustifiable though it is. Even the SHAC sentences aren't the worst excesses of British justice, torture and killing are. You are also assuming it is a member of SHAC who posted the ammended posts and that seems an unsafe assumption.
Tor - How would they block shac posters anyway?
By removing any post mentioning SHAC seems one obvious way whether you anonymise or not. Most cms software can filter on content.
Sir spam alot - I note that this email is not signed and has immediately been cross posted to the newswire Previous email to this list from gdm has been signed. I suspect this is a forged email intended as an attack on indymedia. I will wait for an email from gdm signed with his usual GPG key - 912F963C - before believing this email is genuine.
If your false email theory is correct - and can you not just email him to check - then it could be an attack not on IM, but upon GDM by a shit-stirrer trying to get him involved in a controversial issue between two exasperated and threatened groups. I noticed earlier his PGP book ratings were suspiciously high up Google, indicating the link has been shared more than most for that site.
Danny
Another reason to use GPG
22.02.2009 20:29
Well spotted Mish. Folk shouldn't jump at this bait.
CH
Homepage:
http://gnupg.org/
Disinfo discredits indymedia and all we do
22.02.2009 20:31
Being an open publishing forum indymedia is wide open to such attacks, comes with the territory. If it really wasn't the admin gdm that sent those emails then it demonstrates the danger that transparency brings as those publicly archived mailing list provide a wealth of personal information to be exploited by the devious intent on causing havoc.
As somebody pointed out above, complaining about moderation requires otherwise anonymous site users to also expose themselves on the lists - revealing not only their email address (perhaps a throw away address created for the purpose) but also their IP address and ISP routing.
If this turns out to be a hoax then what steps can be implemented to prevent it happening again? Both the mailing lists and newswire/comments are open to disinfo attacks for different reasons. Can anything be done about it while maintaining indymedia as an open publishing platform?
Lucy
I'm not with GDM but do consider
22.02.2009 20:46
jo
jo
22.02.2009 21:06
Also who are you to say which causes are most important. One struggle, one fight.
Eco
Double False Flag
22.02.2009 21:15
Sure the email is a hoax, an obvious hoax, TOO OBVIOUS!!
This is a double false flag designed to look like an indymedia admin being faked to discredit indymedia but really IT IS FROM INDYMEDIA!!!!
Indymedia admins have been working overtime trying to COVER UP their secret logging of ip addresses by hiding anyone that dare mention it and DELETING archived emails that threaten to EXPOSE the truth.
A common tactic when challenged over outrageous CENSORSHIP is to claim it's all part of a DISINFO WAR and just like the governments around the world, this variation on the war on terror enables INDYMEDIAS RULING ELITE to justify their unaccountability.
By creating a CONVENIENT HOAX at this time, they hope to distract us from the ongoing cover up by claiming that it too has all been part of an elaborate campaign to discredit indymedia.
No doubt I'll now have my ip addressed BLOCKED for daring to speak the truth but mark my words and WAKE UP to what is going on.
truthout
Homepage:
http://www.rinf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7619
either trust the admin collective or get involved
22.02.2009 22:02
We are part of the movements, so please don't jump down our throats with paranoid conspiracy theories without stopping to check a few facts. After all the work that indymedia activists have done for these movements, the least people can do is assume good faith.
We are a bunch of individuals with different backgrounds and opinions; we often disagree and have debates about things. Even if the IMC admin in question did send that email proposal (which I doubt very much) it does not reflect on indymedia as a whole; the rest of the group would not allow such an proposal to go through unchallenged.
There are of course people who are not part of our movements who are simply here to disrupt. We should be aware of that, but not let it panic us to the point of paranoia. The best way to tell is to examine whether someone's criticism is constructive or not.
frustrated IMCer
Oh ok then
22.02.2009 22:38
Nice sentiment but when other people suggested the same thing their post was hidden. Likewise for the person who pointed out that getting involved might not be that easy as some collective 'closed ranks' after the sysadmin arrest and moved towards secret meetings.
~
> the least people can do is assume good faith.
Hard to assume good faith when there has clearly been a massive abuse of power in an attempt to cover up admins use of ip logging and any discussion of what should be done about it.
~
~
another frustrated IMCer
DID YOU BLINK?
22.02.2009 22:42
NOW ITS GONE!