THE HANDSTAND |
august 20055 |
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stoppress stoppress stoppress........ anarchist space press release:S San Diego Schedule events August 28th http://deletetheborder.org/?q=node/87 Hola todos. Crazy times we find ourselves in. Millions of people forced to live underground, more than 3200 dead and tens of thousands more incapacitated crossing the border. Communities and families split by the wall. As if the border and its myriad forms of violence were not enough, racist paramilitaries are openly organizing across the US and finding enthusiastic partners in politicians and corporate press outlets alike. And then there are the numerous Neo-nazi groups crawling out from beneath their rocks, thrilled with the "Trojan Horse" of growing anti-migrant sentiment. So, here we are. There is a huge amount of incredible organizing around these issues happening all around us. As one small contribution to this struggle for liberation and dignity, the o.r.g.a.n.i.c. Collective has organized a two-day (no)border encuentro, in San Diego, in the spirit of the Zapatista Encuentros. We hope that many different people can make it and we hope for it to truly be an encounter, with many people sharing space, dreams, ideas and strategies. Despite our many backgrounds and areas of focus, we hope that we can learn and walk together, hashing out answers to questions like: How do we strengthen current struggles? How do we create a de-colonization movement and what would that look like? How do we construct autonomy in the border region and what would that look like? How do we help broaden and show solidarity with indigenous struggles like that of the Zapatista's and others? How do we build a sustainable movement for freedom of movement and the right to stay with full rights? Schedule of Events http://deletetheborder.org/?q=node/87 Saturday, August 27th 10:00 am - Maquiladora/Border Tour - RSVP required, email us at info at organiccollective dot org 7:00 pm - Benefit concert - Flyer Here Presentation By: Roy San Filipo, formerly of the Love and Rage Revolutionary Anarchist Federation and currently of Bring the Ruckus will be giving a talk on reflections on anti-racist organizing. Performing live: Entartete Kunst - Malatesta (DJ Slo-Mo) - 187 (Raw Knowledge) - Drowning Dog - a class-conscious worker-owned collective that produce and distribute hip-hop, various electronic stylings and radical literature that promotes positive social change. We have performed in the following countries over the past 18 months; England, Italy, Spain, Germany, Belgium, Scotland and the U.S.A. With "potent anti status quo hip hop mixes" and spoken word, we spread ideas that promote the self emancipation of the working class. Boomerang Politick - A break-beat signature scripted with the resonance of Drum & Bass, the "boom-bap" of Classic Breaks, the Diasporatic rhythms of Afro-Haitian-Racine and the visceral energy of Punk. An uncompromising message of Social Justice for the disenfranchised masses and the inevitability of the Proletarian victory - despite the Empire's onslaught - delivered through breathtaking, rapid-fire rhyme and venom, no frills, stick-em' up Emceeing. LA's Hip Hop group Boomerang Politick brings an imminent and vital revolution to a genre all but unrecognizable to the Beat-Street poets who originally paved the way for their conception. They denounce the unabashed hypocrisy of Bourgeois Elitism, the politics of war economies, neo-colonization, globalization, white supremacy and privilege, in a violent rebuttal, expressed in such a way entirely unique to their music, to their interpretation of Hip Hop. Sunday, August 28th, 10am-6pm For full Sunday schedule, click here Schedule: 10:00-10:30 - Café Anarquista 10:30-11:30 - Workshop Session I History of The US/Mexico Border and Operation Gatekeeper Presented by Enrique Morones of Border Angels, more speakers TBA. Direct Action Training Part I, presenters TBA 11:30-11:45 Break 11:45-1:00 - Migration and Indigenous Nations Panel and discission with Marta Frausto of the Otomí Coordination Project and members of various indigenous Nations including Otomi and Mixteca discussing the impact of the border on their communities and their current struggles. 1:00-2:00 Lunch and Video reportback from Campo 2:00-3:00 - Anti-Minutemen strategy session Reflections on Campo, strategies for September 16th. Organizers who were in Campo, including members of Gente Unida and the o.r.g.a.n.i.c. collective, will talk about their experiences and about their ideas for stopping the Minutemen in September. There will also be an open space for discussing goals, strategy, and effectiveness. 3:00-3:15 Break 3:15-4:15 - Workshop Session II Border Disturbance Art A space created by Ricardo Dominguez of Electronic Disturbance Theater, Emily Hicks of the Border Institute of Advanced Studies in Nonlinear Events and Structures and Shannon Spanhake of The Department of Ecological Authoring Tactics, Inc. (DoEAT). http://post.thing.net/blog/rdom Direct Action II - Presenters TBA 4:15-5:15 - Zapatismo and Solidarity with Migrant People Panel and discussion including members of the Frente Zapatista and a speaker from Schools for Chiapas to talk about the 6th Declaration of the Selva Lacandon. 5:15-5:30 - Break 5:30-6:30 - Ashanti Alston - Flyer here Ashanti Alston was the Northeast regional coordinator for Critical Resistance, is a former member of both the Black Panther Party and Black Liberation Army, and was a political prisoner for over 12 years. Currently, he is a member of Estacion Libre, a people of color Zapatista support group, as well as a board member for the Institute for Anarchist Studies. Mr. Alston also authors the zine Anarchist Panther. He recently spent 6 months in Chiapas with the EZLN. More info here, talk on black anarchism, more audio here . Please RSVP - if you are planning on attending, please drop us an email at encuentro-registration@organiccollective.org against the border and racism against capitalism and empire for freedom of movement, dignity and autonomy Oradores, talleres, foros, accion directa, hacer medios, estrategia, teoria. contra la frontera y racismo contra el capitalismo y imperio FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
George W. Bush said on
Israeli television he could consider using force as a
last resort to press Iran to give up its nuclear program. German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has told an election campaign rally that the military option for resolving the dispute over Iran's nuclear programme should be "taken off the table". "We're all concerned about the developments in Iran," he said. "We don't want nuclear weapons to proliferate further." But Mr Schroeder said diplomacy was the answer. "I've read that
military options are also on the table," he said. "My answer to that is:
'Dear friends in Europe and America, let's develop a
strong negotiating position towards Iran, but take the
military option off the table'."
Spyware
Researchers Discover ID Theft Ring Ryan Naraine Ziff Davis Media Monday, 9 August, 2005 Spyware researchers picking apart one of the more notorious spyware programs have stumbled upon what appears to be a massive identity theft ring hijacking confidential data from millions of infected computers. Sunbelt Software Inc., makers of the enterprise-grade CounterSpy spyware protection product, made the discovery during an audit of "CoolWebSearch," a program that routinely hijacks Web searchers, browser home pages and other Internet Explorer settings. During the research, Sunbelt researcher Patrick Jordan deliberately installed the "CoolWebSearch application on a machine and immediately noticed that the infected system became a spam zombie that was placing callbacks to a remote server. When Jordan visited the remote server, he was shocked to find that it was being used to distribute sensitive personal information from millions of PC users infected by the spyware application. "We found the keylogger transcript files that are being uploaded to the servers. We're talking real spyware stuff chat sessions, usernames, passwords, bank account information, full names, addresses," said Sunbelt president Alex Eckelberry. Read more here about the many faces of spyware. In an interview with Ziff Davis Internet News, Eckelberry said the sophistication of the operation suggests it's the work of a "massive identity theft ring" that used keystroke loggers to grab confidential information that could be used to create fake online identities. "I'm not being dramatic. This is the most repulsive thing I've ever seen. It's very painful to see what's in these log files that are being uploaded in real time. We're seeing a lot of bank information and usernames and passwords to get in," Eckelberry said. He said the log files included logins to one business bank account with more than $350,000 and another small company in California with over $11,000, readily accessible. "There are lots of eBay account information and names and addresses of the people owning those accounts. Names, passwords, all matched up," Eckelberry added. Read more here about Sunbelt's acquisition of a Google-like spyware sniffer. He said the server, which is hosted out of a data center in Texas, was effectively a "massive repository of stolen data" that was being replenished in real time. "As the [log] file gets to a certain size, it gets taken down and a new file starts generating. This goes on nonstop. We've been watching it for a few days while trying to get to the FBI, and it just keeps growing and growing." While the site is being hosted in the United States, Eckelberry said the domain name is registered to an offshore company. Eckelberry said the huge size of the log files is a clear indication that thousands of machines are pinging back daily. In some cases, where users appeared to be at immediate risk of losing a considerable amount of money, Sunbelt has contacted the affected individuals. Eckelberry said the "CoolWebSearch" payload included a typical adware download that immediately scanned the infected machine for e-mails to use for spam runs. It then sets up a "very intelligent keylogger" that looks for very specific information. "This won't get caught by a typical anti-spyware application," he said, noting that the keystroke logger was able to pick up identity-related data for delivery to the remote server. Check out eWEEK.com's Security Center for the latest security news, reviews and analysis. And for insights on security coverage around the Web, take a look at eWEEK.com Security Center Editor Larry Seltzer's Weblog.
Police
have stood down following an incident on a bus in central
London. Streets
around the area of Grays Inn Road were sealed off after
reports that smoke was seen coming from a bus and
that a suspect package had been found.. A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "We had reports of smoke coming from a double decker bus on Gray's Inn Road. "Everyone panicked, but it was only a small fire and no one was hurt." Police sources said later that there was nothing suspicious about the fire.(TRY STARTING A FIRE ON A LONDON BUS THEN !!!) A Transport for London
spokesman said: "The incident involved a 205 bus
close to King's Cross. Buses in the area have been
delayed."
Live 8 Concert the Wrong Approach to Africa's Problems
Whatever
you may think of the performances, the statements
expressed by the various artists and announcers in last
weekend's Live 8 concert 10 different concerts
broadcast worldwide by some of the world's most
well-known musical celebrities amounted to a
curious amalgam of feel-good sentiments leavened with a
tincture of noblisse oblige. During the concert, event impresario Bob Geldof hectored his audience with sarcasm, "Eight people in a five-star hotel on a golf course are going to have to listen to us." Madonna, in between lewdly thrusting her pelvis at the audience and sprinkling the F-word around here and there, called for a "revolution to change the world." Sting ominously warned the G-8 leaders with newly found lyrics: "Every vow you break, every step you take, every single day, every word you say, every game you play ... we'll be watching you." In spite of the incongruous posturing of multimillionaire rock and pop stars and lesser performers who simply savored the global platform for the publicity, a private charity such as this can raise millions of dollars for a worthy cause. Twenty years ago, Geldof organized the similar Live Aid concerts and reportedly raised $2 billion for African famine relief. What is missing from this charity, however, is a clear understanding of the causes of the problem. Simply throwing more money at Africa particularly at the government level has never solved anything. What happened to the $2 billion from the Live Aid concerts? What happened to the other $25 billion given by other private and public largesse over the past decade? Why has total African GDP dropped 35 percent since the last Live Aid concert? Africa continues to be mired in poverty, as well as economic debt and squalid social conditions and unrest. Dominated by state terrorism and wanton carnage, countless thousands of its people have been uprooted by wars and genocide and have been made refugees in their own countries. Economic stability and growth cannot take root where brutality, oppression and political tyranny rule. Out of 54 African countries, fewer than 15 are democratic. Africa represents 70 percent of the world's AIDS cases, and over 12 million people have already died from it. In a country that has a tremendous wealth of mineral resources, including gold, diamonds and precious metals, corrupt African political leaders have garnered it for themselves and their supporters, and consigned ordinary Africans to poverty, misery and even starvation by sloganeering, brutal repression and arrant plunder. In a new book, "Africa Unchained: A Blueprint for Africa's Future," economist George B.N. Aittey argues that there are really two Africas. The first is the traditional, indigenous Africa, the country of the peasant majority who produce the nation's agricultural and mineral wealth, and who struggle to survive among their splintered tribes and societies. Modern Africa is the second, Aittey says. This is where "functionally-illiterate elites and parasitic minority groups have created a bizarre politico-economic monstrosity that admits of no rule of law, no accountability, no democracy of any form, and even no sanity." In their respective countries, power-hungry ruling gangster elites have debauched all the institutions of government the military, the civil service, police and the judiciary through intimidation, graft and murder. Aittey documents how these crooks and scoundrels have used the instruments of the state to enrich themselves and impoverish everyone else. Nigerian scholar Ikenna Anokwute adds: "Imagine John Gotti or Al Capone as President of the United States. Well, welcome to the reign of thieves and vagabonds, welcome to our Nigeria today, a gangster's paradise." Among the political and economic reforms needed to get Africa on track, Aittey says that the current corruption can only be eliminated by the creation of a continent-wide, independent judiciary, military, press and political infrastructure, where free markets can flourish. Simply pouring money into the current rat hole, like the money from Live 8, won't solve these systemic problems, let alone eliminate sub-Saharan poverty. All it will do is funnel money into corrupt pockets. After which the rich rock stars can shrug their shoulders, walk away and say, "We've done what we could, but it didn't work." Barrett Kalellis is a Michigan-based columnist and writer whose articles appear regularly in various local and national print and online publications. He may be reached at kalellis@newsmax.com.
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