Article

2004-10-07 Fifth Column

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Posted by MH 2004-10-07 17:55|| || Front Page|| [3 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 Cool.

Posted by Barbara Skolaut 2004-10-07 6:44:30 PM|| 2004-10-07 6:44:30 PM|| Front Page Top

#2 Rackspace... Rack 'em up.

Posted by BigEd 2004-10-07 6:48:37 PM|| 2004-10-07 6:48:37 PM|| Front Page Top

#3 That's the ticket.

Posted by Scott R 2004-10-07 6:49:51 PM|| [http://five24.net] 2004-10-07 6:49:51 PM|| Front Page Top

#4 FBI raids in England? Wow. That 51st statehood happened quick.

Posted by Bulldog 2004-10-07 6:53:19 PM|| 2004-10-07 6:53:19 PM|| Front Page Top

#5 What? Noone got pistol-whipped?

Posted by Rex Mundi 2004-10-07 6:55:28 PM|| 2004-10-07 6:55:28 PM|| Front Page Top

#6 Message from the hive brain: "Tighten up the tinfoil! It's getting rocky!"

Posted by Frank G 2004-10-07 6:57:48 PM|| 2004-10-07 6:57:48 PM|| Front Page Top

#7 Damn! The anti-Zionist tinfoil shielding foiled again!

Posted by Alaska Paul 2004-10-07 7:00:14 PM|| 2004-10-07 7:00:14 PM|| Front Page Top

#8 You will note the irony of it happening during the night of Orilor Bangor Trool.

Posted by Shipman 2004-10-07 7:15:14 PM|| 2004-10-07 7:15:14 PM|| Front Page Top

#9 (from a still operating Indymedia site)

Thursday morning, US authorities issued a federal order to Rackspace ordering them to hand over Indymedia web servers to the requesting agency. Rackspace, which provides hosting services for more that 20 Indymedia sites at its London facility, complied and turned over the requested servers, effectively removing those sites from the internet.

Since the subpoena was issued to Rackspace and not to Indymedia, the reasons for this action are still unknown to Indymedia. Talking to Indymedia volunteers, Rackspace stated that "they cannot provide Indymedia with any information regarding the order." ISPs have received gag orders in similar situations which prevent them from updating the concerned parties on what is happening.

It is unclear to Indymedia how and why a server that is outside the US jurisdiction can be seized by US authorities.

At the same time an additional server was taken down at Rackspace which provided streaming radio to several radio stations, BLAG (linux distro), and a handful of miscellanous things.

The last few months have seen numerous attacks on independent media by the US Federal Government. In August the Secret Service used a subpoena in an attempt to disrupt the NYC IMC before the RNC by trying to get IP logs from an ISP in the US and the Netherlands. Last month the FCC shut down community radio stations around the US. Two weeks ago the FBI requested that Indymedia takes down a post on the Nantes IMC that had a photo of some undercover Swiss police and IMC volunteers in Seattle were visited by the FBI on the same issue. On the other hand, Indymedia and other independent media organisations were successfull with their victories for example against Diebold and the Patroit Act. Today however, the US authorities shut down IMCs around the world.

The list of affected local media collectives includes Ambazonia, Uruguay, Andorra, Poland, Western Massachusetts, Nice, Nantes, Lilles, Marseille (all France), Euskal Herria (Basque Country), Liege, East and West Vlaanderen, Antwerpen (all Belgium), Belgrade, Portugal, Prague, Galiza, Italy, Brazil, UK, part of the Germany site, and the global Indymedia Radio site.

Posted by Anonymoose 2004-10-07 7:23:43 PM|| 2004-10-07 7:23:43 PM|| Front Page Top

#10 Can't visit the Rackspace website without getting the in your face live sales chat. So I asked "Jay" what was up with the bust. Jay gave me the one line response with a disconnect:

Jay: For all media inquiries, please contact Annalie Drusch at ....
Jay: http://adrusch@rackspace.com

I've got an account at Rackspace. Maybe I'll fill out a support ticket and ask them under what circumstances the Guvmint can take my hard drives without telling me about it. (Assuming that Indymedia wasn't given a reason for the seizure.)

Posted by Classical_Liberal 2004-10-07 7:34:42 PM|| 2004-10-07 7:34:42 PM|| Front Page Top

#11 CL, IANAL, but the circumstances are they get a warrant from a judge. I'll bet Rackspace's attorneys have a copy and have told Indymedia what's on the warrant. Then ask the judege who issued it. In this case, it's probably terrorism related and so the judge won't tell them why it was issued. Things like that happen when you run in the wrong crowd. Look at Rush Limbaugh's medical records.

Posted by Mrs. Davis 2004-10-07 7:43:53 PM|| 2004-10-07 7:43:53 PM|| Front Page Top

#12 I got 5 bucks says it's because they posted that list of RNC attendees and their adresses, etc.

That's a no-no, kiddees...

Posted by mojo 2004-10-07 8:03:49 PM|| 2004-10-07 8:03:49 PM|| Front Page Top

#13 probably lots of death threats against GW too. Hmmm....glad I didn't post what I was really thinking about Chirac.

Posted by 2b 2004-10-07 8:12:09 PM|| 2004-10-07 8:12:09 PM|| Front Page Top

#14 Damn! The anti-Zionist tinfoil shielding foiled again!

More layers, AP. More layers. And remember, shiny side out!

Posted by SteveS 2004-10-07 8:15:35 PM|| 2004-10-07 8:15:35 PM|| Front Page Top

#15 I don't think it's the RNC attendee list. I think it's something worse. But we probably don't get to find out about it for the reasons Mrs D. laid out. I'm going to take it on faith that the reasons are good. Funny thing is I've actually got an ecom site on my Rackspace server that Mr. Ashcroft would frown upon. (Nothing that would give a libertarian any pause.) In theory, the Man could come take my hard drives too.

I am a little curious about pulling the hard drives off UK servers. Is that because a US warrant covered Rackspace operations overseas, or because we got the Brits to do the deed for us?

Posted by Classical_Liberal 2004-10-07 8:26:30 PM|| 2004-10-07 8:26:30 PM|| Front Page Top

#16 "Ambazonia"??
what's that, a site for Amazonian bisexuals?
kewl

Posted by lex 2004-10-07 9:42:38 PM|| 2004-10-07 9:42:38 PM|| Front Page Top

#17 Hope for their sake they had backups!

Posted by badanov 2004-10-07 11:15:35 PM|| [http://www.rkka.org/title-boris.gif] 2004-10-07 11:15:35 PM|| Front Page Top

#18 Just because your content is hosted over seas doesn't mean crap. Rackspave is a US corp. They will give you up if server with a warannt to do so. Also do you think Rackspace give a flying leap about Inyymedia? Rackspace cares about revenues, going with the FBI's flow makes the money continure to flow. Lawyers cost money. Not fighting doesn't

Inymedia is hardly independent. Liberal to extremeist left is what it is. These are people who claim because FOX is the most watched TV News in the US that conservatives dominate the media. It's an article of faith to them them that the media is biased to the right.

I suspect it's a conspiracy investigation or the investigation of theft of government documents or some such.

Finally can I get a big WHHHAAAAA? I didn't think so. I do have extra foil I will be glad to sell them.

Posted by Sock Puppet of Doom 2004-10-07 11:37:26 PM|| [http://www.slhess.com] 2004-10-07 11:37:26 PM|| Front Page Top

#19 Well I went over to /.

I love the opportunity to add scads of folks to my foes list. Usually I just do it when I meta moderate but these chances are just precious. You get to read all kinds of loony frothing and freeking out.

Yea and badanov not keeping a mirror of your site off line some place if just stupid as you point out. That backup is all important if what you are doing amounts to more than what indymedia does which is mostly wanking in public.

Posted by Sock Puppet of Doom 2004-10-08 2:39:58 AM|| [http://www.slhess.com] 2004-10-08 2:39:58 AM|| Front Page Top

11:22 tu3031
11:22 .com
11:13 WhyNot
18:34 Sock Puppet of Doom
18:18 DustbinUK
23:37 ex-lib
17:25 jules 187
17:20 BigEd
10:55 lex
06:54 Poison Reverse
02:39 Sock Puppet of Doom
00:24 Super Hose
00:08 tu3031
23:58 BigEd
23:53 BigEd
23:50 WhiteHouseDetox
23:38 Mark Espinola
23:37 Sock Puppet of Doom
23:36 Pappy
23:33 Asedwich
23:33 tu3031
23:24 Bored with knee jerk reactions.
23:20 Bomb-a-rama
23:19 Bomb-a-rama