Slashdot Mirror

Apache on these boxes was set not to log any IP addresses in the access logs, see the discussions on the IMC Tech list if you want to know more about this.

You can also see Yeb's comments (Yeb is Jebba, the guy associated with Indymedia who has the contract with Rackspace) on this exact issue in a slashdot comment he made once upon a time...

-- Pete.

This article about the RNC incident lists another company as thier host provider. Unlike Rackspace they gave the feds the finger, took them to court and won. Did they drop that provider in favour of Rackspace or do they have more than one provider?

And as a side note; this shut down has effected the non-european sites far more than the european sites.

How do you know this? You don't. The various Brit cops that have been contacted have either said "no comment" or "we weren't there". We HAVE NO IDEA WHICH GOVERNMENT'S AGENTS WERE THERE. Oh, I'm sorry, I must be shouting this because I'm saying it over & over...

AC says:
why was IndyMedia waiting for the return of the drives before restoring sites?

Um, have you been to http://www.indymedia.org lately? http://uk.indymedia.org or a whole ton of other sites that were hosted on AHIMSA but are up & running? They were back online very quickly. How fast would slashdot come back online if the gubmint stole their kit?

There were backups of most things, but not of everything. Each indy was responsible for their own backups & some were better at it or had more resources than others. Some sites had newer software that allowed for easier mirroring, for others it's way more messy.

Sorry if I'm sounding a bit edgy here... :)

-Jeff

How do you know this? You don't. The various Brit cops that have been contacted have either said "no comment" or "we weren't there". We HAVE NO IDEA WHICH GOVERNMENT'S AGENTS WERE THERE. Oh, I'm sorry, I must be shouting this because I'm saying it over & over...

AC says:
why was IndyMedia waiting for the return of the drives before restoring sites?

Um, have you been to http://www.indymedia.org lately? http://uk.indymedia.org or a whole ton of other sites that were hosted on AHIMSA but are up & running? They were back online very quickly. How fast would slashdot come back online if the gubmint stole their kit?

There were backups of most things, but not of everything. Each indy was responsible for their own backups & some were better at it or had more resources than others. Some sites had newer software that allowed for easier mirroring, for others it's way more messy.

Sorry if I'm sounding a bit edgy here... :)

-Jeff

who needs enemies? THANKS RACKSPACE! http://sf.indymedia.org/news/2004/10/1704102.php

Apache on these boxes was set not to log any IP addresses in the access logs, see the discussions on the IMC Tech list if you want to know more about this.

IMC techies are now going to have to analyse the disks to see what info the FBI will have got from this, probably just a few public keys... Of course the disks are not going to be put back into a production server etc...

...according to this and this, there was a request from the Italian and Swiss governments under a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty to the United States (since the hosting provider was a US company). The "FBI" did not physically "seize" the drives, since the FBI does not have jurisdiction in the UK, though it appears that Rackspace voluntarily responded to the US subpoena, which was generated as a matter of course under the MLA treaty.

with friends like rackspace, who needs the FEC? http://sf.indymedia.org/news/2004/10/1704102.php

In July, the CIA pressured the govt of Cyprus to investigate Cyprus Indymedia in July. When the Cyprus govt finally admitted this publicly, it made front page news there.

In August, the US Secret Service harassed NY Indymedia's ISP Calyx during the Republican National Convention, making intimidating requests to the ISP, demanding home contact details of Indymedia server admins, etc.

Now it's the FBI's turn.

What does the US govt plan to do to Indymedia in November, I wonder?

Here's some background on what the Italian govt had in mind when they requested the "assistance" of the US Feds. A federal prosecutor in Italy, Marina Plazzi, has stated that she is investigating Indymedia because of possible "support of terrorism". Apparently this is about supposedly positive postings after an attack on Italian soldiers in the Iraqi city of Nassiriya last November. "We asked the FBI for help alongside the Italian Department of Justice", federal prosecutor Plazzi said. The Italian Minister of Justice, Roberto Castelli, has so far refused to speak out on the proceedings of the FBI.

The parliamentary representatives of the Italian government parties are clearly less reticent. On Sunday, Mario Landolfi, spokesman of the neo-fascist party "Alleanza Nazionale" (AN), announced the seizure of the computers served "the enforcement of the law".
Note that the AN are coalition partners in the current Italian government of Silvio Berlusconi, our Partner In The War On Terror(tm).

Last November, 17 AN delegates, including the granddaughter of Benito Mussolini, demanded the shut-down of Indymedia in a joint statement. Back then, Paolo Valentino, state secretary in the Italian Department of Justice and also a member of AN, had announced possible cooperation with the USA.

This week's seizure of Indymedia servers appears to be what he was hoping for.

Believed by who? The quasi-"official" article at indymedia.org and the AFP report both say that the request initiated with the Swiss and Italian government. Why are you not asking questions of the Swiss and the Italian authorities? You and I both know that the only reason the US was involved is because Rackspace is a US company. Also, the FBI does not have jurisdiction in the UK, no matter how much people might like to imagine it might. Rackspace, a US company, complied with a US federal order in offices it operates in a different country. The FBI itself says it's not an FBI operation. Now I realize that's laughable to many on slashdot: believing the FBI when it says it's not an FBI operation. But the FBI proudly talks about its own investigations; if this was an FBI investigation, it would have already said so. But the fact is, the request initiated in Switzerland and Italy, and probably focused on very specific content.

You say the US had absolutely nothing to do with it? How about the Federal Order? Do you have info I don't have?

I didn't say the US had nothing to do with anything relating to this; I said they had nothing to do with initiating the request, or the actual physical seizure of the drives/servers, since that would have to have been done by UK authorities, even if accompanied by the FBI.

Sounds very much like US agents are involved...

Yes. Acting as agents for Italy and France under an MLA treaty.

And if the "State Department" was involved, it's only because it had to be involved for the mechanics of the MLA treaty.

We do not know for certain whether it is related to Italy or Switzerland or somewhere else. It is a good guess, but still a guess. All we know is that it was a Federal Order from the U. S. of A.

Because Rackspace is a US company. All of this obscures the real issue here: the fact they were physically on UK soil is irrelevant, because they weren't violating any UK laws. They probably weren't even violating any US laws. But the evidence from the third party, the third nation, must have been compelling enough under the guidelines of the MLA treaty for the US to act as an intermediary, and to generate a US subpoena.

At least admit than more than just the US is involved here. Of course, plenty here will believe this was 100% orchestrated by the US for purely political reasons. But the US can't execute search warrants or seizures in foreign countries, therefore at a minimum the UK was involved in an enforcement action. But it sounds like Rackspace chose to comply voluntarily.

Listen: nowhere did I say the situation was a good thing. Just that the US official story, take it or leave it, is that it is NOT a US operation, and that it was merely handling a request for a "third nation", and specifically names Swiss and Italian authorities, who have also not denied such a request. Now, even if all that is true, you can berate the FBI for throwing around its weight with a US corporation who clearly doesn't want to get on the "wrong side", as it were, of the authorities. You can chastise Rackspace for rolling over. But the bottom line here is that this all took place on UK soil, and ostensibly had it not been for the Italian/Swiss request, whatever it was, we wouldn't be here talking about this right now.

I understand that all you know for certain is that it was a US federal order, but that somewhat glosses over the fact that the reason it's so is because Rackspace is a US company, which is probably why the request got channeled to the US in the first place. I'm not saying it's right, just saying that all the blame doesn't exclusively rest on the US here. The US was but one part of this puzz

8 Sep 2004: Indymedianates publishes an article with photos of at least 1 (maybe 2?) undercover swiss police. Google cache of another site with pictures here. Translation of original Indymedia post.

Unknown date: FBI asks the post to be removed, but admitted no laws were violated: "The FBI agents told me that they were not concerned with the photos, but with the identifying information. There never was any such identifying information, and even if there was, it would likely be protected by the first amendment if it was obtained legally. (There was a recent case here in Washington that you may be familiar with on this very issue). But, even assuming it is illegal to post identifying information (which it is not), there WAS NO SUCH info. The FBI agents freely admitted to me that individuals have a right to take photographs of agents in public places and post those photos on the internet."

7 Oct 2004: Two Indymedia servers hosted by Rackspace (a US Company) but physically located in LONDON are taken. FBI agents are present at the seizure. No information is given other than the servers were taken. The order was issued to Rackspace (not Indymedia) and Rackspace was apparently barred from talking about it.

8 Oct 2004: Rackspace publishes that they turned over the servers in response to an order under MLAT (Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty).

8 Oct 2004: The AFP states that the request for the seizure originated with the Italian and Switzerland governments.

8 Sep 2004: Indymedianates publishes an article with photos of at least 1 (maybe 2?) undercover swiss police. Google cache of another site with pictures here. Translation of original Indymedia post.

Unknown date: FBI asks the post to be removed, but admitted no laws were violated: "The FBI agents told me that they were not concerned with the photos, but with the identifying information. There never was any such identifying information, and even if there was, it would likely be protected by the first amendment if it was obtained legally. (There was a recent case here in Washington that you may be familiar with on this very issue). But, even assuming it is illegal to post identifying information (which it is not), there WAS NO SUCH info. The FBI agents freely admitted to me that individuals have a right to take photographs of agents in public places and post those photos on the internet."

7 Oct 2004: Two Indymedia servers hosted by Rackspace (a US Company) but physically located in LONDON are taken. FBI agents are present at the seizure. No information is given other than the servers were taken. The order was issued to Rackspace (not Indymedia) and Rackspace was apparently barred from talking about it.

8 Oct 2004: Rackspace publishes that they turned over the servers in response to an order under MLAT (Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty).

8 Oct 2004: The AFP states that the request for the seizure originated with the Italian and Switzerland governments.

8 Sep 2004: Indymedianates publishes an article with photos of at least 1 (maybe 2?) undercover swiss police. Google cache of another site with pictures here. Translation of original Indymedia post.

Unknown date: FBI asks the post to be removed, but admitted no laws were violated: "The FBI agents told me that they were not concerned with the photos, but with the identifying information. There never was any such identifying information, and even if there was, it would likely be protected by the first amendment if it was obtained legally. (There was a recent case here in Washington that you may be familiar with on this very issue). But, even assuming it is illegal to post identifying information (which it is not), there WAS NO SUCH info. The FBI agents freely admitted to me that individuals have a right to take photographs of agents in public places and post those photos on the internet."

7 Oct 2004: Two Indymedia servers hosted by Rackspace (a US Company) but physically located in LONDON are taken. FBI agents are present at the seizure. No information is given other than the servers were taken. The order was issued to Rackspace (not Indymedia) and Rackspace was apparently barred from talking about it.

8 Oct 2004: Rackspace publishes that they turned over the servers in response to an order under MLAT (Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty).

8 Oct 2004: The AFP states that the request for the seizure originated with the Italian and Switzerland governments.

Indymedia does have many server all across the globe, but yes, more backups are needed -- some sites that have been taken down don't have recent backups :-(

What to help? Have a server with some space and bandwith to offer as a mirror? Please get in touch if you do!

You can get in touch with IMC techies via email or via #tech on irc.indymedia.org.

Indymedia does have many server all across the globe, but yes, more backups are needed -- some sites that have been taken down don't have recent backups :-(

What to help? Have a server with some space and bandwith to offer as a mirror? Please get in touch if you do!

You can get in touch with IMC techies via email or via #tech on irc.indymedia.org.

If anyone wants to help out (there are still many IMC sites down) some more mirrors would be good!

You can get in touch with IMC techies via email or via #tech on irc.indymedia.org.

The sites that are easy to mirror are the ones running Mir since this CMS generates static HTML, this includes the global site and the UK site.

Also one of the siezed London servers was the main Blag Linux server and it ran some other Free software mirrors... :-/

If anyone wants to help out (there are still many IMC sites down) some more mirrors would be good!

You can get in touch with IMC techies via email or via #tech on irc.indymedia.org.

The sites that are easy to mirror are the ones running Mir since this CMS generates static HTML, this includes the global site and the UK site.

Also one of the siezed London servers was the main Blag Linux server and it ran some other Free software mirrors... :-/

If anyone wants to help out (there are still many IMC sites down) some more mirrors would be good!

You can get in touch with IMC techies via email or via #tech on irc.indymedia.org.

The sites that are easy to mirror are the ones running Mir since this CMS generates static HTML, this includes the global site and the UK site.

Also one of the siezed London servers was the main Blag Linux server and it ran some other Free software mirrors... :-/

If anyone wants to help out (there are still many IMC sites down) some more mirrors would be good!

You can get in touch with IMC techies via email or via #tech on irc.indymedia.org.

The sites that are easy to mirror are the ones running Mir since this CMS generates static HTML, this includes the global site and the UK site.

Also one of the siezed London servers was the main Blag Linux server and it ran some other Free software mirrors... :-/

I don't think we'll see action on this area until people start sending annonymous copyright takedown notices to the ISP's of members of congress, as well as the heads of major corporations, showing them the folly of giving others full control over your life and business without due process. Of course such a thing would be illegal and dangerous, and a person would have to be crazy to do such a thing. After all, laws are a social contract, which we must obey in order for society to function. In a society ravaged by terrorism like ours, sending mixed messages is the last thing we can afford.

According to this Indymedia.org article and AFP report, the request to seize Indymedia servers hosted by a US company in the UK (covered in this previous slashdot story) originated from government agencies in Italy and Switzerland, not the United States. Because Indymedia's hosting company, Rackspace, is a US company, the FBI coordinated the request and accompanied UK Metropolitan Police on the seizure under the auspices of the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT), an international legal treaty, but, according to an FBI spokesman, 'It is not an FBI operation. Through [MLAT], the subpoena was on behalf of a third country'. Rackspace's statement reads, 'In the present matter regarding Indymedia, Rackspace Managed Hosting, a U.S. based company with offices in London, is acting in compliance with a court order pursuant to a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT), which establishes procedures for countries to assist each other in investigations such as international terrorism, kidnapping and money laundering. Rackspace responded to a Commissioner's subpoena, duly issued under Title 28, United States Code, Section 1782 in an investigation that did not arise in the United States. Rackspace is acting as a good corporate citizen and is cooperating with international law enforcement authorities. The court prohibits Rackspace from commenting further on this matter.'

http://docs.indymedia.org/view/Global/FrequentlyAs kedQuestionEn#donate

Whoa! This is a huge thread, and thank goodness! Hopefully the following info is not redundant.

Links

http://www.indymedia.it/ http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/10/08/10970895 54894.html

This is such an outrage, and a betrayal of civil liberties, that there are sure to be more stories. nyc.indymedia.org was instrumental to our recent anti-war action. It appears that the Bushies cannot tolerate freedom of the press, and blow back goes two ways. Please do whatever you can to help Indymedia, especially at this crucial time. Thank you!

Regards,
proclus
http://www.gnu-darwin.org/

The RNC delegate info was never posted on the server in question (ahimsa). The suspicion within informed circles is that the FBI action might have been related to pictures of undercover Swiss police officers posted on the Nantes IMC site (which was hosted on ahimsa). The Swiss police had already questioned a volunteer from Nantes IMC about these photos. For more info, look at this summary.

For those who don't know / understand - Indymedia is a network, so this isn't "Indymedia's HD" but rather equipment run by a collective attached to one of the various IMCs (each IMC is autonomous according to Indymedia's Principles of Unity).

The RNC delegate info was never posted on the server in question (ahimsa). The suspicion within informed circles is that the FBI action might have been related to pictures of undercover Swiss police officers posted on the Nantes IMC site (which was hosted on ahimsa). The Swiss police had already questioned a volunteer from Nantes IMC about these photos. For more info, look at this summary.

For those who don't know / understand - Indymedia is a network, so this isn't "Indymedia's HD" but rather equipment run by a collective attached to one of the various IMCs (each IMC is autonomous according to Indymedia's Principles of Unity).

The FBI executed the seizure (in London) at the request of Swiss authorities, who were worried about a post on a European IMC that contained photographs of undercover Swiss police officers "on duty" at a protest in France.

The "investigation" into the RNC delegates list is "ongoing," whatever that means. It's all kind of silly because the lists of delegates were publicly available on a state-by state basis; all the posters of those lists to NYC-IMC did was aggregate publicly available data that was dispersed in "raw" form.

Also, they did it not once, but twice.

With regard to the ProtestWarriors, I found this thread especially rich. Protest as military operation: how orwellian is that? (The picture of a puppy in a microwave is just a bonus).

The FBI executed the seizure (in London) at the request of Swiss authorities, who were worried about a post on a European IMC that contained photographs of undercover Swiss police officers "on duty" at a protest in France.

The "investigation" into the RNC delegates list is "ongoing," whatever that means. It's all kind of silly because the lists of delegates were publicly available on a state-by state basis; all the posters of those lists to NYC-IMC did was aggregate publicly available data that was dispersed in "raw" form.

Also, they did it not once, but twice.

With regard to the ProtestWarriors, I found this thread especially rich. Protest as military operation: how orwellian is that? (The picture of a puppy in a microwave is just a bonus).

I asked them what the US government's interest was in Swiss police and French websites. They informed me that no law had been violated but they were just requesting on behalf of the Swiss government that the identifying information be removed. I clarified that their concern was with the identifying information, and not with the photographs, because taking pictures of someone in a public forum is not objectionable. They agreed with me and said that their only concern was the identifying information.

I asked them for the URL of the offending post. They did not know what a URL was. I asked them what the address was for the post-- "the address you would type into your internet browser." They looked confused, consulted their notes, and stated that they weren't sure, but they thought it was http://natz.indymedia.org (in fact, the correct address is nantes.indymedia.org). I informed them that it would be very difficult to track down the post considering that there are thousands of posts on indymedia sites everyday.

I told them that the Seattle Indymedia Center has no authority regarding the Nantes Indymedia Center and that they should probably direct their request directly to the Nantes Indymedia Center. They left.

I pulled up the Nantes site. On the front page of the site, at the very top, was a large logo of the FBI, and an article regarding how their ISP (Rackspace) had received a request from none other than the FBI to remove a certain post...

Nothing happened for a few days, and then today the server is gone. This is what we know for a fact:

• Rackspace received a subpoena requesting certain information.
• Rackspace decided to turn over our entire server.
• Rackspace has refused to provide a copy of the subpoena on advice of counsel (most likely because the subpoena contains a gag order)
• When we inquired of Rackspace, this was their response: "Unfortunately, we have received a federal order to provide your hardware to the requesting agency. We are complying at this time. Our datacenter technicians are building you a new server which will be online as soon as possible. Your account manager will notify you once the new server is online and available. I apologize for abruptness of this. However, we are required to comply with all federal orders of this nature. Please let us know if there is anything that we can do to make this easier on you."

Indymedia is working on a press release on this matter and is working with EFF to assess its legal options.

And owner of 4/5 of the IMC UK, DNS and mail servers, I'm quite startled to get back from the pub to this. Couple of interesting links: The global view The local view

And owner of 4/5 of the IMC UK, DNS and mail servers, I'm quite startled to get back from the pub to this. Couple of interesting links: The global view The local view

They may not strive to present all points of view as equally valid, but they most certainly are independent.

• http://www.indymedia.org/

The intent was to "Shut down the RNC!". If the intent was just to send letters, the list wouldn't have included the names of the hotels that the delegates were staying at while at the convention.

also by law aren't federal agents, any agents for that matter, required to show the warrant? so *some*body must know what's going on, right?

I can't fucking believe you people. Free speech is DEAD now that Indymedia has been raided and you guys want to talk about the Fantastic Four? For God's sake, people, GET SOME PRIORITIES!!

There is some more info about the IMC Nantes / FBI issue on the IMC wiki... but in French...

This is the final verion of the press release, the parent has an earlier version:

Press Release

7 October 2004

FBI Seizes IMC Servers in the UK

US authorities issued a federal order to Rackspace's office in the US ordering them to provide Indymedia's hardware located in London to the requesting agency. Rackspace is one of Indymedia's web hosting providers with offices in the US and London. Rackspace complied, without first notifying Indymedia, and turned over Indymedia's server in the UK. This affects some 20+ Indymedia sites worldwide.

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 a second 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.

Original on the wiki: WwwFeaturesWorkpad

Because...they knew the truth! Bush was being coached during the debate!

The RCN stuff was on NYC IMC (and it wasn't posted by Indymedia, most content on IMC sites is posted by the site users just like happens here...), the two servers siezed in London did not host NYC IMC, they hosted a lot of others IMC sites (like Italy and UK) and also some big Free software mirrors and projects, like the Blag Linux distro... :-/

It is not know if the Nantes issue is related to this, perhaps it was enough of an excuse for them and they are after other information, thankfully these servers were set up not to log IP addresses :-)

The RCN stuff was on NYC IMC (and it wasn't posted by Indymedia, most content on IMC sites is posted by the site users just like happens here...), the two servers siezed in London did not host NYC IMC, they hosted a lot of others IMC sites (like Italy and UK) and also some big Free software mirrors and projects, like the Blag Linux distro... :-/

It is not know if the Nantes issue is related to this, perhaps it was enough of an excuse for them and they are after other information, thankfully these servers were set up not to log IP addresses :-)

Seriously, the FBI is doing the world a favor here.

Rackspace was given no time to defend against the order before it was acted upon and turned over the hard drives from the nyc imc server
now i'm no legal expert, but i was under the distinct impression that, with a few exceptions like threatening the president, you were innocent until proven guilty and had the right to defend yourself. have i missed something?
also by law aren't federal agents, any agents for that matter, required to show the warrant? so *some*body must know what's going on, right?

has more information, they suspect it is related to the posting of pictures of undercover police officers. Oddly enough the officers were photographing protesters.

The NYC Indymedia site is still up and has coverage of their own downtime.

Nobody's exactly sure why or how the FBI got warrants to take Indymedia's HDs, but their speculation tends to center around the fact that the Feds were spooked by the fact that Indymedia was able to publish RNC delegate names. This unfortuantely means political motivations are going to be questioned no matter what reasoning is brought forward.

Not much we can do at this hour but hold our breath and wait for more info to be released.

The NYC Indymedia site is still up and has coverage of their own downtime.

Nobody's exactly sure why or how the FBI got warrants to take Indymedia's HDs, but their speculation tends to center around the fact that the Feds were spooked by the fact that Indymedia was able to publish RNC delegate names. This unfortuantely means political motivations are going to be questioned no matter what reasoning is brought forward.

Not much we can do at this hour but hold our breath and wait for more info to be released.

Suspicious indeed....Possibly linked to RNC delegate identification? See this link from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04264/382137.stm

This in from Argentina Indymedia, which has a different view -

FBI took the hard drives of IMC servers in the UK
por Mat ((!)) Thursday October 07, 2004 at 06:10 PM
-
The US authorities issued a subpoena to Rackspace's office in the US ordering them to physically remove Indymedia hardware located in London. Rackspace is one of Indymedia's web hosting providers with offices in the US and London. Rackspace complied and turned over Indymedia's hard drives/servers in the UK. This affects some 20+ Indymedia sites worldwide.

Since the subpoena was issued to Rackspace and not to Indymedia, the reasons for this action are still unknown to Indymedia.

At the same time a second 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 comunity radio stations around the US, and now the FBI is shutting 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, part of the Germany site, UK Radio, and the global Indymedia Radio site.

Micah Anderson of the global imc-tech collective said, "We suspect it has to do with an FBI request that we take down a post on the Nantes IMC that had a photo of some undercover Swiss police. They claimed there was threats and personal information, but there was nothing of the sort. The undercover police that were photographed on the page were photographing protesters. Rackspace is a US company, but have colocation in the UK where these servers are (err, were) located. So this is about Swiss police, on a French site, on a server in England, taken away by American federal police."

However, according to information from IMC Nantes the pictures in question were already removed a week ago.
Link to Argentina Indymedia
http://argentina.indymedia.org/news/2004/10/227693 .php

and one more to NYC Indymedia, which is still up

http://nyc.indymedia.org/

Suspicious indeed....Possibly linked to RNC delegate identification? See this link from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04264/382137.stm

This in from Argentina Indymedia, which has a different view -

FBI took the hard drives of IMC servers in the UK
por Mat ((!)) Thursday October 07, 2004 at 06:10 PM
-
The US authorities issued a subpoena to Rackspace's office in the US ordering them to physically remove Indymedia hardware located in London. Rackspace is one of Indymedia's web hosting providers with offices in the US and London. Rackspace complied and turned over Indymedia's hard drives/servers in the UK. This affects some 20+ Indymedia sites worldwide.

Since the subpoena was issued to Rackspace and not to Indymedia, the reasons for this action are still unknown to Indymedia.

At the same time a second 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 comunity radio stations around the US, and now the FBI is shutting 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, part of the Germany site, UK Radio, and the global Indymedia Radio site.

Micah Anderson of the global imc-tech collective said, "We suspect it has to do with an FBI request that we take down a post on the Nantes IMC that had a photo of some undercover Swiss police. They claimed there was threats and personal information, but there was nothing of the sort. The undercover police that were photographed on the page were photographing protesters. Rackspace is a US company, but have colocation in the UK where these servers are (err, were) located. So this is about Swiss police, on a French site, on a server in England, taken away by American federal police."

However, according to information from IMC Nantes the pictures in question were already removed a week ago.
Link to Argentina Indymedia
http://argentina.indymedia.org/news/2004/10/227693 .php

and one more to NYC Indymedia, which is still up

http://nyc.indymedia.org/

www.indymedia.org was seized, and this is a really BAD NEWS and slashdot lost time posting this CRAP already seen on engadget.com HELLOOOO, IS ANYBODY IN HERE ???? :((

Damn, this person really annoys me! I fucking hate his over-emphasized patriotism. I get sick when I see those thousands of people applauding him for a bunch of lies.

http://la.indymedia.org/uploads/bushitler12k.jpg

drmorris@gmx.net

I do have some DVDs. I primarily buy them used.

and no, I don't download them, I just don't watch very many