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Anonymous – The (H)activist group.

March 6, 2011 By 2 Comments

Development of a Phenomena.

What is Anonymous?
Basically, for first timers, they are an online activist group, but if you didn’t know that already,read this Wikipedia entry – Anonymous for a broad outline. Maybe the best article about Anonymous to date is the following Anonymous Explained: How a Web Movement Was Born

Anonymous Open Letter to the world

Open Letter to the World

Development over the last few months.
But the interesting thing about Anonymous is not what they are, claim to be, or were, but simply the change that is apparent over the last few months..

There has been a vast change in presentation, that has given rise to a clearer identification of the message they are trying to convey. Almost a professionalism. Instead of issuing the usual statements (we are legion etc) in a rather pre-pubescent comical way, they have cultured a clear message that caters and appeals to a very wide audience of activists. They are still difficult to fathom by your average activist, but few will be able to dismiss the message as the correlation is just too close to their own message going back decades. Equality, freedom, liberty etc.

Fundamentally important in backing up their message is not only an absolute clear lack of Racism or Prejudice (unless you are a controlling authority), but also a very clear activist stance towards the genuinely disenfranchised (Women, the Arab street, as examples). Read their open letter (right)

This video is also a good example of professionalism on display.

They are also true to their word. A good example of following their own policy is as follows: . As can be seen by the screen grab from the Anonnews website, the put the pro and anti publicity right there on the front page open for comment. You don’t see your average newspaper displaying articles that are negative about them or their procedures.

Screen Grab from AnonNews.Org


There doesn’t seem to be any one place to go to get an independent and objective understanding of the idea/activity/organisation behind Anonymous, but some articles seem more informed than others. Here is a link to one.
Good Reference for some background:
What its like to Participate with Anonymous – The Atlantic – Gabriella Coleman

Anonymous News Site

Summary
If they are a bunch of script-kiddies as has been claimed, then fair play to them. However, having followed a lot of their general conversations online, I suspect the following There are a lot of script-kiddies in the overall concept, but there is a very professional group within it, or even advising to it.

As of today, everything they are doing is simply quite brilliant. Long may it continue.

Latest update video as of 11/Mar/2011

Filed Under: Activism, censorship Tagged With: , ,

Defaulting on Debt

March 6, 2011 By Leave a Comment

For Decades, poorer countries have been arguing that they should not have to pay the national debt as they (the citizens) did not borrow it of benefit from it. It was loans to dictators for weapons to keep them under control, not to benefit them.

But all their squealing and wingeing was ignored. They should pay their debts….

How things are viewed differently now in Ireland, Greece, etc etc.

Filed Under: Activism, Debt

Libya No-Fly and Asset Freeze

March 2, 2011 By Leave a Comment

There is no argument about the moral or ethical aspects of enforcing a no-fly over Libya. To minimize the killing is a no brainer.

But legally, the asset freeze must be problematic, given that there is no official statement or recognition that the previous regime has gone. As such, the asset freeze is close to an act of war (legally, not morally). If the international community get it wrong, it can be seen as a very aggressive act against Libya (not just Gaddafi.

With regards to the No-Fly, there are clearly some in Libya calling for international enforcement of a no-fly. However, this needs to be considered as very deeply and dynamically as the situation develops. There is a tipping point at which the reduction of deaths in the short term is balanced by a positive mutually respectful relationship with Libyan people in the future (regardless of who takes power at the end of the current situation).

The West gained huge kudos by doing absolutely nothing in Tunisia and Egypt. Including not claiming to have supported the eventual winners. This sets a wonderful foundation for future relations between the West and Egypt.

Filed Under: Libya

Anonymous issue an Open letter to the world

February 27, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Those who have been claiming a bunch of “Script Kiddies” are behind Anonymous, the online activist (maybe) group, need to rethink.

It appears as though they certainly have their finger on the pulse of a large proportion of society – at least amongst the “net connected”. The following letter has been tweeted from within the group (though not yet directly tweeted from them as I write).

Anonymous – Open Letter to the world

Filed Under: Featured FP, Networks

Arab revolutions media bogey

February 27, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Seems strange that Aljazeera is now regarded in the Middle east as a core player in the democratic revolutions while in the West it is regarded as the mouthpiece of Tyranny.

Filed Under: Egypt

New York Times Censorship Guidelines

February 27, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The New York Times (NYT) has kindly published its “Censorship Guidelines” as outlined by the US Government.

“Humanitarian considerations first, journalism second.”

In other words, if the government deems it to be in the best in of the public, then the NYT may publish.

Their excuse in this case was to protect a CIA agent who had just run over one person and then shot two others in Pakistan. They were claiming he had diplomatic immunity.

…and the humanitarian part was where?

Link to the article here: New York Times Censorship Guidelines

An interesting and somewhat connected occurrence – Operation Mockingbird

Filed Under: censorship, Featured FP

Egypt – Complex and time for change

February 4, 2011 By Leave a Comment

 

Warning – graphic..

Truck runs over pedestrians

Don’t have a link but have seen on Aljazeera another video worse than this (liveleak.com), but runs over 10-12 people in a crowd. Just shows that although there is much talk of Peaceful Protests it would appear that the longer it goes on, the more there is the opportunity for a lot of damage to be done to the future peace.

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Creepy connections between the power brokers, via the New York Times Lede.

Obama Envoy’s Lobbying Firm Tied to Mubarak Regime

As the United States continues to press Egyptian officials to begin the “orderly transition” President Barack Obama called for on Tuesday night, more attention is being paid to Frank Wisner, the retired American diplomat who met with Hosni Mubarak on behalf of the administration this week.

In my colleague Sheryl Gay Stolberg’s profile of Mr. Wisner, she reported that the 72-year-old retired ambassador and businessman trusted with this delicate mission “joined the lobbying firm Patton Boggs” two years ago.

As the Mideast Wire blog noted on Tuesday, Mr. Wisner’s lobbying firm has worked on behalf of the Egyptian government for two of the three decades Mr. Mubarak has been in power.

According to a description of the lobbying firm’s experience in Egypt on its Web site:

Patton Boggs has been active in Egypt for 20 years. We have advised the Egyptian military, the Egyptian Economic Development Agency, and have handled arbitrations and litigation on the government’s behalf in Europe and the U.S. Our attorneys also represent some of the leading Egyptian commercial families and their companies, and we have been involved in oil and gas and telecommunications infrastructure projects on their behalf. One of our partners also served as the Chairman of the U.S.-Egyptian Chamber of Commerce, promoting foreign direct investment into targeted sectors of the Egyptian economy. We have also handled negotiation of offset agreements and managed contractor disputes in military sales agreements arising under the U.S. Foreign Military Sales Act.

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$60 Billion US Aid to Egypt=$60 Billion Current Net-worth of Mubarak Family

From: Sybil Edmonds Blog.

In this post Sybil outlines the simple, clear cycle of corruption, quoting from various sources. Well worth a read.

The background:

List of Important references:
April 6 Movement – from the Food riots of 2008
Optor – Serbian Protest Movement of 1999-2000 – trained on tactics of effective peaceful protest

Filed Under: Egypt, Uncategorized

Ireland – the Narrative is pointing to a tipping point

February 2, 2011 By Leave a Comment

A Narrative is developing, with a couple of articles popping up – expect more soon.

Irish bank flight quickens despite EU rescue
Irish central bank data showed losses of €40bn (£34bn) in deposits from the key banks in December, compared with €27bn a month earlier. Over the past year Irish lenders have haemorrhaged €110bn, equal to 60pc of gross national product. “Would I want to leave money in an institution where I don’t know who is making the rules?” said Gary Jenkins from Evolution Securities.

…and a couple of months before….

Iceland offers risky temptation for Ireland as recession ends
The Nordic economy grew at 1.2pc in the third quarter and looks poised to rebound next year. It ends a gruelling slump caused largely by the “New Viking” antics of Landsbanki, Glitnir and Kaupthing, the trio of lenders that brought down Iceland’s financial system in September 2008.

The economies of the two “over-banked” countries have both contracted by around 11pc of GDP, but Iceland has achieved it with inflation that devalues debt, while Ireland has done it under an EMU deflation regime that raises the burden of debt.

Filed Under: Debt

Goodies and Baddies is not how it is in Revolutions

February 2, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The Media are desperate to have the Good guys and Bad Guys clearly divided. The pro-democracy demonstrators, and the pro-Mubarak demonstrators.

And of course, the pro-Mubarak demonstrators that came out today are being presented as paid thugs carrying Police and Security force ID’s. Unfortunately, this ignores the fact that many were woman and children to start with, there was no logic to trying to appear as civilians and carrying all your Police ID’s. It also is simplistic in not understanding that many people are hungry and impoverished by these protests.

As there is no real co-ordination behind the anti Mubarak protests – they just all want him out but don’t know who they want in, it is highly likely that on the other side there are many who don’t care about Mubarak but are more concerned to just stop the economic freeze.

A very good article about the way revolutions are high-jacked, and don’t even turn out as history wrote them, even when that is a few years ago. The myth and lack of interpretive ability of the media and experts is frightening.

Tunisian Revolution not what it seems – as the Romanian one wasn’t

Filed Under: Egypt, Featured FP

Stop Bashing the Bankers? – Ok, then Convict!

February 2, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Mr Osborne, while sitting in Davos, had been manipulated by chums through “what do you want to be after you leave politics…”, stated it was time to stop bashing the banks. This was his statement in mid January. At the same time, the negative 0.5% drop in GDP in 3rd quarter 2010, was down to some snow. This is our cheif economist…

Office of National Statistics figures

The debt we now have (see graph and the ONS site), has destroyed this country quicker than any war or terrorists could do.

According to the Economist Magazine (View Here), we have the following situation…..

Does it matter that Britain’s public debt – allowing for subsequent heavy government borrowing but some shrinkage of the banks’ balance-sheets – now stands at 155% of GDP? Not really since the government also controls the assets on the other side of the banks’ balance-sheets. Only if they turn sour will there be a genuine further call on taxpayers, other than the equity they have already ploughed into the businesses, together with a form of catastrophe insurance for RBS if its loans incur really serious losses. And if things work out better than expected, the taxpayer might even make a profit on these unwelcome emergency investments.

…as long as the assets don’t turn sour…! Thank goodness it is safe! House prices don’t go down, Bonds are always repaid, countries never default, and sharemarkets always rise.

Osborne is right. Move on. We must all be safe.

Filed Under: Debt, Featured FP Tagged With: ,
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