Interactive timeline: Anonymous - Interactive - Al Jazeera English

Interactive timeline: Anonymous - Interactive - Al Jazeera English: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

Nicely made Anonymous time line. Starts with Anonymous' fight against the Church of Scientology. I guess this is more or less correct since we could say that Anonymous entry into the hacktivism scene dates from then, even though they did a lot of pranks before.

As for the Church of Scientology, it's largely a fail, mostly because, like for the church's critics, they couldn't avoid the trap of falling themselves in the very travers they were decrying against the CoS.

As for the Arab Spring, I don't know, because it's the first time I read about this possible link, and I am not sure I will have the time or the interest to read it all - but anyway, certainly worth mentionning.

Anonymous and the Arab uprisings - Middle East - Al Jazeera English

Anonymous and the Arab uprisings - Middle East - Al Jazeera English: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

Didn't follow all this mess for quite a while now but Anonymous re-appears in the news as linked to the Arab spring?

Financial Times Article on Anonymous

FT.com / Reportage - Dissenters transform the art of protest

No time to actually read it but the Financial Times has an article about Anonymous with an enthraling title: "Dissenters Transfor the Art of Protest". It is being follow by the interview of an anon - "I do it for the LULZ" usual stuff...

'Anonymous' Targeted in Internet Blacklist

Scientology protest group 'Anonymous' targeted
in internet blacklist crackdown - news - world - LIVENEWS.com.au: "A list of 2,395 websites which are considered unsuitable for Australian internet audiences has included a home base of 'Anonymous', the web-based activist group that made headlines by declaring war on the Church Of Scientology."

Clam vs. Panda

Panda Cloud Antivirus

I recently changed my f-secure anti-virus for the free AVG program. I ended up throwing it out of the Windows as it dramatically slowed down my system (F-secure too, by the way).

My laptop is so much faster without anti-virus programs that I wonder if it is really worth the hassle having them at all.

I then had the idea to look for a non-resident program, something with which I can just scan whatever I decided to scan myself rather than what a resident resource-eating mother-in-law decides for me.

I found the perfect program for doing that in the person of ClamWin.

This gave me the idea to blog about it here. You see, clam... and clam win... oh my...

Anyway this becomes even more relevant after pandas come in the equation too.

Indeed, reading about clam win on the net, I soon bumped into the latest fad in terms of anti-virus fashion - Panda Cloud.

Now this is an anti-virus program that rather than relying on a never ending database updating, and consequent resources slowing down, system, is relying on "The Cloud", or "Collective Intelligence".

No more structural database. The knowledge about viruses is shared through a network of distributed resources and any new virus-like behavior emerging in California or Beijing, or anywhere in the connected world, is immediately shared by "The Cloud", and becomes common knowledge, with direct application on your PC, in an average of six minutes - and the more people use the program, the greater the protection of each PC gets!

Another advantage is that it is supposed to significantly reduce the demand on your system resources (and that's where I lend a very interested ear), since it does not need to intercept each file at different layers (entry vector, file system and execution) and scan them using various techniques (antivirus, heuristics, intrusion prevention, behavioral analysis, etc.) - with a very consequent workload reduction. Most of the processing is done up in the cloud.

Now this sounds really revolutionary, and why does it make me think of Anonymous? And Google? What is more, it's free... (but watch out, soon to be bought by the afore-mentionned Google, IMO)

I downloaded the beta version and so far it seems to do quite some marvel (reserving my judgment for later, though).

The one thing I don't like about is that it did not want to install itself while ClamWin was installed on my computer. I tried to offload ClamWin from memory, just to keep the scan on demand bit, but it also didn't agree to this.

Is that a transcategorial subliminal metaphysical sign of big changes to come? The "Collective Intelligence" win over the sclerosed traditional structures?

Another question is this: if panda's servers get hit with a virus, does that mean every person who uses panda software will be vulnerable? would this not be a way to spread a potential virus?

Food for thought...

At the end, especially if The Cloud starts to make my system run at Panda's speed, the Clam may win after all...

Jackson Anonymous

YouTube - Michael Jackson's kids

Michael Jackson used to make his kids wear masks so they won't be recognized. Here is Prince wearing a Guy Fawkes mask! He's with Paris, the new overnight YT sensation after her deeply moving tribute to her father.

Anonymous Called a Cultish Group on Wired

Scientology Media Blitz to Counter Critics Seems Counter-Productive | Epicenter | Wired.com: "The Hatfields to the church’s McCoys are itself a cultish group of loosely-organized hackers known as Anonymous"

Anonymous Widens Its Scope

Iran Activists Get Assist from ‘Anonymous,’ Pirate Bay | Danger Room | Wired.com

Anonymous in Anti-Anti-Gay Protest?

At last putting Anonymous' power to a good use. Maybe...

The question is: will they actually push through with it?

Westboro Baptist Church announces first anti-homosexuality picket in Britain - Telegraph:

"Followers of the virulently anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church have threatened to picket a sixth form college in Basingstoke, Hampshire during a staging of The Laramie Project, a play about an American youth murdered because of his sexuality.

[...] Members of Anonymous, the nebulous online community that has previously organised protests against the Church of Scientology, are alreading planning counter-demonstrations outside the college on Friday, posts on internet message boards indicate."

Operation Chaniversary Monumental Flop

On Feb. 14 I read and blogged about an article that seemed to indicate that the last Feb. 7 was not the date of the one year anniversary of 2008 but that this fabulous event would take place on Valentine day, Feb. 14.

Yesterday, there wasn't a single peep in the news about that formidable event. I thought, it's Monday, let's wait another day. Today - the same. If there is something fabulous about that event it that it is fabulously ignored by the press at large. Except for one mention, and even that article ends by the quote of the day:

"Whatever the Scientologists are up to in there, at least they aren’t the ones standing on street corners, wearing creepy masks and offering cake to strangers."

Well done Shallonymous. You have made tremendous progress in the way the press perceives your action in just one year!

News briefs - News/Features

Dox or STFU

"Dox or STFU" is a motto used by Anonymous that is supposed to mean that if someone makes a claim, he owes to back it up or shut up.

While they certainly do require Scientologists to abide by this moto, I have rarely if ever seen them abiding by it themselves. OTOH, I have seen them not doing it, just not long time ago for example when they were claiming that the COS does not recognize autism or does not allow medication for seizures.

Now here is the latest example, and I think it is quite an illustrative one.

Check this post from WhyWeBWAAAAAAAAA.

The claim being made there (that ""Scientology had obtained and distributed personal medical information from the private health records of AGP and Happy Smurf") is not supported by any valid evidence at all (see the related blog entries below). This does not prevent them from actively spreading that rumor, and declare that people like me who say nothing else than "where are the dox?" engage in "Sclion Spin-control".

What better proof do we need that although Anonymous brags about "dox or STFU" they don't apply it to themselves?

Is there even a single anon in this thread questioning the claim?

As you can see, their aim in trying to get this rumor to go "viral" (pun pun), is not just to spread the rumor but also to "bury the scilon propaganda as well".

So there you have it, "dox or STFU" is "propaganda" when applied to them...

PS - BTW they don't seem very good at trying to bury dissent. I type "Scientology HIV+" and my blog entry is right there at the Nr1 spot in the Google web search. How it works I don't know but I learned over the years that the best way to deal with Google is just to be honest and not try to fiddle with ranking. Google algorithms are damn smart! They may even have something that offsets the many dishonest Anonymous strategies. Anonymous having messed up Google trend in the past certainly must have given Google second thought about them Anonymous...


Blog entries in this series:

• Jan 16: dox or STFU
  
• Jan15: Jason Beghe Message to Anonymous - Grow Up!
• Jan 14: More Speculations About the HIV+ Claim
• Jan 13: HIV+ Rumor Only a Rumor

Related web pages:

• http://bernie.cncfamily.com/sc/gays_and_scientologists.htm

Wise Beard Man to Anonymous. Version 2.

New York - Wise Beard Man to Anonymous: Don't be a Dope - Runnin' Scared - Village Voice

Excellent start in Mark Bunker's message, less so from the point down when he starts to talk about Jeff Stone.

On the other hand, excellent remarks from the Village voice journalist.

I would like to print in full Mark's introduction, because that's the Mark I really do like. After that I'll make a quick comment on the points I disagree with, ending up with the Village Voice journalist's comment.

"BUNKER: In any group of people there are dopes. A nebulous group of anonymous people on the net might possibly have a slightly higher percentage of dopes -- but then maybe not quite as many as were in the Bush Administration.

I look around at work or at an event and try to spot the dopes. Quite often it turns out to be me. We humans are prone to doing some dopey things. I'd have to say covering yourself with Vaseline and pubes would be dopiness on an epic scale and it just makes you shake your head and wonder, "Why?"

But, look, not everyone is going to get it. And not everyone in Anonymous is on the same page. In fact, there are factions within Anonymous. Most of the people taking to the streets and speaking out against Scientology fraud and abuse understand there is a serious reason to take action. Others in Anonymous call us Moralfags. You can't please everyone.

But the unfortunate thing about a nebulous mass of people under one umbrella is if one person does something bad, stupid or illegal that can be used to tar everyone else. The great strength of anonymity and numbers can just as easily be a weakness.

In my first video to Anonymous, I suggested they act within the law and take this seriously because Scientology damn well takes it seriously and they will do everything they can to take down each person they can identify. Pubes Kid thought he was pulling a prank (a damn lousy one) but it got him in serious trouble."

Then Mark starts to speak about the Riverside County Ordinance Farce. He claims that the material that has been used to discredit Anonymous does not represent the moralfags. This is to forget that even up to this day the WhyWeBWAAAAA forum still has the Thunderdome, and that without it, the whole forum would crash, as we have seen back in June 2008. You can't just claim Anonymous 2.0 is different than the original anonymous, while still using its name and symbols. I also disagree with the assertion that the original anonymous who protested Scientology a year ago and who continue to protest have moved on (in the sense that they became serious critics). They continue to display an incredible shallowness and I do have to agree with the original Anonymous that they have become moralfags under the thumb of the old guard. The fault, IMO, is not on the original Anonymous, as this whole approach tries to portray. The fault is on the protesters who continue to identify with Anonymous when in fact they now pretend to be something else, and continue to use slogans against Scientology that most of those who know a little more than the mob about the issue will just laugh at. If the moralfags want to move on, they should really move on, and this means move on from the old guard basis and mentality. As it is, they are no more than just a copycat of the old guard disguised as Anonymous, and then complain when people actually dare to compare them to the original Anonymous.

Nor is the reason why Anonyous (the original one) use shoking pictures. It is not out of pleasure to shock and attract attention. It simply is out of an urge to question any stereotype. I don't think Mark really understands the original Anonymous. The moralfags have become the anti-thesis or Anonymous itself, while still parading as such. I am not surprised that factions in Anonymous now try to take down the moralfags forums and engage in other attacks and pranks against them. Check out the message I reported on my blog entry about the original message to Anonymous being put down from YT. I think it really reflects that faction.

Mark should really have enticed Anonymous 2.0 to move on from their old guard dependency, and find a way to go beyond what they themselves did as old guard, without this being pubes prank in a desperate attempt to get attention. But he can't, because he is an old guard himself, and seems to be trapped in his own limits. As much as I like Mark as a person and I appreciate the kind of moderate statements he is able to come up with at times, like the one on Jett Travolta, he himself is prisoner of his own limits, beyond which he seems unable, so far, to move. It becomes of course difficult to advise others to do so. For him, therefore, the explanation of events like the pubes and the Riverside ordinance is that it is due on the one hand to a minority of bad apple within Anonymous 2.0, and on the other hand to a majority of original Anonymous who did not follow Anonymous 2.0 beyond it simply being for the lulz. I disagree with that, because it seeks to excuse the Anonymous 2.0 instead of getting them to reflect what is their own responsibility in this as a group. From what I can see, and in spite of what some may claim afterwards, they are very much at the basis and responsible for this kind of pranks. Suffice just to read their comments in news outlets and what goes on in WhyWeBWAAAA. Some may distance themselve from it afterwards, but they were there beforewards, encouraging it, promoting it, and supporting it. Maybe not directly, but by the sheer radicalness and shallowness of their current approach.

In this respect, I do have to agree with the comments of Tony, the journalist who reported it on the Village voice, which I would like to quote in full:

Well, that should make the Anonymous kids feel warm and fuzzy, because Wise Beard Man really lets them off the hook.

I'm surprised, Mark. Someone who's been doing this as long as you have understands how the media works when it comes to Scientology.

Now that the press has labeled an Anonymous operation (however rogue it happened to be) as a "hate crime," Anonymous members are going to find it much tougher to get other press organizations to take them seriously.

Many of the commenters to yesterday's posts offered us this pathetic calculus: "Anonymous may do stupid pranks, but Scientology really hurts people."

Sorry Anonymous, that doesn't work with reporters, and essentially puts you out of contention. Don't be surprised that from now on, any press mention of Anonymous will begin with the stupid Pubeit prank.

I also believe that this view is nothing new. For months now Anonymous has got virtually no press at all. I wrote about that back in July 24 already, and it has just got even worst over the subsequent months. The only time they would appear in the press nowadays is when they use Scientology celebrities appearance as an opportunity to put themselves in the photos, and then only in such notoriously gossiping tabloid rag as the Daily Mail.

It is clear at this point that if Anonymous 2.0 does not find a "bigger game" as Jason Begh puts it, they are going to completely disappear from the scene, or just be ignored as a simple annoyance. But that bigger game certainly isn't the type of pubes pranks that wins them nothing but negative attention. As I said repeately, their biggest chance is to start protesting discrimination towards Scientologists AND protest Scientology at the same time. But we are not going to see that any time soon, because it would involve a total revision of the very assumptions on which they are working from. So be it...

R-pubes- related blog entries

Jason Beghe Message to Anonymous - Grow Up!

New York - Jason Beghe to Anonymous: Grow Up - Runnin' Scared - Village Voice: "Since that game is over, they ought to create a new one."

I wrote earlier that I partly agree with Beghe when he advises Anonymous to drop their masks, but I also agree with him when he says: "Since that game is over, they ought to create a new one", and I think this new game is a deeper and more mature look into Scientology. I have been saying this for months already.

However, I still do not see that taking place. Quite on the contrary I continue to be aghast at the shallowness and cultishness of Anonymous. The last example, apart for the pubes, of course, is this one:

"Scientologists Targeting HIV-Positive Protesters" - Story spreading

And here we go!
Scientology Accused of Singling out HIV+ Protesters :: EDGE Boston
Scientologists Targeting HIV-Positive Protesters / Queerty
Scientology lobbying to restrict rights of HIV+ — Bearnaked Joe’s
$cientology’s unethical practices on its dissidents | inlandutopia.com

And some Scilon Spin-control
Another Look at Scientology: HIV+ Rumor Only a Rumor

In the blog entry referred to in this message above, I agreed that "If the CoS really obtained information from their private health records and were using this against them it would indeed be outrageous." but I questioned whether this has in effect been happening, and I cautioned against spreading a story based on rumors only.

What does Anonymous do? They call my blog entry "Scilon Spin-control" and then set out to spread the story without even having all the facts.

That's the kind of immature, childish, and cultish behavior I am talking about. They just don't care for the truth, as long as it makes Scientology look bad.

I thus fully concur with Beghe's message: Anonymous: Grow Up! If you can't switch to the higher gear, you will forever remain... anonymous.

R-pubes- related blog entries

Related web pages:

• http://bernie.cncfamily.com/sc/gays_and_scientologists.htm

Anonymous - Show Your Human Side

New York - Jason Beghe to Anonymous: Grow Up - Runnin' Scared - Village Voice: "I think Anonymous should be very proud of what they accomplished. And they should know that the Church of Scientology is nothing to be afraid of. Maybe their next game should be 'Naked Anonymous.' And I don't mean take your pants off. I mean take your masks off. Show them that you're not afraid."

Beghe is partly right. Anonymous should take off their mask when they speak to an individual Scientologist, but they cannot take off their mask when they protest, since the mask has now of sort become a trademark and symbol of Anonymous.

I myself launched the idea on Dec. 11 of "Operation Drop the Masks" but also qualified the idea on Dec 12. when I saw that what I wrote was partly misunderstood. I think indeed they should drop the mask, but I realize that this is not possible at this stage when they protest.

So, the above seems like a good compromise. Anonymous could keep their mask while protesting Scientology, the corporation, and could put down their mask when they need to show their human side.

I think there's a kind of poetic message in that, somewhere...


Blog entries in this series:

• Jan 15: Anonymous - Show Your Human Side
  
• Dec 12: Should Anonymous Unmask?
  
• Dec 11: Operation Drop the Masks

Anonymous Message to Scientology Taken Down!

"ANONYMOUS" IS A HATEGROUP CURRENTLY STALKING AND PERSECUTING RELIGIOUS MINORITIES: ANONYMOUS REELING FROM RECENT LOSS OF ICONIC "MESSAGE TO SCIENTOLOGY" VIDEO

"Anonymous' "Project Chanology" was launched as their initial "MESSAGE TO SCIENTOLOGY" video was uploaded. A couple days ago, the video mysteriously disappeared from the internet, along with the account hosting it"

Incredible... And this virtually on their one year celebration!

Apparently YT itself took it down, following some complain from some unknown entity for an unknown reason, which, IMO, is illegal. Everybody should have a right to know the reason they are being penalized so that they can contest it (which reminds me when Kady O'Malley and Rob Clark banned me from their pet IRC channel and they never responded to my request to know why even though the channel said to contact so and so... But then we are not dealing here with some supposedly open pet channels ran by "free speech" hypocrits, but with the almighty YT, for God sake).

Anyway... I did find an interesting comment:

"Anonymous said...

Gentlemen,

We are fucking sick of the continuous misuse of Anonymous.

Project Chanology will be used in reverse, yes you read that right, it will be used against every single moralfaggot, until they learn the lesson not to fuck with Anonymous. They are a bunch of fucktards wannabe heroes. The moralfaggots have been under the thumb of the old guard to this very day.

The wrath of Anonymous will be upon them.

Start finding your name. If your name is not listed its not because we don’t know it. We just want you to be glued to your computer screen chewing your nails every day to see if your name appears on our Internets. It won’t be just your name everything else about you and connected to you will be made public.

Anonymous took on scientology for the lulz. It wasn’t meant to be a fucking long prank. We had our lulz, we moved on.

We took down enturbulation.org.

WWP is getting inoculated with its very own anti-cancer cure.

We has WWP DB, and we have moar.

Do you think socal anon have a secret surprise that will be announced on 17 January? We know your doo dah plan and we will be there with you to fuck you up like you have never been fucked up before. That’s just a taste of what we are doing for the socal cocksuckers. Other wannabe anon will get a different type of medicine for their cancer on January 17th.

Anonymous delivers.
*long list of names"
January 14, 2009 4:22 PM "

Littles Brothers Are Watching You

In a rather interesting article, called "The Orwellian power of anonymity", the Canadian National Post makes a parallel between Anonymous, or rather the phenomenon of anonymity on the Internet, and the Big Brother concept popularized by Georges Orwell's book "1984".

It claims that, in spite of the myth of us living in a Big Brother surveillance society, the Internet makes it increasingly easy to be anonymous, and as anonymous, influence major world events.

He uses the the Anonymous vs. Scientology phenomenon as one of three examples:

What is remarkable is not that the Internet makes it possible to obscure your identity, but that online anonymity is now seeping into the off-line world. [...]

Despite the lack of a leadership structure, membership list or other organizational accoutrements, Anonymous -- which draws its name from the pseudonym used by most 4chan members -- quickly established a Web site and plan of attack.

I agree that this is a most remarkable phenomenon, as exemplified by the thousands of masked protesters suddenly popping up out of nowhere to protest the CoS in Feb. and Mar.

However, the article also points to what is the weakness of the movement, and something I have been hamering down since the start:

"It used to have to be verifiable facts. It seems to me as I read things now that anonymous sourcing is a way to disguise gossip," Mr. Alboim said, adding later, "People seem free in the age of all-news television to go on the air and report whatever it is they heard in the last 15 minutes."

And that's precisely my beef with them.

In spite of them chanting "Dox or STFU" and claiming that they "keep on researching Scientology every day and get more informed about it", they still have not encompassed the wealth of scholarly researches into Scientology, they still go around displaying grotesques "Scientology Kills"signs, they still peddle a typical and outdated anti-cult approach.

As I wrote already, the day I'll see Anonymous protest the ugly German discrimination with the same enthusiasm they protest the CoS abuses, I may start to believe they made some headways from classical OG (mis)representations. To this day, I have not seen that, quite on the contrary.

As for the masses who protested the "free speech abuses" of a copyrighted, leaked, out of context, video being put down the Internet, they are just as misguided and superficial.

In other words, the Anonymous movement is certainly striking. Ideas are original and inventive, the masks, the lulz, the caek... it's great! But, you know what? It also is terribly shalow.

They may be able to spread memes around cyberspace in lighting speed, but it never seems to raise above the LOLCat level.

Anonymous' Video on Washington Post's Most Viral of 2008

From http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/artsandliving/style/2008/bestofweb/gallery.html:

Tom Cruise and Anonymous

Way back in January, before he made nice with Matt Lauer, Tom Cruise was still Creepy Tom -- a state of being exemplified nowhere better than this leaked Scientology promo video. Cruise rambles, he cackles, he avoids proper nouns and he proclaims himself an "the only one who can really help" at car accident scenes.

It was classic unhinged celebrity voyeurism, but the story got really interesting when a group calling itself "Anonymous" posted a response video, in which it vowed to bring down the Church of Scientology. The two minutes of eerie digital voice-over eventually led to real-life protests in more than 100 cities.

The LA Times Makes Amend

The other day I wrote that the LA Times ignored Anonymous in its yearly review. However, in its specific review on the impact of the Internet in 2008, it does acknowledge the movement:

Anonymous lives: In March, a video of Tom Cruise extolling the values of Scientology leaked onto YouTube. When Scientology officials tried to stamp it from the site, the church drew the ire of young Internet denizens around the world, spawning a wave of masked protest that put Scientology on the defensive.

PS - the LA Times is wrong, however, to claim that the video was leaked in March.

Anonymous Ignored by the LA Times' Year in Review

The LA Times seems to have a year in review page, though I don't seem to be able to access it by itself, apart from the entry mentioning Scientology.

What is remarkable in this entry is that the LA Times completely ignores Anonymous. It mentions that:

The Church quickly went on a campaign to eradicate the videos from YouTube, but succeeded only in outraging many online denizens.

but does not mention Anonymous in name nor does it mention the movement at all. Since I can find no other entries mentioning Scientology for this year in review, I conclude that Anonymous is completely ... anonymous. The whole advent seems to be completely ignored.

John Duignan Acknowledge the Anonymous Effect

In his book, "The Complex", John Duignan acknowledges the effect Anonymous protests had in his defection from Scientology:

Scientology was firmly on the world agenda and as my confidence grew, an organisation called Anonymous emerged. [...]

Their mere existence has empowered me, and many others, to be even more vocal in exposing this abusive cult. They have given me huge strength and a new-found belief in the human race. The humanity and the sense of empathy I have gotten from these strangers, or as the Church of Scientology has described them 'cyber-terrorists', has been just gut wrenching for me. Each and every one of them who have contacted me, have expressed their disgust and shock at the conditions endured by staff and Sea Org members.

When I realised what the movement are doing and how powerful a force Anonymous have become I actually broke down and cried. They are taking a stand for me and for Scientology's victims like Alice* and Lisa McPherson, and for the countless others whose stories have not been told but whose lives have been destroyed by this evil cult

John also also falls for a few Anonymous myths, i.e. that they have become a powerful force, that the press is still interested in them, that they are human right activists, etc. But I cut out these myths from the above and won't comment further. For once Anonymous has some achievement they can brag about, let them have their field day!