Re: Hacktivism list questionnaire..?

[megan <megan@tao.ca>]

[: hacktivism :]

Okay - this stuff about the questionnaire is getting totally dumb....

The idea for the questionnaire arose after a discussion on tao-org between
jesse and grugnog (essentially).... it is in fact legit ( to the degree
that anything is - I mean, really anyone could be maintaing this list if
you want to go that far with it - do you really know, do I?)

I don't believe that grugnog is asking for the specifics of when anyone
engaged in illegal activist activity - just general topics of activism
that people might be interested in, or have done. Like to say, I am a
feminist activist - does not imply that I have done anything illegal,
ever, to promote the cause of feminism.... it just means that I consider
the politics of feminism to be worthy of activism (just an example).

People don't have to answer the questionnaire - but the paranoia on this
list gets a bit overwhelming after awhile - i mean, there are lots of
reasons to be paranoid, but a list questionnaire ain't one of them (i
mean, it's not like it reads - What illegal activities have you engaged in
in the past six months? or anything like that)....

The questionnaire is part of some discussions some of the tao folx have
been having about accountability on our lists, making things open and
accessible etc... not a CSIS (or FBI, or COINTELPRO) plot.....

Megan
(who also maintains a bunch o tao lists...)

"If we are to vent our riotous anger let it be before they try to murder
Mumia Abu-Jamal, not after."
   ----------------------Michael Parenti, 1995
************************************************************************* 
Find me at - http://www.tao.ca/~megan

On Thu, 21 Oct 1999, Michael James Pruitt wrote:

> [: hacktivism :]
> 
> > [: hacktivism :]
> > 
> > Got this privately from "Grugnog": 
> [snip]
> > Did others get this questionaire?
> 
> Yes, I also received this questionaire. The headers *looked*
> valid, but I didn't care much for the content,so the email
> quickly found its way into the bit bucket. If I *WERE* engaged
> in questionable activities, why would I admit to it in email?
> 
> A poorly written story, very loosely based on real life:
> (not fit to read, but interesting to embelish upon 
> and forward)
> 
> "An open email to Mole"
> 
> The worst thing about that last drug deal was the way the
> CIA dude almost botched the whole affair. "Certified Information
> Associate" Ha! Agent Smiley (the handle he uses when dealing with
> "hacker" groups) thinks he's the bomb, but he doesn't know how
> to spell "botulism" or "nuclear" (worse, he pronounces it 
> "nuke-u-lar".) Speaking of mispronounciations, he kept referring
> to that agent in the Cayman Islands as a "real-uh-tor". So what
> if Smiley has an off-shore bank account? What's the use in having
> a swiss bank account if you don't have several million dollars
> stashed in it (presumably without any government higher-ups
> finding out about it).  
> 
> Oh, hey, thanks for that killer bootleg compilation you mailed
> to my PO Box. Expect a money order via snail mail to cover your
> expenses. I really liked Special Op's version of "Love is the
> Drug". The remix of Dali's Handgun was pretty good as well. I
> didn't really care for the tracks by Acousitic Assault, Rifle
> Rhythm, or Kill the Pigs. However, Anthrax's cover of Tiffany's
> song "Drop the Bomb" was a real riot!
> 
> Did I tell you that Shelley *finally* finished her thesis on
> "post-modern anti-governemnet activities as a new form of politics"?
> Okay, it's a dry read, but the parts about the government's cover-up
> of Waco was pretty good. Gave me some stuff to think about. And
> what she had to say about Ruby Ridge was pretty good. I realize
> that she was merely quoting the extremists, but reading the lines
> "overthrow the government by any means possible" sent deadly
> shivers down my spine. Almost makes me want to kill a president
> or senator. At least I'd get my fifteen minutes of fame. ;)
> 
> I finally finished reading Stevenson's "Cryptonomicon". It's got
> some great stuff about strong cryptography and the implications
> of its use to subvert governments and avoid taxes was pretty cool.
> Lots of killer information about enigma and bletchley park and all
> of those other clandestine things that "they" would rather you
> not know about. It's a really thick book, but definitely worth the
> read.
> 
> Did you hear that Jay's working on a screenplay? It's called 
> "Emergency Powers Act". It's all about a bloodless coup in which
> FEMA uses the Y2K bug as an excuse to enact martial law. The 
> opening title screen has a quote: "FEMA is prepared to implement 
> the Federal Response Plan if necessary." -- from the FEMA for kids
> Y2K site, http://www.fema.gov/kids/y2kfema.htm (the scary thing
> is, it's an actual page! "hey kids! The government is going to
> take control of every aspect of your lives~ Doesn't that sound
> fun?) The United States government is effectively overthrown and 
> the bad guys win. But only in the short term. FEMA released active 
> biological agents upon Washington DC and tried to make it look like 
> a covert enemy attack. The plan backfires when the evil "powers
> that be" in FEMA become infected themselves and are forced to
> give the CDC the antidote. 
> 
> Speaking of plans backfiring, did I tell you that I got the results
> of my FOIA query back from the FBI? I have a file! Apparently
> it all started when I was at SummerCon in Atlanta. Remember how
> I met DeathVeggie of the cDc and we talked about illegal drugs
> all night? Well, apparently there was some young guy (the freak
> with the hat that kept trying to give Chris a hug) who was sodomized
> by Emmanuel Goldstein (even though the act ws consensual). They
> were trying to get a case together against Goldstein, claiming that
> he was in a child pornography ring. No statute of limitations on
> statutory rape, *AND* both Emmanuel (travel expenses paid for by
> 2600) and the kid crossed state lines to get to Atlanta, making
> it a federal offense. So, anyhoo, I was getting plastered with
> deathveggie and some of the other guys there and emmanuel and his
> boytoy arrived. Thus my connection to the whole sordid affair.
> As far as I know, nothing ever happened to Goldstein, so they must
> have dropped the child pornography lead. So, I'm under the
> watch of the feds. It's a good thing there wasn't anything about
> my hacking activities in malaysia.
> 
> Anyways, I hope this letter makes as many hits where it counts.
> your fellow conspirator,
> thomas metnick (kevin? we're not related, and I don't want to
> see him free)
> 
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> 


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