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On this day; September 30th, 15 years ago, 12-year-old Palestinian boy Muhammad al-Durrah was shot to death in his father’s arms by Israeli troops.

It was the second day of the Second Intifada, the father and son were caught in a cross fire and hid behind a concrete cylinder. For 45 minutes Jamal al-Durrah shielded his son from Israeli fire as several bullets narrowly missed them. He desperately waved and shouted: “Don’t shoot!” but to no avail.

Muhammad al-Durrah was shot four times and eventually slumped across his father’s legs, who was also shot and lost consciousness.

An ambulance driver tried to rescue the boy and his father but the driver was also killed, along with a jeep driver, and a second ambulance driver was wounded. Muhammad and his father laid bleeding for at least 17 minutes before an ambulance was able to pick them up.

We will never forget.

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Today in History: December 14. The Bush shoeing incident

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“They reclassify healthy adult female flesh as “cellulite,” an invented “condition” that was imported into the United States by Vogue only in 1973; they refer to this texture as “disfiguring,” “unsightly,” “polluted with toxins.” Before 1973, it was normal female flesh.”

— Naomi Wolf, The Beauty Myth; 1990 (via medusanevertalks)

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growing up poor meant having to wait SIX MONTHS for your parents to buy you another car after you totaled the first one 😔

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for marxists, class is determined by how big your dad’s yacht is. if you have a small yacht you are the prolactin. if you have a big yacht you are the boogies.

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Never ever turn off your phone: rethinking security culture in the era of big data analysis.

Back in the 80′s if you were a pissed off anarchist that wanted to burn down a building, you probably checked your home for listening devices and made a plan. If you were the same kind of pissed off anarchist in the late 90′s, you  turned off your phone and encrypted your online traffic. In the 2020′s we’re gonna have to change our strategies once again. Intelligence gathering has adapted and so we must adapt too.

To get a head start at this, let’s look at how big data analysis is being used. To do this, we’ll need to talk about 3 things: metadata, patterns and networks. Those sound boring and complicated but I’m not a techy and I won’t bore you with tech language, I’ll keep it as easy as I can.

Metadata: In the context of online activity, ‘content’ means ‘the message you send’ and ‘metadata’ means ‘everything other than the content’. So, for example, if you send your friend a text about lunch, the content might be “Let’s go out for lunch” and the metadata might be “Message send at 01/04/2018 11.32 from phone 0478239055 to phone 079726823 using Signal”.

This information is registered by your phone even if the app encrypts your actual message. Your metadata is very badly protected by technology and very badly protected by the law. No matter which country you are in, most of your metadata if freely available to intelligence agencies regardless of whether you are a suspect in anything.

Patterns: Whether you realize it or not, your metadata has a pattern. If you have a daily job you might have a very consistent pattern, if you do not your pattern might be more flexible but you have a pattern. If someone wanted to know the rhythm of your day, they could very easily do so because your pattern is in the metadata.

For example: Maybe you use the wifi at your favourite bar on most Sunday nights until about midnight, you wake up around 10 AM and check your Signal, you use your public transport card to get to class every Monday afternoon and you spend on average 1 hour on Tumblr twice a day. All this is part of your pattern.

Networks: You have online networks. Your facebook friends, the people in your phone adress book, the dropbox you share with coworkers, everyone who bought online tickets to the same punk band you attended, the people using the same wifi points as you. Take your networks, combine them with other people’s networks, and clusters reveal themselves. Your work community, your family, your activist scene, etc.

If you are in an anarchist community that will probably be abundantly clear from all your minor network connections like going to the same band and knowing the same people as other anarchists. Even if you never liked an anarchist facebook page or pressed ‘going’ on an anarchist facebook event, your network is hard to hide.

Now, let’s say you commit a crime,

the kind that would result in some serious research. Let’s say that on Sunday night 3 AM, you are your friends go out and burn down a nazi’s house. It’s obvious that anarchists did it but there are no other clues. You use traditional style security culture: you burn your notes, you are careful not to communicate about your plans near technology and you do not leave physical traces.

But because you commited the crime that night, your metadata will vary strongly from your usual rhythm: you stay at your usual bar until 2 AM to wait for your friends, you do not wake up at 10 AM in the morning so you do not check your Signal or Tumblr until 1 PM. You do not go to class. Your metadata pattern is very different from your usual pattern. The metadata patterns of your friends are different too. If one of you is clumsy, they might generate a super suspicious metadata signal like a phone being switched off at 2.30 AM and activated at 4AM. You wouldn’t be the first.

If I wanted to solve this crime using data analysis, what I would do is:

let a piece of software run a pattern analysis of the local anarchist scene to generate the 300 people most connected to the anarchist scene.

let a second piece of software analyse the metadata patterns of those 300 people over the last months and identify the biggest metadata variations around Sunday night as well as very suspicious metadata activity

Illiminate pattern variations with an obvious cause or an obvious alibi (people who are on vacation, people who are in the hospital, people who lost their job, etc).

Do indepth research into the ones that remain.

Which is how, out of a massive amount of people that I couldn’t possible all listen to at the same time, I could quickly identify a few to monitor closely. This is how I could find and catch you.

So, now what?

If traditional security culture doesn’t protect us as well as it used to, how do we adapt? Well, I don’t have all the answers but for a start, I’d say: know your network + know your pattern.

In the case of the crime above: leave the bar at midnight, return home and put your phone on your bedside table. Check the apps you check before going to bed and set your alarm to 10AM. Return to the bar without your phone. Commit the crime. Wake up at 10AM and check your Signal. Drag yourself to class or ask a comrade to make the trip with your travel card and do not use technology in your home while the comrade is taking your travel card to class. Stick to your pattern. Never ever turn off your phone.

You might also be able to manipulate your network but that seems much harder to do. Not having a smartphone and dropping out of all social activity online is  a big commitment. Knowing your data pattern and making sure your data pattern doesn’t look out of the ordinary? Much less commitment.

Some of the old rules will still apply: don’t talk about a crime around devices with microphones, don’t brag after a succesful action, etc. Other rules, like ‘turn off your phone when planning an illegal act’ need to change because their metada looks too out of the ordinary. No one switches off their phone anymore. We look suspicious as fuck when we do.

This is just one idea on how we could update our security culture. There are probably other people with other, better ideas about updating our security culture. If we start the conversation, we may get somewhere.

Finally: we need to keep adapting.

As technology changes, more information is becoming available, including data we have very little control over. Smart-tv’s and ads in public spaces that listen to every word we say and the tone of our voice when we say it are examples. Data analysis projects are currently using license plate reading software on security footage to map the travel patterns of cars. A lot suggests they may soon be ready to do the same with face recognition, at which point the presence of our face in public space becomes part of our metadata. More information means more accurate data analysis. Our metadata may soon be too vast annd too complex to completely map and mirror. Which means we will need to adapt our counter measures if you want to hide something.

How do we keep it all under the radar? I don’t know. But let’s try to figure this shit out. These are some first thoughts about what security culture should look like in the age of modern big data analysis and I’d be very happy for any insights from comrades that have some thoughts on this.

Also: feel free to distribute and rework these words without credit.

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On this day, 24 October 2014, the Washington Post published a completely inaccurate article claiming that huge numbers of migrants in the US were illegally voting and helping the Democrats win elections. They estimated that up to 6.4% of non-citizens in the US were voting illegally, based on surveys of 88,200 people which showed that five non-citizens (NB just five individuals, not 5%) voted in 2008. When Donald Trump subsequently made the same claim in justifying Hillary Clinton defeating him in the popular vote, WaPo fact checkers criticised him for using “conspiracy-minded websites”, then attempted to deflect criticism after the Trump campaign pointed out one source was their own website. Years after publishing the article, the WaPo website added a note at the beginning linking to rebuttals, but the inaccurate piece is still there: https://web.archive.org/web/20160827152424/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2014/10/24/could-non-citizens-decide-the-november-election https://www.facebook.com/workingclasshistory/photos/a.296224173896073/1244426099075871/?type=3

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The fact that corn, poatoes, tomatoes, pumpkins, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and chocolate weren’t encountered by Europeans until less than 400 years ago is astonishing.

Like white folks became so dependant on the hundreds of years of labor that Native Americans put into domesticating these crops and now they’re so removed culturally from their origins that they’ve become inherant parts of white culture.

When you think of tomatoes do you think of Mexican, or Italian food? When you think of potatoes can you picture the Quechua or Ireland and the UK, Russia, France maybe? Does chocolate make you think of Belgian and Swiss truffles, or Olmec cacao?

Pumpkin may be the oldest domesticated plant but it doesn’t evoke images of the ancient Native peoples of the southern US. It’s white girls with pumpkin spice lattes and white mom’s pumpkin pie.

I don’t really know where I’m going with this but it makes me feel things

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Posters seen in the Melbourne CBD

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On this day, 24 October 1975, 90% of women in Iceland went on general strike for equality with men. Working women stayed home, and house workers refused to cook, clean and look after children. Today Iceland has the lowest gender inequality in the world: although women still earn only 80% of men’s wages, so discrimination and the struggle against it continues. If you appreciate our content, connect with us directly by joining our email list: https://workingclasshistory.com/sign-up/ https://www.facebook.com/workingclasshistory/photos/a.296224173896073/1244214502430364/?type=3

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As I’ve posted already, yesterday my comrade Max in Hamilton was arrested for his participation in a protest against Maxime Bernier, where he pulled a far-right thug off another protester. He is now facing bullshit criminal charges. I’m asking my followers to please read about what happened (below), write to the Hamilton City Mayor, and, if you can, donate to Max’s legal fund. Max’s arrest is part of a larger effort from the Hamilton authorities to persecute the left, we have to fight back!

Hamilton police lay bogus charges against Fightback activist: Stop police persecution of the Hamilton left!

On the morning of Tuesday, October 22, our comrade Max was arrested by plainclothes police officers in front of his home in Hamilton. His family was made to watch as Max was placed in handcuffs and forced into the police cruiser.

Max was held in police custody for almost 10 hours. In that time, he was held in a police cell and subjected to interrogation. Max was eventually informed he was being charged with intimidation and assault in relation to his participation in an anti-Bernier protest held in late September. Max was protesting the same individuals who sent a barrage of hate mail that forced a restaurant run by Syrian refugees in Toronto to be temporarily shut down. Fightback Hamilton released a statement and video at the time of the anti-Bernier protest, which clearly shows that Max is not guilty of these charges. You can read that statement here:  https://www.facebook.com/fightbackhamilton/posts/916429702045688

Fightback resolutely condemns the charges being laid against Max, which have absolutely no basis in fact and we appeal for solidarity from the left and the labour movement.

We have since learned that three other left activists were also arrested and charged by Hamilton police. More arrests and charges may soon follow. We believe this is a politically motivated attack. While several left-wing activists have been charged, no charges were laid against members of the far right, despite video evidence of them attacking activists at the protest. This follows a long history of the Hamilton police persecuting the left, while turning a blind eye to the violent actions of the far-right, as was the case at Hamilton Pride this year.

This is also taking place just months after Hamilton city council and Mayor Fred Eisenberger proposed a disgusting anti-democratic anti-protest bylaw under the false flag of stopping hate. The proposed bylaw is so prohibitive (banning the use of banners and sound amplifying equipment, distribution of flyers, and all “disruptive” activities) that it is effectively bans all forms of political protest and political organizing. It isn’t difficult to see that this would be disproportionately applied to the left.

That charges are now being laid against Max, a well-known figure in the labour and anti-racist movement, is therefore not a coincidence. They are attempting to set an example and intimidate the left and the broader labour movement to discourage us from organizing. As such, these charges must be opposed by the labour movement, left organizations, and the broader community. The targeted persecution of activists today will be repeated against other activists in the future, and we cannot let this happen unopposed.

To support Max, we encourage you to send letters to the following, and CC Fightback at Fightback@marxist.ca:

Hamilton City Mayor, Fred Eisenberger: mayor@hamilton.ca

Hamilton Police Services Board: lois.morin@hamilton.ca

Hamilton Police Service : info@hamiltonpolice.on.ca

Or call the office of the Chief of Police at 905-546-4710

Please feel free to use the following model letter:

To whom it may concern,

I have sent you this email to state my opposition to unjust charges that were recently laid against Maximiliano Herrera and three others in relation to an anti-hate protest held on Sept. 29 at Mohawk College.

These charges are baseless. I also find it disturbing that no charges have been laid against any far right agitators present on Sept. 29, despite there being video evidence of them engaging in violent acts. This suggests that Hamilton police are deliberately targeting left wing activists, while turning a blind eye to violent hatemongers. This is an insult to justice, and a stain on the city of Hamilton.

I and many others demand that all charges being laid against these four individuals be immediately dropped, along with the systematic intimidation of left wing activists in Hamilton.

I look forward to your response.

Regards,

[Your name]

As well, the costs of Max’s legal defence will likely be quite significant so we are asking people in the movement to contribute to a GoFundMe created to help Max and his family cover the legal fees: https://www.gofundme.com/f/legal-defense-fund-for-max

An injury to one is an injury to all! Stop state persecution of the Hamilton left!

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“You’ve taught us that peaceful protests don’t work”

Seen in Barcelona

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Hey, I hope you don't mind me asking. I'm new to Tumblr & I'm really liking your blog so far. Would you be able to recommend me more blogs like yours to follow? Sorry to be a bother. Hope you have a wonderful day!

@solarpunkwobbly

@soul-hammer

@antifainternational

@masked-up

@dailytrotsky

@millennial-review

@kropotkindersurprise

Just as like a start

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Chile: Resisting under Martial Law

An urgent report from the ongoing uprising and general strike against the military occupation of the streets of Chile—an interview with an anarchist participant—and a call to action from demonstrators. #chiledespierto

https://cwc.im/ChileRevolt

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In the fourth episode of our podcast series on the Turkish invasion of Syria, we speak with anarchists who have engaged in international solidarity work there in the women’s movement and the struggle against ISIS. https://cwc.im/exworker69