[version]

Thought this might interest a few here. I'd post my thoughts but I'm dead tired just now (bed for me), but here's the link.

http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/08/31/210234

[version]

From their site. http://www.indymedia.org/or/2004/08/111732.shtml

"BREAKING NEWS: The FBI and the US Secret Service is again engaging in a fishing expedition to route out dissenting viewpoints, harass people who are simply exercising their free speech rights, and intimidate others from exercising their right to protest in connection with the Republican National Convention. To quote one indymedia volunteer, regarding New York Indymedia:

"It has come to my attention, that our hosting provider, Calyx Internet Access, has been under harassment and scrutiny by the United States Secret Service in a blatant attempt to disrupt our relationship. Furthermore, it has been revealed to me that my contact information, was required to be disclosed to the government, presumably to begin directly harassing me. The SS did not contact the IMC directly in relation to this matter, but instead felt it prudent to put a strain on a place which we do business with. The agents attempted to circumvent Indymedia by contacting Calyx by phone, originally without a warrant or subpoena, in order to obtain user connection logs regarding a particular post on an Indymedia site. The post in question is a repost by an anonymous person containing information that is already available all over the Internet, and publicly available in other forms."

[spacefreak]

Posting the names, addresses, home and cell phone numbers, email addresses, and the hotels of the RNC delegates online as an intimidation tactic while encouraging protestors to give these people a hard time is pure crap.

It's telling that they don't even list their own contact information. What spineless weenies.

[Millennium]

I don't see any difference between posting the contact info for RNC delegates and posting the contact info for abortion doctors. In both cases, they are posted with the intent that the owners of such info will be harrassed, intimidated, or even physically harmed by others.

Either way, this was a most uncool move on Indymedia's part, and the investigation into them is no more censorship than similar investigations into clinic-bombing sites.

The best thing about true freedom of speech is that no line is drawn between political, commercial, and personal speech; all are protected. However, this is also the worst thing about it. You cannot have one without the other, because there is no "other".

[spacefreak]

Originally posted by Millennium:
I don't see any difference between posting the contact info for RNC delegates and posting the contact info for abortion doctors.

I agree. However, I didn't realize we were talking about the abortion issue in this thread.

[Millennium]

Originally posted by spacefreak:
I agree. However, I didn't realize we were talking about the abortion issue in this thread.

I certainly hope we're not. I try and stay out of those threads.

However, there are people who see no harm in what Indymedia did, and the parallel to people who post abortion-clinic listings is useful in illustrating the problem. Most people who don't see harm in Indymedia's actions are vehemently opposed to abortion-clinic bombings. Conversely, many people who do not oppose such bombings are nevertheless likely to see harm in Indymedia's actions, and this parallel could theoretically help them see the problem with their own pet listings. I don't see how anyone loses in this.

I do hope this thread doesn't devolve into an abortion debate, though, and I sincerely apologize if it does. That was not my intent.