--- Support Our Sponsor ------------------------------------ Don’t miss the latest news in Consumer Electronics. It’s all at the 2001 International CES! Registration is easy! Sign up now! http://click.topica.com/aaaa7Mbz8SnrbAjwjxa/ConsumerElectronic ------------------------------------------------------------ We're going to take a short break from publishing for the new year. But if you change your ISP please be sure to send us your new address. __________________________________________________________________________ The Internet Anti-Fascist: Friday, 30 December 2000 Vol. 4, Number 104 (#500) __________________________________________________________________________ Action Alerts: Chisun Lee (Village Voice), "Backers Cry Kangaroo Court Philly Judge Throws Book at Career Mumia Supporter" Kissinger's Ad-Hoc Defense Committee, "Support Clark!" The Net and Rightwing Organizing Paul Kneisel, "Forgery Case At America Online May Have Far-reaching Impact On Internet Hate Speech" Lucy Sherriff (The Register), "AOL spammer pleads guilty to forgery," 12 Dec 00 Erich Luening (CNET), "Man pleads guilty in first Net forgery case," 12 Dec 00 ICARE, "Bertlesmann and Napster have pledged to work closely with German authorities to weed out right-wing extremists from using the online music-sharing service," 22 Dec 00 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ACTION ALERTS: Backers Cry Kangaroo Court Philly Judge Throws Book at Career Mumia Supporter Chisun Lee (Village Voice) Chanting "Mumia's fearless, so are we. We demand that Clark go free," two dozen demonstrators braved freezing winds Wednesday morning to protest the incarceration of a supporter of death row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal at the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center. Accusations of political persecution might be commonplace for this crowd, but in this case, the penalties dealt activist Clark Kissinger seem to invite skepticism about just application of the law. Their main target: magistrate judge Arnold Rapoport, "a flaming reactionary" who "has engaged in utterly bizarre, erratic behavior," according to Kissinger lawyer Ronald Kuby. Kissinger's troubles with Rapoport began last year, but intensified after a December 6 hearing in Philadelphia, where he received a sentence of 90 days in jail for violating probation related to a previous arrest. As part of that probation, Kissinger had been forbidden from leaving his hometown, New York City, without the consent of authorities. But on August 1, Kissinger did just that, to deliver a speech on Mumia at the Republican National Convention. Kissinger requested but was denied permission for that trip. Given the once-in-a-lifetime occasion of a Republican convention in the town of Abu-Jamal's imprisonment, however, he went anyway. In his speech, he called George W. Bush "a smirking frat rat" who had "killed 135 people, that is, approximately one person every other week for the entire tenure of his governorship of Texas." This highly public appearance landed him before Rapoport again. During the hearing, Kuby argued that Kissinger had every constitutional right to travel to a relevant spot to most effectively deliver his political message. Rapoport apparently had other ideas. Though he opened the hearing claiming that "the only issue is whether or not the defendant violated the terms of his probation," his subsequent comments hinted at a different agenda. Rapoport at one point suggested Kissinger had "created a riot" at his New York probation office, although he eventually tempered that characterization, according to an official transcript of the hearing. Later, he mentioned threats he had received, asking Kissinger, "(T)hat's what we're to expect here?" "He was clearly blaming Kissinger for these (threats)," Kuby says. "If he had been a defendant acting like that, he would have been packed off for psychiatric evaluation." Some of Rapoport's comments -- like "(T)here seems to be a trail of disruption wherever (Kissinger) goes" -- drew laughter from Kissinger supporters, prompting the judge to order the courtroom cleared. "(Rapoport) is a flaming reactionary, furious that people have raised the issue of Mumia Abu-Jamal and have traveled to Philly to do it," Kuby says. A member of Rapoport's staff said the judge would not comment. But assistant U.S. attorney Richard Goldberg denies the judge behaved inappropriately and says, "The case was very simple -- Mr. Kissinger stipulated that he violated the terms of his probation." He adds, "Your First Amendment rights aren't absolute when you break the law." Kissinger's supporters accuse Rapoport of skewed and severe decision-making, beginning with probation conditions they call too harsh for the crime. For a Class B misdemeanor -- among the most minor of violations, usually meriting a small fine -- Kissinger received a year's probation, in which he has been banned from traveling without permission, has had to turn in his passport, and is under orders to provide personal and financial data and information on associates. All that for allegedly refusing an order to move during a lawful protest at Philadelphia's Liberty Bell pavilion in July 1999. Rather than plead guilty and pay a small fine, he and a few others pled innocent and went to trial. Kuby believes the state is in part punishing Kissinger for daring to go to trial. He calls the one-year probation "unheard of" and says the Brooklyn detention facility, where accused felons awaiting trial are normally housed, is so unaccustomed to dealing with misdemeanants that "even the prison authorities are having difficulty figuring out how to process Clark." The point of the penalties, Kuby argues, has not been to punish a simple failure to comply with an order, but rather "to prevent Clark Kissinger from speaking out about Mumia Abu-Jamal." Rapoport, Kuby says, "virtually admitted as much" at the December 6 hearing, by displaying apparent aggravation with Kissinger and his supporters. Goldberg, the D.A., counters, "they appear to be perfectly standard conditions of probation," adding that probation, rather than a simple fine, is not an extraordinary penalty. But Goldberg and Kissinger's supporters agree, at least to some extent, on one point: Kissinger's punishments are a warning to other activists. At his December 6 hearing, Kissinger said, "The purpose behind my sentencing and restriction has been in effect to try and put a brake on a political movement that the government does not like." Goldberg denies politics played a role in the court's decisions. But he says, "Everyone who is punished is to a certain extent punished so that other people also don't break the law. It's all about breaking the law." - - - - - Support Clark! Kissinger's Ad-Hoc Defense Committee Through all the protests raised, Clark has won some of the minimal "privileges" accorded those imprisoned at the Brooklyn Detention Center; his family can visit, he has clean clothes and limited phone calls. But through every bureaucratic maneuver, the authorities are still proving the profoundly political nature of his persecution. Clark is one of the leaders in the growing international movement to stop the execution of Mumia Abu-Jamal. These attempts at silencing Clark are directed at the whole movement and show their intent to execution of Mumia. Here is the latest: 1) Noelle Hanrahan of the Prison Radio Project has requested to interview Clark for radio broadcast. Both she and Clark were told that she may interview him on Jan 2, but that the warden is using his "discretion" to rule that she cannot bring in recording equipment! She has found nothing in federal prison regulations allowing for the warden to use such discretion, and will be mounting a legal challenge. Furthermore, she was asked by Ms. Ward, the Executive Assistant to the Warden for Communications (public relations) what questions she intended to ask. As many of you know, there is a "Mumia law" in Pennsylvania, allowing prison officials to bar journalists from recording prisoners on death row. Mumia was thrown into the hole over this in 1995, while under an active death warrant. He made the memorable statement that the authorities "don't just want my death. They want my silence." Now, it appears, the intent to silence and execute Mumia is being carried out through the silencing of Clark Kissinger, one of his vociferous supporters. This will be a battle! Clark's office will keep you updated on what you can do to help break the electronic muzzle they're trying to put on Clark. Noelle will be enlisting other broadcasters to interview Clark, and next week we will fight on the legal front to get Clark recorded. 2) Clark began getting mail on Tuesday 12/19, but has been given just a trickle of the many letters that have been sent him. Help keep the flood of letters coming in to the prison, and demand they get to Clark! Please send copies of letters you write to the prison authorities or to Clark to Clark's office at [EMAIL PROTECTED], or C. Clark Kissinger, 655 Fulton Street #201, Brooklyn NY 11217-1112. 3) Clark has been sent money for commissary, but has not received it in his prison account. Money he was sent while in Philadelphia has not been forwarded, and money sent since he's been in NY has not been deposited for his use yet. Therefore, while he now has phone access, he has no money for phone calls. He has used up his "allotment" of collect calls, while of course never being told he was limited in those calls. Continue the phone calls for Clark's release: Warden Hasty: 718.840.4200; FAX 718-840-5005 Unit Manager Lee Tatum ext. 5212 Unit: Cadre 2 South US Marshal's office, Daniel Byrne: 718.254.6700 US Attorney for the Eastern District, Loretta Lynch: 718.254.7000 Judge Arnold C. Rapoport: 610.776.0369; fax, 610.776.0379 Judge Bruce Kaufman: fax, 215.580.2281 Continue writing to Clark: Charles Clark Kissinger #53094-066 c/o The Federal Detention Center PO Box 562 Philadelphia, PA 19105 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE NET AND RIGHTWING ORGANIZING Forgery Case At America Online May Have Far-reaching Impact On Internet Hate Speech by Paul Kneisel Jason Garon was once an advertising magnate who sat at a California computer and sent out millions of ads to AOL subscribers. He tried to avoid the consequences of this barrage of unsolicited e-mail, called "spam," by putting a false address on the mail that indicated it came from a New York company. Garon got nailed for forgery this month. Westchester County went after him in Federal District Court. Even though he acted from California he pled guilty and now faces up to seven years in prison. The case may have serious consequences for the net-based propagandists of violence-oriented hate speech. There are no blackjacks or lynch mobs in cyberspace which puts a considerable crimp in their normal method of work. Forgery's become a new technique of the far right. They'll put an opponent's name on a mailing where the opponent confesses to some crime or even brags about committing it. They'll do the same thing and show their opponent suddenly surrendering to the vast power of their arguments. Or, when challenged by "[EMAIL PROTECTED]" they'll set up an account for "[EMAIL PROTECTED]" and post conflicting and confusing messages. The most extreme forgery involved the North American Man Boy Love Association (NAMBLA). Rightists have long and routinely libeled anti-racists as "pedophiles." The NAMBLA forgery was a significant increase. They forged a post that supposedly represented NAMBLA's Board of Directors. Naturally, it listed all of their opponents as the officers of the group. They immediately followed this forgery with loud denunciations of the "pedophilic conspiracy" out to destroy the White race, defame the Nazis, and further the "Jewish-Communist" conspiracy. Until the Garon case the victims of these widespread libels had little recourse to the criminal courts. That has now changed. Garon sat in California and was caught by a New York court who can now give him eight years. That forgery case may open the net's Nazis to similar prosecution. - - - - - AOL spammer pleads guilty to forgery Lucy Sherriff (The Register) 12 Dec 00 A man who spammed millions of AOL subscribers with pornography and get- rich-quick schemes has pleaded guilty to second-degree forgery in a US District court. District Attorney Jeanine Pirro said the prosecution is believed to be the first of its kind in the country. "This office will not relinquish the vanguard of technology to those whose intent and purpose is to commit old crimes in new ways," she said. Jason Garon, 46, of Mission Viejo, California admitted that he took over a Westchester company's Internet service to send the unsolicited mails, which he disguised to make appear as though they had come from IBM's Internet provider, IBM.net. Eventually the emails were traced to his apartment where he was arrested and his computer removed by Orange County investigators. New York-based graphics studio Market Vision, the company whose machines he used, said the abuse had cost the business around $18,000. The maximum sentence for the offence is seven years. - - - - - Man pleads guilty in first Net forgery case: Erich Luening (CNET) 12 Dec 00 Jason Garon, a Mission Viejo, Calif., man, allegedly redirected millions of unsolicited emails, or spam, through the computer system of Irvington, N.Y.-based Market Vision, according to the Westchester County District Attorney's Office. Garon allegedly sent the messages through the graphics studio company's system to conceal the true origin of the email campaign and to avoid interruption of his service if his victims complained, the district attorney's office said. Garon, who pleaded guilty last week, could serve up to seven years in state prison. His sentencing is expected in March. The 46-year-old allegedly targeted millions of America Online subscribers, disguising the anonymous emails about pornography and get-rich-quick schemes as messages sent from IBM's Internet provider, IBM.net. So much traffic was sent through Market Vision that it crashed the company's internal network, causing business downtime. The Internet forgery conviction is the first of its kind in the United States, Westchester County District Attorney Jeanine Pirro said in a statement Monday. The problem of Internet forgery is a growing one, analysts say. A recent survey of 585 U.S. companies by Carnegie Mellon University quantified the loss caused by Internet forgery at $265 million in 1999. Although Garon has been convicted of his crimes, Richard Dean, a security analyst at IDC, said cybercriminals do not always get caught. "The problem with this type of crime is that they become more sophisticated as companies develop techniques to combat them," Dean said. "It's a problem that security professionals will always have, playing catch-up to this type of criminal." - - - - - Bertlesmann and Napster have pledged to work closely with German authorities to weed out right-wing extremists from using the online music-sharing service ICARE 22 Dec 00 The Constitutional Protection Office, which enforces German anti-racism laws, says that the popularity of the free music exchange service has made it far easier for groups to disseminate music with Nazi lyrics worldwide. Bertlesmann - which shocked its mainstream rivals by forging an alliance with the beleaguered file-sharing service just a matter of weeks ago - has promised co-operation. Andreas Schmidt of Bertlesmann's e-commerce subsidiary told Infoworld.com that anyone using Napster to incite violence was violating of the company's terms and conditions. But he indicated that stemming the flow of such content would be highly problematic, owing to the fact that Napster is merely the conduit for content stored on the computers of its 40 million users. * * * * * In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. __________________________________________________________________________ FASCISM: We have no ethical right to forgive, no historical right to forget. 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