Anonymous - We Are Legion - The Story of the Hacktivists (2012) from Anon Best Videoes on Vimeo.

In recent years, the radical online community known as Anonymous has been associated with attacks or “raids” on hundreds of targets. Angered by issues as diverse as copyright abuse and police brutality, they’ve taken on child pornographers, the Bay Area Rapid Transit system and even forced a standoff with Mexican drug cartels. They’ve hit corporate targets like Sony, cyber-security firms like HBGary Federal and would-be web controllers like the Church of Scientology.

They shut down Mastercard, Visa and Paypal after those groups froze financial transactions to Wikileaks. Along with other hacktivist groups like Telecomix, they’ve launched cyber attacks against foreign governments in support of the Arab Spring. They served as tech support for the Occupy movement and have put their mark on countless uprisings around the world. One participant described their protests as “ultra coordinated motherf*ckery.”

So who is Anonymous?

They’ve been called criminals, “hackers on steroids” and even terrorists. But the vast majority of those who identify as Anonymous don’t break the law. They see themselves as activists and protectors of free speech, and tend to rise up most powerfully when they perceive a threat to internet freedom or personal privacy. Whether you are a soccer mom or a member of Congress, you live in an electronic landscape that has exploded with largely unchecked intrusion and surveillance. You are tracked by government databases while corporate advertisers are looking to buy your personal data for pennies. In this landscape, the existence of the collective internet culture called Anonymous makes the case for anonymity.

Using tools of disruption and spectacle, they have also become the face of dissent for a variety of human rights and information freedom groups around the globe. They are a legion of loud but largely masked geeks, hackers, pranksters and outraged citizens who have unwittingly redefined civil disobedience for the digital age, and found themselves in the middle of one of the most important battles of our time.

WE ARE LEGION: The Story of the Hacktivists, from Director, Writer, Producer Brian Knappenberger, takes us inside the complex culture and history of Anonymous. The film explores early hacktivist groups like Cult of the Dead Cow and Electronic Disturbance Theater, and then moves to Anonymous’ own raucous and unruly beginnings on the website 4Chan.

Through interviews with current members – some recently returned from prison, others still awaiting trial – as well as writers, academics and major players in various “raids,” WE ARE LEGION traces the collective’s breathtaking evolution from merry pranksters to a full-blown, global movement, one armed with new weapons of civil disobedience for an online world.

An overlooked development from Montana on election night, a referendum to state that corporations don’t have constitutional rights has unofficially passed by a 75 percent to 25 percent margin. Initiative number 166 stated that “corporations are not entitled to constitutional rights because they are not human beings,” and thus is a blow to the Citizen’s United ruling that helped make this presidential election the most expensive one ever.

Montana has been a real leader in efforts to buck Citizen’s United, the 2010 Supreme Court ruling that equated money with free speech and allowed corporations to contribute unlimited amounts of money to campaigns through super PACs. The U.S. Supreme Court struck down a ruling by the Montana Supreme Court that limited political spending in state and local elections earlier this year.

Montana and Colorado are the first states to endorse an amendment through statewide votes. Seven other states -- Hawaii, New Mexico, Vermont, Rhode Island, California, Massachusetts and New Jersey -- acted through their legislatures, which passed resolutions calling for an amendment. In two more states, Connecticut and Maryland, majorities of the legislatures signed letters to Congress calling for an amendment.

These votes reflect an extraordinary level of public support for overruling Citizens United, which has also been found repeatedly in national polling, most recently an Associated Press poll found that 83 percent of Americans favor limits on the amount of money corporations, unions, and other organizations can spend on our elections. That's more than 8 in 10 Americans.

ProPublica

Here's our latest explainer video, on the storied history of money in politics. Lyrics follow.

Act I: Brown Paper Bags

"I made my mistakes, but in all my years of public life, I have never profited [from public service]. I've earned every cent." (Richard Nixon)

"Money is speech." (Jeff Greenfield) "The more speech the better." (Antonin Scalia) "Money is speech." (Jeff Greenfield) "I've earned every cent." (Richard Nixon) "Money is speech." (Jeff Greenfield) "The more speech the better." (Antonin Scalia) "I don't like all the influence of money in politics." (Mitt Romney)

When people think of Watergate they think of a break-in But they don't mention the money that Nixon was taking From wealthy donors to help him get reelected Nixon paid them back in favors just like they expected

To battle corruption Congress passed a new law Capping contributions to a candidate's haul The source of the donations had to be disclosed too And the FEC was formed to enforce the new rules

Some who felt the law went against the Constitution sued Saying limits on money limited free speech too So the courts kept the cap on how much you can donate But said spending was unlimited by an outside group or candidate

That meant no more spending limits to promote a cause Or to point out a rival campaign's flaws So while candidates once snuck around with brown paper bags From then on they raised money publicly or left it to PACs

"Money is speech." (Jeff Greenfield) "The more speech the better." (Antonin Scalia) "Money is speech." (Jeff Greenfield) "I've earned every cent." (Richard Nixon) "Money is speech." (Jeff Greenfield) "The more speech the better." (Antonin Scalia) "I don't like all the influence of money in politics." (Mitt Romney)

Act II: Soft Money

"We should also curb the role of big money in elections by capping the cost of campaigns…" (Bill Clinton)

In the 80s and 90s, there was a new gimmick: "Soft money" that's disclosed but had no limits It's supposed to cover each party's expenses But guys like Clinton used it to help their election chances

There was just one problem, Clinton's party was broke So he asked for more money every time he spoke And in return for the 100 million dollar cash-in He let donors use the Lincoln Bedroom to crash in

Then the "scandal and reform" cycle happened again And legislation was proposed by Feingold and McCain It capped donations to parties, ending soft funds And banned corporate/union issue ads right before elections

But with each new reform comes new loopholes Tax exempt "527s" arose Because they weren't explicit about whom they supported Many still raised money without limits to thwart them

"Money is speech." (Jeff Greenfield) "The more speech the better." (Antonin Scalia) "Money is speech." (Jeff Greenfield) "I've earned every cent." (Richard Nixon) "Money is speech." (Jeff Greenfield) "The more speech the better." (Antonin Scalia) "The rules are what they are…" (Jay Carney)

Act III: Super PACs and Non-Profits

"I don't think American elections should be bankrolled by America's most powerful interests." (Barack Obama)

But the most outside money was yet to be spent Some argued spending limits broke the first amendment "Corporations and unions are entitled to free speech" They took it to court, the Supreme Court agreed.

Super PACs can raise as much money as they want They can also use union and corporate funds The only rule is they cannot coordinate With a specific party or a specific candidate

But reform opponents weren't quite done yet They found new uses for 501(c)(4) non-profits Which are a lot like Super PACs with more mystery They haven't had to disclose donors ever in history

Whether Republican or Democrat you might believe That spending limits jeopardize our freedom of speech But with each new cycle of deregulation More money is being injected into our elections

Help Protect Occupy From Mayor Bloomberg's 'Private Army' For Our Anniversary: http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/o/50112/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=8353

Do You Have Occupy's Back? If So, Tell the Mayor of Wall Street, & Join Us For #S17.

Produced by members of the 'Your Inbox Occupied' team and Occupy Public Access TV. Special thanks to 'Spirit Animal' for letting us use their song 'I'm Around' and for helping at large.

Although LAPD promised to arrest chalk vandals once again, a party atmosphere prevailed Thursday night at downtown Los Angeles' Art Walk.

Los Angeles Police Department Capt. Horace Frank, of the Central Division, said earlier in the day that his officers plan to enforce the law if they see it being broken.

"It's a violation of the law, it's vandalism, and we're going to make an arrest," he said, adding that he has received frequent emails from downtown property owners complaining about damage from chalk.

"My BlackBerry is burning up with pictures of businesses being vandalized," he said.

Odd that the LAPD hasn't shared any photographs of businesses that were vandalized with the water-soluable chalk.

Occupiers, of course, disagree that chalking is illegal and point out that other groups have gotten the city's permission to use chalk in the past. Not that the city's denial and threats could have done anything to stop their protest Thursday night. Supporters from the Bay Area, Cindy Sheehan and Code Pink were also on hand to lend their support.

At the July event, Occupy L.A. activists armed with chalk scrawled slogans and drawings on the sidewalks to to protest downtown gentrification, which has pushed out some of the area’s poorer residents. Hundreds of Los Angeles Police Department officers clashed with the protesters and fired "less-than-lethal" projectiles into the crowd. Four officers were hurt, and 15 people were arrested.

There were three members of Occupy Oakland detained, apparently because they drew the picture below with chalk:

Two of the Occupiers were released, and the other was held because of an outstanding warrant, according to Occupy sources on Twitter.

Other than that, it seems a good time was had by all, despite the heavy police presence in the area.

Journalist and livestreamer Tim Pool attended the HOPE9 conference in New York City over the weekend, and crossed paths with Vermin Supreme, so naturally an interview ensued. Many of you may know, or know of Vermin, the satirical candidate for president in 2012 whose platform is based on free ponies, mandatory tooth-brushing, and zombie preparedness.

“I have become one of the more well-known ones [candidates] by utilizing humor, absurdity in my presentation and in my appearance,” explained Vermin. “I’m all about simple, elegant, and effective, and when I wear the rubber boot on my head, it draws a lot of attention.”

I'll have to agree, that rubber boot does draw a lot of attention!

“Free speech is very important,” Vermin stated sincerely, “and I am exercising it to the fullest of my abilities by putting myself on the front line. My candidacy, it may be farcical, but I am there in the real life, interacting with real life people, real life police, real life Secret Service agents, real life candidates, and I am doing it because I am representing my constituencies.”

It would be interesting to hear if there are actually any write-ins voting for Vermin Supreme in November.

You can follow Tim Pool on Twitter @timcast, and Vermin Supreme @verminsupreme.

Bill opens this week’s show by explaining how last week’s Supreme Court decision not to reconsider Citizens United exposes the hoax that Citizens United was ever about “free” speech. In reality, Bill says, it’s about carpet bombing elections “with all the tonnage your rich paymasters want to buy.”

Full transcript after the jump...

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A Seattle Occupy group drops $5,000 from hotel to protest money in politics: Occupy protesters in Seattle tossed $5,000 out of a hotel window to protest the influence of money in politics.

MicCheckWallStreet, an offshoot of the Occupy movement, staged the demonstration as the group's website called for an amendment to the Constitution and that it is "time we declared independence from Citizens United" – citing the supreme court case which effectively ruled that corporations can make political contributions.

The YouTube video above shows two people tossing the cash -- in $1 and $5 bills -- out of a window above downtown Seattle.

The group sought donations on its website for a wepay.com account. The wepay page shows that McCheckWallStreet met its $5,000 goal with collections from only 37 donors.

"Every dollar you donate is guaranteed to be thrown off a building and is tax deductible, what more could you ask for?!," said a statement on MicCheckWallStreet's website.

Stating that "money is the new tea", the statement said that the event was "as much art installation as protest", declaring that "it sends a powerful message".

The following UStream video shows a small crowd that gathered in an alley where some of the money was falling:

Video streaming by Ustream

[Via]

H/T reader MountainMan23.

Via OccupyWallSt.:

The following speech was given by Justin Warren of Occupy The Stage. Justin is currently behind bars for making this speech on the steps of the Louisiana state capitol without purchasing a permit. See below for more information and find out how you can lend your support!

Ladies and Gentlemen, my fellow free peoples of the world. Our governing bodies in their current state have proven themselves ineffective within regards to the interests of the common man. The beautiful ideal that was Democracy has been perverted and totally replaced by the repugnant and relentless pursuit of the almighty dollar, Capitalism. For our entire lives we have been fed lies that lead us to assume such absurdities as the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer and there is simply nothing to be done about it. We are told our fates will be better off in the hands of soulless, faceless, and socially irresponsible corporations.

We're told cutting education and expanding our prison systems are the sure fire treatments of our social ills. The heart of Democracy now has more people in prison per capita than any other nation in the world. And we are told this is the land of the free.

Through the lobbying system, corporations have been able to not just influence, but completely hijack our government. We have been stripped of our liberties, we have been stripped of our property, we have been robbed of our freedom.

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Via ChicagoSpring.org:

On May 19, Mayor 1% Emanuel will bring to Chicago military and civilian representatives of the 28-nation US-commanded and largely US-financed North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and heads of state and finance ministers of the G-8 world economic powers.

They meet on behalf of the 1% of the world, the rich and the powerful, the bankers and generals. Their agenda is to continue to impose austerity, or poverty, by cutting social spending for workers and the poor to maintain profitability for the rich and to launch more wars to stop the rise of the poor nations of the Third World.

The people of this fine city do not want these summits. The mayor has his own agenda. In anticipation of widespread opposition to the war & poverty agenda of the NATOG8, Mayor Emanuel passed a set of first-amendment crushing ordinances, known as "Sit Down Shut Up", to stifle the exercise of free speech and assembly during the summits. The mayor single-handedly gave himself the abililty to issue no-bid security contracts and deputize out-of-town law enforcement while imposing harsh restrictions on parades, marches and demonstrations.

But we will not be silenced. We will stand up to this corrupt system and say enough! Join Occupy Chicago, Coalition Against NATO/G8 (CANG8), the Midwest Antiwar Mobilization and many more as we gather in Chicago in May!

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