If you have any knowledge of cyberspace at all, then you know the one group you don;t want to cross is not a government agency or a certain think tank or a news organization or even some business conglomerate. Its a group called Anonymous.
When the U.S. went after Wikileaks, Anonymous announced its support of the archive site and launched a series of DDoS attacks against Amazon, PayPal, MasterCard, Visa and the Swiss bank PostFinance, in retaliation for perceived anti-WikiLeaks behavior.
After allegations of election rigging surfaced in Iran, Anonymous created and launched a website called Anonymous Iran. The site has drawn over 22,000 supporters world wide and allows for information exchange between the world and Iran, despite attempts by the Iranian government to censor news about the riots on the internet. The site provides resources and support to Iranians who are protesting.
Anonymous is one of the most secretive and most well known hacker groups in history. They are the mujaheddin of the internet, the freedom fighters of world wide web and cyber terrorists all rolled into one nifty highly marketable package. They are a nameless ( sort of ), faceless group that inspires praise, hate, respect, fear and anger.
And now they have announced their next target: The Koch Brothers.
And true to their word, they began by taking down the Koch Brothers back Americans for Prosperity website several times on the night of Feburary 27th.
Anonymous released this statement:
Dear Citizens of the United States of America,
It has come to our attention that the brothers, David and Charles Koch--the billionaire owners of Koch Industries--have long attempted to usurp American Democracy. Their actions to undermine the legitimate political process in Wisconsin are the final straw. Starting today we fight back.
Koch Industries, and oligarchs like them, have most recently started to manipulate the political agenda in Wisconsin. Governor Walker's union-busting budget plan contains a clause that went nearly un-noticed. This clause would allow the sale of publicly owned utility plants in Wisconsin to private parties (specifically, Koch Industries) at any price, no matter how low, without a public bidding process. The Koch's have helped to fuel the unrest in Wisconsin and the drive behind the bill to eliminate the collective bargaining power of unions in a bid to gain a monopoly over the state's power supplies.
The Koch brothers have made a science of fabricating 'grassroots' organizations and advertising campaigns to support them in an attempt to sway voters based on their falsehoods. Americans for Prosperity, Club for Growth and Citizens United are just a few of these organizations. In a world where corporate money has become the lifeblood of political influence, the labor unions are one of the few ways citizens have to fight against corporate greed. Anonymous cannot ignore the plight of the citizen-workers of Wisconsin, or the opportunity to fight for the people in America's broken political system. For these reasons, we feel that the Koch brothers threaten the United States democratic system and, by extension, all freedom-loving individuals everywhere. As such, we have no choice but to spread the word of the Koch brothers' political manipulation, their single-minded intent and the insidious truth of their actions in Wisconsin, for all to witness.
Anonymous hears the voice of the downtrodden American people, whose rights and liberties are being systematically removed one by one, even when their own government refuses to listen or worse - is complicit in these attacks. We are actively seeking vulnerabilities, but in the mean time we are calling for all supporters of true Democracy, and Freedom of The People, to boycott all Koch Industries' paper products. We welcome unions across the globe to join us in this boycott to show that you will not allow big business to dictate your freedom.
U.S. Product Boycott List
* Vanity Fair
* Quilted Northern
* Angel Soft
* Sparkle
* Brawny
* Mardi Gras
* Dixie
European Product Boycott List
* Demak'Up
* Kitten Soft
* Lotus / Lotus Soft
* Tenderly
* Nouvelle Soft
* Okay Ktchen Towels
* Colhogar
* Delica
* Inversoft
* Tutto
To identify these brands, please look for the following logo anywhere on the packaging:
Anonymous.
We are Legion.
We do not forgive.
We do not forget.
Expect us.
I, for one, welcome Anonymous into the fray. I welcome their particular brand of protest into this arena. Why shouldn't the people have someone on their side for a change?
Freedom must be won. It cannot be given. While the teachers and corrections officers and snowplow drivers and emergency medical technicians and fire departments take to the streets in Wisconsin, we all must fight from our home states and countries by whatever means are left to us. Blogs and boycotts and even cyber attacks against the very people who are trying to buy America's freedom away from it's people.
So, Anonymous, I salute you. You have my support and the support of a great many others. Stay true to the cause and Fight on brothers and sisters! Fight on!
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