Monday, January 28th, 2008...11:28 am
Citizen blogger censored, detained by the FBI!
Hooollyyy shiiiit.
Yesterday, I mentioned the blog post I saw which was repeatedly censored by an IP address owned by the Department of Homeland security. This morning, I got an email from Rob, the author, saying that he’d been taken an involuntary trip to his local FBI building where he was held and interrogated for six hours! This is the email I received:
Hey Rich, just wanted to follow up on your comment on my blog and the post on yours. My name’s Rob, by the way, hi, nice to meet you. Apparently, I actually did upset a few people with some of the information I posted. This resulted in an involuntary trip to the local FBI offices. Didn’t even know they were in town - guess they’re everywhere these days.
So from what I gathered in our conversation (if you can call it that - it was a bit one-sided), a couple of things set them off. They’ve got some tracking software sorting through everything out there, looking for certain keywords. If it picks up a keyword, you get put on a list and monitored. I got flagged the first time as a result of my post on Canada placing the US on its terror watch list. Among other things, mention of Guantanamo, Afghanistan, torture, and terrorism set the software off.
A couple of posts later, I did a parody of an interview with al-Quaeda representative Ayman al-Zawahri. This seemed to set them off, too. They wanted to know what my connections were to the group - I guess they were obligated to ask. The thing that really got them in that article was an offhand remark about the weaponization of smallpox based on some work an Australian research group did with mousepox. Here’s a link to the research:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6W7H-4FY294W-1&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=eca18e63d72852b2456736df13e39495
You may need a subscription to view it, I’m not sure. Anyway, I assumed that this was pretty common knowledge. Of course, I also work in biomedical chemistry, so I guess I hear some things the general public doesn’t. They were really freaked out about this. Don’t blame them - if you’ve got some time, pick up Ken Alibeck’s (sp?) book on the supposedly now-defunct Russian bioterrorism program. But that’s a story for another day.
The stuff about homegrown terrorism was the last straw, they said. I guess posting instructions for some lame explosives along with criticism of HR1955 pissed them off. They decided to teach me a lesson by first censoring, then removing the offending blog post. They figured that if I was posting stuff like this, it was only a matter of time before I moved on to more complex agents, based on my education and employment background. It took me about six and a half hours to convince these assholes that I’m not a terrorist. I am certain I’m on every watch list they’ve got now. Not looking forward to my next trip to the airport, that’s for damn sure.
I guess that’s about it. I appreciate your concern, and the fact that you’re spreading the word - people definitely need to know about this. But standing up for your rights on paper is one thing; it’s a different story when they come knocking on your door and give you the opportunity to do it in person. A word of caution: this shit is real. Do what you can to stay off of that list, man. I’m sure that it was just an odd series of coincidences that sent them my way, but better to be safe. Anyhow, I’m probably going to post briefly in the next day or two, once I have time to organize my thoughts, and then stick to the fiction from here on out. Well, let me know if you have any more questions, and keep doing what you’re doing.Rob
I hope he doesn’t mind me posting this, but I honestly believe that people need to know about this. Please help spread the word. He says he hopes it is a just the result of a series of coincidences, but I find this seriously worrying and I hope that it isn’t a sign of things to come.
Perhaps we should start using the uncensorable FreeNet Project if this is going to become a regular thing. And here’s a link to Reporters Without Border’s Handbook for Bloggers and Cyber-dissidents, just for good measure. Or, perhaps Rob is baiting me and this whole thing is just a prank. But I really don’t think so anymore.
I hope I don’t get a knock about this, I’m just a free speech nerd, not a terrorist!
R..
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35 Comments
January 28th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
I think Rob’s suggestion to avoid getting on these lists is exactly the opposite of what should happen. As many reasonable people as possible should strive to be listed, and thus overwhelm the lists and force the idiots determing the listing criteria to actually think a little bit harder about who should be on them and why.
January 28th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
Perhaps each and every single blogger in the United States ought to take advantage of this keyword system and flood their system with individuals interested in protecting their rights, liberty and privacy. Here’s to hoping I don’t end up in some brig getting waterboarded tomorrow morning.
January 28th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
sorry, i gotta call bullshit on this.
January 28th, 2008 at 2:48 pm
fascinating post - to respond to your closing comment, i think it’s safe to say that an open advocate of free speech (or most other constitutional liberties, or, say, peace) positions one clearly as a political enemy of the government; and with the definition of ‘terrorism’ as fast and loose as it has come to be in recent years, the line between political enemy of the government and terrorist is essentially a fiction. there is no way we are going to stay off of the federal harassment lists :)
January 28th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
free speech nerd? you ARE a terrorist.
May Alah let the holy Bushola Khomeini unleash freedom on your ass!
January 28th, 2008 at 3:37 pm
Yeah right, this is a bunch of BS. You’re telling me the government edited a webpage they didn’t own and then later just showed up at his house? Yeah right. This guy just wants attention. If the FBI had a problem they’d go visit him, they wouldn’t edit his blog.
January 28th, 2008 at 4:15 pm
I wasn’t aware one could be involuntarily detained. Am I being charged with a crime? No, then I’m leaving.
January 28th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
“I got flagged the first time as a result of my post on Canada placing the US on its terror watch list. Among other things, mention of Guantanamo, Afghanistan, torture, and terrorism set the software off. […] A word of caution: this shit is real. Do what you can to stay off of that list, man.”
Wow, this is some 1984 style shit.
I hear Finland is nice this time of year…
January 28th, 2008 at 5:35 pm
You’re not a terrorist for reporting this to the public, the terrorists are the ones in capitol hill. No foregin terrorist will ever be able to take away our rights like the people we elected did, and I don’t even think we elected them! Vote Ron Paul, he will fix this facist country and restore it.
January 28th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
>>I’m just a free speech nerd, not a terrorist!
That IS terrorism in this police state.
January 28th, 2008 at 5:37 pm
I read this post with interest. I would assume most websites promoting naughty things are known by the all seeing eye and easy to spot. But if by chance bad people were to talk over the internet or on blogs, I am sure they would not be so stupid as to say, “I want to to naughty things.” Anyone with a brain knows these things are monitored. The all seeing eye is not so stupid as to not know this also. Therefore, since it is not stupid, they must be looking for people who disagree with the eye in the sky, otherwise, our right to speak and think how we want would be considered no big deal.
January 28th, 2008 at 6:52 pm
Guilty until proven innocent? Boy I’m glad we live in America! This “PATRIOT” Act BS really sets me off. Giving up personal freedoms for the illusion of security is a big mistake, but shout “Terrorist” and everyone is only to willing to hand them over. ” I’m sure that it was just an odd series of coincidences that sent them my way, but better to be safe.” All the security in the world is no substitute for real freedom. The horrors of a Police State are becoming far to much of a reality in these United States.
January 28th, 2008 at 7:00 pm
This guy has got to get a lawyer and fight this. He was denied his First Amendment right to free speech without due process. He MUST fight it! The ACLU would jump all over this stupidity.
January 28th, 2008 at 7:07 pm
If this is really happening I am appalled, but, we all knew this was coming. We’re in Orwellian times now.
January 28th, 2008 at 7:29 pm
BS.
How did they “redact” somebody’s blog post? That’s not the way the DHS operates. Get some details on that point, then I’ll pay attention.
January 28th, 2008 at 7:54 pm
Glad I live in Canada…
Homeland Security = Dictatorship Police
January 28th, 2008 at 7:59 pm
Can barely scratch the surface of the issue.
Basically, the USA is in the throes of class warfare.
The Federal government and to a lesser extent state and local governments are controlled by an elite class.
BIG corporations and wealthy/powerful special interest groups are minions of the elites.
The elites will use any means necessary to maintain the status quo that benefits their socio-economic class.
The elite-owned mass media apparently brainwashes enough of America’s bleating sheep citizenry to convince the masses that as things are is correct and proper.
I firmly believe the elite class will use ANY means necessary to maintain their wealth and power.
The elites have erected bureaucracies staffed with bureaucrat lackeys to distance the elites from the commoners.
The bureaucrats are loyal to pay and pension, thus their elite masters, vice any abstract concepts such as freedom, liberty, loyalty to the people who supposedly “own” the government (there’s that brainwashing at work….as promulgated by our educational system).
I fear the majority of the bureaucrat’s underlings are also loyal to pay and pension. The rise of the jack-booted thugs can be traced to, I believe, the growing fear of the elites towards the common people.
Education assists in casting off the elite propaganda and ensuing brainwashing. The Web has also allowed a few folk’s eyes to be opened. Thus, the elites need to instill fear of the “system” by using force.
Proclaiming class war based upon elite class greed and lust for power may be a simplistic assumption but I believe it explains much of what is wrong in the USA today.
I can envision but one hope to “save” the USA. A military coup with major alterations to many systems; economic, political, bureaucracies, etc.
Hopefully an eventual return to civilian control would ensue.
If “things” continue as they are I predict that in the not-too-distant future the masses of citizenry will be living a 2nd-world lifestyle with a so-called “middle-class” composed of the elite’s lackeys (and a few lucky business folks etc who never rocked the boat) and the 4 percent or so of the elite class controlling a HUGE percentage of the national wealth and wielding even more power than they do now.
I believe there is ample evidence to substantiate my claims for the very very few willing to divert their attention from the latest sport on TV, the sale at the mall, and able to shed years of accumulated propaganda, indoctrination and brainwashing.
The enemy is among us, far more of a threat than any foreign foe.
January 28th, 2008 at 8:14 pm
So now that you have these keywords on your site, are you going to get picked up by the FBI next? :)
January 28th, 2008 at 10:16 pm
>A word of caution: this shit is real. Do what you can to stay off of that list, man.
What? Hold on now. If I mention al-Quaeda or al-Zawahri or the weaponization of smallpox, I may get put on a list and you’re telling us to “[do what we can to] stay off that list?”
The gist of everything being said here is to shut up and let Republicans do the talking. This whole fucking thing feels more and more like another Rove setup. 30-some-odd percent of Americans think we should be in Iraq and when you go to any popular blog post in the last year, it feels like 75% of the responses are from way-out-there wing-nuts. They’re organized. And now this imaginary bio-med chemist suggests that the way-in-the majority of us shouldn’t talk about shit or else we’ll be tracked by some random gov’t software and placed on a list. Two words: Fear Mother Fucking Mongering (or however many words that is).
I have news for you. We all already think that we’re being tracked. Our hard drives start making noise and we run port scans and look to see what applications and services are running on our machines. As an American, I am not scared of “them.” I still have hope for this country. Yes, the media is screwed up. Yes, there is so much money in Washington that it is impossible to do anything for the little guy w/o first lining the pockets of the elite. Yes, I have a hole in one of my teeth the size of a pea and can’t afford either health care nor another $1,000 trip to the dentist. But there is hope. They can “track” me and put me on lists. I’m not going to stop talking. This is our freedom we’re talking about here.
January 28th, 2008 at 10:36 pm
Some another tendencies:
http://www.sott.net/articles/show/147895-The-Disappeared-SOTT-net-and-Google-s-conspicuous-omissions
January 29th, 2008 at 12:43 am
To continue this fantasy, please don’t post anything for a week. That way, we’ll think you’ve been detained too.
Actually - don’t post ever again and then we can pretend you’ve been assassinated.
January 29th, 2008 at 1:29 am
This crap pisses me off so badly. These evil bastards think they can just take over the world, push people around, and eventually (as their plans state) kill off 90% of us. We need to stand up against them. That’s what militias are there for - to defend not only against foreign threats but against an unruly government - which is EXACTLY what we have. Gun owners, DON’T GIVE THEM UP. Those without, try to get them if you can. This is exactly why the 2nd ammendment was put in place - so that the government couldn’t get completely out of hand as it is today. I’m not at all afraid to stand up to these bastards - it’s just that I’m only one person. We need more. Every person is “just one person”, but together, we are MANY PEOPLE. Don’t shy away or hide from these people. Don’t allow them that control over your life. Take back the rights that are guaranteed to you by the Constitution (and by various international treaties!!).
January 29th, 2008 at 5:31 am
this is over the line.
you were arrested for… *what*?
them asking to talk to you is one thing
detaining a person *IS arrest, and requires a certain legal standard.
by the way, i want to drop bombs on iran, pakistan lebanon, jordan, somalia and syria, and kill a lot of innocent civilians. vicariously of course, by electing mccain, obama, hillary, romney, edwards or giuliani.
big bombs! big boom bombs! bomb, bomb, bomb iran!
January 29th, 2008 at 5:32 am
I don’t blame them for interrogating him. He pretty much asked for it in a passive way.
January 29th, 2008 at 8:41 am
[…] Source: thenewfreedom.net […]
January 29th, 2008 at 9:04 am
Hmm, big brother is really watching us. I wonder how many people have gone trough the same thing. Hope they don’t bother you again.
January 29th, 2008 at 2:48 pm
Yeah the FBI are getting a bit weird over all of this, still i suppose its their jobs. Why do they have so much against free speech?
January 29th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
I sometimes wonder if it’s the same in the UK, although I don’t think my trivial comments should attract too much attention!
January 29th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
[…] The New Freedom » Blog Archive » Citizen blogger censored, detained by the FBI! Fascism is alive and well. (tags: privacy) […]
January 29th, 2008 at 5:21 pm
Four words: nickname and dynamic IP. I never post comments on any subject with my own name, except if I have some personal gain to it. But after this I might as well start using the TOR network, even if I’m not on the “list”.
January 29th, 2008 at 6:12 pm
Let me make sure I understand this. He:
1. Posted information already in the public domain, that he happens to understand better than most.
2. Someone else deleted the post itself.
3. He had to talk to the FBI for 6 hours.
I’m confused. What’s wrong with info in the public domain? (re:1)
How did they delete just a single post? Was it on a personally owned site, or a publicly hosted service (Blogger)? (re:2)
Why did he have to talk to the FBI? Always, always, always ask for a lawyer. It provides a 2nd set of eyes/ears when talking to cops. Also, if you do ask for a lawyer, and they don’t give you one, anything you say in response to a question after that is inadmissible in court.
You are not required to prove your innocence. THEY are required to prove your guilt. They’re really good at making you feel guilty, but unless they charge you, fuck ‘em. If they’re looking to make a deal, they’ll do it at a proffer session, through your attorney.
January 29th, 2008 at 6:30 pm
That is… incredibly disturbing. It’d be easy to make an offhand remark about what you would do if the FBI showed up at your house and tried dragging you away, but when the real thing happens.. you break down faster then they can say “Come down to the station.”
I wouldn’t presume to know how what they really thought his blogs were going to cause, but if enough people really take notice of this, we could get some Internet Rioting. You know, Hundreds of people posting obviously FBI-targeted Blogs and making remarks deemed “Dangerous.”
…All I can say, is wait and see.
January 29th, 2008 at 6:49 pm
Hah! Is this some new kind of “real world” RPG? This is flat out hilarious! Hmmmm…. so what do they do about DailyKos or the Democratunderground - the list of “trigger words” are embedded in every net kook’s head. Its part of their everyday vocabulary along with Abu Ghirab, Blackwater, and Halliburton.
He could have at least described his “torture” experience. Did someone torture his self-esteem, they make him sit in a corner with a dunce cap? Did someone torture his taste in music by forcing him to listen to Eminem? (Eminem did have an anti-war song you know!) Was his sense of style humiliated when he was placed in an ORANGE jumpsuit?
Honestly, his whole torture experience is very lacking considering the fine treatment he would have received if he were a homosexual or female in Iran.
BTW- did his captors let it slip that 9/11 was an inside job?
January 30th, 2008 at 11:03 am
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February 10th, 2008 at 9:56 am
Figures…Thats government….or should I say ‘tyranny’.
When all the facts point to lawlessness who can deny the truth of it, except for fool and charlatans?
First guy that comes to my door looking to harass me for free speech though, be him agent or terrorist is going to eat a bullet.
-Jack
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