Facing prison for protesting
By Nicole Colson, from Socialist Worker
December 7, 2001

"OUR GOAL is for the people involved to serve jail time." That's what Hartford, Conn., prosecutor Jeff Lee declared last week --as he sought 10-year prison terms for two student antiwar protesters. "We suspect the defense might try to reach a plea, but we have every intention of taking this case to trial," he sneered.

The incredible charges stem from an October 25 antiwar demonstration of more than 200 activists. Although the march was peaceful, police claim that a few protesters strayed from the sidewalk--and used this as an excuse to attack.

"Halfway through the march, some cop cars started showing up and driving alongside of us," Jason Capell, one of those arrested, told Socialist Worker. Then police began using batons and pepper spray on demonstrators.

A 61-year-old protester had his ribs broken. Another man was forced onto the ground, pepper sprayed and beaten by police until his head was bloody.

"A police officer stepped in front of me--full riot gear, with his baton up in front of him," said Capell. "He asked me where I was going, and I just told him that I was walking down the sidewalk. And he said, 'No you're not.'

"As soon as I asked him where I could go, he put handcuffs on me and started walking me towards the police van. And my charges are inciting a riot, interfering with police conduct and disorderly conduct."

In all, 18 demonstrators were arrested and taken to jail on similar charges. In a clear effort to discourage protest, bail was set ridiculously high, at between $15,000 and $50,000.

According to Capell, police specifically targeted leaders of the demonstration. "A lot of us were asked numerous times, 'Who are the leaders?'" he said.

"It appears that this came down from the higher-ups, whether it be the mayor or the chief of police, to nail us with high charges. Because that sends a message out to people. They're trying to scare people from speaking out against this war and what's going on."

Capell said that it was important for antiwar activists to continue speaking out. "It's definitely scared a lot of other people," he said. "It's a really important time for people to be very vocal and open about where they stand on these issues."

Donations to the legal defense fund for the Hartford 18 can be sent to: Free Speech and Legal Defense Fund, 13 Farview Ave., Danbury, CT 06810.

Confounding Carnivore: How to Protect Your Online Privacy
By Omar J. Pahati, AlterNet
November 29, 2001

Ever since the FBI confirmed the existence of their Internet wiretapping device -- a device they named Carnivore -- cyberprivacy activists have been up in arms. Carnivore promised to be their worst nightmare: a technology that could track and record every email sent, every Web page browsed, every chat room visited.

Today, those fears are more likely to come true than ever before. The passage of anti-terrorism laws in the wake of Sept. 11, and the extended powers of the FBI, CIA and police agencies everywhere, make it likely that Carnivore will see more use in the near future. Congress has been quite willing to trade some privacy for security, and the Bush Administration -- especially Attorney General John Ashcroft -- has been no defender of online privacy. With Constitutional protections being chipped away, what can civil liberties-minded citizens do to maintain their privacy online?

Though the technology behind the mysterious Carnivore box (officially renamed DCS1000 in early 2001, though that name hasn't stuck) has been portrayed as quite sophisticated, it's actually very simple. When attached to server computers at an Internet service provider (ISP), the device records the details of all traffic coming through that ISP. It can snatch email headers and content, and keep a history of Web pages accessed. This data can then be saved onto disk and admitted as evidence in court.

Similar devices have long been used in private enterprise, allowing cautious business administrators to monitor the Internet activity of employees. In network security circles, these devices are referred to as "sniffers."

As common as this technology is, its potential uses give security specialists great power to track electronic communications. Sniffers can produce a list of Web sites visited so that ISPs can block access to sites deemed questionable or subversive. Carnivore can also keep track of whom you send email to and who sends you email, shedding light on the company you keep and potentially tying you to activities you know nothing about. Aside from these scary scenarios, the mere fact that someone is watching is disconcerting.

But before you panic about the government tracking those flirty emails you sent to a co-worker last year, consider that the FBI is reported to have used Carnivore only 13 times between October 1999 and August 2000 (the latest figures available). That's not very much, given the enormous amount of Web traffic. So the chances that Carnivore has been watching you are incredibly low -- you're much more likely to have been sniffed by your employer.

Nevertheless, with the passage of the USA Patriot Act, Carnivore's use is very likely to increase. In addition to committing unprecedented resources to security, the new law drops some of the checks and balances once required for getting permission to eavesdrop. Futhermore, rumors that Osama bin Laden has used encrypted messages, images, and Web sites to communicate with the global Al Qaeda network, and fears that unknown terrorists are using the Web as a tool, has upped Carnivore's value in law enforcement's eyes. The FBI has even begun to enhance Carnivore, effectively broadening its net and fortifying its encroachment into once private sectors of cyberspace.

Cyber-libertarians determined to maintain anonymity have already found ways to circumvent Carnivore's watchful eyes. Most of the methods were developed by hackers to cover their tracks when engaging in questionable, sometimes illegal activity. But these techniques work just as well for the law-abiding citizen who wishes to uphold the right to privacy. And thankfully, you don't have to be a hacker to use these tools effectively.

Controversial, but legal, encryption software has been publicly available for years. Encryption allows users to maintain a high level of secrecy when sending email or files over the Internet.

The most storied of encryption tools is a free program called PGP. PGP stands for Pretty Good Privacy, but it's a whole lot more than just pretty good. PGP is "strong crypto," geek speak for encryption that is nearly impossible to break. PGP is so strong that after releasing PGP to the public in 1991, Philip Zimmermann, the program's creator, drew immediate attention from federal prosecutors intent on preventing its distribution.

Zimmermann says, "PGP empowers people to take their privacy into their own hands. There has been a growing social need for it. That's why I wrote it."

And that's why governments are so afraid of it. As a result, Zimmermann became the target of a three-year criminal investigation that questioned the legality of exporting PGP to users in other nations. But by 1996, the investigation had produced no evidence of wrongdoing and PGP had become the most widely used encryption program in the world.

A few versions later, PGP is stronger in popularity and security. PGP works by scrambling the data such that only the recipient can descramble it. Even the sender cannot descramble the data because only the recipient has the descramble key.

Part of the reason behind PGP's strength is thorough peer review. The original programming source code for PGP is publicly viewable for anyone and everyone to scrutinize. The openness allows engineers to point out flaws, back doors or any other kind of weakness.

By using PGP to encrypt transmissions, one can ensure with high confidence that only the person intended to see its contents actually has access to it. Even if someone intercepts the transmission it would be completely unreadable unless that person has the decryption key. This would not prevent Carnivore from biting email off the network, but it will prevent prying federal agents from reading your private communications.

"You may be planning a political campaign, discussing your taxes, or having an illicit affair," says Zimmermann. "Whatever it is, you don't want your private electronic mail or confidential documents read by anyone else."

Zimmermann acknowledges that PGP could be used to conceal illegal activity but believes the right to privacy supercedes this concern.

A warning: Encryption is illegal in many countries. It is also illegal to export encryption tools from the U.S. without authorization. So you're best using PGP only in the United States or checking your local laws before using PGP.

PGP Freeware will get your messages across the Net safely, but it cannot stop Carnivore from watching what Web sites you are viewing. Most people surf from Web site to Web site not knowing that every click they make can be recorded not just by the government, but by more than one monitoring system. Your ISP, your ISP's ISP, and every Web site has a record of where Web traffic comes from and where it goes. Even if Carnivore is not watching you, federal agents can subpoena ISP logs to track you down. Whether you're merely looking at NYTimes.com or AlterNet.org or one of Osama bin Laden's alleged porn-fronted Al Qaeda Web sites, you are being watched.

There are several ways to keep your surfing habits hidden. Most involve placing a computer on your network between you and the Internet. This computer is called a proxy. Proxies work by taking your request for a Web page, getting the page from the Internet and then passing it on to you. With a proxy installed, the Internet knows the proxy is there, but doesn't know who is behind the proxy. While proxies are common in corporate networks, average home users don't have this luxury, unless they have the economic resources and technical know-how to set one up.

However, in the last few years, services have been created to provide Web surfers with a virtual proxy. In this case, instead of setting up a proxy on your own network, you connect to a virtual proxy over the Internet. One that works very well is Anonymizer.com. The Web service effectively allows users to surf anonymously without additional hardware or software.

You connect to Anonymizer with your Internet browser, tell it what site you want to see and it takes you there anonymously. If Carnivore is watching you, it will know that you are connected to Anonymizer, but not where Anonymizer has taken you. If the Web site you visit is recording your vital signs (your computer address, operating system, browser type, and the page you last visited), all it sees is the Anonymizer server.

Singapore, Vietnam, Iran, Algeria, Yemen, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and China have banned sites like Anonymizer. Each country has attempted to block citizens' access to such services; testament to the technology's ability to keep government eyes from peeking into private activity.

Another way that people are surfing anonymously is by using someone else's network proxy. Hackers often do this surreptitiously, hacking into a private network and hiding behind its proxy. While this is effective, it may not be completely legal. You should only use someone else's proxy with their expressed permission. Also, not all proxies will be effective anonymizers out of the box, so it is best to coordinate the setup with the proxy's rightful administrator.

CyberArmy, a network of tech savvy privacy activists, has a list of known proxies scattered about the globe (www.cyberarmy.com/lists/proxy/). If you are able to obtain permission to use one of these proxy computers, go to your Web browser preferences and enter the proxy address under "Proxies." You will need to enter both the address and the port number. If possible, set the proxy method to "Tunnel" -- which creates a secure connection between you and the proxy. All current Web browsers in any operating system, from Netscape and Internet Explorer to Opera and Mozilla, have this functionality built in. With those settings in place you can surf the Web anonymously just as you would with your own in-house proxy.

In addition to their proxy list, CyberArmy has a lot of information about Internet privacy. A lot of it is geared toward hacker-types but one useful tool for everyone is the Environment Check ( http://www.cyberarmy.com/cgi/whoami.pl). This page will tell you just what kind of information you are broadcasting to the world when you surf the Web. Information culled by the Environment Check includes what kind of computer you have, the version and type of browser you use, the Web address of your ISP and your computer's network address. Try Environment Check with a proxy and then without a proxy to see anonymity in action.

For the less tech-experienced activist, PGP and proxies may not be the best way to fight Carnivore. Organizations like StopCarnivore, ACLU and Electronic Frontier Foundation are good places to start for finding a grassroots solution to a digital problem.

StopCarnivore.org has been leading the charge to de-fang the device and the over-zealous legislators pushing its use on innocent Americans. The organization's founder Lance Brown says, "It may be a generation or two before the stifling effect of Carnivore manifests itself in ways that can be measured. By that time, America will have been able to spread its use around the globe."

Brown's Web site offers ways to get in touch with lawmakers and law enforcement agencies to express concern over Carnivore. The site also lists ways to find out if Carnivore is tapping your ISP.

Privacy activists say that as a matter of patriotism and democracy, everyone must fight to protect privacy. As Zimmerman says, "If we do nothing, new technologies will give the government new automatic surveillance capabilities that Stalin could never have dreamed of."

Recycled Christmas: One Family's Revolution Against the Shopping Mall
by Brian Smith, AlterNet
November 21, 2001

Sitting around the dinner table out at the farm last Thanksgiving, the subject of what to do about Christmas came up. How would we organize a family gathering now that we kids are grown and scattered across the state? Whose house would we use? How would we deal with the whole gift-giving thing?

Everyone seemed completely unenthusiastic about engaging in another orgy of shopping and crowds and waste. There was the sense of duty: to tradition, to the nation. TV newscasters claimed that the very health of the US economy depended upon our generous holiday spending. Christmas consumerism is patriotic. Don't think about it too much, just shut up and shop.

After confessing distaste for the entire affair, one rebel relative proposed we just bag the whole holiday. The lobbying for this option was fierce and convincing. And for an agnostic family, ignoring Christmas altogether seemed like a perfectly viable option.

Though we really enjoyed coming together for a mid-winter celebration, the very thought of shopping ruined Christmas. Wasn't there another option? Didn't we have the right to reclaim the holiday and create our own family tradition?

After an hour of discussion, and a few more glasses of wine, we arrived at a solution: Recycled Christmas.

And it turned out to be the best Christmas since I was a child.

Here is how it works. Everyone is invited to give presents to anyone else, but these rules must be followed: you can only give a gift that has been previously owned, nothing new; you can make a present, a painting, a song, a poem, or whatever; you can give away something you already own; you can purchase your gift at a second-hand store or garage sale; and all gifts should be wrapped in newspaper. (Sunday comics if you want to get fancy.) That's it. Simple.

Well, not exactly.

As it turns out, giving the perfect Recycled Christmas present is a much more personal experience than just going to the mall with a credit card. When you give a present from a garage sale, or from your attic, you must understand and care about the person on the receiving end. Another tie for dad or bath soap set for auntie just won't do. You really have to think about your loved ones and who they are as people.

My mother found some used photo albums for each of us kids and filled them with pictures from our childhoods. She had written personal memories next to each picture. I was in tears seeing photos that had lingered in shoeboxes and drawers for twenty years.

I gave my intellectual cousin one of my favorite novels that she instantly curled up with and read by the fire until she fell asleep.

My father received a big plastic lawn-goose, with a light bulb inside. It was the perfect gift for a man who had discovered his love for raising birds on the farm in his 50s. He giggled with delight as he turned it on and placed it proudly on the mantel.

My aunt gave my girlfriend her favorite cookbook, with the best recipes clearly marked by gravy stains -- a subtle hint to make sure I was eating right.

My brother and I baked loaves of beer bread and handed them out to family members still warm and wrapped in tinfoil.

The gift giving went late into the night because each person told a story about what they were thinking when they chose the gift. We laughed and felt like a family again. We participated in the holiday on our own terms. The advantages of Recycled Christmas became apparent quickly.

We all saved a ton of money. We had a lot more fun. We never even stepped foot in a mall or felt the crush of the holiday traffic. We contributed nothing to the local landfill. And best of all, we knew the presents we gave and received had all come from the heart.