14 Anonymous Arrested in US

CNN is reporting that 14 people have been arrested in an FBI sweep of the people who took part in hacking operations under the group name Anonymous. Anonymous claimed credit for hacking into MasterCard, Visa and PayPal in what the group said was retaliation for the companies' cutting ties to the WikiLeaks website following the arrest of Julian Assange.

Originally Posted by CNN

The arrests have taken place in locations including Florida, the San Francisco area in California and New Jersey, the official said...

FBI agents spread out to about a half dozen locations on Long Island, in Brooklyn and in the Bronx, where they seized computers and other records, according to the federal government official, who requested anonymity given the sensitivity of the investigation.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/07/19/...html?hpt=hp_t2

Of course we can expect more of this from the Obama administration which only sees fit to defend the profits of corporations, rather than the rights of Americans to protest non-violently. These people are merely expressing their freedom of speech by attacking those who deny others such freedoms. And it seems the US government would rather silence these people, denying them their freedom of speech, treating them as criminals, or worse, terrorists.

It is the US government and it's cozy relationship with huge corporations that should go on trial. I hope the case gets a lot of publicity as it will highlight how our government has failed to allow ANONYMOUS people to express themselves without fear of arrest and imprisonment.

By continuing to treat protesters as criminals, our government loses its moral authority. By denying us our right to free speech they silence a whole generation who have now come understand that Big Brother is watching and taking notes and compiling lists of names of those to be silenced.

They are afraid of the POWER of the people. They are witnessing one government after another confronting huge peaceful protests, usually with Government directed violence at the protesters failing to bring the masses under control. Instead the protests grow and turn violent in self-defense.

The US government should thus beware that silencing peaceful protests will lead to more violent ones.

I think the US will try to make examples out of these "Anonymous" even though most are probably just teenagers. They'll throw the book at them, for sure.

And then there will be a response from the thousands of new recruits who will join in Anonymous actions.

The government cannot win against the people. But they will try and it won't be pretty.

you do realise criminal activity is illegal right? that includes hacking and stealing stuff from a company that isnt yours. hacking and attacking is hardly an innocent expression.

"The more you tighten your grip, Tarkin, the more star systems will slip through your fingers."

Originally Posted by Styve--At-Large

you do realise criminal activity is illegal right? that includes hacking and stealing stuff from a company that isnt yours. hacking and attacking is hardly an innocent expression.

Ethics and law are not the same thing.

boo

This is sad. They knew the risks.

Like Thomas Merton said...

"Peace demands the most heroic labor and the most difficult sacrifice. It demands greater heroism than war. It demands greater fidelity to the truth and a much more perfect purity of conscience"

"Of course we can expect more of this from the Obama administration which only sees fit to defend the profits of corporations,"

You lose a lot of credibility when you make ridiculous blanket statements like this.

I don't think you really give a rat's ass about these "poor innocent victims". You just wanted to make a sweeping indictment against ... somebody. And of course the government always makes a good target for bitching.

Suppose these people had hacked into the Hipforums site, and wreaked havoc on it? Do you really expect anyone to believe you'd be defending them then?

why dont they just hack the FBI computers and wipe out all the info they have on them

I think these guys are just fucking up the internet for everybody and making little difference to anything, other than making the news more interesting.

I think they should start whacking companies instead of hacking them, with a sharp stick in their anuses. See how well they float on the stock market then.