Cyberwar guide for Iran elections [URGENT pls read & repost] (And I Guess Twitter is Useful for Something)

Cyberwar guide for Iran elections
Posted by Cory Doctorow, June 16, 2009 3:25 AM | permalink
SOURCE: boingboing.net

Yishay sez, “The road to hell is paved with the best intentions (including mine). Learn how to actually help the protesters and not the gov’t in Iran.”

The purpose of this guide is to help you participate constructively in the Iranian election protests through Twitter.

1. Do NOT publicise proxy IP’s over twitter, and especially not using the #iranelection hashtag. Security forces are monitoring this hashtag, and the moment they identify a proxy IP they will block it in Iran. If you are creating new proxies for the Iranian bloggers, DM them to @stopAhmadi or @iran09 and they will distributed them discretely to bloggers in Iran.

2. Hashtags, the only two legitimate hashtags being used by bloggers in Iran are #iranelection and #gr88, other hashtag ideas run the risk of diluting the conversation.

3. Keep you bull$hit filter up! Security forces are now setting up twitter accounts to spread disinformation by posing as Iranian protesters. Please don’t retweet impetuosly, try to confirm information with reliable sources before retweeting. The legitimate sources are not hard to find and follow.

4. Help cover the bloggers: change your twitter settings so that your location is TEHRAN and your time zone is GMT +3.30. Security forces are hunting for bloggers using location and timezone searches. If we all become ‘Iranians’ it becomes much harder to find them.

5. Don’t blow their cover! If you discover a genuine source, please don’t publicise their name or location on a website. These bloggers are in REAL danger. Spread the word discretely through your own networks but don’t signpost them to the security forces. People are dying there, for real, please keep that in mind…

#iranelection cyberwar guide for beginners (Thanks, Yishay!)
Previously:

* Iran SMS networks “mysteriously” fail right before elections …
* Iran: Activists Launch Hack Attacks on Tehran Regime – Boing Boing
* Iranian election uprising: Twitter tracks it real-time, Iranian …

6. Denial of Service attacks. If you don’t know what you are doing, stay out of this game. Only target those sites the legitimate Iranian bloggers are designating. Be aware that these attacks can have detrimental effects to the network the protesters are relying on. Keep monitoring their traffic to note when you should turn the taps on or off.

7. Do spread the (legitimate) word, it works! When the bloggers asked for twitter maintenance to be postponed using the #nomaintenance tag, it had the desired effect. As long as we spread good information, provide moral support to the protesters, and take our lead from the legitimate bloggers, we can make a constructive contribution.

Please remember that this is about the future of the Iranian people, while it might be exciting to get caught up in the flow of participating in a new meme, do not lose sight of what this is really about.”

Please share this article widely. This is our protocol.

WAKE UP, AMERICA! McCain-Palin Supporters: What the Hell!?

I’ve got questions for you!  How is it possible that at a time when George W. Bush’s approval rating is hovering at 30% overall, and 61% among Republicans, that John McCain could even come close to pulling ahead of Barack Obama in the presidential candidate polls?  I took it upon myself to find the differences between Bush and McCain, not from his opponents, but from him or his supporters.  I found only one solid difference between Bush and McCain:  McCain does not support torture.  That’s it!  Now there were two more differences that he pointed out but they were by no means concrete.  First was that McCain claims that his administration would focus on climate change.  No details on how or what his views are.  The other was that he would be more humble in dealings with foreign affairs and does not support preemptive striking.

As for the economy, McCain says he would drastically reduce federal spending. He says that he will eliminate earmarks such as the bridge to nowhere in Alaska, a Woodstock museum in New York, and a study of bear DNA in Montana.  2008 earmarks added up to 18.3 billion dollars. He also proposes to slash discretionary spending, which is for federal programs.  If this were a good idea, he would give at least one or two examples of the types of programs that will be eliminated.  But there is no mention of them, most likely because the middle class voters would not likely agree with those cuts.  He plans to cut an additional 65 billion dollars from the mysterious “programs”.  Now all of this budget slashing talk is going on while the US is throwing away 100 billion dollars a year in Iraq!  With 100 billion dollars the US could keep its programs and still have money to improve schools and get healthcare for Americans.  Who is against that?  There is so much more.  Here is the actual plan put out by the McCain campaign’s senior economic advisor (not his opposition), read it for yourself: McCain’s Economic Plan

Now in walks Alaska hockey mom of 5, Sarah Palin, Yay!  But wait, who is she, and what does she stand for?  I am not sure but I do know that she may differ on some core issues from most women in our country today.  You know that we would love to see a goddess second in charge in this country.  But is she for or against what you actually believe in, and are you willing to blindly sacrifice the well being of this country and your family just to see her in office?  Having a vagina alone does not make her a good candidate.  Whether or not we believe in abortion for ourselves, most women in this country do on some level support a woman’s right to choose.  Palin supports the criminalization of abortion in all cases except to save the life (not the health) of the woman.  She compares herself to a pit bull.  I don’t think that is a good thing at all.  It sounds too similar to Bush’s blind stubbornness to “stay the course” no matter how wrongheaded the actions are proven to be.  Is that what the country needs at this time? I, as a mother, value the ability to assess situations as they unfold and adjust and sometimes re-adjust my actions accordingly for the best interests of my family.  Learn a little more about her issues here: Sarah on the Issues  On this site you can also look at where John McCain, Barack Obama, and Joseph Biden stand on the issues and take a quiz to compare yours to theirs, not completely scientific but helpful and pretty nifty.

This article is incomplete. I could write all day long on this but I don’t want to.  The bottom line is, please  EDUCATE YOURSELVES ON THE ISSUES!  What issues are important to you, and where the candidates stand on those issues.  Do not vote on race, gender, personality, or how you think candidates “identify with you”.  WAKE UP, AMERICA!