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Barnes and Noble uses Nazi-like tactics to squelch opinion
(Matthew Rothschild, The Progressive, August 19, 2005)
She wanted to see Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, who was promoting his book, "It Takes a Family." . . . The event was billed as a "book signing and discussion," Shaffer says. . . . But discussion was the last thing that the Senator's people wanted. . . . Shaffer, her friends, and two other young women were booted out of the store and threatened with imprisonment even before they had a chance to say a word to Santorum . . . A state trooper in full uniform, including hat and gun, was in the store, and, according to Shaffer and Galperin, he met with the person who didn't care for the Dan Savage joke, along with a few others, including members of the store and Santorum's people. . . . Galperin says she heard the trooper ask, "Do you want me to get rid of them?" . . . And then the trooper, Delaware State Police Sgt. Mark DiJiacomo, who was on detail as a private security guard, came over to the group of women. . . . Here is the conversation, as Galperin remembers it: "You guys have to leave." . . . "Why?" . . . "Your business is not wanted here. They don't want you here anymore. If you don't leave, you're going to be arrested. If you can't post bail, you'll go to prison. Those of you who are under 18 will go to Ferris [the juvenile detention center]. And those of you over 18 will go either to Gander Hill Prison or the woman's correctional facility. Any questions?" . . . Shaffer remembers the conversation basically the same way. . . . "I said, 'Sir, we're not doing anything wrong. We're sitting in a bookstore. On what grounds would we be arrested?' " . . . "He said, "This is private property. Are you going to leave on your own, or are you going to leave in cuffs?" . . . Shaffer decided to leave with her friends. . . . Galperin and Rocek decided to stay. . . . "That's it," he told them, according to Galperin. "You're under arrest. Give me your ID. You're going to prison." . . . Sgt. DiJiacomo led the two out to his police car. . . . "Six or seven of the braver kids got in the car and we drove back over to the parking lot of Barnes & Noble," she recalls. "We were standing outside in the parking lot and my mother went into the store. Just as she entered, the officer came out, and he saw us, and he drove over in his car very fast." . . . Here's her account. . . . "You're under arrest. Get into the car." . . . "But my mom took us over here and wanted to speak to you." . . . "Do I look like your mother? You're not wanted here. You had your chance. You showed up again. Now you're under arrest." . . . Shaffer said he then asked the ages of everyone in the group, and he used this information to further threaten her. . . . "Not only will you be arrested for trespassing, but I've got you on the counts for contributing to the delinquency of one, two, three, four, five minors,"” he said, according to Shaffer. "Those are serious charges. Is that really something you want on your record? Is that something that will make your parents proud?" . . . And he warned them, she says, that they would be arrested if they ever showed up at the bookstore or the mall again. . . . [COMMENT by Lorenzo: Welcome to Gulag Amerika . . . if you think the Storm Troopers won't be coming for you quite soon, you've got another think coming . . . the time for action is NOW . . . start mobilizing your friends today and get ready for the big lockdown called Marshall Law. It'll be here sooner than you think.] . . . "I actually tried to talk humanely to the policemen," she says. "He told me if I took any of the underaged kids in, I would be charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor." . . . Heidi Schaffer says she is most upset about the strong-arm tactics of Sgt. DiJiacomo. "One of the girls came home and was hysterical for about two days," she says. "Some even were afraid to tell their parents. That this hired gun can say whatever he wants and terrorize these kids is very, very scary." . . . Sgt. DiJiacomo did not return my phone calls seeking comment. [COMMENT by Lorenzo:Mark DiJacomo, in my opinion, is in the same mold as the Nazi SS Troopers who intimidated people into keeping silent while the State continued its atrocities. You've forever cast an un-American pall over the name, DiJacomo, little sergeant with a big gun. I'm sure your immigrant ancestors are proud.] "From all indications that we have, he handled his duties and responsibilities appropriately," says Lieutenant Joseph Aviola, director of public affairs for the Delaware State Police. . . . Aviola says it is not uncommon for Delaware state troopers, in their official capacity, to work for private contractors, who later reimburse the state. . . . Drew Fennell, executive director of the Delaware ACLU, sees the incident in a larger context. "This is trickle down from Bush: Politicians are now keeping away, out of sight, anybody who disagrees with them," she says. "If the Senator's staff was so put off by the idea he might be asked a difficult question that they brought in the police, that’s a sad commentary on the state of political discourse." . . . Fennel is also particularly concerned about the participation of the Delaware state trooper. "That puts a different and far more disturbing face on this," she says. "Frankly, it's a great deal more intimidating to be asked to leave by an armed police officer threatening you with arrest than if the manager does it."

posted by LoZo 1:19 PM

 

Rackspace hosting works with FBI to censor Internet sites

[NOTE: This is an update on the government's attempt to silence the IndyMedia Web sites. See U.S. Fascists Close Down Independent Media for the original story.]

Secret Documents About Indymedia Server Disappearance Unsealed
Government Order Demanded Only Logs; Web Host Rackspace Handed Over Server . . . The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) last week won a motion allowing it to access sealed court documents about the mysterious disappearance of two web servers used to host news websites for Indymedia, a global collective of Independent Media Centers (IMCs) and thousands of journalists. . . . That handover resulted in the silencing of more than 20 news websites and radio feeds for nearly a week. . . . However, the unsealed documents reveal that the government never officially demanded the computer servers -- the subpoena to Rackspace only requested server log files. This contradicts previous statements by the web host that it took the servers offline because the government had demanded the hardware. The documents also contradict Rackspace's claim that it had been ordered by the court not to discuss publicly the government's demand. It cannot be determined from the unsealed documents whether or not the government informally pressured Rackspace to turn over the servers. By giving the government more data than it requested, the company not only violated the privacy of Indymedia journalists whose information was housed on the servers, but also undermined the free flow of information by taking Indymedia's websites offline. Moreover, the logs that the government requested didn't exist, so Rackspace should never have given the government anything at all. . . . "When Rackspace received a government demand to examine logs that didn't exist, it had a responsibility to the customer and to the principles of freedom of the press to fight the order and resolve this without taking more than 20 news sites off the Internet," said Kurt Opsahl, EFF staff attorney. . . . "Rackspace may claim to provide its customers with 'fanatical support,' but in this case it looks like it was more interested in serving the government," added Kevin Bankston, EFF attorney and Equal Justice Works/Bruce J. Ennis Fellow. . . . [Links to original documents and other aspects of this story are available via the link above (the title of this post).]

[COMMENT by Lorenzo: I'm glad that I resisted the urging of a friend to shift this Web site to Rackspace. I just was at their Web site and found this: "Companies who trust us to manage their hosting environment: IronMan Triathlon, Bluetooth, The Onion, Crowley Maritime, Walter Thompson, The Scotts Company, Texasnonprofits.org." . . . I guess that means I've got to quit reading The Onion because I sure don't want Rackspace letting the FBI know what I'm reading on that site. . . . I wonder who else is hosted by Rackspace that I now should avoid?]

posted by LoZo 12:28 PM