politics of cyberspace

DRC: coltan profits fuel M23 insurgency

The M23 armed group is continuing to pursue expansionist objectives across eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to a report by UN experts. The report underscores the failure of peace talks held between DRC and Rwanda (which supports the rebels) under the aegis of Angola. It argues that the M23 plans the long-term occupation and exploitation of conquered territories, where it has been setting up parallel administrations and recruiting thousands of new members, including children. It states that the group has been consolidating support from other armed movements in Ituri, South Kivu and North Kivu provinces, forging non-aggression pacts and building new proxy forces. The rebels are also making a large profit from taxing mineral production, especially at the Rubaya mining sites in North Kivu, one of the world's largest sources of coltan. The minerals are being "fraudulently exported" to Rwanda in what amounts to the "largest contamination" of mineral supply chains recorded in the region to date. (Photo via Africa Up Close)

Appeals court overturns net neutrality rules

The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) did not have legal authority when it reinstated net neutrality rules last May, striking a blow to President Joe Biden's telecommunications policy. Net neutrality is the idea that internet service providers (ISPs) must provide access to all content without favoring or blocking particular websites or services. In May, the FCC voted to classify ISPs as "telecommunications services" as opposed to "information services," thereby subjecting them to net neutrality rules. Several telecommunications companies challenged the decision. The Sixth Circuit found that ISPs are information services and thus net neutrality rules do not apply. In doing so, it cited the US Supreme Court's decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, Secretary of Commerce, which abolished the deference afforded to administrative bodies in interpreting their enabling statutes. (Photo: David Lohner via Flickr)

PRC: blogger detained for reporting land seizures

Reporters Without Borders called on the Chinese government to immediately release Liu Hanbin, a blogger who was detained following his publication of information regarding a protest against forced land seizures. Liu, who blogs under the name Wen Yi Fan, was taken into custody after he posted a video on social media platform WeChat reporting on a protest by farmers in a rural area of Inner Mongolia province against land confiscations by government officials. The protest was met with a swift response from local authorities, leading to Liu's arrest. The 52-year-old blogger has been charged with "picking quarrels and provoking trouble," an offense punishable by up to five years in prison. (Photo of Hulunbuir Grasslands, Inner Mongolia. Credit: Sergio Tittarini via Wikimedia Commons)

Podcast: nullify the election! III

In Episode 254 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg continues to make the case for mass pressure to demand nullification of the election—on the constitutional basis of the Insurrection Clause. Trump indisputably instigated an insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, and the Supreme Court has ruled that invoking the Insurrection Clause to bar him from the presidency is the prerogative of Congress. And the Electoral College has the power to refuse to seat him on the same grounds. A candidate for county commissioner in New Mexico has already been barred from office on the basis of having participated in the Capitol insurrection—and MAGA congressional candidate Madison Cawthorn could also have been barred on that basis if he hadn't been primaried out as the case over the matter was still pending before the courts. Leading Democrats like Rep. Jamie Raskin have spoken in support of such disqualifications—yet are mysteriously silent with the country now on the countdown to a fascist takeover. Furthermore, some cybersecurity experts are calling for a forensic audit of the election, citing evidence of software breaches and other irregularities. In Romania, where a Putin-favored right-wing populist has won the first-round vote in the presidential election, a recount has been ordered by the courts in response to a public outcry. And protests continue to mount in the Republic of Georgia, following a contested election in which a Putin-favored right-wing populist party cemented its majority. Why is everyone so quiet here in the United States, the seat of the empire, where the stakes are the highest? (Image: WTFA)

India: new eruption of violence in Manipur

The state of Manipur in remote northeastern India has again erupted in protest, after the bodies of six women and children from the majority Meitei community were recovered. Meitei leaders say the victims were kidnapped and murdered by members of the Kuki minority. The demonstrations, which saw protesters torch the homes and offices of government officials, have led to several arrests. A proposed change to land-tenure law in the state in favor of the Meitei last summer set off months of protests, violence, and a communications shutdown. (Map via TFI Post)

Podcast: nullify the election! II

As the Trump team's plans fall into place for mass detention of millions of undocumented immigrants—perhaps even naturalized citizens—and establishment of a concentration camp system, invocation of the Insurrection Act to mobilize the army for the round-ups has been broached. Sending National Guard troops from red states into blue states to carry out round-ups and put down protests—over the objections of governors who have refused to cooperate—could portend civil war. There is still time to invoke the 14th Amendment to bar Trump from the presidency—just as Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro, indicted for leading a Trump-style attempted auto-golpe in 2022, has been barred from office. And just as the Congressional Black Caucus sought to bar Dubya Bush from office over considerably lesser matters on Jan. 6, 2001. In Episode 253 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg continues to make the case for mass pressure to demand nullification of the election. (Image: CounterVortex)

Podcast: nullify the election!

As Trump assembles his cabinet of dangerous cranks and far-right extremists, his election is being openly celebrated by reigning fascists and arch-reactionaries from Russia to Hungary to Bosnia. The fascist world order that began to consolidate under his first term is poised to be cemented under a global triumvirate of tyranny—Trump, Putin and Xi. Biden's cooperation in the transfer of power is a betrayal not only of the nation but of humanity—and Trump has still failed to sign the ethics pledge mandated by the protocol of presidential transition, making clear his ill intent. Evidence that the Kremlin directly hacked the vote on behalf of Trump (rather than merely using disinformation propaganda, as in 2016) warrants investigation. Furthermore, the Insurrection Clause of the 14th Amendment, under which Trump was impeached, should be invoked to bar him from office. There is still time to stop the fascist takeover of the United States through the Electoral College or in the certification process. Despite the Supreme Court decision upholding state laws against "faithless electors" who refuse to vote for the candidate they pledged for, this is by no means equivalent to the "fake electors" contrived by Trump's team to try to throw the 2020 election. On the contrary, it is a constitutional mechanism, as outlined by Hamilton in the Federalist Papers. In Episode 252 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg makes the case for mass pressure to demand nullification of the election. The protests against Trump since Election Day are a good start. But a mass movement on the scale of the post-electoral protests now seen in the Republic of Georgia and Ecuador is urgently mandated. (Image: APhilosophicalEnquiry)

Ranting against the apocalypse II

With Lebanon under bombardment and the world awaiting Israel's response to the Iranian missile attacks on its territory, fears mount that Iran's nuclear facilities could be targeted—which, in addition to being an environmental disaster in its own right, could represent the crossing of a moral threshold toward the use of nuclear weapons. So two theaters of the world conflict—the Middle East and Ukraine—now constitute a looming nuclear threat. Meanwhile, the other horsemen of the apocalypse continue their relentless advance—climate change, cyber-based disinformation and the ultimate replacement of humanity by artificial intelligence. In Episode 246 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg looks for glimmers of hope in emerging signs of human resistance—such as the East Coast dockworkers' strike, which is demanding a ban on all automation at the ports. Listen on SoundCloud or via Patreon. (Photo: CounterVortex)

CounterVortex meta-podcast: ranting against the apocalypse

In the first CounterVortex meta-podcast of February 2018, we noted the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists' decision to advance the minute hand of its Doomsday Clock to two minutes of midnight. The clock was most recently moved to 90 seconds to midnight in January 2023, in light of the Ukraine war—the closest it has ever been. The clock did not move forward in 2024, despite Israel crossing the genocidal threshold in Gaza—a conflict now spreading to Lebanon, with potential to ignite the entire Middle East and even the world. The threat of Iran being drawn into the conflict could bring its patron Russia nose-to-nose with Israel's patron, the United States. This comes just as Vladimir Putin has announced a revision to Russia's nuclear weapons doctrine, allowing a first strike if its territory is attacked even by a non-nuclear state that is backed by a state with nuclear weapons. This appears to add frightening credibility to the mounting nuclear threats from Moscow. Amid all this, small efforts at Jewish-Arab co-existence by the besieged peace camp within Israel point to the potential for the ongoing protests against Netanyahu to take on an explicit anti-war character. In Episode 245 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg makes the case that such measures, however seemingly modest, constitute a countervortex to humanity's general downward spiral toward devastating war, ecological collapse and fascism.

Syria

HRW: detonating communication devices violates international law

Human Rights Watch (HRW) stated that the simultaneous detonation of thousands of communication devices across Lebanon and Syria violated customary international law. The explosions killed some 35 people and injured more than 2,000. The devices were evidently part of the Hezbollah communication network. Israel is widely believed to be behind the explosions, but has not commented. According to HRW, the targeting of the communication devices contravened Rule 80 of Customary International Humanitarian Law. The rule prohibits the use of booby traps attached to objects likely to attract civilians, or "objects in normal civilian daily use." HRW also stated that the detonation of the devices "whose exact location could not be reliably known" was "unlawfully indiscriminate," as both military and civilian populations were struck "without distinction." (Image: Pixabay)

Demand Saudi Arabia release detained cyber-dissidents

A group of 40 rights organizations issued a joint statement calling on authorities in Saudi Arabia to release all those unfairly jailed for their online activities before Riyadh hosts the United Nations Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in December. The organizations stated that the detentions contradict the IGF’s stated values of advancing human rights and inclusion in the digital age. They charged that Saudi authorities are subjecting citizens to unprecedented repression, including decades-long prison sentences for expressing critical views online. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

Is Elon Musk unstoppable?

If elected president in November, Donald Trump says he will create a government efficiency commission led by tech billionaire Elon Musk as part of his economic plan. Musk suggested the idea to Trump in a conversation on X, which he bought in 2022 when it was called Twitter. The announcement is the latest display of Musk's growing influence in politics. The self-proclaimed "free speech absolutist" is accused of censoring progressive opinions while amplifying the voices of far-right networks. So far, no one seems to be able to check his growing power, as his recent legal battles with Australia and Brazil have demonstrated. Both countries tried to curtail content deemed harmful, but Musk ignored their requests. After Musk disregarded a judicial order to suspend dozens of X accounts for allegedly spreading disinformation in Brazil, the country's Supreme Court ruled to ban it nationwide. Journalists, who have relied heavily on it, have expressed a mixture of relief and regret at the ban. (Photo: Filip Troníček via Wikipedia)