Science/Technology

Net Neutrality activists protest swanky dinner for FCC Chairman Pai

On the 7th of December, FCC Chairman Agit Pai was the guest of dishonor at a swanky dinner held at the Hilton on Connecticut Ave. Protesters outside shouted disapproval. Pai is a former Verizon lobbyist now seeking to dismantle all vestiges of Internet neutrality now that he's at the FCC. In addition to this protest there were protests at Verizon stores all over the US.

Video from the protest at the Hilton

FCC to end net neutrality,DC protests coming Dec 7 at Verizon stores

FCC Chairman Agit Pai has announced plans to revoke net neutrality protections as early as December this year. Once this takes place, ISP's will be able to block popular websites unless people pay for "social upgrades," "media upgrades," "entertainment upgrades," etc. With Cable TV subscriptions plummeting, Big Cable and Big Telcos are keen to apply that business model to the Internet. As usual, Tor will defeat their blocking.

Protests at Verizon stores will begin on Dec 7, including two stores here in DC

Phone Privacy?

I'm guessing the big-dogs probably have a way to make private phone calls; so I'm wondering what kind of person I should ask about the successful methods. I mean, I could ask a PI, get to know a phone company technician and offer an honorarium for good info, etc. I'll bet some people still have privacy. How can I approach such people and ask the right questions?

Net neutrality update: Comcast blocked Archive.org for hours, Tor could bypass

On Thursday, the 1st of June, Comcast blocked access to Archive.org, affecting videos on this site for several hours. When any ISP does this, Torbrowser can still access the blocked site as no ISP can see what you are accessing. YOU NEED TOR if you want reliable access to content in this post-net neutrality age.
https://www.torproject.org/download/download-easy.html.en

Protesters target FCC while commission votes 2-1 to scrap net neutrality

On the 18th of May, the FCC met to vote on keeping existing net neutrality rules or scrapping them and starting a new rulemaking from scratch. Net neutrality protestrs set up outside to oppose the push for "fast lanes" and "toll roads" on the Internet. The FCC voted 2-1 to scrap net neutrality anway, so the fight is ON.

Photo by Protect Our Internet

Net Neutrality activists smash old computers in front of FCC

On the 16th of May, net neutrality activists smashed computer hardware in front of the FCC, then loaded the junk into a trash can and attempted to deliver it to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. The smashfest carried a serious message: that a non-neutral, corporate-content centric Internet would make most people's computers and phones as worthless as the smashed junk in front of FCC headquarters.

Video-smashing junk computers at FCC, then attempting to deliver them to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai gets home demo for net neutrality

On the 14th of May, Popular Resistance showed up outside the home of FCC Chairman Ajit Pai in opposition to reopening the net neutrality issue. In addtion, three of Pai's neighbors joined the protest. Net neutrality was thought to be settled law, but Trump and Pai want to reopen the danger of paid prioritization and throttling or outright blocking of websites that cannot pay for premium "fast lanes.

This 33 second video of the protest would become harder to access without net neutrality

Scenes from DC's Earth Day Science march

On the 22nd of April, Earth Day, Science Marches were held all over the planet to protest the "alternative facts," climate science denial, and all-around bad science spewing from Donald Trump and the rest of the far-right.DC's march too well over an hour to pass any single point, and the mainstream press spoke of "hundreds of thousands" marching all over the world.

Video highlights from DC's Science March

Protest Rally Planned Outside the FCC to Oppose 4G/5G So-Called “Small Cell” Antennas Next to Our Homes

PRESS RELEASE

The Wireless Telecom Industry is hell-bent on installing 4G/5G antennas and infrastructure in the public rights of way in residential communities around the country and is aggressively pushing legislation at the federal, state, and local levels.  A coalition of groups is planning a rally on April 20, 2017, to oppose the forced installation of 4G/5G "small cells" in our neighborhoods and to protect the zoning rights of local communities.

Chomsky at MIT: Between the war scientists and the anti-war students, by Chris Knight

<p> It is now fifty years since Noam Chomsky published his celebrated article, <a href='http://www.nybooks.com/articles/1967/02/23/a-special-supplement-the-resp...'>'The Responsibility of Intellectuals'</a>. Few other writings had a greater impact on the turbulent political atmosphere on US campuses in the 1960s.

Police confront student picket at MIT, November 1969

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