Anonymous Uncovers Corruption in Wisconsin Labor Dispute

[Donnachaidh]

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/108138-Anonymous-Uncovers-Corruption-in-Wisconsin-Labor-Dispute



No longer content to be hacker watchdogs, Anonymous is now apparently blowing the whistle on the underlying government corruption in the Wisconsin brouhaha.

Anonymous brought down the Americans for Prosperity website with a DDoS attack and released a statement asking us all to boycott Koch Industries products like Quilted Northern, Angel Soft and Dixie cups. The statement claimed that the billionaire brothers Koch are undermining the democracy of our country through funding organizations to protest against the state workers of Wisconsin who are fighting for their right to negotiate their contracts as a group. Anonymous believes Koch Industries is doing this in order to profit and not because of any interest in furthering the political process. As of press time, however, the Americans for Prosperity website is back online.

The goings-on in Wisconsin have been the talk of the mainstream news in America the last few weeks. The newly elected Governor of the state previously best known for its dairy products and football teams proposed a bill that would seriously curtail state-paid workers (including teachers) medical benefits and make it illegal for them to negotiate with the state as a consolidated group. Removing the labor unions' right to collective bargaining will effectively render them useless organizations, and even though Governor Scott Walker says that he is more concerned with balancing his budget, he says he won't budge on outlawing collective bargaining.

Enter Anonymous. The hacker group discovered a little-noticed clause in the bill proposed by Walker which would allow the state to sell its utilities to anyone it chose, at any price, without the public even being notified. This clause would allow companies like Koch Industries to purchase publicly owned utility plants, and Anonymous believes this is the reason that Koch-funded "grassroots" organizations like Americans For Prosperity, Club for Growth and Citizens United are supporting Walker's plan to rid the unions of their collective power.

More at the link --

[socialist_n_TN]

1. Anonymous found this?????? This has been on DU........

for at least 2 weeks.

Hey, I'm a fan of our anarchist brothers and sisters, but come on! They didn't find anything. Now if they can PUBLICIZE it to a wider audience, more power to them. But they didn't "find" anything.

[mike_c]

2. it's just that the press wasn't paying attention...

...until the information came attached to something juicy like Anon.

[TorchTheWitch]

3. they can give it attention without claiming discovery

Sorry, they're way late to the party on this.

[lunasun]

6. Kochs are no doubt all for busting unions but also

everyone needs to know the workers rights issue may be a trojan horse that could be conceded to let the rest of the bill then pass to take over public utilties in Wisc by kochs co. or maybe the whole enchilada will pass ....

...I don't remember the game of Monopoly being that layered but we just have the junior edition right now but there are Utilities on the game board ...
and my favorite game rule is : The Bank "never goes broke." If the Bank runs out of money, the Banker may issue as much as needed by writing on any ordinary paper"....sounds familiar?


"Koch Industries, and oligarchs like them, have most recently started to manipulate the political agenda in Wisconsin," "Anonymous" writes. "Governor Walker's union-busting budget plan contains a clause that went nearly un-noticed. This clause would allow the sale of publicly owned utility plants in Wisconsin to private parties (specifically, Koch Industries) at any price, no matter how low, without a public bidding process. The Koch's have helped to fuel the unrest in Wisconsin and the drive behind the bill to eliminate the collective bargaining power of unions in a bid to gain a monopoly over the state's power supplies.

We are Anonymous.
We are legion.
We do not forgive.
We do not forget.
Expect us.

[annabanana]

4. With Anonymous now a favorite bogeyman of CorpoMedia©, they will

pin everything "spooky and internetty that you just can't understand" on it.

The more they try to pin it down the harder it is to pin down... which is one of it's very best qualities.

[white_wolf]

8. I'm a fan of Anon too, but

I'm curious as to where a real anarchist would view himself in relation to us. Wouldn't an anarchist who advocates for the abolition of the state be closer to the Libertarians than he would Socialism?

[elehhhhna]

5. Kock's staffing company is already recruiting contract powerplant Wisconsin workers....

the link was on DU a few days ago. The fix is in.

[Shiver]

7. Oh... just the stuff everyone knew already...

You got my hopes up with the title and everything.

Not that I don't think they won't find it. I was just hoping they had. Keep seeking those vulnerabilities, Anon!