Anonymous Uncovers Corruption in Wisconsin Labor Dispute

[Greg Tito]

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 [http://anonnews.org/?p=press&a=item&i=585] 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.

"It has come to our attention that the brothers, David and Charles Koch - the billionaire owners of Koch Industries - have long attempted to usurp American Democracy. Their actions to undermine the legitimate political process in Wisconsin are the final straw. Starting today we fight back," a statement purportedly from Anonymous read.

At first glance, it seems that the hacker conglomerate Anonymous is gaining legitimacy in furthering its own political agenda of freedom of information and empowering the downtrodden. Many people, myself included, want to picture this loosely-held together group of posters on a forum as something grander than they actually are. One or two, or even twenty so-called "members" of Anonymous might support the unions in Wisconsin, but there are just as many - if not more - who think the whole mess is a load of political bullshit that's not worth their attention. As one Anonymous member writes [http://anonnews.org/?p=press&a=item&i=623], "Anonymous is not some leftwing sockpuppet to do the bidding of unions and Rachel Maddow. Nor are they all a bunch of Ron Paul loving teapartyfags. Anonymous consists of everything from Anarchists, to Libertarians, to Conservatives, Liberals and anything else on the political spectrum."

Anonymous even has a handy guide [http://anonnews.org/?p=press&a=item&i=621] for people who are too quick to equate the group's actions with some overarching political agenda:


Anonymous has no official position on abortion
Anonymous has no official position on tax policy
Anonymous has no official position on health care
Anonymous has no official position on collective bargaining agreements
Anonymous has no official position on campaign finance reform
Anonymous has no official position on the Tea Party
Anonymous has no official position on the Democratic Party
Anonymous has no official position on the Republican Party
Anonymous has no official position on the Green Party
Anonymous has no official position on global warming
Anonymous has no official position on off-shore drilling
Anonymous has no official position on budget deficits
Anonymous has no official position on George Soros
Anonymous has no official position on the Koch brothers
Anonymous has no official position on Fox News
Anonymous has no official position on MSNBC
Anonymous has no official position on CNN
Anonymous has no official position on NAFTA
Anonymous has no official position on the IMF or World Bank
Anonymous has no official position on Wall Street
Anonymous has no official position on entitlement programs
Anonymous has no official position on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
Anonymous has a very fucking official position on LULZ

I don't know why, but that list makes me happy. My faith in the hackerdom of Anonymous is restored.

Source: Politics USA [http://www.politicususa.com/en/anonymous-wi]

Permalink

 

[WanderingFool]

Umm, wow... Not sure what to say... damn... this whole affair is starting to turn foul.

 

[illmuri]

Corporate greed aside, rule by street mobs is not the best alternative either. If you dont like the governor, elect a new one at the next election. The unions are hardly better than Koch. "Well, we are not bankrupt yet, so we want our raises now!" To hell with the consequences.

 

[Celtic_Kerr]

Interesting... I'm not sure what to say about this really. Seems that Anonymous is sayng "This is the last straw" for quite a few things lately

 

[Ergoemos]

To be fair, federal employees don't have collective bargaining rights at all. Dictating the state must have them seems a little backwards to me.

The Wisconsin bill does allow them the basic collective bargaining right on base pay.

Still, I am glad to see Anonymous trying to bring to light the corruption here. I am always cautiously in favor of Anonymous, but am always worried about them going too far one of these times.

 

[CD-R]

Not really sure why Anonymous would get involved in this whole thing. Unless those utilities thing also includes internet services as well.

 

[Yosarian2]

Corporate greed aside, rule by street mobs is not the best alternative either. If you dont like the governor, elect a new one at the next election. The unions are hardly better than Koch. "Well, we are not bankrupt yet, so we want our raises now!" To hell with the consequences.

That's just not true. The unions in Wisconsin have already voluntarily agreed to a 8% PAY CUT, right off the bat. This isn't about the state trying to save money, that's just a cover. This is really about the Republicans trying to destroy unions so they stop supporting Democratic politicians.

 

[Jim Grim]

Are they actually a 'hacker group?' I was never clear on that.

 

[wammnebu]

so i guess we know where anonymous' family works now

 

[Gunner_Guardian]

Not really sure why Anonymous would get involved in this whole thing. Unless those utilities thing also includes internet services as well.

Anonymous's reach seems to be getting larger and larger these days.

Before Anonymous seemed to be only interested in closing virtual pools now every time they come across something remotely corrupt and a threat to free speech or any collective value they have then they hack it to death. It's like the group itself is realizing how strong it is and is pushing their bounds more and more.

 

[DevilWolf47]

...is it wrong that i totally saw something like this coming? I can pretend to understand some conservative viewpoints but the corruption of budget minded ones like Reagan and indeed Walker is starting to become concerning. I knew entrusting the wealthy to answer concerns of the lower class when they are totally out of touch with the actual gripes was a major pitfall of the current budget situation, but i'm starting to think we'd be better off hiring random hobos to balance America's budget.

Honestly though... this Koch business is all starting to sound like a conspiracy theory from a liberal Glenn Beck. Is that retard still blaming the economic situation on an old woman who once suggested people eligible for welfare aggressively apply for it? What next? Anonymous attacks Valve because money from the Steam engine was going into research for nuclear weapons?

 

[cerebus23]

Destroying unions or trying to hardly seems the best way to going about gaining their support, and just seems would cause unions to dump more money into left wing campaigns.

I have 2 aunts in the teachers unions and they are thoroughly corrupt, and stagnate any meaningful reform in education most of the time, more money more money and more money, both my aunts will make more money retired than they make while working.

I have worked at places where union was trying to get in, one woman in my department filed a restraining order against them for harassing her outside work.

I mean i would love to support unions, the whole better pay better benefits workers rights thing sounds great but how they go about stuff just sits with me wrong. Nevermind that government employees already have benefits and pensions, why do they need collective bargaining? Collective bargaining just says if you do not give us what we want we can shut you down, that is way too much power for state and federal employees to have, especially when it is our tax dollars paying for their salaries, benefits etc, not a private corporation, state workers and federal should get what they get a decent and fair wage and decent and fair benefits but stop trying to leverage our tax dollars into more for you.

 

[DannibalG36]

All hail the LULZ!

Seriously - they're the best reason to act politically.

 

[HentMas]

now that is something to be said, finally some kind of... form or way for people to actually be able and speack up!....

this is one of the more interesting things in this phenomena! (i better stop right there before some guy comes and starts selling books about "understanding Anonymous" because no one can...

 

[Grey_Focks]

wow....

That'll do pig, that'll do.

 

[SilverStuddedSquirre]

Not really sure why Anonymous would get involved in this whole thing. Unless those utilities thing also includes internet services as well.

Just wait till internet providers start billing us like Cell phones.

 

[gigastar]

Ooh, much, much juicy, someones going to jail for that.

Has a billionare ever been stuck in the slammer before?

...is it wrong that i totally saw something like this coming?

No, its not. Your crazy imagination threw out a random possibility that happened to be right. I have a limited ability to predict (before my eyes, i have to see it to predict it) the future because of it.