Fun with Freenet: Anarchist Black Cross

After the story theregister ran regarding statistical attacks against freenet nodes, I decided to give freent a try. To start, freenet is unlike any other p2p file sharing network in current existence (that I know of). The network works by searching for keys. This is basically how the network functions. Once done running though the install process and waiting a good 24 hours (for routes to build and connections to be established), you'll have links to web portals via the web based interface that runs local on your freenet node. This system of portals works much like normal html except clicking on a link merely starts a search for another key to another page or file. As keys are not similar (based on sha-1) doing traditional searches on freenet don't really work. Instead main index sites are built that link to other sites, which link to other sites forming a sort of web. All content is transferred over the network is encrypted and cached. So you never who you’re receiving data from, and even the people sending the data to you don’t know what there sending because there cache is also encrypted. The system while slow is extremely anonymous, so you can imagine some of the content contained on the network.

Installing Freenet was rather simple, I downloaded the installer, made a few edits to freenet.ini so it would work with my NAT network setup and I was good to go. For freenet to work I needed to wait twenty four hours for the program to run and build cache and routes. After that time I began using freenet. The main portal I used was the freedom engine which contained a multitude of links to other sites. Click read more to see an example site


ABC Anarchist Black Cross on Freenet ABC


abc

Updated on 2005-Apr-24
News

* Found some more information on Terrorism Act 2000 in UK
* Created What is ABC
* Freekipedia on ABC (here)
* Slight layout changes

Request

* If you have any more intormation that should be added here, please post it on the ABC Frost board

prison cell


Prison population

If you think "It won't happen to me" read this!

World

"More than 8.75 million people are held in penal institutions throughout the world, mostly as pre-trial detainees (remand prisoners) or having been convicted and sentenced." [UK Home Office]. However, these figures seem to be an underestimate, since they report that less than 2 million are in USA on 31-Dec-2001, which is untrue, since US has passed the 2 000 000 mark as early as 2000.
USA

Larges prison population in the world is in Unsited States of America (in 2000: 2,071,686 persons, 22% of world prison population), it has more than double of prison population of Russia or China. What that means is that in USA 1 out of 143 residents are incarserated.

About 88% of USA prison population is male, but femail population is sharply on the rise, and might soon reach that of males, due mostly to new laws on terrorism and drugs.

Out of all the black males between 20 and 39, 12% are in custody (anybody told them about emansipation proclamation?).
Unknown legal facts
USA
racist abe
13th ammendment:

Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Therefore: prisoners are slaves.
UK

All convictions add up: eg, if you're done 3 times for shoplifting, you stand a good chance of getting sent down.
What to do
General

1. Use common sence.
2. Stay calm, don't panic (it's late for that).
3. If you don't have to talk to police. Do not!
1. That applies whether you are guilty or not.
2. Remember if police could arrest you, they would not be asking you questions. (The fact that they are talking to you means that they don't have enough evidence yet, and your are still in the good position, you can only hurt yourself by talking.)
4. Demand a lawyer.
5. Demand to use a toilet.
1. No really, this is very important. That will give you time to clear up your mind, and think. If pigs refuse to allow you to use the toilet... urinate in your pants, later on you can claim that they were torturing you, which can help you out. In addition to that, they'd have to stop the interagation.
6. If the police beat or torture you, do everything you can to see the doctor as soon as possible.
7. Do not volunteer to help them.
1. The logic is "I'm not guilty, so i'll just invite them over to my house, show them what they want to see (computer, guns, clothes, whatever), they'll see that it's not me that they are after, and let me go, right? Wrong! They are out to arrest you, they don't care if you actually did the crime, but they do care if they can convict you of it.
2. If you are so selfless, think of this. By helping cops, you might get yourself off (unlikely), but you'll put more people in prison.
8. Try to stay off of drugs. I don't want to preach you, but this is one of the reasons most persons end up encarserated.
9. Do not lie. (But better yet, Do not say anything you don't have to).

USA

You have a right to remain silence, use it.
Russia

By law you don't have to show your passport to anybody (except in Moscow... this law is unconstitutional, but nobody seems to care). However, we all know that usually it's better to show it, and then work from there.
UK

When (If) arrested you will have to give pigs your name, address, date of birth and citizenship if asked. They also have the right to take your fingerprints, photo and non-intimate body samples.

You should be able to ring a solicitor as soon as you've been arrested. Once at the police station it is one fo the first things you should do, for two reasons:

1. To have someone know where you are.
2. To show the cops you are not going to be a soft target; they may back off a bit.

It is advisable to avoid using the duty solicitor as they are often either crap or hand in glove with the cops. It's worth finding the number of a good solicitor in your area and memorising it. The police are wary of decent solicitors. Also, avoid telling your solicitor exactly what happened: this can be sorted out later. For the time being, tell them you are refusing to speak. Your solicitor can come into the police station while the police interview you: you should refuse to be interviewed unless your solicitor is present.

The interview is only of benefit to the police. Remember, if police think that they can convict you, they'd not interview you any longer. But they will be looking to stick any charges on you that they can, even if that was not their original cause for arresting you. Interview is a no win situation. The key words are "No comment!"

However, if police are trying to interragate (interview) you, it shows that you are in the good position. Since that implies that they do not have all the evidence that they wish to have. Question is do you want to stay in the benefitial position, or do you want to fuck yourself up? If you want the former then "No comment!" is the only thing you will be saying.

Police will try to "show" you the evidence that they have ("Mr. Anderson" q;-) ), don't fall for that trick, the only evidence that matters is the evidence presented in court to the magistrate or judge. The only place to explain everything is in court. If they've decided to keep you in, no amount of explaining will get you out. If the police have enough evidence, anything you say can only add to this evidence against you. When the cops interview someone they do all they can to confuse and intimidate you. The questions might not be related to the crime, they might just be there to soften you up.

To prosecute you, the police must present their evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service. A copy of the evidence will be sent to your solicitor. The evidence usually rests on very small points: this is why it's important to not give anything away in custody. If they don't have enough evidence the case could be thrown out of court or never even get to court. This is why they want you to speak. They need all the evidence they can get. One word could cause a lot of trouble for you later.

Police will use different tricks to get you to talk to them, here are some (but not all) of those (remember they all have just one correct answer "No Comment!")

1. Come on now, we know it's you, your mate's in the next cell and he's told us the whole story.
* So why are they speeking to you, if he told them the whole story?
2. We know it's not you, but we know you know who's done it.
* If they know it's not you, then surely you don't need to warry about anything.
3. As soon as we find out what happened you can go.
* Bull shit
4. Look you little bastart, don't fuck us about, We've dealt with some characters, a little runt like you is nothing to us.
* They are getting angry, you are in the good position.
5. What's a nice kid like you doing messed up in a thing like this?
* Softening you up, possibly "Good cop, Bad cop trick"
6. We'll keep you in till you tell us.
* Unless they charge you for a "Serious Offence" they will have to release you within 24 hours. Even if you are suspected of a "Serious Offence" you have the right to a solicitor after 36 hours, and only a magistrate can order you to be held without charge for a longer period.
7. Your'll be charged with something far more serious if you don't answer our questions, sonny.
* Intimidation. Most likely you'll be charged with something far more serious if you DO answer their questions.
8. My niece is a bit of a rebel.
* So?.. er... "No Comment!"
9. If someone's granny gets mugged tonight it'll be your fault. Stop wasting our time by not talking
* You don't need to feel guilty for trying to protect your freedom (or whatever freedom you have left)
10. Hi. Sergeant Smith says you're a bit of trouble. He's a bit wound up with you. You tell me what happened and Smith won't bother you.
* This "Mr. Nice" is as devious as "Mr. Nasty". He (she?) might even offer you cigarettes, a blanket... but remember "No Comment!"
11. We've been here for half an hour now and you've not said a fucking word... Look you little cunt, some of the CID boys will be down in a minute. They'll have you talking in no time. Talk now or I'll bring them down.
* They are getting desperate. Honestly, you are in the good situation, they really need to to talk. "No Comment!"
12. Your girlfriend's outside. Do you want us to arrest her? We'll even strip search her just for you.
* They pick on your weak spots: family, friends, etc. Gerry Conlon of the Guilford 4 was told that his mother would be shot by the RUC unless he confessed. Cops do sometimes victimise prisoner's families, but it's mostly just bluffing. And remember your family will be more victimised if you go down for a long time.
13. You're a fucking loony! Who'd want you for a mother, you fat bitch! Confess or your kids are going into care.
* If you confess they are definately not going to stay with you.
14. Look, we've tried to contact your solicitor, but we can't get hold of them. It's going to drag on for age this way. Why don't you use one of our duty solicitors, and we'll soon get this situation cleared up.
* Never accept an interview without your solicitor present, and don't make a statement even if your solicitor advises you to, a good one wouldn't.
15. You're abviously no dummy. I'll tell you what, we'll do a deal. You admit to one of the charges, and we'll drop the other two. You admit to it and we'll recommend to the judge that you get a non-custodial sentence, since you've cooperated. How does that sound?
* Sounds aweful. They're trying to get you to do a deal. There are no deals to be made with the police. This bloke got sent down for not paying a fine. The prisoner he was handcuffed to in the prison bus did a deal with the police, he pleaded guilty to a charge after being promised a non-custodial sentence. The man trusted the police; he was a small-time businessman acused of fraud. When it came to court, the judge gave him TWO YEARS. The bloke was speechless!
* Sheep can't do deals with wolves!
16. We've been round to the address you gave us and the people there say they don't know you. We've checked up on the DSS computer and there's no sign of you. Now come on, tell us who you are. Wasting police time is a very serious offence. Now tell us who you are or you've had it!
* If you've sorted out a false address with someone, make sure they're reliable, and everyone in the place knows the name you're useing. Stick at it, if you're confident, you can't be charged for wasting police time for not answering questions.
17. They're abolished the right to silence. You HAVE to tell us EVERYTHING.
* You can still say nothing, there's no obligation to tell the cops anything, beyond your name, address, date of birth, and citizenship.

If you've been accused for something serious (fighting with cops?) the cops may rough you up, or use violence and torture to get a confession out of you. Many of the people freed after being fitted up by the West Midlands Serious Crimes Squad, or coming to light now in Manchester, were physically abused till they admitted to things they hadn't done. If this happens, obviously it's your decision to speak rather than face serious injury, but remember, what you say could land you inside for a long time, even if it's not true. Don't rely on retracting a confession in court.
Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994

The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, has now removed the traditional "Right to Silence" (from April 10th 1995). However, all this means is that the police/prosecution can point to your refusal to speak to them, when the case comes to courst, and the court MAY take this as evidence of your guilt. THE POLICE CANNOT FORCE YOU TO SPEAK OR MAKE A STATEMENT, WHATEVER THEY MAY SAY TO YOU IN THE STATION. Refusing to speak cannot be used to convict you by itself.

The best policy is to remain silent and figure out a best defence strategy later on. One of the traps that pigs might use is starting to talk to you, asking you simple questions (where do you work, how is everything going there) and then switch to questions about the crime. This will give your refusal to speak more of a link to your guilt, so don't answer questions at all.
Terrorism Act 2000

If you are arrested under the Terrorism Act 2000, the police can keep you in custody for longer periods of time. They have already used this against protestors and others to intimidate them. Remember being arrested is not the same as being charged. Keeping silent is still the best thing to do in police custody.
What to do if somebody i know gets arrested
General

1. Stay calm, it could have been much worse.
2. Do not get arrested yourself, that won't help the situation.
3. Support the person. Even a single letter can make a difference.

UK

1. If you know what name they are using as soon as you think they've been arrested, ring the police station. Ask whether they are being held there and on what charges.
2. Inform a decent solicitor.
3. Remove anything from the arrested person's house that the police may find interesting: letters, address books, false IDs, etc, in case the police raid the place.
4. Take food, cigarettes, etc, into the police station for your arrested friend. But don't go inquiring at the police station to ask about a prisoner if you run the rist of arrest yourself. You'll only get arrested.
* Police have been known to lay off a prisoner if they have visible support from the outside. It's solidarity which keeps prisoners in good spirits.

Further Resources
Freenet

Frost board: ABC
Private key: SSK@AOZk14t8z3nLCDDbdRTnPW3Eafc
Public key: SSK@p3QsNOuYsCqD7EFBeYTE93ujBZEPAgM

CHK@fMJjom4ayKc4pnpoMh7Xix365cwRAwI,Iw-KjPzGsxlFI-MQ-tFjnA/No Comment (3rd Edition).pdf Guide to staying out of jail in UK.
Internet

* http://www.ldmg.org.uk Legal Defence and Monitoring Group
* http://www.anarchistblackcross.org/ Anarchist Black Cross Network
* http://www.abcf.net/ Anarchist Black Cross Federation
* http://prisontalk.com/ Prison Talk Online - Huge community (about 250 people are on the forum at any given time)
* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prison_abolition_movement Prison abolition movement article on Wikipedia

Non-virtual
fist through the bars

No Comment
c/o Automatic
London WC1N 3XX
UK

sw@rm
POBox 4144
Worthing, BN14 4NZ
UK
(write them for pamphlets about getting arrested, enclose a donation)

Anarchist Prisoners Legal Aid Network
818 SW 3rd Ave
PMB 354
Portland, OR 97204
USA

Stay out of trouble and don't get arrested, but do support those already on the inside.
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