COINTELPRO looks to be coming back

[Mairead]

The first hint that their group had been infiltrated came when they saw the dead man's picture in the newspaper.

The story about his demise in a motorcycle accident said his name was Aaron Kilner and that he had been a detective with the Fresno County (California) Sheriff's Department.

But members of Peace Fresno, an anti-war group formed soon after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, had known the nice young man as Aaron Stokes, "the guy with the short hair and the goatee who sat in the corner," as one member described him.

"He participated in demonstrations, he took fliers with him that he said he was going to distribute, and when he was asked about his occupation he said he had some kind of trust fund or inheritance that made it possible for him to not work," said Catherine Campbell, an attorney for the peace group that now is debating whether to sue the Sheriff's Department for invasion of privacy.

http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_3485.shtml

[el_gato]

1. I hope they make an issue out of this

fucking maggots

[Hell Hath No Fury]

2. Wow...

acid flashback to the 60s.

Thanks loads, Asscrack.

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

3. The first rule of activism

One, assume that you are under constant surveillance. It's actually a good thing - it means that our organizations must be public and accountable. It's always funny when people talk about "infiltrating" left and environmental groups. This means showing up and saying hi to people - the left is open to the public.

"when he was asked about his occupation he said he had some kind of trust fund or inheritance that made it possible for him to not work"

That should tell you something about where his loyalties lie anyway.

[kodi]

4. profoundly, exactly correct.

.

[BevHarris]

5. I disagree.

One, assume that you are under constant surveillance. It's actually a good thing - it means that our organizations must be public and accountable. It's always funny when people talk about "infiltrating" left and environmental groups. This means showing up and saying hi to people - the left is open to the public.

This kind of covert activity has nothing to do with being public and accountable. It is an invasion of privacy, and these doofus types certainly should NOT be showing up for meetings pretending to be someone they are not, gathering information on activists who are simply voicing constitutionally protected opinions.

Apparently I am considered "subversive" enough to attract at least one of these idiots to my public speaking engagements. We should be spending our tax dollars some other way, and we should certainly "out" these stupid surveillance activities when we see them.

Thanks for posting this, Mairead -- because the question is, why do we have taxpayers paying someone from the sheriff's office to pretend he is a student so he can gather information on people? Yes, it is a public place. So is his church. Does that mean we should spend taxpayer money sending a government ethics investigator in to listen in on his interactions there?

What is missing altogether here is a sense of priorities.

I thought we were chasing al qaida.

Bev Harris
http://www.blackboxvoting.org

[el_gato]

8. hi bev

glad to see your back

:hi:

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

14. when I say it's good for us I mean this...

It's not good the government is spying on us, but it's a fact of life. When we realize this, it forces us to make our institutions public and accountable - and that's a good thing.

Released COINTELPRO documents have said that a tactic of disruption is to accuse innocent people of being of being spies. They hardly need to spend the money to actually send a disruptor, just spread some rumors that someone is and watch a group of activists turn on each other.

[bobthedrummer]

16. Potential terrorists-who isn't one of those???

What a waste of taxes, we aren't any safer just less free and less open.

[Mairead]

20. "What is missing altogether here is a sense of priorities."

the question is, why do we have taxpayers paying someone from the sheriff's office to pretend he is a student so he can gather information on people? Yes, it is a public place. So is his church. Does that mean we should spend taxpayer money sending a government ethics investigator in to listen in on his interactions there?

Exactly. Thanks, Bev (and welcome back!) -- you nailed it. What are these yoyos doing infiltrating US-citizen peace groups? Why are we being forced to pay for our own subversion?

[DUreader]

6. Cointelpro was NOT surveillance, it was about FRAMING people

it was about getting people to commit crimes

it was about destroying peaceful political movements

[catzies]

13. Yeah, what's the old saying about "You can always spot the FBI agent,"

"in the meeting; he's the only one who's saying we should set off a bomb."

Hope that remark doesn't get me in trouble; I wish I could find and quote that accurately instead of paraphrasing.

[Must_B_Free]

19. What about John Lennon - or Ira Einhorn

Was either of these Progressive heros - one who was shot by a lone nut and the other by being a lone nut - was either a victim of Cointelpro?

[Isome]

7. For some reason I want to soften the blow by calling you ...

sweetie! So, sweetie COINTELPRO never went away. Officially, it was gone, but we all know there's a difference between the official stance and what goes on unofficially. Either way, you & I pay for it, even if you & I are the targets.

[redqueen]

11. That's what I was thinking...

When was it not here?

It was 'officially' not here, but come on...

It's only that now they've gotten so overconfident that they've started publicly declaring their goals that we're becoming aware of it again.

:mad:

[Mairead]

21. I probably could have phrased it better, I agree

Possibly something along the lines of "COINTELPRO is now getting to be so thick on the ground again that even small peace groups are being infiltrated". I think it might not have fit in the headline, though :evilgrin:

[Isome]

9. Not to take away from Aaron Kilner...

But COINTELPRO, or whatever name they currently have for it, has no conscience, no soul. They'll do anything to achieve their goals. Here's an example:

FBI Memorandum — Tangible Results
Dated — Aug. 20, 1969

Shootings, beatings, and a high degree of unrest continues to prevail in the ghetto area of southeast San Diego. Although no specific counterintelligence action can be credited with contributing to this over-all situation, it is felt that a substantial amount of the unrest is directly attributable to this program.

In view of the recent killing of SYLVESTER BELL, a new cartoon is being considered in the hopes that it will assist in the continuance of the rift between BPP and US.

[AntiCoup2K4]

10. COINTELPRO came back a few years ago

The WTO demonstrations in Seattle were peaceful protests until a handful of assholes ruined it for everyone. Funny how the assholes were all wearing ski masks. And yet the SPD and the media micharacterized the entire crowd (and it was a huge crowd) as being "violent". Obviously it was an attempt to marginalize any opposition to global fascism.

[Isome]

15. My favorite line works here:

I'll bet you dollars to doughnuts it never went away at all! ;-)

[SpiralHawk]

18. Agents Provocateurs

They are out there.


AMERICA: LAND OF THE FREE AND HOME OF THE BRAVE
(Some restrictions apply.
Void where prohibited by law)

[rucky]

12. You can bet they're on DU, too

:hi:

[Scott Lee]

17. Wave to the nice men in the van across the street!

Hiiiiii!!! You guys need some nachos or something?