planetaryjim
12-21-2007, 09:21 PM
Dear Friends,
Here is something of which we should be aware.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/phonejamming.php
A more essay-like article on the same scandal is here:
http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/71313
What happened? Basically, the phone lines into at least one of the Democratic Party headquarters, the one in New Hampshire, were shut down in November 2002 by persistent hang-up calls. Why does that matter?
The day of each primary, voters who are planning to vote for our candidate are going to be called to make sure they can get to the polls. Our campaign (and the grassroots) should offer rides to voters who need help reaching the polls, due to inclement weather, or if they are elderly, or the like. This sort of thing is very traditional. Many, many other coordination events also happen on election day. So, having working phones is vital.
What the Republican Tobin and others are accused of, it seems, is using a phone company to block those lines, preventing people from being able to reach their political party of choice to coordinate election day activities. A very dirty trick.
Now, to some extent, we are less vulnerable than the other candidates. Most of us have cell phones, and prefer to use them. However, a phone that is working does us no good if the phones into the campaign headquarters are blocked and nobody knows any alternate numbers. It seems important to develop some alternatives.
We could publish alternate numbers on the web sites for the campaign and the individual states, but that only gives another number for the dirty tricksters to block with hang-up calls. You look at the timeline mentioned in the first link above, and you think, well, sure, but it took them a long time to coordinate this dirty trick - weeks even. So, all we have to do is publish a backup number a few days in advance.
That's certainly a good idea, and backup numbers should be readied, and web pages built to release them. It would work very likely the day of the primary in each state, too, as a "just in case" thing. "If our main number is overloaded or unavailable for any reason, try this number on election day for our primary."
But, sadly, technology has come a long way since 2002. We are now in the presence of free VOIP calling which could be very adaptable. Someone could set up a server in Switzerland using calling software and simply re-program it. I sometimes use the Freecall.com system to place calls myself, because they are free, and I know they are based in Switzerland. But, any country might be used - and it would take time to get a court order in that country to do anything - by which time the primary would be over.
So, to avoid this sort of dirty trick being used against our campaign, we need to have a sort of grass-roots telephone tree available to convey information outside the normal phone lines. Remember, any phone number that is connected to the campaign, or to the major grassroots web sites, could be targeted by dirty tricksters. So, if you are active in the campaign in any state, keep a phone (or two) that isn't published anywhere.
Setting up a phone tree for rapid activation is easy. "If I tell two people, and they tell two people" is the main idea. But, it does take some advance discussion. Know who to call if the campaign's phones are blocked, and know who to text message with the replacement phone number.
Don't assume that you'll get through at a critical time to any phone number you find on the web. With VOIP software, it is now very easy to block any phone, at least in theory. And it could happen very fast, if a backup number shows up on a web site. So, form back channels for communication, now. Program your cell with private, non-published numbers for the people you must communicate with frequently.
Our campaign is much more distributed, diverse, and grassroots. That is part of its power. Decentralization of communications has been the hallmark of this campaign. We have strength in having lots of ways to reach each other. But, like other types of distributed denial of service attacks, this sort of phone bank scandal dirty trick is a real pain if we encounter it at the last minute. Like other types of distributed denial of service attacks, it can be resisted, with planning in advance.
Please tell your friends.
As the recent down time for the campaign server - which left dozens of contribution counters operating on old data on other web sites - shows us, the people who run the campaign are not infallible. They do great work, but they aren't going to handle everything that comes up. They may not anticipate this problem, at all. Be ready to help!
Thanks.
Regards,
Jim Davidson
golightspeed.com
Here is something of which we should be aware.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/phonejamming.php
A more essay-like article on the same scandal is here:
http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/71313
What happened? Basically, the phone lines into at least one of the Democratic Party headquarters, the one in New Hampshire, were shut down in November 2002 by persistent hang-up calls. Why does that matter?
The day of each primary, voters who are planning to vote for our candidate are going to be called to make sure they can get to the polls. Our campaign (and the grassroots) should offer rides to voters who need help reaching the polls, due to inclement weather, or if they are elderly, or the like. This sort of thing is very traditional. Many, many other coordination events also happen on election day. So, having working phones is vital.
What the Republican Tobin and others are accused of, it seems, is using a phone company to block those lines, preventing people from being able to reach their political party of choice to coordinate election day activities. A very dirty trick.
Now, to some extent, we are less vulnerable than the other candidates. Most of us have cell phones, and prefer to use them. However, a phone that is working does us no good if the phones into the campaign headquarters are blocked and nobody knows any alternate numbers. It seems important to develop some alternatives.
We could publish alternate numbers on the web sites for the campaign and the individual states, but that only gives another number for the dirty tricksters to block with hang-up calls. You look at the timeline mentioned in the first link above, and you think, well, sure, but it took them a long time to coordinate this dirty trick - weeks even. So, all we have to do is publish a backup number a few days in advance.
That's certainly a good idea, and backup numbers should be readied, and web pages built to release them. It would work very likely the day of the primary in each state, too, as a "just in case" thing. "If our main number is overloaded or unavailable for any reason, try this number on election day for our primary."
But, sadly, technology has come a long way since 2002. We are now in the presence of free VOIP calling which could be very adaptable. Someone could set up a server in Switzerland using calling software and simply re-program it. I sometimes use the Freecall.com system to place calls myself, because they are free, and I know they are based in Switzerland. But, any country might be used - and it would take time to get a court order in that country to do anything - by which time the primary would be over.
So, to avoid this sort of dirty trick being used against our campaign, we need to have a sort of grass-roots telephone tree available to convey information outside the normal phone lines. Remember, any phone number that is connected to the campaign, or to the major grassroots web sites, could be targeted by dirty tricksters. So, if you are active in the campaign in any state, keep a phone (or two) that isn't published anywhere.
Setting up a phone tree for rapid activation is easy. "If I tell two people, and they tell two people" is the main idea. But, it does take some advance discussion. Know who to call if the campaign's phones are blocked, and know who to text message with the replacement phone number.
Don't assume that you'll get through at a critical time to any phone number you find on the web. With VOIP software, it is now very easy to block any phone, at least in theory. And it could happen very fast, if a backup number shows up on a web site. So, form back channels for communication, now. Program your cell with private, non-published numbers for the people you must communicate with frequently.
Our campaign is much more distributed, diverse, and grassroots. That is part of its power. Decentralization of communications has been the hallmark of this campaign. We have strength in having lots of ways to reach each other. But, like other types of distributed denial of service attacks, this sort of phone bank scandal dirty trick is a real pain if we encounter it at the last minute. Like other types of distributed denial of service attacks, it can be resisted, with planning in advance.
Please tell your friends.
As the recent down time for the campaign server - which left dozens of contribution counters operating on old data on other web sites - shows us, the people who run the campaign are not infallible. They do great work, but they aren't going to handle everything that comes up. They may not anticipate this problem, at all. Be ready to help!
Thanks.
Regards,
Jim Davidson
golightspeed.com