FBI Executes Nationwide Raid of Anonymous Members 343
Nominei and suraj.sun write in with news about a nationwide raid of Anonymous members. CBS reports that raids occurred in California, New Jersey, Florida, and New York. At least 12 arrests were made with 15 warrants executed. Surely this has nothing at all to do with their recent infiltration of a certain company.
One problem with TFA (Score:4, Interesting)
"..Fox News was reporting.." I would disregard that portion of the article pending a reliable source of information.
Re:Here we go! (Score:3, Interesting)
"One day I will have your kind of optimism. Hey! That's today!"
You can start and finish down that road all at once.
Re:Couldn't have waited? (Score:5, Interesting)
Maybe so, but just like low-level drug gang soldiers, these people are going to be very, very helpful as they contemplate long prison sentences. Eventually the trail will lead to the people who matter. Most people don't realize it, but financial and computer crimes carry pretty hefty penalties. Some of these people are thinking "Oh, hacking ${evil_corporation_or_government_organization} sounds like fun. Even if I get caught, they'll probably give me probation." Yeah... probation after you finish your 20 year sentence. If you were going to risk this kind of time you would have been better off robbing a bank.
Re:You can't fight conspiracy theories. (Score:4, Interesting)
Conspiracy theorists are impossible to argue with. No matter what evidence you show to the kooks they will just rationalise it away. Conspiracy theory derives from an inability to accept the chaotic nature of reality, that "random" events outside the control of any central power can utterly destroy someone's life. The belief in conspiracy theory is a belief that SOMETHING is actually in control: THE GOVERNMENT!
And if THE GOVERNMENT could just have its secrets revealed, or if it was destroyed, then all would be right with the world and peace and justice would reign.
The problem with all of this, what fuels the conspiracy theories, is that false-flag operations really do happen. The various governments destroy their own credibility by engaging in such things.
Re:You can't fight conspiracy theories. (Score:4, Interesting)
Conspiracy theorists are impossible to argue with. No matter what evidence you show to the kooks they will just rationalise it away. Conspiracy theory derives from an inability to accept the chaotic nature of reality, that "random" events outside the control of any central power can utterly destroy someone's life. The belief in conspiracy theory is a belief that SOMETHING is actually in control: THE GOVERNMENT!
And if THE GOVERNMENT could just have its secrets revealed, or if it was destroyed, then all would be right with the world and peace and justice would reign.
In fairness, it's not just theory. There is ample evidence that News Corp conspired with Scotland Yard. It's not inconceivable that the FBI has a similar relationship with them, but there would need to be evidence.
Re:You can't fight willfull blindness (Score:2, Interesting)
No-Conspiracies theorists are impossible to argue with. No matter what evidence you show them..
Like Murdoch's goons hacking dead girl's voicemails.
Like Reagan funneling drugs to pay for illegal coups.
Like TSA ex-goons profiting off possibly-dangerous backscatter machines.
Like the FCC enabling mega-mergers in 1996 and completely abandoning their jobs for ca$h.
Like Bush, Cheney, Rice and Rumsfeld lying about Nigerian yellowcake.
Like the NSA's squatting on the major backbones...
Like the mutt-and-jeff of so-called Two Party Politics...
repeat ad infinitum. COLLUSION and CONSPIRACIES OF MIND/OUTLOOK are not tin-foil-hatting. They are general observations of human behaviour that have proved correct for thousands of years. Some people lie and cheat and steal. Some people, like Edison, rig displays to discredit, bankrupt and hound others with ideas contrary to their SEARCH FOR PROFIT.
If you can't understand this, you are mentally deficient. If you don't think financiers work together to make markets, you are ignorant. If you can't understand how money works, how it flows and follow it, you are not qualified to opine on anything to do with it.
FTFY
ps: all the above examples can be verified easily with a little research; after all, they were all in the newspapers for quite awhile.
Re:You can't fight conspiracy theories. (Score:4, Interesting)
Hemingway in his later days was generally considered a conspiracy theorist, believing the fbi was tracking and bugging him everywhere.
It took 70 years [slashdot.org] for it to be discovered he was actually right.
While I'm sure there are exponentially more false claims of conspiracy than legitimate ones, people who sound paranoid can be completely right sometimes. When governments can successfully keep it secret until enough generations have passed for all involved to be dead, it demonstrates the capability of easily destroying peoples lives and credibility (at the very least for the duration of their life).