A-Infos (en) US, Boston, Anarchist journal BAAM #12 - part II (2/3)

ICE Strikes Mass Immigrant Families by Alysha S. ------ Hundreds of immigrants 
of varying statuses have been picked up in raids all over the State of 
Massachusetts this month as part of Operation: Community Shield, a recent attack 
on the immigrant and refugee communities. According to ICE (Immigration and 
Customs Enforcement), the purpose of Operation Community Shield is to round up 
violent criminals and gang members. In reality, the only thing the hundreds of 
immigrants and refugees being detained and deported all have in common is that 
they are immigrants and refugees who have had prior encounters with law 
enforcement. Most are productive members of the community, who have only been 
convicted of misdemeanor crimes. People of varying immigration statuses are 
being targeted, including green card holders.

In an interview, Dimple Rana, local organizer for Deported Diaspora, stated that 
ICE is using Operation Community Shield to detain and deport people who, 
although they have had prior scrapes with the law, have been supporting and 
providing for their families (who are often US citizens) for several years, 
thereby not only punishing immigrants, but also punishing their families. 
According the Rana, those who have not yet been served final orders of removal 
have been taken to a detention center in New Mexico, where they are forced to 
sign deportation papers and thereafter often return to countries they fled as 
refugees. Folks reporting back from New Mexico say they endured a long bus ride 
with only two stops from Massachusetts to New Mexico, that they weren’t given 
food for the entire bus ride, and that once they arrived at the detention center 
in New Mexico, the food had beetles and flies in it.
A spokesperson for Deported Diaspora has said that they want immigration judges 
to review cases, not just stamp orders.
If you or any of your family members is an immigrant of any status who has had a 
prior encounter with law enforcement and you do not yet have a lawyer, get one. 
An e-mail sent out by the Brazilian Women’s Group urges everyone to stay calm, 
but be aware of your rights. Information about immigrant rights is available in 
Portuguese at www.verdeamarelo.org.
Information about who has been detained, including name, date of birth, country 
of origin, where the person is being held, and alien registration number, can be 
sent to Ellen Gallagher or Sarang Sekhavat of the MIRA Coalition.



City of Boston. City Council, Official Resolution
Offered By Boston City Councillor Chuck Turner

Whereas: On August 23, 1927, Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were executed 
after being found guilty for the murder of Alessandro Berardelli and Frederic 
Parmenter by a clearly prejudiced and biased judge of the Commonwealth; and

Whereas: Sacco and Vanzetti were outspoken critics of the federal government - 
self-professed anarchists - and many historians and others have contended that 
the Sacco and Vanzetti prosecution, trial, and death sentence displayed a lack 
of respect for political civil liberties and the right to dissent; and

Whereas: Some critics have alleged that the conviction and execution of Sacco 
and Vanzetti, who were first-generation Italian immigrants, were at least 
partially influenced by racism, anti-Italian prejudice, and discrimination 
against immigrants in the United States; and

Whereas: On August 23, 1977, Governor Michael Dukakis issued a proclamation
acknowledging the fiftieth anniversary of the execution of Sacco and Vanzetti 
and asking everyone to "resolve to prevent the forces of intolerance, fear, and 
hatred from ever again uniting to overcome the rationality, wisdom and fairness 
to which our legal system aspires”; and

Whereas: These historical events are an integral part of the history of Boston 
and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and constitute a nefarious precedent that 
we must strive not to repeat; and
Whereas: On August 23, 2008, the Sacco and Vanzetti Commemoration Society is 
holding a gathering at Copley Square, and a march to the North End ending with a 
rally there;
Therefore be it Resolved

That the Boston City Council does hereby extend its admiration and 
congratulations to the Sacco and Vanzetti Commemoration Society, and in honor of 
its many contributions, does hereby declare August 23, 2008 Sacco and Vanzetti 
Commemoration Day in the City of Boston; that this Resolution be signed by the 
President of the City Council and attested to and a copy thereof transmitted by 
the Clerk of the City of Boston.


BAAM Newsletter 1st Anniversary

Though BAAM has existed for around 8 years, our Newsletter celebrates its first 
birthday today, August 23rd. We have changed a lot since our first, four-page 
paper, produced especially for last year’s Sacco and Vanzetti Parade, and are 
excited to launch our mail-subscriptions program. For 12 to 15 dollars, you can 
have the BAAM Newsletter mailed to your door every month, keeping you updated on 
local anarchist news and views, and your donation will help insure the future of 
our publication. Please send well-concealed cash or checks, payable to Jeff 
Reinhardt, to BAAM Newsletter C/O Boston ABC, PO Box 230182, Boston, Ma 02123.
Thank you so much to our readers and comrades. Keep struggling!


By the Way, McCain is a Bonehead, Too
McCain; Just Plain Evil
by Adrienne
Here at the BAAM newsletter, after roasting Obama’s stances in two consecutive 
issues, we felt it would be prudent to explain the obvious; we oppose his 
“opposition“ as well. This incredibly easy task of explaining why McCain is pure 
evil fell to me.
McCain supports gender-based pay discrimination, tells rape jokes, called his 
wife a cunt in front of reporters, repeatedly votes against funding for measures 
that would prevent unintended pregnancy and publicly announces his support for 
overturning the Supreme Court decision guaranteeing the right to an abortion. He 
has vocally opposed first amendment rights and has expressed more than once his 
ignorance on economic issues. Other goodies from his voting record: he loves 
oil, AIDS, corporate fraud, and government corruption. He hates Katrina victims, 
affirmative action, education, the environment and children with disabilities.
He is on record, and on camera, saying to 60 Minutes, “I disagree with what the 
majority of the American people want.“ He loves Bush, often expresses admiration 
for Bush policies and is on record, and on camera, saying the War On Iraq should 
continue for another 10,000 years. He is similarly on the record and on camera 
singing, “Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran,“ to the tune of “Barbara Ann.“ McCain 
once demanded that Representative LeBoutillier drop his pants to prove that he 
wasn’t wearing a wire.
Maverick McCain, that pragmatic centrist, is ideologically opposed to 
contraception (yes, that includes condoms) and medically accurate sex education, 
despite his life-long open enthusiasm for sleaze and smut.
But doesn’t that reinforce our need to support Obama, the structural optimist 
will ask. Well Obama’s views on abortion are extremely patronizing, he joked 
around with Bernie Mac about how women are hoes, he routinely addresses and 
dismisses reporters and random women as “sweetie.“ Despite Obama’s lip service 
to gender pay equity, the men in his staff outrank and outnumber their female 
counterparts, who also receive less pay. In 2001 he expressed willingness to 
compromise racial and reproductive justice to confirm Supreme Court nominees who 
were anti-affirmative action and pro-coerced pregnancy. His voting record is 
alarming by how many important, contentious issues he declined to vote on. As 
has already been covered in previous editions of the BAAM newsletter, Obama 
hates immigrants while hearting NAFTA and Zionist occupations. Like every other 
politician on the planet, Obama is bought and paid for by powerful lobbies, but 
unlike other candidates, Obama accepts their donations through third parties 
like the Democratic National Committee and law offices so it doesn’t actually 
look like he’s accepting lobby money. The presumptive Democratic nominee is 
generally a right wing tool masquerading as a means whereby meaningful change 
can occur.
Which all brings us back to why we are anarchists to begin with. These 
bloodthirsty imperialists are the two viable candidates for the presidency of 
the most powerful country in the world. These politicians are both terrifying 
and we should be running and fighting for our lives rather than trying to decide 
which of the two is less evil and more fit for the office. While these dangerous 
lunatics are off drinking the blood of workers out of champagne glasses, I’m 
thinking we should be organizing de-centralized models of anti-oppressive 
sustainability and autonomous, horizontal decision-making structures and 
cooperative uses of resources. You know, anarchy.

Hacking the T
Sublett
A PDF file that recently appeared on the web site of MIT's student newspaper is 
titled Anatomy of a Subway Hack. No, it's not about a bad golfer who works at a 
sandwich shop. It’s a presentation by MIT computer science students on the poor 
security of the MBTA. The students, R.J. Ryan, Zack Anderson and Alessandro 
Chiesa, had planned to give the presentation at the DEFCON 16 hacker convention 
in Las Vegas. Their slide show illuminates numerous security breakdowns 
throughout the MBTA’s fare collection system. Unlocked doors, wide-open 
turnstiles and unsecured turnstile control boxes abound. Access keys and 
employee passes are left lying in the open. The video feeds from security 
cameras often go unwatched by anyone. The presentation includes a color-coded 
station-by-station map of security holes.
Yet the MBTA’s physical security problems pale in comparison to the 
vulnerabilities of the CharlieTicket electronic tickets. Fare information, 
instead of being secured in a central database, is stored directly on the card, 
leaving it vulnerable to anyone with a $400 magnetic strip reader/writer. 
CharlieTickets can be cloned and/or have their value increased to a maximum 
amount of $655.36.
The security of the T’s CharlieCard passes is almost as pathetic. These cards 
use the notoriously weak Mifare Classic RFID chips, about which noted 
cryptographer Bruce Schneier has commented that “Anyone with any security 
experience would be embarrassed to put his name to the design.” A hacker with an 
RFID reader could remotely copy the CharlieCard in a subway rider’s wallet and 
clone it onto his own card using easily obtained equipment. The Mifare chips are 
used in public transportation systems all over the world and have been known to 
be vulnerable since last December.
When informed of these vulnerabilities, MBTA officials reacted in classic 
authoritarian fashion by blaming the messenger. They obtained a temporary 
injunction banning the students from presenting their findings at DEFCON on the 
grounds that the presentation would "cause irreparable harm" to the MBTA. In 
granting the injunction, federal judge Douglas Woodlock completely ignored the 
fact that the harm to our public transit had already been done by the MBTA's own 
negligence and that the MIT students were just reporting it (not to mention that 
the T's old token-based system could be "hacked" by anybody with access to a 
machine shop).
Unfortunately for the T, their legal team was as incompetent as their engineers. 
They didn't file for the injunction until after several hundred CDs of the 
presentation had already been mailed to
DEFCON attendees. Worse, they included a separate vulnerability assessment 
report received from MIT in their filing, thereby making it a public document. 
That report contains additional details not included in the presentation.
As is usual in Internet censorship cases, the attempt to suppress embarrassing 
information only generated more publicity, alerting far more people to the 
MBTA's security problems than ever would have heard of them otherwise. Copies of 
the presentation and the vulnerability assessment have been scattered far and 
wide on the Internet for any moderately ambitious criminal to peruse. But 
anybody considering electronically scamming free bus trips might do well to 
remember the machines of Douglas Adams' Sirius Cybernetics Corporation, and not 
“be blinded to the essential uselessness of them by the sense of achievement you 
get from getting them to work at all.” In other words, a free subway ride might 
not be worth what you paid for it. With that in mind I'll probably keep riding 
my bike until someone hacks the T to make the buses run on time, or at least 
smell better.

Further reading

http://www-tech.mit.edu/V128/N30/subway/Defcon_Presentation.pdf
HYPERLINK "http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/08/eff-to-appeal-
r.html"http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/08/eff-to-appeal-r.html
HYPERLINK "http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/08/injunction-
requ.html"http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/08/injunction-
requ.html
HYPERLINK
"http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/files/vulnerability_assessment_of_
the_mtba_system.pdf"http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/files/vulnerabi
lity_assessment_of_the_mtba_system.pdf


Trouble on the Tracks
By Jeff Reinhardt
As gas prices continue to rise and the general cost of living skyrockets, if 
there was any good that was going to come from this summer's energy crisis, it 
should be bettering urban public transit systems. After all, using them costs 
significantly less and takes money out of the hands of the oil giants with a 
more earth-friendly alternative.
In Boston, however, we have seen much the opposite happen. Starting in 2010, we 
might have to start paying for it (and Exxon did report its highest quarterly 
profit margin ever, although short of what investors hoped for).
Despite ridership increasing this year by 6.1%, MBTA general manager Daniel A. 
Grabauskas told the Globe on Tuesday, August 5 that in order to rescue the 
transit agency from an ever-worsening fiscal crisis, there would have to be a 
"hefty" fare increase in 2010.
The MBTA is now going to be $8.2 billion dollars in debt. Sure, that is only an 
imaginary figure that exists on paper, but it means that the public might be 
paying fares of up to $2.50 per subway trip and up to $1.90 for local bus 
service after next year. Last January was the when the last fare increase 
occurred, raising the fare for the subway from $1.25 to $1.70 with a Charlie 
Card, $2.00 with cash or paper ticket. The bus fare increased from $.90 to 
$1.25. In 2001 a similar increase took place.
The trouble started back in 1999, when the MBTA's revenue system was 
restructured. Prior to the year 2000, the MBTA's debt was handled by the state, 
which would support the agency when necessary to keep it running. Now, the MBTA 
is funded only from the state sales tax, from which it receives 20% to supply 
its revenue. The problem with this is that the sales tax has not been supporting 
the T, and with the drastic increase in energy costs, it does little to cover 
the cost of operating a mass transit system.
So now there are two options that the MBTA can choose—raising fares in 2010, or 
cutting service—neither which is going to make the public happy, or put even a 
small dent in the debt. Both will inevitably decrease ridership, which is 
exactly the opposite of what should be happening.
"The MBTA has their hands tied down right now," said Rene Mardones, spokesperson 
for the T Riders Union (TRU). Rather than accepting the state of the T's 
affairs, TRU has been working steadily over the last two years to pass a bill in 
the state house to alleviate the T's debt and improving their overall finances. 
The bill (HR 3694) was drafted around the time of the last fare increase in 
2007, but has yet to pass.
TRU, which is part of Alternatives for the Community and Environment (ACE), a 
nonprofit environmental justice group in Dudley Square, has been one of the only 
organizations meeting the MBTA's problems head on. They have been proactive in 
an area where many see no hope.
TRU also works closely with the MBTA Rider Oversight Committee, which is an 
organization that tries to affect transit policy through legislative means. The 
group recently wrote a letter to Governor Deval Patrick, urging him to take 
action and alleviate debt. But, as of now, the governor has not responded.
Both groups see the MBTA's debt not just as an isolated problem, but one that 
affects people differently depending on their socio-economic class. TRU 
regularly surveys riders in working class areas like Dorchester, Roxbury, and 
Chelsea. The residents in these neighborhoods depend on the bus as the primary 
form of transportation. The buses they take are consistently the slowest and 
least reliable. Also, these people are hit hardest by fare increases.
"Most of the people who use buses are low income," said Mardones, speaking about 
the last fare increase in January 2007. "So it [fare increases] really impacts 
them. We are putting in effort to try and reach them." TRU has done this through 
legislative actions as well as street protests and organizing the people to 
attend the MBTA board's monthly hearings.
TRU fought the last fare increase, and although they did not stop it, they plan 
on fighting a new fare increase in 2010. In the past, they helped fight for more 
environmentally friendly fuel, in the form of compressed natural gas, which has 
been implemented. They also successfully stopped buses in Dudley from idling in 
between trips, to cut down on air pollution.
Ultimately, TRU is fighting to keep the MBTA afloat, and for it to provide fair 
service to those who need it most. It has the ability to benefit all public 
transit users in Boston though. "If we have a really reliable system," said 
Mardones. "Then people will use the system more and it will improve."
We are certainly looking at an uphill battle, but rather than just complaining, 
there are steps citizens can take to improve our transit system. The MBTA board 
of directors meets the first Thursday of every month at 1pm on the third floor 
of the Transportation Building. Go tell them your story about the T, and help 
them improve service for everyone.
For more information about the T Riders' Union and ways to get involved call 
Rene Mardones at 617-442-3313 x239 or email him at rene (at) ace-ej.org


A Preview of the DNC
By Cady
Much has been made by many a liberal Democrat about the supposed 
"different-ness" of their political party, one that they claim has miraculously 
found a way to take billions of dollars of money every year from racist, sexist, 
land-raping capitalists and simultaneously support the liberation of women from 
patriarchy, people of color from white supremacy, workers from bosses, and the 
earth from destructive abuse. Anarchists reject these easily apparent lies every 
day, and they plan to do so again at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in 
Denver Colorado.
The Democratic National Convention in 2008 is going to be a 100 million dollar 
party for out-of-towners in a city where some people are starving. Official 
rules state that companies who give the Democratic Party a quarter of a million 
dollars are allowed to host talks with politicians on issues affecting their 
industries, that individuals or companies who give 52 thousand are allowed 
multiple advertising opportunities at the convention, and that individuals or 
companies who donate a million are guaranteed a meeting with the local mayor, 
senator and state representative.
What these policies mean is that the convention is being funded by mining 
companies who destroy our planet, by weapon-makers, by Coke, by banks that send 
people out of their homes in winter so that the houses may sit empty, by tobacco 
companies, by insurance companies, and by many others who have reason to be 
afraid of real democracy. These companies have been attracted to the convention 
by promises that they will be able to sway those in power, and they are being 
granted access and influence that most voters cannot fathom. What these policies 
mean is that Target has a voice while our voices are silenced.
In fact, a security budget of 50 million dollars has been put in place to make 
sure that nobody like me can interrupt Target while its shills are trying to 
speak. The Secret Service is officially in charge of security, with local cops 
doing most of the brutal enforcement. Police forces from other cities are also 
coming into Denver for the duration of the convention, despite the 
well-documented fact that this tactic increases civil rights abuses on the part 
of the imported police officers.
However, activists at Unconventional Denver have already offered the 
violence-prone and violence-seeking law enforcement a way out. They've declared 
in a statement to the city of Denver, the Democratic party, and the nation that 
they will not protest the convention at all if the ludicrous sum of 50 million 
dollars is re-routed to programs which help the people of Denver and the local 
communities.
The offer made by Unconventional Denver is worth quoting. "It is true," they 
say, "that there is a group mobilizing forces from across the country and 
amassing exotic weapons that they refuse to disclose to the public. They have a 
record of inflicting violence on unarmed civilians and illegally spying on 
citizens working toward positive change. They even dress in black- they are the 
Denver police and the various local, state and federal forces that will be 
transforming Denver into a miniature version of the occupation of Iraq when the 
DNC comes to town."
The protesters pointed out in their statement that the 50 million dollars would 
help to re-open the six schools Denver shut down last year or begin to insure 
the 160 thousand children in the Denver area with no health insurance coverage. 
They suggested using the money to help provide renewable energy to the city.
It is obvious from the statement prepared by Unconventional Denver that DNC 2008 
protesters are not the terrorists for which the Democratic National Committee 
claims they are preparing. In fact, they really do come off as far more 
anti-violence than the thugs in uniform who would descend on the city in order 
to wreak havoc. Instead of new surveillance cameras, Unconventional Denver wants 
new hospitals and new schools. Instead of violent confrontation, anarchists want 
to help Denver's residents access the services that all people need to survive. 
If the city, Democratic Party, and federal government say no, then it is because 
the city, the Democratic Party, and the federal government value violence over 
the feeding and schooling of their own citizens.



Verizon Workers Avoid Strike, Win Contract
Jake Carman

On Friday, August 8th, Verizon reached a tentative agreement with the two unions 
representing its employees, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers 
(IBEW) and the Communication Workers of America (CWA). Verizon workers had 
remained on the job without a contract after their August 3rd strike deadline 
passed, allowing negotiations to continue. As one Verizon Union Installation 
Repair Technician working in Boston said in an August 6th interview, “Sometimes 
its more advantageous for the union to not strike. The company has to get their 
scabs in hotels and be ready to go, and they’re paying us to work.” He added, 
“It worked for the union last time, I’m hoping it works this time as well.”
It did work. Along with a 3% plus wage increases for the next 3 years, the 
workers won on the issue they considered most pressing: health and retiree 
benefits. Verizon wanted to get rid of their supplemental insurance plan for 
retirees, which would have affected thousands of people, including those who 
worked at the original, government-owner phone-company, Ma Bell, as well as New 
England Telephone, Ninex, Bell Atlantic, and other Verizon predecessors.
“We made out the best on the contract,” said the Union Technician, who asked to 
remain anonymous. “The problem is the people who get hired after this is settled 
will, instead of benefits, basically get $430 for each year of service once they 
retire, which is hardly anything.” He added that the current and former workers 
are largely satisfied with the new contract, saying, “It will definitely get 
ratified by the Locals. It’s a good contract.”
Verizon, a New York-based telecommunications company, has about 65,000 union 
employees nationwide, 15% represented by IBEW, and the rest by CWA. The unions 
and the management had been at bargaining table in New York since May 27th, 
negotiating the new contract. “Both sides were entering with open minds with the 
goal of arriving at a fair contract," said Phil Santoro, Verizon's regional 
Media Relations Manager in an interview with the Lowell Sun. But while both 
Verizon and the Unions were optimistic about the outcome, the workers’ big 
victory can be attributed to an issue of leverage. “It really has to do with 
competition,” said the technician. “More now than ever, it is such a huge issue 
for the company.” Verizon’s newest product, FIOS, which means Fiber-Optic 
Technology, was previously only for Government use, and now that they are doing 
home installations the company has an opportunity to stand out against its 
competitors. Without their workers, trained as they are in the new technology. 
however, Verizon could have lost major profits. “If we went on strike, there 
were no people who they could hired who could set it up the right way,” said the 
anonymous technician. “They basically realized that they had to settle or risk 
loosing a whole lot more on their FIOS investment.”
Though the Verizon unions won this battle, many have a bleak outlook for the 
future of unions. The national numbers of unionized jobs is embarrassing, but 
workers like the technician we interviewed are standing up to defend “a dieing 
breed of American jobs that pays a living wage, pays benefit, that actually 
takes care of its employees.” Unions in Boston still actively and successfully 
employ strike tactics, and picket lines are generally recognized. For Boston 
workers, said the anonymous Verizon employee, “Crossing the picket-line is like 
punching your mother, you can’t undo once its done.” One last word of advice 
from the victorious workers at Verizon: “We’ve got to fight with every ounce we 
have in us to keep what’s left, cause when you give up stuff they never give it 
back. If we were to give and inch on retiree benefits, they will never get that 
back, and next contract, the company’s going to ask for 2 inches.”
See the proposed contract PDF; www.IBEW2222.org
/3
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S  N E W S  S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://ainfos.ca/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/a-infos-en
Archive: http://ainfos.ca/en