Slashdot is powered by your submissions, so send in your scoop

 



Forgot your password?
typodupeerror
×
Government The Internet

Hotspot Vigilantes Are Trying to Beam the Internet To Julian Assange (vice.com) 246

Ecuadorian government said earlier this week that it did cut off Julian Assange's internet connection. They noted that Assange's continued interference in the U.S. election campaign was the reason why they decided to disconnect Assange from the internet. But it appears some people are going to great lengths to beam internet connectivity to Mr. Assange. This week 4chan urged people to head to the embassy to set up mobile Wi-Fi hotspots, and many are doing just that. From a Motherboard report:"We are now calling all BRITS to get their ass down to the embassy and stand around in mass, taking shifts with wifi-hotspots on hand!" reads the post. "Give Assange constant network and morale support all while streaming it live for the world to see." Are people actually going to try this? Motherboard UK visited the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has claimed political asylum since August 2012, today to find out. Admittedly, on a late October afternoon, things were rather quiet on the street outside the embassy. Nevertheless, I found my guy. "Marco" was loitering outside the embassy, turning on and off his mobile hotspot. I approached him, and while tentative at first, Marco finally started explaining how he was hoping to aid Assange.
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.

Hotspot Vigilantes Are Trying to Beam the Internet To Julian Assange

Comments Filter:
  • Phone (Score:5, Insightful)

    by wonkey_monkey ( 2592601 ) on Thursday October 20, 2016 @05:55PM (#53118853) Homepage

    Does the guy not have a mobile phone? I hear London has mobile internets and everything nowadays. It's quite the happening little village.

    • maybe not allowed. I heard theoretical talk of these things called "high gain directional antenna" but maybe that's a myth

    • by AHuxley ( 892839 )
      Any device in the hands of any trusted, known friend would have had security service code pushed down when turned on/tested/activated.
      Any "new" friend could be used by the security services to deliver an altered device.
      Consumer device globally ship with access to police and security services designed in.
  • by caseih ( 160668 ) on Thursday October 20, 2016 @06:14PM (#53118957)

    If Wikileaks' work is so important, I'm sure it can continue on without Assange in the loop, surely. In fact it would regain a lot of credibility were this to happen. Lately I think Assange's narcissism is more of a liability than an asset to Wikileaks and its cause.

    • If Wikileaks dropped him, I wouldn't complain.
    • 100% agreed. I'm actually a fairly big fan of what Wikileaks wants to accomplish and I find it rather fascinating/humorous/depressing that the various parties seem to be anti/pro Wikileaks as a function of whose info is being leaked.

      Assange I'm not a a fan of. As soon as Wikileaks becomes a tool for personal vendettas it loses all credibility. Even if he is credible (and I don't believe he is anymore) he does more harm than good because perception is everything and he's created a credibility issue.

    • WikiLeaks has kept releasing more Podesta e-mails without missing a beat. It would seem that wikileaks.org isn't run from a Assange's laptop in the embassy.
    • I'd go so far as to say that Wikileaks has lost all credibility with him still around.
      He has made it clear it is no longer an independent actor, so everything Wikileaks does from now will be tainted with his bias.
      • I'd go so far as to say that Wikileaks has lost all credibility with him still around.

        He has made it clear it is no longer an independent actor, so everything Wikileaks does from now will be tainted with his bias.

        I don't understand this feeling. Does the motive even matter other than to fact check the information he is releasing? That should should be done regardless of motivation. His motive is just as likely fear knowing as Secretary of State, she was ok killing him via drone and is afraid what she will do to him as president.

        To make things more perplexing, Hillary and the media aren't even trying to dispute any of the information's validity. The only argument they are making is that it's not fair that what the

        • To make things more perplexing, Hillary and the media aren't even trying to dispute any of the information's validity. The only argument they are making is that it's not fair that what they are doing has been made public.

          The reason the information is ignored is it is, at best, very weak circumstantial evidence of any wrongdoing, where "wrongdoing" does not even bear any semblance to a crime, but merely some slightly embarrassing kind of cozying up. That is just not a compelling story in the news cycle -- it is just a soundbite that withers under even the disappointing modern standards of journalism.

          The situation is only made "worse" (from your POV) by myriad self-deluded individuals who make fantastic claims against Clinto

          • The reason the information is ignored is it is, at best, very weak circumstantial evidence of any wrongdoing, where "wrongdoing" does not even bear any semblance to a crime, but merely some slightly embarrassing kind of cozying up.

            But an 11 year old tape of a man talking crude is worth days of non-stop coverage? (I am talking about before the accusations came out.)

            • I'm not about to defend what the media runs with, but I'm going to suggest that that footage would have been much less significant if Trump had repudiated what he said, or even showed understanding what was wrong with it, or if a lot of people who didn't like Trump anyway hadn't used it as a convenient excuse to distance themselves from him. How Republicans react to stuff about Trump is not Clinton's responsibility, and is not really the media's responsibility.

    • by trawg ( 308495 )

      If Wikileaks' work is so important, I'm sure it can continue on without Assange in the loop, surely. In fact it would regain a lot of credibility were this to happen. Lately I think Assange's narcissism is more of a liability than an asset to Wikileaks and its cause.

      I find it hard to distinguish between things Assange says and things-whoever-is-in-charge-of-Wikileaks-Twitter-today says.

  • by Rei ( 128717 )

    Marco finally started explaining how he was hoping to aid Assange.

    Did he also elaborate on how he planned to abet as well?

  • KILL THE MESSENGER!

  • Revealing past thoughts and actions during an election. Is that interference or accountability?

  • by Gavagai80 ( 1275204 ) on Friday October 21, 2016 @03:17AM (#53120691) Homepage

    A vigilante is someone who takes the law into their own hands to persecute someone who hasn't been found guilty in court. That's the exact opposite of trying to help out someone who they feel is being persecuted without having been found guilty in court, which is what these wi-fi people are doing.

"The vast majority of successful major crimes against property are perpetrated by individuals abusing positions of trust." -- Lawrence Dalzell

Working...