I doubt most of my readers care about it, but I really think they should, at least if freedom of speech and free news collection and journalism means anything to you.
What am I talking about? The seizure of two indymedia servers on wednesday morning when Rackspace (one of indymedia's hosting providers) was served with a subpoena. Apparently, the court order originated from governement sources in Italy as well as Switzerland, but as of now, Indymedia still has not been informed why the servers were taken down, nor has it any clue what the charges are. With the two servers gone, at least 20 local indymedia sites have been silenced, amongst others all Belgian indymedia sites, all of France, Poland, Portugal, part of Germany etc.
What disturbs me most is the fact that Rackspace is not allowed to disclose information about it all, they only stated "In the present matter regarding Indymedia, Rackspace Managed Hosting, a U.S. based company with offices in London, is acting in compliance with a court order pursuant to a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT), which establishes procedures for countries to assist each other in investigations such as international terrorism, kidnapping and money laundering. Rackspace responded to a Commissioner's subpoena, duly issued under Title 28, United States Code, Section 1782 in an investigation that did not arise in the United States. Rackspace is acting as a good corporate citizen and is cooperating with international law enforcement authorities. The court prohibits Rackspace from commenting further on this matter.". (Taken from the indymedia site)
Actually, when I started a LiveChat session with a Rackspace employee, and asked about the URL for the press release in regard to the indymedia servers, his answer was "I'm a sales person, I'm not aware of our press releases." When I inquired further as to who'd I have to talk to then, I was promptly served with a Page not Found error in the LiveChat window. How convenient.
Does this make sense to anyone? When did anyone lose the freedom to tell others what is being done to them? When did we give that up? If I'm ever being served with whatever lawsuit, intimidation or threats imaginable, I won't back down and shut up, since that's just what they want. If no one knows about it, how can anyone back you up, support you or even discuss the case?