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Mantra: “We should focus our actions, time, and resources on Direct Action, Mutual Aid, and Community Outreach… No War but Class War!”

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Cake day: August 5th, 2023

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  • Alt. Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20241007151423/https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/atandt-verizon-reportedly-hacked-to-target-us-govt-wiretapping-platform/


    Multiple U.S. broadband providers, including Verizon, AT&T, and Lumen Technologies, have been breached by a Chinese hacking group tracked as Salt Typhoon, the Wall Street Journal reports.

    It is unclear when the intrusion occurred, but WSJ cites people familiar with the matter, saying that “for months or longer, the hackers might have held access to network infrastructure used to cooperate with lawful U.S. requests for communications data.”

    According to the WSJ, the attack was discovered in recent weeks and is being investigated by the U.S. government and security experts in the private sector.

    Salt Typhoon has been active since at least 2019 and is considered a sophisticated hacking group focusing on government entities and telecommunications companies typically in the Southeast Asia region.

    Security researchers also found that the threat actor attacked hotels, engineering companies, and law firms in Brazil, Burkina Faso, South Africa, Canada, Israel, France, Guatemala, Lithuania, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Thailand, and the United Kingdom.

    The hackers usually obtain initial access to the target network by exploiting vulnerabilities, such as the ProxyLogon vulnerabilities in Microsoft Exchange Server (CVE-2021-26855, CVE-2021-26857, CVE-2021-26858, and CVE-2021-27065).

    In previous attacks attributed to Salt Typhoon/Ghost Emperor, the threat actor used a custom backdoor called SparrowDoor, customized versions of the Mimikatz tool for extracting authentication data, and a Windows kernel-mode rootkit Demodex.

    Chinese APT hacking groups have been increasingly targeting U.S. and European networking devices and ISPs in cyberespionage attacks.

    In August, cybersecurity researchers at Lumen’s Black Lotus Labs disclosed that the Chinese threat actors known as “Volt Typhoon” exploited a zero-day flaw in Versa Director to steal credentials and breach corporate networks. During these attacks, the threat actors breached multiple ISPs and MSPs in the U.S. and India, which is not believed to be related to the recent breaches.

    In September, Black Lotus Labs and law enforcement disrupted a massive Chinese botnet named “Raptor Train” that compromised over 260,000 SOHO routers, IP cameras with malware. This botnet was used by the “Flax Typhoon” threat actors for DDoS attacks and as a proxy to launch stealthy attacks on other organizations.

    While these attacks have been attributed to different Chinese hacking groups, they are believed to operate under the same umbrella, commonly sharing infrastructure and tools.




  • Well, the government forced the rail road unions to agree to the watered-down negotiations instead of their original demands due to the laws passed.

    Instead of siding with the working class and forcing corporations to meet the Uninos demands, they help the corporations and once again betray the working class.

    I agree though; in this case, they did nothing to help make it worse or better for the unions, but alleged pressure was added as always.

    Again, Harris is not doing as well as before, Muslim support for Dr. Jill Stein and other groups is at an all-time high, and the support Trump is receiving from the working class is increasing, so intervening in a strike would lessen support of the Democrats even more than it already is at.

    I don’t think we will agree on this, due to my views on the intentional systematic problems our society has:

    The duopoly likes to play political theater; both act like they are for the working class, but in reality, policy helps the owner-class much more, while crumbs are offered to the working class to keep us quiet.


    The settlement pushes the strike and any potential shortages past the November presidential election, eliminating a potential liability for Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee. It’s also a big plus for the Biden-Harris administration, which has billed itself as the most union-friendly in American history. Shortages could have driven up prices and reignited inflation.

    Thursday’s deal came after administration officials met with foreign-owned shipping companies before dawn on Zoom, according to a person briefed on the day’s events who asked not to be identified because the talks were private. The White House wanted to increase pressure to settle, emphasizing the responsibility to reopen the ports to help with recovery from Hurricane Helene, the person said.[1]


    1. [1] https://apnews.com/article/longshoremen-strike-ports-dockworkers-agreement-86fac07d1189e11ca4816b2cbf37affb ↩︎





  • I don’t trust any governments or politicians; we must always be critical of those with power and influence.

    Biden was forced to cave to their demands due to the backlash on breaking the railroad strike and this being an election year.

    The working class must continue to unite against the owner class; a general strike would help force the government and the corporations to listen to working class struggles instead of the same old crumbs we reicve from the duopoly; many grassroots movements have arisen for this occasion!

    “Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them, and these will continue till they are resisted with either words or blows, or with both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress.” ― Frederick Douglass


    Dockworkers strike suspended, tentative agreement includes 62% pay raise over 6 years [Max Zahn, Meredith Deliso, and Soo Youn | October 3, 2024 | abcnews.go.com] https://abcnews.go.com/US/dockworkers-strike-suspended-sources/story?id=114445386

    The tentative agreement would increase workers’ wages by 62% over the life of the 6-year contract, sources familiar confirm to ABC News.

    This represents a significant increase from the shipping industry group’s offer of a 50% wage increase earlier this week. The union had been pushing for a 77% pay hike over six years.

    The tentative agreement would bring the hourly wage for a top dockworker to $63 per hour at the end of the new contract, up from $39 per hour under the expired contract.

    “I want to applaud the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and the United States Maritime Alliance for coming together to reopen the East Coast and Gulf ports. Today’s tentative agreement on a record wage and an extension of the collective bargaining process represents critical progress towards a strong contract,” Preisdent Joe Biden said on the agreement.

    Tens of thousands of U.S. dockworkers had walked off the job early Tuesday morning, clogging dozens of ports along the East and Gulf coasts.

    Amid the strike, USMX said Wednesday it remained “committed to bargaining in good faith to address the ILA’s demands and USMX’s concerns.”

    A prolonged work stoppage of several weeks or months could have rekindled inflation for some goods and triggered layoffs at manufacturers as raw materials dried up, experts said.

    In 2002, a strike among workers at West Coast ports lasted 11 days before then-President George W. Bush invoked the Taft-Hartley Act and ended the standoff.


  • We must not let our government stop another major strike.

    The working class must stay united against the owner class.


    Biden signs bill to block U.S. railroad strike [David Shepardson and Nandita Bose | December 2, 2022 | https://www.reuters.com/world/us/biden-signs-bill-block-us-railroad-strike-2022-12-02/]

    The U.S. Senate voted 80 to 15 on Thursday to impose a tentative contract deal reached in September on a dozen unions representing 115,000 workers, who could have gone on strike on Dec. 9. But the Senate failed to approve a measure that would have provided paid sick days to railroad workers.

    Eight of 12 unions had ratified the deal. But some labor leaders have criticized Biden, a self-described friend of labor, for asking Congress to impose a contract that workers in four unions have rejected over its lack of paid sick leave

    Railroads have slashed labor and other costs to bolster profits in recent years, and have been fiercely opposed to adding paid sick time that would require them to hire more staff.

    Teamsters President Sean O’Brien harshly criticized the Senate vote on sick leave. “Rail carriers make record profits. Rail workers get zero paid sick days. Is this OK? Paid sick leave is a basic human right. This system is failing,” O’Brien wrote on Twitter.

    Without the legislation, rail workers could have gone out next week, but the impacts would be felt as soon as this weekend as railroads stopped accepting hazardous materials shipments and commuter railroads began canceling passenger service.

    The contracts cover workers at carriers including Union Pacific (UNP.N), Berkshire Hathaway Inc’s (BRKa.N) BNSF, CSX (CSX.O), Norfolk Southern Corp (NSC.N), and Kansas City Southern.


    Edit: added quotes below

    In the first strike, all East Coast and Gulf Coast ports, in almost 50 years, dockworkers from Maine to Texas walked out on strike at midnight this morning. The International Longshoremen’s Association represents some 40,000 dockworkers at 36 ports who are demanding higher wages and guarantees that jobs won’t be automated.

    AMY GOODMAN: On Sunday, President Biden said he would not intervene to stop the strike, which will disrupt trade and potentially lead to high prices just weeks before the presidential election.

    At the same time, the dockworkers, who have very dangerous jobs — they’re very physically rigorous jobs; they are highly paid, but their position is, “We’re entitled to that as compensation” — their wages have actually flatlined. They’ve stagnated compared to inflation. And so, they’re seeking what looks like a very substantial headline increase, you know, 70-plus percent, it’s been reported, though there’s a lot of — there’s not a lot of open discussion of these terms, over the next several years. And overnight, it seems like the port operators tried to bridge the distance with a package that they say would be about a 50% raise. The dockworkers say that’s not enough.

    The rail system, by the way, has really been depleted by a version of just-in-time known as precision scheduled railroading, which is essentially a fancy way of saying, “Let’s fire lots of workers. Let’s stick the remaining workers with extra jobs.” They’ve diminished service. They’ve made trains longer than ever, so accidents tend to be much more dangerous. And it’s really about boosting returns for shareholders at the expense of the operational capacity of the rail system. So the idea that rail will pick up the burden is really dubious.

    AMY GOODMAN: The president of the International Longshoremen’s Association, Harold Daggett, endorsed Biden in the 2020 election, but, more recently, accused Biden of, quote, “not fighting for us.” Last November, Daggett said he had a productive meeting with former President Trump at Mar-a-Lago. He spoke in a video released by the union last month.

    AMY GOODMAN: A $4 billion bonus for the boss. That’s president of the International Longshoremen’s Association, Harold Daggett. Peter Goodman, can you talk about what he said —

    PETER GOODMAN: Sure. It’s a very strange dynamic, because, of course, traditionally, labor, key Democratic constituency. Biden is very reluctant to wade in and end this strike, because he faced a backlash when he used a different law to shut down the railroad strike two years ago without getting paid sick leave for traveling maintenance crews and other rail workers. So he’s very reluctant to be the guy who steps in, takes away the leverage for the union. I mean, this is a time of labor mobilization in this country. And, of course, we saw that the UAW did very well with a militant strike. The ILA is doing likewise.

    Here’s the irony, though. So, you’ve got all these business groups that are lobbying the Biden administration to act, because, of course, the economy writ large is going to get hit by a long strike. Factories that are dependent upon imported components and parts are going to get hit. Retailers waiting for products to come in, often from Asia, will get hit. Consumers could face shortages, inflation. Here’s the one group that probably won’t get hit: the shipping carriers.

    So, the one move for the union is, “Well, we’re going to monkeywrench the economy as a way to generate pressure for a settlement,” but that could actually be good for the people they’re trying to get greater leverage for. That could increase the pressure on the Biden administration, really reluctant, again, to intervene in a labor dispute, to put an end to this thing, because it will hit the real economy. And I don’t have to tell you that we’re only weeks away from a presidential election that could very well hinge on economic sentiments and unhappiness over inflation.


    Coming up, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has broken his silence, addressing the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France. We’ll play some of his comments. And then, it’s the last day of the presidency of Mexican President AMLO, Andrés Manuel López Obrador. We’ll talk about his legacy and also immigration. Stay with us.