(Josh Wolf is a freelance journalist and anarchist. He has been jailed since September 22, 2006, for refusing to turn over videotapes of a protest being investigated by a federal grand jury. Lots has been written about his case. On Friday, December 1, 2006, I ran a reminder of his incarceration. I’ll do the same every Friday until he is freed. What can you do to let Josh know that he is not forgotten? Tom Abate, San Leandro, California; aka MiniMediaGuy).

I drove out to the federal prison in Dublin, California, on the day the feds were supposed to put Josh Wolf back into jail. I happened to be off work, painting the garage, and was looking for an excuse to knock off early. My wife came along. We took our three-year-old daughter and 13-year-old son. (He’s homeschooled so we logged it as a civics lesson.) Our plan was to wave and cheer because we think this young man is standing up for the First Amendment.

As it turned out, however, Josh was taken back into custody in San Francisco, so we drove the 20 miles home trying to amuse the baby by singing the Name Game song: “Josh, Josh, bo-bosh, banana-fanna fo-fosh . . .”

But I did get a look at the federal prison where Wolf is incarcerated. It’s a two-story structure ringed by a chain-link fence topped with concertina wire, set in a prairie far from the suburban sprawl. It’s a cold and lonely place where Wolf may wonder whether 15 minutes of fame is worth an indefinite prison term. Continue reading →

(Josh Wolf is a freelance journalist and anarchist. He has been jailed for refusing to turn over videotapes of a protest being investigated by federal authorities. Lots has been written about his case. On Friday, December 1, 2006, I ran a reminder of his incarceration. I’ll do the same every Friday until he is freed. If you are a media blogger consider doing the same. Josh needs to know that he is not forgotten. Tom Abate, San Leandro, California; aka MiniMediaGuy.)

My prior posts prompted some people to wrote write that my support is misplaced. They say Josh Wolf is just a recalcitrant witness who has been ordered to provide evidence of a crime to a federal grand jury, has refused and been jailed in accordance with the law. This whole “jailed journalist” thing is a wrong-headed notion to win sympathy.

I heard this from one journalist in a private exchange so I won’t use a name:

“Your position is that the journalist, not the government, has the right to determine whether the journalist — or even just a citizen – has material evidence of a crime, which is an utterly losing proposition. No one has the right, nor should he have the right, to unilaterally impose his judgment as to whether the government really needs his evidence.”

I thank this and the other dissenters. A discussion requires dissent. Otherwise it becomes preaching to the choir. Dissent also forces us to either sharpen our arguments or change our minds. In this case the dissenter points out the best reason to kick up a fuss over Josh’s incarceration: he did not witness the crime that is the basis for the grand jury investigation. The federal grand jury wants to know who overturned and burned a police car. Josh Wolf says he never videotaped that act. He was elsehwhere when that crime occurred, videotaping other, non-violent scenes from the demonstration. So Josh videotaped the crowd. Has the crowd become the crime?

Continue reading →

(Josh Wolf is a freelance journalist and anarchist. He has been jailed for refusing to turn over videotapes of a protest being investigated by federal authorities. Lots has been written about his case. Last Friday I ran a reminder of his incarceration. I’ll do it every Friday until he is freed. If you are a media blogger consider doing the same. Josh is alone. But he needs to know that he is not forgotten. Tom Abate, San Leandro, California; aka MiniMediaGuy.)

There was a benefit for Josh last night in San Francisco and he wrote a statement for the occasion explaining his reasons for defying a court order to turn over his cameras, tapes and other unpublished materials. In one excerpt he says:

“Does a democracy allow me to be a journalist? . . . By engaging in such pursuits should I become indebted to the government and forced to act as a de facto agent for the FBI? Is this the cost of committing journalism in a democratic country? I certainly hope not.”

Political people — especially those on the left  — don’t always generate a lot of sympathy. But anyone who puts a value on liberty should pay attention to Josh. There is a vermin loose in Washington, D.C., that has been nibbling away at our rights. Not just the rights of anarchists, but my rights and yours. Sound extreme? Well, did you know that, if you have a cell phone, the FBI can listen in on you life – even when you think the phone is off. 

Continue reading →

I’ll be brief this morning, as I must soon drive off to join my family in Sacramento. My wife and kids are already there, with her family, and we’ll have our Thanksgiving celebration later today. This is my favorite holiday for many reasons beginning with the name. I have so much. Not that I spend much time being content. Quite the reverse. But once a year it is good to have a forced reminder that I need for nothing. That is a state of mind quite apart from wanting. So today I realize that I have my health and career, my family and home, and many gifts in addition. Plus I have hope. Not for any particular reason. More as a frame of mind. That, too, is a sentiment that comes and goes but is more often with me than not, which is a considerable comfort. With any discipline I will refrain from over-eating today and take a good walk after dinner. My wife’s aunt, Thea Ellie, in particular looks forward to our calorie-burning exercise. These are the rituals we need to emphasize. The ones that we invent and which bring us together. All the other crap around this holiday we should ignore as best we can. Corporations have seized on every excuse to make us wish to consume. Such behavior has nothing to do with giving thanks and everything to do with wanting more. If you are an American, and this day is a celebration for you as well, then I wish you health and hope and whatever happiness it is within your power to realize. If you read this blog from abroad, realize that this set of days disrupts the normal schedule. I’ll probably not visit this space Friday morning and will see you next on Monday. Be well!

Reporters Sans Frontiers (Without Borders) held protests in Paris and New York to call attention to the “Thirteen Enemies of the Internet” — countries, including China, Cuba and Saudi Arabia, — that selectively block access to information and imprison people who post articles that go against the ruling interests.

In addition to decrying the actions of what protesters called “the black holes of the Internet” (“Les trous noirs du web”) the protests singled out Yahoo! for its complicity in helping the Chinese government imprison blogger Shi Tao.
Continue reading →