Hacktivism | The Gad About Town

‘How could the unpure possibly be of assistance to the holy?’

Posted on March 23, 2017 by Mark Aldrich

I admit that my expertise in psychological warfare is limited to good spy novels, better histories, and bad Twitter behavior. Over the last month or so, a campaign to smear and harass a friend of mine has unfolded before my eyes on social media and behind the scenes.

Much as I may want to ignore it, much as I may wish that my words below will bring it to an end and somehow restore his name in the world to the esteem I still hold for him, much as I may want the campaign to end, I am not sufficiently foolish to think my words will have much of an effect. I can not ignore it, though.

I am writing this because I know the human being involved, I know (or I think I know) the desired consequences of the campaign against him, and I know that he will write something similar about me should I ever become important enough in someone’s eyes to attempt to take me down. This is because my friend is a friend and he is loyal.

‘You don’t act like an American,’ An Essay by Matt DeHart

Posted on March 6, 2017 by Mark Aldrich

Published exclusively in The Gad About Town …

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The Courage Foundation supports the legal needs of individuals around the world who are faced with prosecution (and persecution) for whistle-blowing—funds go towards legal fees and the foundation organizes public campaigns on behalf of the whistle-blower.

As the Courage Foundation states in its materials, “Whistle-blowers become the public’s regulators of last resort. Without them, we would know far less about international diplomacy, offshore banking or the excesses of the War on Terror. Because whistleblowers are a vital link in the chain, they are also vulnerable.”

At present, the Courage Foundation supports seven individuals: Edward Snowden, Jeremy Hammond, Matt DeHart, Emin Huseynov, Barrett Brown, Lauri Love, and Chelsea Manning.

Matt DeHart, former U.S. Air National Guard intelligence analyst, is prisoner #06813-036 at the low-security federal correctional institution FCI Ashland in Ashland, Kentucky. The essay published below is one of the few public statements he has made.
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#BR2016: Hackathon for the Homeless

Posted on April 28, 2016 by Mark Aldrich

Business Rocks 2016 hosted a global hackathon in a bid to help solve through technology the ever-growing problem of homelessness

[Two weeks ago, The Gad About Town web site participated with many others in publicizing the international tech meeting in Manchester, UK, Business Rocks 2016, with a focus on a planned hackathon to bring brilliant minds together to collaborate on solutions to homelessness. The two-day-long hackathon took place, and real solutions were created. Here is a report from the Hacktivist Culture web site.—Mark Aldrich, The Gad About Town]
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