Category Archives: The Week In Aaron Swartz Day-Land

Aaron's FOIA Requests, FOIA Lawsuits, Raw Thought at The DNA Lounge, The Week In Aaron Swartz Day-Land

The (last couple) Weeks In Aaron Swartz Day-Land-January 23 2019

Here are the last few weeks of links to catch you up on recent developments in Aaron Swartz Day-land:

1) Aaron’s PACER Project Explained – A clip from Brian Knappenberger’s The Internet’s Own Boy (completely transcribed), which explains the details behind Aaron’s famous PACER Project. We once thought this was the first thing to put Aaron on the FBI’s radar, but now we know that he was scooped up in an FBI phishing expedition as far back as 2007. (Thanks to a lawsuit by Property of the People  – see #3 of this list.)

Barrett Brown and Aaron Swartz Exchanged Emails and worked on a FOIA project together

2) Aaron Collaborated with Barrett Brown on “Persona Management” FOIA Request – Aaron filed a FOIA request – and received a document back from it – in 2011. Read the full story.

 

3) “Property of the People” Lawsuit Proves Aaron Was Scooped Up In An FBI Investigation Back In 2007 – Aaron had been erroneously swept up in a 2007 terrorist investigation that, most likely, caused law enforcement agencies (FBI, DOJ) to treat him with rougher hands during its subsequent encounters with him afterwards.

4) A few words with Mochipet, who performed at Raw Thought On January 11th at the DNA Lounge – A Tale Of Modular Synthesizers – Another Open Source Success Story – Mochipet is a modular synthesizer aficionado and he explains how the German company Doepfer’s decision to make their specs open has led to a flourishing of musical culture that would otherwise have been impossible.

5) Just announced! Raw Thought @DNA Lounge for March 8th! TICKETS – FOIA & ASD PSP Raw Thought Salon from 7-9pm – music starts at 9 :)

To be clear: It’s two events in one – if you get there early enough (between 7-8:30pm) to learn about Police Surveillance and filing public records requests, great! If not, no biggie, just grab a drink and join the party.

Come to Raw Thought on March 8th (from 9pm-2am) & see Grumpy Green‘s super special Psychedelic Chill Room (an immersive space for both dancing & chilling).

DJs include: Melotronix, Tha Spyryt, Ailz, & Cain MacWitish – with visuals by Projekt Seahorse – all at our March 8th Raw Thought at the DNA Lounge in San Francisco!       TICKETS

 

 

Music, Raw Thought at The DNA Lounge, The Week In Aaron Swartz Day-Land

The Week In Aaron Swartz Day-Land-January 3 2019

It’s hard to keep up with the developments on numerous fronts in the Aaron Swartz Day community, so we’re going to start posting little updates about the week before to help keep you informed.

Here are last week’s media & developments:

1. Q & A Event – January 11th at the DNA Lounge, 7:30pm – This is the sixth anniversary of Aaron’s death. We are having an event to discuss what exactly happened to him with an opportunity for lots of Q & A for those with specific questions at the DNA Lounge from 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm. Vegan pizza will be served and Lisa Rein and others will be answering some questions to help folks gain a better understanding about what actually happened.

2. Video and partial transcription of Barrett Brown and Trevor Timm at the Aaron Swartz Day 2018 Evening Event – Barrett explains the main takeaway from his new book “My Glorious Defeats: Hacktivist, Narcissist, Anonymous: A Memoir” – and also how he and Aaron had communicated via email and were collaborating on a project before Aaron’s death.

3. Video and partial transcription of Cindy Cohn & Cory Doctorow with Annalee Newitz discussing “The End of Trust” – a new McSweeney release. – Cory and Cindy give it to us straight regarding the challenges of attempting to protect our privacy against prying eyes, and offer some strategies for dealing with them.

4. A blast from the past: Aaron’s close friend Ben Wikler dispels the commonly misunderstood notion that Aaron somehow died for the Freedom of Information. (Or died over “freeing” the journal articles he downloaded from JSTOR – more on this soon, but quick version is that there’s no evidence he was going to release them at all.)

5. Interview with Cain MacWitish, one of our Raw Thought DJs performing January 11th at the DNA Lounge. Here’s CAIN’S SET FROM OUR NOVEMBER 9, 2018 EVENT.

6. Interview with Tha Spyryt, one of our Raw Thought DJs performing January 11th at the DNA Lounge. Here’s THA SPYRYT’S SET FROM OUR NOVEMBER 9, 2018 EVENT.

7. COME TO THE DNA LOUNGE  ‘RAW THOUGHT‘ on  February 8th from 9 pm – 2 am. TICKETS

Raw Thought was the name of Aaron Swartz’ blog, and his writings and life hath inspired a monthly gathering of music, life & looking beneath the surface, also named “Raw Thought.”

Mind bending visuals, generated live by Projekt Seahorse will be projected on four screens in two rooms. Our crew of seasoned DJs and experimental upstarts (both human and alien) will combine to keep your heart pumping in two rooms!