September 27, 2021

Proposed Los Angeles Council District 5 to unify white affluent homeowners

My neighborhood is currently represented by progressive council member Nithya Rama, who has been serving us well in her first term. The current district itself is very diverse, including Hollywood, Silverlake, and adjacent portions of the San Fernando Valley (NorthHollywood, etc.)

A proposed District would bundle affluent white homeowners into a dingle new District, extending from Brentwood to the border of Koreatown. See the following map (Draft Map # 53505 ):



Deliberately excluded are areas with concentrations of renters, Latino communities, and commercial areas directly impacting the adjacent residential areas. The proposed District consists almost entirely of white, affluent homeowners, creating a council seat dedicated solely to their interests.

My local neighborhood association has sent out a strong, almost hysterical sounding mass email insisting we MUST support this new District. They have also insisted that recipients email three copies to their friends, in true chain letter fashion. The email of course lacks any analysis of the map or of alternative maps.

I am opposed to this map as endorsing a form of residential segregation. Also I like Nithya Raman and would hate to be written out of her district.

Are there any DUers from Los Angeles involved in this process who can provide advice?

Thanks

January 21, 2021

Parler's Internet host has its Internet addresses revoked

Parler, the beleaguered social network advertised as a “free speech” alternative to Facebook and Twitter, has had a tough month. Apple and Google removed the Parler app from their stores, and Amazon blocked the platform from using its hosting services. Parler has since found a home in DDoS-Guard, a Russian digital infrastructure company. But now it appears DDoS-Guard is about to be relieved of more than two-thirds of the Internet address space the company leases to clients — including the Internet addresses currently occupied by Parler.

The pending disruption for DDoS-Guard and Parler comes compliments of Ron Guilmette, a researcher who has made it something of a personal mission to de-platform conspiracy theorist and far-right groups.

https://krebsonsecurity.com/2021/01/ddos-guard-to-forfeit-internet-space-occupied-by-parler/

It appears the Russian firm DDoS-Guard hosting Parler does not directly own the Internet addresses it is assigning. They are instead assigned to two corporations, one based in Belize and one based in Scotland. The entity which assigns Internet addresses in Latin America and the Caribbean (LACNIC) requires a physical presence in the region. The Belize company is a shell with no physical presence in Belize. LACNIC is terminating these addresses, including those assigned to Parler.