Are Progressive Listserves Arbitarily being Blocked by AT&T?

---

By Caroline Vernon

A few months back, PACG (Progressive Action for the Common Good) started experiencing problems with our members dropping off our email list.  Oddly, as site administrator, I was not receiving any official bounceback notices informing me of any undelivered email with the occasional exception of a full mailbox now and again.

It wasn’t until the first of this year that I realized the extent of the problem and determined that most of our Mediacom and Yahoo users were being blocked from receiving our email. Last week I finally received a bounceback notice in my administrative inbox, with the names of almost 70 members which were”blocked for abuse”.  As it turns out, many of these members had not been receiving our email for weeks and in some cases months, so I was very concerned as to why I only recently received the bounceback notice. This indicates that the data was blocked going out and coming in.  I immediately contacted Mediacom and after much wrangling was told that the problem lies with AT&T as they manage the traffic for both carriers. A Mediacom representative actually told me we had been “blacklisted” but did not know why. I then contacted AT&T, following their recommended protocol and providing them with all pertinent information via email as no telephone number is available.

After 3 days, and no response from AT&T, I filed an official complaint with Congressman Braley’s Davenport office who in turn filed a complaint with the FCC. At that time, the FCC indicated they were receiving many similar complaints. The following day (yesterday) I received a response from AT&T which indicated that the block will be removed within 24 to 36 hours. A copy of their response is below.

I think it is important to mention that PACG has been advocating against telecom immunity within the FISA bill. We sent out many action alerts asking our members to contact their elected officials and even staged a funeral procession for the U.S. Constitution outside of Senator Grassley’s Davenport office. We were asking the Senator to vote against the bill that provided immunity, and to protect the Constitution. Channel 6 (KWQC) covered the event as did the Moline Dispatch. The related action alert that we sent out to our list was front and center on our website for many weeks.

As you may know, in January of this year, AT&T, Comcast, and others, announced that they would begin to take more aggressive steps to manage network traffic in order to minimize spam and safeguard against copyright infringement of video sharing, etc. Unfortunately, they seem to be inspecting for content other than what they have cited. PACG is an opt-in only email service. We do not send out spam or share video files although we may provide links to sites that do.

During the recent Hearing on Broadband Network Management, FCC Chairman, Kevin Martin stated,

“Obviously network operators can take reasonable steps to manage traffic, but they cannot arbitrarily block access.”

There is no justifiable reason to have blocked PACG for abuse as is sited in the communication below… nor is any explanation given as to why we were classified as such.

I have since received communications from other progressive organizations who have indicated that much of their email is also being blocked. Given AT&T's response below, it seems as though they are saying this may be an ongoing problem for many listserves, and they seem to be passing the buck right back to the carriers.

If any of your organizations are experiencing similar problems, I strongly recommend that you contact your Congressperson and/or Senators to file an official complaint with the FCC.

In order to track this issue more closely, I am creating a list of all organizations who are having similar problems with delivery of their email. I can be reached at carolina1961@gmail.com or 563-676-7580.  

Response from AT&T:

Administrator/Customer:

Thank you for contacting the Postmaster/Abuse team at ATT.NET and
BELLSOUTH.NET.

The mail-server IP address(es) associated with your request will be
removed from the block-list within 24-36 hours from the receipt of
this letter.  ATT.NET and BELLSOUTH.NET, its affiliates, and network
services customers do NOT intentionally block legitimate mail in the
course of our anti-spam initiatives.  We regret any inconvenience this
may have caused.

Network administrators at ATT.NET and BELLSOUTH.NET closely analyze
the mail stream bound for our customers to identify sources that exhibit
the characteristics of compromised network objects or are compromised
by an offender of Acceptable Use Policies.  While a certain level of
this kind of mail is to be expected in today's internet traffic, when
this occurs above generous thresholds set by ATT.NET and BELLSOUTH.NET
system administrators, immediate and decisive action is taken to
protect our network resources.

****CUSTOMERS****
If you submitted an IP address for removal through the administrator's
webform, or requested removal by emailing abuse_rbl@abuse-att.net, the
administrator of the sending mail service or hosting provider is unaware
of the issue and the IP may be blocked again.  It is imperative that the
sending service or hosting provider be made aware of the issue.  Please
send this message, along with the error message to that administrator
so action may be taken to resolve the issues that caused the block.  If
you forward mail from a hosting service to your ATT.NET and
BELLSOUTH.NET mail account, read the note on forwarded mail below.

****ADMINSTRATORS****
Please thoroughly check your IP logs before requesting removal.  If you
have already been removed, please examine your logs for rogue traffic,
AUP offenders, and compromised scripts or objects.  You must determine
that all traffic from the blocked IP is actually from your mail servers
to ensure your network is not compromised.  Administrators who fail to
do this may experience subsequent and more resolute blocking.


Thank you for helping the ATT.NET and BELLSOUTH.NET network combat
network abuse in all its forms.

Regards,

ATT.NET and BELLSOUTH.NET Postmaster/Abuse Team

****FORWARDED MAIL****
If you are forwarding mail from a vanity domain, hosting service, or
any other mail account that receives a high volume of spam, you may
be indirectly contributing to the blocking of that IP.  Forwarded spam
is still spam and should be filtered at the source to end the abuse of
network resources at the earliest point.  Users can do this by utilizing
spam filtering tools provided by the hosting service or external
Internet Service Provider before it is forwarded to your ATT.NET and
BELLSOUTH.NET.

Statement of FCC Chairman Kevin Martin on Broadband Network Management Hearing:

http://www.freepress.net/news/30728

We Must TAKE Our Country Back!

Whether it’s health care, the cost of education, our environment or global trade, Corporate America is holding us all hostage to the almighty dollar. Greed continues to trump need as corporations make record profits while more and more Americans fall into poverty every year. Congress allows industry to write policy, and legislators don’t even read the bills they enact. The average person would lose their job for gross negligence. The pharmaceutical/insurance lobbies make billions on the grief of others, systematically denying people essential treatment or drugs in order to save a buck. Half of our taxpayer money goes to the Pentagon who “loses” over a trillion dollars and “it’s nothing but a thing” yet we have to beg to fund health care for our children. Agri-Business dominates at the expense of our environment and health as 85% of our food is now genetically modified, our meat is ridden with hormones and antibiotics, and pesticides have permeated the water table. Global trade agreements allow corporations to exploit for profit with no safeguards in place for workers or the environment.

It is our moral imperative to stand up and say no more! John Edwards seems to be the only candidate that understands that we have to make an aggressive push to take our country back – the key word being “take”. While it is important to be able to bring everyone to the table, we can’t continue to allow Corporate America to eat all the food.

Which comes down to, follow the money…

Edwards and Obama are my two top picks but there are some important distinctions to be made here. I think Obama is awesome and I will support him whole heartedly if he gets the Democratic nod, but as an activist, and more importantly as a mother and your sister, there is way too much at stake in this election, not only for our country but for the planet. Corporate America will never give up their stranglehold on America or the rest of the world so we must TAKE IT from them! There is no negotiating a moral standard… and frankly, that’s what this election is about.

There are two main issues that concern me about Obama; the fact that he voted for the Peru Trade agreement (more of the same of what ails us), and more egregiously, the fact that he is promoting nuclear energy. Coincidentally, Obama has accepted a lot of money from Exelon Nuclear and only stopped taking corporate monies this past year once he decided to run for President. I commend him for that recent decision but I am horrified that he is promoting  nuclear power.

The current energy bill before Congress may have 10 billion dollars allocated toward renewable energy, and that rocks, but if you look at the whole pie, it’s too little too late! 25 billion is allocated for guaranteed loans to build new nuclear sites and billions more for coal fired plants. I mean, this is what I am talking about people… Corporate America writing OUR policy! Do ya’ll remember all the hoopla about storing the nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain? Do you want that in your backyard? Is it OK as long as it’s stored in someone else’s backyard (out of sight, out of mind)? Do you really think our Earth Mother will be served by that? We need to save Her in order to save ourselves. Almost everything we do generates some form of waste by-product. Instead of adding to it, especially nuclear waste, we need to use our considerable ingenuity to invent our way out of this mess. It is our only true hope.  What we absolutely cannot afford is more of the same… business as usual.

Corporate America has had the resources and the necessary information to create new technologies for decades.  Rather than doing the right thing, and truly be leaders of innovation, much of their resources have been spent preventing said technologies from entering the marketplace because, God forbid, that could hurt their bottom line. If their shareholders weren't so blinded by their own greed, they would be able to recognize the incredible opportunity that is presenting itself NOW. Corporate America and our elected officials could simply CHOOSE to lead this necessary technological revolution, but it remains to be seen.... so it's up to us.

We must TAKE our country back!

DFA National Action:

Ask the Media to "Tell the Truth" about the War

The following Media Advisory was sent to all local media in the Quad Cities and surrounding areas of Eastern Iowa:

Scheduled Event -- Davenport, IA  

Event:        "Tell the Truth" Picket and Rally

Participating Organizations:

Democracy for America -  Quad Cites and the Peace Forum of Progressive Action for the Common Good

Contacts:      Alta Price: - 563-332-5051, 563-505-2996

                    Monica Kurth - 563-271-9332

______________________________________________________________________________

Following the Sept. 11 anniversary, we Americans demand that this president do what he has never done since he seized the office -- tell the truth.

The facts are clear: Iraq had nothing to do with Sept. 11, which even the Bush administration has admitted. Yet White House officials and many media pundits still continue the false position that the war in Iraq is "fighting terrorism."

Quad Citians will be participating in a "Tell the Truth" rally on Thursday, September 13th from 4:30 to 6pm asking Clear Channel WOC Talk Radio 1420 AM to TELL the TRUTH about the Iraq war.

We are asking 1420 AM (Rush Limbaugh and Jim Fisher) to tell the truth about the failure of Bush's "surge". We will also call on Clear Channel to return Progressive radio to the Quad Cities.

What:    Clear Channel and WOC picket
When:   Thursday, September 13, 2007, 4:30 PM
Where:  Quad Cities Radio Group
             3535 E Kimberly
             Davenport IA 52807

A majority of Quad Citians are against this war - the same is true nationally.

Last year, the Quad Cities lost Progressive radio immediately after the 2006 elections. We believe this is no coincidence given the shift in power as a result of the last election, and the rising tide of opposition to the war. The American people want our troops home and out of harm's way.

We demand that Clear Channel and WOC Talk Radio "tell the truth!"

America has never been told the truth about the Iraq war. Stop telling us that "Iraq will stabilize" when (pick one) Saddam Hussein is removed, Iraq has a constitution, Iraq has an election, Iraq has a security force, the troop surge has done its job. Stop telling us that "freedom is on the march" when we can see with our own eyes that Iraq remains a quagmire of corruption, sectarian fighting, death and destruction.

The truth is what the Government Accountability Office recently reported -- that the Iraqi government met three of 18 benchmarks, partially met four and failed to meet 11.

The truth is -- America had no business invading Iraq post 9/11. 

Progressive Action for the Common Good - Quad Cities Fall Summit

Spiritual Progressives Conference

Theme: Living Our Faith:  Integrating Values & Politics in the Heartland

Friday – Saturday, November 2 & 3, 2007
First Congregational Church – United Church of Christ
2201 7th Avenue
Moline, Illinois 61265

The purpose of the Spiritual Progressive Conference is to promote progressive voices on the issues of values and spirituality into the heartland of Iowa and western Illinois.  Our conference is designed to interject a clear progressive voice and consciousness into the public dialogue that coincides with the build up to the highly publicized Iowa caucuses and Illinois primary. We will be covering three main areas at our conference:

1) Promoting a conversation on Progressive Values & and Spirituality

2) Organizing Progressives for political action

3) Creating healthy personal & inner lives for progressive people

Keynote speaker:

Rabbi Michael Lerner - Rabbi Michael Lerner is a national and international leader in the areas of progressive spirituality & political action. He is the founder of the Network for Spiritual Progressives.   He is also the editor of TIKKUN magazine, rabbi of Beyt Tikkun synagogue in Berkeley and San Francisco, CA, and the author of eleven books, including most recently The Left Hand of God: Taking Back Our Country from the Religious Right.

Friday Agenda

6 PM   Shabbat Services with Rabbi Lerner at Temple Emmanuel

Saturday Agenda

9:30 AM     Registration
10:00 AM   Opening Session
10:15 AM   Key Note – “Who are Spiritual Progressives?”      

11:15 AM   Break

11:30 AM   Workshops (Round 1)
12:30 AM   Luncheon – Musical interlude
1:30 PM     Workshop (Round 2)
2:30 PM     Closing Plenary  
3:30 PM     End