Suggestions for Guardian articles
Subject: Suggestions for Guardian articles
From: Clark Robinson <robinsonchicago@gmail.com>
Date: 1/17/11, 15:06
To: Barrett Brown <barriticus@gmail.com>

Some time ago you asked me for suggestions for Guardian article topics; here are three:

1.  You have extra credibility as a Wikileaks supporter due to acknowledging some of their shortcomings; this would make an interesting essay. You probably could write such without a lot of research, since it would recount personal experience and recycle stuff you have already written about, though not recently.  Some details: I, like a lot of people, never appreciated the importance of Wikileaks (or in my case even heard of it), until I read your True/Slant pieces about it.  You were way ahead of the crowd.  I remember on the day Collateral Murder was released you expressed your frustration in a G-chat or e-mail to me, stating that you had been on the phone to your mother who told you that the cable/broadcast news programs were entirely consumed by coverage of Tiger Woods' confessions.  Collateral Murder itself was ill-conceived: instead of simply releasing the raw tape, WL imposed a commentary on it which turned out to be erroneous (re the RPG launcher). In your writings about this you retracted a statement related to the presence of an RPG.  You later wrote a piece on an interview Assange did about this, titled something like "Wikileaks [or was it Assange himself?] lies to interviewer; Wikileaks necessary anyway."  More recently you have acknowledged that Wikileaks has a Russian associate whom they should shed.  I can probably find the the statements & posts from last spring referred to herein, if you need me to.

2.  Here's another exercise in leverage of existing material:  You got such an impressive response from Guardian readers about the Lee article.  I suspect you could draw an equally good response to a carefully excerpted chapter from the unpublished book, thus establishing for the benefit of potential publishers a track record of high interest from a somewhat sophisticated audience.

3.  The picture of Lee on Traveler that the Guardian put at the top of your article made me think of a funny piece you wrote about George W. Bush's relationships with horses, and other interesting comparisons/contrasts with Lee, including the strange hybrid of cultures that produced W (Connecticut vs. Texas). Will history look at patriot Bush less forgivingly than rebel Lee?  I can probably find the "GWB scared of horses" piece if you need me to.

Clark