Okay many thanks, I've forwarded this to our television team so hopefully they will be in touch.
Also, if you want to follow up directly with our op-ed editor, his email is nasir.khan@aljazeera.net
Sent: 15 January 2011 03:56
To: Yasmine Ryan
Subject: Re: Anonymous movement interview
On Fri, Jan 14, 2011 at 12:54 PM, Barrett Brown <
barriticus@gmail.com<mailto:
barriticus@gmail.com>> wrote:
Hi, Yasmine-
Would you mind passing this on to the appropriate editor?
Press Release
For Immediate Distribution
January 13th, 2011
An unprecedented coalition of information activists and organizations have come together in an effort to advance the ongoing campaign against the informational tyranny that has been on view as of late in the context of Wikileaks, Julian Assange, and Bradley Manning. All three of these parties have been subjected to state oppression, without due regard for the alleged "rule of law;" all three have been maligned in dishonest and often bizarre ways; all three have earned such treatment by way of having together ensured that all of humanity may, for the first time in history, together learn how it is that their wealth, loyalty, and lives are being used by those who plead national security while having provided no such thing to their own citizens and even seizing it from those living elsewhere.
In response to these latest outrages against competence and decency, our coalition - comprised of veterans and anti-war groups, a faction of the Anonymous movement, the distributed think-tank Project PM, and a loose network of journalists, media professionals, scientists, former intelligence and government officials, and related organizations - announces a stepped-up campaign of information and direct action that begins tomorrow and which will culminate in a rally and press conference on the steps of New York City Hall on April 7th at 3:00 pm. This event, the Rally for Information Freedom, will be supplemented by a campaign on the part of Anonymous, Project PM, and related entities to bring attention to the dozens of significant stories that have been largely ignored due to the unfortunate dynamics by which too many media have come to operate. The New York conference - conceived by longtime resident activist, Navy veteran, and acclaimed photographer John Penley - will feature about a dozen speakers including Penley, author and Project PM founder Barrett Brown, key Anonymous activist and Chanology co-instigator Gregg Housh, and National Lawyer’s Guild executive director Heidi Boghosian. Messages from other figures in the pro-transparency movement will also be presented in lieu of their ability to attend.
Never in human history has mankind endured a period in which so much of the terminology employed at its end would have been unrecognizable at its beginning. The last twenty years have changed the landscape in which man operates, expanding the potential for human collaboration in such a way as to eliminate the barriers that rendered the nation-state a viable institution. As those barriers fall, so too does the primacy of the world's governments, which in turn have increasingly found themselves unable to maintain the secrecy through which they have run a great portion human affairs with results that may be politely characterized as mixed. The various states have responded to these developments with a collective message to the effect that such secrecy is necessary if they are to continue operating without the informed consent of their respective populations, though this has generally been expressed in slightly different words. Meanwhile, several such governments have, through their specific conduct in the wake of the last year, provided a timely reminder as to why it is that many of those who truly value liberty and morality have lost faith in those same governments.
This event is part of an effort to counter the dishonesty and injustice of the states which have reacted to such emergent phenomena with censorship and persecution while also forging greater coordination among the various parties that have been fighting on behalf of the cause of informational liberty. To this end, a series of meetings both formal and otherwise will be held throughout the first week of April; further information will be relayed in a second press release in late March.
Confirmed Speakers
John Penley is a Vietnam era Navy vet who was put in solitary confinement in 1984 by the U.S. government for a past protest at the Savannah River Nuclear Weapons Plant. A 59-year-old veteran of New York City housing, anti-war and civil rights activism, Penley is also a longtime photojournalist whose work has been pubilshed by most NYC major media outlets; his photo archive is housed at New York University’s Tamiment Library.
Barrett Brown is a writer and author as well as the founder of Project PM. His work has appeared in Vanity Fair, Huffington Post, The Guardian, The Onion, New York Press, Skeptical Inquirer, American Atheist, and other outlets. He has been active in the Anonymous movement for several years and serves as an advocate for efficient, ethical alternatives to traditional methods of governance.
Gregg Housh is an Internet activist involved with the online non-group Anonymous. His work has included coordinating global demonstrations against human rights abuses in the Church of Scientology and assisting Iranian members of the Green Movement in reaching the global media. Having built a strong sense of trust among several disparate subgroups of Anonymous, Housh now acts as a media interpreter for major online initiatives such as Operation Payback.
Heidi Boghosian is the executive director of the National Lawyers Guild, a progressive bar association established in 1937. She is co-host of the weekly civil liberties radio program Law and Disorder on WBAI, New York and over 30 national affiliate stations. She has published several articles and reports on policing, protest, and the First Amendment.
Sebastian Gillen is a 21-year-old graduate of Tufts University. When he was eight years old, he was diagnosed with Stage IV Neuroblastoma, a rare form of pediatric cancer, and given two weeks to live. More than ten years later, he is still cancer-free and an active advocate for childhood cancer research. He has spoken at rallies on Capitol Hill and Greg Norman's Shark Shootout, among other places. He thinks science is totally awesome and runs a blog at Weareinthefuture.com and administrates Project PM’s Science Journalism Program.
Faith Laugier is a musician, artist, activist, and New York native who’s worked with many of the city’s human rights organizations, cultural non-profits, and homeless centers in an effort to advance the inherent right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
General Press Inquiries
Barrett Brown
barriticus@gmail.com<mailto:barriticus@gmail.com>
(512) 560-2302
On Tue, Jan 4, 2011 at 1:30 PM, Barrett Brown <
barriticus@gmail.com<mailto:
barriticus@gmail.com>> wrote:
Great, thanks. Let me know if I can be of further assistance, and thanks for sending along the op-ed.
On Tue, Jan 4, 2011 at 1:28 PM, Yasmine Ryan <
Yasmine.Ryan@aljazeera.net<mailto:
Yasmine.Ryan@aljazeera.net>> wrote:
Hi Barrett,
I've actually spoken to Anonymous activists in one of the forums, so no need for the interview today.
However, I've forwarded your submission to our Op-eds editor, and it seems he is interested. So expect a reply from him in the next day or so.
Many thanks,
Yasmine
Yasmine Ryan | Web Journalist
Al Jazeera English | PO Box 23127 | Doha | Qatar
M: +974 33362518 | Fax: +974 4892256
From: barri2009 [barriticus@gmail.com<mailto:barriticus@gmail.com>]
Sent: 04 January 2011 00:00
To: Yasmine Ryan
Subject: Re: Anonymous movement interview
Sounds good, will e-mail tomorrow.
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T
-----Original Message-----
Date: Tue, 4 Jan 2011 00:56:47
Hi Barrett,
Not sure why number wasn't working, I was dialing with US country code (001 512-560-2302). I'm about to head to bed as it's late on this side of the world. I'm yazlydia on Skype, if you add me then we can try for tomorrow, morning your time?
I'll be freer tomorrow so just let me know when suits you and I'll call then. Will let you know for your feature too, thanks for forwarding.
Best,
Yasmine
Yasmine Ryan | Web Journalist
Al Jazeera English | PO Box 23127 | Doha | Qatar
M: +974 33362518 | Fax: +974 4892256
Sent: 04 January 2011 00:36
To: Yasmine Ryan
Subject: Re: Anonymous movement interview
Well, I'm going to be leaving this office soon. My 512-560-2302 is a cell phone and my only line; U.S. country code, of course. If you are unable to connect for some reason we can use Skype, which might work better anyway. Let me know. In the meantime, here is an op-ed I have written if you'd care to pass it along to the editors; it will also give you some background into our thinking, I believe.
Never in human history has there been a period that compares to our own in the degree to which the terminology employed at the end of a twenty-year period would have been entirely incomprehensible at its beginning. This is, or should be, the first sign that something is afoot. All significant human activity is the result of human collaboration, and over this same period the potential for human collaboration has exploded in a manner that has never before been seen. This is the second sign, and the fact that these developments and their implications have been greeted with the usual mix of silly and inane commentary for which our career media personnel have become known even to themselves is in turn a perfect indication of why this period has been so necessary, and why many of us are working to ensure that the dynamics now in play continue to accelerate.
Wikileaks, a force that was ignored by a news media incapable of identifying important trends until such time as it became impossible to disregard, has ushered in a new period of human history in which state actors have lost the privacy that they never deserved in the first place. Anonymous, a similarly misunderstood harbinger of the coming age, has taken a series of actions to defend that organization, including information campaigns and DDOS attacks on national governments - including Tunisia, as of this writing - that have welcomed the new age with tighter controls on what their citizens are allowed to see. As someone who has worked with and promoted certain factions of Anonymous for a number of years, I would like to explain what it is that is happening and why it will continue until such time as individual liberty escapes its controversial status.
Throughout history, the majority has been consistently wrong and consistently willing to initiate violence in service to the local flavor of foolishness. Not long ago, many took for granted the divine right of kings - and some still do, of course. Today, many in the West believe that anything is moral just so long as it is done in some accordance with the will of the voting population of a particular nation-state; to some, even a king’s intent will suffice. Actions of extraordinarily lesser negative impact on the innocent, taken by any organization that lacks the arbitrary status of a “state,” are meanwhile denounced with a fervor that the more fair-minded might reserve for those who routinely cause the deaths of women and children - for instance, the large majority of American voters who have exercised their “rights” to topple one dictator while propping up others, and who pat themselves on the back for their participation in a civic entity that has made such a mockery of the rule of law that those of us who were born too late to see the America that once existed no longer feel any loyalty to its government whatsoever.
This is the context that has turned Anonymous from a Dadaist cultural phenomenon into a geopolitical harbinger. Its first notable target was the violent white supremacist and FBI informant Hal Turner; its second was the Church of Scientology and the degenerate manner in which it deals with critics and apostates; its third was the government of Australia on the occasion of a proposed internet censorship policy that would have opened the door for further state control of expression, as such policies always do.
Over time, Anonymous has changed. Some of us are no longer anonymous, for one thing; my associate Gregg Housh was outed by the Church of Scientology after they discovered he was one of the five participants who launched the Chanology raids via a YouTube proclamation, and thus now gives interviews to those outlets that care to know more; my associate Sean Carasov killed himself last month after a great deal of legal harassment from the “Church” that helped to ensure that his career would never see a revival. Others have been arrested as well, and more will be arrested in the future. This will stop nothing. And the typically flawed reception that the movement has received from those who will justify most any government action will not change the fact that we have entered a new age in which individuals around the world can form their own entities to counter those that now exist, and will do so increasingly as the implications of our time become more widely understood. And they will indeed be made understood, soon and forever after, to all who choose to listen.
From: Yasmine Ryan <Yasmine.Ryan@aljazeera.net<mailto:Yasmine.Ryan@aljazeera.net><mailto:Yasmine.Ryan@aljazeera.net<mailto:Yasmine.Ryan@aljazeera.net>>>
Date: Tue, 4 Jan 2011 00:04:17 +0300
To: Barrett Brown<barriticus@gmail.com<mailto:barriticus@gmail.com><mailto:barriticus@gmail.com<mailto:barriticus@gmail.com>>>
Subject: RE: Anonymous movement interview
Hi Barret,
Just tried calling but it's not going through, can I just confirm the dialling code? Thanks!
Yasmine Ryan | Web Journalist
Al Jazeera English | PO Box 23127 | Doha | Qatar
M: +974 33362518 | Fax: +974 4892256
Yasmine.Ryan@aljazeera.net<mailto:Yasmine.Ryan@aljazeera.net><mailto:Yasmine.Ryan@aljazeera.net<mailto:Yasmine.Ryan@aljazeera.net>>
From: Barrett Brown [barriticus@gmail.com<mailto:barriticus@gmail.com><mailto:barriticus@gmail.com<mailto:barriticus@gmail.com>>]
Sent: 03 January 2011 22:07
To: Yasmine Ryan
Subject: Re: Anonymous movement interview
Thanks, Yasmine; look forward to your call.
Yasmine.Ryan@aljazeera.net<mailto:Yasmine.Ryan@aljazeera.net><mailto:Yasmine.Ryan@aljazeera.net<mailto:Yasmine.Ryan@aljazeera.net>>
From: Barrett Brown [barriticus@gmail.com<mailto:barriticus@gmail.com><mailto:barriticus@gmail.com<mailto:barriticus@gmail.com>>]
Sent: 03 January 2011 21:51
To: Yasmine Ryan
Subject: Re: Anonymous movement interview
Yasmine-
Sorry, I meant to ask if al-Jazeera might be interested; I accidentally wrote The Guardian because I had just replied to one of the editors there regarding an op-ed I'm doing for them. Anyway, do let me know if al-Jazeera would like to take a look at a piece of that sort.
Yasmine.Ryan@aljazeera.net<mailto:Yasmine.Ryan@aljazeera.net><mailto:Yasmine.Ryan@aljazeera.net<mailto:Yasmine.Ryan@aljazeera.net>>
From: Barrett Brown [barriticus@gmail.com<mailto:barriticus@gmail.com><mailto:barriticus@gmail.com<mailto:barriticus@gmail.com>>]
Sent: 03 January 2011 21:02
To: Yasmine Ryan
Subject: Re: Anonymous movement interview
Yasmine-
It is currently noon my time; I should be available to talk between now and midnight, so feel free to call at any time. Also let me know if the Guardian would be interested in running an op-ed regarding Anonymous' intent and the context that has prompted us to act.
On Mon, Jan 3, 2011 at 4:38 AM, Yasmine Ryan <
Yasmine.Ryan@aljazeera.net<mailto:
Yasmine.Ryan@aljazeera.net><mailto:
Yasmine.Ryan@aljazeera.net<mailto:
Yasmine.Ryan@aljazeera.net>>> wrote:
Dear Barrett,
Many thanks for getting in touch. I'm definitely interested in speaking with you. I would be very grateful for the chance to speak with someone about Anonymous's operations against government websites .
Let me know when would be the best time to call you to discuss this.
Many thanks,
Yasmine
Yasmine Ryan | Web Journalist
Al Jazeera English | PO Box 23127 | Doha | Qatar
M: +974 33362518 | Fax: +974 4892256
Yasmine.Ryan@aljazeera.net<mailto:Yasmine.Ryan@aljazeera.net><mailto:Yasmine.Ryan@aljazeera.net<mailto:Yasmine.Ryan@aljazeera.net>>
From: Barrett Brown [barriticus@gmail.com<mailto:barriticus@gmail.com><mailto:barriticus@gmail.com<mailto:barriticus@gmail.com>>]
Sent: 03 January 2011 06:40
To: Yasmine Ryan
Subject: Anonymous movement interview
Hello, Yasmine-
This is Barrett Brown; I'm a contributor to Vanity Fair, The Guardian, Skeptical Inquirer, and other outlets and also serve as a sort of activist in service of such things as Wikileaks. I'm also a longtime participant in Anonymous' actions against various entities, which is to say I'm not really a journalist any more. I am writing to you because the de facto leadership of the faction of Anonymous which has been operating against various governments and other entities have identified you as someone who is capable of reporting on their actions in a fair manner - not necessarily entirely positive, but rather in a way that conveys their intent - and would like to grant you exclusive information on their new efforts against the Tunisian government and other such things. If this interests you, let me know, and I will provide you instructions on how to connect to their IRC channel or otherwise make contact.
--
Regards,
Barrett Brown
512-560-2302
________________________________
Notice: This email is intended only for the use of the individual or entity named above and may contain information that is confidential and privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this email is strictly prohibited. Opinions, conclusions and other information in this message that do not relate to the official business of our firm shall be understood as neither given nor endorsed by it.
--
Regards,
Barrett Brown
512-560-2302
________________________________
Notice: This email is intended only for the use of the individual or entity named above and may contain information that is confidential and privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this email is strictly prohibited. Opinions, conclusions and other information in this message that do not relate to the official business of our firm shall be understood as neither given nor endorsed by it.
--
Regards,
Barrett Brown
512-560-2302
________________________________
Notice: This email is intended only for the use of the individual or entity named above and may contain information that is confidential and privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this email is strictly prohibited. Opinions, conclusions and other information in this message that do not relate to the official business of our firm shall be understood as neither given nor endorsed by it.
--
Regards,
Barrett Brown
512-560-2302
________________________________
Notice: This email is intended only for the use of the individual or entity named above and may contain information that is confidential and privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this email is strictly prohibited. Opinions, conclusions and other information in this message that do not relate to the official business of our firm shall be understood as neither given nor endorsed by it.
--
Regards,
Barrett Brown
512-560-2302
--
Regards,
Barrett Brown
512-560-2302
--
Regards,
Barrett Brown
512-560-2302
Notice: This email is intended only for the use of the individual or entity named above and may contain information that is confidential and privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this email is strictly prohibited. Opinions, conclusions and other information in this message that do not relate to the official business of our firm shall be understood as neither given nor endorsed by it.
Notice: This email is intended only for the use of the individual or entity named above and may contain information that is confidential and privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this email is strictly prohibited. Opinions, conclusions and other information in this message that do not relate to the official business of our firm shall be understood as neither given nor endorsed by it.
--
Regards,
Barrett Brown
512-560-2302
--
Regards,
Barrett Brown
512-560-2302
--
Regards,
Barrett Brown
512-560-2302
Notice: This email is intended only for the use of the individual or entity named above and may contain information that is confidential and privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this email is strictly prohibited. Opinions, conclusions and other information in this message that do not relate to the official business of our firm shall be understood as neither given nor endorsed by it.