We have a list of those who have called for the death of Assange. Your blog allowed someone to call for the death of Assange. As to the timing, I suggest you pay better attention. As to why I'm not bothered about despite being known as an ethical guy by even my enemies - remember when you told me that one little blog comment by that reader of yours who decided that I didn't really write for the things I clearly write for isn't going to matter? Us releasing the name of someone who called for someone's murder with your editorial approval (when you express disaproval at someone cussing or Hanley being a giant fag, you thereby give implicit approval to everything that goes unnoted by your army of co-editors) isn't going to matter much more, is it?
As I said, I know you mean well; it's just that I don't respect your judgement any more than you respect mine and I'm having a hard time seeing where you did me any favors by having let me write for your blog for free. That information regarding that fellow is mine by virtue of it having been sent to my mailbox in the course of my work. Now that information belongs to Anonymous.
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T
From: Erik Kain <erik.kain@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 10 Feb 2011 07:49:40 -0700
To: Barrett Brown<barriticus@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: Circumstances
Barrett-
So listen, I don't know what's going on that compels you to "out" this commenter. But I'd ask that you consider this: your 'outing' may have no effect on said commenter to begin with, and he may not even be an important piece in whatever puzzle it is you're putting together in any case. I'd say both those outcomes are quite likely - he won't be effected and, even if he were, he wouldn't be much of a target in the larger scheme.
However, you will almost certainly do damage to our blog. And it's a blog that spoke out on numerous occasions decrying the treatment of Manning, backing Wikilinks and Assange, etc. Why you would put us in the firing line just because of a comment made in one of our threads is beyond me, and hugely insulting. Actually, it makes me pretty upset because I invited you to write for us and this is a pretty flagrant betrayal of that trust. Trust is important, and you risk damaging a site which has always been outspoken on civil liberties. Why make enemies out of friends over this? Why not focus on bigger fish? I don't get it. I really don't.
I'm sure you mean well in your own way, but as I've just explained on your blog, we take the actions of that government employee particularly seriously in light of recent revelations that you no doubt have not noticed. There has been a corporate/federal/mercantalist conspiracy against Wikileaks and Anonymous that has resulted in guns-drawn raids against a 19-year-old girl, among other things, and we are now in war mode. That idiot whom was allowed to call for the murder of my friend on your blog is going to be outed due to what we now know about that effort. I understand that you will react in accordance with your personal ethics in this, and I understand that. But this isn't a fucking rhetorical game and it never was. There were always consequences.