| Subject: Re: Leaving Anonymous? |
| From: Barrett Brown <barriticus@gmail.com> |
| Date: 5/18/11, 20:59 |
| To: "Olson, Parmy" <POlson@forbes.com> |
On Wed, May 18, 2011 at 6:28 PM, Olson, Parmy
<POlson@forbes.com> wrote:
How about just via email for now as I wouldn't be able to call till tomorrow now. That okay? Thanks for your response. So here are some questions for you:
- Why have you now "left" Anonymous?'
For the same reason I "joined" in the first place when OpTunisia began; I'm interested in using the dynamics of the information age as a weapon against those institutions that exist not because they should, but because of systematic flaws in human affairs - dictatorships, oppressive government agencies, semi-private companies that are effectively above the law by virtue of some relationship to the state. For a few months, the Anonops server was an incredible place from which to work. The operations going on then attracted a very good set of people, including many North Africans, and we were able to provide a great deal of assistance to their cause via the methods I wrote about here:
http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/02/201121321487750509.html. And the HBGary campaign was a significant blow to an industry that needed to be cracked open and scrutinized. The problem is that in addition to those who see Anonymous as a means by which to fight against a broken system, there are also a great number people who don't care one way or the other about such things and who will tell you as much. Such people can and will intentionally disrupt some of the work that goes on because they are dedicated to Anonymous remaining an amoral sort of institution. And then there are those who hate Anonymous altogether for one reason or another and spend an amazing amount of time on that particular hobby. A lot of the people I've worked with have sort of drifted away, and it's thus gotten to the point where I can get more accomplished by overseeing my own organization. I still think those who want to get involved in online activism should look into Anonymous; but I'm in an unusual position in which I have media assets, people who are interested in working with me, and my own outlets by which to disseminate information, so it makes sense for me personally to leave.
- If the Ryan incident hadn't happened, would you still be supporting / working with Anonymous?
No, I would have left today upon seeing this new operation whereby participants are planning to fake UFO videos or some such stupid fucking thing.
- Would you agree that the four months of 2011 marked a politically-charged, "golden era" for Anonymous? Would you say that's ended now?
I would agree that this time frame has indeed been a "golden era," but that doesn't mean that Anonymous can't bounce back. The problem is that those like me who are purely in it for the purpose of fighting back against a broken system are going to have to contend with the many, many people who simply want to feel like they're apart of some big, mysterious force that no one fucks with. Millions of people who have come before us have sacrificed their own well-being and even their lives for the relative liberty that many on this planet now enjoy, and today each individual who benefits from their sacrifices has a choice: he can either do nothing by which to promote liberty for others, or he can spend at least a bit of time each week taking advantage of the information age in such a way as to further that cause of liberty. The former are parasites and below contempt. The latter can now easily find each other, communicate and collaborate, and start building an international coalition by which to reduce the power of those who misuse it. Of course, many from the former group find that prospect amusing, not having any familiarity with the subject of information warfare.
- Is Anonymous going to be on hiatus until the next big event comes along that strikes a chord with its constituents?
No, Anonymous is always active to the extent that people who call themselves Anonymous are doing things in the name of Anonymous, or something.
- Are you familiar with the hackers Sabu, Kayla, Tflow, Topiary, and do you believe they played a significant role in spearheading some of the key Anonymous operations in previous months, and keeping the masses motivated?
I'm familiar with all of them. I worked closely with Topiary for a while, particularly on OpMetalGear when it was just a few of us working via Skype with a rather colorful old man with strong ties to the software and intelligence industries. He and I wrote the bulk of the press release (Anonymous Concedes Defeat) that we put out in response to the Financial Times piece with Aaron Barr talking his nonsense, the day before the hacker team destroyed the fellow. I don't know exactly who did what on that attack although Topiary had control of Barr's Twitter account and wrote something like "I was pwned by Barrett Brown's sexy, sexy words." At any rate, he "went dark" over a month ago, partly due to concerns that we were getting too close to some serious shit in our investigation, as things were indeed getting intense. It probably didn't help that I was doing things like calling Mike McConnell at his house to tell him he needed to knock off this persona management bullshit. Kayla's involvement in the HBGary hack is public record as "she" did an interview on the subject and left "her" little signature thingy on
rootkit.com. Sabu introduced himself to me recently but before that we'd never spoken, and I don't know anything about his exact role in things other than that he's done some great work. I've spoken to Tflow quite a bit and we generally got along but he was concerned that OpMetalGear is going to get Anonymous destroyed via "blowback" and seems to have told the press as much. I understand his concern, although I think the fact that there was already a massive FBI investigation complete with armed raids of 40 Americans and arrests of five Britons prompted by something I wasn't even involved in should be of more concern, not to mention that the OpSony thing got fucking Congress involved, and I was involved in neither Operation Payback nor OpSony except to the extent that I procured pro bono lawyers for those raided in the former and made our case to the press via interviews, press releases, and a Guardian op-ed for the latter. Insomuch as that we've done absolutely nothing illegal in the context of OpMetalGear, I think it's kind of wacky to single me out as being the guy who's going to get everyone arrested. Likewise, the Pentagon thing was nonsense; I never "declared war" on the Pentagon itself, and I explained as much in the Russia Today interview during which I announced OpMetalGear. Of course, that didn't stop Russia Today from titling the YouTube video of the segment "Anonymous Declares War on the Pentagon." It also didn't stop some several douchebag pseudo-journalists from claiming that I was going after military families, or others from claiming that we were going to "hack" Quantico. Next thing I know, the Pentagon's asking for a probe. They could have just called me up and I would have told them, "Guess what? The media is somewhat flawed." They're probably spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on that fucking probe. All I was going to do was make fun of two brig commanders responsible for psychological torture of Bradley Manning. You know, the same thing that the entire media did to Lindie England, and for similarly good reason. Maybe the Pentagon should spend more time trying to figure out what happened to the trillion dollars that Rumsfeld announced was unaccounted for back in 2001. Congress should be the ones hacking the fucking Pentagon.
Also just so you know (and if, you don't mind, strictly between you and I) I'm working on a book proposal on Anonymous. I'm not sure yet whether it will come to complete fruition, but I seem to have some good material and initial support from an agent. We'll see where that goes, but it would be great to talk further with you at some point about Anonymous' history since you seem quite in the know. Do you happen to know if anyone else is planning a book on the collective? Sort of want to be aware if I'm crossing wires with anyone.
Many thanks,
Parmy
On 19 May 2011, at 00:06, Barrett Brown wrote:
Sure, did you want to call or talk via e-mail?
On Wed, May 18, 2011 at 3:29 PM, Olson, Parmy <
POlson@forbes.com<mailto:
POlson@forbes.com>> wrote:
Hi Barrett - Just saw the news on Computer World that you are leaving Anonymous. Wow. Any chance you can speak to me about this? Are you free to talk now?
Thanks,
Parmy
Parmy Olson
London Bureau Chief | Forbes
blogs.forbes.com/parmyolson<http://blogs.forbes.com/parmyolson><http://blogs.forbes.com/parmyolson> | Twitter: @parmy<http://twitter.com/parmy>