Finally got the damn internet to work again. Below find the adventure
bio up to my March 6th raid by FBI, followed by brief descriptions of
two characters (mom and gf) who would be coming up most consistently
(gf especially since she lives with me and is involved in Anon); there
are quite a few more people with whom I interact on Skype, Next thing
I'll get you is draft of mission statement regarding how I can expect
to provide content that's both interesting/entertaining and uniquely
informative re: both the "new activism" and the cyber-industrial
issues that motivate me, my group, and other activists I work with.
Will also include ideas on how a few things that do occur on the
text-driven internet can be "brought to life" a bit when warranted. As
a preview, I should note that I enjoy going out drinking, and I also
enjoy giving my little lectures on government and activism to patrons
and bartenders alike. The bartenders at The Quarter, the bar next to
my apartment, would thus be a good venue by which to accomplish any
"man on the street" sort of thing while giving it a twist. Hunting, as
you mention, is also a possibility; will think a bit more on that and
other options by which to facilitate some variation. I'll need to make
certain that David House is indeed set on this "activist warehouse"
idea, in which case there'll be quite a bit more to work with on all
fronts; will plan to talk to him in next day or so to find out where
we are on that.
Also, here's a video clip in which I talk to former HBGary Federal CEO
Aaron Barr shortly after the 2011 hack:
http://www.mediafire.com/?7vb98xu7cobcif2
Barr has been an ongoing foe of mine, and just tweeted something about
me to another fellow, "Hubris," an ex-military hacker who helped run
the group "Backtrace Security" which in turn secretly contracted with
HBGary to identify and locate the individuals responsible for the
hack, as well as to find something to "get [me] picked up on." This
has only been confirmed due to a hack on e-mail accounts belonging to
Backtrace's other founder, Jennifer Emick, by a group called UGNazi
(several members of which were soon afterwards arrested); the e-mails
released also show that Emick, a former Anon, was indeed serving as an
FBI informant at the same time that she and her partners at Backtrace
were working for HBGary. More recently, Hubris and Emick got in some
sort of ridiculous fight that's resulted in Hubris confirming other
details and releasing documents that shed more light on all of this.
Only a few elements are worth noting at any point in the series, but
anyway Barr and another contractor named Thomas Ryan are both
interesting enemy figures that also happen to be involved in a couple
of the methodologies/capabilities that Project PM works to document
and expose.
For more on Tom Ryan see this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Sage
And for more on Tom Ryan and Aaron Barr's known cooperation against
Occupy Wall Street, see this:
http://threatpost.com/en_us/blogs/aaron-barrs-strange-trip-occupy-wall-street-102111
and this (http://gawker.com/5850054/). Barr himself was fired from the
job he took after resigning from HBGary because he spent too much time
on Anonymous, as noted by his former boss here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/20/aaron-barr-cybersecurity-anonymous-occupy-wall-street_n_1219328.html
Adventure Bio:
1981: Born to Robert Brown and Karen Lancaster in Dallas.
1986 - 1987: Robert, who had made millions in real estate projects, is
investigated and then indicted by FBI for alleged participation in
land-flipping. Hes eventually found not guilty, but legal bills
combined with economic downturn and exuberant spending habits
(including big game hunting across Africa and elsewhere) end with him
losing everything. Parents divorce, Barrett and Karen move into
grandmothers apartment.
1998: Barrett, who had just barely escaped being expelled from school
after being caught sleeping in girls hotel room on school trip,
decides to skip last two years of high school and goes to Dar es
Salaam, Tanzania with father and several ex-military men, and a Dallas
financier who funded the operation, which was intended to establish
several business interests in the country, starting with lumber.
Barrett learned basic Swahili from books and tapes beforehand in
order to serve as translator when needed. Various bizarre conflicts
arise among crew members due to lack of payment and other matters,
eventually leading to everyones passports being held from them by
director of NASACO (National Shipping Company) Ademba Gomba until
intervention by the State Department. Afterwards Barrett is flown back
by worried mother, Robert loses his money once again.
2000: Enters University of Texas to pursue journalism but then drops
out after getting some writing gigs.Still owes UT $2,000 according to
next 12 years of calls from collections agencies.
2001 - 2009: Lives mediocre life of freelance writer in Austin,
Mexico, New York, twice having to work as a furniture mover for
six-month periods due to lack of gigs. Eventually gets small book
deal, minor reputation as a media critic and political commentator.
Appears on a few media outlets regarding random topics. Gets in public
feuds with various ideological enemies. Struggles with addiction to
heroin.
Early 2010: Establishes Project PM, experimental net-based
think-tank intended to develop potential new methods for taking
advantage of internet. Recruits participants via Skeptical Inquirer
column and various blogs. Group creates blogging/activism platform
intended to organize crowd-sourced efforts, establishes small (but
only slightly successful) Science Journalism Improvement Project to
partner scientists with journalists, plans crowd-sourced African
Improvement Project, etc. Contacted by Anonymous organizer/media
outreach figure Gregg Housh after writing HuffPo article predicting
that Anonymous will facilitate effective opposition to states. Moves
back to Dallas. Prescribed Suboxone, methadone alternative.
January 2011: Begins working with Anonymous participants to assist
net-driven portion of Tunisia insurgency, promoting OpTunisia, writing
Anonymous press releases. Turns Project PM into venue for organizing
further assistance to North Africans, loses most of original
participants over concerns about Anonymous legal status. Arranges pro
bono legal aid for Anons raided by FBI pursuant to earlier DDOS attack
on Visa, MasterCard, and Paypal over Wikileaks blockade. Increasingly
quoted by journalists on Anonymous and related issues.
February 2011: After HBGary hack reveals Team Themis scandal, begins
conducting investigations into other issues stemming from 70,000
leaked e-mails. Records and distributes phone conversations with
executives at firms in question.
March 2011: Subject of NBC Nightly News segment on Anonymous after
interview conducted at home in course of withdrawals from Suboxone.
Increasingly referred to incorrectly as either official spokesman or
leader of movement, prompting hostility from some Anons.
April 2011: Gets back on Suboxone. Publicly quits Anonymous after a
much-publicized civil war occurs between channel operators within
Anon server, shift in emphasis away from Arab Spring. Moves ongoing
investigation on cyber-industrial complex to Project PM, which
establishes Echelon2.org wiki to disseminate info on discoveries.
May - July 2011: Further hacks conducted by Anons on firms with ties
to HBGary and Aaron Barr. Several establish Lulzsec group, begin
unprecedented hacking spree against both legitimate and random
targets, driving massive media coverage. Barrett incorrectly tied to
Lulzsecs activities by several intelligence contracting firms and
media reports despite ambiguous relationship with most of its
participants. Several Lulzsec members arrested in U.K. and U.S.,
including hacker Sabu, who is quietly turned into FBI asset.
August - September 2011: Project PM work continues. Barrett agrees to
serve as co-writer to Gregg Housh on book project, which is sold to
Amazon.
October 2011: After an Anon is subjected to routine Mexican Anons
launch #OpCartel, threatening to release dozens of names of
Zeta-affiliated individuals taken from stolen government e-mails
unless, before backing off the operation in face of opposition from
other Anons, and then again deciding to go ahead with it. Barrett
speaks out in support of operation after talking to participants, who
later call it off once again after the individual is released. After
widespread media coverage, Barrett is contacted by various individuals
in both U.S. and Mexico with info on cartels as well as related
matters, including one person with specific details on a North
Carolina DA with alleged ties to drug activity; info is passed on to
area journalists. The DA, Ron Moore, is later embroiled in ongoing
scandal over missing money, weapons from police evidence locker and
refusal to release results of federal audit on the matter.
November 2011: Several security contractors with ties to HBGary post
pictures and addresses of a home they believe Barrett to reside in.
One, later revealed to be an ex-military buddy of an HBGary executive,
manages to obtain actual current address and posts a portion of it
online. Barrett skips town for a month before returning to Dallas.
December 2011: Hackers associated with Sabu, whos been hanging out in
Project PM server, infiltrate Stratfor and eventually manage to take
5.2 million e-mails covering ten years of operations, including
surveillance operations against activist groups in Bhopal under
contract with Union Carbide and indications of a secret indictment
against Assange. After getting permission from Sabu and Jeremy Hammond
Barrett contacts firms execs regarding potential redaction process,
but after ongoing discussions at PM server and elsewhere, the haul is
sent to Wikileaks (as is reported later, Sabu originally asked org for
payment, prompting remaining questions as to whether FBI was making a
play to entrap Assange).
March 2012: Arrests of most remaining Lulzsec hackers and revelations
of Sabus FBI status are revealed in Fox News exclusive a few hours
after Barretts apartment and then mothers home is raided by the FBI.
Jenna: Girlfriend with longtime ties to activist portion of Anonymous,
and working/social relationships with some of the same people with
whom Barrett interacts online. Originally, Jenna was among the many
within Anon who saw Barrett in a somewhat negative light, having once
referred to him as "the poor man's Julian Assange." More recently,
after having become frustrated by Anon's dwindling influence and
internal difficulties, she contacted Barrett via e-mail to discuss the
matter, prompting several weeks of communications that ended with her
flying down from Toronto for what was originally supposed to be a
week. Thereafter she broke up with her live-in fiance, and still lives
with Barrett. Being knowledgable about the environment within which
Barrett works, and having lived with him in his efficiency apartment
for over a month now, Jenna serves in a sort of advisory capacity that
consists in large part of reminding him that he is not God or even
particularly competent. She also has to contend with his Suboxone
addiction, which tends to make him "emotionally unavailable," but
tends to look forward to his drinking, which allows him to be
affectionate.
Karen Lancaster: Intelligent, extraordinarily overprotective mother
who reads everything Barrett - her only child - writes, and everything
written about him, and who holds strong opinions on much of both.
Barrett receives constant phone calls and e-mails from her about
everything from what he should wear on TV appearances to what
terminology he should avoid when talking to the press. Having been a
difficult son to raise, Barrett sometimes feels obligated to accept
his mom's preferred direction, but usually doesn't. Presumably she
would exist in the show only as a disembodied voice emanating from
speaker phone, or as concerned e-mails read aloud by Barrett to Jenna.
On Mon, Jul 16, 2012 at 1:14 PM, Barrett Brown <barriticus@gmail.com> wrote:
Hey, been having Internet problems over here at josh's place but will send you character list and adventure bio in about six hours when I get to another friend's place. Dojo video seems to be gone, but I might have the hunting DVD back in Dallas. Have you found all the Russia today appearances on YouTube? Let me know which ones you have so far. There's also one about my Romas/coin report that has Lt. Col. Anthony Schaffer, linked to from Romas/coin entry on echelon2.org. Will try to recall which others might be floating around. Search YouTube for Barrett brown bath, or google.
Also, I might be moving into a shared warehouse space in boston with David house and other activists in September, which would obviously make this all more viable.
Sent from my iPhone
On Jul 14, 2012, at 9:55 PM, Christine Yoon <siege.yoon@gmail.com> wrote:
Thanks for the new link. Take your time with the bio/other questions... If you have time to shoot me some youtube links tonight, I'd appreciate it. I think I can find the majority of your tv appearances on my own... but Stein mentioned a couple of self-made videos that I wasn't able to locate. One involves a karate dojo, and the other is on an African safari. Oh, and I seem to remember a vid of you in a bathtub from last year. Anything else along those lines would also be very useful!
On Jul 13, 2012, at 2:50 PM, Barrett Brown <barriticus@gmail.com> wrote:
Also, here's a write-up that just came out on a group I work with,
Para-noia, with mention of my org Project PM on second page.
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/07/paranoia-anonymous/
On Fri, Jul 13, 2012 at 3:48 PM, Barrett Brown <barriticus@gmail.com> wrote:
Hey, Christina-
Sorry for delay, had some stuff I had to do, plus this Bloomberg panel
taping last night (which will likely be useful when it's put up on the
website). Will get that adventure bio written today and send along
some ideas/answers on the rest of this stuff as well.
On Thu, Jul 12, 2012 at 5:57 AM, Christine Yoon <siege.yoon@gmail.com> wrote:
Barrett,
Sorry for the delayed response. I've been unusually slammed at work these
past few days.
I loved the D Magazine article. And I watched the Michael Isikoff piece -
also very helpful. I'll be looking for the Bloomberg/Businessweek round
table tomorrow. I think we'll have more than enough resources for the
initial pitch when it comes to evidence of your journalism and activism.
My current concern is that the vast bulk of your work happens via a keyboard
and screen. We can't support an entire show in front of a computer - we
need to make sure that we have a wealth of visual content to actually shoot.
It may be that you have some regular activities/meetings that will take care
of this aspect - but since I don't know what your routine is right now, I am
trying to find options for the visual side.
This doesn't have to be difficult - the easiest method would be to have you
work, live, and/or travel with someone. This might be a cohort of yours, or
another socially conscious person whose methods are entirely different from
yours... but it might also be someone who isn't directly involved in any
(h)ac(k)tivism. Is there anyone that you interact with on a regular basis
who might be open to being shot regularly? Possibilities off the top of my
head -
- an agent/manager
- Mirna or any of the rest of the Texodus crew
- your girlfriend
- your mom
Ideally, we'd want someone for whom your actions have direct personal
implications, or someone who's frequently at odds with you. The purpose of
this would be to provide an emotional anchor for concepts that may not hold
much weight for the average viewer. (I just say that because I don't want
you to think I'm trying to turn this into Jersey Shore or something. You
obviously work on things that affect the world at large, but we're not just
aiming for the politically informed here. People flipping channels need to
realize that something important is going on, and a key indicator of that is
real, human, spontaneous behavior on screen. Personal relationships also
help to keep viewers returning each week.)
If we can't find a conventional counterpoint voice to be a regular element
of the show, then I think we might have to turn to planning some
interactions. Very generally, I'm thinking three events per episode - one
encounter with a normal, unpolitical person off the street, one with some
kind of scholar/expert/politician, and one with someone from your personal
life, perhaps someone with whom you have unresolved business. If each of
these encounters are tied to a project you are currently working on, so much
the better. And if any or all of these get you into different environments,
that's great. (For example, Stein had already told me about your basketball
day several times, so things like that would be fun. And I know the article
mentions that your dad hunts - do you as well? The countryside would be a
nice change of pace.)
I will have some time this weekend to start going through media and
preparing a video reel, and looking through some of my company's past
pitches. If you have any thoughts regarding any of these elements, let me
know. And whenever you get a chance, shoot me some of that adventure bio!
(I want to hear the jumping-out-of-a-cab story!)
--
Regards,
Barrett Brown
512-560-2302
--
Regards,
Barrett Brown
512-560-2302
--
Regards,
Barrett Brown
512-560-2302