Re: Yoon here
Subject: Re: Yoon here
From: Christine Yoon <siege.yoon@gmail.com>
Date: 7/20/12, 06:08
To: Barrett Brown <barriticus@gmail.com>

Barrett - 

Thanks for the update.  Sorry if I was overstating the obvious in my earlier email - you might find later that it's a habit of mine. :P  I'm glad to hear that the Boston warehouse thing seems to be moving forward!  As long as I know where that stands by the beginning of August, I'll know how to frame it during the pitch.  And as soon as you have anyone who might be living there who's definitely in, shoot me their contact info!

Speaking of people who might participate, Jonathan Farley seems like an awesome addition.  Does he happen to be based in Boston as well?  How long have ya'll been in contact?

If you can get the hunting video or any other more social, off-the-cuff footage to me by this weekend, it'll be *really* helpful.  Anything where your demeanor is something other than "informative."  Otherwise, I'd like to perhaps start collecting any photos that might be described as "surprising."  I'd also want to jump on Skype with anyone who'd be willing to tell some colorful Barrett anecdotes this weekend, hopefully Saturday afternoon/evening.  This weekend's Skype material would be for pitch purposes only - no one involved would have to participate in the actual show.  I really want Jenna to be one of those people... anyone else you could recommend would also be appreciated. Does your mom have Skype capabilities?  

(I'll also want to do one of these with you, but it might wait till the middle of next week.)

I understand that you may be in the process of writing a book about your Anonymous stint.  I just had a thought that we could use your writing as a way of framing each episode - very spur-of-the-moment example here, but let's imagine that each episode of the show would correspond to a chapter of the book.  So you might have an HBGary chapter, in which you a) talk to folks on the street about the incident; b) interview/reminisce with someone else who participated or was close to the action; c) try to track down Aaron Barr and get some face time with him.  You'd have a much better idea of how to break down chapters than I would, but I would think that there might also be chapters involving "the other McCain," Sabu, OpCartel, some of the more unusual and unexpected members of Anonymous (you mention a 16 year old girl in the Isikoff interview), etc.  We'd open and close each episode with you addressing the audience, and narration written by you would appear throughout.  I don't know whether this actually corresponds to your writing, or whether it even has to, but I'm just curious to see what you'd think of that sort of structure.  (It may be that your upcoming project will take care of this structure element for us, but for however long we aren't able to share information about it, I need to have some other structure to suggest in its place.)

Also, if you have any thoughts for show titles, I'd love to hear them.  The shorter, the better - "Hacktivist" is my working title for now, but I don't feel like it covers everything.  

Let me know ASAP which folks I can interview this weekend!



On Wed, Jul 18, 2012 at 3:37 PM, Barrett Brown <barriticus@gmail.com> wrote:
Christine-

Absolutely understand about the narrative necessities of the format
from your standpoint, and will of course cater to those as needed.
Regarding specifics:

1. From the standpoint of any show that does come out of this, the
project I mentioned is simply something new I'll be doing in
cooperation with various other figures that will put me "in motion" in
terms of my actual activity, and thus potentially leading to incidents
and conversations and all that which might be helpful to the series.
It will take a while to implement fully, which is to say that it will
be an ongoing matter. Whether or not the production team would find it
interesting for the purposes of the show is of course up to them, and
I'll let you know when we've created the video presentation for it
(presumably before September), at which point you and they can better
make any such decision. It will be very much ongoing; from your end, I
would simply think of it at this point as a possible arc for the first
season - and if it succeeds to the extent we think it might, then
perhaps it might form additional background material for any further
seasons.

2. Understood about potential complications of the warehouse. I do
think it's a go at this early point, and if it is, we can either film
there or not depending on whether the other participants are willing
to sign. I've already mentioned this pitch to a couple of them,
including David, and they seem to be positive on that, so it might
work out. I'll keep you appraised.

3. There are indeed a few other figures here and there who'd I count
as interesting antagonists, including the conservative pundit Robert
Stacy McCain. We have a years-old feud in which I've made a point of
writing about his ties to white nationalist groups as well as an
incident in which he spurred on various threats to a black
mathematician and HuffPo contributor named Jonathan Farley (who also
might be a good onscreen ally), who himself had gotten on the wrong
side of pro-Confederate groups by way of a newspaper column he wrote
and ended up fleeing north out of safety concerns. McCain sort of
renewed the conflict when I started being covered in connection to
Anon, calling for FBI to investigate me since about March of 2011 and,
more recently, openly hinting that I myself am an FBI cooperator who
took down Lulzsec (which he almost certainly doesn't believe). Beyond
that, there a few other individuals connected to Tom Ryan, Barr, etc,
who have also come at me in interesting ways, although they now seem
to be mostly fighting among themselves.

4. No one knows exactly what Sabu is doing now, although it's widely
suspected that he's still under some sort of obligation to the FBI to
continue to operate against various individuals on "our side." He's
something of a ghost now.

5. I'll leave Jenna's inclusion up to your discretion. I have a
historically chaotic romantic life for a number of reasons, but it
looks to me as if she and I will be together for a while, and as of
now, she functions as my confidant. She's never been in the public
eye, but she knows about this and is willing to be on-camera if that
would be helpful. She's just an option in terms of "characters" who
will respond emotionally.

6. My mom knows I'm working on this with you, and could perhaps be
persuaded to, say, have dinner with me on camera. What we can
absolutely count on is e-mails and Gmail chat messages from her on any
occasion on which I do anything at all that she would have prefer I
had handled differently. She's also someone whose reactions, even if
they do emanate from Texas while I'm in Boston, would play into my
on-screen life.

7. I haven't talked to Mirna in a while, but perhaps she'll be
interested in participating since she's running a booking agency in
Austin now and could probably benefit from any publicity. I'll ask
her.

8. There isn't any video of me actually talking in the bathtub with
original audio; someone just made short clip of it that's now on
YouTube, and which Gawker likes to link to. As for hunting, I suppose
something could be arranged.

On Tue, Jul 17, 2012 at 12:58 PM, Christine Yoon <siege.yoon@gmail.com> wrote:
> Yo - started writing to you when you first wrote re: David House.  The
> prospect of the activist warehouse is enticing, but it seems a little
> ephemeral at this stage.  Until we know that it's a go, and that pretty much
> everyone who would be living there would be OK with being filmed, I won't
> mention it to the pitch committee.  I think we are in good shape without it,
> though - I don't think the lack of warehouse will weaken the show.  (If it
> is a go, I will need to have statements and bios from everyone who wants to
> participate by the beginning of August.)
>
> If the warehouse thing does happen, and if you think the "unprecedented"
> project is a go, I'd love to hear more about that.  I imagine there won't be
> all that much for you to share, if you are hoping to maintain some element
> of surprise, but what would matter to me most is the projected timeframe of
> that project.  The odds of our being able to shoot anything before September
> are low, so if it's slated for before then, we'll likely miss it.  And if
> it's a long-term thing, I'd like to have an idea of how long it might last,
> just so I know whether to frame it as a season-long thing or perhaps just a
> one-episode arc.
>
> I was glad to receive the adventure bio.  It's really densely packed - I am
> going to need to read through it a few times before I isolate more elements
> that I want to focus on.  The things that initially jumped out at me:
>
> - Aaron Barr, Jennifer Emick, Thomas Ryan, Ron Moore - It's great, from my
> perspective, that you have these foes, especially in that they are
> individual people, rather than abstract corporations.  Are there other
> public figures that you feel merit a mention in your antagonist/nemesis
> category?  (I know you are focused on security issues now, but I'd also love
> to hear about feuds outside of that realm, say, with the Scientologists or
> any other religious folks.)
>
> - Sabu. Is anyone still in contact with him?
>
> - Jenna - Has Jenna ever been in the public eye?  Have you talked to her
> much about the prospect of being on the show?  From what you've told me
> about her, I think she would be great, particularly since she understands
> your work... but I am a little wary of positioning her as a full-on cast
> member, since a) I'm not sure to what extent she would be willing to be
> involved, and b) correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like your romantic
> relationship is somewhat recent.
>
> - Karen - Frankly, Karen would be an ideal regular element of the show.
> Have you mentioned it to her at all?  I understand that if you were to move
> to Boston, she'd be out of filming range, but if you're in Texas at any
> point, it would be amazing to have direct face-to-face time between the two
> of you.  Let me know how you feel about this.  I completely understand if
> you'd like to keep your family out of the spotlight.  But knowing Authentic
> as I do, I know that her on-screen involvement would make a huge difference.
> No one will care more about your exploits than she will... and that will
> translate powerfully on screen.
>
> (I've mentioned her before, and I don't want to seem repetitive, but I
> wonder how you feel about Mirna.  I feel more confident pitching Mirna than
> Jenna, perhaps because I've met her face to face, but also because I know
> that you have a decade, at least, of history together, and she knows what to
> expect around you.  I also think that her law background could provide an
> interesting angle on or counterpoint to the hacktivist perspective.  Just
> let me know if you'd be interested/willing to include her.  FYI, I will
> probably ask her for a skype interview just for the purpose of the pitch
> video, regardless of whether or not she's in the show.  I just need a few
> quick sound bytes of people describing you.)
>
> I've gone through a lot of articles and video this weekend, and I am really
> happy with what I've found so far.  I'm listening to your conversation with
> Aaron Barr now, and I'll be going through the Russia Today videos over the
> next few days.  All of the video I have, though, centers around political
> talk.  I wasn't able to find any bathtub videos that included your native
> audio, for some reason.  If you are able to get that hunting video to me,
> let me know.  I'm just dying for anything that's spontaneous and not fully
> geared towards activism.
>
> By the way, I wasn't thinking of hunting as a regular element of the show -
> just mentioned it as a way of expressing your personality outside of the
> internet realm.  Which brings me to my most important point - as you're
> drafting your mission statement and thoughts on the show, keep in mind that
> Authentic produces reality TV, not investigative journalism.  The best way I
> can think to differentiate the two right now is to emphasize that reality TV
> is about characters, first and foremost, whereas journalism is more about
> objective facts, demonstrable trends, history, etc.  To win this pitch, we
> have to position this as a show about the people, especially you, who take
> it upon themselves to pursue whatever it is you choose to pursue
> (transparency, justice?  You'd know best how to phrase it).  We want to
> highlight what choices you'll make in your individual lives to achieve those
> goals, and what the personal consequences to you and your foes are, whether
> you do or don't succeed.  A lot of the details of your work won't translate
> to this format unless we can humanize them - hacking HBGary's emails is a
> remarkable feat, but hacking HBGary's emails thanks to Aaron Barr's careless
> password management and causing Aaron Barr to resign - that's a feat with a
> face attached - something that anyone, regardless of background, can relate
> to.
>
> I know you want to raise awareness for your work.  It seems to me that
> you'll have to approach this show as a way of driving Internet traffic to
> your various sites.  It will be difficult to convey a lot of the details of
> your work on screen, and honestly, most of it's probably easier to
> understand in written form.  As I see it, what the show should do is
> demonstrate that a) you are focused on issues that affect real people; b)
> you, Barrett, do whatever it takes to affect a change; c) if you can, anyone
> can.   Forgive me if any of that sounds trite - in terms of sleep, my 10 AM
> is like most people's 5 AM - but I hope you see what I'm getting at here.  I
> want to portray you candidly as a person who's achieved international
> awareness through the power of his own determination, and in spite of the
> obstacles of social status and chemical dependency that may have stood in
> his way.
>
> On Mon, Jul 16, 2012 at 1:29 PM, Barrett Brown <barriticus@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> 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.” He’s 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
>> grandmother’s 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 everyone’s 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
>> Lulzsec’s 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, who’s 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 firm’s 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 Sabu’s FBI status are revealed in Fox News exclusive a few hours
>> after Barrett’s 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



--
Regards,

Barrett Brown
512-560-2302