The cautionary tale of Barrett Brown - be careful with hacked material and hot links

ATS is a mostly discerning place but this election has people polarized and desperate to trash either candidate. Just don't let your zeal to take down a corrupt and contemptible Hillary lead to your own downfall. You don't know what's in those leaks. CP is nothing to mess with and, if true (and since we're dealing with Anthony Wiener it may be likely), it's a crime to download it whatsoever, no matter if you mean to or not or if you do so for investigative purposes. I'm not saying every scurrilous innuendo and disgusting inference shouldn't be vetted, just that maybe we should leave the bulk of it to professionals. At the very least, don't put yourselves or ATS in any sort of legal jeopardy.

en.wikipedia.org...

The persecution of Barrett Brown

Barrett Brown Faces 105 Years in Jail but no one can figure out what law he broke. Introducing America's least likely political prisoner

The strange case of Barrett Brown

If they can imprison Barrett Brown, they can do it to anyone

Barrett Brown, political prisoner of the information revolution

Barrett had the insight to realize early on that the troves of emails that were hacked by Anonymous out of HBGary Federal and Stratfor and subsequently made public had the potential to provide a rare window into the activities of the cyber-intelligence industry. I believe it was this journalistic work of digging into areas that powerful people would rather keep in the dark that made him a target.

Contrary to claims, Brown is not a hacker (he is unabashedly lacking in technical skills). Nor was he a spokesperson for Anonymous (the very idea is ridiculous). He is an iconoclastic writer with a penchant for satire and hyperbole. He became an activist by observing the media's failure to cover the issues or stories that he deemed important. Some of his proudest work was the assistance rendered by Anonymous to citizens in North Africa during the first months of the Arab Spring.

As an information activist who understands how information can be distributed and have an impact, Brown was extremely skilled and media-savvy. With Anonymous, he fulfilled a function that was necessary, and which few others were willing to do: put a public face to a movement for transparency. He was highly effective – and that's why he's being punished so severely.

The fact that he's now facing a possible maximum of 105 years in prison is distressing, but it's indicative of the larger pattern: an out-of-touch government at war with the press, prosecuting whistleblowers and activists, trying to silence dissent. Brown's work has been interrupted, but many of the things he warned about – mass surveillance of journalists, the threat to privacy presented by intelligence contractors, have turned out to be correct. He has been hugely vindicated – and public support for him is growing....more at link

Brown's statement to the judge

If any of what is alleged is true, the PTB will stop at nothing to keep the truth from coming out and and no one will get in their way. Please use caution and common sense fellow CTers.

a reply to: JetBlackStare

Woe the fate of the common man who stumbles upon what is called a "Matter of National Security".

a reply to: JetBlackStare

I would add that it is a crime to download child pornography or have it on your computer. Even if it is in the mainstream media or Wikileaks or Anonymous or Facebook.

If it really is Child Porn, please allow the professionals to download it and view it for themselves. Don't even just "take a peek".

Remember we are talking child victims who do not deserve to become public figures. Don't contribute to their humiliation. Respect the children.

Tired of Control Freaks

A real life cautionary tale.Thanks for posting this story.

originally posted by: TDawg61
A real life cautionary tale.

Yeah, it's chilling. It seems there is no end to how they will silence whistle-blowers, opposition or even just truth-seekers. I just didn't want any well-meaning ATSers getting caught up in something beyond their capacity.

Gary McKinnon is another of note on this topic. His life went on lock down after coming across some UFO files. It is ATS so just sayin...

a reply to: kwakakev

And William Cooper and Michael Hastings and a half dozen more. Don't get me wrong, I don't mean to suggest that, as conspiracy theorists, we shouldn't delve in and question, just that we ought to be very careful.

a reply to: JetBlackStare

And I do agree with that caution. I am just saying that some times we do not know just where we will end up when caught in the chase.