UPDATE 2/14/11: A big update, and a lot of new details on this entire story (including the Chamber plot targeting me) now here…
UPDATE 9:03pm PT: Yes, they do target and name ME and my family, including personal details about us specifically, as part of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s disinformation attack, as ThinkProgress notes in an update tonight:
See TP’s most recent article for some of the emails, etc. These are horrible people.
[Preparing to guest host tonight’s Mike Malloy Show, so forgive the terser than usual coverage here as I’m just now learning about this, but wanted to get something out quickly. I expect there will be more to come on this, as you can probably imagine.]
It looks like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce — the Rightwing lobbying firm now allowed to accept hundreds of thousands, if not millions, in secret funding from corporations likely subsidized with your tax dollars — has been caught in the act of creating a $2 million disinformation campaign to attack progressive organizations such as VelvetRevolution.us and its StopTheChamber.com initiative. [Since we believe in disclosure, unlike the Chamber: VR was co-founded by The BRAD BLOG.]
After the disinfo campaign targeted “Anonymous,” the online “hacktivist” organization which had been working to disrupt those who companies who had attacked WikiLeaks (see our December ’10 report: “‘ALL-OUT CYBER WAR’ OVER WIKILEAKS”), “Anonymous” struck back by hacking one of the “intelligence security firms” retained by the Chamber and posting thousands of their emails online.
Coverage from ThinkProgress’ Lee Fang just an hour or two ago includes a snippet from one of the proposals given to the Chamber on November 29, 2010 mentioning Velvet Revolution and a plan to “create a false document,” “fake insider personas,” and do whatever they needed to do to “discredit” the organization by planting misinformation….
According to e-mails obtained by ThinkProgress, the Chamber hired the lobbying firm Hunton and Williams to spearhead this effort. Hunton And Williams’ attorney Richard Wyatt, who once represented Food Lion in its infamous lawsuit against ABC News, was hired by the Chamber in October of last year. To assist the Chamber, Wyatt and his associates, John Woods and Bob Quackenboss, hired a set of private security firms — HB Gary Federal, Palantir, and Berico Technologies (collectively called Team Themis) — to develop tactics for damaging progressive groups and labor unions, in particular ThinkProgress, the labor coalition called Change to Win, the SEIU, US Chamber Watch, and StopTheChamber.com.
According to one document prepared by Team Themis, the campaign included an entrapment project. The proposal called for first creating a “false document, perhaps highlighting periodical financial information,†to give to a progressive group opposing the Chamber, and then to subsequently expose the document as a fake to undermine the credibility of the Chamber’s opponents. In addition, the group proposed creating a “fake insider persona†to “generate communications†with Change to Win. View a screenshot below:
The e-mails ThinkProgress acquired are available widely on the web. They were posted by members of “Anonymous,†the hactivist community responsible for taking down websites for oppressive regimes in Tunisia, Egypt, and American corporations that have censored WikiLeaks. Anonymous published the emails from HB Gary Federal because an executive at the firm, Aaron Barr, was trying to take Anonymous down. Barr claimed that he had penetrated Anonymous and was hoping to sell the data to Bank of America and to federal authorities in the United States. In response, members of Anonymous hacked into Barr’s email and published some 40,000 company e-mails.
See ThinkProgress’ exclusive report today for more. They conclude that article by noting “ThinkProgress will be posting more details of the Chamber lobbyist campaign to target progressives soon.”
I’m told, but have yet to confirm, that I (Brad Friedman) am personally named in some of these emails. As I learn more, of course, I’ll share it.
And here’s a bit, from a story at an Internet Security site earlier this week, on how the attacks by “Anonymous” came about…
Barr’s Twitter page instantly became entrenched with all types of racial and sexual slurs, even displaying Barr’s personal mobile phone number and Social Security numbers.
According to reports, HBGary.com was temporarily replaced with a message: “Let us teach you a lesson you’ll never forget: don’t mess with Anonymous.”
DailyKos also reported that Anonymous deleted the firm’s backups and posted over 60,000 company e-mails on Pirate Bay.
This all follows on revelations yesterday that the same firm, HBGary, had targeted Salon blogger Glenn Greenwald as part of a similar disinformation to discredit WikiLeaks and those (very few) in the media who have been supporting them.
With all of the above in mind, please consider supporting StopTheChamber.com with a donation, to help combat the $2 million disinfo campaign that the U.S. Chamber seems to have been more than happy to fund in order to discredit it!
there has gotta be something in that mess that you can sue the chamber for or maybe the “security” firms themselves….get em in court
on a side note i wish i was a fly on the wall when ur buddy patterco or whatever he calls himself reads this cause i bet he has been “discrediting” for lot less than 2 mill..lol
my head tells me its all too late but then i read something like this and my heart says..maybe its not
thank you brad for all u do
“By Their Enemies Ye Shall Know Them.”
Congratulations on having made the best sort of enemies brad!
Big love to you brother!
The emails simply confirm what we already know about this despicable organization which will say or do anything to insure plutocratic control.
What I find more disturbing is that Barack “change we can never dream of receiving” Obama addressed these unscrupulous titans of corporate greed as he panders for their support.
Brad, I live in East L.A. need back-up?
Want to challenge the Chamber’s support for the biggest polluters in the US? Sign the petion at http://www.dolphinblue.com/pg-Green-Chamber-Petition.html.
The fact that these organizations; The Chamber and their member corporations, must use dishonest tactics, misinformation and covert operations should be all people need to know about them. If they were legitimate advocates representing corporations acting responsibly, the would not have to use deceit and smears to win the people.
Our entire government is rogue! Rogue to the American people in every imaginable. Charlatans, knaves, and thieves; murderers and interlopers. Doesn’t it seem that in the end all empires are brought down by this critical mass of greed and arrogance? It isn’t hard to feel a kinship with the Tea Partiers in their anger over government abuses (yes, the CoC isn’t a government entity, but they are the ones in charge of it in the current status quo.) And the commonality ends there.
OK, waiting for what’s next…both here and in Egypt. He was, then he wasn’t, then Obama pronounced another noncommital gesture of ‘disappointment’, due to the high ‘jelly-against-the-wall’ nailing ratio required by modern leaders.
Glad to see the site’s back up.
As for the Chamber of Whores and their rentathugs… the privileges of the elite is all it is.
erased my comment. I can see you’re not with us… Brad… That’s all right, we don’t need you. We’ve been organizing in ghettos all over America. Theres 48 MILLION Americans struggling below the poverty level and we’re going to organize as many as we can reach. With or without all you silver spoon Liberals who hang on to the microphone like it was a f***’n sex toy
cyberbitchslap2.blogspot.com
SPO101 @ 9 said:
We have erased nothing. No clue what you’re talking about. Sorry.
Sentcha 50 bucks today brad. I know it’s not as good as the 200 million that the CoC paid to FOXNEWS to run a hit piece on yas, but I hope it helps out…
You have to wonder why they have that blog over there. Nobody even supports them on their own site.
NY Times whitewashes for CofC.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/12/us/politics/12hackers.html?hp
Attacks on Wikileaks and Journalists Exposed – Jane Hamsher on Russia Today
Brad, will you promise not to sellout and not bradblog to AOL or any other fascist entity (a la Huffington Post), no matter how high the offer?
Correction: that should be “not sell bradblog”
Hey Brad, it’s fun to see the corporate-fed-government-feeders get exposed. Hope it sends out more light and real transparency to the sleeping people in America, and sends some cha-ching your way! I think our own Egyptian tide is coming. May we follow their courageous example and keep it peaceful, despite government-outsourced agent provocateurs.
I am so proud of you, Brad, and the work you and your crew do here. You keep going on even when the rich an powerful attack. You have proven, however, that you have the most powerful weapon on your side, the truth!
Keep fighting for the just causes, and I am hoping “Anonymous” gets even with the bastids for this lates onslaught!
I know it won’t matter, but I emailed NBC, ABC, CBS and CNN and asked why they’re not covering these jackbooted thugs at the Chamber of whores. I didn’t exactly say it like that though.
Keep up the good work Brad.
ezmoney5150 on Twitter
Officially targeted by the US Chamber of Commerce?!!? – I am *so* proud of you!! – Finally, all your hard work pays off.
(BB site down screwed with me, too. Didn’t like it one bit. Kept hitting refresh all day; felt like an itch I couldn’t scratch.)
Oh and you and Des (and Tony) made Epic Radio, this week.
Wikileaks was almost “Rather-rolled”…
…has me wondering: can we now make a legitimate connection between the Chamber’s gazillions and the funding for so many of these disgusting Breitbart Ops?
The way these slime-puppies always manage to slip out of any legal accountability for their crimes and misdemeanors has always suggested to me that they were being backed by some serious $$$. I’d just love it if Marcy could find some documentation of that kind of right wing sabotage.
It’s just so very, very Un-Everything.
…could also explain the recent deluge of nasty drive-bys from Tea-Turkies in these cherished comment threads. Paid. Lots. To disrupt you / us.
I knew it.
Keep up the great work, Brad.
I have a series, ending October 16 last year, called The Chamber of Corruption that deals with these criminals posing as legit.
They sold out their countrymen for filthy lucre.
Brad is honored to be attacked by those scumitizoa.
WOOHOO Dredd!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That just made my nite. Now where’s Flo? I miss yinz guys. 🙂
Hmmmmm…. entrapment with a juicy document to be proven false at a later date, eh?
Dan Rather, anyone?
Damn, wondered why the site was down the other day. You must be doing something right for them big boys to be skeert of ya. Congratulations Brad!
Hey Dredd, I’m thinking the quickest and most peaceful way to knit this country back together is to find and support candidates who stand for a Constitutional ammendment that stops corporations from being people. I’d like to know where Ron Paul stands on that! 🙂
I pray the Egyptians put that in their new Constitution!
It seems your balanced intellectual reporting style and activism based on evidence and critical thinking has attracted the attention of your corporate owners. These super rich bastards have successfully increased their grip and their wealth after taking down the 3 World Trade Towers buildings on 9-11
Successfully perpetuating a lie that continues to blame an Arab in a cave on the other side of the world, the greedy treasonous lying criminals responsible have gotten away with murder and their wars continue with their new puppet Obama.
I would suggest exercising your right to bear arms because their is a private comfort in knowing that you can defend yourself if the shit hits the fan.
.
Here is another accounting of the incident between Aaron Barr of HBGary Federal and Anonymous. http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/02/how-one-security-firm-tracked-anonymousand-paid-a-heavy-price.ars
Congratulations Brad and all on this site for putting the “problem” of election fraud out there for the general public to see. Entire thread on DU yesterday about it.In the context of Egypt overthrowing their tyrant, WE have to have fair elections with paper ballots to overthrow ours.
Woooowwweee!…
This Aaron Barr is a Capital Tool! PRICELESS email exchanges between Barr and his jittery coder, who kept warning him that his “gut feeling” about linking random people through social networking sites was a mathematical bust and that screwing with Anonymous was a supremely bad idea…
From Secularsurfer’s FASCINATING link @ 29: !
…thanks for the link, Secularsurfer! I’ve been BwhhahhHahHAHhAing non-stop over my Sunday morning coffee from the details of this in-depth farce-fest; effin’ glorious Bitch Slap to the fat face of uber-unAmerican activities and corpo-Hubris. Diamond rare, the o-so very public spanking of a very, very bad man.
And a bad speller.
And a reeeeaalllly shitty security expert.
I’m starting to think of 2011 as “The Year of the Adjusting Asshole.” Anonymous and Wikileaks as our a new media, toothy Toto – pulling back curtain after curtain after curtain…
(Also worth noting as I continue to giggle-seizure, I had not heretofore seen the explicit language / images Anonymous had used when they hacked his Twitter account. HIGHLY recommended viewing; thoughtfully composed and suitably vile -“…(I am) a sweaty ballsack of caterpillars…”)
Wolly wrote:
The American voting population seems to be too lethargic to stop the raping of American democracy. The bread and circuses principle is in effect in the United States, what with TV, video games, and suchlike, who has time to emerge from mental numbness and take a look at the real world. Even a totally unjustified war that has led to thousands of American deaths, thousands more with missing limbs or otherwise permanently maimed or disfigured, and huge numbers of returning soldiers with post traumatic stress disorder, hasn’t been enough to mobilize the American population. The US mainstream media is complicit in suppressing the war against American voters and democracy (eg its reprehensible dissemination of the ACORN pimp hoax and other lies). Now, they’re trying to neuter the Internet. Events in Tunisia and Egypt are the real reason why they hate Wikileaks so much. Maybe it’ll take the rest of the world to show some balls and defy taxpayer-subsidized corporate tyranny to inspire Americans to finally do the same.
Edit: That should be “Molly wrote:. Whoops. Sorry
Yeah Jeannie Dean. I got a kick out of it too. Very Kharmic.
Brad, your contributions to awareness, are recognized among the conscious, and consciousness is rising from the true information warriors like yourself.
Insufficient words to thank you, fine sir!
The organization NIST, was run out of the US Chamber of Commerce, and NIST also did the “science” (cough) for the investigation into 911, which is laughable, except for the depths of depravity, and tragedy in which more and more evidence emerges.
ABE LINCOLN said: “I see in the near future a crisis approaching. It unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. The money power preys upon the nation in times of peace, and it conspires against it in times of adversity. It is more despotic than a monarchy, more insolent than autocracy, more selfish than bureaucracy. It denounces as public enemies, all who question its methods, or throw light upon its crimes. I have two great enemies, the Southern Army, in front of me and the financial institutions at the rear, the latter is my greatest foe. Corporations have been and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people, until the wealth is aggregated in the hands of the few, and the Republic is destroyed. I feel at this moment , more anxiety for the safety of my country than ever before, even in the midst of war. God grant that my suspicions my prove groundless.”
uh-oh…
Brad, on the eighth line of Lincoln’s speech, I forgot a word, “enthroned” which is supposed to be after the word “corporations”. Fix? I R sorry.
BlueBonnet – Unfortunately, as we recently learned, that quote, allegedly from Lincoln, is apocryphal and based on an apparent forgery of history.
Please see the “CORRECTION” at the bottom of this recent article for more info.
The spirit and point of the quote, of course (along with Lincoln’s general beliefs on the topic, in general) are accurate nonetheless.