STRaTFR

see cybrdark text 817 capt 817see bakpress suppr 2 ggl

PVT INTEL promoted to primary 11/13 Coke; j hammond 10 yrs 890K$ damages to stratfor==both cia and stratfor had hedge fund?  wikileaks?
<div class="body-copy-v2 fence-body" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" vertical-align="vertical-align" baseline="baseline" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.56;">Muneer Satter, who built the world’s largest family of mezzanine funds at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., is leaving the bank after 24 years, according to two people familiar with his plans.Satter, 50, is departing to spend more time with his family after commuting for the past 12 years from his home in Chicago to Goldman Sachs’s headquarters in New York, the people said, asking not to be named because his move hasn’t been announced publicly..</div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">=</div><div>=</div><div><a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/20131205/worst-case-scenario-oil-sands-industry-has-come-life-leaked-document-shows">https://insideclimatenews.org/news/20131205/worst-case-scenario-oil-sands-industry-has-come-life-leaked-document-shows</a></div><div>
</div><div><div class="content" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="field-items" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded" style="box-sizing: inherit;">As environmentalists began ratcheting up pressure against Canada's <a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/topic/oil-sands" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">tar sands</a> three years ago, one of the world's biggest strategic consulting firms was tapped to help the North American oil industry figure out how to handle the mounting activism. The resulting document, published online by WikiLeaks, offers another window into how oil and gas companies have been scrambling to deal with unrelenting opposition to their growth plans.The document identifies nearly two-dozen environmental organizations leading the anti-oil sands movement and puts them into four categories: radicals, idealists, realists and opportunists—with how-to's for managing each. It also reveals that the worst-case scenario presented to industry about the movement's growing influence seems to have come to life.The <a href="http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/873021-33714-suncor-presentation-1210-6.html" target="blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102); box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">December 2010 presentation</a> by <a href="http://www.stratfor.com/" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">Strategic Forecasting, or Stratfor</a>, a global intelligence firm based in Texas, mostly advised oil sands companies to ignore or limit reaction to the then-burgeoning tar sands opposition movement because "activists lack influence in politics." But there was a buried warning for industry under one scenario: Letting the movement grow unopposed may bring about "the most significant environmental campaign of the decade.""This worst-case scenario is exactly what has happened," partly because opposition to tar sands development has expanded beyond nonprofit groups to include individual activists concerned about <a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/topic/climate-change" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">climate change</a>, said <a href="http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/media-center/experts/Mark-Floegel/" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">Mark Floegel</a>, a senior investigator for Greenpeace. "The more people in America see Superstorm Sandys or tornadoes in Chicago, the more they are waking up and joining the fight."<div class="DV-container" id="DV-viewer-873021-33714-suncor-presentation-1210-6" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;">
</div>Since the presentation was prepared, civil disobedience and <a href="http://insideclimatenews.org/news/20130131/president-obama-john-kerry-keystone-xl-pipeline-oil-sands-tar-sands-climate-change-global-warming-transcanada" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">protests against the tar sands have sprung up from coast to coast</a>. The movement has helped delay President Obama's decision on the <a href="http://insideclimatenews.org/topic/keystone-xl" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">Keystone XL pipeline</a>—designed to funnel Canada's landlocked oil sands crude to refineries on the Gulf Coast—and has held up another contentious pipeline in Canada, the <a href="http://insideclimatenews.org/news/20120727/first-nations-british-columbia-northern-gateway-pipeline-oil-sands-dilbit-enbridge-canada-supreme-court-china" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">Northern Gateway to the Pacific Coast</a>.The Power Point document, titled "Oil Sands Market Campaigns," was recently made public by WikiLeaks, part of a larger release of hacked files from Stratfor, whose clients include the Departments of Homeland Security and Defense, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and the American Petroleum Institute, the oil industry lobby. It appears to have been created for Calgary-based petroleum giant <a href="http://www.suncor.com/default.aspx" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">Suncor Energy</a>, Canada's largest oil sands producer.The company told InsideClimate News that it did not hire Stratfor and never saw such a presentation. Suncor is mentioned 11 times in the document's 35 pages and all of Stratfor's advice seems to be directed at the energy company. For example, one slide says, "Campaign ends quickly with a resolution along the lines Suncor had wanted." In several emails released by WikiLeaks, Stratfor employees discuss a $14,890 payment Suncor owes the company for two completed projects, though no details were provided.The presentation is the latest in a series of revelations that suggest energy companies—which for most of their history seemed unfazed by activists—have been looking for ways to dilute environmentalists' growing influence.Earlier this year, TransCanada, the Canadian energy company behind the Keystone XL, <a href="http://www.eenews.net/stories/1059982632" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">briefed Nebraska law enforcement authorities</a> on how to prosecute demonstrators protesting the 1,200-mile project. In 2011, Range Resources, an oil and gas company, <a href="http://desmogblog.com/gas-fracking-industry-using-military-psychological-warfare-tactics-and-personnel-u-s-communities" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">allegedly hired combat veterans</a> with experience in psychological warfare to squash opposition of natural gas drilling."The Stratfor presentation isn't a complete surprise," said <a href="http://understory.ran.org/author/sparki/" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">Scott Parkin</a>, a senior campaigner for the Rainforest Action Network and volunteer organizer for Rising Tide North America, both grassroots environmental groups. "As opposition has grown, coal, oil and gas companies are all starting to put more money into responding—from surveillance to protection to public relations."Who Is TargetedFor each of Stratfor's categories of environmental activist—radicals, idealists, realists and opportunists—the presentation explains how their campaigns are structured and how the fossil fuel industry could deal with them.Three grassroots organizations—<a href="http://www.risingtidenorthamerica.org/" target="blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102); box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">Rising Tide North America</a>, <a href="http://priceofoil.org/" target="blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102); box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">Oil Change International</a> and the <a href="http://www.ienearth.org/" target="blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102); box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">Indigenous Environmental Network</a>—were labeled radicals. <a href="http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/" target="blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102); box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">Greenpeace</a> and the <a href="http://ran.org/" target="blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102); box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">Rainforest Action Network</a> were classified as a cross between radicals and idealists. <a href="http://www.sierraclub.org/" target="blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102); box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">Sierra Club</a>, the nation's largest environmental group, <a href="http://www.amnesty.org/" target="blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102); box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">Amnesty International</a> and <a href="http://www.cbecal.org/" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">Communities for a Better Environment</a>, among others, were labeled idealists. Several mainstream environmental groups, including the <a href="http://www.nwf.org/" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">National Wildlife Federation</a>, <a href="http://worldwildlife.org/" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">World Wildlife Fund</a>, <a href="http://www.nrdc.org/" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">Natural Resources Defense Council</a> and <a href="http://www.ceres.org/" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">Ceres</a>, a nonprofit that organizes businesses, investors and public interest groups, were called realists.It then lays out tactics the groups would use to push for change. They include holding demonstrations outside annual meetings and marketing events, generating fear of oil spills and other environmental disasters, targeting CEOs and their families, collaborating with other green groups, and splitting the fossil fuel industry on the issue by praising companies working with activists and publicly shaming those that aren't.The presentation says that while environmental groups are publicly fighting to stop the expansion of the oil sands, their "real demand" is for fossil fuel companies to adopt a "global code of conduct"—a set of best practices not required by law, but that take into consideration things like greenhouse gas reduction policies and human rights.The Power Point also describes all the ways fossil fuel companies like Suncor could choose to react to green groups' campaigns, such as limiting contact with the organizations, intentionally delaying negotiations, developing its own environmental initiatives to overshadow activists' demands, or simply not responding. It provides the pros and cons of each public relations decision, as well as the best- and worst-case outcomes for each.For example, Stratfor said that choosing not to respond could be useful because in 2010, "activists are not stopping oil sands' growth and they have no power in Alberta or Ottawa. Chance of success with U.S. government is slim." The best outcome from a no-response strategy, according to the presentation, is that green "groups move to fracturing [natural gas <a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/topic/fracking" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">fracking</a>] or some other venue to press for the first major code of conduct."Stratfor would not answer questions about the presentation because it has a policy not to comment on any of the WikiLeaks documents.Several environmental groups named in the Stratfor presentation said they weren't surprised by the consulting firm's assessment of their work, but were disappointed, especially by its assumption that all they wanted was a code of conduct."The environmental community has been very united in saying that we need to stop tar sands expansion and clean up the mess already made there," said <a href="http://www.nrdc.org/about/staff/susan-casey-lefkowitz" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">Susan Casey-Lefkowitz</a>, director of the Natural Resources Defense Council's international program. "That's the only real path forward if we're going to protect not only the health of communities on the ground in the boreal forests near the tar sands region, but also around the world from the impacts of climate change. We're not looking for a code of conduct."For many, the leaked presentation provided proof that their work was having an impact, boosting their confidence to keep protesting."Knowing that groups like Stratfor are targeting us, surveying us, and also analyzing us shows how powerful these movements have become," said Parkin of the Rainforest Action Network and Rising Tide North America. "Obviously this wasn't meant for public consumption, but this doesn't intimidate us. If anything, it emboldens us. It encourages us to push harder."</div></div></div></div><div class="tagged-with" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-transform: uppercase; margin-bottom: 1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><label style="box-sizing: inherit; display: block; line-height: 1.2;">PUBLISHED UNDER:</label><div class="field field-name-field-topics field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="field-items" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="field-item even" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; padding-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/topics/activism" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">ACTIVISM</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="field-items" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="field-item even" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; padding-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/topic/oil-sands" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">OIL SANDS</a></div> <div class="field-item odd" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; padding-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/topic/fracking" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">FRACKING</a></div> <div class="field-item even" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; padding-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/topic/climate-change" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">CLIMATE CHANGE</a></div></div></div></div></div><div>=</div><a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/id/46555168/ns/us_news-security/t/leaked-emails-shine-rare-light-stratfor/">http://www.nbcnews.com/id/46555168/ns/us_news-security/t/leaked-emails-shine-rare-light-stratfor/</a>AP 2/28/12<a href="http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&where1=SAN%20ANTONIO&sty=h&form=msdate" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; border-top-style: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-left-style: initial; border-top-color: initial; border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: rgb(170, 170, 170); border-left-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.6em; text-decoration-line: none;">SAN ANTONIO</a> — Private intelligence firm Stratfor was paid by Coca-Cola to gauge the threat of Olympic protesters, provided Dow Chemical information on environmental activists, and sells what clients and subscribers consider some of the best geopolitical analysis that money can buy.Now the Texas-based think tank is the latest target of WikiLeaks chief Julian Assange, who says his anti-secrecy group has more than 5 million of Stratfor's emails and is promising to release damaging material in the coming weeks.The first, small batch published Monday contained little that was particularly scintillating — but revealed clients that Stratfor has long safeguarded and refused to disclose. They range from local universities to megacorporations like Coca-Cola, which apparently worried about animal-rights supporters crashing and disrupting the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, Canada."To what extent will US-based PETA supporters travel to Canada to support activism?" a Coca-Cola manager asked a Stratfor analyst in a 2009 email.An initial examination of the emails turned up a mix of the innocuous and the embarrassing. But Assange has accused Stratfor of serious deeds, such as funneling money to informants through offshore tax havens, monitoring activist groups on behalf of big corporations and making investments based on its secret intelligence."What we have discovered is a company that is a private intelligence Enron," Assange told London's Frontline Club, referring to the Texas energy giant whose spectacular bankruptcy turned it into a byword for corporate malfeasance.Stratfor denied there was anything improper in the way it dealt with its contacts."Stratfor has worked to build good sources in many countries around the world, as any publisher of global geopolitical analysis would do," the company said in a statement. "We have done so in a straightforward manner and we are committed to meeting the highest standards of professional conduct."Headquartered on the fourth floor of a bank building in downtown Austin, Stratfor might be one of the smallest targets on which WikiLeaks has set its sights. Founded in 1996, the company was reported to have the equivalent of around 40 full-time employees in Austin in 2008 and regularly plucks interns from the nearby University of Texas campus.'Financial, sexual or psychological control'
According to one internal Stratfor document released by WikiLeaks, the company boasted having 292,000 paid subscribers but also acknowledged that the actual number of people reading its products is far fewer. Stratfor uses analysts to scour the Internet for open-source information, which they then use to determine where the world's next crisis might strike.But the company also pays for information. One email released by WikiLeaks described a $6,000-a-month payment made to a Middle Eastern source, and another carried bits of gossip dropped by a retired spy. In December, Stratfor founder George Friedman gave advice on handling sources to one of his analysts gathering information on the health of Venezuela President Hugo Chavez."If this is a source you suspect may have value, you have to take control (of) him. Control means financial, sexual or psychological control to the point where he would reveal his sourcing and be tasked," the email read. "This is difficult to do when you are known to be affiliated with an intelligence organization."Stratfor Vice President of Intelligence Fred Burton bragged in other emails about his "trusted former CIA cronies" and promises to "see what I can uncover" about a classified FBI investigation.Messages left for Burton weren't immediately returned. Stratfor has speculated that some of the leaked emails may have been altered or forged, although the firm did not provide any evidence of tampering. Anonymous said in a Twitter message that the suggestion of forgery was "pathetic."Bobby Inman, former director of the National Security Agency and former deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency, called Stratfor's paid intelligence service competent and said the company has delivered "high-quality" analysis in the past.Inman said Monday that the leaked list of clients would almost "certainly be damaging" to Stratfor's business for now."If you think who might find that information useful, it would be a competitor out there looking for clients," he said.Some clients are already facing questions. Among the emails are reports apparently compiled for The Dow Chemical Co. on activists who have targeted the company over its links to the Bhopal gas leak disaster, which killed thousands of Indians and spawned a long-running legal battle.Dow said in a written statement that "major companies are often required to take appropriate action to protect their people and safeguard their facilities," adding that it operated within the law.Coca-Cola also defended reaching out to Stratfor before the 2010 Olympics, releasing a statement Monday that read, ""We consider it prudent to monitor for protest activities at any major event we sponsor, as such activities may affect our partners, customers, consumers or employees."How WikiLeaks got the company's emails remains unclear. Assange refused to answer questions about the matter Monday, but Stratfor said the messages appeared to be the same ones stolen by hackers in December. That breach, claimed by the Internet activist group Anonymous, ravaged the company's servers and led to the disclosure of thousands of credit card numbers and other information.Wired magazine quoted an unnamed member of Anonymous as saying that the stolen data had been transferred to WikiLeaks, which allegedly acknowledged receiving the transfer using a coded message on Twitter. Anonymous appeared to confirm that account, pointing to the cryptic message "rats for donavon," which WikiLeaks posted Dec. 30.Several media groups, including Rolling Stone magazine and German broadcaster NDR, said they have been offered advance access to the emails and will publish stories based on the documents if appropriate.omg<div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="https://www.mintpressnews.com/the-making-of-juan-guaido-how-the-us-regime-change-laboratory-created-venezuela-coup-leader/254387/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none;">https://www.mintpressnews.com/the-making-of-juan-guaido-how-the-us-regime-change-laboratory-created-venezuela-coup-leader/254387/</a></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style=""><p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://grayzoneproject.com/2019/01/29/the-making-of-juan-guaido-how-the-us-regime-change-laboratory-created-venezuelas-coup-leader/amp/?_twitter_impression=true" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out 0s;">Project</a> — Before the fateful day of January 22, <a href="https://twitter.com/venanalysis/status/1087447663153500166" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out 0s;">fewer than one in five</a> Venezuelans had heard of Juan Guaidó. Only a few months ago, the 35-year-old was an obscure character in a politically marginal far-right group closely associated with gruesome acts of street violence. Even in his own party, Guaidó had been a mid-level figure in the opposition-dominated National Assembly, which is now held under contempt according to Venezuela’s constitution.<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">But after a single phone call from US Vice President Mike Pence, Guaidó proclaimed himself as president of Venezuela. Anointed as the leader of his country by Washington, a previously unknown political bottom dweller was vaulted onto the international stage as the US-selected leader of the nation with the world’s largest oil reserves.<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">Echoing the Washington consensus, the New York Times editorial board <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/24/opinion/venezuela-guaido-maduro.html" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out 0s;">hailed </a>Guaidó as a “credible rival” to Maduro with a “refreshing style and vision of taking the country forward.” The Bloomberg News editorial board <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-01-25/guaido-s-bold-stroke-for-democracy-in-venezuela" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out 0s;">applauded</a> him for seeking “restoration of democracy” and the Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/revolt-in-venezuela-11548289111" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out 0s;">declared</a> him “a new democratic leader.” Meanwhile, Canada, numerous European nations, Israel, and the bloc of right-wing Latin American governments known as the Lima Group recognized Guaidó as the legitimate leader of Venezuela.<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">While Guaidó seemed to have materialized out of nowhere, he was, in fact, the product of more than a decade of assiduous grooming by the US government’s elite regime change factories. Alongside a cadre of right-wing student activists, Guaidó was cultivated to undermine Venezuela’s socialist-oriented government, destabilize the country, and one day seize power. Though he has been a minor figure in Venezuelan politics, he had spent years quietly demonstrated his worthiness in Washington’s halls of power.<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">“Juan Guaidó is a character that has been created for this circumstance,” Marco Teruggi, an Argentinian sociologist and leading chronicler of Venezuelan politics, told the Grayzone. “It’s the logic of a laboratory – Guaidó is like a mixture of several elements that create a character who, in all honesty, oscillates between laughable and worrying.”<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">Diego Sequera, a Venezuelan journalist and writer for the investigative outlet, Mision Verdad, agreed: “Guaidó is more popular outside Venezuela than inside, especially in the elite Ivy League and Washington circles,” Sequera remarked to the Grayzone, “He’s a known character there, is predictably right-wing, and is considered loyal to the program.”<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">While Guaidó is today sold as the face of democratic restoration, he spent his career in the most violent faction of Venezuela’s most radical opposition party, positioning himself at the forefront of one destabilization campaign after another. His party has been widely discredited inside Venezuela, and is held partly responsible for fragmenting a badly weakened opposition.<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">“‘These radical leaders have no more than 20 percent in opinion polls,” <a href="http://www.caraotadigital.net/nacionales/luis-vicente-leon-la-oposicion-politica-venezolana-vive-su-peor-momento-historico/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out 0s;">wrote</a> Luis Vicente León, Venezuela’s leading pollster. According to Leon, Guaidó’s party remains isolated because the majority of the population “does not want war. ‘What they want is a solution.’”<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">But this is precisely why he Guaidó was selected by Washington: he is not expected to lead Venezuela towards to democracy, but to collapse a country that for the past two decades has been a bulwark of resistance to US hegemony. His unlikely rise signals the culmination of a two-decades-long project to destroy a robust socialist experiment.<h2 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.2; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Targeting the “troika of tyranny”</h2><p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">Since the 1998 election of Hugo Chavez, the United States has fought to restore control over Venezuela and is vast oil reserves. Chavez’s socialist programs may have redistributed the country’s wealth and helped lift millions out of poverty, but they also earned him a target on his back. In 2002, Venezuela’s right-wing opposition briefly ousted him with US support and recognition before the military restored his presidency following a mass popular mobilization. Throughout the administrations of US Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, Chavez survived numerous assassination plots before succumbing to cancer in 2013. His successor, Nicolas Maduro, has <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/27/maduro-assassination-plot-venezuela_n_3820765.html" target="blank" style="background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out 0s;">survived</a> <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/2344973.stm" target="blank" style="background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out 0s;">three attempts</a> on his life.<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">The Trump administration immediately elevated Venezuela to the top of Washington’s regime change target list, branding it the leader of a <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-national-security-advisor-ambassador-john-r-bolton-administrations-policies-latin-america/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out 0s;">“troika of tyranny.”</a>Last year, Trump’s national security team <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/08/world/americas/donald-trump-venezuela-military-coup.html" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out 0s;">attempted</a> to recruit members of the military brass to mount a military junta, but that effort failed. According to the Venezuelan government, the US was also involved in a plot codenamed Operation Constitution to capture Maduro at the Miraflores presidential palace, and another called <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-27/inside-the-failed-plot-to-overthrow-venezuelan-president-nicolas-maduro" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out 0s;">Operation Armageddon</a> to assassinate him at a military parade in July 2017. Just over a year later, exiled opposition leaders <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J71BT0stT3k" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out 0s;">tried and failed to kill Maduro</a> with drone bombs during a military parade in Caracas.<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">More than a decade before these intrigues, a group of right-wing opposition students were hand selected and groomed by an elite, US-funded regime change training academy to topple Venezuela’s government and restore the neoliberal order.<h2 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.2; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Training from the “‘export-a-revolution’ group that sowed the seeds for a NUMBER of color revolutions”</h2><p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">On October 5, 2005, with Chavez’s popularity at its peak and his government planning sweeping socialist programs, five Venezuelan “student leaders” <a href="https://worldview.stratfor.com/article/venezuela-marigold-revolution" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out 0s;">arrived</a> in Belgrade, Serbia to begin training for an insurrection.<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">The students had arrived from Venezuela courtesy of the Center for Applied Non-Violent Action and Strategies, or CANVAS. This group is <a href="http://www.wrongkindofgreen.org/2013/01/14/breaking-desperate-for-destabilization-in-venezuela-us-funded-otpor-rears-its-ugly-head/" target="blank" style="background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out 0s;">funded</a> largely through the <a href="https://grayzoneproject.com/2018/08/20/inside-americas-meddling-machine-the-us-funded-group-that-interferes-in-elections-around-the-globe/" target="blank" style="background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out 0s;">National Endowment for Democracy</a>, a CIA cut-out that functions as the US government’s main arm of promoting regime change; and offshoots like the International Republican Institute and the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs. According to leaked internal <a href="https://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/17/1792423_information-on-canvas-.html" target="blank" style="background: 0px 0px rgb(255, 255, 102); text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out 0s;">emails</a> from Stratfor, an intelligence firm known as the <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/12/15/stratfor-canadian-government_n_4449505.html" target="blank" style="background: 0px 0px rgb(255, 255, 102); text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out 0s;">“shadow CIA,”</a> “[CANVAS] may have also received CIA funding and training during the 1999/2000 anti-Milosevic struggle.”<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">CANVAS is a spinoff of Otpor, a Serbian protest group founded by <a href="http://www.williamengdahl.com/englishNEO1Oct2017.php" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out 0s;">Srdja Popovic</a> in 1998 at the University of Belgrade. Otpor, which means “resistance” in Serbian, was the student group that gained international fame – and Hollywood-level <a href="https://vimeo.com/143379353" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out 0s;">promotion</a> – by mobilizing the protests that eventually toppled Slobodan Milosevic. This small cell of regime change specialists was operating according to the theories of the late Gene Sharp, the so-called “Clausewitz of non-violent struggle.” Sharp had worked with a former Defense Intelligence Agency analyst, Col. <a href="http://peacemagazine.org/archive/v24n1p12.htm" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out 0s;">Robert Helvey</a>, to conceive a strategic blueprint that weaponized protest as a form of hybrid warfare, aiming it at states that resisted Washington’s unipolar domination.<div id="attachment_254388" class="wp-caption aligncenter" source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" width="width" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; max-width: 100%; margin: 0px auto 24px;">
A fence covered with posters of Slobodan Milosevic behind bars, titled “When?” and “People’s Movement Otpor” in Belgrade, Serbia, March 30, 2001. Darko Vojinovic | AP]</div><figure id="attachment_1809" class="wp-caption alignnone amp-wp-inline-086b83d24e4412010a175ea3dba11ca3" source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1em 40px 12px; max-width: 100%;"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Otpor was supported by the National Endowment for Democracy, USAID and Sharp’s Albert Einstein Institute. Sinisa Sikman, one of Otpor’s main trainers, once <a href="https://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/17/1792423_information-on-canvas-.html" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out 0s;">said</a> the group even received direct CIA funding. According to a <a href="https://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/17/1713359_re-insight-venezuela-canvas-analysis-.html" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out 0s;">leaked email</a> from a Stratfor staffer, after running Milosevic out of power, “the kids who ran OTPOR grew up, got suits and designed CANVAS… or in other words a ;export-a-revolution’ group that sowed the seeds for a NUMBER of color revolutions. They are still hooked into U.S. funding and basically go around the world trying to topple dictators and autocratic governments (ones that U.S. does not like ;).”</figcaption></figure><p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">Stratfor revealed that CANVAS “turned its attention to Venezuela” in 2005 after training opposition movements that led pro-NATO regime change operations across Eastern Europe.<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">While monitoring the CANVAS training program, Stratfor outlined its insurrectionist agenda in strikingly blunt language: “Success is by no means guaranteed, and student movements are only at the beginning of what could be a years-long effort to trigger a revolution in Venezuela, but the trainers themselves are the people who cut their teeth on the ‘Butcher of the Balkans.’ They’ve got mad skills. When you see students at five Venezuelan universities hold simultaneous demonstrations, you will know that the training is over and the real work has begun.”<h2 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.2; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Birthing the “Generation 2007” regime change cadre</h2><p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">The “real work” began two years later, in 2007, when Guaidó graduated from Andrés Bello Catholic University of Caracas. He moved to Washington DC to enroll in the Governance and Political Management <a href="http://sri.ucab.edu.ve/sites/default/files/Convenio%20UCAB-%20CAF%20George%20Washington%20University.pdf" target="blank" style="background: 0px 0px rgb(255, 255, 102); text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out 0s;">Program</a> at George Washington University under the tutelage of Venezuelan economist Luis Enrique Berrizbeitia, one of the top Latin American neoliberal economists. Berrizbeitia is a <a href="https://www.caf.com/media/3571/resumenexecutive.pdf" target="blank" style="background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out 0s;">former executive director</a> of the International Monetary Fund who spent more than a decade working in Venezuelan energy sector under the oligarchic old regime that was ousted by Chavez.<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">That year, Guaidó helped lead anti-government rallies after the Venezuelan government <a href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/2424" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out 0s;">declined to</a> to renew the license of Radio Caracas Televisión (RCTV). This privately-owned station played a leading role in the 2002 coup against Hugo Chavez. RCTV helped mobilize anti-government demonstrators, falsified information blaming government supporters for acts of violence carried out by opposition members, and banned pro-government reporting amid the coup. The role of RCTV and other oligarch-owned stations in driving the failed coup attempt was chronicled in the acclaimed documentary, The Revolution Will Not Be Televised.<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">That same year, the students claimed credit for stymying Chavez’s constitutional referendum for a “21st century socialism” that <a href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/2890" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out 0s;">promised</a> “to set the legal framework for the political and social reorganization of the country, giving direct power to organized communities as a prerequisite for the development of a new economic system.”<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">From the protests around RCTV and the referendum, a specialized cadre of US-backed class of regime change activists was born. They called themselves “Generation 2007.”<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">The Stratfor and CANVAS trainers of this cell identified Guaidó’s ally – a street organizer named Yon Goicoechea – as a “key factor” in defeating the constitutional referendum. The following year, Goicochea was <a href="https://www.cato.org/friedman-prize/yon-goicoechea" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out 0s;">rewarded</a> for his efforts with the Cato Institute’s Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty, along with a $500,000 prize, which he promptly invested into building his own Liberty First (Primero Justicia) political network.<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">[milton prize px]<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">no lnx pix<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;"> Goicoechea receives the Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York, May 15, 2008. Seth Wenig | AP<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">Friedman, of course, was the godfather of the notorious neoliberal Chicago Boys who were imported into Chile by dictatorial junta leader Augusto Pinochet to implement policies of radical “shock doctrine”-style fiscal austerity. And the Cato Institute is the libertarian Washington DC-based think tank founded by the Koch Brothers, two top Republican Party donors who have become aggressive supporters of the right-wing across Latin America.<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">Wikileaks published a 2007 email from American ambassador to Venezuela William Brownfield sent to the State Department, National Security Council and Department of Defense Southern Command praising “Generation of ’07” for having “forced the Venezuelan president, accustomed to setting the political agenda, to (over)react.” Among the “emerging leaders” Brownfield identified were Freddy Guevara and Yon Goicoechea. He applauded the latter figure as “one of the students’ most articulate defenders of civil liberties.”<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">Flush with cash from libertarian oligarchs and US government soft power outfits, the radical Venezuelan cadre took their Otpor tactics to the streets, along with a version of the group’s logo, as seen below:<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">Otpor | Venezuela px]<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">“Galvanizing public unrest…to take advantage of the situation and spin it against Chavez”<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">In 2009, the Generation 2007 youth activists staged their most provocative demonstration yet, dropping their pants on public roads and aping the outrageous guerrilla theater tactics outlined by Gene Sharp in his regime change manuals. The protesters had mobilized against the arrest of an ally from another newfangled youth group called JAVU. This far-right group “gathered funds from a variety of US government sources, which allowed it to gain notoriety quickly as the hardline wing of opposition street movements,” according to academic George Ciccariello-Maher’s book, “Building the Commune.”<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">While video of the protest is not available, many Venezuelans have identified Guaidó as one of its key participants. While the allegation is unconfirmed, it is certainly plausible; the bare-buttocks protesters were members of the Generation 2007 inner core that Guaidó belonged to, and were clad in their trademark Resistencia! Venezuela t-shirts, as seen below:<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">Juan Guaido | Protest<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">Is this the ass that Trump wants to install in Venezuela’s seat of power?<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">That year, Guaidó exposed himself to the public in another way, founding a political party to capture the anti-Chavez energy his Generation 2007 had cultivated. Called Popular Will, it was led by Leopoldo López, a Princeton-educated right-wing firebrand heavily involved in National Endowment for Democracy programs and elected as the mayor of a district in Caracas that was one of the wealthiest in the country. Lopez was a portrait of Venezuelan aristocracy, directly descended from his country’s first president. He was also the first cousin of Thor Halvorssen, founder of the US-based Human Rights Foundation that functions as a de facto publicity shop for US-backed anti-government activists in countries targeted by Washington for regime change.<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">Though Lopez’s interests aligned neatly with Washington’s, US diplomatic cables published by Wikileaks highlighted the fanatical tendencies that would ultimately lead to Popular Will’s marginalization. One cable identified Lopez as “a divisive figure within the opposition… often described as arrogant, vindictive, and power-hungry.” Others highlighted his obsession with street confrontations and his “uncompromising approach” as a source of tension with other opposition leaders who prioritized unity and participation in the country’s democratic institutions.<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">Leopoldo Lopez | Wealth<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">Popular Will founder Leopoldo Lopez cruising with his wife, Lilian Tintori.]<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">By 2010, Popular Will and its foreign backers moved to exploit the worst drought to hit Venezuela in decades. Massive electricity shortages had struck the country due the dearth of water, which was needed to power hydroelectric plants. A global economic recession and declining oil prices compounded the crisis, driving public discontentment.<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">Stratfor and CANVAS – key advisors of Guaidó and his anti-government cadre – devised a shockingly cynical plan to drive a dagger through the heart of the Bolivarian revolution. The scheme hinged on a 70% collapse of the country’s electrical system by as early as April 2010.<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">“This could be the watershed event, as there is little that Chavez can do to protect the poor from the failure of that system,” the Stratfor internal memo declared. “This would likely have the impact of galvanizing public unrest in a way that no opposition group could ever hope to generate. At that point in time, an opposition group would be best served to take advantage of the situation and spin it against Chavez and towards their needs.”<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">By this point, the Venezuelan opposition was receiving a staggering $40-50 million a year from US government organizations like USAID and the National Endowment for Democracy, according to a report by the Spanish think tank, the FRIDE Institute. It also had massive wealth to draw on from its own accounts, which were mostly outside the country.<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">While the scenario envisioned by Statfor did not come to fruition, the Popular Will party activists and their allies cast aside any pretense of non-violence and joined a radical plan to destabilize the country.<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">Towards violent destabilization<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">In November, 2010, according to emails obtained by Venezuelan security services and presented by former Justice Minister Miguel Rodríguez Torres, Guaidó, Goicoechea, and several other student activists attended a secret five-day training at the Fiesta Mexicana hotel in Mexico City. The sessions were run by Otpor, the Belgrade-based regime change trainers backed by the US government. The meeting had reportedly received the blessing of Otto Reich, a fanatically anti-Castro Cuban exile working in George W. Bush’s Department of State, and the right-wing former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe.<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">At the Fiesta Mexicana hotel, the emails stated, Guaidó and his fellow activists hatched a plan to overthrow President Hugo Chavez by generating chaos through protracted spasms of street violence.<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">Three petroleum industry figureheads – Gustavo Torrar, Eligio Cedeño and Pedro Burelli – allegedly covered the $52,000 tab to hold the meeting. Torrar is a self-described “human rights activist” and “intellectual” whose younger brother Reynaldo Tovar Arroyo is the representative in Venezuela of the private Mexican oil and gas company Petroquimica del Golfo, which holds a contract with the Venezuelan state.<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">Cedeño, for his part, is a fugitive Venezuelan businessman who claimed asylum in the United States, and Pedro Burelli a former JP Morgan executive and the former director of Venezuela’s national oil company, Petroleum of Venezuela (PDVSA). He left PDVSA in 1998 as Hugo Chavez took power and is on the advisory committee of Georgetown University’s Latin America Leadership Program.<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">Burelli insisted that the emails detailing his participation had been fabricated and even hired a private investigator to prove it. The investigator declared that Google’s records showed the emails alleged to be his were never transmitted.<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">Yet today Burelli makes no secret of his desire to see Venezuela’s current president, Nicolás Maduro, deposed – and even dragged through the streets and sodomized with a bayonet, as Libyan leader Moammar Qaddafi was by NATO-backed militiamen. <p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">View image on TwitterView image on Twitter<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">Pedro Mario Burelli<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">@pburelli<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;"> .@NicolasMaduro, jamas me has hecho caso. Me has fustigado/perseguido como @chavezcandanga jamás osó. Óyeme, tienes sólo dos opciones en las próximas 24 horas:<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">1. Como Noriega: pagar pena por narcotráfico y luego a @IntlCrimCourt La Haya por DDHH.<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">2. O a la Gaddafi.<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">Escoge ya!<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">1,051<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">10:09 PM - Jan 16, 2019<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">1,252 people are talking about this<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">The alleged Fiesta Mexicana plot flowed into another destabilization plan revealed in a series of documents produced by the Venezuelan government. In May 2014, Caracas released documents detailing an assassination plot against President Nicolás Maduro. The leaks identified the Miami-based Maria Corina Machado as a leader of the scheme. A hardliner with a penchant for extreme rhetoric, Machado has functioned as an international liaison for the opposition, visiting President George W. Bush in 2005.<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">maria corina machado | george bush<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">Machado and George W. Bush, 2005.]<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">“I think it is time to gather efforts; make the necessary calls, and obtain financing to annihilate Maduro and the rest will fall apart,” Machado wrote in an email to former Venezuelan diplomat Diego Arria in 2014.<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">In another email, Machado claimed that the violent plot had the blessing of US Ambassador to Colombia, Kevin Whitaker. “I have already made up my mind and this fight will continue until this regime is overthrown and we deliver to our friends in the world. If I went to San Cristobal and exposed myself before the OAS, I fear nothing. Kevin Whitaker has already reconfirmed his support and he pointed out the new steps. We have a checkbook stronger than the regime’s to break the international security ring.”<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">Guaidó heads to the barricades<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">That February, student demonstrators acting as shock troops for the exiled oligarchy erected violent barricades across the country, turning opposition-controlled quarters into violent fortresses known as guarimbas. While international media portrayed the upheaval as a spontaneous protest against Maduro’s iron-fisted rule, there was ample evidence that Popular Will was orchestrating the show.<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">“None of the protesters at the universities wore their university t-shirts, they all wore Popular Will or Justice First t-shirts,” a guarimba participant said at the time. “They might have been student groups, but the student councils are affiliated to the political opposition parties and they are accountable to them.”<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">Asked who the ringleaders were, the guarimba participant said, “Well if I am totally honest, those guys are legislators now.”<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">Around 43 were killed during the 2014 guarimbas. Three years later, they erupted again, causing mass destruction of public infrastructure, the murder of government supporters, and the deaths of 126 people, many of whom were Chavistas. In several cases, supporters of the government were burned alive by armed gangs.<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">Guaidó was directly involved in the 2014 guarimbas. In fact, he tweeted video showing himself clad in a helmet and gas mask, surrounded by masked and armed elements that had shut down a highway that were engaging in a violent clash with the police. Alluding to his participation in Generation 2007, he proclaimed, “I remember in 2007, we proclaimed, ‘Students!’ Now, we shout, ‘Resistance! Resistance!’” <p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">Guaidó has deleted the tweet, demonstrating apparent concern for his image as a champion of democracy.<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">On February 12, 2014, during the height of that year’s guarimbas, Guaidó joined Lopez on stage at a rally of Popular Will and Justice First. During a lengthy diatribe against the government, Lopez urged the crowd to march to the office of Attorney General Luisa Ortega Diaz. Soon after, Diaz’s office came under attack by armed gangs who attempted to burn it to the ground. She denounced what she called “planned and premeditated violence.”<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">Leopoldo Lopez | Juan Guaido<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">Guaido alongside Lopez at the fateful February 12, 2014 rally. Photo | PanAm Post]<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">In a televised appearance in 2016, Guaidó dismissed deaths resulting from guayas – a guarimba tactic involving stretching steel wire across a roadway in order to injure or kill motorcyclists – as a “myth.” His comments whitewashed a deadly tactic that had killed unarmed civilians like Santiago Pedroza and decapitated a man named Elvis Durán, among many others.<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">This callous disregard for human life would define his Popular Will party in the eyes of much of the public, including many opponents of Maduro.<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">Cracking down on Popular Will <p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">As violence and political polarization escalated across the country, the government began to act against the Popular Will leaders who helped stoke it.<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">Freddy Guevara, the National Assembly Vice-President and second in command of Popular Will, was a principal leader in the 2017 street riots. Facing a trial for his role in the violence, Guevara took shelter in the Chilean embassy, where he remains.<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">Lester Toledo, a Popular Will legislator from the state of Zulia, was wanted by Venezuelan government in September 2016 on charges of financing terrorism and plotting assassinations. The plans were said to be made with former Colombian President Álavaro Uribe. Toledo escaped Venezuela and went on several speaking tours withHuman Rights Watch, the US government-backed Freedom House, the Spanish Congress and European Parliament.<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">Carlos Graffe, another Otpor-trained Generation 2007 member who led Popular Will, was arrested in July 2017. According to police, he was in possession of a bag filled with nails, C4 explosives and a detonator. He was released on December 27, 2017.<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">Leopoldo Lopez, the longtime Popular Will leader, is today under house arrest, accused of a key role in deaths of 13 people during the guarimbas in 2014. Amnesty International lauded Lopez as a “prisoner of conscience” and slammed his transfer from prison to house as “not good enough.” Meanwhile, family members of guarimba victims introduced a petition for more charges against Lopez.<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">Yon Goicoechea, the Koch Brothers posterboy and US-backed founder of Justice First, was arrested in 2016 by security forces who claimed they found a kilo of explosives in his vehicle. In a New York Times op-ed, Goicoechea protested the charges as “trumped-up” and claimed he had been imprisoned simply for his “dream of a democratic society, free of Communism.” He was freed in November 2017.<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">View image on Twitter<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">@YonGoicoechea<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;"> Hoy, en Caricuao. Llevo 15 años trabajando con @jguaido. Confío en él. Conozco la constancia y la inteligencia con la que se ha construido a sí mismo. Está haciendo las cosas con bondad, pero sin ingenuidad. Hay una posibilidad abierta hacia la libertad<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">5:10 PM - Jan 19, 2019<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">136 people are talking about this<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">David Smolansky, also a member of the original Otpor-trained Generation 2007, became Venezuela’s youngest-ever mayor when he was elected in 2013 in the affluent suburb of El Hatillo. But he was stripped of his position and sentenced to 15 months in prison by the Supreme Court after it found him culpable of stirring the violent guarimbas.  <p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">Facing arrest, Smolansky shaved his beard, donned sunglasses and slipped into Brazil disguised as a priest with a bible in hand and rosary around his neck. He now lives in Washington, DC, where he was handpicked by Secretary of the Organization of American States Luis Almagro to lead the working group on the Venezuelan migrant and refugee crisis.<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">This July 26, Smolansky held what he called a “cordial reunion” with Elliot Abrams, the convicted Iran-Contra felon installed by Trump as special US envoy to Venezuela. Abrams is notorious for overseeing the US covert policy of arming right-wing death squads during the 1980’s in Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Guatemala. His lead role in the Venezuelan coup has stoked fears that another blood-drenched proxy war might be on the way.<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">David Smolansky<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">@dsmolansky<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;"> Cordial reunión en la ONU con Elliott Abrams, enviado especial del gobierno de EEUU para Venezuela. Reiteramos que la prioridad para el gobierno interino que preside @jguaido es la asistencia humanitaria para millones de venezolanos que sufren de la falta de comida y medicinas.<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">10:46 AM - Jan 26, 2019<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">2,619 people are talking about this<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">Four days earlier, Machado rumbled another violent threat against Maduro, declaring that if he “wants to save his life, he should understand that his time is up.”<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">A pawn in their game<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">The collapse of Popular Will under the weight of the violent campaign of destabilization it ran alienated large sectors of the public and wound much of its leadership up in exile or in custody. Guaidó had remained a relatively minor figure, having spent most of his nine-year career in the National Assembly as an alternate deputy. Hailing from one of Venezuela’s least populous states, Guaidó came in second place during the 2015 parliamentary elections, winning just 26% of votes cast in order to secure his place in the National Assembly. Indeed, his bottom may have been better known than his face.<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">Guaidó is known as the president of the opposition-dominated National Assembly, but he was never elected to the position. The four opposition parties that comprised the Assembly’s Democratic Unity Table had decided to establish a rotating presidency. Popular Will’s turn was on the way, but its founder, Lopez, was under house arrest. Meanwhile, his second-in-charge, Guevara, had taken refuge in the Chilean embassy. A figure named Juan Andrés Mejía would have been next in line but reasons that are only now clear, Juan Guaido was selected.   <p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">“There is a class reasoning that explains Guaidó’s rise,” Sequera, the Venezuelan analyst, observed. “Mejía is high class, studied at one of the most expensive private universities in Venezuela, and could not be easily marketed to the public the way Guaidó could. For one, Guaidó has common mestizo features like most Venezuelans do, and seems like more like a man of the people. Also, he had not been overexposed in the media, so he could be built up into pretty much anything.”<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">In December 2018, Guaidó sneaked across the border and junketed to Washington, Colombia and Brazil to coordinate the plan to hold mass demonstrations during the inauguration of President Maduro. The night before Maduro’s swearing-in ceremony, both Vice President Mike Pence and Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland called Guaidó to affirm their support.<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">A week later, Sen. Marco Rubio, Sen. Rick Scott and Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart – all lawmakers from the Florida base of the right-wing Cuban exile lobby – joined President Trump and Vice President Pence at the White House. At their request, Trump agreed that if Guaidó declared himself president, he would back him.<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met personally with Guaidó on January 10, according to the Wall Street Journal. However, Pompeo could not pronounce Guaidó’s name when he mentioned him in a press briefing on January 25, referring to him as “Juan Guido.”<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;"> Embedded video<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">Dan Cohen<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">@dancohen3000<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;"> Secretary of State Mike Pompeo just called the figure Washington is attempting to install as Venezuelan President "Juan Guido" - as in the racist term for Italians. America's top diplomat didn't even bother to learn how to pronounce his puppet's name.<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">1:58 PM - Jan 25, 2019<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">By January 11, Guaidó’s Wikipedia page had been edited 37 times, highlighting the struggle to shape the image of a previously anonymous figure who was now a tableau for Washington’s regime change ambitions. In the end, editorial oversight of his page was handed over to Wikipedia’s elite council of “librarians,” who pronounced him the “contested” president of Venezuela.<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">Guaidó might have been an obscure figure, but his combination of radicalism and opportunism satisfied Washington’s needs. “That internal piece was missing,” a Trump administration said of Guaidó. “He was the piece we needed for our strategy to be coherent and complete.”<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">“For the first time,” Brownfield, the former American ambassador to Venezuela, gushed to the New York Times, “you have an opposition leader who is clearly signaling to the armed forces and to law enforcement that he wants to keep them on the side of the angels and with the good guys.”<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">But Guaidó’s Popular Will party formed the shock troops of the guarimbas that caused the deaths of police officers and common citizens alike. He had even boasted of his own participation in street riots. And now, to win the hearts and minds of the military and police, Guaido had to erase this blood-soaked history.<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">On January 21, a day before the coup began in earnest, Guaidó’s wife delivered a video address calling on the military to rise up against Maduro. Her performance was wooden and uninspiring, underscoring the her husband’s limited political prospects.<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">At a press conference before supporters four days later, Guaidó announced his solution to the crisis: “Authorize a humanitarian intervention!”<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">While he waits on direct assistance, Guaidó remains what he has always been – a pet project of cynical outside forces. “It doesn’t matter if he crashes and burns after all these misadventures,” Sequera said of the coup figurehead. “To the Americans, he is expendable.”<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">Top Photo | Venezuela’s self-declared interim leader Juan Guaido, center, greets supporters after a rally at a public plaza in Las Mercedes neighborhood of Caracas, Venezuela, Jan. 26, 2019. Fernando Llano | AP]<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">Dan Cohen is a journalist and filmmaker. He has produced widely distributed video reports and print dispatches from across Israel-Palestine. Dan is a correspondent at RT America and tweets at @DanCohen3000.<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">Max Blumenthal is the founder and editor of GrayzoneProject.com, the co-host of the podcast Moderate Rebels, the author of several books and producer of full-length documentaries including the recently released Killing Gaza. Follow him on Twitter at @MaxBlumenthal.<p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;"><p source="Source" sans="Sans" pro="Pro" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 28px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">Source | GrayZone Project</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"></div><a href="http://www.vancouverobserver.com/environment/worst-case-scenario-tar-sands-coming-life-leaked-documents-show">http://www.vancouverobserver.com/environment/worst-case-scenario-tar-sands-coming-life-leaked-documents-show</a>http://www.vancouverobserver.com/environment/worst-case-scenario-tar-sands-coming-life-leaked-documents-show
In the Austin, Texas-based office of global intelligence firm Stratfor, the "Shadow CIA", a curious string of names from BC were being mentioned as part of an oil sands presentation. West Coast Environmental Law. Dogwood Initiative. The presentation was ostensibly for Suncor, although the company denies having ever seen the document despite the company's name being mentioned 11 times. Dogwood and WCEL were among 24 groups identified by Stratfor as leaders in the anti-tar sands push. The PowerPoint presentation was prepared by Stratfor in 2010, when North America's oil industry was mulling over how to deal with the growing anti-tar sands movement. It was leaked by WikiLeaks, the same group that published emails from Stratfor last year suggesting that the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline could end up costing $15 billion instead of the proposed $5.5 billion.  Stratfor lays out several engagement options for companies in dealing with them. One option is to simply ignore them, since activists "have no power in Alberta or Ottawa" and have little chance of success with U.S. government. In the best case scenario, the activists give up and move on to other causes. But in the worst case, the opposition could get out of hand, Stratfor warns.  "Campaign becomes the most significant environmental campaign of the decade as activists on both sides of the border come to view the industry as arrogant. Code of conduct demands strengthen, downstream activism intensifies.""This worst-case scenario is exactly what has happened," Greenpeace senior investigator Mark Floegel said in an interview with Inside Climate. "The more people in America see Superstorm Sandys or tornadoes in Chicago, the more they are waking up and joining the fight."
Slide from 'Oil Sands Market Campaigns' The presentation pointed to past activist campaigns, and highlighted the "real demand" underlying a "public demand" made by activist groups. In the case of tar sands opponents, Stratfor said the "real demand" was to introduce a code of conduct for the industry, which is now the fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions in Canada. In one of the slides, Stratfor suggests that Suncor develops its own strong environmental initiatives to overcome activists' criticism. The presentation divided groups into categories of "radicals" "idealists" "realists" and "opportunists" and outlined how to engage with them. Rising Tide North America, Oil Change International and the Indigenous Environmental Network were labeled as radicals. Sierra Club and Amnesty International were among groups called idealists, while groups including Pembina and the World Wildlife Fund were called realists.Some of the groups mentioned have recently been the targets of surveillance in Canada coordinated by the federal energy regulation board, the National Energy Board. 
Stratfor would not respond to questions about the presentation due to its policy not to comment on WikiLeaks documents."If their worst case scenario is people coming together to stand up for our province in the face of reckless oil tanker expansion plans, then yes, that's where we are today," Dogwood Initiative director Will Horter said."But the fact that these energy companies view peaceful organizing and use of the democratic process as a 'worst-case scenario' is telling. These companies are out of touch with everyday Canadians, and they're not addressing the real and legitimate concerns people have about their projects."
omg random soft target attack outside israelsirhan, munich masacre bl sept; http://www.kvue.com/videos/news/local/2015/10/29/stratfor-partners-with-dallasbased-teakwood-capital/74809812/gitmo prisoner released?cold war never ended, mil threat, undersea cablesteakwood pvt eq 12 millionCoca Cola hired the “global intelligence” spy firm Stratfor to investigate People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, according to company emails released by Wikileaks. june 2009 Van BC Winter Olympics in 2010. FBI investigated ("classified"?)  PETA and gave info to Stratfor?!alexia o'b day of rage:<a href="http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread983192/pg1">http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread983192/pg1</a>
 Chris hedges, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, gave an excellent interview that no one should miss. I would 100% advise watching the entire video if you can. But for those that can't, you will find the complete transcript at my link. And as many of you may now be familiar, Jeremy Hammond is presently sitting in jail for hacking into Stratfor which provided email proof of much government wrongdoing. 
This video is quite concerning to me, for it represents so much of what has gone wrong in our country. Once Americans are deemed terrorists, the military is permitted to seize citizens, strip them of due process and hold them indefinitely in military facilities. Right now, the government is pushing to have anyone who dissents labeled a terrorist. 
One of the people that the US tried to falsely target as a terrorists was Alexa O’Brien, a content strategist and journalist. Alexa co-founded US Day of Rage, an organization created to reform the election process. Stratfor officials tried to link her to Islamic radicals and jihad websites. This threatened Alexa with unconstitutional detention. 
Now you knew Obama would come into this. You see, Judge Katherine B. Forrest made a ruling partly because of the Stratfor email leaks that the plaintiffs had a credible fear, and so she nullified the law that allowed American terrorists to be held by the military without due process. This, decision was overturned by an appellate court when the Obama administration appealed it. 
Folks, I am a tad under the weather tonight so please forgive this sub par thread here. If anyone could add to this it would be appreciated. I just felt this couldn't be missed. I will try to polish this up a tidge right now. And I would like to find the specific emails that apply. Now, this was quite a significant dump, because it illustrated two or three very chilling things about the security and surveillance state, first of all that there was no division between corporate spying and government spying. It was seamless, including the same people going back and forth. It was from that dump that we realized the extent to which the Occupy movement was being spied upon and infiltrated and monitored and followed. And we also found from those email exchanges that there was a concerted attempt on the part of security officials, both inside the government and within the private security contracting agency, to link, falsely, nonviolent dissident groups with terrorist groups so that they could apply terrorism laws against these groups. --And when I sued Barack Obama over Section 1021 of the National National Defense Authorization Act, which permits the U.S. military, overturning 150 years of domestic law, to seize U.S. citizens who "substantially" support--that is not a legal term, it's not material support, it's an amorphous term--"substantially" support al-Qaeda, the Taliban, or something called associated forces--again another nebulous term--hold those citizens in military facilities without due process indefinitely, part of the email exchanges were entered as evidence in my case. 
And those email exchanges showed that this private security firm, along with government officials, was attempting to link a group called U.S. Day of Rage, founded by a journalist and activist named Alexa O'Brien, who was one of my coplaintiffs, with al-Qaeda. And why were they trying to link that group with al-Qaeda? So that they could employ the draconian terrorism laws against nonviolent democratic dissidents. That all came out from Hammond. 
Austin, Texas – On January 22, journalist and political prisoner Barrett Brown was convicted in a Texas court of controversial charges [1]. In addition to a 63-month sentence, Brown is expected to pay $890,250 in restitution to the private spy agency, Strategic Forecasting (a.k.a. “Stratfor”).

This monumental fine, which turns a theoretically free citizen into an indentured servant of a corporation [2], is meant to hold Brown responsible for a hack by the Anonymous group LulzSec — even though the government admitted it didn’t have any concrete evidence to show he’d taken any material part in the hack.

Jeremy Hammond [3], a member of LulzSec, pled guilty in May of 2013 [3] and was sentenced to ten years in prison [4]. The hack, carried out under the instruction of the FBI’s agent saboteur and snitch Sabu [5], revealed millions of emails that showed the complex interrelationship between the private intelligence firm, multinational corporations, and the surveillance state. The emails also revealed how Stratfor had infiltrated activist groups from Texas to India.

On February 2, 2015, George Friedman, Stratfor’s CEO, was scheduled to sign his book “Flashpoints: The Emerging Crisis in Europe,” at Book People, an independent bookstore in Austin, Texas. It would be Hammond’s 1,065th day in prison; Brown had been incarcerated for 874.

George Friedman, you should have expected us.

From Bhopal to Austin

Thirty years ago, the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India sprayed toxic gases into the air, killing over 4,000 residents [6] and devastating the lives of hundreds of thousands more for decades to come. The victims, their families and descendents are still struggling for justice. There continue to be higher-than-normal rates of birth defects in the region.

An "Anonymous gorilla" (a protester in a gorilla suit) stood outside Book People in Austin, Texas on February 2, 2015 during George Friedman's book signing. The gorilla's banner reads Strategi Forecast Is 100% Chance Of Lulz. (Kit O'Connell)
An “Anonymous gorilla” (a protester in a gorilla suit) stood outside Book People in Austin, Texas on February 2, 2015 during George Friedman’s book signing. The gorilla’s banner reads “Strategic Forecast Is 100% Chance Of Lulz.” (Kit O’Connell)

Union Carbide refused to take responsibility and instead became part of the multinational giant Dow Chemical. Instead of paying reparations to the victims of the disaster or to clean up the environmental damage, Dow paid Stratfor to spy on the nonviolent activists that were bringing attention to the tragedy [7].

But there was something that made ruining Friedman’s night even more personal for me. The emails also revealed that in 2011, Strategic Forecasting had collaborated with the intelligence department of the Texas State Troopers to infiltrate Occupy Austin. I’d been a member and Hammond had tipped us off, even before he shared the millions of emails with WikiLeaks. While I’d be carrying a banner for Bhopal that night, I was doing it for Hammond.

I heard about the book signing from Azzurra Crispino of Prison Abolition & Prisoner Solidarity (PAPS) & the Anonymous Solidarity Network [8] (FreeAnons). She’d been tipped off to the event and begun organizing a small group of local activists to respond. Because we wanted to maintain the element of surprise, we kept our planning off social networks.

It took only a handful of people to force Friedman to turn his book signing into a lecture on the evils of his corporation. One activist drove in from out of town with a gorilla suit and banner-making supplies. My backyard was the scene of the crime — there’s no use hiding it because there’s glitter all over still. I agreed to sneak the banner into the store and be the first major distraction. A handful of others secretly joined the audience while our gorilla stood outside to loudly draw attention and “rustle some jimmies” with another banner.

“It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking of these organizations as faceless and above the law,” Azzurra told me later. “Stratfor as a corporation is not a person, but the corporation is made up of people including its founder George Friedman.”

“These individuals must be held accountable for their actions. Since the state reflects the interests of the .1% and not of the people, it will never hold the private-intelligence-complex accountable for its spying and infiltration of nonviolent protesters. It is up to the people to hold up the mirror of truth to them.”

Peaceful but not quiet

Friedman’s reading took place on the second of three floors inside Book People, right at the top of a flight of stairs above the store’s science fiction, comic book and Forteana shelves where I’d spent a happy evening browsing. As I approached the top of the stairs, I pulled the banner from underneath my shirt and unfurled it.

I stepped off the landing, standing to Friedman’s right and just behind him as he spoke at a podium. Since the staff didn’t interfere with me immediately, I stood there silently as the audience and other customers reacted. Several took photos. One man tried to block his view of my banner by holding Friedman’s book in front of my face. Later, he would repeatedly and petulantly yell “write your own book!” during each successive disruption.

But the night was about making our voice be heard over the din of Stratfor’s money and power. I began to shout.

Justice for Bhopal!

Friedman is a crook!

Shame on corporate spies!

The event was completely disrupted for some time. Employees chased me first across the second floor and then back down the stairs. Rather than letting them herd me out immediately, I ran into the bookstore cafe.

It was very busy.

“Beware, there’s a corporate crook in the building!” I shouted to the surprised caffeinators, before resuming my series of chants.

Eventually a very angry man with a long beard and a black cowboy hat succeeded in chasing me out the door. I was gone from the property and in hiding before the cops arrived. The banner went in the trash and I scrubbed glitter from my hands in a bathroom sink.

The police arrived just in time for the next activist to be ejected from the store.

I wish I could have been there to watch the interactions between six cops, an angry cowboy, the gorilla, and the Communist who’d just been kicked out for reminding George Friedman that his “hometown bookstore” was “built on stolen indigenous Aztlán land.”

“What’s a lulz?” a cop asked the gorilla.

Audience member: Just remember, all publicity is good.

George Friedman: No, I can tell you that’s not true.

Changing the conversation

In the video above, you can see the real success of our tactic. Though Friedman drew some laughs from his audience, he seems visibly shaken and takes several moments to recollect himself.

And instead of immediately returning to his prepared speech, he finds himself recounting the story of the hack. He explains the accusations of activist infiltration, and the embarrassment of having millions of private emails and credit card numbers belonging to a “security” company revealed to the whole world via WikiLeaks and Anonymous.

Seemingly shaken, Friedman admits he has only excuses. “The answer to [accusations of spying] is no, we weren’t,” he says, “but that’s such a lame answer I don’t know how to give it.”

“It was a mess and it wasn’t fun. And one of the things that wasn’t fun was that [interruption],” Friedman concludes. “But I guess I’m in good company: The NSA, the State Department, the US Army, and Sony, so to hell with them.”

But the lulz weren’t over. During the question and answer period, Azzurra asked George Friedman, “Do you regret helping the FBI to entrap that Anonymous hacker?”

Flustered again, he denied collaborating with the FBI.

“Court records clearly show that Stratfor was asked by the FBI to allow the hack to happen and they complied,” she told me later. “They could have instead chosen to shore up their security and not cooperate. It is paramount street activists ensure corporate choices come with the price of public ridicule and disruption so the next time a truth-seeking hacker is set up by a government agency, executives know they will be held personally accountable for that cooperation.”

Finally, as Friedman signed books, a final audience plant brought up a copy of Flashpoints and read out a dedication:

Happy 30th Birthday, Jeremy Hammond.

Friedman got as far as Jeremy’s first name before stopping...
URL to article: http://www.mintpressnews.com/MyMPN/video-protesting-george-friedman-ceo-stratfor-austin-san-francisco/
<p style="overflow-wrap: break-word; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;">URL to article: http://www.mintpressnews.com/MyMPN/video-protesting-george-friedman-ceo-stratfor-austin-san-francisco/<p style="overflow-wrap: break-word; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;">URLs in this post:<p style="overflow-wrap: break-word; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin: 2px 0px;">[1] controversial charges: http://www.mintpressnews.com/MyMPN/controversial-case-lands-barrett-brown-63-months-prison/<p style="overflow-wrap: break-word; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin: 2px 0px;">[2] indentured servant of a corporation: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/01/31/my-post-cyberpunk-indentured-servitude.html<p style="overflow-wrap: break-word; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin: 2px 0px;">[3] Jeremy Hammond: http://www.mintpressnews.com/anonymous-hacker-jeremy-hammond-pleads-guilty-to-stratfor-leak/162262/<p style="overflow-wrap: break-word; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin: 2px 0px;">[4] ten years in prison: https://freejeremy.net/2014/12/01/jeremy-hammond-has-spent-a-thousand-days-in-prison-for-telling-us-the-truth/<p style="overflow-wrap: break-word; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin: 2px 0px;">[5] Sabu: http://www.mintpressnews.com/hacker-turned-fbi-informant-sabu-released/191492/<p style="overflow-wrap: break-word; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin: 2px 0px;">[6] killing over 4,000 residents: http://www.mintpressnews.com/30-years-bhopal-gas-leak-momentum-builds-toward-accountability/199800/<p style="overflow-wrap: break-word; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin: 2px 0px;">[7] nonviolent activists that were bringing attention to the tragedy: https://wikileaks.org/gifiles/releasedate/2012-02-27-00-stratford-monitored-bhopal-activists-including.html<p style="overflow-wrap: break-word; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin: 2px 0px;">[8] Anonymous Solidarity Network: https://freeanons.org/<div>docs 12/ to 10: to 12/11</div><div>
<div><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130216104339/https://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/725029_punish-dow-chemicals-us-legislators-.html">https://web.archive.org/web/20130216104339/https://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/725029_punish-dow-chemicals-us-legislators-.html</a></div><div>
</div><div>1970 art'l : urge PM Besides Pallone Jr, the Congress members who have signed the letter include Patrick Kennedy, Barbara Lee  and Steve Rothman. </div><div>
</div><div>---</div><div>report on yes men appearances: by </div><div>Ann Sigsby Senior Analyst Allis Information Management www.allisinfo.com 989-835-5811 
Collateral damage:Writer/journalist Barrett Brown, talented writer, he was working on a book on pundits when Anonymous caught his attention, as he believed it was going to be transformational and had been seriously under-reported. He started a small collective to analyze the document dumps. What he found was amazing: DOJ giving tips on how to hire private intel to go after legitimate protest. Endgame software selling real-time computer vulnerabilities; FBI caught on and got a subpoena, clearly they wanted his sources (odd, since they knew what files he was looking at? What they had a tougher time finding out was who was working with him?].   Because he was inconsiderately not at home when they came for him, they tracked him down at his mom's house, but then had to get another warrant to search her house.   In the meantime, they are both charged with obstruction of justice. He claims his mom did not know his laptop was in her house, thus she's innocent [and who could blame her if she did mislead or stall the feds?] he's looking at 105 years in jail, lost it when they threatened his mom. cf. Aaron Schwartz same 1984 Computer Fraud and Abuse rap. .project PM pointed at strafor logs, which had credit card info?=<a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/01/06/1267563/-New-Stratfor-Reveals#">http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/01/06/1267563/-New-Stratfor-Reveals#</a>mike stark<ul style=""><li>I've spent scores of hours running creative searches through the <a href="http://wikileaks.org/the-gifiles.html" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.4; text-decoration: none;">Global Intelligence Files</a>, better known as the Wikileaks collection of over 5 million emails digital activist <a href="http://freejeremy.net/who-is-jeremy-hammond/" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.4; text-decoration: none;">Jeremy Hammond</a> hacked from Stratfor (Strategic Forecasting).  https://freejeremy.net/who-is-jeremy-hammond/</li></ul><a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/01/01/1266507/-Stratford-Leaked-Documents-Divide-And-Conquer-Strategies-Against-Activists" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.4; text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;">Plenty has been unearthed already</a>, but I've found a lot more. So let's get started...Remember Brandon Darby? He's the guy that joined up with a group of kids from Texas, helped them plan some pretty nasty shit at the 2008 Republican convention, and then turned them in to the authorities. He had spent years as an environmental activist, and then decided to cash out apparently. Well... He <a href="https://search.wikileaks.org/gifiles/?viewemailid=5316734" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.4; text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;">tried to find work with Stratfor</a>: <blockquote style="margin: 1.2em 0px; padding: 20px; line-height: 18.2px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(226, 226, 225); border-top: 1px solid rgb(226, 226, 225); background-color: rgb(246, 243, 236);">What's this guy's story? Is he nuts?Fred Burton wrote:He's the dude who took down the RNC activist cell.----------------------------------------------------------------------From: Brian Genchur [mailto:brian.genchur@stratfor.com] Sent: Wednesday, April 01, 2009 10:56 AM To: Fred Burton Subject: [Fwd: FBI Informant] Hi Fred,This guy called again, and wants to talk to you again. I leave it in your hands...again. :-) -------- Original Message --------Subject: FBI Informant Date: Tue, 3 Mar 2009 09:48:04 -0600 (CST) From: Brian Genchur To: Fred BurtonHi Fed,Brandon Darby called and says he is an FBI informant involving the case of the RNC protest up in Minnesota. He says he is also an informant for other things, in addition to being a legal aide at a law office. He says thank you for your perspective. He'd also like to talk to you about "things" if you would like.His phone: 512 - 803 - 6261 Email: cottonginroad@gmail.comI leave it in your hands, sir!Brian Genchur Public Relations Manager STRATFOR pr@stratfor.com o: 512 - 744 - 4309-- Brian Genchur Public Relations Manager STRATFOR pr@stratfor.com 512 744 4309</blockquote>It's unclear whether or not he was successful.Our friends working to dis-empower Rush Limbaugh are going to love this one...  Back in 2008, Stratfor <a href="http://search.wikileaks.org/gifiles/?viewemailid=57165" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.4; text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;">gushed about Limbaugh</a>. They even wanted to <a href="http://search.wikileaks.org/gifiles/?viewemailid=1229556" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.4; text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;">donate books to the "Limbaugh Library"</a>: <blockquote style="margin: 1.2em 0px; padding: 20px; line-height: 18.2px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(226, 226, 225); border-top: 1px solid rgb(226, 226, 225); background-color: rgb(246, 243, 236);">Let me try first and if I don't succeed we'll ask London to give it a shot.From: Aaric Eisenstein [mailto:eisenstein@stratfor.com] Sent: Thursday, May 22, 2008 4:24 PM To: 'Meredith Friedman' Subject: LimbaughDon't know if London has a relationship to get to Limbaugh's Library, but I really want us to follow up on this one. Fred's book is a perfect fit, and it's a great way for us to rekindle the relationship. If London DOESN'T have an in there, offering to help her would also be a nice gesture to RH.Aaric S. Eisenstein Stratfor SVP Publishing 700 Lavaca St., Suite 900 Austin, TX 78701 512-744-4308 512-744-4334 fax</blockquote><a href="http://search.wikileaks.org/gifiles/?viewemailid=1266126" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.4; text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;">Six months later, from Stratfor CEO George Friedman</a>:<blockquote style="margin: 1.2em 0px; padding: 20px; line-height: 18.2px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(226, 226, 225); border-top: 1px solid rgb(226, 226, 225);">Ok. Should we also cancel our deal with oreilly? We're extremely prominent on his website.We also have press citations on our homepage. Lose those?Sent from my iPhone On Feb 16, 2009, at 8:47 AM, friedman@att.blackberry.net wrote:We are very serious on this. I don't want to be linked to limbaugh. He is toxic. It also needs a simple and clearer explanation of what that list is. We never worked for them. They just quoted us. we argue that we are not the msm [MAINSTREAM MEDIA?] then list all the msm. What message are we delivering? That we are proud to be associated with the msm after all your campaigns rubbished them?Make it clear at the top that they cited us and we have no affiliation. Get rid of limbaugh and oreilly. Neither gain us reputation and our relationship with him is potentially embarrassing.The msm connection baffles me but make certain that people know we are only being quoted by them.Ithe image I want to project is non ideological, the opposite of the mainstream media and unaffiliated. At the very least I want the most toxic ideologues out and a very clear statement that we are merely quoted by these people.Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T</blockquote>Sidenote: It's clear that Stratfor was savvy about what they put down in emails. As I searched through the database, I found several emails (<a href="http://search.wikileaks.org/gifiles/?viewemailid=3488591" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 18.2px; text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">like this one</a>) that referenced other email conversations of a sensitive nature that took place on the same day. But searching for those emails reveals that they aren't among the 5 million in this database. I suspect that several executives maintained parallel email accounts for sensitive discussions (legal prophylactic).<a href="https://search.wikileaks.org/gifiles/?viewemailid=1039714" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.4; text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;">This email</a> is from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Burton" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.4; text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;">Fred Burton, Stratfor VP for Intelligence</a>: <blockquote style="margin: 1.2em 0px; padding: 20px; line-height: 18.2px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(226, 226, 225); border-top: 1px solid rgb(226, 226, 225); background-color: rgb(246, 243, 236);">NewsMax source told me Putin was out of the loop on the KGB hit in London on the former KGB agent (polonium 210) per Wiki leak?I've not seen the cable to verify the piece.</blockquote>Are you effin' kidding me? "NewsMax source"? If Corporate America is relying on Stratfor for intelligence, it's little wonder we're losing our competitive edge.But that's not all from Mr. Burton. <a href="https://search.wikileaks.org/gifiles/?viewemailid=11079" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.4; text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;">Check this out</a>: <blockquote style="margin: 1.2em 0px; padding: 20px; line-height: 18.2px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(226, 226, 225); border-top: 1px solid rgb(226, 226, 225);">Of courseMy first bill would be to have Barney Frank arrested for high treason.On day two I would introduce a bill to nuke Iran and to increase the size of our military 5x.On day three I would drag every political hack Obama has appointed up for hearings on any chickenshit item I could find and grind the federal govt to a halt.On day four I would order the USAF to fly my team to Vegas.-----Original Message----- From: social-bounces@stratfor.com [mailto:social-bounces@stratfor.com] On Behalf Of George Friedman Sent: Thursday, March 19, 2009 4:15 PM To: Social list; Walter Howerton; 'Kelly Tryce'; fburton@att.blackberry.net Subject: Re: [Social] Anyone have a SXSW badge/wristband I can borrow?You really need to run for congress. Your mind works like a great congressman. Can I donate some money to get your campaign going? Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T-----Original Message----- From: "Fred Burton"Date: Thu, 19 Mar 2009 16:13:42 To: 'Walter Howerton'; ; 'Kelly Tryce'; Cc: 'Social list' Subject: Re: [Social] Anyone have a SXSW badge/wristband I can borrow?Yes in deed.All is well though, nice to see O'Bama filling out his NCAA brackets while my 401k looks like the south end of a north bound dog.</blockquote>Mr. Burton's extremism shines through throughout the trove of emails. You can spend hours mining gems from his email account. But so far as I'm concerned, when it comes to Stratfor's status, no single email says more than <a href="https://search.wikileaks.org/gifiles/?viewemailid=285504" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 18.2px; text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">this one</a>. The jokes write themselves:<blockquote style="margin: 1.2em 0px; padding: 20px; line-height: 18.2px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(226, 226, 225); border-top: 1px solid rgb(226, 226, 225);">This is great Fred. Also gives you something to do on July 4th!!!----------------------------------------------------------------------From: Brian Genchur [mailto:brian.genchur@stratfor.com] Sent: Tuesday, June 30, 2009 5:32 PM To: Fred Burton Cc: 'Meredith Friedman'; 'Aaric Eisenstein'; 'Darryl O'Connor' Subject: Re: Premiere Radio Network's "Coast to Coast AM" Wonderful!Brian GenchurPublic Relations ManagerSTRATFORbrian.genchur@stratfor.com512 744 4309Fred Burton wrote:Good news. I'm slated for a 3-hour special interview on my book and terrorism investigations the night of July 4th/July 5th on the largest overnight talk radio show in the U.S. The producer advises websites have been brought down in the past due to webhits. More to follow on exact times.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------From: DarkEditor@aol.com [mailto:DarkEditor@aol.com] Sent: Monday, June 29, 2009 3:40 PM To: King, London Subject: Fred Burton - GhostHi London,I would like to pre-interview Fred Burton for Coast to Coast AM. Please let me know how to reach him, or have him give me a call. Thanks!"Coast to Coast AM" is the largest overnight talk radio show in the U.S., airing nationwide on 500 affiliates including WABC, New York; WLS, Chicago; and KFI am 640, Los Angeles. The show is the number one rated show in most markets with overwhelming market share. We air live from 10pm to 2am Pacific time and feature interviews up to three hours long. For more information about the show, please visit the website at www.coasttocoastam.comPlease call me anytime between 11am and 4pm Pacific time. Thank you.Lisa Lyon Producer, "Coast to Coast AM" Premiere Radio Networks 777 NE 7th Street, Suite 207 Grants Pass, OR 97526(541) 955-0100 - office (541) 955-0127 - fax www.coasttocoastam.com</blockquote>

Real Name: Mike StarkGender: MaleLocation: Falls Church, VAOccupation: meat-space activistGroups: <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/blog/Virginia%20Kos" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.4; text-decoration: none;">Virginia Kos</a>, <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/blog/Occupy%20Wall%20Street" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.4; text-decoration: none;">Occupy Wall Street</a>Hobbies: softball, politics, law, fantasy sports, family, outdoorsHome Page: <a rel="nofollow" href="http://starkreports.com/" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.4; text-decoration: none;">http://starkreports.com/</a>Twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/mike_stark" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.4; text-decoration: none;">mike_stark</a><a href="http://www.dailykos.com/blog/Mike%20Stark" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.4; text-decoration: none;">Diaries published</a>: 609 (108 days since last diary on Mon Mar 16, 2015 at 01:10 PM PDT)<a href="http://www.dailykos.com/user/Mike%20Stark/comments" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.4; text-decoration: none;">Comments posted</a>: 2355 (29 days since last comment on Tue Jun 02, 2015 at 06:45 PM PDT)Diary frequency: frequentComment frequency: frequentTotal Recommends: 52095Total Comment Ratings: 23218Most Recommended Diary: <a class="storyName" href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/02/11/300844/-Gore-ville-UPDATE-Gore-Knows" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.4; text-decoration: none; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Gore-ville UPDATE: Gore Knows</a>, 695 comments, 1475 recommendsPeople Following Mike Stark: 466----kos ref above <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/01/01/1266507/-Stratford-Leaked-Documents-Divide-And-Conquer-Strategies-Against-Activists">http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/01/01/1266507/-Stratford-Leaked-Documents-Divide-And-Conquer-Strategies-Against-Activists</a><p class="date" style="text-align: left; margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; line-height: 18.2px; font-stretch: normal;" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" text-transform="text-transform" uppercase="uppercase" letter-spacing="letter-spacing" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb">WED JAN 01, 2014 AT 01:26 PM PST<h2 style="text-align: left; margin: 0px auto 4px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.1;" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-weight="font-weight" normal="normal" width="width" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb"><a id="titleHref" href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/01/01/1266507/-Stratford-Leaked-Documents-Divide-And-Conquer-Strategies-Against-Activists" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1; text-decoration: none;">Stratfor Leaked Documents: Divide-And-Conquer Strategies Against Activists</a></h2><span style="text-align: left; margin: 8px 4px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.4; display: block; text-indent: -9999px; overflow: hidden; float: left; height: 15px; width: 15px; background-image: url(http://images.dailykos.com/i/main/by.gif); background-color: transparent; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: no-repeat;">by<a href="http://www.dailykos.com/user/Ray%20Pensador" style="text-align: left; margin: 4px 4px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.4; text-decoration: none; float: left;">Ray Pensador</a>Sockpuppets SeriesOne of the research areas I'm focusing on as part of a book project I'm working on is state- and corporate-sponsored propaganda and how it affects the population at large, and how it systematically neutralizes (or sabotages) the effectiveness of social justice movements and activists.Back in January 25th, 2013, I wrote a well-received diary titled "<a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/01/26/1182220/-Research-Study-Explains-How-U-S-Media-Brainwashes-The-Public" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.4; text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;">Research Study Explains How U.S. Media Brainwashes The Publi</a>c."  In that diary I focused on the propagandist effects of corporate media conglomeration, and I made reference to a Gonzaga University Master's Degree Thesis by Frank McCoy, submitted on December, 2012: "<a href="http://web02.gonzaga.edu/comltheses/proquestftp/McCloy_gonzaga_0736M_10210.pdf" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.4; text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;">THE PROPAGANDA MODEL: CORPORATE AND POLITICAL COLLUSION IN THE CREATION OF AN OLIGOPOLISTIC MAINSTREAM U.S. MEDIA</a>."Before I continue, I'd like to point out that I'm very surprised at how little ongoing research there is about modern-day government/corporate propaganda, given that it seems to me (from the research I'm conducting) that it is now more ubiquitous, advanced, and effective than any time in history...More recently I published a diary reporting on how government and corporate spy networks have been infiltrating activist groups: "<a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/11/27/1258654/-Report-U-S-Gov-And-Corporate-Security-Companies-Collude-to-Bring-Down-Social-Justice-Groups" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.4; text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Report: U.S. Gov. And Corporate Security Companies Collude to Bring Down Social Justice Groups</a>."  In that diary I referenced a <a href="http://www.corporatepolicy.org/spookybusiness.pdf" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.4; text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">recently-published report</a> on how "[c]orporations are increasingly spying on nonprofit groups they view as potential threats with little fear of retribution," as <a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-corporations-increasingly-spying-on-nonprofits-group-says-20131120,0,3211134.story#axzz2lomKPsL0" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.4; text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">reported</a> by The Los Angels Times.I've written a few other diaries about this topic, and I'm in the process of writing the chapter on propaganda (for my book) using the available reference material (studies, research, etc.)... I will also set up a reference section on modern-day propaganda on <a href="http://www.raypensador.com/" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.4; text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;">my website</a> for those who are interested in more in-depth knowledge about the subject.In the meantime, I'd like to call attention to the latest revelations about how corporate PR and spy networks work in conjunction with governments to neutralize activists.The website, <a href="http://www.popularresistance.org/" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.4; text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">PopularResistance.org</a> recently published a related article:  "<a href="http://www.popularresistance.org/stratfor-monitors-and-studies-social-movements/" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.4; text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;">Stratfor Monitors and Studies Social Movements</a>"It was very interesting to see (and confirm) something I've observed for quite some time now (as I continue researching the subject):  The effort to cognitively infiltrate social justice groups and activists is systematic and disciplined.  For a more in-depth examination on this, I really recommend another article published at PopularResistance.org: "<a href="http://www.popularresistance.org/heres-how-the-corporations-defeat-political-movements/" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.4; text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;">Here's How The Corporations Defeat Political Movements</a>."In the meantime, I'll focus on Stratfor's recommendation(s) when it comes to neutralizing activists.  In one of the most disciplined cognitive infiltration strategies I've seen, they recommend a very matter-of-factly "divide-and-conquer" process on dealing with different types of activists.  Here's how <a href="http://www.popularresistance.org/stratfor-monitors-and-studies-social-movements/" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.4; text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;">they break them down</a>: <blockquote style="margin: 1.2em 0px; padding: 20px; line-height: 18.2px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(226, 226, 225); border-top: 1px solid rgb(226, 226, 225);"><ul style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.4; list-style-type: none;"><li style="margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 16px; line-height: 1.4; background-image: url(http://images.dailykos.com/i/bullet.gif); background-position: 0px 10px; background-repeat: no-repeat;">RADICALS: Radicals, who see the system as corrupt and needing transformation, need to be isolated and discredited, using false charges to assassinate their character is a common tactic. </li><li style="margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 16px; line-height: 1.4; background-image: url(http://images.dailykos.com/i/bullet.gif); background-color: rgb(246, 243, 236); background-position: 0px 10px; background-repeat: no-repeat;">REALISTS: The Realists can be convinced that transformative change is not possible and we must settle for what is possible. </li><li style="margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 16px; line-height: 1.4; background-image: url(http://images.dailykos.com/i/bullet.gif); background-color: rgb(246, 243, 236); background-position: 0px 10px; background-repeat: no-repeat;">IDEALISTS: Idealists can be convinced they have the facts wrong and pulled to the Realist camp. </li><li style="margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 16px; line-height: 1.4; background-image: url(http://images.dailykos.com/i/bullet.gif); background-color: rgb(246, 243, 236); background-position: 0px 10px; background-repeat: no-repeat;">OPPORTUNISTS: Opportunists are in it for themselves and can be pulled away for their own self-interest. </li></ul></blockquote>I'm writing a more extensive essay about this subject, which I will publish later on tonight, but in the meantime I wanted to publish this short diary to elicit readers' opinions (and observations) about the subject, especially the break down of the different types of activists, and the corporate state strategy on how to deal with each.=OTTAWA - At least 13 Canadian government agencies have had subscriptions with U.S. private intelligence firm Strategic Forecasting, Inc. or Stratfor, sometimes dubbed a shadow CIA, newly released WikiLeaks emails indicate.Stratfor came under fire recently after <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/12/07/oil-sands-stratfor_n_4404621.html" target="hplink" style="list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; overflow: visible; outline: 0px;">a leaked company document prepared for an oil company outlined ways to counter activist groups, such as Greenpeace, who oppose Canada's oil-sands development</a>.The same cache of leaked emails indicates Canadian federal agencies have purchased at least half a million dollars in Stratfor services.Stratfor's Presentation On Countering Anti-Oilsands Activists Reportedly prepared for Suncor, 2010. [slideshow]Emails from January 2009 and February 2011 show invoices of $13,125 and $13,725 for one-year Stratfor subscriptions for Foreign Affairs and International Trade, which were not publicly disclosed by the department.Under proactive disclosure policy, Canadian government contracts worth more than $10,000 must be posted on the web.Foreign Affairs spokesperson Jean-Bruno Villeneuve says there was a clerical error in not reporting the contracts.Villeneuve added the subscriptions were "used widely within the department to help inform policy development and analysis."Stratfor declined to answer questions about the recent leaks, referring The Canadian Press to a posted statement about its policy not to comment on any of the WikiLeaks documents."Some of the emails may be forged or altered to include inaccuracies; some may be authentic," the statement reads."We will not validate either. Nor will we explain the thinking that went into them. Having had our property stolen, we will not be victimized twice by submitting to questioning about them."A Canadian intelligence expert says some federal departments use private firms such as Stratfor to augment their supply of intelligence."I think it's not uncommon," Wesley Wark said in an interview."Particularly for people in the intelligence analysis world of the Canadian government … to have contracts from time to time with private-sector firms for delivery of certain kinds of analytical problems, which is basically what Stratfor does."Wark says such services can be expensive and beyond the budgets of government agencies.In another leaked email, dated March 3, 2011, a senior executive in the firm applauds a Stratfor employee for cementing a long-term contract with National Defence [college?].The deal was on behalf of the Canadian Forces College in Toronto, worth $240,600 over three years.The leaks suggest National Defence has had the highest-value agreements with Stratfor."We locked them in for a three-year commitment," says the email, with several replies of congratulation for the coup.According to the same email chain, National Defence paid Stratfor $78,225 in 2011, $80,175 in 2012 and $82,200 for this year. The contract was publicly disclosed by the department.The deal gave the college "Authenticated Access to STRATFOR Enterprise Premium Portal," which includes "Up to 10 individual user accounts" with access to sophisticated analysis and geopolitical forecasts.National Defence's publicly posted contract reports also show an agreement with Stratfor worth $182,377 from 2008 to 2011.In 2006, a Stratfor analyst described in an email another deal with comparable value."We just inked a deal beginning yesterday similar to the Air Force," the analyst wrote to a colleague, "except it covers the Canadian Forces for $50k (the) first year and $60k for (the) subsequent year."Industry Canada used an "enterprise premium portal" subscription similar to that of National Defence, an April 2005 email indicates, although a dollar figure was not reported. Another email indicated a renewal of a subscription in 2010.Additional emails from the WikiLeaks database show the Public Safety Department, whose umbrella includes the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, had a deal with Stratfor in 2010 and 2011, although the valuation was not given.WikiLeaks obtained the emails from a high-profile hacking of over five million Stratfor emails by alleged Internet activist and Anonymous member, Jeremy Hammond. Hammond pleaded guilty in a U.S. court and received a 10-year sentence last month."I don't think they (Stratfor) have formal access to classified material," said Wark."But the people who work at Stratfor are for the most part former members of the American intelligence community and have some connections. ... But they're primarily, I think, working with open-source material."Here is the Stratfor Canadian government subscription list, according to WikiLeaks cables: Transport Canada; Industry Canada; Export Development Canada (Crown corp.); Citizenship and Immigration; Canadian International Development Agency (now part of Foreign Affairs); Natural Resources; Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission; Treasury Board; Canadian Air Transport Security Authority; RCMP; Public Safety; National Defence; Foreign Affairs.https://twitter.com/BMakuchhuffpo ca=<div class="content" style="margin: 0.6em 0px;"><h3 style="line-height: 1em; margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px;">Greenpeace Stages Protest At Suncor Oil Sands</h3>Posted: October 1, 2009 
Section: Global Warming

Edward Welsch, September 30, 2009, Dow Jones, OTTAWA --In their second oil sands protest in two weeks, Greenpeace Canada activists entered Suncor Energy Inc.'s (SU.T) oil sands production facilities Wednesday morning and managed to scale and shut down one of the company's bitumen conveyors, a Greenpeace spokesman said.Two dozen Greenpeace activists entered Suncor's facilities north of Fort McMurray, Alberta at 8:30 a.m. MDT, and 10 have climbed on top of a conveyor that pulls bitumen out of the oil sands mines there, said Mike Hudema, a climate and energy campaigner for Greenpeace Canada.Suncor confirmed that the activists had entered the site and said it is focused on "ensuring the safety and respectful treatment of activists and employees alike."There will be no material effect on Suncor's operations, a spokeswoman said. She said most of Suncor's oil-sands operations were operating uninterrupted.Suncor shares were flat at C$37.20 in recent trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange.It's second time this month that Greenpeace activists infiltrated oil sands facilities. In a similar protest two weeks ago timed to correspond with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper's visit with U.S. President Barrack Obama in Washington, D.C., Greenpeace activists entered an oil sands area owned by Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA, RDSB), chained themselves to equipment and temporarily stopped production.Hudema said that Wednesday's protest was peaceful and that police were on the scene."The main reasons we are at the Suncor facility is both to stop an ongoing climate crime caused by the oil sands ... and to convey the message that people are literally dying for climate leadership," Hudema said.Greenpeace calls oil produced in Canada's Athabasca region "dirty," alleging the greenhouse gas emissions and toxins the industry produces that contribute to global climate change, environmental destruction and health problems for local communities.The Canadian oil sands industry is sensitive to these charges and has been trying to improve its image. The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers says the industry is working on ways to reduce and capture emissions, restore land disturbed by open-pit production and reduce water use and the creation of hazardous tailings ponds created by open-pit oil sands production. But CAPP says claims like Greenpeace's are "exaggerated," saying that total emissions created by Canada's oil sands are less than 0.1% of the global total.<div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">http://tarsandswatch.org/greenpeace-stages-protest-suncor-oil-sands</div></div>
<a href="http://insideclimatenews.org/news/20131205/worst-case-scenario-oil-sands-industry-has-come-life-leaked-document-shows">http://insideclimatenews.org/news/20131205/worst-case-scenario-oil-sands-industry-has-come-life-leaked-document-shows</a>As environmentalists began ratcheting up pressure against Canada's tar sands three years ago, one of the world's biggest strategic consulting firms was tapped to help the North American oil industry figure out how to handle the mounting activism. The resulting document, published online by WikiLeaks, offers another window into how oil and gas companies have been scrambling to deal with unrelenting opposition to their growth plans.The document identifies nearly two-dozen environmental organizations leading the anti-oil sands movement and puts them into four categories: radicals, idealists, realists and opportunists—with how-to's for managing each. It also reveals that the worst-case scenario presented to industry about the movement's growing influence seems to have come to life.The <a href="http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/873021-33714-suncor-presentation-1210-6.html" target="blank" style="text-decoration: none; outline: none;">December 2010 presentation</a> by <a href="http://www.stratfor.com/" target="blank" style="text-decoration: none; outline: none;">Strategic Forecasting, or Stratfor</a>, a global intelligence firm based in Texas, mostly advised oil sands companies to ignore or limit reaction to the then-burgeoning tar sands opposition movement because "activists lack influence in politics." But there was a buried warning for industry under one scenario: Letting the movement grow unopposed may bring about "the most significant environmental campaign of the decade.""This worst-case scenario is exactly what has happened," partly because opposition to tar sands development has expanded beyond nonprofit groups to include individual activists concerned about climate change, said <a href="http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/media-center/experts/Mark-Floegel/" target="blank" style="text-decoration: none; outline: none;">Mark Floegel</a>, a senior investigator for Greenpeace. "The more people in America see Superstorm Sandys or tornadoes in Chicago, the more they are waking up and joining the fight."<a href="http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/873021-33714-suncor-presentation-1210-6.html">http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/873021-33714-suncor-presentation-1210-6.html</a>Warren Buffett — the <a href="http://www.forbes.com/billionaires/" target="blank" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">fourth richest man on the planet</a> and <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/warren-buffett-exposed-oracle-omaha-and-tar-sands" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">major campaign contributor to President Barack Obama in 2008</a> and <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/04/barack-obama-warren-buffett-campaign-cash" target="blank" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">2012</a> – may soon get a whole lot richer.That’s because <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2013/08/15/news/economy/buffett-oil-sands/" target="blank" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none;">he just bought over half a billion bucks worth of Suncor Energy stock</a>: $524 million in the second quarter of 2013, to be precise, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings. <a href="http://www.suncor.com/en/investor/3897.aspx" target="blank" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">Suncor is a major producer</a> and <a href="http://www.petro-canada.ca/default.aspx" target="blank" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">marketer of tar sands via its wholly owned subsidiary </a><a href="http://www.petro-canada.ca/default.aspx" target="blank" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none;">Petro-Canada</a> (<a href="http://www.sunoco.ca/" target="blank" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none;">formerly Sunoco</a>) and this latest development follows a trend of Buffett enriching himself through dirty investments and deal-making.So far in 2013, Suncor (<a href="http://www.oil150.com/essays/2009/02/sun-oil-company" target="blank" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">formerly Sun Oil Company</a>) has produced 328,000 barrels per day of tar sands crude.Though he receives far less negative press than the Koch Brothers, Buffett’s no deep green ecologist. Not in the slightest.Referred to as <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20100111050326/http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/31633524/the_climate_killers" target="blank" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">one of 17 “Climate Killers”</a> by Rolling Stone‘s Tim Dickinson in a January 2010 story, Buffett owns the behemoth holding company, Berkshire Hathway. It’s through Berkshire that he’s making a killing – while simultaneously killing the ecosystem – through one of its most profitable wholly-owned assets: Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF).Buffett purchased BNSF for $26 billion and was “the largest acquisition of Buffett’s storied career,” Dickinson wrote.BNSF <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/sanantonio/print-edition/2012/06/22/bnsf-railway-co-inks-deal-with-us.html?page=all" target="blank" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">hauls around frac sand</a> for the controversial horizontal oil and gas drilling process known as “<a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/fracking-the-future/" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">fracking</a>.” The rail company also moves fracked oil <a href="http://www.dallasnews.com/business/headlines/20130608-without-bnsf-the-great-north-dakota-oil-boom-wouldnt-be-as-big.ece" target="blank" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">from North Dakota’s Bakken Shale basin</a>, tar sands <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/warren-buffett-exposed-oracle-omaha-and-tar-sands" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">logistical equipment and tar sands crude itself</a> and <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/b-c-protest-saturday-stop-warren-buffett-s-bnsf-coal-trains" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">tons of coal</a>. And not only does Buffett’s BNSF haul around ungodly amounts of coal, he actually owns coal-burning utility companies, too.“BNSF is the nation’s top hauler of coal, shipping some 300 million tons a year. That’s enough to light up 10 percent of the nation’s homes — many of which are powered by another Berkshire subsidiary, MidAmerican Energy,” Dickinson explained.Beyond MidAmerican Energy, Buffett also owns the coal-burning <a href="http://www.pacificorp.com/index.html" target="blank" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none;">PacifiCorp</a> and his BNSF freight trains are largely responsible for the coal export boom unfolding in the northwest corridor of the United States.“PacifiCorp…owns the most coal plants in the West and recently unveiled a long-term energy plan that did not include a single wind project over the next ten years,” explained a <a href="http://sierraclub.typepad.com/compass/2013/07/warren-buffett-coal-will-be-replaced.html" target="blank" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">recent blog post written by the Sierra Club</a>. “And Warren Buffett is still involved with one of the biggest coal-burning schemes of all — ongoing plans to export coal…to…Asia.”“Buffett’s BNSF Railway would be the primary transporter of that coal, and the company has tried to get the coal export terminals approved over the objections of thousands of activists across the Pacific Northwest.”And as his slam dunk, Buffett also has <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/100517773" target="blank" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none;">plans to convert BNSF’s freight trains to utilize fracked shale gas</a>. He then plans to use those same shale gas-powered trains to transport fracked shale oil from North Dakota (<a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/100517773" target="blank" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">5-percent of BNSF’s total shipments and 190,000 cars/week</a>), a win-win for Buffett and a <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/2013/06/25/obama-climate-plan-touts-fracking-transition-fuel-doubling-down-methane-risk" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">lose-lose for the ecosystem and the climate</a>.“We have a couple locomotives we’re experimenting with this year on it. The railroads are definitely experimenting with converting to natural gas,” <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/100517773" target="blank" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">he told CNBC’s Jim Cramer in a March 2013 interview</a>. “[Y]ou’ve got to look at converting any kind of an engine to natural gas.”‘Tis quite the list of “dirty deeds” by the man coined the “Oracle of Omaha.” And relative to his uber-wealth – to cue up the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHcKkBWR4Mk" target="blank" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">AC/DC – they’re “done dirt cheap.”</a> <a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/2013/08/16/warren-buffett-buys-over-500-million-of-suncor-tar-sands-stock-latest-in-dirty-deeds-done-dirt-cheap/#more-648" class="more-link" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">Read the rest of this entry →</a>---swPagan International is a now-defunct public relations firm founded by <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Rafael_Pagan&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Rafael Pagan (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Rafael Pagan</a>. Several of its principal executives went on to form a separate firm, called <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Mongoven,Biscoe%26_Duchin" title="Mongoven, Biscoe & Duchin" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Mongoven, Biscoe & Duchin</a> (MBD). MBD was merged into the Washington, D.C., intelligence firm <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Stratfor" title="Stratfor" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Stratfor</a> in 2003.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Pagan_International#cite_note-1" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[1]</a>Pagan International is a different firm than <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Pagan_Communications" title="Pagan Communications" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Pagan Communications</a>.<div id="toc" class="toc" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); background-color: rgb(249, 249, 249); padding: 7px; display: table; zoom: 1;"><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Pagan_International#Resources_and_Articles" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">1Resources and Articles</a><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-2" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Pagan_International#Related_SourceWatch_Articles" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">1.1Related SourceWatch Articles</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-3" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Pagan_International#External_Articles" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">1.2External Articles</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-4" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Pagan_International#References" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">1.3References</a></li></ul></li></ul></div><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); font-family: " linux="Linux" libertine="Libertine" georgia="Georgia" times="Times" serif="serif" line-height="line-height">Resources and Articles</h2><h3 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: none; line-height: 1.6;">Related SourceWatch Articles</h3><ul style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" c="C" fxml="Fxml" version="version" d="D" encoding="encoding" utf-8="UTF-8" f="F" e="E" a="A" csvg="Csvg" http="http" fwww.w3.org="Fwww.w3.org" f2000="F2000" fsvg="Fsvg" width="width" height="height" ccircle="Ccircle" cx="cx" cy="cy" r="r" fill="fill" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" xmlns="xmlns" xmlns:data="data"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Mongoven,Biscoe%26_Duchin" title="Mongoven, Biscoe & Duchin" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Mongoven, Biscoe & Duchin</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Stratfor" title="Stratfor" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">Stratfor</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Jack_Mongoven" title="Jack Mongoven" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Jack Mongoven</a></li></ul><h3 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: none; line-height: 1.6;">External Articles</h3><ul style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" c="C" fxml="Fxml" version="version" d="D" encoding="encoding" utf-8="UTF-8" f="F" e="E" a="A" csvg="Csvg" http="http" fwww.w3.org="Fwww.w3.org" f2000="F2000" fsvg="Fsvg" width="width" height="height" ccircle="Ccircle" cx="cx" cy="cy" r="r" fill="fill" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" xmlns="xmlns" xmlns:data="data"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Steve Horn, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.mintpressnews.com/stratfor-strategies-how-to-win-the-media-war-against-grassroots-activists/166078/" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) right center no-repeat, url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" c="C" fxml="Fxml" version="version" d="D" encoding="encoding" utf-8="UTF-8" standalone="standalone" no="no" f="F" e="E" csvg="Csvg" http="http" a="A" fwww.w3.org="Fwww.w3.org" f2000="F2000" fsvg="Fsvg" width="width" height="height" cpath="Cpath" fill="fill" fff="fff" stroke="stroke" m1.5="M1.5" h5.982v10.5h1.5z="h5.982V10.5H1.5z" m5.765="M5.765" h11v5.39l9.427="H11v5.39L9.427" l-1.31-1.31l5.393="l-1.31-1.31L5.393" l-2.69-2.688="l-2.69-2.688" l4.2="L4.2" z="z" m9.995="M9.995" l.022="l.022" l8.2="L8.2" l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z="l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z" padding-right="padding-right" px="px" xmlns="xmlns" xmlns:data="data">How to Win the Media War Against Grassroots Activists: Stratfor's Strategies</a>, Mint Press News, July 29, 2013</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Steve Horn, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.mintpressnews.com/divide-and-conquer-unpacking-stratfors-rise-to-power/165933/" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) right center no-repeat, url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" c="C" fxml="Fxml" version="version" d="D" encoding="encoding" utf-8="UTF-8" standalone="standalone" no="no" f="F" e="E" csvg="Csvg" http="http" a="A" fwww.w3.org="Fwww.w3.org" f2000="F2000" fsvg="Fsvg" width="width" height="height" cpath="Cpath" fill="fill" fff="fff" stroke="stroke" m1.5="M1.5" h5.982v10.5h1.5z="h5.982V10.5H1.5z" m5.765="M5.765" h11v5.39l9.427="H11v5.39L9.427" l-1.31-1.31l5.393="l-1.31-1.31L5.393" l-2.69-2.688="l-2.69-2.688" l4.2="L4.2" z="z" m9.995="M9.995" l.022="l.022" l8.2="L8.2" l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z="l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z" padding-right="padding-right" px="px" xmlns="xmlns" xmlns:data="data">Divide And Conquer: Unpacking Stratfor’s Rise To Power</a>, Mint Press News, July 25, 2013.</li></ul><h3 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: none; line-height: 1.6;">References</h3><ol class="references" style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><li id="cite_note-1" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Pagan_International#cite_ref-1" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="user-select: none; top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/24/AR2011012405821.html" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) right center no-repeat, url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" c="C" fxml="Fxml" version="version" d="D" encoding="encoding" utf-8="UTF-8" standalone="standalone" no="no" f="F" e="E" csvg="Csvg" http="http" a="A" fwww.w3.org="Fwww.w3.org" f2000="F2000" fsvg="Fsvg" width="width" height="height" cpath="Cpath" fill="fill" fff="fff" stroke="stroke" m1.5="M1.5" h5.982v10.5h1.5z="h5.982V10.5H1.5z" m5.765="M5.765" h11v5.39l9.427="H11v5.39L9.427" l-1.31-1.31l5.393="l-1.31-1.31L5.393" l-2.69-2.688="l-2.69-2.688" l4.2="L4.2" z="z" m9.995="M9.995" l.022="l.022" l8.2="L8.2" l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z="l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z" padding-right="padding-right" px="px" xmlns="xmlns" xmlns:data="data">Ronald A. Duchin, Army colonel</a>, obituary,Washington Post, January 24, 2011.</li></ol><a title="Divide And Conquer: Unpacking Stratfor’s Rise To Power" href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/2013/07/25/divide-and-conquer-unpacking-stratfors-rise-to-power/" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Part 1 of this exclusive Mint Press News</a><a title="Divide And Conquer: Unpacking Stratfor’s Rise To Power" href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/2013/07/25/divide-and-conquer-unpacking-stratfors-rise-to-power/" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;"> investigation</a> examined the strategies employed by Stratfor precursor Pagan International. So named for its founder Rafael Pagan, corporate clients hired the company with the aim of diffusing grassroots movements mobilized against them around the world.MOTIVE?On Christmas Day 2011, the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/We-Are-Anonymous-LulzSec-Insurgency/dp/0316213527" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">hacktivist collective Anonymous</a> ruined the day for a security firm that, throughout much of its history, enjoyed operating in the shadows.The firm: <a href="http://www.stratfor.com/" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 102); box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Strategic Forecasting, Inc</a>., an Austin, Texas-based intelligence-collecting contracting company better known as Stratfor. Its <a href="http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/5940_gv-master-client-list-15-march-07-.html" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 102); box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">clients include some of the most profitable multinational corporations</a> on the planet, such as the American Petroleum Institute, Archer Daniels Midland, Dow Chemical, Duke Energy, Northrop Grumman, Intel and Coca-Cola.<a href="http://news.yahoo.com/anonymous-hackers-target-us-security-think-tank-190846242.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; background: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">Anonymous hacked into the content management system of Stratfor’s computer system</a>, eventually <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/27/wikileaks-stratfor-emails-published_n_1303238.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; background: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">handing over 5.2 million emails and accompanying attachments</a> to WikiLeaks, which coined the database the “<a href="http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/" style="box-sizing: border-box; background: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">Global Intelligence Files</a>.”Working through an <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/03/sabu-fbi-anonymous-hacker-informant" style="box-sizing: border-box; background: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">informant named “Sabu,”</a> who posed as a fellow “comrade,” federal officials tracked down the hacktivist responsible for the leak, Chicago’s <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/the-rise-and-fall-of-jeremy-hammond-enemy-of-the-state-20121207" style="box-sizing: border-box; background: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">Jeremy Hammond</a>, just three months later.In March 2012, <a href="http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-03-06/business/chi-chicago-raid-linked-to-hacking-arrests-20120306_1_cyber-attack-lulzsec-antisec" style="box-sizing: border-box; background: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">the FBI raided Hammond’s apartment and handed him charges</a>. After more than a year of sitting in the Manhattan Correctional Center, <a href="http://dissenter.shadowproof.wpengine.com/2013/05/28/jeremy-hammond-pleads-guilty-to-being-involved-in-the-stratfor-leak/" style="box-sizing: border-box; background: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">Hammond eventually settled out of court</a> in May 2013. He pleaded guilty to violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, and his sentence will be handed down on Sept. 6. He may serve up to 10 years in prison.Stratfor’s precursor, Pagan International, built the corporate public relations playbook still utilized by the firm today.The goal of a corporate PR plan “must be to separate the fanatic activist leaders … from the overwhelming majority of their followers: decent, concerned people who are willing to judge us on the basis of our openness and usefulness,” <a href="http://www.multinationalmonitor.org/hyper/issues/1982/09/bartimole.html" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Pagan stated in 1982</a>, fully understanding that the public should never know this was the game plan.Hammond — perhaps without knowing every detail of the history of the playbook itself — essentially cited it as the rationale behind his Stratfor hack and leak to WikiLeaks.“I believe in the power of the truth. In keeping with that, I do not want to hide what I did or to shy away from my actions,” he <a href="http://freejeremy.net/press-release/statement-from-jeremy-regarding-his-plea/" style="box-sizing: border-box; background: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">stated in a press release announcing the plea deal</a>. “I believe people have a right to know what governments and corporations are doing behind closed doors.”In this investigation, Mint Press examines Stratfor’s rise to power and its use of the “divide and conquer” philosophy to take on some of the largest boycott movements against multinational corporations.‘Divide and conquer’The story of Stratfor begins with a short-lived but deeply influential firm called <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Pagan_International" style="box-sizing: border-box; background: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">Pagan International</a>.If there’s a short description of the modus operandi of Stratfor’s predecessors, military-like “divide and conquer” perceptions management — or rough-and-tumble public relations — is it.That’s not by accident. Two of Pagan’s co-founders started their careers doing covert work for the U.S. military. <a href="http://truth-out.org/news/item/7153:fracking-and-psychological-operations-empire-comes-home" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Modern public relations got its start in military psychological operations</a>, or psy-ops. “Divide and conquer” is <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-divide-and-rule--americas-plan-for-baghdad-444178.html" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">one of the tenets laid out in the “U.S. Counterinsurgency Field Manual.”</a>Pagan International was named after Rafael D. Pagan Jr., who joined the U.S. Army in 1951 and spent two decades doing upper-level military intelligence work. He used it as a launching point into the corporate PR world.“A former Army intelligence officer, the Potomac resident briefed Presidents Kennedy and Johnson on the Soviet bloc’s military and economic capabilities. He advised Presidents Nixon, Reagan and Bush on policies promoting Third World social and economic development,” <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/155215860/Rafael-Pagan-Obituary" style="box-sizing: border-box; background: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">explains his 1993 obituary in The Washington Times</a>.Upon leaving the Pentagon, Pagan got three public relations jobs for corporations seeking markets for their products in the developing world.“Pagan began his international business career in 1970 as a senior executive in new business development with three major multinational companies, International Nickel of Canada (now Inco), Castle & Cooke (now Dole), and Nestle,” <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/155215860/Rafael-Pagan-Obituary" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">according to his obituary</a>. “He specialized in addressing conflicts for multinational companies seeking to invest and operate in Third World countries.”Pagan followed in the footsteps of the father of modern public relations, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cW_rIdd69W8" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Edward Bernays</a>, who helped with the PR surrounding <a href="http://www.prwatch.org/node/9834" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">United Fruit Company’s work with the U.S. government to foment a coup in 1954 in Honduras</a>. <a href="http://aad.archives.gov/aad/createpdf?rid=159399&dt=2476&dl=1345" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Pagan also did PR for Castle & Cooke in Honduras</a>.Pagan’s experiences working in the Honduran “banana republic” under the U.S.-installed right-wing, corporate-friendly military dictatorship would suit him well for his the next step of his career: doing the PR bidding of multinational corporate behemoth Nestle.The playbook in action for NestleSpeaking at the April 1982 Public Affairs Council conference to his colleagues in the PR industry, Pagan revealed the skeleton of the playbook that would last all the way through the Stratfor days. [cont’d]--<div class="entry" style="padding: 0px; margin: 10px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p dir="ltr" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0.5em 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;">Part 2 takes a closer look at how Pagan International’s successor, Mongoven, Biscoe & Duchin (MBD), revised and refined these strategies — and how what began as a corporate public-relations firm evolved into the private intelligence agency Stratfor, which wages information warfare against today’s activists and organizers.<p dir="ltr" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0.5em 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;">Rafael Pagan — who died in 1993 — was not invited to be a part of his former associate’s new firm, Mongoven, Biscoe & Duchin. His tactic of conquering and dividing activist movements and isolating the “fanatic activist leaders” lived on, though, through his former business partner, Jack Mongoven.<p dir="ltr" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0.5em 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;">Mongoven teamed up with Alvin Biscoe and Ronald Duchin to create MBD in 1988. While “Biscoe appears to have been a largely silent partner at MBD,” <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Alvin_Biscoe" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">according to the Center for Media and Democracy</a>, Mongoven and Duchin played public-facing starring roles for the firm.<p dir="ltr" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0.5em 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Duchin, like Pagan, had a military background. A graduate of the U.S. Army War College and “<a href="http://search.wikileaks.org/gifiles/?viewemailid=1656229" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none;">one of the original members of [Army] DELTA</a>” — part of the broader <a href="http://www.thenation.com/blog/160332/jsoc-black-ops-force-took-down-bin-laden" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">Joint Special Operations Command that killed Osama Bin Laden</a> — Duchin had jobs as a special assistant to the secretary of defense and as spokesman for Veterans for Foreign Wars prior to coming to Pagan.<p dir="ltr" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0.5em 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;">Duchin served as <a href="http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/charlese.htm" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">head of the Pentagon’s news division</a> during “<a href="http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA402471" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">Operation Eagle Claw</a>,” President Jimmy Carter’s failed 1980 mission to use special forces to capture the hostages held in Iran.<p dir="ltr" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0.5em 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Referred to by <em style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;">The Atlantic as the “<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2006/05/the-desert-one-debacle/304803/" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none;">Desert One Debacle</a>” in a story <a href="http://search.wikileaks.org/gifiles/?viewemailid=37294" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">Duchin served as a key confidential source for</a> — as revealed in an email in the “Global Intelligence Files” announcing Duchin’s 2010 death — “Eagle Claw” ended with eight U.S. troops dying, four wounded, one helicopter destroyed, and President Carter’s reputation in the tank. The failed and lethal mission served as the <a href="http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA402471" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none;">impetus for the creation of the U.S. Special Operations</a>.<p dir="ltr" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0.5em 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Largely avoiding the limelight while <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/155260050/Duchin-Gets-Gig-at-Pagan-International" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">working as Pagan’s vice president for Issue management and strategy</a> — the brains of the operation — Duchin became a notorious figure among dedicated critical observers of the public relations industry while co-heading MBD. During MBD’s 15 years of existence, its clients included <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Mongoven,Biscoe%26_Duchin#Tobacco_Industry" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none;">Big Tobacco</a>, <a href="http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/11506" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none;">the chemical industry</a>, <a href="http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=266&dat=19970215&id=rPArAAAAIBAJ&sjid=1WkFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4922,3993041" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none;">Big Agriculture</a> and probably many other industries never identified due to MBD’s secretive nature.<p dir="ltr" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0.5em 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">MBD worked on behalf of Big Tobacco to fend off any and all regulatory efforts aimed in its direction. <a href="http://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/11/2/112.full.pdf+html" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none;">Philip Morris paid Jack Mongoven $85,000</a> for his intelligence-gathering prowess in 1993.<p dir="ltr" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0.5em 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“<a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1805008/pdf/0970419.pdf" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none;">Get Government Off Our Back</a>,” an RJ Reynolds front group created in 1994 by MBD for the <a href="http://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/11/2/112.full.pdf+html" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">price of $14,000 per month</a>, serves as a case in point of the type of work MBD was hired to do by Big Tobacco.<p dir="ltr" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0.5em 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“The firm has developed initiatives for RJ Reynolds that advocate pro-tobacco goals through outside organizations; among other projects, the firm organized veterans organizations to oppose the workplace smoking regulation proposed by OSHA,” <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1805008/?report=classic" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">explains a 2007 study appearing in the American Journal of Public Health</a>. “[It] was created to combat increasing numbers of proposed federal and state regulations on the use and sale of tobacco products.”<p dir="ltr" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0.5em 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;">Paralleling the Koch Family Foundations-funded <a href="http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/campaigns/global-warming-and-energy/polluterwatch/koch-industries/americans-for-prosperity-found/" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">Americans for Prosperity</a> groups of today, “Get Government Off Our Back” held rallies nationwide in March 1995 as part of “<a href="http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/pso40d00/pdf?search=%22get%20government%20off%20our%20back%20regulatory%20revolt%20month%22" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">Regulatory Revolt Month</a>.”“Get Government Off Our Back” <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1805008/?report=classic" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none;">dovetailed perfectly</a> with the Republican Party’s 1994 “Contract with America” that <a href="http://articles.philly.com/1995-02-25/news/25705748_1_duck-hunters-new-rules-health-and-safety" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none;">froze new federal regulations</a>. The text of the “Contract” matched “Get Government Off Our Back” “nearly verbatim,” according to the American Journal of Public Health study.<p style="padding: 0px; margin: 0.5em 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;">‘Radicals, Idealists, Realists, Opportunists’<p dir="ltr" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0.5em 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;">While its client work was noteworthy, the formula Duchin created to divide and conquer activist movements — a regurgitation of what he learned while working under the mentorship of Rafael Pagan — has stood the test of time. It is still employed to this day by Stratfor.<p dir="ltr" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0.5em 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;"><a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/2013/07/29/exposed-stratfors-3-step-plan-to-conquer-divide-activists/#more-614" class="more-link" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">Read the rest of this entry →</a></div><span class="tags" style="padding: 0px 0px 0px 1.6em; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: url(http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/wp-content/themes/myfdl_user/inc/images/tag_icon.gif); float: left; background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat;">Tags: <a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/alvin-biscoe/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">Alvin Biscoe</a>, <a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/american-clean-skies-foundation/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">American Clean Skies Foundation</a>,<a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/american-journal-of-public-health/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">American Journal of Public Health</a>, <a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/american-petroleum-institute/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">American Petroleum Institute</a>,<a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/americans-for-prosperity/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">Americans for Prosperity</a>, <a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/api/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">API</a>, <a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/army-delta/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">Army DELTA</a>, <a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/aubrey-mcclendon/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">Aubrey McClendon</a>, <a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/big-agriculture/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">Big Agriculture</a>, <a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/big-tobacco/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">big tobacco</a>, <a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/bradley-manning/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">Bradley Manning</a>,<a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/center-for-media-and-democracy/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">center for media and democracy</a>, <a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/cointelpro/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">COINTELPRO</a>, <a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/collateral-murder/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">Collateral Murder</a>, <a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/desert-one-debacle/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">Desert One Debacle</a>, <a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/fbi-counter-intelligence-program/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">FBI Counter-Intelligence Program</a>,<a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/fracking/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">fracking</a>, <a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/get-government-off-our-back/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">Get Government Off Our Back</a>, <a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/global-intelligence-files/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">Global Intelligence Files</a>, <a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/hydraulic-fracturing/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">hydraulic fracturing</a>, <a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/jack-mongoven/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">Jack Mongoven</a>, <a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/jason-hammond/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">Jason Hammond</a>,<a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/jeremy-hammond/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">Jeremy Hammond</a>, <a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/john-mongoven/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">John Mongoven</a>, <a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/john-stauber/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">john stauber</a>, <a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/joint-special-operations-command/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">Joint Special Operations Command</a>, <a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/julian-assange/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">Julian Assange</a>, <a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/koch-family-foundations/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">Koch Family Foundations</a>, <a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/luke-popovich/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">Luke Popovich</a>, <a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/mongoven-biscoe-duchin/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">Mongoven Biscoe & Duchin</a>,<a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/national-cattlemans-association/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">National Cattleman’s Association</a>, <a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/national-manufacturing-association/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">National Manufacturing Association</a>, <a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/nato-3/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">NATO 3</a>, <a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/nato-5/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">NATO 5</a>, <a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/occupy-chicago/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">Occupy Chicago</a>, <a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/occupy-cleveland/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">Occupy Cleveland</a>, <a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/occupy-wall-street/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">Occupy Wall Street</a>, <a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/oil-sands/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">oil sands</a>, <a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/operation-eagle-claw/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">Operation Eagle Claw</a>,<a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/osama-bin-laden/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">Osama Bin Laden</a>, <a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/pagan-international/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">Pagan International</a>, <a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/rafael-pagan/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">Rafael Pagan</a>,<a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/regulatory-revolt-month/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">Regulatory Revolt Month</a>, <a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/rj-reynolds/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">RJ Reynolds</a>, <a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/ron-duchin/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">Ron Duchin</a>, <a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/ronald-duchin/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">Ronald Duchin</a>, <a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/shale-gas/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">shale gas</a>, <a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/shale-oil/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">shale oil</a>, <a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/sheldon-rampton/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">Sheldon Rampton</a>, <a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/sierra-club/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">Sierra Club</a>,<a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/strategic-forecasting-inc/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">Strategic Forecasting Inc.</a>, <a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/stratfor/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">Stratfor</a>, <a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/suncor/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">suncor</a>, <a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/tar-sands/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">tar sands</a>, <a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/tea-party/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">Tea Party</a>,<a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/the-atlantic/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">The Atlantic</a>, <a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/the-austin-chronicle/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">The Austin Chronicle</a>, <a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/toxic-sludge-is-good-for-you/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">Toxic Sludge Is Good for You</a>,<a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/trust-us-were-experts/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">Trust Us We're Experts</a>, <a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/u-s-special-operations-command/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">U.S. Special Operations Command</a>,<a href="http://my.firedoglake.com/stevehorn1022/tag/wikileaks/" rel="tag" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;">Wikileaks</a>stratfor is the source of 1 of 2 large wikileaks uploads (http://archive.org/details/Stratfor) ; threatened bank (of Am?) docs not revealed?Burton likes Bachmann, knows BO bill$ funded ACORN <a href="http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/391555_re-insight-china-tibet-obama-.html">http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/391555_re-insight-china-tibet-obama-.html</a>
=Coca Cola hired the “global intelligence” spy firm Stratfor to investigate People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, according to company emails <a href="http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/5282628_re-public-policy-question-for-coca-cola-.html" target="blank" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px;">released by Wikileaks</a>.In a reply email, Stratfor’s vice president for counterterrorism and corporate security said: “The FBI has a classified investigation on PETA operatives. I’ll see what I can uncover.”The exchange is part of the 5 million Stratfor emails that Wikileaks promises to release in coming weeks. Stratfor, an intelligence firm that works closely with corporations and the government, has verified that company emails were stolen but refuses to say anything more.In a June 2, 2009 email, Anya Alfano of Stratfor relays the intelligence request from Coca Cola (as background, Peta has protested <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/31/business/31testing.html" target="blank" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px;">Coca Cola for its involvement in animal testing</a>):<blockquote style="padding: 0px 0px 0px 0.769em; margin: 0px 0px 1.538em 0.769em; border-left: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); line-height: 19.9844px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">From: Anya Alfano [mailto:anya.alfano@stratfor.com] Sent: Tuesday, June 02, 2009 10:56 AM To: Fred Burton; scott stewart Subject: Public Policy Question for Coca-ColaCoca-Cola just sent me a long list of questions regarding PETA/Animal Activism and the upcoming Olympics in Vancouver–I’ve pasted the questions below. I’m not entirely clear on how much we can task the public policy group at this point–is there any guidance you can give me on that front? Coke has asked for a short teleconference with one of our analysts to discuss this issue–is that something I could ask Kathy, Bart or Joe to do, or would that be off the table at this point? Stick, are these questions something that you have a handle on, if we aren’t able to get info from the policy folks?Any thoughts or guidance would be helpful. Thanks, AnyaQuestions— – How many PETA supporters are there in Canada? – How many of these are inclined toward activism? – To what extent will US-based PETA supporters travel to Canada to support activism? – What is PETA’s methodology for planning and executing activism? (Understanding this better would certainly help us to recognize indicators should they appear.) – To what extent is PETA in Canada linked to PETA in the US or elsewhere? – To what extent are the actions of PETA in one country controlled by an oversight board/governing body? – To what extent could non-PETA hangers-on (such as anarchists or ALF supporters) get involved in any protest activity?</blockquote>In response, <a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/acmart/catalog/author.pperl?authorid=72572" target="blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); padding: 0px; margin: 0px;">Fred Burton</a>, which Random House describes as “one of the world’s foremost experts on security, terrorists, and terrorist organizations,” said the FBI has a classified file on PETA.These emails reflect an ongoing pattern of surveillance and misinformation by the FBI, Stratfor, and corporations against animal rights and environmental groups. In fact, the <a href="http://www.greenisthenewred.com/blog/justice-department-warned-fbi/3423/" target="blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); padding: 0px; margin: 0px;">Justice Department warned the FBI</a> against wasting resources investigating PETA and other activist groups [why? b/c not dangerois or FBI has it covered already and will share?] (the FBI refused to alter its policies). Also, the <a href="http://www.greenisthenewred.com/blog/peta-terrorists-usda-form/2374/" target="blank" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px;">USDA has classified PETA as a terrorist threat</a>.As I have reported here previously, Stratfor is one of many private intelligence firms that have profited signficantly from post-9/11 “terrorism” hysteria. Stratfor and others, such as the <a href="http://www.greenisthenewred.com/blog/inkerman-report-stickers-on-suvs-are-eco-terrorism/571/" target="blank" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Inkerman Group</a>, are paid by corporations to identify business “threats,” including special interest groups, key activists, and legislation. It is a niche industry built upon fear: the business of risk mitigation depends upon the identification of a constant stream of threats.Let’s step back and look at how Orwellian this has become:-Corporations<a href="http://www.greenisthenewred.com/blog/green-scare" target="blank" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"> created the term “eco-terrorism,”</a> and manufactured it as a national security threat.-The FBI and homeland security got on board, labeling animal rights and environmental groups the “number one domestic terrorism threat.”-Corporations hire other corporations to investigate this “threat.”-In turn, intelligence firms like Stratfor consult with the FBI about the bureau’s own classified files.It’s a cycle of fear that flows between corporations, counter-terrorism firms, and the FBI. It’s self-replicating and self-fulfilling, and a reflection of the erasure of all lines separating corporations and the state.mojo strange case BBSome journalists are now understandably afraid to go near the Stratfor files. The broader implications of this go beyond Brown; one might think that what we are looking at is Cointelpro 2.0—an outsourced surveillance state—but in fact it’s worse. One can’t help but infer that the US Department of Justice has become just another security contractor, working alongside the HBGarys and Stratfors on behalf of corporate bidders, with no sense at all for the justness of their actions; they are working to protect corporations and private security contractors and give them license to engage in disinformation campaigns against ordinary citizens and their advocacy groups. The mere fact that the FBI’s senior cybersecurity advisor has recently moved to Hunton and Williams shows just how incestuous this relationship has become. Meanwhile, the Department of Justice is also using its power and force to trample on the rights of citizens like Barrett Brown who are trying to shed light on these nefarious relationships. In order to neutralize those who question or investigate the system, laws are being reinterpreted or extended or otherwise misappropriated in ways that are laughable—or would be if the consequences weren’t so dire.=mojo"Shadow CIA" Buys Itself a Big-Name JournalistDisgraced corporate spy shop Stratfor aims to bounce back from its Wikileaks debacle by hiring Robert D. Kaplan.—By Adam Weinstein | Fri Mar. 16, 2012 3:00 AM PDTStratfor, the Texas-based corporate intelligence agency that was once billed as a "shadow CIA," announced this week that it has hired Robert D. Kaplan, longtime national correspondent with The Atlantic, to be the firm's "chief geopolitical strategist." It's a curious move for both parties, apparently meant to breathe new life into the beleaguered firm, which recently saw its internal communications put on devastating display. "In addition to being able to draw on his own vast knowledge of the countries in which he's traveled, Robert will be a valuable mentor to our regional and global analysts," Stratfor CEO George Friedman said in a statement. "Stratfor's readers will have access to the thinking of one of the most distinguished writers of foreign affairs."Widely known (and rarely praised) in security policy circles since its inception in the '90s, Stratfor made world headlines last month when Wikileaks began dumping five million of the firm's hacked emails onto the web. Rather than showcasing the company's prognosticating talents, most of the messages document company officers' cynical salesmanship and braggadocio. ("I can get access to the materials seized from the OBL safe house," one VP boasted the night Osama bin Laden was killed in Pakistan.) Since the Wikileaks dump*, Stratfor has been forced to offer all of its normally high-priced analysis to clients free of charge. The email thefts may have put a serious hurt on Stratfor's future operations, so what might the high-profile new hire suggest? Kaplan is a lively author whose dozens of books cover conflicts on virtually every continent. His pop-historical ruminations on war—using Thucydides and Bismarck to disparage democracy, extol a "pagan" warrior ethos, and cheerlead the invasion of Iraq—have long enthralled political leaders of various stripes. Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush reportedly sought his counsel, and he has served on an influential Pentagon policy panel in the Obama administration. In that sense, the hire could be seen as a move by Stratfor to mend fences with its government clients, who include the Marines and the Department of Homeland Security.But foreign policy experts say the match may be good for not-very-flattering reasons. "Beyond the generous remuneration I can only suspect Kaplan is receiving, this union makes intellectual sense," Daniel Drezner, a professor at Tufts University's Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and a blogger for Foreign Policy magazine, told me in an email. "What Kaplan and George Friedman share is a sense of geographical determinism that allows them to claim predictive powers."Indeed, Stratfor and Kaplan both subscribe to a school of thought not held in high regard by many foreign policy and intelligence experts. They are faithful devotees of "geopolitics," a favorite foreign policy term of Henry Kissinger's that denotes a supposedly amoral, dispassionate concern with "national interests" like mineral and oil access. It's a concept that's much discussed in undergraduate seminars and often disparaged by academic leaders as overly simple and imperialist. "Kaplan's talent is to tell the powerful what they want to hear with the veneer of both theoretical insight and empirical knowledge, while possessing neither," writes Robert Farley, a professor of international relations who blogs at Lawyers, Guns, and Money.Kaplan's journalistic credentials couldn't be much more burnished. He made his bones reporting from godforsaken climes, often in haunting prose—he covered the mujahideen in Afghanistan in 1990 before most Americans could find it on a map. His books were regularly praised by the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal, among the top-notch publications that also commissioned work from him. He's been at The Atlantic for more than 25 years and was recently named one of the "Top 100 Global Thinkers" by Foreign Policy.Still, some foreign affairs experts say that Kaplan's work perpetuates bad ethnic stereotypes. According to one UK-based foreign policy analyst, Kaplan's book Balkan Ghosts, which supposedly influenced Clinton's thinking on Bosnia and Kosovo, is notorious in southeast European studies for depicting the peoples of the former Yugoslavia as primitive and violent. "It's one of the key texts where the 'ancient ethnic hatreds' explanation for the Yugoslav wars originated," the analyst told me in an email. As a result, "academics studying southeast Europe or ethnic conflict have found him very problematic for the last 20 years."That reductive sort of geopolitical reasoning is on full display in Kaplan's first online post for Stratfor, which compares the Arab Spring to the futile European leftist revolts of the mid-19th century ("1848 in Europe was the year that wasn't"). Likewise in the video chat below with Stratfor's [ceo george] Friedman, in which Kaplan explains that "Iran is really potentially a regional hegemon" because of its access to warm water and Central Asian natural gas lines. (He adds: "Iranians do respond to pressure, but it has to be extreme pressure.") That's catnip for Friedman, who once told a crowd at Davos: "There is a solution to [weapons] proliferation, and this is bombing them."Friedman likes to distinguish his firm's work from mere "backward-looking" journalism, which isn't too difficult, since journalists don't generally keep track of animal activists for major corporations like Coca-Cola, Intel, and ADM. That kind of activity raises an obvious question about Kaplan: After going to work for a self-styled private spy shop, will the news media continue to value his byline, or is his journalism career effectively over?Neither Kaplan nor Friedman responded to my requests for comment. Kaplan is still listed as a national correspondent on The Atlantic's masthead, but if he wants to keep his byline active, the bar could be very high. Stratfor "is a joke," wrote Max Fisher, one of Kaplan's colleagues at The Atlantic, last month. "The group's reputation among foreign policy writers, analysts, and practitioners is poor; they are considered a punchline more often than a source of valuable information or insight," he wrote. "A friend who works in intelligence once joked that Stratfor is just The Economist a week later and several hundred times more expensive."AMY GOODMAN: Now, Michael Ratner, explain again just what Stratfor is, why they have all this information.MICHAEL RATNER: Well, Stratfor is what you would call a private intelligence company. So, as you had on your show the other day, if you’re somebody from—if you’re somebody from Coca-Cola or some big corporation, and there’s some opposition to what you’re doing, whether it’s in Bhopal or with Coca-Cola, you hire Stratfor to try and get information on your opponents. And sure, some of the information is just, you know, regular, you know, what you can get off the internet. But some of it, if you read these documents, apparently is information they get from various people within the intelligence agencies. They then transmit that information to the company, so that they can combat opposition to their policies. And it’s not just private companies who hire Stratfor. Apparently, the U.S. Marines have hired Stratfor. The Department of Homeland Security has hired Stratfor. So what you see is the privatization of essentially the CIA operating in the United States.AMY GOODMAN: Now, Julian Assange is not a U.S. citizen. How is he possibly indicted for treason?MICHAEL RATNER: You know, I think—it’s not treason. It’s the Espionage Act. And in fact, one thing you just said, treason is under the Constitution. It’s adhering to your enemy, particularly during time of war. And in fact, the Espionage Act can be looked at as a way to get around the strict requirements of treason that are in the U.S. Constitution.In fact, I think there’s a serious question whether someone like Julian Assange, who is not a U.S. citizen, can be indicted under the Espionage Act. What duty does Julian Assange owe the United States vis-à-vis the Espionage Act?
 <a href="http://upsidedownworld.org/main/news-briefs-archives-68/3479-wikileaks-stratfor-vp-states-washington-would-have-assassinated-presidents-of-bolivia-and-venezuela-in-past-years">http://upsidedownworld.org/main/news-briefs-archives-68/3479-wikileaks-stratfor-vp-states-washington-would-have-assassinated-presidents-of-bolivia-and-venezuela-in-past-years</a><div style="">
<table class="contentpaneopen" style="width: 679.6px; border-spacing: 0px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><tbody><tr><td valign="top">Written by Cyril Mychalejko   

</td></tr><tr><td class="createdate" style="float: left;" valign="top">Monday, 27 February 2012 16:19

</td></tr><tr><td valign="top">According to <a href="http://wikileaks.org/the-gifiles.html" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;">internal company emails</a> published by WikiLeaks, Austin-based intelligence firm Stratfor's Vice President stated that in the past Washington would have assassinated the Presidents of Bolivia and Venezuela. “Back in the day, we would have been planning his (and Chavez's) helicopter 'accident,'” <a href="http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/1142108_re-insight-bolivia-st-dept-source-s-take-on-morales-.html" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;">wrote</a> VP Fred Burton, a <a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/acmart/catalog/author.pperl?authorid=72572" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;">former deputy chief</a> of the State Department's counter terrorism division, in an email regarding Bolivian President Evo Morales. “Guess I'm getting old.” Stratfor provides intelligence for corporations such as Coca-Cola, Bhopal's Dow Chemical Co., Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, as well as to US government agencies. Their analysts are cited in major media outlets around the globe. In the same email thread regarding a State Department source's “take on [Bolivian President Evo] Morales,” Stratfor operative Korena Zucha calls Morales a “4th grade educated, narco-trafficking, murderous thug” whose actions are protected by the “left-leaning MSM [Mainstream] media.”The <a href="http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/1142108_re-insight-bolivia-st-dept-source-s-take-on-morales-.html" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;">email goes on to state</a>: “His rhetoric is anti-US and anti-Capitalism, so he is the darling to the ultra-left and self-hating US citizens (Danny Glover, Sean Penn, Oliver Stone, etc.)...his 'Mother Earth' Summit [aka, vehement anti-US, anti-Capitalism (specifically targeting Coca Cola), anti-UN, pro-coca (sic cocaine) and narco-trafficking platform that was embraced by 22,000 anti-US, left-wing anarchists in attendance].” In <a href="http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/202526_re-insight-venezuela-update-on-chavez-s-health-power.html" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;">a December 2011 email thread on Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez</a> between Stratfor's founder and CEO George Friedman and Stratfor's Director of Analysis, Friedman explains how she should handle a Venezuelan source “working with Israel.”

“If this is a source you suspect may have value, you have to take control od (sic) him,” writes Friedman. “Control means financial, sexual or psychological control to the point where he would reveal his sourcing and be tasked.”[kompromizat?]

The initial email Stratfor's analyst sent suggests that Venezuela's military elite, given Chavez's deteriorating health, can be bribed.

“These guys have been living the good life. They love women...lots of women. They love booze. They love bora bora. They are easy to bribe...We've seen a lot of these military elite reach out to us lately, trying to insulate themselves in a post-Chavez scenario,” the<a href="http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/202526_re-insight-venezuela-update-on-chavez-s-health-power.html" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;"> </a><a href="http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/202526_re-insight-venezuela-update-on-chavez-s-health-power.html" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;">email document Wikileaks posted states</a>.Stratfor's Middle East analyst Bayless Parsley, in an <a href="http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/1101457_continuation-of-insinuating-reva-sleeps-with-sources-.html" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;">email chat exchange</a> with the company's Director of Analysis, suggests that she is having sex in exchange for information and jokingly stated she should be thankful she wasn't sent to Africa because the “risk of AIDS is too high.”</td></tr></tbody></table>=RT:A pretrial hearing in the case against accused LulzSec hacker Jeremy Hammond this week ended with the 27-year-old Chicago man being told he could be sentenced to life in prison for compromising the computers of Stratfor.Judge Loretta Preska told Hammond in a Manhattan courtroom on Tuesday that he could be sentenced to serve anywhere from 360 months-to-life if convicted on all charges relating to last year’s hack of Strategic Forecasting, or Stratfor, a global intelligence company whose servers were <a href="http://rt.com/news/anonymous-stratfor-hacked-discredited-641/" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">infiltrated </a>by an offshoot of the hacktivist collective Anonymous.Hammond is not likely to take the stand until next year, but so far has been imprisoned for eight months without trial. Legal proceedings in the case might soon be called into question, however, after it’s been revealed that Judge Preska’s husband was a victim of the Stratfor hack.According to the indictment filed in March, Hammond illegally obtained credit card information stolen from Stratfor and uploaded it to a server that was unbeknownst to him maintained by the federal government. Months earlier the FBI had arrested Hector Xavier Monsegur, a New York hacker who spearheaded LulzSec under the alias “Sabu,"and relied on from thereon out to help the authorities nab other individuals affiliated with Anonymous and LulzSec. The feds say Hammond openly admitted to compromising Stratfor’s data in online chats with their informant and unsealed a three count indictment against him relating to hacking back in March.After Anons <a href="http://rt.com/usa/news/anonymous-stratfor-barrett-firm-777/" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); padding: 0px; margin: 0px;">gained</a> access to Stratfor’s servers, they collected a trove of internal emails and more thousands of credit card details belonging to the firm’s paid subscribers that were released last Christmas. A class action suit was filed against Strafor over the breach of security, and in June the company <a href="http://rt.com/usa/news/stratfor-clients-anonymous-hack-014/" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px;">settled </a>with its customers at an estimated cost of $1.75 million. Just now, though, it’s been learned that Judge Preska may have a vested interest in seeking a prosecution by any means necessary.Among the thousands of Statfor client’s whose credit card data was compromised in the hack alleged to be linked to Hammond is Thomas J. <a href="http://archive.org/details/Stratfor" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px;">Kavaler</a>, a partner at the law firm of Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP and the husband of Judge Preska. The archived document dump released by LulzSec last year includes personal information from Mr. Kavaler that suggests he was victimized in the attack and thus qualifies for the class action settlement.In a press <a href="http://pastebin.com/MdACWfkY" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px;">release </a>issued under the branding of the Anonymous collective, supporters for Hammond call for Judge Preska’s immediate resignation from the case.“Judge Preska by proxy is a victim of the very crime s...=bs Thomas J. Kavaler is a member of Cahill Gordon & Reindel <span class="small" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit;">LLP's Executive Committee and its litigation practice group.Tom joined Cahill in 1975 after clerking for Judge Milton Pollack of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. He became a partner in 1980 and was elected as a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers in 1996.

Tom has successfully litigated a variety of high-visibility matters for a roster of leading companies (and their boards, officers and directors) in virtually every major field, including financial services, entertainment, energy, telecommunications, publishing, professional services, insurance, food and agriculture, healthcare and heavy manufacturing.His practice is as varied as his clientele, with a long track record of victories in commercial litigation, securities, class actions, insurance, intellectual property, antitrust, employment, tax, corporate governance, product liability, contracts and criminal law matters. Tom is recognized as one of the top 25 securities litigators in the U.S. by <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Benchmark Litigation and is recommended by <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Chambers USA and <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The Legal 500 in commercial litigation in New York. He is also listed in <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Who's Who in American Law and <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Who's Who in America.

Tom conducts jury trials, bench trials, appeals, commercial arbitrations (and other forms of A.D.R), and administrative and investigatory proceedings throughout the United States. He has served as an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association, National Association of Securities Dealers, Better Business Bureau, New York Supreme Court and United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Tom has litigated extensively on behalf of Wall Street's largest brokerage firms and their senior officers. He has represented Prudential Securities in several hundred matters, including one that resulted in a landmark decision from the Second Circuit that made new law on issues relating to the bonding requirement for a preliminary injunction. His work for Prudential and others has included the defense of dozens of employment disputes and arbitrations, often arising from disputes wherein claimants allege wrongful discharge, statutory violations, breach of contract and/or promissory estoppel.<h5 class="sectionHeading" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: italic; line-height: 20px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Professional Activities:</h5>Tom is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and a Life Fellow of the New York Bar Foundation. He received the Fordham Law Alumni Association's Medal of Achievement in 1998 and the Fordham University School of Law Dean's Medal of Recognition in 2002.Tom is a former Vice President of the Federal Bar Council and a former President of the Fordham Law Alumni Association. Tom also has been a member of the Judiciary Committee of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York.=wiki: Loretta A. Preska (born January 7, 1949 in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albany,New_York" title="Albany, New York" style="line-height: 19.2px; text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Albany, New York</a>) is the Chief Judge of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_District_Court_for_the_Southern_District_of_New_York" title="United States District Court for the Southern District of New York" style="line-height: 19.2px; text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">United States District Court for the Southern District of New York</a> and a former nominee to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S.Court_of_Appeals_for_the_Second_Circuit" title="U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit" class="mw-redirect" style="line-height: 19.2px; text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit</a>.
<table id="toc" class="toc" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 5px; line-height: 19.2px; text-align: start; background-color: rgb(249, 249, 249);"><tbody><tr><td><div id="toctitle" style="direction: ltr; text-align: center;">
</div><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: none; margin: 0.3em 0px; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loretta_A.Preska#Background" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">1 Background</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loretta_A.Preska#Consideration_for_higher_courts" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">2 Consideration for higher courts</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-3" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loretta_A.Preska#Notable_cases" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">3 Notable cases</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-4" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loretta_A.Preska#Personal" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">4 Personal</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-5" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loretta_A.Preska#See_also" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">5 See also</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-6" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loretta_A.Preska#References" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">6 References</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-7" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loretta_A.Preska#Sources" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">7 Sources</a></li></ul></td></tr></tbody></table><h2 style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.17em; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); line-height: 19.2px; background-image: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Loretta_A.Preska&action=edit&section=1&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Background" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">edit</a>]Background</h2>Judge Preska attended <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_College_of_Saint_Rose" title="The College of Saint Rose" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">The College of Saint Rose</a> (B.A. 1970), <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fordham_University_School_of_Law" title="Fordham University School of Law" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Fordham University School of Law</a> (J.D. 1973), and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_University_School_of_Law" title="New York University School of Law" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">New York University School of Law</a> (LL.M. 1978).Preska was an attorney in private practice in New York City from 1973 until 1992, initially with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cahill_Gordon%26_Reindel" title="Cahill Gordon & Reindel" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Cahill Gordon & Reindel</a> and then with Hertzog, Calamari & Gleason (now <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winston%26_Strawn" title="Winston & Strawn" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Winston & Strawn</a>).Judge Preska was nominated by President <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_H.W.Bush" title="George H. W. Bush" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">George H. W. Bush</a> on March 31, 1992, to a seat on the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_District_Court_for_the_Southern_District_of_New_York" title="United States District Court for the Southern District of New York" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">United States District Court for the Southern District of New York</a> vacated by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Joseph_Ward" title="Robert Joseph Ward" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Robert Joseph Ward</a>. She was <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advice_and_consent" title="Advice and consent" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">confirmed</a> by the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate" title="United States Senate" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">United States Senate</a> on August 11, 1992, and received her commission on August 12.<h2 style="margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.17em; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); line-height: 19.2px; background-image: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Loretta_A.Preska&action=edit&section=2&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Consideration for higher courts" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">edit</a>]Consideration for higher courts</h2>In 2007, it was reported that Judge Preska was on President Bush's short list of potential <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States" title="Supreme Court of the United States" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Supreme Court</a> nominees.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loretta_A.Preska#cite_note-1" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[1]</a>On September 9, 2008, Judge Preska was nominated by President <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_W.Bush" title="George W. Bush" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">George W. Bush</a> to be a United States Circuit Judge for the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S.Court_of_Appeals_for_the_Second_Circuit" title="U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit</a>.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loretta_A.Preska#cite_note-2" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[2]</a> Since Preska was nominated after July 1, 2008, the unofficial start date of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thurmond_Rule" title="Thurmond Rule" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Thurmond Rule</a> during a presidential election year, no hearings were scheduled on her nomination, and the nomination was returned to Bush at the end of his term.<h2 style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.17em; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); line-height: 19.2px; background-image: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Loretta_A.Preska&action=edit&section=3&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Notable cases" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">edit</a>]Notable cases</h2><ul style="line-height: 19.2px; margin: 0.3em 0px 0px 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" png="png" base64="base64" ivborw0kggoaaaansuheugaaaauaaaanaqmaaabb8jblaaaablbmvex="iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAUAAAANAQMAAABb8jbLAAAABlBMVEX" auow5qsojaaaaaxrstlmaqobyzgaaabnjrefucb1jyeabbqw="AUow5QSOjAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAABNJREFUCB1jYEABBQw" wlcagqeagpidyt0ivcsaaaaasuvork5cyii="); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" xmlns:data="data"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloomberg_L.P.v.Board_of_Governors_of_the_Federal_Reserve_System" title="Bloomberg L.P. v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Bloomberg L.P. v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loretta_A.Preska#cite_note-3" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[3]</a> In 2009 Preska presided over this suit sought under the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_Information_Act(United_States)" title="Freedom of Information Act (United States)" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Freedom of Information Act</a> to require the Fed to divulge the names of private financial institutions that received $1.2 trillion in public bailout money, along with the types and amounts of collateral provided. On August 24, 2009, Preska ruled against the Federal Reserve's attempts to block the release of the recipient names.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loretta_A.Preska#cite_note-4" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[4]</a></li></ul><ul style="line-height: 19.2px; margin: 0.3em 0px 0px 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" png="png" base64="base64" ivborw0kggoaaaansuheugaaaauaaaanaqmaaabb8jblaaaablbmvex="iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAUAAAANAQMAAABb8jbLAAAABlBMVEX" auow5qsojaaaaaxrstlmaqobyzgaaabnjrefucb1jyeabbqw="AUow5QSOjAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAABNJREFUCB1jYEABBQw" wlcagqeagpidyt0ivcsaaaaasuvork5cyii="); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" xmlns:data="data"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Somali pirate <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abduwali_Abdukhadir_Muse" title="Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse</a> - arraigned before Judge Preska in 2009,<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loretta_A.Preska#cite_note-5" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[5]</a>who later in 2011 sentenced him to 33 years in prison.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loretta_A.Preska#cite_note-6" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[6]</a></li></ul><ul style="line-height: 19.2px; margin: 0.3em 0px 0px 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" png="png" base64="base64" ivborw0kggoaaaansuheugaaaauaaaanaqmaaabb8jblaaaablbmvex="iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAUAAAANAQMAAABb8jbLAAAABlBMVEX" auow5qsojaaaaaxrstlmaqobyzgaaabnjrefucb1jyeabbqw="AUow5QSOjAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAABNJREFUCB1jYEABBQw" wlcagqeagpidyt0ivcsaaaaasuvork5cyii="); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" xmlns:data="data"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmed_Ghailani" title="Ahmed Ghailani" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani</a> - On June 9, 2009, Judge Preska heard the plea of the first detainee brought from Guantanamo Bay to stand trial in a U.S. civilian court.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loretta_A.Preska#cite_note-7" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[7]</a></li></ul><ul style="line-height: 19.2px; margin: 0.3em 0px 0px 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" png="png" base64="base64" ivborw0kggoaaaansuheugaaaauaaaanaqmaaabb8jblaaaablbmvex="iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAUAAAANAQMAAABb8jbLAAAABlBMVEX" auow5qsojaaaaaxrstlmaqobyzgaaabnjrefucb1jyeabbqw="AUow5QSOjAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAABNJREFUCB1jYEABBQw" wlcagqeagpidyt0ivcsaaaaasuvork5cyii="); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" xmlns:data="data"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond" title="Jeremy Hammond" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Jeremy Hammond</a> - the activist accused of gaining unauthorized access to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor" title="Stratfor" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Stratfor</a>'s computer systems, was denied bail by Preska; who warned that he could face life imprisonment.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loretta_A.Preska#cite_note-8" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[8]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loretta_A.Preska#cite_note-9" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[9]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loretta_A.Preska#cite_note-10" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[10]</a></li></ul><h2 style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.17em; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); line-height: 19.2px; background-image: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Loretta_A.Preska&action=edit&section=4&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Personal" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">edit</a>]Personal</h2>Preska is married to Thomas J. Kavaler, with whom she attended law school. Kavaler is a client of Stratfor. Kavaler was the editor in chief of the Fordham Law Review, and is currently a partner at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cahill_Gordon%26_Reindel" title="Cahill Gordon & Reindel" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Cahill Gordon & Reindel</a>.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loretta_A.Preska#cite_note-11" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[11]</a><h2 style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.17em; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); line-height: 19.2px; background-image: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Loretta_A.Preska&action=edit&section=5&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: See also" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">edit</a>]See also</h2><ul style="line-height: 19.2px; margin: 0.3em 0px 0px 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" png="png" base64="base64" ivborw0kggoaaaansuheugaaaauaaaanaqmaaabb8jblaaaablbmvex="iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAUAAAANAQMAAABb8jbLAAAABlBMVEX" auow5qsojaaaaaxrstlmaqobyzgaaabnjrefucb1jyeabbqw="AUow5QSOjAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAABNJREFUCB1jYEABBQw" wlcagqeagpidyt0ivcsaaaaasuvork5cyii="); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" xmlns:data="data"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_W.Bush_Supreme_Court_candidates" title="George W. Bush Supreme Court candidates" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">George W. Bush Supreme Court candidates</a></li></ul><h2 style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.17em; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); line-height: 19.2px; background-image: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Loretta_A.Preska&action=edit&section=6&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: References" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">edit</a>]References</h2><div class="reflist" style="margin-bottom: 0.5em; line-height: 19.2px; list-style-type: decimal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><ol class="references" style="line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: inherit;"><li id="cite_note-1" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loretta_A.Preska#cite_ref-1" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">^{</a> }<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Crawford_Greenburg" title="Jan Crawford Greenburg" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Jan Crawford Greenburg</a>, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/SupremeCourt/story?id=3235598" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: url(" data:image="data:image" png="png" base64="base64" ivborw0kggoaaaansuheugaaaaoaaaakcayaaacnms="iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs" aaaavkleqvr4xn3pgqkamqhduxfqtu7kttkpd5ra8ainfartq2irxfwt2qedafttj2fspioe1ecoleuowwjgzyab="AAAAVklEQVR4Xn3PgQkAMQhDUXfqTu7kTtkpd5RA8AInfArtQ2iRXFWT2QedAfttj2FsPIOE1eCOlEuoWWjgzYaB" ikegorxxhqb="IkeGOrxXhqB" ua9bfcm0lazuh="uA9Bfcm0lAZuh" yiead="YIeAD" caqsz4kcmuaaaaasuvork5cyii="); padding-right: 13px; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat;" xmlns:data="data">EXCLUSIVE: Women, Minorities Top Bush's Supreme Court Short List</a>, ABC News, June 1, 2007</li><li id="cite_note-2" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loretta_A.Preska#cite_ref-2" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">^{</a>��}<a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2008/09/20080909-8.html" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: url(" data:image="data:image" png="png" base64="base64" ivborw0kggoaaaansuheugaaaaoaaaakcayaaacnms="iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs" aaaavkleqvr4xn3pgqkamqhduxfqtu7kttkpd5ra8ainfartq2irxfwt2qedafttj2fspioe1ecoleuowwjgzyab="AAAAVklEQVR4Xn3PgQkAMQhDUXfqTu7kTtkpd5RA8AInfArtQ2iRXFWT2QedAfttj2FsPIOE1eCOlEuoWWjgzYaB" ikegorxxhqb="IkeGOrxXhqB" ua9bfcm0lazuh="uA9Bfcm0lAZuh" yiead="YIeAD" caqsz4kcmuaaaaasuvork5cyii="); padding-right: 13px; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat;" xmlns:data="data">http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2008/09/20080909-8.html</a></li><li id="cite_note-3" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loretta_A.Preska#cite_ref-3" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">^{</a> }<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://news.justia.com/cases/featured/new-york/nysdce/1:2008cv09595/335178/" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: url(" data:image="data:image" png="png" base64="base64" ivborw0kggoaaaansuheugaaaaoaaaakcayaaacnms="iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs" aaaavkleqvr4xn3pgqkamqhduxfqtu7kttkpd5ra8ainfartq2irxfwt2qedafttj2fspioe1ecoleuowwjgzyab="AAAAVklEQVR4Xn3PgQkAMQhDUXfqTu7kTtkpd5RA8AInfArtQ2iRXFWT2QedAfttj2FsPIOE1eCOlEuoWWjgzYaB" ikegorxxhqb="IkeGOrxXhqB" ua9bfcm0lazuh="uA9Bfcm0lAZuh" yiead="YIeAD" caqsz4kcmuaaaaasuvork5cyii="); padding-right: 13px; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat;" xmlns:data="data">Bloomberg L.P. v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System</a></li><li id="cite_note-4" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loretta_A.Preska#cite_ref-4" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">^{</a> }<a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSTRE57O03P20090825" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: url(" data:image="data:image" png="png" base64="base64" ivborw0kggoaaaansuheugaaaaoaaaakcayaaacnms="iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs" aaaavkleqvr4xn3pgqkamqhduxfqtu7kttkpd5ra8ainfartq2irxfwt2qedafttj2fspioe1ecoleuowwjgzyab="AAAAVklEQVR4Xn3PgQkAMQhDUXfqTu7kTtkpd5RA8AInfArtQ2iRXFWT2QedAfttj2FsPIOE1eCOlEuoWWjgzYaB" ikegorxxhqb="IkeGOrxXhqB" ua9bfcm0lazuh="uA9Bfcm0lAZuh" yiead="YIeAD" caqsz4kcmuaaaaasuvork5cyii="); padding-right: 13px; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat;" xmlns:data="data">http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSTRE57O03P20090825</a></li><li id="cite_note-5" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loretta_A.Preska#cite_ref-5" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">^{</a> }<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aXIp4JHAgfh0&refer=home" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: url(" data:image="data:image" png="png" base64="base64" ivborw0kggoaaaansuheugaaaaoaaaakcayaaacnms="iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs" aaaavkleqvr4xn3pgqkamqhduxfqtu7kttkpd5ra8ainfartq2irxfwt2qedafttj2fspioe1ecoleuowwjgzyab="AAAAVklEQVR4Xn3PgQkAMQhDUXfqTu7kTtkpd5RA8AInfArtQ2iRXFWT2QedAfttj2FsPIOE1eCOlEuoWWjgzYaB" ikegorxxhqb="IkeGOrxXhqB" ua9bfcm0lazuh="uA9Bfcm0lAZuh" yiead="YIeAD" caqsz4kcmuaaaaasuvork5cyii="); padding-right: 13px; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat;" xmlns:data="data">Bloomberg report on pirate hearing</a></li><li id="cite_note-6" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loretta_A.Preska#cite_ref-6" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">^{</a>��}<a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12486129" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: url(" data:image="data:image" png="png" base64="base64" ivborw0kggoaaaansuheugaaaaoaaaakcayaaacnms="iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs" aaaavkleqvr4xn3pgqkamqhduxfqtu7kttkpd5ra8ainfartq2irxfwt2qedafttj2fspioe1ecoleuowwjgzyab="AAAAVklEQVR4Xn3PgQkAMQhDUXfqTu7kTtkpd5RA8AInfArtQ2iRXFWT2QedAfttj2FsPIOE1eCOlEuoWWjgzYaB" ikegorxxhqb="IkeGOrxXhqB" ua9bfcm0lazuh="uA9Bfcm0lAZuh" yiead="YIeAD" caqsz4kcmuaaaaasuvork5cyii="); padding-right: 13px; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat;" xmlns:data="data">[1]</a></li><li id="cite_note-7" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loretta_A.Preska#cite_ref-7" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">^{</a>��}<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE5581MS20090609?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: url(" data:image="data:image" png="png" base64="base64" ivborw0kggoaaaansuheugaaaaoaaaakcayaaacnms="iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs" aaaavkleqvr4xn3pgqkamqhduxfqtu7kttkpd5ra8ainfartq2irxfwt2qedafttj2fspioe1ecoleuowwjgzyab="AAAAVklEQVR4Xn3PgQkAMQhDUXfqTu7kTtkpd5RA8AInfArtQ2iRXFWT2QedAfttj2FsPIOE1eCOlEuoWWjgzYaB" ikegorxxhqb="IkeGOrxXhqB" ua9bfcm0lazuh="uA9Bfcm0lAZuh" yiead="YIeAD" caqsz4kcmuaaaaasuvork5cyii="); padding-right: 13px; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat;" xmlns:data="data">Reuters report on the hearing</a></li><li id="cite_note-8" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loretta_A.Preska#cite_ref-8" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">^{</a> }<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://rt.com/usa/news/anonymous-stratfor-hammond-judge-440/" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: url(" data:image="data:image" png="png" base64="base64" ivborw0kggoaaaansuheugaaaaoaaaakcayaaacnms="iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs" aaaavkleqvr4xn3pgqkamqhduxfqtu7kttkpd5ra8ainfartq2irxfwt2qedafttj2fspioe1ecoleuowwjgzyab="AAAAVklEQVR4Xn3PgQkAMQhDUXfqTu7kTtkpd5RA8AInfArtQ2iRXFWT2QedAfttj2FsPIOE1eCOlEuoWWjgzYaB" ikegorxxhqb="IkeGOrxXhqB" ua9bfcm0lazuh="uA9Bfcm0lAZuh" yiead="YIeAD" caqsz4kcmuaaaaasuvork5cyii="); padding-right: 13px; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat;" xmlns:data="data">"Anonymous hacker behind Stratfor attack faces life in prison"</a>, 23 November, 2012, RT.com</li><li id="cite_note-9" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loretta_A.Preska#cite_ref-9" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">^{</a>��}<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/chi-chicago-man-denied-bail-before-nyc-hacking-trial-20121121,0,6065357.story" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: url(" data:image="data:image" png="png" base64="base64" ivborw0kggoaaaansuheugaaaaoaaaakcayaaacnms="iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs" aaaavkleqvr4xn3pgqkamqhduxfqtu7kttkpd5ra8ainfartq2irxfwt2qedafttj2fspioe1ecoleuowwjgzyab="AAAAVklEQVR4Xn3PgQkAMQhDUXfqTu7kTtkpd5RA8AInfArtQ2iRXFWT2QedAfttj2FsPIOE1eCOlEuoWWjgzYaB" ikegorxxhqb="IkeGOrxXhqB" ua9bfcm0lazuh="uA9Bfcm0lAZuh" yiead="YIeAD" caqsz4kcmuaaaaasuvork5cyii="); padding-right: 13px; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat;" xmlns:data="data">"Chicago man denied bail before NYC hacking trial"</a>, November 21, 2012, Chicago Tribune</li><li id="cite_note-10" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loretta_A.Preska#cite_ref-10" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">^{</a> }<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.democracynow.org/2012/12/27/the_other_bradley_manning_jeremy_hammond" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: url(" data:image="data:image" png="png" base64="base64" ivborw0kggoaaaansuheugaaaaoaaaakcayaaacnms="iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs" aaaavkleqvr4xn3pgqkamqhduxfqtu7kttkpd5ra8ainfartq2irxfwt2qedafttj2fspioe1ecoleuowwjgzyab="AAAAVklEQVR4Xn3PgQkAMQhDUXfqTu7kTtkpd5RA8AInfArtQ2iRXFWT2QedAfttj2FsPIOE1eCOlEuoWWjgzYaB" ikegorxxhqb="IkeGOrxXhqB" ua9bfcm0lazuh="uA9Bfcm0lAZuh" yiead="YIeAD" caqsz4kcmuaaaaasuvork5cyii="); padding-right: 13px; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat;" xmlns:data="data">"The Other Bradley Manning: Jeremy Hammond Faces Life Term For WikiLeaks and Hacked Stratfor Emails"</a>, December 27, 2012, Democracy Now!</li><li id="cite_note-11" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loretta_A.Preska#cite_ref-11" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">^{</a> }<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A00E4D71338F931A2575AC0A965948260" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: url(" data:image="data:image" png="png" base64="base64" ivborw0kggoaaaansuheugaaaaoaaaakcayaaacnms="iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs" aaaavkleqvr4xn3pgqkamqhduxfqtu7kttkpd5ra8ainfartq2irxfwt2qedafttj2fspioe1ecoleuowwjgzyab="AAAAVklEQVR4Xn3PgQkAMQhDUXfqTu7kTtkpd5RA8AInfArtQ2iRXFWT2QedAfttj2FsPIOE1eCOlEuoWWjgzYaB" ikegorxxhqb="IkeGOrxXhqB" ua9bfcm0lazuh="uA9Bfcm0lAZuh" yiead="YIeAD" caqsz4kcmuaaaaasuvork5cyii="); padding-right: 13px; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat;" xmlns:data="data">Loretta Preska Weds a Fellow Lawyer</a>, September 12, 1983</li></ol></div><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.megaupload.com/?d=JBDGDIIM" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: url(" data:image="data:image" png="png" base64="base64" ivborw0kggoaaaansuheugaaaaoaaaakcayaaacnms="iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs" aaaavkleqvr4xn3pgqkamqhduxfqtu7kttkpd5ra8ainfartq2irxfwt2qedafttj2fspioe1ecoleuowwjgzyab="AAAAVklEQVR4Xn3PgQkAMQhDUXfqTu7kTtkpd5RA8AInfArtQ2iRXFWT2QedAfttj2FsPIOE1eCOlEuoWWjgzYaB" ikegorxxhqb="IkeGOrxXhqB" ua9bfcm0lazuh="uA9Bfcm0lAZuh" yiead="YIeAD" caqsz4kcmuaaaaasuvork5cyii="); padding-right: 13px; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat;" xmlns:data="data">Bloomberg vs Fed FOIA Lawsuit Decision.pdf</a><h2 style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.17em; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); line-height: 19.2px; background-image: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Loretta_A.Preska&action=edit&section=7&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Sources" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">edit</a>]Sources</h2><ul style="line-height: 19.2px; margin: 0.3em 0px 0px 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" png="png" base64="base64" ivborw0kggoaaaansuheugaaaauaaaanaqmaaabb8jblaaaablbmvex="iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAUAAAANAQMAAABb8jbLAAAABlBMVEX" auow5qsojaaaaaxrstlmaqobyzgaaabnjrefucb1jyeabbqw="AUow5QSOjAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAABNJREFUCB1jYEABBQw" wlcagqeagpidyt0ivcsaaaaasuvork5cyii="); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" xmlns:data="data"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.fjc.gov/servlet/nGetInfo?jid=1936&cid=999&ctype=na&instate=na" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: url(" data:image="data:image" png="png" base64="base64" ivborw0kggoaaaansuheugaaaaoaaaakcayaaacnms="iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs" aaaavkleqvr4xn3pgqkamqhduxfqtu7kttkpd5ra8ainfartq2irxfwt2qedafttj2fspioe1ecoleuowwjgzyab="AAAAVklEQVR4Xn3PgQkAMQhDUXfqTu7kTtkpd5RA8AInfArtQ2iRXFWT2QedAfttj2FsPIOE1eCOlEuoWWjgzYaB" ikegorxxhqb="IkeGOrxXhqB" ua9bfcm0lazuh="uA9Bfcm0lAZuh" yiead="YIeAD" caqsz4kcmuaaaaasuvork5cyii="); padding-right: 13px; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat;">Loretta A. Preska</a> at the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biographical_Directory_of_Federal_Judges" title="Biographical Directory of Federal Judges" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Biographical Directory of Federal Judges</a>, a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain" title="Public domain" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">public domain</a> publication of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Judicial_Center" title="Federal Judicial Center" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Federal Judicial Center</a>.</li></ul><div style="">met hubby fordham law? she in FedSoc</div>=Anonymous promised that after hacking the intelligence firm Stratfor, called by some a “shadow CIA," they'd prove that they were more than just a consulting firm.Now it looks like the private company worked along with law enforcement in attempting to bring down the Occupy movement.In some of the latest pieces of correspondence made public, however, information that many had already suspected about the role law enforcement played in infiltrating the Occupy Wall Street movement is brought to light. In an exchange of emails between Stratfor executives that has been published by hackers involved in the matter, employees of the firm go back-and-forth with one another in detail over information that Texas law enforcement supplied the firm after investigating an Austin Occupy meet-up.In the emails, Strafor employees discuss intel about the Occupy movement that was supplied to them by a “Texas DPS agent,” or an officer within the ranks of the Lone Star State’s Department of Public Safety. The DPS is a state-wide law enforcement agency that investigates suspicious activity and allegations of terrorism within Texas. The question of why state law enforcement shared that email with a private intelligence firm is open to interpretation, but certainly suggests that attempts to understand and perhaps undermine the local OWS chapter was more than just a minor operation.According to the documentation, which includes correspondence from late 2011, Stratfor employees discuss both Occupy Austin and the Deep Green Resistance, or DGR. While DGR is not directly affiliated with Occupy Wall Street, it is a similar movement --to a degree — that encourages environmental activism that isn’t present in more mainstream campaigns. In a press release, the DGR attacks both Texas authorities and Strafor for their newly revealed roles.“Deep Green Resistance condemns the surveillance and infiltration of activist groups by law enforcement and private corporations and calls on activists and their allies to expose and protest this violation of all of our constitutional rights,”the group says in a statement published Thursday.Rachel Meeropol, a staff attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights, adds that she is outraged over how Stratfor and the DPS were in cahoots over infiltrating Occupy Austin."Law enforcement sharing information about local activism with private intelligence firms should be a huge scandal,”writes Meeropol in Thursday’s statement. “Privately funded surveillance and infiltration of activist groups is especially chilling, as time and again we see such corporations operate as if they are above the law and accountable to no one.”In the emails, Stratfor staffers discuss how one of their own men went undercover to an Occupy Austin General Assembly and attempted to gain insight into how the group operates. Stratfor's Scott Stewart writes that the movement is considered by some to be “a terrible threat to corporations,” but adds, "in reality, due to the history of anarchists, animal rights, anti-war and anti-globalization protesters, companies are well prepared for such hippy hijinks.” As the Occupy movement continues to thrive more than three months after Stewart shared such words with other Stratfor employees, it is clear that that isn’t the case.In a separate email sent a month later in November, Korena Zucha of Stratfor writes that a Texas DPS agent has shared information about both movements. In it, Deep Green is linked with Occupy Austin, which DGR shrugs off as speculation. Representatives for DGR believe that the correspondence suggests that surveillance of both groups was ongoing.In the back-and-forth, Stratfor staffers suggest that sources within Occupy Austin describe some of the DGR members as crazy, to which one adds, “that bothers me, because these Occupy people will tolerate just about anything.”Stratfor's Marc Lanthemann, who signs his email as a “Watch Officer” for the firm, suggests that coordination between the DGR and Occupy movement could have dire consequences. Lanthemann writes in one email that he thinks Deep Green is an “eco-terror group is focused on creating a situation where violent confrontation will be the ultimate outcome.”“It doesn’t require an agent to get simple facts correct. Both of these assertions are just plain false,” responds DGR.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cahill_Gordon%26_Reindel  floyd abrams, mcConnellCahill Gordon & Reindel LLP (founded 1919) is a prominent <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York" title="New York" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">New York</a>-based international <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_firm" title="Law firm" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">law firm</a> with offices in New York, Washington, D.C. and London. According to The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Lawyer" title="American Lawyer" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">American Lawyer</a>, Cahill is consistently among the most profitable law firms in the world.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cahill_Gordon%26_Reindel#cite_note-2" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[2]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cahill_Gordon%26_Reindel#cite_note-3" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[3]</a><div class="thumb tright" style="clear: right; float: right; margin: 0.5em 0px 1.3em 1.4em; width: auto; line-height: 19.2px;"><div class="thumbinner" style="min-width: 100px; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; text-align: center; overflow: hidden; width: 222px; padding: 3px !important; background-color: rgb(249, 249, 249);">
<div class="thumbcaption" style="border: none; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; line-height: 1.4em; text-align: left; padding: 3px !important;"><div class="magnify" style="float: right; border: none !important; border-image-source: initial !important; border-image-slice: initial !important; border-image-width: initial !important; border-image-outset: initial !important; border-image-repeat: initial !important; background-image: none !important;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Floyd_Abrams_by_David_Shankbone.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge" style="text-decoration: initial; display: block; background-image: none !important; border: none !important;"><img src="http://bits.wikimedia.org/static-1.21wmf6/skins/common/images/magnify-clip.png" alt="" style="border: none !important; vertical-align: middle; display: block; background-image: none !important; background-position: initial initial !important; background-repeat: initial initial !important;" width="15" height="11" /></a></div>Famous <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution" title="First Amendment to the United States Constitution" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">First Amendment</a> advocate <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floyd_Abrams" title="Floyd Abrams" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Floyd Abrams</a> has been with Cahill since 1963</div></div></div><table id="toc" class="toc" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 5px; line-height: 19.2px; text-align: start; background-color: rgb(249, 249, 249);"><tbody><tr><td><div id="toctitle" style="direction: ltr; text-align: center;"> </div><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: none; margin: 0.3em 0px; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cahill_Gordon%26_Reindel#History" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">1 History</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cahill_Gordon%26_Reindel#Prominent_litigation_work" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">2 Prominent litigation work</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-3" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cahill_Gordon%26_Reindel#Prominent_corporate_work" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">3 Prominent corporate work</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-4" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cahill_Gordon%26_Reindel#Offices" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">4 Offices</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-5" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cahill_Gordon%26_Reindel#See_also" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">5 See also</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-6" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cahill_Gordon%26_Reindel#References" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">6 References</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-7" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cahill_Gordon%26_Reindel#External_links" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">7 External links</a></li></ul></td></tr></tbody></table><h2 style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.17em; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); line-height: 19.2px; background-image: none;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cahill_Gordon%26_Reindel&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: History" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">edit</a>]History</h2>Cahill opened its doors at 120 Broadway in 1919 as a small firm that quickly built a national reputation in the financial and corporate areas. By the end of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Depression" title="Great Depression" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Depression</a>, it had expanded to handle bankruptcies, reorganizations, and regulatory matters. During and after the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_World_War" title="Second World War" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Second World War</a>, under the leadership of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_T.Cahill" title="John T. Cahill" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">John T. Cahill</a>, former <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Attorney" title="United States Attorney" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">United States Attorney</a> for the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_District_of_New_York" title="Southern District of New York" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Southern District of New York</a>, the firm grew dramatically. As Cahill Gordon Reindel & Ohl, it moved to 80 Pine Street, where it remains. Partner John Ohl, a tax specialist, retired in 1976.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cahill_Gordon%26_Reindel#cite_note-4" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[4]</a> The firm established its <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris" title="Paris" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Paris</a> office in 1928, though it closed in 2000 when the firm opened its <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London" title="London" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">London</a> office.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cahill_Gordon%26_Reindel#cite_note-5" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[5]</a> Today, Cahill maintains offices in London and Washington D.C., though by far its largest office is in New York City. Renowned for its corporate finance practice and work in high stakes lawsuits, Cahill remains a successful law firm with approximately 300 attorneys.<h2 style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.17em; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); line-height: 19.2px; background-image: none;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cahill_Gordon%26_Reindel&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Prominent litigation work" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">edit</a>]Prominent litigation work</h2>Cahill's litigation practice is one of the more prominent in the United States, handling high-profile securities, antitrust and first amendment litigation. The firm's partners have made frequent appearances before the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Supreme_Court" title="United States Supreme Court" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">United States Supreme Court</a>. For instance, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Broadcasting_Co.v.United_States" title="National Broadcasting Co. v. United States" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">National Broadcasting Co. v. United States</a> helped establish the power and authority of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Communications_Commission" title="Federal Communications Commission" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Federal Communications Commission</a>. Another case, Times-Picayune v. United States, is among the Court's most important <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antitrust" title="Antitrust" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">antitrust</a> rulings.PENTAGON PPRS?
On behalf of Cahill, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floyd_Abrams" title="Floyd Abrams" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Floyd Abrams</a> successfully defended <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_York_Times" title="The New York Times" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">The New York Times</a> in the landmark <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Times_Co.v.United_States" title="New York Times Co. v. United States" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">New York Times Co. v. United States</a> case. In that 1971 case the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States" title="Supreme Court of the United States" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Supreme Court of the United States</a> refused to permit the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Nixon" title="Richard Nixon" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Nixon</a> Administration to stop the publication of thousands of pages of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_War" title="Vietnam War" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Vietnam War</a>-related government documents. Thereafter, Abrams and Cahill became prominent defenders of the media and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Amendment_rights" title="First Amendment rights" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">First Amendment rights</a>. On September 9, 2009, Abrams argued before the Supreme Court on behalf of Senator Mitch McConnell in the highly publicized re-argument ordered by the Court on the constitutionality of McCain-Feingold, defending the rights of corporations and unions to donate unlimited amounts of money to political allies in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_United_v.Federal_Election_Commission" title="Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission</a>. Cahill attorneys have appeared before the Supreme Court on behalf of the press in numerous cases of national importance.In late 2005, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_N.Kelley" title="David N. Kelley" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">David N. Kelley</a> joined the firm as a senior litigator, having retired as United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Under his leadership, successful convictions for securities violations were obtained against <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha_Stewart" title="Martha Stewart" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Martha Stewart</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernie_Ebbers" title="Bernie Ebbers" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Bernie Ebbers</a> in the collapse of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MCI_Worldcom" title="MCI Worldcom" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">MCI Worldcom</a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Rigas" title="John Rigas" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">John Rigas</a> for his role at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adelphia_Communications_Corporation" title="Adelphia Communications Corporation" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Adelphia</a>.==<h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading" style="margin: 0px 0px 0.1em; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); line-height: 1.2em; background-image: none;" lang="en">Jeremy Hammond</h1><div id="bodyContent" style="position: relative; width: 1439px;"><div id="siteSub" style="line-height: 1.5em; display: inline;">From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</div><div id="contentSub" style="line-height: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1.4em 1em; width: auto;"><div id="jump-to-nav" class="mw-jump" style="overflow: hidden; height: 0px; zoom: 1; margin-top: -1.4em; margin-bottom: 1.4em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#mw-head" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;" /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#p-search" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;" /></div><div id="mw-content-text" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr" style="direction: ltr;" lang="en"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#p-search" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;"></a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#p-search" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;"></a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#p-search" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;" /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#p-search" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;" /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#p-search" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;" /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#p-search" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;" /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#p-search" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;" /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#p-search" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;" /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#p-search" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Jeremy Hammond (born December 1985) is a political activist from </a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago" title="Chicago" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Chicago</a> charged in a criminal complaint with crimes relating to the December 2011 hack of Strategic Forecasting, Inc. (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor" title="Stratfor" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Stratfor</a>).<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-1" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[1]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-Jeremy_Hammond_federal_hacking_complaint-2" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[2]</a> He is the founder of the computer security training website <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HackThisSite" title="HackThisSite" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">HackThisSite</a>,<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-The_Hacktivist-3" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[3]</a> created in 2003 following his graduation from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenbard_East_High_School" title="Glenbard East High School" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Glenbard East High School</a>.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-Prison.3F-4" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[4]</a><table id="toc" class="toc" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); background-color: rgb(249, 249, 249); padding: 5px;"><tbody><tr><td><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: none; margin: 0.3em 0px; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#Stratfor_arrest" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">1 Stratfor arrest</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#Sentences" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">2Sentences</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-3" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#Background" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">3 Background</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-4" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#See_also" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">4 See also</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-5" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#References" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">5 References</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-6" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#External_links" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">6 External links</a></li></ul></td></tr></tbody></table><h2 style="background-image: none; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.17em; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(170, 170, 170);">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jeremy_Hammond&action=edit&section=1&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Stratfor arrest" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">edit</a>]Stratfor arrest</h2>On March 5, 2012, Hammond was arrested by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FBI" title="FBI" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">FBI</a> agents in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridgeport" title="Bridgeport" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Bridgeport</a> neighborhood of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago" title="Chicago" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Chicago</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-Stakeout-5" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[5]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-6" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[6]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-7" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[7]</a>��for actions related to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Stratfor_email_leak" title="2012 Stratfor email leak" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">2012 Stratfor email leak</a>. The indictment was unsealed the following day in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lower_Manhattan" title="Lower Manhattan" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Lower Manhattan</a> federal district court.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-8" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[8]</a>��He is one of six individuals from the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States" title="United States" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">United States</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/England" title="England" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">England</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ireland" title="Ireland" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Ireland</a> indicted.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-Anarchaos-9" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[9]</a>��.The arrests were largely due to a cooperating witness known online as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabu(hacktivist)" title="Sabu (hacktivist)" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Sabu</a>,<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-10" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[10]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-Six_Hackers-11" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[11]</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fox_News" title="Fox News" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Fox News</a> in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manhattan" title="Manhattan" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Manhattan</a> was first to break the story based on "access to Sabu's handlers"<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-12" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[12]</a> of three arrests "on two continents," a sealed federal indictment for six, and a "separate indictment" for Hammond.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-13" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[13]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-14" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[14]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-15" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[15]</a> The story was later confirmed by other news agencies when the court papers were unsealed.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-16" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[16]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-17" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[17]</a>The case is being prosecuted by the office of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preet_Bharara" title="Preet Bharara" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Preet Bharara</a>, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Attorney_for_the_Southern_District_of_New_York" title="United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York</a>.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-Six_Hackers-11" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[11]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-18" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[18]</a> Hammond is represented by Elizabeth Fink,<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-19" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[19]</a> "a firebrand attorney"<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-20" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[20]</a> with the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Lawyers_Guild" title="National Lawyers Guild" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">National Lawyers Guild</a> who won a settlement of $8 million against the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_New_York" title="Government of New York" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Government of New York</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-21" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[21]</a> for ex-inmates of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attica_Prison_riot" title="Attica Prison riot" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Attica Prison riot</a>.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-22" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[22]</a>Local profiles of Hammond by the Chicago press describe him as "connected to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchist" title="Anarchist" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">anarchist</a> groups planning <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G8" title="G8" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">G8</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO" title="NATO" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">NATO</a> protests,"<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-23" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[23]</a> "a lanky 27-year-old poster boy for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-capitalist" title="Anti-capitalist" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">anti-capitalist</a> '<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacktivists" title="Hacktivists" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">hacktivists</a>'"<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-Chicago_man_accused_in_international_hacking_bust-24" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[24]</a> and "a rock star to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchists" title="Anarchists" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">anarchists</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberterrorist" title="Cyberterrorist" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">cyberterrorists</a>worldwide."<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-25" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[25]</a> Supporters describe him as "one of the few true electronic <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Hood" title="Robin Hood" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Robin Hoods</a>"<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-26" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[26]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-27" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[27]</a> in reference to a phrase by Hammond from a 2007 profile.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-Anarchaos-9" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[9]</a>This was Hammond's second arrest related to computer crimes after his two-year conviction in 2007<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-The_Hacktivist-3" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[3]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-Prison.3F-4" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[4]</a> for hacking <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protest_Warrior" title="Protest Warrior" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Protest Warrior</a>.In November 2012, after being held for eight months without trial, Hammond was denied bail by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loretta_A.Preska" title="Loretta A. Preska" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Judge Preska</a>; who warned that he could face life imprisonment.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-28" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[28]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-29" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[29]</a><h2 style="background-image: none; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.17em; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(170, 170, 170);">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jeremy_Hammond&action=edit&section=2&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Sentences" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">edit</a>]Sentences</h2>On November 29, 2010, Hammond was sentenced to 18 months probation and 130 hours of community service for mob action, by Cook County Judge Joseph Kazmierski.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-Olympic_Banner-30" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[30]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-31" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[31]</a> Hammond along with five others had been arrested on September 29, 2009 for tearing down a Chicago 2016 banner at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daley_Plaza" title="Daley Plaza" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Daley Plaza</a> and burning it to protest the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_bid_for_the_2016_Summer_Olympics" title="Chicago bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Chicago bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics</a>. The state attorney for Cook County pressed charges for felony mob action, misdemeanor criminal damage to property, and misdemeanor resisting a police officer.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-32" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[32]</a>On March 25, 2010, Hammond was sentenced to four days in the Cook County Department of Corrections, for taking part in a confrontation with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocaust_denier" title="Holocaust denier" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Holocaust denier</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Irving" title="David Irving" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">David Irving</a>. Five Chicago residents, Hammond included, pleaded guilty to one count each of disorderly conduct on March 24, 2010 at Rolling Meadows Court House before Judge Edward Pietrucha.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-Olympic_Banner-30" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[30]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-33" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[33]</a> Wearing black masks, the five had stormed the Edelweiss restaurant in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norridge,Illinois" title="Norridge, Illinois" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Norridge, Illinois</a> and "threw glasses and kicked over chairs" to drive out Irving's guests<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-34" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[34]</a> during which another restaurant patron was struck by a bottle.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-35" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[35]</a>On December 7, 2006, Hammond was sentenced to two years in federal prison and three years' probation after pleading guilty to charges of breaking into the computer system of the politically conservative website <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protest_Warrior" title="Protest Warrior" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Protest Warrior</a>.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-The_Hacktivist-3" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[3]</a> Based on information and chat logs provided by cooperating witnesses,<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-Prison.3F-4" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[4]</a> Hammond was indicted on June 26, 2006 for "hacking into a politically conservative website and stealing its computer database including credit card information."<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-Jeremy_Hammond_federal_hacking_complaint-2" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[2]</a> At his sentencing hearing, the court heard that he was motivated by politics and not personal gain. Prosecutor Assistant U.S. attorney Brandon D. Fox said, "While Jeremy Hammond tried to make this about politics, we wanted to make this about what actually occurred, that he stole credit cards." Charges of 2.5 million dollars in damages was assessed based on $500 per credit card, for each of the 5000 credit card numbers in Hammond's possession.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-The_Hacktivist-3" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[3]</a> Prosecutors had sought up to the maximum 5-year prison term (Title 18 Section 1030 Computer Fraud and Abuse Act) and said they wanted Hammond immediately jailed for violating bail by failing two recent drug tests and being arrested on disorderly conduct charges.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-prison_sentence-36" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[36]</a> U.S. District Judge James B. Zagel disagreed with the prosecutors' recommendations, instead allowing Hammond to surrender to prison on January 3, 2007 for a two-year term; ordering a payment of $5,250 in fines and restitution; and imposing a three-year probation agreement prohibiting Hammond's involvement with hacker and anarchist groups until 2011.[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability" title="Wikipedia:Verifiability" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">need quotation to verify</a>]<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-prison_sentence-36" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[36]</a>[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot" title="Wikipedia:Link rot" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">dead link</a>] Hammond served his prison term at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenville,Illinois" title="Greenville, Illinois" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Greenville, Illinois</a>, a medium-security facility.In 2005, Hammond was sentenced to one year's probation for misdemeanor battery to a police officer.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-Olympic_Banner-30" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[30]</a> Hammond accepted a plea agreement where one count each of aggravated battery was reduced, while charges for resisting arrest and misdemeanor reckless conduct were dropped. The Cook County State's Attorney had told Circuit Judge Stanley Sacks that during a protest melee, police intervened when Hammond threw a bottle of "red liquid" (later identified as a plastic Gatorade bottle)<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-37" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[37]</a>at an officer.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-clash_at_gay_parade-38" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[38]</a> Defence lawyer Melinda Power attributed the melee to "anti-gay protesters" who "attacked her client and other members of Chicagoland Anarchist Network" at the annual <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Pride_Parade" title="Chicago Pride Parade" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Chicago Pride Parade</a> on June 28, 2004.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-clash_at_gay_parade-38" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[38]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-39" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[39]</a><h2 style="background-image: none; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.17em; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(170, 170, 170);">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jeremy_Hammond&action=edit&section=3&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Background" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">edit</a>]Background</h2>Originally from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glendale_Heights" title="Glendale Heights" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Glendale Heights</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DuPage_County" title="DuPage County" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">DuPage County</a>, Hammond's political activism began at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenbard_East_High_School" title="Glenbard East High School" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Glenbard East High School</a>, where he persuaded school administrators to allow a 100-person student march in protest of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_invasion_of_Iraq" title="2003 invasion of Iraq" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">2003 invasion of Iraq</a>.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-40" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[40]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-41" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[41]</a>Hammond was first arrested in 2003 while at the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Illinois" title="University of Illinois" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">University of Illinois</a>, "for spray painting BRING THE WAR TO UIC on a campus wall."<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-Prison.3F-4" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[4]</a> His second arrest was in 2004, for possession of marijuana.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-Prison.3F-4" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[4]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-Chicago_man_accused_in_international_hacking_bust-24" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[24]</a> Hammond's third arrest, at the 2004 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Pride_Parade" title="Chicago Pride Parade" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Chicago Pride Parade</a>, led to his first court sentence.During the 2004 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DEF_CON" title="DEF CON" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">DEF CON</a> event in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Las_Vegas,Nevada" title="Las Vegas, Nevada" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Las Vegas</a>, Hammond delivered a talk that encouraged "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_civil_disobedience" title="Electronic civil disobedience" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">electronic civil disobedience</a>"<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-Prison.3F-4" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[4]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-42" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[42]</a> as a means of protest against the annual <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_National_Convention" title="Republican National Convention" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Republican National Convention</a> and its supporters.During the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Republican_National_Convention_protest_activity" title="2004 Republican National Convention protest activity" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">2004 Republican National Convention protest activity</a> in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York" title="New York" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">New York</a>, Hammond was arrested for the fourth time "during a drum-banging protest."<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-Jeremy_Hammond_federal_hacking_complaint-2" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[2]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-Prison.3F-4" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[4]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-Stakeout-5" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[5]</a>During a march initiated by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Illinois" title="University of Illinois" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">University of Illinois</a> students on September 12, 2005, Hammond was arrested when police intervened after twenty marchers occupied <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicker_Park" title="Wicker Park" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Wicker Park</a>'s Damen and Milwaukee traffic intersection.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-43" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[43]</a>En route to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Socialist_Movement" title="National Socialist Movement" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">National Socialist Movement</a>'s December 10, 2005 rally in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toledo,_Ohio" title="Toledo, Ohio" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Toledo, Ohio</a>, Hammond and two other Chicago protesters were arrested for contempt of court and detained at Lucas County Jail pending arraignment at the Toledo Municipal Court.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-The_Hacktivist-3" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[3]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-Court_date_delayed-44" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[44]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-45" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[45]</a> A total of 25 people were arrested <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-Court_date_delayed-44" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[44]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-46" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[46]</a> for violations relating to a court injunction that barred public gatherings.Between 2003 and his 2007 incarceration, Hammond was arrested ten times on charges of disorderly conduct and property damage during protests.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond#cite_note-The_Hacktivist-3" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[3]</a><h2 style="background-image: none; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.17em; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(170, 170, 170);">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jeremy_Hammond&action=edit&section=4&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: See also" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">edit</a>]See also</h2><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0.3em 0px 0px 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAUAAAANAQMAAABb8jbLAAAABlBMVEX///8AUow5QSOjAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAABNJREFUCB1jYEABBQw/wLCAgQEAGpIDyT0IVcsAAAAASUVORK5CYII=);"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacktivism" title="Hacktivism" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Hacktivism</a></li></ul></div></div>

=<div id="mw-content-text" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr" style="line-height: 1.5em; direction: ltr;" lang="en">Protest Warrior is a conservative <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics" title="Politics" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">political</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Activism" title="Activism" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">activist</a> group. It was formed in 2003 by Alan Lipton and Kfir Alfia in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin,Texas" title="Austin, Texas" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Austin, Texas</a>. The group is primarily known for organizing counter-protests in favor of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_in_Iraq" title="War in Iraq" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Iraq war</a>. Its slogan is "Fighting the left...doing it right".<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protest_Warrior#cite_note-1" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[1]</a> As of 2007, it is now inactive.
<table id="toc" class="toc" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; padding: 5px; background-color: rgb(249, 249, 249);"><tbody><tr><td><div id="toctitle" style="direction: ltr; text-align: center;">
</div><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: none; margin: 0.3em 0px; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protest_Warrior#History" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">1 History</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protest_Warrior#Motivation" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">2 Motivation</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-3" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protest_Warrior#Method" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">3 Method</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-4" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protest_Warrior#Website" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">4 Website</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-5" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protest_Warrior#Past_operations" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">5 Past operations</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-6" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protest_Warrior#Current_status.2C_future_campaigns" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">6 Current status, future campaigns</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-7" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protest_Warrior#See_also" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">7 See also</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-8" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protest_Warrior#References" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">8 References</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-9" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protest_Warrior#External_links" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">9 External links</a></li></ul></td></tr></tbody></table><h2 style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.17em; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(170, 170, 170); background-image: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Protest_Warrior&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: History" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">edit</a>]History</h2>In February 2003, Alfia was working as a computer chip designer in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco,California" title="San Francisco, California" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">San Francisco</a> when he reunited with Alan Lipton, a childhood friend, and crashed an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-war" title="Anti-war" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">anti-war</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protest" title="Protest" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">protest</a> in San Francisco on February 16, 2003.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protest_Warrior#cite_note-2" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[2]</a>The two carried their own signs. Alfia's sign showed a woman in a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burqa" title="Burqa" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">burqa</a> tied to a pole with a leash around her neck, and was captioned "Protect Islamic Property Rights Against Western Imperialism. Say No To War!" Lipton's sign said, "Saddam Only Kills His Own People. It's None Of Our Business." <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservatism" title="Conservatism" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Conservative</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk-show" title="Talk-show" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">talk-show</a> host <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rush_Limbaugh" title="Rush Limbaugh" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Rush Limbaugh</a> covered their counter-protest on his website and complimented the group on its work.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protest_Warrior#cite_note-3" style="text-decoration: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none;">[3]</a><h2 style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.17em; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(170, 170, 170); background-image: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Protest_Warrior&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Motivation" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">edit</a>]Motivation</h2>Seeing <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberals" title="Liberals" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">liberals</a> as "morally and politically bankrupt," and as having a monopoly of media attention, Protest Warrior believes that the voices of the left are "heard disproportionately, demoralizing our troops and emboldening dictators around the world."<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protest_Warrior#cite_note-4" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[4]</a><h2 style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.17em; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(170, 170, 170); background-image: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Protest_Warrior&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Method" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">edit</a>]Method</h2>The group's primary method of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Activism" title="Activism" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">activism</a> is crashing <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left-wing_politics" title="Left-wing politics" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">liberal</a> events, chiefly <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-war_protest" title="Anti-war protest" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">anti-war protest</a> marches and counter-demonstrating within their ranks. For instance, Protest Warriors attended rallies against <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halliburton" title="Halliburton" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Halliburton</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caterpillar_Inc." title="Caterpillar Inc." style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Caterpillar Inc.</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel" title="Israel" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Israel</a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_the_United_States" title="President of the United States" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">U.S. President</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_W.Bush" title="George W. Bush" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">George W. Bush</a>, displaying support for these entities. When doing so, the Protest Warriors carry large signs often designed to appear similar to those held by the participants, enabling them to mingle until observers are close enough to read their signs' <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_print" title="Small print" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">fine-print</a>.<h2 style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.17em; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(170, 170, 170); background-image: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Protest_Warrior&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Website" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">edit</a>]Website</h2>The group maintains a website as an organizing and information hub. It also acts as a source for the many slogans and signs presented by Protest Warriors at protests, as well as offering a sign creation tutorial to registered members. The website also includes an online shop. The website also featured numerous forums, but they were shut down without explanation <a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="http://forum.protestwarrior.com/index.php" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAVklEQVR4Xn3PgQkAMQhDUXfqTu7kTtkpd5RA8AInfArtQ2iRXFWT2QedAfttj2FsPIOE1eCOlEuoWWjgzYaB/IkeGOrxXhqB+uA9Bfcm0lAZuh+YIeAD+cAqSz4kCMUAAAAASUVORK5CYII=); padding-right: 13px; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat;">[1]</a> on September 13, 2006, and currently return a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTP_404" title="HTTP 404" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">HTTP 404</a> error.The website has been the target of various attempts at politically motivated <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hack(technology_slang)" title="Hack (technology slang)" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">hacking</a> in the course of its existence. Most notably, in January, 2005 the site was hacked by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago" title="Chicago" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Chicago</a> native and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchist" title="Anarchist" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">anarchist</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hammond" title="Jeremy Hammond" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Jeremy Hammond</a>, affiliated with the website<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HackThisSite" title="HackThisSite" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">HackThisSite.org</a>, to steal credit card numbers and shut down the web server. Hammond was indicted in May, 2006, and sentenced to two years in prison on December 7, 2006.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protest_Warrior#cite_note-Chicago_Tribune-5" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[5]</a>[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot" title="Wikipedia:Link rot" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">dead link</a>]<h2 style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.17em; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(170, 170, 170); background-image: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Protest_Warrior&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Past operations" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">edit</a>]Past operations</h2>Local and National chapters of Protest Warrior have carried out operations in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States" title="United States" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">United States</a> and abroad. Examples of past Protest Warrior operations include:<ul style="line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0.3em 0px 0px 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAUAAAANAQMAAABb8jbLAAAABlBMVEX///8AUow5QSOjAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAABNJREFUCB1jYEABBQw/wLCAgQEAGpIDyT0IVcsAAAAASUVORK5CYII=);"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">On January 20, 2005, "Operation Hail to the Chief" drew thirteen Protest Warriors to Washington D.C. to oppose <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January_20,2005_counter-inaugural_protest" title="January 20, 2005 counter-inaugural protest" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">those protesting the second inauguration</a> of President <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_W.Bush" title="George W. Bush" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">George W. Bush</a>. <a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A24488-2005Jan20.html" style="text-decoration: initial; padding-right: 13px; background-image: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAVklEQVR4Xn3PgQkAMQhDUXfqTu7kTtkpd5RA8AInfArtQ2iRXFWT2QedAfttj2FsPIOE1eCOlEuoWWjgzYaB/IkeGOrxXhqB+uA9Bfcm0lAZuh+YIeAD+cAqSz4kCMUAAAAASUVORK5CYII=); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat;">[2]</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">During the 2004 Republican National Convention, a group of Protest Warriors staged a counterprotest, "Operation Liberty Rising".<a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="http://www.mtv.com/chooseorlose/headlines/news.jhtml?id=1490667" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAVklEQVR4Xn3PgQkAMQhDUXfqTu7kTtkpd5RA8AInfArtQ2iRXFWT2QedAfttj2FsPIOE1eCOlEuoWWjgzYaB/IkeGOrxXhqB+uA9Bfcm0lAZuh+YIeAD+cAqSz4kCMUAAAAASUVORK5CYII=); padding-right: 13px; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat;">[3]</a>[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot" title="Wikipedia:Link rot" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">dead link</a>] <a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,126148,00.html" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAVklEQVR4Xn3PgQkAMQhDUXfqTu7kTtkpd5RA8AInfArtQ2iRXFWT2QedAfttj2FsPIOE1eCOlEuoWWjgzYaB/IkeGOrxXhqB+uA9Bfcm0lAZuh+YIeAD+cAqSz4kCMUAAAAASUVORK5CYII=); padding-right: 13px; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat;">[4]</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">On August 27, 2005, a group of three Protest Warriors led by co-founder Kfir Alfia was the target of animosity at a conservative counter-<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cindy_Sheehan" title="Cindy Sheehan" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Cindy Sheehan</a> rally in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crawford,Texas" title="Crawford, Texas" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Crawford, Texas</a>. Despite the Protest Warriors' assurances that they were on the same side, the conservative protesters repeatedly shouted at them, destroyed the Protest Warrior signs, and forced the Protest Warriors to leave the rally, mistaking them for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-war" title="Anti-war" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">anti-war</a> protesters.<a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="http://cbs4boston.com/topstories/politicsnational_story_240102651.html" style="text-decoration: initial; padding-right: 13px; background-image: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAVklEQVR4Xn3PgQkAMQhDUXfqTu7kTtkpd5RA8AInfArtQ2iRXFWT2QedAfttj2FsPIOE1eCOlEuoWWjgzYaB/IkeGOrxXhqB+uA9Bfcm0lAZuh+YIeAD+cAqSz4kCMUAAAAASUVORK5CYII=); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat;">[5]</a>[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot" title="Wikipedia:Link rot" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">dead link</a>]</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">During the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_24,2005_anti-war_protest" title="September 24, 2005 anti-war protest" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Sept. 24, 2005 Anti-War Protests</a>��in Washington D.C., Protest Warrior, along with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Move_America_Forward" title="Move America Forward" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Move America Forward</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=RightMarch&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="RightMarch (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">RightMarch</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_Republic" title="Free Republic" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Free Republic</a> counter-protested those opposed to the war, and also demonstrated in support of the war and troops. <a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/24/AR2005092400852_2.html" style="text-decoration: initial; padding-right: 13px; background-image: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAVklEQVR4Xn3PgQkAMQhDUXfqTu7kTtkpd5RA8AInfArtQ2iRXFWT2QedAfttj2FsPIOE1eCOlEuoWWjgzYaB/IkeGOrxXhqB+uA9Bfcm0lAZuh+YIeAD+cAqSz4kCMUAAAAASUVORK5CYII=); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat;">[6]</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/24/AR2005092401518.html" style="text-decoration: initial; padding-right: 13px; background-image: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAVklEQVR4Xn3PgQkAMQhDUXfqTu7kTtkpd5RA8AInfArtQ2iRXFWT2QedAfttj2FsPIOE1eCOlEuoWWjgzYaB/IkeGOrxXhqB+uA9Bfcm0lAZuh+YIeAD+cAqSz4kCMUAAAAASUVORK5CYII=); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat;">[7]</a></li></ul><h2 style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.17em; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(170, 170, 170); background-image: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Protest_Warrior&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Current status, future campaigns" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">edit</a>]Current status, future campaigns</h2>The current status of Protest Warrior is unknown:<ul style="line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0.3em 0px 0px 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAUAAAANAQMAAABb8jbLAAAABlBMVEX///8AUow5QSOjAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAABNJREFUCB1jYEABBQw/wLCAgQEAGpIDyT0IVcsAAAAASUVORK5CYII=); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">"ProtestWarrior, LLC", formed as a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limited_liability_company" title="Limited liability company" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">limited liability company</a> in Texas in 2003, is currently listed by the state as "Not In Good Standing",<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protest_Warrior#cite_note-texas_comptroller1-6" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[6]</a> meaning that Protest Warrior has failed to file its annual paperwork and pay due taxes/fees.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protest_Warrior#cite_note-texas_comptroller2-7" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[7]</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">The main discussion forums for PW closed in September 2006. The public forums were reopened in August 2007 and then subsequently went offline again sometime in 2008.</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">On February 21, 2007 a blog was started, announcing an "Protest Warrior 2.0" initiative aimed at revitalizing the organization.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protest_Warrior#cite_note-pw_blog-8" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[8]</a> Seven articles were written over the span of seven months, with the last entry being dated August 15, 2007.</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">On February 19, 2009 the website was offline again and then returned three months later. The website is currently accessible, but the discussion forums, donation solicitation page, and "HQ" sections are either non-functional or have been entirely removed (HTTP Error 404). The latest "News & Updates" section announces a book publication in June, 2007.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protest_Warrior#cite_note-pw_website-9" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none; white-space: nowrap;">[9]</a></li></ul><h2 style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.17em; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(170, 170, 170); background-image: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Protest_Warrior&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: See also" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">edit</a>]See also</h2><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0.3em 0px 0px 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAUAAAANAQMAAABb8jbLAAAABlBMVEX///8AUow5QSOjAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAABNJREFUCB1jYEABBQw/wLCAgQEAGpIDyT0IVcsAAAAASUVORK5CYII=); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_disobedience" title="Civil disobedience" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Civil disobedience</a></li></ul><h2 style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.17em; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(170, 170, 170); background-image: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Protest_Warrior&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: References" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">edit</a>]References</h2><div class="reflist" style="margin-bottom: 0.5em; list-style-type: decimal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><ol class="references" style="line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: inherit;"><li id="cite_note-1" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protest_Warrior#cite_ref-1" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">^{</a>��}<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.protestwarrior.com%2C/" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAVklEQVR4Xn3PgQkAMQhDUXfqTu7kTtkpd5RA8AInfArtQ2iRXFWT2QedAfttj2FsPIOE1eCOlEuoWWjgzYaB/IkeGOrxXhqB+uA9Bfcm0lAZuh+YIeAD+cAqSz4kCMUAAAAASUVORK5CYII=); padding-right: 13px; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat;">Protest Warrior</a>, Protest Warrior</li><li id="cite_note-2" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protest_Warrior#cite_ref-2" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">^{</a> }<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B03E2D61331F930A3575AC0A9629C8B63," style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAVklEQVR4Xn3PgQkAMQhDUXfqTu7kTtkpd5RA8AInfArtQ2iRXFWT2QedAfttj2FsPIOE1eCOlEuoWWjgzYaB/IkeGOrxXhqB+uA9Bfcm0lAZuh+YIeAD+cAqSz4kCMUAAAAASUVORK5CYII=); padding-right: 13px; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat;">New York Times, Alan Feuer, September 3rd, 2004</a> Warriors of the Right Take to the Streets</li><li id="cite_note-3" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protest_Warrior#cite_ref-3" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">^{</a> }Washington Times, Chris Jolma, November 18th, 2003, Protest Warriors New Movement</li><li id="cite_note-4" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protest_Warrior#cite_ref-4" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">^{</a> }<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.protestwarrior.com/mission.php," style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAVklEQVR4Xn3PgQkAMQhDUXfqTu7kTtkpd5RA8AInfArtQ2iRXFWT2QedAfttj2FsPIOE1eCOlEuoWWjgzYaB/IkeGOrxXhqB+uA9Bfcm0lAZuh+YIeAD+cAqSz4kCMUAAAAASUVORK5CYII=); padding-right: 13px; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat;">Protest Warrior</a> Protest Warrior: Mission Statement</li><li id="cite_note-Chicago_Tribune-5" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protest_Warrior#cite_ref-Chicago_Tribune_5-0" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">^{</a> }<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chicago/chi-0612080286dec08,1,689768.story?coll=chi-newslocalchicago-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAVklEQVR4Xn3PgQkAMQhDUXfqTu7kTtkpd5RA8AInfArtQ2iRXFWT2QedAfttj2FsPIOE1eCOlEuoWWjgzYaB/IkeGOrxXhqB+uA9Bfcm0lAZuh+YIeAD+cAqSz4kCMUAAAAASUVORK5CYII=); padding-right: 13px; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat;">"Chicago Tribune"</a>. Retrieved 2006-12-16.</li><li id="cite_note-texas_comptroller1-6" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protest_Warrior#cite_ref-texas_comptroller1_6-0" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">^{</a> }<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://ecpa.cpa.state.tx.us/coa/servlet/cpa.app.coa.CoaGetTp?Pg=tpid&Search_Nm=ProtestWarrior%20&Button=search&Search_ID=13836848054" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAVklEQVR4Xn3PgQkAMQhDUXfqTu7kTtkpd5RA8AInfArtQ2iRXFWT2QedAfttj2FsPIOE1eCOlEuoWWjgzYaB/IkeGOrxXhqB+uA9Bfcm0lAZuh+YIeAD+cAqSz4kCMUAAAAASUVORK5CYII=); padding-right: 13px; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat;">"Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts"</a>. Retrieved 2006-11-17.[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot" title="Wikipedia:Link rot" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">dead link</a>]</li><li id="cite_note-texas_comptroller2-7" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protest_Warrior#cite_ref-texas_comptroller2_7-0" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">^{</a> }<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.cpa.state.tx.us/taxinfo/audit/audproc/1gp_r2.htm" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAVklEQVR4Xn3PgQkAMQhDUXfqTu7kTtkpd5RA8AInfArtQ2iRXFWT2QedAfttj2FsPIOE1eCOlEuoWWjgzYaB/IkeGOrxXhqB+uA9Bfcm0lAZuh+YIeAD+cAqSz4kCMUAAAAASUVORK5CYII=); padding-right: 13px; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat;">"Franchise Tax Determination of Good Standing"</a>. Retrieved 2006-11-17.[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot" title="Wikipedia:Link rot" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">dead link</a>]</li><li id="cite_note-pw_blog-8" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protest_Warrior#cite_ref-pw_blog_8-0" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">^{</a>��}<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://protestwarrior.blogspot.com/2007/02/protestwarrior-20-has-started.html" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAVklEQVR4Xn3PgQkAMQhDUXfqTu7kTtkpd5RA8AInfArtQ2iRXFWT2QedAfttj2FsPIOE1eCOlEuoWWjgzYaB/IkeGOrxXhqB+uA9Bfcm0lAZuh+YIeAD+cAqSz4kCMUAAAAASUVORK5CYII=); padding-right: 13px; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat;">"Protest Warrior Blog"</a>. Retrieved 2009-09-14.</li><li id="cite_note-pw_website-9" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protest_Warrior#cite_ref-pw_website_9-0" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">^{</a> }<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.protestwarrior.com/" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAVklEQVR4Xn3PgQkAMQhDUXfqTu7kTtkpd5RA8AInfArtQ2iRXFWT2QedAfttj2FsPIOE1eCOlEuoWWjgzYaB/IkeGOrxXhqB+uA9Bfcm0lAZuh+YIeAD+cAqSz4kCMUAAAAASUVORK5CYII=); padding-right: 13px; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat;">"Protest Warrior Website"</a>. Retrieved 2009-09-14.</li></ol></div><h2 style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.17em; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(170, 170, 170); background-image: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Protest_Warrior&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: External links" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">edit</a>]External links</h2><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0.3em 0px 0px 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAUAAAANAQMAAABb8jbLAAAABlBMVEX///8AUow5QSOjAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAABNJREFUCB1jYEABBQw/wLCAgQEAGpIDyT0IVcsAAAAASUVORK5CYII=); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.protestwarrior.com" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAVklEQVR4Xn3PgQkAMQhDUXfqTu7kTtkpd5RA8AInfArtQ2iRXFWT2QedAfttj2FsPIOE1eCOlEuoWWjgzYaB/IkeGOrxXhqB+uA9Bfcm0lAZuh+YIeAD+cAqSz4kCMUAAAAASUVORK5CYII=); padding-right: 13px; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat;">archive.org mirror of Protest Warrior Site</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5699723/site/newsweek" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAVklEQVR4Xn3PgQkAMQhDUXfqTu7kTtkpd5RA8AInfArtQ2iRXFWT2QedAfttj2FsPIOE1eCOlEuoWWjgzYaB/IkeGOrxXhqB+uA9Bfcm0lAZuh+YIeAD+cAqSz4kCMUAAAAASUVORK5CYII=); padding-right: 13px; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat;">MSNBC: "Partisan Protesters"</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newsweek" title="Newsweek" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">Newsweek</a>, 2004-08-13</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://washingtontimes.com/national/20040824-115347-4386r.htm" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAVklEQVR4Xn3PgQkAMQhDUXfqTu7kTtkpd5RA8AInfArtQ2iRXFWT2QedAfttj2FsPIOE1eCOlEuoWWjgzYaB/IkeGOrxXhqB+uA9Bfcm0lAZuh+YIeAD+cAqSz4kCMUAAAAASUVORK5CYII=); padding-right: 13px; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat;">Washington Times: "Protest Warriors fuel rage on left"</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Washington_Times" title="The Washington Times" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">The Washington Times</a>, 2004-08-24</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A24488-2005Jan20.html?sub=AR" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAVklEQVR4Xn3PgQkAMQhDUXfqTu7kTtkpd5RA8AInfArtQ2iRXFWT2QedAfttj2FsPIOE1eCOlEuoWWjgzYaB/IkeGOrxXhqB+uA9Bfcm0lAZuh+YIeAD+cAqSz4kCMUAAAAASUVORK5CYII=); padding-right: 13px; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat;">Protesting The Protesters</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Washington_Post" title="The Washington Post" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: none;">The Washington Post</a>, 2005-01-20</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://indymedia.us/en/2005/03/5268.shtml" style="text-decoration: initial; background-image: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAVklEQVR4Xn3PgQkAMQhDUXfqTu7kTtkpd5RA8AInfArtQ2iRXFWT2QedAfttj2FsPIOE1eCOlEuoWWjgzYaB/IkeGOrxXhqB+uA9Bfcm0lAZuh+YIeAD+cAqSz4kCMUAAAAASUVORK5CYII=); padding-right: 13px; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat;">Protest "Warriors" or Protest Losers??</a>��Mar 02, 2005</li></ul></div><div id="catlinks" class="catlinks" style="line-height: 1.5em; border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 5px; margin-top: 1em; 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<a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2012/12/27/the_other_bradley_manning_jeremy_hammond">http://www.democracynow.org/2012/12/27/the_other_bradley_manning_jeremy_hammond</a>

A federal judge has refused to recuse herself from the closely watched trial of jailed computer hacker Jeremy Hammond, an alleged member of the group "Anonymous" charged with hacking into the computers of the private intelligence firm Stratfor and turning over some five million emails to the whistleblowing website WikiLeaks. Hammond’s lawyers had asked Federal Judge Loretta Preska to recuse herself because her husband worked for a client of Stratfor, and himself had his email hacked. Hammond’s supporters say the Stratfor documents shed light on how the private intelligence firm monitors activists and spies for corporate clients. He has been held without bail or trial for more than nine months. We speak with Michael Ratner, president emeritus of the Center for Constitutional Rights, about Hammond’s case. [includes rush transcript]

===

<h1 class="headlines" id="seo_headline" itemprop="name" style="line-height: 1.5em;">Judge Denies Bail Request from Accused Stratfor Hacker Jeremy Hammond</h1>

A federal judge has rejected a request by lawyers for accused hacker Jeremy Hammond to release the imprisoned activist into house arrest. Hammond is accused of being a member of the hacker group "Anonymous” and has been charged with hacking into the computers of the private intelligence firm Stratfor. The whistleblowing website WikiLeaks has continued to release the Stratfor documents, which number in the millions. Hammond’s supporters say the documents shed light on how the private intelligence firm monitors activists and spies for corporate clients. Jeremy Hammond has been held without bail or trial for more than eight months. His lawyers argued Tuesday the accused hacker would be unable to review the troves of digitized evidence related to the case from jail, but their request for his release was denied. Jeremy Hammond supporter Sue Crabtree defended his alleged actions.

</div>

DN

===

Your viewers are going to be familiar with two of those cases, but the third one is one I want to focus on. He's known as the "Electronic Robin Hood". He's a 28-year-old man. He's currently in federal prison here in New York. His name is Jeremy Hammond. Now, if that name isn't familiar with people, it ought to be. In my view, this Jeremy Hammond is a very important whistleblower and should be a hero to many.

I hope people have heard of the Stratfor emails. The Stratfor emails are the emails of a private intelligence company that was doing spying on everything from activists who were opposed to Dow Chemical and what happened at Bopal, spying on actually even activist groups like Anonymous, which allegedly Jeremy Hammond was part of, groups like PETA, the people for the ethical treatment of animals, doing all kinds of surveillance for private companies and for governments, doing the surveillance for the Israeli army, the U.S. CIA, etc. Big company.

They were hacked a couple of years ago by a group, apparently a group called Anonymous. The documents were then uploaded to WikiLeaks, which is the client that I represent, WikiLeaks and Julian Assange. And so what—Jeremy Hammond was the person ultimately arrested for supposedly leading or partaking in this hack of Stratfor.

The way he was caught was through an informant. Perhaps your viewers have heard of that person. His name is Sabu, S-A-B-U. He eventually joined the government [inaud.] and eventually, according to the government's theory, or statements and indictment, disclosed that Jeremy Hammond was one of the hackers who got a hold of the Anonymous—who was part of Anonymous and got a hold of the—helped in the Stratfor documents.

Now, the Stratfor documents were very important. Of course, one of them even refers—actually, not one of them, but 2,000 of them refer to my client Julian Assange and WikiLeaks. In addition, they talk about there being a sealed indictment against Julian Assange in the United States for espionage.

Jeremy Hammond, who as I said is not well known, is in prison at the Metropolitan Correctional Center. And the reason I'm talking about his case today is that on Monday, November 19, he's applying for bail so that he can be released from prison, pending the trial in his case.

Now, there is an indictment against him. He could, according to that indictment, do many years in prison—20, 30, maybe even more. Hopefully, that will not happen. Hopefully, he will be treated as the important assuming he did this, as the important whistleblower that he is. The bail application is important because he's under very severe restrictions at the Metropolitan Correctional Center.

There's 150,000 or more documents the government has given to the defense as part of their discovery process, and Jeremy Hammond, even though he is the defendant in the case, is not allowed to look through those documents without an attorney being present. And the attorneys estimate that it'll take two years to go through those documents with him in his prison cell. And so they're asking that he can get out so that he can spend the time preparing his defense.

But Jeremy Hammond, as I said, is the equivalent of an electronic Robin Hood if he did what allegedly the government said. So he is part of, really, the attack that you're seeing right now on what are called hacktivists, which are people, really, who are political, who are allegedly getting into government documents and private documents and exposing, really, the corruption, the venality, and the criminality of not just private companies, but government as well.

So Jeremy Hammond's case flows into my client's case, of course, WikiLeaks. The other case, of course, which we spoke about last week is Bradley Manning. As people may recall, Bradley Manning put in an offer to plead guilty to some of the lower charges in his case. We don't know what the government's position is going to be on that. We don't know what the judge's position is going to be on that, but if that guilty plea is not accepted, that trial will go forward in February

===

<a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2012/12/27/the_other_bradley_manning_jeremy_hammond" /><a href="http://rt.com/usa/news/stratfor-fbi-investigation-peta-093/">http://rt.com/usa/news/stratfor-fbi-investigation-peta-093/</a>

The FBI conducted a top-secret investigation into the People for Ethical Treatment for Animals, or PETA, according to the Stratfor intelligence agency.

In emails sent through Stratfor in 2009 and compromised last year by hacktivists aligned with the loose-knit Anonymous movement, Fred Burton, the vice president for intelligence at Strategic Forecasting, or Stratfor, acknowledges that the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation has waged a clandestine probe into the animal rights group.

The PrivacySOS.org website published <a href="http://privacysos.org/node/877">a </a>blog last week shining light on one of those Stratfor emails hacked by Anonymous that has since been published by the WikiLeaks whistleblower site. In it, Burton cites a classified investigation carried out by the FBI in reference to an email from Coca Cola asking for intelligence about PETA that could be put to use.

see also <a href="http://www.greenisthenewred.com/blog/coca-cola-hired-spy-firm-stratfor-to-investigate-peta/5791/">http://www.greenisthenewred.com/blog/coca-cola-hired-spy-firm-stratfor-to-investigate-peta/5791/</a>

Coca-Cola just sent me a long list of questions regarding PETA/Animal Activism and the upcoming Olympics in Vancouver,” Stratfor’s Anya Alfano writes in an email from June 2009. “I'm not entirely clear on how much we can task the public policy group at this point--is there any guidance you can give me

on that front? Coke has asked for a short teleconference with one of our analysts to discuss this issue…”

According to Alfano’s email, representatives for Coca Cola were curious about any methodology and planning behind PETA-led activism and even inquires as to if anarchical “non-PETA hangers-on” from others groups, such as the Animal Liberation Front, could pose a problem.

Responding to Alfano’s email, Burton writes, “The FBI has a classified investigation on PETA operatives. I'll see what I can uncover.”

PETA has in the past led actions against Coca Cola for their affiliation with animal testing, and the FBI acknowledged an investigation into the group as early as 2005 when the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) released internal bureau documentation about PETA protesters obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. Until the Stratfor emails were made public by Wikileaks, though, no news of a top-secret investigation has been unearthed.

"The FBI should use its resources to investigate credible threats to national security instead of spending time tracking innocent Americans who criticize government policy, or monitoring groups that have not broken the law," ACLU Associate Legal Director Ann Beeson told the Washington Post when that FOIA request was first fulfilled.

"But we didn't know that they actually launched counterterrorism investigations into these groups."

It’s “Not exactly terrorism,” PrivacySOS acknowledges. “Nonetheless, if the Stratfor private intelligence firm is to be believed, the FBI had a ‘classified investigation’ open in 2009 on ‘PETA operatives.’”

When the FBI was approached by the New York Times to comment on their investigation into PETA after the ACLU went public with its FOIA findings, bureau spokesman John Miller said, “Just being referenced in an FBI file is not tantamount to being the subject of an investigation,"

In paperwork discovered by independent journalist Will Potter in 2009, the U.S. Department of Agriculture considered PETA a potential cause of “terrorist threat[s]” and warned the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service possible attacks from the group.

<a href="http://rt.com/usa/news/stratfor-fbi-investigation-peta-093/">http://rt.com/usa/news/stratfor-fbi-investigation-peta-093/</a>

===

<h3 style="line-height: 1.5em;">How they control their sources</h3>

"[Y]ou have to take control of him. Control means financial, sexual or psychological control... This is intended to start our conversation on your next phase" – CEO George Friedman to Stratfor analyst Reva Bhalla on 6 December 2011, on how to exploit an Israeli intelligence informant providing information on the medical condition of the President of Venezuala, Hugo Chavez.

</blockquote>

deal w/ press:

Secret deals with media organizations and journalists

Stratfor did secret deals with dozens of media organisations and journalists – from Reuters to the Kiev Post. The list of Stratfor's "Confederation Partners", whom Stratfor internally referred to as its "Confed Fuck House" are included in the release. While it is acceptable for journalists to swap information or be paid by other media organisations, because Stratfor is a private intelligence organisation that services governments and private clients these relationships are corrupt or corrupting.

</blockquote>

[<a href="http://wikileaks.org/the-gifiles.html">WikiLeaks</a>]

<a href="http://gizmodo.com/5888440/wikileaks-reveals-private-cias-dirty-laundry-updating-live">http://gizmodo.com/5888440/wikileaks-reveals-private-cias-dirty-laundry-updating-live</a>

Wikileaks Reveals Privately Run CIA's Dirty Secrets (Update 2)Filed to: WIKILEAKS 2/26/12 <div class="post-content entry-content new-annotation" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; line-height: 24px;"><div id="js_adsense-container" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><p class="first-text" data-textannotation-id="66795f5e75f9d7b9974aae486c276163" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.6; text-rendering: auto; word-break: break-word;">Wikileaks has published five million emails from <a href="http://www.stratfor.com/" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;">Stratfor</a>, an intelligence company based in Texas that, looking at their practices, appears to be America's very own privately run CIA. According to Wikileaks, their deals would also include the use of privileged information to make money in financial markets.Stratfor's clients are the US Government, other countries and military organizations, as well as private companies like Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman or Raytheon. They have a global network of spies in governments and media companies, including "secret deals with dozens of media organizations and journalists, from Reuters to the Kiev Post." According to the emails, these spies get paid in Swiss bank accounts and pre-paid credit cards.Wikileaks says that the emails also reveal the creation of a parallel organization called StratCap. Apparently, this organization would use Stratfor network of informants to make money in financial markets. Wikileaks claims that the emails show how then-Goldman Sachs Managing Director Shea Morenz and Stratfor CEO George Friedman put StratCap in motion in 2009.Here are some of the highlights, according to Wikileaks:<h3 data-textannotation-id="fb047819a2f9a2f14949ebe5c8ebfb6d" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.3; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">Global network of informants</h3><blockquote data-textannotation-id="325fa402b2b5f7ec26aef30ae6dbfd0c" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 7px 0px 15px; padding: 20px 25px; border: 0px; line-height: 1.6; overflow-wrap: break-word; font-style: italic; clear: both; overflow: visible; border-radius: 3px;">The Global Intelligence Files exposes how Stratfor has recruited a global network of informants who are paid via Swiss banks accounts and pre-paid credit cards.</blockquote><h3 data-textannotation-id="5669710a926354d0fe92053c001aa32f" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.3; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">Who are their spies?</h3><blockquote data-textannotation-id="020684dd6a38a3c060b5e07f0c55e03c" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 7px 0px 15px; padding: 20px 25px; border: 0px; line-height: 1.6; overflow-wrap: break-word; font-style: italic; clear: both; overflow: visible; border-radius: 3px;">Government and diplomatic sources from around the world give Stratfor advance knowledge of global politics and events in exchange for money. Stratfor has a mix of covert and overt informants, which includes government employees, embassy staff and journalists around the world.</blockquote><h3 data-textannotation-id="1b5c5f2d3a41df69e74ebf1febc8bb4c" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.3; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">How they control their sources</h3><blockquote data-textannotation-id="124364d5577693335a8eef8df426f1e0" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 7px 0px 15px; padding: 20px 25px; border: 0px; line-height: 1.6; overflow-wrap: break-word; font-style: italic; clear: both; overflow: visible; border-radius: 3px;">"[Y]ou have to take control of him. Control means financial, sexual or psychological control... This is intended to start our conversation on your next phase" – CEO George Friedman to Stratfor analyst Reva Bhalla on 6 December 2011, on how to exploit an Israeli intelligence informant providing information on the medical condition of the President of Venezuala, Hugo Chavez.</blockquote><h3 data-textannotation-id="54576ae2f0c92862a1b0a351e66be7e2" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.3; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">Using secret information to make money in financial markets</h3><blockquote data-textannotation-id="56a607b8787c74dce81ccade1b2577a5" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 7px 0px 15px; padding: 20px 25px; border: 0px; line-height: 1.6; overflow-wrap: break-word; font-style: italic; clear: both; overflow: visible; border-radius: 3px;">Stratfor's use of insiders for intelligence soon turned into a money-making scheme of questionable legality. The emails show that in 2009 then-Goldman Sachs Managing Director Shea Morenz and Stratfor CEO George Friedman hatched an idea to "utilise the intelligence" it was pulling in from its insider network to start up a captive strategic investment fund. [...] CEO George Friedman explained in a confidential August 2011 document, marked DO NOT SHARE OR DISCUSS: "What StratCap will do is use our Stratfor's intelligence and analysis to trade in a range of geopolitical instruments, particularly government bonds, currencies and the like".</blockquote><h3 data-textannotation-id="83a221cb7c8e2a29602813b01b8f17b4" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.3; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">US Government and Mossad ties</h3><blockquote data-textannotation-id="d495002c47b5b92045554c26c92d67ba" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 7px 0px 15px; padding: 20px 25px; border: 0px; line-height: 1.6; overflow-wrap: break-word; clear: both; overflow: visible; border-radius: 3px;">Stratfor claims that it operates "without ideology, agenda or national bias", yet the emails reveal private intelligence staff who align themselves closely with US government policies and channel tips to the Mossad – including through an information mule in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Yossi Melman, who conspired with Guardian journalist David Leigh to secretly, and in violation of WikiLeaks' contract with the Guardian, move WikiLeaks US diplomatic cables to Israel.</blockquote><h3 data-textannotation-id="f230ba282d6d445d0fd858950a199b15" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.3; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">Secret deals with media organizations and journalists</h3><blockquote data-textannotation-id="f0378bb7813a48ed207cba195ebbc503" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 7px 0px 15px; padding: 20px 25px; border: 0px; line-height: 1.6; overflow-wrap: break-word; font-style: italic; clear: both; overflow: visible; border-radius: 3px;">Stratfor did secret deals with dozens of media organisations and journalists – from Reuters to the Kiev Post. The list of Stratfor's "Confederation Partners", whom Stratfor internally referred to as its "Confed Fuck House" are included in the release. While it is acceptable for journalists to swap information or be paid by other media organisations, because Stratfor is a private intelligence organisation that services governments and private clients these relationships are corrupt or corrupting.</blockquote>[<a href="http://wikileaks.org/the-gifiles.html" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;">WikiLeaks</a>]Update: Stratfor CEO has resigned following this clusterfuck. It seems the company's security hasn't been fixed yet, at least according to <a href="http://pastebin.com/w0uQ1XX1" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;">Anonymous</a>:<blockquote data-textannotation-id="3ec55cc0b9b67d0b0e65090aef40285b" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 7px 0px 15px; padding: 20px 25px; border: 0px; line-height: 1.6; overflow-wrap: break-word; clear: both; overflow: visible; border-radius: 3px;">From: george.friedman@stratfor.comTo: fred.burton@stratfor.comSubject: DraftDate: 2012-02-26 19:02:07It is with great personal disappointment I have to inform you that I will resign from my position as CEO for Stratfor to immediate effect.Please rest assured that this decision was not an easy. But in the light of the recent events, especially the release of our company emails by WikiLeaks, I have decided that stepping down is in the best interest of Stratfor and its customer base.I want to emphasize that this will have no effect on Stratfor's business or its members and we will continue to provide state-of-the-art intelligence services.Regarding the latest breach, Stratfor is fully in control of the situation However, while I cannot take any personal responsibility for this incident, I still have to admit that mistakes have been made on our side. To be clear: We certainly do not condone any criminal activities by groups like Anonymous or other hackers. This is theft and we will continue to cooperate with law enforcement to bring those responsible to justice. But we must acknowledge that this incident would not have been possible if Stratfor had implemented stronger data protection mechanisms - which will be the case from now on. Indeed we will immediately move to implement the latest, and most comprehensive, data security measures.While I played no role in our technical operations, as the company's CEO I do accept full responsibility thus will resign from my position effective immediately.Again, my sincerest apologies for this whole unfortunate incident.Sincerely, George Friedman</blockquote>Update 2: Stratfor says that the email above is false in this <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/27/us-wikileaks-stratfor-idUSTRE81Q01Q20120227" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;">Reuters article</a>:<blockquote data-textannotation-id="23b5acc699055aaeccc1b1578535fef7" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 7px 0px 15px; padding: 20px 25px; border: 0px; line-height: 1.6; overflow-wrap: break-word; clear: both; overflow: visible; border-radius: 3px;">It said it would not be cowed under the leadership of George Friedman, Stratfor's founder and chief executive officer. It said Friedman had not resigned as CEO, contrary to a bogus email circulating on the Internet.Some of the emails being published "may be forged or altered to include inaccuracies; some may be authentic," the company statement said."We will not validate either. Nor will we explain the thinking that went into them. Having had our property stolen, we will not be victimized twice by submitting to questioning about them," the statement said."</blockquote>Or maybe that's part of a disinformation campaign to question the credibility of all the emails. After all, the article is from Reuters. Who knows at this point.</div>----

<a href="http://www.salon.com/2011/12/25/anonymous_hackers_target_us_security_think_tank/">http://www.salon.com/2011/12/25/anonymous_hackers_target_us_security_think_tank/</a>

----

In a press release late Sunday, Wikileaks said the emails “reveal the inner workings of a company that fronts as an intelligence publisher, but provides confidential intelligence services to large corporations, such as Bhopal's Dow Chemical, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and government agencies, including the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Marines and the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency.”...

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange told the Reuters news agency, "Here we have a private intelligence firm, relying on informants from the U.S. government, foreign intelligence agencies with questionable reputations, and journalists. What is of grave concern is that the targets of this scrutiny are, among others, activist organizations fighting for a just cause."

Documents released by Wikileaks on Sunday also include a purported memo from Friedman to his staff detailing how Stratfor was partnering with a Goldman Sachs veteran, Shea Morenz, to create its own hedge fund.

The new venture, Friedman wrote in the memo, "… would allow us to utilize the intelligence we were gathering about the world in a new but related venue - an investment fund. Where we had previously advised other hedge funds, we would now have our own, itself fully funded by Shea. Shea invested over $2 million in Stratfor.” [b2 pres library talk congrats himself on queens print shop small biz 2 hires]

=

<div>

<h1><a href="http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/179389/the-stratfor-files-how-a-goldman-sachs-advisor-invested-in-espionage/">The Stratfor Files: How a Goldman Sachs advisor invested in espionage</a></h1>

</div>

Yesterday, we took a look at WikiLeaks’ <a href="http://wikileaks.org/the-gifiles.html">Global Intelligence Files</a>; specifically, <a href="http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/179331/the-stratfor-files-coca-cola-is-afraid-of-peta-and-anarchists/">Coca-Cola’s request</a> to have Stratfor spy on PETA, “anarchists, ALF and other Canadian and American activists. Today in the Stratfor Files, we take a look at <a href="http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/122002_labor-day-review-of-where-we-are-.html">Goldman Sachs’ involvement</a> with the intelligence firm.

In an email from Stratfor CEO George Friedman to his underlings, the dynamic leader begins by noting how Stratfor has evolved, before launching into a details about how Goldman Sachs advisor Shea Morenz helped Stratfor in two ways. First, Morenz invested in the company to the tune of $2 million. Secondly, he proposed a new venture called StratCap.

Friedman, elaborating on Morenz’s involvement in StratCap, writes:

<blockquote>[StratCap]… would allow us to utilize the intelligence we were gathering about the world in a new but related venue-an investment fund. Where we had previously advised other hedge funds. We would now have our own, itself fully funded by Shea. Shea invested over $2 million in Stratfor and more in StratCap. In return he took a seat on Stratfor’s board and a minority position in Stratfor, whose control remains in Don’s and my hands. It was a good deal for Stratfor, a good deal for StratCap, and since the deal closed officially on August 1, we now have the task of doing what we all want-building Stratfor and StratCap.</blockquote>

At this point it should be emphasized that Morenz invested his own money, not Goldman’s. That said, only a fool would believe that Morenz, an advisor to Goldman, would not use Stratfor’s intelligence to its financial advantage. Indeed, it might be speculated that Morenz was directed to invest by Goldman Sachs itself as a means of acquiring intel. This would allow Goldman to remain behind-the-scenes. (Keep in mind that Friedman’s email was sent in 2011, several years into Goldman’s well-known bad public relations battle.)

And just so there is no confusion about Morenz's involvement in StratCap, Friedman’s email reads:

<blockquote>[W]e are committed to supporting StratCap, a private fund that will begin operations some time this coming spring. What StratCap will do is use our Stratfor’s intelligence and analysis to trade in a range of geopolitical instruments, particularly government bonds, currency and the like in the world’s emerging markets. Shea Morenz initiated this idea and leads it.</blockquote>

“[T]o trade in a range of geopolitical government bonds, currency and the like in the world’s emerging markets"—sounds rather like Goldman Sachs' area of business, crime, or whatever one would like to call it.

And what would a Goldman Sachs involvement be without the reward of money? As Friedman writes, “Let me also add that it is our commitment that all our team will benefit if StratCap is successful through some mechanism to be defined.” Translation: Spy well for corporate benefactors and you will be handsomely rewarded.

Friedman adds that Stratcap is mostly interested “in the obscure nuggets picked up by intelligence that are usually of little interest to our general readers.” That is, corporate and financial intelligence.

Corporate espionage is nothing new, but its contours aren’t as well defined as domestic and international intelligence, and we can all be certain that Stratfor is only one of many firms trading in financial intelligence.

<a href="http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/179389/the-stratfor-files-how-a-goldman-sachs-advisor-invested-in-espionage/">http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/179389/the-stratfor-files-how-a-goldman-sachs-advisor-invested-in-espionage/</a>

orig docs: <a href="http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/releasedate/2012-02-27-00-stratfor-hedge-fund-entity-stratcap.html">http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/releasedate/2012-02-27-00-stratfor-hedge-fund-entity-stratcap.html</a>

</div>

<h3 class="nr_title">Related Stories</h3>

<ul>

<li><a class="nr_rc_link nr_link nr_internal nr_row_1 nr_col_1 nr_odd_row nr_odd_col nr_first_col nr_first_row" href="http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/183863/uk-supreme-court-backs-julian-assanges-extradition-to-sweden/" style=" height: 20px;">UK Supreme Court backs Julian Assange's extradition to Sweden</a>

</div></li>

<li><a class="nr_rc_link nr_link nr_internal nr_row_2 nr_col_1 nr_even_row nr_odd_col nr_first_col" href="http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/179331/the-stratfor-files-coca-cola-is-afraid-of-peta-and-anarchists/" style=" height: 20px;">The Stratfor Files: Coca Cola is afraid of PETA and anarchists</a>

</div></li>

<li><a class="nr_rc_link nr_link nr_internal nr_row_3 nr_col_1 nr_odd_row nr_odd_col nr_first_col nr_last_row" href="http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/179298/wikileaks-and-anonymous-start-publishig-spy-firm-stratfors-emails/" style=" height: 20px;">WikiLeaks and Anonymous start publishing spy firm Stratfor's emails</a></li>

</ul>

</div>

wikileaks:

On Monday February 27th, 2012, WikiLeaks began publishing The Global Intelligence Files, over five million e-mails from the Texas headquartered "global intelligence" company Stratfor. The e-mails date between July 2004 and late December 2011. They reveal the inner workings of a company that fronts as an intelligence publisher, but provides confidential intelligence services to large corporations, such as Bhopal's Dow Chemical Co., Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and government agencies, including the US Department of Homeland Security, the US Marines and the US Defence Intelligence Agency. The emails show Stratfor's web of informers, pay-off structure, payment laundering techniques and psychological methods.

idea for paid sources: <a href="http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/1234734_paid-source-network-.html">http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/1234734_paid-source-network-.html</a>

haliburton fracking <a href="http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/386876_re-frack-w-va-eyes-fluid-disclosure-quote-from-lachelt-.html">http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/386876_re-frack-w-va-eyes-fluid-disclosure-quote-from-lachelt-.html</a>

hali nigeria bribery <a href="http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/5044499_re-africa-nigeria-nigeria-frees-halliburton-staff-as-probe.html">http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/5044499_re-africa-nigeria-nigeria-frees-halliburton-staff-as-probe.html</a> (note; fishing for biz?

stratcap http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/122002_labor-day-review-of-where-we-are-.html

http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/releasedate/2012-02-27-12-coca-cola-contracting-stratfor-to-spy-on-peta.html

<h2 style="line-height: 1.5em;">Bhopal update- 03-03-11</h2>

<a href="http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/404643_re-corp-bhopal-25-coming-up-.html">http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/404643_re-corp-bhopal-25-coming-up-.html</a>   404 watyback has:On Monday February 27th, 2012, WikiLeaks began publishing The Global Intelligence Files, over five million e-mails from the Texas headquartered "global intelligence" company Stratfor. The e-mails date between July 2004 and late December 2011. They reveal the inner workings of a company that fronts as an intelligence publisher, but provides confidential intelligence services to large corporations, such as Bhopal's Dow Chemical Co., Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and government agencies, including the US Department of Homeland Security, the US Marines and the US Defence Intelligence Agency. The emails show Stratfor's web of informers, pay-off structure, payment laundering techniques and psychological methods.<h2 style="margin: 14px 12px 8px 0px; padding: 0px;">Re: CORP: Bhopal 25 coming up</h2><table width="100%" class="cable" style="border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; width: 749px; margin-top: 10px; border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); line-height: 18.0547px; text-align: justify;"><tbody><tr><th style="margin: 0px; padding: 10px; text-align: left; border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170);">Email-ID</th><td style="margin: 0px; padding: 10px; border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170);">404643</td></tr><tr><th style="margin: 0px; padding: 10px; text-align: left; border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170);">Date</th><td style="margin: 0px; padding: 10px; border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170);">1970-01-01 01:00:00</td></tr><tr><th style="margin: 0px; padding: 10px; text-align: left; border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170);">From</th><td style="margin: 0px; padding: 10px; border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170);">mongoven@stratfor.com</td></tr><tr><th style="margin: 0px; padding: 10px; text-align: left; border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170);">To</th><td style="margin: 0px; padding: 10px; border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170);">morson@stratfor.com, defeo@stratfor.com</td></tr></tbody></table><div id="doc-description" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 18.0547px; text-align: justify;">
</div><div id="doc-description" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 18.0547px; text-align: justify;">Maybe the Yes Men were the pinnacle. They made an argument in their way
on their terms -- that this is a corporate problem and a part of the a
larger whole that the Yes Men work. They're the only anti-corporate group
that has joined with the Bhopal groups.

Where is SCI or RAN or even Greenpeace on this? On one hand, the EHF
folks haven't found a way to branch out beyond occasional AI mentions, but
at the same time, the larger anti-corporate movement has avoided Bhopal
very nicely. Will Chevron get the same pass? 

----- Original Message -----</div><div id="doc-description" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 18.0547px; text-align: justify;">
From: "Joseph de Feo" <defeo stratfor.com="stratfor.com">
To: "Bart Mongoven" <mongoven stratfor.com="stratfor.com">
Cc: "Kathleen Morson" <morson stratfor.com="stratfor.com">
Sent: Monday, November 9, 2009 11:06:36 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern
Subject: Re: CORP: Bhopal 25 coming up

The professional anti-Dow types have made a slight nod toward expanded
activity, but never followed through on it -- the idea of "other Bhopals"
that were the fault of Dow or others. For the past few years it has mostly
just been a spot on a website occasionally updated with a blog post about
different multinationals elsewhere in India (e.g., the SIPCOT work by the
Global Community Monitor affiliates). Now I don't even think blog posts go
up there anymore.

One area in which you might argue the Dow campaign has been successful was
in the R&D site battle outside Pune. Dow had to change its plans. But that
wasn't really a result of the Bhopal-based activists' strategic skills; it
seems they mostly provided one more weapon (the Bhopal issue) and likely
some small amount of funding that helped propel/prolong a campaign that
was going to be difficult for Dow just because of the religious
associations of the area near the site and political gain to be had by
pandering to some locals in an election year. The Dow people could try to
repeat that elsewhere, but I'm not sure they'd find the perfect storm
again.

The Yes Men had their London "B'eau Pal" stunt in London, but again, that
wasn't any indication of an expansion. Same issue and complaints,
statement urging people to check out the Bhopal Medical Appeal.

Bart Mongoven wrote:

We're only a month away from the 25th anniversary of Bhopal. The
objective of the Dow Campaign, as far as I can tell, has been the same
as the upcoming RAN Chevron campaign -- to make an impossible demand
upon a major multinational in order to bring attention to the
fundamental problems with laws relating to corporate accountability. 

With less than a month to go, you'd think that the major players --
especially Amnesty -- would have branched out from Bhopal to make a
broader set of issues. I don't see any evidence of it. AI Canada
included Bhopal in a Demand Dignity release in September. The
intenrational secretariat has a small link on its website. That's all
I've seen outside of the dedicated anti-Dow establishment -- those
groups paid to hate Dow (PANNA, SfB). 

The anger is legitimate and the campaign framing has been done pretty
well. If they can't manage to use the 25th anniversary to broaden the
issue, they probably won't be able to. They may as well just let Dow or
some proxy clean the site because keeping the site unremediated hasn't
helped the anti-corproate cause; hasn't much helped the anti-Dow cause;
and probably isn't doing a heck of a lot of good for the Bhopalis on
whose behalf the activists claim to be working.

The Chevron campaign is remarkably similar in its unrealistic demand. 
Is it a follow up or an admission that the first thrust failed?

Am I missing a node of activity or a major campaign that is to come? 
Has the Dow campaign been more successful than I think?</morson></mongoven></defeo></div>

===

co reponse:

Stratfor’s legal counsel, Stephen M Feldhaus, [stanford] says he "is not worried about [Stratfor] maintaining a database of the documents for our own use," despite an August Pentagon statement demanding that the DoD’s documents be "returned" and all copies "expunged, erased, gone." <a href="http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/1044386_-fwd-re-tactical-thought-re-wikileaks-cablegate.html" class="spip_out" rel="external">(1044386)</a>

While acknowledging that WikiLeaks has broken no laws, Stratfor’s Vice-President of Public Policy, Bart Mongoven, says that the release of US State Department cables "does make you accessory to being an asshole." For that offence, Mongoven sentences Julian Assange and Bradley Manning to "whatever trumped up charge is available to get this guy and his servers off the streets." Mongoven adds, "And I’d feed that shithead soldier to the first pack of wild dogs I could find." <a href="http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/389793_.html" class="spip_out" rel="external">(389793)</a>

In Burton’s own words: "There are no friendly intelligence services." <a href="http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/380848_re-reuters-media-query-wikileaks-.html" class="spip_out" rel="external">(380848)</a>

When Shane Harris, a National Security journalist, informed Fred Burton that Julian Assange was reported to be speaking that day at a Las Vegas Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) conference in June 2010 <a href="http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/385387_fw-wikileaks-founder-currently-in-the-u-s-.html" class="spip_out" rel="external">(385387)</a>, which occured shortly after the release of Collateral Murder, but prior to the Afghan War Diaries, Burton forwarded the information to Michael Posillico, Special Agent-In-Charge DS FBI Liaison Program at the Department of State. <a href="http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/392233_fw-wikileaks-founder-currently-in-the-u-s-.html" class="spip_out" rel="external">(392233)</a> Burton did so, right after he told Harris, "As a foreign national, we could revoke [Julian Assange’s] travel status and deport. Could also be taken into custody as a material witness. We COULD have a sealed indictment and lock him up. Depends upon how far along the military case is" <a href="http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/391504_re-wikileaks-founder-currently-in-the-u-s-.html" class="spip_out" rel="external">(391504)</a>. Julian Assange cancelled his appearance at the IRE conference due to security concerns.

===

<h3>Mr. Stephen M.   Feldhaus </h3>

<ul>

<li>Bar Card Number: 06886500</li>

<li class="adr">Work Address: 1629 K Street NW

Suite 300

Washington, DC 20006 </li>

<li>Work Phone Number: 202-237-0511</li>

</ul>

</div>

===

colin toogood report to dow

<a href="http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/398705_bhopal-update-036-14-11-.html">http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/398705_bhopal-update-036-14-11-.html</a>

On Monday February 27th, 2012, WikiLeaks began publishing The Global Intelligence Files, over five million e-mails from the Texas headquartered "global intelligence" company Stratfor. The e-mails date between July 2004 and late December 2011. They reveal the inner workings of a company that fronts as an intelligence publisher, but provides confidential intelligence services to large corporations, such as Bhopal's Dow Chemical Co., Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and government agencies, including the US Department of Homeland Security, the US Marines and the US Defence Intelligence Agency. The emails show Stratfor's web of informers, pay-off structure, payment laundering techniques and psychological methods.

<h2 style="line-height: 1.5em;">Bhopal update - 036-14-11</h2>

<table class="cable" style="line-height: 1.5em;" width="100%"><tbody><tr><th>Email-ID</th><td>398705</td></tr><tr><th>Date</th><td>2011-03-14 16:13:14</td></tr><tr><th>From</th><td>asigsby@allisinfo.com</td></tr><tr><th>To</th><td>sbwheeler@dow.com, tomm_sprick@yahoo.com, mediarelations@unioncarbide.com, CMKnochel@dow.com</td></tr></tbody></table>

Scot, Tomm,

Colin Toogood posted on the BMA's Facebook and Twitter pages that BMA will

do a talk on Wed. at 3p.m. for the Student International Development

Society at the Univ. of Sussex. He asked the Brighton-area networks to

re-post the event announcement.

The only media to report at this time is an India participant media piece

from The Ground Report complaining about corruption at the ministerial

levels of government. This piece by a Proloy Bagchi invoked Ram

Jethalmani's allegation last summer that the Congress party "received

payments from Union Carbide...after the Bhopal gas tragedy" and added the

public outrage against the UCIL criminal case convictions as evidence of

"the collusive arrangement between the then Union Government and UCC."

http://www.groundreport.com/Politics/Of-venal-ministers-and-their-corrupt-parties/2936521

As through the weekend, there are pieces on India's nuclear power debate

in light of the Japan disaster that also cite the Bhopal gas tragedy.

Ann Sigsby

Senior Analyst

Allis Information Management

www.allisinfo.com

989-835-5811

yes men cc

<table><tbody><tr><th> </th><td>mkolleth@dow.com, sbwheeler@dow.com, tomm_sprick@yahoo.com, mediarelations@unioncarbide.com, CMKnochel@dow.com</td></tr></tbody></table>

</div>

Also, NYT reporter Eric Lipton wrote an article on Louisiana charity the

Jindal Foundation, to which Dow contributed $100,000. The paragraph on Dow

noted neither it nor UCC have been fined for a December 2009 chemical

spill in St. Charles parish, despite the state proposing a fine for the

companies. The article as a whole questions whether companies are

influencing Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal through the charitable

foundation, which is run under his wife's name.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/03/us/politics/03jindal.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

asange press conf 2/27 kpfa news and notes 10 am see press release

most $ from pvt clients: coca cola ~ PETA? vancouver olympics

Fred Burton dept of state security offered fbi info

usmc,

bhopal activists,

money laundering

<a href="http://wikileaks.org/the-gifiles.html">http://wikileaks.org/the-gifiles.html</a>

LONDON—Today, Monday 27 February, WikiLeaks began publishing The Global Intelligence Files – more than five million emails from the Texas-headquartered "global intelligence" company Stratfor. The emails date from between July 2004 and late December 2011. They reveal the inner workings of a company that fronts as an intelligence publisher, but provides confidential intelligence services to large corporations, such as Bhopal’s Dow Chemical Co., Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and government agencies, including the US Department of Homeland Security, the US Marines and the US Defense Intelligence Agency. The emails show Stratfor’s web of informers, pay-off structure, payment-laundering techniques and psychological methods, for example :

"[Y]ou have to take control of him. Control means financial, sexual or psychological control... This is intended to start our conversation on your next phase" – CEO George Friedman to Stratfor analyst Reva Bhalla on 6 December 2011, on how to exploit an Israeli intelligence informant providing information on the medical condition of the President of Venezuala, Hugo Chavez.

The material contains privileged information about the US government’s attacks against Julian Assange and WikiLeaks and Stratfor’s own attempts to subvert WikiLeaks. There are more than 4,000 emails mentioning WikiLeaks or Julian Assange. The emails also expose the revolving door that operates in private intelligence companies in the United States. Government and diplomatic sources from around the world give Stratfor advance knowledge of global politics and events in exchange for money. The Global Intelligence Files exposes how Stratfor has recruited a global network of informants who are paid via Swiss banks accounts and pre-paid credit cards. Stratfor has a mix of covert and overt informants, which includes government employees, embassy staff and journalists around the world.

The material shows how a private intelligence agency works, and how they target individuals for their corporate and government clients. For example, Stratfor monitored and analysed the online activities of Bhopal activists, including the "Yes Men", for the US chemical giant Dow Chemical. The activists seek redress for the 1984 Dow Chemical/Union Carbide gas disaster in Bhopal, India. The disaster led to thousands of deaths, injuries in more than half a million people, and lasting environmental damage.

...

The material shows how a private intelligence agency works, and how they target individuals for their corporate and government clients. For example, Stratfor monitored and analysed the online activities of Bhopal activists, including the "Yes Men", for the US chemical giant Dow Chemical. The activists seek redress for the 1984 Dow Chemical/Union Carbide gas disaster in Bhopal, India. The disaster led to thousands of deaths, injuries in more than half a million people, and lasting environmental damage.

Stratfor has realised that its routine use of secret cash bribes to get information from insiders is risky. In August 2011, Stratfor CEO George Friedman confidentially told his employees : "We are retaining a law firm to create a policy for Stratfor on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. I don’t plan to do the perp walk and I don’t want anyone here doing it either."

Stratfor’s use of insiders for intelligence soon turned into a money-making scheme of questionable legality. The emails show that in 2009 then-Goldman Sachs Managing Director Shea Morenz and Stratfor CEO George Friedman hatched an idea to "utilise the intelligence" it was pulling in from its insider network to start up a captive strategic investment fund. CEO George Friedman explained in a confidential August 2011 document, marked DO NOT SHARE OR DISCUSS : "What StratCap will do is use our Stratfor’s intelligence and analysis to trade in a range of geopolitical instruments, particularly government bonds, currencies and the like". The emails show that in 2011 Goldman Sach’s Morenz invested "substantially" more than $4million and joined Stratfor’s board of directors. Throughout 2011, a complex offshore share structure extending as far as South Africa was erected, designed to make StratCap appear to be legally independent. But, confidentially, Friedman told StratFor staff : "Do not think of StratCap as an outside organisation. It will be integral... It will be useful to you if, for the sake of convenience, you think of it as another aspect of Stratfor and Shea as another executive in Stratfor... we are already working on mock portfolios and trades". StratCap is due to launch in 2012.

SrcWth:

Stratfor -- also known as Strategic Forecasting, Inc. -- is a private company that provides strategic and issues management intelligence analysis to corporations and governments.

The company, founded in 1996, is based in Austin, Texas and boasts that it has "an intelligence network located throughout the world."

"Stratfor is the world's leading private intelligence firm providing corporations, governments and individuals with geopolitical analysis and forecasts that enable them to manage risk and to anticipate political, economic and security issues vital to their interests," it states on its website. <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Stratfor#cite_note-0" title="">[1]</a>

<h2>Contents</h2></div>

<ul>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Stratfor#Hacked_by_Anonymous">1 Hacked by Anonymous</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Stratfor#Standing_with_Petrochemical_Makers_in_Requesting_Federal_Troop_Defense">2 Standing with Petrochemical Makers in Requesting Federal Troop Defense</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Stratfor#Criticism_for_Strategizing_to_Spin_Public_Health_Advocates_as_.22Anti-Chemical.22">3 Criticism for Strategizing to Spin Public Health Advocates as "Anti-Chemical"</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Stratfor#Criticism_for_Disinformation_about_Latin_America">4 Criticism for Disinformation about Latin America</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Stratfor#Personnel">5 Personnel</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Stratfor#Contact_information">6 Contact information</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Stratfor#Articles_and_resources">7 Articles and resources</a>

<ul>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Stratfor#Related_SourceWatch_articles">7.1 Related SourceWatch articles</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Stratfor#External_resources">7.2 External resources</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Stratfor#External_articles">7.3 External articles</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Stratfor#References">7.4 Reference</a></li></ul></li></ul></td></tr></tbody></table>

<h2 style="line-height: 1.5em;">Hacked by Anonymous</h2>

On December 25, 2011, according to the Associated Press, "the loose-knit hacking movement '<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Anonymous" title="Anonymous">Anonymous</a>' claimed . . . to have stolen thousands of credit card numbers and other personal information belonging to clients of U.S.-based security think tank Stratfor. One hacker said the goal was to pilfer funds from individuals' accounts to give away as Christmas donations, and some victims confirmed unauthorized transactions linked to their credit cards. . . . It said it was able to get the credit card details in part because Stratfor didn't bother encrypting them - an easy-to-avoid blunder which, if true, would be a major embarrassment for any security-related company."<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Stratfor#cite_note-APAnonymous-1" title="">[2]</a>

<dd>"<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Fred_Burton&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Fred Burton (page does not exist)">Fred Burton</a>, Stratfor's vice president of intelligence, said the company had reported the intrusion to law enforcement and was working with them on the investigation.</dd>

</dl>

<dd>"Stratfor has protections in place meant to prevent such attacks, he said.</dd>

</dl>

<dd>"'But I think the hackers live in this kind of world where once they fixate on you or try to attack you it's extraordinarily difficult to defend against,' Burton said." . . .</dd>

</dl>

<dd>"Stratfor said in an email to members, signed by Stratfor Chief Executive <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=George_Friedman&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="George Friedman (page does not exist)">George Friedman</a> and passed on to AP by subscribers, that it had hired a 'leading identity theft protection and monitoring service" on behalf of the Stratfor members affected by the attack.'"<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Stratfor#cite_note-APAnonymous-1" title="">[2]</a></dd>

</dl>

Stratfor responded by taking down its website for "maintenance."

Business Insider received confirmation from CEO <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=George_Friedman&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="George Friedman (page does not exist)">George Friedman</a> that Anonymous successfully "hacked the Stratfor website . . . but has also obtained the full client list of over 4000 individuals and corporations, including their credit cards (which supposedly have been used to make $1 million in donations'), as well as over 200 GB of email correspondence."<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Stratfor#cite_note-TylerDurden-2" title="">[3]</a>

Anonymous released its information via <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Twitter&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Twitter (page does not exist)">Twitter</a>. Business Insider published the log of tweets from the "AnonymousIRC" handle. Key tweets include:<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Stratfor#cite_note-TylerDurden-2" title="">[3]</a>

<dd>"We just hear that #AnonSanta battle-sleigh plundered 200gb of emails and other booty before he started to deliver his presents. #LulzXmas</dd>

<dd>""You do realize how preposterous it is to suggest that #stratfor simply shutdown completely for 2 days, right?" ~ Frank Ginac (IT manager)</dd>

<dd>"Merry #LulzXmas to everyone <a href="http://imagebin.org/190224" class="external free" title="http://imagebin.org/190224" rel="nofollow">http://imagebin.org/190224</a> Stratfor rooted. All your base are belong to us. <3 #Anonymous</dd>

<dd>"<a href="http://bit.ly/ulWECe" class="external free" title="http://bit.ly/ulWECe" rel="nofollow">http://bit.ly/ulWECe</a> | #Anonymous/#AntiSec Attack #STRATFOR | #LulzXmas #AntiSec</dd>

<dd>"The private (and secret) client list of #Stratfor: <a href="http://pastebin.com/8MtFze0s" class="external free" title="http://pastebin.com/8MtFze0s" rel="nofollow">http://pastebin.com/8MtFze0s</a> | Not so private and secret anymore. #Antisec #LulzXmas</dd>

<dd>"#Antisec has enough targets lined up to extend the fun fun fun of #LulzXmas throught the entire next week."</dd>

</dl>

Friedman's official letter to clients was posted on Business Insider <a href="http://static7.businessinsider.com/image/4ef71a9ceab8ea2f05000034/chart.jpg" class="external text" title="http://static7.businessinsider.com/image/4ef71a9ceab8ea2f05000034/chart.jpg" rel="nofollow">here</a>. It reads in part, "We have learned that Stratfor's web site was hacked by an unauthorized party. As a result of this incident the operation of Stratfor's servers and email have been suspended. We have reason to believe that the names of our corporate subscribers have been posted on other web sites. We are diligently investigating the extent to which subscriber information may have been obtained. . . . We are working closely with law enforcement in their investigation and will assist them with the identification of the individual(s) who are responsible."<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Stratfor#cite_note-TylerDurden-2" title="">[3]</a>

<h2 style="line-height: 1.5em;">Standing with Petrochemical Makers in Requesting Federal Troop Defense</h2>

In March 2004, George Friedman, chairman and founder of Stratfor, said at a briefing with reporters after a speech on terrorism at the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=National_Petrochemical_and_Refiners_Association&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="National Petrochemical and Refiners Association (page does not exist)">National Petrochemical and Refiners Association</a> (NPRA) 2004 annual meeting in San Antonio, Texas, that never in a time of war has the federal government required the public and industry "to police themselves. The problem has to be handled by the federal government." He added that the federal government should ensure that facilities are secure by placing federal troops around critical facilities and instituting minimum security standards, since the country is at war and facilities are vulnerable to terrorist attacks.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Stratfor#cite_note-3" title="">[4]</a>

</a><h2 style="line-height: 1.5em;"><a name="Criticism_for_Strategizing_to_Spin_Public_Health_Advocates_as.22Anti-Chemical.22" id="Criticism_for_Strategizing_to_Spin_Public_Health_Advocates_as.22Anti-Chemical.22">Criticism for Strategizing to Spin Public Health Advocates as "Anti-Chemical"</a></h2>

<a name="Criticism_for_Strategizing_to_Spin_Public_Health_Advocates_as.22Anti-Chemical.22" id="Criticism_for_Strategizing_to_Spin_Public_Health_Advocates_as.22Anti-Chemical.22">In March 2004, Bart Mongoven from Stratfor's Washington D.C. office appeared on a panel - Strategies for Dealing with Environmental Litigation - at the NPRA 2004 annual meeting. (Also appearing on the panel were Marc Sisk, Dorsey & Whitney, Washington, DC and Stephen Brown from </a><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=The_Dutko_Group" title="The Dutko Group" class="mw-redirect">The Dutko Group</a> LLC).<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Stratfor#cite_note-4" title="">[5]</a>

Mongoven warned industry leaders about the increasing collaboration between environmental groups and patients groups on the issue of exposure to chemicals. Washington D.C. trade magazine, Inside EPA, reported Mongoven told the NPRA that "in five years, the environmental community would like to see all debates [be about] the environment and health." Mongoven nominated Collaborative on Health and the Environment as an example of the new approach.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Stratfor#cite_note-PatientGroups-5" title="">[6]</a>

According to Inside EPA, Mongoven said that the collaboration was broadening the debate beyond exposure to pesticides to the health impacts of industrial emissions. According to Inside EPA, he suggested that one option for industry to counter this development was to dismiss advocates stated public health goal and instead portray them as being "anti-chemical."<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Stratfor#cite_note-PatientGroups-5" title="">[6]</a>

</a><h2 style="line-height: 1.5em;"><a name="Criticism_for_Disinformation_about_Latin_America" id="Criticism_for_Disinformation_about_Latin_America">Criticism for Disinformation about Latin America</a></h2>

<a name="Criticism_for_Disinformation_about_Latin_America" id="Criticism_for_Disinformation_about_Latin_America">In 2003, </a><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Al_Giordano" title="Al Giordano">Al Giordano</a>, now publisher of the Narco News Bulletin, detailed what he calls "20 Stratfor Lies about Latin America" on the Big Left Outside" website:

<dd>Stratfor is one of these snake-oil disinfo sales firms that traffics in "intelligence briefings" for people gullible enough to pay for them. Imagine that: you can get lied to for free all over this great land, but some people actually pay to be deceived!</dd>

</dl>

<dd>Stratfor's track record in Latin America is abhorrent (how many years in a row did it predict that <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Hugo_Chavez" title="Hugo Chavez">Hugo Chavez</a> would not survive that year as <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Venezuela" title="Venezuela" class="mw-redirect">Venezuela</a>'s president?). It's "spin" is ideological: pro-corporate, which is no surprise, given that it's undisclosed clientele purchases something called "Business Intelligence Services."</dd>

</dl>

<dd>In my opinion, Stratfor engages in circulating <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Disinformation" title="Disinformation">disinformation</a> into the datasphere through its free and paid email memos in ways that seem aimed to help the agendas of that very same corporate world that contracts its services.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Stratfor#cite_note-6" title="">[7]</a></dd>

</dl>

<h2 style="line-height: 1.5em;">Personnel</h2>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=George_Friedman&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="George Friedman (page does not exist)">George Friedman</a> - Founder, Chief Intelligence Officer and CEO<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Stratfor#cite_note-7" title="">[8]</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Bart_Mongoven" title="Bart Mongoven">Bart Mongoven</a> - Vice President, Public Policy Intelligence Group<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Stratfor#cite_note-8" title="">[9]</a> ("monitors non-governmental lobbying efforts"<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Stratfor#cite_note-PatientGroups-5" title="">[6]</a>)</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Fred_Burton&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Fred Burton (page does not exist)">Fred Burton</a> - Vice President of Intelligence<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Stratfor#cite_note-APAnonymous-1" title="">[2]</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Shea_Morenz&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Shea Morenz (page does not exist)">Shea Morenz</a> (former professional baseball player) - Managing Partner<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Stratfor#cite_note-OpenSecrets-9" title="">[10]</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Don_Kuykendall&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Don Kuykendall (page does not exist)">Don Kuykendall</a> - Chairman of the Board<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Stratfor#cite_note-10" title="">[11]</a> and former CEO<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Stratfor#cite_note-11" title="">[12]</a><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Stratfor#cite_note-OpenSecrets-9" title="">[10]</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Frank_Ginac&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Frank Ginac (page does not exist)">Frank Ginac</a> - Chief Technology Officer<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Stratfor#cite_note-12" title="">[13]</a></li>

</ul>

<h2 style="line-height: 1.5em;">Contact information</h2>

700 Lavaca Street, Suite 900

Austin, TX 78701

Tel: +1 (512) 744-4300

Fax: +1 (512) 744-4334

Web: <a href="http://www.stratfor.com" class="external free" title="http://www.stratfor.com" rel="nofollow">http://www.stratfor.com</a>

<h2 style="line-height: 1.5em;">Articles and resources</h2>

<h3 style="line-height: 1.5em;">Related SourceWatch articles</h3>

<h3 style="line-height: 1.5em;">External resources</h3>

<h3 style="line-height: 1.5em;">External articles</h3>

<li>Al Giordano,"<a href="http://www.bigleftoutside.com/archives/000255.php?theme=white20" class="external text" title="http://www.bigleftoutside.com/archives/000255.php?theme=white20" rel="nofollow">Stratfor Lies about Latin America</a>", November 21, 2003. This is a response to a briefing on Latin American promulgated by Stratfor but not freely available on its website.</li>

<li>Manu Raju, "<a href="http://www.insideepa.com/" class="external text" title="http://www.insideepa.com/" rel="nofollow">Industry Fears Growing Role Of Patient Groups In Environment Lobby</a>", Inside EPA, March 24, 2004.</li>

</ul>

<h3 style="line-height: 1.5em;">References</h3>

<li id="cite_note-0"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Stratfor#cite_ref-0" title="">↑</a> Stratfor, <a href="http://stratfor.com/corp/Corporate.neo?s=ABO" class="external text" title="http://stratfor.com/corp/Corporate.neo?s=ABO" rel="nofollow">ABO</a>, corporate website</li>

<li id="cite_note-APAnonymous-1">↑ <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Stratfor#cite_ref-APAnonymous_1-0" title="">2.0</a> <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Stratfor#cite_ref-APAnonymous_1-1" title="">2.1</a> <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Stratfor#cite_ref-APAnonymous_1-2" title="">2.2</a> Cassandra Vinograd and Ramit Plushnick-Masti, <a href="http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_HACKER_CHRISTMAS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-12-25-07-55-27" class="external text" title="http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_HACKER_CHRISTMAS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-12-25-07-55-27" rel="nofollow">'Anonymous' hackers target US security think tank</a>, Associated Press, December 25, 2011</li>

<li id="cite_note-TylerDurden-2">↑ <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Stratfor#cite_ref-TylerDurden_2-0" title="">3.0</a> <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Stratfor#cite_ref-TylerDurden_2-1" title="">3.1</a> <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Stratfor#cite_ref-TylerDurden_2-2" title="">3.2</a> Tyler Durden, <a href="http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-12-25/wall_street/30556093_1_credit-cards-emails-mf-global" class="external text" title="http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-12-25/wall_street/30556093_1_credit-cards-emails-mf-global" rel="nofollow">Intelligence Service Stratfor Suffered A Devastating Hacking Attack Last Night</a>, Business Insider, December 25, 2011</li>

<li id="cite_note-3"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Stratfor#cite_ref-3" title="">↑</a> Manu Raju, <a href="http://insideepa.com/200403301155177/EPA-Daily-News/Daily-News/petrochemical-makers-target-house-in-lobbying-against-federal-security-standards/menu-id-95.html" class="external text" title="http://insideepa.com/200403301155177/EPA-Daily-News/Daily-News/petrochemical-makers-target-house-in-lobbying-against-federal-security-standards/menu-id-95.html" rel="nofollow">Petrochemical Makers Target House In Lobbying Against Federal Security Standards</a>, Inside EPA Daily News (publication of Inside Washington Publishers, subscription only, copy on file with CMD), March 30, 2004</li>

<li id="cite_note-4"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Stratfor#cite_ref-4" title="">↑</a> NPRADC, <a href="http://www.npradc.org/meetings/annual/Tuesdayam.pdf" class="external text" title="http://www.npradc.org/meetings/annual/Tuesdayam.pdf" rel="nofollow">Annual Meeting Schedule</a>, organizational website, broken link</li>

<li id="cite_note-PatientGroups-5">↑ <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Stratfor#cite_ref-PatientGroups_5-0" title="">6.0</a> <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Stratfor#cite_ref-PatientGroups_5-1" title="">6.1</a> <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Stratfor#cite_ref-PatientGroups_5-2" title="">6.2</a> Manu Raju, <a href="http://insideepa.com/Inside-EPA/Inside-EPA-03/26/2004/industry-fears-growing-role-of-patient-groups-in-environment-lobby/menu-id-153.html" class="external text" title="http://insideepa.com/Inside-EPA/Inside-EPA-03/26/2004/industry-fears-growing-role-of-patient-groups-in-environment-lobby/menu-id-153.html" rel="nofollow">INDUSTRY FEARS GROWING ROLE OF PATIENT GROUPS IN ENVIRONMENT LOBBY</a>, Inside EPA (publication of Inside Washington Publishers, subscription only, copy on file with CMD), Vol. 25, No. 13, March 26, 2004</li>

<li id="cite_note-6"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Stratfor#cite_ref-6" title="">↑</a> Al Giordano, <a href="http://www.bigleftoutside.com/archives/000255.php?theme=white" class="external text" title="http://www.bigleftoutside.com/archives/000255.php?theme=white" rel="nofollow">20 Stratfor Lies about Latin America</a>, Big Left Outside, now offline, snips available on <a href="http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x757754" class="external text" title="http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x757754" rel="nofollow">DemocraticUnderground.com</a>, 2003</li>

<li id="cite_note-7"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Stratfor#cite_ref-7" title="">↑</a> Stratfor, <a href="http://www.stratfor.com/about_stratfor" class="external text" title="http://www.stratfor.com/about_stratfor" rel="nofollow">About STRATFOR: Who we are</a>, company website, accessed April 2009</li>

<li id="cite_note-8"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Stratfor#cite_ref-8" title="">↑</a> Stratfor, <a href="http://www.stratfor.com/authors/bart_mongoven" class="external text" title="http://www.stratfor.com/authors/bart_mongoven" rel="nofollow">Bart Mongoven</a>, company website, accessed December 27, 2011</li>

<li id="cite_note-OpenSecrets-9">↑ <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Stratfor#cite_ref-OpenSecrets_9-0" title="">10.0</a> <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Stratfor#cite_ref-OpenSecrets_9-1" title="">10.1</a> Center for Responsive Politics, <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/usearch/index.php?q=Stratfor&searchButt_clean.x=0&searchButt_clean.y=0&searchButt_clean=Submit&cx=010677907462955562473%3Anlldkv0jvam&cof=FORID%3A11" class="external text" title="http://www.opensecrets.org/usearch/index.php?q=Stratfor&searchButt_clean.x=0&searchButt_clean.y=0&searchButt_clean=Submit&cx=010677907462955562473%3Anlldkv0jvam&cof=FORID%3A11" rel="nofollow">Occupation/Employer: Stratfor</a>, OpenSecrets.org, campaign finance and lobbying database, accessed December 27, 2011</li>

<li id="cite_note-10"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Stratfor#cite_ref-10" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/pub/don-kuykendall/5/a60/48a" class="external text" title="http://www.linkedin.com/pub/don-kuykendall/5/a60/48a" rel="nofollow">Don Kuykendall</a>, LinkedIn.com, business profile, accessed December 27, 2011</li>

<li id="cite_note-11"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Stratfor#cite_ref-11" title="">↑</a> Michael Erard, <a href="http://www.austinchronicle.com/news/2001-09-14/82940/" class="external text" title="http://www.austinchronicle.com/news/2001-09-14/82940/" rel="nofollow">Is Knowledge Power? Austin-based Stratfor Attempts to Make Smart Money on Global Intelligence</a>, Austin Chronicle, September 14, 2001</li>

<li id="cite_note-12"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Stratfor#cite_ref-12" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/frankginac" class="external text" title="http://www.linkedin.com/in/frankginac" rel="nofollow">Frank Ginac</a>, LinkedIn.com, business profile, accessed December 27, 2011</li>

</ol>

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=

Strategic Forecasting, Inc., more commonly known as STRATFOR, is a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_intelligence_agency" title="Private intelligence agency">global intelligence</a> company founded in 1996 in Austin, Texas by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Friedman" title="George Friedman">George Friedman</a> who is the founder, chief intelligence officer, and CEO of the company. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Burton" title="Fred Burton">Fred Burton</a> is STRATFOR's Vice President for Counterterrorism and Corporate Security.

<h2>Contents</h2>

[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor#" class="internal" id="togglelink">hide</a>] </div>

<ul>

<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor#Products">1 Products</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor#Subscribers">2 Subscribers</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-3"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor#2011_hacking_incident">3 2011 hacking incident</a>

<ul>

</ul>

</li>

<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-5"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor#References">4 References</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-6"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor#Further_reading">5 Further reading</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-7"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor#External_links">6 External links</a></li>

</ul>

</td></tr></tbody></table>

<h2 style="line-height: 1.5em;"> Products</h2>

STRATFOR has published a daily intelligence briefing since its inception in 1996. Its rise to prominence occurred with the release of its Kosovo Crisis Center during the 1999 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO" title="NATO">NATO</a> airstrikes over <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosovo" title="Kosovo">Kosovo</a>, which led to publicity in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time%28magazine%29" title="Time (magazine)">Time</a> magazine, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Monthly" title="Texas Monthly">Texas Monthly</a>, and other publications.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor#cite_note-0">[1]</a> Before the end of 1999, however, STRATFOR had introduced a subscription service through which it offered the majority of its analyses. At the time of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11,2001_attacks" title="September 11, 2001 attacks" class="mw-redirect">September 11, 2001 attacks</a>, STRATFOR made its "breaking news" paragraphs, as well as some notable analyses predicting likely actions to be taken by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Qaeda" title="Al-Qaeda">al-Qaeda</a> and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_W._Bush" title="George W. Bush">Bush</a> administration, available freely to the public.

STRATFOR has some products available to the public including private briefings, corporate memberships, a publishing business that includes written and multimedia analysis and an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPhone" title="IPhone">iPhone</a> application.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor#cite_note-1">[2]</a>

STRATFOR has been cited by media such as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CNN" title="CNN">CNN</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloomberg_L.P." title="Bloomberg L.P.">Bloomberg</a>, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Associated_Press" title="Associated Press">Associated Press</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reuters" title="Reuters">Reuters</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_York_Times" title="The New York Times">The New York Times</a> and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC" title="BBC">BBC</a> as an authority on strategic and tactical intelligence issues.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor#cite_note-2">[3]</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barron%27s_Magazine" title="Barron's Magazine" class="mw-redirect">Barron's</a> once referred to it as "The Shadow CIA".<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor#cite_note-Barrons-3">[4]</a>

<h2 style="line-height: 1.5em;"> Subscribers</h2>

STRATFOR's subscribers list was confidential, and the company's publicity list includes <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortune_500" title="Fortune 500">Fortune 500</a> companies and international government agencies.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor#cite_note-4">[5]</a> The hacker group <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_AntiSec" title="Operation AntiSec">Operation AntiSec</a> claimed to have made it public on December 24, 2011,<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor#cite_note-5">[6]</a> however, Stratfor denied that the hack recovered the client list.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor#cite_note-mello-6">[7]</a> Stratfor instead claimed that the group only recovered a list of news subscriptions.

Currently STRATFOR's products are oriented around individual subscriptions, of which the "Premium" product is the most comprehensive in content offered. Other packages, such as "Global Vantage," are tailored to appeal to commercial or governmental customers. They feature regional and customizable intelligence whereby users are able to partake in monthly teleconferences with STRATFOR's founder, Dr. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Friedman" title="George Friedman">George Friedman</a>, and have the option of emailing STRATFOR's analysts with a "guaranteed response within 24 hours Monday–Friday".<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor#cite_note-7">[8]</a> Some of STRATFOR's work remains available free to the public.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor#cite_note-8">[9]</a>

<h2 style="line-height: 1.5em;">2011 hacking incident</h2>

It was reported on December 24, 2011 that members of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anonymous_%28group%29" title="Anonymous (group)">Anonymous</a> had stolen emails and credit-card data from STRATFOR's web site.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor#cite_note-9">[10]</a> According to the one page that remained at STRATFOR's web site, the "Site is currently undergoing maintenance[:] Please check back soon".<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor#cite_note-perlroth-10">[11]</a> The hackers claimed to have retrieved the company's client list and used stolen credit card information to make donations to various charities.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor#cite_note-perlroth-10">[11]</a>

The hackers claimed to have retrieved over 200 gigabytes of data.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor#cite_note-katrandjian-11">[12]</a> The hackers stated that Stratfor was "clueless...when it comes to database security". The passwords were not encrypted<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor#cite_note-zoefox-12">[13]</a> and many of the passwords were simply the name of the company.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor#cite_note-katrandjian-11">[12]</a> The failure to encrypt the passwords was called "an embarrassing mistake for a company specializing in security" by Zoe Fox of CNN.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor#cite_note-zoefox-12">[13]</a> The list of the leaked accounts has been made available online for users to check if they are affected.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor#cite_note-dazzlepod-13">[14]</a> Stratfor advised employees and clients not to publicly state support for their company, fearing additional attacks against those that did so.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor#cite_note-katrandjian-11">[12]</a> The group posted two sets of stolen credit card data, one containing 3,956 items and the other with 13,191 items.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor#cite_note-mello-6">[7]</a> Next they posted a set of over 30,000 items.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor#cite_note-14">[15]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor#cite_note-15">[16]</a>

The hackers said they used the credit card data to make donations to various charities, including the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Cross" title="Red Cross" class="mw-redirect">Red Cross</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Save_the_Children" title="Save the Children">Save the Children</a> and CARE.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor#cite_note-16">[17]</a> However, one security expert stated that the charities will never receive the payments, claiming that instead, customers will report the fraudulent transaction, and the credit cards will return the money to the customer using a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charge_back" title="Charge back" class="mw-redirect">charge back</a>. The charities may risk being assessed large fees as a result, and at the very least, will have to spend time and money processing them.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor#cite_note-mello-6">[7]</a>

<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WikiLeaks" title="WikiLeaks">WikiLeaks</a> announced the initial publishing of over 5 million of the company's emails on February 26, 2012.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor#cite_note-17">[18]</a> Anonymous has claimed to have provided WikiLeaks with the data.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor#cite_note-18">[19]</a> An official statement released by STRATFOR following the leak, condemned the posting of their emails as "deplorable".<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor#cite_note-19">[20]</a>

<h2 style="line-height: 1.5em;">References</h2>

<li id="cite_note-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor#cite_ref-0">^</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,18728,00.html">"Spies Like Us"</a>, Time, January 25, 1999</li>

<li id="cite_note-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor#cite_ref-1">^</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.stratfor.com/tour/products/">Stratfor products</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor#cite_ref-2">^</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.stratfor.com/media_room/media_coverage">Stratfor media coverage</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-Barrons-3"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor#cite_ref-Barrons_3-0">^</a> Laing, Jonathan R. (October 15, 2001). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://online.barrons.com/article/SB1002927557434087960.html">"The Shadow CIA"</a>. Barron's magazine. Retrieved December 19, 2010. (<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin/archive.cgi?read=13032">read complete article</a>)</li>

<li id="cite_note-4"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor#cite_ref-4">^</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aBUoYKhu7PWk&refer=home">"Brazil Oil Finds May End Reliance on Middle East, Zeihan Says"</a>. Bloomberg. April 23, 2008. Retrieved April 25, 2008.</li>

<li id="cite_note-5"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor#cite_ref-5">^</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://pastebin.com/8MtFze0s">"pastebin"</a>. Anonymous. Retrieved December 24, 2011.</li>

<li id="cite_note-mello-6">^ <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor#cite_ref-mello_6-0">a</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor#cite_ref-mello_6-1">b</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor#cite_ref-mello_6-2">c</a> John P Mello (December 26, 2011). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/247028/confidential_client_list_safe_from_anonymous_says_hacker_target.html">"Confidential Client List Safe from Anonymous, Says Hacker Target"</a>. PCWorld. Retrieved December 26, 2011.</li>

<li id="cite_note-7"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor#cite_ref-7">^</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.stratfor.com/services/global-vantage-services.php#teleconferences">"Global Vantage Services"</a>. Stratfor. Retrieved September 17, 2007.</li>

<li id="cite_note-8"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor#cite_ref-8">^</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.stratfor.com/services/freesignup.php">"STRATFOR's Free Intelligence Reports"</a>. Stratfor. Retrieved September 17, 2007.</li>

<li id="cite_note-9"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor#cite_ref-9">^</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203479104577120530217909036.html">"'Anonymous' Claims Hack of Credit Data From Security Group"</a>. Wall Street Journal. December 25, 2011.[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot" title="Wikipedia:Link rot">dead link</a>]</li>

<li id="cite_note-perlroth-10">^ <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor#cite_ref-perlroth_10-0">a</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor#cite_ref-perlroth_10-1">b</a> Nicole Perlroth (December 25, 2011). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/26/technology/hackers-breach-the-web-site-of-stratfor-global-intelligence.html">"Hackers Breach the Web Site of Stratfor Global Intelligence"</a>. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Times" title="New York Times" class="mw-redirect">New York Times</a>. Retrieved December 26, 2011.</li>

<li id="cite_note-katrandjian-11">^ <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor#cite_ref-katrandjian_11-0">a</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor#cite_ref-katrandjian_11-1">b</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor#cite_ref-katrandjian_11-2">c</a> Olivia Katrandjian (December 26, 2011). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/hacking-group-anonymous-vows-hit/story?id=15234349#.TvjoezUS01I">"Hacking Group 'Anonymous' Takes First Step in 'Master Plan,' Vows to Strike Again"</a>. ABC News. Retrieved December 26, 2011.</li>

<li id="cite_note-zoefox-12">^ <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor#cite_ref-zoefox_12-0">a</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor#cite_ref-zoefox_12-1">b</a> Zoe Fox (December 26, 2011). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://edition.cnn.com/2011/12/26/tech/web/anonymous-hack-stratfor/">"'Anonymous' hackers hit security group"</a>. CNN. Retrieved December 26, 2011.</li>

<li id="cite_note-dazzlepod-13"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor#cite_ref-dazzlepod_13-0">^</a> Dazzlepod (December 26, 2011). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://dazzlepod.com/stratfor/">"STRATFOR's customers checklist"</a>. Dazzlepod. Retrieved December 26, 2011.</li>

<li id="cite_note-14"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor#cite_ref-14">^</a> Norton, Quinn (December 26, 2011). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/12/antisec-hits-private-intel-firm-million-of-docs-allegedly-lifted/">"Antisec Hits Private Intel Firm; Millions of Docs Allegedly Lifted"</a>. wired.com. Retrieved December 29, 2011.</li>

<li id="cite_note-15"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor#cite_ref-15">^</a> Clark Estes, Adam (December 27, 2011). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.theatlanticwire.com/technology/2011/12/anonymous-hackers-play-tricky-21st-century-robin-hood/46677/">"Anonymous Hackers Play Tricky 21st-Century Robin Hood"</a>. The Atlantic Wire. Retrieved December 29, 2011.</li>

<li id="cite_note-16"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor#cite_ref-16">^</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203479104577120530217909036.html">"'Anonymous' Claims Hack of Credit Data From Security Group"</a>. The Wall Street Journal. December 25, 2011.[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot" title="Wikipedia:Link rot">dead link</a>]</li>

<li id="cite_note-17"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor#cite_ref-17">^</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://wikileaks.org/the-gifiles.html">"The Global Intelligence Files"</a>. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WikiLeaks" title="WikiLeaks">WikiLeaks</a>. February 27, 2012.</li>

<li id="cite_note-18"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor#cite_ref-18">^</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2012/02/27/wikileaks-tightens-ties-to-anonymous-in-leak-of-stratfor-emails/">http://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2012/02/27/wikileaks-tightens-ties-to-anonymous-in-leak-of-stratfor-emails/</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-19"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor#cite_ref-19">^</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/stratfor-statement-on-wikileaks-2012-02-27">http://www.marketwatch.com/story/stratfor-statement-on-wikileaks-2012-02-27</a></li>

</ol>

</div>

<h2 style="line-height: 1.5em;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Stratfor&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Further reading">edit</a>] Further reading</h2>

<li>Friedman, George (2005). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://books.google.com/books?id=Cz0qT-m1WdsC">America's secret war: inside the hidden worldwide struggle between the United States and its enemies</a>. Random House. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Number" title="International Standard Book Number">ISBN</a>��<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780767917858" title="Special:BookSources/9780767917858">9780767917858</a>.</li>

</ul>

<h2 style="line-height: 1.5em;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Stratfor&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: External links">edit</a>] External links</h2>

<li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.stratfor.com/">Official website</a></li>

<li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/stratfor-inside-world-private-cia">Stratfor: Inside the World of a Private CIA</a></li>

</ul>

=

Bartholomew Mongoven is the son of <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Mongoven,Biscoe%26_Duchin" title="Mongoven, Biscoe & Duchin">Mongoven, Biscoe & Duchin</a> (MBD) PR company co-founder <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Jack_Mongoven" title="Jack Mongoven">Jack Mongoven</a>. Bartholomew (Bart) Mongoven is known to have been an associate at MBD.

Affiliated with the Washington DC offices of <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Stratfor" title="Stratfor">Stratfor</a>, also known as Strategic Forecasting Inc.

<h2 style="line-height: 1.5em;">History</h2>

In 1995 Bart Mongoven sent a survey form out to a range of non-government organisations around the world requesting their assistance in providing internal information on their organisation. <a href="http://www.SourceWatch.org/upload/0/0f/MBDsurv.pdf" class="external text" title="http://www.SourceWatch.org/upload/0/0f/MBDsurv.pdf" rel="nofollow">Download a copy of the survey here</a>

Following a presentation to the 2004 National Petrochemical & Refiners Association Annual Meeting one report described Bart Mongoven's role as monitoring "non-governmental lobbying efforts for <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Stratfor" title="Stratfor">Stratfor</a>, a private intelligence firm that consults with industry and government agencies." <a href="http://www.nma.org/newsroom/miningweek/miningweekarchive/pdf2004/mw040204.pdf" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.nma.org/newsroom/miningweek/miningweekarchive/pdf2004/mw040204.pdf" rel="nofollow">[1]</a>

His presentation was part of a panel presenting one the strategic handling of environmental litigation. <a href="http://www.npra.org/publications/papers/orderforms/2004AMPaperOrderForm.pdf" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.npra.org/publications/papers/orderforms/2004AMPaperOrderForm.pdf" rel="nofollow">[2]</a> While there are no copies of his presentation publicly available, trade association magazines reported he warned that environmentalists were seeking to form alliances with patient advocacy groups on the issues of industrial emissions. "In five years the environmental community would like to see all debates (be about) the environment and health. Right now, the environmental community doesn't have the credibility with the (American) public like it does in the Netherlands and Germany," he was reported stating.

According to the report Mongoven suggested that one option for industry in trying to defeat the emerging alliance was to portray the new lobbying initiatives as "anti-chemical" rather than supporting a public health goal. <a href="http://www.nma.org/newsroom/miningweek/miningweekarchive/pdf2004/mw040204.pdf" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.nma.org/newsroom/miningweek/miningweekarchive/pdf2004/mw040204.pdf" rel="nofollow">[3]</a>

<h2 style="line-height: 1.5em;">External Link</h2>

<li>National Mining Association (U.S.), "<a href="http://www.nma.org/newsroom/miningweek/miningweekarchive/pdf2004/mw040204.pdf" class="external text" title="http://www.nma.org/newsroom/miningweek/miningweekarchive/pdf2004/mw040204.pdf" rel="nofollow">Environmentalists seek to align with patient advocacy groups, expert say</a>", NMA Mining Week, Volume 10 Issue 13, April 2, 2004. (PDF format)</li>

<li>Bart Mongoven, "<a href="http://www.stratfor.com/products/premium/read_article.php?id=264185" class="external text" title="http://www.stratfor.com/products/premium/read_article.php?id=264185" rel="nofollow">Chemical Risk and Shareholder Activism</a>", Strafor, March 30, 2006.</li>

<li>Bart Mongoven, "<a href="https://www.stratfor.com/products/premium/read_article.php?id=276478&selected=Analyses" class="external text" title="https://www.stratfor.com/products/premium/read_article.php?id=276478&selected=Analyses" rel="nofollow">Corporate Campaigns Find a Peak</a>", Strafor, September 27, 2006.</li>

</ul>

Fred Burton is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor" title="Stratfor">Stratfor</a>'s vice president for intelligence,<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Burton#cite_note-0">[1]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Burton#cite_note-1">[2]</a> and is considered "one of the world's foremost experts on security, terrorists and terrorist organizations."<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Burton#cite_note-randomhouse-2">[3]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Burton#cite_note-macmillan-3">[4]</a>

Burton was a special agent with the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diplomatic_Security_Service" title="Diplomatic Security Service">U.S. Diplomatic Security Service</a>.

Burton was also appointed by Washington to assist in the investigation of the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yitzhak_Rabin" title="Yitzhak Rabin">Yitzhak Rabin</a>. He is the former deputy chief of the counterterrorism division of the U.S. State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service. Mr. Burton also investigated the killing of Rabbi <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meir_Kahane" title="Meir Kahane">Meir Kahane</a>; the al Qaeda New York City bombing plots before the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11_attacks" title="September 11 attacks">September 11 attacks</a>; and the Libyan-backed terrorist attacks against diplomats in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sana%27a" title="Sana'a">Sana'a</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khartoum" title="Khartoum">Khartoum</a>. He was involved in the arrest of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramzi_Yousef" title="Ramzi Yousef">Ramzi Yousef</a>, the mastermind of the first <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Center_bombing" title="World Trade Center bombing" class="mw-redirect">World Trade Center bombing</a> in 1993.

Burton is the author of a memoir, Ghost: Confessions of a Counterterrorism Agent, published by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Random_House" title="Random House">Random House</a> in 2008,<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Burton#cite_note-randomhouse-2">[3]</a> and Chasing Shadows: A Special Agent's Lifelong Hunt to Bring a Cold War Assassin to Justice, published by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palgrave_Macmillan" title="Palgrave Macmillan">Palgrave Macmillan</a> in 2011.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Burton#cite_note-macmillan-3">[4]</a>

Burton was appointed to the Texas Border Security Council on September 11, 2007 by Governor <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Perry" title="Rick Perry">Rick Perry</a>.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Burton#cite_note-4">[5]</a>

In August 2009 he was hired as the Texas Department of Public Safety's Assistant Director for Intelligence and Counter-Terrorism but left after 2 months to pursue his writing and speaking career.

<h2 style="line-height: 1.5em;">February 2012 Wikileaks Email Intercepts</h2>

In February 2012 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikileaks" title="Wikileaks" class="mw-redirect">Wikileaks</a> began publishing emails intercepted from Stratfor.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Burton#cite_note-5">[6]</a> The leaked content included emails apparently sent by Burton, some of which concerned <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_2008" title="United States presidential election, 2008">the 2008 American presidential election</a> and described an attempt to uncover information that could be used to politically damage then-candidate <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama" title="Barack Obama">Barack Obama</a>. "The hunt is on for the sleezy Russian money into O-mans coffers," Barton allegedly wrote in one email. "A smoking gun has already been found. Will get more on this when the time is right. My source was too giddy to continue. Can you say Clinton and ChiCom funny money? This also becomes a matter of how and when to out." <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Burton#cite_note-6">[7]</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/339396_re-insight-the-dems-and-dirty-tricks-internal-use-only-pls.html">Wikileaks - RE: Insight - The Dems & Dirty Tricks</a>

Stratfor released a statement confirming that emails were stolen from their systems in December, stating that "the emails may be forged or altered to include inaccuracies; some may be authentic. We will not validate either. Nor will we explain the thinking that went into them." <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Burton#cite_note-7">[8]</a>

<h2 style="line-height: 1.5em;">References</h2>

<li id="cite_note-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Burton#cite_ref-0">^</a> Nicholas Johnston; Kate Andersen Brower (4 May 2011). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-05-04/bin-laden-killed-after-wife-shot-while-rushing-commando-u-s-account-says.html">"Bin Laden Killed After Wife Shot While Rushing Commando, U.S. Account Says"</a>. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloomberg_Television" title="Bloomberg Television">Bloomberg</a>. Retrieved 21 May 2011. "Fred Burton, the vice president of intelligence at Stratfor, discusses the killing of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden during a U.S. raid in Pakistan yesterday."</li>

<li id="cite_note-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Burton#cite_ref-1">^</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/oreilly/transcript/al-qaedas-future-after-bin-laden">"Al Qaeda's Future After Bin Laden"</a>. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fox_News_Channel" title="Fox News Channel">Fox News Channel</a>. 3 May 2011. Retrieved 21 May 2011. "Joining us now from Austin, Texas, is Fred Burton, the vice president of Intelligence for Stratfor.com."</li>

<li id="cite_note-randomhouse-2">^ <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Burton#cite_ref-randomhouse_2-0">a</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Burton#cite_ref-randomhouse_2-1">b</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.randomhouse.com/acmart/catalog/author.pperl?authorid=72572">"Fred Burton: author spotlight"</a>. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Random_House" title="Random House">Random House</a>. Retrieved 21 May 2011. "Fred Burton is one of the world’s foremost experts on security, terrorists, and terrorist organizations. He is vice president for counterterrorism and corporate security at Stratfor, an influential private intelligence company. He is the former deputy chief of the Diplomatic Security Service, the Department of State's counterterrorism division."</li>

<li id="cite_note-macmillan-3">^ <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Burton#cite_ref-macmillan_3-0">a</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Burton#cite_ref-macmillan_3-1">b</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://us.macmillan.com/chasingshadows">"Chasing Shadows: A Special Agent's Lifelong Hunt to Bring a Cold War Assassin to Justice"</a>. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macmillan_Publishers" title="Macmillan Publishers">Macmillan Publishers</a>. Retrieved 21 May 2011. "On a warm Saturday night in July 1973 in Bethesda Maryland, a gunman stepped out from behind a tree and fired five point-blank shots into Joe Alon, an unassuming Israeli Air Force pilot and family man. Alon's sixteen-year-old neighbor, Fred Burton, was deeply shocked by this crime that rocked his sleepy suburban neighborhood."</li>

<li id="cite_note-4"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Burton#cite_ref-4">^</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.governor.state.tx.us/divisions/press/appointments/Appointment.2007-09-11.5441">Texas Governor Rick Perry - Appointment - September 11, 2007</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-5"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Burton#cite_ref-5">^</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.webpronews.com/wikileaks-publishes-global-intelligence-files-over-5-million-emails-2012-02">WikiLeaks Publishes Global Intelligence Files: Over 5 Million Emails</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-6"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Burton#cite_ref-6">^</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/339396_re-insight-the-dems-and-dirty-tricks-internal-use-only-pls.html">Wikileaks - RE: Insight - The Dems & Dirty Tricks</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-7"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Burton#cite_ref-7">^</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/feb/27/wikileaks-stratfor-emails-anonymous?newsfeed=true">The Guardian - WikiLeaks releases first 200 of 5m Stratfor emails</a></li>

</ol>

<h2 style="line-height: 1.5em;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fred_Burton&action=edit&section=3&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: External links">edit</a>] External links</h2>

<li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.stratfor.com/">Stratfor</a></li>

</ul>

BS?

<table style="line-height: 1.5em;"><tbody><tr><th> </th><td>burton@stratfor.com</td></tr></tbody></table>

Fred Burton is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor" title="Stratfor">Stratfor</a>'s vice president for intelligence,<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Burton#cite_note-0">[1]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Burton#cite_note-1">[2]</a> and is considered "one of the world's foremost experts on security, terrorists and terrorist organizations."<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Burton#cite_note-randomhouse-2">[3]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Burton#cite_note-macmillan-3">[4]</a>

Burton was a special agent with the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diplomatic_Security_Service" title="Diplomatic Security Service">U.S. Diplomatic Security Service</a>.

Burton was also appointed by Washington to assist in the investigation of the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yitzhak_Rabin" title="Yitzhak Rabin">Yitzhak Rabin</a>. He is the former deputy chief of the counterterrorism division of the U.S. State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service. Mr. Burton also investigated the killing of Rabbi <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meir_Kahane" title="Meir Kahane">Meir Kahane</a>; the al Qaeda New York City bombing plots before the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11_attacks" title="September 11 attacks">September 11 attacks</a>; and the Libyan-backed terrorist attacks against diplomats in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sana%27a" title="Sana'a">Sana'a</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khartoum" title="Khartoum">Khartoum</a>. He was involved in the arrest of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramzi_Yousef" title="Ramzi Yousef">Ramzi Yousef</a>, the mastermind of the first <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Center_bombing" title="World Trade Center bombing" class="mw-redirect">World Trade Center bombing</a> in 1993.

Burton was appointed to the Texas Border Security Council on September 11, 2007 by Governor <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Perry" title="Rick Perry">Rick Perry</a>.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Burton#cite_note-4">[5]</a>

<h2 style="line-height: 1.5em;">February 2012 Wikileaks email intercepts</h2>

Stratfor released a statement confirming that emails were stolen from their systems in December, stating that "the emails may be forged or altered to include inaccuracies; some may be authentic. We will not validate either. Nor will we explain the thinking that went into them." <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Burton#cite_note-6">[7]</a>

<h2 style="line-height: 1.5em;">References</h2>

<li id="cite_note-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Burton#cite_ref-0">^{</a></span}> Nicholas Johnston; Kate Andersen Brower (4 May 2011). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-05-04/bin-laden-killed-after-wife-shot-while-rushing-commando-u-s-account-says.html">"Bin Laden Killed After Wife Shot While Rushing Commando, U.S. Account Says"</a>. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloomberg_Television" title="Bloomberg Television">Bloomberg</a>. Retrieved 21 May 2011. "Fred Burton, the vice president of intelligence at Stratfor, discusses the killing of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden during a U.S. raid in Pakistan yesterday."</li>

<li id="cite_note-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Burton#cite_ref-1">^{</a></span}> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/oreilly/transcript/al-qaedas-future-after-bin-laden">"Al Qaeda's Future After Bin Laden"</a>. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fox_News_Channel" title="Fox News Channel">Fox News Channel</a>. 3 May 2011. Retrieved 21 May 2011. "Joining us now from Austin, Texas, is Fred Burton, the vice president of Intelligence for Stratfor.com."</li>

<li id="cite_note-randomhouse-2">^ <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Burton#cite_ref-randomhouse_2-0">a</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Burton#cite_ref-randomhouse_2-1">b</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.randomhouse.com/acmart/catalog/author.pperl?authorid=72572">"Fred Burton: author spotlight"</a>. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Random_House" title="Random House">Random House</a>. Retrieved 21 May 2011. "Fred Burton is one of the world’s foremost experts on security, terrorists, and terrorist organizations. He is vice president for counterterrorism and corporate security at Stratfor, an influential private intelligence company. He is the former deputy chief of the Diplomatic Security Service, the Department of State’s counterterrorism division."</li>

<li id="cite_note-macmillan-3">^ <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Burton#cite_ref-macmillan_3-0">a</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Burton#cite_ref-macmillan_3-1">b</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://us.macmillan.com/chasingshadows">"Chasing Shadows: A Special Agent's Lifelong Hunt to Bring a Cold War Assassin to Justice"</a>. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macmillan_Publishers" title="Macmillan Publishers">Macmillan Publishers</a>. Retrieved 21 May 2011. "On a warm Saturday night in July 1973 in Bethesda Maryland, a gunman stepped out from behind a tree and fired five point-blank shots into Joe Alon, an unassuming Israeli Air Force pilot and family man. Alon's sixteen-year-old neighbor, Fred Burton, was deeply shocked by this crime that rocked his sleepy suburban neighborhood."</li>

<li id="cite_note-4"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Burton#cite_ref-4">^{</a></span}> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.governor.state.tx.us/divisions/press/appointments/Appointment.2007-09-11.5441">Texas Governor Rick Perry - Appointment - September 11, 2007</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-5"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Burton#cite_ref-5">^{</a></span}> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.webpronews.com/wikileaks-publishes-global-intelligence-files-over-5-million-emails-2012-02">WikiLeaks Publishes Global Intelligence Files: Over 5 Million Emails</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-6"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Burton#cite_ref-6">^{</a></span}> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/feb/27/wikileaks-stratfor-emails-anonymous?newsfeed=true">The Guardian - WikiLeaks releases first 200 of 5m Stratfor emails</a></li>

</ol>

<h2 style="line-height: 1.5em;">External links</h2>

<li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.stratfor.com/">Stratfor</a></li>

</ul><div style="line-height: 1.5em;"></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em;">all emails? <a href="http://anhonesteffort.org/files/stratfor/output_dot_file.txt" style="line-height: 1.5em;">http://anhonesteffort.org/files/stratfor/output_dot_file.txt</a> feldhaus, tp</div><div style="line-height: 1.5em;">
</div><div style="line-height: 1.5em;">=</div><div style="line-height: 1.5em;">
</div><div style="line-height: 1.5em;">WL:</div><div style="line-height: 1.5em;">
</div><div style=""><a href="http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/releasedate/2012-02-28-15-stratfor-emails-reveal-us-has-a-sealed.html" class="spip_out" rel="external" style="text-decoration: none;">PRESS RELEASE - STRATFOR EMAILS: US HAS ISSUED SEALED INDICTMENT AGAINST JULIAN ASSANGE</a> [suggested by _, on what date?  ]Tuesday 28th February 2012 18:30 GMTConfidential emails obtained from the US private intelligence firm Stratfor show that the United States Government has had a secret indictment against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange for more than 12 months.Fred Burton, Stratfor’s Vice-President for Counterterrorism and Corporate Security, is a former Deputy Chief of the Department of State’s (DoS) counterterrorism division for the Diplomatic Security Service (DSS).In early 2011, Burton revealed in internal Stratfor correspondence that a secret Grand Jury had already issued a sealed indictment for Assange: "Not for Pub — We have a sealed indictment on Assange. Pls protect." <a href="http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/375123_fw-ct-assange-manning-link-not-key-to-wikileaks-case-.html" class="spip_out" rel="external" style="text-decoration: none;">(375123)</a>According to Burton: "Assange is going to make a nice bride in prison. Screw the terrorist. He’ll be eating cat food forever." <a href="http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/1056988_re-wikileaks-is-attacking-us-.html" class="spip_out" rel="external" style="text-decoration: none;">(1056988)</a> A few weeks earlier, following Julian Assange’s release from a London jail, where he had been remanded as a result of a Swedish prosecutor’s arrest warrant, Fred Burton told SkyNews: "extradition [to the US is] more and more likely". <a href="http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/373862_assange-.html" class="spip_out" rel="external" style="text-decoration: none;">(373862)</a>.Emails from Fred Burton reveal that the US Government employs the same counterterrorism strategy against Julian Assange and WikiLeaks as against Al Qaeda: "Take down the money. Go after his infrastructure. The tools we are using to nail and de-construct Wiki are the same tools used to dismantle and track aQ [Al Qaeda]. Thank Cheney & 43 [former US President George W. Bush]. Big Brother owns his liberal terrorist arse." <a href="http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/1067796_re-use-me-re-discussion-assange-arrested-.html" class="spip_out" rel="external" style="text-decoration: none;">(1067796)</a>Ten days after the CIA reportedly assassinated Osama bin Laden, Burton writes in an email sent to Stratfor’s "Secure" mailing list that he "can get access to the materials seized from the OBL [Osama bin Laden] safe house."<a href="http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/1660854_obl-take-quick-response-needed-.html" class="spip_out" rel="external" style="text-decoration: none;">(1660854)</a>Burton states: "Ferreting out [Julian Assange’s] confederates is also key. Find out what other disgruntled rogues inside the tent or outside [sic]. Pile on. Move him from country to country to face various charges for the next 25 years. But, seize everything he and his family own, to include every person linked to Wiki." <a href="http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/1056763_re-discussion-assange-arrested-.html" class="spip_out" rel="external" style="text-decoration: none;">(1056763)</a>Along with the FBI, the Diplomatic Security Service and the Department of Defense (DoD) form a multi-agency US Government outfit seeking to criminally indict and prosecute WikiLeaks and Julian Assange. According to the Department of State, the DSS handles the investigation of all leads that involve the DoS and assists the DoD in forensic analysis of hard drives seized by the US Government in its ongoing criminal investigation.Burton also says he "would pursue [c]onspiracy and [p]olitical [t]errorism charges and declassify the death of a source someone which [he] could link to Wiki" <a href="http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/1074383_re-discussion-assange-arrested-.html" class="spip_out" rel="external" style="text-decoration: none;">(1074383)</a>. Burton’s strategy is to: "[b]ankrupt the arsehole first," Burton states, "ruin his life. Give him 7-12 yrs for conspiracy." <a href="http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/1057220_re-discussion-assange-arrested-.html" class="spip_out" rel="external" style="text-decoration: none;">(1057220)</a>WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said: "For over a year now, the US Attorney General Eric Holder has been conducting a "secret" Grand Jury investigation into WikiLeaks. This neo-McCarthyist witch hunt against WikiLeaks may be Mr Holder’s defining legacy. Any student of American history knows that secret justice is no justice at all. Justice must be seen to be done. Legitimate authority arises out of the informed consent of the governed, not Eric Holder’s press secretary. Secret Grand Juries with secret indictments are apparently Eric Holder’s preferred method of dealing with publishers who hold his administration to account. Eric Holder has betrayed the legacy of Madison and Jefferson. He should drop the case or resign. Should he continue, however, the Obama administration may not — Democrats and Republicans alike believe in the right to tell the truth."As early as June 2010, after the release of the Collateral Murder video but prior to the Afghan War Diaries release, the emails talk of a sealed indictment. In an email conversation between Shane Harris, a National Security journalist, and Burton, Harris is surprised that Assange was reporteded to be attending a Las Vegas Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) conference. Burton remarks: "As a foreign national, we could revoke [Julian Assange’s] travel status and deport. Could also be taken into custody as a material witness. We COULD have a sealed indictment and lock him up. Depends upon how far along the military case is" <a href="http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/391504_re-wikileaks-founder-currently-in-the-u-s-.html" class="spip_out" rel="external" style="text-decoration: none;">(391504)</a>. Julian Assange cancelled his appearance at the IRE conference due to security concerns.In another email to Stephen Feldhaus, Stratfor legal counsel, about Ronald Kessler, a "pro-FBI journalist", Burton remarks: “I look forward to Manning and Assange facing a bajillion-thousand counts [of espionage]." <a href="http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/1035283_re-fwd-wikileaks-prosecution-faces-hurdles-.html" class="spip_out" rel="external" style="text-decoration: none;">(1035283)</a>In July 2010 alleged WikiLeaks source Bradley Manning was moved from Camp Arifjan, Kuwait to the Quantico Brig in the Military District of Washington at the request of Maj. Gen. Terry Wolff, then Commanding General of the 1st Armored Division/US Division – Center in Iraq.Wolff requested Manning’s move, the Pentagon reported, "due to a potentially lengthy pre-trial confinement because of the complexity of the charges and an ongoing investigation.” Three days before Manning arrived at Quantico Brig, Burton wrote to George Friedman, Stratfor CEO and founder:“We probably asked the ASIS [Australian Secret Intelligence Service] to monitor Wiki coms and email, after the soldier from Potomac was nabbed. So, it’s reasonable to assume we probably already know who has done it. The delay could be figuring out how to declassify and use the Aussie intel on Wiki... The owner [Julian Assange] is a peacenik. He needs his head dunked in a full toilet bowl at Gitmo.” <a href="http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/402168_re-ct-fw-guidance-on-the-leaks-.html" class="spip_out" rel="external" style="text-decoration: none;">(402168)</a>The GI Files: <a href="http://wikileaks.org/the-gifiles.html" class="spip_url spip_out" rel="nofollow external" style="text-decoration: none;">http://wikileaks.org/the-gifiles.html</a>Please donate: <a href="http://shop.wikileaks.org/donate" class="spip_url spip_out" rel="nofollow external" style="text-decoration: none;">http://shop.wikileaks.org/donate</a>WHO TO GO TO FOR COMMENT<img src="http://wikileaks.org/squelettes/puce.gif" class="puce" alt="-" style="border: 0px;" width="8" height="11" /> WikiLeaks – Kristinn Hrafnsson, Official WikiLeaks representative: +35 4821 7121 
<img src="http://wikileaks.org/squelettes/puce.gif" class="puce" alt="-" style="border: 0px;" width="8" height="11" /> Julian Burnside, Australian barrister and Human Rights expert: +61 412 157 230 or +61 03 9225 7488,burnside@vicbar.com.au 
<img src="http://wikileaks.org/squelettes/puce.gif" class="puce" alt="-" style="border: 0px;" width="8" height="11" /> Scott Ludlam, Australian Senator: +61 6277 3467 
<img src="http://wikileaks.org/squelettes/puce.gif" class="puce" alt="-" style="border: 0px;" width="8" height="11" /> John Pilger, Australian-born journalist / writer / documentary filmmaker: +61 2 9719 2535, jpilger2003@yahoo.co.uk 
<img src="http://wikileaks.org/squelettes/puce.gif" class="puce" alt="-" style="border: 0px;" width="8" height="11" /> Geoffrey Robertson, Australian-born Human Rights barrister, academic, author: +44 020 7404 1313,g.robertson@doughtystreet.co.uk 
<img src="http://wikileaks.org/squelettes/puce.gif" class="puce" alt="-" style="border: 0px;" width="8" height="11" /> Jennifer Robinson, Legal adviser in Australia and available for interviews now: +61423871773 
<img src="http://wikileaks.org/squelettes/puce.gif" class="puce" alt="-" style="border: 0px;" width="8" height="11" /> Michael Ratner, President, Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR): +1 2126146449, press@ccrjustice.org 
<img src="http://wikileaks.org/squelettes/puce.gif" class="puce" alt="-" style="border: 0px;" width="8" height="11" /> Frank La Rue, United Nations Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Opinion and Expression +502 23 680-021 
<img src="http://wikileaks.org/squelettes/puce.gif" class="puce" alt="-" style="border: 0px;" width="8" height="11" /> Glenn Greenwald (salon.com), Columnist/blogger/Constitutional lawyer: +1 (646) 400-5600,ggreenwald@salon.com 
<img src="http://wikileaks.org/squelettes/puce.gif" class="puce" alt="-" style="border: 0px;" width="8" height="11" /> Ben Wizner, Litigation Director at ACLU’s National Security Project: +1 (212) 519 7860, bwizner@aclu.org 
<img src="http://wikileaks.org/squelettes/puce.gif" class="puce" alt="-" style="border: 0px;" width="8" height="11" /> Oliver Spencer, Article 19, Global Campaign for Free Expression: +44 (0)20 7324 2517 
<img src="http://wikileaks.org/squelettes/puce.gif" class="puce" alt="-" style="border: 0px;" width="8" height="11" /> John Perry Barlow, Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF): +1 415 436 9333 and +1 202 797 9009, barlow@eff.org 
<img src="http://wikileaks.org/squelettes/puce.gif" class="puce" alt="-" style="border: 0px;" width="8" height="11" /> Cindy Cohn, Legal Director, Electronic Frontier Foundation: +1 415 436 9333 x108, cindy@eff.org 
<img src="http://wikileaks.org/squelettes/puce.gif" class="puce" alt="-" style="border: 0px;" width="8" height="11" /> Tala Dowlatshahi, Reporters without Borders (US): +1 917-239-0653----Feb. 27, 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEMASSIVE LEAK REVEALS CRIMINALITY, PARANOIA AMONG CORPORATE TITANS
Dow pays "strategic intelligence" firm to spy on Yes Men and grassroots activists. Takeaway: movement is on the right track!<a href="http://wikileaks.org/the-gifiles.html">WikiLeaks begins to publish today</a> over five million e-mails obtained by Anonymous from "global intelligence" company Stratfor. The emails, which <a href="http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/">reveal everything</a>from sinister spy tactics to an insider trading scheme with Goldman Sachs (see below), also include <a href="http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/releasedate/2012-02-27-00-stratford-monitored-bhopal-activists-including.html">several discussions</a> of the Yes Men and Bhopal activists. (Bhopal activists seek redress for the 1984 Dow Chemical/Union Carbide gas disaster in Bhopal, India, that led to thousands of deaths, injuries in more than half a million people, and lasting environmental damage.)Many of the Bhopal-related emails, addressed from Stratfor to Dow and Union Carbide public relations directors, reveal concern that, in the lead-up to the 25th anniversary of the Bhopal disaster, the Bhopal issue might be expanded into an effective systemic critique of corporate rule, and speculate at length about why this hasn't yet happened—providing a fascinating window onto what at least some corporate types fear most from activists."[Bhopal activists] have made a slight nod toward expanded activity, but never followed through on it—the idea of 'other Bhopals' that were the fault of Dow or others," mused Joseph de Feo, who is listed in one online source as a "Briefer" for Stratfor."Maybe the Yes Men were the pinnacle. They made an argument in their way on their terms—that this is a corporate problem and a part of the a [sic] larger whole," wrote Kathleen Morson, Stratfor's Director of Policy Analysis."With less than a month to go [until the 25th anniversary], you'd think that the major players—especially Amnesty—would have branched out from Bhopal to make a broader set of issues. I don't see any evidence of it," wrote Bart Mongoven, Stratfor's Vice President, in November 2004. "If they can't manage to use the 25th anniversary to broaden the issue, they probably won't be able to."Mongoven even speculates on coordination between various activist campaigns that had nothing to do with each other. "The <a href="http://yeslab.org/project/chevron">Chevron campaign</a> [in Ecuador] is remarkably similar [to the Dow campaign] in its unrealistic demand. Is it a follow up or an admission that the first thrust failed? Am I missing a node of activity or a major campaign that is to come? Has the Dow campaign been more successful than I think?" It's almost as if Mongoven assumes the two campaigns were directed from the same central activist headquarters.Just as Wall Street has <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/special/2011/11/21/373143/washington-lobbyists-occupy-wall-street/">at times let slip their fear</a> of the Occupy Wall Street movement, these leaks seem to show that corporate power is most afraid of whatever reveals "the larger whole" and "broader issues," i.e. whatever brings systemic criminal behavior to light. "Systemic critique could lead to policy changes that would challenge corporate power and profits in a really major way," noted Joseph Huff-Hannon, recently-promoted Director of Policy Analysis for <a href="http://www.yeslab.org/">the Yes Lab</a>.Among the millions of other leaked Stratfor emails are some that reveal dubious financial practices, including an apparent insider trading scheme with Goldman Sachs Managing Director Shea Morenz, who joined Stratfor's board of directors and invested "substantially" more than $4 million in the scheme, called StratCap. "What StratCap will do is use our Stratfor's intelligence and analysis to trade in a range of geopolitical instruments," wrote Stratfor CEO George Friedman in September 2011. StratCap was designed through a complex offshore share structure to appear legally independent, but Friedman assured Stratfor staff otherwise: "Do not think of StratCap as an outside organisation. It will be integral... It will be useful to you... We are already working on mock portfolios and trades." (StratCap has been due to launch in 2012, though that could now change.)def:[A <a href="http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/fund.html" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 14px;">fund</a> that gives <a href="http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/investment.html" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 14px;">investment</a> <a href="http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/services.html" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 14px;">services</a> to a single firm with <a href="http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/ownership.html" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 14px;">ownership</a> of a <a href="http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/company.html" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 14px;">company</a>. The <a href="http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/funds.html" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 14px;">funds</a> are only invested for the <a href="http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/parent-company.html" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 14px;">parent company</a> for a <a href="http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/group.html" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 14px;">group</a> of <a href="http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/investor.html" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 14px;">investors</a>, and the <a href="http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/capital.html" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 14px;">capital</a> comes from <a href="http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/contribution.html" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 14px;">contributions</a> from <a href="http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/shareholder.html" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 14px;">shareholders</a>. It may be <a href="http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/venture-capital.html" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 14px;">venture capital</a> or private capital. Read more: <a href="http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/captive-fund.html#ixzz3fSJX4sgg" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/captive-fund.html#ixzz3fSJX4sgg</a>Other emails show Stratfor techniques of a truly creepy Spy vs. Spy sort: "[Y]ou have to take control of him. Control means financial, sexual or psychological control," wrote CEO Friedman recently to an employee, Reva Bhalla, on how to exploit an Israeli intelligence informant providing information on Chavez's cancer. (Stratfor's "confidential intelligence services" clients include, besides Dow and Union Carbide, the US Department of Homeland Security, the US Marines, the US Defense Intelligence Agency, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Raytheon.)Perhaps most entertainingly of all, the email trove reveals that Stratfor's "Confederation Partners"—an unethical alliance between Stratfor and a number of mainstream journalists—are referred to informally within Stratfor as its "Confed Fuck House." (Another discovery: Coca Cola was spying on PETA. More such gems are sure to surface as operatives sift through the 5.5 million emails.)A number of the remaining Yes Men-related emails take the form of reports on public appearances by the Yes Men, such as one that describes one audience comprised of "art students on class assignments and free entertainment." Another notes that "The Yes Men tweeted about the US Chamber of Commerce 'plotting forged emails, documents to trick (AND smear) opponents,'" a reference to an <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/feb/16/anonymous-internet">apparent plot</a> to discredit Chamber opponents using forged documents, as revealed when thousands of emails were recently leaked by Anonymous from cyber-security firm HB Gary. Yet another discusses Alessio Rastani, the Wall Street trader <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/sep/29/alessio-rastani-no-prank">widely mistaken</a> for Yes Man Andy Bichlbaum, who proclaimed, live on the BBC, that "governments don't rule the world, Goldman Sachs rules the world.""Rastani was right," said the real Andy Bichlbaum five months later. "But it's now very clear that it doesn't have to be that way anymore."The Yes Men and representatives from the Bhopal Medical Appeal will join Julian Assange of Wikileaks at a press conference at noon today, Feb. 27, at the Frontline Club in London. test
=march 07 http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/attach/1/1785_GV%20MASTER%20Client%20List%203-15-07.xlsADMAESAlpha Capital ReseachAPI walter

<table frame="VOID" cols="2" rules="NONE" border="0" cellspacing="0" style=""><colgroup><col width="88" /><col width="149" /></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-top: 1px solid #000000; border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000" align="LEFT" width="88" height="18">Retzsch</td><td style="border-top: 1px solid #000000; border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000" sdnum="1033;0;(###)###-####" align="LEFT" width="149">202-682-8598 http://csrc.nist.gov/cyberframework/rfi_comments/040813_american_petroleum_institute.pdf</td></tr></tbody></table>Bank of America

<table frame="VOID" cols="3" rules="NONE" border="0" cellspacing="0" style=""><colgroup><col width="89" /><col width="88" /><col width="149" /></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-top: 1px solid #000000; border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000" align="LEFT" width="89" height="18">Daniel F.</td><td style="border-top: 1px solid #000000; border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000" align="LEFT" width="88">Wheeler</td><td style="border-top: 1px solid #000000; border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000" align="LEFT" width="149">617-434-7349</td></tr><tr><td style="border-top: 1px solid #000000; border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000" align="LEFT" height="17">Paul V. </td><td style="border-top: 1px solid #000000; border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000" align="LEFT">Kennedy</td><td style="border-top: 1px solid #000000; border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000" align="LEFT">617-434-2437</td></tr><tr><td style="border-top: 1px solid #000000; border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000" align="LEFT" height="17">Mark</td><td style="border-top: 1px solid #000000; border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000" align="LEFT">Linsz</td><td style="border-top: 1px solid #000000; border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000" align="LEFT">011-44-207-1745300</td></tr><tr><td style="border-top: 1px solid #000000; border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000" align="LEFT" height="17">Tim J.</td><td style="border-top: 1px solid #000000; border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000" align="LEFT">Martin</td><td style="border-top: 1px solid #000000; border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000" align="LEFT">704-386-4160</td></tr><tr><td style="border-top: 1px solid #000000; border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000" align="LEFT" height="17">Craig</td><td style="border-top: 1px solid #000000; border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000" align="LEFT">Rosato</td><td style="border-top: 1px solid #000000; border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000" align="LEFT">617-434-7349</td></tr><tr><td style="border-top: 1px solid #000000; border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000" align="LEFT" height="18">John</td><td style="border-top: 1px solid #000000; border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000" align="LEFT">Gove</td><td style="border-top: 1px solid #000000; border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000" sdnum="1033;0;(###)###-####" align="LEFT">602-324-7149</td></tr></tbody></table>Barg CapitalBearing PointBechtelBechtel - Global Market AccessBell SouthBlack and VeatchBrian StablefordAVESTA Investments Inc. - Charles BrennonCanyon Capital Advisors, LLCCedar Hill CapitalCharles RichardsonCoke

<table frame="VOID" cols="11" rules="NONE" border="0" cellspacing="0" style=""><colgroup><col width="245" /><col width="94" /><col width="94" /><col width="74" /><col width="73" /><col width="79" /><col width="103" /><col width="42" /><col width="89" /><col width="88" /><col width="149" /></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-top: 1px solid #000000; border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000" sdnum="1033;0;@" align="LEFT" width="245" height="18">Dow Chemical Company</td><td style="border-top: 1px solid #000000; border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000" sdnum="1033;0;@" align="LEFT" width="94">None (Amy)</td><td style="border-top: 1px solid #000000; border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000" sdnum="1033;0;@" align="LEFT" width="94">COMP</td><td style="border-top: 1px solid #000000; border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000" align="LEFT" width="74">Jeff</td><td style="border-top: 1px solid #000000; border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000" sdnum="1033;1033;M/D/YYYY" align="RIGHT" width="73">
</td><td style="border-top: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000" sdval="38990" sdnum="1033;1033;M/D/YYYY" align="RIGHT" width="79">9/30/2006</td><td style="border-top: 1px solid #000000; border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000" sdval="0" sdnum="1033;0;(" align="RIGHT" width="103"> $- </td><td style="border-top: 1px solid #000000; border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000" sdnum="1033;0;@" align="LEFT" width="42">Ms.</td><td style="border-top: 1px solid #000000; border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000" align="LEFT" width="89">Lisa</td><td style="border-top: 1px solid #000000; border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000" align="LEFT" width="88">Schroeter </td><td align="LEFT" width="149">202-429-3407 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-top: 1px solid #000000; border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000" sdnum="1033;0;@" align="LEFT" height="18">Dow Corning</td><td style="border-top: 1px solid #000000; border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000" sdnum="1033;0;@" align="LEFT">Joe</td><td style="border-top: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000" sdnum="1033;0;@" align="LEFT">COMP</td><td style="border-top: 1px solid #000000; border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000" align="LEFT">Jeff</td><td style="border-top: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000" sdval="38832" sdnum="1033;1033;M/D/YYYY" align="RIGHT">4/25/2006</td><td style="border-top: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000" sdval="38990" sdnum="1033;1033;M/D/YYYY" align="RIGHT">9/30/2006</td><td style="border-top: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000" sdval="0" sdnum="1033;0;(" align="RIGHT"> $- </td><td style="border-top: 1px solid #000000; border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000" sdnum="1033;0;@" align="LEFT">Ms.</td><td style="border-top: 1px solid #000000; border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000" align="LEFT">Faye</td><td style="border-top: 1px solid #000000; border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000" align="LEFT">Graul</td><td style="border-top: 1px solid #000000; border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000" sdnum="1033;0;(###)###-####" align="LEFT">
</td></tr><tr><td style="border-top: 1px solid #000000; border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000" sdnum="1033;0;@" align="LEFT" height="18">Dow Corning - SECURITY</td><td style="border-top: 1px solid #000000; border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000" sdnum="1033;0;@" align="LEFT">Anya</td><td style="border-top: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000" sdnum="1033;0;@" align="LEFT">COMP</td><td style="border-top: 1px solid #000000; border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000" align="LEFT">Jeff</td><td style="border-top: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000" sdval="38912" sdnum="1033;1033;M/D/YYYY" align="RIGHT">7/14/2006</td><td style="border-top: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000" sdval="38990" sdnum="1033;1033;M/D/YYYY" align="RIGHT">9/30/2006</td><td style="border-top: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000" sdval="0" sdnum="1033;0;(" align="RIGHT"> $- </td><td style="border-top: 1px solid #000000; border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000" sdnum="1033;0;@" align="LEFT">Mr.</td><td style="border-top: 1px solid #000000; border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000" align="LEFT">Kevin </td><td style="border-top: 1px solid #000000; border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000" align="LEFT">Kendrick</td><td style="border-top: 1px solid #000000; border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000" sdnum="1033;0;(###)###-####" align="LEFT">989-496-4400</td></tr></tbody></table>Duke EnergyEmbassy of JapanFinnveraForeign Military Studies OfficeGeneral DynamicsGeorgetown UniversityGISAC - Georgia Emergency Management AgencyGoldman SachsGuy MolinariHQMC - Security Division (PS)Hyatt InternationalIntelInternational Energy Counsel - Mockridge and AssociatesInternational Mission BoardITT Aerospace & CommunicationKathyrn Meyers - GVKimberly-Clark CorporationKnights of ColumbusLSILucent Technologies (Alcatel)Merrill LynchNorthrop GrummanOlayan AmericaPatronus Strategic Advisors Payden & RygelPerot SystemsPerot SystemsPillsbury Winthrop Shaw PittmanPort de Melbourne CorporationRadnor, Inc.RezidorMohamad RamadanSUEZ Energy Marketing NA The Annapolis GroupThe Lincoln GroupTheodore RennerTrellus CapitalVirginia Commonwealth UniversityWashington Group InternationalWexford Capital=<a class="inStoryLink" href="http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/the-rise-and-fall-of-jeremy-hammond-enemy-of-the-state-20121207" target="blank" style="line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">
The Rise and Fall of Jeremy Hammond: Enemy of the State</a>by John KnefelMay 28, 2013 "There's a war going on about corporate spying and access to information," said defense attorney Sarah Kunstler at a press conference immediately following the hearing. "Jeremy is someone who worked toward making information public."Jeremy Hammond pleaded guilty today to the infamous Stratfor hack, as well as taking responsibility for eight additional hacks of law enforcement and defense contractor websites in 2011 and 2012. As a condition of the plea, the radical hacker will face a maximum of 10 years in federal prison, and restitution costs of up to $2.5 million. After Hammond entered his plea, his legal team framed his prosecution as part of the government's larger attempt to control the flow of information and punish those who seek to distribute it to journalists and the public.In a statement posted online after the plea deal, Hammond echoed this point. "I did this because I believe people have a right to know what governments and corporations are doing behind closed doors," <a href="http://www.sparrowmedia.net/2013/05/jeremy-hammond-plea-deal/" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Hammond wrote</a>. "I did what I believe is right."Hammond entered his plea – admitting to one count of conspiracy to engage in computer hacking – in a federal courtroom in lower Manhattan, surrounded by observers and supporters. One of those in attendance was his twin brother, Jason, who had just flown in from Chicago. When Hammond initially addressed the judge, he raised his right hand to be sworn in, and clenched his fist in a symbol of defiance.The hack Hammond pleaded guilty to involved accessing information from the servers of Stratfor, a private intelligence company, and providing it to Wikileaks, who then published some of the information. Hammond was charged under the controversial 1984 Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/andrew-weev-auernheimer-sentenced-to-three-and-a-half-years-20130319" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">the same law used to charge the late Aaron Swartz and other cyber-activists</a>. "Included among the leaked internal documents were millions of emails that exposed Stratfor's wide-ranging spying activities, including surveillance of Bhopal activists at the behest of Dow Chemical, of PETA on behalf of Coca-Cola, and of Occupy Wall Street under contract to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security," <a href="http://www.sparrowmedia.net/2013/05/jeremy-hammond-plea-deal/" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">supporters said in a statement</a>.Beyond Stratfor, Hammond took responsibility for eight other hacks, all of which involved either law enforcement, intelligence firms or defense contractor websites. From June 2011 to February 2012, Hammond obtained unauthorized information from the Arizona Department of Public Safety, the FBI virtual academy, a marketing firm that builds websites for law enforcement called <a href="http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9218961/AntiSec_hackers_dump_data_after_hacking_police_websites" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Brooks Jeffreys</a>, Special Forces Gear, Vanguard Defense Industries, the Jefferson County sheriffs department, the Boston Police Patrolman's Institute and a Pennsylvania firm called <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/14/anonymous-combined-systems_n_1277355.html" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Combined Systems</a> that makes tear gas. Hammond was granted immunity from federal prosecution for any of those hacks in exchange for taking responsibility for them. Kunstler said he could potentially face charges at the state level, though she said there may be some double jeopardy protection.<a class="inStoryLink" href="http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/lists/the-new-political-prisoners-leakers-hackers-and-activists-20130301" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">The New Political Prisoners: Leakers, Hackers and Whistleblowers</a>Michael Ratner, president emeritus of the Center For Constitutional Rights and lawyer for Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, said that journalists should stand up for Hammond. "He should be looked at as a source, as a whistle-blower," Ratner said after the plea deal. "He, like other whistle-blowers in this country, ought to be protected, because they're the only thing that let us know what our government and our private security companies are doing and they're the only things that can keep this government even close to honest."Earlier in the case, Hammond's legal team made a motion for Judge Loretta Preska to recuse herself because <a href="http://www.salon.com/2012/11/28/judge_in_hacker_case_is_married_to_a_stratfor_client/" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">her husband was a victim of the Stratfor leak</a>. That motion was denied. (Full disclosure: This reporter previously spoke at a rally that called for Preska to recuse herself.)Other hackers in the Anonymous-affiliated group called Lulzsec who were charged in similar leaks – but were tried in the U.K. – have received much lighter sentences, <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2013/may/16/lulzsec-hacktivists-longest-jail-sentences-hacking" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">from 20 to 32 months</a>. Jason Hammond has asked supporters to <a href="https://www.change.org/petitions/judge-loretta-preska-sentence-jeremy-hammond-to-time-served" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">sign a Change.org petition</a> on his brother's behalf calling for Judge Preska to sentence Hammond to time served. Jeremy Hammond's sentencing hearing is scheduled for September 6th.<div class="related-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><h3 style="margin: 0px 0px 0em; padding: 0px; font-weight: normal;">Related</h3><ul style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;"><li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: disc;"><a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/the-brilliant-life-and-tragic-death-of-aaron-swartz-20130215" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">The Brilliant Life and Tragic Death of Aaron Swartz</a></li></ul></div>Read more: <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/jeremy-hammond-pleads-guilty-to-stratfor-hack-20130528#ixzz2Y7UuHMho" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/jeremy-hammond-pleads-guilty-to-stratfor-hack-20130528#ixzz2Y7UuHMho</a>  Follow us: <a href="http://ec.tynt.com/b/rw?id=bbJxak64Kr4kEzacwqm_6l&u=rollingstone" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">@rollingstone on Twitter</a> | <a href="http://ec.tynt.com/b/rf?id=bbJxak64Kr4kEzacwqm_6l&u=RollingStone" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">RollingStone on Facebook</a>
=7/15<header class="entry-header" style="padding-top: 20px; line-height: 19px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><h1 class="entry-title" style="font-weight: 300; line-height: 30px;">Revelations</h1><div class="entry-meta" /></header><div class="entry-content" style="">Documents allegedly revealed by Jeremy Hammond have been reported on worldwide since 23 June 2011, when Lulzsec announced the release of a cache of documents from the Arizona Department of Public Security.A second group of documents, from the private intelligence company Stratfor, was published by WikiLeaks in collaboration with 29 international media partners as the <a href="https://wikileaks.org/gifiles/" target="blank">Global Intelligence Files</a> in February 2012. This group of documents can be viewed and <a href="http://search.wikileaks.org/gifiles/" target="blank">searched</a> online. The documents are expected to produce <a href="http://www.cabledrum.net/gifiles/" target="blank">many more stories</a> as journalists continue to search this database.Below is a list of those revelations divided into two categories, complete with links to documents and relevant articles.<h2 id="arizona-pd" style="line-height: 19px; font-weight: 300; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Arizona Department of Public Safety</h2>Lulzsec <a href="https://twitter.com/lulzsec/status/84032144283938816" target="blank">announced</a> the release of files from the Arizona Department of Public Safety on 23 June 2011. In an accompanying <a href="https://thepiratebay.se/torrent/6490796/Chinga_La_Migra" target="blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">statement</a>, the group explained  “We are targeting AZDPS specifically because we are against SB1070 and the racial profiling anti-immigrant police state that is Arizona.” <a href="https://www.aclu.org/arizonas-sb-1070" target="blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">SB1070</a>, and similar laws in several other US states, allow police to stop anyone they suspect of being in the country unlawfully and demand to see proof of their immigration status. These laws are <a href="https://www.aclu.org/immigrants-rights-racial-justice/frequently-asked-questions-about-arizona-racial-profiling-law" target="blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">by their very nature</a> discriminatory in the way they operate.Within the Arizona documents are police circulars that express highly pejorative sentiments about immigrants and discuss US marines moonlighting on unofficial border patrols. Another group of memos discusses electronic tools police are advised to be aware of, including mobile phone apps designed for members of the public to use to record their encounters with law enforcement.A presentation produced by the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department on “Radical Islamicist Tattoos” serves as an example of how the imperfect understanding of a controversial topic has the potential to produce highly discriminatory results. As independent journalist Nigel Parry <a href="http://nigelparry.com/news/radical-islamic-tattoos.shtml" target="blank">wrote</a>, “[the guide] will additionally flag — as potential terrorists — inner city youth of colour who are already disproportionately targeted by law enforcement.”Other documents show a police interest in groups outside of society’s mainstream, whether or not they are law-abiding. Groups profiled in the Arizona documents include Outsider Motorcycle Gangs (“many of these OMG members were not only retired or inactive military, but were also continuing their training and/or careers as Government contractors”), Sovereign Citizens groups and even Jews for Jesus.Related articles:
<a href="http://boingboing.net/2011/06/23/breaking-lulzsec-lea.html" target="blank">LulzSec leaks Arizona law enforcement papers</a>, by Rob Beschizza, 23 June 2011 in Boing Boing
<a href="http://arstechnica.com/security/2011/06/lulzsecs-first-operation-anti-security-release-arizona-dps/" target="blank">LulzSec’s first Operation Anti-Security release: Arizona DPS</a>, by Peter Bright, 24 June 2011 in Ars Technica
<a href="http://www.thewire.com/national/2011/06/highlights-whats-been-found-lulzsecs-arizona-documents/39244/" target="blank">Highlights of What’s Been Found in LulzSec’s Arizona Documents</a>, by Adam Martin, 24 June 2011 in the Wire
<a href="http://nigelparry.com/news/radical-islamic-tattoos.shtml" target="blank">Leaked Los Angeles police documents: Radical Islamic Tattoos</a>, by Nigel Parry, 24 June 2011, nigelparry.com
<a href="https://publicintelligence.net/ufouoles-lulzsec-release-arizona-fusion-center-sovereign-citizens-and-militia-information/" target="blank">LulzSec Release: Arizona Fusion Center Sovereign Citizens and Militia Information</a>, 24 June 2011, Public Intelligence<h2 id="stratfor" style="line-height: 19px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Strategic Forecasting Inc (Stratfor)</h2>Strategic Forecasting Inc, known as Stratfor, is a private intelligence firm that collects and analyses data to predict geopolitical events for government and corporate clients, who pay a subscription fee for access to Statfor’s newsletters and consultancy services. Stratfor is one of many consulting firms that ply their trade with varying degrees of accuracy, but its public image has been more lurid than most. The company’s visibility increased after 9/11 with US magazine Barron’s <a href="http://online.barrons.com/news/articles/SB1002927557434087960" target="blank">describing</a> it as a “shadow CIA.”While the extent of Stratfor’s consultancy services was largely unknown before internal emails were made public in 2012, the company highlights some of its newsletter content on its <a href="http://www.stratfor.com/" target="blank">website</a> and publicises the appearances of its staff members in the mainstream media. The <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cifamerica/2012/feb/28/wikileaks-intelligence-industrial-complex" target="blank">standard</a> of Stratfor’s research has been the subject of criticism and, where the company’s analyses have been reported in the mainstream media, they have not always proven to be <a href="http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,18728,00.html" target="blank">accurate</a>.That said, the Global Intelligence Files contain a number of important revelations. They report that WikiLeaks Publisher Julian Assange is the subject of a sealed US indictment[vs suggest he SHD be?] , something that has been speculated<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/05/julian-assange-attorney-indictment_n_3386793.html" target="blank">elsewhere</a>. They cast <a href="http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Journalism/2013/05/22/Wikileaks-Stratfor-E-Mail-Brennan-Behind-Witch-Hunt-of-Journalists-Reporting-Leaks" target="blank">further light</a> on the US government’s war on whistleblowers. Assertions that Pakistan’s intelligence services were aware of where Osama Bin Laden was living have been borne out by <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/23/magazine/what-pakistan-knew-about-bin-laden.html?r=0" target="blank">subsequent reporting</a>.But even where Stratfor’s claims have yet to be corroborated, information about how the company operates and who it works with, and for, is still highly significant. When major multinational corporations like Coca-Cola and <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Stratfor-was-Dows-Bhopal-spy-WikiLeaks/articleshow/12062587.cms" target="blank">Dow Chemical</a> pay a private intelligence firm to spy on activists, that is clearly newsworthy regardless of whether Stratfor was able to accomplish those tasks. Similarly, what sources in governments and corporations around the world are happy to tell Stratfor in confidence is valuable regardless of its accuracy.In December 2011, Anonymous and Lulzsec-affiliated hacktivists, allegedly including Jeremy Hammond, infiltrated Stratfor’s servers and, over the course of several weeks, unearthed more than five million emails dating back to 2004. Here’s some of what we now know about Stratfor’s intelligence work.<h3 id="stratfors-customer-base" style="line-height: 19px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Stratfor’s customer base</h3>Stratfor provides research, intelligence and analysis for a wide variety of customers in the private and public sectors. Organisations whose emails appear in the <a href="https://wikileaks.org/gifiles/" target="blank">Global Intelligence Files</a> include US government agencies like the Department of Homeland Security, the Marines and the Defense Intelligence Agency; defence contractors Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon; and giant corporations such as Dow Chemical and Coca-Cola.At least 13 Canadian federal departments subscribed to Stratfor’s services, some of whom neglected to declare their share of expenditure that in total amounted to at least half a million Canadian dollars. In February 2013, Chief District Judge Loretta Preska refused to recuse herself from Jeremy Hammond’s <a href="https://freejeremy.net/page-2/#arrest-trial-sentencing" target="blank">case</a>, despite the fact that her husband Thomas Kavaler was a Stratfor subscriber whose professional email address can be found in the released documents.Related articles:
<a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2013/12/15/wikileaks_documents_reveals_13_federal_departments_had_contracts_with_stratfor.html" target="blank">Wikileaks documents reveal 13 federal departments had contracts with Stratfor</a>, by Ben Makuch, 15 December 2013 in the Toronto Star
<a href="http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2013/02/judge_in_jeremy.php" target="blank">Judge in Jeremy Hammond Case Won’t Recuse Herself</a>, by Nick Pinto, 21 February 2013 in the Village Voice<h3 id="spy-on-activists-and-competitors" style="line-height: 19px; font-weight: 300; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Corporations ask Stratfor to spy on activists and competitors</h3>The Global Intelligence Files include several instances of corporations who are using Stratfor for consultancy work to provide intelligence on activists or competitors. The Dow Chemical Company is one of the largest chemical companies in the world and the owner of Union Carbide, the company responsible for the 1984 Bhopal disaster. The leak of toxic gas from a pesticide plant left thousands of Indian citizens dead and is still regarded as the world’s <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8725140.stm" target="blank">worst ever</a> industrial disaster. Litigation resulting from the disaster is still ongoing.Emails show Dow’s <a href="https://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/40/404643_re-corp-bhopal-25-coming-up-.html" target="blank">concerns</a> ahead of the 25th anniversary of the disaster, notably that activists would argue that Bhopal was symptomatic of a larger pattern of corporate negligence. The emails, say the <a href="http://theyesmen.org/stratfor" target="blank">Yes Men</a> – an activist group whose activities were a particular focus of Dow’s enquiries – provide “a fascinating window onto what at least some corporate types fear most from activists.”Similarly, ahead of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Coca-Cola asked Stratfor for intelligence on PETA activists and the likelihood that they would protest at the games. In the email, Coke’s representative first thanked Stratfor for “help with respect to the Korean Peninsula situation,” before listing several questions, including, “To what extent will US-based PETA supporters travel to Canada to support activism?”A separate group of emails show Stratfor offering strategic advice to oil and gas companies in contesting fracking opponents and other environmental protests. In December 2010, Stratfor produced a presentation for energy giant Suncor on how to tackle opposition to exploitation of Canadian tar sands; similar services had previously been pitched to Chevron. As Earth Island Journal notes, the organisations identified as threats by Stratfor for its clients include journalistic outlets like ProPublica, which they have said “appears to view major corporations and much of government as decidedly opposed to the ‘public interest.’”The emails show that corporations also use Stratfor to investigate competitors and individual employees. In 2008, Walmart asked the intelligence firm to gather information on the alleged affairs of Per Bank, who was then CEO of Tesco. Walmart framed the request as part of potential recruitment efforts, but as the Daily Dot writes, “given the competitive nature of the businesses involved, the effort could be construed as an attempt at corporate espionage.”Source documents:
<a href="https://wikileaks.org/gifiles/releasedate/2012-02-27-00-stratford-monitored-bhopal-activists-including.html" target="blank">Stratfor monitored Bhopal activists including The Yes Men for Dow Chemical and Union Carbide</a>
<a href="https://wikileaks.org/gifiles/releasedate/2012-02-27-12-coca-cola-contracting-stratfor-to-spy-on-peta.html" target="blank">Coca Cola Contracting Stratfor to Spy on PETA</a>
<a href="https://search.wikileaks.org/gifiles/?viewemailid=409509" target="blank">Shale Gas Issues</a>
<a href="http://search.wikileaks.org/gifiles/?viewemailid=397382" target="blank">Re: Activist Market Campaign</a>
<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/873021-33714-suncor-presentation-1210-6.html" target="blank">Presentation for Suncor: Oil Sands Market Campaigns</a>Related articles:
<a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Stratfor-was-Dows-Bhopal-spy-WikiLeaks/articleshow/12062587.cms" target="blank">Stratfor was Dow’s Bhopal spy: WikiLeaks</a>, 28 February 2012 in the Times of India
<a href="http://theyesmen.org/stratfor" target="blank">Massive leak reveals criminality, paranoia among corporate titans</a>, 28 February 2012, The Yes Men
<a href="http://www.startribune.com/140697693.html" target="blank">WikiLeaks publishes leaked Stratfor emails, casting light on workings of private US intel firm</a>, by Paul J. Weber and Raphael Satter, 28 February 2013, Associated Press
<a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-12-05/worst-case-scenario-for-oil-sands-comes-to-life-wikileak-docs-show.html" target="blank">Worst-Case Scenario for Oil Sands Comes to Life, WikiLeak Docs Show</a>, by Katherine Bagley, 5 Decmber 2013,Bloomberg
<a href="http://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/elist/eListRead/stratfor_provided_energy_industry_with_intel_on_environmental_groups/" target="blank">The Fracking Files: Stratfor Provided Energy Industry with Intel on ProPublica, Environmental Groups</a>, by Adam Federman, 10 December 2013 in the Earth Island Journal
<a href="http://www.dailydot.com/news/wikileaks-stratfor-walmart-per-bank/" target="blank">WikiLeaks: Walmart bid Stratfor to investigate rival CEO’s alleged affair</a>, by Dell Cameron, 21 November 2013 in the Daily Dot<h3 id="doing-business" style="line-height: 19px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Doing business: how Stratfor relates to its customers</h3>Also in the Global Intelligence Files are a number of communications that call Stratfor’s own business ethics into question. At the time of the Files’ publication in February 2012, an internal document titled ‘The Stratfor Glossary of Useful, Baffling and Strange Intelligence Terms’ received widespread coverage, displaying both Stratfor’s grandiose perception of its activities and what Time magazine called “a cavalier approach to customer service.”Perhaps more seriously, a series of emails show that in 2009 Stratfor planned to set up a “captive strategic investment fund” with former Goldman Sachs managing director Shea Morenz. The offshore StratCap structure eventually created for this purpose was nominally independent, in order to fend off accusations of insider trading, but in a 2011 email, Stratfor CEO George Friedman wrote to employees counselling them, “Do not think of StratCap as an outside organisation.” StratCap was intended to start operating in 2012.In the summer of 2012, many of those searching the Global Intelligence Files noticed a large volume of emails mentioning a surveillance system called Trapwire. The independence of Stratfor’s frequent recommendations to clients was brought into question by another document in the email cache: a 2009 Partnering Agreement with Abraxas, the vendors of Trapwire, guaranteeing Stratfor an 8% commission for “introductions” to new Trapwire purchasers.Source documents:
<a href="https://search.wikileaks.org/gifiles/?viewemailid=1239829" target="blank">The Stratfor Glossary of Useful, Baffling and Strange Intelligence Terms</a>
<a href="https://wikileaks.org/gifiles/releasedate/2012-02-27-00-stratfor-hedge-fund-entity-stratcap.html" target="blank">Stratfor Hedge Fund Entity – StratCap</a>
<a href="http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/releasedate/2012-02-27-12-stratcap-investment-fund-explained-to-stratfor.html" target="blank">Stratcap investment fund explained to Stratfor staff</a>
<a href="http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/releasedate/2012-08-14-00-a-brief-introduction-to-abraxas-trapwire-and.html" target="blank">A Brief Introduction To Abraxas (TrapWire) And Their Partnership With STRATFOR</a>
<a href="http://wl.wikileaks-press.org/gifiles/attach/32/32513_20111027132322238.pdf" target="blank">2009 Partnering Agreement between Stratfor and Abraxas</a>Related articles:
<a href="http://world.time.com/2012/02/28/wikileakss-stratfor-emails-reveal-unexpected-talent-for-comedy/" target="blank">WikiLeaks’ Stratfor E-Mails Reveal Unexpected Talent for Comedy</a>, by Sonia van Gilder Cooke, 28 February 2012 in Time
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cifamerica/2012/feb/28/wikileaks-intelligence-industrial-complex" target="blank">WikiLeaks’ Stratfor dump lifts lid on intelligence-industrial complex</a>, by Pratap Chatterjee, 28 February 2012 in the Guardian
<a href="http://www.ibtimes.com/wikileaks-release-suggests-stratfor-inside-info-plan-goldman-sachs-exec-417146" target="blank">Wikileaks Release Suggests Stratfor Inside Info Plan with Goldman Sachs Exec</a>, by Ryan Villarreal, 27 February 2012 in the International Business Times
<a href="http://www.wired.com/2012/08/trapwire-strafor-biz/all/" target="blank">Trapwire: It’s Not the Surveillance, It’s the Sleaze</a>, by Noah Shachtman, 14 August 2012 in Wired<h3 id="stratfor-and-its-sources" style="line-height: 19px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Stratfor and its sources</h3>While the majority of Stratfor’s research appears to be based on publicly available sources, the company places a great deal of importance in its internal and external communications on its ability to tap its own network of well-informed sources.Most of Stratfor’s sources seem to be journalists or diplomatic personnel, though the Global Intelligence Files do include several references to sources that genuinely appear to be highly placed. These occur most often in the emails of the company’s Vice President for Intelligence, Fred Burton. Among Burton’s claims are that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was a source of his between 2007 and 2010. In another email thread, Burton claims to be able to obtain information from the aftermath of the raid on Osama bin Laden’s Abbotabad compound from sources in the US intelligence community. Furthermore, Burton’s assertion that “We have a sealed indictment” against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange appears to rely on information from non-public sources, which Burton identifies with on a personal level.Source documents:
<a href="http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/releasedate/2012-03-27-12-fred-burton-s-protected-source-bibi-netanyahu.html" target="blank">Fred Burton’s Protected Source Bibi Netanyahu</a>
<a href="https://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/16/1642482_re-obl-take-quick-response-needed-.html" target="blank">Re: OBL take — quick response needed</a>
<a href="http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/releasedate/2012-02-28-19-u-s-indictment-on-assange-.html" target="blank">U.S. Indictment on Assange?</a>Related articles:
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/leaked-stratfor-emails-benjamin-nentanyahu-was-a-stratfor-source-from-2007-to-2010-2012-3" target="blank">Benjamin Netanyahu Was A Stratfor Source From 2007 To 2010</a>, by Michael B. Kelley, 27 March 2012 inBusiness Insider
<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/al-qaeda/9109457/Stratfor-Osama-bin-Laden-was-in-routine-contact-with-Pakistans-spy-agency.html" target="blank">Osama bin Laden ‘was in routine contact with Pakistan’s spy agency’</a>, by Damien McElroy, 27 February 2012 in the Telegraph
<a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/wikileaks-stratfor-emails-a-secret-indictment-against-assange-20120228" target="blank">WikiLeaks Stratfor Emails: A Secret Indictment Against Julian Assange?</a>, by Michael Hastings, 28 February 2012 in Rolling Stone
<a href="http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/02/29/140422_wikileaks-stratfor-emails-reveal.html" target="blank">Stratfor emails reveal problems with Web security</a>, by Mark Seibel, 29 February 2012 in McClatchy<h3 id="private-intelligence" style="line-height: 19px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Relations with other actors in the private intelligence industry</h3>Stratfor is just one player in a growing privatised security function in the United States. Intelligence outsourcing has grown enormously in the United States since 2001. Estimating even the number of contractors working in the US intelligence community and paid public funds is <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2014/02/14/u-s-intelligence-agencies-cant-justify-why-they-use-so-many-contractors/" target="blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">not easy</a>, but in 2013 the Office of the Director of National Intelligence <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/06/11/about-500000-private-contractors-have-access-to-top-secret-information/" target="blank">confirmed</a> that almost half a million private contractors held the highest level of security clearance.There are several instances in the Global Intelligence Files of Stratfor employees expressing an affinity with other actors in the private intelligence industry, who are performing various functions for the US state as contractors. These range from former Blackwater employee James F. Smith who describes his off-the-book missions in Libya and Syria to the Serbian “revolutionaries for hire” group CANVAS, who admit to accepting funds from US government sources to coordinate and advise civil society movements in Venezuela and elsewhere.Source documents:
<a href="http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/releasedate/2012-03-19-12-blackwater-veteran-took-part-in-gaddafi.html" target="blank" style="">Blackwater veteran “took part” in Gaddafi killing; asked by US to “help” Syrian opposition</a>http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/blackwater-veteran-took-part-gaddafi-killing-asked-us-help-syrian-oppositionYazan al-SaadiPublished Monday, March 19, 2012US government officials requested that an American private security firm contact Syrian opposition figures in Turkey to see “how they can help in regime change,” the CEO of one of these firms told Stratfor in a company email obtained by WikiLeaks and Al-Akhbar.
James F. Smith, former director of Blackwater, is currently the Chief Executive of SCG International, a private security firm with experience in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya. In what appears to be his first email to Stratfor, Smith stated that his “background is CIA” and his company is comprised of “former DOD [Department of Defense], CIA and former law enforcement personnel.”
“We provide services for those same groups in the form of training, security and information collection,” he explained to Stratfor. (doc-id 5441475)
In a 13 December 2011 email to Stratfor’s VP for counter-terrorism Fred Burton, which Burton shared with Stratfor’s briefers, Smith claimed that “[he] and Walid Phares were getting air cover from Congresswoman [Sue] Myrick to engage Syrian opposition in Turkey (non-MB and non-Qatari) on a fact finding mission for Congress.”
Walid Phares, named by the source as part of the “fact finding team,” is a Lebanese-American citizen and currently co-chairs Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s Middle East advisory group.
In a profile of Walid Phares published in Salon, As’ad AbuKhalil details Phares’ history with right-wing militias during the Lebanese civil war.
Sue Myrick, who allegedly was providing “air cover” for the “fact finding team”, is a Republican Congresswoman from North Carolina who has a track record of extremist pro-zionist and anti-Islamic views.
These include leading the charge against Dubai Ports World’s attempt to buy major American ports in 2006 – labeling the Islamic Society of North America as a group of “radical jihadists” – and demanding that former President Jimmy Carter’s citizenship be revoked for daring to meet with Hamas leaders in 2008.
Currently, Myrick is a member of the United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, a congressional committee charged with overseeing the American intelligence community, and is also involved with the Department of Defense and the US military.
In his email, the “true mission” for the “fact finding” team, Smith told Burton, was how “they can help in regime change.” ... end 
<a href="http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/releasedate/2012-06-18-08-canvas-how-a-us-funded-group-trains-opposition.html" target="blank" style="line-height: 19px;">CANVAS: How a US funded group trains opposition – from Egypt to Venezuela</a>Related articles:
<a href="http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/blackwater-veteran-took-part-gaddafi-killing-asked-us-help-syrian-opposition" target="blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">US Mercenary “Took Part” in Gaddafi Killing; Sent to Assist Syrian opposition</a>, by Yazan al-Saadi, 19 March 2012 in Al-Akhbar
<a href="http://radiomundial.com.ve/article/wikileaks-documentos-revelan-espionaje-desde-eeuu-contra-venezuela" target="blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Wikileaks: documentos revelan espionaje desde EEUU contra Venezuela</a>, 16 February 2012, Radio Mundial (in Spanish) <a href="http://apublica.org/2012/06/revolucao-a-americana/" target="blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Revolução à americana</a>, by Natalia Viana, 18 June 2012, Publica (In Portuguese)
<a href="http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/12/03/globally-renowned-activist-collaborated-with-stratfor/" target="blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Globally Renowned Activist Collaborated with Statfor</a>, by Steve Horn and Clive Gibson, 3 December 2013 inCounterpunch<h3 id="relations-with-local-law-enforcement" style="line-height: 19px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Relations with local law enforcement</h3>Emails in the Stratfor cache reveal what appear to be an inappropriately close relationship between the Austin, Texas-based company and employees of Austin Police Department and Department for Public Safety. In 2011, a Texas DPS agent seems to have been briefing Stratfor on information about local Occupy protesters gained while working undercover. The relationships between the organisations were such that, also in 2011, the Austin Police Department staged a demonstration using live explosives for Stratfor employees near Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.Source documents:
<a href="http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/releasedate/2012-03-02-01-stratfor-occupy.html" target="blank">Stratfor documents on Occupy</a>
<a href="http://search.wikileaks.org/gifiles/?viewemailid=379483" target="blank">Re: Follow Up</a>Related article:
<a href="http://www.austinchronicle.com/news/2012-02-03/strange-bedfellows/" target="blank">Strange Bedfellows</a>, by Michael King, 3 February 2012 in the Austin Chronicle
<a href="http://www.austinchronicle.com/news/2014-03-07/fun-and-games-with-stratfor/" target="blank">Fun and Games With Stratfo</a>r, by John Anderson and Michael King, 7 March 2014 in the Austin Chronicle<a href="https://freejeremy.net/revelations/" style="">https://freejeremy.net/revelations/</a></div>=http://www.techfleece.com/2012/08/14/an-introduction-to-abraxas-trapwire-and-the-partnership-with-stratfor/What is TrapWire?TrapWire, owned by Abraxas, is predictive software that integrates directly with a clients surveillance hardware (security cameras) enabling real-time facial-recognition. It is primarily designed to monitor and determine threat levels based on possible terrorist or other criminal activity.  There are three different systems that TrapWire offer. These are:<ul style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 15px; line-height: 22px;"><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px; list-style-type: square;">TW-CI (TrapWire Critical Infrastructure) focuses on the identification of pre-operational surveillance activities occurring around specific sites within the TrapWire Network</li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px; list-style-type: square;">TW-CM (TrapWire Community Member) supports the online reporting of suspicious behavior by community members, such as the iWatch programs in Los Angeles and Washington DC, and See Something Say Something in Las Vegas and New York</li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px; list-style-type: square;">TW-LE (TrapWire Law Enforcement) provides the ability to gather, analyze and disseminate information about surveillance and logistical activities occurring across an entire geographic region, including information gathered via TW CI and TW CM deployments</li></ul><blockquote style="margin: 5px 15px 20px; padding: 15px 20px 0px; line-height: 22px; background-color: rgb(245, 245, 245);">TrapWire is a unique, predictive software system designed to detect patterns indicative of terrorist attacks or criminal operations. Utilizing a proprietary, rules-based engine, TrapWire detects, analyzes and alerts on suspicious events as they are collected over periods of time and across multiple locations. Through the systematic capture of these pre-attack indicators, terrorist or criminal surveillance and pre-attack planning operations can be identified — and appropriate law enforcement counter measures employed ahead of the attack. As such, our clients are provided with the ability to prevent the terrorist or criminal event, rather than simply mitigate damage or loss of life.</blockquote><div style="line-height: 22px;">The public version of the site is <a href="http://trapwire.com/index.html" style="text-decoration: none;">here</a>, and the client version is <a href="https://trapwire.net/" style="text-decoration: none;">here</a> (requires login credentials and is currently undergoing maintenance )</div>http://www.wired.com/2012/08/trapwire-strafor-biz/all/...Once Fred is the #2 dude in the Texas Department of Public Safety, he is going get $1,500,000 to install TrapWire.’..Ever since WikiLeaks began releasing a series of documents about the surveillance system Trapwire, there’s been a panicked outcry over this supposedly all-seeing, revolutionary spy network. In fact, there are any number of companies that say they comb through video feeds or suspicious activity reports in largely the same way that Trapwire claims to do. What’s truly extraordinary about Trapwire was how it was marketed by the private intelligence firm Stratfor, whose internal e-mails WikiLeaks exposed.The documents show Stratfor being less than straight with its clients, using temporary jobs in government to set up Trapwire contracts, and calling it all a “wet dream.” In their e-mails, executives at Stratfor may have been hyping up a surveillance technology. But what they really did was provide reconnaissance on the $25 billion world of intelligence-for-hire that’s ordinarily hidden from public view. In this case, the sunlight isn’t particularly flattering....On Nov. 4, 2009, Fred Burton, the vice president of the private intelligence firm Stratfor, co-wrote an essay on emerging terrorist threats and the means to stop them. Particularly impressive, Burton wrote, was <a href="http://publicintelligence.net/unravelling-trapwire/" style="line-height: 28px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-width: 0px 0px 3px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(180, 231, 248); outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; transition: background 0.15s cubic-bezier(0.33, 0.66, 0.66, 1) 0s; text-decoration: none; box-shadow: rgb(180, 231, 248) 0px -5px 0px inset;">a new software tool called Trapwire</a>, which works “with camera systems to help detect patterns of preoperational surveillance … to help cut through the fog of noise and activity and draw attention to potential threats.”The essay was typical of the trend analyses, news summaries, and hot tips that Strator provides every day to its customers in government and in industry. For these services, Burton’s clients pay his firm handsomely; a single Stratfor enterprise license costs <a href="http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/attach/17/17225_Stratfor%20Servi.pdf" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-width: 0px 0px 3px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(180, 231, 248); outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; transition: background 0.15s cubic-bezier(0.33, 0.66, 0.66, 1) 0s; text-decoration: none; box-shadow: rgb(180, 231, 248) 0px -5px 0px inset;">more than $20,000</a> (.pdf). These customers rely on Burton and his team to provide the latest word from flashpoints worldwide — and to explain what this torrent of information all means. They count on Stratfor to help make sense of the world.--<div class="subheadlinestyle" style="margin: 6px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 20px;">Sellout Exposed</div><h1 class="article-title" style="margin: 3px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 36px;">Globally Renowned Activist Collaborated with Stratfor</h1><div class="mainauthorstyle" style="margin: 9px 0px; padding: 0px; letter-spacing: 1px;">by STEVE HORN AND CARL GIBSON</div><div class="main-text" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 21px; position: relative;"><div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Serbia’s <a href="http://wagingnonviolence.org/feature/bringing-down-serbias-dictator-10-years-later-a-conversation-with-nonviolent-movement-leader-srdja-popovic/" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Srdja Popovic</a> is known by many as a <a href="http://howtostartarevolutionfilm.com/" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">leading architect</a> of <a href="http://wagingnonviolence.org/feature/bringing-down-serbias-dictator-10-years-later-a-conversation-with-nonviolent-movement-leader-srdja-popovic/" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">regime changes</a> in Eastern Europe and elsewhere since the late-1990s, and as one of the co-founders of Otpor!, the U.S.-funded Serbian activist group which overthrew Slobodan Milošević in 2000.</div><div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
</div><div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Lesser known, an exclusive Occupy.com investigation reveals that Popovic and the Otpor! offshoot <a href="http://www.canvasopedia.org/" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">CANVAS</a> (Centre for Applied Nonviolent Action and Strategies) have also maintained close ties with a Goldman Sachs executive and the private intelligence firm <a href="http://www.stratfor.com/" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Stratfor</a> (Strategic Forecasting, Inc.), as well as the U.S. government. Popovic’s wife also worked at Stratfor for a year.These revelations come in the aftermath of thousands of new emails released by <a href="http://wikileaks.org/the-gifiles.html" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Wikileaks’ “Global Intelligence Files.”</a> The emails reveal Popovic worked closely with Stratfor, an Austin, Texas-based private firm that gathers intelligence on geopolitical events and activists for <a href="http://www.mintpressnews.com/divide-and-conquer-unpacking-stratfors-rise-to-power/165933/" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">clients</a> ranging from the American Petroleum Institute and Archer Daniels Midland to Dow Chemical, Duke Energy, Northrop Grumman, Intel and Coca-Cola.Referred to in emails under the moniker <a href="http://search.wikileaks.org/gifiles/?viewemailid=1751248" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">“SR501,”</a> Popovic was first approached by Stratfor in 2007 to give a lecture in the firm’s office about events transpiring in Eastern Europe, according to a Stratfor source who asked to remain confidential for this story.In one of the emails, Popovic forwarded information about activists harmed or killed by the <a href="http://www.propublica.org/article/americas-arms-sales-bahrain-crackdown" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">U.S.-armed Bahraini government,</a> obtained from the Bahrain Center for Human Rights during the regime’s crackdown on pro-democracy activists in fall 2011. Popovic also <a href="http://search.wikileaks.org/gifiles/?viewemailid=218642" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">penned a blueprint</a> for Stratfor on how to unseat the now-deceased Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez in September 2010.Stratfor’s Global Activist ConnectorUsing his celebrated activist status, Popovic opened many doors for Stratfor to meet with activists globally. In turn, the information Stratfor intended to gain from Popovic’s contacts would serve as “actionable intelligence”— <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2012/2/28/wikileaks_leaked_emails_expose_inner_workings" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">the firm billed itself as a “Shadow CIA”</a>—for its corporate clients.Popovic passed information to Stratfor about on-the-ground activist events in countries around the world, ranging from the <a href="http://search.wikileaks.org/gifiles/?viewemailid=3480597%20" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Philippines</a>,<a href="http://search.wikileaks.org/gifiles/?viewemailid=1673040" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Libya</a>, <a href="http://search.wikileaks.org/gifiles/?viewemailid=1691011%20" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Tunisia</a>, <a href="http://search.wikileaks.org/gifiles/?viewemailid=1224078" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Vietnam</a>, <a href="http://search.wikileaks.org/gifiles/?viewemailid=1693898" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Iran</a>, <a href="http://search.wikileaks.org/gifiles/?viewemailid=1827085" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Azerbaijan</a>, <a href="http://search.wikileaks.org/gifiles/?viewemailid=1713995" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Egypt</a>, <a href="http://search.wikileaks.org/gifiles/?viewemailid=1760407" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Tibet</a>, <a href="http://search.wikileaks.org/gifiles/?viewemailid=1770369%20" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Zimbabwe</a>, <a href="http://search.wikileaks.org/gifiles/?viewemailid=1682143" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Poland and Belarus</a>, <a href="http://search.wikileaks.org/gifiles/?viewemailid=5532122" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Georgia</a>, <a href="http://search.wikileaks.org/gifiles/?viewemailid=216045" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Bahrain</a>, <a href="http://search.wikileaks.org/gifiles/?viewemailid=1755262" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Venezuela</a> and <a href="http://search.wikileaks.org/gifiles/?viewemailid=1216255" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Malaysia</a>. Often, the emails reveal, Popovic passed on the information to Stratfor without the consent of the activists and likely without the activists ever knowing that their emails were being shuttled to the private security firm.In the U.S., this investigation’s co-author, Carl Gibson (representing US Uncut), and the Yes Men’s Andy Bichlbaum had a meeting with Popovic shortly after their two respective groups used a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iK7ONKs8-Cs" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">media hoax</a> to play a prank on General Electric, ridiculing the company over its <a href="http://www.factcheck.org/2012/04/warren-ge-pays-no-taxes/" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">non-payment of U.S. taxes</a>.The pair gave Popovic information about both groups’ plans for the coming year and news later came out that Stratfor <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2012/2/28/wikileaks_private_spies_stratfor_helped_dow" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">closely monitored the Yes Men’s activities</a>. (The blow photograph taken by Bichlbaum in April 2011 shows Popovic (L) and US Uncut’s Carl Gibson.)During the Arab Spring, in Egypt in January 2011, Popovic <a href="http://search.wikileaks.org/gifiles/?viewemailid=118017" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">received an interview invitation</a> for an appearance on CNN. The first people he turned to for talking points were Stratfor employees, who <a href="http://search.wikileaks.org/gifiles/?viewemailid=1695077" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">provided him with five talking points</a> to lead with.Stratfor said Popovic’s main use for the firm was his vast array of grassroots activist contacts around the world.“A little reminder that the main utility in this contact is his ability to connect us to the troublemakers around the world that he is in touch with. His own ability to discern situation on the ground may be limited, he mainly has initial contact with an asset and then lets them do their own thing,” <a href="http://search.wikileaks.org/gifiles/?viewemailid=1751248%20" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">reads a May 2010 email</a> written by former Stratfor Eurasia Analyst Marko Papic. “He does himself have information that may be useful from time to time. But, the idea is to gather a network of contacts through CANVAS, contacts that we can then contact independently.”Popovic was so well-received by Stratfor that <a href="http://search.wikileaks.org/gifiles/?viewemailid=1724637%20" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">he even got his wife, Marijah, a job there</a>. She worked for a year from March 2010 <a href="http://search.wikileaks.org/gifiles/?viewemailid=462924%20" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">through March 2011</a> as the weekend open source intelligence analyst at Stratfor. <a href="http://search.wikileaks.org/gifiles/?viewemailid=1710196" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">The other candidate for the job, Jelena Tancic, also worked for CANVAS</a>.“The Canvas guy [Popovic] is a friend/source [for Stratfor], and recommended her to us,” <a href="http://www.stratfor.com/about/analysts/scott-stewart" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Stratfor’s Vice President of Analysis Scott Stewart</a> said in a <a href="http://search.wikileaks.org/gifiles/?viewemailid=384127" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">March 2010 email</a>, leaving out that the two were dating at the time.Popovic and his wife grew so close to Stratfor, in fact, that Popovic <a href="http://search.wikileaks.org/gifiles/?viewemailid=104475" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">invited numerous members of the Stratfor staff to their wedding</a> in Belgrade, Serbia.Helping Stratfor Manufacture RevolutionsStratfor saw Popovic’s main value not only as a source for intelligence on global revolutionary and activist movements, but also as someone who, if needed, could help overthrow leaders of countries hostile to U.S. geopolitical and financial interests. So useful was Popovic to Stratfor that the firm gave him a free subscription, dubbed “<a href="http://search.wikileaks.org/gifiles/?viewemailid=43955" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">legit sources we use all the time as a company</a>” by Papic.</div></div>...<a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/wikileaks-stratfor-emails-a-secret-indictment-against-assange-20120228">http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/wikileaks-stratfor-emails-a-secret-indictment-against-assange-20120228</a>On January 26, 2011, Fred Burton, the vice president of Stratfor, a leading private intelligence firm which bills itself as a kind of shadow CIA, sent an excited email to his colleagues. "Text Not for Pub," he wrote. "We" – meaning the U.S. government – "have a sealed indictment on Assange. Pls protect."The news, if true, was a bombshell. At the time, the Justice Department was ramping up its investigation of Julian Assange, the founder of the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks, which over the past few years has released hundreds of thousands of sensitive government documents. An indictment under the 1917 Espionage Act would be the most serious action taken to date against Assange, possibly paving the way for his extradition to the U.S. (Assange is currently under house arrest in Britain fighting extradition to Sweden on sexual assault charges.)Burton, a former federal agent with the U.S. Diplomatic Security Services, had reason to trust his information. He often boasted of his stellar government sources ("CIA cronies," he called them in another email), and in his role as a government counter-terror agent he had worked on some of the most high-profile terrorism cases of recent years, including the arrest of the first World Trade Center bomber, Ramzi Yousef. As the VP of Texas-based Stratfor Global Intelligence, a private firm that contracts with corporations and several government agencies, like the Department of Homeland Security, to collect and analyze intelligence on political situations around the world, it was part of his job to keep those contacts alive and share inside information with analysts at the company. (The emails cited in this story – contained in a leak of <a href="http://wikileaks.org/the-gifiles.html" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial;">5 million internal Stratfor messages</a>  – were examined by Rolling Stone in an investigative partnership with Wikileaks.)Burton's information had the ring of truth. As Salon's Glenn Greenwald <a href="http://www.salon.com/2011/04/27/wikileaks_26/" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial;">reported last May</a>, a secret grand jury had begun taking testimony from Wikileaks supporters in a courtroom in Alexandria, Virginia. In December, during the pre-trial hearings of Bradley Manning, the Army private who allegedly gave WikiLeaks a huge trove of classified information in 2009, prosecutors repeatedly tried to convince the judge that Assange had conspired with Manning to release the data. Assange’s own lawyers had warned of a possible indictment a month before Burton said one existed.A Department of Justice spokesperson declined to comment on whether there was an indictment against Assange; a Strafor spokesperson also declined to comment, directing me to the statement and YouTube video the company released following the disclosure that WikiLeaks was planning to publish 5 million of the company’s internal emails it obtained. "This is a deplorable, unfortunate – and illegal – breach of privacy," the Stratfor’s CEO George Friedman said in a statement, warning that some of the emails may have been "forged." To be sure, we're in new territory here. The latest leak has set off a round of debate over the ethics of publishing information alleged to have been stolen. Members of the hacker collective Anonymous claim to have passed the emails to WikiLeaks; WikiLeaks maintains it does not know the identity of the leaker(s) and stands by its policy of not commenting on its sources....

Read more: <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/wikileaks-stratfor-emails-a-secret-indictment-against-assange-20120228#ixzz3eliZ3OML" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial;">http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/wikileaks-stratfor-emails-a-secret-indictment-against-assange-20120228#ixzz3eliZ3OML</a> 
Follow us: <a href="http://ec.tynt.com/b/rw?id=bbJxak64Kr4kEzacwqm_6l&u=rollingstone" target="blank" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial;">@rollingstone on Twitter</a> | <a href="http://ec.tynt.com/b/rf?id=bbJxak64Kr4kEzacwqm_6l&u=RollingStone" target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial;">RollingStone on Facebook</a>orig docs: https://wikileaks.org/gifiles/releasedate/2012-02-28-19-u-s-indictment-on-assange-.html<h1 style="line-height: 32px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: -5px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Fun and Games With Stratfor</h1><div style="">
</div><h2 style="margin: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">APD and DPS collaborated with private 'geopolitical intelligence firm' – including bomb demonstrations and undercover surveillance</h2><div style="">
</div><h4 style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 12px; text-transform: uppercase; margin: 6px 0px 8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">BY <a href="http://www.austinchronicle.com/authors/john-anderson/" title="more by John Anderson" style="text-decoration: none;">JOHN ANDERSON</a> AND <a href="http://www.austinchronicle.com/authors/michael-king/" title="more by Michael King" style="text-decoration: none;">MICHAEL KING</a>, MARCH 7, 2014, NEWS</h4><div style="line-height: 18px;">One of the murkier and more forbidding aspects of the post-9/11 world has been the massive growth of what's become known as the "intelligence industrial complex." Similar to its sibling, the "military industrial complex" (as it was called by President Dwight Eisenhower), the intelligence industrial complex is a national and international web of numerous partnerships between government and various private corporate entities of all shapes and sizes. In a major 2010 report by The Washington Post on "Top Secret America," investigators summarized, "Some 1,271 government organizations and 1,931 private companies work on programs related to counterterrorism, homeland security and intelligence in about 10,000 locations across the United States." That was four years ago; despite federal budget cuts, this quasi-"defense" economic sector has continued to grow.Based on the broad figures provided in annual federal budgets, from 2001 to 2012, spending on "homeland security" has quadrupled. During that time, the federal government has persistently outsourced intelligence work, as government employees routinely carry their security clearances into the private sector. (The Post estimated that 854,000 people – or roughly the total population of Austin – held "top-secret" security clearances nationwide as of 2010.) Consider just Booz Allen Hamilton, former employer of National Security Agency whistle-blower Edward Snowden and the company where he accessed the documents he leaked. According to a U.S. General Services listing of government contractors, BAH maintains extensive connections with government agencies and provides a variety of services, including intelligence gathering and analysis, worth in 2012 more than $4 billion.However, you needn't travel to Hawaii, where Snowden worked, to find examples of overlap between government, law enforcement, and private intelligence. You don't even need to leave Austin.<h3 style="margin-top: 10px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The Stratfor Hack</h3>On Dec. 24, 2011, activist Jeremy Hammond completed several weeks of work hacking the computer files of Austin-based global intelligence company Strategic Forecasting, Inc., better known as "Stratfor." Soon afterwards, several of the company's emails and many of its subscriber credit card numbers were released on the Internet. By February 2012, the material made it to the website of Wikileaks, which gradually began to release more emails. An early release revealed a connection between Stratfor and the Texas Department of Public Safety, concerning the DPS surveillance of Occupy Austin. (See "Strange Bedfellows," Feb. 3, 2012). Those documents reflect that a Texas DPS agent was providing undercover intelligence information on Occupy protesters not only to his state agency superiors, but to private firm Stratfor – although neither the company nor the DPS would provide any additional information or comment on the relationship, and DPS claimed at the time that it couldn't verify the existence of any undercover agent.On Nov. 15, 2013 – the day Hammond was sentenced to 10 years in prison for violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (and after holding them back during Hammond's trial) – Wikileaks posted on its website the rest of the Stratfor emails. The Wikileaks website now includes posts of more than five million Stratfor emails, dating from July 2004 through December 2011. It's an imposing data file, and has steadily revealed more about the inner workings of the intelligence industrial complex.Asked by the Chronicle for comment on the additional emails, a Stratfor spokesman referred to the company's standard response, originally attributed to founder and chairman George Friedman: "Some of the emails may be forged or altered to include inaccuracies. Some may be authentic. We will not validate either, nor will we explain the thinking that went into them. Having had our property stolen, we will not be victimized twice by submitting to questioning about them." (See "Stratfor's Web," March 9, 2012.)<h3 style="margin-top: 10px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Boys and Their Toys</h3>On its website, Stratfor describes itself as "a geopolitical intelligence firm that provides strategic analysis and forecasting to individuals and organizations around the world" – in other words, a high-tone foreign policy think tank – and it regularly issues news bulletins and analytical essays to its subscribers. But the hacked emails (which Wikileaks dubbed "The Global Intelligence Files") reveal another, much more local aspect of the privately owned company. The emails reflect that Stratfor has cultivated relationships with members of the Austin Police Department and the Texas Department of Public Safety for the purpose of gathering locally based "intelligence" – specifically, surveillance of protest groups – that one would presume (perhaps naively) would not normally be shared beyond immediate law enforcement circles. In addition to the sharing of confidential information about local activists, the emails also reflect several examples of trainings or demonstrations provided to Stratfor by APD personnel.For example, throughout August 2011, a number of Stratfor emails discuss an APD demonstration for Stratfor employees using live explosives near Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. In an internal Stratfor email dated Aug. 27, 2011, with the subject line "weekly," Stratfor Vice President Fred Burton announced blissfully: "The highlight of the week was the Austin Police Department (APD) Bomb Squad 'special' training session for Stratfor staff. A six-man team augmented by the Austin Fire and EMS set off a wide variance of explosive charges for our group, to include ANFO [i.e., ammonium nitrate/fuel oil]. The staff got a chance to feel, smell and touch 'real' explosives; and feel the energy output when bombs are detonated (called a blast wave). The sound and color of the various explosives will enable the team to better understand attack scenes from as they say at Foggy Bottom [i.e., the U.S. State Department] 'dispatches afar.' We also examined the blast seats (craters). Several said it was the best damn training they have ever received at Stratfor. We also had a little bit of fun (or panic) when two brush fires were started. ... Man 'ole man was it fun."(Burton's personal notions of amusement are already notorious from earlier email releases, as when he speculated on the possibility of the U.S. killing or torturing Wikileaks founder Julian Assange at Guantanamo, and reminisced about the good old days at the State Department when political assassinations were not so controversial. Here's Burton (April 27, 2010), musing nostalgically on Bolivian President Evo Morales and then Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez: "Back in the day, we would have been planning [Morales'] (and Chavez's) helicopter 'accident.' Guess I'm getting old, I think it's best to keep these lads around for comic relief.")In addition to the oddity of APD blowing things up for the entertainment (or "understanding") of a private company, the brush fires mentioned by Burton (and apparently extinguished by the Austin Fire Department, which was standing by along with EMS) occurred during a countywide burn ban, and the worst year of the current severe drought – indeed, less than two weeks before the great Bastrop County fire. Seemingly oblivious to these conditions, Burton emailed Stratfor employees the day of the demonstration, flippantly warning: "If anyone calls from the arson squad, we were never there. ... Admit nothing, deny everything, make counter-accusations. (CIA Bombing School motto)."But the live explosives demonstration, while undoubtedly "fun" for Burton and his colleagues, was also – according to an email sent before the demonstration to Burton from APD Senior Officer Robert Nunez – "law enforcement sensitive" (the phrase routinely used by APD brass to classify information as confidential). Nunez advised Burton, "Photos are ok, no video ... we don't like seeing any bomb squad stuff on any social media sites." Asked for comment recently, Cmdr. Nick Wright of APD's Explosive Ordnance Disposal division explained via email, "Live explosive demonstrations are very rare," and contrary to Nunez's earlier warning to Burton, Wright later added that "no law enforcement sensitive information is shared." Nevertheless, Burton was thoroughly pleased with the demonstration, writing to Stratfor employees three days after the demonstration: "The folks are kind enough to cook off whatever we want to see."Earlier this month, the Chronicle asked APD the purpose of this exercise, and received a response that essentially echoed Burton's internal Stratfor emails. Cmdr. Wright explained, via email: "The explosives demonstration was a familiarization training for Stratfor analysts so they better understand the intel they processed around the globe regarding improvised explosives and their capabilities." Wright added, "The demonstrations are part of the regional explosive awareness training mission performed by the Bomb Squad for various law enforcement and governmental agencies. Stratfor was considered a partner NGO (Non-Governmental Organization) and U.S. Government contractor in the global war on terrorism through its activities in the global intelligence field."<h3 style="margin-top: 10px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Team Building</h3>The Stratfor emails reflect that watching APD personnel ignite explosives was believed to be of crucial importance to the "analytical" work of Stratfor staffers. According to an internal email dated Aug. 24, 2011, the day of the demonstration, Stratfor employee Sean Noonan informed Burton and others, "I'm hop[ing] all of you that thought this was just for fun and games understand how important this is to us tactical analysts understanding what we are doing."In another email, Officer Nunez provided Burton with a list of six APD officers, including himself, who attended the demonstration, adding "We appreciate the cooperation and open communications." It's unclear why Stratfor would need a list of APD officers who were present, but another Stratfor email offers at least one hint – the eagerness of APD personnel to take part in the theatrics – and perhaps, eventually, to have an opportunity to join the Stratfor "team," in the long-standing tradition of mutual interests between uniformed police forces and private security firms.According to an Oct. 2, 2011, email, Stratfor employee Jen Richmond wrote Burton: "James Stanesic – the detective that has helped me out so much – texted me today and said he heard a rumor that we were collaborating with the APD. I told him that we were but that I didn't know the specific details. He said: 'I want in.' You know I can't recommend him enough, so whatever we are doing, I highly suggest him being on the 'team.' He's one of the best cops I've met."<h3 style="margin-top: 10px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Intel 'R' Us</h3>And this "collaborating" and "cooperation" extended beyond explosives and beyond APD. Numerous emails reflect the sharing with Stratfor of undercover information on local activist groups.For example, an email dated Dec. 5, 2011, sent from APD officer J.J. Schmidt was forwarded to Burton by APD Lt. Tom Sweeney: it contains information about an Occupy Austin march to Chase Bank at 221 W. Sixth that took place on Dec. 8, 2011. Schmidt's email contained APD's confidentiality notice; despite that warning, Burton was told, "It is unclear how many people will be in attendance. It appears that the bank is the target of the protest, however, there are a few other offices of concern at this location." However, Sweeney added, "[w]e don't expect trouble." One possible "office of concern" would be that of Stratfor itself, also located in the Chase Bank office building. In another internal email regarding a different march, Burton shares similar information that came "from an LE [Law Enforcement] intel source."When asked about APD's policy regarding informing businesses about the activities of protesters, Wright responded (somewhat at cross-purposes), "APD does not have [a] policy [of] informing businesses when protesters are expected. However, if there is a public threat to a business then it is the Austin Police Department's duty and obligation to let the businesses know."APD was not Stratfor's only source for information on activists. According to a Dec. 14, 2011, email, DPS Agent David Dudley provided Burton with "research" on Occupy Austin, environmental activist group Deep Green Resistance, and local organizers LoveATX, whose website lists their goals as "develop holistic culture" and "unite for progress." Dudley wrote ominously to Burton that LoveATX "has a website that seems all warm and fluffy, but ...." He includes a two-and-half-page research document by an unnamed author (possibly Dudley himself), titled: "'Deep Green Resistance' Joins Forces with 'Occupy Well Street.'" "Occupy Well Street" was the name given by Occupy to activism concerning natural gas "fracking," and the document mainly recounts anti-fracking protest actions.After numerous requests, DPS would not comment on Dudley's activities nor his relationship with Stratfor. A spokesman would only confirm that "David Dudley is a Criminal Investigations Division agent stationed in Austin."One person mentioned in the Dudley email is Occupy Austin participant and 2012 City Council candidate John Duffy, who told the Chronicle via email, "Seeing your phone number in [APD] documents is a bit worrisome, because it makes you wonder if they are listening to your calls. ... It just seemed so disproportionate to what Occupy was doing."<h3 style="margin-top: 10px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Punching Stratfor's Ticket</h3>The dubious relationships among Stratfor, APD, and DPS remain unexplained to this date, and none of the parties are eager to discuss the subject. APD describes the bomb demonstration as "an attempt [by APD] to stay well informed," but the department also confirmed that "there are no legal contracts, agreements that document this relationship" with Stratfor – unlike a direct government contractor that might at least be bound by contract terms.DPS had even less to say, and in the absence of more information – unlikely to be forthcoming – it remains unknown how Stratfor came to receive the access it has to the state law enforcement agency. Equally troubling, it's also unclear under what legal authority a now acknowledged DPS agent was providing undercover intelligence directly to Stratfor.Stratfor VP Burton's own brief stint at the DPS, in 2009, as Assistant Director for Intelligence & Counterterrorism, likely played a role in establishing Stratfor's network. According to Burton's "weekly" email about the live explosives demonstration, "You simply can't pay (nor get in) this kinda training without having the right tickets punched."In that context, Burton was apparently not shy about returning agency favors, as suggested by law enforcement personnel clamoring to join his "team." He's also listed on the board of directors of the Greater Austin Crime Commission, an organization of mostly local businessmen and a few public officials devoted to "public safety." In that capacity, he reports in an Oct. 2, 2011, Stratfor email string that he met with the ACC in "executive session" (presumably the executive committee of the board), after he was asked "to help with a councilman trying to reduce police head count. ... I was asked to help articulate why the police should not reduce their manpower."Council Member Bill Spelman, also of UT's LBJ School of Public Affairs and an expert on modern police staffing, will no doubt be amused to discover that his perennially quixotic efforts at City Hall to bring rational limits to the public safety budget were the subject of such high-level strategizing at the Crime Commission. As for Stratfor, in the wake of these emails, it's easy to guess at least one reason why onetime Maryland cop Burton would want to ensure a steady supply of Austin police officers: more undercover intelligence for the company, and more potential recruits for the "team."Additional reporting by Jordan Smith.</div><a href="http://www.austinchronicle.com/news/2014-03-07/fun-and-games-with-stratfor/">http://www.austinchronicle.com/news/2014-03-07/fun-and-games-with-stratfor/</a> 2nd of 2
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