Risky Business #154 -- Adrian Lamo: Why I turned informer
Thu, 06/10/2010 - 17:33
In this week's feature interview we chat with Adrian Lamo. Best known as the "homeless hacker," Lamo is in the news again over his decision to inform on US Army Specialist Bradley Manning, the alleged leaker of the so-called "Collateral Murder" video published by Wikileaks in April.
Manning is now in detention in Kuwait. We ask Lamo why he turned him in.
Also this week, Veracode co-founder and chief scientist Christien Rioux joins the show to talk about some fresh approaches to information security and cloud computing in our sponsor interview. Sounds boring. Isn't.
Sat, 06/12/2010 - 01:44
#2
Patrick, you are wrong in so many ways
Is it all politics with you? You objected to the release of the ClimateGate emails but think that turning in Bradley Manning is bad.
You cannot imagine how releasing the helicopter footage (which you completely misrepresent) would cause any deaths? Let me see, 100 more people on the border of becoming suicide bombers decide to go ahead based on the footage and the twisted reporting of it, but since they cannot get to American soldiers, they blow themselves up in a marketplace killing 100s of civilians. It happens every day in Iraq.
And its your fault.
Dumb shit
Adrian Lamo was correct to turn in Bradley Manning
Sat, 06/12/2010 - 14:58
#3
I didn't object to the
I didn't object to the release of the climategate e-mails, I objected to the way the leak was reported on.
I imagine the same thing could happen if those 260k diplomatic cables were released -- you can tell any story you like with them, without the need to actually set the context by sourcing expert opinion.
I guess this is one of the problems with just dumping massive amounts of source material on the Internet and expecting anything coherent to come out of it.
As for the helicopter footage, you're right -- seeing a US helicopter mowing down children will no doubt inspire some to take up arms against the US in Iraq. If that shit happened in my neighbourhood, I'd probably be one of them.
But the solution to that problem isn't to hide the footage, it's to stop using US military helicopters to mow down children, ffs.
Sun, 06/13/2010 - 03:00
#4
chatlogs to wikileaks
Hi Patrick,
after the interview you said, Lamo has told you, he sent the chalogs to wikileaks. Now wired.com published an email request allegedly by Assange, to give them the chatlogs - dated June 11, and Lamo is quoted:
“No, I’m not going to give the logs to someone who suggests that I might have been drug-addled when I decided to turn in a spy,” says Lamo, who takes prescription medication for depression and Asperger’s Disorder. “Private Manning’s attorney can get them by discovery like everyone else.”
So on June 10 he has sent them and on June 11 he refuses to? What do you think about it?
Sun, 06/13/2010 - 15:43
#5
I noticed that also. Struck
I noticed that also. Struck me as strange.
Thu, 06/17/2010 - 03:32
#6
wikileaks
About Mr. Lamo. This gentleman (if you can call him like that) contradicts himself. Whether he was right or not, his side of the story is not credible at all.
He does something but then he decides that someone else can't do the same. But now everybody knows his true face. Maybe there was some kind of jealousy there.
Thu, 06/17/2010 - 15:53
#7
I've noticed that everyone
I've noticed that everyone seems to have an opinion.
I've known Adrian over the phone and IM for something like seven years and I have no idea what his motivation was... so I don't quite understand how people who've never even met him have decided he's some media-whore neocon.
Here's a completely different perspective a friend e-mailed me:
"I love way everyone has to have someone to blame. The way I see it is that no one really did anything wrong..
Manning leaked the stuff because he felt it was important. No problem there, it's important that people know about this stuff.
Lamo informed on Manning for the same reasons.
Poulsen reported it from Lamo again, for the same reasons. What is all the fuss about? Looks to me like everything worked. Everyone did what they had to do, including the military.
Everyone walks away knowing that:
* The army can't go killing civilians and thinking they can get away with it.
* You can't go leaking classified info and think you are going to get away with it.
* Journalists will report on things that they feel are important.
Wikileaks just needs to loose the emotional investment stick to what they do best - being a portal for people to learn what others don't want anyone to know.
Or have I missed something?"
Sat, 06/19/2010 - 13:26
#8
Absolutely fascinating interview
Whatever you think about the rights and wrongs of what Lamo did, I was forcibly struck by the fact that he has both a brain and a conscience. I am always deeply suspicious of anyone who believes there is a single right answer, be that "disclosure is always wrong" (US military) or "disclosure is always right" (wikileaks). Would I necessarily have made the same choice he did in what sounds like an extremely difficult moral and ethical position? I don't know, but I at least hope I could have brought the same level of thoughtfulness to bear.
To anonymous above: "Is it all politics with you? You objected to the release of the ClimateGate emails but think that turning in Bradley Manning is bad." Where did you get the message that Patrick necessarily believes that turning in Manning was bad? There were some hard questions that Lamo needed to answer, and Patrick asked those questions. I didn't hear any axe-grinding on Patrick's part in the interview (beyond his, er "robustly expressed" views on journalism or lack thereof, that is. :-)
A truly fascinating interview, Patrick. Probably the best episode of Risky Biz yet.
You guys are fucking money.