Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]


Add Reply
CIA "family jewels"; thoughts?
Topic Started: Jun 27 2007, 01:45 PM (90 Views)
Dominic Guglieme
the human MICROscope!!



I plan to post about this in a day or so, after digesting some of the news. But, lets get the discussion started now, shall we?
Keep it local.


The healthiest leper in the colony is still very very sick.

www.theanimalrescuesite.com
Offline
 
Dominic Guglieme
the human MICROscope!!

CIA Family Jewels (some profanity)
Unless you are living under a rock, you probably heard something about the Central Intelligence Agency revealing some of its secrets this past week.

The name given to the documents in question is "The Family Jewels". This is actually pretty apt. Why? Well, if somebody drops their trousers and reveals their testicles, you may be suprised by the act. You may be suprised by some distinguishing feature on their testicles. But, the presence of the testicles in and of itself is hardly a shock to anyone above the age of 12.

(By the way, if anyone thinks I was being needlessly lewd above, I am not the one who used anatomical slang for the damned papers in the first place.)

In the case of the CIA's "Family Jewels", most commentators this week have agreed that there is no real "big reveal" to be found here. Everything discussed is something we have known about in the past. But, some historians and scholars appreciate the added detail and flavor these documents provide.

And, of course, there is a the requisite tizzy about violations of privacy and the like.

Now, there are some things that I will not defend. Testing drugs, including LSD (which can have dire long-term effects), on unwitting people in inexcusable. This is an inexcusable as the Tuskegee syphilis experiments.

Along similar lines, I cannot get behind politically motivated investigatioins by the CIA or any other group. First, that kind of thing is not why we are paying taxes to fund them. Second, such ventures are a needless and dangerous distraction from legitimate National Security concerns.

One fo the more popular complaints relates to domestic surveillance by the CIA. While there is a strict statutory basis for these complaints, many of them are over-blown, stemming from what I can only assume is a combination of paranoia and vanity.

Discounting domestic spying for political purposes, there are times when domestic spying by the CIA would be consistent with their stated international focus. As this country learned most recently in 2001, international threats can come to threaten the United States mainland. It is the height of idiocy to think that the CIA should break off an investigation of, or efforts to hinder, a possible attack on the country simply because the threat develops political or geographic ties to the US.

Passing the buck on to the FBI or some other agency is not an option. Putting aside historic animosities between the CIA and FBI, it simply is not practical to expect one agency to simply pick-up where another leaves off, especially with a complex and high-stakes investigation.

Now, let us consider the cost of domestic spying against the possible cost of not conducting such operastions.

I have found myself under Federal scrutingy (albeit from the Secret Service) at least once, but likely twice.

The first time was in 2000, during the election race between Gore and Bush. I was a student reporter, covering their first debate, at UMASS Boston. Given my, (frankly) sloppy style of dress, an agent had me flagged as a possible trouble-maker. (I dressed more like a "Greenie" than anything else at the time.) He called me over, and asked for ID. He then radioed my information (name, and SSN, that sort of thing), to a colleague. After a brief wait, I was sent on my way, none the worse for it.

The second time was in early 2001. I was working in the office of a local publication whose editor saw fit to publish something that was incredibly crass. Besides being juvenile and sophmoric, the article had a joke about shooting the president. Regardless of what the Secret Service thought of the joke, they had to investigate. I arrived late for work that day, and missed the fun. But, I am pretty sure the Secret Service pulled information on everybody listed on the staff, as I was. And, I was not harmed in the least.

The worst I faced was maybe 15 minutes (if even) of being detained. (The agent I spoke with was polite, and professional mind you.)

There may even be a Federal Agent, (Secret Service, CIA, FBI, SEC, FCC whatever), reading this blog. Maybe they are at home, and just fiddling on-line. Maybe they are at work, and on lunch. Maybe they should be working are an wasting our tax money.

I really do not care. This is a public blog. Anyone can read it.

Maybe, there is an especially curious agent out there who wants to know about the man behind this blog. If they want to find me, I bet they can. (Hey, I have a paypal account too, they can probably trace my bank account if they want to bother.)

But, I am pretty sure that of the millions of people on myspace, and billions elsewhere, I am hardly the highest priority of any Federal agent. Yes, I am vain, and I sometimes flatter myself to think that there are Federal Agents reading my blog or email not because they have to, but because they find it that interesting. They might even listen to my phone-calls for the entertainment value.

But, more likely, they do not care, even when I am emailing people over-seas. And, they likely do not care about you either.

I am more concerned with CIA operatives doing their jobs intelligently and efficiently than with where they do it.



Dom-hoping the FCC does not fine him for that profanity.


Keep it local.


The healthiest leper in the colony is still very very sick.

www.theanimalrescuesite.com
Offline
 
Viper Commander
Unregistered


You are right on the mark with regard to the CIA domestic spying issue!

 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
« Previous Topic · XTRA! XTRA! · Next Topic »
Add Reply

Aquös by tiptopolive of the ZB Theme Zone