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I Was a CIA Whistleblower, Now I'm a Black Inmate

theintercept.com

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Re: I Was a CIA Whistleblower, Now I'm a Black Inmate

#61

Post by binarymax »

nkoren wrote: post #47
tptacek wrote: post #5

As background: Sterling was convicted after it discovered that he'd been leaking details of "Operation Merlin" to reporter James Risen. "Merlin" was a scheme in which blueprints for Russian nuclear arms technology was to be altered, such that attempts to test those weapons would fail, and then passed through to Iran's nuclear program. "Merlin" ultimately failed.

If the CIA is going to be modelling their operations after Charlie Stross short stories, they might want to actually read to the end: http://www.tor.com/2012/07/20/a-tall-tail/ tl;dr: doesn't go well there either.

Further evidence that "Three Days of the Condor" is prophetic.

Re: I Was a CIA Whistleblower, Now I'm a Black Inmate

#63

Post by jessaustin »

seren wrote: post #31
yread wrote: post #15

Off topic but what is the name for this (as a style element?): > "Man, this is prison." > "Man, this is America."

I believe this an Anaphora, even if in this case, repetition are not really close to each other https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anaphora_%28rhetoric%29

Linked from there is "symploce", which may be a better match?

Re: I Was a CIA Whistleblower, Now I'm a Black Inmate

#64

Post by dismantlethesun »

1024core wrote: post #24
lostboys67 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

so where is the public interest to justify whistleblowing?

The blueprints weren't altered enough, apparently, and the Iranians were still able to use them to advance their nuclear program. Thus, it was sheer stupidity on the CIA's part. And you know what you don't do? Point out the big, mean guy's stupidity in public. He gets angry.

But within the government mistakes are made all the time, should every mistake be publicly acknowledged as it happens?

Re: I Was a CIA Whistleblower, Now I'm a Black Inmate

#65

Post by kafkaesq »

tptacek wrote: post #14
lostboys67 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

so where is the public interest to justify whistleblowing?

Here I am veering from simply providing a précis to something closer to analysis, but not too close --- I think this is uncontroversial: Sterling isn't in prison for "whistleblowing", which describes the actions he took to alert the Senate Intelligence Committee to his concerns about "Merlin" and his complaints to CIA's IG about racial discrimination inside the agency. He's in prison for leaking details of a sensitiv…

Both are forms of "whistleblowing": one within proper channels; the other, directly to the press. That's why Snowden is commonly referred to as a "whistleblower", without disservice to the term -- because he (prudently, in the view of many) saw it necessary and proper to bypass government channels, given the gravity of abuses he had become witness (and tacit accomplice) to.

Though in Sterling's case it is clear that his prison sentence is (ostensibly) for his having done the latter, not the former.

Re: I Was a CIA Whistleblower, Now I'm a Black Inmate

#66

Post by helthanatos »

niccaluim wrote: post #62

Lots of comments here about the information he leaked from the CIA and zilch about race. This article isn't about the CIA; it's about racism in America.

Yeah, let's talk about that. Racism in America vs natural segregation vs enforced segregation. Let's talk about how ice makers only provide 1 thing, but TVs provide many channels. Personal preference or group mentality. Would everyone in that prison be OK with watching ESPN or Cops? What differences drive the differences in programming? How does innate racism fit in?

Re: I Was a CIA Whistleblower, Now I'm a Black Inmate

#67

Post by 1024core »

dismantlethesun wrote: post #64
1024core wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The blueprints weren't altered enough, apparently, and the Iranians were still able to use them to advance their nuclear program. Thus, it was sheer stupidity on the CIA's part. And you know what you don't do? Point out the big, mean guy's stupidity in public. He gets angry.

But within the government mistakes are made all the time, should every mistake be publicly acknowledged as it happens?

There's a mistake (painting the wrong building), and there are "mistakes", like Fast and Furious[1]. Doing something extremely risky in a half-assed manner and chalking it up to a "mistake" is just trying to shirk responsibility.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATF_gunwalking_scandal

Re: I Was a CIA Whistleblower, Now I'm a Black Inmate

#68

Post by rabidrat »

js8 wrote: post #16
lostboys67 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

so where is the public interest to justify whistleblowing?

Not an U.S. citizen, just a wild guess: It's not very wise to give somebody, even altered, nuclear blueprints. It's a similar type of stupid stuff that NSA does when it puts backdoors into devices or cryptosystems.

It turns out that a bunch of tacit knowledge is required to build working nuclear weapons. The designs are not sufficient at all, and it does make sense that you might be able to deter development by subtly leading developers down known dead-ends.

http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/awc/2013_buffet.pdf

> The Soviet and British programs, and in fact all subsequent nuclear programs, took longer to produce initial results than the original 23-month Manhattan Project. Each program involved hundreds to thousands of science staff and each faced substantial practical problems. MacKenzie and Spinardi posed that the spread of nuclear weapon capacity following the Manhattan Project progressed more along the lines of re-invention than technology transfer.

Re: I Was a CIA Whistleblower, Now I'm a Black Inmate

#69

Post by orthogon »

So, honest question: Why does HN seem to have a consistent morbid curiosity, regarding the CIA?

I count at least one post a month, in the front page, in which the CIA is the main focus and topic.

Given the regularity of recurrence, I question whether it's honest intrigue, or something more subversive, like a an informational recruitment and promotion campaign, complete with informational reinforcement components.

(in this example, we find out what happens to employees and entrusted individuals who spill the beans, or whatever, who cares, big deal...)

Re: I Was a CIA Whistleblower, Now I'm a Black Inmate

#70

Post by sgnelson »

dismantlethesun wrote: post #64
1024core wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The blueprints weren't altered enough, apparently, and the Iranians were still able to use them to advance their nuclear program. Thus, it was sheer stupidity on the CIA's part. And you know what you don't do? Point out the big, mean guy's stupidity in public. He gets angry.

But within the government mistakes are made all the time, should every mistake be publicly acknowledged as it happens?

Yes.
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