Bush says better intelligence needed to get into people's minds

[Schrodinger's Cat]

I swear to God I did not make this up:
(I wonder if cats make any "enemy' lists)

[Schrodinger's Cat]

OK, my web shot didn't come out too clear put you can see the original here - at least as of this posting: http://edition.cnn.com/2005/ALLPOLIT....intelligence/

This is the part I really like. The final sentence is priceless, whoever the author was - be it Bush or CNN:

Intelligence agencies need to improve in one particular area, he said.

"Human intelligence, the ability to get inside somebody's mind, the ability to read somebody's mail, the ability to listen to somebody's phone call -- that somebody being the enemy," Bush said in an interview with CNN senior White House correspondent John King.

Lack of human intelligence has been blamed for the belief that stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction existed in Iraq before the war.

This is nice, too:

Bush noted that a group has been formed to determine what needs to be improved.

"Out of that commission -- coupled with the new national director of intelligence, hopefully, this president and future presidents will get the best possible intelligence," he said.

A president with intelligence! Nah, too far-fetched!

[wolf]

Funny, yes, but correctly phrased in context, as they mean "human intelligence" as opposed to "electronic intelligence."

Tom Clancy at this point would be explaining terms like HUMINT and ELINT and also making clear that this means "intelligence" as in "spying".

[Troubleshooter]

There is also OSINT now. The gov't is using Open Source Intelligence to gather up to 80% of their information now.

Yeah, 80% of what they need to know is already out there ready to be harvested.

But Bush is still a dumbass. (At least I didn't say mental midget).

[lumberjim]

the end is nigh.
so....he's basically publicly saying that he wants to be big brother? to make us safe from terrorism? is anyone falling for this?

when our big brother is a retard, the world has something very real to fear.

[russotto]

I believe what he's trying, inarticulately, to refer to is both HUMINT (i.e. spies) and analysis (the getting inside someone's mind part -- as in understanding how they think, not actually reading their mind).

The administration has already said publicly that they wanted to be Big Brother, but that was another program (Total Information Awareness), which was canceled. Supposedly.

[xoxoxoBruce]

"Human intelligence, the ability to get inside somebody's mind, the ability to read somebody's mail, the ability to listen to somebody's phone call -- that somebody being the enemy,"

I suspect they'll determine who the enemy is by reading mail and listening to phone calls...of everyone. their ability to scan millions of phone calls simultaneously is scary.

[Griff]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

I suspect they'll determine who the enemy is by reading mail and listening to phone calls...of everyone. their ability to scan millions of phone calls simultaneously is scary.

Good thing this board is secure!

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by Griff

Good thing this board is secure!

I don't know about that, I seem to remember Dave was involved it that intelligence gathering software.

[footfootfoot]

Sort of, shift the pardigm, and hark back to the good old days of "duck and cover". Wolf, can you expound upon "learned helplessness" Or is it Hopelessness?

We Will All Go Together When We Go --Tom Lehrer
..."Life is like a sewer - what you get out of it depends on what you put into it." It's always seemed to me that this is precisely the sort of dynamic, positive thinking that we so desperately need today in these trying time of crisis and universal brouhaha. And so with this in mind, I have here a modern, positive, dynamic, uplifting song, in the tradition of the great old revival hymns. This one might more accurately be termed a survival hymn. It goes like this:


When you attend a funeral,
It is sad to think that sooner or L--
--ater those you love will do the same for you.
And you may have thought it tragic,
Not to mention other adjec-
Tives, to think of all the weeping they will do.
(But don't you worry.)

No more ashes, no more sackcloth,
And an arm band made of black cloth
Will some day nevermore adorn a sleeve.
For if the bomb that drops on you
Gets your friends and neighbors too,
There'll be nobody left behind to grieve.

And we will all go together when we go.
What a comforting fact that is to know.
Universal bereavement,
An inspiring achievement,
Yes, we will all go together when we go.

We will all go together when we go.
All suffused with an incandescent glow.
No one will have the endurance
To collect on his insurance,
Lloyd's of London will be loaded when they go.

Oh we will all fry together when we fry.
We'll be french fried potatoes by and by.
There will be no more misery
When the world is our rotisserie,
Yes, we will all fry together when we fry.

Down by the old maelstrom,
There'll be a storm before the calm.

And we will all bake together when we bake.
There'll be nobody present at the wake.
With complete participation
In that grand incineration,
Nearly three billion hunks of well-done steak.

Oh we will all char together when we char.
And let there be no moaning of the bar.
Just sing out a Te Deum
When you see that I.C.B.M.,
And the party will be come-as-you-are.

Oh, we will all burn together when we burn.
There'll be no need to stand and wait your turn.
When it's time for the fallout
And Saint Peter calls us all out,
We'll just drop our agendas and adjourn.

You will all go directly to your respective Valhallas.
Go directly, do not pass Go, do not collect two hundred dollahs.

And we will all go together when we go.
Every Hottentot and every Eskimo.
When the air becomes uranious,
We will all go simultaneous.
Yes, we all will go together
When we all go together,
Yes we all will go together when we go.

[Schrodinger's Cat]

My goodness, Foot. Had to wipe a tear outta my eye over that one. I suppose it's true enough that if someone starts having fun with isotopes of uranium just to see what else might be added to the periodic table of elements, we're all goners; but until then, it's every man for himself.

I have little faith in the over-all intelligence of man, even less in that of politicians. However, governments, the military, homeland security, and other petty criminals do seem to add more to their intelligence gathering capabilities with the passing of each day. Too bad no one seems to wise up as a result.

[footfootfoot]

Originally Posted by Schrodinger's Cat

...snip...However, governments, the military, homeland security, and other petty criminals do seem to add more to their intelligence gathering capabilities with the passing of each day. Too bad no one seems to wise up as a result.

I use to think of myself as a fairly creative person but I am unable to imagine what is coming down the pike.

It is like a social/political "perfect storm".

shivver.