Monthly Archives: November 2019

KRYPTOS Week 2019 — History of the NSA Involvement

Posted on November 6, 2019 by L

“Maintaining secrecy about the sculpture became a challenging part of creating Kryptos. Both Jim and I were under scrutiny by the media who wanted badly to know the answer. To be honest, I don’t know the answer. After Jim finished … Continue reading →

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On This Day — Colombia Palace of Justice Under Siege (November 6 1985) [2019]

Posted on November 6, 2019 by L

“Colombia has moved on… Colombia has forgotten the Palace of Justice siege.” Ana Carrigan — “The Palace of Justice: A Colombian Tragedy” November 6 2019 — The Palace of Justice siege (Toma del Palacio de Justicia in Spanish) was a … Continue reading →

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One Year Ago — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo : “US Government Determined to Change the Behavior of Ayatollah Khomeini”

Posted on November 6, 2019 by L

“Today, Secretary Mnuchin and I will discuss one of the many lines of effort to achieve these fundamental changes in the Iranian regime’s behavior as directed by the President. While important, these economic sanctions are just a part of the … Continue reading →

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Two Years Ago — Gordon Brown : “UK Misled Over Iraqi WMDs”

Posted on November 6, 2019 by L

“Given that Iraq had no usable chemical, biological or nuclear weapons that it could deploy and was not about to attack the coalition, then two tests of a just war were not met: war could not be justified.” Gordon Brown … Continue reading →

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Three Years Ago — Why the CIA & MI6 Love to Hate Putin

Posted on November 6, 2019 by L

“With the majority vote for Brexit against the strong preference of Scotland and Northern Ireland for remain, we have shown ourselves quite capable of inflicting potentially fatal harm to our national stability all by ourselves. Why would we need Russia … Continue reading →

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On This Day — Robert Gates Becomes 15th CIA Director (November 6 1991) [Test your “Spy Knowledge” with our 2019 CIA Directors Quiz!]

Posted on November 6, 2019 by L

“If Iraq and Afghanistan have taught us anything in recent history, it is the unpredictability of war and that these things are easier to get into than to get out of.” Former CIA Director Robert Gates November 6 2019 — … Continue reading →

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KRYPTOS Week 2019 — The Solution of Section II

Posted on November 5, 2019 by L

“And having thus chosen our course, without guile, and with pure purpose, let us renew our trust in God, and go forward without fear, and with manly hearts.” Abraham Lincoln — Address to congress (July 4th, 1861) The ciphertext on … Continue reading →

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40 Years Ago — Ayatollah Khomeini declares US “The Great Satan” (November 5 1979)

Posted on November 5, 2019 by L

“In this revolution, the Great Satan is America that gathers around other devils blatantly… If we see the US, this great Satan, raising chain and bringing the devils together around him, it is because the US grip over our country … Continue reading →

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KRYPTOS Week 2019 — How to Break a Vigenère Code

Posted on November 4, 2019 by L

“I genuinely enjoyed working on the Kryptos ciphers. Professional cryptographers almost certainly could have broken these codes much faster, and would have used superior methods. But I doubt that they would have derived as much satisfaction as I have. I … Continue reading →

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40 Years Ago — Iranian students storm the U.S. Embassy in Tehran (November 4 1979)

Posted on November 4, 2019 by L

“It is now very clear that there were two separate agreements, one the official agreement with Carter in Algeria, the other, a secret agreement with another party, which, it is now apparent, was Reagan. They made a deal with Reagan … Continue reading →

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