Remembering CIA Whistleblower Victor Marchetti (December 23, 1929 – October 19, 2018)

Posted on October 19, 2019 by L

“The real reason for the official secrecy, in most instances, is not to keep the opposition (the CIA’s euphemistic term for the enemy) from knowing what is going on; the enemy usually does know. The basic reason for governmental secrecy is to keep you, the American public, from knowing — for you, too, are considered the opposition, or enemy — so that you cannot interfere. When the public does not know what the government or the CIA is doing, it cannot voice its approval or disapproval of their actions. In fact, they can even lie to you about what they are doing or have done, and you will not know it.”

Victor Marchetti — Propaganda and Disinformation: How the CIA Manufactures History 

“There exists in our world today a powerful and dangerous secret cult. This cult is patronized and protected by the highest level government officials in the world. Its membership is composed of those in the power centers of government, industry, commerce, finance, and labor. It manipulates individuals in areas of important public influence – including the academic world and the mass media. The Secret Cult is a global fraternity of a political aristocracy whose purpose is to further the political policies of persons or agencies unknown. It acts covertly and illegally.”

Victor Marchetti — The CIA and the Cult of Intelligence

Former CIA officer Victor Marchetti.

October 19 2019 — Victor L. Marchetti, Jr. was a former special assistant to the Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency and a prominent critic of the United States Intelligence Community and the Israel lobby in the United States. Marchetti died on October 19 2018 at his home in Ashburn, Virginia. He was 88. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading →

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On This Day — Black Monday (October 19 1987) [2019]

Posted on October 19, 2019 by L

“Many people remember the events leading up to October 19, 1987. Unfortunately, very few of them recall the specifics. When many people talk about the dramatic drop in the overall stock market, they either blame a single cause (portfolio insurance) or treat the market fall as if it were something that came from out of the blue. Far from being a lightning strike or an act of God, the crash was a single event caused by a complex series of interconnected events.”

Black Monday — The Motley Fool

“That (the 1988 US shoot down of Iran Air Flight 655), in itself, generates a sequence of events that comes back to haunt us. So it’s interesting to look at these in hindsight. We used to look at them as kind of discrete events, not tied to each other, and seen in a vacuum. But from a distance, I think we can see more of a pattern.”

Vincent Cannistraro — Director of Intelligence Programs for the U. S. National Security Council (1984 to 1987)

October 19 2019 — In the morning of October 19 1987, two U.S. warships shelled an Iranian oil platform in the Persian Gulf in response to Iran’s Silkworm missile attack on the Sea Isle City. The stock market crashed as the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 508 points, or 22.6 percent in value, its largest single-day percentage drop. The day became known as “Black Monday”. In a FRONTLINE interview, Former CIA Vincent Cannistraro explained his view on the whole affair going from the Iran-Contra scandal (November 3 1986) to the shoot down of Iran Airbus 655 (July 3 1988), and eventually to the Lockerbie tragedy (December 21 1988). Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading →

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Norway & Russia — Former Border Inspector Behind Bars in Moscow on Charges of Espionage [UPDATE XI : Rumours of spies swap]

Posted on October 18, 2019 by L

“Frode must come home, and Norwegian authorities must do what they can to get him out. It is not a good signal when such a positive and distinguished bridge-builder like Frode is arrested, it is not a good sign.”

Kirkenes town Mayor Rune Rafaelsen

“Once again we see the effects of big politics hitting us here locally, and we demand an end to that!”

Father Torbjørn Brox Webber

“I would not characterise the case as a global attack on bilateral relations. We have a relationship with Norway which develops in different areas. These kind of things happen, and it is uncomfortable, [but] our national legislation provides for adequate measures.”

Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova (December 28 2017)

Frode Berg, a 62 retired border inspector, was arrested by Russian security service agents in downtown Moscow on December 5th 2017. He is jailed  in isolation at the high-security Lefortovo prison.

Berg was allegedly caught receiving classified material about the Russian Navy that he is accused of planning to hand over to Norwegian and U.S. intelligence agencies. Berg claims that he was duped into working for Norway’s national intelligence agency.

On October 30 2018, the Moscow City Court has upheld the expanded arrest until December 5 2018. On Friday (November 30 2018), the court decided to prolong his arrest for another two months. On January 30 2019, the Moscow City Court has extended Berg’s detention until April 5 2019. On April 16 2019, Frode Berg has been sentenced to 14 years, as requested by the prosecutor.

UPDATE (October 18 2019) — On this day next week, Frode Berg could be a free man.  Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today Continue reading →

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On This Day — Russia Spy Richard Sorge Arrested in Tokyo (October 18 1941) [2019]

Posted on October 18, 2019 by L

“Richard Sorge’s brilliant espionage work saved Stalin and the Soviet Union from defeat in the fall of 1941, probably prevented a Nazi victory in World War II and thereby assured the dimensions of the world we live in today.”

Larry Collins

“The spies in history who can say from their graves, the information I supplied to my masters, for better or worse, altered the history of our planet, can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Richard Sorge was in that group.”

Frederick Forsyth

“Somehow, amidst the Bonds and Smiley’s People, we have ignored the greatest of 20th century spy stories – that of Stalin’s Sorge, whose exploits helped change history.”

US Journalist Carl Bernstein

“The (Richard Sorge secret) documents clearly indicate and give a warning about the fact that state institutions tend to hide facts in critical occasions.”

Naoki Ota — Sorge Incident specialist and a professor emeritus of Tokai University (August 2018)

On October 18, 1941, Richard Sorge was arrested in Tokyo. He was hanged on November 7 1944, at 10:20 Tokyo time in Sugamo Prison. A number of famous personalities — from General Douglas MacArthur to James Bond’s father and former MI6 Ian Fleming — considered him one of the most accomplished spies. Sorge is proof that one spy can alter the History of our world. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading →

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On This Day — Al Capone Convicted of Income Tax Evasion (October 17 1931) [2019]

Posted on October 17, 2019 by L

“They can’t collect legal taxes from illegal money.”

“Capitalism gives all of us a great opportunity if we seize it with both hands and hang on to it.”

“A smile can get you far, but a smile with a gun can get you further.”

“All I ever did was sell beer and whiskey to our best people. All I ever did was supply a demand that was pretty popular. Why, the very guys that make my trade good are the ones that yell the loudest about me. Some of the leading judges use the stuff.”

Chicago gangster Al Capone

On October 17, 1931, Chicago gangster Al Capone was convicted of income tax evasion and later sentenced to 11 years in federal prison, ending his control of the Chicago underworld. Aren’t you glad that the era of mafia politicians and corrupt law officers is finally over? I mean… Almost over.  Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading →

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Two Years Ago — Maltese Investigative Blogger Killed in Car Bomb [Daphne Caruana Galizia]

Posted on October 16, 2019 by L

“The best way to think of Daphne Caruana Galizia is as a one-woman WikiLeaks, crusading against untransparency and corruption in Malta, an island nation famous for both. To John Dalli, a former European commissioner whom she helped bring down in a tobacco lobbying scandal, Galizia is ‘a terrorist.’ To opposition MPs, she’s a political force of nature, one who fortunately has her guns aimed at the other side of the aisle. ‘She single-handedly brought the government to the verge of collapse,’ says one MP. ”

Denise Nestor — POLITICO (October 2017)

“It appears that absolutely nothing is happening. When we asked for updates, the response from the prosecutor [who is also the attorney general] was to mock us publicly, saying that they cannot provide a ‘running commentary’  – that was the name of my mother’s blog. It appears that there is a complete cover up and a complete lack of will to investigate the motive for the assassination and the people who ordered it.”

Journalist Matthew Caruana Galizia (October 2018)

“A year of soul-searching, monthly demonstrations and revelations that ebb and flow in Italian media have not brought Malta much closer to finding the truth about the murder. Arrests of three suspects have not led to the masterminds. The memorial in front of the court has become an unlikely battleground to define how to remember the slain journalist, who focused on nepotism, corruption, and anything she considered to be in bad taste in those close to power.”

Deutsche Welle  (October 2018)

Daphne Caruana Galizia — 26 August 1964 – 16 October 2017

October 16 2017 VALLETTA  – Daphne Caruana Galizia — Malta’s best-known investigative journalist — was killed on Monday (October 16 2017)  when a powerful bomb blew up her car. Galizia was 53 and leaves a husband and three sons. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading →

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Don’t Let Facebook Kill Free Speech

Posted on October 15, 2019 by L

“The biggest threat to a legitimate outcome in 2020 is not foreign interference; it’s left-leaning social media giants tilting the election by silencing viewpoints they don’t like. It’s already happening.”

Betsy McCaughey — Real Clear Politics (May 15, 2019)

“Every time Facebook makes the choice to remove content, a single company is exercising an unchecked power to silence.”

American Civil Liberties Union

“Facebook has deleted all of my posts from July 2017 to last week because I am, apparently, a Russian Bot. For a while I could not add any new posts either, but we recently found a way around that, at least for now. To those of you tempted to say “So what?”, I would point out that over two thirds of visitors to my website arrive via my posting of the articles to Facebook and Twitter. Social media outlets like this blog, which offer an alternative to MSM propaganda, are hugely at the mercy of these corporate gatekeepers.”

Former UK ambassador Craig Murray (August 28 2018)

October 15 2019 — Whenever Zuckerberg’s Facebook does not like what you write, they will make up rules to censor you, and eventually ban you from the social platform. My last post — regarding Mata Hari — was banned because it violates “community rules” regarding nudity. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading →

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On this Day — Mata Hari Is Executed (October 15 1917) [2019]

Posted on October 15, 2019 by L

“A harlot? Yes, but a traitor, never!”

Phrase attributed to Mata Hari during the trial

“Death is nothing, nor life either, for that matter. To die, to sleep, to pass into nothingness, what does it matter? Everything is an illusion.”

“I had long since lost any illusion of being loved for who I was and now accepted, with clean conscience, flowers, flattery, and money that fed my ego and my false identity.”

Mata Hari

Margaretha Zelle alias Mata Hari (1906)

Margaretha Geertruida “Margreet” MacLeod (née Zelle; 7 August 1876 – 15 October 1917), better known by the stage name Mata Hari, was a Dutch exotic dancer and courtesan. She was convicted of being a spy for Germany during World War I. On October 15 1917, she was executed by firing squad in France. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading →

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The Spying Game — Is ‘No Rules’ the New Rule? [2019 — POLL]

Posted on October 14, 2019 by L

Tom Bishop (Brad Pit) — Ah, Jesus Christ, you just… You don’t just trade these people like they’re baseball cards! It’s not a fucking game!

Nathan Muir (Robert Redford) —  Oh, yes it is. It’s exactly what it is. And it’s no kid’s game either. This is a whole other game. And it’s serious and it’s dangerous. And it’s not one you want to lose.

Spy Game (2001)

“Although no one had written them down, they were the precepts we all understood… By the time they got to Moscow, everyone knew these rules. They were dead simple and full of common sense…”.

Tony Mendez  — The Master of Disguise

 “There was only one rule: to win.”

Oleg Kalugin — Former major-general in the KGB

 “We are drifting as a society into what can be fairly described as a post-truth world…where there is no longer a basic understanding of what objective facts are.”

General Michael Hayden — Former CIA and NSA Director

October 14 2019 — American and Russian intelligence services have long held a gentlemen’s agreement — often referred to as Moscow rules — that limited how they engaged with each other. Under these rules, they agreed not to attack each other physically and not to engage in certain types of activities. In the light of recent events (from Salisbury to Havana), one can only wonder if the spooks are still playing the old game by these rules? Several former CIA officers/agents kindly offered to explain their view on this important issue.  Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading →

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One Year Ago — Apartheid Foreign Minister Pik Botha Dies [Lockerbie Conspiracy]

Posted on October 13, 2019 by L

“Had he known of the bomb, no force on earth would have stopped him from seeing to it that flight 103, with its deadly cargo, would not have left the airport. The minister is flattered by the allegation of near omniscience.”

Botha’s spokesman Roland Carroll

“Had we been on 103 the impact on South Africa and the region would have been massive. It happened on the eve of the signing of the tripartite agreements.”

Pretorius Official Statement

October 12 2018 — Pik Botha served as his country’s foreign minister for 17 years until the end of the apartheid era in 1994.  He died last night at the age of 86. The German newspaper Die Zeit claimed that Pik Botha intended to fly on Pan Am 103 but had been warned off. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading →

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