MEDINT — How to Read Body Language

Posted on May 28, 2019 by L

“It’s estimated that as much as 80% of our interaction with others is through non-verbal communication, or body language. And the vast majority of the nonverbal cues we display are driven by our subconscious mind – they are important indications of how we are feeling and what we’re thinking.”

Former FBI Agent Joe Navarro

Body language is a critical part of that communication. The finger wag is a classic trope of the genre. Their goal is not to communicate facts. Their goal is to tell you how to think about the facts. Their goal is to communicate an opinion as if it were fact.

Body language is a type of nonverbal communication in which physical behaviours, as opposed to words, are used to express or convey information. Such behaviour includes facial expressions, body posture, gestures, eye movement, touch and the use of space. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading →

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Microwave Spying — Leon Theremin & “The Thing” [UPDATE : Great Seal on display at the Spy Museum]

Posted on May 27, 2019 by L

“Theremin did some of his best scientific work while imprisoned by one of the most repressive regimes of the 20th century. This brilliant scientist crossed path with the CIA more than once — to our detriment.”

Benjamin R. Fisher — CIA History staff

“History certainly isn’t averse to irony. Seventy-plus years later, descendents of a device invented by the Soviet Union to eavesdrop on its Western enemies are being flogged in an internal catalog of a U.S. intelligence organization.”

Maurits Martijn — The Correspondent (December 2015)

Clara Rockmore & Leon Theremin. Rockmore was a classical violin prodigy and a virtuoso performer of the “Theremin”, the grandfather of all electronic musical instruments.

May 28 2018 — Once upon a time, the Russians relied for many years on a technology unknown to the Americans to spy on the US ambassador in Moscow. The device — known as “The thing” — was the brainchild of an extraordinary genius: Leon Theremin.

I have long suspected that “Microwave Spying” is still a tool on the shelf of the modern spies. In the aftermath of Snowden’s revelations, Der Spiegel published a catalog of surveillance technologies used by the NSA and CIA to eavesdrop on foreign spies and diplomats.

And indeed, these documents show that the U.S. Intelligence is using products — with names like LOUDAUTO and ANGRYNEIGHBOR — against foreign embassies. Those products are generally considered as direct successors of Leon Theremin’s brilliant invention. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading →

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“The Hunt for Red October: The Untold Story” [CIA Satire]

Posted on May 26, 2019 by L

For me, “The Hunt for Red October: The Untold Story” also served as a sort of barometer for my own acculturation process. During my first week of work in May of 2007, at least five people eagerly sent me the file saying things like, “You have to read this—it is the funniest thing ever!” But I didn’t get it, of course; not right away. By the end of my time there in early 2011, however, I revisited the text and found myself laughing out loud. (…)  Everyone seemed to know this story, so it was a shared cultural and institutional memory among the initiated. In fact, I was specifically told that “you aren’t truly initiated into CIA until you think that ‘The Hunt for Red October: The Untold Story’ is funny.”

Sociologist Bridget Rose Nolan

During the Cold War, someone wrote a series of short episodes describing how the CIA’s Directorate of Intelligence would have handled the events described in the book and the subsequent movie. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading →

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Exclusive Q&A with Carla Ortiz from Ghouta, Syria [UPDATE — OPCW Investigators Knew Douma Attack Was Staged]

Posted on May 25, 2019 by L

“I can say the following very confidently. Many officials in our Western governments have really no knowledge of the truth! This is what is so scary. Our decision-makers have been deceived either by misinformation or lies provided by their Intelligence Agencies regarding this conflict.”

Carla Ortiz — Interview with Intel Today (May 23 2018)

Carla Ortiz in Douma (Ghouta), Syria — May 2018

May 25 2018 — Carla Ortiz is a Bolivian actress, producer, documentary maker. She is reporting from Douma (Ghouta), Syria. Mrs Ortiz kindly answered a few questions for INTEL TODAY. Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today Continue reading →

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CIA Memorial Wall — The Mysterious Star : Ranya Abdelsayed (April 28 1979 – August 28 2013)

Posted on May 24, 2019 by L

“Dear Molly, Could you tell us how many stars on the Memorial Wall are known to represent women? Regards, Intel Today”

Question to CIA Molly Hale (Tweet – February 4 2019)

“I have no doubt Abdelsayed’s death was linked to the stresses of a dangerous assignment tracking Taliban members and other targets.”

Former CIA Director John Brennan (May 2019)

“There’s been an erosion of understanding in CIA leadership for at least two decades about what the wall is for and who is it that we’re commemorating. Now we have a suicide star on the wall. That’s not what the wall is for.”

Retired CIA historian Nicholas Dujmovic (May 2019)

The Memorial Wall is a memorial at the Central Intelligence Agency headquarters in Langley, Virginia. It honors CIA employees who died in the line of service. There are 133 stars carved into the white Alabama marble wall. Eleven represent women.

May 24 2019 — I have long argued that the CIA was hiding the identity of a female officer recently honoured by a star on the Memorial Wall. We now know who she is and how she died. Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today Continue reading →

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Two Years Ago — Former CIA director John Brennan testifies before House Intelligence Committee (May 23 2017) [UPDATE : John Brennan Perjured Himself Over Steele Dossier]

Posted on May 23, 2019 by L

“I encountered and am aware of information and intelligence that revealed contacts and interactions between Russian officials and U.S. persons involved in the Trump campaign that I was concerned about because of known Russian efforts to suborn such individuals.”

John O. Brennan — Former Director of the C.I.A. (May 23 2017)

Former Director of the CIA John Brennan

May 23 2017 — John O. Brennan, the former director of the C.I.A., said publicly for the first time  that he was concerned about possible ties between Russia and the Trump campaign. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_Today Continue reading →

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The Rise of the CFC — An Atmospheric Spy Thriller [UPDATE: China factories releasing thousands of tonnes of illegal CFC gases]

Posted on May 23, 2019 by L

“It appears that emissions of CFC-11 have increased in recent years, which is quite a surprise given the fact that production has been phased out — reportedly.  I think it’s the most surprising thing I’ve seen in my 27 years of making measurements of trace gases in the atmosphere.”

Stephen Montzka — NOAA scientist 

“We were absolutely gobsmacked to find that [Chinese]  companies very openly confirmed using CFC-11 while acknowledging it was illegal. The fact that they were so blasé about it, the fact that they told us very openly how pervasive it is in the market, these were shocking findings for us.”

Avipsa Mahapatra — Environmental Investigations Agency

Data from an NOAA study shows that emissions of CFC-11 — as calculated using two different models — rose after 2012, even though production was supposedly phased out.  (NOAA)

A real life Dr EVIL is producing thousands of tons of a banned chemical, threatening the recovery of Earth’s badly damaged ozone layer. Scientists believe that industrial amounts of CFC-11 are illegally produced ‘somewhere’ in the Northern Hemisphere, perhaps in Eastern Asia since 2012. Notice the irony. Porton Down and OPCW scientists can trace the origin of a few nano-grams of ‘novichok’ to a Russian laboratory in just a few days. But, after 6 years, nobody has identified the production site(s) of thousands of tons of a life-threatening banned chemical. UPDATE (July 9 2018) — The culprits may have been identified; they are probably Chinese foam companies. Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today Continue reading →

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CIA Honors its Fallen in Annual Memorial Ceremony [May 21 2019]

Posted on May 22, 2019 by L

 “We honor the men and women of this Agency who perished in the line of duty. The cause to which they devoted their lives—the freedom and safety of Americans—endures.”

CIA Director Gina Haspel (May 21 2019)

The Memorial Wall is a memorial at the Central Intelligence Agency headquarters in Langley, Virginia. It honors CIA employees who died in the line of service. There are 133 stars carved into the white Alabama marble wall. Eleven represent women.

On Tuesday (May 21 2019), the Central Intelligence Agency held its annual memorial ceremony to pay tribute to the men and women of CIA who have died in the line of duty. Four stars were added to the Memorial Wall this year. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading →

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On This Day — New York Times Admits Lockerbie Case Flaws (May 21 2012)

Posted on May 21, 2019 by L

“The enigmatic Mr Megrahi had been the central figure of the [Lockerbie] case for decades, reviled as a terrorist but defended by many Libyans, and even some world leaders, as a victim of injustice whose trial, 12 years after the bombing, had been riddled with political overtones, memory gaps and flawed evidence.”

New York Times — May 21 2012

“After writing about the “ravers” who regularly turn up at lectures to claim that President Bush/the CIA/the Pentagon/Mossad etc perpetrated the crimes against humanity of 11 September, I received a letter this week from Marion Irvine, who feared that members of her family run the risk of being just such ‘ravers’ and ‘voices heard in the wilderness’. Far from it. For Mrs Irvine was writing about Lockerbie, and, like her, I believe there are many dark and sinister corners to this atrocity. I urge anyone who is aware of government lies over Flight 103 to come forward.”

Robert Fisk — British Journalist

Mandela visiting Megrahi — aka the ‘Lockerbie bomber’ — in prison. Many thanks to my friend John Ashston who took the picture

Abdelbaset al-Megrahi — the only person ever convicted for the Lockerbie bombing — died on May 20 2012. His New York Times’ obituary was a bit of a surprise as the US Newspaper admitted — for the first time ever —  that the case against him was riddled with errors and false testimony. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading →

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CIA Molly Hale Just Answered Intel Today Question. Well, Not Really… [UPDATE : 11th Female Star Identity Revealed]

Posted on May 21, 2019 by L

“To this day, Barbara [Robbins] is the youngest officer memorialized on our Wall. She was the first American woman to die in Vietnam and the first woman in our Agency’s history to make the ultimate sacrifice.  Nine women since then have fallen in service to our mission. Today we remember them all, with great love and great admiration.”

CIA Director Leon Panetta — Memorial Ceremony (2011)

“Dear Molly, Could you tell us how many stars on the Memorial Wall are known to represent women? Regards, Intel Today”

Question to Molly Hale (February 4 2019)

March 26 2019 — On February 4 2019, CIA Molly Hale went digital. I could not resist firing the very first question on Twitter! How many CIA women are honoured by a star on the CIA wall? Molly Hale’s answer is unfortunately horribly ambiguous. And in fact, almost completely useless. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading →

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