The Voynich Manuscript Finally Decoded? Maybe Not…

Posted on September 12, 2018 by L

“After reading my report, Mr. Friedman disclosed to me his belief that the basis of the script was a very primitive form of synthetic universal language such as was developed in the form of a philosophical classification of ideas by Bishop Wilkins in 1667 and Dalgarno a little later. It was clear that the productions of these two men were much too systematic, and anything of the kind would have been almost instantly recognisable. My analysis seemed to me to reveal a cumbersome mixture of different kinds of substitution.”

Brigadier John Hessell Tiltman

A history researcher and television writer named Nicholas Gibbs published a long article in the Times Literary Supplement about how he’d cracked the code on the mysterious Voynich Manuscript. Experts and scholars are not impressed. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading →

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Havana Syndrome — First Magnetite Map of the Human Brain

Posted on September 12, 2018 by L

“They found magnetite concentrated in the same places in all seven brains—primarily in the cerebellum and brain stem. A striking asymmetry also exists in the distribution of particles between the right and left hemispheres.”

R. Mark Wilson — Physics Today (August 30 2018)

Stuart Gilder and Christoph Schmitz — both at the Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich — have carried out the first systematic mapping of magnetite nano-particles in the human brain. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading →

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The Looming Tower : Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11

Posted on September 11, 2018 by L

“Radicalism usually prospers in the gap between rising expectations and declining opportunities. This is especially true where the population is young, idle, and bored; where the art is impoverished; where entertainment—movies, theater, music—is policed or absent altogether; and where young men are set apart from the consoling and socializing presence of women.”

Lawrence Wright — The Looming Tower    

The book and show’s title refers not only to the Twin Towers but also to a passage from the Koran – “wherever you are, death will find you, even if you are in lofty towers” – quoted by Osama bin Laden not long before 9/11. Nevertheless, the towers themselves indeed loom over the series, which is no less gripping because we know where it’s headed. To the contrary, tension builds like heat in a pressure cooker as the FBI and the CIA take radically different and conflicting approaches to mitigating the threat from al-Qaida. [Guardian]

“The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11” is a 2006 non-fiction book by Lawrence Wright. It is a historical look at the way in which the militant organization Al-Qaeda came into being, the background for various terrorist attacks and how they were investigated, and the events that led to the September 11 attacks. In 2007, Wright was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction for the work. A 10-episode television miniseries adaptation aired in 2018 on Hulu. Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today Continue reading →

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Havana Syndrome — “Neuro-Weapons” Behind Cuba Attacks?

Posted on September 11, 2018 by L

“I got a call from the State Department in February of 2017, and literally, the call was, ‘This is the State Department, we have a problem.’ They spoke to me about individuals who began experiencing symptoms late in 2016 with ear pain, ringing in the ear, dizziness and cognitive issues.”

Michael Hoffer — Otolaryngologist at the University of Miami

“I don’t know if there’s a definitive answer yet to what’s going on. Somebody needs to get the bottom of it.”

Justin Sanchez — DARPA Director of the Biological Technologies Office

“Is it possible and probable that electromagnetic pulse devices that would then be propagated either directly or vectored could do this? Yes, it’s very, very possible and very probable.”

James Giordano — Professor of neurology and biochemistry at Georgetown University

Sharon Weinberger — Yahoo News D.C. Bureau Chief — just posted a long piece on the current status of the “Havana Syndrome” investigation.  Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading →

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On This Day — The Chilean Coup (September 11 1973)

Posted on September 11, 2018 by L

“I don’t see why we need to stand by and watch a country go communist due to the irresponsibility of its people. The issues are much too important for the Chilean voters to be left to decide for themselves.”

Henry Kissinger — Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under Richard Nixon

“It is firm and continuing policy that Allende be overthrown by a coup. It would be much preferable to have this transpire prior to Oct. 24 but efforts in this regard will continue vigorously beyond this date. We are to continue to generate maximum pressure toward this end, utilizing every appropriate resource. It is imperative that these actions be implemented clandestinely and securely so that the USG and American hand be well hidden…”

CIA cable — October 16 1970

“With respect to your earlier comments about Chile in the 1970s and what happened with Mr. Allende, it is not a part of American history that we’re proud of.”

General Colin Powell — US Secretary of State (2003)

Salvador Allende gives his inaugural address as president of Chile in 1970. (No Photoshop back then…)

Before the coup, Chile had been hailed as a beacon of democracy and political stability for decades; whilst the rest of South America had been plagued by military juntas and Caudillismo. The collapse of Chilean democracy ended a streak of democratic governments in Chile, which had held democratic elections since 1932. Historian Peter Winn characterised the 1973 coup as one of the most violent events in the history of Chile. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading →

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On This Day — Former CIA Boss John McLaughlin : “So, that’s it.” (September 11 2001)

Posted on September 11, 2018 by L

“I typed a single sentence, a memo to myself: Nothing will ever be the same.”

John McLaughlin — Former CIA Deputy Director & Acting Director (2000 to 2004)

john-mclaughlin

John McLaughlin — Former CIA Deputy Director & Acting Director (2000 to 2004)

“The hijacked planes hit the twin towers at 8:46 and 9:03 a.m. and the Pentagon at 9:37. Around 10 a.m., we moved out of our headquarters, in Langley, Virginia, to an adjacent structure; we assumed that our building was also a target.” Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading →

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One Year Ago — The KRYPTOS Sculpture — SECTION IV : A Few Clues From Edward Scheidt

Posted on September 10, 2018 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 the sculpture, I never went back to check the code.”

Edward Scheidt  — Former CIA Head of Cryptography

Kryptos at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia

KRYPTOS is a sculpture by the American artist Jim Sanborn located on the grounds of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in Langley, Virginia. Since its dedication on November 3, 1990, there has been much speculation about the meaning of the four encrypted messages it bears. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading →

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Skripal Case — Going from Weird to Berserk (UPDATE)

Posted on September 10, 2018 by L

“That the attack on the Skripals was nonsense is clear to a person with half a brain. But some don’t even have one half, that’s why they believe in this absurdity.”

Roger Waters — (August 27 2018)

“There is a wonderful book that you might read… And the title of it is from a quote from Winston Churchill: ‘In time of war, the truth is so precious, it must be attended by a bodyguard of lies.’ ”

US Secretary of State George P. Shultz (03/10/1986)

“The issue surrounding the identify [sic] of a former MI6 informer Sergei Skripal is already widely available in the public domain. However, the identifies [sic] of intelligence agency personnel associated with Sergei Skripal are not yet widely available in the public domain.”

UK D-Notice issued on March 7 2018

“I’ve been a journalist for about 25 years and I was educated to lie, to betray and not to tell the truth to the public. The truth will come out one day, the truth won’t die.”

Dr. Udo Ulfkotte — German Journalist and Whistleblower

Woman’s Head — Pablo Picasso (1934)

In matters of espionage and National Security, no one covers the news better than the BBC or the Guardian. Day after day, their “presstitutes” will cover the truth under layers of lies until their readers can no longer tell which way is up. The Lockerbie affair is a case in point. The Skripals’ story is another first-rate example. The official narrative is beginning to look a lot like a Picasso painting from his surrealism period, although without the master’s genius. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading →

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On This Day — 1,000 Boeing 747 Jumbo Plane Produced (September 10 1993)

Posted on September 10, 2018 by L

“Aviation investigations are replete with accident scenarios that couldn’t happen. And given the lack of bomb evidence so far, neither scenario has been ruled out, officials said. First is the possibility that the doomed plane’s front section, which has a history of structural fatigue cracks and must undergo regular inspections, simply unzipped from the rest of the plane as weakened structural frames gave way.”

TWA 800 — Washington Post August 1 1996

“There was a single primary return received (…) 16 seconds before SSR returns were lost. […] No explanation can be offered for its presence.”

Pan AM 103 AAIB

Kalitta Air (25th May, 2008)

Boeing has delivered more than 1,500 of these jets since 1970. The 747 has been involved in 60 hull losses, resulting in 3,722 fatalities. The destruction in flight of three Boeing-747 remains the subject of intense debates to this day: AIR INDIA 182, PAN AM 103, and TWA 800. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading →

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One Year Ago — Welcome to Belgistan! [Is Belgium a Failed State?]

Posted on September 9, 2018 by L

“What do Molenbeek’s failures reveal about the deep dysfunction in the Belgian state? That Molenbeek has been allowed to become a breeding-ground for jihadism says some damning things about formal and informal structures in Belgium, and in particular Brussels.”

Belgium is a Failed State – POLITICO 

“While the government has acknowledged that hundreds of Belgians have gone to fight with ISIS or for other groups in the Syrian civil war, Pieter Van Ostaeyen, an independent researcher, calculated in October (2015) that 516 Belgians had fought in Iraq or Syria, far higher than the government’s figures. Based on his numbers, Belgium has contributed more fighters per capita to the fight in the Levant than any other European country.”

David A. Graham — The Atlantic (November 2015)

“The Committee will want to consider whether Gaddafi’s prophetic warning of the rise of extremist militant groups following the collapse of the regime was wrongly ignored because of Gaddafi’s otherwise delusional take on international affairs. The evidence that the Committee has taken so far in this inquiry suggests that western policy makers were rather less perceptive than Gaddafi about the risks of intervention for both the Libyan people and the western interests.” Crispin Blunt MP, Chair.

September 9 2017 — Brussels is the capital of Belgium as well as the capital of Europe. But some are now calling it the ‘Muslim’ capital of Europe The small European nation has become a major source of violent jihadists, both in Syria and Iraq and also inside Europe. After the Paris and Brussels attacks, many have denounced Belgium as a Failed State. The claim is not entirely without merit. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading →

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