On This Day — FBI agents arrest Ted Kaczynski (April 3 1996) [Ethics & The Trolley Thought Experiment]

“Crowding, rapid change and the breakdown of communities have been widely recognized as sources of social problems. But we do not believe they are enough to account for the extent of the problems that are seen today.

If the system breaks down the consequences will still be very painful. But the bigger the system grows the more disastrous the results of its breakdown will be, so if it is to break down it had best break down sooner rather than later.

The concept of ‘mental health’ in our society is defined largely by the extent to which an individual behaves in accord with the needs of the system and does so without showing signs of stress.”

Theodore John Kaczynski

aka

The Unabomber

 

In the first ever book-length philosophical analysis of Ted Kaczynski’s writings on Industrial Civilization, Chad A. Haag explores the supremely-forbidden territory of questioning Modern Technology.

April 3 2022 — On April 3 1996, FBI agents raided the Montana cabin of Ted Kaczynski, also known as the Unabomber. In his essays, the Unabomber wrote about ethics and technology. The current pandemic raises many such issues. Is it ‘right’ to impose a vaccine if you know that it will save millions while killing a few? Let me ask you a hypothetical question… The trolley problem is a thought experiment in ethics modeling an ethical dilemma. It is generally considered to represent a classic clash between two schools of moral thought, utilitarianism and deontological ethics.  Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY

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The Origin of Covid-19 — The Definitive Conclusion of the U.S. Intelligence Community 90-days Investigation (August 24 2021) [UPDATE — CIA director tests positive for Covid-19]

“I have now asked the Intelligence Community to redouble their efforts to collect and analyze information that could bring us closer to a definitive conclusion, and to report back to me in 90 days.”

Biden (May 26 2021) 

June 3 2021 — The US President Joe Biden has announced an urgent investigation into the origin of the COVID pandemic. What are the competing theories? What do we know about these theories so far? What can the US Intelligence Community learn in the next 90 days. And, last but not least, what is the most likely conclusion of the investigation? Here are my predictions! Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY

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April Fool — Beware : The FBI has no sense of humor! [UPDATE — “A republic, if you can keep it.”]

“You would think those [FBI] idiots would understand that [April Fool] letter. They are really nuts.”

William M. Kunstler — US most famous civil‐rights attorney

William Moses Kunstler (July 7, 1919 – September 4, 1995) was an American lawyer and civil rights activist, known for defending the Chicago Seven. The New York Times labeled him “the country’s most controversial and, perhaps, its best-known lawyer.”

April 1 2022 — In its 1970 April Fool’s issue, The Spectator — Columbia University’s newspaper — ran a few hilarious pranks, including a fake letter from William M. Kunstler. Almost a decade later, the legendary civil rights activist found that letter in his FBI file. And he was not amused… Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY

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On This Day — UN Security Council Nominates Dag Hammarskjöld for Secretary-General (March 31 1953) [What Really Happened to Dag Hammarskjold’s Plane?]

“It will be necessary to find some way of pulling Hammarskjold up short.”

UK Prime Minister Harold Macmillan 

(September 13 1961)

*** *** ***

“Hammarskjöld was at the point of getting something done when they killed him. Notice that I said ‘when they killed him’.”

US President Harry Truman

(September 19 1961)

Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold (July 29, 1905, Jönköping, Sweden — September 18, 1961, Ndola, Zambia)

March 31 2021 — On 31 March 1953, the Security Council voted 10-0-1 to recommend Hammarskjöld to the General Assembly, with an abstention from Nationalist China. Shortly after midnight on 1 April 1953, Hammarskjöld was awakened by a telephone call from a Stockholm journalist with the news, which he dismissed as an April Fool’s Day joke. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY

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Remembering CIA Barbara A. Robbins (July 26, 1943 – March 30, 1965) — The Enduring Mystery of the Anonymous 1965 Star

“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 (May 23 2011)

Barbara Robins – Nha Trang – 1964

March 30 2022 –Officially, the first female CIA officer to die in the line of duty and receive a star on the Memorial Wall was Barbara Robbins. On March 30 1965, two years after joining the Agency, she was killed in a car bombing of the US Embassy in South Vietnam. Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today

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On This Day — Julius And Ethel Rosenberg Are Convicted of Espionage (March 29 1951) [New Book: Ethel Rosenberg: An American Tragedy.]

“If the English want a king, it is their business. If the Russians want communism, it is their business. If the Americans want our form of government, it is our business.”

“This death sentence is not surprising. It had to be.”

Julius Rosenberg

A lithograph of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg made and signed by Pablo Piccaso in 1952.

March 29 2022 — On this day in 1951, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were convicted of espionage for their role in passing atomic secrets to the Soviets during and after World War II. On Friday June 19, 1953 at 8 pm, Julius Rosenberg was strapped into the electric chair and died after the first jolt. Ethel proved a bit harder to kill. Her heart was still beating after three shocks.  Two more needed to be applied to finally end her life. At that point, witnesses saw a puff of smoke escape from her skull.

Ethel became the first woman executed by the U.S. government since Mary Surratt was hanged in 1865 for her alleged role in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Declassified documents cast doubt on whether Ethel was guilty as charged. Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today

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The Causes and Consequences of the Ukraine Crisis [UPDATE — The Economist : “Why the West is principally responsible for the Ukrainian crisis”]

“My argument is that the West, especially the United States, is principally responsible for this disaster. But no American policymaker is going to acknowledge that line of argument. So they will say that the Russians are responsible.”

John Mearsheimer (February 2022)

March 3 2022 — In order to come up with the optimum plan for ending the crisis, it is essential to know what caused the crisis. Regarding the all-important question of causes, the key issue is whether Russia or the West bears primary responsibility. Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today

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Parody –“Party In The CIA” by Weird Al Yankovic

“Yeah, we’ve got our black ops all over the world,
from Kazakhstan to Bombay; (…)
Need a country destabilized?
Look no further, we’re your guys!”

 “Weird Al” Yankovic –“Party In The CIA”

March 27 2022 — Thank God, It’s [Parody] Sunday! Time to have some fun!  “Party in the CIA” is the seventh track off of Weird Al’s 2011 album,  AlpocalypseFollow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today

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10 Years Ago — SCCRC report published online by Sunday Herald [Unmasking The GOLFER. Who was Lockerbie Deep Throat?]

“Golfer was interviewed three times by the SCCRC officials but to date his identity has been one of the most closely guarded secrets concerning the whole Lockerbie affair. Let’s underline Golfer’s importance. If Lockerbie is Scotland’s Watergate then Golfer is our Deep Throat.”

Policing Lockerbie, A Bella Caledonia Special Investigation (Sept. 7 2011)

March 26 2022 — On March 25 2012, the Sunday Herald published the full Lockerbie Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC) 800-page report. For those who like statistics, this report contains 285,300 words, and a total of 1,384,109 (no space) characters.

The chapter regarding GOLFER was redacted to hide his identity. But one letter of just one word had been only partially redacted. After a bit of thinking, I came to the conclusion that this letter was a (Times New Roman) capital G. And that was all that I needed to start cracking a two-decade-old secret. 

Ian Hazelton (born August 13 1947) retired [as a Detective Sergeant] from the Strathclyde police in 1995 after 30 years of service. Ian Hazelton was the source of David Leppard’s article and he is the GOLFER.

The lies of the GOLFER were a terrible distraction for the SCCRC officers. As a result, they became convinced that there was no credibility to the allegation that evidence had been fabricated. And thus, they ignored the irrefutable scientific evidence that PT/35(b) — the key piece of evidence linking Libya to Lockerbie — is a forgery. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY

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On This Day — Madeleine Albright Discovers Her Jewish Roots (February 4 1997) [UPDATE — POLL : Do you think that Madeleine Albright Was “A Great Person” ?]

“So many Americans and other nationals died in that terrible, terrible accident.”

Lockerbie

U. S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright

(August 2009)

Many journalists have credited Madeleine Albright for her “Read My Pins” diplomacy.

February 4 2021 — On February 4 1997,  U. S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said she had received information that two grandparents may have been Jewish and may have perished in the Auschwitz concentration camp. Seriously? Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY

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