Tag Archives: History

On This Day — US President Richard Nixon : “I am Not a Crook.” (November 17 1973) [UPDATE : 50 Years of Deep Throat]

Posted on November 17, 2024 by L

“And in all of my years of public life, I have never obstructed justice. And I think, too, that I could say that in my years of public life, that I welcome this kind of examination, because people have got … Continue reading →

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110 Years Ago — Remembering Actress and Inventor Hedy Lamarr (November 9, 1914 – January 19, 2000) [UPDATE : A simple method to hide Havana Syndrome attacks]

Posted on November 9, 2024 by L

“We began talking about the war, which, in the late summer of 1940, was looking most extremely black. Hedy said that she did not feel very comfortable, sitting there in Hollywood and making lots of money when things were in … Continue reading →

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KRYPTOS Week — Introduction : Sculpture Dedication Ceremony at the CIA (November 3 1990)

Posted on November 3, 2024 by L

“Maybe you’re mistaken–maybe this first part of the Kryptos code is really not a polyalphabetic Vigenere Tableau after all — maybe it’s a different type of code entirely. Or maybe it is a Vigenere code, but it’s been double or … Continue reading →

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70 Years Ago — Hemingway Wins Nobel Prize (October 28 1954) [Was Hemingway pushed to suicide by the FBI?]

Posted on October 28, 2024 by L

“Hemingway may have said ‘yes’ to the Soviet recruitment pitch, but unless there is some additional trove of material in the NKVD archives that argues otherwise, it is clear Hemingway was never a productive Soviet agent.” CIA website — Intelligence … Continue reading →

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The CIA Memorial Wall : David Lee Konzelman (October 24, 1940 — October 24, 1971)

Posted on October 24, 2024 by L

“I heard one day that one of our local operations had gone awry, that a helicopter had been forced to make an emergency landing, hurting someone in the process. It turned out to be much worse than that. Dave had … Continue reading →

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On This Day — Soviet Union Launches SPUTNIK (October 4 1957)

Posted on October 4, 2024 by L

“On 4 October 1957, the Soviet Union successfully launched the Sputnik-1 earth satellite into space—an achievement that stunned the American public and press, but not the U.S. policy and intelligence communities. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) reported the advancements that … Continue reading →

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40 Years Ago — Stanislav Petrov Saves the World from Nuclear War (September 26 1983) [UPDATE]

Posted on September 26, 2024 by L

“The siren howled. But I just sat there for a few seconds, staring at the big, back-lit, red screen with the word ‘LAUNCH’ on it.” Colonel Stanislav Petrov September 26 2023 — On September 26 1983 — just three weeks … Continue reading →

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Reflection on the Role of the U.S. Vice Presidency

Posted on September 25, 2024 by L

“The vice presidency is not worth a bucket of warm piss.” John Nance Garner September 25, 2024 — Winter is coming soon, and I have decided to embark on a fun project: writing a short book on the early days … Continue reading →

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CIA Annual Ceremony — 50th Anniversary of the Memorial Wall (May 17, 2024) [UPDATE — Earliest known photo of the CIA Memorial Wall]

Posted on August 30, 2024 by L

“We never take for granted the safety of our people, and we go to great lengths to prepare for every eventuality. But danger is part of the job, and it has never deterred us from our vital mission…From our very … Continue reading →

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CIA Annual Ceremony — 50th Anniversary of the Memorial Wall (May 17, 2024) [UPDATE — PBS NewsHour : ‘Every star’s a life’: The personal stories behind the stars on the CIA Memorial Wall]

Posted on August 23, 2024 by L

“We never take for granted the safety of our people, and we go to great lengths to prepare for every eventuality. But danger is part of the job, and it has never deterred us from our vital mission…From our very … Continue reading →

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