The CIA's Social Mining Department 110
bsquizzato writes "The Associated Press is running a story about the CIA's Open Source Center: 'a team known affectionately as the "vengeful librarians,"' who work out of 'an anonymous industrial park in Virginia, in an unassuming brick building' scouring social networks and other online media to keep up with the world's current events and opinions on American actions. This should come as no surprise, but it's quite interesting that President Obama is briefed daily on the latest hot topic tweets and Facebook posts."
Ugh... (Score:1)
but it's quite interesting that President Obama is briefed daily on the latest hot topic tweets and Facebook posts."
Isn't that what trending hashtags are for?
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Hmm...well, that might help a little explaining the current state of the economy, and the US in general.
Get off the fucking social networks...and start actually consulting impartial experts, and actually maybe....follow their advice, regardless of which party might seem to benefit.
Governing by 'mood of the country' isn't the best way to get thin
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Ignoring the mood of your country is often a pretty destructive thing for a politician to do. Really how much time do you think it would take to review say a page of information. Of course those collating are spending a lot of time but the expectation is a poltical should know the mood of the electorate, should pay attention to it and in reality should flip or flop which ever way they tell him to ie be a 'representative' politician and not a 'dictative' politcian.
Every says you should listen to your boss
As Much As I Don't Like Obama... (Score:3)
Not only interesting, but smart if he wants to get votes. Connecting with the public, and being able to converse on recent hot topics, or insert them into speeches, is a good way to get votes. It helps reduce the perception that he is disconnected from the people, which is an oft-heard complaint about those in Washington.
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... and you've just given an excellent description of the the difference between a politician and a leader.
Re:As Much As I Don't Like Obama... (Score:4, Insightful)
"That's why more drastic action, like the protests and beyond, must be taken."
Well, if we paid attention at election time and actually examined the candidates, we would, sadly, conclude that none of them can be trusted, and none of them deserve our votes.
Then we would pay more attention to the selection process, and would realize, sadly, that none of them can be trusted, and none of them deserve our support.
Then, perhaps, we would pay more attention to the media, and realize, sadly, that none of it serves us. And we would look elsewhere for such meager scraps of information as can be useful in selecting our political leaders.
All of which is a waste of time, since the majority in the U.S. will never care who they vote for, so long as they can vote for the one that promises they will not have to pay taxes and will taken care of by their government, for others will pay the taxes.
Doomed. We are doomed.
Well, I was with you right until... (Score:2)
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All of which is a waste of time, since the majority in the U.S. will never care who they vote for, so long as they can vote for the one that promises they will not have to pay taxes and will taken care of by their government, for others will pay the taxes.
Yeah, that's the part I find really, really fucking strange. My dad will never be a millionaire, yet he votes Republican and defends their "no taxing the rich" strategy. That just doesn't make sense to me; "no taxing me" I get, but "no taxing someone taking advantage of me" just doesn't hit me the same way. Perhaps in 20 years or so I'll be going senile too.
(BTW, love your .sig.)
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Well, I can't speak for your father, but I can tell you how I feel about the 'tax the rich' ideas.
First, the premise that the rich aren't paying their fair share is difficult to support if you consider how much a share of tax revenue they already pay.
Second, when you see that 49-51% of all taxpayers aren't paying taxes at all, you might ask yourself 'why?'. Two possiblities:
1. These are the housholds that are so close or below the poverty line, that they ought to be excused from taxes.
2. Our representative
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Legalize marijuana? Marijuana is a dangerous drug that will make you freak out and jump out a third-story window.
I really hope that you are joking/trolling...
Anyone who still holds the belief that marijuana is either a) dangerous or b) a gateway drug needs to seriously read up on the FACTS...
And before the flaming begins, smoking is not the only way to ingest marijuana, so don't start spouting off crap about lung cancer - show me a scientific link between ingesting marijuana through mastication and any kind of cancer or illness. Oh, no luck? I can show you plenty of first hand reports of the BENEFITS. I will concede t
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The responses from the administration make it clear that website isn't about listening to the petitioners, but rather telling them why what the government is already doing is the right thing (and why you should just sit down and stop making a fuss, thanks). In the case of marijuana, their argument is painfully thin. They trot out the "marijuana significant use is a source for voluntary d
Reefer Madness? (Score:2)
Maryjane a gateway drug? Well, could be. I smoked weed for six months before ever smoking tobacco - during my first acid trip. Did plenty of the psycho-active, -delic stuff for ten years, '67-'77, picked it up, laid it down. Only stuff to cause any probs at all to date are nicotine, alcohol, caffeine.
And yeah, ingestion works great for boo (takes more but lasts longer and is mellower - mind the dosage); used to powder leaves and buds in blender or pestle and use as ingredient for sauces, dressings, wha
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Not only interesting, but smart if he wants to get votes.
It's also the root of The Problem - politics has changed into a game of trying to please the unwashed masses while painting the opposition as black as possible.
The people running the country should be concerned about doing it efficiently while solving the big problems (economy, energy, healthcare, debt, etc). Being leaders who get stuff done, leading the world by example. As it is they're more concerned about expensive suits, manicures and looking good on TV.
The system is broken and we're the ones who're fo
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politics has changed into a game of trying to please the unwashed masses while painting the opposition as black as possible.
That change occurred when humans got involved in politics thousands of years ago. "Thag promise no regulate clubs, not like corrupt evil Ogg."
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Yes, but his reign was sadly cut short by the Thagomizer [wikipedia.org]....
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It is the root of the problem. But if you want votes then that's a good way to ensure you get some.
The problem is that the politicians who can solve the problems won't ever get elected. It's akin to a parent telling a kid he can't have ice cream, but must eat beansprouts instead.
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So the CIA is helping Obama stay on top of the latest trends that will help him converse on the latest topics?
Great. I'm so glad that tax dollars are helping politicians keep up with Facebook at Twitter. It would be bad enough of their staff was doing it. But the CIA? Come on now. I was under the impression that there are real, pressing issues to focus on. Issues like China and Russia coordinating organized, 24x7 penetration testing of anything and everything connected to the internet.
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So the CIA is helping Obama stay on top of the latest trends that will help him converse on the latest topics?
Great. I'm so glad that tax dollars are helping politicians keep up with Facebook at Twitter. It would be bad enough of their staff was doing it. But the CIA? Come on now. I was under the impression that there are real, pressing issues to focus on. Issues like China and Russia coordinating organized, 24x7 penetration testing of anything and everything connected to the internet.
Well if its a secondary benefit to activities more in keeping with their primary mission why not brief the pres about public sentiment? As far as the Chinese and Russians using our networked computer as sex dolls, that's more of a NSA thing than CIA.
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... and ... (Score:1)
Why? (Score:4, Insightful)
Why does Obama even bother? Based on the petition responses, he doesn't really give a shit what any of us "little people" think, anyway.
I think he's just looking for buzz words to use as he blows more smoke up our collective asses, myself.
Neither party represents the people any more. It's time to call a mulligan on this one and start again...
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This isn't used for figuring out his politics. Twitter and all this other social media BS is used for arranging protests against various foreign governments, and also to advocate terrorism. The guy we whacked in Yemen was calling for jihad based in part on a series of Youtube videos. Keeping apprised of these developments can be very useful, especially if they're figuring out where these various posts are coming from. If there's a movement arising in Syria, for instance, the US and NATO can step in to provi
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Which of the White House responses is it that you thought was out of line with the American public as a whole?
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dude needs to chill.
I have an idea but I don't think you are at all receptive to it.
pity, though.
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It doesn't need to be legalized, it only needs to be removed from the Schedule 1 list so that it can legitimately be prescribed across the US.
I'm sure if it was up to the people Viagra and many other drugs would never been allowed to be prescribed.
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This is Slashdot. It was almost certainly the Marijuana response he was complaining about. For me, I'm very sick and tired of the stoners trying to hijack every internet political forum for their pet project - they seem very tense about it, too. That's probably because they're using the Internet at work and so not sufficiently stoned.
Or it could be that non-violent people are being thrown in jail in large numbers, and some of us have a problem with that. I suppose you don't care since it's not your problem, but what is your problem is the amount of money our government spends ruining people's lives.
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Concern about software patents -> "That's the way the law works. Now we'll talk up our new patent law which doesn't address them."
Religion in the public square -> "The president mentioned you non-believers in his inaugural address, what more do you want?"
Legalize marijuana -> "The War on Drugs totally
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The ones about how pot was dangerous and should still be against the law, even for medical use.
I saw a story with a poll, on Fox news of all places the other day..where the poll indicated that today, the majority of people in the US were in favor of relaxing / repealing marijuana laws.
That one kinda surprised me....
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If Obama is against legalizing marijuana, then they're for it.
When President Bachmann gets into office, they'll be against it again.
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mulligan?
you sound .... rich.
(get 'em, boys!)
lousy one percenters.
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Given that the game of "Asshole" contains a "mulligan", I am not so sure how well that holds true.
Three Days of the Condor? (Score:1)
Re:Three Days of the Condor? (Score:5, Funny)
" Imagine browsing through millions of pictures of LOLcats"
I can has top seecretz?
Three Days of the Condor (Score:2)
Vengeful Librarians? Unassuming brick building?
Let's hope Max Von Sydow doesn't show up at their door.
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This is the way it will happen, someone you trust will ask you to get in the car with them. DON'T DO IT!!
And if they will use words like "safe" and "secure," especially in repetition, then it means they mean to kill you!
We see you've been posting on slashdot, citizen (Score:2, Funny)
Please report to your nearest rendition centre for mandatory waterboarding and asshole penetration.
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Those poor animals [wikipedia.org]. They seem to cop it every time. And yet, people seem to miss what's right behind them: arseholes.
Disclaimer: Sorry, I just couldn't resist. (Actually, that's not much of a disclaimer. I guess I'm just a jackass. ;)
Domestic operations? (Score:2)
Re:Domestic operations? (Score:5, Insightful)
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After 9/11 the bed wetters gave up their freedom for the illusion of security, and took everyone along for the ride.
FTFY.
Err... rest of the world is also on the Internet (Score:2)
Right Wing must tweet more than the Moderate Wing (Score:1, Interesting)
One can only presume that there are more Right Wing tweeters than Left Wing or Centrist or tweeters, because ever since he took office he has been playing up to Right Wing sensibilities and corporate interests. Too bad that people like him would rather have a successful career than a moral conscience.
Looking for advice? (Score:2)
Sir, the internet recommends you do a barrel roll. Also it seems cats are demanding moar noms.
The CIA's astroturfing department (Score:4, Insightful)
So I guess they have an astroturfing (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astroturfing) department, as well. They spread positive stuff on America's actions in foreign social networks.
So I hope that the mining folks don't pick up something spread by their own astroturfing folks. Gee, wouldn't that be a major failure of intelligence gathering.?
Re:The CIA's astroturfing department (Score:4, Insightful)
So I guess they have an astroturfing (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astroturfing) department, as well. They spread positive stuff on America's actions in foreign social networks.
So I hope that the mining folks don't pick up something spread by their own astroturfing folks. Gee, wouldn't that be a major failure of intelligence gathering.?
So, first off, before it was called "astroturfing" it was already an old practice in the realm of geopolitics...it was called "propoganda," and everyone does it like crazy. It's not rocket science that you guessed at that, by the way...this is far, far, far from being either a news or secret.
If you read the article, you'll see that what they're doing is not just absorbing the messages, but looking at the information in the context of the sources providing them. And they aren't just looking at opinions, but at facts as well. In fact, I'd be shocked if they weren't fully aware of what other efforts were underway to improve the viewpoint on American activities, and cross-referencing to validate the effectiveness of those efforts. As well they should; that's part of what an intelligence organization is supposed to do, after all. Why do some people get so upset when the CIA does what the CIA is meant to do? If you want to live in a country that has no such apparatus, your options are extremely limited...I recommend Costa Rica or Luxembourg. At least what we're talking about here is nothing more than listening to what the rest of the world is saying, and paying attention to it...this is not waterboarding, extraordinary rendition, or reaper drone strikes. It's reading Twitter and Facebook.
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I'll give them something to mine for (Score:5, Insightful)
How about instead of spying on the little guy, you go after the people that wrecked america, economically, socially, politically and intellectually.
Can you bring those crooks to justice please?
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How about instead of spying on the little guy, you go after the people that wrecked america, economically, socially, politically and intellectually.
They already spend too much time looking in the mirror, and you want them to do it more?
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They funded every guy into office. They're not going to dick about them.
FTFY.
Modern Spy - An Actual Job Description (Score:3, Interesting)
Intelligence Analysis Team Lead
XXX seeks an Pattern/Trend (Life) Intelligence Analysis Team Lead to support the XXX at XXX A CURRENT TS/SCI CLEARANCE IS REQUIRED FOR EMPLOYMENT CONSIDERATION. CANDIDATES WITHOUT AN ACTIVE TS/SCI WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED.
The selected individual will lead a team of analysts involved with Pattern of Life (POL) issues. Duties include: plan and develop internal analysis strategies and participate in project/team meetings to provide innovative methods and assistance in social network analysis and presentation of the findings in support of other team members' analysis. Additional duties include: assemble facts and information from a variety of data sources and work products made available by various Federal, state, regional, and tribal enforcement and intelligence agencies; locates, synthesizes, and interprets large amounts of textual, financial, and technical data such as transaction records, financial/accounting statements, money service business records, and general business data, plus intelligence information reports, finished intelligence products, filtered real-time data feeds, directed-searches results, and task-specific, specialized data sources.
The candidate shall possess the following skills: Experience characterizing HUMAN terrain using raster and vector GIS data layers; Experience using ArcGIS or other tools to perform address geocoding; Experience using spatial multi-criteria/multi-objective evaluation techniques in an ArcGIS to conduct area limitation analysis and/or mobility modeling; Experience applying crime mapping, geographic profiling, animal tracking, or manhunting methodologies, methods, and tools to predict where and when an individual is likely to be in a future time and place; Experience developing and applying descriptive and inferential statistics to flows over time and space, including application of time series analysis, sequential data analysis, spatial statistics, or space-time statistics; Experience developing and maintaining geo-databases bases on facility and event locations and times, and other behavioral, cultural, or social factors that influence an individual's spatial decision-making; Experience developing new Pattern of Life support products and analytic techniques; Experience training non-technical audiences in Pattern of Life methodologies, methods and tools; Ability to write scripts/applications in ArcGIS environment using Python or Visual Basic to automated commonly used tasks or loosely couple existing software; Familiarity with the Lund school of space-time geography or other contemporary theories of space-time geography or spatial decision-making; Experience using statistical or spatial statistical software to pattern of life analysis, including CrimeStat, Tableau, SPSS, Statistica, S-Plus, or SAS; Experience using Geotime, Starlight, Inspire, Centrifuge.
Essential Job Functions
Prepares intelligence documents through intelligence gathering using multiple intelligence sources such as human intelligence (HUMINT), signals intelligence (SIGINT), geospatial intelligence (GEOINT), measurement and signal intelligence (MASINT), open source intelligence (OSINT) to support customers including military, intelligence, law enforcement or security agencies. Recommends process improvements or enhancements to processes.
Oversees the processing of information about situations and entities of strategic, operational or tactical importance; characterizes possible future actions and identifies possible courses of action or remedies.
Analyzes current intelligence holdings, identifies potential shortfalls, gaps and vulnerabilities to develop subsequent collection requirements. Develops specialized intelligence products, threat analyses, production support, and tailored intelligence products such as fusion intelligence, warning intelligence, estimative intelligence or psychological profiling. Develops and/or oversees the developme
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Facebook == CIA relationship database (Score:1)
Here's a pretty good explanation about how the subject line of this post is a true statement.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfY_HTzd_4U
Why is this a surprise? (Score:3)
Dear CIA (Score:1)
If you are reading this, and I know you probably are, then fuck you! Also, fuck the American government and the united states military. I don't support any of you jerks. That is all. Sincerely,
darjen
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but "On The Internet" means it can't be domestic (quick name the senators and representatives from "The Internet").
Oblig. link (Score:2)
Testing... (Score:1)
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Secretary: Mr. President, here is today's status on Pakistan, status is medium, nothing new.
Mr. President: Thank you, hopefully negotiations will work out better this time.
Secretary: Here is the status on bailing out Greece, status is low, predictable trends.
Mr. President: Good, anything else?
Secretary: Justin Beaver appears to be a father.
Mr. President: What!?
Re:CIA=Facebook=Google (Score:4, Interesting)
You're right, their reading of public domain information off of facebook does not mean that they own facebook.
The fact that they dumped $12.7 million into facebook (when it was worth $500 thousand) does kind of mean they own it.
watch this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfY_HTzd_4U
The CIA had the creation of a relationship network database of Americans as a stated goal long before they wound up co-opting facebook for that purpose...
Just watch the video.
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They don't need to own the companies to do their social engineering work...
They just hire third party companies to go online and astroturf [computerworld.com] the hell out of anything they get their hands on. [boingboing.net]
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They don't need to own the companies to do their social engineering work...
They just hire third party companies to go online and astroturf [computerworld.com] the hell out of anything they get their hands on. [boingboing.net]
Joseph Goebbels would be so proud.
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I thought they are all some kind of CIA shadow companies, and now we have the proof.
Why's this modded "Troll"? AT&T's been proved to leap onto its back and spread its legs for the NSA. This's no different. What surprise is there in knowing what DHS can do to Google whenever they want, regardless of what Sergei Brin might want.
"Do no evil", sure, but then the Feds show up with "a request."
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Mockingbird [wikipedia.org] give a clear historical view of the CIA and its interest in shaping any emerging US press/media.
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I don't get it; your last newsletter was much more lucid.
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I was not aware that God was a random word generator.