By their nature, all big companies employ a certain number of people who are drawn from the less fortunate levels of society.
Not everyone who is poor is dishonest. But some are.
Thus all big companies, such as Navistar, BP, and GE have an element of what might be called “the mob within.” That element consists of individuals who may, at times, cut ethical corners with the aim of achieving short-term results.
That same sort of individual may, of course, be found within the ranks of present and past employees of federal intelligence agencies. The only difference is that the G-men and G-women have a license.
As I’ve never been a hawk I may have, in the past, displeased some who were hawks. So I sometimes feel I'm getting a backlash from the CIA or CIA alumni.
Even though it was basically a constructive event, the Energia booster (click for earlier reference) was a great surprise to the Reagan administration. It helped resolve the Cold War. When wars end, there are those who are displeased: there may be those in government who, to this day, think I’m somebody who needs to be watched.
I've already discussed Sonitrol, with its federal connections (click for earlier reference). Here's another anecdote. A number of years ago I visited the Department of Intormatics at IUPUI when it was located in the old IU Law School building. "Informatics" is a interesting-sounding word, and I was curious to find out what it might imply. A hint came when I noticed that one office contained a faculty member with the last name, if I remember correctly, of "Milosevic." This wasn't the person who was put on trial for war crimes. Was he a relative? I speculated that as the result of some sort of a government diplomatic deal it was thought advisable to find a safe place for Dr. Milosevic to be, a place out of harm's way.
There was no reason for me to be unhappy about the fact that Milosevic was at IU. People who are related do not necessarily have the same qualities. However there still might be certain issues. If the CIA is on campus (covertly, of course) what does that do to freedom of speech on campus?
The surname of the person in a nearby office was notable for a slightly different reason. But together the two names gave an indication that "informatics," at least in that building, might have something to do with covert diplomacy.
I afraid I don't have a good opinion of "informatics," as a word, as may be seen by clicking at left.
Now, I'm not one of those crazy people who thinks I did work for--or am now working for--the CIA. For one thing, as a former Peace Corps volunteer, I'm not their type. We do share a common interest in current world affairs. I'm content to let them do their work, if they stay within bounds.
Are they doing that? I can accept the idea that a college professor might go to work for the government, and perhaps later return to academia. I'm not sure that I like the idea of a professor, particularly at my alma mater, doing both kinds of employment at once. But that may be the case with L. Ridgeway Scott of the University of Chicago, who is rumored to teach "bioinformatics" there.
I tried to reach that shadowy person--who I will tentatively refer to as "Agentman Scott, Ph.D."--by phone with no luck. And the e-mail address on his web site is likewise not operative. While mysterious, the experience of trying to reach Dr./Agentguy Scott helped to confirm my general impression of informatics.
If I ever do get in touch with him I might like to ask this question: "In view of the remarkable bloody mess which the CIA has created in Iraq, should we be trying to peddle that sort of employement to our college students?"
The reader may view informatics at IUPUI by clicking at left. As may be noted, informatics includes something called "the New Media." The New Media is evidently capitalized because it is Very Important. But, since the word "informatics" itself is of Stalinist origin, it might be appropriate to ask how New Media differs from Soviet Realism.
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The old Informatics Building at IUPUI may have been bugged by GE when it was the Law School building.
Question: was GE spying on the informatics faculty later when the building was converted for informatics use?
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