Slashdot Mirror

For those of you who might not want to go to the NYTimes, having troubles getting on or want more on the story try this link here.

First of all, others here on /. have been saying (as you and I both did) that many countries are involved in industrial espionage. This is true, and here's a 1998 report from the National Counterintelligence Center that lists some of the countries that perform industrial or economic espionage here in the U.S.

Second, under U.S. law, no member of the U.S. intelligence community is permitted to pass secrets on to private businesses. That is not allowed. If it is happening, it must (by law) be stopped, and the people doing it must (by law) be punished.

Now, let's take a moment to consider the sources. First, the person quoted in the article is former DCI James Woolsey. He left the CIA after two years on the job (1993-95), which were remarkable because they demonstrated huge clashes with Congress - and the worst spy scandal in recent history, the Aldrich Ames case, which he completely mishandled. I think it would not be too difficult to say he's not the best source for revelations. His time away from the job have probably led him to be imprecise with words, and he likely said things he didn't quite mean.

Second, who is the other source? The author of the article is Duncan Campbell, the man responsible - almost singlehandedly - for creating the furore over Echelon. He authored a few of the reports about Echelon, and seems to have something against the practice of collecting intelligence. He seems to enjoy fanning the flames of paranoia of the intelligence community, and sowing the seeds of discord between the U.S. and Europe. That is why, when you read the article we're discussing, he conflates and confuses economic and industrial espionage, two things which should be kept separate, and stresses Woolsey's remarks about Europe.

In fact, the only line in the entire article where Woolsey says anything controversial - that the U.S. commits industrial espionage - is brief and offhand, and it sounds more like a confused ramble than a straightforward, direct admission: "Would [...] somebody do a technological analysis of something from a friendly country, which had no importance, other than a commercial use, and then let it sit on the shelf because it couldn't be given to the American company? I think that would be a misuse of the [intelligence] community's resources. I don't think it would be done."

Finally, how is the intelligence community supposed to defend itself? They say they don't commit industrial espionage, but their critics will not accept that, nor any other level of assurance.

A. Keiper

Yeah...that probably IS the reason NASA doesn't want to crash Galileo on Europa...they fear retribution! I did a research paper on Europa not too long ago and I have some links about Europa if anyone is interested.

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and here!
sorry if this drags on...some links may not be that great.

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You can check out a recent article in TIME magazine. It discusses the pros and cons of laser treatment.

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In a nutshell, it's still an infant technology, and the recommendation is to wait. If you can't wait, find a good doctor, and be sure to ask what his/her complication rate is - if he won't tell you drop him like a Intel 820 chipset.

There are quite a few complications.. and most people experience the so-called "halo" effect for several months after receiving the surgery. You'll also typically have to undergo multiple surgeries - mainly to "fine-tune" your vision. The procedure also isn't guaranteed to have you seeing 20/20... although between 20/20 and 20/40 is common. Some people (although uncommon) even get their vision corrected to better than normal.. as good as 20/10.

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Time Magazine did a story on it just a little while ago. The general consensus seemed to be that most of the time it's absolutely wonderful, while the rest of the time it really, really screws your eyes up.

Marissa