Feb 20, 2023
Moldova
The Russian play book is at work now in Moldova. Russian operatives are stirring up descent and pro Russian propaganda against the current government…
Music, power, politics, and the stories behind the stories.
Editorial Collection
Intelligence & the Copeland Files
OSS, SOE, the early CIA, espionage culture, propaganda, and family stories from inside the mythology.
My father served in the OSS and the early CIA; my mother served in British intelligence before becoming an archaeologist. Their world placed intelligence officers, diplomats, political operators, and the Middle East around the family table long before I understood how unusual that was.
This section separates documented history, family accounts, personal recollection, institutional mythology, and present-day analysis. The subject is not just spies. It is how governments gather information, distort it, act on it, and sometimes become the last people to recognize that their assumptions are wrong.
Entries
22
Apr 4, 2022
Conspiracy
Conspiracy theories are all the rage these days. Trump still claims the election was stolen and a not insignificant chunk of the public believe him…
Apr 1, 2022
Info Wars
Russian mothers will at some point be told of their dead soldiers but most live far from Moscow so not of serious concern to Putin. BUT the word of…
Mar 16, 2022
Trump again?
It seems one can never escape from positive references to Donald Trump even when it comes to Ukraine. Fox "News"uses the war as a way to tout "what…
Mar 15, 2022
Squriming
In spite of the tragic events we see every hour on out TV screens inflicted by the Putin war on Ukraine, - taking a dispassionate view (if possible?)…
Mar 2, 2022
Putin
The news from Ukraine is getting worse. It will continue to get worse from now on. It will go on even if Russia conquers all of Ukraine. There is…
Feb 24, 2022
Propaganda
The best propaganda is the propaganda that mixes truth and lies. Half truths also are a good strategy. The old adage that there are "two sides to…
Feb 22, 2022
Spying and Intelligence
Some may not realize it but there is more spying/intelligence gathering done in the private sector than between governments. Big companies spy on…
Feb 10, 2022
Useful Idiot 2
It used to be that the "Useful Idiot" file was a heavily guarded secret among intelligence agencies. The last few years with the proliferation of…
Feb 9, 2022
Useful Idiots
In the many years of conversations with my father about his exploits in the CIA from its founding through the Middle East years, perhaps the most…
Feb 2, 2022
Intelligence for the Ignorant
Who Really Knows what is happening vis a vis Ukraine and US interests"Listening to John Ratcliffe, a Trump political appointee to be Director of…
Jan 12, 2022
Unwitting Accomplices
There is recognition by just about everyone in the West (and the democratic world) that China is a problem now and will be an ever growing one in the…
Jan 9, 2022
Afghanistan
Anyone who grew up in the third world or worked there for any length of time will know all too well the virtual futility of trying to make those…
Apr 14, 2021
Afghanistan
Lindsey Graham is right. There are no good options in Afghanistan. If we go there could be a cost, if we stay there could be a cost. Donald Trump AND…
Jan 30, 2021
Reading current events
Watching Matt Gaetz, Josh Hawley or Ted Cruz might leave one either scratching their head in amazement or thinking they are digging a hole to bury…
Dec 13, 2020
Foreign Policy
There are two facts that have to be at the forefront of any discussion of foreign policy. First is what my father always told me, There is a foreign…
Dec 11, 2020
Trump
The true colors of Trump have been known for a long time. Republican Senators and Congressmen knew less than 5 years ago and said so, some…
Dec 10, 2020
The USA today
If one wants to know how divided the USA is today go no further than checking out CNN and MSNBC then checking out Fox. The first two focus on the…
Dec 10, 2020
Republican Party today
I am sorry to say that I am coming to the view that the President might be worse than doctors have said - and what many books have said about him…
Dec 9, 2020
China spy story
As someone who grew up in the world of intelligence - or to use the more sexy word - spys, the China spy story out on Axios today and being continued…
Nov 15, 2020
Want to Believe
I have been asked to do a lecture/question and answer program on the subject of my experience with my father and his work in the CIA and how growing…
Oct 24, 2020
MY FATHER
Though I hate to admit it, My father would have liked Donald Trump. Not for his politics - as my father's view was that even an idiot can get things…