Give Me The Standard...No, Wait! Make That A Double.
Two individuals accused mishandling of sensitive information. Two very different outcomes. You spot the hypocrisy.
Tuesday, Justice Department Inspector General Glenn Fine released a report detailing the mishandling of classified documents. These were not your garden-variety classified documents like blurry photos of Area 51 or Jenna Bush’s phone number; these were the crown jewels, the ne plus ultra of classified documents. Apparently they described the Bush Administration’s plans for its national Panopticon, and its torture procedures. These documents were left in unsecured safes, and even went home with Abu G in his briefcase. The situation at the Justice department could be described as semi-controlled, but who knows what sort of shady characters hang out at Casa Gonzalez. So, how many black-clad, heavily armed stormtroopers were sent to take him down? When’s the trial, you ask? How about none and never. It seems that federal prosecutors declined to file charges. Perhaps they were too busy with Professor J. Reece Roth formerly of the University of Tennessee. As described in the AP report, it seems that some foreign grad students saw some details of an as-yet nonfunctional “plasma guidance system” that they shouldn’t have. Also, he had a report emailed to him in China. This technology concept was so valuable that the government was willing to pay him the princely sum of $6000 to work on it. Since it didn’t work, he didn’t believe that he was breaking the law. So for this poor judgement he should perhaps face a fine, or loss of contracts? How about a $1.5 million fine and 160 years in prison. Lead Prosecutor Assistant US Attorney William Mackie said about the sentence, “This is not so much a matter of punishment as it is about holding him accountable for his actions”.
Accountability. What a novel idea! WTF?! Do these people know that they sound like East German PR flacks?
What will this really accomplish? From the Department of Unintended Consequences comes this prediction. US universities will stop accepting foreign graduate students in the hard sciences and engineering fields because frightened professors will not hire them. Over a hundred thousand extremely intelligent people every year will go to schools in other countries instead of the US. Some of those people will stay in those other countries and invent new, world-changing technologies outside the reach of the US government, and possibly under the control of governments or entities hostile to the US and its citizens.
Do you feel safer yet?
Two individuals accused mishandling of sensitive information. Two very different outcomes. You spot the hypocrisy.
Tuesday, Justice Department Inspector General Glenn Fine released a report detailing the mishandling of classified documents. These were not your garden-variety classified documents like blurry photos of Area 51 or Jenna Bush’s phone number; these were the crown jewels, the ne plus ultra of classified documents. Apparently they described the Bush Administration’s plans for its national Panopticon, and its torture procedures. These documents were left in unsecured safes, and even went home with Abu G in his briefcase. The situation at the Justice department could be described as semi-controlled, but who knows what sort of shady characters hang out at Casa Gonzalez. So, how many black-clad, heavily armed stormtroopers were sent to take him down? When’s the trial, you ask? How about none and never. It seems that federal prosecutors declined to file charges. Perhaps they were too busy with Professor J. Reece Roth formerly of the University of Tennessee. As described in the AP report, it seems that some foreign grad students saw some details of an as-yet nonfunctional “plasma guidance system” that they shouldn’t have. Also, he had a report emailed to him in China. This technology concept was so valuable that the government was willing to pay him the princely sum of $6000 to work on it. Since it didn’t work, he didn’t believe that he was breaking the law. So for this poor judgement he should perhaps face a fine, or loss of contracts? How about a $1.5 million fine and 160 years in prison. Lead Prosecutor Assistant US Attorney William Mackie said about the sentence, “This is not so much a matter of punishment as it is about holding him accountable for his actions”.
Accountability. What a novel idea! WTF?! Do these people know that they sound like East German PR flacks?
What will this really accomplish? From the Department of Unintended Consequences comes this prediction. US universities will stop accepting foreign graduate students in the hard sciences and engineering fields because frightened professors will not hire them. Over a hundred thousand extremely intelligent people every year will go to schools in other countries instead of the US. Some of those people will stay in those other countries and invent new, world-changing technologies outside the reach of the US government, and possibly under the control of governments or entities hostile to the US and its citizens.
Do you feel safer yet?
posted by Stochastic Eclectica at
9:28 AM
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