9.29.99 Marta clues us in to news that the CIA has established a high-tech venture-capital company in California's Silicon Valley to foster the growth of companies which develop such technologies useful to the CIA in pursuit of their agendas, such as security and "data mining" technologies. Another purpose for the new CIA computer company, called In-Q-It, is to bring the CIA's computer systems up to speed. Wouldn't want our friendly CIA to be behind the curve on anything, now would we? NewsHawk Inc. - - - - - - - - - John, who says that spooks are hopelessly out of synch in our technoeconomy? Economic and management dullards? Check out today's Denver Post, page 20A, article from NY Times writer John Markoff: (This article isn't at the DP website as it wasn't written by their writers. Don't have the time to go find it now...but, here's the executive summary.) "Headline: CIA invests to ensure high-tech future for spies. Hoping to ensure that the nation's spies have the latest information technology in the rapidly changing Internet age, the CIA has established a venture capital company to nurture high-technology companies, company executives and former CIA officials said. "The CIA has chosen a veteran Silicon Valley software company to head the effort, which has an office in Washington with eight employees and will have a second office in Washington. [...] "The agency has named its new nonprofit venture In-Q-It in reference to Major Boothroyd, a.k.a. Q, the master technologist [in the James Bond series]. "There is a tremendous information explosion today," said John McMahon, former deputy director of the CIA and an In-Q-It board member. "As a result, the agency was always one step behind. The agency got the idea that maybe what it needed was something that would not only appreciate its needs but be an umbilical cord that was plugged into the brightest minds in the Valley. [CREEPY SHUDDER!] [...] "The new company will supply venture capital in some cases, and in others it will hire contractors or partner with entrepreneurs in four areas: integrating Internet technology and applications into the CIA's work; developing new security and privacy technologies; nurturing data mining technologies to take better advance of the agency's vast storehouse of records; and modernizing the agency's now-dated computer systems. [then a big bunch of BS about the agency being so warm, fuzzy, and open about all this...] Food (or vomit) for thought, I guess. Marta St. Augustine [EMAIL PROTECTED]
