Suggested Answers to the Fourth Short Quiz

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SUGGESTED BINGE WATCHING – FICTIONAL DRAMA ON THE EAST GERMAN STASI

One of Yours Truly’s character flaws is that he adores Whodunnits, especially the zillions of different TV series produced by MHz Choice set in various European cities and featuring English subtitles so that you can brush up on your foreign languages.

Second confession???

Binge watching for the first time ever!!!

The Weissensee Saga is a “Romeo and Juliet” series featuring two East German families 1980-1990, one of which is high-echelon Stasi (the East German counterpart to the Soviet Union’s KGB).

Though you wouldn’t believe the machinations and corruption as the 3 Stasi (father and 2 sons) both threaten, and cover up for, each other and the rest of their extended family, while they also both threaten, and cover up for, the two-member dissident family.

[Stasi, Sr., is the long-time lover of the dissident mother and Black-Sheep Stasi Son becomes the lover of dissident daughter without knowing about the senior relationship.]

Yours truly prides himself in being cynical (which he calls “realism”), but even he was shocked!!! Even though all of the shocking events are entirely believable!!! Especially the reactions of every ordinary citizen when suddenly confronted with evidence gathered while s/he was unexpectedly surveilled, usually vis-à-vis contact with an investigation target!!! Because, of course, s/he knows that s/he is about to be blackmailed with a long-term prison sentence unless s/he becomes a Stasi informer!!! Whether or not s/he knew anything about the objectionable activities of the target!!!

Direct TV is currently (4/28/2017) half-way through the existing 18 episodes (a fourth season is scheduled to begin soon).

But you can start at the beginning and binge-watch all 18 episodes for free!!!

In other words, do NOT order from Amazon.com the DVD’s for each of the first 3 seasons for $22 each.

INSTEAD, sign up for a 7-day free trial for MHz Choice on Amazon.com AND you can binge-watch all 18 episodes AND THEN CANCEL BEFORE the $7.99/month charge kicks in.

JSK - 4/28/2017
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johnkarls
Posts: 2033
Joined: Fri Jun 29, 2007 8:43 pm

Suggested Answers to the Fourth Short Quiz

Post by johnkarls »

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Suggested Answers to the Fourth Short Quiz
Possible Solutions to Authoritarian Rule by Our Intelligence Services


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For anyone who is wondering why there are so many quizzes this month (vs. the normal one/month, but two during each quarter’s 5-week gap), the reason is that our April 12 meeting was cancelled for lack of a minimum quorum. Which meant there was a 7-week gap from the cancellation until our May 10 meeting.

And nobody has ever accused Yours Truly of being unable to “fill a vacuum”!!!

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Question 1

Does anyone have any bright ideas about how to deal with the threat of Authoritarian Rule by Our Intelligence Services if they are free to eliminate from our Democratic Government whomever they please???

Answer 1

Help!!!

Question 2

After all, doesn’t the demonstrated willingness of Our Intelligence Services TO LIE TO THE SENATE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE WHICH IS SUPPOSED TO POLICE THEIR ACTIVITIES leave us with little or no hope???

Answer 2

So it would appear.

Question 3

And if Our Intelligence Services are so prone to lying, then what assurance is there that as they ZAP our governmental officials, their “leaks” used to do the ZAPPING are true and not simply more lies???

Answer 3

What assurance indeed!!!

Question 4

Is leaking classified information, whether true or false, a felony???

Answer 4

Yes.

Question 5

Does “Freedom of the Press” provide constitutional protection for the members of the press who RECEIVE the leaked information and then publish it???

Answer 5

Please read on -- Q&A-6 thru Q&A-10.

Question 6

Or does The Media band together and howl in unison “Freedom of the Press” in a successful (at least so far) effort to intimidate every President (so far) from finally asking the U.S. Supreme Court whether “Freedom of the Press” means protecting sources who have committed crimes by leaking classified information???

Answer 6

Yes, The Media does so howl in unison.

Question 7

When President Obama’s Attorney General Eric Holder investigated the 2009 “leak” of classified information about North Korea by State Department contractor Stephen Jin-Woo Kim (who was convicted), did the Washington Post report on 5/17/2013 that: (1) DOJ had obtained warrants to surveil Fox News Washington Correspondent James Rosen on the grounds that he was a “CRIMINAL CO-CONSPIRATOR” and (2) DOJ had convinced the court that issued the warrants NOT to inform James Rosen on the grounds that “he was a flight risk”???

Answer 7

Yes to Part (1).

And yes to Part (2).

Question 8

Did Eric Holder’s actions cause the normal Media FIRESTORM even though the Mainstream Media was protecting a Fox News correspondent???

Answer 8

Yes.

Question 9

But if the Media’s eternal argument that “Freedom of the Press” protects members of the media who receive illegally-leaked information, then why did Attorney General Eric Holder call James Rosen a “Criminal Co-Conspirator”???

Answer 9

Why indeed!!!

Question 10

Despite the media’s howling, wasn’t Eric Holder correct that the Media’s eternal argument has NEVER been tested in the U.S. Supreme Court???

Answer 10

So it would appear.

Question 11

So would it be possible to thwart attempts by Our Intelligence Services to ZAP whichever Governmental Officials they dislike by prosecuting “leakers” AND PROSECUTING THE MEDIA REPRESENTATIVES WHO PARTICIPATE IN PUBLISHING LEAKS AIMED AT ZAPPING GOVERNMENTAL OFFICIALS???

[NB: This policy could be limited to leaks aimed at ZAPPING Governmental Officials while leaving intact the eternal “stand off” regarding leaks aimed at exposing policies.]

Answer 11

What do you think??? Let’s discuss!!!

Question 12

Should such prosecutions include the charge of TREASON as well as the felony charge for leaking classified information???

Answer 12

What do you think??? Let’s discuss!!!


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Another possible approach in the case that the “leaks” aimed at ZAPPING Governmental Officials ARE LIES --

Question 13

When it comes to Our Intelligence Services, are Inspectors General (which are sometimes useful in policing other agencies) useless because why should we think for a moment that Inspectors General would be any more effective than The Senate Intelligence Committee which is supposed to oversee the Intelligence Services and with which the CIA has waged war???

Answer 13

What do you think??? Let’s discuss!!!

Question 14

So isn’t it true that in all probability, democracy can only be saved by a “whistle blower”??? In other words, an “insider” who knows what is transpiring and who is willing to be, let’s face it, a “leaker”???

Answer 14

What do you think??? Let’s discuss!!!

Question 15

Isn’t this a slim hope, since the “whistle blower” would be giving up her/his career???

Answer 15

What do you think??? Let’s discuss!!!

Question 16

And didn’t President Kennedy have the CIA assassinate South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem on 11/2/1963 (“if you break it, you own it!!!”) a mere 20 days before President Kennedy himself was assassinated???

Answer 16

Yes.

Because President Kennedy had become so frustrated over the effect of Catholic Diem’s attacks on Buddhists.

BTW there are historical accounts that before President Kennedy himself was assassinated 20 days later, he was already regretting “green lighting” the assassination of President Diem because of the policies of Diem’s successor, General Duong Van Minh, who only lasted 3 months before being overthrown by General Khanh.

Incidentally, President Gerald Ford issued an Executive Order in 1976 (after leaks that the CIA had planned to assassinate Fidel Castro) explicitly prohibiting governmental employees from engaging in “political assassination.”

Accordingly, it would be interesting to ascertain, in the light of all the CIA assassinations by drone of terrorists since 9/11 whether President Ford’s Executive Order has simply been ignored (it is still on the books per slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2009/07/are_assassinations_ever_legal.html) -- or whether the CIA is playing “word games” for why drone assassinations of terrorists are not “political.”

Though perhaps President Ford’s Executive Order has been considered by his successors as so patently ridiculous as to be unworthy of revocation.

After all, though NOT an assassination, didn’t we witness President George H.W. Bush sending a small detachment of U.S. Marines into Panama on 12/20/1989 to kidnap Panamanian President Manuel Noriega???

[At least President George H.W. Bush exhibited civility in having U.S. Marine-kidnapped Manuel Noriega prosecuted in the U.S. for drug trafficking rather than simply assassinating him -- Noriega is still in prison.]

Question 17

So if the CIA doesn’t hesitate to assassinate Heads of State, why should our “whistle blower” think for a moment that the CIA would NOT assassinate the “whistle blower” and/or the family of the “whistle blower”???

Answer 17

What do you think??? Let’s discuss!!!

Question 18

So yes, we could promise to put the “whistle blower” into the equivalent of a “witness protection program” and to shower the “whistle blower” with the salary (including raises) and pension that the “whistle blower” is forfeiting, but isn’t depending on a “whistle blower” being willing to step forward really a forlorn hope???

Answer 18

What do you think??? Let’s discuss!!!


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So I give up!!! HELP!!!

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