It looks like you're using an Ad Blocker.

Please white-list or disable AboveTopSecret.com in your ad-blocking tool.

Thank you.

 

Some features of ATS will be disabled while you continue to use an ad-blocker.

 

Blackmail : Keep Your Friends Close, Keep Your Enemies Closer, The Threat of Subversion Through Fear

page: 1
20
<<   2 >>

log in

join
share:

posted on Mar, 17 2010 @ 06:20 PM
link   
I thought it was about time to do a thread I have been working on for quite some time.

The topic of course is in the title, about blackmail, and the friends we keep.

I bring this up here because it touches on all of this particular forums areas, especially, but not limited to, friendship, politics, and cover-ups.

First, for the uninitiated in this venue, of crime, and the psychology behind it, we need to define just exactly what blackmail is, and how it is seen through society.


Quote from : Wikipedia : Blackmail

Blackmail is the crime of threatening to reveal substantially true information about a person to the public, a family member, or associates unless a demand made upon the victim is met.

This information is usually of an embarrassing, socially damaging, and/or criminally incriminating nature.

As the information is substantially true, the act of revealing the information may not be criminal in its own right nor amount to a civil law defamation; the crime is making demands in exchange for withholding it.

English Law creates a much broader definition of blackmail, covering any unwarranted demands with menaces, whether involving revealing information or not.

Blackmail is similar to extortion.

The difference is that extortion involves an underlying, independent criminal act, while blackmail does not.


I use Wikipedia, because it has a lot of resources you can draw on, period.

Feel free to source your own information, experiences, or knowledge in all regards.

If you know anything about politics, you know it is rife with political games, office politics, and policy, procedure, and protocol, and because of this there is a lot of maneuvering due to the structure of power, and those who will go to any extents to get power, when they hold none, seek it, or seek to gain it illicitly.

Would You Accept Illegal Power If It Was Offered To You?

I'm going to use some videos, serious, comedic, and political in nature to make a point.

Monty Python - Blackmail


David Letterman Reveals Blackmail Plot & Affairs With Employees On Tonight's Show


Senator Larry Craig (R-ID) Press Conference


Blackmail : Keep Your Friends Close, Keep Your Enemies Closer, The Threat of Subversion Through Fear

Burn Notice : If You Were A Spy, and You Got A Burn Notice, What Would You Do?

Personally, it is my belief that Senator Larry Craig was leveraged, through blackmail.

He admitted to doing something, because of an inert fear of being found out in the wrong, and this is what lead to the whole drama scenario where he was in the news.

Most people have heard the phrase, keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer, but not a lot of people know what it means, or where it's etymology comes from.

I am someone who knows both the Western mindset, and the Eastern mindset, telling you this I am speaking of America and Europe, verses Asia and the Middle East.

I grew up learning from age six, the Art of War, policy, procedure, and protocol of warfare, from a former Vietnam Marine, and at age thirty I turned it around into the Art of Peace.

A part of warfare, is gathering intelligence, and blackmail, politically, is a large part of military intelligence.

Going To Your Public Library, Gathering Open Source Intelligence, and Surviving

I am someone who knows how to gather intelligence in many ways, but how, why, and what I use it for is usually for my own interest, curiosity, and or because the topic is something I have knowledge of in some regards because of my studies of warfare, history, and or Government.

The psychology of blackmail is about using leverage, something I see as evil, to force someone to compromise someone else through a threat in order to force them to do something, in order for the blackmailer to gain power over not only the blackmailee, but some other advantage through monetary gain, political power, or psychological strength over another, which to me is not something anyone should do.

This is something done through fear, fear of reprisal, fear of abandonment, or fear of being caught in an action, fear of not being accepted in society, you name it, but ultimately, fear.


Quote from : Wikipedia : Fear

Fear is an emotional response to a perceived threat.

It is a basic survival mechanism occurring in response to a specific stimulus, such as pain or the threat of danger.

Some psychologists such as John B. Watson, Freitas-Magalhaes,Robert Plutchik, and Paul Ekman have suggested that fear is one of a small set of basic or innate emotions.

This set also includes such emotions as joy, sadness, and anger.

Fear should be distinguished from the related emotional state of anxiety, which typically occurs without any external threat.

Additionally, fear is related to the specific behaviors of escape and avoidance, whereas anxiety is the result of threats which are perceived to be uncontrollable or unavoidable.

Worth noting is that fear almost always relates to future events, such as worsening of a situation, or continuation of a situation that is unacceptable.

Fear could also be an instant reaction, to something presently happening.


In order for anyone to utilize fear, a person using this as leverage has to have a secret, which threatens someone.


Quote from : Wikipedia : Secrecy

Secrecy (also called clandestinity or furtiveness) is the practice of hiding information from certain individuals or groups, perhaps while sharing it with other individuals.

That which is kept hidden is known as the secret.

Secrecy is often controversial, depending on the content of the secret, the group or people keeping the secret, and the motivation for secrecy.

Secrecy by government entities is often decried as excessive or in promotion of poor operation; excessive revelation of information on individuals can conflict with virtues of privacy and confidentiality.


People who commit this atrocious action, making someone fear, are no better than terrorists, in my opinion, no person should feel fear, but there are people without morals, without ethics, and without any conscience whatsoever, who will do anything to gain power.

I will recommend a few books which might help people understand this particular mentality, while they deal with fear, they also deal with secrecy, and Government, but this is no way is directing the thread towards that end, but showing that those things are out there, and through them, we can explore some historical people, events, and secrets as a means to show when, where, and how blackmail was used.

The Science of Fear: Why We Fear the Things We Shouldn't--and Put Ourselves in Greater Danger

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/94f1880c5ece.jpg[/atsimg]


Amazon Review :

“The Science of Fear elegantly weaves academic research and everyday experience, exposing the secrets of emotion and reason, and the essential roles they play on our lives. An excellent book.”
--Dan Ariely, author of New York Times bestseller Predictably Irrational

“Where writers such as Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens and Francis Wheen have been content largely to enumerate the errors of less rational men and women, Dan Gardner has collated part of what we need to diagnose the problem. If skeptics spent less time moaning about the propensity of their fellows to believe what they want to believe and more time asking why they do so, there might not be such a crisis of reason in the West today.”
--The Independent

“Terrific. Exceptionally good… Has the clarity of Malcolm Gladwell.”
--Evening Standard

“Excellent…. analyses everything from the media’s predilection for irrational scare stories to the cynical use of fear by politicians pushing a particular agenda…. Gardner never falls into the trap of becoming frustrated and embittered by the waste and needless worry that he is documenting. A personal anecdote about an unwise foray into a Nigerian slum in search of a stolen wallet disposes of the idea that the author is immune to the foibles he describes. What could easily have been a catalogue of misgovernance and stupidity instead becomes a cheery corrective to modern paranoia.”
--The Economist

“Those of us who spend our careers in research hope that someone like Daniel Gardner will come along and bring our findings to the world in an engaging and scientifically accurate way. Thank you, Dan! Some books can change the world. This one might.”
--Paul Slovic, Professor of Psychology, University of Oregon, past President of The Society for Risk Analysis

“Fear needs a science and Daniel Gardner offers a fast-paced tour of what the most interesting researchers have revealed. The number of things that you don't need to be afraid of is encouraging, but finding out why we still do fear them anyway is fascinating. Essential reading for anyone interested in the social mistakes we make everyday--and how to fix them.”
--Tyler Cowen, author of Discover Your Inner Economist

“An invaluable resource for anyone who aspires to think clearly.”
--The Guardian “Elegantly summarises the results of psychological research … Gardner is forensic in his dissection of bogus claims in advertising and politics, just as he is lucid about the science explaining why they work.”
--The Observer

“A fascinating insight into the peculiar and devastating nature of human fear, while training the reader to be ever wary of misleading media announcements.”
--The Telegraph


The Medusa File: Secret Crimes and Coverups of the U. S. Government

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/8646c65fe86a.jpg[/atsimg]

There is no Amazon review of this book, but I highly recommend it, as it pertains to the topic.

America's Secret Establishment: An Introduction to the Order of Skull & Bones

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/b78e053de133.jpg[/atsimg]


Amazon Review :

Breaking 170 years of secrecy, this intriguing exposé takes a behind-the-scenes look at Yale's mysterious society, the Order of the Skull and Bones, and its prominent members, numbering among them Tafts, Rockefellers, Pillsburys, and Bushes.

Explored is how Skull and Bones initiates have become senators, judges, cabinet secretaries, spies, titans of finance and industry, and even U.S. presidents, including George W. Bush.

This book reveals that far from being a campus fraternity, the society is more concerned with the success of its members in the postcollegiate world.

Included are a verified membership list, rare reprints of original Order materials revealing the interlocking power centers dominated by Bonesmen, and a peek inside the Tomb, their 140-year-old private clubhouse.


Blackmail : Keep Your Friends Close, Keep Your Enemies Closer, The Threat of Subversion Through Fear

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/58d1720b8b75.jpg[/atsimg]

Just Because You're Paranoid, Doesn't Mean They Aren't Out To Get You...

[edit on 17-3-2010 by SpartanKingLeonidas]



posted on Mar, 17 2010 @ 06:23 PM
link   
There is no other single, more infamous person all throughout history who utilized blackmail, to gain power over others, than the now deceased former director of the F.B.I., a man who was truly more corrupt than honest, J. Edgar Hoover.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/d181f96d82a9.jpg[/atsimg]

FBI Founder J. Edgar Hoover's Blackmail Files Part 1


FBI Founder J. Edgar Hoover's Blackmail Files Part 2


FBI Founder J. Edgar Hoover's Blackmail Files Part 3


FBI Founder J. Edgar Hoover's Blackmail Files Part 4


FBI Founder J. Edgar Hoover's Blackmail Files Part 5


FBI Founder J. Edgar Hoover's Blackmail Files Part 6


FBI Founder J. Edgar Hoover's Blackmail Files Part 7


FBI Founder J. Edgar Hoover's Blackmail Files Part 8


FBI Founder J. Edgar Hoover's Blackmail Files Part 9


FBI Founder J. Edgar Hoover's Blackmail Files Part 10


FBI Founder J. Edgar Hoover's Blackmail Files Part 11



posted on Mar, 17 2010 @ 07:21 PM
link   
After reading your OP I was initially going to go one way, but I think I will try another.

Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world.
Archimedes

“The general who thoroughly understand the advantages that accompany variation of tactics knows how to handle his troops.”
Sun Tzu

Blackmail as a form of leverage or tactic, is a very effective weapon. One must think of action-reaction when observing the outcome of applying blackmail.

Think of it this way, one must have the fulcrum-an individual's lack of morals or their fear, the lever-the item of blackmail and the world-the individual or group.

The good fighters of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy.
Sun Tzu
Therefore the clever combatant imposes his will on the enemy, but does not allow the enemy’s will to be imposed on him.
Sun Tzu
When you surround an army, leave an outlet free. Do not press a desperate foe too hard.
Sun Tzu

Ways to defeat blackmail, is to be above or beyond it, to not care of the ramifications from it or to turn it against the blackmailer.

The blackmailer must realize that the possibility that the blackmailee may come to a point of no return, where they care not what the blackmailer provokes. The blackmailee must realize with each action they take on behalf of the blackmailer only gives them more leverage.

Blackmail being the work of evil men, should not be feared, for what is more heinous, the act or the blackmail? I will give more respect to an individual that can ask forgiveness than the individual that uses the blackmail.

A coward dies a thousand deaths a hero dies but one.

One must be free from fear or one becomes controllable, as I have said many a time, I am what I am and that is all I shall be.

Set aside your fears people, if you be honorable and request true forgiveness, no one will be able to blackmail you.

Now for the blackmailers of the world, may you die a thousand deaths for you fear true work of man. You fear us because you try to control.

Control, a tool of the fearful.

S&F for another excellent topic SKL and I will be back to hit the other avenue I was going to initially broach.



posted on Mar, 17 2010 @ 07:29 PM
link   
Brilliant!

I am impressed your research on this topic, and certainly connected with your suggestion of turning elements of this into the "art of peace".

The art of peace is something we should all aspire to - that and denial of ignorance.

Great job.



posted on Mar, 17 2010 @ 07:35 PM
link   
S & F

Knowledge is power.

How we wield that knowledge can be beneficial or destructive. All throughout history somebody has tried to use their intimate knowledge of others in order to obtain some sort of gain. Be it land, Power influence or just simply money.


I think maybe some introverts may have a hidden fear of blackmail.







posted on Mar, 17 2010 @ 07:57 PM
link   
reply to post by endisnighe
 


Love the Archimedes reference.

It is a means of using the lever, and fulcrum, to force people through blackmail, to do something they do not want to do.

Not a very good thing to do to someone, but I thought the topic was a good one.

To me, the whole Healthcare Reform Act, is a means to leverage power in Washington D.C.


Originally posted by dampnickers
Brilliant!

I am impressed your research on this topic, and certainly connected with your suggestion of turning elements of this into the "art of peace".

The art of peace is something we should all aspire to - that and denial of ignorance.

Great job.


Thank you very much.


I've read many more books, which I will use in order to reference the topic, later on.

I believe the whole "aliens" scare, is nothing more than leverage, scare tactics.

Aliens, the Boogeyman, and Creatures That Go Bump In the Night

The same can be said for the whole Swine Flu drama, leverage, nothing more.

Alex Jones Thinks "Swine Flu" Is Mass Conditioning For F.E.M.A. Camps and the United Nations?


Originally posted by SLAYER69
S & F

Knowledge is power.

How we wield that knowledge can be beneficial or destructive. All throughout history somebody has tried to use their intimate knowledge of others in order to obtain some sort of gain. Be it land, Power influence or just simply money.


I think maybe some introverts may have a hidden fear of blackmail.






Agreed, knowledge is power, how we wield it, however, is what matters most.

I never seek to use knowledge in that way, but as a saying from the 80's, all of us are familiar with goes, Knowing is Half the Battle.

And being introverted is a fear, whether it is because of blackmail, or not is of course in question as to the specfic person, of course, I used to be introverted.

I'm not anymore though and it has nothing to do with fear through blackmail.

It had to do with not knowing how to deal with people, and knowledge of all things Government.

And through that I have smashed through all boundaries, and I fear no man.



posted on Mar, 17 2010 @ 08:16 PM
link   
SEYMORE!!!!!


A topic right up my alley.

Well for those of you in Texas I am forming my own business. My board and Myself have all agreed to this. It becomes a matter of self interest.

One of our largest expenses will be private eyes. As stated earlier, knowledge is power!!!!!!!

Ive learned the hard ways these good ole boys do not play nice. You have to be prepared to burn em and make em back down when they call.

OODA loop




The OODA loop (for observe, orient, decide, and act) is a concept originally applied to the combat operations process, often at the strategic level in both the military operations. It is now also often applied to understand commercial operations and learning processes. The concept was developed by military strategist and USAF Colonel John Boyd.


How blackmail applies?

Its pretty much a game of poker. You are raising the stakes on them.

In business it is sometimes an unfortunate necessity to use information to get inside the competitions OODA loop.

I rule no strategy out, I have just learned about how it applies to measuring your responses.

S&F

I know several will disagree and stand on flimsy moral ground. Consider this I could always start lying to you about my opinion.


Is it right-- no

Is it necessary- yes

Churchill quotes




A man does what he must - in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers and pressures - and that is the basis of all human morality. Winston Churchill


Seymore cue the exit music



posted on Mar, 17 2010 @ 08:27 PM
link   
reply to post by ripcontrol
 


Well, using blackmail is not something I do, but I guess to each their own.

While I have a detective mentality, it is not however the only way I understand things.

I have been told I am a Walking Wikipedia when it comes to all things Government.

I think like a Police Detective, Military Intelligence Officer, and Espionage Agent.

However, my way of thinking this way is merely a means to an avenue, and it is because of my study of history, military, Government, and everything within those environments.



posted on Mar, 17 2010 @ 08:31 PM
link   
I have noticed that several website forums use the lever and fulcrum as a logo. It kinda gives me the creeps because I wonder what this imagery really means in relation to what these sites promote. Prison Planet uses that logo.



posted on Mar, 17 2010 @ 08:36 PM
link   

Originally posted by Alethea
I have noticed that several website forums use the lever and fulcrum as a logo. It kinda gives me the creeps because I wonder what this imagery really means in relation to what these sites promote. Prison Planet uses that logo.



I just jumped over onto their website, I've visited, but never bothered with them.

It is a lever, and fulcrum, set up to look like a seesaw, on a playground.

I've never liked Alex Jones, he's a wolf in sheep's clothing, as far as I'm concerned.

You just settled it for me, he's a menace, and I believe he's luring people into a trap.



posted on Mar, 17 2010 @ 08:42 PM
link   
A relevant quote:


_____________ are typically hoarders and not sharers of information. They understand well that information is power. They study organizations and their networks, rewards, punishments and paths of “upward” mobility well. They typically have a good command of who really holds the power in a given organization versus what the organizational charts may indicate. They do well on interviews and know how to deflect questions away from sensitive areas. Many are master psychologists in the sense, like all predators, they are able to quickly size people up in terms of vulnerabilities and potential strengths—threats--to them. They are as adept at keeping low profiles and scapegoating others when mistakes surface, as they are at taking the spotlight and credit for the work of others when positive outcomes occur.


The original word (which I removed) was Psychopath, but I don't think this passage necessarily applies solely to that...

As you've done a great job at highlighting, anybody could be this type of person and if knowledge is power, than beware the powerful. More often than not, they did not get there by accident.

Behooves anyone who enters the game, to know what they are getting into... if you're gonna play, play to win...



_____________________________________
ETA:
quote from thread Snakes in Suits: when psychopaths go to work



[edit on 17-3-2010 by LadySkadi]



posted on Mar, 17 2010 @ 08:58 PM
link   
reply to post by LadySkadi
 


Awesome post, LadySkadi, thanks for the addition.

Feel free to drop your thread in as a link.

I never mind people doing that.


I highly recommend the book below because it shows what people in power will do.

Without checks and balances.

Dangerous Dossiers: Exposing the Secret War Against America's Greatest Authors


Amazon Review :

The FBI, CIA and other government agencies have not only spied on civil rights, peace and leftist-liberal political groups; for decades, as this report documents, the government has been compiling extensive secret files on eminent writers, dramatists, artists and journalists.

Mitgang, cultural correspondent for the New York Times, obtained thousands of pages of declassified material under the Freedom of Information Act.

Hemingway, Faulkner, Steinbeck, Sandburg, Dreiser, Pearl Buck, Dorothy Parker, Thomas Wolfe, Georgia O'Keeffe, Tennessee Williams, Dashiel Hammettthese, and dozens more people, had dossiers maintained on them by an over-zealous FBI.

Federal agents penetrated and spied on the Authors Guild and the Dramatists Guild.

Living writers kept under surveillance include John Kenneth Galbraith, Norman Mailer and Allen Ginsberg.

Initially excerpted in the New Yorker, Mitgang's damning indictment of government interference with freedom of expression is a blockbuster, an important, brave, chilling expose.

20,000 first printing; BOMC alternate; author tour.

Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Without giving away the whole book, I'll make one reference to one person, a known snitch.

Former President, Ronald Reagan, was a known snitch, to none other than the F.B.I.

It was under the MacCarthy era, at the House Un-American Activities Committee.


Quote from : Wikipedia : House Un-American Activities Committee

The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC or HCUA, 1938–1975) was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives.

In 1969, the House changed the committee's name to "House Committee on Internal Security".

When the House abolished the committee in 1975, its functions were transferred to the House Judiciary Committee.

The committee's anti-communist investigations are often confused with those of Senator Joseph McCarthy .

McCarthy, as a senator, had no direct involvement with this House committee.

McCarthy was the chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.


The whole "Red Scare" was a political blackmail issue against a lot of Americans.



posted on Mar, 17 2010 @ 09:41 PM
link   
As a person who makes it my business to know as much about everyone and everything as I can to the point I have developed a lot of skills and techniques to coming by that information I can attest to the power of leverage specific knowledge in certain areas in certain circumstances can create.

Yet it is really just as easy and just as effective to apply that information for the common good, which is generally what I try to do with valuable information.

To me life is all about balance, and creating balance. Skillfully used sensitive information can balance playing fields and put opponents back onto an even footing, to in essence restore balance.

Our global system thrives on order through manufactured chaos. First create the chaos, and then provide a solution to the chaos that effectively gives you power and creates dominance.

This is how the world has been run through the artificial scarcity paradigm for basically as long as history has been recorded.

Yet once a faction achieves dominance through the order out of induced chaos doctrine then things are out of balance. Certain needs of certain people are now unfulfilled and they are stuck in an inferior position. This lack of balance is bad for all concerned in the long run.

Balance then can often be effectively restored through arming the underdog with information resources they no longer had that puts them back on an even keel and even footing that more adequately addresses their needs and limits and curtails the power of the faction that achieved dominance.

I like to see a nice fair game in life where everyone has a chance.

Hopefully there will come a time in human evolution where the need for dominance over others is not so pronounced and so acute. Hopefully one day the world will achieve harmony and it can through the knowledge and information that prevents anyone like minded group from being able to obtain a dominance and hegemony over any other different like minded group.

Greed really isn’t the answer, what you horde and don’t need or use is really just depriving someone else of a happiness and quality oriented life.

Sharing is important and sharing knowledge most important of all.

A world without secrets would in fact be a world without fear.



posted on Mar, 17 2010 @ 09:57 PM
link   
reply to post by ProtoplasmicTraveler
 


While information is power, power in certain people's hands, equals complete corruption.

As the saying goes :


Power :

Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts, absolutely.


Mankind has been in an "Information War" since the beginning of time.

One faction or another, religious, government, monarchy, or even small village, has been at war, through information for a very long time, the constant struggle of using that information has gone on throughout the ages of history, leveraging people into power, destroying power structures, and revolutionary actions.

Divide and Conquer, my friend, divide and conquer, it is a means to an end.

Whether Ancient Rome or Ancient Greece, or any other kingdom, it has been used.

And used well, to make a wedge, drive a point home, and topple kingdoms.

Divide and Conquer : Political Ideology of the Power Elite, Selling The Peace, War Is The Motive

Whether it is warfare, or creating a menace as a means to scare people, it works.

New World Order : There Is No Such Thing, Architect's of Lies, They Created A Phantom Menace

From the Rosicrucians, to the Illuminati, to the Masons, power is everything.

Pyramid Scheme : The Eye of Horus, Eye of Providence, and Eyes on You

 


Now, off to some humor, on the same topic, with Lego's.

Lego Star Wars - Blackmailing Vader


[edit on 17-3-2010 by SpartanKingLeonidas]



posted on Mar, 17 2010 @ 11:37 PM
link   
reply to post by SpartanKingLeonidas
 


We'd probably be surprised by what goes on behind closed doors in the halls of power. How many agendas have been pushed for no other reason but to keep a dark secret hidden from the public? Even if it wasn't for the good of the public.

I imagine that personal lives are scrutinized for any damning information that may give the next person an edge over someone. The atmosphere that this creates would be maddening to me and I am glad I am not a part of it. This makes me realize that events that have gone down in history may very well be the result of blackmail.

What could be so damning that would put whole nations at the mercy of the perpetrators of this crime? It is mind boggling to consider. The actual cases of blackmail that make the headlines are probably infinitesimal to the cases that do not make the headlines because the perpetrators are successful in their endeavor.

The truth is we will never know of the ones that have directly affected us all. I guess that is why we demand a higher morality in our leaders and to an extent our celebrities. We identify with them and could not imagine that they would be involved in anything that would be considered unsavory or damaging but we are all human and things happen.

Great thread my friend. S+F.



posted on Mar, 18 2010 @ 01:00 AM
link   
reply to post by jackflap
 


Well, considering the things I know about Government, nothing going on behind the scenes, surprises me at all, especially if it involves power, and gaining it.

Then again, I read books about Government, Military Intelligence, and Conspiracies.

Delving into who does what to who is something I have always done.

Three such books explain many things about operations behind closed doors of power.

The Tao Of Spycraft: Intelligence Theory And Practice In Traditional China

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/8b15fd3404a7.jpg[/atsimg]


Amazon Review :

In The Tao of Spycraft, for the first time anywhere Ralph Sawyer unfolds the long and venerable tradition of spycraft and intelligence work in traditional China, revealing a vast array of theoretical materials and astounding historical developments.

Encompassing extensive translations of relevant portions of theoretical military manuals previously unknown in the West (such as the T'ai-pai Yin-ching, Hu-ling Ching, and Ping-fa Pai-yen), the book spans centuries to trace the development and expansion of agent concepts, insertion and control methods, recruitment, and covert practices such as assassination, subversion, and sexual entrapment and exploitation, going on to explore counter-intelligence and all aspects of military intelligence, including objectives, analysis and interpretation.

But The Tao of Spycraft is more than an examination of military tactics, it also provides a thorough overview of the history of spies in China, emphasizing their early development, ruthless employment, and dramatic success in subverting famous generals, dooming states to extinction, and facilitating the rise of the first imperial dynasty known as the Ch'in.

The cases discussed-particularly those exploiting women and sex-not only became part of China's general mindset over the ages, but coupled with the theoretical writings remain the basis for the study and teaching of contemporary spycraft methods and practices as the PRC trains and aggressively deploys thousands of agents throughout the world, including the United States.

About the Author

Ralph D. Sawyer, one of America’s leading scholars in Chinese warfare, has worked extensively with major intelligence and defense agencies.

After studying at MIT and Harvard and a brief stint of university teaching, Sawyer has spent the past thirty years lecturing and doing international consulting work focused on China.


The Bureau: The Secret History of the FBI

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/03c6ca674c43.jpg[/atsimg]


Amazon Review :

An assiduous journalist, Kessler has written numerous books about behind-the-scenes stories at the national security agencies.

His reportage on the abuse of office perks by ex-FBI director William Sessions, for example, precipitated Sessions' exit in 1993.

His latest book is a history of the FBI since its origin in 1908 and is structured around directors' tenures.

A majority of this overview is devoted to J. Edgar Hoover's 48 years in the saddle, and Kessler does dig up some new tidbits.

Yet much of the Hoover-era material will be old hat to readers of Kessler's The FBI (1993).

What's new here?

A cascade of criticism of Louis Freeh, the director from 1993 to 2001.

Despite Freeh's positive public persona, Kessler says insiders rankled under his leadership.

They felt that Freeh neglected management issues such as a systemic computer problem, preferring to unwisely intervene in individual investigations such as the botched Wen Ho Lee case.

Kessler's access to reliable sources results in a richly detailed overview.

Gilbert Taylor

Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


The Underground Empire: Where Crime and Governments Embrace

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/93234268a51c.jpg[/atsimg]

This book does not have an Amazon review, however, I have spoken about it many times.

It delves deeply into how much effort the Government will go to shut down competition.

And through this means, continue false agendas, blackmailing America to pay.

Reward for Justice Program : SKL Reply to jam321

I have each of the books I've referenced in each and thread, post, or reply, unless I have stated differently, and if I did not purchase them, I got them at the library.

[edit on 18-3-2010 by SpartanKingLeonidas]



posted on Mar, 18 2010 @ 09:36 AM
link   
Let me start out by saying that I hate to admit this but in the spirit of the thread I shall do so. I was recently blackmailed by a family member. My wife's brother had been staying with us doing some work for me at my office that we had built on our property. He had been sleeping on an air mattress in the office so he could work while we slept. Apparently he had taken a shine to pilfering through my belongings in the office and discovered a camera flash card I had hidden inside a file cabinet. Unfortunately it contained a private video of my self I had been making that I was planning to surprise my wife with. Lets just say I was doing things I only wanted her and her alone to see. He viewed the contents and made a copy on his laptop and put the card back so I never suspected it had been tampered with. So to make a very long story short sometime after he finally went home and left my employ he decided he had not received sufficient compensation for the work he had done. He revealed to me that he had possession of the the video and that he would send copies to my entire family including my mother-in-law if I didn't wire him a specified amount of money. I was furious, however, the embarrassment I faced prompted me to pay him on the condition he delete the offensive content from his computer. I don't know if he did but I assure you since then I have pretended all is forgiven in the hopes he plans to show his cowardly face for a visit one day. He currently lives hundreds of miles away but were he to make the trip here I would have a very warm welcoming Louisville slugger for his knee caps.



posted on Mar, 18 2010 @ 01:46 PM
link   
I think we have all had blackmail used on us or used it ourselves, even on a minute level between friends. Some use this 'power' to get 'ahead' in life and I think it comes from more of a psychological dominance issue more than anything else. It seems to be the way business is done. Sadly.

I found it quite interesting with J.Edgar Hoover, that he was the most feared man in the alphabet agencies most probably due to his intelligence capabilities and having plenty of dirt on people manufactured or real.

Shockingly when the Smith Act was coming into play, I understand Roosevelt signed it into law due to being afraid of being labeled a communist sympathizer himself and being brought before the courts. He did not want to sign it. I am sure Hoover had much dirt to throw.


While prosecutions under the Smith Act ceased, the statute remains on the books.


Wiki


[edit on 18-3-2010 by timewalker]



posted on Mar, 18 2010 @ 02:59 PM
link   

Originally posted by SoLaR513
Let me start out by saying that I hate to admit this but in the spirit of the thread I shall do so. I was recently blackmailed by a family member.


I'm sorry to hear that, hopefully this thread will help you understand, so it does not happen again, ever.


Originally posted by SoLaR513
My wife's brother had been staying with us doing some work for me at my office that we had built on our property. He had been sleeping on an air mattress in the office so he could work while we slept. Apparently he had taken a shine to pilfering through my belongings in the office and discovered a camera flash card I had hidden inside a file cabinet. Unfortunately it contained a private video of my self I had been making that I was planning to surprise my wife with.


Understood, you had good intentions to help, he took advantage of that.


Originally posted by SoLaR513
Lets just say I was doing things I only wanted her and her alone to see. He viewed the contents and made a copy on his laptop and put the card back so I never suspected it had been tampered with. So to make a very long story short sometime after he finally went home and left my employ he decided he had not received sufficient compensation for the work he had done.


So, it was about money, and he was of low morals, obviously.


Originally posted by SoLaR513
He revealed to me that he had possession of the the video and that he would send copies to my entire family including my mother-in-law if I didn't wire him a specified amount of money.


So, him being out of town, this crossed several state lines, correct?


Originally posted by SoLaR513
I was furious, however, the embarrassment I faced prompted me to pay him on the condition he delete the offensive content from his computer.


Well, here is a major problem, I see, just from observation of your post.

He's already of low morals and or ethics, so taking his word for anything should go right out the window, period, so I would not believe him.

You need to cut off all flow of information to this man, in all ways, so he does not collect any more information, for example you come across more money through work, or anything else, because I guarantee he has done it once, he will do it again, if he did not delete the video.

Really and truly, telling your wife, would probably help, if she's understanding.


Originally posted by SoLaR513
I don't know if he did but I assure you since then I have pretended all is forgiven in the hopes he plans to show his cowardly face for a visit one day. He currently lives hundreds of miles away but were he to make the trip here I would have a very warm welcoming Louisville slugger for his knee caps.


I have to ask, just how much money was this if you're up to sharing that?

I'm not trying to pry, but if it was say $200, learn the lesson to never trust him again.

If we're speaking about several thousand, my next question would be how long ago was it, and what else other than a Louisville Slugger would make you happy?

I'm not suggesting you harm him, anyone can break someone's kneecaps.

However, he's crossed state lines, there is a wire transer (hope you kept a receipt), there are other avenues to do things, legally and without harm.

They would be far worse than a baseball bat, and while I understand your state of mind, hurting him physically will only last a short period of time.

I recommend the book below, I own my own copy of it, there are plenty of resources in it that offer a wealth of information towards digging up information.

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Private Investigating, 2nd Edition

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/5f0addd2d645.jpg[/atsimg]


Amazon Review :

The gumshoe go-to—revised and updated.

Easy-to-use and fantastically inclusive, this is the book on private investigation, whether you want to establish yourself as a professional or just use some of the tools of a P.I. for your own business.

You’ll get the low-down on pre-employment research, tenant screening, adoption searches, safeguarding yourself from investigation, and much more.

—Completely revised with all-new chapters on skip tracing and due diligence searches

—Skills and techniques for average citizens, as well as professionals

—Includes the most useful—and little-known—databases

About the Author

Steven Kerry Brown, founder and president of Millennial Investigative Agency, began his investigative career as a special agent for the FBI.

For the past 18 years, he has successfully managed his own private investigation firm.

He’s appeared on such television programs as Hard Copy and 60 Minutes, and speaks frequently before civic and professional groups.


There's a distinct reason I suggest legal and non-violent action, my recommending otherwise, would be lowering myself to your brother-in-law's level, and I believe you are a good person, in a bad situation, and I inspire people to rise above their problems and be better because of them.

If you would like I could make a few more suggestions, here, or via U2U.

But, they will be legal and non-violent, period.

My reason for recommending that book is you can as well use it as a resource, and make your company have background checks, via the information contained within, because your brother-in-law sounds like the type who might have sent up red flags on one of those to begin with.

Yes, I would do a complete background check on my family, but so would they in regards to me, it's nothing personal, it is business only.

And I never do business nor transactions of any kind with family, that's one of my first rules, second rules is never date a co-worker, it puts you into a compromising situation, and it always backfires, always.

So I never have to worry about background checks either way.


Originally posted by timewalker
I think we have all had blackmail used on us or used it ourselves, even on a minute level between friends. Some use this 'power' to get 'ahead' in life and I think it comes from more of a psychological dominance issue more than anything else. It seems to be the way business is done. Sadly.


Yes, emotinal blackmail is one I've been a victim of through a now ex-girlfriend.

I'm speaking of the ever loved, note my sarcasm, sex as a weapon.

The threat of withholding sex, is a favorite by manipulative women, not saying all women do it, but some do, and I'm immune to it now, for several reasons.

1) I was twenty before my first time with sex, I can wait another twenty years if need be, not that I want to, but I'll never allow that again, ever.

2) If someone truly loves you, they would never do that to begin with, ever. If a woman jokes about it to, prior to a relationship, I kindly tell her that this has been used before, and I'll never go through it again, ever. And that twenty years was a long time to wait to get laid the first time, but I'll wait that long again, if necessary, so backing her down from that with the reverse, only if it is ever used is not something I have a problem with, because a relationship is not about manipulating each other, it is supposed to be about being equals and love.

3) Women find their way right out of my life rather quickly if they try manipulating me.

The same girlfriend, now an ex, loved that I had shoulder length hair when I met her, but as I let it grow out, it got to be a pain to take care of and I told her I was considering cutting it all off, and she threatened to leave if I did. We went through this crap for a few years, because I did not comprehend she was in essence blackmailing me.

I finally had enough of it, because I wanted to go back to my now standrard crew cut, so one day I just cut it all off, right before her work Christmas party.

She was so upset, because I embarassed her, but she did not leave.

I called her bluff and I'm happy to be single, now.

I've been single now since 2005, different girlfriend, but similar nonsense.

I will be happy to remain single forever if necessary, I'll never get with a manipulator.


Originally posted by timewalker
I found it quite interesting with J.Edgar Hoover, that he was the most feared man in the alphabet agencies most probably due to his intelligence capabilities and having plenty of dirt on people manufactured or real.


Oh, by far, a dangerous and feared man, by far.

All of those books, about the F.B.I., including the Dangerous Dossiers one shows just how corrupt the man was, and why our Government changed the tenure of the Director to 10 years after he was out.

I am not saying that the current F.B.I. still does the same things, not going to go into that here, that is for each of you to decide, but the Agency is far better off without J.Edgar Hoover, by far now, then it was when he was alive and directing that Law Enforcement Agency.


Originally posted by timewalker
Shockingly when the Smith Act was coming into play, I understand Roosevelt signed it into law due to being afraid of being labeled a communist sympathizer himself and being brought before the courts. He did not want to sign it. I am sure Hoover had much dirt to throw.


While prosecutions under the Smith Act ceased, the statute remains on the books.


Wiki


[edit on 18-3-2010 by timewalker]


F.D.R. absolutely hated Hoover, their love to hate relationship was notorious, F.D.R. kept Hoover in check for the most part, and Hoover feigned ignorance.

He was a deeply hated and feared man, in Washington D.C. and America.

The one and only person who I can think of who comes close is Dick Cheney.

[edit on 18-3-2010 by SpartanKingLeonidas]



posted on Mar, 18 2010 @ 03:09 PM
link   
It does not have to be true info. A women wanted to blackmail me or she would make up horrendous stuff up about me. I had no money and did not want to know her, so she did.

The expletive scum has practically got away with murder, as my life was totally ruined.

If your reading this scum, your trash beyond any words in our rubbish english language.




top topics



 
20
<<   2 >>

log in

join