Don't get the CIA mad now...

*cf Donald Rumsfeld announcing that Osama is in Afghanistan, or somewhere else, or dead.

Considering the CIA hasn't been "batting a thousand" for years, I feel ever so safe, now.

In the 1970s, a law was passed forbidding the CIA from setting out to kill its targets. In previous years, under administrators including Bush pere, the phrase "terminate with extreme prejudice" seems to have been used in all seriousness. (You have heard of the various plot to assassinate and/or humiliate Castro?) Now, under Bush fils, that law was quietly overturned.

There's a new Allen Dulles bio

The fallout from Watergate initially would have horrified him, with mere elected members of Congress placing restrictions on patricians like himself. But he then would have been thrilled to see the ingenuity with which his heirs escaped those bonds, and deeply satisfied that the club did its work while staying hidden from the prying eyes of History.

As Talbot points out, Dulles stated his worldview publicly and explicitly in 1938 during his only run for political office: “Democracy only works if the so-called intelligent people make it work. You can’t sit back and let democracy run itself.” Unsurprisingly, homilies like this did not carry him to victory. But so what? He went on to wield far greater power than most elected officials ever have. And while Dulles is the star of The Devil’s Chessboard, he’s surrounded by an enormous supporting cast.

https://theintercept.com/2015/11/02/the-deepest-state-the-safari-club-allen-dulles-and-the-devils-chessboard/

Better DNA collection through moisturizing! wtf

SKINCENTIAL SCIENCES, a company with an innovative line of cosmetic products marketed as a way to erase blemishes and soften skin, has caught the attention of beauty bloggers on YouTube, Oprah’s lifestyle magazine, and celebrity skin care professionals. Documents obtained by The Intercept reveal that the firm has also attracted interest and funding from In-Q-Tel, the venture capital arm of the Central Intelligence Agency.

The previously undisclosed relationship with the CIA might come as some surprise to a visitor to the website of Clearista, the main product line of Skincential Sciences, which boasts of a “formula so you can feel confident and beautiful in your skin’s most natural state.”

Though the public-facing side of the company touts a range of skin care products, Skincential Sciences developed a patented technology that removes a thin outer layer of the skin, revealing unique biomarkers that can be used for a variety of diagnostic tests, including DNA collection....

https://theintercept.com/2016/04/08/cia-skincare-startup/

We're flying south to SXSW!

SXSW attendees – come see us at the Creative Industries Expo and make time to attend #CIA's Spies Supercharged panel.
  #SXSW2023 #CIASXSW #SXSW

— CIA (@CIA) February 21, 2023

Satire is dead