In a surreal twist and an example of the current “entertainment” state of the world today, a series of Anna Chapman photos have quickly become one of the hottest topics online.

Who is Anna Chapman?

If you haven’t been following along, in June 2010, the FBI arrested 10 Russian spies in a dramatic event which should remind Americans that just because the cold war is over, doesn’t mean that spies no longer exist within the U.S.

Anna Chapman just happens to be one of those Russian spies that was deported back to Russia in July after they all pleaded guilty to “failing to register with the U.S. government as agents of a foreign country.” Upon returning to Russia, Anna in particular became an instant celebrity.

The Anna Chapman Photos

Apparently, spying is cool no matter what country you’re doing it for, or against. People take one look at the girl-next-door features of this little redhead and forgive her for attempting to help a domestic spy ring feed a foreign country information about a wide range of topics including including:

-> Nuclear weapons
-> U.S. arms control positions
-> Iran
-> White House rumors
-> CIA leadership turnover
-> The last presidential election
-> Congress and the political parties

Given, her chances, and the chances of the other 9 or 10 spies were about as good as any other citizen’s chances of obtaining sensitive information - however, much of their success depended upon what positions in society (or more importantly, within government) that they could obtain.

Now, as she lives back in the “mother-land,” young Anna Chapman is now selling her body to Russian magazines, rather than to the Russian government. You can check out the Anna Chapman photos for Russian magazine Zhara on the CBS News website.
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According to a recent report in Top Secret America, a series run by the Washington Post, signs are pointing toward significant cut-backs in funding for U.S. Intelligence communities and organizations.

According to the Washington Post report, the following signs are painting a bleak picture for Intelligence organizations that are now owned and operated by corporate America.

->Defense Secretary Robert Gates proposed a 10 percent cut for contractors working for U.S. intelligence agencies.
->The Obama administration is going to review government IT projects totally $30 billion in value in order to consider cuts to projects that are not meeting stated goals.
->The Chief Information Officer at the Office of Management and Budget stated that Washington culture of “throwing good money after bad money” has to stop. He stated that any projects that “don’t add value” will be “discontinued.”

With that said, the Washington Post article didn’t list projects that are up for cuts that specifically refer to the intelligence community. For example, IT projects involving track cargo, or a Lockheed Martin air-traffic control upgrade are hardly “intelligence” related.

However, the focus on analyzing government contract work for inefficiencies and waste will most certainly impact the many private contractors that do intelligence work. While many aspects of IT are fairly mundane, there are certainly aspects that involve classified information systems and even intelligence collection utilizing computer systems and networks.

The Political Muscle of Private Contractors

The road is not an easy one for the Obama administration if the plan is to cut back on spending related to these major contracts. The Post points out that the top 10 companies which handle classified government work have contributed from $5 to $7 million dollars in political contributions - equally between the two parties. These same companies have spent $135.3 million on lobbying efforts alone.

To think that all of that money won’t have an impact on the decision making process would be naive. While the efforts of the Obama administration are commendable, the reality is that without real action it’s just hot air. And given the money and political clout that these corporations and institutions have over our elected officials - the road to cleaning up corruption and overspending within the Military/Industrial/Intelligence complex is one that is long and difficult.

The controversy surrounding WikiLeaks continues to spiral out of control, as government organizations across the world turn their sights upon the start-up website and the freedom of information that it represents.

Why is WikiLeaks on Banned Sites Lists?

For those of you who don’t know, WikiLeaks is a website started in 2006 by a group of international, formerly anonymous founders from the U.S., Taiwan, Australia, South Africa and Europe. The website provides a submission form, where anyone can submit documents that reveal corruption, immorality or questionable actions and communications by governments, military organizations and any other entity across the world. Within the first year, the database of leaks had allegedly grown to over 1.2 million documents.

At the center of the storm, a single public figure - an Australian journalist and activist named Julian Assange - has become the personification of the website, as the director of the organization.

So why are more and more government entities banning access to WikiLeaks servers? Because true freedom of information presents a fundamental threat to authoritarian groups that seek to maintain control and order over a society. WikiLeaks represents the ultimate fear of almost every national intelligence organization in the world - it lets its own insiders that may have classified clearances share sensitive information with the public, without fear of punishment.
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Many of our readers at Top Secret Writers are here because of an interest in the intelligence field, investigation techniques and in intelligence gathering - so it stands to reason that a fair number of our readers come here looking to find FBI agent requirements.

Our recent article covering the FBI salary review was wildly popular, so I’ve decided to cover FBI agent requirements for those of you who are interested in either training for, or applying, to become an FBI agent.

The Top FBI Agent Requirements

There are many misconceptions about being an FBI agent, due to how they are portrayed in the movies. Aside from the basics - being a U.S. citizen, over 23 years old, a college degree and at least three years of work experience - there are a few more specific FBI agent requirements as well.

Special Agent Entry Programs

The Bureau doesn’t hire just anyone off the street. Basically, there are specific career tracks that the Bureau recruits for.

• ->Accounting - You must be a certified CPA or hold a 4 year degree in accounting, or have three years of experience in accounting work.
• ->Information Technology - Must have a computer or engineering related degree.
• ->Languages - Must have a college degree and be proficient in one of the languages that the Bureau has a need for (Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, Hebrew, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Pashtu, Punjabi, Russian, Spanish, Urdu or Vietnamese. You’ll have to prove your proficiency in a series of tests.
• ->Law - Must have a college degree and at least three years of work experience, or a masters degree and two years of work experience.
• ->Diversified - This is a unique area, but so long as you have a degree and work experience, and have unique “other” skills that the Bureau needs, you may fall into this category.

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In the years that I’ve been researching both mundane and weird claims, I’ve had both the pleasure and displeasure of working with both avid believers and the morbidly skeptic.

Being the type of guy who constantly rides the fence until enough information is in to draw, at the least, an educated guess about a situation - I find both the avid believer and the morbidly skeptic to be two of the most annoying, frustrating types of people to work with. Here’s why:

1. They make an early decision about what to believe, and then only search for evidence to support it.

If you’re ever doing research with someone, and they state a hypothesis and then seek evidence to prove it, you are in the company of a good researcher. However, if you notice that the same researcher tends to ignore any findings that do not support the original hypothesis - that’s a bad sign. All new information, whether verified or not, needs to be fully authenticated before accepting or dismissing. And when there is an abundance of new information - all the more reason for aligning your efforts in that direction.
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In a further sign that U.S. intelligence communities are falling behind in their understanding and integration of the Internet with their investigations, CNN reported on August 3rd on the FBI vs Wikipedia story buzzing the Internet over the past few months.

According to the report, Wikipedia received a letter from the FBI requesting that they remove the FBI insignia from the website. The FBI letter reads, in part:

The FBI has not authorized use of the FBI seal on Wikipedia. The inclusion of a high quality graphic of the FBI seal on Wikipedia is particularly problematic, because it facilitates both deliberate and unwitting copying and reprinting of the seal’s image.

The letter cited a section of U.S. code that makes it illegal to copy badges and identification cards…”in the likeness of any such badge, identification card, or other insignia”.
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There is nothing more shocking, and enlightening, to me than the silly Google Spies story published by Alex Jones over at Prison Planet - the Alex Jones website. Throughout the years, I’ve been involved in a wide variety of online publications and activities - from technical writing and software reviews for MakeUseOf.com, investigative research busting scams over at RealityUncovered.com, and writing on a wide variety of topics for clients all across the web.

One of the skills that I’ve picked up over the years is an in-depth understanding of Search Engine research and SEO optimization.

Now, the reason the Alex Jones story about Google Spies is so shocking is because Alex essentially tried to introduce a term into the list of high search trends, and then he subsequently pointed to the disappearance of that search trend from Google results as evidence that there are “Google Spies” that are manipulating authentic search trends.

The story is also enlightening because it is proof positive that Alex Jones is a complete moron, as are the other writers that worked on this story for the Alex Jones website.
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I will shortly be providing a new TopSecretWriters feature that include geotags for each post. This is only a test. Here is this post embedded on a mapquest map:

In July 2010, The Washington Post made a move, the publication of a 2-year research project into private Intelligence companies, that should prove to Americans that there are at least a few news organizations left that are not owned and operated by Corporate America. Top Secret America is a valiant, brave and ground-breaking move by the Post into a topic area that previously existed only as a “nutty” carnival act filled with conspiracy theorists and pundits. The Post publication adds relevancy and urgency to the need for the policing of America’s Intelligence infrastructure.

The People Behind Top Secret America?

The two professional reporters behind this effort are Dana Priest and William Arkin. Now, it’s only fair to note that professional bloggers have been covering this story for a long time. Guys like Tim Shorrock have been exposing the inefficiencies and corporate takeover of American Intelligence for years - and they deserve credit for their hard work. The Washington Post story isn’t new news - but it is mainstream acceptance of the importance and relevance of this topic.
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One of the things that I’ve learned over the past few months, from my research efforts in the world of conspiracy theories, is that ultimately when you research and write about conspiracy theories, you are bound to end up facing tough decisions.

Sometimes it’s a matter of discovering something so troubling, and so damaging about someone, that you realize that nothing good can come out of making that information public. In many ways, a person’s personal life isn’t really relevant to most major news stories - even when credibility is at stake.

Sure, if they’ve had business dealings that are shady, or they have a criminal record, then yes that will reflect upon the validity of their public statements. But what if they treat their family horribly? What if they are controlling and domineering inside the privacy of their home? Do these private matters have a place in the public domain?

Understanding Journalistic Principles

The Project for Excellence in Journalism, by the Pew Research Center, is one of the best resource for Journalists. On their website, they offer a very valuable page titled, “Principles of Journalism.” Unfortunately, in the field of conspiracy theories, there are so many unknowns and so much controversy that even seasoned journalists can get swept away in the sea of discourse and debate. Any time things get heated and controversial, it is a good idea to reflect upon the principles as printed by Pew Research Center.

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