(UK GOVERNMENT) British intelligence agency. Under the Home Secretary (w/in the British Cabinet), along with MI-6 and Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ).
A few points: MI-5 can be written MI5. It differs from MI-6 (or MI6) in that MI-5 houses one group of specialized functions, and MI-6 houses another group. Both were founded in 1909 to supervise existing agencies of the Admiralty and the War Office. MI-5 tended to specialize in counterespionage on UK soil, but it also carried out espionage against trade union officials and Labour politicians in the UK.
Since the end of the Cold War it has focused on counterterrorism activities.
A few points: MI-5 can be written MI5. It differs from MI-6 (or MI6) in that MI-5 houses one group of specialized functions, and MI-6 houses another group. Both were founded in 1909 to supervise existing agencies of the Admiralty and the War Office. MI-5 tended to specialize in counterespionage on UK soil, but it also carried out espionage against trade union officials and Labour politicians in the UK.
Since the end of the Cold War it has focused on counterterrorism activities.
Contrary to some definitions elsewhere, MI-5 was not involved in Operation Ajax; that was carried out by the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), also known as MI-6, as well as the US CIA.
by Primus Intra Pares July 19, 2010
(US GOVERNMENT) Immigration and Naturalization Service: former agency of the US government responsible for the enforcement of immigration law, and the processing of visa/permit requests. The INS and its successor (see below) are justly famous for treating millions of hardworking, intelligent, and creative people with the most demeaning, barbaric sort of bureaucratic cruelty imaginable.
After the attacks of 11 September 2001, Congress passed a bill creating the Department of Homeland Security (DHS); the INS was split up into its enforcement functions (which became part of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and its processing functions (Citizenship and Immigration Services, or CIS).
Prior to its dissolution in 2003, the INS was part of the Department of Justice. The CIS and ICE are both part of the DHS.
After the attacks of 11 September 2001, Congress passed a bill creating the Department of Homeland Security (DHS); the INS was split up into its enforcement functions (which became part of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and its processing functions (Citizenship and Immigration Services, or CIS).
Prior to its dissolution in 2003, the INS was part of the Department of Justice. The CIS and ICE are both part of the DHS.
Because of its extraordinary power over the lives of millions of US nationals and residents, the Immigration and Naturalization Service gained lasting notoriety. Seven years after it was superseded by the CIS, most people associated visa regulations with the INS.
"Brother from Another Planet" was a brilliant parody of INS agent behavior.
"Brother from Another Planet" was a brilliant parody of INS agent behavior.
by Primus Intra Pares June 17, 2010
Former name of BP, p.l.c. The name "British Petroleum" remains in use because "BP" is useless for internet searches. Third largest oil company in the world, by sales (behind Exxon Mobile and Royal Dutch Shell; in 2009, these were $246.1 billion.
BP is the largest oil and gas producer in the US.
Lessor of Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico. On 20 April 2010, a fire and explosion on the Deepwater Horizon killed eleven crew members and was followed by a blowout, during which perhaps four million barrels of crude oil were poured into the ecologically sensitive area.
Company was founded in 1909 by William Knox D'Arcy as the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC), and used its ties with the hapless Qejar Dynasty ruling Iran.
In 1925, Reza Khan (formerly an employee of APOC) had himself proclaimed Shah; his ascendancy from commoner to emperor was stimulated by Iran popular anger at the way APOC was pumping billions of pounds from Iran's land to the Exchequer of the UK, while a ridiculously small amount went to Iran itself. Shah Reza promised to revise the agreement with APOC, but after 7 years of negotiating with the company, got nothing more than a name change (to Anglo-Iranian).
In 1951, Prime Minister Muhammad Mussadegh nationalize the company's assets in Iran. On behalf of AIOC, MI-5 and the CIA staged a coup d'etat that ousted the democratically elected Prime Minister in favor of absolute dictatorship by the Shah (1953).
BP is the largest oil and gas producer in the US.
Lessor of Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico. On 20 April 2010, a fire and explosion on the Deepwater Horizon killed eleven crew members and was followed by a blowout, during which perhaps four million barrels of crude oil were poured into the ecologically sensitive area.
Company was founded in 1909 by William Knox D'Arcy as the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC), and used its ties with the hapless Qejar Dynasty ruling Iran.
In 1925, Reza Khan (formerly an employee of APOC) had himself proclaimed Shah; his ascendancy from commoner to emperor was stimulated by Iran popular anger at the way APOC was pumping billions of pounds from Iran's land to the Exchequer of the UK, while a ridiculously small amount went to Iran itself. Shah Reza promised to revise the agreement with APOC, but after 7 years of negotiating with the company, got nothing more than a name change (to Anglo-Iranian).
In 1951, Prime Minister Muhammad Mussadegh nationalize the company's assets in Iran. On behalf of AIOC, MI-5 and the CIA staged a coup d'etat that ousted the democratically elected Prime Minister in favor of absolute dictatorship by the Shah (1953).
Until 1997, British Petroleum was part of an industry-wide consortium that funded climate change "skepticism."
Although it is financially and legally unrelated to the British government, BP has historically been treated by the British FCO as if it were an arm of the state.
Although it is financially and legally unrelated to the British government, BP has historically been treated by the British FCO as if it were an arm of the state.
by Primus Intra Pares July 17, 2010
Action taken for public relations (PR); usually contrived to create a false impression of good will or concern.
Most people in positions of great power are basically sociopaths who don't care about the suffering their greed- and ego-driven rampages cause. But if it were generally known that they think general suffering is hilarious, they'd be less effective at causing more.
For this reason, the truly powerful have frontmen, like political functionaries, who pretend to have power, and pretend to care about doing good stuff. They can do stuff like fly to the Gulf of Mexico and make speeches about how they're going to help people affected by the Deepwater Horizon blowout, and while it fools very few people, it's at least moderately inoffensive.
PR moves are used by the powerful to make themselves look benign, indispensable, hardworking, smart, badass, serious, compassionate, respectful of the law, concerned about the rise of evil shit, blue-collar, in touch with the people, talented, far-sighted, thoughtful, devout, patriotic, global, or cool.
Most people in positions of great power are basically sociopaths who don't care about the suffering their greed- and ego-driven rampages cause. But if it were generally known that they think general suffering is hilarious, they'd be less effective at causing more.
For this reason, the truly powerful have frontmen, like political functionaries, who pretend to have power, and pretend to care about doing good stuff. They can do stuff like fly to the Gulf of Mexico and make speeches about how they're going to help people affected by the Deepwater Horizon blowout, and while it fools very few people, it's at least moderately inoffensive.
PR moves are used by the powerful to make themselves look benign, indispensable, hardworking, smart, badass, serious, compassionate, respectful of the law, concerned about the rise of evil shit, blue-collar, in touch with the people, talented, far-sighted, thoughtful, devout, patriotic, global, or cool.
One of the more successful PR moves of the oil industry was Chevron's "People Do" campaign. In this campaign, a series of television commercials and magazine ads showed a beautiful landscape with sea otters or giant turtles, and voice over talking about some thing Chevron did to help them out. Except the things Chevron said it was doing to help the environment, were (a) cheap, relative to the cost of blabbing about it, (b) usually mandated by law or consent decree, and (c) required to mitigate some larger environmental catastrophe caused by Chevron.
by Primus Intra Pares July 15, 2010
(HISTORY-VIETNAM, LAOS, CAMBODIA, USA) War between Communist forces native to the region and anti-Communists from several countries. Waged 1955 to 1975; ended in complete Communist victory. Probably 2.5 to 3.5 million people were killed, mostly in Vietnam, but also in Cambodia (1968-1975) and Laos (1953-1965).
US forces sent to prop up totally artificial "republic" in the south of Vietnam; helped Ngo Dinh Diem fake elections and suppress the population until he tried to cram Catholicism down throats of the Buddhist majority. Killed during coup d'etat 3 weeks before Kennedy assassinated. Military junta ran South Vietnam until it was defeated by the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN). The US military referred to the PAVN as the North Vietnamese Army (NVA), and resistence in South Vietnam itself as "Viet Cong."
In Cambodia, war crept across the border as a result of Ho Chi Minh Trail; ruler, Norodim Sihanouk, tried to contain it through negotiation but in 1970 overthrown by a CIA coup; military junta totally useless and Khmer Communist Party formed an alliance with supporters of the monarchy (GRUNK). Named "Khmer Rouge" by Sihanouk before 1970.
In Laos, pitted Pathet Lao (Communist) against Royal Lao Army. RLA extremely poor, and Western assistance was much less than that of Communist Vietnam. Heavy US bombing there & in Cambodia.
The collapse of South Vietnam in early '75 allowed a total rout of the anti-Communist forces in Indochina.
US forces sent to prop up totally artificial "republic" in the south of Vietnam; helped Ngo Dinh Diem fake elections and suppress the population until he tried to cram Catholicism down throats of the Buddhist majority. Killed during coup d'etat 3 weeks before Kennedy assassinated. Military junta ran South Vietnam until it was defeated by the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN). The US military referred to the PAVN as the North Vietnamese Army (NVA), and resistence in South Vietnam itself as "Viet Cong."
In Cambodia, war crept across the border as a result of Ho Chi Minh Trail; ruler, Norodim Sihanouk, tried to contain it through negotiation but in 1970 overthrown by a CIA coup; military junta totally useless and Khmer Communist Party formed an alliance with supporters of the monarchy (GRUNK). Named "Khmer Rouge" by Sihanouk before 1970.
In Laos, pitted Pathet Lao (Communist) against Royal Lao Army. RLA extremely poor, and Western assistance was much less than that of Communist Vietnam. Heavy US bombing there & in Cambodia.
The collapse of South Vietnam in early '75 allowed a total rout of the anti-Communist forces in Indochina.
At the time, journalists tended to speak of the Second Indochina War as three different civil wars, but in reality it was three local movements fighting a foreign occupation (and local collaborators). After the war, a third conflict erupted between Cambodia and Vietnam; the rulers of Cambodia, the Khmer Rouge, murdered an unknown but enormous number of their own people, then were crushed when they went to war with Vietnam.
Laos, tragically, remains horribly affected by huge numbers of unexploded mines.
Laos, tragically, remains horribly affected by huge numbers of unexploded mines.
by Primus Intra Pares July 21, 2010
(OIL INDUSTRY) a disaster consisting of a rupture of the pipe carrying oil away from a wellhead. Basically, when oil coming out of the ground through an oil well is released into the open air, or pours into the ocean.
In 1991, after Iraq's invasion of Kuwait was repulsed by the US-led coalition, the retreating Iraqi forces used incendiary explosives to blast open and ignite the streams of crude oil coming from Kuwaiti wells. This was the largest mass blowout in industry history.
In 1991, after Iraq's invasion of Kuwait was repulsed by the US-led coalition, the retreating Iraqi forces used incendiary explosives to blast open and ignite the streams of crude oil coming from Kuwaiti wells. This was the largest mass blowout in industry history.
The Deepwater Horizon blowout is incorrectly called a "spill" by many news outlets. It is not a spill, it is a blowout.
Oil wells, particularly those drilled underwater, are required to have a functioning blowout preventer. The one of the Deepwater Horizon was made by Halliburton and was defective.
Oil wells, particularly those drilled underwater, are required to have a functioning blowout preventer. The one of the Deepwater Horizon was made by Halliburton and was defective.
by Primus Intra Pares July 15, 2010
(VIETNAMESE HISTORY) Vietnamese word for "liberation"; refers to 31 April 1975, when Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) was captured by the PAVN, ending the Second Indochina War.
The "g" is pronounced like a "y."
The "g" is pronounced like a "y."
For both the Vietnamese and Usonians, Giai Phong was a massive turning point in history. For the Vietnamese, it meant that the huge sacrifices made for independence were crowned with grinding toil, but new dignity as well. For the Usonians, it meant shame and and denial.
The USA entered a long dark night of the soul from which it has yet to emerge.
The USA entered a long dark night of the soul from which it has yet to emerge.
by Primus Intra Pares July 26, 2010