Reply #34: You know, I've just thought of something after rereading his article ~

[Catrina]

This is what made me think of it:

When the Tribune searched for Plame on an Internet service that sells public information about private individuals to its subscribers, it got a report of more than 7,600 words. Included was the fact that in the early 1990s her address was "AMERICAN EMBASSY ATHENS ST, APO NEW YORK NY 09255."

There were several threads on DU about a week ago regarding a company ~ I wish I could remember the details, that did 'data mining' and I think it had to do with the domestic spying issue. DUers did some research into it and discovered that it had information on every American in its data base.

As I recall, this company was working with either DHS and/or the intelligence community. It got attention when it accidentally released information on several thousand people a few months ago ~ which caused huge problems with ID theft.

Also, there was the story on Americablog (I think) about being able to buy telephone records online and John Aravosis actually found he was able to buy Gen. Clark's cell phone records during the election period for about $100.00.

The question was 'how did this Internet company get the records?' No one seems to have investigated that, but the theory was the information was being sold by the big company I mentioned above ~

I'm not sure why that article reminded me of all this, and I wish I knew how to search for those threads, but if this is what this reporter is using to say that 'information was easily obtained on Valerie Plame' I don't think that would have been true three years ago, unless it was done by someone who knew at the time, that this company existed and had the information.

Now, I'm thinking that Cheney, Rove et al, may have thought of selling the info online to make it look like it was all over the place. What I don't know is for how long you could buy this information.

Gen. Clark supposedly was asking for legislation making it illegal. I would have though it should have been illegal all along.

Interestingly, this whole story has gone away, and now this reporter says he was able to get the information the same way John Aravosis got it.

So, my question is ~ did Rove et al use the Data Mining company (rightwing, as I recall) to release info to entrepreneurs who then sold it online, AFTER the Libby indictment??

I guess I'm asking 'how long has it been possible to buy phone records, CIA info etc. online?' and I would think this reporter ought to be asking the same question. Because it's very relevant to what he's claiming.

Fitzgerald shot down their (pre-planned) propaganda story that 'everyone knew, her neighbors knew' when he sent agents out to talk to the neighbors. But this would be another way to undermine his claim that this was not so.

Important questions ~

'why is no one disturbed by the fact that information on the CIA can be bought online?' and 'How long has it been possible to buy it the way this reporter says he did?' and
'Who told him he could get it online?'

Maybe he should think about how he was led to the information, and tell us who led him there. If he wasn't aware of the data-mining story ~ (I think it was on a thread started by Larisa from Raw Story) ~ it's possible he is being used ~

Shouldn't the Bush administration be super disturbed by this? So far, there's been no reaction at all from the WH. which always makes me suspicious ~ they jump on reporters, but not on people who out undercover agents ~ when they're not too upset about something like this, it makes me think it's going exactly the way they wanted it to! Or maybe I'm just getting paranoid ~