The National Security Agency Has Employed A Bunch Of Clowns – SERIOUSLY

If you thought the government cyber-spies who work at the National Security Agency were a bunch of clowns, you were correct. And not just because they waited until Christmas Eve afternoon to comply with a recent FOIA request concerning the laws they knowingly, openly, and willingly violate, either. We’re talking literally correct. Yes, at least at one time, many employees of NSA liked to dress and perform as clowns, even right in their Baltimore office.

(Logo from NSA.gov)
(Logo from NSA.gov)

As BuzzFeed’s Hayes Brown recently reported, an official ?NSA Clown Club,? created by employee Ned Clark, was noted in the 50th anniversary edition of the agency’s Cryptologic Almanac.

?As ?Uncle Ned,? he could always be counted on to entertain at the NSA Christmas Party or any other NSA family party. [?] Each year he would go from office to office, with his accordion, playing and singing Christmas carols to the delight of many fellow employees.?

Others at the office joined ?Uncle Ned? to form the NSA Clown Club (also known as the Clarkwheel Clowns, according to the Almanac), of which Clark was president. They were open about it, too, even making the front page of a small Connecticut newspaper back in 1970. In that article, ?Uncle Ned? Clark tells of the official 1969 formation of the NSA Clown Club, which had 18 members at that time.

While the Clown Club stopped operating at some unknown point, at least one member (who used the name ?Snaggs?) still worked for NSA at least into the early 2000s. And even if there isn’t any official ?club? anymore, that hasn’t stopped NSA from working like clowns in present times.

The recent information gathered by the ACLU via FOIA request includes data on how NSA officers openly spied on their husbands, wives, and girlfriends. It was a rather common practice, too, classified as ?LOVEINT? for ?love intelligence.? Information like this supports the claims of Edward Snowden, who also alleged NSA staff shared nude photos they collected in their surveillance. NSA is more resemblant of an unsupervised, immature fraternity than an intelligence operation. And instead of correcting these circumstances or punishing the wrongdoers, the data acquired by ACLU says NSA’s response was only of a ?the analyst was reminded to exercise caution? variety.

Sure seems like the NSA is still chock full of clowns today, don’t it?


 

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I had a successful career actively working with at-risk youth, people struggling with poverty and unemployment, and disadvantaged and oppressed populations. In 2011, I made the decision to pursue my dreams and become a full-time writer. Connect with me on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.