Posted on 08/02/2004 4:46:10 PM PDT by BJungNan
Sandy Berger Times Two
by Sandy Berger
Last week I started getting some unusual e-mail with questions about cell phones cameras. My e-mail also included an abnormal number of politically oriented questions. After further investigation, it turns out that all of this was related to a recent political event.
It seems that Sandy Berger, Bill Clinton's national security adviser, was recently forced to quit his job as John Kerry’s adviser. He is now under federal investigation for taking notes and classified documents from the National Archives.
Berger was recently at the National Archives reading through highly classified terrorism documents related to the 9-11 commission. It has been reported that Berger asked to be left alone several times during his reading sessions to make personal phone calls on his cell phone. It occurred to many people that if Berger’s cell phone was equipped with a camera he could have used it to take pictures of classified information. After this announcement, hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people started searching the Internet using the search terms such as, “Sandy Berger, camera cell phone”. The search results led them onto an article that I had written about the popularity of cell phones with cameras. In the article I wrote about the problems associated with these phones, including how easy these devices make it to steal information. Before long, a link to my article was posted on GoGov.com. My picture was posted right under the other Sandy Berger’s picture. People on several message boards picked up on my article and suddenly began discussing both Sandy Berger’s and camera phones. I loved the comment made by a visitor on the FreeRepublic.com message boards: “ I thought this was going to be blockbuster until I discovered that this Sandy Berger is a chick.”
The Sandy Berger situation brought to my attention the fact that today’s common tech devices today can be used in a way that until recently was available only to the FBI, KGB, CIA, and Maxwell Smart. Technology has given the every-day person the ability to easily spy on people and steal information.
My article that is posted on the Compu-KISS Web site at www.compukiss.com/populartopics/tech_gadgetshtm/article1199.htm, stated “As with most new technologies, there is also a downside to camera cell phones. Some critics are calling them a privacy menace as they are being used in bathrooms, locker rooms, and gyms. Art museums, and others, who ban photography are having trouble controlling the use of camera phones. Bookstores are struggling to crack down on the digital shoplifting that occurs when patrons photograph pages of books and magazines without paying for them. The speedy transmission of telephone photos enables confidential information to be stolen and immediately transmitted to an outside source.”
Yes, we are living in a world where every person has access to inexpensive technology that can be used for bad as well as good. Oh, and there is one more amazing thing about this story, it shows how the vastness and power of the Internet could bring, if only for a short time, the worlds of the two vastly different Sandy Berger’s together.
By the way, he’s Samuel and I am Sandra. Also, if you happen upon the headline that says, “Sandy Berger to pose for Playboy – Proof that he has nothing to hide” let me assure you that they are referring to the other Sandy Berger.
When were cell phones allowed inside secure facilities in the first place?
When is someone going to determine if Berger had a camera cell phone? He was already reported to have asked the Archive staff to leave the room so he could make a "sensitive" call. Maybe he wasn't lying and has a really sensitive camera lens on his phone.
As those of us with experience with secure facilities know, they aren't allowed, neither are "bricks" (the hand held radios some senior military types carry around to stay in touch with the base CP). One that I worked in had a rack outside the door for bricks and pagers (that was before portable phones were something you could clip on your belt. :)
However as we also know, some folks think the rules don't' apply to them, and because they are "special" (and powerful) the security folks don't check them as thoroughly as they do ordinary mortals.
This is getting more and more sinister, if that is possible.
I suspect he did photograph some documents......the question is.....who was the recipient.
Well, ok, let's see a pic so we know for sure. ;)
Hey cool! Thanks for the ping. I like the Sandy Berger chick much better than the Sandy Berger dude.
A) Do camera cell phones store photos like a disc camera?
B) Do you have to dial a phone number in order to send the photos?
C) Would Sandy Burglar's cell phone company have a record of numbers his cell phone dialed along with time and date?
..."Would Sandy Burglar's cell phone company have a record of numbers his cell phone dialed along with time and date?..."
-they would have, but the building just mysteriously burned to the ground (basement included), and the owner of the company was found in a park across from the White House... Shot himself in the back of the head.
A) Do camera cell phones store photos like a disc camera?
Basically, yes, they are a digital camera and store on a chip.
B) Do you have to dial a phone number in order to send the photos?
No, you can download to a computer via a wire, like any other digital camera. You do have the option of forwarding pictures by phone, basically a wireless internet.
C) Would Sandy Burglar's cell phone company have a record of numbers his cell phone dialed along with time and date?
Yes.
Very good! Glad to see she has a sense of humor!
She writes well, pity on that last part though.
Ping to forward
I'm sure NSA, etc. is having a ball collecting images sent this way.
Kinda like Big Brother having his work done for him by giving all the sheep(le ) cameras?
Baaaa shutterbug
That's a very good question. Remember that flap about the cell phone regarding some republican congressman driving somewhere on the highway. This couple was somehow able to get past security and give the information to I believe it was Leheay.
It is unlikely that cell phones would work inside a secure facility.
Now that is something I would not be so quick to think was true. Why wouldn't cell phones work in a secure facility? I bet they do.
Now how could someone shoot themselves in the back of the head? Are you making this up? Next thing you know you will say he sprinkled carpet fibers all over himself too.
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