grumpy old men :-))

What I was saying....

Good to see you Julie...

There is one already "The Seti is Down Politics"

If I am to move all those posts to the other thread, I have to move all posts with a Youtube link in them to the Kitty Sounds thread as well. That's sounding more and more like work.

I'll leave the decision to Gary.
An easier step is always to hide everything. Kick the trespassers... oh no, I decided not to do that. :-)

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Quick... Seti forums are back.

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Quick... Seti forums are back.

WOO-HOO!!

Did not know you were only a political file clerk, so the secrets you know are who ran around with their underwear on their head. People I've met, worked for our equivalents of MI5 & MI6.

I can assure you that working for the Cabinet Office ES99 was considerably more than just that, and I object strongly to your derogatory tone towards her. But I'll let her sort you out further.

I started out as a file clerk, so don't knock it! File clerk's get to read all those...files.... I spent a lot of time shredding.

I did lots of different jobs there, but ended up a Webmaster...and I met a lot of people from all different parts of the Government. I worked for a while with a lady who was the boss of the guy who wrote that expose on UFO's for the MoD.

Clearly you don't know the first thing about British security or politics, and apparently even less about your own country. The FBI is the equivalent to MI5 and the CIA is equal to MI6. So you only met people that worked for those agencies and had no experience of that yourself. And further, are you suggesting that the people that you met spilled secrets to you? If you are, then I suggest could be in some trouble.

He probably shouldn't go around announcing that on internet, should he? lol.

My sister's ex-father in law was in the Secret Service and used to guard the president. He took us to the Secret Service headquarters in Dallas. I didn't learn any secrets there either. Not even about the grassy knoll...

Geeze open a politics thread please.
There is one already "The Seti is Down Politics"

I thought we were just joining in with Sattler about all the famous people we know.

Did not know you were only a political file clerk, so the secrets you know are who ran around with their underwear on their head. People I've met, worked for our equivalents of MI5 & MI6.

I can assure you that working for the Cabinet Office ES99 was considerably more than just that, and I object strongly to your derogatory tone towards her. But I'll let her sort you out further.

I started out as a file clerk, so don't knock it! File clerk's get to read all those...files.... I spent a lot of time shredding.

I did lots of different jobs there, but ended up a Webmaster...and I met a lot of people from all different parts of the Government. I worked for a while with a lady who was the boss of the guy who wrote that expose on UFO's for the MoD.

File clerks are a very necessary part of any organization, and I don't put them down at all. Not sure where Chris is getting all hot and bothered either.

@Chris, Scotland Yard is the equivalent of the FBI, although they do like to imply they are more important.

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Not sure where Chris is getting all hot and bothered either.

Did not know you were only a political file clerk

I got irritated at your apparent unnecessary put-down.

Try reading it with the actual emphasis, not your implied emphasis. ^^^

The Downing Street Cabinet office supports the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, and ensures the effective running of government. They are also the corporate headquarters for government, in partnership with HM Treasury, and take the lead in certain critical policy areas. It is a ministerial department, supported by 19 agencies and public bodies.

The white house also has a Cabinet Office supporting the Vice President and the heads of the 15 executive departments. Anyone who works at No.10 Downing Street would have the same status as someone who worked in the White House i.e. not exactly an ordinary clerk.

Still a Political office. Politicians here, and hopefully there now that you have adopted our much of out classification system, are not allowed to have copies of the TS/SCI or TS/SAP. The man himself, if "read in" may be allowed to read it, but never posses it, it never leaves the sight of the courier. Too many sticky fingers in politics. No one else in the office even knows the stuff exists.

Scotland Yard is the equivalent of the FBI, although they do like to imply they are more important

Secondly you are quite wrong yet again. New Scotland yard is the HQ of the Metropolitan Police who are in charge of London.[/quote]
Did I say NEW Scotland Yard?

Elsewhere the country is run by County Constabularies under Chief Constables. The Met is seen as the senior police force because it also has a counter terrorism co-ordination role, although there are proposals to modify that. In addition to the above there are various Regional Crime Squads, and the Met has a Specialist Crime and Operations section which operate the Flying Squad, SCO15 Special Branch, and SCO19 Specialist Firearms Command.

Since 2013 we have Police Scotland which is the second largest force after the Met, Wales has the North Wales Police and the South Wales Police, and then The Police Service of Northern Ireland. The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) is MI6 responsible for UK external security, and the Security Service MI5 is responsible for internal security. Co-ordinating those activities there is GCHQ responsible for monitoring cyber threats, Terrorism, Espionage etc and providing secure Government communications and for overseas military operations, and producing the National Security Strategy in conjunction with MI5, which is currently at Level 2 Severe.

I have no doubt that there are other "black ops" outfits which are on a need to know basis. From all the above I would suggest that New Scotland Yard is equivalent to the NYPD. You can work out the rest of the USA counterparts for yourself.

The NYPD does not confine itself to the geographic boundaries of NY City, and that has caused a bit of a dust up, but in any case the difference between the FBI and the NYPD are next to zero other than one polices a larger area and with Federal rather than State law. They are just ordinary cops. Post 9/11 they get some additional BOLO bulletins but post Assange no one gets the intercepts anymore.

I also see that you only recently adopted our classification levels, hence your earlier comment that ES would have been at a higher level than you. Your old system had 6 levels, your current system has 3. The bottom 4 of your old system being merged into 1. That also implies you did not have a very high level of access.

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I reckon I'd be quite good at keeping secrets :) as long as it didn't hurt anyone. I wouldn't be too keen on signing something to keep me quiet though... would make me instantly suspicious of who's asking me to sign - not a good way to start a relationship of trust in my opinion :) *pause for an anniet contemplative moment* Bit like being asked to step in poo and never being allowed to clean your feet again :)

HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVE EVERYONE!! :)))

edit: apologies to all for bringing the tone of the thread down somewhat :) and for casting aspersions on the cleanliness of other poster's feet - which I'm sure are lovely and very very fragrant :)

Not sure where Chris is getting all hot and bothered either.

Did not know you were only a political file clerk

I got irritated at your apparent unnecessary put-down.

Try reading it with the actual emphasis, not your implied emphasis. ^^^

Then I don't understand your emphasis. I would assume a political file clerk would be someone that works directly in an MP's office. I did not for the MPs as such. I worked for the British public. The MPs were expected to do so to. Our job was to support them in implementing their policies and to given the guidance as to what they could and could not do as far as the laws and rules went and how to do it. We were expressly not there for political reasons. Perhaps I am misunderstanding what you mean by "political".

Still a Political office. Politicians here, and hopefully there now that you have adopted our much of out classification system, are not allowed to have copies of the TS/SCI or TS/SAP. The man himself, if "read in" may be allowed to read it, but never posses it, it never leaves the sight of the courier. Too many sticky fingers in politics. No one else in the office even knows the stuff exists.

The classification system was different when I was there. Things were labelled as restricted, secret, top secret etc. They may have been some other classifications that I have forgotten. Files were always to be checked in and out so we knew where they were and who had them.

Again, I worked for the Civil Service. The name says who we were. We worked for the people. We supported the elected representatives in doing their work, but were on strict guidelines to not get involved in the politics and could not do political work aside from the running of the Government and the country. Perhaps the lines are more blurred in the US. I have no idea.

I also see that you only recently adopted our classification levels, hence your earlier comment that ES would have been at a higher level than you. Your old system had 6 levels, your current system has 3. The bottom 4 of your old system being merged into 1. That also implies you did not have a very high level of access.

Again, I have no idea because I do not even remember what level I was at. I did not do the DV check although at one point I was considering going for a job that would have required it. It didn't matter to me then and it doesn't matter to me now. To me it was just an invasive nuisance and it took a long time. Security protocols were high when I worked there and there was always the risk of terrorist attack. From the IRA back then. I was not there when the mortar attack happened, but I knew people who had been and who had been hurt during it. There were always bomb scares, but that was typical of any part of London with the IRA. However, we were very aware that we were possible targets and the threat levels were posted by the door on our way in.

I reckon I'd be quite good at keeping secrets :) as long as it didn't hurt anyone. I wouldn't be too keen on signing something to keep me quiet though... would make me instantly suspicious of who's asking me to sign - not a good way to start a relationship of trust in my opinion :) *pause for an anniet contemplative moment* Bit like being asked to step in poo and never being allowed to clean your feet again :)

I agree, fortunately I was never put in a position where what I knew tested my ethics. The people I worked with really were good people who took their responsibilities very seriously.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVE EVERYONE!! :)))

edit: apologies to all for bringing the tone of the thread down somewhat :) and for casting aspersions on the cleanliness of other poster's feet - which I'm sure are lovely and very very fragrant :)

...quite possibly not. Mine are actually covered with dirt right now because the cat took offence to the plant I left on the kitchen table and eviscerated it. There was dirt and plant remains everywhere this morning. I have cleaned up most of the mess, but am having a very lazy morning and haven't made it to the shower yet. I am probably putting it off because if I do get dressed I have no excuse not to go out and pick up the last few things for the Christmas dinner tomorrow.

Did I say NEW Scotland Yard?

No you didn't you said Scotland Yard, and I had to correct you yet again.

No you made an assumption that I meant the Met as it exists today, not when it was formed.
In any case http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_Police_Service wrote:

The Met also has significant national responsibilities, such as co-ordinating and leading on counter-terrorism matters and protection of the British Royal Family and senior figures of Her Majesty's Government.

Which is not a function of the NYPD but falls at the FBI level is the USA, which is what I brought up and you reject.

Too many sticky fingers in politics. No one else in the office even knows the stuff exists.

Yes well, we all know about the level that American politics has sunk to, but Britain thankfully has rather higher standards.

Ah, that nose in the air so it doesn't smell what drifts at floor level. http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/dec/18/london-police-vip-child-sex-abuse-murder

Your old system had 6 levels, your current system has 3.

Wrong yet again. The current personal Security classifications which we were talking about has four levels BPSS, CTC, SC, DV. The classification of documents has three levels Official, Secret, Top Secret. Es's memory is basically correct.

Your old system, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classified_information_in_the_United_Kingdom#Government_Protective_Marking_Scheme and I inadvertently included unclassified in the 6.
It does seem as if you have four levels of investigating the people who handle documents, but that wasn't the subject, the documents were.

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Not sure where Chris is getting all hot and bothered either.

Did not know you were only a political file clerk

I got irritated at your apparent unnecessary put-down.

Try reading it with the actual emphasis, not your implied emphasis. ^^^

Then I don't understand your emphasis. I would assume a political file clerk would be someone that works directly in an MP's office. I did not for the MPs as such. I worked for the British public. The MPs were expected to do so to. Our job was to support them in implementing their policies and to given the guidance as to what they could and could not do as far as the laws and rules went and how to do it. We were expressly not there for political reasons. Perhaps I am misunderstanding what you mean by "political".

Until you posted I didn't know from you previous description if you were attached to MP's staff or not. Now I know you were civil service, or the support of politicians by doing what they are supposed to do, not what they actually do. :)

The majority of the persons I knew with clearances worked under the umbrella of our Department of Defense, another, well, short version he was a spy and I did not ask if that meant the CIA, the rest private contractors on defense or NASA. Three of them have been to Groom Lake (Area 51) and all of them relate the same humorous story about the check in area. Now if you want to know about an odd place, try Los Angeles Air Force Base.

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Until you posted I didn't know from you previous description if you were attached to MP's staff or not. Now I know you were civil service, or the support of politicians by doing what they are supposed to do, not what they actually do. :)

I did not work with MPs. Just the Ministers...and yes you are correct. Our job was to support them doing what they were supposed to do. Not always easy. There are a lot of egos in politics.

The majority of the persons I knew with clearances worked under the umbrella of our Department of Defense, another, well, short version he was a spy and I did not ask if that meant the CIA, the rest private contractors on defense or NASA. Three of them have been to Groom Lake (Area 51) and all of them relate the same humorous story about the check in area. Now if you want to know about an odd place, try Los Angeles Air Force Base.

All those UK equivalents reported though the Cabinet Office. It was a real hodgepodge of a Department as pet projects moved into and out of our umbrella. A such we tended to hear about things going on all across Government and have our fingers in a lot of pies. I loved working there, I just couldn't afford to keep doing it as the pay was pretty poor and most of my wages went of childcare.

I can imagine the air force bases are pretty strange. The MoD had some real odd folk working there.

I notice that you stooped to mention a Guardian article, yes that appears to be a very unsavoury business which is unfolding, but hardly relevant to the core of the discussion here. Well we can all sling mud can't we, remember Mary Jo Kopechne, Chappaquiddick, and Edward Kennedy? Tricky Dicky and Watergate? Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky? Plenty more .....

Yes there are http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_scandals_in_the_United_Kingdom

The Met also has significant national responsibilities, such as co-ordinating and leading on counter-terrorism matters and protection of the British Royal Family and senior figures of Her Majesty's Government.

Which is not a function of the NYPD but falls at the FBI level is the USA, which is what I brought up and you reject.

You made a statement earlier that Scotland yard was equivalent to the FBI which is factually incorrect. Your FBI on their own web page say

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is a governmental agency belonging to the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative organization and an internal intelligence agency.

So the Met doesn't do "internal intelligence" when it protects the British Royal Family and senior figures of Her Majesty's Government. Good to know.

BTW that "internal intelligence" the FBI boasts about on its web page is operating a tip line.

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Merry Christmas everyone. :-)

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Have TARDIS, will travel...
Come along K-9!
Join Calm Chaos
Pluto is still a planet

Merry Christmas everyone. :-)

Hear hear!

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I have to move all posts with a Youtube link in them to the Kitty Sounds thread as well.

I did not realize that was the purpose of that thread.

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I am surprised. At the time that you were there, the Civil Service grades would have been CA, CO, HCO, EO, HEO, I would guess you were, or should have been, at HCO/EO level, which wasn't that badly paid if I recall. I also would guess that your security level was probably in these days at SC level, mine was at the equivalent of CTC, one below.

I guess you don't understand how expensive childcare is.

I have to move all posts with a Youtube link in them to the Kitty Sounds thread as well.

I did not realize that was the purpose of that thread.

Do threads have purposes? What's the purpose of this thread? To reveal Secret Agent Man stuff, or to warn the aliens when it's really safe to move?

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