Academia Ghetto Thread

[Cain]

So, I think I can credibly claim to have the most interesting lecturer for my counter-terrorism course.

I didn't actually realise he was that Bob Lambert until I was doing some related reading last night.

[LMNO]

Wow. That's deep cover.

If I were to ask him a question, it would be how he kept his ideology both strong enough not to be altered by his cover actions, but also hidden enough not to tip off the group?

Because it would seem that's the exact mentality a sleeper terrorist cell would need to have.

[Cain]

Well, I can tell you from talking to him, he's a very amiable man, personable and thoughtful, and has an almost bumbling nature which I suspect are all most people ever see.  However, given the topic of discussion and the setting, I can tell you he's also extremely sharp and deeply intelligent.

I suspect all of these characteristics are true to him, and are what made him such an effective undercover officer.

[Cain]

So, I'm currently discussing online censorship with a mysterious figure not using their own name with a light behind his face.

Well then.

[LMNO]

Are you talking to a mirror?

[Cain]

Hah.  But seriously, this is the sketchiest lecture I've ever been in, and that includes the ones with MI5 present.

[LMNO]

It sounds like you think it's all bullshit.  Is there really any need for the theatrics?

[Cain]

I dunno, I missed the first five minutes, due to someone password protecting the meeting (which has never happened before).

Edit: and now we're talking about whether there should be limits on "technologies of mass persuasion" and "perfect marketing".

[Roly Poly Oly-Garch]

So, I think I can credibly claim to have the most interesting lecturer for my counter-terrorism course.

I didn't actually realise he was that Bob Lambert until I was doing some related reading last night.

That's a formidable back-story.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

So, I think I can credibly claim to have the most interesting lecturer for my counter-terrorism course.

I didn't actually realise he was that Bob Lambert until I was doing some related reading last night.

Holy shit

Having a KID while you're undercover is... um, kinda fucked up.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

I got the dirty deets on Peru... looks like it's timed such that I can take two other classes that summer, to meet my full-time requirement for financial aid. They'll be condensed classes which means that I'll actually only be taking one at a time, and if they offer what they offered last summer I can probably do something like genetics and something in psych.

[Cain]

So, I think I can credibly claim to have the most interesting lecturer for my counter-terrorism course.

I didn't actually realise he was that Bob Lambert until I was doing some related reading last night.

Holy shit

Having a KID while you're undercover is... um, kinda fucked up.

Oh yeah, for sure.

The best part is, he's not the only one.  There seems to have been a whole procession of undercover officers from the Metropolitan police Special Branch whose careers revolved around infiltrating environmental movements and having sex with female activists.  That's why I didn't initially realise my professor was one of them - there have been a lot more recent cases of a very similar kind, with younger officers.

Its almost like the eco-terrorism beat exists almost purely for bored police officers to get laid while claiming to protect the country from dangerous criminals.

[Junkenstein]

Almost.

[Cain]

Incidentally, on the news today

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-29743646

The Metropolitan Police is to pay £425,000 to a woman whose child was fathered by a man who she did not know was an undercover police officer.

The unprecedented payment comes after a legal battle with women who say they were duped into relationships with officers who were spying on them.

Scotland Yard says it "unreservedly apologises for any pain and suffering".

The woman told BBC News she had received psychiatric care after learning the officer's real identity.

The SDS ran long-term undercover operations designed to infiltrate protest groups, including animal rights organisations.

One of its key officers, former Special Branch detective Bob Lambert, used the pseudonym Bob Robinson, and was tasked with infiltrating the Animal Liberation Front.

During that operation in the mid 1980s, he formed a relationship with a 22-year-old activist called Jacqui - even though he was already married with children. In 1985 she gave birth - but when the boy was two years old, the father vanished.

[Junkenstein]

Just been reading up on the chap.

I doubt he'll be holding any Q+A sessions for a while after that bit of news.