Public Intelligence

Public Intelligence

One of the more interesting aspects of running a website like this is that you receive a lot of highly unusual email, everything from the occasional death threat to advertisements for advanced GPS tracking systems.  That’s okay.  That’s what you expect.  However, a recent trend has emerged that is basically incomprehensible to us.  People send us email thinking we are all kinds of people, places, and organizations that we are not.

Take, for example, the unusual case of Henry Kissinger.  We have a profile on our site of Mr. Kissinger’s business Kissinger Associates, Inc. It is a highly unflattering look at the firm’s historical connection to banks involved in money laundering and weapons trafficking.  It seems simple enough, right?  Well, here comes the odd part: for some reason this causes a seemingly large amount of people and organizations to believe that we are Henry Kissinger.  It sounds odd, but we must state here for the record that we are not Henry Kissinger, nor are we affiliated with him in any way.  In fact, we have put a warning up at the top of that page, alerting those who visit it that, in fact, we are not Henry Kissinger.

It began as a simple stream of emails, about once every month or two, asking about Mr. Kissinger’s health or praising one of his books.  Then it started getting increasingly odd, asking for interviews or his participation in documentaries.  This has recently culminated with emails from Jordanian royalty and employees at the White House requesting Mr. Kissinger to give a speech at an event.  While fascinating, these emails are seriously unbelievable to us.  The fact that they likely will not stop even with a warning at the top of the page, we also find beguiling.

Most people would presume that in order to receive personal correspondence intended for an important person such as Mr. Kissinger you would have to do something rather overt that misrepresents who you are.  You would have to fraudulently pose as the targeted person or their organization and it would likely be illegal in some way.  Most people would also assume that such an approach would not be particularly effective as even the most basic internet users have enough awareness to not give their personal information away to complete strangers online.  Anyone can make a website and simply because it has a name or graphic that makes it look similar to something that a user is looking for doesn’t mean they would just give it their credit card information, right?

It Gets Worse

Want to get NSA purchase orders in your email?  Want to receive subpoenas, court documents, and internal financial reports from leading companies?  Apparently, all you have to do is put up any form of webpage with the name of the person or organization in the title, because this strange phenomenon of “identity confusion” doesn’t stop with Henry Kissinger.  It seems many people feel that as long as the name of the organization they are trying to contact is in the title of a webpage, it does, in fact, indicate that contacting the website with all sorts of private information is completely warranted.

For example, we receive a somewhat sizable amount of email intended for the Maryland Procurement Office, the procurement arm of the National Security Agency, simply because of this post.  We have received invoices intended for the Maryland Procurement Office, as well as all manner of sales inquiries.  Recently, we have started receiving payment invoices intended for Blackrock Financial Management because of this post.

We also have published documents, not profiles or articles, but documents that inspire similar behavior.  We have published the law enforcement subpoena guides for a number of organizations including Verizon, AT&T, MySpace, Facebook and Sprint.  Every one of these documents has, for some reason, caused lawyers and law enforcement officials to send us all sorts of court documents, sometimes with graphic detail, demanding phone records and user information for a number of services we have absolutely no relation to.  At one point, we were receiving several of these requests each week.  This highlights a fundamental problem in the U.S. system of information sharing and demonstrates the great benefit that our website provides.  People all over the country working in legitimate legal capacities have such a difficult time acquiring information that they need to do their job, that they are just blindly searching the internet to try to find who they are supposed to contact.

We are accused of a lot of things by people who feel that our publication of sensitive material is harmful in one way or another.  However, little attention is paid to the harmful effects of unnecessary secrecy in often preventing legitimate business from being accomplished.  Our site is popular among people in law enforcement and government because it provides them with a resource that is simple to use and effective for finding information that they require.  The arbitrary restrictions placed upon documents and material that should not be secret actually makes people less safe.  After all, these restrictions are useless when anyone with a website can get people from all around the world to send them material for free.

Evidence

The following exhibits represent a small cross section of what we receive.  Many of the emails and documents have been heavily redacted to hide the identities of people that we feel don’t particularly deserve to be singled out for their errors.

Exhibit N

Subject: order for Kuwait
From: “XXXXXXXXX” <XXXXX@XXXXXXXXX.com>
Date: Fri, 8 Apr 2011 22:07:14 +0300
To: <info@publicintelligence.net>

Dear Sir

We just receive the invitation from Kuwait MOI to submit our offer lately
April 13 2011 in regards to the following order :

Please find Kuwait MOI Special Forces Anti
Riot Control Department Ammunitions order:
*    An official quotation  ,catalogs & technical information soft copy
to be send XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Company ,the hard copy to be send by
carrier service COD , Prices  CIF by Air & Sea ,Partial Shipment acceptable
,best time delivery ,packing in Plastic boxes ,update new production.
*    XXXXXXXXX will provide the End user certificate from Kuwait MOI .
*    XXXXXXXXX Physical Address:
*    Hawally, XXXXX Street, XXXXXXXXXXXXXX, 3rd Floor Office B4 ,
Tel.XXX-XXXX-6670 ,Fax:XXX-XXXX-9992 info@XXXXXXXXX.com State Of Kuwait .
*    P.O.Box: 2888 XXXXXX XXXXX Kuwait .
*    The last day to submit our quotation to Kuwait MOI April 13 2011
*    CS  40/37mm cal. 5 Peace ammo for 40mm cal. Round    Qty  16000
*    CS  40/37mm cal. One Peace ammo for 40mm cal. Round  #  16000
*    40/37mm Smoke Round deferent color.  # 30000
*    40/37mm black color pressured Round 3 piece rubber. # 30000
*    40/37mm black color pressured Round splitters pieces rubber.  #
150000
*    Red Paper Ball 17mm # 150000.
*    Blue Paper bite ball 17 mm Paintball for launcher # 150000
*    40/37 Cal. Charge ammunition #  150000.
*    CS gas high capacity 1 peace Slow ignition # 26000
*    CS  Gas Grenade high capacity 3 peace Slow ignition # 26000
*    CS gas high capacity fast  ignition  # 24000
*    CS gas high capacity 3 peace fast  ignition Non- Incendiary #25000
*    CS gas standard #24000
*    Deferent Color Hand held Grenade #24000.
*    Stun Hand held Grenade #24000.

Other listed of small Arms & ammunitions will be sending according to your
feedback and interest

Best regards

XXXXXXXXXX
Chairman

P.O.Box :2888 XXXX XXXXXX State of Kuwait
Tel: XXX-XXXX-9990 ,XXXX-6670  Fax:XXX-XXXX-9992  -Mobile:965-66666460 or
965-66660568
www.XXXXXXXXX.com
www.XXXXXXXXXX.com
XXXXX@XXXXXXXXXX.com
XXXXX@XXXXXXXXXX.com
X@XXXXXXXXXXX.com
XXXXXXXX@hotmail.com
Skype : XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Disclaimer:  The information and any files transmitted with this electronic
communication are intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to
whom it is addressed.  It may contain confidential or legally-privileged
information.  If you are not the addressee(s), you are hereby notified that
any disclosure, copying, distribution or taking any action in reliance on
the contents of this information is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful.
If you have received this communication in error, please notify us
immediately by responding to this email and then delete it from your system
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX is neither liable for the proper and complete
transmission of the information contained in this communication nor for any
delay in its receipt.  The recipient should check this email and any
atachments for the presence of any viruses.

Exhibit M

Exhibit L

Subject: request for mailing address
From: <XXXXXXXXXX@XXXXXXXXXX>
Date: Sun, 13 Feb 2011 17:49:55 -0500
To: <legal@publicintelligence.net>

Dear Verizon Wireless Legal Department,

Please send me your mailing address and fax number for me to send a
letter regarding a legal matter I have with my Verizon Account.

Sincerely,

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Attorney at Law
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Miramar, Florida 33027
(954)298-XXXX
XXXXXXXXX@XXXXXXXXXX

Exhibit K

Subject: Facebook Security
From: “Detective XXXXXXXXXXXX” <XXXXXXXXXXX@XXXXXXXXXXXX>
Date: Fri, 20 May 2011 15:06:16 -0400
To: <inquiries@publicintelligence.net>

To Whom It May Concern:

Recently we had a case involving an emergency from users who were
speaking on Facebook.  We were unable to contact anyone in an emergent
situation.  Where would I be able to obtain information regarding
emergent access to information regarding Facebook or other social
networking sites?  Thank you in advance for your attention to this
request.

Det. XXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXX Police Department
230 Fairfield Road
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
(XXX)XXX-1400

Exhibit J

Subject: Search Warrant issued on 05/05/2010
From: XXXXXXXXXXXXX <XXXXXXXXXX@XXXXXXXXXXXXXX>
Date: Thu, 20 May 2010 08:50:35 -0600
To: “‘legal@publicintelligence.net’” <legal@publicintelligence.net>

Yes I would like to have an ETA on a XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX District Court signed search warrant issued on the 5th of May, 2010 for account holder Matthew XXXXXXX and phone number: XXX-XXX-5236.

Thank you,

Detective XXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Person Crime Division & ICAC Task Force
Internet Crimes Against Children

Office: XXX.XXX.6296
Cell: XXX.XXX.3263

The information in this e-mail message is intended for the confidential use of the addressee(s) only.  Recipients should not file copies of this e-mail with publicly accessible records. If you are not an addressee or an authorized agent responsible for delivering this e-mail to a designated addressee, you have received this e-mail in error, and any further review, dissemination, distribution, copying, or forwarding of this e-mail is strictly prohibited. If you received this e-mail in error, please notify us immediately at (XXX) XXX-6296 Thank you.

Exhibit I

 

Exhibit H

Subject: Bond No. XXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX / National Security Agency – Maryland Procurement Office
From: XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Date: Wed, 11 Aug 2010 16:05:12 -0400
To: “inquiries@publicintelligence.net” <inquiries@publicintelligence.net>

To: Matthew Caporaletti (BA32)
Maryland Procurement Office
9800 Savage Road
FT. George G.
Meade, MD 20755

We hold the bond for the project that XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX is
doing for the National Security Agency – Maryland Procurement Office.
The project is as follows: Machine, Mechanical, and Electrical Upgrades
at Tec Building at Fort George Meade- Contract# XXXXXXXX-08-C-0104/0000.
In order for us to monitor the progress of this job and to make sure
that all work is progressing satisfactorily, we need to obtain
completed status reports from the contracting officer, which is Matthew
Caporaletti. I can send the status via regular mail but would rather be
able to e-mail or fax the form to him so that he can fill it out and
return it to me as soon as possible. If you can let me know the best way
to send the status report to him for the above bonded job I would
greatly appreciate it. Thanks for your help.

XXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXX Insurance Agency
XXX Scott Swamp Rd.
Farmington, CT 06032
XXXXXXXXXXX@XXXXXXXXXXXX
P: 860-676-XXXX
F: 860-676-XXXX

Exhibit G

Exhibit F

Subject: White House Fellows Invitation for Henry Kissinger
From: “Bookey-Baker, Natalie F.” <Natalie_F._Bookey@whf.eop.gov>
Date: Mon, 9 May 2011 14:05:48 -0400
To: “inquiries@publicintelligence.net” <inquiries@publicintelligence.net>

Good afternoon,

My name is Natalie Bookey-Baker, I am the Education Director for the White House Fellows Program.

We would like to extend an invitation for Dr. Kissinger to speak to this year’s class of fellows if his schedule allows. Does Dr. Kissinger have an assistant or someone who we could reach out to regarding this invitation?

Thank you in advance for any guidance you can offer.

Best,

Natalie

Natalie Bookey-Baker
Education Director
President’s Commission on White House Fellowships
office: 202.395.7297 | cell: 202. 641.4840
nbaker@whf.eop.gov
2010-2011 WHF and Staff Bios.pdf

Content-Description: 2010-2011 WHF and Staff Bios.pdf
Content-Type: application/pdf
Content-Encoding: base64

Exhibit E

Subject: Letter to Dr. Henry Kissinger
From: XXXXXXXXXX <XXXXXXXXXXXXX@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 20 Apr 2011 18:15:27 +0300
To: inquiries@publicintelligence.net

Dear Sir/Madam

I am writing from the office of His Royal Highness Prince El Hassan bin
Talal in Jordan.  Could you please provide me with the e-mail address for
Dr. Henry Kissinger’s assistant as I wish to e-mail a personal letter from
Prince Hassan to Dr. Kissinger.

Thank you for your kind assistance in this matter.

Best regards.

XXXXXXXXXXX
Senior Executive Assistant to HRH Prince El Hassan bin Talal
+962 6 4649 XXX

Exhibit D

Subject: Washington based XXXXXXXX reporter seeking interview with Secretary Kissinger
From: XXXXXXXXXXXXXX <XXXXXXXXXXXXX@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 21 Apr 2011 12:27:30 -0400
To: inquiries@publicintelligence.net

Hello,

My name is XXXXXXXXXXXXXX and I am a reporter with XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Washington bureau.

We would like to interview Secretary Kissinger either by phone or on camera
(whichever is more convenient for the Secretary) about XXXXXXXXX relations
since XXXXXXXXXXX visit to the US a few months back.

We would like to conduct this interview, if possible, on or before the 29th
of this month.

Thank you so much and I look forward to hearing from you.

Best,
XXXXXXXXXXXX

– XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Mobile: XXX.XXX.0908

Exhibit C

Subject: Final Count Down – “1″
From: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Date: Thu, 16 Dec 2010 19:46:06 +0100
To: inquiries@publicintelligence.net
CC: info@publicintelligence.net

Dear Mr. Kissinger,

Thanks for the excellent, but somewhat old now Cold War book, “Nuclear Weapons
and Foreign Policy” and our Cold War “KISS” meeting at the American Academy in
Berlin to complete Harvard Professor Huntington’s “…Remaking of World Order”
into “Euro = Monaco” in the old US Sector West Berlin to revitalize the
American Dream with a real NO TAX policy, pure capitalism and a higher level
of success as well as beauty. I was XXXXXXXX who rang the US Freedom bell in
the town haus Schoneberg in Berlin on the German election to stand up for the
real freedom of what US capitalism always used to be: true success to make the
American Dream come true in PARADISE.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Exhibit B

Subject: Interview Request with Mr. Henry Kissinger
From: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Date: Tue, 1 Mar 2011 16:08:46 -0500
To: <inquiries@publicintelligence.net>

To Whom It May Concern:

My name is XXXXXXXXXXXX and I am contacting you on behalf of XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX. XXXXXXXXXX is producing a new documentary film on the subject of American Exceptionalism and will feature appearances by Newt and Callista Gingrich. (see synopsis below).

We began interviews this week with Victor Davis Hanson and Shelby Steele from the Hoover institute and we are currently scheduled to interview Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart, Phyllis Schlafly and others in the following weeks.

Generally, our interviews are conducted in our office/studio on Pennsylvania Avenue (XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 20003)

We’ll only need about 20-30 minutes for the interview and 15 minutes prior to the interview start for make up.

I would like to find out about Mr. Henry Kissinger’s availability for any day this week, the next week and the week starting Monday March 14th.

I would like to point out a few days in particular:

Wednesday March 2nd- Friday March 4th
Thursday March 10th
Friday March 11th
Tuesday March 15th
Friday March 18th

But we would like to know any days of availability between now and March 18th.

If you¹d like to reach me directly you can email or call my cell phone 202.352.XXXX

Thank You for your time!

– XXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
(202) XXX-5420

Exhibit A

Subject: Henry Kissinger – Get well soon
From: “XXXXXXXXXXXXX” <XXXXXXX@cox.net>
Date: Sat, 13 Mar 2010 10:57:47 -0600
To: <info@publicintelligence.net>

I thank you for all that you have done for, and wish for a speedy recovery.

XXXXXXXXXXX
Tulsa, Oklahoma