Frank Olson

[dlv@bwalk.dm.com (Dr.Dimitri Vulis KOTM)]

I just saw a very interesting story on the Discovery Channel.

In 1953 the US was actively pursuing bio warfare (a subject of current
interest to me). Frank Olson was a good bacteriologist working for the gubmint
(NIH?), in close contact with the CIA. One night he attended a work-related
party, where everyone acted strangely; the next day, he a) decided to resign
his job, b) discussed his classified bio warfare work with people on his car
pool. But the gubmint didn't accept his resignation and instead sent him to
NYC for a psychiatric evaluation. He was sharing a hotel room with a CIA
employee, who claims that he was woken up the sound of breaking glass: Frank
Olson supposedly jumped out the window.

In 1975 it was revealed that at the party the attendees were given LSD without
their concent as part of a CIA experiment, which is why everyone was acting
strangely. Pres Ford issued an official apology to Olson's family and gave
them $750,000 in compensation.

Now there's a new twist. In 1953, the gubmint insisted that Olson be buried in
a closed casket, claiming he had cuts and bruises on his face. The family
never saw him. In 1994 his son has the body exhumed and re-examined. There
were no cuts and bruises, but forensic evidence suggests very strongly that he
was hit with something over the head and then thrown out the window. The NYC
DA has now started a murder investigation.

This has little crypto relevance, except for the bio warfare angle, and the
question: do you want these guys to have access to your cryptographic keys?

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<a href="mailto:dlv@bwalk.dm.com">Dr.Dimitri Vulis KOTM</a>
Brighton Beach Boardwalk BBS, Forest Hills, N.Y.: +1-718-261-2013, 14.4Kbps