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Having A Little Fun!by John J. Fanning
I was wondering if I am the only one a little bit concerned by the fact that
superstore retailer, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., seems to be getting into the global
intelligence
business?
On March 13th of this year, the retail giant ran an advertisement in the
Association of Former Intelligence Officers (AFIO) Weekly Intelligence Notes.
The AFIO email
is sent to members of the association each week containing non-classified
information about U.S. and foreign intelligence community activities. The weekly
email also
contains employment advertisements, specifically
directed to a readership comprised of current and former security and intelligence
operatives.
Listed under the Careers section, one advertisement read: “Wal-Mart Stores,
Inc. is seeking qualified Global Threat Analysts for a position in their Analytical
Research Center of the Global Security Division”. I don’t know
about you, but this is the first I heard of Wal-Mart having a “division” large
enough to contain “centers” devoted to “security....”
There are legitimate reasons for companies and corporations to have security
divisions. And there is good reason for companies to have competitive intelligence
divisions. I have written about competitive intelligence in the past and certainly
favor actions by companies to both acquire competitive information and protect
internal information. But the employment description listed in the ad seemed
to indicate that Wal-Mart was looking for a little more than what one might
expect from a competitive intelligence initiative.
The ad stated that Wal-Mart was looking for someone who will “anticipate
and assess threats that could harm, or make vulnerable, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.,
its employees, customers, facilities, or operations...” The ad went on
to state that the employee’s activities would include “thoroughly
review(ing) information from open/public sources, academic, government, and
other official
resources, and professional contacts, and conduct regular assessments of world
events, regional/national security climates, and suspect individuals and groups...”
What first raised my concern about this part of the advertisement was past
allegations that Wal-Mart stores hired security guards to spy on their Canadian
employees. In December of 2004, a documentary aired on the Canadian program,
Zone Libre, in which a former security guard alleged that he had been directed
to work in civilian clothing, watching Wal-Mart employees. On the same program,
another former guard alleged that store cameras were used to keep tabs on certain
Wal-Mart employees. Wal-Mart Canada president and CEO, Mario Pilozzi, denied
the allegations which would have been illegal under the Quebec Labour Code.
Nothing much developed from the allegations other than Wal-Mart suffering another
self-inflicted PR stab wound.
Ironically, if Wal-Mart did the same at its stores in the U.S.,
there wouldn’t have been as
big a fuss made, as was in
Quebec. Here in the good
old U.S.A., an employer
can spy on employees, listen in on their telephone conversations, and
read their emails. What employers cannot do in the U.S. however, is intercept
telephone conversations or emails between
non-employees. And that is exactly what Wal-Mart was recently accused of doing.
Acknowledging that a federal investigation is underway, Wal-Mart announced
last month that their own internal investigation revealed that one of their “technicians” had
intercepted telephone calls and text messages sent between the retailer’s
public relations employees and a New York Times reporter. Wal-Mart has since
fired the “technician” and some managers, who, they say, failed
to contribute proper oversight.
Less than a week following the news of this new spying allegation, I find
the Wal-Mart ad running in the AFIO’s Weekly Intelligence Notes. Obviously,
the company has no intentions of getting out of the snooping business. I have
to wonder if they are trying to hire more seasoned professionals in order to
keep from getting caught?
Another concern I had about the ad was from what the company meant, exactly,
when they stated that their Threat Analyst would
target “suspect individuals and groups”. For the life of me, I
cannot recall hearing of a single group out here that has called for the destruction
of Wal-Mart. I can’t find a single mention of the retailer in any Al-Qaeda
transcript. Granted, Bin Laden and his followers have a combined IQ wavering
in the mid-single digit area, but I don’t think even these guys believe
it is possible to fly a Wal-Mart store into the Pentagon. And if the retailer
really felt there was such a threat, wouldn’t they first invest in metal
detectors and armed guards for their stores rather than creating some global
intelligence group, made up of former CIA and MI agents?
So, if these suspect individuals and groups aren’t from some know terrorist
group - then who are they? And shy does it take a “division”, comprised
of “centers” within the largest corporation in the U.S. to keep
tabs on them?
Okay, this is the part where it really gets scary.
Continuing on, the ad reads: “The Global Threat Analyst will develop
scenarios, analyze information, and produce written or verbal assessments and
warning forecasts for Global Security management and other appropriate corporate
customers...”
“
Appropriate corporate customers” - does this mean that Wal-Mart intends
to sell intelligence information they obtain at “everyday low prices”?
Who exactly would be considered an appropriate corporate customer - the U.S.
government - the Chinese government - or, God help us all - the phone companies?
I’m sorry, but all of this just doesn’t sit well with me. I think
Wal-Mart and other large corporations should stick to making new and better
commercial goods like Coke Zero, the Botox Patch, and Soylent Green. Knowing
what your competition may be planning or keeping trade secrets is one thing,
but collecting global intelligence with the use of trained CIA and MI agents
and selling that information to others is something all together different.
True - Wal-Mart probably would have known there were no weapons of mass destruction
in Iraq. But if we took the time to look, anyone could have found that out.
I mean, just because Wal-Mart or Target or 7-11 or Yellow Cab Company is better
at gathering global intelligence than our own CIA doesn’t necessarily
mean we should privatize this to Wal-Mart. And another thing, I think Wal ---------
AHEM... AHEM...
ATTENTION! ATTENTION READERS! WE
APOLOGIZE FOR THE
TECHNICAL DIFFICULTY EXPERIENCED
WITH THIS MONTH’S
STREETGUIDE. WE WANT TO ASSURE YOU WE ARE WORKING TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM QUICKLY!
IN THE MEANTIME, WE WOULD LIKE TO STATE THAT WAL-MART STORES, INC. IS A GREAT
AMERICAN CORPORATION AND THAT NOTHING YOU HAVE READ ABOVE IS TO BE TAKEN
SERIOUSLY.
IT WAS JUST A JOKE.THE WRITER WAS JUST KIDDING AROUND.
HAVE A GREAT DAY!!
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