This is an example of how my experiences with the NSA jar with the press's reporting. An article in Foreign Policy Review claims that General Alexander hired a Hollywood set designer to make his command center at Fort Belvoir look like the bridge of the Enterprise. That's not the story I heard.
I visited Fort Belvoir around 2003 (I forget the exact timeframe). The story I was given is that the Hollywood set designer was a relative, of the head himself or one of his underlings, and that the set designer provided his services for free. Rather than a passion for Star Trek, the situation was more about taking advantage of the opportunity. Whether they spent a ton of money, or got free services, seems to me to be a critical part of the story.
Also, it's not just Federation. The exterior doors have interlocking swords like the Klingon High Council Chamber.
I point this out to show how the press creates a narrative, in this case of Keith Alexander being a "cowboy", and ignores things that don't fit their narrative. I'm on the front lines calling the NSA evil and Orwellian, but at the same time, I don't trust the press, either.
4 comments:
Ive also visited the ops floor in question. There is no way to deny that a large amount of money was wasted on design rather than functionality.
Klingons are our enemies, if he is a Klingon, this is even more worrying.
Think the ops floor was a waste? You should have seen the 30-ft warp core lava lamps in the restrooms.
Even if the design work was free, building this absurd playroom for a dangerous military psychopath still cost millions.
But I doubt even this is the case, becasue the architecture firm DBI Architects is showcasing it on their website as one of their premier interior design projects. Their formerly little-viewed website was down all day due to the traffic - now it has been taken down and replaced with a placeholder web page.
Good to see one more way the USA is becoming the hated laughingstock of the world.
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