On Mon, Aug 9, 2010 at 5:59 PM, Fred Bauder <fredbaud(a)fairpoint.net> wrote:
That would be
an interesting conundrum, if only official sources will
do as confirmation but the FBI has a practice of keeping the images
hidden. Sets up the ironic situation of people being fooled by
impostors with obviously fake badges only because it's impossible to
determine what the real ones look like.
Only reliable sources are acceptable.
I agree.
If I were the FBI or the Secret Service I would keep
track and change
such images when they become publicly known regardless of expense. There
is absolutely no excuse for disclosing accurate information which would
permit an Al Qaeda operative having an FBI or Secret Service badge or
identification of the correct design.
But this is a silly argument. You don't confirm someone's identity
from their badge design (unless it is very bad). You confirm their
identity by asking them for the necessary details and contacting their
superiors. Do you think police officers carefully look at badges, or
do they phone the local FBI office and say "the Feds that have turned
up aren't the usual lot, can you confirm they are real?"
By the way, that position has nothing to do with
liking the FBI or Secret
Service. It has more to do with understanding the suffering that can
result from such lapses in security.
See above.
Congress could, if they were quick on their feet,
which they are not,
bill those who disclose such images for the expense of changing design
and issuing new badges or identification cards.
Please Google the number of sites offering badges for sale. I dread to
think how many are sting operations.
Carcharoth