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Reporter's Notebook: Stephen Peacock

Smile and Say 'Cheese'

Posted by Stephen Peacock - April 29, 2005 at 2:03 am
I discovered with mild amusement that the U.S. Bureau of International Narcotics & Law Enforcement Affairs put out separate bid requests on Thursday to buy 150 "small pickup trucks" and 120 "water resistant" digital cameras, respectively. The bureau is buying the  trucks and cameras on behalf of the American Embassy-Bogota. While this procurement action may seem inconsequential, it's hard not to picture U.S. State Dept. operatives and their cronies -- donning yellow raincoats and dark sunglasses out in the Colombian jungle -- pulling up in their little diesel-powered pickups and snapping pictures of "suspects" before racing away.

I know, it's probably not a realistic assessment, but hey, I figured for a change I'd have little fun with this one without distorting the underlying truth.

The Embassy's preferred shipper of goods -- Robertson Forwarding Company -- will take care of the logistics of getting the trucks and cameras from Miami to Bogota as soon as State selects its equipment contractors.

For more information, see:
http://www1.eps.gov/spg/State/INL/INL-RM-MS/INL011 04Q3003/Combine%20Synopsis%5FSolicitation.html

And:

http://www1.eps.gov/spg/State/INL/INL-RM-MS/INL011 03Q3012/Combine%20Synopsis%5FSolicitation.html

About Stephen Peacock

Biography
I'm a former Washington, DC, journalist (1998-2003) who most recently worked for Communications Daily and Washington Internet Daily (WID), investigative newsletters that cover the telecommunications, broadcast and Internet industries. Following the 9/11 attacks, my news beat expanded beyond Capitol Hill telecom/TV/IT policy and began to include technology-policy coverage at the Pentagon and Dept. of Homeland Security. I've written over a thousand articles about government and industry affairs, and I'm pleased to say that I was the reporter who broke the story about the Total Information Awareness surveillance/data-collection initiative of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. I've written articles for publications including NACLA Report on the Americas, Drug Enforcement Report, Corrections Journal, SoJo Mail (Sojourners), and the Tampa Tribune. I've also written a memoir about my former career as a plainclothes security officer of the Helmsley Palace hotel in New York City, Hotel Dick: Harlots, Starlets, Thieves & Sleaze. I look forward to contributing to the fine work being done here at NarcoSphere.

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Comments

Whites Only

Submitted May 3, 2005 - 12:43 am by Stephen Peacock
Adding to the subtle hilarity of the image of digital camera-wielding spooks across Colombia is an one-sentence amendment to this procurement that the State Dept. posted April 2: "This amendment is issued to specify the preferred color of the trucks as white."

http://www1.eps.gov/spg/State/INL/INL-RM-MS/INL011 04Q3003/Amendment%20to%20Combined%20Synopsis%5FSol icitation%2001.html

Ball of Confusion

Submitted May 14, 2005 - 7:08 pm by Stephen Peacock
The State Dept. truly doesn't know what it wants with this seemingly simple equipment acquisition.

Whereas it issued an amendment to the initial procurement notice clarifiying that the all the pick-up trcuks must be the color white, now it has rescinded its requirement that the vehicles be manufactured in the USA.

One can only hope that this critical federal entity isn't so fickle about truly important decisions.

Then again, perhaps it would be comforting if State -- as well as the U.S. Congress and White House -- would change their minds about spending billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars to preserve and extend Washington's hegemony over the hemisphere.

http://www1.eps.gov/spg/State/INL/INL-RM-MS/INL011 04Q3003/Amendment%20to%20Combined%20Synopsis%5FSol icitation%2002.html

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