back to article Creepy US spy agency flings WORLD SLURPING OCTOPUS into orbit

Some spook agencies like to hide their more ominous workings from the innocent public, protecting Joe Bloggs from thinking too much about the power and influence that can come with snooping on the world. But the US National Reconnaissance Office take a different approach. Ready for launch? An Atlas 5 will blast off at just …

COMMENTS

This topic is closed for new posts.
  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Any relation...

    ... to a giant Vampire Squid?

  2. TRT Silver badge

    I see the world...

    is covered in suckers.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    So "Total Information Awareness" just wasn't enough for them spooks?

  4. Sureo

    Maybe those cubesats can spy on the NRO satellite?

  5. Christoph
    Alien

    I'm surprised they were allowed to admit the existence of their alien overlords

    1. Dr. Mouse

      It's a double-bluff. Noone will believe that they exists, because the govt would not admit it if they did.

  6. Frogmelon

    All your information are belong to us.

  7. deadlockvictim

    Majestic 12

    Personally, I prefer the Majestic 12 logo from 'Deus Ex'.

    http://deusex.wikia.com/wiki/Majestic-12

    Discussion point: Art imitating life or vice versa?

    1. Swarthy

      Re: Majestic 12

      I'd say that it's closer to Engulf & Devour, from Mel Brooks's Silent Movie

  8. Valeyard

    And the NSA/GCHQ partnership

    A boot stamping on a human face

    the boot is monty-python-esque, for the way the evil efficiency of the NSA is tempered by the charming blundering of their uk gov IT counterparts

    Fuck me but i should be a logo designer

    1. Stevie

      Re: And the NSA/GCHQ partnership

      A boot stamping on a human face

      Already taken.

      http://www.amazon.com/Boot-To-The-Head-FRANTICS/dp/B000006UZB/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1386354153&sr=8-2&keywords=boot+to+the+head

  9. SirDigalot

    at least they are being honest about it now

    could be worse they could have a unicorn and stuff and pretend they are our friends

  10. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
    Trollface

    I like that.

    It's the same attitude that made the SS put Stylishly Drawn Skulls on their uniforms.

    "We are badass, and don't you forget it. Peon!"

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      "Screw this velvet glove nonsense - when wet with blood it makes my iron gauntlet rust"

    2. breakfast Silver badge
      WTF?

      Reminds me of that Mitchell and Webb sketch...

      "Have you noticed that our caps actually have little pictures of skulls on them?"

      "I don't... er-"

      "Hans... are we the baddies?"

  11. oiseau

    Seriously?

    "guys, seriously. Who approved that logo?"

    Well ...

    It's not April but December, so an educated guess would be ...

    Some civil servant aspiring to obtain the post of 'Ultimate Asshhole'.

    Cheers.

    1. cortland

      Re: Seriously?

      Cthulhu was copyrighted.

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Ia! Ia! Cthulhu farting!

    Or whater is it.

  13. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge

    Wrong logo

    If they can reach anywhere, their logo shouldn't be an octopus, it should be Mr Tickle.

    My favourite Mister Man, due to the fact that in the book he wakes up, and immediately after yawning and stretching a bit, he reaches his enormous arm to the kitchen cupboard, and gets biscuits to eat in bed. This was the best thing imaginable when I was 4. I guess now that I'm an adult, I could just take the biscuit tin to bed with me - but for some strange reason I never do. Even though there's a teasmade on my bedside table, and what could be more perfect than tea and biccies?

    1. Michael Dunn
      Joke

      Re: Wrong logo @I ain't Spartacus

      Eh? Tuck in the dormitory? What would matron say?

      1. Martin Budden Silver badge

        Re: Wrong logo @I ain't Spartacus

        She'd say Yes Please!

        Oh, wait, Tuck. Never mind.

  14. Michael H.F. Wilkinson Silver badge

    At least they are being honest about their intentions. Rare enough in politicians, spooks, and bureaucrats

    1. Don Jefe
      Thumb Up

      That's exactly what I was thinking! None of this sneaking around and looking extremely foolish as you're backpedaling from being caught with your dick in a chicken.

      This also saves so much money. No need to waste funds on being covert when you just toss it out there unapologetically and tell everybody to suck it.

      Not that I like any of the surveillance crap, but if you're going to do something at least be big enough to take credit for it.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      "At least they are being honest about their intentions."

      How disturbingly hentai-esque... 'we can get our tentacles on you anywhere'!

  15. G2
    Pint

    cooking recipe thoughts

    first thing i thought (ok..second, first was "wtf! they admit it") when seeing that octopus was yummy....a lot of meat to cook Takoyaki there... who starts to chop the arms and who brings the sauce?

    :p /beer

    p.s.: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHDmVhShE80

  16. Cubical Drone

    I freaking love it!!

    Why try to hide the job you have been tasked to do, just come right out and be load and proud about it.

    Most of the time what hurts the NSA and the such is the old Never Say Anything attitude. The stuff is going to come out sooner or later and it is the cover up that actually kills you. If the NSA would have pretty much let on that they were monitoring everything on God's green earth because CONGRESS SAID THEY COULD, the whole PRISM coming to light thing (which IMHO was the biggest NO DUH! moment in history) would have been a news story for all of 15 seconds if at all.

  17. DJO Silver badge

    On no not again

    The imagery of an octopus with tentacles over the world is not new, not by a long shot (Goodwin alert) it was much used by the Nazi party to depict Judaism as some world spanning monster, imagery that's been recycled by some Arab groups for the same propaganda.

    For any organisation to adopt a similar image for themselves shows the normal lack of historical perspective we've learnt to expect from America.

    1. Cubical Drone

      Re: On no not again

      While I agree that there are certain symbols that have been basically co opted for use ever again (e.g. the swastika), I think you maybe reading a little too much into this one. I bet I could find an example of hateful propaganda that used kittens.

      1. Stevie

        Re: I bet I could find an example of hateful propaganda that used kittens.

        Any picture captioned "Basement Cat etc etc for a start.

        1. Captain DaFt

          Re: I bet I could find an example of hateful propaganda that used kittens.

          Here ya go; the perfect kitteh logo for our oh so nosy overlords:

          http://i1.cpcache.com/product/228573265/ceiling_cat_is_watching_you_mini_button.jpg

          1. Sir Runcible Spoon

            Re: I bet I could find an example of hateful propaganda that used kittens.

            I like the cat pic, but I was expecting something more along the lines of spider-pig

        2. Martin Budden Silver badge

          Re: I bet I could find an example of hateful propaganda that used kittens. @ Stevie

          Basement Cat sees everything

    2. Don Jefe

      Re: On no not again

      Octopus isn't Kosher.

  18. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    needs Latin touch

    The RAF's No. 8 Squadron uses the classier Uspiam et passim - meaning "Everywhere unbounded"

    168 has Rerum cognoscere causas - "To know the cause of things"

    and 210 "Hovering in the heavens" though that's from the Welsh Yn y mwyfre yn hedfan

    Both 206 and 683 had similar mottoes Nihil nos effugit (Nothing escapes us)

    and Nihil nos later -"Nothing escapes us" or "Nothing remains concealed"

    206 had an octopus in its badge but that looks more like an illustration from a 19th Century naturalists textbook than the world ravaging monster the US have adopted

    1. cortland

      Re: needs Latin touch

      Morituri nolumus mori -- Rincewind

  19. taxman

    cubesats?

    Nirtsats surely

  20. tom dial Silver badge

    Someone at NRO has a sense of humor. We knew they were there (or should have); there is no reason to try to hide it. I tend to agree with Cubical Drone @ 1553.

  21. Stevie

    Bah!

    Rest easy, people. Cthulhu will not rise because The Stars are simply Not Right.

    Now if those had been non-Euclidean sats, we might have cause for alarm.

    1. Hurn

      Re: Bah!

      Of course, sometimes when the stars are right, you get this:

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOHJUrcVdJk

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Devil

        Re: Bah!

        I'm betting that the giant octopus comes through some dimensional rift once the NRO completes it's pentacle-shaped satellite constellation.

  22. John Gamble

    Okay, The Calamitous Calamari Is Fun...

    but the really cool stuff is the cubesats (see the blog for one of them, for example).

    And side-note, the Kickstarter project to propel objects like cubesats has succeeded .

    Having said that, I do want a patch with the NRO logo.

  23. Daniel B.

    Cthulhu fhtaghn

    Maybe they're simply going down the "why not go full evil?" road, or someone in the NRO has a twisted sense of humor.

  24. Flux198

    Grammar

    Surprised no-one else noticed the "an classified". The grammar Nazi's must be Christmas shopping...

    1. Martin Budden Silver badge
      Headmaster

      Re: Grammar

      The grocer called, he wants his apostrophe back.

  25. John Smith 19 Gold badge

    And for those who remember "Get Smart".....

    It's also (sort of) the emblem of C.H.A.O.S.

    Current speculation is that this flight is in fact a radar reconnaissance satellite (eco friendly version. No on board nuclear reactor as the Soviets like to use).

    As it's an active sat it can look through smoke, cloud etc and does not need sunlight, hence the "nothing is beyond our reach." It may have passive modes as well, picking up mm microwave emissions (this on the borderline with very long wavelength IR).

    And this is the logo

    Actually it looks like an octopus with a bit of attitude as well.

    If it could speak you can picture it saying "What?"

  26. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Simple, really

    Nothing more than "Truth in Advertising", as required by the FTC, FCC, NTSB, NSA, FAA, DOAH, OMB and various other alphabet soup agency rules and regulations. At least now we know who watches the watchers.

    A/C, but resistance is futile, I'm sure they already know exactly who I am and where to collect me . . .

  27. Amazon Wageslave
    Alien

    That's acutally pretty tame...

    There are some awesome/disturbing patches for US secret projects, as well as some hilarious unofficial morale patches. This book features a range, along with details of what some of the designs mean: http://www.mhpbooks.com/books/i-could-tell-you-but-then-you-would-have-to-be-destroyed-by-me/

  28. Anonymous Coward
    Black Helicopters

    Brings new meaning to P.T. Barnum's famous line...

    There's a sucker born every minute (And most of them are taxpayers!)

  29. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Octopussy?

    TS/SCI NOCOPY NOFORN EYESONLY

  30. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Hah! Proper villains, for a change!

    Good for them. I'm so weary of all the milquetoast villains who try to explain how they were misunderstood as children, or fell into bad company in middle school. Here at last are villains who have gazed deeply into their own inner selves and are content with what they saw. No hesitation here, to openly and straight-forwardly crush the natural rights of less powerful planet dwellers. I only wish that more of the clandestine organizations on this planet were as blatant and obvious about what they do. Maybe these guys could lend a few pair of cojones to the NSA.

  31. This post has been deleted by its author

  32. Dr Patrick J R Harkin

    That's a rather judgemental comment

    "Sucking the life out of our world".

    There isn't enough information in the logo to reach that conclusion. It could just as easily be using its fangs to inject some form of neurotoxin.

This topic is closed for new posts.

Other stories you might like