You Have To Wonder. . .
whether, when the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) chose the logo for the Information Awareness Office (IAO) [link via BoingBoing], they knew it was also considered the symbol for an international 200-year old conspiracy.
Okay, granted the pyramid-with-eye is on the dollar bill because it’s the reverse side of the Great Seal of the United States (which of course feeds the conspiracy theorists). However, IAO’s mission is (and I quote) to “imagine, develop, apply, integrate, demonstrate and transition information technologies, components and prototype, closed-loop, information systems that will counter asymmetric threats by achieving total information awareness useful for preemption; national security warning; and national security decision making.” (Translation: “We use computers to snoop.”)
I can’t imagine that it’s good PR for an organization whose mission is to collect information on “shadowy networks” to choose as their symbol an image that probably has more pop culture ties to conspiracy theorists, than to the Great Seal’s original genesis. . . that is, if that genesis wasn’t all part of the conspiracy!!! (uh…read that last link at your own risk; why do conspiracy theorist seem incapable of practicing reasonable web design?)