8 ms·

Link-baity title, but warranted, I'd say. The story is that the government is launching a spy satellite with a logo on it featuring a "mascot" -- a giant Krake

by spodek 13y ago

Link-baity title, but warranted, I'd say. The story is that the government is launching a spy satellite with a logo on it featuring a "mascot" -- a giant Kraken-like octopus taking over the planet. Whoever created it could only have been thinking of their bureau's unchecked ability to do what it wanted and not the public's perception of it because the creature, especially its eye, looks menacing, ominous, foreboding, malicious, malevolent, and borderline evil. It implies the agency is insular, unaccountable, and has an aggressive, secret agenda it cares about more than anything else, certainly more than your privacy or the consequences of its actions. The kicker is a comment that juxtaposes the logo with a warning illustration saying "Know your communist enemy" with a nearly-identical logo, presumably implying an evil enemy from the Cold War, which we have become. The government octopus looks like the Kraken on the top of the wikipedia page -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kraken https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kraken -- except the government one is planet-sized and its eyes seem to have more evil intent, to me, at least.

mcv 13y ago
Indeed. As the article points out, it's all very super-villainy. They're not even trying to pretend they're the good guys anymore.
- saraid216 13y ago
  You've never played an MMO, have you? There is a huge, huge overlap between the people who like being villains and the people who like being good guys. http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GoodIsNotNice?from=Main.JerkassHero http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GoodIsNotNice?fro...
davedx 13y ago
How is the title link-baity?
- user24 13y ago
  It doesn't say "logo". Literally interpreted, it means that there is a giant octopus on the satellite. That provokes one to click the link to find out more.
  - adamc 13y ago
    Oh, good grief. That was the original article's title.
    - Ellipsis753 13y ago
      We don't have to use the original title here. I too thought it meant a real octopus.
      - kibwen 13y ago
        No, the mods strictly and remorselessly enforce the "use the original title at any cost" rule, even when it is misleading and/or linkbait. Any attempt to provide essential context in the title is met with condemnation. Welcome to Hacker News, where the rules are made up and the points don't matter!
        jessaustin 13y ago
        ...the points don't matter! Holy crap! I wish someone had told me...
      - nagrom 13y ago
        Really? You read 'world-devouring octopus' and thought that not only have US scientists discovered Cthulhu, but they've decided to launch him into space to ride on a satellite? You really believed that? Life for you must be much more alarming than it is for most of us!
        skj 13y ago
        Isn't that what is happening, though? I have yet to RTFA, but I for one welcome our world-devouring octopus overlords.
Eye_of_Mordor 13y ago
"Obama is a world-devouring octopus" featuring a logo of this creature with Obama's face would be "link-bait". Sadly, this title isn't provocative at all, since "nothing beyond our reach" is world-devouring! Poor octopus :'(
rcavezza 13y ago
This reminds me of a relevant Mitchell ans Webb clip, "Are we the baddies?". As an American, I'm having trouble deciding if if we are at this point. Edited to add clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qv2XGQBcvxQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qv2XGQBcvxQ
- kingkawn 13y ago
  I don't think we're baddies so much as the logical outcome of relatively unchallenged power. But the internet has created, in a sense, an entire new world to figure out how to control. Hence the governments incredible efforts to monitor it, even to go so far as to create fake WoW accounts. The satellite is a real world manifestation of their far larger virtual world activities.
- eli_gottlieb 13y ago
  Yes. We are the baddies. Have been for a while.
  - ninjac0der 13y ago
    Wow, only one person I can agree with at the bottom. Must still be too comfortable at the top of the heap.
  - misiogames 13y ago
    yep, still are, and looking at that mascot, that will not change anytime soon :P
- icegreentea 13y ago
  That skit is hilarious. That said, it also just goes and forgets pretty much anything about what happens when you tell a bunch of men to live together so that they can go kill other men. It also skims over the history of that particular emblem. The death's head has been used by 'elite' Prussian and Germany military units back to the 19th century. Obviously the point is to incite a little fear, and obviously the point is that they're breaking taboos. That's the whole point is being in an army. And finally, in this particular case, humour stripped of its context always has the possibility to offend. While you're typically expected to take that into account while making your jokes ("political correctness" / "minimize backlash"), there is definitely a tradition of ignoring such considerations. Typically in military combat arms, but often extending to related situations (this might extend to the black humour of paramedics for example). So the point is that "Are we the baddies" is hilarious, but its not very useful to think of life in that context - well, at least the just 'evaluating your badness by your symbols' part.
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
bananacurve 13y ago
>especially its eye, looks menacing, ominous, foreboding, malicious, malevolent, and borderline evil. It implies the agency is insular, unaccountable, and has an aggressive, secret agenda Thanks, that gave me a good chuckle. I never realized the power of a cartoon eye.
rayiner 13y ago
It does look menacing and ominous, but it's only supposed to be used against them. Whether you agree with it or not, it's the premise widely shared by Americans and those in the intelligence agencies and in the military. It renders your following implication inaccurate: "It implies the agency is insular, unaccountable, and has an aggressive, secret agenda it cares about more than anything else, certainly more than your privacy or the consequences of its actions." No, what it implies is that those who intend to do evil against America cannot hide anywhere in the world. It's consistent with Roosevelt's Big Stick, which is something Americans have always embraced: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Stick_ideology http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Stick_ideology. The idea is that we're free at home, but militarily unchallengable on the world stage. > The kicker is a comment that juxtaposes the logo with a warning illustration saying "Know your communist enemy" with a nearly-identical logo, presumably implying an evil enemy from the Cold War, which we have become. Could we declare a moratorium on false equivalency for like just a week? Last time I checked, we still have elections and aren't sending political prisoners to siberia. Not to mention that we haven't killed tens of millions of our own people. There is that too.
- logfromblammo 13y ago
  The false equivalencies are probably more of a "there but for the grace of Columbia go we," type of thing. The disease that is Empire never has exactly the same symptoms. Last time I checked, the elections did not significantly change policy, despite a change in the balance of power between parties. The US has the highest per-capita rate of incarceration in the world, mostly over Prohibition. And the millions we have killed are mostly in other countries that do not respeck our authoritah. On top of that, the US has the clanking cojones to demand that banks everywhere in the world comply with its tax regime, and that every single packet of communication on the planet be subject to its spying. At what point do we look down and notice that we're dressed entirely in black armor, while holding a red lightsaber in one hand, and twirling the well-waxed end of our luxurious handlebar moustache with the other? Not only have we become the bad guys, but we have become a Hollywood caricature of badguyness. Hence the giant octopus. A normal bad guy hides his nefarious deeds behind a banal logo and seal. An over-the-top, booed-by-the-audience bad guy makes his logo into a tentacled beast devouring the entire world.
mhb 13y ago
Non-link-baity titles don't get as much love: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6866472 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6866472
drzaiusapelord 13y ago
> It implies the agency is insular, unaccountable, and has an aggressive, secret agenda You're giving these people way too much credit. Military and intelligence patches are all about bravado and "USA #1" not some sophisticated and cryptic critique of their employer. I've had a long time interest in this stuff and let me tell you, its all tasteless and dumb, with the occasional touch of humor. The patch critical of the USG simply wouldn't be approved. There's no big anti-US message here. Its exactly as it seems.
- jlarocco 13y ago
  It's certainly not a critique. To me it shows that the people in the agency are oblivious to the rest of the world outside of the agency. There have been a bunch of embarrassing revelations about domestic and foreign spying, but instead of being embarrassed or ashamed like they should be, they're as gung-ho and bold as ever. It's no wonder there have been so many slip ups when they're so clueless about public perception. It doesn't take a secret spy agency to realize this logo would not go over well.
  - saraid216 13y ago
    > To me it shows that the people in the agency are oblivious to the rest of the world outside of the agency. It's fairly well-established that this is by design.
- mturmon 13y ago
  This article has examples of other patches, as you mention: http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/why-the-us-launched-a-spy-rocket-with-an-earth-sucking-octopus-on-it http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/why-the-us-launched-a-spy-r...
- sliverstorm 13y ago
  I'm not even that deeply interested in military/intelligence, and I share your stance. It takes only a cursory survey of their patches, particularly air units, to see the logos are not created with any kind of serious purpose- no more serious than when my casual hockey team decided to call themselves the Honey Badgers.
btbuildem 13y ago
So.. an accurate depiction then?

by spodek 13y ago

mcv 13y ago

Indeed. As the article points out, it's all very super-villainy. They're not even trying to pretend they're the good guys anymore.

saraid216 13y ago
You've never played an MMO, have you? There is a huge, huge overlap between the people who like being villains and the people who like being good guys. http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GoodIsNotNice?from=Main.JerkassHero http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GoodIsNotNice?fro...

davedx 13y ago

How is the title link-baity?

user24 13y ago
It doesn't say "logo". Literally interpreted, it means that there is a giant octopus on the satellite. That provokes one to click the link to find out more.
- adamc 13y ago
  Oh, good grief. That was the original article's title.
  - Ellipsis753 13y ago
    We don't have to use the original title here. I too thought it meant a real octopus.
    - kibwen 13y ago
      No, the mods strictly and remorselessly enforce the "use the original title at any cost" rule, even when it is misleading and/or linkbait. Any attempt to provide essential context in the title is met with condemnation. Welcome to Hacker News, where the rules are made up and the points don't matter!
      - jessaustin 13y ago
        ...the points don't matter! Holy crap! I wish someone had told me...
    - nagrom 13y ago
      Really? You read 'world-devouring octopus' and thought that not only have US scientists discovered Cthulhu, but they've decided to launch him into space to ride on a satellite? You really believed that? Life for you must be much more alarming than it is for most of us!
      - skj 13y ago
        Isn't that what is happening, though? I have yet to RTFA, but I for one welcome our world-devouring octopus overlords.

Eye_of_Mordor 13y ago

"Obama is a world-devouring octopus" featuring a logo of this creature with Obama's face would be "link-bait". Sadly, this title isn't provocative at all, since "nothing beyond our reach" is world-devouring! Poor octopus :'(

rcavezza 13y ago

This reminds me of a relevant Mitchell ans Webb clip, "Are we the baddies?". As an American, I'm having trouble deciding if if we are at this point. Edited to add clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qv2XGQBcvxQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qv2XGQBcvxQ

kingkawn 13y ago
I don't think we're baddies so much as the logical outcome of relatively unchallenged power. But the internet has created, in a sense, an entire new world to figure out how to control. Hence the governments incredible efforts to monitor it, even to go so far as to create fake WoW accounts. The satellite is a real world manifestation of their far larger virtual world activities.
eli_gottlieb 13y ago
Yes. We are the baddies. Have been for a while.
- ninjac0der 13y ago
  Wow, only one person I can agree with at the bottom. Must still be too comfortable at the top of the heap.
- misiogames 13y ago
  yep, still are, and looking at that mascot, that will not change anytime soon :P
icegreentea 13y ago
That skit is hilarious. That said, it also just goes and forgets pretty much anything about what happens when you tell a bunch of men to live together so that they can go kill other men. It also skims over the history of that particular emblem. The death's head has been used by 'elite' Prussian and Germany military units back to the 19th century. Obviously the point is to incite a little fear, and obviously the point is that they're breaking taboos. That's the whole point is being in an army. And finally, in this particular case, humour stripped of its context always has the possibility to offend. While you're typically expected to take that into account while making your jokes ("political correctness" / "minimize backlash"), there is definitely a tradition of ignoring such considerations. Typically in military combat arms, but often extending to related situations (this might extend to the black humour of paramedics for example). So the point is that "Are we the baddies" is hilarious, but its not very useful to think of life in that context - well, at least the just 'evaluating your badness by your symbols' part.

deleted 13y ago

[deleted]

bananacurve 13y ago

>especially its eye, looks menacing, ominous, foreboding, malicious, malevolent, and borderline evil. It implies the agency is insular, unaccountable, and has an aggressive, secret agenda Thanks, that gave me a good chuckle. I never realized the power of a cartoon eye.

rayiner 13y ago

It does look menacing and ominous, but it's only supposed to be used against them. Whether you agree with it or not, it's the premise widely shared by Americans and those in the intelligence agencies and in the military. It renders your following implication inaccurate: "It implies the agency is insular, unaccountable, and has an aggressive, secret agenda it cares about more than anything else, certainly more than your privacy or the consequences of its actions." No, what it implies is that those who intend to do evil against America cannot hide anywhere in the world. It's consistent with Roosevelt's Big Stick, which is something Americans have always embraced: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Stick_ideology http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Stick_ideology. The idea is that we're free at home, but militarily unchallengable on the world stage. > The kicker is a comment that juxtaposes the logo with a warning illustration saying "Know your communist enemy" with a nearly-identical logo, presumably implying an evil enemy from the Cold War, which we have become. Could we declare a moratorium on false equivalency for like just a week? Last time I checked, we still have elections and aren't sending political prisoners to siberia. Not to mention that we haven't killed tens of millions of our own people. There is that too.

logfromblammo 13y ago
The false equivalencies are probably more of a "there but for the grace of Columbia go we," type of thing. The disease that is Empire never has exactly the same symptoms. Last time I checked, the elections did not significantly change policy, despite a change in the balance of power between parties. The US has the highest per-capita rate of incarceration in the world, mostly over Prohibition. And the millions we have killed are mostly in other countries that do not respeck our authoritah. On top of that, the US has the clanking cojones to demand that banks everywhere in the world comply with its tax regime, and that every single packet of communication on the planet be subject to its spying. At what point do we look down and notice that we're dressed entirely in black armor, while holding a red lightsaber in one hand, and twirling the well-waxed end of our luxurious handlebar moustache with the other? Not only have we become the bad guys, but we have become a Hollywood caricature of badguyness. Hence the giant octopus. A normal bad guy hides his nefarious deeds behind a banal logo and seal. An over-the-top, booed-by-the-audience bad guy makes his logo into a tentacled beast devouring the entire world.

mhb 13y ago

Non-link-baity titles don't get as much love: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6866472 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6866472

drzaiusapelord 13y ago

> It implies the agency is insular, unaccountable, and has an aggressive, secret agenda You're giving these people way too much credit. Military and intelligence patches are all about bravado and "USA #1" not some sophisticated and cryptic critique of their employer. I've had a long time interest in this stuff and let me tell you, its all tasteless and dumb, with the occasional touch of humor. The patch critical of the USG simply wouldn't be approved. There's no big anti-US message here. Its exactly as it seems.

jlarocco 13y ago
It's certainly not a critique. To me it shows that the people in the agency are oblivious to the rest of the world outside of the agency. There have been a bunch of embarrassing revelations about domestic and foreign spying, but instead of being embarrassed or ashamed like they should be, they're as gung-ho and bold as ever. It's no wonder there have been so many slip ups when they're so clueless about public perception. It doesn't take a secret spy agency to realize this logo would not go over well.
- saraid216 13y ago
  > To me it shows that the people in the agency are oblivious to the rest of the world outside of the agency. It's fairly well-established that this is by design.
mturmon 13y ago
This article has examples of other patches, as you mention: http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/why-the-us-launched-a-spy-rocket-with-an-earth-sucking-octopus-on-it http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/why-the-us-launched-a-spy-r...
sliverstorm 13y ago
I'm not even that deeply interested in military/intelligence, and I share your stance. It takes only a cursory survey of their patches, particularly air units, to see the logos are not created with any kind of serious purpose- no more serious than when my casual hockey team decided to call themselves the Honey Badgers.

btbuildem 13y ago

So.. an accurate depiction then?