4 ms·

It's a great feel-good story, but the whole thing is just intelligence theater, à la Bruce Schneier's security theater. That is, the coded message serves no in

It's a great feel-good story, but the whole thing is just intelligence theater, à la Bruce Schneier's security theater. That is, the coded message serves no intelligence or military objective. It sounds to me like the government concocted this idea because they felt they should be doing something, anything, no matter how useless( * ). What's a hostage supposed to conclude from hearing, "19 people rescued. You’re next. Don’t lose hope". Should I run? Run now? Hide in the jungle? Run when the rescue starts? Stay put? Fight during the rescue? Don't fight? If you asked 10 different people what specific action you're supposed to take based on this message, you'd get 10 different answers. If this message had any tangible effect, why aren't there any first hand accounts from the hostages explaining what they did differently as a result of hearing the message? So 3 million people heard this song, yet the only ones who understood it were some of the hostages? Not one of the several thousand militants and no one in the public decoded it? This just proves the point that it's un-actionable. Case (1): Lots of people got it besides the hostages, but there's nothing to blow the whistle on. It's not as if the message says, "Raid at dawn". Case (2): Nobody got it, which also implies that the message had no effect. ( * )If the government claimed that the message was simply a way to make the hostages keep up hope, then OK (though it still seems like a lot of expense for little gain). But they're trying to make it sound like a big intelligence or military coup, which it is not.

mccooscoos 12y ago
That's exactly what I thought. When I read the translation I thought they were telling the hostages to not get into trouble so that they would not be chained up to a tree by their neck or otherwise handicapped. If I was in that situation I would have interpreted the exact opposite of the messages.
- iamcreasy 12y ago
  As your interpretation, it is a sign that your time as a hostage might come to an end, because something might happen, as it happened to other 19 hostages. And that `goodness` is what this message is all about.
iamcreasy 12y ago
>19 people rescued. You're next. Don't lose hope. Me : I think it should mean, you might be the next to be rescued. >If this message had any tangible effect, why aren't there any first hand accounts from the hostages explaining what they did differently as a result of hearing the message? From the article : In his military psychological evaluation, Col. Espejo says that the soldier spoke of hearing "the code hidden in the song," and revealed how the message was passed from soldier to soldier. The song was even enjoyed by the FARC, who were oblivious to its secret message. "It makes me very happy to think of the hostages listening to our song," Ortiz says. From the article : Someone who is a hostage, for over a decade, would think there is still hope. But I too find the article lacking in this. > who understood it were some of the hostages? This just proves the point that it's un-actionable. From the article : Operation Chameleon — a sixth-month operation that involved 300 government soldiers and secret raids. Because the FARC shoots hostages dead at the first sight of a military invasion. From the article : Espejo reasoned, "The FARC were peasants from the fields, they wouldn’t know [Morse]. > But they're trying to make it sound like a big intelligence or military coup, which it is not. Me : No, they are not. It's an extension of Operation Chameleon - That's what I think. > If the government claimed that the message was simply a way to make the hostages keep up hope, then OK. Me : Exactly, but it's an understatement. For those who are suffering, this news would mean a world to them.
- shutupalready 12y ago
  > Me : I think it should mean, you might be the next to be rescued. But what specifically would you have done differently if you were a hostage and had received this message? Don't answer, "I'd keep up hope." "Not losing hope" is not an action. The message has no particular call to action. That's my main point. My second point is that even if you named some specific action you'd take, someone else would have had a different idea because it's so vague. A compassionate message could mean the world to a hostage. That's true. But a compassionate message and a useful message are not the same thing.
  - deleted 12y ago
    [deleted]
  - 12y ago
dperny 12y ago
From what I gathered, the idea was supposed to be that when fighting broke out, the hostages would know that the fighting was a rescue mission and be able to act accordingly. Imagine if there was just suddenly fighting, with no context; hostages would /know/ the FARC was on edge and would be extra careful not to try anything stupid and get killed. However, with this message, they would know that the fighting is a sign of a rescue mission and try to escape.
- shutupalready 12y ago
  > However, with this message, they would know that the fighting is a sign of a rescue mission and try to escape. What makes you think that a sign of a rescue mission means that you should try to escape? If anything, popular culture teaches exactly the opposite. Think of any Hollywood movie involving a bank robbery or hijacking. The hostages lie down and duck while the police swarm in and shoot the bad guys. The hostages do not try to escape. I'm not saying which is better (staying put vs trying to escape), and I don't know. I'm saying that the message--"19 people rescued. You are next. Don’t lose hope"--is useless and open to whatever interpretation you desire.
  - kilburn 12y ago
    > What makes you think that a sign of a rescue mission means that you should try to escape? From the article: > Because the FARC shoots hostages dead at the first sight of a military invasion, Espejo had to convey to the captives to be ready to escape. Bad buys at movies don't kill all hostages as soon as a cop shows up outside...
    - shutupalready 12y ago
      > From the article Yes, you read the article. But the hostages didn't! All the hostage heard is "19 people rescued. You are next. Don’t lose hope". How does a hostage conclude "you should try to escape" from the preceding message?
      - 12y ago

mccooscoos 12y ago

That's exactly what I thought. When I read the translation I thought they were telling the hostages to not get into trouble so that they would not be chained up to a tree by their neck or otherwise handicapped. If I was in that situation I would have interpreted the exact opposite of the messages.

iamcreasy 12y ago
As your interpretation, it is a sign that your time as a hostage might come to an end, because something might happen, as it happened to other 19 hostages. And that `goodness` is what this message is all about.

iamcreasy 12y ago

>19 people rescued. You're next. Don't lose hope. Me : I think it should mean, you might be the next to be rescued. >If this message had any tangible effect, why aren't there any first hand accounts from the hostages explaining what they did differently as a result of hearing the message? From the article : In his military psychological evaluation, Col. Espejo says that the soldier spoke of hearing "the code hidden in the song," and revealed how the message was passed from soldier to soldier. The song was even enjoyed by the FARC, who were oblivious to its secret message. "It makes me very happy to think of the hostages listening to our song," Ortiz says. From the article : Someone who is a hostage, for over a decade, would think there is still hope. But I too find the article lacking in this. > who understood it were some of the hostages? This just proves the point that it's un-actionable. From the article : Operation Chameleon — a sixth-month operation that involved 300 government soldiers and secret raids. Because the FARC shoots hostages dead at the first sight of a military invasion. From the article : Espejo reasoned, "The FARC were peasants from the fields, they wouldn’t know [Morse]. > But they're trying to make it sound like a big intelligence or military coup, which it is not. Me : No, they are not. It's an extension of Operation Chameleon - That's what I think. > If the government claimed that the message was simply a way to make the hostages keep up hope, then OK. Me : Exactly, but it's an understatement. For those who are suffering, this news would mean a world to them.

shutupalready 12y ago
> Me : I think it should mean, you might be the next to be rescued. But what specifically would you have done differently if you were a hostage and had received this message? Don't answer, "I'd keep up hope." "Not losing hope" is not an action. The message has no particular call to action. That's my main point. My second point is that even if you named some specific action you'd take, someone else would have had a different idea because it's so vague. A compassionate message could mean the world to a hostage. That's true. But a compassionate message and a useful message are not the same thing.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
- 12y ago

dperny 12y ago

From what I gathered, the idea was supposed to be that when fighting broke out, the hostages would know that the fighting was a rescue mission and be able to act accordingly. Imagine if there was just suddenly fighting, with no context; hostages would /know/ the FARC was on edge and would be extra careful not to try anything stupid and get killed. However, with this message, they would know that the fighting is a sign of a rescue mission and try to escape.

shutupalready 12y ago
> However, with this message, they would know that the fighting is a sign of a rescue mission and try to escape. What makes you think that a sign of a rescue mission means that you should try to escape? If anything, popular culture teaches exactly the opposite. Think of any Hollywood movie involving a bank robbery or hijacking. The hostages lie down and duck while the police swarm in and shoot the bad guys. The hostages do not try to escape. I'm not saying which is better (staying put vs trying to escape), and I don't know. I'm saying that the message--"19 people rescued. You are next. Don’t lose hope"--is useless and open to whatever interpretation you desire.
- kilburn 12y ago
  > What makes you think that a sign of a rescue mission means that you should try to escape? From the article: > Because the FARC shoots hostages dead at the first sight of a military invasion, Espejo had to convey to the captives to be ready to escape. Bad buys at movies don't kill all hostages as soon as a cop shows up outside...
  - shutupalready 12y ago
    > From the article Yes, you read the article. But the hostages didn't! All the hostage heard is "19 people rescued. You are next. Don’t lose hope". How does a hostage conclude "you should try to escape" from the preceding message?
    - 12y ago