THE CIA'S "HOMEPAGE FOR KIDS"

Did you know that the CIA has a "homepage for kids" from Kindergarten through the 5th grade? There's an article analyzing it just posted on the useful London-based international 'zine on issues, Open Democracy, by Le Monde's former Washington correspondent, Patrice de Beer, "Child's Play at the CIA."  Here's part of the description of the CIA's enticements to your little ones: "They are invited to visit the agency's headquarters in Langley, Virginia with Ginger ('That's short for Virginia, where my home is') the teddy-bear (above left), who is taking advantage of the absence of her mistress, the analyst Marta, to show them around. They can learn through Ginger that Marta's job 'is a very important job because what she writes may be seen by the President and other important persons in the government. What she does is help them make important decisions about our country'. Which ones? We are not told....."

It gets even better: "We also learn about the members of the CIA canine corps (or K-9, which sounds more mysterious) like Dallas, Tiwoz, Gerro, Whisper, Maggie, Zoltan, Nikky or Orry; and about the twin spy pigeons Harry (for Truman) and Aerial (for our love of flying) and their miniature cameras...." Read the rest of de Beer's article by clicking here.  And visit the actual CIA "homepage for kids" by clicking here. Now, doesn't that qualify for the label "child abuse"?