Torture doesn't work

The Guardian has a long piece about a pair of scientists who have proved what everyone knew but many didn't want to admit - that torture doesn't work for extracting information.  The article also covers how you should go about an interrogation.

The Alisons, husband and wife, have done something no scholars of interrogation have been able to do before. Working in close cooperation with the police, who allowed them access to more than 1,000 hours of tapes, they have observed and analysed hundreds of real-world interviews with terrorists suspected of serious crimes. No researcher in the world has ever laid hands on such a haul of data before. Based on this research, they have constructed the world's first empirically grounded and comprehensive model of interrogation tactics.

via Schneier on Security

Obit: Hugh Montgomery

The Washington Post has the obituary of Dr Hugh Montgomery an American soldier and spy.  He started his career parachuting into Normandy in 1941 and retired from the CIA in 2014 at the age of 90.

via Twitter

Chinese government influences Canadian Chinese-language newspapers

The New York Times has an article about how the Chinese government works to influence reporters and reporting at Chinese language newspapers in Canada.

via a friend

Obit: The Girl in the Wallet Photo

I always find it interesting to read about people who had minor roles in historical events.  In this case the Telegraph has the obituary of Jean Gerard Leigh her picture was used as part of the false identity created during the Second World War for a body placed in the sea for the Germans to find with a set of false invasion plans in a briefcase locked to its wrist.  Operation Mincemeat fooled the Germans into leaving Sicily lightly defended before the Allied invasion.

Intelligence Artist

You may have heard of War Artists who are officially sanctioned artists who accompany troops on missions but the New York Times has an article about an artist who did a similar thing for MI6, the British Secret Service.