Official: Some New York FBI agents don't have e-mail accounts

[DoYouEverWonder]

March 20, 2006, 4:23 AM EST

NEW YORK (AP) _ Budget constraints are forcing some local FBI agents to operate without e-mail accounts, according to the agency's top official in New York.

"As ridiculous as this might sound, we have real money issues right now, and the government is reluctant to give all agents and analysts dot-gov accounts," Mark Mershon said when asked about the gap at a Daily News editorial board meeting.

"We just don't have the money, and that is an endless stream of complaints that come from the field," he said.

FBI officials in Washington denied that cost-cutting was putting agents at a disadvantage.

Spokeswoman Cathy Milhoan said e-mail addresses are still being assigned, adding that the city bureau's 2,000 employees would all have accounts by the end of the year.

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--fbi-noe-mail0320mar20,0,7481616.story?coll=ny-region-apnewyork


How the hell are we suppose to win the war on terra, when the FBI can't even afford e-mail accounts for their agents? Maybe we shouldn't worry so much about them monitoring our email, when they can't even figure out how to set up a free account for themselves?

[Webster Green]

1. Bush World

It's getting wierder every day.

[wakeme2008]

2. And while Homeland Security is not doing Ports, they are vacationing

in Cambodia tracking down Pedophiles( they call them “Domestic terrorists,”)

My thread http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=2523286&mesg_id=2523286 with link to the Mother Jones article.

[wakeme2008]

4. Homeland Security also does not know how to set up bulk email lists

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=2498102

[Baconfoot]

3. What BS! Not enough money for EMAIL accounts? Riiiiiiight.

I would wonder whether anyone out there is still tech-unsavy enough to buy this but AOL still has plenty of subscribers.

[Buns_of_Fire]

5. I guess "[e-mail]" doesn't have enough panache

They learned their lesson when they let KKKarl set up his "Turdblossom@whitehouse,gov" account. Just didn't strike the right amount of fear in evildoers, I guess.

[teach1st]

6. Heck, I've got a few hundred extra I'd donate...

...and I promise not to peek in.

[Divernan]

7. Agent I knew who worked on internet crimes had to share a computer

with another agent! Penny wise, pound foolish,to put it mildly.

[Kailassa]

8. I don't know whether to laugh or cry ...

And the FBI is spending how many billion on its new computer system?

And has contracted Lockheed to produce them in the distant future, by which time, considering how huge government projects always cost 10x the initial estimate and take 10x as long, they will be a trillion dollar heap of outdated garbage.

[maddezmom]

9. kick

[Redstone]

10. FBI, you've got mail -- NOT!

http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/03/20/fbi.email.ap/index.html

NEW YORK (AP) -- Budget constraints are forcing some FBI agents to operate without e-mail accounts, according to the agency's top official in New York.

"As ridiculous as this might sound, we have real money issues right now, and the government is reluctant to give all agents and analysts dot-gov accounts," Mark Mershon said when asked about the gap at a New York Daily News editorial board meeting.

"We just don't have the money, and that is an endless stream of complaints that come from the field," he said.

Nice budget priorities, Bush Administration. THAT will help us smoke out the turraists, won't it?

Redstone

[babylonsister]

11. Hard to believe. Who IS prioritizing for our gov't? They're

doing a really shitty job of it, and I feel so much safer. :eyes:

[AndyA]

12. Meanwhile, Air Force One is flying through the skies

Taking Bush away for the weekend. The cost to American taxpayers is not of any concern, because our fearless leader must get his rest and relaxation! He works so hard for us all week long fighting terra! :eyes:

[Name removed]

13. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[htuttle]

14. The cost of an individual e-mail account is infinitesimally small

Not even sure how you'd calculate the cost -- gotta be close to nothing.

I administer two email servers, one with 250 users for a business, and another with 20 users for an organization. Between the two of them, I don't think it costs even a few dollars per year extra (since we'd buy the domain name anyway). It hardly even takes any time to maintain -- once you set things up, it's all automated for the most part. Hell, the smaller of the two email servers I handle runs on a second-hand iMac in my house.

Are they using something silly like 'Lotus Notes' that has a per-user fee?

Can they really BE this lame?

[WVRevy]

16. That's what I can't figure out

The article sets the number of users at 2000. Even taking into account that these need to be very secure mailboxes, that it will take until the end of the year to get everybody an e-mail address is just insane!

[RedOnce]

15. Hotmail? G-Mail? Yahoo?