“This Message Will Self-Destruct”

Avid ‘Lectronic readers may recall Cap’n Ted, the too-smart-for-his-own-good sailor who loves to supply us with juicy stories and photos — all of which cleverly avoid giving away his real identity. While we haven’t had a report from Cap’n Ted since August 2010, he’s certainly been keeping tabs on us.

"I’m not at liberty to say which branch of the government I work in," said the ever-secretive sailor, "but I can tell you I was surprised to find that Latitude 38 is in the intelligence biz. I was reviewing a top secret document and it named your publication as one of its sources. So who’s the CI (confidential informant) in your outfit?"

Okay, so most of that conversation was embellished but he really did alert us to our status as an intelligence source. As it turns out, the "top secret document" Cap’n Ted was referring to was none other than the Office of Naval Intelligence’s Piracy Analysis and Warning Weekly (PAWW) report on Somalia, which is — somewhat disappointingly — available for the public to download. The last page of the report lists sources, and nestled among such news giants as the Associated Press, BBC News and Reuters is lil’ ol’ Latitude38.com.

Maybe we should ask Ted where his agency shops for trench coats and dark sunglasses . . . .