Ok, I've seen this twice now...

[Jelly]

We all know if something is on TV, it's public. No doubt about the fact thousands of people will be watching it.

So, you have the MI5, is it? And there, on the news, something's happened there. (This was a couple of weeks/months ago) They have camera's there! We can clearly see where this place is!

And just now, some 'secret' spy place..can't remember the phrase they used...has been flooded I think. They show the precise location on a map! And then they, of course, have camera's there too.

(this is in England by the way)

Now, if these places are supposed to be 'secret' why on Earth are they allowed to show the locations on TV?!? Or am I just being stupid?  :-\

[Besolyn]

No, I whole heartedly agree with you. Freedom of information is one thing, but publishing national security secrets into a public medium is just plain stupid. We have the same problem in the USA

 

I’ve often had this thought about my country having troops in Iraq. Setting aside the how and why of being there (that's a whole other discussion and a half!!), we should not have reporters there naming to the public the size and placement of our weapons, and then sit back in astonishment that a lone suicide bomber has taken out troops or supplies......HELLO!! ::)

[Niamh Sedai]

Are you talking about Thames House in London, Jelly?

 

It is a wee bit inconspiuous, so it'd be slightly hard to miss and if there was this gigantic building and its purpose was 'secret', I'm sure they'd be able to reach to conclusion that there is something to do with the intelligence services, without anyone announcing the purpose of the building.  ;) There are laws in place to prevent the media from accessing the really dangerous stuff (such as The Official Secrets Act). Whilst I agree that some information released, some would be better left undisclosed there is some information that is just out in the open. There is also a public curiosity about the intelligence services that the media are willing to feed.

 

I think it's quite amusing that the location of MI5 is such public knowledge, but on the other hand is it really any different to the location of the Houses of Parliament and 10 Downing Street being known?

 

[Barmacral]

The Canadian Military Headquarter's allowed CBC to do a tour of their place, but were extremely tight on security, we've seen some of the stuff inside (like as small fraction) but the location was not revealed, and we didn't see any outside area to help identify the location.

[asrid]

im just going to say this, All of those who think the are in control think that they have all the power, and get confident and forget that all the news programs can be seen any where in teh world due to the internet