. . . and the Allies did it again in WWII. General Patton commanded a fake army designed to fool the Germans into believing the invasion of France would take place at Pa de Calais instead of at Nomandy. The fake army included inflatable tanks, trucks, etc.

The only thing that is newsworthy about this latest Russian incarnation is that it also includes fake thermal and radar signatures. Allowing a very old trick to be used again.

High levels of testosterone leads to stupid decisions. Isn't that the whole premise behind things like MMA and "Jersey Shore?"

I think I saw this in a movie once.

Spoken like someone who has never worked on a government contract. Who do you think is responsible for making sure there is enough oversight, or would add requirements at the last minute resulting in cost overrun? Hint: NOT the contractors. You're right, it is a project management issue, but likely not with the contractors. As far as transparency is concerned, govt. contracts, particularly those required to be CMMI compliant, have documentation and transparency requirements that would shock most commercial software developers.

. . . so under this plan, I'll get twice as much spam only half of it will be fake spam sent to me by the government?!?

I wonder what kind of ads showed up next to White House emails concerning political appointments? Seriously, it's just plain careless to put what could be considered classified government information into the hands of a third party. Even one that pledges to "do no evil." Hopefully, Obama's staffers will learn that things need to be done a little more cautiously when you represent the President of the United States.