Andhra Pradesh O.C.T.O.

The Andhra Pradesh cabinet (Southern India) have agreed to form OCTOPUS (Organisation to Counter Terrorist Operations).  Octopus will ‘monitor websites, help train a proposed anti-terror force and analyse data and documents that could be of relevance in the battle against terror’ (The Telegraph, 2007).

My experience is that authority groups (either government or industry) do not name themselves an ’octopus’, other people call them one  (i.e. Standard Oil). The metaphor as it typically used – octopus in control, interfering, with its arms in different aspects of life (- privacy?) – still applies.

SOURCE(S):
webindia123 (Nov 29th 2008) “AP to form special ‘anti-terror force’” (Accessed: 07/12/2008)
Hyderabadis.info  (Nov 29th 2008) “Octopus to probe city blasts“
(Accessed: 07/12/2008)
The Telegraph (Sept 8th 2007), “Andhra Octopus“, Calcutta (Accessed: 07/12/2008)