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Over at The Intercept, Greenwald and Fishman did a great job of thoroughly discrediting blatant (effectively) CIA funded propaganda that somehow passed unquestioned as journalism on National Public Radio (NPR). The propaganda itself was merely the usual run of the mill bit trying to smear Snowden or anyone who talks about real cybersecurity (tor/pgp/ssh/etc) as an enabler of terrorists. About as logical as arguing that agricultural professors are helping enable terrorists by teaching everyone, including the terrorists about how to manufacturer their own sustenance for long term survival. What made this bit of propaganda extra slimey, especially for the otherwise generally well regarded NPR, was how the CIA ties were not mentioned.
... Temple-Raston knows all of this. Back in 2012, NPR’s Morning Edition broadcast her profile of Recorded Future and its claimed ability to predict the future by gathering internet data. At the end of her report, she noted that the firm has “at least two very important financial backers: the CIA’s investment arm, called In-Q-Tel, and Google Ventures. They have reportedly poured millions into the company.”
That is the company she's now featuring as some sort of independent source that can credibly vindicate the claims of U.S. officials about how Snowden reporting helps terrorists.
I felt compelled to rebroadcast this to SN because I think it is actually helpful to see the CIA propaganda machine at work, and never forget that it is there, far better funded and at least as relentlessly vigilant as its opposition. And despite a full disclosure that a few years back I myself was effectively getting paid straight from the CIA via In-Q-Tel, and felt thoroughly guilty for it, I have to say I just ADORE the fact that Dan Geer gave up trackable smart phones for the privacy enhanced security of old school pagers.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by JNCF on Tuesday August 19 2014, @05:14PM
I heard this piece [wlrh.org] on the radio earlier:
I'm actually not conteding that she was wrong in her assessment of the situation, but when NPR interviews someone from an organization that recently got caught using a Cuban HIV program [theguardian.com] as a cover to communicate with agents trying to start a rebellion under the flag of democracy, and the representative of said organization is the "assistant administrator for the Bureau of Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance," and that representative is talking about how important democracy building is... maybe they should note that this organization has a sketchy record and vested interest in only supporting democracy when it helps America? Maybe they could have asked her if USAID supports democracy in Saudi Arabia? It just seems odd that the motives of such a clear propaganda line went unquestioned and without context, even if the words themselves are true. The US government really needs to stop using humanitarian organizations for military purposes, it destorys their credibility on these issues completely.
(Score: 1) by takyon on Tuesday August 19 2014, @05:37PM
USAID, another organization The Intercept has dirt on [firstlook.org]:
Screeners are also instructed to collect data on any “pocket litter,” scuba gear, EZ Passes, library cards, and the titles of any books, along with information about their condition—”e.g., new, dog-eared, annotated, unopened.” Business cards and conference materials are also targeted, as well as “anything with an account number” and information about any gold or jewelry worn by the watchlisted individual. Even “animal information”—details about pets from veterinarians or tracking chips—is requested. The rulebook also encourages the collection of biometric or biographical data about the travel partners of watchlisted individuals.
The list of government entities that collect this data includes the U.S. Agency for International Development, which is neither an intelligence nor law-enforcement agency. As the rulebook notes, USAID funds foreign aid programs that promote environmentalism, health care, and education. USAID, which presents itself as committed to fighting global poverty, nonetheless appears to serve as a conduit for sensitive intelligence about foreigners. According to the guidelines, “When USAID receives an application seeking financial assistance, prior to granting, these applications are subject to vetting by USAID intelligence analysts at the TSC.” The guidelines do not disclose the volume of names provided by USAID, the type of information it provides, or the number and duties of the “USAID intelligence analysts.”
A USAID spokesman told The Intercept that “in certain high risk countries, such as Afghanistan, USAID has determined that vetting potential partner organizations with the terrorist watchlist is warranted to protect U.S. taxpayer dollars and to minimize the risk of inadvertent funding of terrorism.” He stated that since 2007, the agency has checked “the names and other personal identifying information of key individuals of contractors and grantees, and sub-recipients.”
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 19 2014, @08:15PM
Reading NPR repots, instead of listening to them, makes it clear they are shallow, careless, and dubious. They do not deserve a favorable reputation.
(Score: 1) by JNCF on Tuesday August 19 2014, @10:17PM
Compared to Democracy Now, of course not. Compared to mainstream media they do wonderful job, all things considered.