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For nearly ten years, the US government has been legally enabled to disseminate misinformation and propaganda domestically. They’ve been doing it for centuries internationally, and of late this criminal organization has taken a very clear stance that its own population is now its greatest enemy.
Of course, this has been going on illegally for much longer. If we define misinformation as the telling of half-truths or outright lies to the public, then we’ve just accurately characterized what every politician, bureaucrat and military officer who ever appeared in the mass media does.
Shortly after the Smith-Mundt Act of 1948 and Foreign Relations Authorization Act of 1987 were neutralized, a savior appeared. Risking life and limb, a former CIA and NSA technical contractor leaked classified materials giving Americans an updated look at just how pervasive the US surveillance state had gotten. I say ‘updated’ because, to most in the know, it was no surprise at all. It’s been common knowledge since before the days of Echelon that mass domestic electronic spying (“Sigint”) was going on.
Snowden was paraded around the world by mainstream media outlets to tell his story. He set up a Twitter account to continue his revelations and further cultivate his image. Not one, but two films (fiction and non-fiction alike) were produced. He even published a book to explain why he did it. All the while Senators, Congressmen and intelligence officials would call for his head – but for some reason seemed powerless to do anything about this one, lone man. How can that be so? The US government has clearly demonstrated it has no problem murdering American citizens and their children, without due process of law, for far less, wherever they may be.
And therein lay the problem.
The Open Technology Fund
In the war against European fascists the US government created the Voice of America. This was a radio station broadcasting into enemy territory purporting to tell “the truth” about the war. This propaganda war was later expanded to include the Asian communists and Arabian theocrats. An additional four stations were created. Throughout the 90’s these operations were consolidated under the banner of the Broadcasting Board of Governors. In 2018 they changed their name to the US Agency for Global Media.
This agency is not under the direct oversight of any department of the US government. Its funds are separately appropriated and is overseen by the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, and the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
In the same year that the US legalized using propaganda on its own citizens the USAGM started a sixth initiative – this one unlike any of the others. Called the Open Technology Fund, its mission is to “fund internet freedom technologies at every stage of the development cycle from proof-of-concept, to on-the-ground deployments, to multi-year efforts.”
In less than ten years its impact has been staggering. Over 2 billion people around the world now use OTF-supported technology every day. More than two-thirds of all mobile devices play host to at least one application funded by the OTF.
The standard rejoinder to all this hand waving is that the technology they produce is encrypted and censorship resistant. While technically true, this is (surprise!) misdirection. The goal is not to see the contents of your messages, but to gather your metadata. As NSA General Counsel Stewart Baker has said, “metadata absolutely tells you everything about somebody’s life. If you have enough metadata, you don’t really need content.” When journalist David Cole quoted Baker at a 2014 debate at Johns Hopkins University, his opponent, General Michael Hayden, former director of the NSA and the CIA, called Baker’s comment “absolutely correct,” and raised him one, bragging, “We kill people based on metadata.”
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The Pied Piper of Journalism
By now I think you should be starting to see just how the devolution in the quality of mainstream journalism has been driven, and one of the men at the wheel of this appears to be the wonder boy Snowden himself. For years now he has relentlessly promoted the use of technology and groups with direct money ties to the OTF.
Let’s start with your operating system. Snowden claims to have used TailsOS (OTF funds: $208,000 to-date) to siphon information out of the NSA and promoted it as a useful tool for journalists through multiple venues. As revealed by security researchers at Exodus Intelligence, this OS suffered from zero-day flaws that all but neutered its privacy and anonymizing components. Shortly after that debacle, he switched to promoting another OTF-funded project, QubesOS (OTF funds: $570,000 to-date).
Snowden’s track record with instant messengers is no better. He has made it no secret that Signal (OTF funds: $2,955,000 to-date) is his preferred application. This is the same company who claims to have simply stumbled upon one of law enforcement’s most advanced hacking tools.
In an appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast he promoted the services of Citizen Lab (OTF funds: $147,277 to-date) a security research group operating out of the University of Toronto, calling them a “World Leader.”
He talks constantly about using Tor (OTF funds: $3,107,300 plus an additional $1,180,777 in Tor-related projects) and while it may hide the contents of what you’re browsing we know that’s not really the point. It’s the people who use Tor that the government is precisely interested in extracting metadata from. This is not theoretical, Tor actor KAX17 was doing just this.
Eventually any responsible person must ask: Is it mere coincidence that nearly every product Snowden has promoted over the years can trace its funds directly to the US government? Is it simply by accident that the products Snowden’s advocacy group provides to journalists (like SecureDrop and Haven) use these same platforms and rails?
Internet Censorship and More
Probably most disturbing of all is one of the OTF’s latest projects, the Claims and Memes Database (OTF funds: $144,850 to-date). This is quite literally the digital ministry of truth, allowing journalists to quickly ensure they never deviate from approved narratives.
The OTFs money can be found everywhere, from mail encryption add-ons like Mailvelope (OTF funds: $261,320 to-date) to the emerging Signal competitor, Briar (OTF funds: $361,100 to-date). They’ve even inserted their influence into the deepest layers of the internet with SSL certificates (OTF funds $236,400 to-date), and VPN protocols (OTF funds: $250,000 to-date). Even the Noise Protocol, which underlies dozens of “secure” messengers was built with OTF support. The amount for that project, however, is not disclosed on the OTF website.
So, What’s Safe?
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but next to nothing. As you can clearly see, not even the free and open-source software traditionally touted as “secure” can well and truly be trusted. Unless you produced, audited, and operate the entire technology stack that you use, it’s unlikely you’ll ever find respite from this invasive and unlawful surveillance. Expect things to only get worse in the future, too.
The internet as we know it has been transformed into a giant, all-seeing beast with the means to track and identify absolutely anyone of interest. The only thing you can do is be cognizant of the fact that every computer out there is now a spy device, dutifully reporting to parties unknown on the activities its users engage in and the data it handles.
It’s a Brave New World, and Orwell is rolling in his grave.
Today’s post is from contributor Mr. E. To receive further updates and other high signal, off-the-beaten path content, subscribe to the Bombthrower mailing list.
Entire fracking industry: "We can't increase production because we have to make money"
Getting it exactly backwards, American talking heads claim it's a refinery capacity problem and the US has 'lots of oil and gas.'
In my second last post I pointed out the little known fact that Russia, Saudi Arabia, + the entire world, except the US, using all available technologies, have not increased oil supply to the importing countries in 17 years.
A tremendous delusion has gripped many American talking heads who claim that the current rise in oil prices in the US stems from a lack of refining capacity, or that the US has ‘lots’ of oil and gas.
The ENTIRE fracking industry, as detailed below, sings a different tune.
https://stevenlawrencekayser.substack.com/publish/post/91008664
Not a surprise about Snow(job)den. You did a creditable piece of work here, and much respected. Your spouse'/girlfriend's moniker is Ms. R. E?
The influential intellectuals are herding society in the direction of one global tribe. The most rational thinkers see this at a glance. – distinct from a planet populated by Sapien Individuals. (Ayn Rand even wrote a novelette about it, "Anthem." which I saw a stage performance off-Broadway. )
The mystic Plato and his downstream footnoters long for such a dystopia because that gives them a fake sense of purpose for existence.
Worse, the only way to divert us off the tribal pathway is a new Rennasiance of individuals populating the planet – which vested powers in the system can not tolerate upheaval of the status quo.
As for Mister Snowden, if he is a pawn in the evil game, he plays a minor role.
It does not matter if this modern moron slave is controlled opposition or not… Everything he did meant shit to the 99% of the herds of modern moron slaves.
Wow! You've opened my eyes! So we need to ''hide'' in plain site now, fight to death if forced to.
The Great Reset stoked a fire in me. SARS-CoV-2 was engineered, and its release was planned. Messenger-RNA vaccines are dangerous and ineffective, meant to test lipid nanoparticle delivery systems, engender compliance, and intentionally harm people. But that is the surface.
Governments engage in cognitive warfare against plebeians. They disturb the family, morality, and reality itself. So-called experts pontificate on captured media platforms, bleating that climate change is an existential threat. Anti-human sentiment, however, is the actual threat. Its culmination is techno-totalitarian governance. The globalist cabal's will bends toward technological singularity, a Tower of Babel grasp at godhood.
The dream is exclusive. Dysgenic fears prompt technocrats to cull weak organisms. It is a mechanistic materialism described by Mattias Desmet that convinces people to both hate themselves and effectively worship their enlightened masters.
Yuval Noah Harari explains how humans are hackable animals. With our biological knowledge, computing power, and ability to gather and analyze huge amounts of data, we can create sophisticated systems. Machines that understand individuals' desires can predict their behavior and ultimately hijack their volition.
Technocrats siphon metadata to enslave people. Ultimately, they want you trapped in a fifteen-minute smart city, spreading grub butter over stale saltines, conforming every thought to dogma. When you err, lose your programmable UBI, and re-educated, you will learn the utility of throwing yourself into a euthanasia machine.
It is disheartening to learn many, if not most, software that touts privacy are compromised. Bitcoin and Web5 are two technologies I still believe in. But who knows? John prophesied a Beast System is inevitable. Therefore, my money is on team Schwab. Nevertheless, I'll keep my eyes fixed on the clouds.
I am at a loss for words adequate to the task of expressing my appreciation for your insights and the linguistic skill with which you present them. Rarely do I find myself feeling the passion of a writer to this degree, thank you so much for these moments.
Israeli Ministry of Intelligence: "The world will soon face "a series of crisis striking simultaneously that will reorder the planet's…"
Meanwhile, The Elon says we are "potentially on the verge of the biggest financial crisis in world history."
Steven Lawrence Kayser
12 min ago
Israeli Ministry of Intelligence: "The world will soon face "a series of crisis striking simultaneously that will reorder the planet's…"
Meanwhile, The Elon says we are "potentially on the verge of the biggest financial crisis in world history."
As reported by RT, The Israeli Ministry of Intelligence has prepared a report warning that the world is standing on the precipice of a transition to a new global arrangement,
The world will soon face “a series of crises striking simultaneously [that] will reorder the planet’s geopolitics, the place of technology, the economic order and a variety of other disciplines from health to energy,” according to the document. Among Israel’s advantages, the ministry reportedly listed the county’s newfound energy resilience, thanks to the discovery of large offshore natural gas deposits.
In previous posts, I outlined how the only source of increase in oil supplies for all importing nations as a whole came from US fracking, which has now flatlined and has little chance of future growth.
The world has followed the peak oil hypothesis almost exactly. Nobody seems to have noticed.
https://stevenlawrencekayser.substack.com/p/israeli-ministry-of-intelligence
This is just a hit piece against Snowden. Read the article twice, and look for the CONTENT of what is alleged, instead of the TONE of the accusations. There's nothing here, apart from a supposed programming error in an early version of the Tails OS.
Snowden is not responsible for TOR, or any of its problems, and the author tries to paint anything he says as 'suspicious'
Then look at all the good Snowden has done, the risks he took, and the personal cost to himself & his family.
The author isn't even prepared to give his own real name (Mr.E) A sad excuse for 'journalism'
Of course he is.
If they didn't have Snowden to remind us twice a year about the mythical NSA data centres, we might realize the back doors into the tech companies are the source, and stop giving them our data.
Amazon – what we buy
Facebook – who we know
Twitter – what we say
Google – what we think
Apple – where we go
Netflix – what we watch
Cost of NSA data centres – $1trillion and a bunch of congressional oversight headaches
Cost of Edward Snowden – $1m a year.