A crypto venture recently unveiled by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and his new Middle East envoy, billionaire Steve Witkoff, has partnered with a crypto platform that authorities and financial experts say has been used by criminals and Iran-backed militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah. read more
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House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said he expects to be briefed soon on the mysterious drones over New Jersey and other states. read more
When President-elect Donald Trump announced his plan to impose tariffs on goods coming from Canada and Mexico until they stop the flow of migrants and drugs, he said he wanted the countries to "pay a very big price!" In energy markets, it won't just be Canada and Mexico taking the hit, according to analysts, who say the domestic fallout would be so severe that Trump will likely end up exempting energy products once he takes office. read more
Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old suspect in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, is currently being held in maximum security at the Huntingdon State Correctional Institution in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania.
I'll add this to the mix...
Smith-Mundt Act (1948)
www.usagm.gov
...
SHORT TITLE
1 This Act may be cited as the "United States Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948".
OBJECTIVES
2 The Congress hereby declares that the objectives of this Act are to enable the Government of the United States to promote a better understanding of the United States in other countries, and to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. Among the means to be used in achieving these objectives are --
- - - 1 an information service to disseminate abroad information about the United States, its people, and policies promulgated by the Congress, the President, the Secretary of State and other responsible officials of Government having to do with matters affecting foreign affairs;
- - - 2 an educational exchange service to cooperate with other nations in --
- - - - - a the interchange of persons, knowledge, and skills;
- - - - - b the rendering of technical and other services;
- - - - - c the interchange of developments in the field of education, the arts, and sciences. ...
7nbsp
imo, ...
Do not underestimate the reach of Voice of America.
Why are Zimbabwe police seizing radios? (2013)
www.bbc.com
... "It is very diabolic the taking of the radios, people are entitled to information about what is happening in the country ... taking away these radios is to force them to listen to the ZBC, which they don't want to listen to," MDC spokesman Douglas Mwonzora told the BBC.
Ms Kadzviti, 25, agreed that people needed an "alternative source of news" to the state broadcaster, widely seen as a mouthpiece for Zanu-PF and President Mugabe.
"We are sick and tired of state propaganda on ZBC," she told the BBC. ...
Memorandum Prepared in the Central Intelligence Agency (1981)
history.state.gov
... he Soviet Union, its East European allies, Vietnam, and Cuba consider strict control over internal information and propaganda vital to their security. All these governments therefore believe that the international radiobroadcasting activities of other countries pose a threat to their political security. Nonetheless, how each government deals with the influx of information from abroad depends on its assessment of the vulnerability of its regime and society to outside influences, on foreign policy considerations, and on the practicality of various countermeasures. [portion marking not declassified][emphasis mine]
This paper examines the policies of the Soviet Union and its allies on information control including:
"
- - - The impact of international and internal situations as well as foreign broadcasting practices and policies on the respective Communist governments that leads them to inhibit the international flow of information, including an examination of jamming policies and practices.
"
- - - The possible reactions of these regimes to future Voice of America, Radio Free Europe, and Radio Liberty programming, including possible expansion of these services, changes in their frequencies or enhancement of their signals, and changes in targeting. [portion marking not declassified] ...
@#30 ... There's always a means to an end with Trump. ...
Yup, and so far the "end" seems to be the boosting of his ego.
... Now I have to wonder who around the globe is receiving Trump propaganda. ...
Bingo!
Voice of America Begins Broadcasting in Germany, 1942 (February 2022)
landmarkevents.org
... In 2022, "Voice of America provides trusted and objective news and information in 47 languages to a measured weekly audience of more than 311.8 million people around the world." (VOA website).
Eighty years ago, during the Second World War, the Voice of America began broadcasting this week to the German people on short-wave radio.
The American government had already begun direct programming by short-wave within weeks of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, by broadcasting to the Philippines in English.
The programs began with the playing of the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" and the promise that America would always tell the listeners the truth about what was happening in the war, even if the information "is bad for us." ...
What do we know about the mysterious drones reported flying over New Jersey?
apnews.com
... U.S. Rep. Chris Smith said a Coast Guard commanding officer told him a dozen drones closely followed a Coast Guard lifeboat near Barnegat Light and Island Beach State Park in Ocean County over the weekend. ...
Assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia, who was briefed by the Department of Homeland Security, said the reported drones have been up to 6 feet (1.8 meters) in diameter and sometimes travel with their lights switched off.
This is much larger than those typically flown by drone hobbyists and she said they appear to avoid detection by traditional methods such as helicopter and radio. ...
At this point, I still wonder whether this is just yet another social media hysteria, or if the drones are something real.
@#27 ... I had one too but I don't remember VoA. ...
It was there.
Maybe you just didn't find it.
Such was shortwave radio back then. I subscribed to a magazine (wish I could remember its name) that focused upon shortwave listening.
That magazine gave frequencies and times when you could listen to stations around the planet.
There is something similar nowadays, but it is not the monthly magazine I used to get. And it is a mere shadow of those older magazines.
World Radio TV Handbook
www.wrth.com
... We are delighted that Radio Data Center has taken over the publication of WRTH and has now produced the 2023 edition of the world's greatest guide to radio ...
imo, stated differently, ~the Internet has screwed the profits here, so we are falling back to plan B.~
@#1 ... law enforcement officials have concluded that "these are actually manned aircraft that are being operated lawfully" and that there have been no confirmed drone sightings in restricted airspace, Kirby said, adding that they have uncovered no malicious activity. ...
That's quite a turn around.
Homeland security officials meet with lawmakers about mysterious drone flights in New Jersey
abc7ny.com
... So who or what is behind the flying objects? Where are they coming from? What are they doing?
Republican Assemblyman Erik Peterson, whose district includes parts of the state where the drones have been reported, said he also attended Wednesday's meeting at a state police facility in West Trenton. The session lasted for about 90 minutes.
"My understanding is they have no clue," Peterson said. ...
@#25 ... I must admit, I've never heard of it. ...
Back when I was a teen, I built a shortwave receiver. My Dad helped me put up the long-wire antenna, complete with the lightning arrestor. And, fwiw, during thunder storms, I could hear that lightning arrestor sparking, as it was right outside my bedroom window.
In the mid- to late-1960's I listened to Radio Moscow, Radio Peking (as Beijing was called back then), Radio Hanoi, Radio Saigon (there was that Vietnam War at the time), the BBC, Deutsche-Welle, Voice of America, etc. So many different viewpoints.
In that world before the Internet was available, shortwave radio was where you heard different viewpoints.
The Voice of America was cherished, at the time, by those under the domination of USSR. People in the SSR's used to risk arrest for having a radio receiver that could listen to the Voice of America broadcasts.
Voice of America
www.britannica.com
... Voice of America (VOA), radio broadcasting network of the U.S. government, a unit of the United States Information Agency (USIA). Its first broadcast, in German, took place on February 24, 1942, and was intended to counter Nazi propaganda among the German people. By the time World War II ended, the VOA was broadcasting 3,200 programs in 40 languages every week. It became part of the USIA when that agency was established in 1953.
The VOA's function is to promote understanding of the United States and to spread American values.
During the Cold War it concentrated its message on the communist countries of eastern and central Europe.
Its daily broadcasts include news reports, stories and discussions on American political and cultural events, and editorials setting forth U.S. government policy.
The VOA produces and broadcasts radio programs in English and foreign languages and operates broadcasting and relay stations to transmit them....
@#5 ... murdered during Sandy Hook. ...
Here in Connecticut, today, this week, was a solemn time.
Connecticut lawmakers mark 12 years since Sandy Hook shooting
www.wtnh.com
... Connecticut's congressional delegation met with victims of gun violence on Thursday in Washington, D.C., marking 12 years since the Sandy Hook school shooting in Newtown.
Family members of the victims of gun violence held up photos of the loved ones they lost during a press conference.
Saturday, Dec. 14, marks 12 years since 20 children and six educators were killed at Sandy Hook. ...
@#3 ... The purpose of the 1st Amendment is to protect unpopular speech. ...
... from suppression by the government.
But there have been limits associated with that.
Permissible restrictions on expression
www.britannica.com
... Despite the broad freedom of expression guaranteed by the First Amendment, there are some historically rooted exceptions. First, the government may generally restrict the time, place, or manner of speech, if the restrictions are unrelated to what the speech says and leave people with enough alternative ways of expressing their views. Thus, for instance, the government may restrict the use of loudspeakers in residential areas at night, limit all demonstrations that block traffic, or ban all picketing of people's homes.
Second, a few narrow categories of speech are not protected from government restrictions. The main such categories are incitement, defamation, fraud, obscenity, child pornography, fighting words, and threats. As the Supreme Court held in Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969), the government may forbid "incitement""speech "directed at inciting or producing imminent lawless action" and "likely to incite or produce such action" (such as a speech to a mob urging it to attack a nearby building). But speech urging action at some unspecified future time may not be forbidden.
Defamatory lies (which are called "libel" if written and "slander" if spoken), lying under oath, and fraud may also be punished. In some instances, even negligent factual errors may lead to lawsuits. Such exceptions, however, extend only to factual falsehoods; expression of opinion may not be punished even if the opinion is broadly seen as morally wrong. ...
OK, this caught my attention.
Why is the oneironaut current alias suddenly apparently trying to deflect here?
The plot thickens ...
:)