Kinja reply list

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gilbertkittensJ.K. Trotter
8/07/13 2:22pm
How does a bunch of twitter conspiracy theory speculation constitute proof of anything?
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  Graby Saucegilbertkittens
  8/07/13 2:26pm
  Yes, is that what I'm reading? There is no proof that the story was wrong— people are "just asking questions," the much-decried tactic of casting doubt without having evidence of doubt.
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  J.K. Trottergilbertkittens
  8/07/13 2:28pm
  The quoted (well, embedded) individuals are reasonably qualified to critique the likelihood of the Beast story.
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J.K. TrotterJ.K. Trotter
8/07/13 3:35pm
Oh, and Marcy Wheeler thinks the intercept involved the compromised Tor network:

That TOR Exploit Probably Wasn't the NSA After All That TOR Exploit Probably Wasn't the NSA After All That TOR Exploit Probably Wasn't the NSA After All

The plot has either thickened or thinned back out in the quest to discover who's been hacking… Read more Read more

So what if this takedown was only secondarily about child porn, and primarily about disabling a system al Qaeda has used to carry out fairly brazen centralized communications? Once the malware was in place, the communications between al Qaeda would be useless in any case (and I could see the government doing that to undermine the current planning efforts).

So.
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  815SoxJ.K. Trotter
  8/07/13 4:15pm
  Thanks for the link. I have actually been wondering about this.
  
  It is important to remember that TOR did receive significant funding from the US military (and possibly EU member states, I am not sure)
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Steve_Buscemi's_OrthodontistJ.K. Trotter
8/07/13 2:29pm

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  Steve_Buscemi's_OrthodontistSteve_Buscemi's_Orthodontist
  8/07/13 2:31pm
  Only an idiot misspells flagellate.
  
  I wish you were never born.
  - Love, Dad.
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  wkiernanSteve_Buscemi's_Orthodontist
  8/07/13 4:49pm
  But you have to spell it that way so it is pronounced "flagg-eh-late" instead of "fladge-eh-late."
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DolemiteJ.K. Trotter
8/07/13 2:10pm
Makes sense. Probably the biggest "bust" in recent history, and it just happens to occur as Americans are ready to string up these unconstitutional secret programs, and politicians are looking for scapegoats for the programs they voted on.
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  Mercury: The Sweetest Of The Transition MetalsDolemite
  8/07/13 3:05pm
  Aaaand 95% of the population will fall hook, line, and sinker...95? Okay, more like 99%...
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ThewalkingdudeJ.K. Trotter
8/07/13 2:44pm
Closing Embassies for a week or so and issuing an international travel alert is a pretty big deal and it's not likely that it is merely a "PR move".

That the intel came from the conference call ,or that there even was a phone call at all, is probably bullshit but there is a lot of practical reasons for doing that- as is mentioned above.

That this is merely a PR move is extremely unlikely.
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  Mercury: The Sweetest Of The Transition MetalsThewalkingdude
  8/07/13 3:15pm
  Yeah I see a combination of counter intel strategies, with some PR, and poor OPSEC by Al-Queda (like, bafflingly bad). The CIA isn't going to use an event like this for one purpose, the best intelligence agencies use several different tactics at once in order to make this web un-unravel-able (yeah that's not a real word). As much as the CIA irks me, they know how to handle this shit.
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  seaalexThewalkingdude
  8/07/13 4:40pm
  Wars have been started and countries have been invaded as PR moves .... Closing an Embassy for week and some travel alerts is pretty minor.
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FavelaJ.K. Trotter
8/07/13 2:14pm
Congressmen Seek To Lift Propaganda Ban

[By the late Michael Hastings, RIP.]

Why shouldn't we think they would? They tried to pass a law allowing propaganda outright, for chrissakes: http://antiwar.com/blog/2013/07/1…

It wouldn't surprise me at all that the CIA would spread false info.
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  El-DanteFavela
  8/07/13 4:11pm
  Not to be the bearer of bad news, but they just lifted the ban on propaganda last month so its no longer a 'seek to lift' situation.
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  FavelaEl-Dante
  8/07/13 4:17pm
  What, really? O.o
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McCully11J.K. Trotter
8/07/13 2:27pm
Alternate theory: AQ knows it does not have the manpower to pull off a huge terror strike, but wants to make the world think it does and wants to watch the world react when the plot is discovered. How best to achieve this? Hold a conference call you know is monitored where you announce a terror plot on a grand scale.
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  rmric0.wedding.photographerMcCully11
  8/07/13 6:04pm
  it's kin do flike when you older brother keeps slapping you, and then when he just moves his hand you start flinching.
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rmric0.wedding.photographerJ.K. Trotter
8/07/13 5:59pm
This is the fundamental problem with secret wars, the only source we have that these things are working is the say so of the organizations that benefit.

It's a great scam.

Something does happen on their watch: "We needed more resources and more power."

Something doesn't happen on their watch: "We're protecting you, but we need new tools and resources to keep doing it."

We scale them back and something happens: "Told you so, now give us all the money."

We scale them back and nothing happens: "They're just waiting for the right moment to strike. We need to be ready to protect the homeland."
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Saposcat3J.K. Trotter
8/07/13 2:18pm
As cops and criminals are cut from the same cloth, so are reporters and spies.
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pickwickianfireJ.K. Trotter
8/07/13 6:30pm
I saw this on the Daily Beast and wondered how they had information no other news outlet was reporting. I even flipped back to google news and the guardian. nothing. And Daily Beast was so specific. And then I had to imagine Al Qaeda having a conference call. Bizarre. I hope the original reporter is able to clarify this.
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Congressmen Seek To Lift Propaganda Ban