Under Amazon’s CIA Cloud: The Washington Post

[xchrom]

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/12/18-0


Jeff Bezos recently acquired the Washington Post, but the company that made him his real fortune, Amazon.com, is also under a multi-hundred million dollar contract with the CIA for computing services. (Credit: Reuters/Shannon Stapleton)

News media should illuminate conflicts of interest, not embody them. But the owner of the Washington Post is now doing big business with the Central Intelligence Agency, while readers of the newspaper’s CIA coverage are left in the dark.

The Post’s new owner, Jeff Bezos, is the founder and CEO of Amazon -- which recently landed a $600 million contract with the CIA. But the Post’s articles about the CIA are not disclosing that the newspaper’s sole owner is the main owner of CIA business partner Amazon.

Even for a multi-billionaire like Bezos, a $600 million contract is a big deal. That’s more than twice as much as Bezos paid to buy the Post four months ago.

And there’s likely to be plenty more where that CIA largesse came from. Amazon’s offer wasn’t the low bid, but it won the CIA contract anyway by offering advanced high-tech “cloud” infrastructure.

[Octafish]

1. WaPo is in good hands.

Good Old Boy hands, meaning there won't be problems in news delivery or its quality.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022560138

That's not smoke blowing up any Bush's skirt. It's a cloud.

[madfloridian]

2. Mockingbird?

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=The_CIA_and_journalism

Church Committee investigations

Further details of Operation Mockingbird were revealed as a result of the Frank Church investigations (Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities) in 1975. According to the Congress report published in 1976:

"The CIA currently maintains a network of several hundred foreign individuals around the world who provide intelligence for the CIA and at times attempt to influence opinion through the use of covert propaganda. These individuals provide the CIA with direct access to a large number of newspapers and periodicals, scores of press services and news agencies, radio and television stations, commercial book publishers, and other foreign media outlets."

Church argued that misinforming the world cost American taxpayers an estimated $265 million a year.[23]

In February 1976, George H. W. Bush, the recently appointed Director of the CIA, announced a new policy: "Effective immediately, the CIA will not enter into any paid or contract relationship with any full-time or part-time news correspondent accredited by any U.S. news service, newspaper, periodical, radio or television network or station." However, he added that the CIA would continue to "welcome" the voluntary, unpaid cooperation of journalists.[24]
"Family Jewels" Report

According to the "Family Jewels" report, released by the National Security Archive on June 26, 2007, during the period from March 12, 1963 and June 15, 1963, the CIA installed telephone taps on two Washington-based news reporters.

[MinM]

6. Carl Bernstein had a great piece on Operation Mockingbird in 1977

Carl Bernstein, CIA and the Media, Rolling Stone Magazine

by John Simkin, Nov 18 2006 07:37 AM

Over the years several members have refered to Carl Bernstein's article, CIA and the Media, that appeared in Rolling Stone Magazine on 20th October, 1977. I thought it might be a good idea to publish the full article. It is worth noting that Bernstein wrote the article soon after leaving the Washington Post. Bernstein of course did not mention the Washington Post as being part of the CIA media campaign.

In 1979 Deborah Davis published a book about the CIA and the Washington Post (Katharine the Great). Davis became the first person to write in detail about Operation Mockingbird (in fact, she was the first person to give it this name). In the book she names Robert Ober as Deep Throat. I recently asked Deborah if it was Bernstein who gave her this information. She denied it and said it was a senior figure in the CIA.

When the book was originally published in 1979 Katharine Graham and Ben Bradlee (probably under instructions from the CIA) persuaded the publishers William Jovanovich, to pulp 20,000 copies of the book. Davis filed a breach-of- contract and damage-to-reputation suit against Jovanovich, who settled out of court with her in 1983. I have a copy of the original printing (some reached the public before they were destroyed). I highly recommend anyone who is interested in the subject of the CIA and the media to read this book...

http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=8574

[madfloridian]

9. I do remember that article.

I believe Catherine Graham's hubby was a brother of FL's Bob Graham.

Graham was born in Coral Gables, Florida, the son of Hilda Elizabeth (née Simmons), a schoolteacher, and Ernest R. Graham, a Florida state senator, mining engineer, and dairy/cattleman.[2] He is the youngest of four children. His siblings are the late Philip Graham, former publisher of the Washington Post; the late William Graham of Miami Lakes, Florida; and the late Mary Crow. He married Adele Khoury Graham, of Miami Shores, in 1959. They have four daughters: Gwen Graham, Cissy Graham McCullough, Suzanne Graham Gibson and Kendall Graham Elias. The Grahams also have 11 grandchildren.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Graham

[MinM]

8. "American Hustle" w/Jennifer Lawrence and the Church Committee

It's worth noting that the newly released movie "American Hustle" is loosely based on Abscam. The late '70s FBI sting operation known as Abscam was ostensibly political payback for the work of the Church Committee.

@AndrewKroll: Movie director David O. Russell: Political corruption in "American Hustle" is nothing compared to Citizens United http://www.motherjones.com/mixed-media/2013/12/david-o-russell-american-hustle-abscam-citizens-united-chris-matthews …

[madfloridian]

10. Must see that.

I had no idea. Thx.

[thesquanderer]

3. I guess they're going to start delivering the Washington Post with drones

Watch out for the overseas editions.

[johnnyreb]

4. Hey JEFF! Any money in following up for instance, this story?

9/11 Commission co-chairmen: The CIA and White House "obstructed our investigation".

Stonewalled by the C.I.A.
By THOMAS H. KEAN and LEE H. HAMILTON
January 2, 2008
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/02/opinion/02kean.html?_r=0

[hootinholler]

5. Makes one wonder about how Bezos became interested in the post

I suppose I should put on some tinfoil.

[Quantess]

7. Worth a kick

I am going to read this later when I have more time.

[grasswire]

11. kick for this story nt