The White House is claiming that a secret programme to build a carefully-disguised “Cuban Twitter”, in order to foment political opposition to the Castro regime, was “not covert” but rather a “discreet” form of humanitarian assistance.
The kind that is afflicting Venzuela, Egypt, Ukraine, etc.
The AP revealed how the programme, engineered by the US Agency for International Development (USAid), was intended to encourage “flash mobs” in Cuba, emulating social media-based protests that had been occurring organically in countries such as Iran, the Philippines and Moldova.[my underline]
You know that Maidan was a "flash mob gone wrong", right?
Extensive efforts were undertaken to conceal the true nature of the social-media network, using offshore banks accounts, front companies and overseas servers.
Front companies. Offshore accounts! Nothing to see here folks. What's that folks say about the NSA? If you have nothing to hide....
White House press secretary Jay Carney said on Thursday that while in "non-permissive environments" it was necessary for USAid to be "discreet", the secret social-media initiative was “not a covert programme”.
“It was a development-assistance programme,” he said, adding: "I am not aware of individuals here in the White House who were involved.” He also said the programme was subject to congressional oversight.
Yes, a
development program. Kinda like the blockade only, you know, on the internet. And yes, we in the White House have no clue, because, you know, we don't actually run anything. Serious question: with all the illegal and "not covert" things going on, does anyone at the White House actually know what any of the agencies that report to it
ARE, doing?
Carney denied suggestions the programme was “under the table” or had “roped in” unsuspecting Cubans.
Never mind the offshore accounts and front companies!
He said "discretion" was necessary "not because it is an intelligence programme, but to protect individuals”.
What individuals?
Other countries, including some European allies, may have unknowingly become involved in the programme, which was run on foreign soil to avoid associations with the US.
Spain, Ireland, the UK, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and the Cayman Islands hosted either servers, bank accounts or companies working on ZunZuneo, and it is not known if they were aware of the true nature of the company. Use of servers in Europe may constitute a breach of data protection law, according to a legal expert quoted by the AP.
Question: How many of these countries voted for the UN "resolution" in regards to Ukraine and Crimea?
The idea appears to have quickly evolved into a more interactive messaging network, in which users could also interact with one another and organise politically.
Yes, like Maidan.
Once sufficient numbers of Cubans had signed-up, ZunZeneo would become more political, inciting protest or, as one USAid document quoted by the AP put it, seeking to influence “the balance of power between the state and society".[my underline]
Like Ukraine?
I hope Putin and Lavrov have seen this report. I'll need to check the RT to see if they have run with this story. Don't expect the UN to do anything of value, if at all, with this evidence of fomenting political unrest and likely violence by the US.
