That data mining again...

Remember all the brouhaha over the supposedly illegal NSA data-mining and the Able Danger team? Well, it turns out that the Clinton Adminstration had a much more intrusive program going on - and one which was aimed solely at benefitting the Democratic Party. It was called Echelon.

Among other things, the program reportedly was used to eavesdrop on Republican congressmen and win contracts for American companies. As 60 Minutes host Steve Kroft said in an 2000 interview with Porter Goss and others,

Ms. NEWSHAM: It was definitely an American voice, and it was a voice that was distinct. And I said, 'Well, who is that?' And he said it was Senator Strom Thurmond. And I go, 'What?'

KROFT: Do you think this kind of stuff goes on?

Mr. FROST: Oh, of course it goes on. Been going on for years. Of course it goes on.

KROFT: You mean the National Security Agency spying on politicians in...

Mr. FROST: Well, I--I...

KROFT: ...in the United States?

Mr. FROST: Sounds ludicrous, doesn't it? Sounds like the world of fiction. It's not; not the world of fiction. That's the way it works. I've been there. I was trained by you guys.

Rep. GOSS: Certainly possible that something like that could happen. The question is: What happened next?

KROFT: What do you mean?

Rep. GOSS: It is certainly possible that somebody overheard me in a conversation. I have just been in Europe. I have been talking to people on a telephone and elsewhere. So it's very possible somebody could have heard me. But the question is: What do they do about it? I mean, I cannot stop the dust in the ether; it's there. But what I can make sure is that it's not abused--the capability's not abused, and that's what we do.

KROFT: Much of what's known about the Echelon program comes not from enemies of the United States, but from its friends. Last year, the European Parliament, which meets here in Strasbourg, France, issued a report listing many of the Echelon's spy stations around the world and detailing their surveillance capabilities. The report says Echelon is not just being used to track spies and terrorists. It claims the United States is using it for corporate and industrial espionage as well, gathering sensitive information on European corporations, then turning it over to American competitors so they can gain an economic advantage.

I was reminded of this by the tumult over Google's disagreement with China. I do believe that companies should be subject to national laws of the country in which they do business. but I also believe that China is a growing threat and think that if we are to have any influence over them, we must demonstrate that we are not always pushovers, no matter how much President Obama might genuflect.

NY Times: Soviet Spy is a Hero

Does the New York Times believe that anything detrimental to the well-being of the United States is to be celebrated? It would seem so. Whether the Times is betraying secret programs designed to protect America from Islamic terrorists or leading the charge for full access to American courts for alien enemies, their actions all seem intended to weaken America and strengthen America's enemies. This belief is on full display today with their loving portrayal of the life of Soviet spy George Koval, a trained Soviet agent who was responsible for the USSR's successful theft of the atomic bomb. As the Times writes,

He had all-American cover: born in Iowa, college in Manhattan, Army buddies with whom he played baseball.

George Koval also had a secret. During World War II, he was a top Soviet spy, code named Delmar and trained by Stalin’s ruthless bureau of military intelligence.

Atomic spies are old stuff. But historians say Dr. Koval, who died in his 90s last year in Moscow and whose name is just coming to light publicly, was probably one of the most important spies of the 20th century.

George Koval was a spy for the Soviet Union, and yet the Times never condemns Koval for his betrayal of the United States- a country that gave his parents refuge, and allowed him to gain a career as a highly regarded nuclear physicist. Instead, the Times writes of Koval,

Dr. Koval died on Jan. 31, 2006, according to Russian accounts. The cause was not made public. By American reckoning, he would have been 92, though the Kremlin’s statement put his age at 94 and some Russian news reports put it at 93.

Posthumously, Dr. Koval was made a Hero of the Russian Federation, the highest honorary title that can be bestowed on a Russian citizen. The Kremlin statement cited “his courage and heroism while carrying out special missions.”

Dr. Kramish surmised that he was “the biggest” of the atomic spies. “You don’t get a medal from the president of Russia for nothing,” he said.

The comment that Koval was "the biggest of the atomic spies" is as critical as the Times can allow itself to get. There is no discussion in the article of how badly Koval's betrayal hurt the United States, and the Times does not even consider the negative effects of Koval's spying. They only state that

By 1934, Dr. Koval was in Moscow, excelling in difficult studies at the Mendeleev Institute of Chemical Technology. Upon graduating with honors, he was recruited and trained by the G.R.U. and was sent back to the United States for nearly a decade of scientific espionage, from roughly 1940 to 1948.

How he communicated with his controllers is unknown, as is what specifically he gave the Soviets in terms of atomic secrets. However, it is clear that Moscow mastered the atom very quickly compared with all subsequent nuclear powers.

In addition to its failure to present Koval's spying in a negative light, the Times mainly presents Koval as the Soviet Union would have wished- a Hero. I can only surmise that, for the Times, anything that hurts America is to be celebrated.

In contrast, consider the Times' reporting of America's recent Congressional Medal of Honor winner, First Sergeant Paul Smith, who received a much less gushing story when reports of his heroism reached the Times. Smith, who is the first Medal of Honor winner since 1993 (the medal is extremely difficult to earn and most are present, like Smith's, posthumously), gave his life protecting his fellow Americans and was responsible for the defeat of a force of elite Iraqi Republican Guards in defense of the Baghdad Airport. Yet the Times's report of Smith's Medal of Honor- the highest award for gallantry an American can receive- contained fewer references to heroism than did the story on Koval. Yet Smith gave his life defending his country and his fellow Americans. Koval did his best to help an unfriendly power defeat his adopted country and lived a comfortable life in the USSR as a professor and soccer fan. Who's the real hero? To the New York Times, it is apparently Koval. I disagree. To me, it is Sergeant Smith- Koval is nothing more than one more traitor.

Hat tip to NewsBusters reader Denney Abraham. Cross-posted on NewsBusters.

Clintons' China Connection Resurfaces

One of the most overlooked stories of the past decade was the Clinton White House's ties to Chinese money-raisers and possibly money-launderers. When Clinton was President, one of the major fund-raisers was a Chinese group that was tied to possibly illegal campaign contributuions from chinese military officials. Though there was an inquiry, most of the principals- Johnny Chung, John Huang, Charlie Trie, Maria Hsia, fled the country to avoid giving tesitmony and possibly being indicted. Therefore, Congress was never able to get to the bottom of the scandal. However, Congressional members of both parties said at the time that they belived that China had indeed attempted to influence U.S. elections.

President Clinton and his senior foreign policy advisers disagree with senators of both parties who have concluded China had a plan to influence U.S. elections illegally, according to administration officials, who said high-level White House discussions last week reaffirmed there is so far no cause for taking punitive steps against Beijing.

"We have received the relevant briefings," White House press secretary Michael McCurry said. "We believe there's no basis for any change in our policy toward China, which is one of engagement."

This has been the consistent White House line. What changed last week was that Clinton became newly isolated in his insistence that China's leaders still are entitled to benefit of the doubt. Others who have received the same "relevant briefings," including administration supporters such as Sens. Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.) and John Glenn (D-Ohio), have reached the opposite conclusion.

This is interesting as Senator Hillary Clinton once again has major campaign contributions coming from Asian sources that appear to be fairly well hidden. An unknown fundraiser, a Mr. Norman Hsu, has given over one million dollars to the Clinton campaign, and apparenlty hass organized many other contributions as well. One address that keeps turning up is a house in Daly City, Californai where a mail-carrier lives. Yet thiss address is listed ass the source for a nuimber of contributions. The amount is well beyond what a mail-carrier could afford. So how can thiss be the source for these contributions?

Without more information, this must remain conjecture, but one has to wonder if the Chinese money machine- dedicated to putting the most China-sympathetic leader possible into office- has picked Hillary Clinton as their candidate. The Manchurian cnadidate may be raising its ugly heead once again. When will the mainstram media pick up on thiss story? And when will they make the connection to the many quetions asked of Clinton's husband about his own Chinese connection? There is also one other interesting point. The Senator who led the investiagtion into Clinton's probably illegal Chinese campaign contributions was none other than Fred Thompson of Tennessee- a possible Presidential opponent for Senator Clinton in 2008.

UPDATE: The inestimable Michelle Malkin has discovered that the mysterious Mr. Hsu is fugitive from justice. It appears that Hsu pleaded guil;ty to grand theft, then vanished before he could serve his three-year prison sentence. If this is true, it brings even more meaning to two themes that Democrats would not like to emphasize- government inefficiency (how could the government lose sight of Hsu, who apparently has been hiding in plain sight) and the Clintons' proven habit of selling pardons for campaign cash (remember Marc Rich).