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Googlestalking For Covert NSA Research Funding

Posted by Zonk on from the because-what-else-are-you-going-to-do dept.

James Hardine writes "Wikileaks is reporting that the CIA has funded covert research on torture techniques, and that the NSA has pushed tens or hundreds of millions into academia through research grants using one particular grant code. Some researchers try to conceal the source of funding, yet commonality in the NSA grant code prefix makes all these attempts transparent. The primary NSA grant-code prefix is 'MDA904'. Googling for this grant code yields 39,000 references although some refer to non-academic contracts (scolar.google.com 2,300). The grants issue from light NSA cover, the "Maryland Procurement Office" or other fronts. From this one can see the broad sweep of academic research interests being driven by the NSA."

4 of 150 comments (clear)

  1. Capture it now, before its disappeared by shanen · · Score: 1, Funny

    If this is an accurate report, then they're probably scrubbing the Google indexes even as we speak. Also following up on the original documents to remove the references.

    And *NO*, I do *NOT* want to hop over there and waste my time doing meta-moderation!

    --
    Freedom = (Meaningful - Coerced) Choice != (Speech | Beer^2), and sad sock puppets' bad mods avail them naught.
  2. Warnung!: Conspiracy theory by meburke · · Score: 5, Funny

    Actually, the googled links are a plant to test software that helps the NSA determine who is interested in it's activities, and the grant code is a key to tracing the CPU runningthe browser that is doing the googling.

    --
    "The mind works quicker than you think!"
  3. Re:Torture? Submitter did not RTFA. by david.given · · Score: 2, Funny

    Duality for modules over finite rings and applications to coding theory
    Bounding the number of geometric permutations induced by k-transversals
    A unified framework for enforcing multiple access control policies
    Affine Lie algebras and multisum identities

    I think these only qualify as torture if you're a math or computer science graduate student.

    You urgently, urgently need to read The Atrocity Archives, by Charlie Stross. You will very quickly change your mind. Trust me on this.

  4. Re:Torture? Submitter did not RTFA. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    You urgently, urgently need to learn the difference between "bad science fiction novel written by a Scottish communist" and "factual information". Trust me on this.