1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:04,680 Speaker 1: From UFOs to psychic powers and government conspiracies. History is 2 00:00:04,760 --> 00:00:09,080 Speaker 1: riddled with unexplained events. You can turn back now or 3 00:00:09,200 --> 00:00:12,119 Speaker 1: learn the stuff they don't want you to know. A 4 00:00:12,240 --> 00:00:25,520 Speaker 1: production of I Heart Radios How Stuff Works. Hello, Welcome 5 00:00:25,520 --> 00:00:27,800 Speaker 1: back to the show. My name is Matt, my name 6 00:00:27,880 --> 00:00:30,600 Speaker 1: is They called me Ben. We are joined as always 7 00:00:30,640 --> 00:00:34,760 Speaker 1: with our super producer Paul Mission Controlled decond. Most importantly, 8 00:00:34,840 --> 00:00:37,720 Speaker 1: you are you. You are here, and that makes this 9 00:00:38,000 --> 00:00:41,839 Speaker 1: stuff they don't want you to know. In today's episode, 10 00:00:41,920 --> 00:00:46,840 Speaker 1: we're revisiting UH topic we picked up in fourteen, both 11 00:00:46,880 --> 00:00:50,479 Speaker 1: as a video and as a short audio podcast. UH. 12 00:00:50,680 --> 00:00:53,840 Speaker 1: This is UH. This is something that may be controversial 13 00:00:53,960 --> 00:00:57,080 Speaker 1: to some people, it may be personal to some of 14 00:00:57,160 --> 00:01:00,680 Speaker 1: us listening today, as we're going to do our level 15 00:01:00,720 --> 00:01:06,200 Speaker 1: best as always to stay objective. We're talking about non 16 00:01:06,280 --> 00:01:11,000 Speaker 1: governmental organizations the street name in geos. Most of us 17 00:01:11,000 --> 00:01:15,720 Speaker 1: are vaguely aware of these institutions, and oddly enough, they're 18 00:01:15,760 --> 00:01:18,880 Speaker 1: defined by what they are not rather than what they 19 00:01:18,920 --> 00:01:23,600 Speaker 1: actually are. They're just non governmental. The whole definition is 20 00:01:23,640 --> 00:01:25,920 Speaker 1: the thing that they are not in the name. And 21 00:01:25,959 --> 00:01:29,400 Speaker 1: that's tricky because this is an umbrella term. It encompasses 22 00:01:29,400 --> 00:01:32,080 Speaker 1: everything from you know, the Red Cross, to the Red Crescent, 23 00:01:32,160 --> 00:01:35,640 Speaker 1: to Green Peace from the World Wildlife Fund, ox FAN 24 00:01:35,800 --> 00:01:40,000 Speaker 1: and so many, many, many, many more. And typically these 25 00:01:40,120 --> 00:01:43,000 Speaker 1: organizations are going to focus on a distinct set of 26 00:01:43,120 --> 00:01:50,840 Speaker 1: concerns or problems, right human rights, equality or fighting dysentery. 27 00:01:50,880 --> 00:01:53,440 Speaker 1: It's usually the kind of stuff every human being can 28 00:01:53,480 --> 00:01:57,280 Speaker 1: get behind, you know, solving world hunger. It's philanthropy, Yeah, 29 00:01:57,400 --> 00:02:00,720 Speaker 1: saving the cute animals, doing the right thing. I always 30 00:02:00,720 --> 00:02:04,560 Speaker 1: confuse philanthropy with philandering. Those aren't the same thing, are they? 31 00:02:04,600 --> 00:02:08,000 Speaker 1: In a way? They both mean lover of men, that's true, 32 00:02:08,800 --> 00:02:12,640 Speaker 1: lover of humanity, It's true. I confuse them as well. Uh. 33 00:02:12,960 --> 00:02:17,280 Speaker 1: NGOs are all about distribution, and it might surprise many 34 00:02:17,320 --> 00:02:21,080 Speaker 1: of us, especially people who have donated to one cause 35 00:02:21,160 --> 00:02:24,359 Speaker 1: or another. Might surprise us to learn that NGOs are 36 00:02:24,360 --> 00:02:28,400 Speaker 1: not as squeaky clean and as utopian as their proponents 37 00:02:28,440 --> 00:02:32,120 Speaker 1: would have us believe. In fact, many people, a growing 38 00:02:32,280 --> 00:02:36,160 Speaker 1: number of people will argue that these institutions and organizations 39 00:02:36,480 --> 00:02:41,359 Speaker 1: are at the very least disingenuous, maybe even evil. We'll 40 00:02:41,400 --> 00:02:44,880 Speaker 1: get to that, but first things first, what exactly is 41 00:02:44,919 --> 00:02:48,480 Speaker 1: this term we're throwing around? What is an NGO? Here? 42 00:02:48,520 --> 00:02:51,680 Speaker 1: Are the facts are all pals at the Oxford English 43 00:02:51,760 --> 00:02:57,200 Speaker 1: Dictionary UM have a fabulous definition for what an NGO is. 44 00:02:57,240 --> 00:03:01,080 Speaker 1: They define it as a nonprofit organization that greates independently 45 00:03:01,440 --> 00:03:04,760 Speaker 1: of any government, typically one whose purpose is to address 46 00:03:04,840 --> 00:03:09,480 Speaker 1: a social or political issue. UM. And in fact, the 47 00:03:09,639 --> 00:03:14,079 Speaker 1: term non governmental organization was created in Article seventy one 48 00:03:14,120 --> 00:03:19,239 Speaker 1: of the Charter of the United Nations in and that's 49 00:03:19,280 --> 00:03:23,000 Speaker 1: when select you know, club, I guess you could call it, 50 00:03:23,040 --> 00:03:29,880 Speaker 1: of international non state agencies were given UM observer status 51 00:03:29,919 --> 00:03:34,480 Speaker 1: to some of of this body's meetings. Yeah, so that 52 00:03:34,520 --> 00:03:37,840 Speaker 1: means that, let's just make up an example. Let's just 53 00:03:37,840 --> 00:03:43,080 Speaker 1: say the Red Cross is now allowed to hang out 54 00:03:43,200 --> 00:03:48,480 Speaker 1: in the room during meetings that might uh might be 55 00:03:48,560 --> 00:03:52,560 Speaker 1: applicable to its mission right to save lives. They don't 56 00:03:52,560 --> 00:03:56,240 Speaker 1: get to vote because they're not countries. They can maybe 57 00:03:56,280 --> 00:03:59,080 Speaker 1: make some speeches, right, but the big thing is they 58 00:03:59,160 --> 00:04:03,400 Speaker 1: do not voting power. And there are other entities that 59 00:04:03,480 --> 00:04:07,720 Speaker 1: have observer status in the United Nations. This is different 60 00:04:07,760 --> 00:04:12,760 Speaker 1: because that select group of organizations and institutions that were 61 00:04:12,800 --> 00:04:18,000 Speaker 1: allowed to be called non governmental organizations were already very 62 00:04:18,200 --> 00:04:21,680 Speaker 1: very politically connected. They were already kind of in the room. 63 00:04:21,960 --> 00:04:25,159 Speaker 1: Now they just get the name drop in the official designation. 64 00:04:25,760 --> 00:04:29,440 Speaker 1: But again, like you said, no, they are addressing social 65 00:04:29,600 --> 00:04:34,279 Speaker 1: or political issues. The only common factor that these this 66 00:04:34,279 --> 00:04:37,640 Speaker 1: this original group had back in forty five was that 67 00:04:37,680 --> 00:04:41,920 Speaker 1: they were not government agencies and they were technically businesses. 68 00:04:41,960 --> 00:04:45,160 Speaker 1: They weren't making money hand over fist or if they were, 69 00:04:45,360 --> 00:04:49,200 Speaker 1: that was a secondary aim. Yeah, well there isn't the 70 00:04:49,240 --> 00:04:53,200 Speaker 1: idea that their nonprofit or not for profit, right, Like, 71 00:04:53,240 --> 00:04:57,120 Speaker 1: that's the whole one of the major points right right now. 72 00:04:57,160 --> 00:05:01,360 Speaker 1: They can distribute money, yes, very into distribute today. They 73 00:05:01,360 --> 00:05:05,000 Speaker 1: can distribute money or funding to take donations and take 74 00:05:05,040 --> 00:05:09,520 Speaker 1: donations of course from any number of donors. But they're 75 00:05:09,520 --> 00:05:13,080 Speaker 1: not supposed to keep it and roll it over. They're 76 00:05:13,120 --> 00:05:18,599 Speaker 1: supposed to invest it in their mission. So originally the 77 00:05:18,720 --> 00:05:22,680 Speaker 1: u N said, Okay, you're gonna be advocating for human rights, 78 00:05:22,760 --> 00:05:26,359 Speaker 1: you're going to be advocating for the environment or quote 79 00:05:26,440 --> 00:05:31,640 Speaker 1: unquote development, another umbrella term that can be very tricky. 80 00:05:31,720 --> 00:05:35,840 Speaker 1: So an NGO really can be any kind of organization 81 00:05:36,279 --> 00:05:40,240 Speaker 1: so long as it's ostensibly independent from government influence. And 82 00:05:40,360 --> 00:05:43,400 Speaker 1: as you said, Matt is not for profit. There are 83 00:05:43,600 --> 00:05:46,120 Speaker 1: a ton of them now, and they're just going to 84 00:05:46,279 --> 00:05:50,719 Speaker 1: keep growing. Yeah, if you check out Nonprofit Action dot 85 00:05:50,880 --> 00:05:54,640 Speaker 1: org and this is a group that tracks uh the 86 00:05:54,720 --> 00:05:58,159 Speaker 1: stats that that pertained to NGOs. They estimate that their 87 00:05:58,640 --> 00:06:03,320 Speaker 1: listen to this roughly a million non governmental organizations worldwide 88 00:06:03,320 --> 00:06:07,719 Speaker 1: that are functioning. And uh, I mean that's a lot, 89 00:06:07,880 --> 00:06:10,400 Speaker 1: right if you think about that, and has been mentioned. 90 00:06:10,680 --> 00:06:12,960 Speaker 1: They're not out there trying to make profit for things, 91 00:06:12,960 --> 00:06:15,320 Speaker 1: but they are trying to function and quote, you know, 92 00:06:15,480 --> 00:06:19,320 Speaker 1: do good, do some kind of social good. So they 93 00:06:19,360 --> 00:06:21,720 Speaker 1: are trying to get in as much money as they 94 00:06:21,800 --> 00:06:25,920 Speaker 1: can through donations and uh, as we'll see later other means, 95 00:06:26,560 --> 00:06:29,839 Speaker 1: let's let's just go to a fact here. In twenty eleven, 96 00:06:30,240 --> 00:06:34,320 Speaker 1: people donated one point two billion dollars to various non 97 00:06:34,320 --> 00:06:39,560 Speaker 1: governmental organizations, and then just three years later by that 98 00:06:39,680 --> 00:06:43,160 Speaker 1: number had risen to one point four billion dollars. So 99 00:06:43,279 --> 00:06:46,440 Speaker 1: by twenty thirty, this number is expected to make the 100 00:06:46,480 --> 00:06:51,200 Speaker 1: medeorc rise up to two point five billion, so more 101 00:06:51,240 --> 00:06:54,320 Speaker 1: than twice what it was in twenty eleven. They are 102 00:06:54,400 --> 00:06:59,040 Speaker 1: also huge employers. We're talking about a gigantic mass of people. 103 00:06:59,680 --> 00:07:03,039 Speaker 1: To quick examples, there are more than six hundred thousand 104 00:07:03,600 --> 00:07:07,040 Speaker 1: in geos in Australia and their employees make up eight 105 00:07:07,080 --> 00:07:11,400 Speaker 1: percent of the Australian workforce does eight percent doesn't sound 106 00:07:11,480 --> 00:07:13,600 Speaker 1: huge until you think of, you know, the fact that 107 00:07:13,680 --> 00:07:17,120 Speaker 1: it's the entire nation and continent of Australia. What do 108 00:07:17,120 --> 00:07:20,720 Speaker 1: you think that's Australia A part oddly enough, not not 109 00:07:20,800 --> 00:07:24,200 Speaker 1: that much. The in geo industry is huge in the 110 00:07:24,280 --> 00:07:28,680 Speaker 1: United States as well as Western countries. Part of part 111 00:07:28,720 --> 00:07:31,360 Speaker 1: of the reason it seems so big is because again 112 00:07:31,760 --> 00:07:35,760 Speaker 1: the term has so much leeway. It encompasses so much stuff. 113 00:07:35,800 --> 00:07:38,480 Speaker 1: You know, one in GEO can be doing something entirely 114 00:07:38,600 --> 00:07:42,440 Speaker 1: different and irrelevant to the aims or activities of another 115 00:07:42,440 --> 00:07:46,760 Speaker 1: in GEO. But get this, if all the NGOs in 116 00:07:46,760 --> 00:07:49,200 Speaker 1: the world where a country, they would have the fifth 117 00:07:49,320 --> 00:07:52,800 Speaker 1: largest economy in the world. That's according to John Hopkins. 118 00:07:54,440 --> 00:07:58,120 Speaker 1: So they're here, they're here to stay. They're growing, you know, 119 00:07:58,240 --> 00:08:01,320 Speaker 1: as as we pointed out, they are going to be 120 00:08:01,840 --> 00:08:04,600 Speaker 1: at least at two point five billion dollar business within 121 00:08:04,840 --> 00:08:08,040 Speaker 1: the next you know, ten years, and a ton of 122 00:08:08,120 --> 00:08:12,840 Speaker 1: people worldwide depend on them, both for employment and perhaps 123 00:08:12,960 --> 00:08:17,400 Speaker 1: for some aspect of their lives, whether it's from water 124 00:08:18,160 --> 00:08:22,000 Speaker 1: being treated and cleaned in in some remote part of 125 00:08:22,040 --> 00:08:26,800 Speaker 1: the earth where you know, shelter being provided and created, 126 00:08:26,960 --> 00:08:30,560 Speaker 1: as in, you know, talking about development on the good 127 00:08:30,560 --> 00:08:35,400 Speaker 1: side at least. Yeah, on the right we're throwing in already. Yeah, 128 00:08:35,840 --> 00:08:38,200 Speaker 1: so we're just trying to remind everybody that, you know, 129 00:08:38,280 --> 00:08:40,480 Speaker 1: we mentioned at the top here like a lot of 130 00:08:40,480 --> 00:08:44,120 Speaker 1: people think these things are evil in a general sense. 131 00:08:44,679 --> 00:08:46,880 Speaker 1: We're just making sure to point out that there is 132 00:08:46,920 --> 00:08:51,680 Speaker 1: real good that is occurring. Yes, Um, it gets so complicated, 133 00:08:51,679 --> 00:08:53,320 Speaker 1: we haven't hit it yet, so maybe we'll save some 134 00:08:53,360 --> 00:08:57,439 Speaker 1: of this discussion for later. Hashtag not all NGOs. And 135 00:08:57,679 --> 00:09:00,840 Speaker 1: this becomes incredibly important as we continue, because our big 136 00:09:00,920 --> 00:09:04,480 Speaker 1: question is what do NGOs do? Their activities include but 137 00:09:04,559 --> 00:09:08,439 Speaker 1: are not limited to the stuff we just named environmental work, advocacy, 138 00:09:08,600 --> 00:09:13,240 Speaker 1: human rights, uh, social betterment. And sometimes this will happen 139 00:09:13,280 --> 00:09:16,320 Speaker 1: on a large, somewhat abstract scale, and sometimes it will 140 00:09:16,360 --> 00:09:21,160 Speaker 1: happen very locally, like this NGO is just providing this 141 00:09:21,280 --> 00:09:25,360 Speaker 1: specific type of water pump to a specific region on 142 00:09:25,400 --> 00:09:29,000 Speaker 1: a continent, or we're just passing out life straws. That's 143 00:09:29,000 --> 00:09:32,040 Speaker 1: what we're doing. Lifestraws are great, by the way, they're 144 00:09:32,080 --> 00:09:34,960 Speaker 1: incredibly reasonable if you don't have one, and if you, 145 00:09:35,679 --> 00:09:38,920 Speaker 1: like me, believe in building go bags for your home 146 00:09:39,080 --> 00:09:41,800 Speaker 1: or your car, you need a life straw. We should 147 00:09:41,840 --> 00:09:43,480 Speaker 1: can't we talked about this? Why don't we have something? 148 00:09:43,559 --> 00:09:46,040 Speaker 1: I want you to know, branded life straws. I would 149 00:09:46,040 --> 00:09:48,920 Speaker 1: love that you talk about then we we we came up. 150 00:09:48,960 --> 00:09:50,680 Speaker 1: So you can like drink out of like a puddle 151 00:09:50,720 --> 00:09:52,800 Speaker 1: with one of those. Yes, that's pretty cool. Yeah, I 152 00:09:52,800 --> 00:09:54,480 Speaker 1: would do it just for the novelty of drinking out 153 00:09:54,520 --> 00:09:57,040 Speaker 1: of a puddle. Yeah. The only I think the only 154 00:09:57,080 --> 00:10:02,120 Speaker 1: problem is that they can't filter uh heavy metals. So 155 00:10:03,000 --> 00:10:06,600 Speaker 1: according to the latest reports, lifestraws are not as useful 156 00:10:06,640 --> 00:10:09,680 Speaker 1: in the continental US is we would have wanted to believe, 157 00:10:10,679 --> 00:10:15,720 Speaker 1: because the pollution is rampant. A different episode, what oh man, 158 00:10:15,840 --> 00:10:18,720 Speaker 1: different episode. So it's a that's a story for a 159 00:10:18,720 --> 00:10:21,280 Speaker 1: different day. But in geos are on the front lines, 160 00:10:21,400 --> 00:10:25,120 Speaker 1: in the trenches of combating these problems and making a 161 00:10:25,240 --> 00:10:29,280 Speaker 1: world in five or world in thirty twenty a place 162 00:10:29,360 --> 00:10:33,440 Speaker 1: where people would still like to live. So the thing is, 163 00:10:33,480 --> 00:10:39,200 Speaker 1: they're not all created equally, and they have different broad categories. Uh. 164 00:10:39,760 --> 00:10:42,400 Speaker 1: The two big divisions are what we call operational in 165 00:10:42,480 --> 00:10:47,280 Speaker 1: geos and advocacy or campaigning in geo's they overlap, but 166 00:10:47,360 --> 00:10:52,280 Speaker 1: they are different entities. So operational NGOs actually have to 167 00:10:52,679 --> 00:10:58,160 Speaker 1: mobilize resources in the form of their financial donations, things 168 00:10:58,240 --> 00:11:04,040 Speaker 1: like raw materials, volunteer labor um, so that they can actually, 169 00:11:04,320 --> 00:11:08,040 Speaker 1: you know, keep these projects and programs going. It's a 170 00:11:08,120 --> 00:11:12,080 Speaker 1: really difficult and complex process with a lot of moving parts, 171 00:11:12,240 --> 00:11:15,520 Speaker 1: and these ngeos usually have some kind of hq UM 172 00:11:15,880 --> 00:11:20,160 Speaker 1: built in bureaucracy and all kinds of support and field staff. 173 00:11:20,400 --> 00:11:24,040 Speaker 1: Then you've got advocacy or campaigning NGOs that carry out 174 00:11:24,200 --> 00:11:27,400 Speaker 1: kind of similar types of activities, but there's kind of 175 00:11:27,400 --> 00:11:30,199 Speaker 1: a different balancing act that goes on between them. You 176 00:11:30,280 --> 00:11:32,480 Speaker 1: still have to raise money, of course, the name of 177 00:11:32,480 --> 00:11:34,959 Speaker 1: the game for any NGO, but on a much smaller 178 00:11:35,000 --> 00:11:39,440 Speaker 1: scale UM, and it serves more of a symbolic function 179 00:11:39,800 --> 00:11:45,040 Speaker 1: and kind of strengthening UH the identification with a particular 180 00:11:45,160 --> 00:11:48,000 Speaker 1: cause that donors might have. I mean, it sort of 181 00:11:48,040 --> 00:11:51,120 Speaker 1: goes into the whole idea of the UH that's not 182 00:11:51,200 --> 00:11:53,960 Speaker 1: not pure vanity, but there's something of a status symbol 183 00:11:54,160 --> 00:11:57,120 Speaker 1: involved in participating some of these NGOs, and this kind 184 00:11:57,120 --> 00:12:00,560 Speaker 1: of bolsters that. So when you persuade people to donate time, 185 00:12:01,000 --> 00:12:05,240 Speaker 1: it becomes more valuable. Successful campaigning in geos have the 186 00:12:05,280 --> 00:12:08,400 Speaker 1: ability to kind of get large numbers of people to 187 00:12:08,559 --> 00:12:14,280 Speaker 1: mobilize for very specific issues and types of events. Yeah, 188 00:12:14,360 --> 00:12:18,040 Speaker 1: the advocacy campaigning in geo's are think of them as 189 00:12:18,080 --> 00:12:21,679 Speaker 1: the raising awareness in geo's. We'll have funding, we want 190 00:12:21,720 --> 00:12:24,120 Speaker 1: to keep the lights on. It's more important to us 191 00:12:24,160 --> 00:12:27,320 Speaker 1: that we get people to volunteer x amount of days 192 00:12:27,320 --> 00:12:30,880 Speaker 1: out of the year, et cetera. And these distinctions, like 193 00:12:30,960 --> 00:12:34,040 Speaker 1: a lot of on paper distinctions, get real muddey when 194 00:12:34,080 --> 00:12:38,360 Speaker 1: we go to the field operational NGOs. You know, if 195 00:12:38,400 --> 00:12:41,439 Speaker 1: if the impact of their projects doesn't seem like it's 196 00:12:41,480 --> 00:12:43,880 Speaker 1: really moving the needle, then they'll go of course they'll 197 00:12:43,880 --> 00:12:46,080 Speaker 1: go into campaigning. What are they gonna say, No, we 198 00:12:46,120 --> 00:12:51,640 Speaker 1: don't do that here. Uh. And these operational NGOs, especially 199 00:12:51,679 --> 00:12:55,840 Speaker 1: the big ones, always run regular campaigns, or at least 200 00:12:55,920 --> 00:13:00,960 Speaker 1: they support other affiliated organizations that are running campaigns. And 201 00:13:01,000 --> 00:13:03,560 Speaker 1: then sometimes on the other side, and geos that are 202 00:13:03,679 --> 00:13:08,480 Speaker 1: campaigning in geo's feel like they cannot ignore immediate real 203 00:13:08,520 --> 00:13:11,800 Speaker 1: problems in their policy domain. So like, if you are 204 00:13:12,280 --> 00:13:15,520 Speaker 1: an NGO that wants to raise awareness and support in 205 00:13:15,640 --> 00:13:20,160 Speaker 1: society for human rights or for women's rights. Then you 206 00:13:20,240 --> 00:13:25,080 Speaker 1: may say, you know, the problem here is happening so blatantly, 207 00:13:25,320 --> 00:13:28,360 Speaker 1: it's so pervasive, and we have the tools to fix it, 208 00:13:28,600 --> 00:13:30,960 Speaker 1: So we can't hold off. We can't just have a 209 00:13:31,200 --> 00:13:34,480 Speaker 1: raise awareness dinner or gala. We need to put the 210 00:13:34,480 --> 00:13:38,520 Speaker 1: money directly into assisting the victims of these crimes, so 211 00:13:38,600 --> 00:13:40,600 Speaker 1: they can they can trade back and forth. They're they're 212 00:13:40,600 --> 00:13:44,400 Speaker 1: a bit mercurial, a bit chameleon like. And there are 213 00:13:44,480 --> 00:13:51,640 Speaker 1: other NGOs that specialize outside of these primary functions, right, Yeah, 214 00:13:51,679 --> 00:13:54,200 Speaker 1: there's a there's a whole other kind of arm of 215 00:13:54,400 --> 00:13:58,640 Speaker 1: NGOs called the research institute. You've probably heard of these before. 216 00:13:58,960 --> 00:14:01,600 Speaker 1: They're really great. One of their primary things they do 217 00:14:01,720 --> 00:14:06,200 Speaker 1: is to increase knowledge and understanding. And these, you know, 218 00:14:06,280 --> 00:14:09,120 Speaker 1: will range across the whole spectrum. Of course, from those 219 00:14:09,280 --> 00:14:12,239 Speaker 1: um you know, who are just looking to promote academics 220 00:14:12,360 --> 00:14:16,600 Speaker 1: like the the uh, non political issues out there that 221 00:14:16,640 --> 00:14:19,440 Speaker 1: are going to help our world become a better place too, 222 00:14:19,520 --> 00:14:23,200 Speaker 1: then you know, sending out information across the world or 223 00:14:23,240 --> 00:14:27,080 Speaker 1: across a population for campaigning to get more money in 224 00:14:27,240 --> 00:14:29,360 Speaker 1: right to then spread more awareness. So it's kind of 225 00:14:29,400 --> 00:14:32,360 Speaker 1: just like a nice little cycle thereof send us some 226 00:14:32,400 --> 00:14:34,800 Speaker 1: money so we can let other people know this cool 227 00:14:34,840 --> 00:14:36,760 Speaker 1: thing that you know now that you know who we are, 228 00:14:37,000 --> 00:14:41,720 Speaker 1: and think tanks operate in this realm too, oh for sure. Right, seriously, 229 00:14:41,920 --> 00:14:44,880 Speaker 1: your political affiliation and know people hate to hear this, 230 00:14:44,920 --> 00:14:49,480 Speaker 1: but in this, in this conversation, your political affiliation does 231 00:14:49,560 --> 00:14:52,480 Speaker 1: not apply. It does not matter. What we're about to 232 00:14:52,520 --> 00:14:57,000 Speaker 1: tell you is very true. The majority of the time 233 00:14:57,040 --> 00:15:00,720 Speaker 1: that a politician has a smart policy plan, it didn't 234 00:15:00,720 --> 00:15:04,000 Speaker 1: come from them, because they're typically not going to be professors. 235 00:15:04,080 --> 00:15:06,920 Speaker 1: It came from think tanks, it came from NGOs, it 236 00:15:07,040 --> 00:15:11,240 Speaker 1: came from places like ALEC, A, L E. C UH 237 00:15:11,400 --> 00:15:13,520 Speaker 1: and a lot of times these groups are on the 238 00:15:13,520 --> 00:15:17,400 Speaker 1: ground somewhere that have the best visibility for a problem 239 00:15:17,520 --> 00:15:20,680 Speaker 1: or a big issue, right absolutely, which so it's we're 240 00:15:20,720 --> 00:15:23,600 Speaker 1: not saying that's necessarily bad. It's just perhaps a bit 241 00:15:23,640 --> 00:15:27,400 Speaker 1: disingenuous when you get that messaging from a politician. Wait 242 00:15:27,400 --> 00:15:31,560 Speaker 1: a minute, Wait a minute, politicians are disingenuous, say it is, 243 00:15:31,760 --> 00:15:34,920 Speaker 1: so we we kind of we all know this and 244 00:15:34,920 --> 00:15:37,600 Speaker 1: we're all jaded to some extent at this point, but 245 00:15:37,680 --> 00:15:41,560 Speaker 1: it is I think good just to know what you 246 00:15:41,600 --> 00:15:44,280 Speaker 1: were saying, Ben, that these NGOs a lot of times 247 00:15:44,320 --> 00:15:47,720 Speaker 1: have a heavy hand in policy making. Absolutely, but I 248 00:15:47,760 --> 00:15:50,040 Speaker 1: think to your point, Matt, um, they're able to be 249 00:15:50,120 --> 00:15:52,640 Speaker 1: more specialized, right, so they can you know, really have 250 00:15:52,880 --> 00:15:56,520 Speaker 1: the smarts specifically to deal with a particular problem like 251 00:15:56,600 --> 00:16:00,520 Speaker 1: climate change, or to really help develop a policy every 252 00:16:00,600 --> 00:16:04,160 Speaker 1: aspect has been fully thought out and vetted before. Um. 253 00:16:04,200 --> 00:16:06,560 Speaker 1: You know, these politicians may be shop around for what 254 00:16:06,640 --> 00:16:09,640 Speaker 1: they consider to be the best form of that plan, 255 00:16:09,720 --> 00:16:11,200 Speaker 1: and then they go with the one that maybe has 256 00:16:11,480 --> 00:16:14,400 Speaker 1: the best backing or the most bona fides right, right, 257 00:16:14,600 --> 00:16:17,360 Speaker 1: or what their what their masters allow them to endorse, 258 00:16:17,480 --> 00:16:20,440 Speaker 1: which I know sounds super cynical, but you're right, it's 259 00:16:20,480 --> 00:16:23,440 Speaker 1: not a bad thing. It's actually very very good thing 260 00:16:23,520 --> 00:16:27,840 Speaker 1: that politicians lean on this expertise because your point, noeal, Uh, 261 00:16:27,880 --> 00:16:30,720 Speaker 1: these organizations are more nimble and they will tend to 262 00:16:30,760 --> 00:16:34,080 Speaker 1: have a depth of understanding that can get lost in 263 00:16:34,120 --> 00:16:37,680 Speaker 1: a big bureaucratic machine. But okay, so I know we're 264 00:16:37,680 --> 00:16:40,400 Speaker 1: getting a little in the weeds here. Uh. There is 265 00:16:40,680 --> 00:16:44,840 Speaker 1: one great hilarious way to think of NGOs and to 266 00:16:45,160 --> 00:16:50,560 Speaker 1: differentiate them, and it goes like this, Bingo Ingo, Gongo Ingo, 267 00:16:50,760 --> 00:16:53,840 Speaker 1: and of course Quogo I love that band. Wait was 268 00:16:53,960 --> 00:16:57,720 Speaker 1: ingo twice? Uh ingo e n g O and then 269 00:16:58,680 --> 00:17:02,920 Speaker 1: I ingo maybe and go okay, yeah, oh end go 270 00:17:03,200 --> 00:17:07,439 Speaker 1: in go and we go okay, gotta gotta gota go 271 00:17:07,480 --> 00:17:09,919 Speaker 1: bango bongo. All right, so let's let's do these right, 272 00:17:10,000 --> 00:17:13,520 Speaker 1: go bango right? Oh boy, here we go. Just uh so, 273 00:17:13,680 --> 00:17:17,679 Speaker 1: somebody just take this from this moment on and you 274 00:17:17,720 --> 00:17:20,080 Speaker 1: will have all the examples in audio format. Let's just 275 00:17:20,119 --> 00:17:21,880 Speaker 1: go through them really quickly. These are the real ones 276 00:17:21,920 --> 00:17:25,320 Speaker 1: to go. Let's just go around, Robin, Is there a 277 00:17:25,359 --> 00:17:28,240 Speaker 1: one in particular you want to hit? Ben sure? BINGO 278 00:17:29,280 --> 00:17:33,199 Speaker 1: stands for business Friendly International. In GEO, think of something 279 00:17:33,240 --> 00:17:36,040 Speaker 1: like the Red Cross. End go e n g O. 280 00:17:36,240 --> 00:17:39,600 Speaker 1: That's an environmental NGO. Think of green Peace, perhaps the 281 00:17:39,600 --> 00:17:43,040 Speaker 1: World Wildlife Fund. I'm torn between this being my favorite 282 00:17:43,080 --> 00:17:48,080 Speaker 1: or the number five. But we've got gongo government organized 283 00:17:48,160 --> 00:17:53,360 Speaker 1: non governmental organization, uh, such as International Union for Conservation 284 00:17:53,520 --> 00:17:58,879 Speaker 1: of Nature. I'm sorry, government organized non governmental organization. I 285 00:17:58,920 --> 00:18:01,879 Speaker 1: swear to you. That's the thing that just means. That 286 00:18:01,960 --> 00:18:04,840 Speaker 1: means that it blasted right past. It means that a 287 00:18:04,920 --> 00:18:07,960 Speaker 1: government said, okay, we're gonna set aside money. We're gonna 288 00:18:08,000 --> 00:18:10,960 Speaker 1: give it to this place. We're gonna start, you know, 289 00:18:11,040 --> 00:18:14,399 Speaker 1: to your example, the International Union for Conservation Nature. But 290 00:18:14,480 --> 00:18:17,520 Speaker 1: then you know, you all go ahead take the money 291 00:18:17,640 --> 00:18:22,040 Speaker 1: and run. Uh. And then we have INGO I n GEO, 292 00:18:22,240 --> 00:18:27,720 Speaker 1: an international NGEO like ox FAM. And finally quango I 293 00:18:27,800 --> 00:18:31,480 Speaker 1: love it, a quasi autonomous n g O. An example 294 00:18:31,520 --> 00:18:36,560 Speaker 1: here would be the International Organization for Standardization. Highly important thing. 295 00:18:37,000 --> 00:18:40,600 Speaker 1: I I propose that we uh, that we start an 296 00:18:40,720 --> 00:18:45,080 Speaker 1: NGO to change the pronunciation of quango to quango. It 297 00:18:45,200 --> 00:18:47,800 Speaker 1: just sounds so much more fun. I feel like I 298 00:18:47,920 --> 00:18:50,480 Speaker 1: know a guy there must there's a guy who lives 299 00:18:50,480 --> 00:18:54,080 Speaker 1: in our neighborhood somewhere who's whose street name is probably quango. 300 00:18:54,200 --> 00:18:56,600 Speaker 1: Then there could be the obvious ted nugent Tian and 301 00:18:56,600 --> 00:18:59,600 Speaker 1: call it quango tango. There we go, and I hope 302 00:18:59,680 --> 00:19:03,240 Speaker 1: his last names tango, quango, tango. If you're listening, that's 303 00:19:03,280 --> 00:19:06,359 Speaker 1: just cool. We were just in Los Angeles and I 304 00:19:06,400 --> 00:19:12,120 Speaker 1: always think of that road. Yeah, yeah, that's an outlier 305 00:19:12,400 --> 00:19:16,000 Speaker 1: because it's like sunset Cosmo, and someone in the back 306 00:19:16,160 --> 00:19:22,520 Speaker 1: is just like it's probably has great significance to somebody somewhere. 307 00:19:22,560 --> 00:19:25,920 Speaker 1: My favorite Los Angeles adjacent name for a town is 308 00:19:26,040 --> 00:19:31,119 Speaker 1: Rancho Cucamonga. Yes, pretty fabulous. It feels fancy just hearing it. 309 00:19:31,960 --> 00:19:35,800 Speaker 1: So all of these things, the mingo, ingo gongo and 310 00:19:36,359 --> 00:19:40,639 Speaker 1: ingo quango quongo, they all, they all get their money 311 00:19:40,720 --> 00:19:45,000 Speaker 1: from a couple of easily identifiable places or types of places. 312 00:19:45,400 --> 00:19:49,440 Speaker 1: Membership dues. You're you're a member of World Wildlife Fund 313 00:19:49,520 --> 00:19:52,040 Speaker 1: or whatever. So every month or every year, you you 314 00:19:52,160 --> 00:19:55,359 Speaker 1: give the money because you want wild animals to still 315 00:19:55,400 --> 00:19:57,280 Speaker 1: be a thing when your kids grow up and you 316 00:19:57,320 --> 00:20:03,200 Speaker 1: get a really fancy, lovely calendar. Or private donations. Uh, 317 00:20:03,240 --> 00:20:05,919 Speaker 1: there's a there's a very clever thing that we'll go 318 00:20:05,960 --> 00:20:08,119 Speaker 1: back to the second. The other two are the sale 319 00:20:08,119 --> 00:20:10,679 Speaker 1: of goods and services right by this mug, by this 320 00:20:10,720 --> 00:20:12,800 Speaker 1: t shirt, a portion of the proceeds blah blah blah. 321 00:20:13,080 --> 00:20:15,359 Speaker 1: And the other one is grants you apply to a 322 00:20:15,400 --> 00:20:18,600 Speaker 1: government or another organization, they give you money to accomplish 323 00:20:18,600 --> 00:20:21,399 Speaker 1: a name. Going back to number two, private donations. The 324 00:20:21,640 --> 00:20:26,240 Speaker 1: very very clever thing about private donations, less may may 325 00:20:26,280 --> 00:20:28,280 Speaker 1: make me sound like a jerk to say it, is 326 00:20:28,359 --> 00:20:33,440 Speaker 1: that it is not altruism for a philanthropist to donate. Sure, 327 00:20:33,640 --> 00:20:35,880 Speaker 1: maybe they want to help that cause, but they're also 328 00:20:36,040 --> 00:20:40,040 Speaker 1: saving so much money in right offs when they when 329 00:20:40,080 --> 00:20:43,760 Speaker 1: they donate as much, when they donate a portion of 330 00:20:43,800 --> 00:20:46,720 Speaker 1: their own proceeds. You mean, so it's NPR and one 331 00:20:46,720 --> 00:20:51,520 Speaker 1: of these, Well, it's definitely a nonprofit. Uh, But I 332 00:20:51,560 --> 00:20:54,679 Speaker 1: wonder that's a good question then, because it receives so 333 00:20:54,800 --> 00:20:57,159 Speaker 1: much government money. It does, but it also does what 334 00:20:57,200 --> 00:21:00,000 Speaker 1: you're talking about with the pledge drives and the private 335 00:21:00,160 --> 00:21:02,760 Speaker 1: nations and also lots of grants you always hear you know, 336 00:21:03,160 --> 00:21:05,560 Speaker 1: was funded by a grant from the Johnny and Katherine 337 00:21:05,560 --> 00:21:09,840 Speaker 1: te MacArthur Foundation, any any Casey Foundation, the Bill and 338 00:21:09,880 --> 00:21:12,520 Speaker 1: Melinda Gates Foundation, exactly all the big ones. So even 339 00:21:12,560 --> 00:21:15,440 Speaker 1: if it's not, it's certainly functions in a similar way 340 00:21:15,520 --> 00:21:18,840 Speaker 1: to some of these NGOs that we're talking about. Absolutely, 341 00:21:18,920 --> 00:21:22,280 Speaker 1: and as big MPR fans, both on the federal and 342 00:21:22,400 --> 00:21:26,320 Speaker 1: regional level, we just want to say we know that 343 00:21:26,480 --> 00:21:29,439 Speaker 1: you probably don't like doing the pledge drives either, so 344 00:21:29,560 --> 00:21:33,880 Speaker 1: soldier onward, folks. We're doing a great job. But ben, yes, 345 00:21:35,160 --> 00:21:38,840 Speaker 1: are these groups they sound eerily similar to those special 346 00:21:38,880 --> 00:21:43,520 Speaker 1: interests people are always accusing politicians of pandering too. That's right, 347 00:21:43,600 --> 00:21:47,200 Speaker 1: It's absolutely right, because they are special interests. Their special 348 00:21:47,240 --> 00:21:52,440 Speaker 1: interests just happened to be ostensibly again on the surface, beneficial. 349 00:21:53,359 --> 00:21:56,280 Speaker 1: You are absolutely not wrong. They are very much special 350 00:21:56,320 --> 00:21:58,879 Speaker 1: interest groups. I do want to I do want to 351 00:21:58,920 --> 00:22:01,440 Speaker 1: bust the scam real quick. While we're on the concept 352 00:22:01,480 --> 00:22:03,880 Speaker 1: of private donations. So this happens all the time. If 353 00:22:03,920 --> 00:22:07,000 Speaker 1: you go to your local grocery store, especially around the holidays, 354 00:22:07,280 --> 00:22:11,720 Speaker 1: you know, you're ringing, you're buying magazines, dog food and 355 00:22:11,840 --> 00:22:15,000 Speaker 1: egg whites and I don't know whatever else, shoe cleaner, 356 00:22:15,119 --> 00:22:18,000 Speaker 1: I'm getting a real picture of your life, duct tape, 357 00:22:18,280 --> 00:22:21,120 Speaker 1: something to burn your fingerprints off, whatever. And then at 358 00:22:21,119 --> 00:22:24,159 Speaker 1: the end of the transaction, they say, would you like 359 00:22:24,280 --> 00:22:28,199 Speaker 1: to donate to this holiday fund? Would you like to 360 00:22:28,240 --> 00:22:30,680 Speaker 1: donate a dollar, five dollars, ten dollars right and ask 361 00:22:30,680 --> 00:22:33,040 Speaker 1: you right at the register. It's very easy to say yes. 362 00:22:33,560 --> 00:22:38,720 Speaker 1: Here's what's happening with that. Those companies are taking that 363 00:22:38,800 --> 00:22:43,159 Speaker 1: money that they're they're getting from individual grocery store customers, 364 00:22:43,359 --> 00:22:46,760 Speaker 1: they're pulling it into a single fund and they're using 365 00:22:46,760 --> 00:22:50,440 Speaker 1: it to make a large charitable donation that offsets their 366 00:22:50,480 --> 00:22:55,520 Speaker 1: tax burden. So what you're actually doing, what you're actually 367 00:22:55,520 --> 00:22:57,399 Speaker 1: doing now, you are helping people on the way, but 368 00:22:57,440 --> 00:22:59,919 Speaker 1: what you're actually doing is paying that grocery stores taxes 369 00:23:00,040 --> 00:23:03,040 Speaker 1: is for them, Man Kroger. Why would you do me 370 00:23:03,119 --> 00:23:06,920 Speaker 1: wrong like that? I just that's I'm pretty sure that's 371 00:23:06,920 --> 00:23:08,960 Speaker 1: what's going on. I would love to be wrong. I 372 00:23:09,000 --> 00:23:12,240 Speaker 1: think that's called little loophole, Ben, and that's what there 373 00:23:12,600 --> 00:23:15,159 Speaker 1: they found it. But don't you feel like a jerk sometimes, 374 00:23:15,359 --> 00:23:17,679 Speaker 1: like do you want to donate? And you say no? 375 00:23:19,200 --> 00:23:20,960 Speaker 1: You know what, what do you say? Like, I don't 376 00:23:21,000 --> 00:23:25,000 Speaker 1: want children to have toys. I think dogs should just die? 377 00:23:25,359 --> 00:23:28,000 Speaker 1: You know? Yeah, no, I agree. I think the my problem, 378 00:23:28,040 --> 00:23:32,160 Speaker 1: just personally speaking personally here is that I am so 379 00:23:32,240 --> 00:23:37,520 Speaker 1: embarrassed by the thought of denying a one dollar donation. 380 00:23:37,720 --> 00:23:40,120 Speaker 1: At any point when someone points at me and says, 381 00:23:40,160 --> 00:23:43,359 Speaker 1: would you like to donate? Uh, you're already paying just 382 00:23:43,440 --> 00:23:47,000 Speaker 1: click this thing, I have to say yes. So if 383 00:23:47,000 --> 00:23:49,960 Speaker 1: you ever want to squeeze money out of me, just 384 00:23:50,280 --> 00:23:52,760 Speaker 1: make it look like seem like a charitable donation and 385 00:23:52,880 --> 00:23:55,520 Speaker 1: hit me while I'm doing a transaction. Do you UM 386 00:23:55,960 --> 00:24:02,359 Speaker 1: typically give handouts to UM hand handlers. I did for 387 00:24:02,400 --> 00:24:04,280 Speaker 1: a long time. Then what happened? Man? Who hurt you? 388 00:24:04,840 --> 00:24:07,240 Speaker 1: I just oh, I could tell you an actual story. 389 00:24:07,320 --> 00:24:09,919 Speaker 1: I know. Yes, we're going to take a break. Geez, Paul, 390 00:24:10,040 --> 00:24:14,320 Speaker 1: he's staring at me. We're gonna go to a break soon, 391 00:24:14,359 --> 00:24:19,760 Speaker 1: I promised. I gave a gentleman in a wheelchair, UM 392 00:24:19,800 --> 00:24:22,040 Speaker 1: more money than I generally would and then he got 393 00:24:22,119 --> 00:24:25,960 Speaker 1: up and walked away. Didn't he know? He he took it, 394 00:24:26,080 --> 00:24:29,520 Speaker 1: like just snatched it from me and then just wheeled 395 00:24:29,520 --> 00:24:33,800 Speaker 1: off really quickly. But was very much just like I 396 00:24:33,840 --> 00:24:36,040 Speaker 1: got away with it kind of thing. I don't know 397 00:24:36,119 --> 00:24:39,600 Speaker 1: the way the way I felt afterwards. Um, and I 398 00:24:39,640 --> 00:24:42,359 Speaker 1: also went to I went to school at Georgia State 399 00:24:42,440 --> 00:24:46,040 Speaker 1: in downtown, And I think it just the interaction, that 400 00:24:46,080 --> 00:24:48,720 Speaker 1: type of interaction occurs so frequently, getting them to it 401 00:24:48,800 --> 00:24:50,919 Speaker 1: kind of Well, it's tough because if you want to 402 00:24:51,280 --> 00:24:54,960 Speaker 1: truly help someone in that type of situation, just handing 403 00:24:55,000 --> 00:25:00,240 Speaker 1: them cash that is transferable in that moment probably isn't 404 00:25:00,280 --> 00:25:02,280 Speaker 1: the best way to do it. Many times that's going 405 00:25:02,320 --> 00:25:06,920 Speaker 1: to be enabling perhaps behavior that is already occurring. But again, 406 00:25:07,000 --> 00:25:10,200 Speaker 1: I don't have all the answers, you know, you one 407 00:25:10,240 --> 00:25:12,479 Speaker 1: thing you can do is donate to an organization like 408 00:25:12,520 --> 00:25:17,240 Speaker 1: ones that we're talking about today, right, but then you 409 00:25:17,440 --> 00:25:19,600 Speaker 1: don't really know exactly where your money is going, and 410 00:25:19,640 --> 00:25:21,520 Speaker 1: probably only a small portion of it is going to 411 00:25:21,600 --> 00:25:24,800 Speaker 1: truly helping those people anyway. Blah blah blah blah. That's perfect. 412 00:25:24,800 --> 00:25:28,360 Speaker 1: That's perfect. That's the point, because what if there's more 413 00:25:28,400 --> 00:25:32,439 Speaker 1: to the story behind these NGOs. Why do some governments 414 00:25:32,640 --> 00:25:38,320 Speaker 1: want to ban non governmental organizations? And what if the 415 00:25:38,359 --> 00:25:42,240 Speaker 1: goals of these organizations on paper are not their actual 416 00:25:42,440 --> 00:25:45,840 Speaker 1: goals on the ground. Will attempt to answer some of 417 00:25:45,840 --> 00:25:55,880 Speaker 1: these questions after a word from our sponsor. Here's where 418 00:25:55,880 --> 00:25:59,720 Speaker 1: it gets crazy. So you know, like, like many of 419 00:25:59,720 --> 00:26:01,640 Speaker 1: the things, as you talk about on this show, things 420 00:26:01,680 --> 00:26:04,760 Speaker 1: are not always as they seem. Uh, there's a problem here. 421 00:26:05,040 --> 00:26:08,520 Speaker 1: It turns out that at least in a few cases, 422 00:26:09,160 --> 00:26:14,680 Speaker 1: UM folks are quite right to distrust in g os 423 00:26:14,760 --> 00:26:17,080 Speaker 1: in the way that that Matt had the inkling of 424 00:26:17,480 --> 00:26:20,560 Speaker 1: UM a minute ago before the break back. In nineteen 425 00:26:20,680 --> 00:26:27,640 Speaker 1: sixty seven, Mike Wallace, Uh, the seasoned television journalist CBS 426 00:26:27,680 --> 00:26:32,719 Speaker 1: Mike Wallace lad an investigation into reports of c I 427 00:26:32,960 --> 00:26:37,399 Speaker 1: A front companies, only to find that the c I 428 00:26:37,480 --> 00:26:40,840 Speaker 1: A regularly used front companies as a way to circumvent 429 00:26:41,440 --> 00:26:46,520 Speaker 1: um laws domestic and international alike. For example, the sixties 430 00:26:46,520 --> 00:26:49,280 Speaker 1: seven investigation found that the c I a UM was 431 00:26:49,359 --> 00:26:55,960 Speaker 1: functioning under the title the Bureau of Public Roads BR. Yeah, 432 00:26:56,160 --> 00:26:57,880 Speaker 1: so it's all kind of a smoke screen. So let's 433 00:26:58,119 --> 00:27:03,960 Speaker 1: let's dig into this um star with intelligence agency assets, 434 00:27:03,960 --> 00:27:06,840 Speaker 1: so really quickly before we completely jump in and just 435 00:27:06,840 --> 00:27:09,199 Speaker 1: want to get give everyone the tools to look at 436 00:27:09,240 --> 00:27:11,320 Speaker 1: this if they want to on their own. It was 437 00:27:11,359 --> 00:27:14,800 Speaker 1: called CBS News Special Report with Mike Wallace and the 438 00:27:14,840 --> 00:27:18,760 Speaker 1: title was in the Pay of the CIA and American Dilemma. 439 00:27:19,320 --> 00:27:23,080 Speaker 1: Yeah you can. You can watch the entire thing on YouTube. 440 00:27:23,359 --> 00:27:26,760 Speaker 1: We think it's very much worth your time. Also, keep 441 00:27:26,760 --> 00:27:29,160 Speaker 1: in mind that all the disturbing stuff you hear about 442 00:27:29,600 --> 00:27:33,320 Speaker 1: in that investigation happened back in nineteen sixty seven. This 443 00:27:33,400 --> 00:27:36,359 Speaker 1: is from the fifties to the sixties and CBS News 444 00:27:36,640 --> 00:27:42,440 Speaker 1: one of the largest providers of information of a media company. 445 00:27:42,480 --> 00:27:45,560 Speaker 1: They were the ones helming this investigation and giving this 446 00:27:46,000 --> 00:27:50,199 Speaker 1: information to the American public. Here's what they found. So 447 00:27:50,240 --> 00:27:54,440 Speaker 1: the CIA created front companies. That's not it's not explosive 448 00:27:54,480 --> 00:27:58,000 Speaker 1: news to anyone, but they used these front companies to 449 00:27:58,200 --> 00:28:05,320 Speaker 1: donate to legitimate charitable organizations, some of which existed beforehand, right, 450 00:28:05,920 --> 00:28:10,040 Speaker 1: and some of which were also probably custom made. Wallace 451 00:28:10,240 --> 00:28:15,120 Speaker 1: characterized these charitable funds, these institutions, and foundations as part 452 00:28:15,160 --> 00:28:18,199 Speaker 1: of the country's financial power structure, and he's very blunt 453 00:28:18,240 --> 00:28:22,760 Speaker 1: about it. Says, these are large aggregations of private money. 454 00:28:23,000 --> 00:28:27,520 Speaker 1: They are influencing policy and influencing culture with very few 455 00:28:27,600 --> 00:28:30,160 Speaker 1: checks on their activities, very like when I say check, 456 00:28:30,200 --> 00:28:34,920 Speaker 1: I mean checks and balances style, very little oversight. Well, 457 00:28:34,960 --> 00:28:38,360 Speaker 1: and it's it's it's weird too, because as they're tracing 458 00:28:38,400 --> 00:28:40,960 Speaker 1: these things. Right, Let's just give an example of something 459 00:28:41,040 --> 00:28:44,280 Speaker 1: like the it was called the Granary Fund, right, and 460 00:28:44,560 --> 00:28:49,360 Speaker 1: it's this it's this organization that takes money in directly 461 00:28:49,560 --> 00:28:53,160 Speaker 1: from the CIA, right, And it's literally just money goes 462 00:28:53,200 --> 00:28:56,000 Speaker 1: from the CIA to this thing called the Granary Fund. 463 00:28:56,200 --> 00:28:58,880 Speaker 1: And CBS News tried to track down where this place 464 00:28:59,080 --> 00:29:02,680 Speaker 1: was and they found that that it had an address 465 00:29:02,800 --> 00:29:06,360 Speaker 1: in Boston, Massachusetts, at this one place, in this one 466 00:29:06,560 --> 00:29:09,440 Speaker 1: you know, room or suite within that building. They got 467 00:29:09,520 --> 00:29:12,600 Speaker 1: up to that suite and it was actually a law 468 00:29:12,680 --> 00:29:15,840 Speaker 1: firm of Hem and Way in Barnes and the person 469 00:29:15,960 --> 00:29:19,120 Speaker 1: that actually signs all the checks in all of the 470 00:29:19,920 --> 00:29:24,280 Speaker 1: financial and tax documents for this This granary Fund was 471 00:29:24,360 --> 00:29:28,160 Speaker 1: one of the major guys they're uh at this law 472 00:29:28,200 --> 00:29:30,760 Speaker 1: firm who also happens to be a part of the CIA. 473 00:29:30,920 --> 00:29:34,640 Speaker 1: If you'll look him up, who and who's who? And 474 00:29:34,680 --> 00:29:37,760 Speaker 1: then you realize that that granary fund is donating to 475 00:29:37,800 --> 00:29:42,760 Speaker 1: all these other funds, you know, like charitable organizations and 476 00:29:42,880 --> 00:29:46,680 Speaker 1: true real life funds. And then you realize weight that 477 00:29:46,760 --> 00:29:50,920 Speaker 1: money that those real funds have is all mixed in 478 00:29:51,000 --> 00:29:54,240 Speaker 1: with the CIA money. And we're talking about thousands and 479 00:29:54,320 --> 00:29:56,960 Speaker 1: thousands of dollars. This isn't chump change, and this is 480 00:29:57,000 --> 00:30:00,120 Speaker 1: a great money laundring exercise, you know what I mean. 481 00:30:00,320 --> 00:30:03,840 Speaker 1: Car washes are for schmucks and amateurs. Now, so isn't 482 00:30:03,880 --> 00:30:06,560 Speaker 1: that extortion not extortion fraud? I mean, if if a 483 00:30:06,640 --> 00:30:08,840 Speaker 1: few people are taking your money and then it's just 484 00:30:08,880 --> 00:30:12,920 Speaker 1: going into this imaginary smokescreen pot, Well, what do you 485 00:30:12,920 --> 00:30:15,440 Speaker 1: mean taking your money? You're talking about taxes, you're talking 486 00:30:15,440 --> 00:30:20,480 Speaker 1: about donations. Well, in this case, it's the CIA funneling money, 487 00:30:20,840 --> 00:30:26,400 Speaker 1: taxpayer money into a fake account or a false company. 488 00:30:26,640 --> 00:30:29,560 Speaker 1: Then that company is donating to a real fund and 489 00:30:29,560 --> 00:30:33,640 Speaker 1: then those funds get distributed, so it's not individual donations 490 00:30:33,680 --> 00:30:36,040 Speaker 1: that are just going off into space, like but it is. 491 00:30:36,120 --> 00:30:41,320 Speaker 1: It's taxpayer donations essentially. But that's just that's not donations 492 00:30:41,320 --> 00:30:45,360 Speaker 1: at all, Right, I think I think the question I 493 00:30:45,360 --> 00:30:51,400 Speaker 1: think the question here is are in Geo's bilking individual donors, right, Like, 494 00:30:52,040 --> 00:30:56,400 Speaker 1: like Paul signs up, Paul signs up for the International 495 00:30:56,400 --> 00:30:59,600 Speaker 1: Institution for the Proliferation of Applebee's and they want to 496 00:30:59,600 --> 00:31:02,520 Speaker 1: build up will bees in developing countries across the world. 497 00:31:02,760 --> 00:31:05,960 Speaker 1: And then he finds out that his you know, two 498 00:31:06,080 --> 00:31:10,680 Speaker 1: hundred dollar a year donation is actually going to build 499 00:31:10,840 --> 00:31:14,120 Speaker 1: chilis or something like that. You know, like if it's 500 00:31:14,160 --> 00:31:18,840 Speaker 1: not doing I think legally, when you donate that money, um, 501 00:31:18,960 --> 00:31:21,400 Speaker 1: they can do whatever they want with it. And I 502 00:31:21,720 --> 00:31:23,680 Speaker 1: think now I would like to say there's some more 503 00:31:23,720 --> 00:31:26,280 Speaker 1: oversight for charities because you can see all these sites 504 00:31:26,400 --> 00:31:29,719 Speaker 1: rating charities on their trustworthiness and so on, and there 505 00:31:29,720 --> 00:31:33,080 Speaker 1: are a lot of other like predatory things that purport 506 00:31:33,160 --> 00:31:35,880 Speaker 1: to be charities but aren't really. They just sound alike 507 00:31:36,360 --> 00:31:39,360 Speaker 1: you know, uh, and they're there to you know, build 508 00:31:39,400 --> 00:31:44,120 Speaker 1: people out of money. Here's the thing by donating through 509 00:31:44,160 --> 00:31:48,600 Speaker 1: these front companies. The CIA specifically, other organizations did this 510 00:31:48,680 --> 00:31:51,000 Speaker 1: to the KGB in their time. They were huge fans 511 00:31:51,000 --> 00:31:53,440 Speaker 1: of doing this. But by donating through front companies, the 512 00:31:53,520 --> 00:31:58,560 Speaker 1: CIA is muddying the financial waters, making it increasingly difficult 513 00:31:58,600 --> 00:32:01,480 Speaker 1: to track where this cash goes. And again it is 514 00:32:01,560 --> 00:32:06,040 Speaker 1: taxpayer money and more importantly, what it is spent on. 515 00:32:06,640 --> 00:32:08,800 Speaker 1: I mean, it makes sense. Think of it this way. 516 00:32:08,960 --> 00:32:11,880 Speaker 1: Let's say the four of us had, you know, no 517 00:32:12,000 --> 00:32:15,720 Speaker 1: plans for the weekend, and so we decided to destabilize 518 00:32:15,760 --> 00:32:18,720 Speaker 1: a region of the world or promote regime change in 519 00:32:18,760 --> 00:32:23,880 Speaker 1: the country, but do a geopolitical worries, concerns, norms, laws, 520 00:32:23,920 --> 00:32:27,320 Speaker 1: all that jazz. We cannot risk an open war. We 521 00:32:27,360 --> 00:32:30,920 Speaker 1: can't just send people in to depose the leader. We 522 00:32:31,040 --> 00:32:34,320 Speaker 1: can't have a hot war on our hands. Heck, we're 523 00:32:34,320 --> 00:32:36,720 Speaker 1: at the point where, you know, we can't even get 524 00:32:36,760 --> 00:32:40,760 Speaker 1: intelligence agency employees over the border as long as they 525 00:32:40,800 --> 00:32:44,400 Speaker 1: are acknowledged to be intelligence agency employees. Because what we 526 00:32:44,520 --> 00:32:49,320 Speaker 1: can do instead is get members of an NGO over 527 00:32:49,360 --> 00:32:54,200 Speaker 1: the border. Right, So now our operative uh Matt, Frederick, 528 00:32:54,600 --> 00:32:59,200 Speaker 1: uh Matt, what's your spy name? Cranberry sauce. Okay, so 529 00:32:59,640 --> 00:33:04,440 Speaker 1: matt Brandberry Sauce, Frederick Operative Cranberry Sauce can't get in. 530 00:33:05,320 --> 00:33:11,160 Speaker 1: But uh, you know Cranberry Matthews, the member of the 531 00:33:11,640 --> 00:33:14,680 Speaker 1: Red Cross or the Society for the Betterment of the 532 00:33:14,720 --> 00:33:18,920 Speaker 1: Pangolan can absolutely get into the country. I think it's 533 00:33:18,960 --> 00:33:26,200 Speaker 1: actually Barry Cranston. Cranston, and this guy Cranston can, if 534 00:33:26,240 --> 00:33:32,120 Speaker 1: he's careful, gather like minded students from local universities, disaffected uts, 535 00:33:32,400 --> 00:33:36,000 Speaker 1: de utsu in areas with high unemployment, arm them with 536 00:33:36,040 --> 00:33:39,520 Speaker 1: weapons smuggled in by someone else, teach them guerrilla tactics, 537 00:33:39,560 --> 00:33:43,880 Speaker 1: and boom, you've got a quote unquote student union, slash 538 00:33:43,960 --> 00:33:49,160 Speaker 1: rebel force, slash terrorist group. And so back in Washington, 539 00:33:49,960 --> 00:33:54,120 Speaker 1: politicians can say, we morally support the goals of this 540 00:33:54,200 --> 00:34:01,360 Speaker 1: student union, spreading freedom, spreading democracy. Uh, morally support, only 541 00:34:01,640 --> 00:34:04,800 Speaker 1: we do not have an attachment to them. And that's 542 00:34:04,800 --> 00:34:06,760 Speaker 1: when it goes to political Uh, that's when it goes 543 00:34:06,800 --> 00:34:10,839 Speaker 1: to plausible deniability. The president may really think that somehow, 544 00:34:11,120 --> 00:34:15,080 Speaker 1: in a country where guns are generally banned, a bunch 545 00:34:15,080 --> 00:34:20,080 Speaker 1: of college kids got together, got armed with with military 546 00:34:20,120 --> 00:34:24,480 Speaker 1: grade weaponry. They what started as a stand in or 547 00:34:24,480 --> 00:34:28,200 Speaker 1: a sit down turned into a full scale rebellion right 548 00:34:28,320 --> 00:34:32,400 Speaker 1: right right, and suddenly just they they pulled out of 549 00:34:32,440 --> 00:34:36,200 Speaker 1: the top hat of their asses, the most ass hats, 550 00:34:36,280 --> 00:34:38,880 Speaker 1: their ass hats, thank you. They pulled out the most 551 00:34:39,000 --> 00:34:45,360 Speaker 1: effective protests and counterinsurgency techniques that the human civilization has discovered. 552 00:34:45,400 --> 00:34:48,960 Speaker 1: They just made it up, right, I mean, SEMy Abridge 553 00:34:49,000 --> 00:34:53,680 Speaker 1: that that's what yothetical then all right, yeah, yeah, you 554 00:34:53,800 --> 00:34:57,440 Speaker 1: know the Ted talking here, But this is not hypothetical scenario. 555 00:34:57,600 --> 00:34:59,920 Speaker 1: This happened in the past, This might be happening right 556 00:35:00,160 --> 00:35:04,280 Speaker 1: now as we record this episode, and Dollars to Donuts, 557 00:35:04,360 --> 00:35:06,560 Speaker 1: it's going to happen again in the future, much sooner 558 00:35:06,640 --> 00:35:09,319 Speaker 1: than you think. In that CBS special, they did specifically 559 00:35:09,400 --> 00:35:14,000 Speaker 1: track the Granary Fund donations that went through this little 560 00:35:14,080 --> 00:35:18,640 Speaker 1: spider spiderweb of money flow. They tracked it to specifically 561 00:35:18,760 --> 00:35:24,799 Speaker 1: student union foundations that were operating uh internationally. So it's 562 00:35:24,840 --> 00:35:29,160 Speaker 1: just it's already ringing true. Yeah, I mean, and I 563 00:35:29,480 --> 00:35:34,400 Speaker 1: don't want to vilify everybody, you know, like students, students 564 00:35:34,480 --> 00:35:37,880 Speaker 1: are doing things, and and grassroots groups are an important 565 00:35:38,000 --> 00:35:44,080 Speaker 1: part of challenging authoritarian regimes, but sometimes they're not as 566 00:35:44,120 --> 00:35:48,440 Speaker 1: grassroots as they appear to be, and it's it's a 567 00:35:48,480 --> 00:35:53,319 Speaker 1: pickle for sure. We actually have we have many, many 568 00:35:53,440 --> 00:35:58,719 Speaker 1: cases of NGOs and media outlets that are completely more 569 00:35:58,920 --> 00:36:01,239 Speaker 1: or less independent that they're doing what they say on 570 00:36:01,320 --> 00:36:06,279 Speaker 1: the label right. Unfortunately, we have many examples of media 571 00:36:06,320 --> 00:36:11,080 Speaker 1: outlets and in geos that are controlled, infiltrated, or manipulated 572 00:36:11,200 --> 00:36:15,279 Speaker 1: by intelligence services. Again, this doesn't necessarily mean they're bad, 573 00:36:16,280 --> 00:36:18,279 Speaker 1: and it also doesn't mean we're going to talk about 574 00:36:18,280 --> 00:36:19,919 Speaker 1: it right now because we're going to take a quick 575 00:36:19,960 --> 00:36:31,239 Speaker 1: word from our sponsor and special thanks to that NGO 576 00:36:31,640 --> 00:36:35,440 Speaker 1: that was sponsoring us from maybe not. It's all illumination 577 00:36:35,480 --> 00:36:38,920 Speaker 1: Global and limited. You're doing God's work. Now. That is 578 00:36:39,000 --> 00:36:43,200 Speaker 1: a fine example of a non governmental organization. That's that's 579 00:36:43,239 --> 00:36:47,800 Speaker 1: just that's that's just an n OH, non organization and 580 00:36:47,920 --> 00:36:53,399 Speaker 1: non organization, probably member of a non organization. It's true 581 00:36:53,440 --> 00:36:56,400 Speaker 1: though that maybe we're over emphasizing this a little, but 582 00:36:56,680 --> 00:37:00,520 Speaker 1: it's it's all to the good. Of course, the vast 583 00:37:00,600 --> 00:37:04,239 Speaker 1: majority of people working at these organizations are not inherently bad. 584 00:37:04,360 --> 00:37:10,000 Speaker 1: They're not members of specter or something. In fact, it's plausible, 585 00:37:10,480 --> 00:37:13,120 Speaker 1: I mean, it's almost certain that many, many people within 586 00:37:13,239 --> 00:37:18,760 Speaker 1: these organizations, from volunteers to career staffers have no idea 587 00:37:18,840 --> 00:37:21,359 Speaker 1: there's any ulterior motive at play, you know what I mean. 588 00:37:21,480 --> 00:37:23,880 Speaker 1: It's like you could work at the States Department and 589 00:37:24,040 --> 00:37:26,360 Speaker 1: have no idea that the I T guy down the 590 00:37:26,480 --> 00:37:30,400 Speaker 1: hall is actually a CIA asset because he just fixes 591 00:37:30,440 --> 00:37:33,759 Speaker 1: your email, you know what I mean? Yeah, is he? 592 00:37:35,640 --> 00:37:37,880 Speaker 1: And that the course doesn't mean all in geos are 593 00:37:37,920 --> 00:37:43,960 Speaker 1: currently fronts or even compromise, but it makes you think. 594 00:37:44,000 --> 00:37:48,440 Speaker 1: It does make you think. The collaboration between NGOs and 595 00:37:48,520 --> 00:37:53,200 Speaker 1: intelligence services is kind of you know, like Bill Cosby 596 00:37:53,280 --> 00:37:55,560 Speaker 1: in Hollywood in the nineties. It is an open secret 597 00:37:56,120 --> 00:38:01,520 Speaker 1: um in Joe mc speedon great a great name for 598 00:38:01,719 --> 00:38:06,880 Speaker 1: an agency official um for international development. In fact um, 599 00:38:06,960 --> 00:38:10,600 Speaker 1: he launched a social media messaging network in Cuba called 600 00:38:11,040 --> 00:38:16,920 Speaker 1: zun Zunio that was very much resembling Twitter, and it 601 00:38:17,040 --> 00:38:20,320 Speaker 1: was used by thousands of Cubans who were unaware that 602 00:38:20,400 --> 00:38:25,640 Speaker 1: the project was actually designed to essentially infiltrate their their 603 00:38:25,880 --> 00:38:29,439 Speaker 1: privacy and monitor their communications to to get a sense 604 00:38:29,440 --> 00:38:31,399 Speaker 1: of what was going on on the ground there in Cuba. Well. 605 00:38:31,480 --> 00:38:35,359 Speaker 1: According to the AP from it was also to stir 606 00:38:35,520 --> 00:38:41,440 Speaker 1: up unrest within the country by affecting the populace like 607 00:38:41,600 --> 00:38:45,120 Speaker 1: that was one of the goals of this thing. Uh 608 00:38:45,920 --> 00:38:52,920 Speaker 1: whoops or you know, score, depending on which side you know. 609 00:38:53,600 --> 00:38:56,640 Speaker 1: Uh yeah. Another example, Ben, I know this was one 610 00:38:56,680 --> 00:39:00,520 Speaker 1: of your favorites, was the National Endowment for Democracy or NED, 611 00:39:01,160 --> 00:39:05,200 Speaker 1: which is funded by the US Congress. Yeah. This comes 612 00:39:05,239 --> 00:39:09,560 Speaker 1: to us from an investigative reporter named Robert Perry p A. R. R. Y. 613 00:39:10,400 --> 00:39:14,000 Speaker 1: Perry writes that NED National Endowment for Democracy took over 614 00:39:14,080 --> 00:39:18,640 Speaker 1: the CIA's role of influencing electoral outcomes and destabilizing governments 615 00:39:18,680 --> 00:39:21,080 Speaker 1: that got in the way of US interests. So do 616 00:39:21,200 --> 00:39:25,560 Speaker 1: you have a left wing, duly elected president who's a 617 00:39:25,680 --> 00:39:29,120 Speaker 1: little bit to uh to leftist? Is this guy? Does 618 00:39:29,239 --> 00:39:33,640 Speaker 1: this guy have the nerve to nationalize that country's resources, 619 00:39:33,840 --> 00:39:37,239 Speaker 1: their oil, their gas, their heavy metals, their timber or 620 00:39:37,440 --> 00:39:43,000 Speaker 1: two alter the currency that is being exchanged for those resources. Yeah, 621 00:39:43,320 --> 00:39:46,880 Speaker 1: you know what I mean, as far as it seems like, 622 00:39:47,000 --> 00:39:51,400 Speaker 1: as far as the geopolitical apparatus is concerned, people can 623 00:39:51,480 --> 00:39:54,600 Speaker 1: burn flags all they want, so long as they buy 624 00:39:54,680 --> 00:39:58,520 Speaker 1: those flags with dollars US dollars. That's uh. I mean, 625 00:39:58,800 --> 00:40:00,600 Speaker 1: you know, there's a case to ma that the real 626 00:40:00,719 --> 00:40:03,239 Speaker 1: flag of the country is its currency. What was the 627 00:40:03,320 --> 00:40:05,040 Speaker 1: name of the car. We did an episode earlier today, 628 00:40:05,239 --> 00:40:10,280 Speaker 1: Ben and I on Ridiculous History about Ernest Hemingway's younger 629 00:40:10,400 --> 00:40:13,680 Speaker 1: brother who tried to declare a sovereign nation on a 630 00:40:13,800 --> 00:40:16,880 Speaker 1: raft and he had a really cool name for the 631 00:40:16,960 --> 00:40:23,000 Speaker 1: currency of New Atlantis, right, scruple scruples because he thought 632 00:40:23,080 --> 00:40:27,160 Speaker 1: wealthy people should have a lot of scruples. Right, Yeah, 633 00:40:27,239 --> 00:40:30,200 Speaker 1: that's a that's a true story. But this this, this 634 00:40:30,440 --> 00:40:35,160 Speaker 1: thing we're talking about destabilizing governments. Yeah, that the United States, 635 00:40:35,200 --> 00:40:38,799 Speaker 1: specifically the CIA has an issue with Um, that's an 636 00:40:38,840 --> 00:40:44,200 Speaker 1: interesting right, But yes, for various strategic reasons. It's just 637 00:40:45,640 --> 00:40:48,760 Speaker 1: it's rough that that's the avenue through which it's occurring, 638 00:40:48,920 --> 00:40:55,600 Speaker 1: through these supposedly you know, good organizations that are trying 639 00:40:55,680 --> 00:40:58,640 Speaker 1: to do good for our world. This is really bothering me. Guys, 640 00:40:58,800 --> 00:41:01,160 Speaker 1: you're saying you just think it's inherently itchy and wrong. 641 00:41:01,600 --> 00:41:06,120 Speaker 1: It feels very itchy. Um, it's so cloak, I mean 642 00:41:06,200 --> 00:41:09,040 Speaker 1: it is, Okay, it's so perfectly cloak and dagger, I suppose. 643 00:41:09,560 --> 00:41:12,360 Speaker 1: And yet once once you'd think that once it's found 644 00:41:12,400 --> 00:41:15,080 Speaker 1: out that this kind of thing is occurring let's say 645 00:41:15,120 --> 00:41:19,279 Speaker 1: from those reports, that seven report from CBS. Once that's 646 00:41:19,280 --> 00:41:23,040 Speaker 1: found out, you'd think, oh, well maybe maybe that ended right, 647 00:41:23,239 --> 00:41:25,520 Speaker 1: we figured that out and the world figured it out. 648 00:41:25,600 --> 00:41:30,160 Speaker 1: It's over now. Yeah, that's the thing. Though I wish 649 00:41:30,200 --> 00:41:32,759 Speaker 1: they were a better response then. Yeah, that's the thing 650 00:41:32,880 --> 00:41:35,399 Speaker 1: that's a that's a big oof for me. Man. Yeah, 651 00:41:36,120 --> 00:41:39,480 Speaker 1: places like NED or organizations like NED, these kind of 652 00:41:39,560 --> 00:41:42,760 Speaker 1: slush funds for foreign policy operations that are a little 653 00:41:43,719 --> 00:41:46,840 Speaker 1: that are not above the board. Uh, this is a 654 00:41:46,920 --> 00:41:49,440 Speaker 1: prolific practice. And it's only a practice because it works. 655 00:41:49,520 --> 00:41:52,239 Speaker 1: It's not like everybody chose a theme just for the 656 00:41:52,280 --> 00:41:57,040 Speaker 1: sake of aesthetics. There's undeniable proof that the CIA has 657 00:41:57,160 --> 00:42:01,520 Speaker 1: conspired and is likely conspiring as we speak, to execute 658 00:42:01,600 --> 00:42:06,600 Speaker 1: illegal campaigns in other countries using NGOs and charities as covers. 659 00:42:06,680 --> 00:42:10,719 Speaker 1: Again not necessarily the fault of the charities, not the 660 00:42:10,800 --> 00:42:13,640 Speaker 1: fault of the NGOs. In fact, there's a case to 661 00:42:13,680 --> 00:42:16,920 Speaker 1: be made that these innocent people may have their lives 662 00:42:17,000 --> 00:42:21,560 Speaker 1: put in danger if one of these intelligence operations goes wrong. 663 00:42:21,960 --> 00:42:24,840 Speaker 1: But you know, with this being such an open secret, 664 00:42:24,960 --> 00:42:27,840 Speaker 1: like you said, and with that sixty seven investigation uncovering 665 00:42:28,120 --> 00:42:31,120 Speaker 1: so much of this cloak and daggery. Surely you know 666 00:42:31,280 --> 00:42:34,520 Speaker 1: sovereign nations are hip to this and don't want this 667 00:42:34,640 --> 00:42:38,279 Speaker 1: kind of influence infiltrating their borders. Surely we would feel 668 00:42:38,320 --> 00:42:41,640 Speaker 1: the same from ngeos from other countries, you know, masquerading 669 00:42:41,719 --> 00:42:44,520 Speaker 1: behind this idea of do good ory this veil. Right, 670 00:42:44,560 --> 00:42:46,640 Speaker 1: aren't there laws that would prevent this kind of stuff 671 00:42:46,680 --> 00:42:49,120 Speaker 1: from happening? It's a good question. There are a lot 672 00:42:49,320 --> 00:42:53,239 Speaker 1: now before we anybody in the more skeptical side of 673 00:42:53,280 --> 00:42:57,080 Speaker 1: the audience relegates this to UH the land of alarmism 674 00:42:57,600 --> 00:43:02,520 Speaker 1: and UH sensationalism in tinfoil hattery. Note that other world 675 00:43:02,600 --> 00:43:06,560 Speaker 1: powers are very aware of this strategy, have participated in 676 00:43:06,680 --> 00:43:09,360 Speaker 1: it on their own. You can see again in that 677 00:43:09,560 --> 00:43:13,120 Speaker 1: sixty seven investigation there's a little bit of what about 678 00:43:13,239 --> 00:43:15,439 Speaker 1: is um on the side of people who say, yeah, 679 00:43:15,520 --> 00:43:20,000 Speaker 1: the CIA does do these dirty deeds, thun they're cheap 680 00:43:20,360 --> 00:43:25,480 Speaker 1: to UH to UH to other countries, but that other 681 00:43:25,640 --> 00:43:29,080 Speaker 1: powers are doing the same thing. Like there's this fantastic 682 00:43:29,160 --> 00:43:35,520 Speaker 1: footage of a Russian organized huge concert. It was a blowout, 683 00:43:35,760 --> 00:43:38,120 Speaker 1: but it was It was all to make the great 684 00:43:38,280 --> 00:43:41,399 Speaker 1: idea of Cold War communism more palatable. And to make 685 00:43:41,440 --> 00:43:44,000 Speaker 1: it cool, it was a war for the hearts and minds. 686 00:43:45,000 --> 00:43:48,760 Speaker 1: And we also know that people take this seriously because 687 00:43:48,880 --> 00:43:53,840 Speaker 1: many other countries have made laws explicitly banning in geo's 688 00:43:53,920 --> 00:43:58,600 Speaker 1: foreign owned geo's from their borders. Amnesty International was a 689 00:43:58,719 --> 00:44:01,680 Speaker 1: very interesting source on this because they're you know, they're 690 00:44:01,719 --> 00:44:04,640 Speaker 1: pro and geo like, what could go wrong, right, and 691 00:44:04,760 --> 00:44:08,000 Speaker 1: they do great work. They say that governments across the 692 00:44:08,080 --> 00:44:11,640 Speaker 1: world are increasingly attacking in geo's by creating laws that 693 00:44:11,760 --> 00:44:15,560 Speaker 1: subject them in their staff to surveillance, bureaucratic hurdles, and 694 00:44:15,640 --> 00:44:18,600 Speaker 1: the ever present threat of imprisonment. And they have a 695 00:44:18,680 --> 00:44:20,920 Speaker 1: lot of examples here too. Yes, and we have a 696 00:44:21,000 --> 00:44:24,120 Speaker 1: quote here from Amnesty International. It says in the past 697 00:44:24,200 --> 00:44:27,600 Speaker 1: two years alone, almost forty pieces of legislation the interfere 698 00:44:27,680 --> 00:44:30,080 Speaker 1: with the right to assemble and are designed to hamper 699 00:44:30,160 --> 00:44:33,440 Speaker 1: the work of civil society organizations have been put in 700 00:44:33,520 --> 00:44:37,239 Speaker 1: place or are in the works around the world. These 701 00:44:37,360 --> 00:44:43,800 Speaker 1: laws commonly include implementing ludicrous registration processes for organizations, monitoring 702 00:44:43,840 --> 00:44:48,640 Speaker 1: their work, restricting their sources of resources, and in many cases, 703 00:44:48,640 --> 00:44:51,200 Speaker 1: shutting them down if they don't adhere to the unreasonable 704 00:44:51,320 --> 00:44:55,360 Speaker 1: requirements imposed on them. Yeah, so this could be killing 705 00:44:55,480 --> 00:44:58,759 Speaker 1: people with the thousand paper cuts of paperwork, you know, 706 00:44:59,000 --> 00:45:03,480 Speaker 1: like you need a you need approval to assemble or 707 00:45:03,600 --> 00:45:06,360 Speaker 1: to to hold this meeting, right to tell people about 708 00:45:07,160 --> 00:45:11,160 Speaker 1: the dane, the benefits of sanitation, or to teach people 709 00:45:11,200 --> 00:45:15,840 Speaker 1: how to for being totally uh totally benevolent about it. 710 00:45:15,960 --> 00:45:19,240 Speaker 1: Let's say you're trying to teach people how to operate 711 00:45:19,480 --> 00:45:24,960 Speaker 1: and maintain a solar powered phone charging station, right and valuable. 712 00:45:25,080 --> 00:45:28,880 Speaker 1: That's great stuff. And then let's say the country in 713 00:45:28,960 --> 00:45:31,440 Speaker 1: which you're trying to do this doesn't care for your 714 00:45:31,480 --> 00:45:34,080 Speaker 1: whole the cut of your jib, and so they say, okay, 715 00:45:34,760 --> 00:45:37,000 Speaker 1: to hold this class where you teach this, you have 716 00:45:37,120 --> 00:45:40,279 Speaker 1: to get approval from this authority, and that authority has 717 00:45:40,320 --> 00:45:45,320 Speaker 1: to approve it, uh sixty days before you do this. However, 718 00:45:45,600 --> 00:45:50,279 Speaker 1: that approval can only be submitted thirty days before you 719 00:45:51,480 --> 00:45:53,720 Speaker 1: have the things. So now you're in a catch twenty 720 00:45:53,760 --> 00:45:58,680 Speaker 1: two bureacratically. It's it's weird. It's a weird flex for sure. 721 00:45:59,200 --> 00:46:03,200 Speaker 1: But we also examples of specific countries who have started 722 00:46:03,280 --> 00:46:08,040 Speaker 1: banning or excluding in geo's make no mistake because of 723 00:46:08,120 --> 00:46:11,879 Speaker 1: these concerns that spies may be infiltrating the country via 724 00:46:12,000 --> 00:46:18,759 Speaker 1: in geos. So Pakistan's Ministry of the Interior rejected registration 725 00:46:18,880 --> 00:46:24,279 Speaker 1: applications from eighteen international NGOs in October UM and they 726 00:46:24,440 --> 00:46:29,239 Speaker 1: dismissed all of the appeals that came without giving a reason. Uh. 727 00:46:29,360 --> 00:46:33,360 Speaker 1: They they are clearly very suspicious of these agencies. Just 728 00:46:33,560 --> 00:46:37,880 Speaker 1: in general, in Saudi Arabia, the government can deny licenses 729 00:46:37,960 --> 00:46:41,680 Speaker 1: to new organizations and disband them a step further, even 730 00:46:41,920 --> 00:46:45,840 Speaker 1: if they are deemed to be quote harming national unity. 731 00:46:46,080 --> 00:46:49,920 Speaker 1: And this is affected human rights groups, UM, including women's 732 00:46:50,000 --> 00:46:52,200 Speaker 1: human rights groups who have not been able to register 733 00:46:52,400 --> 00:46:54,839 Speaker 1: and operate freely in the country. This is a really 734 00:46:54,880 --> 00:46:57,719 Speaker 1: good example of like, you know, a couple of bad 735 00:46:57,800 --> 00:47:00,600 Speaker 1: apples spoiling the bunch. You know, because as we said 736 00:47:00,600 --> 00:47:02,399 Speaker 1: at the top of the show, clearly there's good work 737 00:47:02,480 --> 00:47:08,520 Speaker 1: being done by these NGOs. Because of a few bad actors, um, everyone, 738 00:47:08,640 --> 00:47:12,000 Speaker 1: it's like, you know, everyone kind of gets screwed, right, Well, 739 00:47:12,200 --> 00:47:17,200 Speaker 1: it's also a convenient reason to keep things as they are, right, Like, 740 00:47:17,320 --> 00:47:19,960 Speaker 1: if you're talking especially about women's rights groups operating in 741 00:47:20,000 --> 00:47:23,080 Speaker 1: Saudi Arabia, right, I mean, if you can just ban 742 00:47:23,280 --> 00:47:27,120 Speaker 1: a group that is advocating for a certain thing because 743 00:47:27,200 --> 00:47:31,560 Speaker 1: of reason a potential threat to our sovereignty or whatever. Yeah, 744 00:47:31,920 --> 00:47:34,239 Speaker 1: you know, and and that that phrase, like I'd love 745 00:47:34,280 --> 00:47:37,440 Speaker 1: to get your take on that phrase been national harming 746 00:47:37,560 --> 00:47:43,279 Speaker 1: national unity. Yeah, yeah, I mean same sex seen as 747 00:47:43,320 --> 00:47:46,759 Speaker 1: harming national unity. That's Arabia's right, That's that's kind of 748 00:47:46,800 --> 00:47:48,719 Speaker 1: what we're talking about. And you can kind of see 749 00:47:48,800 --> 00:47:52,480 Speaker 1: that at play, that kind of phrasing at play in 750 00:47:52,600 --> 00:47:55,160 Speaker 1: countries across the world, even ones that you you know, 751 00:47:55,400 --> 00:47:57,960 Speaker 1: you may live in right now that you identify with 752 00:47:58,160 --> 00:48:03,480 Speaker 1: as like having this equality thing down pat Perhaps perhaps 753 00:48:03,560 --> 00:48:05,560 Speaker 1: it's not that way. That's right, I mean, the very 754 00:48:05,600 --> 00:48:08,200 Speaker 1: basis of your national unity could be on the wrong 755 00:48:08,320 --> 00:48:13,439 Speaker 1: side of human rights in general as a whole. Yeah, 756 00:48:14,000 --> 00:48:16,520 Speaker 1: does veiled shade of the United States, by the way, 757 00:48:16,680 --> 00:48:21,400 Speaker 1: just everybody's well take off contail in general. But the 758 00:48:22,360 --> 00:48:25,000 Speaker 1: this is this is an interesting case and I'm glad 759 00:48:25,000 --> 00:48:28,319 Speaker 1: you brought it up because in the case of Saudi Arabia, Yeah, 760 00:48:28,360 --> 00:48:33,239 Speaker 1: there might be some insidious intelligence agency activity going on, 761 00:48:33,840 --> 00:48:37,320 Speaker 1: but it's also just as likely it's more likely that 762 00:48:37,560 --> 00:48:40,399 Speaker 1: a lot of those in geo's are getting shut down 763 00:48:40,440 --> 00:48:42,880 Speaker 1: because they are advocating for things that in the Western 764 00:48:43,000 --> 00:48:47,000 Speaker 1: scene as in alienable human rights. Belarus goes a little 765 00:48:47,000 --> 00:48:50,120 Speaker 1: bit further. Any in GEO that can operate in the 766 00:48:50,160 --> 00:48:55,640 Speaker 1: country is UH is closely observed, scrutinized by the state. 767 00:48:56,280 --> 00:49:00,879 Speaker 1: And if you work for any in GEO who tried 768 00:49:00,920 --> 00:49:04,320 Speaker 1: to register and got rejected, you have committed a crime 769 00:49:05,280 --> 00:49:08,840 Speaker 1: and you may be imprisoned. UH. You may also just disappear. 770 00:49:09,120 --> 00:49:12,680 Speaker 1: You should probably get out. Yeah, these are just a 771 00:49:12,719 --> 00:49:17,000 Speaker 1: few examples. Other countries, Azerbaijan, China, and of course Russia 772 00:49:17,320 --> 00:49:21,759 Speaker 1: have introduced more registration and reporting requirements and if you 773 00:49:21,880 --> 00:49:25,600 Speaker 1: don't comply, you can be thrown in prison. Which is 774 00:49:26,840 --> 00:49:30,680 Speaker 1: it sounds weird, you know, to say that you didn't 775 00:49:30,719 --> 00:49:34,520 Speaker 1: complete some paperwork, so now you're going to jail, possibly 776 00:49:34,640 --> 00:49:38,399 Speaker 1: for a long long time, especially if you're foreign national, right, 777 00:49:39,120 --> 00:49:42,120 Speaker 1: because usually we think, well, if you don't do paperwork, right, 778 00:49:42,520 --> 00:49:45,359 Speaker 1: you get a fine for being late, you know, um, 779 00:49:46,400 --> 00:49:49,480 Speaker 1: um yeah, unless it's um I'm trying to think of 780 00:49:49,600 --> 00:49:52,960 Speaker 1: like a really bad traffic violation where you actually end 781 00:49:53,040 --> 00:49:54,320 Speaker 1: up having to go to jail for a couple of 782 00:49:54,400 --> 00:49:56,400 Speaker 1: days if you don't fill out your paperwork i e. 783 00:49:56,640 --> 00:50:00,759 Speaker 1: Pay or show up. Sure, yeah, I guess for blow improbation, 784 00:50:01,760 --> 00:50:05,000 Speaker 1: that's paperwork. They could get you in trouble. But we 785 00:50:05,160 --> 00:50:07,719 Speaker 1: mentioned Russia. Maybe we bury the lead a little bit here. 786 00:50:07,880 --> 00:50:11,680 Speaker 1: Russia is one of the most well known anti in 787 00:50:11,800 --> 00:50:16,920 Speaker 1: GEO organizations. They few years back banned all in geos 788 00:50:17,000 --> 00:50:21,319 Speaker 1: that they considered undesirable. It's true, UM. The government has 789 00:50:21,880 --> 00:50:26,920 Speaker 1: regularly labeled in geos who receive foreign funding as foreign 790 00:50:27,160 --> 00:50:30,680 Speaker 1: agents UM, which is a term that you could very 791 00:50:30,800 --> 00:50:35,320 Speaker 1: easily correlate to ones that are a little more direct 792 00:50:35,800 --> 00:50:41,200 Speaker 1: like spy, traitor, enemy of the state. The government applies 793 00:50:41,280 --> 00:50:44,880 Speaker 1: that this kind of thinking so broadly, not only thinking 794 00:50:45,000 --> 00:50:49,000 Speaker 1: actual legislation, that even an organization that supports people with 795 00:50:49,239 --> 00:50:55,319 Speaker 1: say diabetes, actually gets could be subject to findes UM, 796 00:50:55,640 --> 00:50:59,640 Speaker 1: put on a blacklist of foreign agents and forced to close. 797 00:51:00,200 --> 00:51:06,640 Speaker 1: This is not hypothetical. This actually happened in October. Medical, environmental, 798 00:51:06,920 --> 00:51:11,160 Speaker 1: women's groups, all of these have also come under serious 799 00:51:11,200 --> 00:51:15,560 Speaker 1: scrutiny and and and fire from the Russian government, And 800 00:51:15,640 --> 00:51:19,240 Speaker 1: all of these moves have really galvanized the developing world 801 00:51:19,360 --> 00:51:23,360 Speaker 1: and launched a kind of a renaissance of anti and 802 00:51:23,480 --> 00:51:28,839 Speaker 1: geo legislation. Yeah, and so for anyone listening now who 803 00:51:28,880 --> 00:51:31,839 Speaker 1: has dedicated their life to service, thank you for being 804 00:51:31,920 --> 00:51:34,319 Speaker 1: one of the good forces in the world, even though 805 00:51:34,440 --> 00:51:37,600 Speaker 1: I'm sure at times it feels like you are outnumbered. Uh, 806 00:51:38,840 --> 00:51:41,120 Speaker 1: If you're having a hard time trying to understand why 807 00:51:41,239 --> 00:51:46,120 Speaker 1: these countries would so profoundly distrust in Geo's, think about 808 00:51:46,160 --> 00:51:49,680 Speaker 1: it this way. If you are in the US or 809 00:51:49,680 --> 00:51:53,799 Speaker 1: Australia or wherever you're listening to this show, imagine how 810 00:51:54,040 --> 00:51:57,680 Speaker 1: you would feel if there were organizations from say China 811 00:51:58,000 --> 00:52:02,840 Speaker 1: or Russia or Iran popping up in the capital, popping 812 00:52:02,960 --> 00:52:06,480 Speaker 1: up in your town, and they were funneling hundreds of 813 00:52:06,840 --> 00:52:09,960 Speaker 1: millions of dollars given to them by their parent government 814 00:52:11,120 --> 00:52:16,279 Speaker 1: just to influence your local politics. Right. So, now, now 815 00:52:16,400 --> 00:52:19,560 Speaker 1: it doesn't matter how you vote, because there is a 816 00:52:19,680 --> 00:52:22,120 Speaker 1: new special interest group in town. They have more money 817 00:52:22,160 --> 00:52:24,439 Speaker 1: than you could ever raise, and they have a bigger say, 818 00:52:24,600 --> 00:52:27,120 Speaker 1: even though they don't live where you live. And even 819 00:52:27,160 --> 00:52:30,600 Speaker 1: if it's not specifically influencing politics, but it's influencing some 820 00:52:30,800 --> 00:52:34,600 Speaker 1: kind of social norm or movement, right you know, just 821 00:52:34,840 --> 00:52:39,880 Speaker 1: that perhaps your immediate area doesn't agree with I mean, 822 00:52:40,000 --> 00:52:43,520 Speaker 1: that would be that would be very strange if it 823 00:52:43,640 --> 00:52:45,960 Speaker 1: was coming. If that money is coming and influence is 824 00:52:46,000 --> 00:52:48,839 Speaker 1: coming from outside of your own country, that it would 825 00:52:48,920 --> 00:52:51,840 Speaker 1: certainly feel odd and it feels like an attack on sovereignty. 826 00:52:51,880 --> 00:52:55,600 Speaker 1: You know, this would understandably here in the US, this 827 00:52:55,640 --> 00:52:57,760 Speaker 1: would generate a lot of anger if people were aware 828 00:52:57,760 --> 00:53:00,799 Speaker 1: of this, especially if these groups tried to tilt an 829 00:53:00,840 --> 00:53:04,600 Speaker 1: election one way or another. But suppose they weren't just 830 00:53:04,640 --> 00:53:08,200 Speaker 1: trying to tilt an election. Suppose they had success doing 831 00:53:08,280 --> 00:53:10,880 Speaker 1: that and now they wanted to up end the system 832 00:53:11,000 --> 00:53:14,320 Speaker 1: of government. This is something that the US financed and 833 00:53:14,400 --> 00:53:18,280 Speaker 1: geo's have done in the past, or sorry, people operating 834 00:53:18,360 --> 00:53:21,080 Speaker 1: out of those NGOs. Again, the NGOs may have no 835 00:53:21,239 --> 00:53:25,200 Speaker 1: knowledge of what's actually happening, and this has occurred numerous times. 836 00:53:25,320 --> 00:53:29,160 Speaker 1: This is rinse and repeat because again it works and 837 00:53:29,239 --> 00:53:31,640 Speaker 1: the story is not over. Our only conclusion we can 838 00:53:31,719 --> 00:53:34,640 Speaker 1: make is the NGOs are not going away. The CIA 839 00:53:34,800 --> 00:53:37,040 Speaker 1: is pretty open about the fact that they dig it. 840 00:53:37,200 --> 00:53:40,239 Speaker 1: They're they're like, we we like working with these guys. Yeah. 841 00:53:40,280 --> 00:53:42,840 Speaker 1: They actually have a term for they coin it deep 842 00:53:43,040 --> 00:53:48,880 Speaker 1: cooperation between the agency and these NGOs, and they refer 843 00:53:49,000 --> 00:53:54,200 Speaker 1: to this whole process as quote information sharing end quote. 844 00:53:54,840 --> 00:53:58,360 Speaker 1: Uh So, I don't know. It seems pretty unlikely that 845 00:53:58,480 --> 00:54:00,879 Speaker 1: that's the end of the story, don't think. So Let's 846 00:54:01,040 --> 00:54:05,400 Speaker 1: let's really quickly let's mention something that that CBS News 847 00:54:05,560 --> 00:54:08,439 Speaker 1: special report talks about, and that is the Security Act 848 00:54:08,560 --> 00:54:11,479 Speaker 1: of nineteen forty seven, just to give an idea of why, 849 00:54:12,080 --> 00:54:14,439 Speaker 1: why the heck is the CIA operating in this way, 850 00:54:14,960 --> 00:54:18,399 Speaker 1: Because as we learned back in back in the old 851 00:54:18,520 --> 00:54:21,160 Speaker 1: days in our school books, we learned that the Central 852 00:54:21,239 --> 00:54:24,800 Speaker 1: Intelligence Agency is in fact an intelligence agency, and it 853 00:54:24,960 --> 00:54:29,600 Speaker 1: is meant to carry out what would be called intelligence 854 00:54:29,640 --> 00:54:31,200 Speaker 1: in all the various ways we've talked about on this 855 00:54:31,280 --> 00:54:38,320 Speaker 1: show numerous time. Yeah, gathering information, right, um. But because 856 00:54:38,360 --> 00:54:41,200 Speaker 1: of that Security Act of nineteen forty seven, they were 857 00:54:41,520 --> 00:54:44,879 Speaker 1: essentially ordered through this Act to do a whole bunch 858 00:54:44,880 --> 00:54:47,440 Speaker 1: of other things, and all of these things that they 859 00:54:47,480 --> 00:54:50,399 Speaker 1: would have to do then and now are currently having 860 00:54:50,480 --> 00:54:54,000 Speaker 1: to do our duties quote as directed by the President 861 00:54:54,320 --> 00:54:58,480 Speaker 1: and his National Security Council. And that phrase is so 862 00:54:58,760 --> 00:55:04,040 Speaker 1: vague it'll allows essentially whoever the standing president is and 863 00:55:04,400 --> 00:55:07,799 Speaker 1: the National Security Council, who have whichever elected officials are 864 00:55:07,880 --> 00:55:12,000 Speaker 1: in there, they get to direct the CIA outside of 865 00:55:12,040 --> 00:55:15,359 Speaker 1: the director of the CIA, or at least nudge very 866 00:55:15,840 --> 00:55:18,799 Speaker 1: uh harshly what they need to do and what they 867 00:55:18,800 --> 00:55:20,839 Speaker 1: should be interested in. It reminds me of the term, 868 00:55:20,880 --> 00:55:24,480 Speaker 1: which I've always found weird and a little creepy, serving 869 00:55:24,640 --> 00:55:28,440 Speaker 1: at the pleasure of the president. Yeah, it's like you're 870 00:55:28,440 --> 00:55:31,280 Speaker 1: going to a Chick fil a. Well, and in that case, 871 00:55:31,440 --> 00:55:35,160 Speaker 1: it doesn't matter who the president is, because if you've 872 00:55:35,239 --> 00:55:38,239 Speaker 1: got we talked about it in an episode not long ago, 873 00:55:38,640 --> 00:55:41,160 Speaker 1: but if you've got you know, a security council with 874 00:55:41,239 --> 00:55:43,400 Speaker 1: officials that have been on there for a long time, 875 00:55:44,440 --> 00:55:47,520 Speaker 1: who see a big picture, who see the chess moves, 876 00:55:48,560 --> 00:55:51,560 Speaker 1: I can only imagine what what things occur, what what 877 00:55:51,719 --> 00:55:55,560 Speaker 1: other countries perhaps should be very much aware of. Well said, 878 00:55:56,239 --> 00:55:59,279 Speaker 1: and that's a great question. Are other nations right to 879 00:55:59,360 --> 00:56:02,600 Speaker 1: be concerned? Is there a solution to this problem? There's 880 00:56:02,600 --> 00:56:05,759 Speaker 1: the money gotten too good? Is the system too effective? 881 00:56:06,000 --> 00:56:08,720 Speaker 1: The question is not whether the machine is broken, because 882 00:56:09,040 --> 00:56:10,719 Speaker 1: you know, there's an argument to be made that the 883 00:56:10,840 --> 00:56:13,560 Speaker 1: people who are running this thing, I love it. It's 884 00:56:13,600 --> 00:56:16,239 Speaker 1: doing what they wanted to know exactly what it's doing, 885 00:56:16,400 --> 00:56:18,440 Speaker 1: and then and what their role in all of it is. 886 00:56:18,560 --> 00:56:21,960 Speaker 1: For sure. It reminds me very much of diplomatic community 887 00:56:22,120 --> 00:56:25,440 Speaker 1: and functioning out of embassies. Yeah. I was thinking the 888 00:56:25,480 --> 00:56:27,600 Speaker 1: same thing when it in terms of the the aid 889 00:56:27,680 --> 00:56:30,279 Speaker 1: workers or whatever, the n GEO employees being able to 890 00:56:30,320 --> 00:56:33,040 Speaker 1: get kind of carte blanche. Uh. That's that's the sort 891 00:56:33,080 --> 00:56:36,320 Speaker 1: of the route of some of these laws where they're like, no, 892 00:56:36,520 --> 00:56:39,080 Speaker 1: you can't come anymore, we don't want you. We know 893 00:56:39,239 --> 00:56:43,640 Speaker 1: what you did. Are you familiar with the term Cranberry? Oh, 894 00:56:44,440 --> 00:56:48,840 Speaker 1: I know a guy named Cranston. Lock him up. But 895 00:56:49,000 --> 00:56:51,120 Speaker 1: we want to we want to hear from you, as 896 00:56:51,200 --> 00:56:53,680 Speaker 1: we said earlier, if you have been, if you have 897 00:56:53,800 --> 00:56:56,880 Speaker 1: been abroad or here in the U. S. We're in 898 00:56:56,920 --> 00:57:00,680 Speaker 1: your home country helping out with a non governmental or organization, 899 00:57:01,120 --> 00:57:03,640 Speaker 1: thank you for the work you're doing. Thank you for 900 00:57:03,800 --> 00:57:06,560 Speaker 1: making the world a better place, because for Pete's sake, 901 00:57:06,640 --> 00:57:10,920 Speaker 1: we need to help. Uh. And if you have, if 902 00:57:10,960 --> 00:57:14,160 Speaker 1: you have experience with anything sketchy going on in one 903 00:57:14,200 --> 00:57:16,440 Speaker 1: of these organizations, we would love to hear from you. 904 00:57:16,640 --> 00:57:18,480 Speaker 1: So like the Peace Corps would be one, right, Yeah, 905 00:57:18,480 --> 00:57:20,360 Speaker 1: a lot of people go to the Peace corpser yeah, yeah, 906 00:57:20,920 --> 00:57:23,680 Speaker 1: and that's an upstanding, fine organization. Everything's fine about the 907 00:57:23,720 --> 00:57:26,840 Speaker 1: Peace Corps. There used to be a statue for the 908 00:57:26,920 --> 00:57:29,800 Speaker 1: founder of the Peace Corps or old office. I remember, 909 00:57:30,120 --> 00:57:31,800 Speaker 1: you know that's where you that's when you made it. 910 00:57:31,840 --> 00:57:34,920 Speaker 1: When you have a statue, that's a flex may. So 911 00:57:35,000 --> 00:57:36,640 Speaker 1: if you want to send us any of that information 912 00:57:36,760 --> 00:57:39,400 Speaker 1: and you're not afraid to share it with us because 913 00:57:39,480 --> 00:57:42,800 Speaker 1: of whatever situation you may have been in, um, you 914 00:57:42,840 --> 00:57:44,360 Speaker 1: can send it to us right now. You can find 915 00:57:44,440 --> 00:57:47,960 Speaker 1: us on Facebook and on Twitter where we're conspiracy stuff. 916 00:57:48,280 --> 00:57:51,320 Speaker 1: On Instagram we are conspiracy stuff. Show do the Facebook 917 00:57:51,360 --> 00:57:52,920 Speaker 1: group thing. If you want to have some more real 918 00:57:53,000 --> 00:57:55,760 Speaker 1: time chats with the community, it's called Here's where it. 919 00:57:55,800 --> 00:57:57,480 Speaker 1: It's crazy. All you gotta do to get in his 920 00:57:57,520 --> 00:58:00,280 Speaker 1: answer a simple question, name one or all of us 921 00:58:00,400 --> 00:58:03,960 Speaker 1: or say some combination of of of the witching words 922 00:58:04,200 --> 00:58:07,720 Speaker 1: that Ben, you know, speaks into a dark mirror midnight 923 00:58:07,880 --> 00:58:11,960 Speaker 1: with the ritual winter shins and all that stuff. Did 924 00:58:12,080 --> 00:58:15,200 Speaker 1: you catch any rap lyrics or mentions that Ben or 925 00:58:15,280 --> 00:58:17,280 Speaker 1: one of us may have put into this episode or 926 00:58:17,360 --> 00:58:20,439 Speaker 1: previous episodes? Let us know any reference will do. Yeah, 927 00:58:20,840 --> 00:58:24,080 Speaker 1: you can also give us a call. We are one 928 00:58:24,320 --> 00:58:29,160 Speaker 1: eight three three st d w y t K. That's yeah, 929 00:58:29,240 --> 00:58:32,160 Speaker 1: std W y t K. If you didn't get it there, 930 00:58:32,200 --> 00:58:34,600 Speaker 1: you just type it in your old phone using those 931 00:58:34,800 --> 00:58:37,280 Speaker 1: letters as numbers, and generally there's a handy guide on 932 00:58:37,400 --> 00:58:39,920 Speaker 1: whichever phone you're using. You can also leave us terrible 933 00:58:40,000 --> 00:58:42,000 Speaker 1: jokes on any of these avenues. I want to shout 934 00:58:42,040 --> 00:58:44,720 Speaker 1: out to a journalist friend of ours who's legit, a 935 00:58:44,760 --> 00:58:49,120 Speaker 1: guy named Jared Alexander who just said, what concert costs 936 00:58:49,200 --> 00:58:52,320 Speaker 1: just forty five cents? Guys, ready, you're not ready? I'm ready. 937 00:58:52,440 --> 00:58:58,000 Speaker 1: It's fifty cent featuring Nickelback, I wasn't ready and stuff 938 00:58:58,040 --> 00:59:01,560 Speaker 1: like that. But if none of that quite bags your badgers, 939 00:59:01,640 --> 00:59:03,760 Speaker 1: we still want to hear from you. There is one 940 00:59:03,840 --> 00:59:07,120 Speaker 1: more way that you can always contact as twenty four seven, 941 00:59:08,280 --> 00:59:10,960 Speaker 1: five year and sixty four this year days a year 942 00:59:11,080 --> 00:59:13,880 Speaker 1: until we get black bagged, burned down. That's right, folks, 943 00:59:13,960 --> 00:59:15,920 Speaker 1: we have a good old fashioned email address. We are 944 00:59:16,040 --> 00:59:37,320 Speaker 1: conspiracy at iHeart radio dot com stuff they don't want 945 00:59:37,320 --> 00:59:39,320 Speaker 1: you to know, as a production of I heart Radios 946 00:59:39,320 --> 00:59:42,000 Speaker 1: how stuff works. For more podcasts from my heart Radio, 947 00:59:42,160 --> 00:59:44,960 Speaker 1: visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever 948 00:59:45,080 --> 00:59:46,360 Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.