WEBVTT - Listener Mail: Chinese Spyware, The Amish, DC, and Letters From Home 0:00:00.240 --> 0:00:04.680 From UFOs to psychic powers and government conspiracies. History is 0:00:04.800 --> 0:00:09.079 riddled with unexplained events. You can turn back now or 0:00:09.200 --> 0:00:12.119 learn this stuff they don't want you to know. A 0:00:12.240 --> 0:00:17.560 production of iHeartRadio. 0:00:25.960 --> 0:00:28.000 Welcome back to the show. My name is Matt, my 0:00:28.080 --> 0:00:28.600 name is Noel. 0:00:29.040 --> 0:00:31.479 They called me Ben. We are joined as always with 0:00:31.560 --> 0:00:35.680 our super producer Dylan the Tennessee pal Fagan. Most importantly, 0:00:35.800 --> 0:00:38.760 you are you. You are here that makes this the 0:00:38.920 --> 0:00:41.640 stuff they don't want you to know. Welcome to our 0:00:41.720 --> 0:00:45.199 weekly listener mail segment where we get to hear directly 0:00:45.240 --> 0:00:48.800 from you. If you're hearing this the evening it comes out. Also, 0:00:49.120 --> 0:00:53.360 Welcome to November fourteenth. Thanksgiving. Kind of a big deal 0:00:53.400 --> 0:00:56.480 here in the US is on the way, and we 0:00:56.600 --> 0:01:01.880 wish everybody hearing this the just the absolute best when 0:01:01.880 --> 0:01:04.080 you have to hang out with your family members and 0:01:04.120 --> 0:01:08.040 your loved ones as you go toward that big dinner. 0:01:08.160 --> 0:01:12.480 And especially you know, given divisive times, we know it 0:01:12.520 --> 0:01:16.440 can be difficult if people give Thanksgiving maybe differ in 0:01:16.560 --> 0:01:19.480 opinions or politics. So I would posit that maybe just 0:01:19.600 --> 0:01:23.000 leave politics at home for the Thanksgiving holidays, if at 0:01:23.040 --> 0:01:25.760 all possible. It'll probably be good for your mental health. 0:01:25.920 --> 0:01:28.400 I will add, Yeah, that's the point one to get to. 0:01:28.560 --> 0:01:31.360 We can always feel that we are in a situation 0:01:31.480 --> 0:01:33.160 where you have to hang out with people you don't 0:01:33.160 --> 0:01:35.679 see them all that often. They've got a big info 0:01:35.720 --> 0:01:38.240 download on stuff that's been going on with them. They 0:01:38.280 --> 0:01:40.240 want to hear from you, So make sure there's some 0:01:40.280 --> 0:01:43.080 give and takee be curious. As Ted Lasso said, ask 0:01:43.160 --> 0:01:45.760 them about themselves, you know what I mean. That is 0:01:45.800 --> 0:01:49.000 the key to a good conversation. We also have an 0:01:49.000 --> 0:01:52.320 episode from back in the day about how to talk 0:01:52.360 --> 0:01:55.040 with your relatives over the holidays. 0:01:55.080 --> 0:01:57.680 We sure do. I completely forgot about that one. That 0:01:57.840 --> 0:01:59.640 is a good resource. I haven't listened to it in 0:01:59.680 --> 0:02:01.640 a minute, but I'm sure we were very smart with 0:02:01.680 --> 0:02:02.520 all the things we said. 0:02:04.240 --> 0:02:08.399 We definitely had our hearts in the right place, and 0:02:08.520 --> 0:02:12.000 so do all our fellow conspiracy realists. We're gonna hear 0:02:12.000 --> 0:02:14.920 from Wonko the saying, following up on a conversation we 0:02:15.000 --> 0:02:17.840 had over a number of years, but in previous Strange 0:02:17.919 --> 0:02:21.720 News segment as well. We're gonna hear from multiple platforms. 0:02:21.760 --> 0:02:23.800 We'll see how many letters from home we get to. 0:02:23.960 --> 0:02:26.520 There were a lot. But before we do any of that, 0:02:27.000 --> 0:02:30.280 we want to return to you yet again with a 0:02:30.400 --> 0:02:34.560 follow up on our episode regarding abuse in the Amish community. 0:02:34.800 --> 0:02:37.200 Yeah, we sure do, and we will get to that 0:02:37.320 --> 0:02:45.880 letter after a quick brief word from our sponsor, and 0:02:46.000 --> 0:02:48.720 we've returned and Ben, you're absolutely right. We had a 0:02:48.760 --> 0:02:52.840 pretty big outpouring of response to the episode on abuse 0:02:52.880 --> 0:02:55.160 in the Amish community. A lot of them from folks 0:02:55.240 --> 0:02:58.680 that live in and around parts of the country where 0:02:58.720 --> 0:03:02.360 there are significant, you know, Amish populations. And that is 0:03:02.400 --> 0:03:05.200 the case from Don Vee, who wrote into us with 0:03:05.280 --> 0:03:10.239 a very respectful and kind maybe a clarification, not even 0:03:10.280 --> 0:03:12.760 a correction. I'll just get right to it, gentlemen. I 0:03:12.880 --> 0:03:14.960 just got done listening to your episode on the horrific 0:03:15.000 --> 0:03:17.160 crimes within the Amish community, and I wanted to thank 0:03:17.200 --> 0:03:20.040 you on a fantastic job covering a little known and 0:03:20.120 --> 0:03:23.720 quite taboo subject. Thank you very much. I am a 0:03:23.760 --> 0:03:27.680 builder and welder out here in northeast slash Central Pennsylvania, 0:03:27.919 --> 0:03:30.280 and while I myself am not Amish, there are numerous 0:03:30.320 --> 0:03:33.359 intersecting communities surrounding me, and I deal with them several 0:03:33.400 --> 0:03:36.520 times a week. I get my lumber from an Amish sawmill. 0:03:36.840 --> 0:03:39.760 I buy my welding gas from an Amish supplier. The 0:03:39.800 --> 0:03:42.880 steelyard I go to is Amish owned and run. You 0:03:42.960 --> 0:03:45.000 get the idea. The one thing that I think you 0:03:45.040 --> 0:03:47.520 got slightly wrong is a little quip stuck in a 0:03:47.600 --> 0:03:49.920 line towards the beginning of the show where it was 0:03:49.960 --> 0:03:52.880 mentioned that they eschee the trappings of the outside world, 0:03:53.080 --> 0:03:56.360 including money, and that's where you're a bit off, and 0:03:56.720 --> 0:03:59.640 I don't, don Vie. I don't recall exactly who said that, 0:03:59.640 --> 0:04:02.280 sounds like something I might have said, but really really 0:04:02.320 --> 0:04:06.000 appreciate the perspective here. So don Vi goes on. The 0:04:06.040 --> 0:04:09.760 Amish not only don't regard money as evil, they are 0:04:09.760 --> 0:04:13.080 some of the most hardcore capitalists down to their marrow. 0:04:13.440 --> 0:04:15.440 Many of them will do just about anything for money. 0:04:15.440 --> 0:04:18.560 The vast majority of puppy mills being run in Pennsylvania 0:04:18.600 --> 0:04:21.400 are Amish, including ones that have been busted for breeding 0:04:21.440 --> 0:04:24.800 and grooming dogs used in dogfighting rings. There is more 0:04:24.839 --> 0:04:27.440 than one account of Amish barns going up in flames 0:04:27.480 --> 0:04:30.240 because of an exploding meth lab within. We did talk 0:04:30.279 --> 0:04:33.880 on the episode about meth production within the Amish community. 0:04:33.880 --> 0:04:36.400 A little bit near the end. What most people would 0:04:36.440 --> 0:04:39.279 be surprised to learn is the vast majority of Amish 0:04:39.320 --> 0:04:43.799 men retire millionaires. They buy up enormous swaths of land, 0:04:43.880 --> 0:04:47.520 including almost entire towns, where they then move others and 0:04:47.720 --> 0:04:50.600 from other far away communities so they can vote and 0:04:50.640 --> 0:04:54.240 install local politicians of their choosing before moving on to 0:04:54.320 --> 0:04:57.400 another town to do the same. They are extremely shrewd 0:04:57.400 --> 0:05:00.360 businessmen who hold a shocking amount of wealth, health, and 0:05:00.400 --> 0:05:03.720 political juice in rural areas. Hope this clears up a 0:05:03.720 --> 0:05:07.000 few misconceptions about this often misunderstood community. I do have 0:05:07.040 --> 0:05:09.839 some hilarious stories of cultural divides in my years of 0:05:09.880 --> 0:05:12.600 dealing with these folks. Should you ever get bored and 0:05:12.640 --> 0:05:15.800 want a good laugh, take care, guys, thanks for being realists. 0:05:16.120 --> 0:05:20.280 Don v as very sweet and incredibly informative. I did 0:05:20.360 --> 0:05:22.159 not know about any of that stuff, and that is 0:05:22.200 --> 0:05:24.800 the kind of thing that really would be hard to know. 0:05:25.240 --> 0:05:26.760 And this is kind of probably some of the stuff 0:05:26.760 --> 0:05:28.880 they don't want you to know unless you are like 0:05:29.000 --> 0:05:31.800 Don and doing actual business with them or living in 0:05:31.839 --> 0:05:33.080 and around those communities. 0:05:34.040 --> 0:05:37.560 And Don, thank you for taking the time to first 0:05:37.640 --> 0:05:39.880 check out our show, and thank you for writing in 0:05:39.920 --> 0:05:43.640 with firsthand experience, which we always love. We also want 0:05:43.640 --> 0:05:46.479 to give a shout out to some other folks, including 0:05:46.839 --> 0:05:50.760 the Brockness Monster who wrote in regarding the puppy mill 0:05:50.800 --> 0:05:54.600 phenomena that you pointed out there. Don It is fascinating 0:05:54.680 --> 0:05:59.279 because we're looking at the interaction between a in group 0:05:59.440 --> 0:06:03.800 and a out group. The plane or the English or 0:06:04.160 --> 0:06:08.480 however the non Amish may be referred to, still do business. 0:06:08.520 --> 0:06:11.680 They still live in a larger community. You know, you 0:06:11.680 --> 0:06:14.919 can buy Amish furniture online. A lot of people in 0:06:14.960 --> 0:06:19.160 Amish communities do have checking accounts, right, do have credit cards, 0:06:19.400 --> 0:06:23.640 do use US currency here in the United States to 0:06:23.760 --> 0:06:28.760 interact with the secular world. So it makes sense, no sense, 0:06:28.839 --> 0:06:31.960 it makes dollars and sense. We should say that there 0:06:32.000 --> 0:06:35.640 will be people in those communities who are able to 0:06:35.680 --> 0:06:37.320 reach financial success. 0:06:38.040 --> 0:06:43.279 Think about how much money the average person, let's say 0:06:44.480 --> 0:06:49.599 middle Yes, I know, I buy. 0:06:50.240 --> 0:06:50.880 All the time. 0:06:51.240 --> 0:06:53.640 I am super bullish, make. 0:06:53.600 --> 0:06:58.640 Their own cowpoop from all the cap and with you immediately, Matt, please, 0:06:58.680 --> 0:07:00.520 I'm so sorry to interrupt. You's got excited. 0:07:00.880 --> 0:07:04.800 No, no, I just I just think about recurring expenses 0:07:04.960 --> 0:07:08.039 that you know now there are companies making millions and 0:07:08.080 --> 0:07:11.200 millions of dollars and all they do is point out 0:07:11.240 --> 0:07:14.160 your recurring payments on your credit card that you forgot about, 0:07:14.440 --> 0:07:17.040 you know, like reread ads for companies that do that, 0:07:17.520 --> 0:07:20.680 and just you know, I think about the stuff that's 0:07:20.680 --> 0:07:23.600 in my house right now, that's all Like my hobbies 0:07:23.600 --> 0:07:26.920 are something to do with electronics or gaming or movies, 0:07:27.240 --> 0:07:30.840 and it's just it added up. Yeah, if you if 0:07:30.880 --> 0:07:35.000 I personally could eliminate that stuff from my life, yeah, 0:07:35.040 --> 0:07:37.520 my goodness, I would be a much wealthier man. 0:07:37.720 --> 0:07:40.080 I see what you're saying. We also that brings up 0:07:40.080 --> 0:07:46.160 a related point, which is that oftentimes people spend their 0:07:46.400 --> 0:07:51.400 income or their largess on uh on status symbols right 0:07:51.640 --> 0:07:55.160 within their community. And so the status symbols perhaps the 0:07:55.200 --> 0:07:58.680 folks in the Amish community may differ from those in 0:07:58.760 --> 0:08:02.200 the surrounding set secular communities. Like if you're not going 0:08:02.280 --> 0:08:06.640 to suffer the death of a thousand streaming cuts out 0:08:06.680 --> 0:08:10.800 of your income every month, where does your money go? Look, 0:08:11.000 --> 0:08:17.000 just because someone has a different socio religious ideology or 0:08:17.280 --> 0:08:20.640 lens through which they interact with the world, that never 0:08:20.720 --> 0:08:24.280 makes them stupid. That just means they have different priorities 0:08:24.400 --> 0:08:28.320 from you know, someone else. So there's nothing stopping people 0:08:28.360 --> 0:08:32.839 from investing in property. Right to your point, don to 0:08:33.640 --> 0:08:37.560 maybe farm implements horses, both of which can be very 0:08:37.600 --> 0:08:41.280 expensive and very lucrative and very lucrative. That's a great 0:08:41.280 --> 0:08:45.920 point now, and maybe even depending on because these communities 0:08:45.920 --> 0:08:49.640 are not monolithic, right, some are more permissive in how 0:08:49.679 --> 0:08:53.240 the secular community interacts. So maybe there are some folks 0:08:53.240 --> 0:08:57.760 who made made a bank off stocks and mutual funds. 0:08:58.080 --> 0:09:00.600 Sure, but they're likely You're not going to see anybody 0:09:00.679 --> 0:09:04.599 rolling around in a maserati in an imp community maybe. 0:09:04.360 --> 0:09:06.520 Whatever, like the Maserati version of a horse. 0:09:06.760 --> 0:09:09.319 The horse, Yeah, but that would just be for function, 0:09:09.640 --> 0:09:11.560 just to have one that would last a long time, 0:09:11.600 --> 0:09:13.480 you know, to have one that was well built. You'd 0:09:13.480 --> 0:09:15.680 be investing in the right things. And I think there's 0:09:15.679 --> 0:09:19.240 some lessons we could learn from the homage to your point, Matt, 0:09:19.240 --> 0:09:22.240 about how to like live a little more frugally and ultimately, 0:09:22.440 --> 0:09:24.720 you know, be more fruitful in the long term. 0:09:25.200 --> 0:09:27.720 I'm seeing two things here, guys. The first one is 0:09:27.720 --> 0:09:31.120 that if my hobbies weren't going around getting souls in 0:09:31.200 --> 0:09:34.400 a dark soul's game or whatever, and I'm you know, 0:09:34.520 --> 0:09:37.520 and playing drums and all that these other things that 0:09:37.559 --> 0:09:39.199 are more entertainment. 0:09:38.720 --> 0:09:39.360 Hobbies for me. 0:09:39.880 --> 0:09:43.480 I could see and if I didn't leave my like 0:09:44.240 --> 0:09:47.440 local area very often, I could totally see myself getting 0:09:47.559 --> 0:09:50.840 into like, well, there is some land over there, and 0:09:50.880 --> 0:09:53.080 I could save enough money for that, and I wonder 0:09:53.080 --> 0:09:55.040 if I could use that land for something. Oh hey, 0:09:55.200 --> 0:09:57.840 maybe I need to get in with the local commissioners. 0:09:57.840 --> 0:10:00.440 Maybe we should actually work on local election and start 0:10:00.480 --> 0:10:03.080 doing that stuff. And the second thing I see here 0:10:03.480 --> 0:10:08.040 is we're talking raw materials for construction that are being 0:10:08.080 --> 0:10:13.160 pointed out here right steal lumber and welding gas. Yes, 0:10:13.600 --> 0:10:17.959 those are crazy lucrative because any of these other companies 0:10:18.400 --> 0:10:21.120 that want to come through and build things can get 0:10:21.280 --> 0:10:24.640 their supplies from you. It's brilliant. 0:10:24.760 --> 0:10:28.000 I think so too. Oh Man, thank you so much, 0:10:28.080 --> 0:10:31.079 don Vie for that perspective. I think it's something that 0:10:31.559 --> 0:10:34.360 really clicked with all three of us. So I know, Ben, 0:10:34.440 --> 0:10:35.599 Did you have anything else to have before we go 0:10:35.640 --> 0:10:36.880 to a little quick break. 0:10:37.800 --> 0:10:42.120 If you are a member, a current or former of 0:10:42.200 --> 0:10:47.120 an Amish community or some related belief system, we would 0:10:47.160 --> 0:10:51.000 love to hear from you directly. We will tell you 0:10:51.160 --> 0:10:55.840 how to get to us online or through any other 0:10:56.240 --> 0:10:59.640 method of communication. At the end of tonight's listener mail segment, 0:11:00.120 --> 0:11:03.120 please stay tuned and again, as you said, Noel, thank 0:11:03.120 --> 0:11:05.000 you so much to don Vie, and thank you to 0:11:05.480 --> 0:11:12.040 everybody who wrote in or otherwise contacted us regarding these experiences. Also, 0:11:12.080 --> 0:11:14.960 if you're one of the folks from the Mennonite community 0:11:15.000 --> 0:11:17.160 I used to mess with in Guatemala, I hope you 0:11:17.240 --> 0:11:19.559 guys are okay. I hope the bakery is still open. 0:11:19.720 --> 0:11:23.440 That place was awesome, lovely Mennonite community in my hometown 0:11:23.600 --> 0:11:26.760 of Augusta, Georgia, and a great bakery, absolutely wonderful little 0:11:26.760 --> 0:11:29.840 ham roll things. Well, let's see a quick pause for 0:11:29.960 --> 0:11:32.400 the cause that keeps the lights on here, and we'll 0:11:32.400 --> 0:11:34.360 come back with another message from you. 0:11:39.800 --> 0:11:45.200 And we've returned. Guys, we've got a doozy, and by doozy, 0:11:45.280 --> 0:11:47.760 I mean a very deep topic that I don't think 0:11:47.800 --> 0:11:50.200 we're going to be able to handle in this fifteen minutes. 0:11:50.320 --> 0:11:54.079 So let's imagine perhaps making a full episode on this 0:11:54.240 --> 0:11:58.800 specific topic, because it goes deep and there's a twist 0:11:58.880 --> 0:12:01.960 in here that we're going to get too that I 0:12:02.000 --> 0:12:06.080 think is the reason for a lot of the forward 0:12:06.160 --> 0:12:08.960 facing response to what we're going to talk about. So 0:12:10.200 --> 0:12:12.760 with all that said, let's listen to a message we 0:12:12.880 --> 0:12:15.760 received from Wonko Hi. 0:12:16.200 --> 0:12:20.520 This is Wonko, the same longtime listener, first time ever 0:12:20.640 --> 0:12:23.760 calling her right into you guys, and you guys were 0:12:23.760 --> 0:12:28.360 talking about the ban of Chinese software and hardware, and 0:12:28.400 --> 0:12:31.200 I just wanted to point out that China has already 0:12:31.559 --> 0:12:35.040 managed to infiltrate our pipeline. If you look up, I 0:12:35.080 --> 0:12:38.000 believe it was Wired who had a fantastic episode about it. 0:12:38.240 --> 0:12:40.679 A little micro chip smaller than the size of the 0:12:40.720 --> 0:12:44.720 tip of a pencil that was basically able to take 0:12:44.880 --> 0:12:50.000 complete control of massive numbers of servers. We're talking governments, 0:12:50.080 --> 0:12:53.440 we're talking Apple, we're talking Microsoft. They had this tiny 0:12:53.480 --> 0:12:58.079 little chip on all of these main boards that essentially 0:12:58.080 --> 0:13:01.840 allowed them to duplicate and copy any data they wanted. 0:13:01.840 --> 0:13:04.600 They could take control at any time. So as far 0:13:04.640 --> 0:13:08.800 as Chinese made software and hardware, you never know when 0:13:08.840 --> 0:13:10.920 the next attack is going to come through. And they 0:13:10.920 --> 0:13:13.559 were listening in on embassies, they were listening in on 0:13:13.679 --> 0:13:17.920 virtually every aspect of tech. They had their fingers in 0:13:17.960 --> 0:13:21.679 there pretty deep. So as far as the ban is concerned, 0:13:22.240 --> 0:13:25.720 long before the ban on Chinese hardware or software really 0:13:25.720 --> 0:13:29.520 comes into play. We need to reevaluate our pipelines as 0:13:29.559 --> 0:13:32.319 far as where our hardware comes from and actually start 0:13:32.320 --> 0:13:35.960 to build things in country. Anyways, just my two thoughts 0:13:36.000 --> 0:13:40.200 on the band and potential ban anyways, and how little 0:13:40.400 --> 0:13:44.199 a band would have effect if we ignore our pipelines. Anyways, 0:13:44.240 --> 0:13:46.280 you guys have great episodes. Hope you have a good one. 0:13:46.400 --> 0:13:48.439 Thanks, thank you. 0:13:48.520 --> 0:13:51.280 Wonka wait a minute, so yes, thank you. So that 0:13:51.360 --> 0:13:55.480 chip is this is like industrial espionage or this is 0:13:55.559 --> 0:13:59.920 like part of existing hardware and people, and it is known, 0:14:01.520 --> 0:14:02.960 it goes, it goes happened. 0:14:03.240 --> 0:14:06.280 Yeah, it goes deep, and it goes back in time 0:14:06.400 --> 0:14:11.240 to twenty eighteen. So at least that's when we found 0:14:11.240 --> 0:14:15.199 out about it because Bloomberg started talking about it. And 0:14:15.600 --> 0:14:21.080 this is important. The publication, the outfit Bloomberg, they did 0:14:21.080 --> 0:14:23.480 their own investigation and then it created a bunch of 0:14:23.560 --> 0:14:27.440 other writing about this investigation. You can go directly to 0:14:27.480 --> 0:14:29.720 the Bloomberg source if you want to. We'll go ahead 0:14:29.720 --> 0:14:31.640 and tell you that so you can learn about this 0:14:31.720 --> 0:14:34.600 as well. You will have to I think subscribe or 0:14:34.680 --> 0:14:37.120 get one of those things, you know, sign up for 0:14:37.160 --> 0:14:40.720 whatever to read the article. It is titled The Big 0:14:40.800 --> 0:14:45.000 Hack How China used a tiny chip to infiltrate US companies. 0:14:45.240 --> 0:14:48.320 It was written by Jordan Robertson and Michael Riley on 0:14:48.360 --> 0:14:52.480 October fourth, twenty eighteen. It's a huge piece, a big 0:14:52.520 --> 0:14:55.720 old feature. And then what we're going to do just 0:14:55.800 --> 0:14:59.200 because it's what was mentioned by Wonko the Saine there 0:14:59.240 --> 0:15:02.360 and yes, thank you so much for this Wonko. We're 0:15:02.360 --> 0:15:04.600 going to go to Wired because they then wrote about 0:15:04.600 --> 0:15:07.640 it on October fourth, Lily Hey Newman wrote about it, 0:15:07.680 --> 0:15:09.960 so we're going to jump to that article in the 0:15:10.080 --> 0:15:13.440 same year, right, same year, Yeah, same time. So, like 0:15:13.480 --> 0:15:17.520 I said, Bloomberg starts the waterfall and then Wired catches it. 0:15:17.560 --> 0:15:20.080 So that's where we're going right now. Wired's article is 0:15:20.080 --> 0:15:23.360 titled There's no good fix if the supply chain gets hacked, 0:15:24.040 --> 0:15:26.400 And I'm just going to read a little bit from 0:15:26.400 --> 0:15:30.000 this to answer your questional because I guess we can 0:15:30.120 --> 0:15:31.720 just say at the top before we get into it. 0:15:32.080 --> 0:15:36.200 This tiny little microchip that Wonko is describing is an 0:15:36.240 --> 0:15:40.800 extra microchip, like an extra CPU type situation that is 0:15:40.880 --> 0:15:43.440 applied to a motherboard. I think we're all familiar with 0:15:43.480 --> 0:15:47.640 what a motherboard is. It's the larger piece of silicon 0:15:47.720 --> 0:15:49.960 that has a bunch of the components. 0:15:49.720 --> 0:15:51.640 Printed circuit kind of situation. 0:15:51.880 --> 0:15:54.760 It's a printed circuit that components get plugged into, right, 0:15:55.160 --> 0:15:58.840 and then that operates your computer or your server, right. 0:15:59.200 --> 0:16:01.680 And you would have a bunch of these in a 0:16:01.760 --> 0:16:04.560 huge array if you're talking about somebody like Apple or 0:16:04.600 --> 0:16:08.120 Microsoft as Wanko mentioned, or Amazon. So here we go. 0:16:08.760 --> 0:16:12.440 These are Lily's words. A major report from Bloomberg describes 0:16:12.480 --> 0:16:15.720 an infiltration of the hardware supply chain allegedly orchestrated by 0:16:15.760 --> 0:16:20.520 the Chinese military that reaches an unprecedented geopolitical scope and 0:16:20.640 --> 0:16:24.239 scale and may be a manifestation of the tech industry's 0:16:24.240 --> 0:16:28.920 worst fears. If the details are correct. That's important because 0:16:28.960 --> 0:16:33.520 it's if Bloomberg's investigation is correct, it could be a 0:16:33.600 --> 0:16:37.720 nearly impossible mess to clean up. So let's just get 0:16:37.720 --> 0:16:41.720 into this. The chips that we're talking about here are 0:16:41.760 --> 0:16:45.960 from a US based company called super micro Computer Inc. 0:16:46.360 --> 0:16:49.360 Also known as super Micro. This is a San Jose 0:16:49.520 --> 0:16:54.240 based company. The reason why we're talking about you heard 0:16:54.240 --> 0:16:56.280 me say it's a US based company, right, But. 0:16:58.640 --> 0:17:04.359 The assemble things from other places into end user products exactly. 0:17:04.600 --> 0:17:07.400 So again, just use the Boeing example because in my mind, 0:17:07.440 --> 0:17:09.359 it's the easiest thing in my mind to see, like 0:17:09.560 --> 0:17:11.960 the parts of a plane that get manufactured a bunch 0:17:12.000 --> 0:17:14.480 of places then come together at one place and become 0:17:14.480 --> 0:17:15.040 an airplane. 0:17:15.320 --> 0:17:18.480 Same thing, or like that middleman company involved in the 0:17:18.520 --> 0:17:19.840 exploding pagers story. 0:17:20.480 --> 0:17:24.080 Oh yeah right, but more like for another thing that 0:17:24.160 --> 0:17:29.000 will be familiar to people, the way that an article 0:17:29.160 --> 0:17:33.160 of clothing can say made in the USA. Yes, if 0:17:33.240 --> 0:17:38.119 the origin materials are not indeed from the United States. 0:17:38.359 --> 0:17:42.160 And made with slave or child labor. Whoo uh okay, 0:17:42.200 --> 0:17:45.359 so here we go. This is back to Lily's words. 0:17:45.560 --> 0:17:49.200 Cybersecurity experts often describe supply chain attacks as worst case 0:17:49.200 --> 0:17:52.200 scenarios because they taint products or services at the time 0:17:52.240 --> 0:17:55.480 of their creation. The Bloomberg report raises a much more 0:17:55.480 --> 0:18:00.920 alarming specter that Chinese government actors compromised for so ubcontractors 0:18:01.160 --> 0:18:04.679 of that super micro Computer Inc. To hide these tiny 0:18:04.680 --> 0:18:09.280 microchips on super micro boards, so the official boards that 0:18:09.320 --> 0:18:12.560 super Micro is putting out, and those things are crazy 0:18:12.680 --> 0:18:17.360 popular guys with the big companies and with small companies 0:18:17.359 --> 0:18:20.200 and medium companies. They are just one of the big players. 0:18:20.560 --> 0:18:22.560 If you imagine going out to buy a new phone 0:18:23.040 --> 0:18:26.280 right now. In your mind, you're probably thinking an Apple phone, 0:18:26.440 --> 0:18:30.800 a Samsung phone, a Google phone. Right those are like 0:18:31.000 --> 0:18:32.760 the three, and then there's a bunch of other stuff 0:18:32.760 --> 0:18:35.240 you could go to microcenter to get or order online. 0:18:35.560 --> 0:18:38.119 Super Micro is one of these companies if you're buying 0:18:38.160 --> 0:18:43.159 server arrays. Yes, these chips, according to Bloomberg, offered a 0:18:43.160 --> 0:18:46.440 fundamental backdoor into the devices they were hidden in, ultimately 0:18:46.440 --> 0:18:49.000 helping the Chinese government access the networks of more than 0:18:49.080 --> 0:18:52.880 thirty US companies, including Apple and Amazon, and they could 0:18:52.960 --> 0:18:57.480 use them to gather intelligence on plans, communications, and intellectual property. 0:18:59.280 --> 0:19:03.480 Here's why why the Bloomberg investigation is a bit called 0:19:03.520 --> 0:19:06.880 into question here. As soon as this came out, right 0:19:06.880 --> 0:19:09.760 as soon as this news hit, and even before because 0:19:09.960 --> 0:19:12.400 these big companies like Apple and Amazon were reached out 0:19:12.400 --> 0:19:18.879 to before publication. Those big companies refuted this report completely. 0:19:19.040 --> 0:19:22.800 They said, no, this is not true, This did not happen. 0:19:23.760 --> 0:19:27.000 They have never found any evidence that anything like this 0:19:27.080 --> 0:19:32.040 has ever occurred. There's no attack on our infrastructure. Everything's good, 0:19:32.359 --> 0:19:34.760 we're good. There are no malicious ships. Here's a quote. 0:19:34.960 --> 0:19:39.119 Apple has never found malicious chips. Hardware manipulations or vulnerabilities 0:19:39.160 --> 0:19:43.920 purposefully planted in any server. Cool, okay, sure, So then 0:19:44.280 --> 0:19:47.440 of course it's on the journalists. They're at Bloomberg, and 0:19:48.240 --> 0:19:51.200 for them they either have to say, hey, that's our bad, 0:19:51.280 --> 0:19:53.879 we'll retract parts of our report or something like that. 0:19:53.880 --> 0:19:56.880 That is not what they did. Those journalists said, no, 0:19:57.160 --> 0:20:01.560 we've done our due diligence, We've verified everything before we 0:20:01.680 --> 0:20:04.919 publish the story. We know it happened and it's true. 0:20:05.400 --> 0:20:08.240 And the companies were like, no, it's not. And then 0:20:08.240 --> 0:20:11.480 it just becomes Okay, who do you believe the investigative 0:20:11.520 --> 0:20:15.600 journalists and like private investigators and people who are actually 0:20:15.760 --> 0:20:18.720 you know, getting quotes from individuals from within some of 0:20:18.720 --> 0:20:20.240 the operations, and. 0:20:20.119 --> 0:20:22.920 The independent white hats who also confirmed it. 0:20:23.400 --> 0:20:25.800 Yes, or do you listen to the big corporation that 0:20:25.920 --> 0:20:28.440 has a lot to lose if like, think about what 0:20:28.440 --> 0:20:31.960 we're talking about here, Apple servers, Amazon servers, just those 0:20:32.000 --> 0:20:37.480 two companies, right, What does Amazon own Amazon Web services? 0:20:38.240 --> 0:20:41.000 What types of information do they run through their servers? 0:20:41.640 --> 0:20:43.280 All of it, all of the things. 0:20:43.119 --> 0:20:47.000 Most of it, I mean same with Apple, right, and 0:20:47.480 --> 0:20:50.280 with personal information that you back up in the cloud. 0:20:52.040 --> 0:20:55.720 Massive deal. But Guys, here's where it gets crazy, and 0:20:55.760 --> 0:20:58.280 this is where I think we end the segment because 0:20:58.400 --> 0:21:01.240 this is what we need to explore in full. A 0:21:01.280 --> 0:21:04.920 couple of years later, after all of this was reported, 0:21:05.640 --> 0:21:10.639 more information came out and it got weirder. Guys, it 0:21:10.680 --> 0:21:11.280 got weirder. 0:21:11.400 --> 0:21:13.679 Can I talk about, well, we'll hold it for an episode. 0:21:13.800 --> 0:21:15.680 We can hold it for an episode, Okay, but let's 0:21:15.720 --> 0:21:18.920 say this. More details came out in like twenty twenty one. 0:21:19.720 --> 0:21:23.040 But I think their wrinkle and why this is such 0:21:23.040 --> 0:21:27.120 a massive deal is because one of the journalists who 0:21:27.119 --> 0:21:30.040 wrote this article went on All Things Considered, It's an 0:21:30.119 --> 0:21:33.720 NPR show on the day basically on October fourth, when 0:21:33.720 --> 0:21:37.080 all of this is coming out, and he made the 0:21:37.080 --> 0:21:39.960 statement which is also included in the Bloomberg article. But 0:21:40.240 --> 0:21:43.080 he made the statement that the chip was also found 0:21:43.200 --> 0:21:49.720 in servers of the Pentagon and the CIA, which would 0:21:51.280 --> 0:21:55.080 might be a problem. I don't know, maybe. 0:21:56.119 --> 0:22:03.520 Ed just last month the FBI got that court order through. Yes, yeah, okay, spoilers. 0:22:02.920 --> 0:22:05.280 Folks, dude, there's stuff that we got to dig in. 0:22:05.560 --> 0:22:08.919 Yeah, Wonko the same, thank you again. Yeah, this is 0:22:08.960 --> 0:22:11.359 an episode we should go ahead and do it because 0:22:11.359 --> 0:22:14.680 it's just going to get stranger the longer we hold 0:22:14.680 --> 0:22:15.159 off on it. 0:22:15.520 --> 0:22:18.720 Agreed, Wonco, You're the best. We will be right back 0:22:18.920 --> 0:22:20.199 with more messages from you. 0:22:26.040 --> 0:22:31.119 And we have returned with just some letters from home. 0:22:31.359 --> 0:22:31.399 No. 0:22:31.600 --> 0:22:35.080 I mentioned in a previous program we would share stories 0:22:35.119 --> 0:22:39.520 of some fellow conspiracy realist in the education space. We 0:22:39.800 --> 0:22:43.160 are going to share those in the future. And speaking 0:22:43.359 --> 0:22:47.760 of hardware and software and the interaction with the human mind, 0:22:47.880 --> 0:22:52.640 we have a quick letter from home from our pal Flounder. Flounder, 0:22:52.720 --> 0:22:55.480 thank you so much for calling, and also Matt, thank 0:22:55.520 --> 0:22:57.280 you for hurting the voicemails. 0:22:57.560 --> 0:22:58.160 Here we go. 0:22:58.920 --> 0:23:03.359 Quick reaction to a statement I made earlier asking why 0:23:03.400 --> 0:23:07.080 there isn't more positive social media. 0:23:07.280 --> 0:23:10.359 Gentlemen, good morning. Your most recent episode, you made the 0:23:10.440 --> 0:23:16.160