Good morning. Here’s your Daily Situational Awareness for Monday, 07 February 2022. You can receive this daily briefing by signing up at https://forwardobserver.com/daily-sa
TODAY’S BRIEFING:
- China’s propaganda machine embedded in U.S. media
- Cyber board predicts next massive attack
- Congress struggles with funding
- Parents in Myanmar disown dissident children
- Hazards Warning
UPGRADE TO EARLY WARNING AND GET THESE BRIEFINGS:
- Russia-NATO SITREP: DIPLOMACY CONTINUES DESPITE MILITARY DEPLOYMENTS
- Indo-Pacific SITREP: ARGENTINA JOINS BRI, WESTERN ATHLETES IN LOCKDOWN
- LIC Summary/ INTSUM
SITUATIONAL AWARENESS
CHINA’S PROPAGANDA MACHINE EMBEDDED IN U.S. MEDIA: Chinese state-backed China Radio International (CRI) has used a long list of shell companies to obtain a controlling interest in over 33 radio stations in 14 countries. WCRW in Washington D.C. broadcasts English language news, but under the direction of its controlling partner CRI. Accordingly, WCRW’s news is slanted to favor the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) perspective on events. The Federal Communications Commission does track foreign ownership of U.S. radio stations but has been loosening restrictions since 2013. China’s use of shell corporations and nominally U.S.-based media companies to keep overt Chinese ownership below 25% have successfully obscured the true level of Chinese control over many U.S. radio stations. (Analyst Comment: The insidious creep of the CCP’s subtle influence operations within the U.S. and many western nations is compounded by government and media executives eager to reap the monetary rewards of working with Chinese businesses. The problem is that Chinese businesses are backed by the Chinese government and serve as a conduit for official CCP propaganda. In order to halt this activity, the FCC will need to spend more time investigating ownership chains of media corporations in the U.S. – M.M.)
CYBER BOARD PREDICTS NEXT MASSIVE ATTACK: The Biden Administration’s newly formed Cyber Safety Review Board is focusing on future domestic threats by evaluating the vulnerabilities in SolarWinds and Log4J. The board is part of the administration’s strategy to merge cyber security efforts between government and industry leaders. Common software tools used by a wide variety of industries are a focus for the review in attempts to find the most impactful security gaps prior to exploitation. (AC: After SolarWinds and Log4J, government and private industry efforts have started to merge in cybersecurity. Recognition of interdependencies in the cyber domain and risk from power adversaries is pushing the merger to shore up weakness in respective fields. – D.F.)
CONGRESS STRUGGLES WITH FUNDING: The House and Senate have until 18 Feb. to pass another continuing resolution to fund the government. Since Fiscal Year 2022 negotiations are ongoing, Congress is likely to fund the government for another 30-day period. The issue complicates new policy implementation because legacy funding for shuttered programs must continue. Bipartisan concerns over inflation may play a role in funding negotiations, but Democrats are likely to use their majority to expand social safety net programs separate from Build Back Better. (AC: The government’s demonstrated inability to perform its basic functions is a continued indictment of its capacity and perceived legitimacy. Constantly using midnight deadlines to pass funding or legislation is likely alienating voters who prefer stability in government. The continuing resolution will likely pass and fund the government for a short period of time. Democrats are likely to expend unnecessary political capital in this budget fight, an unwise move 9 months from elections. – D.M.)
PARENTS DISOWN DISSIDENT CHILDREN IN MYANMAR: Parents are now posting notices in public venues around Myanmar disowning their dissident children. The notices started to appear in November after the army, which seized power from Myanmar’s democratically elected government a year ago, announced it would seize the properties of its opponents and arrest people giving shelter to protesters. Scores of raids on homes followed. According to a senior advocacy officer at rights group Burma Campaign UK “Family members are scared to be implicated in crimes,” she said. “They don’t want to be arrested, and they don’t want to be in trouble.” (AC: Holding third parties responsible for the political “crimes” of dissidents and guerilla fighters has a long history in authoritarian regimes. What is happening in Myanmar could foreshadow similar tactics by former democratic governments in the West, who are quickly losing the “consent of the governed” through unpopular domestic policies and heavy-handed dictatorial actions. – M.M.)
HAZARDS/WX:
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