U.S. spends $24 million on 'propaganda plane' few can see or hear

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Sun-Sentinel

U.S. spends $24 million on 'propaganda plane' few can see or hear
By John Hudson, Foreign Policy
4:20 p.m. EDT, July 29, 2013

WASHINGTON — It's difficult to find a more wasteful government program.

For the last six years, the U.S. government has spent more than $24 million to fly a plane around Cuba and beam American-sponsored TV programming to the island's inhabitants. But every day the plane flies, the government in Havana jams its broadcast signal. Few, if any, Cubans can see what it broadcasts.

The program is run by the U.S. Broadcasting Board of Governors, and for the last two years, it has asked Congress to scrap the program, citing its exorbitant expense and dubious cost-effectiveness. "The signal is heavily jammed by the Cuban government, significantly limiting this platform's reach and impact on the island," reads the administration's fiscal year 2014 budget request.

But each year, hard-line anti-Castro members of Congress have rejected the recommendation and renewed funding for the program, called AeroMarti. Now, under the restrictions of government-wide belt-tightening, AeroMarti may finally die, but its fate has yet to be sealed.

Read more: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/digitalunlimited/partners/sns-wp-wp-frgnp-bc-propaganda29-20130729,0,6206067.story

[sakabatou]

1. *facepalm*

[Fearless]

2. In the meantime Detroit goes "bankrupt"

[Judi Lynn]

3. Oh, help! Hadn't thought of that one. It's a point, for sure!

The article also says the US has spent over one half a billion since 1990. What would THAT have done for our cities?

[dipsydoodle]

4. Off their trolleys.

All the hotels have got all channels anyway. Only thing I found odd is why they get the Pacific edition of CNN.

[former9thward]

6. It is not for the hotels.

Cubans aren't allowed in those anyway. It is for the average person who may have a radio. Regardless, because of the jamming it should be ended.

[carla]

19. Sorry to correct you,

but my husband, a Cuban native, has been in those hotels and on those beaches with me. Propaganda, Cubans can travel too.

[former9thward]

20. When I was in Cuba Cubans were not allowed in hotels that foreigners used.

So don't bother to try and "correct" me because I saw it. That point aside the radio program is for average people with radios -- not people in hotels. If people can travel why do they risk their lives escaping to Florida? Not propaganda.

[Solly Mack]

5. Damn

[leveymg]

7. It's several planes, all privately owned but leased (contracted) by the US Treasury

That means, someone (probably Cuban-American) is making money off this deal and gets paid to fly his own fleet of Gulfstreams around the northern Caribbean. Nice work, if you can get it.

[scarletwoman]

9. Making enough money, no doubt, to buy the votes to keep the program going.

That's the beauty of the private contractor system. The government hires a private company and the private company profits handsomely from their government contract - so handsomely, in fact, that it can afford lots of lobbyists and make generous campaign contributions to all the right committee members. Et voilà! A government program that never dies!

[leveymg]

11. A secondary feed-back loop (of loot) in Systemsese.

It is, indeed, a beautiful thing for federal prime contractors, particularly with no-bid contracts, particularly those who structure the contract so that it just about never ends. Just look at Halliburton's indefinite, unlimited oil field repair and maintenance contracts in Iraq.

[scarletwoman]

14. Or Booz Allen Hamilton's contract with the NSA. (nt)

[PSPS]

16. It's called money laundering -- from the taxpayer right into the lawmaker's "bribe" pocket.

[obxhead]

8. And we don't have the money to adequately fly through hurricanes this year

due to the sequestration.

[Plucketeer]

10. There's really only one way to fix this

Scrap this country and start from scratch. And not try to legislate everything around the technologies and the knowledge bank of the 1770s!!!

[olddad56]

13. Great idea, but they would probably want to model it after Nazi Germany.

[olddad56]

12. drop in the bucket. They probably spend that much for a toilet.

[Octafish]

15. The 1-percent are sooooo afraid of sharing they'll spare no taxpayer expense...

...should a socialist idea ever leave the island and, you know, get inside the head of a USA PATRIOT.

$24 million would fix a lot of problems.

[daleo]

22. It's true

The example of a society that works on any but hard line capitalist principles frightens the rich.

[AAO]

17. You gotta be shittin me!

[RobertEarl]

18. Now look here, Cuba is dangerous

I'm not sure how, but I was brought up being taught Cuba was dangerous.

So who am I to believe that what they told me is wrong? And here is proof how dangerous Cuba is, 24 million on just radio that doesn't work! Important stuff at 24 M.

They must know what they are doing because Cuba has never attacked us.

<.sarc>

[valerief]

21. A rich person is getting richer off this. Can't stop it. Making rich people richer is the

most important thing in the world.