Show Recap
On the July 11, 2013 broadcast of Decrypted Matrix Radio, Max covered Russell Brand’s fiery commentary on the banking elite, the unprecedented decision by DEF CON to ask federal agents to stay home, Monsanto’s propaganda push into public radio, the Obama administration’s move to sign the UN Arms Trade Treaty during a congressional recess, and revelations about NSA code embedded in the Android operating system running on three-quarters of the world’s smartphones.
Russell Brand on Banksters and DEF CON Bans the Feds
Max opened with Russell Brand’s increasingly vocal criticism of the global banking establishment. Brand had been making waves calling out the financial elite and their stranglehold on democratic institutions, arguing that the current political system existed primarily to protect the interests of bankers and corporations at the expense of ordinary people. His populist, anti-establishment messaging was resonating with a growing audience frustrated by post-2008 financial corruption and austerity. The show then covered the historic announcement from DEF CON founder Jeff Moss, who for the first time in the hacker conference’s 20-year history asked federal agents and intelligence personnel to sit out DEF CON 21. Moss stated that recent revelations have made many in the community uncomfortable about this relationship — a direct reference to the Snowden disclosures about NSA surveillance. Max noted the irony that the hacker community, which had long maintained a complicated coexistence with government agencies, was now drawing a line in the sand over mass surveillance of the public.
Monsanto Propaganda, UN Arms Treaty, and the Tsarnaev Question
The show tackled reports that Monsanto had been targeting public radio stations with a coordinated campaign to spread favorable messaging about biotechnology and genetically modified organisms. Max discussed how corporate interests increasingly used media infiltration to shape public narratives on controversial technologies, particularly when grassroots opposition was gaining momentum. The episode also covered the Obama administration’s decision to commit to signing the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty during a congressional summer recess — a move critics argued was designed to bypass legislative scrutiny. A segment on the Boston Marathon bombing case raised eyebrows as well, with a former wrestling teammate of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev publicly claiming the person appearing in court hearings did not resemble the Tsarnaev he knew, adding another layer of questions to an already controversial case.
NSA Code in Android: Backdoors in Three-Quarters of Smartphones
Max closed with a deep look at Bloomberg’s reporting that the NSA had contributed code to Google’s Android operating system — software running on roughly three-quarters of all smartphones worldwide. The program, known as Security Enhancements for Android, was ostensibly designed to isolate apps and protect users from hackers. However, coming in the wake of the Snowden revelations about PRISM and XKeyscore, the idea that the NSA was writing code baked into billions of mobile devices raised serious questions about potential backdoor access to personal data. While the NSA and Google insisted the code was open-source and publicly reviewable, Max pointed out that the same agency caught lying about mass surveillance was now asking the public to trust that its smartphone code was purely defensive. An NSA spokeswoman confirmed that the agency expected its code to eventually be included in all new phones, tablets, televisions, cars, and other devices running Android.
