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by jeremyflores 4760 days ago
> While companies are offered powerful inducements to cooperate with U.S. intelligence, many executives are motivated by patriotism or a sense they are defending national security, the people familiar with the trusted partner programs said.

Their fervent patriotism certainly didn't stop them from demanding immunity as a prerequisite.
2 comments
narag 4760 days ago
Patriotism. Yeah, sure.

This article runs terribly short on the other half of the question: what did companies really get in exchange?

Call me a cynic, but I can't believe it was just the fuzzy warm feeling of being a patriot.

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xradionut 4760 days ago
Considering all the tax sheltering that the corporations engage in and the government doesn't aggressively pursue, I think they already get great financial breaks.

(My contacts at IRS said they are warned to avoid "poking" into certain institutions actions without highest authorization. So they go after the small fry and leave the big fish alone. Fucking game of life is rigged.)

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hobs 4760 days ago
Then you would likely be surprised about how many nationalists we have that think the USA and its agencies can do no wrong. I know many business owners who would likely provide that information just because it would give them a sense of being special and helping the cause.

Frankly I would still assume that anyone who didn't do it out of some stupid patriotic pride definitely got paid, and they likely got paid through a shell company giving special contracts, or help with some government issues (environmental regulation, building approval, etc). Tax breaks or other direct cash methods don't really hide much for publicly traded companies.

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droopyEyelids 4760 days ago
I'd love to read a book that went over all the links between carriers and the government from an outsider's perspective. Unfortunately, I have no ideal how anyone could ever write that book, because every carrier I've worked with has been as opaque about the simplest aspects of their operation as the NSA has been about this spying scandal.
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samstave 4760 days ago
Patriotism is a flimsy, BS, defense.
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