2014 news: 06/07/14

Saturday 7 June 2014

CIA joins Twitter with a joke

The Central Intelligence Agency has finally joined Twitter. How they'll use it remains an open question.

The Central Intelligence Agency finally joins Twitter, Facebook

Its first Twitter message: "We can neither confirm nor deny that this is our first tweet"

Within two hours the message had been retweeted more than 85,000 times

(CNN) -- They're late to the party, but the spooks have finally joined Twitter.

And -- who knew? -- they have a sense of humor.

At 1:49 pm ET on Friday, the Central Intelligence Agency sent its first-ever Twitter message, from a verified account with the simple handle of @CIA.

With characteristic secrecy, it said: "We can neither confirm nor deny that this is our first tweet."

The Internet immediately erupted with delight. Within two hours the message had been retweeted more than 85,000 times, the CIA had gained more than 105,000 followers, and the jokes were flowing faster than Claire Danes' tears on "Homeland."

"@CIA how does it feel to be followed for once?" replied one Twitter user.

Social media outreach does seem like an odd fit for a shadowy spy agency whose work is mostly classified. But the CIA, which also joined Facebook on Friday, is trying to brighten its public face.

"By expanding to these platforms, CIA will be able to more directly engage with the public and provide information on CIA's mission, history, and other developments," said CIA Director John Brennan in a statement. "We have important insights to share, and we want to make sure that unclassified information about the Agency is more accessible to the American public that we serve, consistent with our national security mission."

The agency also promised to post "the latest news, statements, and career information" from the CIA, along with artifacts from the CIA's museum, updates from its World Factbook and unclassified intelligence information.

By launching officially on Facebook and Twitter, the CIA is expanding its limited online presence beyond its public website, Flickr and YouTube accounts.

Compared to some rival government agencies, though, it's got some catching up to do. The National Security Agency joined Twitter in 2009, the FBI joined in 2008 and those early adopters at the State Department joined in 2007.

'Please don't eat my pangolin friend'

Max Demers wrote a bizarre but awesome love song to the pangolin after reading a CNN story.

Max Demers writes a song about the pangolin in response to CNN article

Song is a love letter to these scale-covered animals

Pangolin is thought to be the most trafficked mammal in the world

It's traded illegally for its scales, which are used in medicine; and for meat

Editor's note: John D. Sutter is a columnist for CNN Opinion and creator of CNN's Change the List project. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Google+. E-mail him at ctl@cnn.com. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.

(CNN) -- It's a love song to a creepy, scale-covered mammal that kind of looks like the cross between a dinosaur and a pine cone.

And I kinda-sorta love it.

It's "My pangolin friend [official music video]," uploaded to YouTube by New York songwriter and actor Max Demers.

Demers, a 30-year-old waiter and self-described "starving artist," made the video in response to my Change the List story on pangolin trafficking in Southeast Asia.

The pangolin is thought to be the most trafficked mammal, by numbers, in the world. This unknown underdog is sold illegally and by the ton for its scales, which are used in bogus medicine, and for its meat, which is a super-high-end delicacy in Vietnam and China.

Demers read the story and, he told me in an e-mail, decided to write a semi-vulgar love song to this strange animal, which he'd never heard of before.

Inside the illegal wildlife trade

"There are a ton of animals out there in dire need of help" he told me, "but a lot of them have entire armies of activists fighting on their behalf. I loved the idea that I could have a small part (in) drawing some more attention to an animal that hasn't gotten enough of it."

Digital doc: Inside the pangolin trade

The result is charming and weird and offensive and awesome. The chorus -- which croons, "please don't eat myyyyy ... pang-o-lin friend" -- is seriously catchy. Then Demers writes about how the pangolin secretes gross-smelling stuff out of its anal glands -- which is true, sometimes -- and also about how people eat its fetuses to supposedly boost sex drive.

So, yeah. It gets a little weird, but it's for a good cause.

In Vietnam and Indonesia, where I went to report the story that inspired this song, the pangolin is both mysterious and valuable. Its scales, which are made of fingernail-type material, are supposed to help women lactate. A group meal of pangolin at a restaurant in Hanoi could run $2,000 -- partly because the meat is a status symbol.

Related: 7 ways to save the pangolin

So I applaud this effort to catch peoples' attention about a strange and shy little animal that desperately needs all of our help. I also am still just thrilled that so many of you donated a total of $17,000 to Education for Nature Vietnam, which is going to make a pangolin-focused PSA to air in that country because of your generosity.

Take a look at Demers' video (as well as this one from that "honey badger" guy), and read this lightly edited version of our e-mail convo below.

Oh -- and please please don't eat his pangolin friend.

Me: What do you like most about the pangolin?

Guy who makes pangolin music videos in his spare time: I am amazed by so many things about this animal, such as their gentle, almost friendly demeanor (like an ugly-cute version of my cat Sasha), their crazy long tongues that wreak terror on unsuspecting ant colonies, and their unbelievably versatile tails, used for things like hanging from tree branches and even walking on their hind legs. I'd have to say my favorite characteristic, though, is its defense mechanism of rolling into a tight ball to ward off predators. While researching, I found this amazing video online of a pangolin that withstood an attack by eight lions by rolling itself up into this tight little ball. After something like three hours, the lions finally gave up and the pangolin just sauntered off into the woods again. Unreal!

Me: How did you get interested in pangolins?

Pangolin guy: I've always been a lover of all things nature. I grew up spending summers at camp in New England, camping and hiking throughout the White Mountains; and in 2008 I thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail. I'm an avid animal lover (presently going strong on my third attempt at vegetarianism!); but I am also an actor in New York City, and escaping the urban lifestyle can sometimes feel impossible.

Every once in a while, however, an opportunity comes along that allows me to combine the two lifestyles. A few months ago, that was the case when I was hired by maxanimal.com to write a humorous song about an animal to be featured on their website. I had no idea what to write about, so I started reading, a LOT. My friend Blaire Carson, who is featured in the video with me, and a regular host on maxanimal.com, sent me an email with loads of links to articles about animals, including one about a woman who keeps 200 sloths at her house, and another about giant rats. But I was instantly drawn to your article on CNN.com, "The Most Trafficked Animal You've Never Heard Of." It felt important, and the pangolin's struggle felt desperate. The deciding factor for me was the that I had never heard of the pangolin before. There are a ton of animals out there in dire need of help, but a lot of them have entire armies of activists fighting on their behalf. I loved the idea that I could have a small part (in) drawing some more attention to an animal that hasn't gotten enough of it.

Me: Tell about how you wrote the song?

Dude who sings about anal glands: This song came surprisingly easy. As per my assignment, the song had to be humorous, which was a little intimidating at first, for two reasons: 1. Being told to be funny SUCKS, and 2. The survival of a species is a serious subject, and I didn't want the real issue to be overshadowed by male anatomy references and poop jokes. The turning point was when I thought to write the song as a love letter to the pangolin. Once I embraced that idea, I was able to balance the the dirty jokes with genuine love and concern for this animal, and the punch lines felt somehow more poignant and less offensive.

Me: What's up with the format for the video -- where did you get the idea?

Our resident pangolin enthusiast: The video was shot at a studio in Brooklyn. I went in with the song, and the amazing team at maxanimal.com shot the video. Over the next couple of weeks, their editor, Grannell Knox, edited and sent out rough cuts, and we all weighed in on the best ways to visually entertain people while also preserving the integrity and message of the song. One challenging aspect was that it was nearly impossible to find high definition footage of pangolins that we could use on such a limited budget.

Me: Who's that in the video with you?

Guy from the video: My dear friend Blaire. She is a frequent host on the website, and recommended me to the team when they mentioned adding a musical aspect to the site.

Me: What's your favorite line for the song?

Indecisive songwriter: I feel like I HAVE to give two answers to this question: 1. "This little girl's got a heart of gold, and she'll love you just as long as she's alive." This line is the song. And 2. "Please don't eat my pangolin friend, it's cheaper to sit hookers on your face." I love this joke because it's true! The amount of money people pay to kill and eat this harmless and beautiful animal is absurd! And for what? False promises. You stand as much of a chance of getting an erection by chewing on your fingernails (as getting one from eating a pangolin, which is seen by relatively few people as an aphrodisiac.)

Me: What do you do when you're not making semi-vulgar videos about scale-covered mammals?

Possibly offended artiste: I am an actor and a musician. Trained in musical theatre (sic) at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy and The New School in New York, I live the typical starving artist's life. I wait tables at Ellen's Stardust Diner to pay the bills; and when I'm not serving burgers and fries, I write music, audition and hit the stage any chance I get.

Me: Do you write other music?

Marketing-savvy musician: YES! Please check out my band, Astoria Boulevard, and our album This is Astoria Boulevard, available on iTunes, Spotify, CDBaby, and all that good stuff. I also have more tunes coming soon to YouTube and maxanimal.com.

FBI 'taking each threat seriously'

Staff Sgt. Clayton Patrick Bowen, killed on August 18, 2009.

2nd Lt. Darryn Deen Andrews, killed in September 2009.

Staff Sgt. Kurt Robert Curtiss, killed on August 29, 2009.

Pfc. Matthew Michael Martinek, killed on September 11, 2009.

Staff Sgt. Michael Chance Murphrey, killed in September 2009.

Pfc. Morris Lewis Walker, killed August 18, 2009.

NEW: Bowe Bergdahl's parents have received threats, the FBI says

Former member of Bergdahl's platoon says troops were killed in search

Bergdahl should be put on trial to "get the truth," mother of killed soldier says

New York Times reporter says paper isn't "disputing what these people are saying"

(CNN) -- As the controversy surrounding Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl release gains growing attention, Bergdahl's family is now the target of recent threats, according to an FBI spokesman.

Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl family have received threats following his release after five years in captivity at the hands of the Taliban, an FBI spokesman told CNN on Saturday.

"We are working jointly with our state and local partners and taking each threat seriously," FBI Special Agent William Facer said in an e-mail.

Facer declined to detail the nature and severity of the threats.

Additionally, the military spokesperson for the Bergdahl family emphasized this is a "law enforcement issue."

All the while, a fallen soldier's mother and a former member of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl's unit pressed assertions Saturday that troops were killed while searching for him in Afghanistan. Officials say that there is no such evidence.

"Yes, men were injured and killed in the search for him," former Sgt. Matt Vierkant, a member of Bergdahl's platoon, told CNN. "The mission was to find Bergdahl."

Pentagon and Army officials have looked at such claims, and "right now there is no evidence to back that up," a U.S. official told CNN on Thursday.

Bergdahl went missing in Afghanistan in June 2009 and was captured by the Taliban, which released him a week ago, after almost five years' captivity, in exchange for five Taliban prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay.

'Lone Survivor': Bergdahl branded already

Official: Bergdahl held in box or cage

Fellow soldier: Bergdahl is a traitor

Also making claims of troop deaths in the Bergdahl search was Sondra Andrews, the mother of 2nd Lt. Darryn Andrews, who was killed in September 2009.

These are photos, obtained by WikiLeaks that match the names of the detainees released by the Department of Defense. The Department of Defense would neither confirm nor deny their accuracy. Khair Ulla Said Wali Khairkhwa was an early member of the Taliban in 1994 and was interior minister during the Taliban's rule. He was arrested in Pakistan and was transferred to Guantanamo in May 2002. During questioning, Khairkhwa denied all knowledge of extremist activities.

Mullah Mohammad Fazl commanded the main force fighting the U.S.-backed Northern Alliance in 2001, and served as chief of army staff under the Taliban regime. Fazl was detained after surrendering to Abdul Rashid Dostam, the leader of Afghanistan's Uzbek community, in November 2001. He was transferred into U.S. custody in December 2001 and was one of the first arrivals at Guantanamo, where he was assessed as having high intelligence value.

Mullah Norullah Noori served as governor of Balkh province in the Taliban regime and played some role in coordinating the fight against the Northern Alliance. Like Fazl, Noori was detained after surrendering to Dostam, the Uzbek leader, in 2001.

Abdul Haq Wasiq was the deputy chief of the Taliban regime's intelligence service. Wasiq claimed, according to an administrative review, that he was arrested while trying to help the United States locate senior Taliban figures. He denied any links to militant groups.

Mohammad Nabi Omari was a minor Taliban official in Khost Province and was the Taliban's chief of communications and helped al Qaeda members escape from Afghanistan to Pakistan. He also said that he had worked with a U.S. operative named Mark to try to track down Taliban leader Mullah Omar.

Guantanamo detainees swapped for Bergdahl

Guantanamo detainees swapped

Andrews said she believes that her son and other troops "were strictly on a mission looking for Bergdahl," she told CNN on Saturday.

That information is "based on the men that served with Darryn," she said.

Andrews said that military should give her family information "on what Darryn was doing and why they lied to us."

She endorsed accusations by former unit members that Bergdahl deserted and caused U.S. troops to die in the search for him -- though Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said it's "unfair" to Bergdahl and his family to presume anything about his disappearance.

"I'd like to see Bergdahl given an opportunity to tell his story, be on trial, have the witnesses come forward and tell their story and get the truth through that, and then I would like to see the full measure of the law followed for his punishment," Andrews said.

The six soldiers at the center of the Bergdahl debate

The Army has no definitive finding that Bergdahl deserted because that would require knowing his intent -- something Army officials couldn't learn without talking to the soldier, a U.S. military official told CNN.

An Army fact-finding investigation conducted in the months after his disappearance concluded that Bergdahl left his outpost deliberately and of his own free will, according to the official, who was briefed on the report.

Secretary of the Army John McHugh said this week that the military will conduct "a comprehensive, coordinated" review of Bergdahl's case, including "speaking with Sergeant Bergdahl to better learn from him the circumstances regarding his disappearance and captivity."

In the week since Bergdahl was released by the Taliban, a controversy has grown over whether troops were killed, directly or indirectly, in the search.

Susan Rice defends Bergdahl comments, calls his service 'honorable'

North Korea announced Friday, June 6, that it has detained Jeffrey Edward Fowle, a U.S. citizen it says entered the country as a tourist on April 29 and broke the law. Citing unidentified diplomatic sources, the Japanese news agency Kyodo reported that Fowle was part of a tour group and that he was detained in mid-May after allegedly leaving a Bible in a hotel where he had been staying.

This undated image provided by the U.S. Army shows Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who had been held by insurgents in Afghanistan since 2009. The White House announced Bergdahl's release on May 31.

An Iranian court threw out a 2011 death sentence for Amir Hekmati, a former U.S. Marine charged with spying. But he was secretly retried in Iran and convicted of "practical collaboration with the U.S. government," his sister told CNN on April 11. He has been sentenced to 10 years in prison, she said. Hekmati was detained in August 2011 during a visit to see his grandmother. His family and the Obama administration deny accusations he was spying for the CIA.

A North Korean court sentenced Kenneth Bae, a U.S. citizen, to 15 years of hard labor for committing "hostile acts" against the state. Those alleged acts were not detailed by the country's state-run news agency when it announced the sentence in May. Bae, here in a photo from a Facebook page titled Remember Ken Bae, was arrested in November 2012. "This was somebody who was a tour operator, who has been there in the past and has a visa to go to the North," a senior U.S. official told CNN.

Retired FBI agent Robert Levinson has been missing since 2007. His family says he was working as a private investigator in Iran when he disappeared, and multiple reports suggest Levinson may have been working for the CIA. His family told CNN in January that they have long known that Levinson worked for the CIA, and they said it's time for the government to lay out the facts about Levinson's case. U.S. officials have consistently denied publicly that Levinson was working for the government, but they have repeatedly insisted that finding him and bringing him home is a "top" priority.

Warren Weinstein, a contractor held by al Qaeda militants, is a U.S. citizen who has been held hostage in Pakistan since August 2011.

U.S. tourist and Korean War veteran Merrill Newman arrives at the Beijing airport Saturday, December 7, after being released by North Korea. Newman was detained October 26 by North Korean authorities just minutes before he was to depart the country after visiting through an organized tour. His son Jeff Newman says the Palo Alto, California, man had all the proper paperwork and set up his trip through a North Korean-approved travel agency.

Mexican authorities arrested Yanira Maldonado, a U.S. citizen, right, in May 2013, for alleged drug possession. She and her husband, Gary, were traveling from Mexico back to the United States when their bus was stopped and searched. She was released a few days later and is now back in the United States.

Saeed Abedini, a 33-year-old U.S. citizen of Iranian birth, was sentenced to eight years in prison in January 2013, accused of attempting to undermine the Iranian government and endangering national security by establishing home churches.

North Korea has arrested Americans before, only to release them after a visit by a prominent dignitary. Journalists Laura Ling, center, and Euna Lee, to her right, spent 140 days in captivity after being charged with illegal entry to conduct a smear campaign. They were freed in 2009 after a trip by former President Bill Clinton.

Former President Jimmy Carter negotiated the release of Aijalon Gomes, who was detained in 2010 after crossing into North Korea illegally from China. Analysts say high-level visits give Pyongyang a propaganda boost and a way to save face when it releases a prisoner.

Eddie Yong Su Jun was released by North Korea a month after he was detained in April 2011. His alleged crime was not provided to the media. The American delegation that secured his freedom included Robert King, the U.S. special envoy for North Korean human rights issues.

Robert Park was released by North Korea in 2010 without any apparent U.S. intervention. The Christian missionary crossed into North Korea from China, carrying a letter asking Kim Jong Il to free political prisoners and resign. North Korea's state-run news agency said Park was released after an "admission and sincere repentance of his wrongdoings." Here, Park holds a photo of Kim and a malnourished child during a protest in Seoul.

Josh Fattal, center, Sarah Shourd, left, and Shane Bauer were detained by Iran while hiking near the Iraq-Iran border in July 2009. Iran charged them with illegal entry and espionage. Shourd was released on bail for medical reasons in September 2010; she never returned to face her charges. Bauer and Fattal were convicted in August 2011, but the next month they were released on bail and had their sentences commuted.

Haleh Esfandiari, an Iranian-American scholar, was also detained at Evin Prison, spending months in solitary confinement before Iran released her on bail in August 2007. Esfandiari was visiting her ailing mother in Tehran when she was arrested and charged with harming Iran's national security.

Alan Gross, at right with Rabbi Arthur Schneier, has been in Cuban custody since December 2009, when he was jailed while working as a subcontractor. Cuban authorities say Gross tried to set up illegal Internet connections on the island. Gross says he was just trying to help connect the Jewish community to the Internet. Former President Jimmy Carter and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson have both traveled to Cuba on Gross' behalf, but they were unable to secure his release.

Sixteen Americans were among the dozens arrested in December 2011 when Egypt raided the offices of 10 nongovernmental organizations that it said received illegal foreign financing and were operating without a public license. Many of the employees posted bail and left the country after a travel ban was lifted a few months later. Robert Becker, right, chose to stay and stand trial.

Freelance reporter James Foley went missing in November 2012 after his car was stopped by gunmen in Syria. He is likely being held by the Syrian government, according to the GlobalPost, an online international news outlet to which he contributed, and Foley's brother.

Filmmaker Timothy Tracy was arrested in Venezuela in April on allegations of funding opponents of newly elected President Nicolas Maduro, successor to the late Hugo Chavez. Tracy went to Venezuela to make a documentary about the political division gripping the country. He was released in June.

Americans detained abroad

Photos: Americans detained abroad

Smerconish: Trading with the Taliban

Smerconish: Is Bergdahl to blame?

Former soldiers involved in the operations asserted to CNN this week that at least six soldiers were killed in the search for Bergdahl.

Also this week, Nathan Bradley Bethea, a former member of Bergdahl's battalion who searched for him that summer in 2009, wrote in the Daily Beast that eight soldiers' deaths were tied to the Bergdahl search. Bethea provided the eight soldiers' names -- including six names that CNN earlier reported.

New York Times reporter Andrew W. Lehren co-wrote an article this week stating that "a review of casualty reports and contemporaneous military logs from the Afghanistan war shows that the facts surrounding the eight deaths are far murkier than definitive."

Lehren told CNN on Saturday, however, that he wasn't dismissing the accounts advanced by relatives of killed soldiers and former members of Bergdahl's unit.

"I don't think we're disputing what these people are saying," Lehren told CNN's Michael Smerconish. "We're just saying that the military, itself, in their own words, written at the time before all of this other freight is being brought onboard, the military in its own words is painting a more complicated story."

See Jake Tapper's special on Bergdahl's time in captivity, life before the Army and what happened the night he disappeared

CNN's Ed Lavandera and Devon Sayers contributed to this report.