Back Channeling

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All the talk about Jared Kushner and secret "back-channel" communications seems designed to keep people wondering and interested in the Washington intrigue.

Back-channel talks between Russia and the US on a range of critical issues have been ongoing since the Cold War and some good has indeed come of it. I worked with a small group of people during the late 90's led by television producer Ren Breck whose whose company (News Center One) provided networked communications for international crises. This was BI (before the Internet) when actual human intervention was often necessary. 

News Center One played a key role in networking scientists from around the world who used their expertise to address the problems generated by the Chernobyl disaster. Ren's work earned him the commendation of the Russian Academy of Science and established a measure of trust between the involved parties. The News Center One team helped facilitate a Bay Area back-channel visit by the director of the Russian Academy, Dr Constantin Frolov, where matters pertaining to Russian participation in the International Space Station were discussed.

Politics aside, the ISS has done a lot to advance space studies since its launch in 1998. Messers Flynn, Kushner and their Kremlin buddies (whose main interest is Arctic oil) is another story.

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