Der Paronoia Fest

There seems to be a festival of anti-American paranoia in the German press this week.
First from the Frankfurter Allgemeine I learn that we're counterfeiting our own currency...

A rumor has circulated for years among representatives of the security printing industry and counterfeiting investigators that it is the American CIA that prints the Supernotes at a secret printing facility. It is in this facility, thought to be in a city north of Washington D.C., where the printing presses needed to produce the Supernotes is said to be located.

The CIA could use the Supernotes to fund covert operations in international crisis zones, and such funds would not be subject to any control by the American Congress. One could comfortable lay the blame for the counterfeit money operation at the feet of Pyongyang's arch enemy.

It is interesting if you read the article closely how the writer keeps bringing up points to show how unlikely it is the North Koreans are producing the counterfeits only to point out at the end of the paragraphs that it is possible they have the capability.

Die Welt also gets into the act telling us that...

For many years it was only wild speculation. But now Microsoft has confirmed: "Yes, we have collaborated with the National Security Agency (NSA),: which is the most secretive of all U.S. intelligence services, in the development of their new Vista operating system. The company claims that this will enhance security for PC users, but critics fear there is an entirely different motive.

From ZDnet we get the more prosaic truth.

Microsoft got input from the National Security Agency for a document with tips on how to use the Windows Vista operating system in larger organizations.

The National Security Agency Information Assurance Directorate reviewed the Windows Vista Security Guide and provided comments that were incorporated in the published version, according to Microsoft.

Not as bad as Pravda but then that's not saying much
Speaking of Pravda, here is a little information on the online edition, which is apparently separate from the dead tree edition.
Translations of the German articles are from Watching America.com