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This week on CounterSpin: Ukraine signed a deal with Russia on Tuesday, defying the advice of the US press and Western elites. But would Ukraine have been better off making a deal with Europe? And is the US media portrayal of Russia as the regional troublemaker accurate? We’ll talk with Russia expert Stephen Cohen, professor emeritus from NYU and Princeton.

Also on the show: the National Security Agency’s mass surveillance programs are taking a beating– a court rules the collection of phone metadata unconstitutional, and major tech companies are pushing for some limits on the agency’s reach. But what should we know about how those companies themselves are snooping on Americans? Jeff Chester of the Center for Digital Democracy will join us to explain.

LINKS:

–“A Letter to The New York Times,” by Stephen F. Cohen (The Nation, 12/2/13)

–“Will the TTIP Create a “Made in America” Big Data Surveillance System?,” by Jeff Chester (Center for Digital Democracy, 12/17/13)