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US, Germany To Enter No-Spying Agreement
itwbennett writes "The German Federal Intelligence Service said in a news release that the U.S. has verbally committed to enter into a no-spying agreement with Germany. The no-spying agreement talks were announced as part of a progress report on an eight-point program proposed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel in July with measures to better protect the privacy of German citizens. In the progress report, the German government found that U.S. intelligence services comply with German law. Also, the operators of large German Internet exchanges and the federal government did not find any evidence that the U.S. spies on Germans, the government said."
and no one will ever cheat.
Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
Can I get a no-spying agreement with the U.S. government?
It's not like the US intelligence groups ever go beyond what laws allow, nor do they ever lie about such things...
In SOVIET RUSSIA... erm...NSA AMERICA, the Internet logs onto YOU!
Sure, can America not spy on Americans too?
That sure would be nice.
The UK will spy on Germany for you!
Did that agreement have a little smiley face on it near the end? Does anyone really expect the USA to be honest about their activities? This is more likely a coordinated display to show the US feels bad about being caught red-handed and now they can be trusted by the worldz again.
The UK will be next I'm sure... I don't know the lapdog priority in Europe though :P
Der Tod ist der einzige Weg hier raus!
I read this as a "spying exchange agreement". The US promises not to spy on Germans, and the Germans agree not to spy on Americans.
Instead, if the NSA wants spy data on German citizens, they'll metaphorically "extradite" data that the German government has collected on its citizens (and vice versa).
That would be my guess, anyway.
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The US will just contract out the spying to a third party (or country, ally). No harm no foul. Money talks.
- "We're not spying on anyone, we promise."
- "Here's proof you were spying."
- "Oops. Well, we won't spy on anyone anymore, we promise."
I have no problem with the German government trying to spy on me. Why? Because the German government has no jurisdiction over me. German state security can't appear on my doorstep and arrest me, no matter how much Merkel or her minions may disapprove of me.
I do have a problem with the US government spying on me, because DHS and DEA can appear on my doorstep and make my life miserable if they don't like me or want to enrich themselves or find it useful for some other reason, circumventing the justice system and the rule of law.
Obama made restoring privacy and the rule of law a key point of his presidential bid, and it has turned out to be complete lies.
Germany, as the economic engine to the EU, certainly has the money to do the same, and don't think they won't. This will last only as long as its not inconvienient to each respective parrty.
Python: 'And then suddenly you have a language which says "we're all stuck with whatever the whiniest coder wants".'
Please get a real journalist on this, not some blogger. A tiny bit of research will tell you a few interesting things that put things into perspective.
For example, we have an election upcoming, so obviously the government has to appear to be doing something about it, because the people don't like it. My bets are firmly on this dragging out until the election (of course, with constant reminders and "progress" reports) and afterwards, it'll quickly be forgotten.
For example, there are still laws in place from the end of WW2 and the times of the foundation of the Federal Republic of Germany that guarantee the allies spying rights. One of those agreements has just been revoked, to great PR effect. Almost all the mainstream media ignored that other agreements to the same effect still stand.
For example, the german equivalent, the BND, has been accused of working closely with the NSA, to the point of providing them with raw data. And our current prime minister would sell the whole country to her american friends if it gave her a benefit (a friendly hug would probably suffice). So one likely result is that they will agree the US stops spying, then the NSA lents its spy stations to the BND, who shares the data with the NSA, so everything remains the same, but technically, the NSA isn't spying within Germany anymore.
If you think the government or the current breed of corrupt egomanics that have taken over politics is there to protect you, you've been living under a rock the past twenty years.
Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
The US will just contract out the spying to a third party (or country, ally). No harm no foul. Money talks.
Yes, the US will contract out it's Euro spying to Germany.
Meanwhile Germany will contract out it's America spying to the US.
Job done.