Monday, October 21, 2013

Spy in the House of Love



From La Monde (translated):
The future will tell, perhaps, one day, why Paris has remained so quiet, compared to Rio or Berlin after the revelations about the U.S. electronic spying programs worldwide. Because France was equally focused and now has tangible evidence that its interests are covered daily.

According to documents from the National Security Agency (NSA) obtained by Le Monde , telephone communications are French citizens, in fact, intercepted a massive way. These pieces, unveiled in June by former consultant agency, Edward Snowden, describe the techniques used to capture the secrets illegally or simple privacy of French. Some items were discussed by the German weekly Der Spiegel and the British newspaper The Guardian . Others are new.

Among the thousands of documents removed from the NSA by the former employee is a graph that describes the extent of telephone surveillance carried out in France. It was found that over a period of thirty days, from 10 December 2012 to 8 January 2013, 70.3 million recordings of telephone French data were performed by the NSA.
...
In all the hubbub about the Republicans Party cutting off food to poor people, closing national monuments, shuttering NASA, monkey-wrenching critical medical research and threatening to blow up the world economy unless the US government stops trying to offer Americans affordable health insurance, we have somehow let the conversation about curtailing domestic surveillance and beefing up the FISA court oversight slip from the headlines.

And I what could better serve to reignite that conversation than using stolen US intelligence documents to tell the French that we spy on them?

11 comments:

Horace Boothroyd III said...

The hysterical ninnies over at dailykos.com have been mysteriously silent on this issue. Evidently, NSA surveillance is not the worstest thing ever after all.

Anonymous said...

@Horace

Probably because it takes a nuclear grade level of idiocy to claim that spying on foreign nations is not a legitimate function of the government?

Knowing what your enemies and allies are thinking and talking about behind your back or in private is extremely important. Not just for the purposes of military action, but also for avoiding conflicts, understanding their thought process, and making sure you have a solid grasp of what is going on.

The French know damn well we spy on them, and we know they spy on us. Furthermore both nations are aware that the other nation knows it is being spied on it.

All dragging it into the public does is make certain that various diplomatic parties have to flog the other and put up a stink, and let them engage in some hijinks made for domestic consumption.

Anonymous said...

Welcome to the NSAglass blog. Spying is what we do. Don't question.

Anonymous said...

The anons aren't even trying anymore. So I won't either.

Unknown said...

"...using stolen US intelligence documents to tell the French that we spy on them."

Note Droneglass' touching identification with the spies, torturers and cops he so admires... to the point of confusing *himself* with the repressive apparatus of U.S. imperialism.

Sadly this doesn't keep him - or millions of liberals like him - from being a target of the same apparatus that's spying on the French and everybody else.

Free Chelsea Manning!
U.S. Imperialism Hands of Assange, Snowden!

driftglass said...

In answer to the question "Is it true that all Greenwaldians do is squat like toads on a damp rock for weeks on-end jerking off and waiting to leap boldly into action anytime anyone says anything mildly badthinkful about the leader of their cult?"...

...quod erat demonstrandum

Unknown said...


No surprise that Droneglass wants to change the subject.
Q.E.D. indeed.

Anonymous said...

Well said, Geese Howard.

I am highly amused that you commented on the nuclear grade idiocy required to conflate domestic surveillance with foreign espionage and Lumpy Lang immediately stepped up to the challenge of doing just that.

Classic.

-- Nonny Mouse

Monster from the Id said...

Once again, I am reminded of how the original neocons were liberals, or even leftist radicals, in their younger years.

I suspect that history is repeating itself on this blog, or at least history is rhyming.

Unknown said...

"I am reminded of how the original neocons were liberals, or even leftist radicals, in their younger years.

I suspect that history is repeating itself on this blog, or at least history is rhyming."

Yeah. Now let's just guess who's moving rightward this time? hmmmmm...

(Hint: Surely not the ones with the blossoming admiration for the empire's spies, torturers & cops!).

Anonymous said...

The detachment continues.