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Samizdata, derived from Samizdat /n. - a system of clandestine publication of banned literature in the USSR [Russ.,= self-publishing house]

Trust us, we are not spying on you any more

Nice Mr. Obama has told the Frogs the NSA is no longer spying on them at the highest level. And of course that’s that, because there is no way a US President would lie about that, right? Indeed if the NSA kept spying on France, they would of course tell nice Mr. Obama, right?

Any country that does not spend a chunk of change specifically targeted at protecting their communications from the USA is simply not serious about defending themselves, and that includes ‘allies’.

21 comments to Trust us, we are not spying on you any more

  • Laird

    That especially includes “allies”.

  • I’d have thought any U.S. President not spying on the French is in dereliction of his duty.

  • mojo

    Allies are the ones you really need to watch.

  • mojo

    Especially “allies” like France and the EU.

  • Mr Ed

    During the Falklands War, Royal Navy ships were ordered not to transmit signals when US satellites were overhead, never mind the Warsaw Pact ‘trawlers’ prowling around.

    we are not targeting and will not target” Mr Hollande’s communications.

    He did not say ‘We are not listening to and will not listen to M Hollande’s communications, and not targetting the communications of those M Hollande speaks to.’‘.

  • Vinegar Joe

    “During the Falklands War, Royal Navy ships were ordered not to transmit signals when US satellites were overhead”

    While at the same time the US was supplying Britain with maps (and satellite photos) of both the Falklands and the Argentinian mainland. I know because I was packing cases of maps and taking them from Ft Bragg across to Pope Air Force Base in North Carolina for transport to the UK.

  • I feel absolutely certain that neither the French, nor any other U.S. ally, spend any effort or coin spying on the United States. Only the U.S. does such wicked things.

    Cause of the moral superiority and all.

  • Nicholas (Self-Sovereignty) Gray

    I was just wondering- do the French spy on American Officials? Do the Germans? Does anybody know? The Indonesians are our allies, and we ‘listen in’ to their phones, here in Australia. If New Zealand has a spy service, it probably bugs Australia. Why The Fuss? (The polite version of WTF.)

  • Why The Fuss?

    It’s worse when ‘muricans do it.

  • Thailover

    Let’s cut to the non-political chase for a moment; everyone’s spying on everyone, and every spy agency is using their maximum capability to do exactly what they do. There are no white knights in that game.

  • mojo

    Gentlemen do not read each others mail.
    — Henry Lewis Stimson

  • Mr Ed

    Do you really need to spy on the USA? After all, isn’t it fairly easy to guess what the current administration is up to, i.e. doing the vilest thing possible is first choice, just as with our lot.

    And the UK gave Australia post War Enigma machines rigged to be read by the British, utterly shameful conduct, heck isn’t Australia the only country the UK has nuked?

    http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Uk/UKTesting.html

    Vinegar Joe, your deeds are much appreciated, although none of those maps made it to the RAF, who sinply inverted a map of the Atlantic, redesignated latitude and pretended that the Azores were the Falklands. Mind you, after 1580, the Argies, as heirs to the Spanish Crown, would have a slightly better claim to the Azores than the Falklands.

  • Nicholas (Self-Sovereignty) Gray

    Yes, some parts of Australia have been improved by nuclear testing, from Complete Wasteland up to Historical Interest Complete wasteland. Aypi? (And your point is?)
    As for The Falklands, maybe Britain should swap them for the Azores! They’re much more interesting. (But then, I am intrigued by Atlantis, and possible geological remains of such a place.)

  • Mr Ed

    Aypi

    Australia was kind enough to let itself be nuked by the UK, and as a sign of gratitude* it got tricked by the UK and was spied upon.

    *’gratitude’ reportedly described by Stalin as ‘a sickness suffered by dogs‘.

    Mind you, the UK didn’t send Julia Gillard to Australia, that was a private venture by her parents. You would have been better refusing her and asking to be nuked again.

  • Let’s cut to the non-political chase for a moment; everyone’s spying on everyone

    Simply not true, most countries only have the resources to target a very few threats, only the USA and UK spy on pretty much everyone. Other than the UK’s GCHQ, most of the allies of the USA have small poorly funded intelligence services. Moreover most are overwhelmingly focused on internal security. And as Mr. Ed points out, why would an ally need to go to the effort of spying on the USA when spending money on a few good lobbyists and the Freedom of Information Act can get most of what they need to know?

  • mojo

    Hell, OPM brass handed root access to Chinese nationals, what’s to hide?

  • gongcult

    Jeez. They might even be spying on Lithuania. And my claims to dual citizenship will be useless.

  • William O. B'Livion

    doing the vilest thing possible is first choice

    In the interests of fairness, I’m sure that driving the world further along the road to international socialism isn’t the *most* vile thing possible. I mean, he could be working with the CDC to implement a virus that kills 80% of the population, or he could be working on starting a nuclear war. etc.

    Let’s cut to the non-political chase for a moment; everyone’s spying on everyone

    Simply not true, most countries only have the resources to target a very few threats,

    A better reformulation would everyone gathers as much data as possible from as many sources as resources allow.

    only the USA and UK spy on pretty much everyone.

    Only the *US* spies on pretty much every country and provides allies with limited access to certain allies. Canada, Austalia and the UK have the greatest access. New Zealand, near as I can tell *could* have it, but they pretty much DGAF unless it directly impacts them.

    I’m pretty sure China and Russia spy on “pretty much everyone”, but the US has the slight advantage in that US based companies own the satellites, plus we have a 2 or 3 year lead on them technologically (mostly because we design the shit here, then ship them the plans to build it. It takes them a few months to steal the plans and start their own implementation).

    Of course the Chinese use our intelligence agencies to do their spying for them.

  • Only the *US* spies on pretty much every country and provides allies with limited access to certain allies

    No, CGHQ, which is effectively a subsidiary of the NSA funded by US taxpayers, does indeed spy on everyone. Moreover they spy on Americans in America whenever it suits the NSA’s needs, because I really doubt HMG gives a fuck about US domestic sigint.

  • Thailover

    “Only the *US* spies on pretty much every country…”

    With all due respect, how the bloody hell would you know?

  • With all due respect, how the bloody hell would you know?

    Firstly I look at the budgets of national intelligence services. Secondly I have known a lot of people who work for various intelligence services over the years.