Revelations about internet spying has just put chill on President Obama's upcoming visit to Germany

[hlthe2b]

Revelations about internet spying has just put the chill on President Obama's upcoming visit to Germany




http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/11/cnews-us-usa-security-germany-idCABRE95A0T820130611

German outrage over a U.S. Internet spying program has broken out ahead of a visit by Barack Obama, with ministers demanding the president provide a full explanation when he lands in Berlin next week and one official likening the tactics to those of the East German Stasi.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman has said she will raise the issue with Obama in talks next Wednesday, potentially casting a cloud over a visit that was designed to celebrate U.S.-German ties on the 50th anniversary John F. Kennedy's famous "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech.

Government surveillance is an extremely sensitive topic in Germany, where memories of the dreaded Stasi secret police and its extensive network of informants are still fresh in the minds of many citizens.

In a guest editorial for Spiegel Online on Tuesday, Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger said reports that the United States could access and track virtually all forms of Internet communication were "deeply disconcerting" and potentially dangerous.
"The more a society monitors, controls and observes its citizens, the less free it is," she said.

[hlthe2b]

1. kicking... I should think both sides of the current debate would find this worth commenting...?

I know it doesn't include discussion of Glenn Beck, Greenwald, specific mention of Snowden or any of the other current "hot potato" characters, but I found this perspective compelling and perhaps more critical to our national security... If our strongest allies are backing away from us.... Heavens. I think this is worth discussing.

[hlthe2b]

2. And, the EU response: EU warns Obama of ‘grave consequences’ from NSA intel scandal

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/06/12/eu-warns-obama-of-grave-consequences-from-nsa-intel-scandal/

The EU has warned President Barack Obama’s administration of “grave adverse consequences” to the rights of European citizens from a huge US Internet surveillance programme, officials said Wednesday.

Viviane Reding, the EU’s Justice Commissioner, wrote a letter on Monday to US Attorney General Eric Holder demanding “swift and concrete” answers about the spy scheme when they meet in Dublin on Friday.

She set out seven detailed questions about the PRISM spy programme, which were leaked by whistleblower Edward Snowden and revealed by The Guardian and Washington Post newspapers last week.

“Programmes such as PRISM and the laws on the basis of which such programmes are authorised could have grave adverse consequences for the fundamental rights of EU citizens,” she wrote.

[suffragette]

3. Didn't the Boundless Informant map show Germany as being one of the more data mined countries?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/08/nsa-boundless-informant-global-datamining


Edit to add link

[hlthe2b]

4. Interesting... I somehow missed that earlier...

I wish they would link to the interactive map, which I've not been able to find, at least on cursory search...

[suffragette]

6. Looks like the German Justice Minister will want answers

US Prism Scandal: 'Security Is Not an End in Itself'

A Commentary by German Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/minister-leutheusser-schnarrenberger-criticizes-us-over-prism-scandal-a-905001.html

How much monitoring is too much and at what point does freedom become compromised? With its Prism spy program, the US has crossed the line.


http://www.dw.de/pressure-on-merkel-to-talk-prism-with-obama/a-16876477

German Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger has called the NSA's Prism program "alarming." She also considers the massive US Internet spy program unjustifiable - even in light of the threats of international terrorism. The fight against enemies of the state, the minister says, does not legitimate any means available.

Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger is known as a vehement defender of data privacy and for refusing to sign off on wide-scale surveillance measures. In January 1996 she resigned as justice minister when conservative politicians attempted to investigators to listen in on private conversations.

[randome]

5. Yah! We're almost free!

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