US demands right to snoop the world

EU grows a backbone

Now THAT is news!

U.S.A = World Police

We have the right to do anything we like as we have the big guns and nukes. *

* Excludes Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia and any other country that stands up and tells Pres. B.O to STFU.

USA: Can we monitor your bank transactions?

EU: Say please.

USA: Please.

EU: Say pretty please

USA: Pretty please.

EU: Say pretty please with a cherry on top.

USA: Fuck you assholes.

EU: Now you're getting it.

Open Letter to EU government(s)

Please tell my government to politely go F*ck itself.

While I have to tolerate these intrusions from my government, you do not.

EU a backbone?

I wish, but it will never happen. Trust me. The core concept the EU was founded upon is "drop trow and bend over".

Skype is supposedly based in Luxembourg. If Skype were to put a back door into their peer-to-peer application due to US demands, one would expect that an Open Source competitor would start to take over.

About bloody time!

In it's days of decline the U.S. is acting as if it was a kingpin. Already too much data is leaked to the US by the ever obliging security services through the Echelon Agreement as the intimate relationship between the UK and the US.

The US doesn't let foreign spies operate on US soil, but Britain does (Menwith Hill spy base near Harrogate in North Yorkshire).

The US has even arranged NO FLY status for a Canadian citizen travelling from Ottawa, Canada to another Canadian destination.

All manifests for flights departing Bangkok are transmitted to the US even for non-US flights.

Currently the Obama administration, as did the Bush administration, deliberately flouts the US Constitution in it's spying on US citizens - no warrants are needed under the Patriot Act (please hold your hand over your heart) to look at any computer system, tap communications, etc.

Europe's privacy is compromised enough, especially with the UK's password or 4 years in jail law, but he US wants everything on everyone.

Europe should stand up and be counted. Europe is bigger than the USA but it kowtows as if it was a nothing.

The US already taps cell systems internationally: see < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_telephone_tapping_case_2004-2005 >, < http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2006/02/phone_tapping_i.html >.

The Trade Centre incident in 2001 was a result of US laxity in their security system, just as was the Pearl Harbour attack.

The Detroit 'bomber' was US intelligence at it'd best. The father of the bomber alerted the US, It issued the bomber a visa notwithstanding, he was cleared to board a US bound flight. And these rear ends think they can better protect the world by capturing all data including petty value financial transactions.

Whilst I have sympathy for those civilians who have lost their lives, the US invites violent reaction because it's long snout is into everything, whether justified or not.

Privacy

I read a theory once that said a reason the US doesn't "get" privacy is that the US government has never overtly turned on its citizens. It's happened repeatedly in Europe though, so people are a bit nervous about handing out personal information. Or at least we were until myspace, wordpress, bebo, facebook, twitter and location based services came along.

I would like to tell the Obama administation to va faire foutre, on priciple.

And thanks to their incessant data mining principles, I just have.

Sorted.

[and not AC, they have too many dark secrets, we are expected to have no expectation of privacy whatsoever... join the dots people, join the dots]

Hope and Change

Be careful for what you ask for, you may just get it!

US Government, is no better than Chinese or North Korean

I do like most of the American people, but as for the Government, I have to say, one could just as well compare it to Al-Qaeda!!!

The difference is, that Al-Qaeda is more sincere.

The US Governments of the past 25 years have done nothing but run the country into financial ruins and cause the people grief and yet let various industries corrupt the nation.

What they call a democracy is nothing but legalized corruption (whoever pays the most gets his way).

Those who live in poorer areas have only an extremely slim chance of really getting out of it, and those who are rich in most cases stay rich and calm their conscience by visiting as many "help the poor" fundraisers as possible and make sure that everybody notices.

My goodness what a bunch of self-glorifying, self-centered, arrogant, and corrupt animals.

Call me paranoid, or conspiracy theorist, but when one tries to look at all these things that have been going on over the past 25 or even more years, it is hard to imagine, that there isn't a conspiracy.

At times I could even believe the rumors that the name "White House" does not originate from its colour, but from the fact the government established itself originally through the production and sales or "white dust"....

And just for those who read this because it ended up in one of those filters:

I am not a terrorist, I have no ambitions to blow Americans up, and I don't think it would be right to kill any American (or any other for that matter) politician.

I am very angry, and given the chance I would do anything legally possible to get rid of those "legalized criminals", but I don't think it is worth sacrificing human lives (in contrast to our politicians).

But then again one could argue, that politicians are not real humans, but the devils aids.....

I can't see what all the fuss was about?

Long form:

You mean because the US of A makes a public request they are now the bad guys?

Does one consider how many organisations/nations might be doing stuff like that without asking?

And does one think that because some politicians somewhere say "Maybe yes, maybe no" that it puts an end to practice?

Short form:

Get used to it, it happens anyway. (email anyone?)

"necessary and proportionate"...

... does not mean "you've got it, we want it, so hand it over!"

Dear European Union

Please let us in.

Yours faithfully,

Canada

"the Obama administration has unilaterally decided to tear up the agreement"

The Obama Administration decided no such thing, they simply enacted the wishes of the secretive shadow government that pulls his strings.

Has nobody noticed that when it comes to things like this there is zero difference between the Republicans and the Democrats? Faffing about arguing over things like universal health care just serves as a distraction for the "useful idiots" from what they are really interested in which is world government and domination.

Europe and it's "Neighbours"

Not so long ago, Europe made pacts with the USA as it was worried about the communist Soviet bloc neighbour.

Now our land joined Neighbours are no longer the threat - in fact they are the source of much new wealth, manufacturing and tourism in an evolving truly democratic society.

The USA had better learn to play fairly with the other kids VERY VERY soon, otherwise they are likely to find themselves sitting in the corner of the playground with nobody to talk to. Why did they invade Iraq? We all know it was for the oil, but the main driver was the threat from Iraq to sell its oil in Euro's instead of Dollars. The Euro will become the dominant world currency, and the US will be totally screwed.

Saruman the White

has ever been our friend and ally.

Like one of our «Anonymous Coward[s]»,

I think it's high time to inform Sophie in 't Veld that rather than the US (government) being «friend and ally», to us Europeans, it is the Sparta to our Peloponnesian League - if somebody gets out of line, they are invaded and brought into the fold (see recent history in the Balkans). The EC should have stood up to the US government during the original negotiations on SWIFT ; it has the opportunity to in part redeem its reputation by doing so now. «No taxation without representation» was the watchword of the original Tea Party (in some years, the tax on tea comprised some 10 % of the British government's revenues) ; perhaps it's time for us Europeans to adopt the same measures to deal with US embassies (proconsulates) that were used to deal with the destroyed nuclear reactors at Chernobyl - i e, to build hermetically sealed concrete sarcophagi over them, taking care to see that the residents are unable to tunnel out....

Henri

Special Relationship - Wife beating more like!!!!

I hate it. I hate us having dealings with the US Govt.

Why? Because behind the scenes there is no US Govt.

Obama says what he likes but 10 minutes later he gets a call from the real guys in charge and they tell him whats going to happen.

Those guys? Why the UNELECTED corporations and institutions that have the mission to keep and control 99% (and more if possible) of the wealth.

The President of the United States is just a figurehead puppet. They give him a couple of strings to pull but the rest are held by others.

They do an incredible job. I mean just look at how they have brainwashed the vast majority of the US population to think that a modern, civilised and very wealthy country providing access to free health care for its citizens is communist/socialist and a terrible thing. Its a master stroke of genius.

Welcome to modern 'democracies'.

The US Goverment's posiiton is very consistant

After all, the IRS claims the tax forms should just be one line and read:

1. How much did you make last year? ____________

Make out a check for the amount on line 1 to "Internal Revenue Service".