Yawn . . . .
BRUSSELS/BERLIN, June 30 (Reuters) - The European Union has demanded that the United States explain a report in a German magazine that Washington is spying on the group, using unusually strong language to confront its closest trading partner over its alleged surveillance activities.
A spokeswoman for the European Commission said on Sunday the EU contacted U.S. authorities in Washington and Brussels about a report in Der Spiegel magazine that the U.S. secret service had tapped EU offices in Washington and Brussels and at the United Nations.
"We have immediately been in contact with the U.S. authorities in Washington D.C. and in Brussels and have confronted them with the press reports," the spokeswoman said.
"They have told us they are checking on the accuracy of the information released yesterday and will come back to us," she added in a statement.
Der Spiegel reported on its website on Saturday that the National Security Agency had bugged EU offices and gained access to EU internal computer networks in the latest revelation of alleged U.S. spying that has prompted outrage from EU politicians.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/30/us-spying-on-europe_n_3525320.html
The Gadfly is yawning for two reasons. First, the twelve pack of Shock Top beers that The Gadfly imbibed in last night is catching up to his ass, and secondly, because the Europeans are feigning shock about something, that anyone who has been paying attention to since 9/11/2001, already fucking knew about.
Face it - America's national security apparatus has gone rogue in their spastic response to 9/11. They are out of control and paranoia rules their day. EVERYbody and EVERYone is suspicious to them. Hell, The Gadfly has already accepted the reality that his name and his political views are tightly stored in a digital dossier somewhere deep in the caverns of the NSA's computer database. It is what it fucking sadly is.
But what Edward Snowden did wasn't to reveal some "shocking" new information that nobody in the whole world knew about --- that claim is so laughable that it just simply irritates The Gadfly's staid sensibilities to the point of him wanting to pee on the shoe tops of those making that claim. What Snowden has done is to "dramatize" that which was already known, and make an international story of it. That is a whole different animal.
Snowden, by his actions of international flight mostly, has managed to keep this story in the news headlines for much longer than previous whistle blower stories accomplished. That, in and of itself, is not a crime -- in fact, The Gadfly would argue that it is an act of heroism.
Before we go on - it is crucial that you, dear reader, know the story of one Mr. William Binney:
William Binney — one of the best mathematicians and code breakers in National Security Agency (NSA) history — worked for America's premier covert intelligence gathering organization for 32 years before resigning in late 2001 because he "could not stay after the NSA began purposefully violating the Constitution."
Binney claims that the NSA took one of the programs he built, known as ThinThread, and started using the program and members of his team to spy on virtually every U.S. citizen under the code-name Stellar Wind.
Thanks to NSA whistleblower/leaker Edward Snowden, documents detailing the top-secret surveillance program have now been published for the first time.
And they corroborate what Binney has said for years.
Edward Snowden is not a trailblazer in the arena of standing up and talking publicly about the unconstitutional, criminal behavior of his government. He is simply the latest actor - a dramatic one at that - but his revelations are not new.
William Binney has been stalked, harassed and threatened with prosecution to the point where he has just accepted his fate that his government will do as they please with him without regard to decency and justice.
Yeah kids -- we're living in a sad world. You by virtue of your birth in this country are now considered a "potential" suspect of wrongdoing as defined by the state.
You all can sit around and accept your circumstances. The Gadfly grants you that right. But this citizen isn't going to go to his grave quite so docilely.
So it stands to reason -- they already have every one of your phone calls and your e-mails and your blog posts and your Facebook posts -- so what do you have to lose at this point? Speak up --- if not for your own self interests, then for your children's or grandchildren's future interests?
The Gadfly can't ask any more than that. Either you give a shit about the future of your country or you do not. Yeah - it's a stark fucking choice but so is the choice between life or death.
----TFG
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