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Germany turns up pressure in suspected US spy case

america.aljazeera.com

71–80 of 91 posts

Re: Germany turns up pressure in suspected US spy case

#71
post #28

Merkel doesn't care that much and she --even though I hate to say it-- is right that we shouldn't. This spying case isn't a big deal. It doesn't hurt Germany. Also the spying on her phone last year. She didn't really care all that much. After all, USA is the biggest partner of the EU/Germany. Germany can't afford a dent in the relationship with the US. It's the US who's providing security to most of the western world…

> It's the US who's providing security to most of the western world. Who's supposed to protect us from Putin? The NATO? Are you sure Europe couldn't manage its security by itself? I mean, while keeping strong relations and cooperation directly with the US and inside NATO I don't understand why European countries wouldn't be able to defend themselves especially if we started thinking about a stronger cooperation betwe…

http://media.economist.com/images/images-magazine/2011/05/14...

Europe isn't financially situated, nor does it seem to have the social stomach for it.

Re: Germany turns up pressure in suspected US spy case

#72
post #42
post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On paper. But the 2+4 treaty is mostly Soviets leave, NATO stays and expands.

So what you are actually saying is, yes, Germany has full sovereignty. Please don’t spread this bullshit. There is (mostly) mutually beneficial strong cooperation with a power-differential. That’s all. Stop spinning your dumb conspiracy theories.

Germany does not have full sovereignty and won't, ever, until a Peace Treaty is signed and ratified. America won't allow that to happen because then it'd have to pull out all of its troops - and in case you didn't know, Germany is full of American troops and other military-industrial resources.

Germany is, at most, a puppet state - a model for what America had hoped to pull off in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, and so on ..

Re: Germany turns up pressure in suspected US spy case

#73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> which would be a huge economic loss for the US LOL, I hope you're not being serious. The only ones TTIP and friends are going to benefit is Big Capital and American producers of chlorine-treated chicken. No thanks, it's enough you fuck up your own country, no need to fuck up Europe too.

Well, according to the E.U. the treaty could generate 100 BN € in revenue and more than 1 million jobs both in US and EU, so even if those numbers should be off by a factor of two it's still pretty big... http://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/in-focus/ttip/

I am not sure what to trust less - economic predictions of future revenues or studies commissioned by the EU.

Re: Germany turns up pressure in suspected US spy case

#74
post #28

Merkel doesn't care that much and she --even though I hate to say it-- is right that we shouldn't. This spying case isn't a big deal. It doesn't hurt Germany. Also the spying on her phone last year. She didn't really care all that much. After all, USA is the biggest partner of the EU/Germany. Germany can't afford a dent in the relationship with the US. It's the US who's providing security to most of the western world…

The Americentrism on Hacker news is just insane. Europe doesn't need America to protect Europe from Russia. The reason why Europeans dislike the USA has pretty much stayed the same since long: The aggressive foreign politic and parts of the culture (you'll find a translation of american conditions as a set expression in almost all languages here). Nothing much changed.

Re: Germany turns up pressure in suspected US spy case

#75
post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So what you are actually saying is, yes, Germany has full sovereignty. Please don’t spread this bullshit. There is (mostly) mutually beneficial strong cooperation with a power-differential. That’s all. Stop spinning your dumb conspiracy theories.

Germany does not have full sovereignty and won't, ever, until a Peace Treaty is signed and ratified. America won't allow that to happen because then it'd have to pull out all of its troops - and in case you didn't know, Germany is full of American troops and other military-industrial resources. Germany is, at most, a puppet state - a model for what America had hoped to pull off in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, and so on…

My question is: If Germany is still occupied, what is it that it can not do?

Re: Germany turns up pressure in suspected US spy case

#76
post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A single nuke is sufficient to deal with any reasonable aggressor and nonreasonable aggressors are rarely if ever a serious threat to any country. As such, it is quite perfectly senseless to spend billions on tanks and fighters when your next-door neighbour is happy sharing their nukes with you.

It's precisely the other way arround. This sketch is a humorous but precise assessment of this strategic issue: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IX_d_vMKswE Relying on nuclear deterrent against modern hybrid warfare means you will lose.

>Relying on nuclear deterrent against modern hybrid warfare means you will lose

The point is that it can also means everyone lose.

Re: Germany turns up pressure in suspected US spy case

#77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> which would be a huge economic loss for the US LOL, I hope you're not being serious. The only ones TTIP and friends are going to benefit is Big Capital and American producers of chlorine-treated chicken. No thanks, it's enough you fuck up your own country, no need to fuck up Europe too.

Well, according to the E.U. the treaty could generate 100 BN € in revenue and more than 1 million jobs both in US and EU, so even if those numbers should be off by a factor of two it's still pretty big... http://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/in-focus/ttip/

Sorry, but I rather lose a million jobs than exposing my country to lawsuits because a democratic decision interfered with the business of some big company.

Re: Germany turns up pressure in suspected US spy case

#78
post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Germany does not have full sovereignty and won't, ever, until a Peace Treaty is signed and ratified. America won't allow that to happen because then it'd have to pull out all of its troops - and in case you didn't know, Germany is full of American troops and other military-industrial resources. Germany is, at most, a puppet state - a model for what America had hoped to pull off in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, and so on…

My question is: If Germany is still occupied, what is it that it can not do?

Stand up to the shit the NSA is doing. Eject those fucking bastards who operate the NSA listening posts in Germany.

Seriously, everyone who works for the NSA has lost all my respect. You're undermining civil rights for everyone including yourself.

Re: Germany turns up pressure in suspected US spy case

#79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The reason they don't do it, in spite of nearly everyone [1] distrusting the US gov't, makes me wonder what kind of leverage the US secret services have. It also lends some credence to the "Germany was never really souvereign" theory. [1] Just check the comment sections in the major German newspapers.

Non-Souvereignty is largely regarded as a wild conspiracy theory. And really, what kind of evidence is there? Inevitably, signs of "foreign control" turns out to be some form of competition, cooperation, trade or just plain common interests. What counts more is that Germans are allowed to say anything they want, there is no evidence of tampering in elections, the press is free and extensive, and people can largely do…

Well, first let me state that I am not sure what to make of this Non-sovereignty.

However, here are some of the arguments I find interesting:

- A decent amount of videos about this topic can be found on youtube, most of the feature also Schäuble (Minister of Finance) saying that Germany neither is nor ever was souvereign.

- Untampered elections are necessary but not sufficient for democracy. What if you elect someone and the newly elected just do as they please after the election? (see US or Germany)

- free press: This is my personal opinion but I often find that very interesting things happen worldwide and the German press doesn't care or all major journals have the same opinion (example: EU is good, Russia is bad, Ukraine is Putin's fault)

Re: Germany turns up pressure in suspected US spy case

#80
post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The reason they don't do it, in spite of nearly everyone [1] distrusting the US gov't, makes me wonder what kind of leverage the US secret services have. It also lends some credence to the "Germany was never really souvereign" theory. [1] Just check the comment sections in the major German newspapers.

>[1] Just check the comment sections in the major German newspapers. Considering the comments I see on websites like the Guardian, I don't know why I'd trust the comments section on any German newspaper. Maybe the Germans like that the US is footing the bill for most of the intelligence gathering in the world.

I don't read the Guardian comment section. What is the difference between the Guardian and a comparable major German newspaper w.r.t. comments?
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