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And yet, they can't help it, hence NSA. I doubt that anywhere in continental Europe there is a full-scale surveillance program like administered by NSA or GCHQ

And yet, they can't help it, hence NSA. I doubt that anywhere in continental Europe there is a full-scale surveillance program like administered by NSA or GCHQ (or maybe we are unusually good at keeping secrets -- really doubt it, though).

Muromec 10y ago
>And yet, they can't help it, hence NSA. I doubt that anywhere in continental Europe there is a full-scale surveillance program like administered by NSA or GCHQ Just reminder that KGB is still a thing and they have SORM: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SORM https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SORM
- atemerev 10y ago
  Well, yes. As I argued elsewhere, we Russians are culturally closer to Americans than to Europeans, for some unknown reasons.
  - oblio 10y ago
    Isolationism and exceptionalism. See UK and Japan for other examples. Though after the beating received in WW2, Japan's is subdued.
masklinn 10y ago
> or maybe we are unusually good at keeping secrets -- really doubt it, though France had two different services dedicated solely to internal intelligence/spying (until they got merged in 2008): the "RG"[0] (general intelligence) and the "DST"[1] (territorial surveillance directorate) [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direction_centrale_des_renseignements_généraux https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direction_centrale_des_renseig... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direction_de_la_surveillance_du_territoire https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direction_de_la_surveillance_d...
- Noseshine 10y ago
  I don't think "having a service" has much meaning in this context? OP surely knows that the countries he referred to actually have intelligence services. Germany has at least two (BND and MAD) and depending on what exactly you mean more. I would say the point was to which lengths those services actually go.
posterboy 10y ago
We just collect the results from five eyes in exchange for the data that we do collect and other favors.

Muromec 10y ago

>And yet, they can't help it, hence NSA. I doubt that anywhere in continental Europe there is a full-scale surveillance program like administered by NSA or GCHQ Just reminder that KGB is still a thing and they have SORM: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SORM https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SORM

atemerev 10y ago
Well, yes. As I argued elsewhere, we Russians are culturally closer to Americans than to Europeans, for some unknown reasons.
- oblio 10y ago
  Isolationism and exceptionalism. See UK and Japan for other examples. Though after the beating received in WW2, Japan's is subdued.

masklinn 10y ago

> or maybe we are unusually good at keeping secrets -- really doubt it, though France had two different services dedicated solely to internal intelligence/spying (until they got merged in 2008): the "RG"[0] (general intelligence) and the "DST"[1] (territorial surveillance directorate) [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direction_centrale_des_renseignements_généraux https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direction_centrale_des_renseig... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direction_de_la_surveillance_du_territoire https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direction_de_la_surveillance_d...

Noseshine 10y ago
I don't think "having a service" has much meaning in this context? OP surely knows that the countries he referred to actually have intelligence services. Germany has at least two (BND and MAD) and depending on what exactly you mean more. I would say the point was to which lengths those services actually go.

posterboy 10y ago

We just collect the results from five eyes in exchange for the data that we do collect and other favors.