4 ms·
I'm still willing to be convinced that Google has some kind of special, voluntary co-operation policy with the NSA but this article doesn't seem to offer much p
by cageface 13y ago
I'm still willing to be convinced that Google has some kind of special, voluntary co-operation policy with the NSA but this article doesn't seem to offer much proof of such a thing. It seems to consist mostly of accusations of guilt by association and the questionable inference that Google having a large lobbying budget is indicative of being in government's pocket somehow.
- acchow 13y agoFunny, before Google started having a serious lobbying budget, people were begging Google to start fighting for our internet rights in Washington by...lobbying.
- psbp 13y agoI guess google is everyone's scapegoat. But hey, they're free and easy. They were just begging for it.
- JanezStupar 13y agoHistorically realipolitik works on a quid pro quo basis. If government does something for you, then you are expected to do something for the government. Trading favors is the name of the game. One may argue that lobiying dollars are the favor Google is offering. But one may not realize that dollars are merely the cost of a ticket to participate. It is not the sole price. There are many examples throughout history that this is the way things work. There are two possibilities. Either Google's and governments relationship works the way Assange has described OR US governments in the last fifteen years are completely different (more honorable?) than all the governments throughout the world before that. What do you think is more probable?
- cageface 13y agoWhat is it exactly that the U.S. government has done for Google? The way things typically work here is that you hire a bunch of lobbyists and put money in the pockets of various government officials in exchange for favors. So the quid is generally just $$$.
- DigitalTurk 13y agoSpying on foreign corporations, if I were to guess.
- JanezStupar 13y agoListen, you think I know exactly how the deals are structured? But from the tone of your post it would appear that you have participated in these deals yourself. So tell me are you a lobbyist, someone who hired a lobbyist or a government official? Oh, you are no different than me - you have no data beyond your faith.
- r0h1n 13y agoIn Google's case the quid pro quo would be what the US Govt doesn't do to Google. I'd offer anti-trust action as one of those things. Thus far Google has been let off very lightly in most cases involving the DoJ or FTC, in most cases with fines that wouldn't amount to a few days of revenue for it. In contrast, the European Commission is adopting a much stricter approach towards it's market dominance.
- VladRussian2 13y ago>It seems to consist mostly of accusations of guilt by association your TL;DR doesn't match the article, seems you didn't read to the point there Stratfor docs mentioned.
- cageface 13y agoOther info I can find on this suggests a different reading of the Stratfor docs: http://mondoweiss.net/2012/03/wikileaks-mossad-and-google-caught-in-spy-games.html http://mondoweiss.net/2012/03/wikileaks-mossad-and-google-ca...