3 ms·

How so? Der Spiegel didn't even know they were being spied on (that is, assuming they were). No one stepped in to prosecute them, no one threatened them, and

How so? Der Spiegel didn't even know they were being spied on (that is, assuming they were). No one stepped in to prosecute them, no one threatened them, and no one interfered with their ability to publish any story. If anything, that fact that nothing has come of this since the leaker was discovered back in 2011 sends a clear signal that the German press can publish any story it likes and their government won't lift a finger to interfere.

user 11y ago
>no one interfered with their ability to publish any story How do you know it? What sort of interference would you expect these days anyway? The secret order signed by Angela Merkel herself ordering to stop the story or face lifetime in prison? FOIA records on FBI and CIA show again and again that western governments are not ashamed to use misinformation, defamation, subversion and provocations. In fact, they have become extremely skillful at these hard-to-prove-yet-so-effective-against-civilian tactics.
- csandreasen 11y ago
  > How do you know it? The burden of proof rests on the person alleging it happened, not the person saying there is no evidence. You're asking me to concede that something must have happened in secret unless I can prove a negative. To top it off, Der Spiegel very strongly suggests that they just recently learned of the matter in the editor's note on the left hand of the page. Nowhere in their reporting (or, to my knowledge, anyone else's reporting) are they claiming that the government forced them to withhold a story. > FOIA records on FBI and CIA show again and again ... Could you provide links to these FOIA documents?
  - user 11y ago
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COINTELPRO https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COINTELPRO
    - csandreasen 11y ago
      I'd like to think that discussions on HN ought to be a little more rigorous than dropping unexplained links to a pre-FISA purely domestic FBI program from half a century ago when discussing today's interactions between the CIA, German government and German press...

user 11y ago

>no one interfered with their ability to publish any story How do you know it? What sort of interference would you expect these days anyway? The secret order signed by Angela Merkel herself ordering to stop the story or face lifetime in prison? FOIA records on FBI and CIA show again and again that western governments are not ashamed to use misinformation, defamation, subversion and provocations. In fact, they have become extremely skillful at these hard-to-prove-yet-so-effective-against-civilian tactics.

csandreasen 11y ago
> How do you know it? The burden of proof rests on the person alleging it happened, not the person saying there is no evidence. You're asking me to concede that something must have happened in secret unless I can prove a negative. To top it off, Der Spiegel very strongly suggests that they just recently learned of the matter in the editor's note on the left hand of the page. Nowhere in their reporting (or, to my knowledge, anyone else's reporting) are they claiming that the government forced them to withhold a story. > FOIA records on FBI and CIA show again and again ... Could you provide links to these FOIA documents?
- user 11y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COINTELPRO https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COINTELPRO
  - csandreasen 11y ago
    I'd like to think that discussions on HN ought to be a little more rigorous than dropping unexplained links to a pre-FISA purely domestic FBI program from half a century ago when discussing today's interactions between the CIA, German government and German press...