Remember, "If you like your current healthcare plan, you can keep it"?
Anyway now President Obama is also in a lot of hot water abroad for embarrassing revelations about ubiquitous American intelligence-gathering operations disclosed by Edward "I'm Just Trying to Help" Snowden.
A Chicago businessman, Robinson loved to tell the story of his initial CIA briefing. He asked if the CIA spied on even Canadians. “No,” was the reply. “But we do spy on the people we would spy on if we did spy on them.”
Thursday Germany's Foreign Ministry summoned the U.S. ambassador for an official scolding. To preempt something worse, Obama talked with Merkel by telephone on Wednesday.
The White House description of such calls rarely reveals who initiated the connection. But this time it was most likely Obama on damage-control over widespread reports that the NSA eavesdropped on Merkel's cellphone. As usual, we have the entire White House text below.
Such descriptions typically lack specific details. In this case, though, that's the telltale clue.
For example, read this seemingly clear-cut denial: “The President assured the Chancellor that the United States is not monitoring and will not monitor the communications of Chancellor Merkel.”
Notice the verb tenses in this White House statement: “is not monitoring and will not monitor.”
What's missing there is the key phrase "has not monitored." Sometimes what’s important is what's not said.
In other words, Obama's NSA is not eavesdropping on the German leader and the American president promises not to do it again.
Investors.com Andrew Malcolm
17 comments:
He is monitoring your calls and my calls too.
No assurances of stopping, whatsoever.
Smart Diplomacy.
(Angie wishes the cowboy was back; he gave a good back rub)
That's why important people always do their best to speak in code.
In the real world, Merkel said, "We'll stop spying on you if you stop spying on us." And Obama replied, "Sure. You go first." And they both went, "Hahahaha we kill ourselves, we sure do."
François Hollande too. He , says, "I am deeply offended your country is spying on us so thoroughly." Obama replies, "I too am deeply offended that your country is spying on us." Hollande replies, "Tell us, how do you do all that so well?" And they both go, "Hahahahaha."
Obama gave her his word.
That's all. I just wanted to point that out.
I'm more interested in the split with the Saudis.
That's why important people always do their best to speak in code.
tthattedjdag? isgrgwas' bufgsfs,
Chip, the Germans and the French lack the resources to do to us what we're doing to them. The French have been complaining of us spying on their business leaders since the 1990s, IIRC.
Oh, excuse me. That should be:
thet adf nsdjif df s s y r rgargadfgjln xfasd ghgsdd b fgbstghatrgh sdf dgghyj 3r4w4t44 df asdgas5y dg5r4 1990s, IIRC.
Less resources doesn't stop them from trying their hardest. They're mad because we do it better. I'm mad about that too. As a citizen who votes over here I probably have a tiny bit of power to affect that. Actually, I think they just put on a show of being offended. It's a laugh were it not serious. Regular people are the only ones offended, it's their money our resources used against us, not for us, and it's expensive.
The thing is, the systems are engineered for the highest gravest purposes, but it always gets down to humans behind all that so you can count on the most banal of all human impulses expressed through it. Like someone beating off behind the machinery, or the president being blown in the sacrosanct dust-free holy-most location. It's where the comedy comes from if you're sufficiently bleak to wallow there.
Think of the gravest most serious thing, say, religiously, say Christian, say, Christ on a cross. What is the most banal human impulse you can think of? Link them together and you get, "Hey, I can see my house from here."
Think of the gravest most serious thing, say, national security VS privacy. What is the most banal human impulse you can think of? Link them together and you get, checking on your political foe's private cell phone and listening in. Then your friend's. Then your wife's. Looking for porn on their computers.
Looking for porn on their computers.
What, you can't look for porn on your own computer?
(1) I recall a single-panel cartoon where Christ is on the cross and he's doing card tricks for the Roman soldiers.
(2) CHRIST: Your card is the 10 of Clubs.
FIRST SOLDIER: He's right.
SECOND SOLDIER: Wow, spooky.
(3) I think it was meant to poke fun at Mark 15:39.
“is not monitoring ..."
HaHa. We're right back to that basic question: "It all depends on what the definition of is, is."
HaHa
Surely AllenS refers to that football player, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix. Which has to be the least likely name in college football this year. Clinton-Dix? Seriously? No, not seriously, Ha Ha!
Jeez. When even the Germans think the government is too intrusive you have to stop and think.
Raus. Your papers!
Parsing people's speech is sometimes innate. For us (hubby and I) it was a learned skill when we encountered a low level power hungry sociopath pastor who people would hear say things he didn't actually say.
We can parse with the best now.
The Clinton are good at clinical ambiguity also.
Even though Merkel's first language isn't English, I'll bet she heard what Obama didn't say.
It's all kabuki all the time for the Obama Administration.
Pulling the curtain back slowly ... .. .
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