Hi all
Just to say that my highly-educated husband seriously believes that the UK is closer to the USA than is France, and thus that it must be involved in the US phone spying activities.
Sometimes I just feel like giving up.
Where do they go wrong (or right, depending on what's at stake, grrr), in France, where even the highly-educated don't have the independence of thought to challenge prejudice and stereotype.
Or rather, that these people have no shame in relying on dodgy logic to uphold sectarian views - and no shame in turning their back on a good education to fall back on the ideas they've received through brainwashing?
Of course, if anyone would like to enlighten us on real links between american espionage and the UK, I'd be happy to listen - because - guess what - I not only have a brain, but am prepared to put it into active service...
I wonder how long it'll be before espionage on the citizens of France (and doubtless other countries, including the UK) by their own government and/or powerful corporations, will be brought to light.
I wonder which imaginary alliances the UK will be credited with then. The Anglais in league with Carrefour, perhaps? Les anglais maliciously manipulating Arriva, Eiffage and Saint-Gobain to their own ends?
No really, sometimes it'd be better not to have a brain at all, and leave all my thinking to the State (I'd rather die).
Though not, I hasten to point out, by anyone on here.
in fact all this is in the public domain. The UKUSA Treaty of 1948 places the UK and the USA in direct partnership on intelligence gathering and other intelligence-related activities. This is in the public domain and always has been, and has been debated in the UK Parliament on a number of occasions over the decades. Also parties to this treaty are Australia, Canada and New Zealand - but not France, although other intelligence-related partnerships do exist between France and the UK and France and the USA. Most of what is being said about this is cant.
GCHQ were considered an arch enemy by all of us in Cambridge because the establishment believed us all a nest of communism (Stephen Hawking? Eh?!! and a few more dangerous subversives??). That is 30 years back or so. However, as much as they watched everything they were so incompetent that if they did a midnight visit to have a look through somebody's office they might as well have left their business cards. Secret, more like bulls in china shops. Thus, in the end they became a joke amongst those of us used to it and newcomers went through it from feeling aggrieved to with time laughing. I doubt that the spooks are much better now - nothing like the ones on TV who are efficient and ruthless.
Personally, I deliberately attempt to get them interested now and again just to p**s them off. If they are going to bother with reading this, then I might as well use it as an opportunity warn them that I fully intend to empty a jar of marmalade over Big Ben on 14 June 2024 and proffer other equally useful information.
Cheltenham and it's satellite station in Cyprus have the facility to listen in on every mobile phone conversion and internet chat room around the world. They are looking out for terrorists. there is a computer programme that listens out for key certain words.
I worked in the royal navy and way back at the turn of the century the submarines that went on sneaky missions listened into mobile phone chat with nothing more than the standard equipment fitted to the submarines.
It does happen but who cares, all your internet links are kept by your provider for 30days for security reasons.