back to article German spooks target officials who leaked govt docs to bloggers

Germany’s domestic secret service is backing a criminal case against government officials who passed documents to the press. Activists claim the investigation is an effort to clamp down on the freedom of the press, while others see it as a cynical move by interior spooks the Federal Office for the Protection of the …

  1. elDog

    Bravo!

    (I'd try wunderbar but I'm afraid that my grade-school german and Larry Welk wouldn't pass muster.)

    The more open resources that can get improperly-hidden public data available, the better. I would think that every democracy (even some of those in name only) would have much more of this type of leaks.

    Even though Europe is a bit more unified, there should still be a lot of differences of opinions and a lot of avenues for information dissemination. That is, unless a new Iron Curtain is built.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Big Brother

    Democracy and freedom

    Are dying almost everywhere. There is a breed/caste of politicians, no matter the ideology, that want to remain in power and /or control over their own people.The stigma of "radicals" and other epithets that they make about Syriza, Podemos, Venezuela, Bolivia, etc, its just smokescreen for their fear of uprisings...

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    What ass clowns!

    Every time authorities intervene to prosecute criminals who illegally distribute confidential documents in violation of law, the loonies start screaming that freedom of speech is being violated. No freedom of speak is not being violated. Illegal distribution of confidential documents is a crime and all who commit a crime shall be punished. Publishing illegally distributed confidential documents is also a crime in most locales and those who chose to violate law by publishing confidential documents should also do jail time.

    The clueless might want to actually research the expression "freedom of speech" and see what your country legally decrees to be protected speech. As is the case in most countries there are restrictions on what can be said or disseminated. The original intent of protection of "free speech" was to allow people to freely comment on politicians and the government's actions. Free speech is not a God given right and it has limitations for obvious and necessary reasons, i.e. you don't yell "fire" inside a movie theater or other facility when there is no fire as people's lives can easily be lost in a panic stampede to escape the theater.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: What ass clowns!

      You are the kind of ass clown that I would never, ever, trust to tell what a person can or cannot do.

      Let's take a look at what you didn't read in the article:

      "One examined a €2.75m project for processing massive online datasets."

      I wonder how many ex-Stasi where integrated in the german secret services...they are used to do the dirty stuff, you know.

      "The other revealed plans for a 75-man unit to monitor Twitter and Facebook chats, as well as other communications."

      This one I consider waste of tax-payers money, but great for someone to have their little kingdom...

      Politicians love to hide their crap under "secret of state". If you have nothing to hide...right, mister clown?

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: What ass clowns!

      "freedom of speak"? Ass clown! This is not yelling "fire" in a public place... this is allowing the citizens of a country to (democratically!) debate something their representatives are doing (in their name), which was hidden under a vague cloak of 'security'... a bit like torture, mass surveillance etc etc ad infinitum. Ass clown!

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: What ass clowns!

      Hey Ass Clown,

      Some of us are a little tired of the cavalier way in which governments continue wasting taxpayers money to better spy on the people they are taxing.

      An open democracy should have nothing to fear whenever government wrongdoing and malfeasance is exposed. In fact, it should be encouraged. There are very few state secrets left that are worth protecting anyway.

      Massive fishing expeditions and trawling of people's social media feeds are not only politically suspect and morally wrong they are a complete waste of time and money. The sooner politicians figure this out, the sooner the voter's revolution that will eventually send them all packing can be staved off.

      Fiscal reasons alone are enough reason to stop this crap. I fully support whistle blowers who out this kind of thing and wish there were more of them. Governments should serve the citizens that elected them, not the other way around.

      It is time to stop treating citizens like children who need to be nannied 24/7. It ain't gonna work and it costs far too much.

    4. rtb61

      Re: What ass clowns!

      False classification of documents is active censorship. Hiding of official documents that could affect the outcome of elections is electoral fraud. Combine them both and you have the purposeful attempt to subvert democracy and commit treason.

      So who is actually committing treason, those who expose treasonous actions or the traitors in government committing those actions and purposefully subverting the government for their own purpose.

      The core elementary element of any democracy is the right of every citizen to know of any action or intent of their government that could affect their democratic right to choose who to vote for.

      There is no democracy in ignorance and any politician or public official who purposefully hides information from the public that would affect the outcome of elections is a traitor of the first order.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    As a German ...

    ... I currently feel like I am supposed to train my right arm. You really have learn to control the movement. If you just raise it in a jerking motion you can feel how your shoulder is going to suffer in the long run. That can't be good.

    In other news, the Merkelnator made a soon-to-be-deported refugee girl (who has been living here for four years, speaks perfect German buy sadly succumbed to delusions of integration and getting to study here in candyland) cry today and then proceeded to pet her like a little puppy. "there there, you did very well" #merkelstreichelt

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ji0D_aSUG8A

    My country has turned into something very, very scary.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    When you're 'ill', you don't usually see it. Those around you see it before you do. Hence why they say you can't be helped until you're ready; why they say you can't be helped until you admit you have a problem. Hence the 'intervention'.

    Yes, all around the world, those in power are 'ill'. I guess it's a mass psychosis. Unfortunately they're insulated from intervention.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Oh Pheasant Plucker, I fear it is not so simple

      Indeed, "illness" is a very good way to describe the malaise that seems to have infected so many of our elected officials. Mass delusion is perhaps a better description.

      As the world gets smaller and more connected, the standard lies and official myths become increasingly harder to swallow and perpetuate.

      The only intervention I can see working now is a full transplant at the ballot box. That would require a very dedicated and determined citizenry, not the cowed and financially dependent one we have at the moment. Failing that, I see gradual full decline of Western democracy, Roman style. We might want to start looking for another way to repeat history.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    off topic, ref. Netzpolitik

    unfortunate name, given the resemblance to Nazipolitik.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: off topic, ref. Netzpolitik

      Sorry, not at all. "Netzpolitik" translates to "net policy" as in "internet". An interesting observation though.

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