The Twist to the NSA Affair

News this morning in Germany indicates that the Germans have just about given up on any treaty with the US on this NSA spying business.

So the screw gets tighten a bit.

Germany now indicates that they will go into the EU with this interesting suggestion.  Talk the twenty-eight member group of the EU....into a no-spying clause.  No one will spy on another....unless for terrorism only.

This will invite a fair amount of discussion.  They aren't just talking about regular old-fashioned state-sponsored spying....they'd also bend this to include industrial spying....which is a fairly common practice today.  My humble guess is that most would readily agree to no state-sponsored spying on each other....leaving any industrial spying off the agreement.

The British?  Well....this brings up the eventual expected result.  Twenty-seven of the twenty-eight will agree.  The UK will not agree to a no-spying clause, period.

This will put a fair amount of pressure on British news media to explain the story, and why the British can't possibly cooperate.  Can an agreement survive without complete support (one nation standing against it)?  The EU generally votes and does absolute things.....either it's absolutely approved or it's not approved.

I'm also guessing that several folks are meeting quietly in Berlin and gazing at maps and drawings of the US embassy.  There's going to be some minor project put forth....in the months ahead....which triggers some kind of response to the NSA folks in the embassy.  Making some jammer.  Maybe 'iron curtain' of sorts.  Maybe a digital filter to slow down data flow into the building.  Something will be created to show displeasure.

The amusing side of this?  One can only imagine a couple of NSA guys standing there and trying to create great reasons why spying on Merkel, the German government, or Berlin itself....is a sensational idea and a fountain of fantastic intelligence.  They will pull out some folder with Merkel's shoe size, a list of German political figures who admit they read Winnie the Pooh, the best schnitzel recipe by the head of the Linke Party, some German soccer league predictions for 2014, a listing of gay and lesbian bars in Berlin, and a list of German companies doing business in Sri Lanka.

The real reason why the US can't agree to anything on this?  You agree with Germany....it naturally includes France.  And if you promise this to those two countries....then why not for South Korea, Mexico, or Aruba? You basically open the door to a bunch of agreements....which lead to NSA basically being allowed to spy on North Korea, Cuba, and America itself.  It just doesn't work after that point.

So, stand back....enjoy the latest twist to the NSA affair, and prepare for more delightful comedy.