I wonder which Germans are on it.
"German agency reveals spy stations" Associated Press June 07, 2014
BERLIN — Germany’s foreign intelligence agency officially lifted the lid on some of its worst-kept secrets Friday, acknowledging that half a dozen facilities around the country are in fact spy stations — as anyone with Internet access could already figure out.
Still trying to keep it secret!
The Federal Intelligence Service, known by its German acronym BND, maintained the facade for decades that it had nothing to do with sites bearing cryptic names such as ‘‘Ionosphere Institute.’’ But amateur sleuths long suspected their true identities and posted them on websites such as Wikipedia.
The subterfuge wasn’t helped by the fact that some sites sport unmistakable signs of spy activity, like the giant golf ball-shaped radomes in Bad Aibling, near Munich — until now, the ‘‘Telecommunications Traffic Office of the German Armed Forces.’’
The agency officially attached its logo to the site’s entrance at a ceremony Friday, and BND chief Gerhard Schindler posed for photographers in front of the radomes. The rebranding is part of an effort by Schindler to make the work of spies more transparent.
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That casts a different light on this, doesn't it?
"Germany investigates alleged NSA Merkel phone tap" by David Rising | Associated Press June 05, 2014
BERLIN — German prosecutors have opened an investigation into the alleged monitoring of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cellphone by the US National Security Agency, officials said Wednesday, in a move that could again complicate diplomatic relations between the two allies.
It wasn’t immediately clear what the new investigation might mean in terms of possible prosecutions of Americans.
Documents provided by National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden indicated in October that the United States was monitoring cellphone conversations by Merkel, as well as those of 35 other foreign leaders. Merkel expressed outrage and accused Washington of a grave breach of trust.
Nothing but a $hit-show fooley for the public as the spying and data collection continues.
In the ensuing diplomatic fallout, President Obama acknowledged Germany’s anger and promised that new guidelines would cut back on such monitoring, except in the case of a national security interest.
‘‘The leaders of our close friends and allies deserve to know that if I want to learn what they think about an issue, I will pick up the phone and call them rather than turning to surveillance,’’ Obama said at the time.
Following Wednesday’s news of the German probe, Obama’s deputy national security adviser, Ben Rhodes, said the United States believes direct dialogue between the two countries, rather than an investigation, is the best way to address Germany’s concerns.
‘‘We believe we have an open line and good communication’’ with Merkel and her team, he told reporters aboard Air Force One as Obama flew to Brussels for a Group of Seven meeting.
After mulling for months whether to open a formal probe, Germany’s chief federal prosecutor, Harald Range, determined ‘‘that sufficient factual evidence exists that unknown members of US intelligence services spied on the mobile phone of Chancellor Angela Merkel,’’ his office said.
‘‘The operation of a foreign intelligence service’s secret agents is a criminal offense in Germany,’’ Range told reporters after the decision was announced. ‘‘And that’s not dependent on whether it is the intelligence agency of a friend or of another nation.’’
In his Wednesday announcement, Range’s office said he was not opening a formal investigation of wider allegations of blanket surveillance of telecommunications data in Germany by US and British intelligence, saying that there was not yet sufficient factual evidence. His office said that will remain under consideration.
Separately, the German Parliament earlier this year set up a committee to investigate the scope of spying in Germany by the United States and its allies in the ‘‘Five Eyes’’ network: Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
And that network dates back to the 1980s at least, maybe longer. They called it ECHELON, and they circumvented national laws by sharing everything.
It is seeking testimony from Snowden. Opposition parties want him brought to Berlin to testify, but the government has said it would hurt trans-Atlantic relations and security cooperation with the United State. Snowden is currently in Russia.
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Also see: Snowden Was a Russian Spy
Related: The Snowden Interview
