Classified documents that have been reexamined in the last few days, and which show massive NSA spying against France, Germany and the Netherlands, also show something that offers a small measure of cheer for Europeans seeking to evade America’s big ears. For de Volkskrant of the Netherlands, adding a dash of humor to the global tumult surrounding American surveillance, columnist Michael Persson points out that according to NSA graphics, there were at least two days that not a single French or Dutch person was spied upon: Christmas and New Year’s!
For de Volkskrant, Michael Persson writes in part:
How bad is this? If one uses six phone calls per day as a baseline, 1.8 million phone calls in thirty days amounts to 100,000 Dutch people being followed. That is a huge number of course, but strangely enough, it’s less than one might have imagined. Whistleblower Snowden gave the impression in his first revelations in June that everything and everyone is being followed everywhere. That is not the case.
As for those who are committed to privacy, there is something remarkable in the graphs. On December 24 and December 31, the NSA tapped not one person in the Netherlands. Apparently, most spies are at home over Christmas and New Year’s Eve. That would be the best time to call friends in Pakistan.
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