'United Stasi of America' beamed onto US embassy in Berlin featuring Megaupload founder (VIDEO)
Posted by: Jon on 07/13/2013 09:36 AM
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Oliver Bienkowski projected the message, along with a picture of Kim Schmitz the founder of the file-sharing website Megaupload also know as Dotcom to protest U.S. spying practices that were revealed by Edward Snowden.
Oliver Bienkowski's artwork is fast becoming a hit on the Internet in Germany, tapping into widespread outrage over U.S. surveillance programmes revealed by fugitive ex-National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden.
Government eavesdropping is a highly sensitive topic in Germany, evoking memories of the Nazi Gestapo and the Stasi security police, which used a vast network of informants to crush dissidents in communist East Germany
Chancellor Angela Merkel has sought explanations from the United States. With an election looming in September, her opponents have tried to turn the matter into a campaign issue, with some demanding a halt to EU-U.S. trade talks unless Washington allays German concerns.
"The Stasi would have dreamt of being able to do what the Americans are doing," said Bienkowski, 31. "The Stasi look like a bunch of boy scouts compared to what the NSA is doing. It's the real deal in terms of a secret service with modern technology at their disposal. It's far more dangerous."
A spokesman for the U.S. embassy, in the heart of Berlin near the the Brandenburg Gate, said the artist's stunt was "funny, but anyone who makes this comparison knows neither the Stasi nor the United States".
Oliver Bienkowski's artwork is fast becoming a hit on the Internet in Germany, tapping into widespread outrage over U.S. surveillance programmes revealed by fugitive ex-National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden.
Government eavesdropping is a highly sensitive topic in Germany, evoking memories of the Nazi Gestapo and the Stasi security police, which used a vast network of informants to crush dissidents in communist East Germany
Chancellor Angela Merkel has sought explanations from the United States. With an election looming in September, her opponents have tried to turn the matter into a campaign issue, with some demanding a halt to EU-U.S. trade talks unless Washington allays German concerns.
"The Stasi would have dreamt of being able to do what the Americans are doing," said Bienkowski, 31. "The Stasi look like a bunch of boy scouts compared to what the NSA is doing. It's the real deal in terms of a secret service with modern technology at their disposal. It's far more dangerous."
A spokesman for the U.S. embassy, in the heart of Berlin near the the Brandenburg Gate, said the artist's stunt was "funny, but anyone who makes this comparison knows neither the Stasi nor the United States".
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