In Case You Missed This Nugget From Snowden's Letter To Brazil... [View all]

[WillyT]

Item number three is Edward Snowden wrote a letter to the people of Brazil about what was happening to them. It was an appeal for asylum as well. But to me the core of the letter was what he said to the people of Brazil is don't kid yourself. The mass spying that is taking place in Brazil is not about stopping terrorism; it's about the United States getting economic advantage, political advantage, and in the end it's about power.

And that's a very powerful statement. It's one that every person who hears about NSA spying ought to understand. This is not about terrorism. This is about the U.S. empire, U.S. power, U.S. hegemony, probably an increase in the spying as the U.S. empire is on the decline and it has a different world to compete in than it did after the Second World War or after the collapse of the Soviet Union. So that's the third point.

From: http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=11227

From the letter...

American Senators tell us that Brazil should not worry, because this is not "surveillance," it's "data collection." They say it is done to keep you safe. They're wrong. There is a huge difference between legal programs, legitimate spying, legitimate law enforcement — where individuals are targeted based on a reasonable, individualized suspicion — and these programs of dragnet mass surveillance that put entire populations under an all-seeing eye and save copies forever. These programs were never about terrorism: they're about economic spying, social control, and diplomatic manipulation. They're about power.

The letter in full: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/17/edward-snowden-letter-brazilian-people