Brazil Admits It Spied On U.S. Diplomats

[last1standing]

50. The responses in this thread prove that repubs aren't the only ones who can't grasp complexities.

As so many have written in other threads, there was never any doubt that other countries spy and that they spy on the US. But that doesn't stop those unable to grasp something so complicated as levels of degree from screeching that this proves "they all do it!"

The problem with posting "they all do it" repeatedly, besides making the writer of such comments appear intellectually challenged, is that as the original article states (and TPM conveniently omits) Brazil's spying was standard, run of the mill, procedure.

As one of the targets of Brazil's operation stated:

“It’s kind of basic stuff when you think about it,” said Fernando Sampaio, 70, Russia’s honorary consul in the southern city of Porto Alegre and one of the targets of Brazil’s spying program, according to the newspaper report, which was based on an Abin document.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/05/world/americas/brazil-acknowledges-spying-on-diplomats-from-us.html?smid=tw-share

On the other hand, even John Kerry (some here might recognize the name as belonging to the US Secretary of State) has gone on record as saying the NSA has gone too far in its operations. When the SoS says the country's spying has gotten out of hand, it's probably a safe bet to believe that it's gotten out of hand. A person able to think in terms of complex meanings might even make the connection that President Obama wouldn't have let his SoS make such a statement if he didn't agree with it. Obama may have come to this conclusion when he found out that the NSA was tapping the cell phone of Germany's Chancellor - one of our staunchest allies.

I know this post is a bit difficult for those who can only think in terms of "my side good, his side bad" but reality is a bit more nuanced than just saying "they all do it" then posting a ROFL smilie. However, in one more vain attempt at explaining the situation:

Yes, all countries spy and the US should be one of them. But the US should not allow its spy agencies to make it's own rules. It should not allow its spy agencies to lie to their overseers. They should not allow its spy agencies to collect information on its own citizens without a proper, individualized warrant. And they should not allow it to perform critical, high level operations such at tapping the head of state for another nation without first getting approval from the president or his appointed designee. And to be clear, it doesn't matter if you think other countries run that way. Ours shouldn't. We have a Constitution that forbids it and customs that make it anathema to our culture.

Lastly, this isn't a personal attack on Obama. It appears that he's found himself burned by an out of control NSA just as badly as the rest of us.