Edward Snowden set to leak secrets about Arab leaders - report

[JDPriestly]

111. The tension arose because Australia was snooping on the president of Indonesia.

Australia could have kept that secret had it not shared the information with the US.

It is hard to take the secrecy of a program seriously when the government claiming the secrecy hands the information out to other countries.

The surveillance program when used to place elected leaders of foreign countries under surveillance is about world domination. That is especially true in the case of Australia and Indonesia.

Australia should simply return the people emigrating to its shores back to the countries of origin and punish anyone who hires the refugees or immigrants.

Apologists for the NSA surveillance seem to justify it by saying well, we can so why shouldn't we.

If the NSA, Australia and other countries do surveillance, they have to understand that there is a price for doing it. And that price is that other countries, the countries (and individuals) under surveillance will lose trust in those doing the surveillance. Actions have effects. Actions have repercussions.

If Snowden had not revealed the NSA snooping and invasions of privacy, that snooping and those invasions of privacy would have been revealed or discovered through some other means. You just don't snoop on people without telling them you are doing it.

It is a question of respecting others. How can you claim to believe in freedom or personal responsibility or democracy or even self-determination if you place nearly everyone under surveillance and the social interactions of others under surveillance?

There is something terribly wrong with our government when it professes to support self-determination, freedom and democracy but conducts surveillance on everyone and everything. Goes for Australia too.

This is a peeping tom mentality. It is sick and perverted. Spying should be used carefully and planned with much thought for the best and most efficient and economical use of resources. This blanket collection of data and spying on politically embarrassing victims has to go. It is irresponsible and will alienate potential and actual allies.