Reply to post: Re: Ironic, given the furore over The Interview.

Re: Ironic, given the furore over The Interview.

Hmmm

Actually the US government spying on foreign heads of state is technically, under international law, completely Illegal. Obviously, every significant intelligence service in the world does precisely the same thing. But there is a reason this is all done in secret. And keeping the subject in the dark is not the only one. It is kept secret because it is ILLEGAL. And I am sure that in the countries in which the spying actually takes place, the NSA operations are not considered legal or ethical. And again, technically speaking, it is the laws of the country in which the crime takes place that apply.

And here is a news flash Vociferous; In the United States, the Constitution specifically demands that only after very specific requirements are met and only AFTER a Warrant issued FOR EACH INDIVIDUAL, can the government legally conduct a search. The 4th Amendment is very specific, and offers no wiggle room, or relief for the government what so ever. And in point of fact, if you read the papers of the founding fathers, the 4th Amendment was SPECIFICALLY enacted to prohibit precisely this kind of tyranny against the people. And make no mistake, the constant threat of being spied on by your own government, when you are doing absolutely nothing wrong is tyranny. It is also designed to oppress the will of the people by intimidating them not to speak out against the government.

JFK summed up the problems and dangers with secrecy far better than I ever could:

"The very word "secrecy" is repugnant in a free and open society; and we are as a people inherently and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret oaths and to secret proceedings. We decided long ago that the dangers of excessive and unwarranted concealment of pertinent facts far outweighed the dangers which are cited to justify it. Even today, there is little value in opposing the threat of a closed society by imitating its arbitrary restrictions. Even today, there is little value in insuring the survival of our nation if our traditions do not survive with it. And there is very grave danger that an announced need for increased security will be seized upon by those anxious to expand its meaning to the very limits of official censorship and concealment."