Surveillance

A commentator on Russia Today makes the point that surveillance of Merkel, Hollande among a declared 35 heads of state by the US Security Agency (NSA) and GCHQ is not the scandal, it is the mass surveillance that has been going on in total silence. As has been pointed out doubtless these :talking heads” had no illusions about what is/has been happening and are most likely complicit, Cameron clearly so when struck dumb when it comes to surveillance activities. Interesting that he should regard the Guardian as having “stolen information” when the whole surveillance operation is about just that. The mass surveillance doesn’t operate by targetting areas of proven concern, it is pervasive and affects all of us beyond the predictions of earlier prophetic writings such as Orwell’s 1984. Cameron clearly supports the US rather than European partners.

In the debate it is the whistleblowers who are centre stage with the so-called democratic states calling for them to be handed over to be dropped in the deepest dungeon or strung up from the highest branch, silenced forever. Too late, the horse has bolted. All that they can say to the rest of us is “shut up, or this will happen to you”.

Are we.or should we be grateful to others risking freedom of not life for taking what they are convinced is a matter of principle. How widely among the now fabled 99% for whom they speak is such a view shared or how widely is ignorance and complacency held in place by sycophantic media and corrupt political figures who rather than representing their electors are bought off by the remaining few?

While every thing done by the agencies is said to be essential in the interests of national security the worries expressed by the revelations is that, it is the possibility of being challenged by law that is their main concern and so the utmost secrecy is necessary to avoid detection. Such services traditionally operate under cloaks of protection and seem to assume they are free to operate above law and all that is enshrined in it to protect hard gained rights for all.

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