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Book sales for Harry Potter are $7.7 billion dollars. They are just protecting domestic business. To put things in perspective BAE systems revenue was $25 bill

Book sales for Harry Potter are $7.7 billion dollars. They are just protecting domestic business. To put things in perspective BAE systems revenue was $25 billion some years ago.

mtgx 11y ago
So spy agencies' purpose is to help domestic business now?
- extra88 11y ago
  To protect domestic business, yes. As stated in the article, "GCHQ, based in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, is a secret intelligence agency which monitors electronic communication to prevent terrorism and tackle serious and organised crime." Spy agencies should not help domestic businesses by engaging in serious crime, i.e. industrial espionage, though some nations' intelligence agencies, including France's have done so.
  - DanBC 11y ago
    Including the US, who misused ECHELON to help their aerospace industry.
    - extra88 11y ago
      If you're referring to the Airbus example, the NSA exposing Airbus's crimes which benefited a U.S. competitor, I'm okay with that. There's a big difference between exposing crimes, even if only selectively, and sharing non-criminal information. The claims about the CIA spying on Japanese government officials and car manufacturers to benefit the U.S. in trade deals is very different, and wrong. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECHELON#Concerns https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECHELON#Concerns
  - partycoder 11y ago
    Nature follows the path of least resistance. If the easiest way to make money is to spy then it will happen. Whoever does it successfully once will be rewarded, and that reward will reshape their behavior.
- agd 11y ago
  The logic is that our national security is partly dependent on our economic success. This is the problem with vague definitions, you can extend national security to cover anything really.
- junto 11y ago
  Germany: http://www.windpowermonthly.com/article/960011/trans-atlantic-espionage-claimed-german-wind-company http://www.windpowermonthly.com/article/960011/trans-atlanti... France: http://techcrunch.com/2015/06/29/new-wikileaks-documents-reveal-nsa-spied-on-top-french-companies/ http://techcrunch.com/2015/06/29/new-wikileaks-documents-rev... Other: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-glaser/america-as-economic-spy-n_b_4190948.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-glaser/america-as-economi... https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130909/04383424450/latest-leak-shows-nsa-engaging-economic-espionage-not-fighting-terrorism.shtml https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130909/04383424450/lates...
  - deleted 11y ago
    [deleted]

Book sales for Harry Potter are $7.7 billion dollars. They are just protecting domestic business. To put things in perspective BAE systems revenue was $25 billion some years ago.

mtgx 11y ago

So spy agencies' purpose is to help domestic business now?

extra88 11y ago
To protect domestic business, yes. As stated in the article, "GCHQ, based in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, is a secret intelligence agency which monitors electronic communication to prevent terrorism and tackle serious and organised crime." Spy agencies should not help domestic businesses by engaging in serious crime, i.e. industrial espionage, though some nations' intelligence agencies, including France's have done so.
- DanBC 11y ago
  Including the US, who misused ECHELON to help their aerospace industry.
  - extra88 11y ago
    If you're referring to the Airbus example, the NSA exposing Airbus's crimes which benefited a U.S. competitor, I'm okay with that. There's a big difference between exposing crimes, even if only selectively, and sharing non-criminal information. The claims about the CIA spying on Japanese government officials and car manufacturers to benefit the U.S. in trade deals is very different, and wrong. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECHELON#Concerns https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECHELON#Concerns
- partycoder 11y ago
  Nature follows the path of least resistance. If the easiest way to make money is to spy then it will happen. Whoever does it successfully once will be rewarded, and that reward will reshape their behavior.
agd 11y ago
The logic is that our national security is partly dependent on our economic success. This is the problem with vague definitions, you can extend national security to cover anything really.
junto 11y ago
Germany: http://www.windpowermonthly.com/article/960011/trans-atlantic-espionage-claimed-german-wind-company http://www.windpowermonthly.com/article/960011/trans-atlanti... France: http://techcrunch.com/2015/06/29/new-wikileaks-documents-reveal-nsa-spied-on-top-french-companies/ http://techcrunch.com/2015/06/29/new-wikileaks-documents-rev... Other: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-glaser/america-as-economic-spy-n_b_4190948.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-glaser/america-as-economi... https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130909/04383424450/latest-leak-shows-nsa-engaging-economic-espionage-not-fighting-terrorism.shtml https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130909/04383424450/lates...
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]