Hate to keep being the voice of sanity here. 1) The loss of privacy and anonymity on the internet is horrendous. The NSA is the poster child, not the problem.

Hate to keep being the voice of sanity here. 1) The loss of privacy and anonymity on the internet is horrendous. The NSA is the poster child, not the problem. We don't need to "stop the NSA". We need to fix the problem. 2) Yes, even allies spy on each other. Spying on each other is a good thing. It prevents misunderstandings, it allows for back channels. It's been expected ever since there was diplomacy. As far as Obama saying he was going to stop spying on Merkel? That makes no sense to me. Somebody should ask him. In all of this, I get the distinct feeling that people without knowledge of (or who don't care to understand) how intelligence and diplomacy work are being used as pawns for other intelligence agencies who I can guarantee will have no Snowdens. This is not an optimal state of affairs for stability in the world.