Not a double standard at all; This is exactly what espionage is. It's perfectly legal for the US to spy on other countries, but if you take confidential and classified information and publically disclose it... This is a crime.

that poster is a nutter.

he'll spin a birthday thread into some bizarre backwards view on america.

although it is cute how he thinks america is the only spy game in the world. dude prolly thinks we invented it to.


espionage is french.

Despite feigned outrage over the use of "illegal" surveillance techniques employed under the Bush administration, in the follow up to this week's news of a massive government surveillance system, revelations have come forth regarding President Obama's role in not only the expansion of existing surveillance methods but also of the codification of laws that permit the violation of Americans' civil liberties.

Ever since the Nixon administration broke into the office of Daniel Ellsberg's psychoanalyst's office, the tactic of the US government has been to attack and demonize whistleblowers as a means of distracting attention from their own exposed wrongdoing and destroying the credibility of the messenger so that everyone tunes out the message. That attempt will undoubtedly be made with Snowden.

Director of National Intelligence, James R. Clapper Jr., defended the legality of the top-secret government surveillance program, PRISM, under Section 702 of FISA, as approved by Congress in 2008.

Therefore, prior to that, any illegal surveillance is criminal.

FISC Will Not Object To Release of 2011 Court Opinion That Confirmed NSA?s Illegal Surveillance
June 13 2013 - By Sreeja VN

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, or FISC, ruled Wednesday that it has no objection to the release of a 2011 opinion of the court, which found that some of the National Security Agency?s surveillance programs under the FISA Amendments Act, were unconstitutional.

A 2011 FISC court ruling had concluded that some of the NSA?s surveillance programs had violated sections of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, a law aimed at protecting American citizens from surveillance programs targeted at foreigners.

continues:
http://www.ibtimes.com/fisc-will-not...llance-1305023