Re: Not a big deal

Not a big deal (Score: 3, Insightful)

by norstadt@pipedot.org on 2014-03-23 16:23 (#RR)

Countries spying on each other is not a bad thing. It reduces uncertainty about the target's intentions, and also reduces the incentive to act preemptively. Knowledgable folks think WWI might have been avoided if countries had better intelligence about one another.

Re: Not a big deal (Score: 3, Insightful)

by omoc@pipedot.org on 2014-03-23 17:35 (#RS)

Imagine the US response if there would be credible evidence circulating in the press that the Chinese did this to the America. Sanctions would be on the table immediately; there is a double standard.

Governments involved in corporate espionage was an "act of war" for the US in the pre-Snowden days. Just read about the hypocrisy http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-21772596

Re: Not a big deal (Score: 1)

by norstadt@pipedot.org on 2014-03-24 04:44 (#RW)

I followed the link and do not see the double standard. We bitch about their hacking, and they bitch about ours...

Openness and transparency are generally praised, especially when they apply to governments. Their value is not automatically diminished by being the product of espionage. Of course it's different if a government trashes it's legitimacy by spying on its own citizens. But as far as I know, Chinese citizens and companies have no privacy rights with respect to the US government.

Re: Not a big deal (Score: 2, Insightful)

by gnome@pipedot.org on 2014-03-24 14:53 (#S9)

If a government treats everyone else like shit, it eventually ends up scraping the barrel for countries like Micronesia, Fiji and El Salvador as allies for its "coalition of the willing". In other words, at some point it may prove expensive to only have enemies in the world.

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