Sadly this is another, and a particularly good, example of the 'change you can believe in'. There will be no going back on this. Edward Snowden will ultimately join either Bradley Manning in the dock, or Julian Assange in exile.
And that is a change we can believe in.
We were so blinded by the foolishness of Dubya that we failed to consider carefully that the institutions that give structure to our society have truly betrayed our trust. Such as the presidency of the USA. Obama may not have started this slide, but neither has he done ANYTHING to arrest it. The current POTUS is renowned for his oratorical expertise, and it doesn't seem to matter which side of his face he is talking out of.
Cheney called it straight-up when he announced we would go walking on the dark side. The question now is, can we find our way back?

Hi Pete,
I think is the tip off the iceberg and yes we should be worried. With the amount of traffic(comms)that passes through US sites and the paranoia exhibited by the US in regards to terrorism and security the prospects are not great for any country's security communication. What the Australian security network have or use regarding Australian communications is unknown to date and I do doubt that it will be fully investigated. The other issue is that Australia or any other country does not have the economic power or political will to stop the US from communication spying.

I think our Govt agencies are doing likewise. This is not about protecting us but having absolute control. Fascism is alive and thriving in the West.

Hi Pete
This is close to my old stomping ground. I believe you are right as regards the Minister for Defence. The Intelligence Services Act 2001 comes under portfolio responsibility of Defence Minister as it relates to DIGO, DIO and DSD.

In actual fact the PM does sit on the National Security Committee of Cabinet. Julia Gillard came under attack a couple a few years ago for sending her bodyguard to the meeting in her stead when she was acting Deputy PM.

Another thoughtful contribution from Plantagenet. I do wonder, tho, about his uncharacteristic credulity in relying on the responsibility of the spooks who actually do the work in the agencies. I guess Snowden and (in a different way) our own Andrew Wilkie tend to refute me, but just the same I'd hate to be depending on individual acts like that for protection from overinquisitive governments. No, the legal protections (in Australia) he cites reassure me more, though in principle there is still nothing to stop the NSA/CIA/GCHQ/whatever snooping on me. If they do, they won't be bored, but they won't catch many crims or terrorists, either.

The Yanks see the people of the world as foreigners who are either enemies of American interests or useful, easily-manipulated allies.

Yanks are consumed by self-interest and their minds are filled with fantasies about how 'exceptional' they are even when they are ruthlessly and barbarically destroying other nations and cultures in the name of imperialism and greed.

With America as a 'friend', you don't need enemies!