Daniel Ellsberg: Snowden would not get a fair trial – and Kerry is wrong

[JDPriestly]

57. You describe perfectly the extent of the abuse of classification and secrecy laws.

And that is the underlying problem.

Australia's relationship with Indonesia was bad in the first place. That's why Australia was eavesdropping on Indonesia's calls.

We need an international protocol that can be enforced to protect certain communications and permit sharing of others.

In the future, either more and more American information will be transmitted electronically or our country will fall behind the rest of the world. We cannot as individuals transmit more personal and private information electronically if our government (and private companies)jz collecting it surreptitiously without our knowledge.

That is why I believe that the idea of nearly universal surveillance including the collection of metadata HARMS rather than protects our national security.

For example, my doctors transmit and store my medical data online. I may be wrong but I believe that many hospitals do the same. I protect that information (which I can access from my computer) by using a password. I expect the government and private companies to respect my privacy as to my medical information. It's the law that I be allowed to keep it private.

Many people have their financial information online. The government has no business collecting people's credit card statements which are commonly online.

If I call the office of a candidate or politician I support, it is none of the NSA's business.

The collection of metadata is an affront to our Constitution. Such a serious affront that for me anything Snowden and the other whistleblowers do to awaken the American people to the dangers of the NSA's surveillance is OK.

Many Americans have given their lives to protect our freedom. That the NSA is slowly but surely taking away our freedom of communication and our privacy is an insult to those heroes.

On edit The US can only blame itself for the loss of the advantage that placing foreign leaders under surveillance gave us. The NSA way overstepped and worst of all was moving in the direction that enables dictators. We don't need to be placed under the kind of surveillance that the NSA has been doing. It makes us as individuals and a nation less, not more safe.