Snowden made a decision to break the law because he believed his cause was good which justified breaking the law. What if the NSA used the same argument? What if they believe their cause is just as good and justified and more important then adhering to any laws? Snowden sealed his fate the minute he started releasing information on foreign intelligence programs. Programs that have nothing to do violating a US citizen in any way. Ellsberg released documents on actions taken by government prior to and during the Vietnam war. His actions were US domestic in nature and thus the foreign Espionage Act charge could not be prosecuted successfully and that charge was dismissed. Snowden actions far exceeded those of Ellsberg and has guaranteed he will be considered a fugitive from the US for the rest of his life. He has to know that there are only a couple of countries in the world that might not hand him over to the US the minute he exits Russia. And the countries who would protect him have governments that make US government corruption look like little white lies. Countries where free speech and independent media outlets does not exist.

If similar information was turned over to the media in Russia or China that information would never have been published and those supplying the information would be in jail or dead. Snowden sealed his fate when he started releasing information about foreign intelligence programs that had nothing to do with the American public. And he and his journalists helpers have decided they are qualified to determine what information is dangerous and which information is not dangerous.

Now if they could only produce some smart people we might finally be getting somewhere.

Today's stealth fighters, early warning radar systems, satellite tracking, and advanced anti-air missile systems on land or water makes this plane nothing more than a slow moving target. Even if they were able to release all it's ordinance it would still be a one shot weapon. They would be better served to take all the money spent on an outdated weapons platform and build a few more B-2's if they are really hard up for more strategic bombers.

When it comes to space related projects there needs to be a return on the investment to bolster future funding. Even "vapor" returns can provide the political cover necessary to increase funding. The money NASA has spent over the years has returned a wealth of technological data but nothing that could realistically cover the initial project expense. However, over the years NASA has received funding regardless of the expected return on the investment. If someone wants to mine helium 3 on the moon it should be the corporations or individuals who stand to benefit the most providing the funding. Commercial projects have a better chance of expanding into the solar system than any government run programs.

And who exactly is going to enforce the law? The same people who enforce all the varied UN declarations and edicts?

Oh by all means lets get the government bureaucrats involved in policing software security. What could possibly go wrong? Stop looking to the government to protect you and start taking some responsibility for your own actions. You want guaranteed online security then just unplug your network cable because that is the only thing that will make you 100% secure from online attacks. There is not a browser on the market that doesn't have exploitable flaws if you really smart, motivated, and look hard enough. But alas even unplugging can be circumvented by simply inserting a USB drive of questionable origin into your system. Stuxnext infected the Iranian system using an infected USB drive in combination with the good ole sneaker net. If unplugging is not practical for you then you can start paying attention and stop clicking on links in the unsolicited e-mails you receive. Make sure your computer has a properly configured firewall. Use script inhibiting add-ons for your browser. Make sure your user accounts are properly privileged instead of running everything as an administrator. Setup a proxy if you want to make it harder for someone looking to infringe your anonymity. Even these precautions can be circumvented by falling for online social engineering attacks. Which by the way is the primary vector used today for bootstrapping malware.

True freedom is goal to work towards not a utopian destination that can ever be achieved. The freedoms and rights defined in the US Constitution and Bill of Rights were not iron cast declarations of truth that magically changed human behavior over night. Those precepts have been rigorously challenged since the day they were created. The most obvious "All men are created equal.." idea was certainly not true in the most obvious of ways but there have been great strides in trying to reach that mythic goal. People like to argue that US freedom has some how regressed from a perfect state of being but that is simply not true. All you need to do to press for more freedom and rights is to openly and freely be able to express dissenting views without being silenced by the government. Moving large numbers of protesters who infringe on others rights is not the government shutting down dissent. The Occupy protests lasted for weeks before they started really annoying all those that had to work and live in the same area. Creating free speech zones to prevent large crowds from creating real security problems for the President or other government officials is not censorship. It is more like common sense in todays world of suicide bombers and other crazies out looking to make a political statement resulting in body parts being strewn across the scene. And contrary to popular belief the US government has not taken away the right to dissent by banning certain topics or censoring the internet in any form. There are a lot of countries in the world who restrict and censor the internet and other information delivery mechanisms for their citizens. Germany, England, and Australia all filter information one way or another. Of course they don't hold a candle to the amount of censorship that China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Kuwait, Iraq, NK, and quite a few other countries. It is these same countries that are lobbying for the Internet to come under UN control so they can implement their state censorship across the entire world.

The Chinese are willing to do anything that makes the Party leaders rich. This can be said about a lot of the ruling classes across the world but the Chinese do not even bother hiding their motives and any of their citizens who voice a complaint are quickly silenced. China does not honor any UN economic sanctions when it comes to doing business with some of the most despotic countries on the planet starting with NK. They will do business with anyone and practice capitalism with gusto. They simply do not care what anyone says about their actions and while everyone is busy pillaring the only country able to check their power they are getting away with anything they are doing. In some aspects their willingness to do anything they want with no apologies or subterfuge is impressive. It's even more amusing that when I have visited China on business they have been the most friendly and accommodating hosts I have encountered especially compared to the sanctimonious pricks you run across in the EU. And for all those people romanticizing the US in the 80's or 90's they should really take a closer look. People talk like the US reached some sort of pinnacle of freedom and democracy and have regressed but the US has never been as good as people like to claim just as the US is not as bad as some people think today. In the 80's Japan was slated to bypass the US economically but ended up crashing on their way to glory. Today China is in a precarious state as far as economic progress goes. Their growth was the result of taking advantage of cheap labor and nothing else. Not innovation or quality. Their success has resulted in the average workers demanding more money which result in higher labor costs. They aggressively manipulate their currency to maintain low cost exports but there are limits to this strategy. They also have to contend with other SE Asian countries that are starting to compete with them on low labor costs.

The X-37 program run by the Air Force has delivered a re-usable but unmanned stealth vehicle that has been undertaking military missions for almost 4 years now with little fanfare and the manned version is close to being ready for testing. I am surprised that Russia or China isn't raising a stink over this vehicle that renders damn near every satellite in orbit vulnerable to being destroyed.

Especially since foreign debt only compromises about 6% of the total outstanding debt. The rest is owed to the Federal Reserve. And describing foreign debt as some kind of loan or ownership is also incorrect. Other countries park their money in the US securities and bond market because it is a safe and reliable investment.

We could use some more "nationalist sentiment" from the corporations in the US. "nationalist sentiment" can help pressure corporations to make decisions that benefit both the US work force and consumers first with everybody else coming in a distant 2nd.

In the grand scheme of things the rocket engine procurement policies do not have much of an effect on the general population. After all there is only so much you can care about or worry about in a 24 hour period.

"user documentation" along with the elusive and mystical "technical documentation" comprise the missing holy grail of all software development whether it be open or closed.

The article also claimed 5 other executives were prosecuted and went to jail for the options backdating charges while Jobs got a pass because he supposedly didn't understand the accounting ramifications that could be caused by his actions. Even if that were true the last time I checked ignorance of the law was not a defense or even a mitigating factor when deciding whether to prosecute someone. People do not rise to the pinnacle of success and wealth by being nice people who always play by the rules. It's just a shame when these guys get to the top they don't try and reevaluate some of their behavior and look around at the bigger picture. It's also appalling that the justice department really didn't want to go after Jobs because his products and services were popular with the masses. That kind of behavior from the justice department should open up an investigation against the justice department. They must have thought they would have had a conflict of interest and have to ditch their iPhones.