Snowden files show that the NSA is spying on the Brazilian state oil company, Petrobras.

This is scandalous because it is clearly meant for commercial advantage, not for defending the US against attack.

China plans a tremendous increase in coal-fired electric generation, but a lack of available water might stop it.

That's good, because this coal-burning would cause global disaster.

Putin proposes to insist that Assad hand over all chemical weapons to "international control".

This would deal with the problem, if it works. And if it doesn't work, all the other responses that are available now would still be available. So why is Kerry trying to talk it down? The reason, whatever it is, can't be good.

If Obama does accept this, his war-talk will have had a good result by getting Putin to agree to this.

Glenn Greenwald: One big problem the NSA and US government generally have had since our reporting began is that their defenses offered in response to each individual story are quickly proven to be false by the next story, which just further undermines their credibility around the world.

Rush Holt has proposed a bill to forbid the NSA to introduce back doors into encryption systems.

It is a good first step, but it must apply to all parts of the government and their contractors. If it applies only to the NSA, the activity will be shifted elsewhere.