Botnet operators takes advantage of the witch-hunt against "child pornography" to frighten users about getting their PCs disinfected.

This is yet another reason why the ban on possessing "child pornography" must be eliminated, to add to all the other reasons.

I put that expression in quotation marks because, in the US, it includes selfies made by teenagers for sexting.

Bruce Schneier, if head of the NSA, would ask if each surveillance program does enough good to the country to justify it.

That might be a good criterion if exercised by someone conscientious, but it would be too easily stretched, so adopting it would not fix the problem.

Meanwhile, I think it is not sufficient to stop the bulk collection of databases, and the bulk searching of massive databases (as in XKeyscore). We need to prevent these massive dossiers from existing about Americans except when probable cause has been shown to investigate someone.

While Russia protects an American hero from extradition, the US protects violent criminals from extradition.

This does not excuse Putin's repression of dissent, of course, but that's a separate issue.

Congressman Lewis, who has long experience in civil disobedience, praised Snowden for it and compared today's surveillance with the surveillance of civil rights leaders such as Lewis himself.

A campaign calls for a boycott of the 2014 Olympics because of its repression of gays.

I think repression of political opposition ought to be cited also.