NSA gathers nearly 200 million text messages a day from around the world

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Even as the White House put the final touches on the reform plan this week, media outlets reported that the NSA gathers nearly 200 million text messages a day from around the world and has put software in almost 100,000 computers allowing it to spy on those devices.

Obama promised that the United States will not eavesdrop on the heads of state or government of close U.S. friends and allies. A senior administration official said that would apply to dozens of leaders.

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Obama announces reforms to NSA phone surveillance

I have never worried that much about U.S. surveillance either here or abroad that much because the U.S. is the most self policing Government possibly on Earth. Though it is important to recognize that governing 300 million people or more isn't the most effective democracy because I see nations from 20 million to 60 million people that are democracies doing a much better job in some ways than we do but not in regard to defense. 

So, trying to get this balance right is very hard. But, remember nations like Russia and China are not as self policing as we are and they were always a worse threat to the whole world than the U.S. is because they might never be self policing in regard to things like this.