HYPOCRISY WATCH:  So much for Brazilians being upset over Edward Snowden’s leaked documents about the National Security Agency spying on President Dilma Rousseff. It turns out Brazil admitted to spying on diplomatic targets. The NY Times reports, Brazil’s top intelligence agency, Institutional Security Cabinet, also known as Abin, had spied on diplomatic targets from countries including Russia, the U.S. and Iran. So, how can they defend their surveillance tactics after repeatedly being critical of America’s surveillance practices. This undermines Edward Snowden’s claim that the US and Britain are by far the worst offenders. Kinda proves he’s clueless.

Brazil’s Institutional Security Cabinet, which oversees the nation’s intelligence activities, contended in a statement on Monday that the spying operations, involving relatively basic surveillance about a decade ago of diplomats and diplomatic properties in Brazil, were “in absolute compliance” with legislation governing such practices.

The statement came in response to a report in the newspaper Folha de São Paulo describing how the Brazilian Intelligence Agency, commonly known as Abin, had followed some diplomats from Russia and Iran by foot and by car, photographing their movements, while also monitoring a commercial property leased by the United States Embassy in Brasília, the capital.

Abin intelligence officials also said leaking classified information was illegal and that the leaker would be brought to justice. Um, so how can President Rousseff and others expect any less from the U.S. position on Edward Snowden?

This was cross-posted from The Hinterland Gazette.