It is impossible to see now the full economic ramifications of the spying disclosures — in part because most companies are locked in multiyear contracts — but the pieces are beginning to add up as businesses question the trustworthiness of American technology products.

The NSA is engaged in the mass surveillance of Americans and people around the world.

Senator Obama in 2008 wanted to track potential terrorist activity “without undermining our commitment to the rule of law, or our basic rights and liberties”. Today, President Obama undermines the rule of law, basic rights and core liberties – all in the name of tracking terrorists.

Early in the morning on December 21 a total lunar eclipse will be visible to sky watchers across North America (for observers in western states the eclipse actually begins late in the evening of December 20), Greenland and Iceland. Viewers in Western Europe will be able to see the beginning stages of the eclipse before moonset, and in western Asia the later stages of the eclipse will be visible after moonrise.