FTSOA: Spy vs Spy

I'm Dr. John Konopak, and this is: For The Sake Of Argument...
As reported by The Washington Post last week, the NSA is apparently advancing towards a quantum computer that could crack almost any conventional existing encryption algorithm.
I garondamTEE you, shars., you definitely NEED to be worried!
Because technology is fungible:  if it can be build, and NSA doesn't build that sucker, SOMEBODY else will.

To me, that's the elephant in the room of this whole surveillance/intelligence debate: the most vocal critics seem to treat the issue (in my opinion, incredibly naively) as if the process goes on ONLY within a national vacuum, ending at water's edge.

But: Mais Non! No, Nyet, Nichts, and Ne. Ei (Estonian)...etc. It's not only about "us." It's more complicated than that.

Remember: Knowledge REALLY IS "power", not only in the abstract. The more you know, the more power you can exert. And information is the raw material of knowledge. And data is key constituent of information.
And an edge is an edge...

In case you missed it (the last 3/4 Century): In this modern world, full of jihadis, fundies, Mossad, the Russkis, and Kim Jung Un, you do NOT want NOT to have an edge, ANY edge.
An edge like that quantum computer, fer instance...It's gonna get built, if it can be. That's in tha bank.
If NSA doesn't build it, one of those other guys will, guaran-fucking-TEED, sha!

For the sake of argument, this is Dr.John Konopak, in Albuquerque, New Mexico...
Now back to the studio and Winston Smith...