Edward Snowden: the whistleblower behind the NSA surveillance revelations

[BlueStateSaint]

I don't know how to get the video over, because it's not YouTube, but this guy has balls.  (I had to go to Drudge to get the picture of him.)




Edward Snowden: the whistleblower behind the NSA surveillance revelations

The 29-year-old source behind the biggest intelligence leak in the NSA's history explains his motives, his uncertain future and why he never intended on hiding in the shadows

Q&A with NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden: 'I do not expect to see home again'

Glenn Greenwald, Ewen MacAskill and Laura Poitras in Hong Kong
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 9 June 2013 16.17 EDT

The individual responsible for one of the most significant leaks in US political history is Edward Snowden, a 29-year-old former technical assistant for the CIA and current employee of the defence contractor Booz Allen Hamilton. Snowden has been working at the National Security Agency for the last four years as an employee of various outside contractors, including Booz Allen and Dell.

The Guardian, after several days of interviews, is revealing his identity at his request. From the moment he decided to disclose numerous top-secret documents to the public, he was determined not to opt for the protection of anonymity. "I have no intention of hiding who I am because I know I have done nothing wrong," he said.

Snowden will go down in history as one of America's most consequential whistleblowers, alongside Daniel Ellsberg and Bradley Manning. He is responsible for handing over material from one of the world's most secretive organisations – the NSA.

In a note accompanying the first set of documents he provided, he wrote: "I understand that I will be made to suffer for my actions," but "I will be satisfied if the federation of secret law, unequal pardon and irresistible executive powers that rule the world that I love are revealed even for an instant."

Despite his determination to be publicly unveiled, he repeatedly insisted that he wants to avoid the media spotlight. "I don't want public attention because I don't want the story to be about me. I want it to be about what the US government is doing."



Gutsy.  I wonder how long before the DUmp wants him hanged, drawn and quartered for treason?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/09/edward-snowden-nsa-whistleblower-surveillance

[Eupher]

He's one of them, politically.

Bought into the whole "transparency" thing, hook, line and sinker. Thought Barry would change things and when Barry just dug in deeper, that's when he "saw the light." 
 

[cclanofirish]

He's one of them, politically.

Bought into the whole "transparency" thing, hook, line and sinker. Thought Barry would change things and when Barry just dug in deeper, that's when he "saw the light." 
 

I'm perfectly fine with this, the government should be exposed for violating our privacy, I could care less the politics or reasons behind this person doing it, the act itself is a very good thing.

[Crazy Horse]

He's one of them, politically.

Bought into the whole "transparency" thing, hook, line and sinker. Thought Barry would change things and when Barry just dug in deeper, that's when he "saw the light." 
 

Yeah...that

[Eupher]

I'm just not buying this garbage that a 29-year old kid, with barely a HS education (GED), can actually have the kinds of access he claims to have had.

$200K per annum and a nice house in Hawaii.

This just doesn't pass the smell test.

[Ptarmigan]

I'm perfectly fine with this, the government should be exposed for violating our privacy, I could care less the politics or reasons behind this person doing it, the act itself is a very good thing.

Yeah...that

Same here.

[GOP Congress]

I'm just not buying this garbage that a 29-year old kid, with barely a HS education (GED), can actually have the kinds of access he claims to have had.

$200K per annum and a nice house in Hawaii.

This just doesn't pass the smell test.

Obviously, the level of actual information that he leaked is quantifiable, so it's not really a matter of believability, but of actual evidence, or lack of such evidence. In any case, I believe this weekend will have provided the country with the biggest paradigm shift in recent history. Liberals will now have to either embrace a dictatorship or believe in much of what many of us on the right have known all along.

In addition, many of us on the right (myself included) will have to look more acutely at the amount of law enforcement or "nation building" we want, specifically with regard to the Patriot Act. I'm sure many of us were rather blindsided with the need for an Act, and now I'm looking more into the details and examining my own conscience. Being more libertarian than socially conservative, but with the knowledge that modern conservatism and prosperity was built by individuals of socially moral faith, it's something I believe many of us will go undergo.

But the real test will come throughout the year, as well as into the next: Are we Tea-party conservatives and libertarians willing to buck the RINO's in Congress! It is ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY to take over both houses with a preponderance of conservative/libertarian values. Note I include the two as an alliance against both Democrats and RINO's.

One more point: There IS a significant difference between Bradley Manning and Edward Snowden's crimes, as Bradley released material predominantly against the interests of the United States as a whole, or EXTERNAL workings, while Snowden released information that is against the INTERNAL workings of the United States. Subtle, perhaps legally inseparable, but in my opinion, a very distinct difference.

[98ZJUSMC]

He's one of them, politically.

Bought into the whole "transparency" thing, hook, line and sinker. Thought Barry would change things and when Barry just dug in deeper, that's when he "saw the light." 
 

I'll give him his due for having the guts to come forward and slam his Lightbringer directly, but yeah, didn't have the foresight to see through the obvious dopeychangey charade.

[Eupher]

Obviously, the level of actual information that he leaked is quantifiable, so it's not really a matter of believability, but of actual evidence, or lack of such evidence. In any case, I believe this weekend will have provided the country with the biggest paradigm shift in recent history. Liberals will now have to either embrace a dictatorship or believe in much of what many of us on the right have known all along.

In addition, many of us on the right (myself included) will have to look more acutely at the amount of law enforcement or "nation building" we want, specifically with regard to the Patriot Act. I'm sure many of us were rather blindsided with the need for an Act, and now I'm looking more into the details and examining my own conscience. Being more libertarian than socially conservative, but with the knowledge that modern conservatism and prosperity was built by individuals of socially moral faith, it's something I believe many of us will go undergo.

But the real test will come throughout the year, as well as into the next: Are we Tea-party conservatives and libertarians willing to buck the RINO's in Congress! It is ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY to take over both houses with a preponderance of conservative/libertarian values. Note I include the two as an alliance against both Democrats and RINO's.

One more point: There IS a significant difference between Bradley Manning and Edward Snowden's crimes, as Bradley released material predominantly against the interests of the United States as a whole, or EXTERNAL workings, while Snowden released information that is against the INTERNAL workings of the United States. Subtle, perhaps legally inseparable, but in my opinion, a very distinct difference.

But even as Snowden himself admits, the government will make damn sure to paint him (Snowden) as an even bigger criminal than Manning. The government will be ruthless in going after him and it would not surprise me to find out that he died of some "accident."

I'm questioning the manner in which the intelligence community awards access to classified information. And by "community" I'm talking about contractors as well.

I don't know anything about the firm that Snowden worked for (note the past tense), but I find it incredible and unbelievable (and I mean those terms literally) that he had access to the level of information that he talked about in his interview in Hong Kong. A 29-year old kid? Whiz kid or not, you've got to pay your dues (of which part of that includes some kind of credible education, which he has NONE; and the other part of which includes experience of which he has very, very little).

So for me, regardless what kind of information that Snowden "leaked" the really stunning thing to look at is the way at which people are hired to handle, manage, and examine this type of information.

In any event, I agree with you about the Patriot Act. Its precursors, especially on the electronic/computer side, lay with Billy Jeff, but the Patriot Act put one hell of a lot of power with the government and while its supporters were quick to point out the checks and balances offered by the courts, Snowden suggests that the government simply bypasses those legal requirements.

Snowden also says that the legal/justice system is powerless to stop this abuse of power. That the only thing that will work is a "policy shift." Right. This kid expects me to believe that a government is going to turn a blind eye to the power that it already has and simply turn a blind eye to it? Holy shit, that would mean that the NSA is out of work and as we all know, the government NEVER gets any smaller.

[98ZJUSMC]

In addition, many of us on the right (myself included) will have to look more acutely at the amount of law enforcement or "nation building" we want, specifically with regard to the Patriot Act.

We have plenty of laws and far more security apparatuses than we need.  Enforce what exists.  Nation building?  No more.

But the real test will come throughout the year, as well as into the next: Are we Tea-party conservatives and libertarians willing to buck the RINO's in Congress! It is ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY to take over both houses with a preponderance of conservative/libertarian values. Note I include the two as an alliance against both Democrats and RINO's

.

I would love nothing better, but if we are to retake the Senate we are going to have to accept some RINO squish.  There is currently no other option.

[sybilll]

I'm going to have to wait for all of the details to come out, but at first blush, this guy is a patriot for wanting to inform the American people of the violation of their liberties, and oh hell no, he is nothing, nothing like Manning.  People are perplexed why he is in Hong Kong, but when the PRC retook power of Hong Kong from the British in 1997, there was some sort of stipulation that political dissidents be afforded protection.  I'm sure someone is digging in to that now, and it may shed more light.
Edited to add:  What does it say that he trusts the ChiComs more than he does his own government? 

[GOP Congress]

I would love nothing better, but if we are to retake the Senate we are going to have to accept some RINO squish.  There is currently no other option.

No RINO's in ANY leadership position, then. I realize even that's a tall order, but I've always maintained that our bigger problem are RINO's than democrats/socialists, because RINO's provide the libtards with the best of both worlds: they can champion them or deride them with the media's cooperation, and in fact, sometimes at their guidance. For instance, they elevate the RINO's in primary season by calling them "reasonable people" over tea party candidates, then if they are in a tight race with democrats in the general election, flip over to deriding them as "right wing extremists." In short, the dems get two chances: the GOP primary and the general election. This has to stop.

[Dori]

I'm going to have to wait for all of the details to come out, but at first blush, this guy is a patriot for wanting to inform the American people of the violation of their liberties, and oh hell no, he is nothing, nothing like Manning.  People are perplexed why he is in Hong Kong, but when the PRC retook power of Hong Kong from the British in 1997, there was some sort of stipulation that political dissidents be afforded protection.  I'm sure someone is digging in to that now, and it may shed more light.
Edited to add:  What does it say that he trusts the ChiComs more than he does his own government? 

The ChiComs would probably love to get their hands on someone with his knowledge of the NSA and CIA, if they haven't already figured it out, knowing how they are constantly stealing our information.  The same for lots of other countries and organizations.

Manning handed over blocks of data without knowing what all was in it.  Snowden leaked a power point presentation of the different servers the NSA is gathering information from.

I heard last night that there are 1.4 million people who work with data collection, and that one third of them are outside contractors.  Snowden also said that there weren't many controls on what has been collected.  If he, as an outside contractor, could access any data profile he wanted, including judges and even the President of the U.S., how many more people are there doing just that for profit or nefarious reasons?

Tom Drake, another whistleblower, said that what Snowden did and what Manning did, are two different things.  Both Drake and Benny as whistleblowers, who went to congress with what they knew
were both accused of espionage, and both faced trumped up charges by the DOJ.

Knowing what has gone on in the past, I do not trust the Government to collect all this information or protect what they have collected.

If this program was so good, they would have caught the Boston Bombers and wouldn't have had to rely on the public to identify them.  You all know the rest of that story and how much the government screwed that whole thing up.




 


 

[obumazombie]

I find it very implausible that owebuma supporters didn't know he was a fraud.

[FlaGator]

I believe that the information released by Snowden needed to be released. However, he is still a traitor along the lines of Bradley Manning. When he took his position(s) with the intelligency community he agreed to keeping the knowledge he aquired secret and he broke that agreement. I agree he did it for the right reasons and I am glad he stepped forward but he still has broken the law.  Just because the information hurts the Obama administration and lets the people see what is really going it doesn't change the fact that laws were violated and he should be prosecuted just as Manning is being prosecuted.

Now with that said, I pray that the U.S. cannot get him extradited because I am glad he did what he did and I think he did the right thing by anyone's standard... The American way, do what is right knowing the consequences. Self exile is punishment enough.

[thundley4]

Snowden's story is full of holes. http://thisainthell.us/blog/?p=36139

[Dacabeti]

I believe that the information released by Snowden needed to be released. However, he is still a traitor along the lines of Bradley Manning. When he took his position(s) with the intelligency community he agreed to keeping the knowledge he aquired secret and he broke that agreement. I agree he did it for the right reasons and I am glad he stepped forward but he still has broken the law.  Just because the information hurts the Obama administration and lets the people see what is really going it doesn't change the fact that laws were violated and he should be prosecuted just as Manning is being prosecuted.

Now with that said, I pray that the U.S. cannot get him extradited because I am glad he did what he did and I think he did the right thing by anyone's standard... The American way, do what is right knowing the consequences. Self exile is punishment enough.

Is treason against the current Government or against the Constitution? Do we as citizens even if serving the Government have a duty to uphold the Constitution or is that duty to be loyal to the current Government?

[Dori]

Is treason against the current Government or against the Constitution? Do we as citizens even if serving the Government have a duty to uphold the Constitution or is that duty to be loyal to the current Government?

Oran's Dictionary of the Law (1983) defines treason as "...[a]...citizen's actions to help a foreign government overthrow, make war against, or seriously injure the [parent nation]." In many nations, it is also often considered treason to attempt or conspire to overthrow the government, even if no foreign country is aiding or involved by such an endeavor.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treason

[NHSparky]

Snowden's story is full of holes. http://thisainthell.us/blog/?p=36139

You've been reading that too, eh?

Yeah, 4 1/2 month and a discharge.  Completed NO training, received NO awards.  IOW, dropped out of boot.

[obumazombie]

^Interesting story on a questionable story.

[here]

Snowden's story is full of holes. http://thisainthell.us/blog/?p=36139

Without the benefit a FOIA request, It is just a blog's opinion.  At that, I'm not sure they will get a clear picture with a FOIA release.  No one, including Snowden's employer, is disputing he worked in the field -regardless of a GED.  If it was BS, the government would have leaked all discrepancies

Was what he did illegal?  I'm not on the jury but I understand his oath was to the Constitution of the United States, not to elected officials.     

[FlaGator]

Is treason against the current Government or against the Constitution? Do we as citizens even if serving the Government have a duty to uphold the Constitution or is that duty to be loyal to the current Government?

I think that as long as the government in question can prove that it came in to power by a constitutionally proscribed method then they are one in the same. However, once that constituationally elected administration starts violating the Constitution then it should be removed from office. Now we have a Catch-22. If Snowden hadn't broken the law we wouldn't necessarily know that the Constitution had ben violated and since we wouldn't know this how can it be government be removed from power for violating the Constitution.

You know who I hold responsible? I hold  at fault those in congress who knew about this and did nothing to stop it. I also blame the FISA court who obviously confused the word Federal with Foreign. This never should have been allowed to go so far as to force someone to break the law in order to expose the duplicity of the Obama Administration

[FlaGator]

Without the benefit a FOIA request, It is just a blog's opinion.  At that, I'm not sure they will get a clear picture with a FOIA release.  No one, including Snowden's employer, is disputing he worked in the field -regardless of a GED.  If it was BS, the government would have leaked all discrepancies

Was what he did illegal?  I'm not on the jury but I understand his oath was to the Constitution of the United States, not to elected officials.     

I only have a GED and I have held all sorts of high security related positions in the private sector. My knowledge of the technology I work with is deemed more important than the official education that I have. I have been a Vice President of a large bank before I opted to become a contractor again so it is easily possible that Snowden worked in a high security field if he had the knowledge they needed and he had a clean criminal record.

[Dacabeti]

I think that as long as the government in question can prove that it came in to power by a constitutionally proscribed then they are one in the same. However, once that constituationally elected administration start violating the Constitution then it should be removed from office. Now we have a Catch-22. If Snowden hadn't broken the law we wouldn't necessarily know that the Constitution had ben violated and since we wouldn't know this how can it be government be removed from power for violating the Constitution.

You know who I hold responsible? I hold  at fault those in congress who knew about this and did nothing to stop it. I also blame the FISA court who obviously confused the word Federal with Foreign. This never should have been allowed to go so far as to force someone to break the law in order to expose the duplicity of the Obama Administration

We seem to be in agreement

By spying on Americans wasn't Snowden breaking the law to begin with? Wasn't the NSA? Is this a case where the right thing to do was the illegal thing to do?

I think as a citizen of this great experiment called a Constitutional Republic we have a duty to hold those in power accountable. Many have said I was just following orders as an excuse. I am unsure of the particulars and find myself mistrusting this source, however if this is truth then every person involved had a duty to defend the Constitution and should have stood up and outed this program. I understand that most people are cowards or just want to do their job, but that does not take away from this program as described is a violation of the Constitution.

Duty is a heavy burden that most will not lift.

[Dori]

You know who I hold responsible? I hold  at fault those in congress who knew about this and did nothing to stop it. I also blame the FISA court who obviously confused the word Federal with Foreign. This never should have been allowed to go so far as to force someone to break the law in order to expose the duplicity of the Obama Administration

Congress (media too) can only blame themselves for not knowing.  Apparently other whistleblowers have come forward and not been quiet about it either.  So what Snowden recently did, really isn't news.

Whistleblowers William (Bill) Binney and J. Kirk Wiebe

Video

http://current.com/shows/viewpoint/videos/nsa-whistleblowers-warn-of-secret-spying-programs-that-can-target-anyone/

National Security Agency whistleblowers William Binney, former technical director; Kirk Wiebe, former senior analyst; and Thomas Drake, former senior official, sit down with “Viewpoint” host Eliot Spitzer for an extended interview. The men describe Trailblazer and Stellar Wind, NSA programs designed to intercept Americans’ phone calls, emails and other communications, without the need for warrants or oversight — which they say breaks the law. Thomas Drake describes his decision to reveal the secret surveillance to authorities and the public: “Not only did I discover the wheels had come off the existing vehicle, we were in an entirely new vehicle — in absolute violation of the Constitution. I knew if I remained silent that I would be complicit to the subversion of our own Constitution.”