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NSA Whistleblower Reveals Himself
"I realised that I was part of something that was doing far more harm than good... The NSA routinely lies in response to Congressional inquiries about scope of surveillance in America. The NSA is intent on making every conversation and every form of behaviour in the world known to them.... What they're doing poses an existential threat to democracy."
- Edward Snowden, 29, PRISM Whistleblower
The US government will be happy to learn it will save several million dollars on the criminal inquiry into the identity of the NSA's PRISM whistleblower because moments ago in a lengthy profile by the Guardian's Glenn Greenwald, said whistleblower has decided to reveal himself to the world: he is Edward Snowden, 29 years old. Originally from Elizabeth City, NC, a Maryland community college dropout and former Special Forces trainee, the 10 year "veteran" with the NSA, most recently in its Hawaii office under the employ of defense contractor Booz Allen Hamilton, has just made history and joined the pantheon of such legendary whistleblowers of the US government' secret activities as the Pentagon Papers' Daniel Ellsberg and Wikileaks' Bradley Manning. Last but not least, Edward is currently residing in Hong Kong, out of harm's (read America's) way.
Who is Edward and how did he end up at the NSA? The Guardian has the full story.
By his own admission, he was not a stellar student. In order to get the credits necessary to obtain a high school diploma, he attended a community college in Maryland, studying computing, but never completed the coursework.
In 2003, he enlisted in the US army and began a training program to join the Special Forces. Invoking the same principles that he now cites to justify his leaks, he said: "I wanted to fight in the Iraq war because I felt like I had an obligation as a human being to help free people from oppression".
He recounted how his beliefs about the war's purpose were quickly dispelled. "Most of the people training us seemed pumped up about killing Arabs, not helping anyone," he said. After he broke both his legs in a training accident, he was discharged.
After that, he got his first job in an NSA facility, working as a security guard for one of the agency's covert facilities at the University of Maryland. From there, he went to the CIA, where he worked on IT security. His understanding of the internet and his talent for computer programming enabled him to rise fairly quickly for someone who lacked even a high school diploma.
By 2007, the CIA stationed him with diplomatic cover in Geneva, Switzerland. His responsibility for maintaining computer network security meant he had clearance to access a wide array of classified documents.
That access, along with the almost three years he spent around CIA officers, led him to begin seriously questioning the rightness of what he saw.
He described as formative an incident in which he claimed CIA operatives were attempting to recruit a Swiss banker to obtain secret banking information. Snowden said they achieved this by purposely getting the banker drunk and encouraging him to drive home in his car. When the banker was arrested for drunk driving, the undercover agent seeking to befriend him offered to help, and a bond was formed that led to successful recruitment.
"Much of what I saw in Geneva really disillusioned me about how my government functions and what its impact is in the world," he says. "I realised that I was part of something that was doing far more harm than good."
He left the CIA in 2009 in order to take his first job working for a private contractor that assigned him to a functioning NSA facility, stationed on a military base in Japan. It was then, he said, that he "watched as Obama advanced the very policies that I thought would be reined in", and as a result, "I got hardened."
Why did he wait so long?
He said it was during his CIA stint in Geneva that he thought for the first time about exposing government secrets. But, at the time, he chose not to for two reasons.
First, he said: "Most of the secrets the CIA has are about people, not machines and systems, so I didn't feel comfortable with disclosures that I thought could endanger anyone". Secondly, the election of Barack Obama in 2008 gave him hope that there would be real reforms, rendering disclosures unnecessary.
That did not happen. So he proceed to reveal what he knows about the NSA to a newspaper which the NYT pejoratively referred to as a "British News Site." Well, he certainly did not go with any of the news sites on favorable terms with the current administration. Instead, "He purposely chose, he said, to give the documents to journalists whose judgment he trusted about what should be public and what should remain concealed."
Which of course brings up the question: now what, and why risk what was otherwise a "comfortable life" in a Hawaiian paradise?
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."
He does not fear the consequences of going public, he said, only that doing so will distract attention from the issues raised by his disclosures. "I know the media likes to personalise political debates, and I know the government will demonise me."
Despite these fears, he remained hopeful his outing will not divert attention from the substance of his disclosures. "I really want the focus to be on these documents and the debate which I hope this will trigger among citizens around the globe about what kind of world we want to live in." He added: "My sole motive is to inform the public as to that which is done in their name and that which is done against them."
He has had "a very comfortable life" that included a salary of roughly $200,000, a girlfriend with whom he shared a home in Hawaii, a stable career, and a family he loves. "I'm willing to sacrifice all of that because I can't in good conscience allow the US government to destroy privacy, internet freedom and basic liberties for people around the world with this massive surveillance machine they're secretly building."
That said, he has left the US and is now in Hong Kong, which in the New Normal is a safer venue for those exposing what until recently was considered a massive conspiracy theory.
Three weeks ago, Snowden made final preparations that resulted in last week's series of blockbuster news stories. At the NSA office in Hawaii where he was working, he copied the last set of documents he intended to disclose.
He then advised his NSA supervisor that he needed to be away from work for "a couple of weeks" in order to receive treatment for epilepsy, a condition he learned he suffers from after a series of seizures last year.
As he packed his bags, he told his girlfriend that he had to be away for a few weeks, though he said he was vague about the reason. "That is not an uncommon occurrence for someone who has spent the last decade working in the intelligence world."
On May 20, he boarded a flight to Hong Kong, where he has remained ever since. He chose the city because "they have a spirited commitment to free speech and the right of political dissent", and because he believed that it was one of the few places in the world that both could and would resist the dictates of the US government.
Snowden's future is bleak to say the least, and if Bradly Manning's recent travails are any indication, a life in prison may be an upside option:
"All my options are bad," he said. The US could begin extradition proceedings against him, a potentially problematic, lengthy and unpredictable course for Washington. Or the Chinese government might whisk him away for questioning, viewing him as a useful source of information. Or he might end up being grabbed and bundled into a plane bound for US territory.
"Yes, I could be rendered by the CIA. I could have people come after me. Or any of the third-party partners. They work closely with a number of other nations. Or they could pay off the Triads. Any of their agents or assets," he said.
"We have got a CIA station just up the road – the consulate here in Hong Kong – and I am sure they are going to be busy for the next week. And that is a concern I will live with for the rest of my life, however long that happens to be."
Having watched the Obama administration prosecute whistleblowers at a historically unprecedented rate, he fully expects the US government to attempt to use all its weight to punish him. "I am not afraid," he said calmly, "because this is the choice I've made."
He predicts the government will launch an investigation and "say I have broken the Espionage Act and helped our enemies, but that can be used against anyone who points out how massive and invasive the system has become".
The only time he became emotional during the many hours of interviews was when he pondered the impact his choices would have on his family, many of whom work for the US government. "The only thing I fear is the harmful effects on my family, who I won't be able to help any more. That's what keeps me up at night," he said, his eyes welling up with tears.
...
As for his future, he is vague. He hoped the publicity the leaks have generated will offer him some protection, making it "harder for them to get dirty".
He views his best hope as the possibility of asylum, with Iceland – with its reputation of a champion of internet freedom – at the top of his list. He knows that may prove a wish unfulfilled.
But after the intense political controversy he has already created with just the first week's haul of stories, "I feel satisfied that this was all worth it. I have no regrets."
Now the great debate begins: is sacrificing it all in the name of ethical principles under a totalitarian regime now fully set on destroying you, worth it? And since we are dealing with one grand revealed conspiracy, another one will naturally emerge: is Snowden's explanation of his motives honest and accurate? Why now and why him? Surely at least one other person has worked at the NSA in the past decade whose thought process has been identical and who put the value of democracy over and above that of one's personal career development and safety.
Most importantly, the ball is now in Obama's court, and the constitutional scholar's every action will be studied under a microscope by civil liberty defenders (both real and paid for) everywhere while one Jon Corzine withdrawls millions of dollars from East Hampton ATM machines unhindered, and without any scruples.
Finally, we would like to thank Snowden for putting a nail into the coffin of all those who use the term "conspiracy theorist" pejoratively. Because whatever his motives, whatever the outcome of this dramatic escalation between the people's right to know and a government intent on hijacking all civil liberties one by one, Snowden has showed that the distance from Conspiracy Theory to Conspiracy Fact is just one ethical judgment away.
For those curious, here is the full text of the US-Hong Kong Extradition treaty.
* * *
Snowden's interview with the Guardian's Glenn Greenwald (produced by WaPo's Laura Poitras) can be seen after the jump.
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"Secondly, the election of Barack Obama in 2008 gave him hope that there would be real reforms, rendering disclosures unnecessary."
FAT CHANCE!
Well done Mr. Snowden.
Don't travel abroad; you may not even be safe in Hong Kong.
Avoid: trips alone, hot tubs, long hikes, air travel, food you don't prepare yourself, and black Suburban's.
"Epilepsy + Seizures"
Someone was tinkering, tinkering, tinkering. I sincerely hope he has far more juicy stuff in a secure position on a dead-man's switch, or he'll end up V&'d faster than those Wikileaks Banking details when MSM minx came along to play.
.
In Memoriam.
i agree. the shit he leaked is really nothing new...
all my friends from a former life, who are near and dear to an oath, have gone dark on this "latest news"
The Prisoner: Episode 5, The Schizoid Man.
I linked it very quietly in my Prisoner post - it's all about conditioning. Shouldn't do so many spoilers, tsk tsk.
Oh, and I have a junk stalker. How cute.
Viking Cats say Fuck You. NYAN STYLE.
looks like i've also attracted a junk stalker
over under of 2 weeks on when he is wanted in Sweden on date rape charges
-150 yes / +130 no
Thank you Mr Snowden and Mr Greenwald. My wallet is a bit heavier this week since I've been able to cut down on Reynolds Wrap purchases at Costco
In a television interview today, Greenwald said we should expect more revelations from him this week.
Greenwald has scooped the NYT and WaPo so bad, they will never get over it.
Die, MSM, die.
The only thing NYT and WaPo scoop is Government New World Order BS.
Somebody said on another site said MSNBC is claiming he is a racist and traitor? WTF? I guess the O idiots at MSNBC think he is a racist because he is white.
I stopped watching Operation Mockingbird TV and Hollywood years ago.
In the UK the Guardian is part of the MSM. Nicknamed by private Eye as the Grauniad because of frequent typos, it has a very long and illustrious history. Left wing and too socialist in its tastes for me, but if this story hangs together the Guardian will stand head and shoulders above most other papers for a long time (except for the Telegraph which we Brits thank for exposing our corrupt thieving expense-fiddling politicians).
BTW, God save Edward Snowden.
Also said he had authority to wiretap anyone. Maybe he recorded some of the regime. That would provide some good insurance and protection, at least for a while.
I'll bet those NSA agents have made a killing on the stock market.
Did Lois Lerner, Sarah Ingram and Douglas Shulman know it wasn't safe to discuss opposition audit targets over the phone with obama and valerie, and equally risky to convey target lists by email, or were their unprecedented 500 visits to the whitehouse 'demand performances'?
Terrorists know the only safe communication is face to face.
"In a television interview today, Greenwald said we should expect more revelations from him this week."
This one?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=3O9flwgcZ7w
Yes, thanks...or did you mean the Superman promo :-)
Balls o' Steel - Godspeed Snowden.
Is that a "The Rock " referance?
Congratulations on a brave decision Edward !!! You will be far better off living in the Eastern World anyway...
Cast Iron I believe. Off to gitmo with you son.
was killed today in a raid by FBI agents when he went for his wallet.
was killed in an airplane crash.
apparently committed suicide by jumping from a bridge
took an overdose of tylenol
died from eating a radioactive compound
was found hanging in his cell in an apparent suicide.
they have a whole book that explains how to handle these things...
Immediately after "confessing" to all the False Accusations against him.
"Trust me. I'm telling the Truth. I'm from the Government."
"You don't need any other evidence."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Merrill
You forgot "was found dead at Fort Marcy park"
The book: "Fosterized". It's Hillarious.
Autoerotic asphyxiation, natch!
Because if his reputation's not destroyed too, his death will be a job half-done.
....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."...
Here is a courageous man whose exemplary fight epitomises resistance to the existence of a corrupt system exemplifying a geopolitical principle I stated here : 3639083
Slap on the button : federation of secret laws... a system within a system...implacable logic.
Character assassination, then vanish never to be heard from again.
or
Vanishes for an extended period then returns and recants everything.
. . . and recants everything publically, while blinking "T-O-R-T-U-R-E" in Morse Code.
That wasn't McCain in Hanoi, was it?
McCain the Establishment shill, except when he thought the TEA party was going to defeat him.
Step 2: Contact your local Congressional representatives.
"Give 'em hell."
as if
... then receive a form letter:
'I too support appropriate safeguards for privacy, consistent with protecting the Homeland.'
"Send 'em to hell."
There, fixed it.
Admirable sentiment, take positive action, etc.... But they've AT BEST been complicit in spying on you for god knows how long, at worst been advocating for and fast tracking it (and that's not even getting into the 'for sale to the richest lobbyist' signs that hang on all their doors). What would make you think they give a flying fuck what you think?
You know, Widow that is a good point. He talks about routinely lieing to Congress. We elect such buffoons to government that this is what we get. Between the leftists, statists (including establishment Republicans), idiots, ass-chasers (including Barney) and narcissists we have in government you could see how easy it would be to get away with this stuff and become a power unto yourself.
He must be very sure of his security in order to come out in public.
Quite the opposite. From the interview he's very sure of retribution.
These were the actions of a liberated man that's accepted his fate, as horrific to him as it might be.
Exactly. Not everyone acts out of ulterior and selfish motives. Some people act purely out of principle. We need more of those.
It's just a pity most of those get eaten.
that they do
Acting purely on principle is the most selfish thing one can do. Such action is undertaken for no reason other than to satisfy one's own deeply held beliefs. Many people sacrifice their values in the name of cushy jobs, gracious living and a good reputation with a mediocre mob. We need less of that kind of person and more people like Snowden who affirm their own values through self awareness and decisive action.
every season has it's reason.
.
One's acceptance -- aye, resolve to engage -- one's own death is the greatest source of strength because it is rooted in hope outside one's self.
Whew! This man resides in the high terrain. The Nathan Hale of our time. How I should long to rise as well within and beyond the context of what will certainly beset me in the days ahead!
Template of a revolutionary: His name is Edward Snowden.
.
I'd sure buy him a beer at the Duke of New York, after viddying how he tolchoked Obama.
Real horrorshow, droogie!
He must be very sure of his security in order to come out in public.
Au contraire - he knew they'd find him, eventually. 'Coming out' and getting into the public eye was the only possible way he might avoid being disappeared.
He needs some HK friends to get him out of that hotel, and hide him in the alleyways of Tsim Sha Tsui ...
Well, yes.
But money talks as loudly there as anywhere.
WTF, I had popcorn for the witchhunt.
I Hope he used the " if anything happens to me, my family or friends, a Zip drive showing Obama snorting coke off Oprah's tits will be released to every news organisation in the world ".
If not Bradley Manning is gonna have a cell mate.
Oh, I dunno, Snowden could surveil anybody.
I bet Dick already has a CD of his most famous exploits waiting at the WH when he gets back.
And there are many copies in hidden places.....
Maybe another whisltleblower will finally reveal who "Dick" really is.
Let's hope that his conscientious decision in favor of constitutional liberties doesn't get judged based on whether he was a liberal (which he clearly is), a conservative or a squishy moderate. Personally, I think he did us all a very big favor. Now let's be true to our principles and drop the partisanship on this issue. It's time to repeal the Patriot Act and start dismantling the Orwellian machinery of tyranny and oppression. Let's protect ourselves the old fashioned way: secure the borders and expel those enemies we've already allowed in. We KNOW who they are!
All evidence points to him being libertarian. His only political donation was to Ron Paul.
The Libertarians are right, past, present and future. One of the great truths the sheeple need to learn that government is a wolf that is always out for itself. It is never tamed and never satisfied until power is absolute and we all live in something similar to N. Korea worshipping and thanking "fearless leader" for life itself.
The founders looked at government as a necessary evil and gave it very little power with strict limits. The leftist morons of the modern era have reversed that completely believing that goverment is good and freedom must be limited at all points.
What sweet irony would it be if Edward Snowden were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor....
That's not available to him given that he's not in the military.
The very dark (shit, black) irony is that the equivalent medal for civilians is the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
That would be like cockroaches handing a trophy to the Orkin man.
Wow... Shockwaves are now traveling through the DOD contractor community... particulary those who work at/with NSA... sweat is pouring, undergarments are being soiled... Particularly at Booz Allen Hamilton... But all companies are choking right now...
Me thinks there is going to be a rash of polygraph sessions starting on Monday morning...
This is going to be interesting... Glad I got beer in the fridge!
Where there is one, there are more...
polygraph? No, they're going to be bringing out the mindreading stuff.
Oh yeah, I forgot! Him being in Hong Kong and our President meeting with the Chinese Premier right now makes this MUST WATCH TV! lol
Release the Pundits! (and other know nothing CO2 producers)
if it's too good to be true, it probably isn't...just saying
Go Team Obama! Most transpart and slippery administration of all time. I suppose Obama will call some Chicago buddies to arrange an accident.
This guy is great. A nice big F U to tyrants.
This will also be a quick double check to see how fast the lapdog Chinese roll over for their NWO partners in tyranny. No Chinese involved so they won't lose face by turning him over.
If the US can't get him that way I hope he has a big double indemnity life insurance policy for their alternative approach. Maybe he should have consulted with Larry Silverstein about how to change and maximize his policies payouts before his pre-planned self-destruction.
Extradition and asylumn are very sensitive issues between the Chinese and American governments (ref. WANG LIJUN).
Larry Silverstein and all the Insiders who shorted stocks just before September 11, 2001.
How will the citizens of America respond? Will they protect Mr. Snowden's back or not?
The NYT will note his southern origins and call him a copperhead turncoat.
Watch and see.
The modern MSM are lazy, stupid insufferable mouthpieces of the State. If you are from the NYT, ABC, NBC, etc. I hope you noted that Snowden went out of country for his expose' and out of country for safety. You are worthless PRAVDA-like lemmings. You have lost the art of investigation, your suspicion of power and even the desire to get to the truth of anything unless it involves your political opponents. Even then you are lazy and make crap up or accept false documents willingly. I despise you more than these people in the NSA, CIA, IRS, etc. because you are worthless enablers while claiming to be the opposite.
Machineh, you are probably right one way or another. The American Press is consistently the last one's to the news party.
So he is either a traitor or a patriot. At the very least it will force a discussion on what is truly constitutional and what itself.
Got to hand it to him. It took lot of balls
looks like he has defused Obama's search warrant for the "criminal" who leaked this uber Orwellian conspiracy.
Julian Assange has a soul brother, and we need more of these guys; like the Daniel Elsworth of old.
Keep blowing you horn.
I doubt it diffused anything substantively - the shoji screens of the rice paper walls at the NSA have most likely already been ripped open by a FISA judge signing a warrant against the entire media for an indefinite period.
FISA judge apparently has already done that warrant against the entire world.
Patriot.
Yes, he took an Oath.
He is fulfilling the "...Enemies foreign and domestic" part of the deal.
Majority of comments on the NYT's Snowden story are negative, calling for Snowden to be punished and imprisoned.
No wonder the U.S. Gulag is so full.
yeah, but those comments are probably from Dick's paid troll organization.
this is what happens when you fuck a stranger in the ass
shut the fuck up Donny
It's only a 'conspiracy theory' until someone proves it's true.......
so very many absurd and irrational 'conspiracy theories' have turned out to be the truth - I wonder how many others are true? I suspect we'd be utterly outraged if we knew what our government has done in our name - or in the name of 'protecting' us. The question is 'Who protects us from our government?'
BTW - do CIA and NSA employees take an oath to "uphold the Constitution and protect the US from enemies, foreign and domestic? "
wherever the MIC goes Booz Hamilton and the lawyer firms like the C-Gs are not far behind.
These "consultants" are great for setting up crony special links to foreign governments, using NSA assets to help their cronies spy on their local political enemies, all the while they also help Uncle Sam. Its Gitmo at home and exported as well. The greatest business today is selling security to oligarchs rich as hell.
Guess what Erdogan said about those Taksim square protests : All Vandals and Terrorists! The T word is the pass word to join the world NSA club. You can be sure now Turkey gets its own NSA center soon; all paid by turkish tax payers! Well done Booz, you earned you sub to NSA as consultant for Erdogan. Thats how networking works. Thats why Bilderbergers are the best hamburgers in town. Wheels within wheels.
The inner ring of the Rand Corporation, Mckinsey, Booz, Boston consultiing, JPM, Citi titty, UBS, HSBC, and those lawyer companies with phony Louis Vuitton and Cartier-Chanel-Gucchi attache cases you see in hotel lobbies all around the world. Not far behind the HF and Private capital vultures, all looking for bones to pick.
Oil empire consultants and inevitable arms merchants. What a duck soup this oligarchy cooks, CIA toxic.
Presumably. I had to sign a loyalty and secrecy oath to get a low level security clearance at a major defense contractor many years ago. Cannot remember the exact details.
Fortunately for me, there was nothing much there worth keeping secret, except to the Government and its obsession to keep everything secret, no matter how trivial.
Well, looks like I have a ringside seat.
How long before the extradition hearing?
Over / Under currently @ 6 weeks
Hearing? These people don't do hearings.
It will be utterly fascinating to see how this plays out. His location and going public really fucked up some game plans.
I'm still skeptical but I'm starting to believe this guy is legit based on the planning, who he contacted, and his background. If so then TPTB are going to flip, and it might also be enough to make other whisteblowers come forward.
Exactly right. What Snowden did is give courage to others to come forward - we can't let this insanity continue. How many times must people from within the corrupt government see all of this absurdity occur before losing it? Certainly, there are psychopaths and sociopaths at important positions, but there has to be some decent human beings that have realized that just following orders/rules/paycheck isn't cutting it anymore, and human decency means something.
He said the other country where he might be safe is Iceland. I am wondering if he might be safer there. The kid is incredibly brave.
It would be great if many people of Hong Kong would surround the hotel to protect him.
Considering how much the people of Hong Kong know about Chinese Government surveillance and tyranny.
my call is for the next level up to be breached--that is guilt about destroying this country causes some (how many copy cats) to go postal inside a NSA facility-- just sayin-
When the realization arrives, it's already too late: Ceausescu shock.
Time to test out your interviewing talents !!!
It's been some time since you've had a hero to work with. Get to work Mr. Banzai.
You had better get over there and help him out.
I would go for free, if I could score a heater in HK.
For real, Wm, you must have some associates who could at least watch the place.
Thanks.
May I suggest a stroll round Kowloon Park and a chat with Edward ;-)
He's the real deal:
http://www.opensecrets.org/pres12/search.php?cid=&name=Snowden%2C+Edward&employ=&state=HI&zip=%28any+zip%29&submit=OK&amt=a&sort=A
Lindsey Graham: I Use Verizon And I’m Glad The Government Has My Phone Number | We have to agree with you on this point, easier to expose your network of Globalist attempting to take this country down. Your phone records will drag you into resignation and furnish a ripe list of new international phone contacts padding your wallet.
Mr Graham, can I suggest that you release your entire phone records into the public domain. After all, if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear.
Do you?
oh, and FUCK YOU, MISS GRAHAM!
... and the rent boy who just buggered you too.
we should want to know exactly what they have on each of us...probably more than what we know about ourselves.
Ideas are bulletproof.
Conspiracists, Bitchez!
Takes a lot of balls to come out like that.
But I do have to say I find the reception of the revelation of this NSA scheme disturbing. What does it take for US citizens to wake up and see what is going on? The whole Nixon affair was a stroll among roses in sunlight compared to this shitstorm. Has the average person become so dumbed down and ignorant that they dont understand the implications and magnitutude of this?
Yes... to all.
I guaruntee I could talk to my circle of friends and maybe 1 or 2 out of 10 will know what I'm talking about with these scandals.
And the 1 or 2 of my friends that actually know what's going on, simply don't give a f&ck.
Imagine how shocked they'll be when a FED whistleblower document dump takes place. It's a reminder of how those desirous of accruing and maintaining power think we don't deserve to know how the innards of the system work. But then, that's the basis of their power and wealth. The old saying "Don't tread on me," may be taking on some new life.
Someone get our hero a bodyguard. PDQ.
Congress critters are scrambling to cover their asses.
"I had no idea..."
Except Feinstein.
"I'll get you, my pretty...and your little dog too."
Feinstein completely misread the zeitgeist.
She painted herself as a co-conspirator.
Her career is over.
And it's about fucking time. The old whore is 80.
shovelhead - BEST POST OF THE DAY!
Then we have Maxine Waters. Boy, that should unearth a treasure trove of missing links.
Missing synapses for sure.
Anthropological ones at that.
I don't beleive anybody but the goverment anymore, everybody else is wrong.
You know it's bad when he comes to the decision that he's safer on the outside than on the inside.
Meanwhile, Wall Street will be loving a scandal which doesn't involve them for a change; at least not yet.
Story does not smell right. No HS diploma, no GED, but goes to SF training? Sorry, not possible.
Then on to the CIA? Still no HS diploma? Again sorry. I know someone who had a BS in Comp Sci, TS clearance, and he couldn't get one of those jobs. Again, I think something isn't right here.
He thought Obamao would save the day? Sign of stupidity, not intelligent at all. Sheeple.
Folks, this guy is not what he says he is.
wrong on all counts Moe.
get a clue dog.
Moe,
The discription does not add up. You have to have a college degree before any of these agancies even call you. Are they trying to flush someone out?
Exactly. Does not smell right.
Perhaps the red arrows may want to check some Army regs about high school diplomas and GEDs.
You may get in without one, but you will get one very quickly, and for sure before going to the Q course.
Do your due digligence people, don't run after every flag that gets waved.
It raises eyebrows, but I've seen far sketchier get far higher...
On the military side- a 99 ASVAB can get you a waiver for just about anything even during "peacetime" (baring a physical handicap);
On the intelligence side - once you are on the other side of the door... many things are possible and justifiable to achieve a desired end (and medical discharge + the clearance required before the Q course helps open that door in the first place);
"...but I've seen far sketchier get far higher..."
Bush?
If you read the story, it says he later got his GED.
I don't know....Without seeing the birth certificate, selective service paperwork, Passport, Social Security #, College Transcripts and Diplomas I think that our whistleblower is very credible. One IQ test was probably all it took to realize Edward's potential.
ss# says he was born in ct.
I'm guessing if you can download and install Metasploit the NSA will hire you on for 200K a year.
The agencies didn't call him. They called a staffing agency. The staffing agency hired him. He was not an NSA employee - he was a contractor.
Naw, it makes sense. Our govt's best and brightest consist primarily of college drop-outs and beach bums who can't get real jobs.
Thinking people with options, brains, and a conscience can't be controlled, manhandled, and bought off as easily.
"Thinking people with options, brains, and a conscience can't be controlled, manhandled, and bought off as easily."
You must not live in the US. We don't call them sheeple for nothing. People with jobs think from 9-5, when they get home it is time to forget everything and veg out. Employed Americans are the easiest to control. "Too little time to think."
Go to USA Jobs and tell me how many jobs like this guy had can be had with less than a BS BA with honors. Most require MORE. I'm not saying they are smart, I am saying the jobs require diplomas, that is college diplomas, don't even dream without a GED or HS diploma.
He got inside by starting at a very low skilled job.
The guy can probably code circles around his well-educated colleagues. Tech is still a meritocracy to a significant degree, and it seems as if this guy is someone who's innate ability allowed him to rise above his poor education.
Unless things have changed any soldier can apply for SF training. As long as you are currently meeting heigh, weight, etc standards.
That does not mean your application will be accepted or that you have a change in hell of making it past he first day.
You have to have a HS diploma or a GED wake up. Anyone can apply for anything, but you can't be a soldier without getting a GED or HS diploma. Check it out. Even if they take you, you have to get one right away - not after SF training. Sorry to bust your dream.
Might depend on how high he scored on his ASVAB when he enlisted. Most things are waiverable. Especially in the Army...
Maybe he killed kennedy.
Why would they make up such a shitty cover story, then?
So it can be discredited later. Do you really think a guy without a HS diploma or GED gets $200K a year, or has a TS job in Geneva? Really?
Bill Gates and Zuckerberg never finished college?
How much money have they collected?
Neither Bill Gates nor Mark Zuckerberg are 'entrepreneurs', they were both backed by the political mafia from their teens
Bill Gates came from a US political mafia family, his father in the Bogle Gates law firm that was right up there with the political elite in very dirty deals going back years
Once in Harvard you are in the CIA loop ... finishing the diploma did not matter, Gates had the full US political mafia behind him via his father and the regime, to crush competitors and rivals etc with everything all 'legal' of course
When Zuckerberg was at Harvard three decades later, the CIA - Zionist 'internet star' loop was already well established, and Zuckerberg was picked to head yet another CIA - internet project alongside the CIA's Google Inc and the CIA's Wikipedia
« ... funding into Facebook ($US12.7 million) came from venture capital firm Accel Partners. Its manager James Breyer ... served on the board ... of In-Q-Tel, a venture capital firm established by the Central Intelligence Agency in 1999. One of the company's key areas of expertise are in "data mining technologies". »
http://adventofdeception.com/facebook-ciacover-nwo-agenda/
The story said that Snowden's family worked for the Government.
Well connected ?
I Don't know the details.
My cousin dropped out of high school at 17 and joined the Army. Everybody told him he was ruining his life, He was an idiot.
He figured out real quick that he needed a GED and got one. He became an NCO. Completed airborne training, and finished the SF Q Course. He attended intel school at Fort Huachuca.
He went reserve and the Army paid for his college. He applied for OCS and became an officer. Europe, Africa and two deployments to Afghanistan. He retired a Major. A decorated combat veteran. At 42 years old. When he bought his house he paid 50% cash. He's married and has a daughter.
High school dropouts never amount to anything. It's all a setup. Gotta be. Right?
He didn't make 200K - but he damn sure had a TS. Really.
You're probably right but at this point does it really matter?
William Binney has been saying the same thing for over a year and got almost no coverage and minimal reaction. I don't recall any MSM coverage. That's what the sheeple follow.
At this point it is far more important to slap the faces of the clueless sheeple into waking the f*ck up than it is to worry about the validity of this guy.
His message about mass monitoring and control is true. That's what matters. It needs to stop. The only hope for that is global awareness and action. Now it is disseminated around the world. Let's see what happens.
Why did the world hear Snowden and not Binney? Was it that Snowden had documentation in the form of PowerPoint slides and Binney just had a tale to tell?
Evidence, and more specifically evidence that was personal. The image of the court order gave the remaining press something to run with.
Binney obviously knows more (shit, he was practically the architect of some of this stuff) but his disclosure was abstract. Snowden handed the press something that says "Joe Sixpack, you have a verizon account and your government is spying on YOU." That's way more personal.
I'm typing at you through Verizon right now.
We probably should assume that all communications are compromised. It is rather hard to stick a finger in the eye of government intelligence agencies when they ask you for your "willing" cooperation in something that will make it safer for the country.
So what do you think Joe Sixpack will do?
We can hope for protests and political pressure, but assuming that doesn't happen, I could see J6P installing encryption apps on his phone/computer.
Those may also be compromised as well, but he'll feel more protected. And I suspect the hardcore people will be doing it right as well. (I know I've certainly upped my TOR usage a ton the past week, but I was still pretty cautious before all this came out.)
One reason is because Snowden has a good understanding of the news cycle. The Sunday talk shows were over and the government was getting ready to pick up the narrative, which its MSM minions would hammer home for a week solid.
But Edward Snowden, God bless him, snatched control of the narrative at the very beginning of the week. Timing alone makes me think he's legit.