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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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People are missing the higher variable here. You have a highly trained NSA operative who is sitting on Chinese controlled soil.. So it's only an embarrasing element to the US government, they have been doing this shit since the FBI was inceptedm, they will continue. The bigger issue if the CIA cannot kill him quickly he will become a informational source to the Chinese intelligence.
If this man lives two weeks I would be surprised. What is strange about it is the Chinese are probably mounting a quick defense of the hotel while CIA assets are currrently in dealings with the Triads to have him immediately killed.
You, my fine feathered friend, have seen way too many spy movies.
I'm pretty sure the Chinese can pay the triads too and since it's home-turf there's only so much influence the CIA can buy.
His name was Edward Snowden.
Keeping up with Rupert Murdoch shouldn't be a crime, but NCP has too many pictures of queens and stable-boys to get into a fuss about the competish.
Iceland? Makes sense only nation that did something about bankster criminality.
They say Equador is nice this time of year.
He said he had access, so I hope he was smart enough to make a fat packet of all the names and places, to be released upon his disappearance or "accidental" death.
Photos of Obama in the bathhouse with Rahm would be useful.
History will look kindly to Snowden. More legacy than Obama.
Here I was thinking there were no heroes for our time, and then along comes Edward Snowden. Bravo, Mr. Snowden. Bravo!
And may I be the first on record here to say Fuck you Obama surf and Co. Lying traitors and sacks of shit. Number 1 rule of the CIA back in thr day, do not propagandize the American people and spying is prohibited on domestic soil. Come along way havent we?
Isolated to one phone carrier Verizon logging /recording numbers and call duration only off shore...full of shit.
You bitches stole everyones secure digital data and for that I declare open season on these theives by starting an online petition for a class action lawsuit for stealing all our privacy, security and freedoms under the umbrella of National Security.
The People of the United States vs US Government
You Traitors are more danger to our Soveriegn and National security than 7 OBL could ever dream of. Your actions are the weapons of mass destruction of freedom and our wealth, and now your caught.
What an excellent idea. And when it goes to SCOTUS, (which it would) and they stike it down, (which they would), it would provide the perfect and entirely justified cassus belli for the American people.
I am more concerned about private corporate access to private information that the government databases have; the government doesn't have the intelligence in most cases to use all this information to root out real fraud, eventually they will. Orwell was wrong; totalitarianism is more of a problem when private financial institutions are in control, not supposedly accountable state and federal governments.
Can privates coerce, kill, audit, starve, torture you for not buyin their gum, you east german kraut commie.
obviously yes. Government may be the biggest "protection racket" in existence but they aren't the only ones.
"Whenever we had a debate in the office on how to handle crimes, they do not defend due process – they defend decisive action. They say it is better to kick someone out of a plane than let these people have a day in court. It is an authoritarian mindset in general." Edward Snowden.
I wonder how many kool-aid drinking Newspapers in the United States turned down his story? Must protect Obama. Must protect Obama. Must protect Obama.
All right all you big talking ZH gazillionaires.
This guy sounds like the real deal. no malcontent, persecution side issues(manning). No self importance control psychosis(assange). no careless uncensored docu dump taking out innocent collateral civilians
Time is coming to step up to the plate. this guy and his family are going to need cash, and a ton of it.
So get those cashiers checks and traceless money orders ready.
For less then Reggies yearly dry cleaning bill, you can help save a bona fid heroes life.
As soon as I know where to send it, my contributiuon is in the mail.
Do you think he'll be opening his mail???
I would expect some sort of aid organization will pop up.
And I would expect B of A, Visa, Paypal or whomever to freeze their account.
And on the envelope containing your check in support of this hero, which envelope will be photographed by the USPS for permanent storage and future reference, in the space for the return address, write the following: _________________________________________________________
China can cover his expenses. They've got his back until the Fed ends QE. China also has a shit ton of ever less valuable US Treasuries.
BTW? China's "Operation QE Payback" is what bought Obama his scandal shitstorm.
The Fed can continue to ease and Obama will continue to wheeze (it's the menthol, bro).
The Middle Kingdom is super fucking pissed and Obama's troubles [ALL comments IMO] will not end until QE ends.
doubt the revelations will stop anyone doing what they already doing
the amount of stuff he knows must make him the most wanted man on the planet...and in HK is within everyones reach.
How many of you trolls would have the gonads to do the same if it was your ass on the line?
Liberals always dream of the "tipping point", which is the instant when their unworkable, unsustainable tyrannies start to magically crap Skittles and urinate Arizona iced tea while traversing the golden rainbow to Utopia.
In the real world, the tipping point is reached when principled people start to say their principles are more important than anything that government can do to them. The more that come out of the wood-work with their evidence and stories, the more it will encourage others to do the same. Thus the liberal dreams, facilitated by tyrannous outrages like NSA-gate and IRS-gate fall to earth, and the smoking hole they smash into only grows larger with each revelation.
I'd like to see what his girlfriend looks like first before I can answer that question.
I wouldn't. I don't have the cajones. I will fully admit it. I have too much to lose.
And if this is true, just makes it incredible.
Or maybe not... the general knock on "conspirarcy theories" is that they could never be carried out because there would be too many people involved to be kept secret. So in a weird way, this was inevitible? But I guess someone has to go first.
it is easier for an elephant to pass thru an eye of a needle than for someone who did not sacrifice for the freedom of others to be welcomed into the kingdom of whatever we call this country once we take it back from the hoars...monetary donations to the cause of freedom will be accepted...
His hero ins 2008 did not fix the problem but made it worse. No shit. An there we have it againt. The communist/socialist/progressing/NWo democrats and the progressive/NWO republicans what the American people in chains.
WOW Welcome to the club. Your are a little late,
Obama is the bad guy because he didn't stop what Bush started? ALL these programs grew out of the "Patriot Act" mostly written by the office of conservative James Sensenbrenner and were passed into law between 2002 and 2008.
These all started from a program started in 1947 and morphed again and again leading to Echelon in 1971.
Go read about Frank Church. Stop with your bullshit
Agreed. This 'liberal/conservative' fake dvidie is complete BS on this issue. There are a few individuals in both parties (e.g., Wyden, a few GOP rep with a strong liberterian who aren't Tea Party fascists) but they are clear outliers.
and if Obama wanted to stop it he has that fancy little power, able to be used on the making of Patriot Act II, called "veto power".
Of course if the puppet ever did that he'd be swimming wit' da fishes alongside Hoffa or sharing Presidential hair-styling tips with JFK.
Eric Snowden, you will like never read these comments, although some machine or person in the NSA/CIA/FBI/DIA/etc. etc. with no morals to speak of may.
If you were here I would say that I am proud of you. Even slowing for a moment the emergence of a total surveillance state is worth it.
I wish I could contribute to something that would help protect you from the vengeance of a state that misdirects attention to the fact that a law was broken hoping all ignore that it was to perform the greater good.
In a free, democratic, country, someone like Snowden maybe criticized, but would never, NEVER, have to leave the country in fear of government retribution. Stuff like these only happens in brutal dictatorship.
"An existential threat" maybe...but not to "democracy"...to LIBERTY.
Modern "democracy" is a threat to liberty.
Tyler-
If you, or an outfit you can vouch for, sets up a fund for this guy, I'd donate. I suspect others would also.
If they take Bitcoin, even better. I can donate more.
Site set up for donations:
https://www.crowdtilt.com/campaigns/reward-edward-snowden-for-courageous...
who gets the harshest sentence
1) Snowden
2) George Zimmerman
3) Ft Hood killer
4) Boston bomber....
I am afraid it will be death for Snowden, life for zimmerman, and a few months in a psychiatric golf community for the other two..., oops 3 is paralyzed, so we will have to find somewher else nice for him...
Between waiting for charge ups on EBT cards, watching American Idol, and swilling down Keystone Light half the popoulation could give a fuck. The rest are just happy there not on a hunger strike in Guantanamo, yet.
If he s extradited or kidnapped back to America will the streets be filled with patriots protesting or will footbll stadiums, couches in front of TV's, MacDonalds and shopping malls be filled with sheeple pretending nothing has happened?
If he is assasinated, will someone be tried for murder eventually?
As I am fond of saying, America does not have any probems,,,,,it IS the problem. What a sad waste that a great nation can manage to shoot itself both n the head and the foot at the same time.
"Why Tyler, are you building an army?" "No, I am building a Monstrous Regiment. After all, Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."
An added bonus is that the Guardian is showing the world that the New York Times has no balls. Ha! Love it.
The world already knew that.
Actually, most Americans don't know anything about the Guardian other than perhaps a dim memory about their 2008 election shenanigans for candidate Obama in Ohio.
The world knew the New York times has no balls. And what the fuck does it matter anyway except to someone who thinks that rag is important.
The NYT is important. It sets the news agenda in this country, it carries water for the Obama administration, it controls much of what passes for culture and is the newspaper of choice for most American intellectuals.
Of course, you're free to ignore them. Just don't underestimate what they can do.
Relax.. Have a beer.
noo yawk times it has no balls
Doo Dah, Doo Dah
noo yawk times it has no balls
Oooh Dee Doo Dah Day
Just don't underestimate what they can do.
Just don't underestimate what EVIL they can do.
Fixed it.
The Conspiracy Historians already knew that.
The NYT reader, not so much.
The New York Times and the Washington Post are to the current US government what Pravda and Izvestia were to the old Soviet Union
At least their stenographers still take decent shorthand.
Don't we miss "Saddam's WMDs" ...
If this is as it seems, I would say that Eric Snowden will go down in History as the most spectacular "suicide bomber" of all time. He saw that time had about run out to pull us back from a worldwide lockdown which would entail the extinguishing of Liberty for hundreds of years.
It was if he carried a backpack nuke into the center of a building called the Patriot Act and detonated it. Now it is up to the rest of us to make sure that his sacrifice was not in vain.
We need to assault these laws, these structures, these organizations with a howling fury, knowing full well, as Snowden did, that this is our last chance.
The Patriot Act is martial law.
Just a few weeks ago, Obama said, 'Under domestic law, and international law, the United States is at war with al Qaeda, the Taliban, and their associated forces.'
As long as these unwinnable wars continue, so will martial law.
Or in different terms, the only way to end the Patriot Act is to bring the troops home.
Truly the man with the biggest stones in the house is Snowden. Thank you Sir for being a man. NOW Let's hope the rest of us can now pick up the ball somehow and run with it.
Truly the man with the biggest stones in the house is Snowden. Thank you Sir for being a man. NOW Let's hope the rest of us can now pick up the ball somehow and run with it.
And a donator to Ron Paul.. hmmmmmmmmmmm . Watch them call him nuts.. and try to discredit his career.
64 years ago on June 8, 1949 George Orwell published his book “1984”. It appears we are living that Orwellian future with the President of the United States, after acknowledging the government has been gathering phone records of U.S. citizens stated “nobody is listening to your telephone calls”.
Can the “Ministry of Truth” be that far away? The “Ministry of Truth” controlled information: news, entertainment, education, the arts etc. Or the “Ministry of Peace”, which was of course, in charge of war.
The interview was made on 6 June.
D-Day
The point is we are living in the Orwellian future.
D-Day Invasion against Fascism.
I wonder if Orwell was aware ot the 1947 program and used it as the source for his book?
Singapore is already front running the U.S. on this.
I wonder what Jim Rogers will say about that.
He (Jim Rodgers) can afford paying the $39,000 blog registration license fee to the Singaporean government :-) Hopefully, Switzerland will not get this idea as I really enjoy reading ZH...
Republican and democrats in Congress come together to say that Snowden should be arrested. No word on if anything he leaked is a lie. Just need to kill the messenger.
A Congress in bipartisan agreement. They can always work together to keep their thumb on Your neck. God Bless AmeriKa.
The Congress of the United States contains some of the most evil traitorous whores this country has ever produced. They should all be arrested for treason.
wherever he ends up I imagine money will b the least of his problems...
I wonder if ecuador have an embassy in HK?
The more taxes, the more phenomenally massive debts, the more fragile, maxed to breaking point, rolling over at tipping point the "system" becomes. As a practical matter, increased survelence and mob...er..'citizen' control is required.
If people acted free, or even began to pursue freedom, all hell would break loose. How can you central plan hundreds of millions if they are doing, attempting to do, what they want?
Signed,
The Management.
It will be amusing to watch the leftists. On the one hand they have their love for Obama and how they swoon when he takes another chunk of liberty away! On the other hand they have their new crush on Snowden who they perceive as fighting the power (that they forgot they elected).
As disgusting as any shit sandwich I've seen served up.
Don't worry the repubicans will be all over this... to cover it up, make it go away, talk about Bengazi and Obama's birth certificate.
Well O's and Schumer's "republikans" aka Gang of 8 RINO traitors including McCain, Rubio and Lindsay Graham are already attacking Snowden as they push Obama's amnesty. Amnesty will be the final nail on the coffin if it passes.
Snowden is white and male. My prediction: most American Leftists will stick with Obama.
Tyler, I am not a legal expert, but I have a feeling the PRC will use this clause to keep Edward in Hong Kong.
"Hong Kong has a similar right of refusal when surrender implicates the ``defense, foreign affairs or essential public interest or policy'' of the PRC."I guess we will soon see if weakening the United States politically is part and partial of the PRC's policy towards the U.S. government.
Regards.
So will Obama drone him now? It's completely legal.
This mans life is now in danger. The USA will, with extreme prejudice, seek his elimination as a threat to national security. He could be rendered to a secret CIA torture prison in Poland, or prehaps his hotel room in Hong Kong could be hit from a drone by a hell fire missile.
I watched this young man's interview. His willingness to expose the anti constitutional actions of the US government is extraordinary. He seems to know that his life is now in the hands of the CIA and Obama. Obama will have him killed if at all possible. The Nobel peace prize winner has proven to be a man of his word. He will kill America's enemies with ruthless abandon.
Choosing Hong Kong may have bought the kid a few months of security as China has a say on whether a Navy Seal Kill Team will be able to land on the hotel roof and repel down in force to take out an enemy of the US state.
I am amazed at this kid's guts. He knows his name is now top of the Obama kill list. Obama, like Joseph Stalin before him, spends his evenings in front of the TV with wife and kids while scanning over and marking of hits to be made on his ever expanding kill lists.
Stalin only had people killed after HE, Stalin, approved the hit. Obama, true to form, will only make a hit on pre-approved people. This is why the Nobel Peace Prize Winner is not your ordinary thug killer. Nope, Obama takes the time to personally approve the kill list hits. Admire this man for his hard work keeping us free.
The kid is brave, he is a true American, one I am proud to share citizenship with. But the NSA, CIA, FBI and Military intelligence agencies now must rub him out in the name of freedom, justice and the American way. America has become Orwellian, just as "1984" predicted. Orwell was writing about the future Britain and USA when he wrote the book. He is being proved right.
Bush was a mad war monger and killer, Obama has upped Bush's game and taken the power to exterminate enemies of the people to a new level. I have now begun to refer to my homeland, America, as Murderer's Row". The glory of the nation is now summed up in our ever expanding list of conquered countries, secret torture prisons, spy agencies, legions of troops and terror war against the American people.
The Fed has taken over the economy in service of the 1% and military industrial complex. The government has taken over the constitution in service of Banks and Corporations. Our leaders agenda is the return of debt slavery, serfdom, a permanent war state, a total police state and a war on Americans. The goal is to make America into a new Communist China. Our elites admire nothing more than the Chinese Model. It is the future they work to enforce on us.
Good luck, we are entering a new dark age. It will be no fun for the 99%, out future is going to be bleak.
Obama is a Puppet.
Military Joint Chiefs of Staff and CIA killed President Kennedy.
The true Power is Invisible.
If I were DHS and the airlines, I wouldn't allow employees of NSA, CIA or Booz Allen fly as there are some pretty pissed off Patriots, who are faithful to the Constitution, some with military backgrounds, who may desire retribution, therefore Booze Allen, NSA and CIA persons are a danger when flying with innocent passengers
nice sentiment but I'm sure it will be the other way around.
Token innocents to fly along with those worthy of retribution to ensure a dilution of target-value.
And that 'executive action' could be the spark, Jack. One never knows.
You just figured this out recently? This outcome was intended, according toJean Baudrillard some thirty years ago.
Not only is truth anti-semitic,
Truth is no defense.
Good luck Snowman
Under / Over on days till Obama forced to admit he don't run shit.
5
A true hero in fight against the tyrants.
1984 wasn't a warning to these motherfuckers, it was a training manual.
"Only a large-scale popular movement toward decentralization and self-help can arrest the present tendency toward statism. At present there is no sign that such a movement will take place."
-Aldous Huxley
That is an excellent post.. Thanks
http://www.mrtom.com/quotes/huxley_essay.htm
~Forward to Brave New World~
So it sounds like everyone is going long Snowdon right? Hmmm....
Jeffrey Toobin was just on CNN at 7:25 PM EDT 15 minutes ago, criticizing Snowden, saying Snowden was a coward for revealing himself as the NSA leaker while in Hong Kong, not while in the USA. For a lawyer to make this comment, even someone as smarmy as Toobin, means only one thing: the NSA has the goods on Toobin and told him to discredit Snowden or else the NSA would release some very damaging stuff on Toobin. What is it, Toobin, phone logs your wife can use in her divorce suit against you? Don't be a coward, Jeffrey, tell us the hold the NSA has.
it's fucking CNN. WTF do you expect? Might as well be Carney or some other statist jackhole.
Who still watches msnbc East ?
I slid on over to their article and read some comments. I became enraged by the comments, whether legit or statist propaganda by paid fux, and left. We are fucked.
It's PMSNBC, and Karnac.
MSDNC
Did Toobin have obama jizm on his chin like he usually does?
Shortly after the warrantless wiretapping scandal broke a major news figure commented about what this meant - if the government could listen in on calls and read e-mails, if it could know as much as possible about anyone it could control that person, be they a news reporter, a politician, or ....... think about how many vocal opponents of Bush caved and voted for what they claimed to oppose, and all the media reports not reported. Never heard a rerun of that - or any other fuigure raising the same issues.
And if you can't blackmail someone, there are opther ways to get them. Look at how they nailed Rather over W's lack of TANG service.... scrub the records, provide fake records reporting the truth Rather was seeking and then kill the reporter and story by revealing the fake documentation and focusing ONLY on that - which reported what REALLY happened. Nobody ever could prove Bush DID complete his obligations while there is enough info to show how strings got pulled to get him in and that he did NOT complete his obligations. Whiel others wewr trying to GET posted to active duty, W did all he could to avoid ANY service.
BUsh is not President. Try and stick with current events.
TV and Hollywood are Operation Mocking Bird aka C*A propaganda tools.
I stopped watching their shit years ago. If you watch then you support The Matrix. F TV and F Hollywood. TV is for retards.
Well, a guy on Fox just used the "D" word to describe Snowden - Defector.
Fox News is run by Rupert Murdoch. Defector? Such an odd accusation by a man who was once Australian, then British, then American, then Israeli.
Who married a HK princess himself. Too good for the gander, obviously.
Yes, well, it wasn't Murdoch who said it. So.....
Look to Salon if you need feed-back on how Fox News works. The Chinese angle was discussed about 3 hrs ago, then forwarded as a topic to mention to the C levels, then handlers, then floor.
Shit, you think they aren't vetted? Holy Fuck Balls you need to wake up.
So...it's only Fox which does this? Riiiiight.
Holy shit no. How could even think I thought that?
I was just telling you how Fox News went with the Chinese angle.
Wake up you two. Fox is like the rest. All of TV is shit and it is all compromised. It is used by the elites to control the sheep and form opinions. Same thing with Hollywood. If you watch it and pay subscription fees - then you are financially supporting the people who are enslaving you.
He also used the "disgruntled employee" attack, straight out of the character assasination playbook. Nice try, it isn't going to work.
Another guy on Fox Business New said that the FBI can issue their own orders for downloading personal metadata on phone calls, google searches, etc. and they have done so 300,000 times.
as soon as people on the right understand fox news is evil, we'll be in great shape....probably the same time democrats would actually condemn a guy on their side (obama for starters, then that loon pelosi and the quaalude addict Reid) just for starters.
AN OPEN LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
Dear Mr. President,
Please do not have Edward Snowden murdered. We all realize that you must be furious that he has made you look like nasty lying evil little prick and the American people are finally waking up to the fact that you are the biggest conman that has ever occupied the White house (and that's saying a lot). We know it's all strictly legal for you to do so, but please don't have him murdered. Don't do it as a favor to us.
SIGNED
THE AMERICAN PEOPLE
up arrow for the sentiments but it must be hard to be an obama supporter for so long...
This proves that the CIA and NSA are without value as they couldn't even stop this man from ratting on them. Also they couldn't predict that he would do it. Pretty soon pre-crime will alleviate this problem.
Look at how many times relatively low level people have turned over reams of classified documents - and nobody had a clue until somebody did something blatantly obvious or stupid.
"Yossarian was cold, too, and shivering uncontrollably. He felt goose pimples clacking all over him as he gazed down despondently at the grim secret Snowden had spilled all over the messy floor. It was easy to read the message in his entrails. Man was matter, that was Snowden’s secret. Drop him out a window and he’ll fall. Set fire to him and he’ll burn. Bury him and he’ll rot, like other kinds of garbage. The spirit gone, man is garbage. That was Snowden’s secret. Ripeness was all." - Catch 22.
Shamelessly stolen, but brilliant. The Emperor has no clothes.
Yeah, I caught that too. Probably gonna have to read C22 again to see what I might be missing.
I'm praying for the day a CIA/DIA whistleblower comes forth sporting the last name Kurtz.
Then I'll know the worm has turned. Until then...we will see wont we
yes, this beats SAM (i.AM) BACIL by a longshot.
the universe is quite the trickster, ain't (s)he?
all we need now is for a TRISTERO to appear...
who is running the america (the free world?) is it the elites or the geeks?
the chinese are laughing they dont have the same idealists as USA becuse they dont preach freedom and democracy?
how long before the chinaficatinon of USA?
which corps use servers outside the USA?
A song for Edward:
Turning Hong Kong-ese
I think I'm turning Hong Kong-ese
I really think so....
Turning Hong Kong-ese
I think I'm turning Hong Kong-ese
I really think so....
With Exposure, building naturally, because it has to...
watch the sycophants -- the supporting structure -- begin to scurry away, in turmoil and surprise...
media/govt/business, all...
the supporting structure hasn't a clue nor a care what part it has played in the greater scheme of things,
but when it all starts to crumble... preserving their own illusions, which is all they know, will send them fleeing.
The Control structure will be running out of room to play then, and there will be some forced hands.
This song keeps playing in my head lately.
http://www.lyricsfreak.com/d/don+mclean/starry+starry+night_20611743.html
I will play it most of the day and dedicate it to Snowden
Salut - Edward
An American with balls has shown the way
When will other Americans display them.
Your forefathers are did not lay the groundwork for it all to be taken away.
Umm maybe safer (or nothing to lose) to be out in open... since cover probably already blown
Eye opener... an awakening for those too fearful to speak out?
"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.""
"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."
The cut off point is $240k by 34.
Guess he'd hit a ceiling and reckoned he couldn't make the grade. [Hint: this is dark, dark, shit night-black humor]
lol nice... Carrousel of sorts? The culling begins by that point?
This article is pretty intense. If all he is saying is true it reads like... a spy novel, but real. Fear of extradition, being offed by hired HK Triads, hiding in Hong Kong in a top notch hotel suite (kinda like Smokin' Aces?).
Interesting.
The links via Google have all been scrubbed. Let's just say: there was an interesting piece via Madison Avenue last year (maybe in the last three, your time goes so quick) proving that if you weren't making $240k by the age of 34, you'd never spring board into the important wealthy class, and how targeting anyone under this threshold was no longer worth professional advertising (let WalMart etc hoover up the trash). It was, like all of these things, a signifier. Since it's been culled, I suspect the time frame has run out. Tick - Tock. Tick - Tock.
Oh, and +1 for the Logan's Run reference. Absolutely - having met a lot of these fresh eyed hedonists, and met their usually older handlers with big black eyes, their energy is impressive. Live life to the full, live it 120%, and don't ever discuss the people behind the curtain making it happen (via advertising, sponsorship or just plain old Charity).
The exciting ones are farmed as kobe beef compared to pink slime. Who wants to eat the fat covered mass produced versions?
;.;
The big secret I want to know is how this guy landed a $200 K job working in Europe and then Hawaii with a back ground that wouldn’t qualify to be a barista at Starbucks? You millennials with the six figure student loan debt and living in Mom and Dad’s basement take notes.
He's not a normal boy.
You have made a comment that is so fucking useless and so irrelevant in light of this breaking news story, if I were within reach of you, I'd slap your face. Grow the fuck up. Stay focused. Shut up and sit down if you cannot.
Infinitely more material than what you just said.
I understand your frustration, but the President actually makes $400,000 a year, not $200,000. :)
Looks like a high school drop out to me. A man named Snowden spilling his guts. Hmmm?
Need a piece of paper to prove oneself?
Not all high school drop outs are idiots. He probably didn't find what motivated him and the right support... and apparently his forte was computers.
You're right. Hawaii... no pieces of paper required. Booz Allen is known for giving folks a chance even those with an incomplete community college transcript.
Never trust the Internet...
http://directorblue.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-resume-of-nsa-whistleblower...
Hawaii, no Birth Certificate required.
That drop out you flame
He'll be remembered for eternity
You! well I've already forgot what a fuckhead you are
All hail Edward, Lord Snowden!
Policy versus Law...when those in power control all three branches of government policy becomes law as it has since Eisenhower. Thinking Bush or Obama had/have any power is laughable. They were selected to run to further the agenda. They would not have even been nominated had they not signed a blood oath...think Ron Paul. They do their best at their job but sometimes you can see right through them. Watching Obama defend the surveillance was like watching Colin Powell try to convince us Iraq had WMDs. They both know they're were lying but the pay and prestige I guess is worth it to them. All in the context of "doing the people's business". One day the people will wake up. V
All the religious nutters were yapping that Obama was the Anti-Christ
I told them all to fuck off.
I now realize I was wrong.
Um sorry
PS
Snowden you da man. Wait there's a knock on the door.
Something bout Prismmmm
The guy was a Glenn Greenwald reader - how did the NSA miss that fact before giving him the keys to security kingdom?
Glenn Greenwald is an MSM-approved media gatekeeper.
That's a detached from reality comment.
All I have to say is "Next". You who work with, but are not psychopaths, stand up now. Do the honorable thing.
Edward Snowjob? I am not buying this bullshit. Why? What's with the democracy references in both what Tyler wrote and what Snowjob said? That's your cue. There are other silly statements that Snowjob says but one of the most obvious ones is near the end of the video, which you inconveniently can't fast forward to, where Snowjob states that he can't understand why people don't contact their CONgressman to fix the problem. Are you fucking kidding me?
I have been around the block enough times with politics to know that you simply don't just call up your CONgress critter and tell them to stop any taxfeeder program and actually expect them to listen. If you do call a area code 202 number, you will get a staffer who really does not give a shit and says that they will "let them know". I am not going to rehash my involvement in politics or my current status as an officer of any party.(I am still) Go back and look at my previous posts and see for yourself. If I ever saw a patsy this is one them and patsy designed specifically to make all you patsies. Escaped to Hong Kong indeed!LMAO Tell me another yarn.
What is sad is that so many ZHers are buying this story. Edward Snowjob is a polished speaker and a remarkably calm believable caricature granting interview for a reason. Glasses, skin imperfections and only being 29. It was custom tailored propaganda for the Millennials. Go back and watch and listen to what he says again with a critical mind. Did anyone notice the mirror in the background indicating the duplicitous nature of what he was saying? TPTB are, and always have been, very strong proponents of using symbolism.
Downvote me all you want but this is bullshit.
Moron. You probably thought OWS was grass roots and not a part of the obama admin.
Moron. And you probably were not a treasurer for one of the two major political parties in the US and do not know where the campaign funding comes from. My assertion stands on Snowjob. What do have you to say about my democracy assertion? Anyone else care to chime in on why they think the US is a democracy and explain how it is so? I have my fillet knife ready.