Edward Snowden - Internal Whistleblower Behind NSA Leaks

[General of Darkness]

Hot off the presses.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIjrwgmlBJo

[EE_]

A well spoken, intellegent individule doing the right thing at the risk of his future and maybe even his life.
The world needs many more like him.

[old steel]

Brave patriotic man but he is living on borrowed time i'm afraid.

Codename PRISM - I know you're reading this - Bush's 'Illegal Wiretap' continues under Obama
http://mikephilbin.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/codename-prism-i-know-youre-reading.html

[Glass]

"Even if you're not doing anything wrong, you're being watched and recorded ... you don't have to have done anything wrong, you simply have to eventually fall under suspicion from somebody — even by a wrong call – and then they can use the system to go back in time and scrutinize every decision you've ever made."

They can also go back and change any decision you ever made "to suit their needs" at the time.

The keepers of the information have always had probably the most important position. This is why it's important for the people to keep their own information.

[JohnQPublic]

Unlike Bradley Manning, Snowden is not in the military, so he is going to be much harder to go after (legally).

[mick silver]

john john you know better , one moring they will find him hanging with his hands tie behind his back

[JohnQPublic]

john john you know better , one moring they will find him hanging with his hands tie behind his back

I said "legally". Of course he can always be suicided.

[Libertytree]

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/snowden-nsa-leak-whistleblower-cia-204241311.html

The source of the intelligence leaks (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/the-nsa-files) that revealed the National Security Agency's massive domestic surveillance program last week was identified on Sunday by the Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/09/edward-snowden-nsa-whistleblower-surveillance) as Edward Snowden, a soft-spoken 29-year-old former technical assistant for the CIA and current employee of NSA defense contractor Booz Allen Hamilton.


Snowden, a Hawaii resident who was interviewed by the newspaper in his hotel room in Hong Kong (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/09/nsa-whistleblower-edward-snowden-why) where he is hiding, said he has no regrets about going public—even if he never sees his family again.
"I don't want to live in a society that does these sort of things," Snowden said. "I do not want to live in a world where everything I do and say is recorded. That is not something I am willing to support or live under ... I can't in good conscience allow the U.S. government to destroy privacy, Internet freedom and basic liberties for people around the world with this massive surveillance machine they're secretly building."
In a statement, Booz Allen confirmed Snowden "has been an employee of our firm for less than 3 months (http://www.boozallen.com/media-center/press-releases/48399320/statement-reports-leaked-information-060913)":

News reports that this individual has claimed to have leaked classified information are shocking, and if accurate, this action represents a grave violation of the code of conduct and core values of our firm. We will work closely with our clients and authorities in their investigation of this matter.
Snowden said he decided to leave his family, girlfriend and a comfortable, $200,000-a-year salary behind, and flew to Hong Kong on May 20. He said he chose China because "they have a spirited commitment to free speech and the right of political dissent."
The newspaper said it revealed Snowden's identity at his request, but that he is concerned it will become a distraction. "I don't want public attention because I don't want the story to be about me," Snowden said. "I want it to be about what the U.S. government is doing."
But he said he realizes that the government will come after him the same way they did with Bradley Manning, the former U.S. soldier who is currently on trial accused of providing thousands of classified documents to WikiLeaks.


"All my options are bad," Snowden said. "I could be rendered by the CIA. I could have people come after me. Or any of the third-party partners."
Snowden said he's left his hotel room just three times in three weeks, and is paranoid he's being watched.
"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," he continued. "And that is a concern I will live with for the rest of my life, however long that happens to be."


http://l3.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/cCl7NS44DZNwgwl6KdnzTQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NTt3PTMxMA--/http://media.zenfs.com/en/blogs/theticket/guardian-front-page.jpgThe front page of the Guardian, June 10, 2014 (Guardian/Twitter)
Snowden said he "carefully evaluated every single document I disclosed to ensure that each was legitimately in the public interest. There are all sorts of documents that would have made a big impact that I didn't turn over, because harming people isn't my goal. Transparency is.


"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 added. "The only thing I can do is sit here and hope the Hong Kong government does not deport me ... My predisposition is to seek asylum in a country with shared values. The nation that most encompasses this is Iceland. They stood up for people over Internet freedom. I have no idea what my future is going to be."
A spokesman for National Intelligence Director James Clapper did not immediately respond to a request for comment by the Associated Press (http://news.yahoo.com/report-nsa-contract-worker-surveillance-source-185911834.html).


Last week, Clapper blasted the disclosure of the classified program, saying it had already done "grave damage."
Before Snowden's identity was revealed, Rep. Mike Rogers, chairman of the U.S. House Intelligence committee, and Senate Intelligence Committee chair Sen. Dianne Feinstein told ABC's George Stephanopoulos (http://abcn.ws/12v4eV3%20) on Sunday that those who leaked information about the NSA surveillance program should be charged with a crime.


"I absolutely think they should be prosecuted," Rogers said.


"I understand that I will be made to suffer for my actions," Snowden wrote a note accompanying the first set of documents, according to the Guardian.
It's not entirely clear why Snowden chose the British newspaper to reveal the surveillance operation, but Glenn Greenwald, one of the Guardian reporters who interviewed Snowden, hinted the whistleblower sought a non-American media outlet.


"There's a lot of supine behavior, subservient behavior in the part of the American media when it comes to the government," Greenwald said on CNN Sunday. "So much reporting in Washington consists of running to government sources, mindlessly repeating what they say after giving anonymity to ensure that they can say it with no accountability, and then simply disseminating it to the public."
Snowden said he thought about disclosing the program sooner but was hopeful the election of President Barack Obama would change things. But "[Obama] continued with the policies of his predecessor," Snowden said.
"It's important to recognize that you can't have 100 percent security and also then have 100 percent privacy and zero inconvenience," Obama said last week after the NSA program was revealed. "We're going to have to make some choices as a society. And what I can say is that in evaluating these programs, they make a difference in our capacity to anticipate and prevent possible terrorist activity."
Snowden, who enlisted in the U.S. Army in 2003 hoping to fight in the Iraq war only to be discharged after breaking his legs in a training accident, said, "We have to decide why terrorism is a new threat. There has always been terrorism."


On "Fox News Sunday," Sen. Rand Paul said he would seek a Supreme Court challenge to the NSA program.
"I’m going to be asking all the Internet providers and all of the phone companies: Ask your customers to join me in a class action lawsuit," Paul said. "If we get 10 million Americans saying we don’t want our phone records looked at, then maybe someone will wake up and something will change in Washington."
Meanwhile, a petition urging the Obama administration to pardon Snowden (https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/pardon-edward-snowden/) was posted to the White House website on Sunday afternoon.
"Edward Snowden is a national hero and should be immediately issued a full, free, and absolute pardon for any crimes he has committed or may have committed related to blowing the whistle on secret NSA surveillance programs," the petition, which had already gathered more than 700 signatures, read.

[JohnQPublic]

"this action represents a grave violation of the code of conduct and core values of our firm"

Telling the truth is "a grave violation of the code of conduct and core values of" Booz Allen? I guess we know where they are coming from.

[JohnQPublic]

He ought to locate the nearest Ecuadorian consulate post haste.

[General of Darkness]

"this action represents a grave violation of the code of conduct and core values of our firm"

Telling the truth is "a grave violation of the code of conduct and core values of" Booz Allen? I guess we know where they are coming from.

I do wonder what the consequence of breaking a nondisclosure agreement means?

[Serpo]

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' (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/09/nsa-whistleblower-edward-snowden-why)



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Glenn Greenwald (http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/glenn-greenwald), Ewen MacAskill (http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/ewenmacaskill) and Laura Poitras (http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/laura-poitras) in Hong Kong

guardian.co.uk (http://www.guardian.co.uk/), Monday 10 June 2013 06.17 AEST



Link to video: NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden: 'I don't want to live in a society that does these sort of things' (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2013/jun/09/nsa-whistleblower-edward-snowden-interview-video) The individual responsible for one of the most significant leaks in US political history is Edward Snowden (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/edward-snowden), a 29-year-old former technical assistant for the CIA (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/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 (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/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."
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 (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/privacy), internet freedom and basic liberties for people around the world with this massive surveillance machine they're secretly building."
'I am not afraid, because this is the choice I've made'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.
In the three weeks since he arrived, he has been ensconced in a hotel room. "I've left the room maybe a total of three times during my entire stay," he said. It is a plush hotel and, what with eating meals in his room too, he has run up big bills.
He is deeply worried about being spied on. He lines the door of his hotel room with pillows to prevent eavesdropping. He puts a large red hood over his head and laptop when entering his passwords to prevent any hidden cameras from detecting them.
Though that may sound like paranoia to some, Snowden has good reason for such fears. He worked in the US intelligence world for almost a decade. He knows that the biggest and most secretive surveillance organisation in America, the NSA, along with the most powerful government on the planet, is looking for him.
Since the disclosures began to emerge, he has watched television and monitored the internet, hearing all the threats and vows of prosecution emanating from Washington.
And he knows only too well the sophisticated technology available to them and how easy it will be for them to find him. The NSA police and other law enforcement officers have twice visited his home in Hawaii and already contacted his girlfriend, though he believes that may have been prompted by his absence from work, and not because of suspicions of any connection to the leaks.
"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 (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/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.
'You can't wait around for someone else to act'Snowden did not always believe the US government posed a threat to his political values. He was brought up originally in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. His family moved later to Maryland, near the NSA headquarters in Fort Meade.
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. (He later obtained his GED.)
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 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.
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."
The primary lesson from this experience was that "you can't wait around for someone else to act. I had been looking for leaders, but I realised that leadership is about being the first to act."
Over the next three years, he learned just how all-consuming the NSA's surveillance activities were, claiming "they are intent on making every conversation and every form of behaviour in the world known to them".
He described how he once viewed the internet as "the most important invention in all of human history". As an adolescent, he spent days at a time "speaking to people with all sorts of views that I would never have encountered on my own".
But he believed that the value of the internet, along with basic privacy, is being rapidly destroyed by ubiquitous surveillance. "I don't see myself as a hero," he said, "because what I'm doing is self-interested: I don't want to live in a world where there's no privacy and therefore no room for intellectual exploration and creativity."
Once he reached the conclusion that the NSA's surveillance net would soon be irrevocable, he said it was just a matter of time before he chose to act. "What they're doing" poses "an existential threat to democracy", he said.
A matter of principleAs strong as those beliefs are, there still remains the question: why did he do it? Giving up his freedom and a privileged lifestyle? "There are more important things than money. If I were motivated by money, I could have sold these documents to any number of countries and gotten very rich."
For him, it is a matter of principle. "The government has granted itself power it is not entitled to. There is no public oversight. The result is people like myself have the latitude to go further than they are allowed to," he said.
His allegiance to internet freedom is reflected in the stickers on his laptop: "I support Online Rights: Electronic Frontier Foundation," reads one. Another hails the online organisation offering anonymity, the Tor Project.
Asked by reporters to establish his authenticity to ensure he is not some fantasist, he laid bare, without hesitation, his personal details, from his social security number to his CIA ID and his expired diplomatic passport. There is no shiftiness. Ask him about anything in his personal life and he will answer.
He is quiet, smart, easy-going and self-effacing. A master on computers, he seemed happiest when talking about the technical side of surveillance, at a level of detail comprehensible probably only to fellow communication specialists. But he showed intense passion when talking about the value of privacy and how he felt it was being steadily eroded by the behaviour of the intelligence services.
His manner was calm and relaxed but he has been understandably twitchy since he went into hiding, waiting for the knock on the hotel door. A fire alarm goes off. "That has not happened before," he said, betraying anxiety wondering if was real, a test or a CIA ploy to get him out onto the street.
Strewn about the side of his bed are his suitcase, a plate with the remains of room-service breakfast, and a copy of Angler, the biography of former vice-president Dick Cheney.
Ever since last week's news stories began to appear in the Guardian, Snowden has vigilantly watched TV and read the internet to see the effects of his choices. He seemed satisfied that the debate he longed to provoke was finally taking place.
He lay, propped up against pillows, watching CNN's Wolf Blitzer ask a discussion panel about government intrusion if they had any idea who the leaker was. From 8,000 miles away, the leaker looked on impassively, not even indulging in a wry smile.
Snowden said that he admires both Ellsberg and Manning, but argues that there is one important distinction between himself and the army private, whose trial coincidentally began the week Snowden's leaks began to make news.
"I carefully evaluated every single document I disclosed to ensure that each was legitimately in the public interest," he said. "There are all sorts of documents that would have made a big impact that I didn't turn over, because harming people isn't my goal. Transparency is."
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.
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."

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

[Serpo]

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' (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/09/nsa-whistleblower-edward-snowden-why)
Monday 10 June 2013 06.17 AEST



Link to video: NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden: 'I don't want to live in a society that does these sort of things' (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2013/jun/09/nsa-whistleblower-edward-snowden-interview-video) The individual responsible for one of the most significant leaks in US political history is Edward Snowden (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/edward-snowden), a 29-year-old former technical assistant for the CIA (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/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 (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/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."
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 (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/privacy), internet freedom and basic liberties for people around the world with this massive surveillance machine they're secretly building."
'I am not afraid, because this is the choice I've made'

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.
In the three weeks since he arrived, he has been ensconced in a hotel room. "I've left the room maybe a total of three times during my entire stay," he said. It is a plush hotel and, what with eating meals in his room too, he has run up big bills.
He is deeply worried about being spied on. He lines the door of his hotel room with pillows to prevent eavesdropping. He puts a large red hood over his head and laptop when entering his passwords to prevent any hidden cameras from detecting them.
Though that may sound like paranoia to some, Snowden has good reason for such fears. He worked in the US intelligence world for almost a decade. He knows that the biggest and most secretive surveillance organisation in America, the NSA, along with the most powerful government on the planet, is looking for him.
Since the disclosures began to emerge, he has watched television and monitored the internet, hearing all the threats and vows of prosecution emanating from Washington.
And he knows only too well the sophisticated technology available to them and how easy it will be for them to find him. The NSA police and other law enforcement officers have twice visited his home in Hawaii and already contacted his girlfriend, though he believes that may have been prompted by his absence from work, and not because of suspicions of any connection to the leaks.
"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 (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/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.
'You can't wait around for someone else to act'

Snowden did not always believe the US government posed a threat to his political values. He was brought up originally in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. His family moved later to Maryland, near the NSA headquarters in Fort Meade.
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. (He later obtained his GED.)
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 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.
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."
The primary lesson from this experience was that "you can't wait around for someone else to act. I had been looking for leaders, but I realised that leadership is about being the first to act."
Over the next three years, he learned just how all-consuming the NSA's surveillance activities were, claiming "they are intent on making every conversation and every form of behaviour in the world known to them".
He described how he once viewed the internet as "the most important invention in all of human history". As an adolescent, he spent days at a time "speaking to people with all sorts of views that I would never have encountered on my own".
But he believed that the value of the internet, along with basic privacy, is being rapidly destroyed by ubiquitous surveillance. "I don't see myself as a hero," he said, "because what I'm doing is self-interested: I don't want to live in a world where there's no privacy and therefore no room for intellectual exploration and creativity."
Once he reached the conclusion that the NSA's surveillance net would soon be irrevocable, he said it was just a matter of time before he chose to act. "What they're doing" poses "an existential threat to democracy", he said.
A matter of principle

As strong as those beliefs are, there still remains the question: why did he do it? Giving up his freedom and a privileged lifestyle? "There are more important things than money. If I were motivated by money, I could have sold these documents to any number of countries and gotten very rich."
For him, it is a matter of principle. "The government has granted itself power it is not entitled to. There is no public oversight. The result is people like myself have the latitude to go further than they are allowed to," he said.
His allegiance to internet freedom is reflected in the stickers on his laptop: "I support Online Rights: Electronic Frontier Foundation," reads one. Another hails the online organisation offering anonymity, the Tor Project.
Asked by reporters to establish his authenticity to ensure he is not some fantasist, he laid bare, without hesitation, his personal details, from his social security number to his CIA ID and his expired diplomatic passport. There is no shiftiness. Ask him about anything in his personal life and he will answer.
He is quiet, smart, easy-going and self-effacing. A master on computers, he seemed happiest when talking about the technical side of surveillance, at a level of detail comprehensible probably only to fellow communication specialists. But he showed intense passion when talking about the value of privacy and how he felt it was being steadily eroded by the behaviour of the intelligence services.
His manner was calm and relaxed but he has been understandably twitchy since he went into hiding, waiting for the knock on the hotel door. A fire alarm goes off. "That has not happened before," he said, betraying anxiety wondering if was real, a test or a CIA ploy to get him out onto the street.
Strewn about the side of his bed are his suitcase, a plate with the remains of room-service breakfast, and a copy of Angler, the biography of former vice-president Dick Cheney.
Ever since last week's news stories began to appear in the Guardian, Snowden has vigilantly watched TV and read the internet to see the effects of his choices. He seemed satisfied that the debate he longed to provoke was finally taking place.
He lay, propped up against pillows, watching CNN's Wolf Blitzer ask a discussion panel about government intrusion if they had any idea who the leaker was. From 8,000 miles away, the leaker looked on impassively, not even indulging in a wry smile.
Snowden said that he admires both Ellsberg and Manning, but argues that there is one important distinction between himself and the army private, whose trial coincidentally began the week Snowden's leaks began to make news.
"I carefully evaluated every single document I disclosed to ensure that each was legitimately in the public interest," he said. "There are all sorts of documents that would have made a big impact that I didn't turn over, because harming people isn't my goal. Transparency is."
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.
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."

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

[midnight rambler]

I do wonder what the consequence of breaking a nondisclosure agreement means?

So sue me.

(of course that only applies in a civilized society, and we all know the rats we're dealing with are anything but civilized)

[AndreaGail]

Born in 1984, how ironic!

[willie pete]

you have to keep in mind that EVERYTHING you type or say is/has been recorded for years now, it's like Ed says, every year the ability to gather and store it changes exponetially, it's really amazing what those Cray computers are capable of

[Libertarian_Guard]

In a May 27,1999 story in the New York Times, Americans first heard about Echelon. Two congressmen, Republicans Bob Barr and Porter Goss, who later served as Director of Central Intelligence, demanded information on the program. But, Democrats defended Clinton's spying on Americans as a "necessary evil." Barr and Porter's demand for information on Echelon died when President George W. Bush replaced Clinton in the White House.

http://www.examiner.com/article/operation-echelon-will-obama-resurrect-clinton-s-spy-program


Old news here folks, we've been through all this before.

[VX1]

I was very surprised to find this on the MSM news. Usually something like this is pre-empted with a hot news story about something the Kardashians did, right? That tells me something different is going on here. Things are breaking down; they're pushing the envelope now on a daily-basis. Seems to finally be the naked run to the finish line.

Ultimate respect for Snowden. But will the bastards push the "suicided" button, or the one marked "home computer child porn"?

[vacuum]

I was very surprised to find this on the MSM news. Usually something like this is pre-empted with a hot news story about something the Kardashians did, right? That tells me something different is going on here. Things are breaking down; they're pushing the envelope now on a daily-basis. Seems to finally be the naked run to the finish line.

Ultimate respect for Snowden. But will the bastards push the "suicided" button, or the one marked "home computer child porn"?

I think a lot of reporters were pissed at the AP wiretapping very recently.

[JohnQPublic]

Intelligence officials overheard joking about how NSA leaker should be 'disappeared' after handing classified documents to press (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2338418/Steve-Clemons-leak-Intelligence-officials-overheard-joking-NSA-leaker-disappeared-handing-classified-documents-press.html?ito=feeds-newsxml)



"...A group of intelligence officials were overheard yesterday discussing how the National Security Agency worker who leaked sensitive documents to a reporter last week should be 'disappeared.'

Foreign policy analyst and editor at large of The Atlantic, Steve Clemons, tweeted about the 'disturbing' conversation after listening in to four men who were sitting near him as he waited for a flight at Washington's Dulles airport.

'In Dulles UAL lounge listening to 4 US intel officials saying loudly leaker & reporter on #NSA stuff should be disappeared recorded a bit,' he tweeted at 8:42 a.m. on Saturday.

According to Clemons, the men had been attending an event hosted by the Intelligence and National Security Alliance.
One of the officials was wearing 'a white knit national counter-terrorism center shirt,' Clemons told the Huffington Post. He added that it was clear from their conversation they were among the intelligence community.

Clemons said the conversation initially centered around the event the men had just attended but soon turned to the NSA leaks, which were first reported by Guardian reporter Glenn Greenwald..."

[JohnQPublic]

Clemon's Twitter Feed: (https://twitter.com/SCClemons)

Steve Clemons ‏@SCClemons (https://twitter.com/SCClemons) 8 Jun (https://twitter.com/SCClemons/status/343392529913356289) In Dulles UAL lounge listening to 4 US intel officials saying loudly leaker & reporter on #NSA (https://twitter.com/search?q=%23NSA&src=hash) stuff should be disappeared recorded a bit

Expand (https://twitter.com/SCClemons/status/343392529913356289)

...

Steve Clemons ‏@SCClemons (https://twitter.com/SCClemons) 8 Jun (https://twitter.com/SCClemons/status/343441121592102912) @jeffjarvis (https://twitter.com/jeffjarvis) yes. Very bad pics though but people in that bz will know them I think. But bad quality. Was a shock to me and wasn't prepared

...

Some people are warning him about recording conversations...

Here is Glen Greenwald's Twitter Feed (https://twitter.com/ggreenwald) (the reporter that broke the Snowden story).

[Large Sarge]

legendary chris bollyn covers this guy

http://therebel.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=653498:edward-snowden-whistleblower-who-exposed-prism&catid=139:bollyn&Itemid=1310&acm=17_282

[EE_]

Edward Snowden for president!
https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/p480x480/7136_384094455034293_1058372036_n.jpg

[midnight rambler]

Edward Snowden for president!
https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/p480x480/7136_384094455034293_1058372036_n.jpg

Definitely hero status.

[Large Sarge]

to me, this story does not smell right,

why is this guy getting so much media attention?

they ignore Israel did 9/11 (in the alternative and MSM),

they ignore Fukushima radiation in MSM, and in most alternative sites,

the chaos in turkey is largely ignored,

etc
and here this whiz kid steps up, and the whole planet is hearing about him....

the only thing I can think of is they want to use his revelations to make internet censorship easier.....

[Cebu_4_2]

Confusion / distraction.

[Bigjon]

to me, this story does not smell right,

why is this guy getting so much media attention?

they ignore Israel did 9/11 (in the alternative and MSM),

they ignore Fukushima radiation in MSM, and in most alternative sites,

the chaos in turkey is largely ignored,

etc
and here this whiz kid steps up, and the whole planet is hearing about him....

the only thing I can think of is they want to use his revelations to make internet censorship easier.....

About that radiation thing look up Galen Winsor, Cebu posted an interesting piece about more deception. (http://gold-silver.us/forum/showthread.php?70153-A-Free-Nuclear-Economy)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=1R1ReBuvsMk

And a longer version here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejCQrOTE-XA

[JohnQPublic]

I have been wondering if Obama may actually be with this guy. He does not want to get stuck with responsibility for this mess, and he may just be mouthing the party line on it hoping the truth does get revealed.

[Serpo]

to me, this story does not smell right,

why is this guy getting so much media attention?

they ignore Israel did 9/11 (in the alternative and MSM),

they ignore Fukushima radiation in MSM, and in most alternative sites,

the chaos in turkey is largely ignored,

etc
and here this whiz kid steps up, and the whole planet is hearing about him....

the only thing I can think of is they want to use his revelations to make internet censorship easier.....

https://jonrappoport.wordpress.com/2013/06/10/nsa-leaker-are-there-serious-cracks-in-ed-snowdens-story/

[Serpo]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5E9vz3TcK4U&feature=player_embeddedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5E9vz3TcK4U&feature=player_embedded


ALSO ICELAND CONSIDERING GIVING HIM SANCTUARY

[Serpo]

The Future of the NSA

Jim Stone, June 9 2013 Permalink (http://www.jimstonefreelance.com/nsaedward.html)

Edward Snowden did the world a favor by officially blowing the whistle on what I have said has likely been going on for a while - the recording of every phone call, voice message, text message, financial transaction and any other communication in the nation. Even though I said this was probably going on for a while, I was still surprised that this was going on for at least 8 years. Now they got that new data center in Utah, and another in Maryland, both of which are many times more powerful than anything they have ever had. And I am going to tell you where this is all probably headed.
Where Snowden worked (see my comments following this article)

http://www.jimstonefreelance.com/kunia.jpg If there is one thing we have learned from this, it is that if they can do it they will do it, so this report is going to show you what the capabilities have GOT TO be right now and what to expect from the NSA in the future.
1. Recording of all conversations occurring in cars manufactured after 2004 and sold in the United States via an always on cell connection which is built into the engine control computer. Engine control computers are always placed in the passenger compartment where they can hear everything, though in the past they did not have ears. The fact that they do now was mandated by the Federal government and became a legally required component of all cars from year 2005 on. This started in the late 90's with GM's Onstar. You may have seen an onstar commercial where the Onstar representitive is talking to the driver through the radio speakers. ALL new cars have at least one side of this capability - the outgoing microphone -installed in them NOW.
2. Recording of all conversations happening in the vicinity of a computer equipped with an Intel CoreVPro or Sandy Bridge processor, (http://www.jimstonefreelance.com/corevpro.html) even if it is not "online" and even while "turned off". Intel evidently thought it was a good security choice to have full time cell connectivity built into the heart of every CPU they produce, and I bet you don't know that new Intel laptop you just bought is ALWAYS online, even when turned off. YOU don't get to use that connection though, which leaves the question, WHO DOES?
3. All cell phones have been and will continue to be (this started in 2005) in speech to text mode, where the phone listens to nearby conversations, converts them to text, and loads the text to an NSA server during cell phone tower updates which happen frequently during the day as part of normal cell operation. In the past, whenever they put full time monitoring on cell phones, the batteries would die in a couple of hours and the phone would always be hot. People noticed this, so to circumvent that all cell phones were equipped with speech to text software and though it is not perfect, it still gives pretty good "intelligence" about the user without draining the battery at all. Once again, as it is with the new Intel processors and their always on cell connection, you don't even know that software exists
4. Recording of all conversations in the vicinity of computers that are turned on and have an internet connection even if they have no CoreVPro or Sandy Bridge CPU, but that's old news.
5. Video and sound recording of household activities within view of a Samsung SmartTV, any of the new video gaming consoles, or any smart meter compliant appliance which can communicate with an electrical smart meter. All electrical smart meters have wifi, 3g, and sometimes 4g connectivity for the sole purpose of "receiving daily energy related instructions". Yeah right.
6. Possible now - ALL cell phones which have cameras most likely are, right now, constantly taking a sequence of photos while out in public, and uploading them during cell tower updates to hide battery usage and the cell phone's owner never realizes this.

People need to recognize the importance of what Edward Snowden did. He gave us a fixed reference point for what the NSA was capable of in 2005, and from there we can calculate what they can do NOW

Moore's law, and what it means for the NSA Most everyone knows about Moore's law which states that computers will double in power once every 18 months as technology advances. Moore was partially right, because in reality computers ended up doubling in power more frequently - once every 13 months. But let's just use 18 months as a reference standard anyone could agree on. If in 2005 the NSA was able to record and permanently store every phone conversation, video chat, internet record for everyone, every text, every e-mail, and store it forever BACK THEN, let's see how many times that capability just went into that NSA data center in Utah.
2013-2005=8 x 12 = 96 / 18 = 5.3 doublings of processing power since 2005. First doubling will be 1 plus 1, then after that x2. So we have 1+1x2x2x2x2, which equals 32 times the processing power available in 2005. If we take 100 percent and divide it by 32, we can see how strong in percent what they had in 2005 will compare to that new data center in Utah. 100/32 = 3.125% Now, I would like to ask you to appeal to your logic - If they were already permanently recording every phone call, financial transaction, video chat, e-mail, text message, and whatever else with a system that was only a little over 3 percent as powerful as what they just put into Utah, WHAT NEW CAPABILITIES DID THEY JUST GET?
How about:
Every vacation picture you take with any Wifi equipped digital camera instantly uploading to an NSA server for permanent storage as possible future evidence? How about every music project you ever worked on with a PC? How about every family video you ever shot, every place your car ever went and everything you said while driving? How about your smart microwave, via your smart meter, sending out all the audio in your house, to corroborate what your cell phone is sending out, to corroborate what your smartTV is sending out, to corroborate what your PC sent out, to corroborate what your land line sent out, to corroborate what your game console sent out and having ALL of those recordings of what went on in your house being permanently stored on the NSA server, just in case the microwave did not hear it clearly? THAT is what 32 times the capability of what they had in 2005 means, and if we learned anything from Edward, it is that If they can do it, they will do it, which is an affirmation of what I have said all along
I got called a wacko by a few when I said ALL phone conversations were being permanently recorded and stored on an NSA server, as well as all texts and e-mails, regardless of who made them and ended up being right, even if I was behind in saying this by 6 or 7 years. Now I am taking that a step farther, and I would like to ask you, do you think I am wrong this time?

The bottom line is that the surveillance state has gotten so powerful that even a creative mind could never dream up what it is really capable of. There is no doubt a lot I missed

UPDATE: ABOUT THE NSA CENTER IN KUNIA, WHERE SNOWDEN WORKED

Kunia is geographically isolated yet ideally located for electronic warfare operations in the Pacific theatre. It was the largest NSA center on American soil prior to Utah, (there are bigger ones elsewhere) and employs approximately 7,000 people. Now here is the kicker Because Kunia was geographically isolated, the fact that they could record all phone conversations from there means that the NSA center in Utah, which is on what could be argued as the strongest part of the internet back bone in the world, - that added bandwidth potential with no bottlenecks, means that the data center in Utah will dwarf the abilities of Kunia by at least 200:1.
This also has other damning ramifications - that the NSA really did shift missions after 9/11 because if you wanted to spy on the American mainland, your pride and joy system that recorded everything should not be located in Hawaii. Yet it is confirmed - Edward Snowden worked at Kunia, which as young as he was would have been his only facility. This means that the system of compartmentalized clearances would have prevented him from knowing about PRISM if it was NOT LOCATED AT KUNIA.
And on that note, I have this to say to the NSA:
You traitorous bastards, HOW DARE YOU convert a legitimate defense facility for THAT TYPE OF USE. If you don't like me ratting out Kunia, you can * OFF.

Additionally About the NSA - an important note

The NSA has NO GOONS, NO AGENTS, NO ONE working outside of their secret facilities. IF ANYONE CLAIMS TO HAVE BEEN VISITED BY THE NSA, THEY ARE FRAUDS, THAT DOES NOT HAPPEN. The NSA has nothing but geeks at data terminals, that do ONE THING AND ONE THING ONLY - WATCH AND LISTEN. If you have read online about someone who has been visited by the NSA, they are full of B.S., that is the job of the CIA, FBI, or whatever other agencies have active agents working out in public. The NSA is behind closed doors only. If you have read anything online about someone getting visited by the NSA, throw it straight in the trash. It's an outright lie.

http://www.jimstonefreelance.com/

[Hatha Sunahara]

to me, this story does not smell right,

why is this guy getting so much media attention?

they ignore Israel did 9/11 (in the alternative and MSM),

they ignore Fukushima radiation in MSM, and in most alternative sites,

the chaos in turkey is largely ignored,

etc
and here this whiz kid steps up, and the whole planet is hearing about him....

the only thing I can think of is they want to use his revelations to make internet censorship easier.....


How many people have the courage to stand up to the monsters running everything? This is a rare individual. He's on the side of the people. He deserves the attention because that is what will turn things around.


Hatha

[Cebu_4_2]

Feinstein: NSA Leaker Committed 'Treason' http://cdn.breitbart.com/mediaserver/Breitbart/Big-Government/2013/Congress/Senate%20Democrats/dianne_feinstein_shadows_AP.jpg
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by Ben Shapiro (http://www.breitbart.com/Columnists/Ben-Shapiro) 10 Jun 2013, 3:58 PM PDT 1013 (http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/06/10/Feinstein-treason-Snowden-NSA#disqus_thread) post a comment (http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/06/10/Feinstein-treason-Snowden-NSA#comments)
On Monday, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) called (http://thehill.com/blogs/defcon-hill/policy-and-strategy/304573-sen-feinstein-snowdens-leaks-are-treason) Edward Snowden, the man who leaked secrets about National Security Agency surveillance of Americans to the press, a traitor. She told the press, “I don’t look at this as being a whistleblower. I think it’s an act of treason.” She said that Snowden had violated his oath as a government employee to uphold the Constitution: “He violated the oath, he violated the law. That’s treason.”

Treason can carry the death penalty.


Snowden worked for the CIA, then on an NSA contract for Booz-Allen, a private contractor. He told the press about NSA seizure of phone records for millions of Americans, and NSA snooping on Americans’ internet activity.


While Feinstein said she would be open to public hearings on NSA surveillance, she did say that the instances in which the program has done good are classified. Nonetheless, she added, “I’m open to doing a hearing every month, if that’s necessary.”


Snowden has called Wikileaks source Bradley Manning “a classic whistleblower … inspired by the public good.” However, Snowden, unlike Manning, leaked information selectively in order to avoid danger to Americans in the line of fire.

[Shami-Amourae]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uShPfr9OYig

[Serpo]

08 June 2013 - 00H52

Assange: US rule of law suffering 'calamitous collapse'

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange (L) speaks to the media after leaving the High Court in London on December 5, 2011. Assange said Friday that the US justice system was suffering from a "calamitous collapse in the rule of law", as Washington reeled from the sensational exposure of vast spy agency surveillance programmes.

AFP - WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said Friday that the US justice system was suffering from a "calamitous collapse in the rule of law", as Washington reeled from the sensational exposure of vast spy agency surveillance programmes.

Speaking in an interview with AFP at Ecuador's London embassy, where he has been holed up for almost a year, the founder of the whistleblowing website accused the US government of trying to "launder" its activities with regard to the far-reaching electronic spying effort revealed on Thursday.

"The US administration has the phone records of everyone in the United States and is receiving them daily from carriers to the National Security Agency under secret agreements. That's what's come out," said the 41-year-old Australian.

Two damning newspaper exposes have laid bare the extent to which President Barack Obama's intelligence apparatus is scooping up enormous amounts of personal data -- on telephone calls, emails, website visits -- on millions of Americans and foreigners.

Obama has defended the programmes, saying they are legal, necessary to combat terror, and balance security with privacy.

Assange, whose website has enraged Washington by publishing hundreds of thousands of US diplomatic cables and classified files on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, said the Obama administration was engaged in a bid to "criminalise all national security journalism in the United States".

US soldier Bradley Manning is being court-martialled for leaking the huge cache of government files to WikiLeaks, while there has been an outcry in the US media after the government seized the phone records of journalists at the Associated Press and Fox News in a bid to root out government sources.

Commenting on Washington's spying on journalists and members of the public, as well as his own treatment by US authorities, Assange said: "Over the last ten years the US justice system has suffered from a collapse, a calamitous collapse, in the rule of law.

"We see this in other areas as well -- with how Bradley Manning has been treated in prison, with US drone strikes occurring -- even on American citizens -- with no due process."

Manning's long-awaited military trial finally began on Monday at the Fort Meade military base outside Washington.

Assange blasted the court martial as a "show trial" and warned that the future of journalism was at stake over US prosecutors' argument that by leaking the files, 25-year-old Manning had helped Al-Qaeda.

Aiding the enemy is punishable by death in the US, though prosecutors are not seeking this sentence in Manning's case.

"What's at stake in this trial is the future of press in the United States and in the rest of the world," Assange told AFP.

"They are going for Bradley Manning to erect a precedent that if any person in the US government speaks to a journalist, they are then speaking to the public, they are then speaking to Al-Qaeda.

"They're trying to erect a precedent that speaking to the media is the communicating with the enemy -- a death penalty offence."

Critics say the Obama administration has launched an unprecedented war on government officials who leak information to the media, prosecuting more whistleblowers under the Espionage Act than all previous administrations combined.

"This is an absolutely runaway process," Assange said.

A former computer hacker, Assange has not left the Ecuadoran embassy since June 19 last year, when he walked in claiming asylum in a bid to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning over alleged sex crimes.

Ecuador granted him asylum but British authorities refuse to allow him safe passage out of the country, leaving him stuck inside amid a diplomatic deadlock.

Ecuador's foreign minister is due to fly to London for talks over Assange with his British counterpart on June 17.


http://www.france24.com/en/20130608-assange-us-rule-law-suffering-calamitous-collapse

[aeondaze]

On Monday, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) called Edward Snowden, the man who leaked secrets about National Security Agency surveillance of Americans to the press, a traitor. She told the press, “I don’t look at this as being a whistleblower. I think it’s an act of treason.” She said that Snowden had violated his oath as a government employee to uphold the Constitution: “He violated the oath, he violated the law. That’s treason.”

From the same woman who almost single handedly is attempting to destroy Americas Second Ammendment rights ???

Un-fucking believable. The Chutzpah the tribe displays these days is becomming so in your face its pretty much impossible for anyone to argue against a grand conspiracy of zionists having overtaken the government. "How could this have happened?" They'll say, and the answer will be easily while you were sleeping.

You would have thought eschelon would have awoken them from their slumber, what will this do?

[Serpo]

And now the movie ,heart breaking love story ,the best kind.



EXCLUSIVE: The beautiful ballerina girlfriend whistleblower Ed Snowden was set to wed before he left her in Hawaii and fled to Hong Kong to leak NSA secrets. Now she says she feels ‘adrift’



Lindsay Mills, 28, is reportedly the girlfriend Edward Snowden left behind when he leaked information about PRISM surveillance
She wrote on a blog about romantic heartbreak after Snowden fled to Hong Kong
'My world has opened and closed all at once. Leaving me lost at sea without a compass' she wrote
Couple previously went to Hong Kong for romantic getaway
Mills is a ballerina who attended the Maryland Institute College of Art
She performs with the Waikiki Acrobatic Troupe

By Daniel Bates (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=&authornamef=Daniel+Bates), Michael Zennie (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=&authornamef=Michael+Zennie) and Helen Pow (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=&authornamef=Helen+Pow)
PUBLISHED: 21:18 GMT, 10 June 2013 | UPDATED: 07:45 GMT, 11 June 2013
691 shares
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comments
(http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2339202/Lindsay-Mills-girlfriend-Edward-Snowden-Woman-NSA-leaker-left-member-acrobat-troupe.html#comments)
The whistleblower who leaked the NSA's secrets thought about marrying his girlfriend and had previously taken her on a romantic break to Hong Kong - where he is now holed up living in fear of arrest.

Family friends told MailOnline that Ed Snowden, 29, wanted to be with stunning pole dancer Lindsay Mills for the rest of his life but has thrown it all away to expose the US government.
They were deeply in love and on her blog Mills, 28, dotingly called him her ‘man of mystery’ who she had followed around the world for the last four years.
On Monday she took to the blog - where she has posted dozens of photos of herself semi-naked - to tell of her heartbreak.
Mills wrote: 'My world has opened and closed all at once. Leaving me lost at sea without a compass.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/06/11/article-2339202-1A403CF3000005DC-175_638x627.jpg 'My world has opened and closed all at once. Leaving me lost at sea without a compass,' Lindsay Mills writes about being suddenly left by NSA whistle blower Ed Snowden. Mills describes spending time with her mystery man, who clearly resembles Snowden



http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/06/11/article-2339202-1A403DD1000005DC-977_640x629.jpg Stunning ballerina Lindsay Mills, 28, took to her blog on Monday to detail her heartbreak over being suddenly left by 29-year-old Ed Snowden

'As I type this on my tear-streaked keyboard I’m reflecting on all the faces that have graced my path.
'The ones I laughed with. The ones I’ve held. The one I’ve grown to love the most. And the ones I never got to bid adieu.
‘But sometimes life doesn’t afford proper goodbyes.'
It was a heartbreaking turn of events for Mills who had lived with Snowden since at least 2009 when they were in Japan together.
Last year he whisked her 8,000 miles from their home south of Baltimore, Maryland to Hong Kong where family friends thought they got married because it was a 'special place' for them.
Now he is back there, hiding out and terrified he will be arrested and extradited back to the US for leaking details about how the NSA puts millions of Americans under surveillance.
Mills’ blog gives an insight into the ups and downs the couple went through - and her own feelings against the snooping state.
Their relationship may have been brought to an unconventional end - but it hardly seems conventional from the start.
Written under the name ‘L’s Journey’ she calls Snowden ‘E’ and her ‘man of mystery’, whilst referring to herself as a ‘vagabond’.
On the face of it they are totally different people - she is an extrovert who enjoys walking around naked whenever she can, spends her Sunday evenings in circus classes and surrounds herself with bohemian eccentrics.
The title of her blog reads: ‘Adventures of a world-traveling, pole-dancing super hero.'
In an early post on August 17 2011 she also writes: 'I’ve always wanted to be splashed on the cover of magazines, with my best air-brushed look. Unfortunately I wasn’t born a greek, amazon, sex goddess - but a petite dreamer.'
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/06/11/article-2339202-1A4045B3000005DC-998_640x708.jpg Better times: Lindsay Mills seen here with Ed Snowden before he suddenly took off for Hong Kong after leaking confidential information


http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/06/11/article-2339202-1A40557A000005DC-455_640x475.jpg This photograph of a Hawaiian sunset was taken by Mills recently. She has taken to her blog to write about her regret over how 'sometimes life doesn't afford proper goodbyes'

Snowden by contrast is a shy computer geek from a suburban family who likes to spend Sundays at football games and needs to be coaxed out of his shell to even do karaoke.
Mills writes that when she finally introduced him to her friends in Hawaii they didn't believe he actually existed because he was so hard to pin down.
Before they moved to Hawaii they spent their days doing things like camping, pumpkin picking or skeet shooting together near their Maryland homes.
He bought her gifts like a Star Trek style visor and took many of the dozens of pictures of her on her blog.
Some of the posts now have a certain irony, such as her joking that she likes pretending to be a spy.
At one point she writes: 'In case you didn’t know, I am an international woman of mystery. Or at least I will be in tonight’s performance. Going 007 with a twist for this Friday’s show.'
Their lives also seem to be very much up in the air and she writes of having traveled through 17 countries in her life.
In March last year she writes of how her ‘inevitable lover Change is knocking and I wish I had an answer for him’.
She writes: ‘We received word that we have to move out of our house by May 1.

‘E is transferring jobs. And I am looking to take a mini trip back East. Do I move with E, on my own, to Antarctica? How long do I spend back home and when should I go?
‘For now I’ll spin my magic ball and see where I land.’
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/06/11/article-2339202-1A405576000005DC-514_638x488.jpg It appears that Mills was performing with the Waikiki Acrobatic Troupe. She also took classes last year from another troupe, Samadhi Hawaii, though never performed with the company

That month Snowden moved to Hawaii and two months later Mills joined him.
She freely admits that it was to save their relationship as they appear to having been going through a rocky patch that continues after her arrival.
She writes how she seriously considers taking a plane home most days and that she can’t settle down - until July comes.
Then she writes: ‘The sun falling, sweat-building, and my yard growing tidier - I looked over at E and smiled.

‘This was the most adult, boring moment I’ve had ever. I felt grown up, suburban, and oddly content.

‘But neither of us can stay adult for too long, as yard work turned into palm fencing - a duel that ended in laughter instead of death. I was able to find my happy romantic date in the end.

‘Proving that you don’t have to do big fancy things or go far from home to reconnect with someone you love.’
Come April 13 this year things were still going well when they moved into another new place on the back of his $200,000 a year salary with defense contractors Booz Allen Hamilton.
She writes: 'E and I received the keys to our next abode yesterday. My favorite part of moving is the pre-packing stage where I can roll around big empty rooms in soft window light (I may have been a cat in my former life).
'We took time to envision what each room could look like once we crammed our things in them. And even discussed hanging silks in the two-story main room.
'But before we can get into silly decorating there’s the monumental task of the other house. A task I am dreading. One that I have little time for.’
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/06/11/article-2339202-1A3FDB38000005DC-451_634x740.jpg Performer: Lindsay Mills performs in the Waikiki Acrobatic Troupe and in dance shows in Hawaii

According to the rest of the blog, it was all idyllic until earlier this month, when the darkness returned to their lives.
Writing on June 3, Mills said: ‘While I have been patiently asking the universe for a livelier schedule, I’m not sure I meant for it to dump half a year’s worth of experience in my lap in two weeks time.

‘We’re talking biblical stuff - floods, deceit, loss. Somehow I’ve only managed a few tears amongst all of the madness of May.’
Another revealing aspect of her blog is that Mills seems to share Snowden’s views views on the surveillance society.
Writing on July 4 last year she says that the America she loves is ‘ever-changing’ and that she is in ‘fear it’s straying from the freedom it has always represented’.
She writes: ‘America is still one of the greatest, but she’s falling in my eyes. I hope her people see where she’s going and ask themselves “is this really how I want to live?”.
Another post will be of interest to investigators looking to find out what she knew - a poster in protest against the Stop Online Piracy Act, which is currently being considered by Congress.
If passed SOPA will make copyright rules more strictly enforced to a level which Mills claims is draconian.
On her blog she writes in terms that sound as if they could have been written by Snowden himself.
She writes: ‘Normally I’d be hitting you with a riveting entry about my super hero life, but today I wanted to join others in protest of SOPA.

‘A bill that poses to allow the government to control the very thing you’re reading my blog on — the internet. The way users (people like you and me) share information and ideas freely across the internet would most certainly change.’
She then urged readers to sign a petition and email their Congressional representatives.


http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/06/10/article-0-1A3FA56E000005DC-15_634x632.jpg This is picture of Lindsay Mills, the ballet dancer girlfriend who Edward Snowden left behind when he leaked classified information about a secret NSA surveillance program to the press


http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/06/10/article-2339202-1A3BB788000005DC-947_634x375.jpg

[Serpo]

Keeping a secret: Snowden says he never told his girlfriend about his life-altering plans, saying he left weeks ago saying only that he had to travel for business
Snowden left Mills behind in Hawaii weeks ago when he leaked classified information about PRISM, a secret government phone surveillance program that harvests data on millions of Americans from telecommunications and online companies.
He never told her where he was going or what he was doing - only that he needed to leave for a few weeks. He is currently on the run, location unknown, after he fled the Hong Kong hotel where he is holed up



A former whistleblower gives her perspective on Snowden's NSA...
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/06/10/video-undefined-1A3FD53C000005DC-978_292x165.jpg




The TV news program Inside Edition (http://www.insideedition.com/)claims to have tracked Mills down in Hawaii, where she is the member of an acrobatic troupe.
It appears that she was performing with the Waikiki Acrobatic Troupe. She also took classes last year from another troupe, Samadhi Hawaii, though never performed with the company.
She lives in the home that Snowden, a private contractor making $200,000 working with the National Security Agency, rented in Hawaii.


More...

FBI visits Edward Snowden's parents in Pennsylvania as NSA whistleblower flees 5-star hotel and goes on run in Hong Kong (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2338917/Edward-Snowden-Lawmakers-demand-NSA-whistleblower-extradited-Hong-Kong-face-trial-U-S.html)
'He can blow my whistle!' NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden becomes overnight sex symbol as the internet brands him 'geek hot' (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2339054/He-blow-whistle-NSA-whistleblower-Edward-Snowden-overnight-sex-symbol-internet-brands-geek-hot.html)


She graduated from the Maryland Institute College of Art and is a former ballet dancer.

When Snowden revealed his identity in the Guardian newspaper on Sunday, he also revealed that his girlfriend knew nothing of his plans to make the biggest leak of classified government information since WikiLeaks.

Snowden told the newspaper that Miss Mills was not surprised that he was packing his backs and not telling her where he was going.

'That is not an uncommon occurrence for someone who has spent the last decade working in the intelligence world,' he explained to the Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/09/edward-snowden-nsa-whistleblower-surveillance?guni=Network%20front:network-front%20full-width-1%20bento-box:Bento%20box:Position1).


http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/06/10/article-2338917-1A3E2EB0000005DC-638_634x397.jpg Hotel hide-out: The Mira Hotel, pictured, in the Tsim Sha Tsui neighborhood of Hong Kong has confirmed someone named Edward Snowden was a guest at the hotel but checked out on Monday


http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/06/10/article-2338917-1A3DF12A000005DC-926_634x451.jpg Now what? Mr Snowden's whereabouts are now unclear after he checked out of the Mira Hotel, pictured, on Monday


http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/06/10/article-2338917-1A3E8A28000005DC-553_634x412.jpg Prisoner: Mr Snowden described how he had barely left his room, similar to that pictured, at the hotel, now revealed to have been the Mira Hotel


http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/06/10/article-2338917-1A3E8A20000005DC-79_634x390.jpg On the run: Mr Snowden is believed to be on the run after checking out of the Mira Hotel, pictured, on Monday

He said Miss Mills has been visited twice since his disappearance by NSA federal agents and by local police, though he suspects it was because he didn't show up for work.

Snowden said he was willing to sacrifice his relationship with his family - and possibly never see them again - because he believed leaking the information about the PRISM program was so important.

'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 told the Guardian.

Federal agents this afternoon visited the Pennsylvania home of Edward Snowden's father and stepmother, just hours after the 29-year-old NSA whistleblower checked out of his plush Hong Kong hotel and went on the run from U.S. and Chinese authorities.
Two men, identifying themselves as FBI agents, dropped in on Lonnie Snowden, 52, and his wife Karen Snowden, 48, at their property in Upper Macungie Township, as the couple were still 'digesting and processing' the news about their son.
'MY WORLD HAS OPENED AND CLOSED ALL AT ONCE': Complete posting by Lindsay MillsFor those of you that know me without my super hero cape, you can probably understand why I’ll be refraining from blog posts for awhile.
My world has opened and closed all at once.

Leaving me lost at sea without a compass.

Surely there will be villainous pirates, distracting mermaids, and tides of change in this new open water chapter of my journey.
But at the moment all I can feel is alone.
And for the first time in my life I feel strong enough to be on my own. Though I never imagined my hand would be so forced.
As I type this on my tear-streaked keyboard I’m reflecting on all the faces that have graced my path. The ones I laughed with.
The ones I’ve held. The one I’ve grown to love the most. And the ones I never got to bid adieu.

But sometimes life doesn’t afford proper goodbyes.
In those unsure endings I find my strength, my true friends, and my heart’s song.
A song that I thought had all but died away, when really it was softly singing all along.

I don’t know what will happen from here. I don’t know how to feel normal.

But I do know that I am loved, by myself and those around me. And no matter where my compass-less vessel will take me, that love will keep me buoyant.


Mrs Snowden said on Sunday night that they had been 'bombarded' by media since Edward Snowden revealed himself to have leaked top-secret documents detailing the government's extensive surveillance programs.
The woman refused to give any details about her stepson, other than what he'd already offered up in interviews, but she told Leigh Valley's The Morning Call the family would be making a public statement in the coming days.
According to mcall.com, shortly after Mrs Snowden shut the door, the two men approached the house, telling a photographer they were agents with the Allentown FBI office.
In Laurel, Maryland, a neighbor of Mills' father Jonathan, 48, who works in computing, said that he was a 'quiet guy' and that they were in shock over what had happened.
The neighbor, who has lived on the suburban street for 20 years and had seen Mills grow up, said: 'I remember seeing Jonathan last year and I asked why his daughter has not been around.
'He said that she had been in Hong Kong with her boyfriend.
'I thought they had gone out there to get married. It must be a special place for them.'
The neighbor added that Mills has only visited a few time in the last year but 'always seem very happy'.
The neighbor said: 'She always was a good kid.'
Jonathan Mills declined to comment when he arrived home in his car with the personalised number plate with the word 'Progwiz' on it.
He told reporters that his daughter was 'keeping a low profile' and declined to reveal where she is now.
When MailOnline knocked the door of Mills' mother Marta in Annapolis, a man answered and said: 'You have no business here.'



Read more:

Inside Edition: Former N.S.A. Employee Says He Blew The Whistle On Government Spying (http://www.insideedition.com/headlines/6471-former-nsa-employee-says-he-blew-the-whistle-on-government-spying)
The Guardian: Edward Snowden: the whistleblower behind the NSA surveillance revelations (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/09/edward-snowden-nsa-whistleblower-surveillance?guni=Network%20front:network-front%20full-width-1%20bento-box:Bento%20box:Position1)



Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2339202/Lindsay-Mills-girlfriend-Edward-Snowden-Woman-NSA-leaker-left-member-acrobat-troupe.html#ixzz2VtQusmrN
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter (http://ec.tynt.com/b/rw?id=bBOTTqvd0r3Pooab7jrHcU&u=MailOnline) | DailyMail on Facebook (http://ec.tynt.com/b/rf?id=bBOTTqvd0r3Pooab7jrHcU&u=DailyMail)

[JohnQPublic]

Hi girlfriend's blog is shut down now. There is a cached version, but no pictures.

[JohnQPublic]

Charge the POS James Clapper with perjury and treason.

Wyden cites contradiction in eavesdropping answer (http://news.yahoo.com/wyden-cites-contradiction-eavesdropping-answer-141730377.html)

"...Wyden said he wanted to know the scope of the top secret surveillance programs, and privately asked NSA Director Keith Alexander for clarity. When he did not get a satisfactory answer, Wyden said he alerted Clapper's office a day early that he would ask the same question at the public hearing.

"Does the NSA collect any type of data at all on millions or hundreds of millions of Americans?" Wyden asked Clapper at the March 12 hearing.
"No, sir," Clapper answered.

"It does not?" Wyden pressed.

Clapper quickly and haltingly softened his answer. "Not wittingly," he said. "There are cases where they could, inadvertently perhaps, collect — but not wittingly."
Wyden said he also gave Clapper a chance to amend his answer.

A spokesman for Clapper did not have an immediate response on Tuesday, but the intelligence director said in an interview with NBC News last weekend that he did think that Wyden's question during the March hearing was "not answerable necessarily, by a simple yes or no." Officials generally do not discuss classified information in public hearings, reserving discussion on top-secret programs for closed sessions where they will not be revealed to adversaries.

"So I responded in what I thought was the most truthful or least most untruthful manner, by saying, 'No,'" Clapper said in the NBC interview when asked about his response to Wyden..."

[Libertytree]

James Clapper, the director of national intelligence, told NBC that the leaks "violate a sacred trust for this country. The damage that these revelations incur are huge." On Monday, Glenn Greenwald, the Guardian's lead reporter on the Snowden case, used Twitter to chide Clapper for claiming that Snowden's disclosures harmed national security. Greenwald also suggested that there were more revelations to come.

"Clapper: leaks "literally gut-wrenching" - "huge, grave damage" - save some melodrama and rhetoric for coming stories. You'll need it," Greenwald tweeted.




http://ca.news.yahoo.com/u-whistlebl...192837160.html (http://ca.news.yahoo.com/u-whistleblower-drops-sight-faces-legal-battle-192837160.html)

[JohnQPublic]

James Clapper, the director of national intelligence, told NBC that the leaks "violate a sacred trust for this country. The damage that these revelations incur are huge." On Monday, Glenn Greenwald, the Guardian's lead reporter on the Snowden case, used Twitter to chide Clapper for claiming that Snowden's disclosures harmed national security. Greenwald also suggested that there were more revelations to come.

"Clapper: leaks "literally gut-wrenching" - "huge, grave damage" - save some melodrama and rhetoric for coming stories. You'll need it," Greenwald tweeted.




http://ca.news.yahoo.com/u-whistlebl...192837160.html (http://ca.news.yahoo.com/u-whistleblower-drops-sight-faces-legal-battle-192837160.html)

Let Clapper save it for his perjury and treason defense case. If I were him I would get a good attorney and shut his mouth at this point.

[vacuum]

Charge the POS James Clapper with perjury and treason.

Wyden cites contradiction in eavesdropping answer (http://news.yahoo.com/wyden-cites-contradiction-eavesdropping-answer-141730377.html)

"...Wyden said he wanted to know the scope of the top secret surveillance programs, and privately asked NSA Director Keith Alexander for clarity. When he did not get a satisfactory answer, Wyden said he alerted Clapper's office a day early that he would ask the same question at the public hearing.

"Does the NSA collect any type of data at all on millions or hundreds of millions of Americans?" Wyden asked Clapper at the March 12 hearing.
"No, sir," Clapper answered.

"It does not?" Wyden pressed.

Clapper quickly and haltingly softened his answer. "Not wittingly," he said. "There are cases where they could, inadvertently perhaps, collect — but not wittingly."
Wyden said he also gave Clapper a chance to amend his answer.

A spokesman for Clapper did not have an immediate response on Tuesday, but the intelligence director said in an interview with NBC News last weekend that he did think that Wyden's question during the March hearing was "not answerable necessarily, by a simple yes or no." Officials generally do not discuss classified information in public hearings, reserving discussion on top-secret programs for closed sessions where they will not be revealed to adversaries.

"So I responded in what I thought was the most truthful or least most untruthful manner, by saying, 'No,'" Clapper said in the NBC interview when asked about his response to Wyden..."

If this guy doesn't get serious prison time, I think everyone knows that to do

[JohnQPublic]

James R. Clapper

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_R._Clapper#mw-navigation), search (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_R._Clapper#p-search)


James R. Clapper


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ae/James_R._Clapper_official_portrait.jpg/220px-James_R._Clapper_official_portrait.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:James_R._Clapper_official_portrait.jpg)



4th Director of National Intelligence (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Director_of_National_Intelligence)


Incumbent (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incumbent)


Assumed office
August 9, 2010


President
Barack Obama (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama)


Deputy
Stephanie O'Sullivan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephanie_O%27Sullivan)


Preceded by
David Gompert (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Gompert) (Acting)


Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Under_Secretary_of_Defense_for_Intelligence)


In office
April 15, 2007 – June 5, 2010


President
George W. Bush (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_W._Bush)
Barack Obama (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama)


Preceded by
Stephen Cambone (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Cambone)


Succeeded by
Michael Vickers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_G._Vickers)


Director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Geospatial-Intelligence_Agency)


In office
September 2001 – June 2006


President
George W. Bush (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_W._Bush)


Preceded by
James King (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_C._King)


Succeeded by
Robert Murrett (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_B._Murrett)


Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Director_of_the_Defense_Intelligence_Agency)


In office
November 1991 – August 1995


President
George H. W. Bush (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_H._W._Bush)
Bill Clinton (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Clinton)


Preceded by
Dennis Nagy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_M._Nagy) (Acting)


Succeeded by
Kenneth Minihan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_Minihan)


Personal details


Born
James Robert Clapper, Jr.[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_R._Clapper#cite_note-1)
March 14, 1941 (age 72)
Fort Wayne (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Wayne,_Indiana), Indiana (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiana), U.S. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States)


Alma mater (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alma_mater)
University of Maryland, College Park (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Maryland,_College_Park)
St. Mary's University, Texas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Mary%27s_University,_Texas)
National Defense University (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Defense_University)
Air University (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_University_%28United_States_Air_Force%29)


Military service


Service/branch
United States Air Force (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Air_Force)


Years of service
1963–1995


Rank
Lieutenant General (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lieutenant_general_%28United_States%29) http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/US-O9_insignia.svg/20px-US-O9_insignia.svg.png (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:US-O9_insignia.svg)


Battles/wars
Vietnam War (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_War)


Awards
Legion of Merit (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legion_of_Merit) (3)
Bronze Star (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronze_Star) (2)
Air Medal (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Medal) (2)


James "The Clap" Clapper (born March 14, 1941)[2] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_R._Clapper#cite_note-2)[3] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_R._Clapper#cite_note-3) is a retired lieutenant general (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lieutenant_general_%28United_States%29) in the United States Air Force (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Air_Force) and is currently the Director of National Intelligence (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Director_of_National_Intelligence). He was previously dual-hatted as the first Director of Defense Intelligence within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_the_Director_of_National_Intelligence) alongside the position of Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Under_Secretary_of_Defense_for_Intelligence).[4] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_R._Clapper#cite_note-4) Clapper has held several key positions within the United States Intelligence Community (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Intelligence_Community). He served as the director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Geospatial-Intelligence_Agency) (NGA) from September 2001 until June 2006. Previously, he served as director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defense_Intelligence_Agency) (DIA) from 1992 until 1995.
On June 5, 2010, President Barack Obama (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama) nominated Clapper to replace Dennis C. Blair (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_C._Blair) as United States Director of National Intelligence (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Director_of_National_Intelligence). Clapper was unanimously confirmed by the Senate for the position on August 5, 2010.[5] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_R._Clapper#cite_note-WSJConfirm-5)[6] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_R._Clapper#cite_note-ClapperonCBSNews-6)

James Clapper perjured himself before Congress, and is probably guilty of treason [7] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_R._Clapper#cite_note-7).

Contents...

[JohnQPublic]

WilliamBanzai7:

5004

[EE_]

Here's another traitor, Boner


http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=cFL6JSitVfQ

[zap]

Everytime a politician opens their mouth lies speww out!

[Serpo]

Here's another traitor, Boner


http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=cFL6JSitVfQ
They are there to protect people....hahaha.......................themselves

[midnight rambler]

Definitely hero status.

Re-assessing....


https://jonrappoport.wordpress.com/2013/06/10/nsa-leaker-are-there-serious-cracks-in-ed-snowdens-story/

This Snowden guy's background is rather hinky, maybe as much as Barry Soetoro's

[Glass]

Ron Paul 1984. Maybe posted already


http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=G87jOx1VJ3o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=G87jOx1VJ3o

[JohnQPublic]

Good interview with Thomas Drake. NSA whistleblower (wire tapping controversy):

(http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-06-12/ex-nsa-leakers-advice-snowden-always-check-your-six)Ex-NSA Leaker's Advice To Snowden: "Always Check Your Six" (http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-06-12/ex-nsa-leakers-advice-snowden-always-check-your-six)

[Libertytree]

Edward Snowden: how the spy story of the age leaked out The full story behind the scoop and why the whistleblower approached the Guardian




(http://www.facebook.com/dialog/feed?app_id=180444840287&link=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/11/edward-snowden-nsa-whistleblower-profile&display=popup&redirect_uri=http://static-serve.appspot.com/static/facebook-share/callback.html&show_error=false&ref=desktop)






Ewen MacAskill (http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/ewenmacaskill) in Hong Kong (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/hong-kong)

The Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian), Tuesday 11 June 2013
Jump to comments (…) (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/11/edward-snowden-nsa-whistleblower-profile#start-of-comments)

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/audio/video/2013/6/12/1371039318087/Edward-Snowden-016.jpg


Link to video: NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden: 'I don't want to live in a society that does these sort of things' (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2013/jun/09/nsa-whistleblower-edward-snowden-interview-video) As he pulled a small black suitcase and carried a selection of laptop bags over his shoulders, no one would have paid much attention to Ed Snowden as he arrived at Hong Kong (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/hong-kong) International Airport. But Snowden was not your average tourist or businessman. In all, he was carrying four computers that enabled him to gain access to some of the US government's most highly-classified secrets.
Today, just over three weeks later, he is the world's most famous spy, whistleblower and fugitive, responsible for the biggest intelligence breach in recent US history (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/09/edward-snowden-nsa-whistleblower-surveillance?guni=Network%20front:network-front%20aux-1%20mini-bento:Bento%20box%208%20col:Position1:sublinks). News organisations around the globe have described him as "America's Most Wanted". Members of Congress have denounced him as a "defector" whose actions amount to treason (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/10/obama-pressured-explain-nsa-surveillance) and have demanded he be punished to the fullest extent of the law.
His supporters argue that his actions have opened up a much-needed debate on the balance between security and privacy in the modern world (http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jun/10/edward-snowden-united-stasi-america).

So is he whistleblower or traitor? That debate is still raging.
Snowden, aged 29, had flown to Hong Kong from Hawaii, where he had been working for the defence contractor Booz Allen Hamilton (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/09/booz-allen-hamilton-edward-snowden) at the National Security Agency, the biggest spy surveillance organisation in the world (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/06/national-security-agency-surveillance). Since Monday morning, he has gone underground. Hong Kong-based journalists, joined by the international press, have been hunting for him. At the height of the search, reporters recruited Twitter followers to see if they could successfully identify the lighting and other hotel furnishings shown in the video in which he went public. They did: the $330-a-night Mira Hotel, on Nathan Road, the busy main shopping drag in Kowloon district.


Knowing it was only a matter of time before he was found, Snowden checked out at lunchtime on Monday. It is thought he is now in a safe house.
What happens now? The US is on the verge of pressing criminal charges against him and that would lead to extradition proceedings, with a view to bringing him back to the US for trial and eventually jail.
If America is planning to jail for life Bradley Manning, who was behind the 2010 WikiLeaks release of tens of thousands of state department memos (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/03/bradley-manning-trial-opens-wikileaks), what retribution lies in store for Snowden, who is guilty of leaking on a much bigger scale? The documents Manning released were merely "classified". Snowden's were not only "Top Secret", but circulation was extremely limited.


For an American, the traditional home for the kind of story Snowden was planning to reveal would have been the New York Times. But during extensive interviews last week with a Guardian team, he recalled how dismayed he had been to discover the Times had a great scoop in election year 2004 – that the Bush administration, post 9/11, allowed the NSA (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/nsa) to snoop on US citizens without warrants – but had sat on it for a year before publishing.





More at link.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/11/edward-snowden-nsa-whistleblower-profile

[JohnQPublic]

I wish Snowden just leaked to Wikileaks. What we are getting is one powerpoint slide at a time (with redactions) from the Guardian. Basically, do we trust the Guardian to start with? Does the queeny-poo or her representatives get to pick what slides get released, and what gets redacted?

[JohnQPublic]

BREAKING NOW: Whistleblower Edward Snowden talks to South China Morning Post! (http://investmentwatchblog.com/breaking-now-whistleblower-edward-snowden-talks-to-south-china-morning-post/)
http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1259335/exclusive-whistleblower-edward-snowden-talks-south-china-morning-post

SERVERS ARE DOWN! NSA?

"Sorry...
Our servers are temporarily unavailable. We're currently fixing the problem and the site should be back up and running in the next few minutes. Apologies for any inconvenience caused.

Sorry... Our servers are temporarily unavailable. We're currently fixing the problem and the site should be back up and running in the next few minutes. Apologies for any inconvenience caused." (From the main page www.scmp.com)


Sorry... Our servers are temporarily unavailable. We're currently fixing the problem and the site should be back up and running in the next few minutes. Apologies for any inconvenience caused.

[JohnQPublic]

It is back (scmp.com):

(http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1259490/washington-bullying-hong-kong-extradite-me-says-edward-snowden)Washington is bullying Hong Kong to extradite me, says Edward Snowden (http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1259490/washington-bullying-hong-kong-extradite-me-says-edward-snowden)



America is desperate to prevent me leaking further information, whistle-blower says

"... He said: “I heard today from a reliable source that the United States government is trying to bully the Hong Kong government into extraditing me before the local government can learn of this [the US National Security Agency hacking people in Hong Kong]. The US government will do anything to prevent me from getting this into the public eye, which is why they are pushing so hard for extradition.” ..."


EXCLUSIVE: Whistle-blower Edward Snowden talks to South China Morning Post (http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1259335/exclusive-whistle-blower-edward-snowden-talks-south-china-morning)


Whistle-blower Edward Snowden tells SCMP: 'Let Hong Kong people decide my fate (http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1259422/edward-snowden-let-hong-kong-people-decide-my-fate)'



Ex-CIA operative wants to remain in Hong Kong


[Most of this is already on Zerohedge- JQP]

[JohnQPublic]

5012

(found this linked at a zerohedge comment)

[Hatha Sunahara]

"If you see something, say something." Juxtaposed on pictures of your 'friends', Janet and Barry, who are 'Preserving our freedoms'.

Ignorance is strength
War is Peace
Freedom is slavery

They are also the champions of strength and peace. Bravo. Not surprising that sales of Orwell's 1984 have gone exponential.


Hatha

[JohnQPublic]

Snowden Currently answering questions live via Twitter:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/17/edward-snowden-nsa-files-whistleblower

[JohnQPublic]

John_QPublic (http://www.guardian.co.uk/discussion/user/id/12009467) 17 June 2013 5:23pm (http://discussion.guardian.co.uk/comment-permalink/24390776)



Mr. Snowden:


Of critical minds I have come across (non-sheeple), a sizable portion want to support what you do, but are suspicious that you may:


1. Have been led by various agencies to break the revelations you made for their purposes (unwittingly by you);
2. May be part of a larger distraction;

Is there anything you can say to lay these suspicions to rest?
God be with you in any case.

[JohnQPublic]

EXCLUSIVE: Father of Edward Snowden urges son not to commit 'treason,' to return home (http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/06/17/exclusive-father-edward-snowden-urges-son-to-stop-leaking-come-home/#ixzz2WUdVWBf7)

[Hatha Sunahara]

EXCLUSIVE: Father of Edward Snowden urges son not to commit 'treason,' to return home (http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/06/17/exclusive-father-edward-snowden-urges-son-to-stop-leaking-come-home/#ixzz2WUdVWBf7)



It appears that Snowden's father is seriously brainwashed. I can understand that, because the issues being raised are, to say the least, mindbending. One of those issues is the definition of what is treason. Someone who commits treason is known as a traitor. Is Edward Snowden a traitor? Has he turned against his country? Or are his accusers traitors because they have turned against their country?

It appears that the whole political establishment in not only the United States, but in virtually all countries are traitors, who want to dissolve their own countries and impose some form of global government on their people. Is it treasonous for one of the people to oppose this?

My take on this is that Snowden is only a traitor if the people who judge him are incapable of critical thinking. Those prosecuting him are counting on this deficiency in the masses to convict him. How can one be a traitor to a country that his prosecutors want to dissolve? Isn't this prosecution the height of hypocrisy? Aren't the people condemning Snowden hypocrites?

It reminds me of the quote by Hannah Arendt about hypocrisy:


What makes it so plausible to assume that hypocrisy is the vice of vices is that integrity can indeed exist under the cover of all other vices except this one. Only crime and the criminal, it is true, confront us with the perplexity of radical evil; but only the hypocrite is really rotten to the core.

Hypocrisy is a vice. One that covers up corruption--which is an agreement not to fix mistakes among people who make self-serving mistakes. Snowden's accusers are corrupt--appealing to the ignorant.



Hatha

[EE_]

It appears that Snowden's father is seriously brainwashed. I can understand that, because the issues being raised are, to say the least, mindbending. One of those issues is the definition of what is treason. Someone who commits treason is known as a traitor. Is Edward Snowden a traitor? Has he turned against his country? Or are his accusers traitors because they have turned against their country?

It appears that the whole political establishment in not only the United States, but in virtually all countries are traitors, who want to dissolve their own countries and impose some form of global government on their people. Is it treasonous for one of the people to oppose this?

My take on this is that Snowden is only a traitor if the people who judge him are incapable of critical thinking. Those prosecuting him are counting on this deficiency in the masses to convict him. How can one be a traitor to a country that his prosecutors want to dissolve? Isn't this prosecution the height of hypocrisy? Aren't the people condemning Snowden hypocrites?

It reminds me of the quote by Hannah Arendt about hypocrisy:


Hypocrisy is a vice. One that covers up corruption--which is an agreement not to fix mistakes among people who make self-serving mistakes. Snowden's accusers are corrupt--appealing to the ignorant.



Hatha

When the people that employ you break laws and commit crimes against your country, imo you are no longer bound by any contract you have with them.
As long as Snowden does not reveal anything that jepordizes the lives of our military, or innocent people, he cannot be accused treason.

[Cebu_4_2]

tweet acct:


Journalists should ask a specific question: since these programs began operation shortly after September 11th, how many terrorist attacks were prevented SOLELY by information derived from this suspicionless surveillance that could not be gained via any other source? Then ask how many individual communications were ingested to acheive that, and ask yourself if it was worth it. Bathtub falls and police officers kill more Americans than terrorism, yet we've been asked to sacrifice our most sacred rights for fear of falling victim to it.


Further, it's important to bear in mind I'm being called a traitor by men like former Vice President Dick Cheney. This is a man who gave us the warrantless wiretapping scheme as a kind of atrocity warm-up on the way to deceitfully engineering a conflict that has killed over 4,400 and maimed nearly 32,000 Americans, as well as leaving over 100,000 Iraqis dead. Being called a traitor by Dick Cheney is the highest honor you can give an American, and the more panicked talk we hear from people like him, Feinstein, and King, the better off we all are. If they had taught a class on how to be the kind of citizen Dick Cheney worries about, I would have finished high school.

[JohnQPublic]

When the people that employ you break laws and commit crimes against your country, imo you are no longer bound by any contract you have with them.
As long as Snowden does not reveal anything that jepordizes the lives of our military, or innocent people, he cannot be accused treason.

Any prosecutor can accuse anyone of anything at anytime. Whether they can get a conviction is another question.

[Libertytree]

It's easy to see that the traitor meme is being built and it's coming from both the left and the right, or as we know it, from the elite in power, same shit. It's a PR war for the publics opinion...er brainwashing.

[JohnQPublic]

What if....

Snowden has already been liquidated, and the tweet chat today was a controlled event with a stand in from some agency?

[sirgonzo420]

Any prosecutor can accuse anyone of anything at anytime. Whether they can get a conviction is another question.

They usually can.

[Serpo]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2343230/Overly-attached-girlfriend-takes-NSA-land-free-ish--kinda-hilarious-Youtube-video.html

http://www.jimstonefreelance.com/
http://www.jimstonefreelance.com/trex.jpg

[osoab]

Miss Alabama has no problem with it...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=-DDT7gLHobM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=-DDT7gLHobM

and proles cheer...

[JohnQPublic]

I wonder- are there messages within Snowden's comments? Like "petting a phoenix", etc. (beyond possible sexual inuendo). How about in the rash of poses being posted form his girlfriend? Maybe his dad's message? If so who is he communicating to?

Another question: when are we going to start seeing the leaked documents (besides the piddly few pages from pp presentations)?

[Serpo]

Snowden Currently answering questions live via Twitter:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/17/edward-snowden-nsa-files-whistleblower

hotograph: The Guardian
12.43pm ET

Final question from Glenn Greenwald:

Anything else you’d like to add?

Answer:

Thanks to everyone for their support, and remember that just because you are not the target of a surveillance program does not make it okay. The US Person / foreigner distinction is not a reasonable substitute for individualized suspicion, and is only applied to improve support for the program. This is the precise reason that NSA provides Congress with a special immunity to its surveillance.
12.41pm ET

Question:

So far are things going the way you thought they would regarding a public debate? – tikkamasala

Answer:

Initially I was very encouraged. Unfortunately, the mainstream media now seems far more interested in what I said when I was 17 or what my girlfriend looks like rather than, say, the largest program of suspicionless surveillance in human history.
12.37pm ET

Follow-up from the Guardian's Spencer Ackerman:

Regarding whether you have secretly given classified information to the Chinese government, some are saying you didn't answer clearly - can you give a flat no?

Answer:

No. I have had no contact with the Chinese government. Just like with the Guardian and the Washington Post, I only work with journalists.
12.34pm ET

Question:

AhBrightWings
17 June 2013 2:12pm

My question: given the enormity of what you are facing now in terms of repercussions, can you describe the exact moment when you knew you absolutely were going to do this, no matter the fallout, and what it now feels like to be living in a post-revelation world? Or was it a series of moments that culminated in action? I think it might help other people contemplating becoming whistleblowers if they knew what the ah-ha moment was like. Again, thanks for your courage and heroism.

Answer:

I imagine everyone's experience is different, but for me, there was no single moment. It was seeing a continuing litany of lies from senior officials to Congress - and therefore the American people - and the realization that that Congress, specifically the Gang of Eight, wholly supported the lies that compelled me to act. Seeing someone in the position of James Clapper - the Director of National Intelligence - baldly lying to the public without repercussion is the evidence of a subverted democracy. The consent of the governed is not consent if it is not informed.
12.28pm ET

Question:

Ryan Latvaitis
17 June 2013 2:34pm

What would you say to others who are in a position to leak classified information that could improve public understanding of the intelligence apparatus of the USA and its effect on civil liberties?

What evidence do you have that refutes the assertion that the NSA is unable to listen to the content of telephone calls without an explicit and defined court order from FISC?

Answer:

This country is worth dying for.
12.24pm ET

Question:

Do you believe that the treatment of Binney, Drake and others influenced your path? Do you feel the "system works" so to speak? #AskSnowden
— Jacob Appelbaum (@ioerror) June 17, 2013

Answer:

Binney, Drake, Kiriakou, and Manning are all examples of how overly-harsh responses to public-interest whistle-blowing only escalate the scale, scope, and skill involved in future disclosures. Citizens with a conscience are not going to ignore wrong-doing simply because they'll be destroyed for it: the conscience forbids it. Instead, these draconian responses simply build better whistleblowers. If the Obama administration responds with an even harsher hand against me, they can be assured that they'll soon find themselves facing an equally harsh public response.

This disclosure provides Obama an opportunity to appeal for a return to sanity, constitutional policy, and the rule of law rather than men. He still has plenty of time to go down in history as the President who looked into the abyss and stepped back, rather than leaping forward into it. I would advise he personally call for a special committee to review these interception programs, repudiate the dangerous "State Secrets" privilege, and, upon preparing to leave office, begin a tradition for all Presidents forthwith to demonstrate their respect for the law by appointing a special investigator to review the policies of their years in office for any wrongdoing. There can be no faith in government if our highest offices are excused from scrutiny - they should be setting the example of transparency.
12.12pm ET

Question:

Mathius1
17 June 2013 2:54pm

Is encrypting my email any good at defeating the NSA survelielance? Id my data protected by standard encryption?

Answer:

Encryption works. Properly implemented strong crypto systems are one of the few things that you can rely on. Unfortunately, endpoint security is so terrifically weak that NSA can frequently find ways around it.
12.10pm ET

Question:

US officials say terrorists already altering TTPs because of your leaks, & calling you traitor. Respond? http://t.co/WlK2qpYJki #AskSnowden
— Kimberly Dozier (@KimberlyDozier) June 17, 2013

Answer:

US officials say this every time there's a public discussion that could limit their authority. US officials also provide misleading or directly false assertions about the value of these programs, as they did just recently with the Zazi case, which court documents clearly show was not unveiled by PRISM.

Journalists should ask a specific question: since these programs began operation shortly after September 11th, how many terrorist attacks were prevented SOLELY by information derived from this suspicionless surveillance that could not be gained via any other source? Then ask how many individual communications were ingested to acheive that, and ask yourself if it was worth it. Bathtub falls and police officers kill more Americans than terrorism, yet we've been asked to sacrifice our most sacred rights for fear of falling victim to it.

Further, it's important to bear in mind I'm being called a traitor by men like former Vice President Dick Cheney. This is a man who gave us the warrantless wiretapping scheme as a kind of atrocity warm-up on the way to deceitfully engineering a conflict that has killed over 4,400 and maimed nearly 32,000 Americans, as well as leaving over 100,000 Iraqis dead. Being called a traitor by Dick Cheney is the highest honor you can give an American, and the more panicked talk we hear from people like him, Feinstein, and King, the better off we all are. If they had taught a class on how to be the kind of citizen Dick Cheney worries about, I would have finished high school.
Updated at 12.11pm ET
12.04pm ET

Question:

Guardian staff
Spencer Ackerman
17 June 2013 4:16pm

Edward, there is rampant speculation, outpacing facts, that you have or will provide classified US information to the Chinese or other governments in exchange for asylum. Have/will you?

Answer:

This is a predictable smear that I anticipated before going public, as the US media has a knee-jerk "RED CHINA!" reaction to anything involving HK or the PRC, and is intended to distract from the issue of US government misconduct. Ask yourself: if I were a Chinese spy, why wouldn't I have flown directly into Beijing? I could be living in a palace petting a phoenix by now.
11.55am ET

Question:

MonaHol
17 June 2013 4:37pm

Ed Snowden, I thank you for your brave service to our country.

Some skepticism exists about certain of your claims, including this:

I, sitting at my desk, certainly had the authorities to wiretap anyone, from you, or your accountant, to a federal judge, to even the President if I had a personal email.

Do you stand by that, and if so, could you elaborate?

Answer:

Yes, I stand by it. US Persons do enjoy limited policy protections (and again, it's important to understand that policy protection is no protection - policy is a one-way ratchet that only loosens) and one very weak technical protection - a near-the-front-end filter at our ingestion points. The filter is constantly out of date, is set at what is euphemistically referred to as the "widest allowable aperture," and can be stripped out at any time. Even with the filter, US comms get ingested, and even more so as soon as they leave the border. Your protected communications shouldn't stop being protected communications just because of the IP they're tagged with.

More fundamentally, the "US Persons" protection in general is a distraction from the power and danger of this system. Suspicionless surveillance does not become okay simply because it's only victimizing 95% of the world instead of 100%. Our founders did not write that "We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all US Persons are created equal."
11.41am ET

Question:

HaraldK
17 June 2013 2:45pm

What are your thoughts on Google's and Facebook's denials? Do you think that they're honestly in the dark about PRISM, or do you think they're compelled to lie?

Perhaps this is a better question to a lawyer like Greenwald, but: If you're presented with a secret order that you're forbidding to reveal the existence of, what will they actually do if you simply refuse to comply (without revealing the order)?

Answer:

Their denials went through several revisions as it become more and more clear they were misleading and included identical, specific language across companies. As a result of these disclosures and the clout of these companies, we're finally beginning to see more transparency and better details about these programs for the first time since their inception.

They are legally compelled to comply and maintain their silence in regard to specifics of the program, but that does not comply them from ethical obligation. If for example Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and Apple refused to provide this cooperation with the Intelligence Community, what do you think the government would do? Shut them down?
11.40am ET

Anthony De Rosa
17 June 2013 2:18pm

1) Define in as much detail as you can what "direct access" means.

2) Can analysts listen to content of domestic calls without a warrant?

2) NSA likes to use "domestic" as a weasel word here for a number of reasons. The reality is that due to the FISA Amendments Act and its section 702 authorities, Americans’ communications are collected and viewed on a daily basis on the certification of an analyst rather than a warrant. They excuse this as "incidental" collection, but at the end of the day, someone at NSA still has the content of your communications. Even in the event of "warranted" intercept, it's important to understand the intelligence community doesn't always deal with what you would consider a "real" warrant like a Police department would have to, the "warrant" is more of a templated form they fill out and send to a reliable judge with a rubber stamp.

Glenn Greenwald follow up: When you say "someone at NSA still has the content of your communications" - what do you mean? Do you mean they have a record of it, or the actual content?

Both. If I target for example an email address, for example under FAA 702, and that email address sent something to you, Joe America, the analyst gets it. All of it. IPs, raw data, content, headers, attachments, everything. And it gets saved for a very long time - and can be extended further with waivers rather than warrants.
11.27am ET

Question:

Anthony De Rosa
17 June 2013 2:18pm

1) Define in as much detail as you can what "direct access" means.

2) Can analysts listen to content of domestic calls without a warrant?

Answer:

1) More detail on how direct NSA's accesses are is coming, but in general, the reality is this: if an NSA, FBI, CIA, DIA, etc analyst has access to query raw SIGINT databases, they can enter and get results for anything they want. Phone number, email, user id, cell phone handset id (IMEI), and so on - it's all the same. The restrictions against this are policy based, not technically based, and can change at any time. Additionally, audits are cursory, incomplete, and easily fooled by fake justifications. For at least GCHQ, the number of audited queries is only 5% of those performed.
Updated at 11.41am ET
11.23am ET

Question:

Gabrielaweb
17 June 2013 2:17pm

Why did you wait to release the documents if you said you wanted to tell the world about the NSA programs since before Obama became president?

Answer:

Obama's campaign promises and election gave me faith that he would lead us toward fixing the problems he outlined in his quest for votes. Many Americans felt similarly. Unfortunately, shortly after assuming power, he closed the door on investigating systemic violations of law, deepened and expanded several abusive programs, and refused to spend the political capital to end the kind of human rights violations like we see in Guantanamo, where men still sit without charge.
11.20am ET

Question:

D. Aram Mushegian II
17 June 2013 2:16pm

Did you lie about your salary? What is the issue there? Why did you tell Glenn Greenwald that your salary was $200,000 a year, when it was only $122,000 (according to the firm that fired you.)

Answer:

I was debriefed by Glenn and his peers over a number of days, and not all of those conversations were recorded. The statement I made about earnings was that $200,000 was my "career high" salary. I had to take pay cuts in the course of pursuing specific work. Booz was not the most I've been paid.
11.17am ET

Question:

ActivistGal
17 June 2013 2:15pm

You have said HERE that you admire both Ellsberg and Manning, but have argued that there is one important distinction between yourself and the army private...


"I carefully evaluated every single document I disclosed to ensure that each was legitimately in the public interest," he said. "There are all sorts of documents that would have made a big impact that I didn't turn over, because harming people isn't my goal. Transparency is."

Are you suggesting that Manning indiscriminately dumped secrets into the hands of Wikileaks and that he intended to harm people?

Answer:

No, I'm not. Wikileaks is a legitimate journalistic outlet and they carefully redacted all of their releases in accordance with a judgment of public interest. The unredacted release of cables was due to the failure of a partner journalist to control a passphrase. However, I understand that many media outlets used the argument that "documents were dumped" to smear Manning, and want to make it clear that it is not a valid assertion here.
11.13am ET

Question:

Guardian staff
ewenmacaskill
17 June 2013 3:07pm

I should have asked you this when I saw you but never got round to it........Why did you just not fly direct to Iceland if that is your preferred country for asylum?

Answer:

Leaving the US was an incredible risk, as NSA employees must declare their foreign travel 30 days in advance and are monitored. There was a distinct possibility I would be interdicted en route, so I had to travel with no advance booking to a country with the cultural and legal framework to allow me to work without being immediately detained. Hong Kong provided that. Iceland could be pushed harder, quicker, before the public could have a chance to make their feelings known, and I would not put that past the current US administration.
11.07am ET

Question:

Guardian staff
GlennGreenwald
17 June 2013 2:11pm

Let's begin with these:

1) Why did you choose Hong Kong to go to and then tell them about US hacking on their research facilities and universities?

2) How many sets of the documents you disclosed did you make, and how many different people have them? If anything happens to you, do they still exist?

Answer:

1) First, the US Government, just as they did with other whistleblowers, immediately and predictably destroyed any possibility of a fair trial at home, openly declaring me guilty of treason and that the disclosure of secret, criminal, and even unconstitutional acts is an unforgivable crime. That's not justice, and it would be foolish to volunteer yourself to it if you can do more good outside of prison than in it.

Second, let's be clear: I did not reveal any US operations against legitimate military targets. I pointed out where the NSA has hacked civilian infrastructure such as universities, hospitals, and private businesses because it is dangerous. These nakedly, aggressively criminal acts are wrong no matter the target. Not only that, when NSA makes a technical mistake during an exploitation operation, critical systems crash. Congress hasn't declared war on the countries - the majority of them are our allies - but without asking for public permission, NSA is running network operations against them that affect millions of innocent people. And for what? So we can have secret access to a computer in a country we're not even fighting? So we can potentially reveal a potential terrorist with the potential to kill fewer Americans than our own Police? No, the public needs to know the kinds of things a government does in its name, or the "consent of the governed" is meaningless.

2) All I can say right now is the US Government is not going to be able to cover this up by jailing or murdering me. Truth is coming, and it cannot be stopped.
9.00am ET
Edward Snowden Q&A

It is the interview the world's media organisations have been chasing for more than a week, but instead Edward Snowden is giving Guardian readers the exclusive.

The 29-year-old former NSA contractor and source of the Guardian's NSA files coverage will – with the help of Glenn Greenwald – take your questions today on why he revealed the NSA's top-secret surveillance of US citizens, the international storm that has ensued, and the uncertain future he now faces. Ask him anything.

Snowden, who has fled the US, told the Guardian he "does not expect to see home again", but where he'll end up has yet to be determined.

He will be online today from 11am ET/4pm BST today. An important caveat: the live chat is subject to Snowden's security concerns and also his access to a secure internet connection. It is possible that he will appear and disappear intermittently, so if it takes him a while to get through the questions, please be patient.

To participate, post your question below and recommend your favorites. As he makes his way through the thread, we'll embed his replies as posts in the live blog. You can also follow along on Twitter using the hashtag #AskSnowden.

We expect the site to experience high demand so we'll re-publish the Q&A in full after the live chat has finished.

Updated at 10.03am ET

[Serpo]

You Do as They Say Or Else Posted on June 17, 2013 (http://armstrongeconomics.com/2013/06/17/you-do-as-they-say-or-else/) by Armstrong Economics (http://armstrongeconomics.com/author/armstrongeconomics/)
http://i0.wp.com/armstrongeconomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/nacchio_Joseph.jpg?zoom=3&resize=200%2C284 (http://i0.wp.com/armstrongeconomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/nacchio_Joseph.jpg)
This whole NSA thing is bringing up a lot of questions. The former Qwest CEO Joseph Nacchio is currently serving a six-year prison sentence for insider trading in April 2007 because he sold $52 million of stock in the spring of 2001. The prosecution argued he KNEW that the telecommunications carrier appeared to be deteriorating. Nacchio argued that was not true and that he believed Qwest was about to win secret government contract that would keep Quest in the black. He would be guilty ONLY if he KNEW the company would decline and that was the reason he sold. If he sold simply to get money and it then happened to lose contracts, that would not be a crime. The conviction is based on a STATE OF MIND. Naturally, his claim that the government stopped offering the company lucrative contracts ONLY after Qwest refused to cooperate with a NSA (National Security Agency) surveillance program in February 2001 that is doing precisely what they have been caught doing today.
http://www.businessinsider.com/the-story-of-joseph-nacchio-and-the-nsa-2013-6

http://i2.wp.com/armstrongeconomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/cohen-schiavoni.jpg?zoom=3&resize=476%2C297 (http://i2.wp.com/armstrongeconomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/cohen-schiavoni.jpg)

In my own case, AFTER I refused to build the model in Washington for the CIA, the case began. Many staff to this day believe that was the reason behind the case. While I was supposed to be in contempt of court to turn over assets IN CASE I might owe something it turned out I did not, documents suggest otherwise that the “unpublic” demands made to Martin Weiss who was willing to rent Princeton to keep the forecasting going but was told that I had to turn over the source code to the model or else Princeton Economics would be shut down.
http://i0.wp.com/armstrongeconomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Schiavoni-email-1024x404.jpg?zoom=3&resize=584%2C230 (http://i0.wp.com/armstrongeconomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Schiavoni-email.jpg)
Then there was the case of a CIA operative who spent 22 years in prison after his daughter helped to get him out. The CIA claimed he never worked for them and was selling arms to Libya on his own. His daughter later found evidence the government lied and he was finally released.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2207251/Legendary-CIA-operative-lived-high-life-spy-wrongly-branded-traitor-selling-weapons-Libya-dies-age-84.html
A Filmaker claims an innocent Man was jailed to cover up CIA Drug Buisness. These stories go on and on. What is curious is how the government does whatever it likes and juries believe their government is honest and would never lie.
http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-04/22/affidavit
The greatest problem we have is that people like Diane Fineberg will NEVER allow the government to really be investigated. There is no hope of cleaning up the system because you cannot sue the government only it people and they are the only people who can press charges ensuring they will never prosecute themselves. Thomas Jefferson included in the Declaration of Independence the very same complaint about the king.
For protecting them [government employees], by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

http://armstrongeconomics.com/2013/06/17/you-do-as-they-say-or-else/

[EE_]

Miss Alabama has no problem with it...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=-DDT7gLHobM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=-DDT7gLHobM

and proles cheer...

And the winning answer!...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tx7TE7fCkrk

Well, ya can't have everything
http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/image_content_width/hash/4f/3f/4f3fe22905e641c5f2d0429befbefaf5.jpg?itok=axQRDLj2

[JohnQPublic]

Miss Alabama has no problem with it...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=-DDT7gLHobM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=-DDT7gLHobM

and proles cheer...

What a two-bit twit.

[Hatha Sunahara]

One of the requirements for being a beauty queen is to be politically correct. Does anyone expect her to say anything else?


Hatha

[JohnQPublic]

One of the requirements for being a beauty queen is to be politically correct. Does anyone expect her to say anything else?


Hatha

That is not beauty in my eyes. Sure she looks good, but I like a little more substance. I am not looking for a sex slave (I am already hitched in any case).

[EE_]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-Wy_BRFElc


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvgEqlFIn2o

[Mouse]

She didn't understand the question. I think she thought that they were tracking her tweets and messages so if she disappeared or something, they could save her, but without violating her privacy? I don't think I understand the question. Can you, Miss Alabama use the word "is" in a sentence?

[JohnQPublic]

... Can you, Miss Alabama use the word "is" in a sentence?

Way'all as my second favorite president said (after Obama), "What IS, 'IS' "?

[JohnQPublic]

NSA spying flap extends to contents of U.S. phone calls (http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-57589495-38/nsa-spying-flap-extends-to-contents-of-u.s-phone-calls/)


"...Rep. Jerrold Nadler, a New York Democrat, disclosed on Thursday that during a secret briefing to members of Congress, he was told that the contents of a phone call could be accessed "simply based on an analyst deciding that."

If the NSA wants "to listen to the phone," an analyst's decision is sufficient, without any other legal authorization required, Nadler said he learned. "I was rather startled," said Nadler, an attorney and congressman who serves on the House Judiciary committee..."

[I wonder what happened the night before? JQP]

"...James Owens, a spokesman for Nadler, provided a statement on Sunday morning, a day after this article was published, saying: "I am pleased that the administration has reiterated that, as I have always believed, the NSA cannot listen to the content of Americans' phone calls without a specific warrant." Owens said he couldn't comment on what assurances from the Obama administration Nadler was referring to, and said Nadler was unavailable for an interview. (CNET had contacted Nadler for comment on Friday.)..."

[JohnQPublic]

I don't trust this guy. Look at his eyes. They were like this during the testimony Friday night. He is wound up pretty tight. He knows he is on the edge of facing treason charges.

5022

[Mouse]

The scales are showing through a little bit. Must...keep....under.......control

[Glass]

Don't want to start a new thread.

Does anyone here go to WikiLeaks and take a look from time to time? I notice there are some interesting materials on the web site at the moment. Much of it has been published 1 or 2 years ago but some stuff worth taking a look at. A least the latest release info and some of the archives that are featured on the front page..

[Luriya]

hate these things. I think just discussing gets us watched