Snowden is a 29-year-old former CIA technical assistant and current employee of Booz Allen Hamilton. Like Daniel Ellsberg and Bradley Manning, Snowden has publicized material from one of the world's most secretive organisations – the NSA and the CIA. Snowden justified his actions from Hong Kong where he is staying by stating, "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."
Snowden is believed to be the source about NSA secretly collecting phone data from millions of Verizon customers mentioned in the Washington Post. Specifically, Prism, a NASA program that allows the agency to collect data from some of the country's largest Internet companies. Snowden claims he went public because he couldn't "... in good conscience allow the US government to destroy privacy, internet freedom and basic liberties for people around the world with this massive surveillance machine they're secretly building." While this may sound noble, it seems to be a selfish, criminal act designed on obtaining ten minutes of fame. Champion of privacy or self centered criminal seeking refuge in Hong Kong?
Expect charges to be filed against Snowden for violating the Espionage Act.
Update 6-19-13: Put President Obama in the group of people not ready to call Snowden a patriot or a hero. Our President says lives have been saved by the surveillance programs run by the National Security Agency. Specifically, President Obama claims that at least 50 threats in the U.S. and overseas have been averted because of phone records and Internet information the agency has gathered. These programs are limited in scope and subject to judicial scrutiny according to the Executive Office.
Is the U.S. striking the right balance between national security and civil liberties?
Posts
13 comments:
Why China?
Doesn't Hong Kong have an extradition treaty with the U.S.? If so, Snowden better hire a good lawyer.
(While this may sound noble, it seems to be a selfish, criminal act designed on obtaining ten minutes of fame.)
...I disagree. I certainty would like to know if our government is spying on us. It seems as if most everything Nixon was impeached for, is legal now.
And the Pentagon papers were influential in ending the Viet Nam War. Proven to be a "For Profit" war..as Eisenhower stated would happen in his last speech as president regarding the military industrial complex.
Also…read some Revolutionary War history and see how hard the founders of this country fought to FREE themselves from similar violations of liberties imposed by the British.
After hammering out the specifics of our Constitution Jefferson was asked; “What kind of government did your decide on?”
He answered; “Madam, We have given you a Republic…Can you keep it?”
Jefferson also said; “We have developed a true democracy, but as history has shown every two hundred years or so there has to be a knockdown bloody revolution to reinstall the power back to the people.
Weather this guy was out for attention or even cash…it doesn’t matter, he reveled something ALL should be concerned about.
Video guy: Do you really think in this day and age of terrorism that anything is private? The founders of this country did not contemplate the impact of a dirty bomb. Consequently, some invasion of privacy is necessary to protect this country.
Anony 8:41 AM said:
(some invasion of privacy is necessary to protect this country.)
Really, did us alot of good in Boston, and in NY it was citizens that discovered that car bomb.
Here are some specifics you have not considered. These gov contractors get paid with our tax dollars to gather this information, the more they gather the more they get paid...less for our infrastructure, schools...ect.
Did you know Holder worked for one of these contractors, I think they even said the one that was exposed.
This information can be manipulated any way they want, we all know how easy it is to change the contents of an e-mail to make anyone seem guilty. This could be used for political battles.
Bush ignored all kinds of information about the 9-11 attacks...why should we give up freedom because of someone else incompetence?
And again, all this intelligence gathering did nothing to prevent the Boston attacks.
Also, I have been reading and watching interviews of people that know Snowden, all say he is a stand-up guy with a true sense of right and wrong. Which leads me to believe he has information yet to be exposed of our government being involved with some truly unscrupulous tactics that have nothing to do with national security.
Here it is laid out…follow the money.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023023210
Quote:
“Some of the oldest advice we might find, when we are looking for someone with a motive for doing something wrong or illegal, is to "follow the money". Who has the most to gain and who has the most to lose?”
“But the NSA has a lot to lose. The Agency is presently receiving about $80 billion per year from the taxpayers of this country. They work closely with the Carlyle Group, who have been involved in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East for several decades. They, in turn, contract their work out to folks like Booz-Allen, whom Snowden was employed with until this earth-shaking incident.”
“Over the last 25 years, we have seen the Carlyle Group, under the leadership of Cap Weinberger, and with folks like George HW Bush on their Board, receive much of the government payola. They were also the parent company of Booz-Allen.”
“So there was money to be made with the new "war on terror". Eventually they would be able to collect information on everyone. They would be able to catch the terrorists before they were able to act by connecting all the information. They received more and more government largesse. Their payroll got larger and larger as they hired more and more analysts, like Snowden…They have little to show for all the money they have received.”
“Naturally, they want to keep that money coming in. More than national security, it is about personal wealth for the cadre of political scam artists that gather government contracts. The fact that they were such a failure is the biggest secret of all.”
“That is the secret they did not want exposed. Many in the NSA and the contracting business stand to lose a lot of money if the truth is known. This whole episode is not about national security. It is about scamming the American taxpayers. That is why everything is a secret. That is what Edward Snowden has exposed.”
More;
http://blog.ourfuture.org/20130617/where-uncle-sam-ought-to-be-snooping
QUOTE:
“Booz Allen alumni also populate the highest echelons of America’s intelligence apparatus — and vice versa. The Obama administration’s top intelligence official, James Clapper, just happens to be a former Booz Allen exec. The George W. Bush intelligence chief, John McConnell, now serves as the Booz Allen vice chair.
All these revolving doors open up into enormously lucrative worlds. In their 2010 fiscal year, the top five Booz Allen execs together pocketed just under $20 million. They averaged 23 times what members of Congress take home.
But the real windfalls are flowing to top execs at the Carlyle Group, Booz Allen’s parent company since 2008. In 2011, Carlyle’s top three power suits shared a combined payday over $400 million."
Update 6-19-13: Put President Obama in the group of people not ready to call Snowden a patriot or a hero. Our President says lives have been saved by the surveillance programs run by the National Security Agency. Specifically, President Obama claims that at least 50 threats in the U.S. and overseas have been averted because of phone records and Internet information the agency has gathered. These programs are limited in scope and subject to judicial scrutiny according to the Executive Office.
Is the U.S. striking the right balance between national security and civil liberties?
(President Obama claims that at least 50 threats in the U.S. and overseas have been averted because of phone records and Internet information the agency has gathered.)
…AND, they refuse to release proof of these averted threats under the guise of national security.
(Is the U.S. striking the right balance between national security and civil liberties?)
…I say NO! I say they are collecting data for profit first. Than collecting data on people they consider argumentative against them…politics. Such as journalists, apposing political parties…ect.
...than maybe 3rd on the list is the safety of the american people.
Maybe future Russian citizen?
Video Guy: I say yes. I feel much safer than I did in the post 911 days. I do not feel the need to know everything that the government is doing to keep me safe.
Furthermore, my life is an open door if it leads to this world being a safer place for all.
Post a Comment